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[ [ "3D CHIP ASSEMBLIES USING STACKED LEADFRAMES", "A stacked-chip assembly including a plurality of IC chips or die that are stacked, and a plurality of stacked leads.", "Leads from separate leadframes may be bonded together so as to tie corresponding metal features of the various chips to a same ground, signal, or power rail.", "Each leadframe may include a center paddle, which is disposed between two chips in the stack.", "The center paddle may function as one or more of a thermal conduit and common electrical rail (e.g., ground).", "The leadframes may be employed without the use of any bond wires with leads bonded directly to bond pads of the chips.", "A first IC chip may be mounted to a base leadframe and subsequent die-attach leadframes and IC chips are stacked upon the first IC chip and base leadframe.", "The die-attach leadframes may be iteratively bonded to an underlying leadframe and the bonded stacked leads stamped out of their respective leadframe sheets." ], [ "1.An integrated circuit (IC) chip assembly, comprising: a first IC chip; a second IC chip in a stack with the first IC chip; a paddle between the first and second IC chips, wherein the paddle comprises metal and includes a paddle end that is coupled to at least one of a metal feature at a periphery of the stack, or a heat sink.", "2.The IC chip assembly of claim 1, wherein the paddle end is coupled to a metal feature at a periphery of the stack, and wherein the paddle makes electrical contact to a metal feature on one or both of the first and second IC chips.", "3.The IC chip assembly of claim 2, wherein the paddle electrically couples each of the IC chips to a common reference voltage rail.", "4.The IC chip assembly of claim 2, further comprising a substrate including a ground pad, and where the paddle end is bonded to the ground pad.", "5.The IC chip assembly of claim 1, wherein: the paddle is a first paddle and the assembly further comprises a second paddle; the second paddle comprises a metal, a paddle end of the first paddle is bonded to a paddle end of the second paddle at the periphery of the chip stack.", "6.The IC chip assembly of claim 1, further comprising a base paddle coupled to a side of the first chip opposite the paddle between the first and second chips, and wherein an area of the base paddle is larger than an area of the paddle between the first and second chips.", "7.The IC chip assembly of claim 1, further comprising a first lead and a second lead, the first lead electrically coupled to at least the first IC chip; and a second lead electrically coupled to at least the second IC chip, and bonded to the second lead at the periphery of the chip stack.", "8.The IC chip of claim 7, wherein the paddle is electrically isolated from at least one of the first or second leads.", "9.The IC chip of claim 8, further comprising a substrate including a plurality of signal pads; and wherein the first lead is electrically coupled to one of the signal pads.", "10.The IC platform of claim 12, wherein the IC chips comprise a plurality of NAND flash memory chips.", "11.The IC chip assembly of claim 1, further comprising a die-attach paste or film disposed between at least one of the leads and the first or second IC chip.", "12.An integrated circuit (IC) platform, comprising: a substrate including a plurality of signal pads; three of more memory chips in a stack; a paddle between each of the memory chips, wherein: the paddle comprises a metal and includes one or more paddle ends; a paddle end of each paddle is coupled to at least one of a metal feature of the substrate at a periphery of the stack, or a heat sink; and a plurality of signal leads electrically coupled to each of the chips and to the signal pads.", "13.The IC platform of claim 12, wherein the metal feature comprises a ground pad and wherein the paddles are electrically isolated from the signal leads.", "14.The IC platform of claim 12, wherein the signal leads comprise a plurality of a die-attach leads, a first end of spatially co-located ones of the die-attach leads bonded together at the periphery of the stack, and a second end of the die-attach leads bonded to a metal feature on separate ones of the chips.", "15.The IC platform of claim 12, wherein the memory chips are NAND memory chips with substantially the same footprint and the same pin-out pad locations.", "16.A method of assembling an integrated circuit (IC) chip stack, the method comprising: attaching a first leadframe to a first IC chip, the first leadframe including a first paddle under the first IC chip; attaching a second leadframe to a second IC chip, the second leadframe including a second paddle under the second IC chip; stacking the first and second leadframes with the second paddle between the first and second first and second IC chips; bonding ends of the first and second paddle together; and singulating the chip stack from the stacked leadframes at a location beyond the bonded paddle ends to maintain electrical continuity between the first and second paddles.", "17.The method of claim 16, further comprising bonding first leads of the first leadframe to corresponding second leads of the second leadframe that are stacked over the first leads, the bonded first leads further coupled to the first IC chip, and the bonded second leads further coupled to the second IC chip.", "18.The method of claim 17, wherein: attaching the first leadframe to the first chip further comprises bonding the first leads to metal features on a front-side surface of the first IC chip; attaching the second leadframe further comprises bonding the second leads to metal features on a front-side surface of the second IC chip; and bonding the first leads to the second leads further comprises wedge-bonding the second leads to the first leads at a location beyond an edge of the first and second IC chips.", "19.The method of claim 17, further comprising: adhering a back-side surface of the first IC chip to the paddle of the first leadframe; and bonding the first leads to corresponding leads of a base leadframe prior to bonding the second leads to the first leads.", "20.The method of claim 19, further comprising adhering a back-side surface a third IC chip to a paddle of the base leadframe before bonding the first leadframe to the base leadframe." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>There are many integrated circuit (IC) chip, or die, packaging technologies.", "A number of advanced IC packages include a plurality of IC chips in a stack, which reduce the footprint of the IC chips to improve device density within a given platform (e.g., mobile device, computer, automobile).", "FIG.", "1A illustrates a plan view of a conventional stacked-chip assembly 101 .", "FIG.", "1B illustrates a cross-sectional view of stacked-chip assembly 101 .", "As shown, IC chip 111 is stacked over IC chip 110 , IC chip 112 is further stacked over IC chip 111 , and IC chip 113 is further stacked over IC chip 112 .", "Between each IC chip is a die attach material 140 (e.g., paste or film).", "To accommodate electrical connection (e.g., power, signal, ground) by wire bonds, stacked chips may be laterally offset or displaced in one or more dimensions relative to an underlying/overlying chip.", "For example, chip 111 is laterally offset in the x-dimension from an edge of chip 110 .", "Similarly, chip 112 is laterally offset in the x-dimension from an edge of chip 111 .", "Such an IC chip stack requires a footprint that is a function of both the chip size and the cumulative chip offset required for the wire bonds.", "For example, in FIG.", "1B , the stack footprint is a function of both the chip length L c and offset length L o .", "As such, staggering the chips increases package size.", "As further shown in FIGS.", "1A and 1B , wire bonds may be waterfalled from a top most chip (e.g., 113 ) to successively lower chips until landing on a package substrate 105 .", "Such waterfalled wire bonds are typical in applications where the chips in the stack are the same and various pads on each chip may be powered, grounded, or signaled concurrently with corresponding pads on another chip.", "Such an architecture is common for a NAND flash memory chip, which often accommodate metal features on one or two sides of the chip (e.g., opposite edges laterally separated in the x-dimension in FIG.", "1A, 1B ).", "In addition to the offset increasing package footprint, package substrate 105 increases the z-thickness of assembly 101 , and all increases the cost of the package assembly.", "Heat generated by the stacked chips during operation of assembly 101 is another issue.", "For example, heat generated by chip 110 may need to conduct through chip 111 , 112 , and 113 to reach a heat sink disposed over the chip stack (e.g., landed on chip 113 ).", "The bulk material composition (e.g., silicon) often has a relatively low thermal conductivity, making it difficult to adequately cool chips within a stacked-chip assembly." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>The material described herein is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the accompanying figures.", "For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.", "For example, the dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.", "Further, where considered appropriate, reference labels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.", "In the figures: FIG.", "1A illustrates a top-down plan view of a conventional stacked-chip assembly; FIG.", "1B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conventional stacked-chip assembly; FIG.", "2A illustrates a top-down plan view of a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with an embodiment; FIGS.", "3, 4, 5, and 6 illustrate cross-sectional views of stacked chip assemblies with stack leads, in accordance with alternate embodiments; FIG.", "7A illustrates a top-down plan view of a stacked-chip assembly including a stacked leads, in accordance with an alternate embodiment; FIG.", "7B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with an alternate embodiment; FIG.", "8A illustrates a plan view of a base leadframe, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "8B illustrates a plan view of a die-attach leadframe, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "8C illustrate leadframe sheets, which may be employed in reel-to-reel packaging technology, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "9A illustrates a flow diagram of a method for assembling a chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "9B illustrates cross-sectional views of a stacked-chip assembly as selected operations in the assembly method shown in FIG.", "9A is performed, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "9C illustrates a flow diagram of an alternate method for assembling a chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "10 is a functional block diagram of an electronic computing device, in accordance with some embodiments; and FIG.", "11 illustrates a mobile computing platform and a data server machine employing a memory chip stack include stacked leads, in accordance with some embodiments.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CLAIM FOR PRIORITY This application is a continuation of prior U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/338,162, filed on Oct. 28, 2016 and titled “3D CHIP ASSEMBLIES USING STACKED LEADFRAMES”, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND There are many integrated circuit (IC) chip, or die, packaging technologies.", "A number of advanced IC packages include a plurality of IC chips in a stack, which reduce the footprint of the IC chips to improve device density within a given platform (e.g., mobile device, computer, automobile).", "FIG.", "1A illustrates a plan view of a conventional stacked-chip assembly 101.FIG.", "1B illustrates a cross-sectional view of stacked-chip assembly 101.As shown, IC chip 111 is stacked over IC chip 110, IC chip 112 is further stacked over IC chip 111, and IC chip 113 is further stacked over IC chip 112.Between each IC chip is a die attach material 140 (e.g., paste or film).", "To accommodate electrical connection (e.g., power, signal, ground) by wire bonds, stacked chips may be laterally offset or displaced in one or more dimensions relative to an underlying/overlying chip.", "For example, chip 111 is laterally offset in the x-dimension from an edge of chip 110.Similarly, chip 112 is laterally offset in the x-dimension from an edge of chip 111.Such an IC chip stack requires a footprint that is a function of both the chip size and the cumulative chip offset required for the wire bonds.", "For example, in FIG.", "1B, the stack footprint is a function of both the chip length Lc and offset length Lo.", "As such, staggering the chips increases package size.", "As further shown in FIGS.", "1A and 1B, wire bonds may be waterfalled from a top most chip (e.g., 113) to successively lower chips until landing on a package substrate 105.Such waterfalled wire bonds are typical in applications where the chips in the stack are the same and various pads on each chip may be powered, grounded, or signaled concurrently with corresponding pads on another chip.", "Such an architecture is common for a NAND flash memory chip, which often accommodate metal features on one or two sides of the chip (e.g., opposite edges laterally separated in the x-dimension in FIG.", "1A, 1B).", "In addition to the offset increasing package footprint, package substrate 105 increases the z-thickness of assembly 101, and all increases the cost of the package assembly.", "Heat generated by the stacked chips during operation of assembly 101 is another issue.", "For example, heat generated by chip 110 may need to conduct through chip 111, 112, and 113 to reach a heat sink disposed over the chip stack (e.g., landed on chip 113).", "The bulk material composition (e.g., silicon) often has a relatively low thermal conductivity, making it difficult to adequately cool chips within a stacked-chip assembly.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The material described herein is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the accompanying figures.", "For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.", "For example, the dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity.", "Further, where considered appropriate, reference labels have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.", "In the figures: FIG.", "1A illustrates a top-down plan view of a conventional stacked-chip assembly; FIG.", "1B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conventional stacked-chip assembly; FIG.", "2A illustrates a top-down plan view of a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with an embodiment; FIGS.", "3, 4, 5, and 6 illustrate cross-sectional views of stacked chip assemblies with stack leads, in accordance with alternate embodiments; FIG.", "7A illustrates a top-down plan view of a stacked-chip assembly including a stacked leads, in accordance with an alternate embodiment; FIG.", "7B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with an alternate embodiment; FIG.", "8A illustrates a plan view of a base leadframe, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "8B illustrates a plan view of a die-attach leadframe, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "8C illustrate leadframe sheets, which may be employed in reel-to-reel packaging technology, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "9A illustrates a flow diagram of a method for assembling a chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "9B illustrates cross-sectional views of a stacked-chip assembly as selected operations in the assembly method shown in FIG.", "9A is performed, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "9C illustrates a flow diagram of an alternate method for assembling a chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with some embodiments; FIG.", "10 is a functional block diagram of an electronic computing device, in accordance with some embodiments; and FIG.", "11 illustrates a mobile computing platform and a data server machine employing a memory chip stack include stacked leads, in accordance with some embodiments.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Embodiments are described with reference to the enclosed figures.", "While specific configurations and arrangements are depicted and discussed in detail, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only.", "Persons skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the description.", "It will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that techniques and/or arrangements described herein may be employed in a variety of other systems and applications other than what is described in detail herein.", "Reference is made in the following detailed description to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and illustrate exemplary embodiments.", "Further, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and/or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of claimed subject matter.", "It should also be noted that directions and references, for example, up, down, top, bottom, and so on, may be used merely to facilitate the description of features in the drawings and are not intended to restrict the application of claimed subject matter.", "Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of claimed subject matter is defined solely by the appended claims and their equivalents.", "In the following description, numerous details are set forth, however, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art, that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.", "In some instances, well-known methods and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, to avoid obscuring inventive aspects of the exemplary embodiments.", "References throughout this specification to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” mean that a particular feature, structure, function, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.", "Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment” or “in one embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.", "Furthermore, the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.", "For example, a first embodiment may be combined with a second embodiment anywhere the particular features, structures, functions, or characteristics associated with the first and second embodiments are not mutually exclusive.", "As used in the description of the exemplary embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "As used throughout this description, and in the claims, a list of items joined by the term “at least one of” or “one or more of” can mean any combination of the listed terms.", "For example, the phrase “at least one of A, B or C” can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B and C. The terms “coupled” and “connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used herein to describe functional or structural relationships between components.", "It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other.", "Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical, optical, or electrical contact with each other.", "“Coupled” may be used to indicated that two or more elements are in either direct or indirect (with other intervening elements between them) physical, optical, or electrical contact with each other, and/or that the two or more elements co-operate or interact with each other (e.g., as in a cause an effect relationship).", "The terms “over,” “under,” “between,” and “on” as used herein refer to a relative position of one component or material layer with respect to other components or layers where such physical relationships are noteworthy.", "For example in the context of material layers, one layer disposed over or under another layer may be directly in contact with the other layer or may have one or more intervening layers.", "Moreover, one layer disposed between two layers may be directly in contact with the two layers or may have one or more intervening layers.", "In contrast, a first layer “on” a second layer is in direct contact with that second layer.", "Similar distinctions are to be made in the context of component assemblies.", "As described in greater detail below, a stacked-chip assembly includes a plurality of IC chips or die that are stacked, and a plurality of stacked leads.", "In some embodiments, leads from separate leadframes are bonded together at a periphery of the stack so as to tie corresponding metal features of the various chips to a same ground, signal, or power rail.", "In some embodiments, each leadframe includes a center paddle, which is disposed between two chips in the stack.", "The center paddle may function as a common rail (e.g., ground) and/or thermal conduit.", "In some embodiments, the leadframes are employed without the use of any bond wires, and leads of the leadframes may be bonded directly to the metal features (e.g., bond pads) of the chips.", "In some embodiments, a first IC chip is mounted to a base leadframe and subsequent die-attach leadframes and IC chips are stacked upon the first IC chip and base leadframe.", "The die-attach leadframes may be iteratively bonded to an underlying leadframe and the bonded stacked leads stamped out of their respective leadframe sheets.", "In some embodiments, individual IC chips may be iteratively mounted to individual leadframes.", "Individual leadframe-mounted IC chips may then be stacked, and the stack stamped to bond and/or cut the stacked leads from their respective leadframe sheets.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a top-down plan view of a stacked IC chip assembly 201, in accordance with some embodiments.", "Assembly 201 includes a paddle 245D, that may be of any material having suitable electrical and/or or thermal conductivity, such as any elemental metal or metal alloy (i.e., metallic).", "Paddle 245D is disposed over a top-most IC chip 113.At least one electrically conductive lead of lead stacks 235A-235N is coupled to an electrically conductive feature of IC chip 113, such as a bond pad, pin, or post.", "Each lead stack 235A-235N includes a first portion 250 and a second portion 270.Within lead portion 250, leads of each lead stack 235A-235N are electrically connected (e.g., thermo-compression bonded).", "Within lead portion 270, each lead of lead stack 235A-235N is electrically coupled to at least one IC chip of a chip stack.", "In the exemplary embodiments illustrated in FIG.", "2A, lead portion 250 is at a periphery of the IC stack demarked by the edge of IC chip 113.Spatially co-located leads coupling to different IC chips in the stack are electrically tied together at a peripheral location beyond the IC chip edge.", "As shown, each lead stack 235A-235N is physically separated and electrically isolated from it's nearest neighbors, enabling each stack to maintain different ground/signal/power levels at each I/O of IC chip 113.Each lead stack 235A-235N may also be physically and electrically independent of paddle 245D, as shown.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a stacked-chip assembly 201, in accordance with an embodiment.", "The chip stack includes IC chips 110, 111, 112, 113, which may each be any IC chip.", "In some embodiments, all of IC chips 110-113 have substantially the same footprint (e.g., same chip length Lc) and substantially the same pin-out layout (e.g., bond pad locations).", "In some advantageous embodiments, IC chips 110-113 are flash memory chips, such as NAND chips.", "Depending on the IC chip, chip z-thickness may vary.", "Embodiments herein are not limited to ultra-thin chips, and IC chips with a thickness of 100 μm, or more are compatible.", "Likewise, embodiments herein are also compatible with ultra-thin chips having a thickness of 100 μm, or less.", "As further shown, lead stack 235N includes a base lead 220 and one or more die-attach leads 230.In the exemplary embodiment with four chips 110-113, there are four stacked die-attach leads 230A, 230B, 230C, and 230D.", "In the embodiments exemplified by FIG.", "2B, lead portion 270 of each die-attach lead 230A-230D makes direct contact with a bond pad (not depicted) disposed on a face (e.g., front-side surface) of one IC chip 110-113.As such, along the z-axis, die-attach leads 230A-230D are interdigitated with IC chips 110-113.Each die-attach lead 230A-230D further includes lead portion 250, which contacts one or more other lead (e.g., another die-attach lead 230 and/or base lead 220).", "In some exemplary embodiments, die-attach lead 230A is directly (e.g., thermo-compression) bonded to base lead 220, die-attach lead 230A is thermo-compression bonded to die-attach lead 230B, die-attach lead 230C is thermo-compression bonded to die-attach lead 230B, and die-attach lead 230D is thermo-compression bonded to die-attach lead 230C.", "Although the cross-sectional view shown in FIG.", "2B illustrates only two side of the chip stack, a similar arrangement may be present on the orthogonal sides.", "Alternatively, independent signal leads (e.g., chip enable, etc.)", "that are specific to each chip the stack are not stacked in the manner illustrated in FIG.", "2B (i.e., not co-located and bonded together).", "In some embodiments, a paddle is disposed between two stacked IC chips.", "The intervening paddle may have high thermal and/or electrical conductivity and may enhance removal of heat laterally from a stacked-chip assembly relative to stacks lacking such a paddle.", "In some embodiments, there is a metallic paddle disposed between every IC chip within a stack.", "Each paddle may be physically and electrically independent of one or more of the lead stacks.", "In some embodiments, every paddle is physically and electrically independent of all of the lead stacks.", "There may also be a base paddle upon which all the IC chips are stacked and a topmost die-attach paddle disposed over the entire chip stack.", "In FIG.", "2B for example, IC chip 110 is disposed over a base paddle 240.Base paddle 240 may be of the same material composition and thickness as base lead 220; the two features having been stamped out of the same leadframe sheet, for example.", "Exemplary leadframe materials include Cu (in elemental or an alloyed for) and stainless steel (e.g., alloy 42).", "However, other metals (elemental or alloyed) may also be employed.", "Depending on the leadframe material, the leadframe may have surface finish, such as, but not limited to, an adhesion layer (e.g., Ni) and a bonding layer (e.g., Au).", "Exemplary leadframe thicknesses range from 90-200 μm, but thinner embodiments (e.g., 24 μm, or less) are also possible.", "Intervening between IC chip 111 and 110 is a die-attach paddle 245A.", "Die-attach paddle 245A may be of the same material composition and thickness as die-attach lead 230A, the two features having been stamped out of the same sheet, for example.", "Similar die-attach paddles are disposed between chips 112 and 111, as well as between chips 113 and 112.In some embodiments, a base paddle 240 and base lead 220 are thicker and/or have a different composition than die-attach paddle 245A and die-attach lead 230A, for example to provide a more substantial assembly substrate.", "For example, base paddle 240 and base lead 220 may be at least 50 μm in thickness (e.g., z-axis), whereas die-attach paddle 245A and die-attach lead 230A may be less than 25 μm in thickness.", "Exemplary die-attach leadframe materials include Cu (in elemental or an alloyed for) and stainless steel (e.g., alloy 42).", "However, other metals (elemental or alloyed) may also be employed.", "Depending on the leadframe material, the leadframe may have surface finish, such as, but not limited to, an adhesion layer (e.g., Ni) and a bonding layer (e.g., Au).", "In some further embodiments, a base paddle (e.g., 240) has a larger footprint than a die-attach paddle (e.g., 245A).", "Such architectural features are indicative of the base leadframe functioning as a stacked lead assembly substrate.", "In addition to serving as the assembly substrate, base paddle 240 may also provide an electrical connection (e.g., ground or power) to the IC chip, if desired.", "In alternative embodiments, for example where an IC chip is flipped over relative a leadframe, the base paddle area may be substantially equal to that of a die-attach leadframe with every leadframe in the stack then making the same number of electrical connections to the chip, as described further below.", "In some embodiments, a paddle disposed between two stacked IC chips makes thermal contact with a heat sink (not depicted).", "The heat sink may be disposed over, or adjacent to, IC chip stack assembly 201.The paddle (e.g., paddle ends 246 shown in FIG.", "2A) may by thermally coupled to a heat sink on a substrate (not depicted).", "Alternatively, paddle ends 246 may be thermally coupled to a heat sink disposed on or above paddle 245D.", "In some embodiments where a paddle is disposed over every IC chip in the stack, a portion of the paddle at the periphery of the chip stack may be further connected (e.g., directly bonded together) to thermally tie each chip to a common heat sink.", "In some embodiments, a paddle disposed between two stacked IC chips makes electrical contact to a metal feature on one or more IC chip.", "The metal feature, such as, but not limited to, a bond pad may make electrical contact with the paddle.", "The paddle (e.g., paddle ends 246 shown in FIG.", "2A) may further contact a metal feature on a substrate (not depicted) that provides a reference potential, such as, but not limited to, a ground plane.", "In some embodiments where a paddle is disposed over every IC chip in the stack, a portion of the paddle at the periphery of the chip stack may be further connected (e.g., directly bonded together) to one or more other paddle to electrically tie a metal feature on each chip to the same common reference potential (e.g., a stacked-chip ground rail).", "In some embodiments, a die-attach paste (DAP) or die-attach film (DAF) is disposed between one or more die of an assembly including an IC chip stack and stacked leads.", "The die-attach material may be employed to adhere IC chips together as a stacked die assembly is fabricated.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "2B, a first DAP/DAF 140A (e.g., an epoxy) is disposed between IC chip 110 and base paddle 240.Base paddle 240 may serve primarily as a substrate to which IC chip 110 is aligned and affixed, for example by a pick-and-place operation, while die-attach paddle 245A may make more direct thermal and/or electrical contact to IC chip 110.A layer of DAP/DAF material may be disposed between a chip paddle and each overlying IC chip.", "For example, DAP/DAF material 140D is disposed between chip paddle 245C and IC chip 113.Assembly 201 is indicative of an assembly process in which chip 110 is first mounted to base paddle 240 and held in place with DAP/DAF material 140 while die-attach lead 230A is bonded to chip 110.Bonding to chip 110 may be concurrent with bonding to base lead 220.Chip 111 is then mounted to die-attach paddle 245A and held in place with DPA/DAF material 140 while leadframe 230B is bonded to chip 111.Bonding to chip 111 may be concurrent with bonding to die-attach lead 230A.", "In some embodiments, stacked leads are bonded together forming a vertical stack of leads with the bond point in substantial alignment at a periphery of the chip stack edge.", "As shown in FIG.", "2B, lead stack 235N includes a bond point within region 250 where die-attach leads 230D, 230C, 230B and 230A are all bonded together at the same lateral position (e.g., on x-axis) and die-attach lead 230A is further bonded to base lead 220.The footprint of assembly 201 is then a function of chip length Lc and bond length Lb.", "Lateral overlap of the chips (Lo in FIG.", "1B) may be eliminated because a chip is stacked over lead portions 270 that are bonded to a metal feature (e.g., bond pad) of a chip.", "Such a structure is indicative of lead portion 270 being bonded to a first chip before a second chip is stacked on the first chip.", "As further shown, deformation of each of the die-attach leads in stack 235N may vary, for example with lower leads (e.g., 230A) having a larger bond footprint than upper leads (e.g., 230D).", "In some embodiments where leads are wedge-bonded, a wedge-bond employed for a lower leads (e.g., 230A) is of a larger diameter than that employed for an upper lead (e.g., 230D).", "Wedge bond diameter may be selected for each lead level of the stack to ensure a larger bond footprint of lead 230A is sufficient accommodate a smaller bond footprint of lead 230B, which is in-turn sufficient to accommodate a next smaller bond footprint of lead 230C, etc.", "Depending on the bond footprint of the first die-attach lead and the thickness of the die-attach leads, with each die-attach lead in a stack the bonded surface area between two stacked leads may become progressively more vertically-oriented (e.g., along the z-axis).", "Depending on the number of leads in a stack, the footprint of the first die-attach lead, and the thickness of the die-attach leads, one or more voids may be present between leads within the bond footprint where a wedge bond does not bottom out.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "2B, there is a void between leads 230C and 230D within region 250.Electrical contact is nevertheless provided through bonded surfaces of leads 230C and 230D where they are deformed into vertical runs along the z-axis.", "In some embodiments, there is no DAP/DAF material between an IC chips and a lead and/or a chip paddle, in which case lead bonds are relied upon to retain the chips during the assembly process.", "In the absence of DAP/DAF material, an IC chip within the stack may be in direct contact with both a first leadframe paddle on a first surface (e.g., top-side) and a second leadframe paddle on a second surface (e.g., bottom-side).", "The absence of DAP/DAF material may advantageously reduce z-height of a stacked-chip assembly.", "The absence of DAP/DAF material may also advantageously increase thermal conduction between chip paddles and adjacent chips under forced air-flow environments (e.g., a ventilated package).", "In FIG.", "3 for example, stacked-chip assembly 301 lacks DAP/DAF material between IC chips 110-113 and die-attach leads 230A-230D.", "IC chips 111-113 are therefore only anchored by leads 230-233 and/or paddles 245A-245D.", "In some such embodiments, chips are first mounted to a single leadframe and then the mounted chips are aligned when separate leadframes are stacked together.", "For example, in FIG.", "3, IC chips 110-113 may all be bonded to die-attach leadframes 230A-230D.", "A first leadframe-mounted chip (e.g., 110) is then aligned with and bonded to a base leadframe including base paddle 240 and base lead 220.A second leadframe-mounted chip (e.g., 111) including die-attach paddle 245B and die-attach lead 230B is then aligned with, and bonded, to the die-attach leadframe including die-attach paddle 245A and die-attach lead 230A.", "A third leadframe-mounted chip (e.g., 112) including die-attach paddle 245C and die-attach lead 230C is then aligned with, and bonded to, the die-attach leadframe including die-attach paddle 245B and die-attach lead 230B.", "A fourth leadframe-mounted chip (e.g., 113) including die-attach paddle 245D and die-attach lead 230D is then aligned with, and bonded to, the die-attach leadframe including die-attach paddle 245C and die-attach lead 230C.", "In some embodiments, a stacked-chip assembly includes a stack of chips that are “flipped” onto leads.", "In the context of a chip stack with leadframes, “flipping” is a reference to the orientation of IC chip relative to a base leadframe.", "Once chips are mounted onto individual leadframes they may then be stacked with the chips in any orientation (chip up or leadframe up) and the peripheral leadframe portions bonded together.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a stacked lead assembly 401 in which each of chips 110-113 make electrical connections to leads and/or chip paddles of an underlying leadframe.", "As shown, a base leadframe includes a base paddle 440 that has substantially the same footprint as die-attach paddles 245A-245C.", "Base lead 220 makes electrical contact with metal features (e.g., bond pads) on the face of IC chip 110 that faces the base leadframe.", "Base lead 220 therefore serves as more than a substrate for assembly 401.Die-attach leads 230 are then disposed over IC chip 110, but do not make electrical contact to any metal features on IC chip 110.Instead, die-attach leads 230 make electrical contact to metal features on IC chip 111.Die-attach chip paddle 245A may make electrical contact to IC chip 110, for example to couple chip 110 to a ground plane of the assembly 401.Die-attach chip paddle 245A may also make electrical contact to IC chip 111, for example to couple chip 111 to a ground plane of the assembly 401.In the illustrated embodiment, chips of assembly 401 are separated by DAF/DAP material 140, which may be employed to maintain positioning of the IC chips 110-113 until lead portions 250 are bonded together.", "Bonding of lead portions 250 may again be incremental, performed with each successive leadframe layer.", "Alternatively, the bonding of all stacked leads may be a single event performed after the stack has been built up.", "Orientation of the IC chips relative to the leadframes may become obscured where the bonding process induces lead deformation in the base and die-attach leads symmetrically within the z-axis.", "For example, FIG.", "5 illustrates a stacked-chip assembly 501 where base lead 520 is deformed during lead bonding in a manner similar to die-attach lead 231.For embodiments where a base leadframe has the same thickness and composition as a die-attach leadframe, the base leadframe may be indistinguishable in form and function from the die-attach leadframes, rendering assembly 501 nearly symmetrical in the z-dimension.", "In some embodiments, a mold compound is disposed between unbounded portions of a lead stack.", "The mold compound may be an epoxy with a filler, such as SiO2.However, other mold compounds known to be suitable for IC chip packaging may be employed.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an exemplary assembly 601 in which mold compound 660 is disposed between leads 220, 230A, 230B, 230C and 230D.", "Mold compound 660 may also fill recesses resulted from lead deformation within bonded lead portions 250.Mold compound 660 may all fill in regions between stacked chips.", "For example, mold compound 660 may backfill recess between individual bonded lead portions 270, particularly if DAF/DAP material 140 is absent.", "While all the embodiments described above advantageously lack bond wires, it is noted that leadframe stacking in accordance with some embodiments does not preclude the use of bond wires.", "A leadframe wire bonded to an IC chip may still be stacked upon another leadframe and bonded together at a periphery of the IC chip.", "Such embodiments may still gain an advantage of reduced footprint relative to a waterfalled bond wire attachment.", "FIG.", "7A illustrates a top-down plan view of a stacked-chip assembly 701 including a stacked leadframe, in accordance with one such alternate embodiment.", "FIG.", "7B illustrates a cross-sectional view of stacked-chip assembly 701, in accordance with one such alternate embodiment.", "As shown, lead stacks 235A-235N are electrically connected to IC chips by wires 770 which are bonded to stacked leads that are then bonded together within lead portions 250, substantially as described above in the context of FIG.", "2A-FIG.", "6.Such an assembly is indicative of a leadframe stacking process that occurs after wire bonding a single IC chip to a single leadframe.", "Bonding of the leadframes may occur after all leadframes are stacked up or incrementally following the addition of each leadframe to the stack.", "In accordance with some embodiments a stacked-chip assembly including stack leads employs only one or two leadframe layouts.", "Reducing unique leadframe layouts advantageously reduces materials costs and increases manufacturing efficiency.", "FIG.", "8A-8C illustrate an embodiment where all die-attach leadframes have the same footprint, which is distinct from the base leadframe.", "FIG.", "8A illustrates a plan view of base leadframe 820, in accordance with some embodiments.", "Base leadframe 820 may be stamped out (e.g., after lead bonding) along dashed line 825 to provide chip paddle 240 and base leads 220.FIG.", "8B illustrates a plan view of die-attach leadframe 830, in accordance with some embodiments.", "Die-attach leadframe 830 may be stamped out (e.g., after lead bonding) along dashed line 825 to provide chip paddle 245 and base leads 230.With a plurality of die-attach leadframes 830 stacked over one base leadframe 820, corresponding die-attach leads (e.g., 230A-230D in FIG.", "2A-FIG.", "6) may therefore all overlay one another as well as base leads 220.The leads may then be bonded together, for example with wedge bonding, and then stamped out of their surrounding foil frames (e.g., along dashed line 825).", "Independent leads that are not to be stacked and bonded together may be provisioned, for example by wire-bonding only a subset of the leads in the leadframe, or by stamping of the leadframe to selectively bifurcate a subset of the leads in the leadframe.", "FIG.", "8C illustrate leadframe sheets 820 and 830, which may be employed in reel-to-reel packaging technology, in accordance with some embodiments.", "Base leadframe sheet 820 may include sprocket holes to be run through a reel-to-reel chip attachment process.", "Die-attach leadframe sheet 830 may likewise include sprocket holes to be run through a reel-to-reel chip attachment process.", "Multiple reels of leadframe sheets 830 may be fed into a bonding/stamping apparatus where two or more leadframe sheets 830 are overlaid.", "Stacked leadframe portions along a periphery of the mounted chips are then pressed, deforming them as need to make contact to each other.", "The press may concurrently heat the stacked leadframe portions, bonding them together.", "The press may further cut the bonded lead portions from the surrounding foil to separate the chip assembly from the respective reels.", "Any number of reels may be superimposed and joined.", "Leadframe sheet lamination may be performed in an iterative, pairwise manner where the reel-to-reel process may take an input of two reels (e.g., two die-attach sheets 831 or one die-attach sheet 831 and one base sheet 820) and output a single bonded sheet.", "That bonded sheet may then be fed into another 2:1 reel-to-reel process where the bonded sheet is then laminated to another sheet.", "At any point, when enough leadframe sheets have been bonded, the assembly may be punched free from the laminate leadframe sheet, for example along the dashed line 825.In alternative embodiments, leadframe sheet lamination is performed with three or more input reels where two or more die-attach sheets 831 and one base sheet 820 are input and all sheets are concurrently bonded together and the resulting stacked-chip assembly punched out of the leadframe laminate.", "A pre-press may be further employed to deform and/or cut various leads and lead portions before or after a chip is mounted to the leadframe sheet.", "FIG.", "9A, 9B illustrate flow diagrams of methods 901, 902 for assembling a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments.", "Methods 901, 902 may, for example, be employed to assemble one or more of the assemblies described above.", "Referring first to FIG.", "9A, method 901 begins with receiving IC chips, such as, but not limited, to memory chips (e.g., flash memory chips, such as NAND).", "A base leadframe sheet is also received as an input to method 901.At operation 905, a first IC chip is attached to the base leadframe sheet using any technique known to be suitable for the metal features of the IC chip and the base leadframe.", "For example, the IC chip 110 is aligned and affixed to a chip paddle portion of the base leadframe sheet, as further shown in FIG.", "9B, which illustrates cross-sectional views of a stacked-chip assembly as selected operations in the assembly method 901 is performed, in accordance with some embodiments.", "A pre-press may have been employed upstream of operation 905 to deform and/or cut various leads and lead portions before the IC chip is mounted to the leadframe sheet.", "Continuing with FIG.", "9A, operation 915 receives a die-attach leadframe sheet as a further input.", "A pre-press may have been employed upstream of operation 915 to deform and/or cut various leads and lead portions.", "At operation 915, the die-attach leadframe is bonded to the first IC chip.", "For example, a paddle portion of the die-attach leadframe may be bonded to a center portion of the first IC chip and first ends of lead portions of the die-attach leadframe may be bonded to separate metal features of the first IC chip.", "The paddle and lead portions may all be bonded concurrently in a thermal-compression bonder, for example.", "Method 925 continues where a second IC chip is attached to the die-attach leadframe, for example with a DAF/DAP material.", "At this point, as further shown in FIG.", "9B, the stacked-chip assembly includes two IC chips and two leadframes bonded together.", "Returning to FIG.", "9A, a second die attach leadframe is bonded to the second IC chip at operation 935.For example, a paddle portion of the die-attach leadframe may be bonded to a center portion of the second IC chip and first ends of lead portions of the die-attach leadframe may be bonded to separate metal features of the second IC chip.", "The paddle and lead portions may all be bonded concurrently in a thermal-compression bonder, for example.", "Method 901 may iterated through operations 915, 925 and 935, as denoted by the dashed arrow in FIG.", "9A, to build up a stacked-chip assembly that includes any desired number of IC chips and leadframes (e.g., to arrive at assembly 201, as further illustrated in FIG.", "9B).", "Method 901 (FIG.", "9A) then continues through an optional molding operation where a mold compound is flowed between unbounded portions of the leadframe stack.", "Mold compound may be applied while the stacked leadframes are still in sheet form, or after the assemblies are separated from the leadframe sheets.", "Separated assemblies may be mounted to a front or back-side tape at operation 940 to facilitate molding/encapsulation of the stack chip assembly at operation 950.Where the assemblies are molded while still mounted to leadframe sheets, taping operation 940 may be skipped.", "At operation 960, the assemblies, molded or not, are singulated, for example using any technique known.", "The output of method 901 is then a stacked-chip assembly including stack leads, for example as described elsewhere herein.", "Referring to FIG.", "9C, method 902 exemplifies some alternate embodiments where IC chips are first mounted to individual leadframes and then the chip-mounted leadframes stacked and bonded.", "Die attach operation 905 receives first IC chips, such as but not limited to, memory chips (e.g., flash memory chips, such as NAND), and receives a base leadframe sheet.", "A pre-press may have been employed upstream of operation 905 to deform and/or cut various leads and lead portions.", "In some embodiments, the IC chips are epoxied or otherwise adhered to the base leadframe sheet.", "In some other embodiments, the IC chips are bonded to the base leadframe sheet with the each of the bonds making an electrical connections to one of the IC chips.", "Die attach operation 910 receives second IC chips, such as, but not limited to memory chips (e.g., flash memory chips, such as NAND), and receives a die-attach leadframe sheet.", "The second IC chips are bonded to the die-attach leadframe sheet with each of the bonds making an electrical connection to one of the IC chips.", "A pre-press may have been employed upstream of operation 910 to deform and/or cut various leads and lead portions.", "For embodiments where the base leadframe and die-attach leadframe are the same, operations 905 and 910 may be merged into a single die-attach operation that is repeated to generate a plurality of chip-mounted leadframe sheets.", "At operation 920, leadframe sheets are aligned one over the other and bonded, for example with a thermal compression wedge bonder, to join spatially co-located leads forming a lead stack.", "At operation 930, a second die-attach leadframe having another mounted IC chip is aligned over the stack-up and bonded to the first die-attach leadframe to increase the stacked chip count.", "Alternatively, operations 920 and 930 may be performed concurrently with more than two unbounded leadframe sheets being aligned relative to each other and bonded together with one thermo-compression bonding process.", "Operation 930 may be repeated as desired to increase the IC chip count.", "Method 901 then continues through an optional molding operation where a mold compound is flowed between unbounded portions of the leadframe stack.", "Mold compound may be applied while the stacked leadframes are still in sheet form, or after the assemblies are separated from the leadframe sheets.", "Separated assemblies may be mounted to a front or back-side tape at operation 940 to facilitate molding/encapsulation of the stack chip assembly at operation 950.Where the assemblies are molded while still mounted to leadframe sheets, taping operation 940 may be skipped.", "At operation 960, the assemblies, molded or not, are singulated, for example using any technique known.", "The output of method 901 is then a stack chip assembly including stack leads, for example as described elsewhere herein.", "FIG.", "10 is a functional block diagram of an electronic computing device, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "Device 1000 further includes a motherboard 1002 hosting a number of components, such as, but not limited to, a processor 1004 (e.g., an applications processor).", "Processor 1004 may be physically and/or electrically coupled to motherboard 1002.In some examples, processor 1004 includes an integrated circuit die packaged within the processor 1004.In general, the term “processor” or “microprocessor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be further stored in registers and/or memory.", "In various examples, one or more communication chips 1006 may also be physically and/or electrically coupled to the motherboard 1002.In further implementations, communication chips 1006 may be part of processor 1004.Depending on its applications, computing device 1000 may include other components that may or may not be physically and electrically coupled to motherboard 1002.These other components include, but are not limited to, volatile memory (e.g., DRAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM), flash memory (e.g., NAND or NOR), a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, a crypto processor, a chipset, an antenna, touchscreen display, touchscreen controller, battery, audio codec, video codec, power amplifier, global positioning system (GPS) device, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope, speaker, camera, and mass storage device (such as hard disk drive, solid-state drive (SSD), compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), and so forth), or the like.", "In some exemplary embodiments, at least the flash memory comprises a stacked-chip assembly including stacked leads, for example as described elsewhere herein.", "Communication chips 1006 may enable wireless communications for the transfer of data to and from the computing device 1000.The term “wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium.", "The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, although in some embodiments they might not.", "Communication chips 1006 may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to those described elsewhere herein.", "As discussed, computing device 1000 may include a plurality of communication chips 1006.For example, a first communication chip may be dedicated to shorter-range wireless communications, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a second communication chip may be dedicated to longer-range wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Ev-DO, and others.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates a mobile computing platform and a data server machine employing a stacked memory chip assembly including stack leads, for example as described elsewhere herein.", "Computing device 1000 may be found inside platform 1105 or server machine 1106, for example.", "The server machine 1106 may be any commercial server, for example including any number of high-performance computing platforms disposed within a rack and networked together for electronic data processing, which in the exemplary embodiment includes a packaged monolithic SoC 1150.The mobile computing platform 1105 may be any portable device configured for each of electronic data display, electronic data processing, wireless electronic data transmission, or the like.", "For example, the mobile computing platform 1105 may be any of a tablet, a smart phone, laptop computer, etc., and may include a display screen (e.g., a capacitive, inductive, resistive, or optical touchscreen), a chip-level or package-level integrated system 1110, and a battery 1115.Whether disposed within the integrated system 1110 illustrated in the expanded view 1120, or as a stand-alone chip within the server machine 1106, stacked memory chip assembly 1150 includes a plurality of memory chips and a plurality of stacked leads, for example as described elsewhere herein.", "Memory chip stack 1150 may be further coupled to a board, a substrate, or an interposer 1160 along with, one or more of a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1130, RF (wireless) integrated circuit (RFIC) 1125 including a wideband RF (wireless) transmitter and/or receiver (TX/RX) (e.g., including a digital baseband and an analog front end module further comprises a power amplifier on a transmit path and a low noise amplifier on a receive path), and a controller 1135.Functionally, PMIC 1130 may perform battery power regulation, DC-to-DC conversion, etc., and so has an input coupled to battery 1115 and with an output providing a current supply to other functional modules.", "As further illustrated, in the exemplary embodiment, RFIC 1125 has an output coupled to an antenna (not shown) to implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family), IEEE 802.20, long term evolution (LTE), Ev-DO, HSPA+, HSDPA+, HSUPA+, EDGE, GSM, GPRS, CDMA, TDMA, DECT, Bluetooth, derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 4G, and beyond.", "While certain features set forth herein have been described with reference to various implementations, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense.", "Hence, various modifications of the implementations described herein, as well as other implementations, which are apparent to persons skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains are deemed to lie within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "In one or more first embodiments, an integrated circuit (IC) chip assembly comprises an IC chip stack including at least a first and second IC chip, and a lead stack including at least a first and second lead, the first lead electrically coupled to at least the first IC chip and bonded to the second lead at a periphery of the chip stack, the second lead electrically coupled to at least the second IC chip.", "In one or more second embodiments, for the IC chip assembly in any of the first embodiments, the first lead includes a first portion bonded to a first metal feature of the first chip, the second lead includes a first portion bonded to the first metal feature of the second chip, and the first and leads include second portions that are bonded together.", "In one or more third embodiments, for the IC chip assembly in any of the first or second embodiments, the lead stack includes a base lead and a die-attach lead disposed over the base lead, the first chip is disposed between the base lead and the die-attach lead, the second chip is disposed over the die-attach lead, and a first die-attach lead is bonded to a first base lead at the periphery of the chip stack.", "In one or more fourth embodiments, for the IC chip assembly in any of the third embodiments, the first die-attach lead is bonded to a metal feature of the first or second chip.", "In one or more fifth embodiments, for the IC chip assembly in any of the third embodiments, the die-attach lead further comprises a first die-attach lead and a second die-attach lead, the first chip is disposed between the base lead and the first die-attach lead, the second chip is disposed between the first and second die-attach leads, a portion of the first die-attach lead is bonded to the base lead, and a portion the second die-attach lead is bonded to the bonded portion of the first die-attach lead.", "In one or more sixth embodiments, for the IC chip assembly in any of the fifth embodiments, a portion of the first die-attach lead is bonded to a metal feature of the first chip, and a portion of the second die-attach lead is bonded to a metal feature of the second chip.", "In one or more seventh embodiments, the IC chip assembly in any of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth embodiments further includes a metal paddle disposed between the first and second IC chips, the paddle electrically isolated from at least one of the leads.", "In one or more eighth embodiments, the IC chip assembly in any of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth seventh embodiments further includes a metal paddle disposed between first and second IC chips, the paddle electrically coupling each of the chips to a common reference voltage rail.", "In one or more ninth embodiments, the IC chip assembly in any of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth seventh, or eighth embodiments further comprises a die-attach paste or film disposed between at least one of the leads and the first or second IC chip.", "In one or more tenth embodiments, the IC chip assembly in any of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth seventh, eighth, or ninth embodiments further comprises a mold compound disposed between unbonded portions of the first and second leads.", "In one or more eleventh embodiments, an integrated circuit (IC) platform comprises a substrate including a plurality of signal pads, and the IC chip assembly in any of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth embodiments, wherein the first lead is electrically coupled to one of the signal pads.", "In one or more twelfth embodiments, for the IC platform in the eleventh embodiments, the substrate further includes a ground pad, and the IC chip assembly further includes a metal paddle disposed between the first IC chip and the substrate, the metal paddle electrically isolated from the first lead and electrically coupled to the ground pad.", "In one or more thirteenth embodiments, for the IC platform in the twelfth embodiments, the IC chips comprise a plurality of NAND flash memory chips.", "In one or more fourteenth embodiments, a method of assembling an integrated circuit (IC) chip stack comprises stacking a first and second leadframe, and bonding first leads of the first leadframe to corresponding second leads of the second leadframe that are stacked over the first leads, the bonded first leads further coupled to a first IC chip and the bonded second leads further coupled to a second IC chip stacked over the first.", "In one or more fifteenth embodiments, the method in any of the fourteenth embodiments further comprises attaching the first leadframe to the first IC chip, attaching the second leadframe to the second IC chip, and singulating the chip stack from the stacked leadframes at a location beyond the lead-to-lead bonds to maintain electrical continuity between the stacked leads.", "In one or more sixteenth embodiments, the method in any of the fourteenth or fifteenth embodiments further comprises stacking the second chip over the first chip prior to attaching the second leadframe to the second IC chip.", "In one or more seventeenth embodiments, the method in any of the fourteenth or fifteenth embodiments further comprises attaching the second leadframe to the second IC chip prior to stacking the second chip over the first chip.", "In one or more eighteenth embodiments, in the method of the fourteenth or fifteenth embodiments, attaching the first leadframe to the first chip further comprises bonding the first leads to metal features on a front-side surface of the first chip, attaching the second leadframe further comprises bonding the second leads to metal features on a front-side surface of the second chip, and bonding the first leads to the second leads further comprises wedge-bonding the second leads to the first leads at a location beyond an edge of the first and second chips.", "In one or more nineteenth embodiments, the method of the eighteenth embodiments further comprises adhering a back-side surface of the first IC chip a paddle of a base leadframe, and bonding the first leads to corresponding leads of the base leadframe prior to bonding the second leads to the first leads.", "In one or more twentieth embodiments, the method of the eighteenth embodiments further comprises adhering a back-side surface the second chip to the first leadframe before bonding the second leadframe to the second chip.", "It will be recognized that the invention is not limited to the embodiments so described, but can be practiced with modification and alteration without departing from the scope of the appended claims.", "For example the above embodiments may include specific combinations of features as further provided below." ] ]
Patent_15874783
[ [ "ENHANCED SPATIAL SUMMATION FOR DEEP-BRAIN TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION", "Methods of stimulating a target deep brain region using multiple Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) electromagnets positioned over a predetermined cortical regions each having a first-order connection to a target deep brain region and applying TMS so that the applied TMS induces spatial summation and thereby modulation of the target deep brain region." ], [ "1.A method of stimulating a target deep brain region using multiple Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) electromagnets, the method comprising: positioning a first TMS electromagnet over a first predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to a target deep brain region; positioning a second TMS electromagnet over a second predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to the target deep brain region; and applying TMS from both the first and second TMS electromagnets so that the applied TMS induces spatial summation of signals received at the target deep brain region from the first and second cortical regions." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has been used diagnostically for a very long time in velocity of conduction in cortico-spinal tracts and peripheral nerves as well as intra-operative monitoring.", "For example, see Rossini, P. M. and R. Simone, “Transcranial magnetic stimulation: Diagnostic, therapeutic, and research potential,” Neurology, 68:484-488, 2007, which describes the use of TMS for the noninvasive investigation of nerve propagation along the corticospinal tract, spinal roots, and peripheral nerves in humans, including mapping of motor output, and intra-operative monitoring.", "Jean-Pascal Lefaucheur and colleagues have examined repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) of the motor (pre-central) cortex for pain relief (Lefaucheur, J.-P., Drouot, X., Keravel, Y., and J.-P. Nguyen, “Pain relief induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of precentral cortex,” Neuroreport: 17 Sep. 2001, 12:13, pp.", "2963-2965, and Lefaucheur, J.-P., Hatem, S., Nineb, A., Ménard-Lefaucheur, I., Wendling, S., Keravel, Y., and J.-P. Nguyen, “Somatotopic organization of the analgesic effects of motor cortex rTMS in neuropathic pain,” Neurology 67:1998-2004, 2006).", "Lefaucheur (“Use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in pain relief,” Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics , May 2008, Vol.", "8, No.", "5, Pages 799-808, DOI 10.1586/14737175.8.5.799 (doi: 10.1586/14737175.8.5.799) notes that a subset of patients will get relief from rTMS but relapse and for those patients surgically implanted epidural cortical electrodes and associated pulse generator can be proposed to allow pain relief more permanent, and that the rate of improvement due to rTMS may be predictive of the outcome of such an implantation.", "In the early 1990s, Mark George and colleagues described the antidepressant effect of rTMS when applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.", "Since that time, rTMS has become a recognized as an effective method for treating depression.", "One rTMS device (NeuroStar system by Neuronetics Inc, Malvern, Pa.) has received FDA clearance for marketing for the treatment of depression.", "In all of the TMS procedures and devices described above are limited to use of a single coil intended to directly affect a superficial cortical brain region, with unspecified downstream effects within the network.", "Not surprisingly, the site of primary stimulation on the superficial cortex is typically more affected by rTMS stimulation than are sites which are synaptically connected (“downstream connections) with the primary stimulation site.", "However, many disorders and symptoms of disorders may benefit from direct neuromodulation of deeper brain target regions.", "Described herein are devices and methods for deep-brain neuromodulation that may address many of the shortcomings described above.", "Deep-brain neuromodulation for therapeutic purposes is well known using either focused (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,520,848 and PCT/US2007/010262) or non-focused (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,407,478) approaches.", "However, it remains highly desirable to use TMS for deep-brain neuromodulation in a manner that does not significantly stimulate intervening, non-target regions of the brain (e.g., between the electromagnet(s) and the deep-brain targets).", "For example, the use of a non-focused TMS electromagnet as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,407,478 requires higher stimulation at regions of the brain more superficial (e.g., superficial cortical brain regions between the deep brain target and the magnet) than at the deep brain target.", "We herein propose a solution to this problem by using a specific methodology and device as described herein in order to take advantage of spatial summation of intrinsic brain networks in order to achieve selective deep brain modulation in a manner not previously suggested.", "Deep-brain stimulation may be achieved by direct stimulation (e.g., by the direct application of a magnetic field) of the deep brain target, and/or by the indirect stimulation of the deep brain target region by spatial summation at the deep-brain target from more superficial brain regions (including superficial cortical sulci and gyri brain regions near the skull).", "Described herein are methods including the use of multiple TMS electromagnets that may provide deep-brain stimulation by enhanced spatial summation of resulting in stimulation of one or more deep-brain regions.", "The deep-brain stimulation described herein may be used in addition to, or in place of, direct deep-brain TMS." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Described herein are deep-brain TMS systems and methods for diagnosing and/or providing treatment parameters for treatment of a disorder by deep-brain neuromodulation of a patient.", "Deep brain stimulation has been notoriously hard to achieve.", "“Deep brain” stimulation as used herein typically refers to the stimulation of targets within the brain that are located beneath the superficial cortical regions on the outer surface of the brain.", "Examples of such regions may include the thalamus, cingulate (e.g., anterior cingulate gyms, pregenual cingulate, posterior cingulate gyrus, subgenual cingulate gyrus), putamen, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, ventral striatum, amygdala, subthalamic Nucleus, globus pallidus, and other nuclei of the brain.", "Thus, deep brain regions may include those regions of the brain which are not immediately adjacent to the skull, but are separated from the skull by one or more intervening structures (e.g., superficial cortical brain structures).", "Superficial brain regions may include various cortical regions (e.g., motor cortex, somatosensory cortex).", "TMS has traditionally had a great deal of trouble stimulating the deeper brain regions at least in part because the applied magnetic field emitted from the magnet falls off so quickly as it passes through the intervening brain regions (e.g., the superficial, cortical, brain regions).", "Thus, in order to penetrate deeper into the brain, it has typically been thought necessary to increase the power of the applied magnetic field; unfortunately this may result in greater stimulation of the intervening cortical regions, which may result in seizures, pain and other undesired effects.", "An alternative method of stimulating deep brain regions may allow a system to take advantage of spatial summation, in which stimulation of two or more brain regions (even superficial cortical regions) may result in targeted and specific stimulation of a deep brain region.", "Spatial summation as used herein may refer to asynchronous (spaced with sufficient time between pulses such that temporal summation is not effected, for example more than 200 microseconds between onset of successive pulses) or synchronous stimulation of more than one point within a designated brain circuit.", "Brain circuits comprise electrically or chemically connected groups of brain tissue including neurons and glia, which work together to carry out specific brain functions.", "Because various points, sometimes called nodes, in a brain circuit are electrically or chemically connected, modulating one site may cause some sort of effect on the other sites in the circuit.", "Stimulation may typically include both an up-regulation of activity (enhancement) and a down-regulation of activity (e.g., inhibition or depression).", "For example, for all coil configurations in which multiple brain regions converge on another region, two basic techniques may be employed: (1) synchronous firing of coils and (2) asynchronous firing of the TMS coils.", "Synchronous firing of coils, particularly when the magnets are fired at powers above motor threshold, may result in synchronous stimulation of multiple points in a brain circuit and may tend to produce long term potentiation (LTP) as described by Bliss and colleagues (enhancement).", "In general, asynchronous firing of coils, which as used herein may include situations when the timing of the stimulation is far apart in time such that they do not contribute to temporal summation within that circuit, may tend to produce long term depression (LTD), a state of prolonged neural circuit suppression.", "For example pulses spaced more than 200 microseconds apart from one another when applied to tow or more converging brain regions may result in inhibition at the target deep brain region.", "This is particularly true if the powers applied at each TMS coil (electromagnet) are low, for example, below motor threshold.", "Described herein are methods of producing deep brain stimulation by applying two or more distinct TMS signals to each of two or more distinct brain regions, where the brain regions converge on a deep brain target.", "In general the deep brain target may be connected to each of the more superficial (e.g., cortical) brain regions by a first-order connection; the connection may be referred to as direct, since the neurons of the more superficial brain region directly connect with (e.g., through a single synaptic connection) the neurons of the deep brain target.", "For example, described herein are methods of stimulating a target deep brain region using multiple Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) electromagnets.", "These methods may include the steps of: positioning a first TMS electromagnet over a first predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to a target deep brain region; positioning a second TMS electromagnet over a second predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to the target deep brain region; and applying TMS from both the first and second TMS electromagnets so that the applied TMS induces spatial summation of signals received at the target deep brain region from the first and second cortical regions.", "This method may therefore allow specific summation at targeted deep brain regions by directing TMS to non-deep brain (e.g., cortical) regions from separately positionable TMS electromagnets.", "Because the TMS electromagnets may be separately positioned (e.g., independently positioned), they may allow avoidance of stimulation of non-target brain regions (superficial and/or deep) and may also allow the use of more precisely controlled stimulation signals, including lower-power stimulation.", "For example, in some variations the TMS electromagnets are energized to provide stimulation to the two or more predetermined cortical brain regions that are connected to the target deep brain region by a first order connection at energy levels that do not result in substantial stimulation (including stimulation above motor threshold) at those predetermined cortical brain regions, while causing significant stimulation at the target deep brain region.", "Any appropriate number of TMS electromagnets may be used.", "For example, in some variations the method further comprises positioning a third TMS electromagnet over a third cortical region having a first-order connection to the target deep brain region; for or more independently positionable TMS electromagnets may be used.", "In general, any appropriate TMS electromagnet may be used, however because of size and spacing constraints, it may be beneficial to use TMS electromagnets that have a swept-back or V-shaped configuration, with a vertex region configured to be positioned near the subject's head.", "Such magnets may therefore be modified figure-8 type coils (“traditional TMS coils”) which are bent or curved, e.g.", "as described in PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2010/020324, titled “SHAPED COILS FOR TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION”, and in several of the other patent applications previously incorporated by reference.", "As mentioned above, any appropriate predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to the target deep brain region may be chosen.", "The examples provided below illustrate some of these cortical regions and their first-order connections.", "Such cortical brain regions and first order connections may be chosen from among those that are well-known in the literature, or they may be determined using one of the methods described herein.", "For example a first-order (e.g., direct) connection between a cortical or superficial brain region and a target deep brain region may be determined using anatomical markers; a cortical brain region may exhibit connections (e.g., synaptic connections off of dendritic or axonal extensions) onto axons, axonal bundles, dendritic arbors, or the other projections extending from the cell bodies of the neurons (or onto the cell bodies themselves) forming the deep brain target.", "Thus, although the superficial, cortical brain region may be anatomically separated from the deep brain target by a significant distance, the cells (e.g., neurons, glia, etc.)", "forming each of the regions are typically directly connected to each other.", "Direct connections may therefore be identified from atlases of neuroanatomy, or by imaging or dye-injection/tracing techniques that are well-known in the art.", "In some variations, direct connections may be identified using the devices described herein by applying stimulation to a predetermined cortical region at various (e.g., increasing) levels of stimulation and imaging to determine what (if any) deep brain regions receive downstream input (which may be imaged by PET or other activity/metabolic determining scans).", "The signals applied to the various predetermined cortical regions may be adjusted to prevent substantial simulation of adjacent cortical regions, or may be limited from stimulating adjacent regions.", "The TMS electromagnet may be configured to emit a focused or limited field.", "In addition, the net direction of the field emitted by the electromagnet may be controlled to direct stimulation as desired In some variations, the TMS applied to all of the predetermined cortical regions may by the various independent TMS electromagnets may be coordinated (e.g., simultaneous or delayed by a predetermined amount).", "For example, the step of applying TMS to the various tissue regions may include synchronizing the applied TMS from the first and second TMS electromagnets.", "As mentioned, in general independent TMS electromagnets may be positioned in separate locations around the subject's head.", "For example, positioning the first and second TMS electromagnets may comprise positioning discrete one coil or two coil TMS electromagnets.", "Thus, the step of applying TMS may comprise applying TMS only locally to the predetermined cortical regions, rather than the entire brain.", "In some variations, the method may also include directly stimulation the deep brain region concurrent with stimulation by spatial summation.", "For example, the method may include directly stimulating the deep brain target using TMS (e.g., by targeting a plurality of TMS electromagnets at the deep brain region) concurrent with the TMS of the first and second cortical brain regions (or more) as discussed above.", "Any of the methods of treating a patient described herein may be used to treat a patient for a medical disorder, including treating a patient for depression, addiction, or pain.", "The method of treatment for any specific disorder may be related to a particular deep brain target.", "Exemplary deep brain targets may include one or more of: thalamus, cingulate, putamen, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, ventral striatum, and amygdala.", "For example, described herein are methods of treating a patient for a disorder by stimulating a target deep brain region using multiple Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) electromagnets to induce spatial summation from various cortical regions at the target deep brain region.", "A method of treatment may include the steps of: positioning a plurality of discrete TMS electromagnets over a plurality of predetermined cortical regions each having a first-order connection to a target deep brain region, so that each TMS electromagnet can apply TMS to one of the predetermined cortical regions; and treating the patient by applying TMS from the plurality of TMS electromagnets so that the applied TMS induces spatial summation of signals received at the deep brain region from the plurality of cortical regions." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/169,564, filed on May 31, 2016, titled “ENHANCED SPATIAL SUMMATION FOR DEEP-BRAIN TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2017/0113058, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/169,967, filed on Jun.", "27, 2011, titled “ENHANCED SPATIAL SUMMATION FOR DEEP-BRAIN TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,352,167, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/358,847, filed on Jun.", "25, 2010, and titled “ENHANCED SPATIAL SUMMATION FOR DEEP-BRAIN TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION.” U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/169,967 also claims priority as a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/324,227, filed on Nov. 26, 2008, titled “TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION OF DEEP BRAIN TARGETS,” now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,267,850.U.S.", "patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/169,967 also claims priority as a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "11/429,504, filed on May 5, 2006, titled “TRAJECTORY-BASED DEEP-BRAIN STEREOTACTIC TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,052,591.This patent application may be related to one or more of the following patents and pending patent applications (US and PCT applications), each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety: U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,520,848, titled “ROBOTIC APPARATUS FOR TARGETING AND PRODUCING DEEP, FOCUSED TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” issued on Apr.", "21, 2009; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,845,508, titled “ROBOTIC APPARATUS FOR TARGETING AND PRODUCING DEEP, FOCUSED TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” filed on Mar.", "11, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/669,882, titled “DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TREATING HYPERTENSION VIA NON-INVASIVE NEUROMODULATION,” filed on Jan. 20, 2010, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2010-0256436; U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/671,260, titled “GANTRY AND SWITCHES FOR POSITION-BASED TRIGGERING OF TMS PULSES IN MOVING COILS,” filed on Jan. 29, 2010, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2010-0256439; U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/670,938, titled “FIRING PATTERNS FOR DEEP BRAIN TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” filed on Jan. 27, 2010, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,956,273; U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/677,220, titled “FOCUSED MAGNETIC FIELDS”, filed on Mar.", "9, 2010, now U.S. Patent Application No.", "2010/0331602; PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2008/077851, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COOLING ELECTROMAGNETS FOR TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” filed on Sep. 26, 2008, now Publication No.", "WO 2009/042863; PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2008/081048, titled “INTRA-SESSION CONTROL OF TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” filed on Oct. 24, 2008, now Publication No.", "WO 2009/0556934; PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2009/045109, titled “TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION BY ENHANCED MAGNETIC FIELD PERTURBATIONS,” filed on May 26, 2009, now Publication No.", "WO 2009/143503; U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/185,544, titled “MONOPHASIC MULTI-COIL ARRAYS FOR TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” filed on Aug. 4, 2008, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2009-0099405; U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/701,395, titled “CONTROL AND COORDINATION OF TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION ELECTROMAGNETS FOR MODULATION OF DEEP BRAIN TARGETS,” filed on Feb. 5, 2010, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.", "2010-0185042; and PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2010/020324, titled “SHAPED COILS FOR TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION,” filed on Jan. 7, 2010, Publication No.", "WO 2010/080879.INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE All publications, including patents and patent applications, mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION Described herein are systems and methods for deep-brain Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) of target deep brain regions.", "Deep-brain TMS may be used to stimulate, enhance or inhibit neural activity in deep-brain target regions for diagnostic and predictive (e.g., treatment formulation) purposes.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has been used diagnostically for a very long time in velocity of conduction in cortico-spinal tracts and peripheral nerves as well as intra-operative monitoring.", "For example, see Rossini, P. M. and R. Simone, “Transcranial magnetic stimulation: Diagnostic, therapeutic, and research potential,” Neurology, 68:484-488, 2007, which describes the use of TMS for the noninvasive investigation of nerve propagation along the corticospinal tract, spinal roots, and peripheral nerves in humans, including mapping of motor output, and intra-operative monitoring.", "Jean-Pascal Lefaucheur and colleagues have examined repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) of the motor (pre-central) cortex for pain relief (Lefaucheur, J.-P., Drouot, X., Keravel, Y., and J.-P. Nguyen, “Pain relief induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of precentral cortex,” Neuroreport: 17 Sep. 2001, 12:13, pp.", "2963-2965, and Lefaucheur, J.-P., Hatem, S., Nineb, A., Ménard-Lefaucheur, I., Wendling, S., Keravel, Y., and J.-P. Nguyen, “Somatotopic organization of the analgesic effects of motor cortex rTMS in neuropathic pain,” Neurology 67:1998-2004, 2006).", "Lefaucheur (“Use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in pain relief,” Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, May 2008, Vol.", "8, No.", "5, Pages 799-808, DOI 10.1586/14737175.8.5.799 (doi: 10.1586/14737175.8.5.799) notes that a subset of patients will get relief from rTMS but relapse and for those patients surgically implanted epidural cortical electrodes and associated pulse generator can be proposed to allow pain relief more permanent, and that the rate of improvement due to rTMS may be predictive of the outcome of such an implantation.", "In the early 1990s, Mark George and colleagues described the antidepressant effect of rTMS when applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.", "Since that time, rTMS has become a recognized as an effective method for treating depression.", "One rTMS device (NeuroStar system by Neuronetics Inc, Malvern, Pa.) has received FDA clearance for marketing for the treatment of depression.", "In all of the TMS procedures and devices described above are limited to use of a single coil intended to directly affect a superficial cortical brain region, with unspecified downstream effects within the network.", "Not surprisingly, the site of primary stimulation on the superficial cortex is typically more affected by rTMS stimulation than are sites which are synaptically connected (“downstream connections) with the primary stimulation site.", "However, many disorders and symptoms of disorders may benefit from direct neuromodulation of deeper brain target regions.", "Described herein are devices and methods for deep-brain neuromodulation that may address many of the shortcomings described above.", "Deep-brain neuromodulation for therapeutic purposes is well known using either focused (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,520,848 and PCT/US2007/010262) or non-focused (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,407,478) approaches.", "However, it remains highly desirable to use TMS for deep-brain neuromodulation in a manner that does not significantly stimulate intervening, non-target regions of the brain (e.g., between the electromagnet(s) and the deep-brain targets).", "For example, the use of a non-focused TMS electromagnet as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,407,478 requires higher stimulation at regions of the brain more superficial (e.g., superficial cortical brain regions between the deep brain target and the magnet) than at the deep brain target.", "We herein propose a solution to this problem by using a specific methodology and device as described herein in order to take advantage of spatial summation of intrinsic brain networks in order to achieve selective deep brain modulation in a manner not previously suggested.", "Deep-brain stimulation may be achieved by direct stimulation (e.g., by the direct application of a magnetic field) of the deep brain target, and/or by the indirect stimulation of the deep brain target region by spatial summation at the deep-brain target from more superficial brain regions (including superficial cortical sulci and gyri brain regions near the skull).", "Described herein are methods including the use of multiple TMS electromagnets that may provide deep-brain stimulation by enhanced spatial summation of resulting in stimulation of one or more deep-brain regions.", "The deep-brain stimulation described herein may be used in addition to, or in place of, direct deep-brain TMS.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Described herein are deep-brain TMS systems and methods for diagnosing and/or providing treatment parameters for treatment of a disorder by deep-brain neuromodulation of a patient.", "Deep brain stimulation has been notoriously hard to achieve.", "“Deep brain” stimulation as used herein typically refers to the stimulation of targets within the brain that are located beneath the superficial cortical regions on the outer surface of the brain.", "Examples of such regions may include the thalamus, cingulate (e.g., anterior cingulate gyms, pregenual cingulate, posterior cingulate gyrus, subgenual cingulate gyrus), putamen, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, ventral striatum, amygdala, subthalamic Nucleus, globus pallidus, and other nuclei of the brain.", "Thus, deep brain regions may include those regions of the brain which are not immediately adjacent to the skull, but are separated from the skull by one or more intervening structures (e.g., superficial cortical brain structures).", "Superficial brain regions may include various cortical regions (e.g., motor cortex, somatosensory cortex).", "TMS has traditionally had a great deal of trouble stimulating the deeper brain regions at least in part because the applied magnetic field emitted from the magnet falls off so quickly as it passes through the intervening brain regions (e.g., the superficial, cortical, brain regions).", "Thus, in order to penetrate deeper into the brain, it has typically been thought necessary to increase the power of the applied magnetic field; unfortunately this may result in greater stimulation of the intervening cortical regions, which may result in seizures, pain and other undesired effects.", "An alternative method of stimulating deep brain regions may allow a system to take advantage of spatial summation, in which stimulation of two or more brain regions (even superficial cortical regions) may result in targeted and specific stimulation of a deep brain region.", "Spatial summation as used herein may refer to asynchronous (spaced with sufficient time between pulses such that temporal summation is not effected, for example more than 200 microseconds between onset of successive pulses) or synchronous stimulation of more than one point within a designated brain circuit.", "Brain circuits comprise electrically or chemically connected groups of brain tissue including neurons and glia, which work together to carry out specific brain functions.", "Because various points, sometimes called nodes, in a brain circuit are electrically or chemically connected, modulating one site may cause some sort of effect on the other sites in the circuit.", "Stimulation may typically include both an up-regulation of activity (enhancement) and a down-regulation of activity (e.g., inhibition or depression).", "For example, for all coil configurations in which multiple brain regions converge on another region, two basic techniques may be employed: (1) synchronous firing of coils and (2) asynchronous firing of the TMS coils.", "Synchronous firing of coils, particularly when the magnets are fired at powers above motor threshold, may result in synchronous stimulation of multiple points in a brain circuit and may tend to produce long term potentiation (LTP) as described by Bliss and colleagues (enhancement).", "In general, asynchronous firing of coils, which as used herein may include situations when the timing of the stimulation is far apart in time such that they do not contribute to temporal summation within that circuit, may tend to produce long term depression (LTD), a state of prolonged neural circuit suppression.", "For example pulses spaced more than 200 microseconds apart from one another when applied to tow or more converging brain regions may result in inhibition at the target deep brain region.", "This is particularly true if the powers applied at each TMS coil (electromagnet) are low, for example, below motor threshold.", "Described herein are methods of producing deep brain stimulation by applying two or more distinct TMS signals to each of two or more distinct brain regions, where the brain regions converge on a deep brain target.", "In general the deep brain target may be connected to each of the more superficial (e.g., cortical) brain regions by a first-order connection; the connection may be referred to as direct, since the neurons of the more superficial brain region directly connect with (e.g., through a single synaptic connection) the neurons of the deep brain target.", "For example, described herein are methods of stimulating a target deep brain region using multiple Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) electromagnets.", "These methods may include the steps of: positioning a first TMS electromagnet over a first predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to a target deep brain region; positioning a second TMS electromagnet over a second predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to the target deep brain region; and applying TMS from both the first and second TMS electromagnets so that the applied TMS induces spatial summation of signals received at the target deep brain region from the first and second cortical regions.", "This method may therefore allow specific summation at targeted deep brain regions by directing TMS to non-deep brain (e.g., cortical) regions from separately positionable TMS electromagnets.", "Because the TMS electromagnets may be separately positioned (e.g., independently positioned), they may allow avoidance of stimulation of non-target brain regions (superficial and/or deep) and may also allow the use of more precisely controlled stimulation signals, including lower-power stimulation.", "For example, in some variations the TMS electromagnets are energized to provide stimulation to the two or more predetermined cortical brain regions that are connected to the target deep brain region by a first order connection at energy levels that do not result in substantial stimulation (including stimulation above motor threshold) at those predetermined cortical brain regions, while causing significant stimulation at the target deep brain region.", "Any appropriate number of TMS electromagnets may be used.", "For example, in some variations the method further comprises positioning a third TMS electromagnet over a third cortical region having a first-order connection to the target deep brain region; for or more independently positionable TMS electromagnets may be used.", "In general, any appropriate TMS electromagnet may be used, however because of size and spacing constraints, it may be beneficial to use TMS electromagnets that have a swept-back or V-shaped configuration, with a vertex region configured to be positioned near the subject's head.", "Such magnets may therefore be modified figure-8 type coils (“traditional TMS coils”) which are bent or curved, e.g.", "as described in PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2010/020324, titled “SHAPED COILS FOR TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION”, and in several of the other patent applications previously incorporated by reference.", "As mentioned above, any appropriate predetermined cortical region having a first-order connection to the target deep brain region may be chosen.", "The examples provided below illustrate some of these cortical regions and their first-order connections.", "Such cortical brain regions and first order connections may be chosen from among those that are well-known in the literature, or they may be determined using one of the methods described herein.", "For example a first-order (e.g., direct) connection between a cortical or superficial brain region and a target deep brain region may be determined using anatomical markers; a cortical brain region may exhibit connections (e.g., synaptic connections off of dendritic or axonal extensions) onto axons, axonal bundles, dendritic arbors, or the other projections extending from the cell bodies of the neurons (or onto the cell bodies themselves) forming the deep brain target.", "Thus, although the superficial, cortical brain region may be anatomically separated from the deep brain target by a significant distance, the cells (e.g., neurons, glia, etc.)", "forming each of the regions are typically directly connected to each other.", "Direct connections may therefore be identified from atlases of neuroanatomy, or by imaging or dye-injection/tracing techniques that are well-known in the art.", "In some variations, direct connections may be identified using the devices described herein by applying stimulation to a predetermined cortical region at various (e.g., increasing) levels of stimulation and imaging to determine what (if any) deep brain regions receive downstream input (which may be imaged by PET or other activity/metabolic determining scans).", "The signals applied to the various predetermined cortical regions may be adjusted to prevent substantial simulation of adjacent cortical regions, or may be limited from stimulating adjacent regions.", "The TMS electromagnet may be configured to emit a focused or limited field.", "In addition, the net direction of the field emitted by the electromagnet may be controlled to direct stimulation as desired In some variations, the TMS applied to all of the predetermined cortical regions may by the various independent TMS electromagnets may be coordinated (e.g., simultaneous or delayed by a predetermined amount).", "For example, the step of applying TMS to the various tissue regions may include synchronizing the applied TMS from the first and second TMS electromagnets.", "As mentioned, in general independent TMS electromagnets may be positioned in separate locations around the subject's head.", "For example, positioning the first and second TMS electromagnets may comprise positioning discrete one coil or two coil TMS electromagnets.", "Thus, the step of applying TMS may comprise applying TMS only locally to the predetermined cortical regions, rather than the entire brain.", "In some variations, the method may also include directly stimulation the deep brain region concurrent with stimulation by spatial summation.", "For example, the method may include directly stimulating the deep brain target using TMS (e.g., by targeting a plurality of TMS electromagnets at the deep brain region) concurrent with the TMS of the first and second cortical brain regions (or more) as discussed above.", "Any of the methods of treating a patient described herein may be used to treat a patient for a medical disorder, including treating a patient for depression, addiction, or pain.", "The method of treatment for any specific disorder may be related to a particular deep brain target.", "Exemplary deep brain targets may include one or more of: thalamus, cingulate, putamen, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, ventral striatum, and amygdala.", "For example, described herein are methods of treating a patient for a disorder by stimulating a target deep brain region using multiple Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) electromagnets to induce spatial summation from various cortical regions at the target deep brain region.", "A method of treatment may include the steps of: positioning a plurality of discrete TMS electromagnets over a plurality of predetermined cortical regions each having a first-order connection to a target deep brain region, so that each TMS electromagnet can apply TMS to one of the predetermined cortical regions; and treating the patient by applying TMS from the plurality of TMS electromagnets so that the applied TMS induces spatial summation of signals received at the deep brain region from the plurality of cortical regions.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates general aspects of the present invention in an example in which three TMS electromagnets in a configuration targeting the Cingulate Gyrus (CG).", "FIG.", "2 is a simplified exemplary neuronal network showing spatial summation.", "FIG.", "3A illustrates one configuration of TMS electromagnets which may be used to target stimulation of the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus.", "FIG.", "3B shows an exemplary PET scan of a patient's brain, indicating suppression at the dorsal anterior cingulate when using the configuration of FIG.", "3A to modulate (stimulate) the deep brain target.", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrate another exemplary configuration (FIG.", "4A) and resultant PET scan (FIG.", "4B) in which the deep brain target is the pre-genual and subgenual (aka subcollosal) areas of the anterior cingulate.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B show side and top sections through a model of a brain indicating first order connections between various superficial cortical regions and the right anterior insula (a deep brain target).", "FIG.", "6 illustrates one configuration of TMS electromagnets which may be used to target stimulation of the right anterior insula.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Included herein are systems and methods for modulating deep brain target regions using a plurality of (e.g., an array of) TMS electromagnets arranged in predetermined regions around the patient's head in order to reliably trigger deep brain stimulation.", "Deep-brain neuromodulation using multiple-electromagnet arrays may be accomplished using a variation of stereotactic Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (sTMS) (see, e.g., PCT/US2007/010262, previously incorporated by reference), as described herein.", "The deep-brain stimulation described herein may result from spatial summation of superficial cortical primary stimulation sites, from direct stimulation of the deep-brain target by the applied magnetic field, or by a combination of the direct stimulation (which may sensitize, excite/inhibit, etc.)", "and indirect (spatial summation as described in the context of the present invention).", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an sTMS system including three sTMS electromagnets (though two, four, or more magnets may be included) that are used for deep-brain neuromodulation.", "The electromagnet coils may be driven by one or more stimulators.", "For example, the TMS electromagnets may be driven by multiple Magstim Rapid2 stimulators that are simultaneously triggered, or by a single such stimulator with output current divided between the multiple coils in parallel, in series, or in series-parallel.", "In such an embodiment, regulation of the current going through each individual coil may be achieved in such an embodiment by resistive or inductive strategies.", "In FIG.", "1, the target deep-brain region is stimulated.", "Stimulation of the deep-brain target (e.g.", "CG) by the plurality of TMS electromagnets has been verified by PET scan.", "In FIG.", "1, the plurality of TMS electromagnets apply energy that results in signals being sent from more superficially-located regions (e.g., nearer the magnets) along (anatomical) neural pathways such as white matter fiber tracts, to the target region.", "In this example, each TMS electromagnet is fired at nearly the same time (temporally synchronized) and delivered from multiple separate regions of primary stimulation around the brain cortical surface, such that the signals converge on the deep-brain target, for example via intrinsic white matter pathways.", "Although the deep-brain target may also be modulated (e.g., stimulated) directly by one or a combined magnetic field(s) of the TMS electromagnets, at least some of the neuromodulation occurs by spatial summation of primary stimulation sites located in regions located superficial to the deeper target zone.", "In FIG.", "1, the figure illustrates the following elements: 100 Brain 105 Patient's right anterior cingulate 130 Patient's right thalamus 116 Patient's right (frontal) cortico-thalamic connection 117 Right thalamo-cingulate connection 110 Right primary site of stimulation 111 Right lateral TMS coil 115 Right (frontal) cortico-cingulate connection B 125 Right (frontal) cortico-cingulate connection A 151 Superior TMS coil 170 Left superior primary site of stimulation 175 Left (frontal) cortico-cingulate connection A 155 Patient's left anterior cingulate 165 Left cortico-cingulate connection B 160 Left Primary site of stimulation 161 Left lateral TMS coil 166 Left cortico-thalamic connection 167 Left thalamo-cingulate connection As mentioned, FIG.", "1 illustrates one mechanism by which the plurality of TMS coils may be reaching the deep-brain target, e.g., anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG).", "In this example, spatial summation occurs because the plurality of coils each fire, resulting in modulation of superficial regions that is carried by anatomical interconnections between the neurons, ultimately modulating the deep-brain target.", "In some variations, the deep brain target may also be directly modulated by one or more (or by a combined signal from) the TMS coils.", "The more superficial regions may transmit a signal (e.g., an excitatory neural signal) to the deep-brain target directly or via one or more intermediate connections.", "For example, in FIG.", "1, signals from the more superficial regions are relayed through the thalamus and on to the ACG.", "Each TMS coils (magnet) may be controlled independently, even when fired synchronously.", "Thus different power levels, frequencies of stimulation, and superficial targets maybe used.", "Controlling each TMS coil separately may allow more precise targeting and modulation of the deep-brain regions.", "Alternatively, in some variations, two or more (including all) of the TMS coils may be powered and controlled together as described above.", "(Frontal) cortico-cingulate connections 115, 116, 165 and 175 are examples of known cingulate white matter tracts which have been documented in the scientific literature including, for example, in Yu C, Lin F, Li K, Jiang T, Qin W, Sun H, Chan P., “Pathogenesis of normal-appearing white matter damage in neuromyelitis optica: diffusion-tensor MR imaging” (Radiology.", "2008 January; 246(1)).", "Because multiple inputs to designated circuit are input to a targeted network, the extent of the modulation of downstream deep regions is greater than that which would occur with only a single point of superficial stimulation input.", "This result is related to spatial summation of at the target brain region.", "Spatial summation in the sense it is used here typically refers to the convergence of signals from multiple parallel sources, in this case neurons or bundles of neuronal white matter, also known as tracts.", "By having multiple magnets, precise physical placement of each stimulation source can be achieved, thus allowing one to focally control (precisely control) the which groups of cortical neurons receive primary (direct) stimulation.", "Individual control of the power and pulse rate of each coil may thus permit the precise control of input into the network, and stimulation at the target.", "Although FIG.", "1 illustrates a simplified variation showing two nerve tracts, multiple pathways (including individual nerves or nerve bundles/tracts), can cooperatively serve as vehicles to facilitate the modulation of the deep brain target based on the application of TMS in accordance with the method and device described.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "1, the primary site of stimulation is more superficial (e.g., superficial cortical).", "The native connections inside of the brain pass on the stimulation to the deep-brain region.", "The arrows illustrate these connections (e.g., fiber bundles) that may be present.", "In the case of the upper solid arrows, stimulation is passed directly to the cinguate.", "An indirect route is shown (160, 180) at the bottom, in which the signal is detoured through the thalamus, as mentioned above.", "Cortical stimulation may be used to relay signal(s) to the deep brain target.", "In this example, the multiple magnets may be independently controlled, as mentioned above.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates on example of a network of neurons that may demonstrate spatial summation.", "The elements are described below include: 200 Point of Primary Stimulation 205 Neural Input 210 Synapse 250 Point of Primary Stimulation 255 Neural Input 260 Synapse 275 Convergence 280 Spatial Summation Effect Although other examples of cellular spatial summation have been described (see, e.g., Chapter 12, “Synaptic Integration,” in Principles of Neural Science, by Kandel, Schwartz and Jessell, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill 2000 pp 23-24), this concept has not been previously applied to TMS stimulation, in part because of the perceived complexity and difficulty controlling the final stimulation at the deep brain target.", "The methods described herein may allow for controlled deep brain stimulation by spatial summation from more superficial (e.g., superficial cortical) regions, when modulation of a deep brain target is intended.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B illustrate another variation of a method of targeting the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus via spatial summation as discussed above.", "Functioning within the context of the paradigm shown in these figures are known neural connections that tie the white matter of the anterior cingulate to BA 8 and BA 46 regions (as illustrated as connections 124, 175, 115 and 165) are shown previously in FIG.", "1.These known neural connections have been documented in the scientific literature including, for example, in Yu C, Lin F, Li K, Jiang T, Qin W, Sun H, Chan P., “Pathogenesis of normal-appearing white matter damage in neuromyelitis optica: diffusion-tensor MR imaging” (Radiology.", "2008 January; 246(1)).", "FIG.", "3A schematically shows one configuration of TMS electromagnets arranged to target superficial cortical regions connected by first-order connections to the dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus.", "The placement of these coils is shown with respect to a map of the superficial cortical locations marked by the standard “EEG 10-20” positioning system.", "This configuration may be referred to as the “NeoStim NS-4A” configuration or array, and may be useful for targeting dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus via spatial summation.", "Referring to FIG.", "3B, in this configuration, COIL 1 351 is positioned anterior to the position of Cz, which is known to lie above a brain region known as Brodmann's Area 8, or “BA8”.", "This TMS electromagnet has the primary current of the coil moving down and anteriorly, relative in the figure, as indicated by the direction of the arrow within.", "COIL 2 352 left is positioned near F3 (over BA 9/46), and the primary current of the coil is shown moving anteriorly.", "COIL 3 353 right is positioned near F4 (over BA 9/46), and the primary current of coil is shown moving anteriorly.", "Finally, COIL 4 354 is positioned near Fz (over BA 10), and the primary current of coil moving posteriorly Using the configuration of four TMS electromagnets shown in FIG.", "3A, the targeted superficial regions may be stimulated by synchronously or asynchronously (greater than 200 microseconds between onset of each pulse) applying energy to each of the four target regions, resulting in a modulation of the deep brain target.", "In practice, this modulation may be visualized and confirmed using a PET scan, which can reflect brain activity.", "FIG.", "3B shows a PET scan of a subject's brain after treatment using the configuration of TMS electromagnets shown in FIG.", "3A, and shows (by highlighted regions of the scan 304) suppression at the dorsal anterior cingulate region which exceed suppression on frontal cortical surface 305.FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrate another example.", "In this example, the pre-genual and subgenual (aka subcollosal) areas of the anterior cingulate are targeted via spatial summation, as illustrated in FIG.", "4A.", "FIG.", "4A shows another 4-coil array (which may be referred to as “NeoStim NS-4B”) in which four TMS coils are placed in specific locations and orientations (with respect to a standard EEG 10-20 map of the scalp) on the head as shown in FIG.", "4A: COIL 1 351 is positioned anterior to Cz (e.g., over BA8), and the primary current of the coil is shown moving to right; COIL 2 352 left is positioned near F3 (e.g., over BA 9/46), and the primary current of coil is shown moving up; COIL 3 353 right is positioned near F4 (e.g., over BA 9/46), and the primary current of coil is shown moving up; and COIL 4 354 is positioned near Fz (e.g., over BA 10), and the primary current of coil moving to left.", "FIG.", "4B shows a PET scan of a subject stimulated with this configuration of TMS electromagnets.", "In the exemplary scan, the pre-genual area 454 shows decreased evidence of decreased activity and subgenual (aka subcollosal) area 455 shows evidence of increased activity in response to the stimulation.", "Also observed in this image are signs of decreased in activity in the dorsal cingulate 453 and frontal cortical surface 452.FIGS.", "5A and 5B shows side and top views of a patient's head, and illustrates the first-order connection between various superficial cortical regions and the target deep brain region.", "In this example, the target deep brain region is the right anterior insula.", "Thus, by providing TMS stimulation targeting these specific and discrete superficial cortical regions, spatial summation may allow the target deep brain regions to be stimulated as desired.", "Internal capsule tract 505 connects the anterior cingulate with premotor areas of the cortex, and may be influenced by stimulating BA 8, under Cz, and also under C3.Uncinate fasciculus 506 connects low lateral frontal lobe regions to the anterior cingulate, and may be influenced by stimulating beneath BA 44, 45 and 46.Subfrontal tract 507 connects the anterior insula to the orbitofrontal cortex, and may be influenced by stimulating over BA 10.Posterior motor tract 508 also connects into the insula, but is an insula input which in many cases should be avoided when attempted to stimulate the insula because in primary contributes to the posterior insula, and its connections to the motor cortex could increase the potential for stimulation of this area to lead to seizure.", "In the axial (top-down) view shown in FIG.", "5B, 556 is the same as 506 in FIG.", "5A, 557 is the same as 507, and 55 is the same as 505.In FIG.", "5B, the tracts associated with the left insula are shown, but are intended to be illustrative of the essentially identical tracts of the right insula.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "6, an array of three TMS electromagnets may be positioned and used to modulate the right anterior insula.", "For example, COIL 1 351 right is shown positioned anterior to Cz, e.g., over BA8 and the insula white matter tracts 505 which extend through the internal capsule to premotor areas of the brain.", "COIL 2 352 left is positioned posterior to F3, e.g., over BA 44,45 if this position can be tolerated by patient; but frequently it is not tolerable due to the location of temporalis muscle and auriculotermporal and zygomaticotemporal branches of the trigeminal nerve.", "As a practical compromise with good utility, pair resulting from stimulation of the temporalis and associated nerves may be approached by slightly displacing the TMS coil/electromagnet superiorly, over BA46.This region also includes the white matter fibers of the uncinate fasciculus, which is an integral part of the insula.", "Finally, COIL 3 353 right is positioned between Fz, Fpz, and Fp2 (over BA10, and white matter tracts which connect the anterior insula to the orbitofrontal tract, including the median forebrain bundle).", "As mentioned, any of these variations, including those above describes, may include positioning the plurality of TMS electromagnets from outside of the subject's head to drive modulation of a deep brain target by stimulating the more superficial cortical regions that have a first order, direct connection to the desired deep brain target.", "The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention.", "Based on the above discussion and illustrations, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that various modifications and changes may be made to the present invention without strictly following the exemplary embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein.", "Such modifications and changes do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15874784
[ [ "SYSTEM FOR RAPID BAKE OF SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE WITH UPPER LINEAR HEATING ELEMENTS PERPENDICULAR TO HORIZONTAL GAS FLOW", "A system and methods are provided for low temperature, rapid baking to remove impurities from a semiconductor surface prior to in-situ deposition.", "The system is configured with an upper bank of heat elements perpendicular to the gas flow path, such that when the substrate is heated, the temperature across the substrate can be maintained relatively uniform via zoned heating.", "Advantageously, a short, low temperature process is suitable for advanced, high density circuits with shallow junctions.", "Furthermore, throughput is greatly improved by the low temperature bake." ], [ "1.A system for vapor deposition on a semiconductor substrate, comprising: a reaction chamber; a reducing agent source connected to feed a gas containing reducing agent into the reaction chamber; one or more reactant sources each connected to feed a reactant gas into the reaction chamber; a substrate support housed within the reaction chamber, wherein the reaction chamber is configured to convey a generally horizontal flow of reactant gases above the substrate support along a gas flow path; an upper bank of substantially linear heat lamps above the substrate support, each lamp of the upper bank being oriented substantially perpendicular to the gas flow path and substantially parallel to a plane in which a substrate resting upon the substrate support would reside; a lower bank of heat lamps below the substrate support; and a computer programmed to control the upper and lower banks of heat lamps, gas flow from the reducing agent source, and the one or more reactant sources to (1) provide power to the upper and lower banks of lamps to subject a substrate resting upon the substrate support to a bake in the presence of said gas containing the reducing agent for less than about 45 seconds, (2) stabilize the substrate temperature after the bake, and (3) feed said one or more reactant gases into the reaction chamber to deposit a layer by vapor deposition directly onto the substrate after stabilizing the temperature.", "2.The system of claim 1, further comprising a robot configured to transfer a substrate into and out of the reaction chamber.", "3.The system of claim 1, wherein the heat lamps of the lower bank are substantially linear and oriented substantially perpendicular to the heat lamps of the upper bank, and substantially parallel to the upper surface of the substrate on the substrate support.", "4.The system of claim 1, wherein the substrate support comprises a susceptor.", "5.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is programmed to maintain a ratio of power delivered to the upper bank of lamps to power delivered to the lower bank of lamps at a value greater than a neutral ratio of power between the upper bank and the lower bank during the bake, wherein the neutral ratio of power is defined as a power ratio that is optimized to equalize the substrate temperature and the substrate support temperature.", "6.The system of claim 5, wherein the programmed ratio of power is greater than 25% higher than the neutral ratio.", "7.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is programmed to maintain the substrate at a uniform temperature during the bake and deposition.", "8.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is programmed to deliver more power to one or more of the upper bank's heat lamps positioned in an upstream portion of the gas flow path, relative to power delivered to lamps of the upper bank that primarily heat a center of the substrate, the computer also programmed to simultaneously deliver more power to one or more of the upper bank's heat lamps positioned in a downstream portion of the gas flow path, relative to the power delivered to the lamps that primarily heat a center of the substrate.", "9.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is programmed to raise the substrate temperature from below about 500° C. to greater than about 500° C. after loading the substrate onto the substrate support.", "10.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is programmed to deliver power non-uniformly to the heat lamps of the upper bank such that the temperature at an edge of the substrate is within 5° C. of the temperature at a center of the substrate during the bake.", "11.The system of claim 1, wherein stabilizing the substrate temperature comprises lowering the substrate temperature to a temperature suitable for vapor deposition within about 30 seconds after the bake.", "12.The system of claim 1, wherein the computer is programmed to provide power to the upper and lower banks of lamps to subject a substrate resting upon the substrate support to a bake in the presence of said gas containing the reducing agent for less than about 30 seconds.", "13.A system for vapor deposition on a semiconductor substrate, comprising: a reaction chamber configured to support a substrate and flow reaction vapors parallel to a major surface of the substrate along a gas flow path; a reducing vapor source connected to the reaction chamber; one or more deposition vapor sources each connected to the reaction chamber; an upper bank of substantially linear heat lamps above the substrate, each lamp of the upper bank being oriented substantially perpendicular to the gas flow path and substantially parallel to the major surface of the substrate; a lower bank of heat lamps below the substrate; and a computer programmed to control the upper and lower banks of heat lamps, reducing vapor flow from the reducing vapor source through the reaction chamber, and deposition vapor flow from the one or more deposition vapor sources through the reaction chamber to (1) provide power to the upper and lower banks of lamps to subject the substrate to a bake while exposed to the reducing vapor flow for less than 45 seconds, and (2) deposit a layer by vapor deposition directly onto the substrate while exposed to the deposition vapor flow after the bake for less than 45 seconds.", "14.The system of claim 13, further comprising a substrate support within the reaction chamber to support the substrate from below, wherein the computer is programmed to maintain a ratio of power delivered to the upper bank of lamps to power delivered to the lower bank of lamps at a value greater than a neutral ratio of power between the upper bank and the lower bank during the bake, wherein the neutral ratio of power is defined as a power ratio that is optimized to equalize a substrate temperature and a substrate support temperature.", "15.The system of claim 13, wherein the computer is programmed to deliver more power to one or more of the upper bank's heat lamps positioned in an upstream portion of the gas flow path, relative to power delivered to lamps of the upper bank that primarily heat a center of the substrate, the computer also programmed to simultaneously deliver more power to one or more of the upper bank's heat lamps positioned in a downstream portion of the gas flow path, relative to the power delivered to the lamps that primarily heat a center of substrate center.", "16.The system of claim 13, wherein the computer is further programmed to stabilize a substrate temperature prior to depositing the layer by lowering a substrate temperature to a temperature suitable for vapor deposition within about 30 seconds after the bake." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>A need exists, therefore, for improved methods of purifying substrate surfaces prior to vapor deposition, maintaining temperature uniformity of the substrate during processing steps, and maintaining the purity of a deposited layer after formation.", "Desirably, such methods should be compatible with single-substrate deposition chambers without increasing system costs or reducing substrate throughput.", "These and other needs are satisfied by several embodiments of the present invention.", "In accordance with one embodiment, methods of treating a semiconductor substrate having an exposed semiconductor region are provided.", "The methods comprise: loading the substrate onto a substrate support in a vapor deposition reaction chamber, the substrate support positioned in a portion of the reaction chamber configured to receive a generally horizontal flow of reactant gases above the substrate support along a gas flow path; providing an upper bank of substantially linear heat elements above the substrate support, the heat elements of the upper bank being oriented substantially perpendicular to the gas flow path and substantially parallel to an upper surface of the substrate on the substrate support; providing a lower bank of heat elements below the substrate support; providing power to the upper and lower banks of heat elements to subject the substrate to a bake in a reducing environment for less than 45 seconds; during the bake, maintaining a ratio of power delivered to the upper bank of heat elements to power delivered to the lower bank of heat elements at a value greater than a neutral ratio of power between the upper bank and the lower bank, wherein the neutral ratio of power is defined as a power ratio that is optimized to equalize the substrate temperature and the substrate support temperature; stabilizing the substrate temperature after the bake; and depositing a layer by vapor deposition directly over the semiconductor region after stabilizing the temperature.", "In accordance with another embodiment, a system for vapor deposition on a semiconductor substrate is provided.", "The system includes: a reaction chamber; a reducing agent source connected to feed a gas containing reducing agent into the reaction chamber; one or more reactant sources each connected to feed a reactant gas into the reaction chamber; a substrate support housed within the reaction chamber, wherein the reaction chamber is configured to convey a generally horizontal flow of reactant gases above the substrate support along a gas flow path; an upper bank of substantially linear heat lamps above the substrate support, each lamp of the upper bank being oriented substantially perpendicular to the gas flow path and substantially parallel to a plane in which a substrate resting upon the substrate support would reside; a lower bank of heat lamps below the substrate support; and a computer programmed to control the upper and lower banks of heat lamps, gas flow from the reducing agent source, and the one or more reactant sources to (1) provide power to the upper and lower banks of lamps to subject a substrate resting upon the substrate support to a bake in the presence of said gas containing the reducing agent for less than 45 seconds, (2) stabilize the substrate temperature after the bake, and (3) feed said one or more reactant gases into the reaction chamber to deposit a layer by vapor deposition directly onto the substrate after stabilizing the temperature.", "For purposes of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain objects and advantages of the invention have been described herein above.", "Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such objects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention.", "Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.", "All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention herein disclosed.", "These and other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments having reference to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any particular preferred embodiment(s) disclosed." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 120 from U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/049,763, filed Mar.", "16, 2011, titled “RAPID BAKE OF SEMICONDUCTOR SUBSTRATE WITH UPPER LINEAR HEATING ELEMENTS PERPENDICULAR TO HORIZONTAL GAS FLOW” the entire contents of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to cleaning semiconductor substrates prior to forming layers thereupon, and more particularly to bake steps and subsequent in-situ epitaxial deposition within a single-substrate chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber.", "Description of the Related Art High-temperature ovens, called reactors, are used to create structures of very fine dimensions, such as integrated circuits on semiconductor substrates.", "One or more substrates, such as silicon substrates (which may or may not include previously formed structures thereon or therein), are placed on a substrate support inside the reaction chamber.", "Both the substrate and support are heated to a desired temperature.", "In a typical substrate treatment step, reactant gases are passed over the heated substrate, causing the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of a thin layer of the reactant material on the substrate.", "Various process conditions, particularly temperature uniformity and reactant gas distribution, must be carefully controlled to ensure the high quality of the resulting layers.", "Through a series of deposition, doping, photolithography and etch steps, the starting substrate and the subsequent layers are converted into integrated circuits, with a single layer producing from tens to thousands or even millions of integrated devices, depending on the size of the substrate and the complexity of the circuits.", "Batch processors have traditionally been employed in the semiconductor industry to allow multiple substrates to be processed simultaneously, thus economically presenting low processing times and costs per substrate.", "Recent advances in miniaturization and attendant circuit density, however, have lowered tolerances for imperfections in semiconductor processing.", "Accordingly, single substrate processing reactors have been developed for improved control of deposition conditions.", "Among other process parameters, single substrate processing has greatly improved temperature and gas flow distribution across the substrate.", "In exchange for greater process control, however, processing time has become even more critical than with batch systems.", "Every second added to processing times must be multiplied by the number of substrates being processed serially, one at a time, through the same single-substrate processing chamber.", "Conversely, any improvements in substrate throughput can translate to significant fabrication cost savings.", "One process for which process control is particularly critical, and for which single substrate processing is particularly useful, is the formation of epitaxial layers.", "If the deposited layer has the same crystallographic structure as the underlying silicon substrate, it is called an epitaxial layer.", "Through careful control of deposition conditions, reactant gases are passed over a heated substrate such that the deposited species precipitates in conformity with the underlying crystal structure, which is thus extended into the growing layer.", "The lowest level of devices, including transistors, often include epitaxial layers formed over a single crystal semiconductor substrate.", "It is important that the epitaxial layers maintain a pure crystal structure, free of contamination which could affect device operation.", "The purity and crystalline structure of the underlying substrate prior to epitaxial deposition strongly affects the resultant epitaxial layer.", "Contaminants at the substrate surface, such as naturally forming “native oxide” and carbon contaminants, interfere with the crystal structure and consequent electrical properties of each overlying layer as it is formed, resulting in a polycrystalline layer.", "Note that clean, oxide-free surfaces are also desirable for a number of contexts other than epitaxial deposition.", "Substrates are typically cleaned prior to deposition with an ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide mixture, known as an “APM” clean.", "The most popular cleaning methods involve one or more forms of an RCA cleaning procedure, the basic procedure developed by the Radio Corporation of America in the 1960s.", "The RCA Standard-Clean-1 (SC-1) procedure uses an APM solution and water heated to a temperature of about 70° C. The SC-1 procedure dissolves films and removes Group I and II metals.", "The Group I and II metals are removed through complexing with the reagents in the SC-1 solution.", "The RCA Standard-Clean-2 (SC-2) procedure utilizes a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid, and water heated to a temperature of about 70° C. The SC-2 procedure removes the metals that are not removed by the SC-1 procedure.", "If an oxide-free surface is required, as in the case of epitaxial stacks, the silicon substrate is typically dipped into an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid or HF vapor treated to etch away the oxide layer left by an APM clean and, theoretically, obtain hydrogen termination.", "There are a large number of variations on RCA clean and hydrofluoric acid treatments.", "After cleaning, substrates are typically stored for a period of time before further processing.", "A native oxide tends to form on the previously oxide-free silicon substrate surface almost immediately after exposure to air or moisture.", "Further, silicon-fluorine and silicon-carbon bonds are often observed on the silicon substrate surface after cleaning.", "The fluorine and carbon contamination on the surface can be detrimental to the thermal budget and/or the quality of the layer to be grown or deposited on the surface of the substrate.", "If the silicon substrate is dipped in hydrofluoric acid as the last cleaning step (also known as an “HF last” step), the surface of the silicon is typically terminated mostly with a monolayer of hydrogen, attached to the substrate largely through Si—H bonds.", "The hydrogen-terminated surface resists oxidation more than untreated silicon.", "If desired, the hydrogen termination can be removed at temperatures greater than about 500° C. However, the surface of a silicon substrate after a conventional HF last treatment normally starts to reoxidize within about 20 minutes after the original oxide layer was removed, quickly forming a new 5 Å to 7 Å thick oxide layer on the surface of the silicon substrate.", "Carbon or fluorine termination can better prevent re-oxidation, though this will introduce other problems, such as contamination or difficulty in removing the termination prior to subsequent processing.", "The problem of reoxidation after the HF last step has been detrimental to the high-throughput manufacturing of many silicon devices.", "One method is known in the art for a low temperature bake step with a relatively short duration with more power provided to the upper lamps for a short period of time.", "The lower temperature bake step can remove the protective hydrogen termination formed after the HF last step while consuming less of the thermal budget.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A need exists, therefore, for improved methods of purifying substrate surfaces prior to vapor deposition, maintaining temperature uniformity of the substrate during processing steps, and maintaining the purity of a deposited layer after formation.", "Desirably, such methods should be compatible with single-substrate deposition chambers without increasing system costs or reducing substrate throughput.", "These and other needs are satisfied by several embodiments of the present invention.", "In accordance with one embodiment, methods of treating a semiconductor substrate having an exposed semiconductor region are provided.", "The methods comprise: loading the substrate onto a substrate support in a vapor deposition reaction chamber, the substrate support positioned in a portion of the reaction chamber configured to receive a generally horizontal flow of reactant gases above the substrate support along a gas flow path; providing an upper bank of substantially linear heat elements above the substrate support, the heat elements of the upper bank being oriented substantially perpendicular to the gas flow path and substantially parallel to an upper surface of the substrate on the substrate support; providing a lower bank of heat elements below the substrate support; providing power to the upper and lower banks of heat elements to subject the substrate to a bake in a reducing environment for less than 45 seconds; during the bake, maintaining a ratio of power delivered to the upper bank of heat elements to power delivered to the lower bank of heat elements at a value greater than a neutral ratio of power between the upper bank and the lower bank, wherein the neutral ratio of power is defined as a power ratio that is optimized to equalize the substrate temperature and the substrate support temperature; stabilizing the substrate temperature after the bake; and depositing a layer by vapor deposition directly over the semiconductor region after stabilizing the temperature.", "In accordance with another embodiment, a system for vapor deposition on a semiconductor substrate is provided.", "The system includes: a reaction chamber; a reducing agent source connected to feed a gas containing reducing agent into the reaction chamber; one or more reactant sources each connected to feed a reactant gas into the reaction chamber; a substrate support housed within the reaction chamber, wherein the reaction chamber is configured to convey a generally horizontal flow of reactant gases above the substrate support along a gas flow path; an upper bank of substantially linear heat lamps above the substrate support, each lamp of the upper bank being oriented substantially perpendicular to the gas flow path and substantially parallel to a plane in which a substrate resting upon the substrate support would reside; a lower bank of heat lamps below the substrate support; and a computer programmed to control the upper and lower banks of heat lamps, gas flow from the reducing agent source, and the one or more reactant sources to (1) provide power to the upper and lower banks of lamps to subject a substrate resting upon the substrate support to a bake in the presence of said gas containing the reducing agent for less than 45 seconds, (2) stabilize the substrate temperature after the bake, and (3) feed said one or more reactant gases into the reaction chamber to deposit a layer by vapor deposition directly onto the substrate after stabilizing the temperature.", "For purposes of summarizing the invention and the advantages achieved over the prior art, certain objects and advantages of the invention have been described herein above.", "Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such objects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention.", "Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.", "All of these embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention herein disclosed.", "These and other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments having reference to the attached figures, the invention not being limited to any particular preferred embodiment(s) disclosed.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other aspects of the invention will be readily apparent to the skilled artisan from the following description and the attached drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1 is a schematic sectional view of a single-substrate reaction chamber in accordance with one embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a gas flow schematic, illustrating gas sources in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "3 is a schematic plan view of the substrate in relation to a plurality of temperature sensors and a temperature controller; FIG.", "4 is a flow chart generally illustrating a preferred method for cleaning a substrate prior to introduction into the reaction chamber; and FIG.", "5 is a flow chart generally showing a process in accordance with the preferred embodiments.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT While the preferred embodiments of the present invention are discussed in the context of a single-substrate reaction chamber, the skilled artisan will appreciate that the principles and advantages taught herein will have application to deposition reactors of other types.", "Furthermore, while a series of process steps are disclosed herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize the utility of certain of the disclosed steps even in the absence of some of the other disclosed steps.", "As discussed in the background section, one method known in the art for low temperature rapid baking to remove impurities from a substrate surface involves supplying greater power to an upper bank of heat lamps relative to a lower bank of heat lamps.", "However, this method can result in large temperature variations (e.g., as much as 50-60° C.) on the substrate surface during the bake step.", "The large temperature variations can cause problems with the quality of the processed substrate, such as crystallographic slip, lattice mismatches, and substrate curling.", "These problems can adversely affect the performance of devices formed from the processed substrate.", "Temperature uniformity is also important during other substrate processing steps.", "For example, temperature uniformity on the substrate during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is important in order to deposit a thin film with a relatively even thickness.", "Therefore a need exists for methods of low temperature rapid baking with improved substrate temperature uniformity during bake and processing steps.", "In the aforementioned method, the upper heat lamps were oriented parallel to the gas flow direction through the reaction chamber, and the lower lamps were oriented perpendicular to the gas flow direction.", "It is believed that that arrangement contributes significantly to the large temperature variations across the substrate during the bake step since power delivery from the upper lamps (which, unlike the lower lamps provide direct substrate heating) cannot be modulated or varied along the direction of gas flow in order to compensate for radiation cooling effects believed to be caused by the reactor configuration and/or radiosity.", "It has been discovered that arranging the upper heat elements perpendicular to the gas flow path can result in improvements in the temperature uniformity of the substrate during processing steps.", "The heat elements in the upper bank can also be controlled such that more power is provided to the elements adjacent to the leading and trailing edges of the substrate to compensate for temperature variations along the direction of gas flow due to radiation cooling effects and on the leading and trailing edges of the substrate.", "A lower bank of heat elements can be arranged transversely to the upper bank of heat elements.", "The increased temperature uniformity during substrate processing can reduce or overcome problems such as crystallographic slip, lattice mismatches, and substrate curling.", "A system and methods are provided for low temperature, rapid baking to remove impurities from a semiconductor surface prior to in-situ deposition.", "Advantageously, a short, low temperature process consumes very little of the thermal budget, such that the process is suitable for advanced, high density circuits with pre-fabricated, shallow junctions and epitaxial SiGe alloys.", "Also, the preferred reactor configuration can deposit higher quality films because of increased temperature uniformity on the substrate.", "Furthermore, throughput is greatly improved by a low temperature bake, particularly in combination with low temperature plasma cleaning and low temperature substrate loading prior to the bake, and deposition after the bake at temperatures lower than conventional epitaxial deposition.", "Although the preferred embodiment for the present invention is illustrated with reference primarily to chemical vapor deposition (CVD), one skilled in the art will understand that atomic layer deposition (ALD), vapor or plasma etch, diffusion, rapid thermal anneal, or any other process requiring uniform thermal control of the substrate would also be suitable.", "In a preferred embodiment, a substrate is loaded on a substrate support that has a temperature less than the temperature at which protective termination (e.g., hydrogen) desorbs, such as less than about 500-550° C. for hydrogen terminations left by HF last processes.", "The hydrogen bake can then be a spike in temperature for less than 30 seconds, 15 seconds in a more preferred embodiment, and the temperature is then quickly stabilized at a temperature suitable for a subsequent in-situ CVD process.", "For example, selective epitaxy, epitaxial or polycrystalline SiGe, and oxynitride deposition can all be conducted at relatively low temperatures between about 550° C. and 800° C. By reducing the temperature at which the bake and the depositions can take place, a process needs less cooling time between processes, and the throughput of a reaction chamber will consequently be increased.", "Because the susceptor idles at less than 500° C. between substrates, the chamber can be cleaned with low-temperature plasma.", "Preferred Reactor Embodiment The preferred embodiments are presented in the context of a single-substrate, horizontal flow cold-wall reactor.", "One type of a substrate is a semiconductor wafer.", "“Single substrate” processing tools, in general, demonstrate greater process control and uniformity than traditional batch systems, but do so at the expense of throughput, since only one or at best a handful of substrates can be processed at one time.", "The illustrated single-pass horizontal flow design also preferably enables laminar flow of reactant gases, with low residence times, which in turn facilitates sequential processing while minimizing reactant interaction with each other and with chamber surfaces.", "Thus, among other advantages, such a laminar flow enables sequentially flowing reactants that might react with each other.", "Reactions to be avoided include highly exothermic or explosive reactions, and reactions that produce particulate contamination of the chamber.", "Additionally, the chamber facilitates rapidly purging the chamber between steps, such as purging the chamber of air and moisture after loading a substrate onto the susceptor.", "FIG.", "1 shows a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor 10, including a quartz process or reaction chamber 12, constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment, and for which the methods disclosed herein have particular utility.", "Superior processing control can have utility in many different processing steps, particularly CVD of a number of different materials.", "Moreover, the illustrated reactor 10 can safely and cleanly accomplish multiple treatment steps sequentially in the same chamber 12.The basic configuration of the reactor 10 is available commercially under the trade name Epsilon® from ASM America, Inc. of Phoenix, Ariz. A plurality of radiant heat sources 13, 14, 15 are supported outside the chamber 12 to provide heat energy in the chamber 12 without appreciable absorption by the quartz chamber 12 walls.", "While the preferred embodiments are described in the context of a “cold wall” CVD reactor for processing semiconductor substrates, it will be understood that the processing methods described herein will have utility in conjunction with other heating/cooling systems, such as those employing inductive or resistive heating.", "The illustrated radiant heat sources comprise an upper heating assembly or “bank” of elongated, linear tube-type radiant heating elements or lamps 13.The upper heating elements 13 are preferably disposed in spaced-apart parallel relationship and also substantially perpendicular with the reactant gas flow path through the underlying reaction chamber 12, e.g.", "from inlet port 40 to outlet port 42.A lower heating assembly or bank comprises similar elongated, linear tube-type radiant heating elements or lamps 14 below the reaction chamber 12, preferably oriented transverse to the upper heating elements 13.A portion of the lower heating elements are illustrated in FIG.", "1 for simplicity in illustrating the spider 22.Desirably, a portion of the radiant heat is diffusely reflected into the chamber 12 by rough specular reflector plates (not shown) above and below the upper and lower lamps 13, 14, respectively.", "Additionally, a plurality of optional spot lamps 15 can supply concentrated heat to the underside of the substrate support structure (described below), to counteract a heat sink effect created by cold support structures extending through the bottom of the reaction chamber 12.Preferably each spot lamp 15 has a power of about 1 kW or greater.", "Even more preferably, each spot lamp 15 has a power of about 2 kW.", "In the illustrated embodiment, elongated tube-type radiant heating elements 13, 14 are preferable because these elements have the desirable properties of being able to heat up and cool down relatively quickly.", "Preferably, the upper bank of heating elements 13 and lower bank of heating elements 14 can be controlled independently.", "Also, each heating element 13, 14 is preferably individually controllable with respect to other heating elements.", "However, as will be apparent to one skilled in the art, in other embodiments alternate heating sources may be used.", "The heating elements and reactor can also be configured to compensate for additional heat losses at the edge of the substrate.", "For example, additional reflectors (not shown) can be placed near the edges of the substrate to reflect additional radiant heat from the heating elements.", "Power can also be controlled to individual or groups of the heat elements to provide additional heat to the edges of the substrate.", "As discussed in greater detail below, the power of the various lamps 13, 14, 15 can be controlled independently or in grouped zones in response to temperature sensors and PID controllers.", "For example, the edges of the substrate can have additional heat losses because of the increased surface area at the substrate edge and from the heat sink effect from the cold support structures and adjacent areas of the reactor configuration.", "To counteract the additional heat losses at the edges of the substrate, increased power can be supplied to the upper heat elements 13A, 13B above the edges of the substrate.", "The same can also be done for the groups of elements 14 at the edge of the substrate, but it may be less effective because the substrate support acts as a thermal capacitor and isolates the substrate from direct absorption/heating effects.", "Each of the elongated tube type heating elements 13, 14 is preferably a high intensity tungsten filament lamp having a transparent quartz envelope containing a halogen gas, such as iodine.", "Such lamps produce full-spectrum radiant heat energy transmitted through the walls of the reaction chamber 12 without appreciable absorption.", "A substrate 16 is shown supported within the reaction chamber 12 upon a substrate support structure 18.It will be understood that the term “substrate” broadly refers to any surface on which a layer is to be deposited.", "In some embodiments the substrate preferably comprises a semiconductor wafer, such as a silicon wafer.", "Moreover, the principles and advantages described herein apply equally well to depositing layers over numerous other types of substrates, including, without limitation, glass substrates such as those employed in flat panel displays.", "The illustrated support structure 18 includes a substrate holder 20, upon which the substrate 16 rests, and a support spider 22.The spider 22 is mounted to a shaft 24, which extends downwardly through a tube 26 depending from the chamber lower wall.", "Preferably, the tube 26 communicates with a source of purge or sweep gas which can flow during processing, inhibiting process gases from escaping to the lower section of the chamber 12.The substrate holder 20 broadly refers to any device capable of holding a substrate.", "In a preferred embodiment of a cold wall reactor 10, the substrate holder 20 comprises a susceptor that absorbs and emits radiant heat energy.", "Typical susceptors comprise SiC or SiC-coated graphite, and in the illustrated embodiment the susceptor 20 includes a pocket sized to fit a 200-mm substrate with less than about 1 mm clearance.", "In other arrangements, the susceptor can be designed (e.g., pocket sized) to support substrates of other sizes, e.g.", "300-mm substrates.", "While certain aspects of the process described herein are compatible with low mass susceptors, some aspects are particularly advantageous for standard susceptors, which are considerably more massive than the substrate for which they are designed to support.", "Such standard susceptors preferably have a thermal mass greater than about 3 times the thermal mass of the substrate 16 to be supported, and more preferably greater than about 5 times the thermal mass of the substrate, and in the illustrated embodiment the susceptor 20 has a thermal mass about 7-8 times the thermal mass of the substrate 16.A skilled artisan will also appreciate that the certain aspects are also particularly advantageous for other types of susceptors, for example embodiments comprising low thermal mass susceptors with high reflectivity that shield the bottom of the substrate from heat emitted from a lower bank of heat elements.", "A plurality of temperature sensors are positioned in proximity to the substrate 16.The temperature sensors can take any of a variety of forms, such as optical pyrometers or thermocouples.", "The number and positions of the temperature sensors are selected to promote temperature uniformity, as will be understood in light of the description below of the preferred temperature controller.", "Preferably, however, the temperature sensors directly or indirectly sense the temperature of positions in proximity to the substrate.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the temperature sensors comprise thermocouples, including a first or central thermocouple 28, suspended below the substrate holder 20 in any suitable fashion.", "The illustrated central thermocouple 28 passes through the spider 22 in proximity to the substrate holder 20.The reactor 10 further includes a plurality of secondary or peripheral thermocouples, also in proximity to the substrate 16, including a leading edge or front thermocouple 29, a trailing edge or rear thermocouple 30, and a side thermocouple (not shown).", "Each of the peripheral thermocouples are housed within a slip ring 32, which surrounds the substrate holder 20 and the substrate 16.Each of the central and peripheral thermocouples are connected to a temperature controller, which sets the power of the various heating elements 13, 14, 15 in response to the readings of the thermocouples.", "In addition to housing the peripheral thermocouples, the slip ring 32 absorbs and emits radiant heat during high temperature processing, such that it compensates for a tendency toward greater heat loss or absorption at substrate edges, a phenomenon which is known to occur due to a greater ratio of surface area to volume in regions near such edges.", "By minimizing edge losses, the slip ring 32 can reduce the risk of radial temperature non-uniformities across the substrate 16.The slip ring 32 can be suspended by any suitable means.", "For example, the illustrated slip ring 32 rests upon elbows 34 that depend from a front chamber divider 36 and a rear chamber divider 38.The dividers 36, 38 desirably are formed of quartz.", "In some arrangements, the downstream divider 38 can be omitted.", "The illustrated reaction chamber 12 includes an inlet port 40 for the injection of reactant and carrier gases, and the substrate 16 can also be received there through.", "An outlet port 42 is on the opposite side of the chamber 12, with the substrate support structure 18 positioned between the inlet 40 and the outlet 42.Typically, the injected reactant and carrier gases flow from the inlet port 40 to the outlet port 42 on the opposing side of the chamber 12.An inlet component 50 is fitted to the reaction chamber 12, adapted to surround the inlet port 40, and includes a horizontally elongated slot 52 through which the substrate 16 can be inserted.", "A generally vertical inlet 54 receives gases from remote sources, as will be described more fully below, and communicates such gases with the slot 52 and the inlet port 40.The inlet 54 can include gas injectors as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,221,556, issued to Hawkins et al., or as described with respect to FIGS.", "21-26 in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,093,252, issued to Wengert et al.", "The disclosure of the gas injectors in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,221,556 is incorporated by reference herein.", "The disclosure of the gas injectors as described in FIGS.", "21-26 and the related portions of the specification of U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,093,252 is incorporated by reference herein.", "Such injectors are designed to maximize uniformity of gas flow for the single-substrate reactor.", "An outlet component 56 similarly mounts to the reaction chamber 12 such that an exhaust opening 58 aligns with the outlet port 42 and leads to exhaust conduits 59.The conduits 59, in turn, can communicate with suitable vacuum means (not shown) for drawing process gases through the chamber 12.In the preferred embodiment, process gases are drawn through the reaction chamber 12 and a downstream scrubber (not shown).", "A pump or fan is preferably included to aid in drawing process gases through the chamber 12, and to evacuate the chamber for low pressure processing.", "The reactor 10 also preferably includes a generator 60 of excited species, preferably positioned upstream from the chamber 10.The excited species generator 60 of the illustrated embodiment comprises a remote plasma generator, including a magnetron power generator and an applicator along a gas line.", "An exemplary remote plasma generator has been available commercially under the trade name TR-850 from Rapid Reactive Radicals Technology (R3T) GmbH of Munich, Germany.", "In the illustrated embodiment, microwave energy from a magnetron is coupled to a flowing gas in an applicator along a gas line.", "Plasma source gases 63 are located upstream of the excited species generator 60.As is known in the art, the plasma source gases 63 can comprise reactants, carrier gases, gas tanks, bubblers, etc., depending upon the form and volatility of the reactant species.", "Each gas line can be provided with a separate mass flow controller (MFC) and valves, to allow selection of relative amounts of carrier and reactant species introduced to the excited species generator 60 and thence into the reaction chamber 12.It will be understood that, in other arrangements, the excited species can be generated within the reaction chamber.", "The preferred processes described below, however, do not employ excited species but are rather species of thermal CVD.", "Substrates are preferably passed from a handling chamber (not shown), which is isolated from the surrounding environment, through the slot 52 by a pick-up device.", "The handling chamber and the processing chamber 12 are preferably separated by a gate valve (not shown) such as a standard vertical slit valve or the types disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,828,224 and U.S. Patent Publication No.", "2007-0262296 A1.The disclosure of the gate valves in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,828,224 and U.S. Patent Publication No.", "2007-022296 A1 are incorporated by reference herein.", "The total volume capacity of a single-substrate reaction chamber 12 designed for processing 200 mm substrates, for example, is preferably less than about 30 liters, more preferably less than about 20 liters, and most preferably less than about 10.The illustrated chamber 12 has a capacity of about 7.5 liters.", "However, because the illustrated chamber 12 is divided by the dividers 32, 38, substrate support 20, and ring 32, the effective volume through which process gases flow is around half the total volume (about 3.77 liters in the illustrated embodiment).", "Of course, it will be understood that the volume of the single-substrate reaction chamber 12 can be different, depending upon the size of the substrates for which the chamber 12 is designed to accommodate.", "For example, a single-substrate processing chamber 12 of the illustrated type, but for 300 mm substrates, preferably has a capacity of less than about 100 liters, more preferably less than about 60 liters, and most preferably less than about 30 liters.", "One 300 mm substrate processing chamber has a total volume of about 24 liters, with an effective processing gas capacity of about 11.83 liters.", "As also shown in FIG.", "2, the reactor 10 may further include a source 72 of hydrogen gas (H2).", "As is known in the art, hydrogen is a useful carrier gas and purge gas because it can be provided in very high purity, due to its low boiling point, and is compatible with silicon deposition.", "In some embodiments H2 is also employed as a reducing agent in the preferred hydrogen bake prior to layer formation.", "In other arrangements, H2 can also flow through the excited species generator 60 to generate H radicals for native oxide cleaning or for other purposes.", "The reactor 10 may also include a source 73 of nitrogen gas (N2).", "As is known in the art, N2 is often employed in place of H2 as a carrier or purge gas in semiconductor fabrication.", "Nitrogen gas is relatively inert and compatible with many integrated materials and process flows.", "Other possible carrier gases include noble gases, such as helium (He) or argon (Ar).", "An optional liquid reactant source 74 is also illustrated.", "The liquid source 74 can comprise, for example, liquid dichlorosilane (DCS), trichlorosilane (TCS) or higher order silane sources in a bubbler, and a gas line for bubbling and carrying vapor phase reactants from the bubbler to the reaction chamber 12.The bubbler can alternatively (or additionally) hold liquid Ta(OC2H5)5 as a metal source, while a carrier gas source 75 serves to bubble H2 (shown) or other carrier gas through the liquid source 74 and transport metallorganic precursors to the reaction chamber 12 in gaseous form.", "Preferably, the reactor 10 also includes other source gases such as dopant sources (e.g., the illustrated phosphine 76, arsine 78 and diborane 80 sources) and etchants for cleaning the reactor walls and other internal components (e.g., a HCl source 82 or a mixture of NF3/Cl2 provided as the plasma source gas 63 for feeding the excited species generator 60).", "For deposition of heteroepitaxy films in accordance with the preferred embodiments, a source of germanium 84 (e.g., germane or GeH4) and a source of carbon 85 (e.g., a SiH(CH3)3, a Si(CH3)4 source or a CH4 source) is also provided for doping or formation of SiGe and SiC films.", "A silane source 86 may also be provided.", "As is known in the art, silanes, including monosilane (SiH4), DCS and TCS, are common volatile silicon sources for CVD applications, such as the deposition of poly-SiGe, SiC, silicon nitride, metal silicides, and extrinsic or intrinsic silicon (polycrystalline, amorphous or epitaxial, depending upon deposition parameters).", "Less common sources such as disilane (Si2H6), trisilane (Si3H8) and tetrasilane (Si4H10), are also possible.", "A monosilane (SiH4) source 86 is illustrated.", "Additional illustrated source gases include an ammonia (NH3) source 70, which serves as a volatile nitrogen source, useful in CVD and nitridation anneal steps.", "However, one skilled in the art will understand that the depicted gas sources are merely illustrative, and are not necessary for all embodiments of the claimed invention.", "Additionally, other gas sources may also be substituted for illustrated gas sources or otherwise added in alternate embodiments.", "Each of the gas sources can be connected to the reaction chamber 12 through the inlet 54 (FIG.", "1) via gas lines with attendant safety and control valves, as well as mass flow controllers (“MFCs”), which are coordinated at a gas panel.", "Process gases are communicated to the inlet 54 (FIG.", "1) in accordance with directions programmed into a central controller and distributed into the reaction chamber 12 through injectors.", "After passing through the reaction chamber 12, unreacted process gases and gaseous reaction by-products are exhausted to a scrubber 88 (FIG.", "2) to condense environmentally dangerous fumes before exhausting to the atmosphere.", "In addition to the conventional gas sources and liquid bubblers, discussed above, the preferred reactor 10 includes the excited species generator 60 positioned remotely or upstream of the reaction chamber 12.The illustrated generator 60 couples microwave energy to gas flowing in an applicator, where the gas includes reactant precursors from the reactant source 63.For the processes described below, the plasma source gases 63 include a source of fluorine (e.g., NF3, F2 or B2F6), a source of chlorine (e.g., Cl2) other halide sources and/or a source of carrier gas to help support the plasma (e.g., N2, He or Ar).", "A plasma is ignited within the applicator, and excited species are carried toward the chamber 12.Preferably, of the excited species generated by the generator 60, overly reactive ionic species substantially recombine prior to entry into the chamber 12.On the other hand, electrically neutral excited species such as F, Cl, N or O largely survive to enter the chamber 12 and react as appropriate.", "As will be clear from the general process discussion below, remote plasma-generated excited species facilitate low temperature chamber cleaning and attendant high substrate throughput when used in combination with the low temperature bake described herein.", "With reference to FIG.", "3, the substrate 16 is shown in relation to a plurality of temperature sensors, each connected to a temperature controller 90.While illustrated schematically as a single temperature controller 90, the preferred embodiment utilizes four independent temperature controllers for directly controlling the temperatures at four separate temperature sensors.", "It will be understood by one of skill in this art, however, that the invention can be applied to reactors with any of a number of temperature controllers, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,207,936 by de Waard et al., entitled “MODEL-BASED PREDICTIVE CONTROL OF THERMAL PROCESSING.” The disclosure of the temperature controllers in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,207,936 is incorporated by reference herein.", "Such a temperature controller can predictively control the temperature of a temperature sensor without being limited by the response time of the sensor.", "In some embodiments the temperature controller 90 comprises a programmable computer.", "In some embodiments the temperature controller 90 can be in communication with a programmable computer 95.In these embodiments the computer can control the power to the heating elements 13, 14, 15.The preferred temperature controller 90, however, comprises independent PID controllers corresponding to the independent temperature sensors.", "In the preferred embodiment, the temperature sensors comprise the thermocouples 28-31, which indirectly measure temperature by gauging a voltage across a pair of wires forming a junction, as is known in the art of temperature measurement.", "The Proportional, Integral, and Differential terms are set for each of the PID controllers by a reactor technician.", "Such controllers are available from The Foxboro Company of Foxboro, Mass., under the designation 761 CNA Single Station Micro-controller.", "Furthermore, the upper heating elements 13 and lower heating elements 14, 15 are also independently powered.", "Based on the feedback from the heat elements 28-31, the temperature controller 90 can preferably vary the power among the upper heat lamps 13, lower heat lamps 14, and spot lamps 15.Varying the power among the heat lamps can include supplying more power to individual heat elements in comparison to heat elements in the same bank.", "For example, additional power can be supplied to the heat elements 13 positioned above the outer edges of the substrate 16, e.g.", "13A, 13B, in comparison to the heat elements 13 positioned above the center of the substrate 16, e.g.", "13C.", "Preferably, the controller 90 is configured to individually control one, some, or all of the heating elements 13, 14, and 15.The lower heat elements or lamps 14 are preferably oriented parallel to the substrate 16, and transverse (e.g., perpendicular) to the upper heat elements or lamps 13.Preferably, the lower heat elements 14 are substantially parallel to the direction of reactant gas flow.", "The transverse orientation of the lower heat elements 14 facilitates “side to side” variation and control of the heat supplied to the substrate 16 and substrate support 20.In some embodiments, the upper heat elements or lamps and lower heat elements or lamps are both oriented substantially parallel to the direction of reactant gas flow.", "The inventors have found that the substantially perpendicular arrangement of the upper lamps 13 with respect to the reactant gas flow path, and the resultant ability to vary the heat profile from the substrate's lead edge to its trailing edge, makes it easer to compensate for cold spots on the substrate, particularly during or after a substrate bake step as described herein.", "Even though the substrate typically spins during processing, there can be temperature variations along the direction of the gas flow due to cooling of the exposed substrate surface from radiation heat losses caused by radiosity and/or the configuration of the reactor.", "In general, the PID controllers can also be programmed to provide additional power to particular groups or zones of heat elements in comparison to other heat elements or groups of heat elements in the same bank.", "For example, the PID controllers can be programmed to supply greater power to the heat elements 13A above the substrate, in an upstream portion of the reactant gas flow path (or above the leading edge/front thermocouple 29), relative to the power delivered to the heat elements 13C that primarily heat a center of the substrate.", "The PID controllers can also be programmed to simultaneously supply greater power to the heat elements 13B above the substrate, in a downstream portion of the reactant gas flow path (or above the rear thermocouple 30), in comparison to the power delivered to the heat elements 13C.", "The additional heat supplied to the edges of the substrate can compensate for the additional heat losses there, thereby producing a more uniform substrate temperature.", "The computer and PID controllers can also be programmed to provide additional power to the upper or lower bank of heat lamps, relative to the other bank.", "For example, during a bake step discussed in greater detail below, power is preferably provided to the upper lamps such that the power is more than about 25% higher, and more preferably about 50% higher than a “neutral” analog ratio of upper lamp power to lower lamp power, where “neutral” refers to a ratio that is optimized to equalize the temperatures of the substrate 16 and substrate support 20.In embodiments where additional power is provided to the upper heat lamps, the power is preferably controlled to individual elements such that the temperature at the surface of the substrate is relatively uniform.", "The temperature variation between the center of the substrate and edges of the substrate is preferably less than about 5° C., more preferably less than about 2° C., and even more preferably less than about 1° C. The individual PID controllers and computer can be tuned and adjusted such that the heat provided to the substrate by the upper and lower banks of lamps results in even heating and a relatively uniform temperature across the substrate during and after the bake step described herein.", "Previous reactors employed upper lamps oriented parallel to the reactant gas flow path, and lower lamps perpendicular thereto.", "Changing the reactor configuration such that the lamps of the upper bank are aligned substantially perpendicular to the reactant gas flow path resulted in significantly improved temperature uniformity when heating the substrate, greater tuning precision, and decreased time required for tuning the reactor processor and PID controllers.", "In tuning a reactor configured to receive a 300 mm substrate with the upper heat lamps arranged parallel to the flow of the gas, it was difficult to achieve uniform heating because tuning specific elements or regions of the substrate would often result in uneven heating at other positions on the substrate.", "In contrast, tuning a reactor configured to receive a 300 mm substrate with the upper heat lamps arranged perpendicular to the flow of the gas is much easier to perform as more straightforward adjustments to the heat lamps can be made to tune the reactor to achieve more uniform heating than was previously possible with the upper heat lamps arranged parallel to the gas flow.", "Without being bound to a theory, it is believed that radiation cooling effects and radiosity issues are more easily addressed when the upper heat lamps are arranged parallel to the gas flow, e.g., by providing additional power to the upstream and/or downstream upper heat lamps.", "For example, it is believed that the water cooled injector and exhaust flanges in the 300 mm reactor can soak heat from the upstream and downstream portions of the top side of the substrate.", "Polysilicon films are typically deposited on test substrates when tuning the reactor.", "The deposited polysilicon films are then tested for variations in the thickness of the deposited films.", "Thicker portions of the deposited film can indicate hotter areas of the substrate while thinner portions of the deposited film can indicate cooler areas of the substrate.", "The individual PID controllers and computer can then be adjusted to compensate for variations in the thickness of the deposited polysilicon film.", "After adjusting the PID controllers and computer, a polysilicon film can be deposited on the next test substrate.", "The process can be repeated until the PID controllers and computer are properly tuned, thereby resulting in uniform temperatures on the substrate during processing steps.", "The reactor configuration with the upper lamps arranged perpendicular to the reactant gas flow path typically required a lower number of test substrates than the reactor configuration with the upper lamps arranged parallel to the reactant gas flow path to achieve a desired thickness variation or degree of uniformity for the polysilicon films deposited on the test wafers.", "The following reactor tuning numbers are exemplary and subject to variation among different operators and desired tuning results.", "For example, in the reactor configuration with the upper heat lamps arranged parallel to the reactant gas flow path a minimum thickness variation for the deposited polysilicon films of about 2.5% was typically achieved during tuning.", "In the reactor configuration with the upper heat lamps arranged perpendicularly to the reactant gas flow path, a minimum thickness variation for the deposited polysilicon films of about 0.8% was typically achieved.", "Tuning the reactor with the upper heat lamps arranged parallel to the reactant gas flow path typically required a greater number of iterations of test substrates because adjustments to the PID controllers based on the analysis of the prior test substrate would typically cause less predictable hot and cold spots on the subsequent test wafer.", "As will be appreciated by the skilled artisan, the reactor 10 preferably includes a computer with a central processing unit and a memory storage device that stores programming information to control the PID controllers 90, as well as the mass flow controllers.", "Accordingly, the sequence of gate valve opening/closing, robotic substrate transfer, temperature ramping and gas flow described herein are preferably programmed into the computer for a given process “recipe.” Ex-Situ Substrate Cleaning As noted in the “Background” section above, the purity of a substrate surface can critically affect the quality of a layer deposited thereon, particularly for epitaxially deposited layers.", "A common source of contamination of semiconductor substrates is native oxide, which naturally forms on naked silicon surfaces upon exposure to the atmosphere.", "Carbon contaminants also tend to be found at the surface of semiconductor substrates, as received from substrate suppliers.", "Such exposure and contamination is inevitable in transporting substrates from vendors to fabrication facilities, and transporting substrates among processing equipment or tools within a facility.", "For example, polished silicon substrates are typically provided by independent suppliers.", "Yet another set of suppliers often obtain substrates, apply epitaxial layers, and furnish these substrates to fabrication facilities.", "Even when epitaxial layers and later fabrication steps are performed at the same facility, substrates are often exposed to atmospheric contaminants and plastic handling equipment between processing steps in different parts of the facility.", "Accordingly, with reference to FIG.", "4, the substrate is most preferably cleaned in an ex-situ bath prior to loading in the CVD reactor.", "In some arrangements, part or all of the cleaning process of FIG.", "4 can be conducted on a process tool clustered around a common transfer chamber with the CVD reactor.", "The process of FIG.", "4 most preferably employs the particularly optimized cleaning process of U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,620,743 entitled STABLE, OXIDE-FREE SILICON SURFACE PREPARATION, assigned to the assignee of the present application, the disclosure of the cleaning process is incorporated herein by reference.", "The conditions below are taken from a preferred embodiment of the '743 patent.", "The skilled artisan will appreciate, however, that the low temperature bake step of the present disclosure can also be employed following other cleaning processes.", "Initially, a substrate with a silicon-containing surface (e.g., a bare silicon substrate or a substrate with a SiGe base formed thereon) to be deposited upon is cleaned 100 with an ammonium hydroxide/hydrogen peroxide mixture (APM).", "The ammonium hydroxide/hydrogen peroxide cleaning 100 of the preferred embodiment uses a solution of 800 mL to 1,000 mL of 30% hydrogen peroxide, 300 mL to 600 mL of 29% ammonium hydroxide and 11 gallons (41 L) of water.", "Thus, the total bath concentration is preferably 0.50% to 0.80% by volume ammonium hydroxide, and more preferably 0.58% to 0.73% ammonium hydroxide.", "The total bath concentration is preferably between about 0.10% to 0.50% hydrogen peroxide, and more preferably about 0.21% to 0.42% hydrogen peroxide.", "The solution is preferably maintained at a temperature of about 20° C. to 50° C., and more preferably 30° C.-40° C. In the preferred embodiment, the substrate is maintained in the solution for about 5 minutes to 15 minutes.", "The described APM solution of step 100 of FIG.", "4 can be similar to the SC-1 solution of the RCA cleaning process.", "The APM cleaning step 100 removes particles, surface defects, and Group I and Group II metals from the silicon substrate in the process of growing a chemical oxide.", "The APM cleaning can be done in an open vessel etch bath or other suitable vessel.", "Open vessel etch baths are commercially available.", "The M&A Recirculating Etch Bath, commercially available from Marks & Associates of Phoenix, Ariz., is an exemplary open vessel etch bath which is suitable for use in the APM cleaning step 100.Other open vessel etch baths are suitable for the APM cleaning step 100.Furthermore, the APM cleaning step 100 is not limited to open vessel etch baths.", "A dilute hydrofluoric (dHF) acid etch step 110, as shown in FIG.", "4, is performed after the APM cleaning step 100.An oxide layer is present on the surface of the silicon substrate after the APM cleaning step 100.The dilute hydrofluoric acid etch step 110 removes the oxide layer from the silicon substrate.", "The dilute hydrofluoric acid for the dilute hydrofluoric etch step 110 preferably has a concentration of approximately 0.5% to 1.0% by weight (wt %) hydrogen fluoride, and more preferably 0.5 wt.", "% HF.", "Use of a dilute hydrofluoric acid for the etch step 110 minimizes contamination on the surface of the silicon substrate.", "The dilute hydrofluoric acid is preferably heated to a temperature of about 35° C. to 60° C., and more preferably at about 50° C., to minimize particles and to enhance hydrogen termination on the surface of the silicon substrate.", "The heated dilute hydrofluoric acid etch also provides for uniform oxide etch rates on the entire surface of the silicon substrate.", "The silicon substrate is preferably exposed to the dilute hydrofluoric acid etch for a time period of between about 20 seconds and 2 minutes, more preferably for a time period of between about 40 seconds and 60 seconds, and most preferably for a time period of approximately 60 seconds.", "In an exemplary procedure, the silicon substrate is etched with dilute hydrofluoric acid having a concentration of approximately 0.5 wt % hydrogen fluoride at a temperature of approximately 50° C. for approximately 60 seconds.", "Preferably, the substrate is dipped in an aqueous or wet HF bath, although the skilled artisan will appreciate that HF vapor can also be employed in other arrangements.", "The ultrapure water which is used to form the dilute hydrofluoric acid in the etch bath has high resistivity, indicating that the metals levels are low.", "The water which is used to form the dilute hydrofluoric acid in the etch bath has a resistivity greater than about 15 megaohms-cm (MΩ-cm) at a temperature of 25° C., and most preferably a resistivity of at least about 18 MΩ-cm.", "The total organic carbon (TOC) and the dissolved silica are also preferably minimized to levels of less than 10 ppb (parts per billion).", "The hydrofluoric acid which is used to form the dilute hydrofluoric acid in the etch bath is preferably gigabit grade (on the order of parts per trillion impurities) hydrofluoric acid with low levels of particles and dissolved metals, commercially available as Part No.", "107101 in a 49% solution from Alameda Chemical of Chandler, Ariz., (480) 505-5330.In the preferred embodiments, a high purity nitrogen purge curtain is employed at the air/liquid interface during both the dilute hydrofluoric acid etch step 110 and the subsequent in-situ rinse step 120.The high purity nitrogen is filtered through a filter, which removes particles larger than 0.003 μm at the point of use.", "Ionizing the nitrogen before the nitrogen contacts the silicon substrate minimizes particles.", "An ionizer, for example, is part of the Verteq SRD™ system.", "The high purity nitrogen enhances particle neutrality and stable surface termination on the silicon substrate.", "After the silicon substrate is etched with dilute hydrofluoric acid in step 110, the silicon substrate is rinsed in-situ in the etch bath with ultrapure water for maximum hydrogen passivation of the etched silicon surface in the in-situ rinse step 120 of FIG.", "4.The ultrapure water which is used for the in-situ rinse step 120 desirably has the same purity as the ultrapure water which is used to form the dilute hydrofluoric acid in the etch bath to maintain stable hydrogen termination and particle neutrality.", "The etched silicon substrate is preferably rinsed with ultrapure water for a time period sufficient to remove all HF acid and particles from the previous etch step, which of course depends upon the volume of the etch bath.", "Rinsing the silicon substrate in-situ in the etch bath minimizes the amount of contamination.", "Furthermore, the in-situ rinse step 120 eliminates a step of transferring the substrate into a rinse bath.", "Contamination of the silicon substrate could occur during the transfer to the rinse bath.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the in-situ rinse step 120 is conducted at approximately room temperature (typically 20° C.-25° C., or about 23° C.).", "The in-situ rinse is preferably a cascade and displacement rinse.", "An exemplary in-situ rinse step 120 involves an in-situ rinse in the etch bath with ultrapure water at room temperature for approximately 15 minutes.", "After the silicon substrate is rinsed with ultrapure water, it is dried in the spin-dry step 130 of FIG.", "4.Although a variety of spin-drying apparatuses are suitable for the drying step 130, the Verteq 1800 is an exemplary spin/rinse dryer, commercially available from Verteq, Inc. of Santa Ana, Calif.", "The silicon substrate is transferred to the spin/rinse dryer after rinsing in the in-situ rinse step 120.In the spin-only dry step 130, the silicon substrates are spun dry while hot, ionized nitrogen is flowed into the dryer at a rate of between about 15 slm and 25 slm.", "The hot nitrogen gas is preferably at a temperature of 60° C. to 80° C., more preferably at a temperature of 65° C. to 75° C., and most preferably at a temperature of about 70° C. Only the dry cycle is carried out, preferably at 400 rpm to 600 rpm, without using the rinse cycle of the machine.", "The nitrogen stream is passed through a filter, which removes particles larger than 0.003 μm before entering the dryer.", "The dry only spin-dry step 130 is carried out until the silicon substrates are dry, typically approximately 240 seconds for bare silicon substrates and approximately 480 seconds for patterned substrates.", "The dry only spin-dry step 130 enhances particle neutrality and stable surface termination on the silicon substrate.", "An exemplary dry only spin-dry step 130 is conducted at 500 rpm for 240 seconds for a bare silicon substrate or 480 seconds for a patterned silicon substrate with the heater on and antistatic option (ionization) on.", "Advantageously, the process described herein produces a low particulate count and a hydrogen termination that can remain stable under clean room conditions for days, in contrast to conventional cleaning processes that result in oxidation within about 20 minutes.", "Conventional cleaning can, however, be used in conjunction with the processes described below; in this case it is preferred to conduct such cleaning, or at least the HF last treatment, immediately prior to initiating the process of FIG.", "5.Low Temperature Bake, Deposition and Chamber Cleaning Referring now to FIG.", "5, the process of FIG.", "4 is illustrated as a step 200 and occurs prior to loading 220 substrates in the preferred CVD chamber.", "Residue from silicon source gases is generally left on surfaces of the reaction chamber 12 (FIG.", "1) after the deposition.", "In the past, such residues have been removed with simple HCl vapor etch steps between depositions.", "Without frequent cleaning, the residue can cloud the quartz reactor walls through which radiant heat must pass for normal operation.", "Exposing the residue to an oxidation step before the etch step, however, tends to harden the residue, requiring more harmful or costly cleaning steps.", "Ex-situ acid washing the coated surfaces, for example, entails considerable costs in dismantling the reaction chamber, not to mention the costs of reactor down time during ex-situ cleaning of reactor components.", "As will be appreciated from the discussion below, the low temperature loading 220 of substrates and low temperature bake step 240 permit taking full advantage of the low temperatures afforded by plasma energy during the chamber clean 210.Without the low temperature loading process 220, which is facilitated by the subsequent low temperature bake 240, the chamber temperature would at any rate need to be ramped up to a higher bake temperature.", "After the plasma chamber clean 210, the substrate is loaded 220 into the reaction chamber and onto the substrate support or substrate holder 20 (FIG.", "1).", "In the preferred embodiment, the substrate support holder 20 comprises a susceptor and “idles” between substrate processing at less than the temperature at which the protective termination on the substrate desorbs.", "For example, following an HF last process that leaves a hydrogen termination, the susceptor 20 idles at less than 550° C., preferably less than about 500° C., and in a preferred embodiment at about 450° C. Accordingly, the susceptor 20 is maintained at the temperature of the preceding plasma clean 210 during loading 220 in the illustrated embodiment.", "Advantageously, the low temperature loading 220 largely maintains the hydrogen termination on the substrate surface until after the chamber gate valve is closed and chamber purging 230 begins to remove any atmospheric contaminants which can have been introduced through the gate valve during loading of the substrate.", "Purging can be performed with any suitable purge gas, but is most preferably conducted with hydrogen gas.", "Desirably, H2 is flowed from the inlet port 40 to the outlet port 42, as well as through the depending tube 26 to the underside of the substrate holder 20 (see FIG.", "1).", "Preferably, H2 flow rates are within about 10-100 slm.", "Due to the low substrate temperature at this stage, air and moisture are removed from the chamber before substantial loss of the hydrogen termination, and minimal oxidation of the substrate surface occurs.", "Additionally, the low temperature loading 220 reduces damage to substrates, substrate handling robot end effectors and susceptors by reducing the advent of substrate “curl.” Substrate curl is a well-known phenomenon resulting from thermal shock of bringing a relatively cold substrate into sudden contact with a much hotter substrate support.", "Moreover, in combination with the low temperature plasma clean 210 and low temperature bake 240 (discussed below), low temperature loading can significantly improve substrate throughput.", "After purging 230, the low temperature bake 240 is conducted.", "Having maintained the protective termination until purging 230 the chamber, relatively little contamination needs to be removed, such that the bake step need not be as high in temperature or as prolonged as conventional bake steps.", "Furthermore, extremely rapid temperature ramping can be conducted without fear of exacerbating the native oxide problem, since the chamber is largely free of oxygen and moisture at the time of ramping.", "Accordingly, the low temperature bake 240 preferably involves quickly ramping the substrate temperature for less than about 45 seconds, more preferably less than about 30 seconds, most preferably for less than about 20 seconds, and in some cases less than 10 seconds.", "In a preferred embodiment, wherein a 200-mm substrate is employed, temperature ramping proceeds for only about 15 seconds before stabilizing the temperature for the subsequent deposition.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a 300-mm substrate is employed, the temperature ramping proceeds for only about 30 seconds before stabilizing the temperature for a subsequent deposition.", "In another preferred embodiment, wherein a 300-mm substrate is employed, the temperature ramping proceeds for only about 20 seconds or less before stabilizing the temperature for a subsequent deposition.", "The skilled artisan will readily appreciate, in view of the disclosure herein, that the temperature ramping time can be adjusted for different substrate sizes and lamp power.", "Advantageously, this low temperature bake 240 leaves very low levels of oxygen and carbon contamination at the surface.", "Experiments using the SIMS analytical technique indicate less than 1018 atoms/cm3 of oxygen at the interface between the silicon surface and subsequently deposited layer.", "These results are achieved with very low consumption of thermal budget (low temperatures and time), desirably without adding halide etch species to the bake process.", "If desired, in some arrangements, metal impurities can also be removed if HCl is added to the low temperature bake process 240.As illustrated, the low temperature bake 240 is preferably followed in-situ by a low temperature deposition 250, which are both discussed in more detail below.", "“Low temperature,” as used to describe the deposition 250, refers to processes conducted at below conventional epitaxial silicon deposition temperatures.", "Accordingly, the substrate does not need to be heated further after the bake step and typically the temperature needs to be lowered.", "Accordingly, to maximize throughput under such conditions, the low temperature bake 240 is conducted in a manner that minimizes the time to stabilize at the temperature desired for the deposition 250.Accordingly, the rapid temperature ramp is conducted by providing biased power to the upper lamps 13 (see FIG.", "1), relative to the power provided to the lower lamps 14 (FIG.", "1).", "For example, in one embodiment of a bake 240, the power provided to the upper lamps is preferably more than about 25% higher, and more preferably about 50% higher than a “neutral” analog ratio of upper lamp power to lower lamp power, where “neutral” refers to the ratio optimized to achieve equal substrate 16 and susceptor 20 temperatures.", "In one embodiment, the upper lamps 13 may be at full power at an analog ratio of 50% above neutral for a temperature ramp in a reactor 10.In some embodiments full power can be supplied to the upper lamps during the bake step.", "Thus, the substrate is rapidly heated during the low temperature bake 240, but the more massive susceptor 20 does not heat as rapidly and therefore does not require much time to drop in temperature and then stabilize at the deposition temperature.", "The power provided to the upper and lower lamps during the bake and other substrate processing steps can be individually controlled to each heat element.", "For example, the power provided to the upper lamps can be preferentially delivered to the lamps along the outer edge of the substrates relative to evenly splitting the power between all of the lamps in the upper bank.", "The power can also be preferentially delivered to groups of heat elements, for example, additional power can be provided to groups 13A and 13B relative to group 13C.", "The specific amount of power delivered to each heat element in the upper bank of lamps can vary depending on the particular reactor configuration and location of cold sinks in the reactor and how the PID controllers are tuned.", "As discussed above, the PID controllers and reactor processor can be tuned such that the temperature across the surface of the substrate is relatively uniform during the bake and processing steps.", "The temperature difference between the center of the substrate and the edges of the substrate is preferably less than about 5° C., more preferably less than about 2° C., and more preferably less than about 1° C. In configurations with the upper heat elements parallel to the reactant gas flow path a temperature variation of about 50° C. has been observed in some bake steps.", "High temperature variations across the substrate can cause undesirable defects in the substrate and produce lower quality films.", "As noted, the deposition 250 is conducted at lower than standard epitaxial silicon processes.", "Preferably the substrate temperature is between about 450° C. and 950° C., more preferably between about 550° C. and 800° C., and most preferably between about 600° C. and 700° C. Due in part to the low maximum temperature and rapidity of the bake 240, temperatures preferably stabilize at the desired deposition temperature in less than 1 minute after the temperature ramp, preferably less than about 45 seconds after the bake 240.In one embodiment temperature stability at 650° C. is reached in 45 seconds, including the bake step 240.In contrast, lowering the temperature for this system from a traditional bake temperature of 900° C. to 650° C. ordinarily takes about 2 minutes, not including the bake time.", "Low temperature deposition 250 on the clean silicon surface can be one of a number of possible processes.", "For example, selective epitaxial silicon deposition is conducted between about 550° C. and 800° C. Such a process is of particular utility for circuit designs calling for elevated source/drain regions or elevated emitters.", "The skilled artisan will readily appreciate precursors and conditions suitable for such post-bake low temperature deposition processes.", "Following the deposition 250, the temperature of the substrate 16 and susceptor 20 is allowed to fall to idling temperature while the gate valve is opened, the substrate 16 is removed, the gate valve is closed, and plasma chamber cleaning 210 is again commenced.", "The processed substrate can undergo additional processing steps depending on the desired structure.", "Alternatively, another substrate is then introduced and loaded 220 onto the susceptor 20 at a low temperature, and the process is repeated.", "In a preferred embodiment, a recipe is entered into the processor of the reactor 10 and temperature controllers (not illustrated) are programmed with target temperature goals with which to determine heating element power allocation.", "As an example of the previous description, the following recipe is provided for conducting a low temperature bake: First, a plasma chamber clean is conducted.", "Second, the substrate 16 is loaded into the reaction chamber 12 and onto the substrate support or susceptor 20 while hydrogen is supplied to the chamber at 10 slm and with the temperature controller set at 350° C. Third, the chamber 12 is sealed and hydrogen gas is supplied to the reaction chamber at 20 slm while the temperature controller is set to 450° C. Fourth, the chamber 12 is pumped down to 0.8 atmospheres.", "Fifth, the temperature controllers are set to 1100° C., corresponding with about full power being sent to the heating elements, and a bake is conducted for 15 seconds.", "Even when full power is sent to the heating elements, the power can be individually controlled to each heating element, such that some heating elements receive more power than other elements.", "It is important to note that, while the temperature controllers are seeking to achieve 1100° C., neither the chamber temperature, nor the substrate ever actually approach that temperature, generally staying in the 700° C. to 900° C. range.", "Further, the top surface of the substrate typically reaches higher temperatures than the bottom of the substrate during the bake step or other processing step comprising providing biased power to the upper lamps.", "Also, as discussed above, when biased power is supplied to the upper lamps the power can be individually controlled to each heat element such that the temperature across the substrate surface is relatively uniform.", "Sixth, a backfill step is conducted while the temperature controllers are set to 680° C., hydrogen flow is increased to 45 slm, and pressure is increased to 1 atmosphere.", "Thereafter, deposition takes place, as described above.", "Advantages of Low Temperature Bake The processes described herein enable a low temperature and rapid hydrogen bake while still providing very clean silicon surfaces for subsequent deposition.", "Accordingly, shallow junctions can maintain their integrity.", "The low temperature bake and short substrate temperature spike can be advantageous when processing substrates where the thermal budget can be a concern, e.g., SiGe layers, transistors, substrates with sensitive structures, etc.", "Furthermore, the combination of the described low temperature bake with relatively low temperature deposition, conducted in-situ, allows for considerable improvements in substrate throughput, lowering overall costs of operation.", "Low temperature plasma chamber cleaning, in combination with the above, provides even further benefits to throughput, while still maintaining the purity desired of state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication.", "Advantages During Reactor Tuning As discussed above, the reactor configuration described herein can be more precisely and quickly tuned than the previous configuration.", "For example, the reactor configuration with the upper lamps arranged perpendicular to the reactant gas flow path required a lower number of test substrates than the reactor configuration with the upper lamps arranged parallel to the reactant gas flow path to achieve a desired thickness variation or degree of uniformity for the polysilicon films deposited on the test wafers.", "The increased tuning precision can also decrease the amount of time spent tuning the reactor and PID controllers.", "Advantages of Aligning Upper Lamps Perpendicular to Reactant Flow Path The reactor configuration and processes disclosed herein provide additional benefits for low temperature processing.", "Orienting the upper lamps perpendicular to the reactant gas flow path improves the ability to achieve a more uniform temperature across the substrate during processing steps.", "The improved temperature uniformity results in formation of a film with a lower surface roughness.", "Temperature uniformity can also avoid damage to the substrate.", "Uneven heating and larger temperature gradients across the substrate can cause defects in the substrate, such as crystallographic slip, substrate curling, and crystal lattice mismatch.", "These defects can affect the reliability and performance of the electronic devices incorporating these structures.", "Decreasing the frequency of defects in the substrate can result in the deposition of higher quality films and structures on the substrate surface, thereby producing more reliable electronic devices.", "It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.", "Similar other modifications and changes are intended to fall within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874785
[ [ "CORNEAL TISSUE SAMPLE ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED METHODS OF USE", "Assemblies for storing, handling, transporting, viewing, evaluating, and/or shipping corneal tissue are provided.", "The assemblies may include a viewing chamber and a corneal tissue carrier removably coupled to an inner portion of the viewing chamber.", "The assemblies may further include a corneal tissue sample disposed within the corneal tissue carrier.", "Methods of processing a corneal tissue sample and administering the corneal tissue sample to a subject are also provided." ], [ "1.An assembly for storing and evaluating corneal tissue, the assembly comprising: a viewing chamber comprising a body and a lid; and a corneal tissue carrier removably coupled to an inner portion of the body of the viewing chamber.", "2.The assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a corneal tissue sample disposed within an inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "3.The assembly of claim 2, wherein the corneal tissue sample is a stained corneal tissue sample.", "4.The assembly of claim 2, wherein the corneal tissue carrier further comprises a first opening disposed at a first end of the corneal tissue carrier.", "5.The assembly of claim 4, wherein the corneal tissue carrier further comprises a second opening disposed at a second end of the corneal tissue carrier.", "6.The assembly of claim 4, wherein a first cap or plug is removably coupled to the corneal tissue carrier at the first opening of the corneal tissue carrier, wherein the first cap or plug inhibits passage of the corneal tissue sample out of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "7.The assembly of claim 6, wherein the first cap or plug allows passage of fluid into and out of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "8.The assembly of claim 6, wherein the first cap or plug inhibits passage of fluid into and out of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "9.The assembly of claim 5, wherein a second cap or plug is removably coupled to the corneal tissue carrier at the second opening, and wherein the second cap or plug inhibits passage of the corneal tissue sample out of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "10.The assembly of claim 9, wherein the second cap or plug allows passage of fluid into and out of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "11.The assembly of claim 9, wherein the second cap or plug inhibits passage of fluid into and out of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "12.The assembly of claim 2, further comprising: a fluid disposed within the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier such that the corneal tissue sample is substantially immersed in the fluid.", "13.The assembly of claim 12, wherein the fluid is a preservation fluid.", "14.The assembly of claim 2, wherein the body of the viewing chamber comprises a plurality of arms extending from an inner surface of the body, the plurality of arms configured to removably couple the corneal tissue carrier to the inner portion of the body.", "15.The assembly of claim 2, wherein at least a portion of each of the viewing chamber and the corneal tissue carrier is substantially transparent such that the corneal tissue sample is visible to a user.", "16.The assembly of claim 2, wherein the viewing chamber is a KROLMAN™ viewing chamber.", "17.The assembly of claim 2, wherein the corneal tissue carrier is a Straiko modified Jones tube.", "18.The assembly of claim 17, wherein the length of the corneal tissue carrier is about 38 mm.", "19.A corneal tissue sample assembly, comprising: (i) a corneal tissue carrier comprising an inner cavity, a first opening disposed at a first end of the corneal tissue carrier, and a second opening disposed at a second end of the corneal tissue carrier; (ii) a first cap or plug; and (iii) a second cap or plug, wherein the first cap or plug is removably coupled to the corneal tissue carrier at the first opening and the second cap or plug is removably coupled to the corneal tissue carrier at the second opening.", "20.The assembly of claim 19, further comprising a corneal tissue sample disposed within the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "21.The assembly of claim 20, wherein the corneal tissue sample is a stained corneal tissue sample.", "22.The assembly of claim 20, further comprising: a fluid disposed within the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier such that the corneal tissue sample is substantially immersed in the fluid.", "23.The assembly of claim 22, wherein the fluid is a preservation fluid.", "24.A method of processing a corneal tissue sample, the method comprising: obtaining a corneal tissue sample; disposing the corneal tissue sample in an inner cavity of a corneal tissue carrier; and coupling the corneal tissue carrier to an inner portion of a viewing chamber.", "25.The method of claim 24, further comprising: filling at least a portion of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier with a fluid such that the corneal tissue sample is substantially immersed in the fluid.", "26.The method of claim 24, further comprising: evaluating the corneal tissue sample disposed within the corneal tissue carrier and the viewing chamber to determine the suitability of the corneal tissue sample for transplantation.", "27.The method of claim 26, wherein evaluating the corneal tissue sample comprises using at least one of slit-lamp biomicroscopy, specular microscopy, light microscopy, and optical coherence tomography.", "28.The method of claim 24, further comprising: coupling a cap or plug to an opening of the corneal tissue carrier subsequent to disposing the corneal tissue sample in the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier such that passage of the corneal tissue sample out of the corneal tissue carrier is inhibited.", "29.A method of administering a corneal tissue sample to a subject in need thereof, the method comprising: obtaining the assembly of claim 1; and administering the corneal tissue sample to the subject.", "30.The method of claim 29, wherein the administering the corneal tissue sample to the subject comprises: coupling a medical tubing to the corneal tissue carrier; coupling a syringe to the medical tubing; and actuating the syringe to deliver the corneal tissue sample to the subject." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) is a corneal transplantation procedure that enables a one-for-one replacement of a diseased Descemet membrane and endothelium complex (see Melles G R, et al.", "Cornea.", "2002;21:415-418; Melles G R, et al.", "Cornea.", "2006;25:987-990; and Price M O, et al.", "Int Ophthalmol Clin.", "2010;50:137-147).", "DMEK may provide improved post-operative visual outcomes, faster recovery times, and reduced rates of rejection compared to other endothelial keratoplasty procedures such as Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) and penetrating keratoplasty (PK) (see Hamzaoglu E C, et al.", "Ophthalmology.", "2015; Anshu A, et al.", "Ophthalmology.", "2012;119:536-540; Guerra F P, et al.", "Ophthalmology.", "2011;118:2368-2373; Tourtas T, et al.", "Am J Ophthalmol.", "2012;153:1082-1090 e1082; Guerra F P, et al.", "Cornea.", "2011;30:1382-1386; and Ham L, et al.", "Arch Ophthalmol.", "2009;127:252-255).", "While DSAEK and PK remain the most widely performed corneal transplant procedures worldwide, DMEK is steadily gaining ground on these and other surgical procedures in the United States (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Eye Banking of America Statistical Report.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America; 2017).", "With DMEK gaining popularity among surgeons, eye banks have developed internal processing programs to assist surgeons in preparing DMEK grafts (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Eye Banking of America Statistical Report.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America;2017; Holiman J, et al.", "In: Mohit Parekh.", "; Stefano Ferrari D P, ed.", "Eye Banking: Nova Biomedical; 2015:123-139; Deng SX, et al.", "Am J Ophthalmol.", "2015;159:590-596; and Terry M A, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015;34:845-852).", "Eye bank prepared pre-stripped tissues can help reduce both time in the operating room (OR) and potential complications that may arise if tissue preparation fails during surgery.", "Pre-stripped tissues can also provide an additional level of quality assurance as eye banks can perform post-processing evaluation of grafts using tissue evaluation instruments and methods, such as, specular microscopy, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, light microscopy, and/or optical coherence tomography, which are not typically performed in the OR.", "In the United States, the current Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) Medical Standards (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Medical Standards.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America; 2016) require that all eye bank prepared grafts be evaluated by specular microscopy and slit-lamp biomicroscopy." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>The embodiments disclosed herein will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.", "While various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings depict only typical embodiments, which will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.", "1A is an exploded view of a corneal tissue sample assembly.", "FIG.", "1B is a perspective view of the corneal tissue sample assembly of FIG.", "1A .", "FIG.", "1C is a top view of the corneal tissue sample assembly of FIG.", "1A .", "FIG.", "2 is a side view of the corneal tissue sample assembly of FIGS.", "1A-1C in a second configuration.", "FIG.", "3A is a perspective view of a corneal tissue carrier.", "FIG.", "3B is a perspective view of another embodiment of a corneal tissue carrier.", "FIG.", "4 is a perspective view of a corneal tissue carrier coupled to a syringe.", "FIG.", "5A is an image of a DMEK graft.", "FIG.", "5B is an image of another DMEK graft.", "FIG.", "6 is a flow chart depicting an embodiment of a method of processing, evaluating, and/or distributing a corneal tissue sample.", "FIG.", "7A is an image of a DMEK graft after disposition within a Straiko modified Jones tube (i.e., a preloaded DMEK graft) and further within a KROLMAN™ viewing chamber.", "FIG.", "7B is two images comparing an eye bank preparation of a pre-stripped DMEK graft attached to the stroma (left) and a preloaded DMEK graft disposed within a viewing chamber (right).", "FIG.", "7C is a series of images of preloaded DMEK grafts.", "Scroll tightness of preloaded DMEK grafts can be seen in slit-lamp biomicroscopy images (left).", "A specular microscopy image of a “tight” DMEK graft scroll is depicted at the top right and a specular microscopy image of a “loose” DMEK graft scroll is depicted at the bottom right.", "FIG.", "7D is a series of slit-lamp biomicroscopy images of a preloaded DMEK graft.", "Examples of a stress line (top, yellow chevron) and a specular reflection (bottom left) are depicted.", "An enlarged image of the outlined area in the image at the bottom left is depicted at the bottom right.", "FIG.", "7E is a scatter plot and trend line of endothelial cell loss (ECL) for the 16 DMEK grafts used in a processing and evaluation study (depicted in chronological order).", "FIG.", "7F is a scatter plot and trend line of the difference in estimated and actual ECL for the 16 DMEK grafts depicted in FIG.", "7E .", "FIG.", "8 is a series of images depicting examples of different types of DMEK graft damage.", "White chevrons in the images at the left indicate stress lines due to pre-stripping.", "White arrowheads in panel E indicate damage caused by trephine.", "Labeled regions in the image at the top left are enlarged in panels C-F as indicated.", "The image at the top left depicts a DMEK graft with examples of several types of damage stained with Calcein-AM.", "The asterisk (*) indicates possible touch damage sustained during tissue manipulation.", "The image at the bottom left is of the DMEK graft depicted in the image at the top left, after pre-stripping and trephination, and prior to loading into a corneal tissue carrier.", "Panel C is a close-up image of damage caused by peeling of tissue.", "Panel D is a close-up image of damage caused by scraping against the glass corneal tissue carrier.", "Panel E is a close-up image of edge damage due to trephination.", "Panel F is a close-up image of a touch defect, possibly caused during tissue loading or unfurling for analysis.", "FIG.", "9 is a series of images depicting patterns and example amounts of ECL on preloaded DMEK grafts.", "The panels at the left depict Trypan blue stained DMEK grafts just prior to loading.", "The middle panels depict Calcein-AM staining of DMEK grafts after removal from a corneal tissue carrier and opening of the DMEK grafts on a bed of viscoelastic.", "The panels at the right illustrate FIJI segmentation to quantify cell loss.", "Percent cell loss is shown in each of the panels at the right.", "The top right panel depicts an example of “mild” cell loss.", "The middle right panel depicts an example of “moderate” cell loss.", "The bottom right panel depicts an example of “severe” cell loss.", "The bottom edge of the DMEK graft depicted in the bottom right panel was heavily damaged due to incomplete trephination and increased manipulation during loading into a corneal tissue carrier.", "FIG.", "10 is a series of images depicting ECL due to staining methods.", "The left column includes example images representing unstained preloaded grafts, prestained preloaded grafts, and preloaded grafts stained while inside of a Straiko modified Jones tube (injector).", "The middle column includes Calcein-AM stained images.", "The right column includes FIJI segmented images of the grafts in the middle column.", "Row A depicts an example of an unstained preloaded graft with 12.5% ECL.", "Row B depicts a prestained graft with 13.9% ECL.", "Row C depicts a preloaded graft stained inside of the injector with 20.6% ECL.", "Arrowheads show damage that may have been due to the graft scraping against the injector.", "The chevron indicates possible “contact” damage between graft and cannula.", "FIG.", "11 is a series of images depicting staining of a DMEK graft inside of a modified Jones tube (injector).", "Black arrowheads show the location of the DMEK graft inside of the injector.", "Image A depicts that the unstained DMEK graft was positioned near the beveled opening of the injector.", "Image B depicts that a cannula was used to deliver Trypan blue for staining.", "Image C depicts that the graft was stained for 4 minutes.", "Image D depicts that balanced salt solution (BSS) was drawn into the injector to dilute the Trypan blue.", "Image E depicts the stained DMEK graft.", "FIG.", "12A is a series of images of Trypan blue serial dilution standards.", "The numbers represent dilutions from the original 0.06% Trypan blue concentration.", "Each dilution contains ½ of the Trypan blue concentration of the previous sample.", "The blue color of the Trypan blue is depicted in grayscale in the figures.", "FIG.", "12B is an image of a prestained graft before (Day 0) and an image of a prestained graft after overnight shipping (Day 1) from Oregon to New York.", "FIG.", "12C is a series of still frames from a video showing a prestained graft being used in a simulated surgery after a 3-day shipping event.", "Image C 1 depicts removal of the loaded injector from the viewing chamber.", "Image C 2 depicts replacing the OPTISOL™-GS with BSS.", "Image C 3 depicts delivery of the graft into the anterior chamber.", "Image C 4 depicts that the graft was unscrolled and that the S-stamp was clearly visible and showed that the graft was in the proper orientation.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/660,004, filed Jul.", "26, 2017, which claims the benefit and priority of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/407,930, filed Oct. 13, 2016; the entire contents of each of the foregoing applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to corneal tissue sample assemblies.", "More specifically, the present disclosure relates to corneal tissue sample assemblies for storing, handling, transporting, viewing, and/or evaluating corneal tissue.", "The present disclosure also relates to methods of processing corneal tissue samples and administering corneal tissue samples to subjects in need thereof.", "BACKGROUND Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) is a corneal transplantation procedure that enables a one-for-one replacement of a diseased Descemet membrane and endothelium complex (see Melles G R, et al.", "Cornea.", "2002;21:415-418; Melles G R, et al.", "Cornea.", "2006;25:987-990; and Price M O, et al.", "Int Ophthalmol Clin.", "2010;50:137-147).", "DMEK may provide improved post-operative visual outcomes, faster recovery times, and reduced rates of rejection compared to other endothelial keratoplasty procedures such as Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) and penetrating keratoplasty (PK) (see Hamzaoglu E C, et al.", "Ophthalmology.", "2015; Anshu A, et al.", "Ophthalmology.", "2012;119:536-540; Guerra F P, et al.", "Ophthalmology.", "2011;118:2368-2373; Tourtas T, et al.", "Am J Ophthalmol.", "2012;153:1082-1090 e1082; Guerra F P, et al.", "Cornea.", "2011;30:1382-1386; and Ham L, et al.", "Arch Ophthalmol.", "2009;127:252-255).", "While DSAEK and PK remain the most widely performed corneal transplant procedures worldwide, DMEK is steadily gaining ground on these and other surgical procedures in the United States (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Eye Banking of America Statistical Report.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America; 2017).", "With DMEK gaining popularity among surgeons, eye banks have developed internal processing programs to assist surgeons in preparing DMEK grafts (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Eye Banking of America Statistical Report.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America;2017; Holiman J, et al.", "In: Mohit Parekh.", "; Stefano Ferrari D P, ed.", "Eye Banking: Nova Biomedical; 2015:123-139; Deng SX, et al.", "Am J Ophthalmol.", "2015;159:590-596; and Terry M A, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015;34:845-852).", "Eye bank prepared pre-stripped tissues can help reduce both time in the operating room (OR) and potential complications that may arise if tissue preparation fails during surgery.", "Pre-stripped tissues can also provide an additional level of quality assurance as eye banks can perform post-processing evaluation of grafts using tissue evaluation instruments and methods, such as, specular microscopy, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, light microscopy, and/or optical coherence tomography, which are not typically performed in the OR.", "In the United States, the current Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) Medical Standards (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Medical Standards.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America; 2016) require that all eye bank prepared grafts be evaluated by specular microscopy and slit-lamp biomicroscopy.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The embodiments disclosed herein will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.", "While various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings depict only typical embodiments, which will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.", "1A is an exploded view of a corneal tissue sample assembly.", "FIG.", "1B is a perspective view of the corneal tissue sample assembly of FIG.", "1A.", "FIG.", "1C is a top view of the corneal tissue sample assembly of FIG.", "1A.", "FIG.", "2 is a side view of the corneal tissue sample assembly of FIGS.", "1A-1C in a second configuration.", "FIG.", "3A is a perspective view of a corneal tissue carrier.", "FIG.", "3B is a perspective view of another embodiment of a corneal tissue carrier.", "FIG.", "4 is a perspective view of a corneal tissue carrier coupled to a syringe.", "FIG.", "5A is an image of a DMEK graft.", "FIG.", "5B is an image of another DMEK graft.", "FIG.", "6 is a flow chart depicting an embodiment of a method of processing, evaluating, and/or distributing a corneal tissue sample.", "FIG.", "7A is an image of a DMEK graft after disposition within a Straiko modified Jones tube (i.e., a preloaded DMEK graft) and further within a KROLMAN™ viewing chamber.", "FIG.", "7B is two images comparing an eye bank preparation of a pre-stripped DMEK graft attached to the stroma (left) and a preloaded DMEK graft disposed within a viewing chamber (right).", "FIG.", "7C is a series of images of preloaded DMEK grafts.", "Scroll tightness of preloaded DMEK grafts can be seen in slit-lamp biomicroscopy images (left).", "A specular microscopy image of a “tight” DMEK graft scroll is depicted at the top right and a specular microscopy image of a “loose” DMEK graft scroll is depicted at the bottom right.", "FIG.", "7D is a series of slit-lamp biomicroscopy images of a preloaded DMEK graft.", "Examples of a stress line (top, yellow chevron) and a specular reflection (bottom left) are depicted.", "An enlarged image of the outlined area in the image at the bottom left is depicted at the bottom right.", "FIG.", "7E is a scatter plot and trend line of endothelial cell loss (ECL) for the 16 DMEK grafts used in a processing and evaluation study (depicted in chronological order).", "FIG.", "7F is a scatter plot and trend line of the difference in estimated and actual ECL for the 16 DMEK grafts depicted in FIG.", "7E.", "FIG.", "8 is a series of images depicting examples of different types of DMEK graft damage.", "White chevrons in the images at the left indicate stress lines due to pre-stripping.", "White arrowheads in panel E indicate damage caused by trephine.", "Labeled regions in the image at the top left are enlarged in panels C-F as indicated.", "The image at the top left depicts a DMEK graft with examples of several types of damage stained with Calcein-AM.", "The asterisk (*) indicates possible touch damage sustained during tissue manipulation.", "The image at the bottom left is of the DMEK graft depicted in the image at the top left, after pre-stripping and trephination, and prior to loading into a corneal tissue carrier.", "Panel C is a close-up image of damage caused by peeling of tissue.", "Panel D is a close-up image of damage caused by scraping against the glass corneal tissue carrier.", "Panel E is a close-up image of edge damage due to trephination.", "Panel F is a close-up image of a touch defect, possibly caused during tissue loading or unfurling for analysis.", "FIG.", "9 is a series of images depicting patterns and example amounts of ECL on preloaded DMEK grafts.", "The panels at the left depict Trypan blue stained DMEK grafts just prior to loading.", "The middle panels depict Calcein-AM staining of DMEK grafts after removal from a corneal tissue carrier and opening of the DMEK grafts on a bed of viscoelastic.", "The panels at the right illustrate FIJI segmentation to quantify cell loss.", "Percent cell loss is shown in each of the panels at the right.", "The top right panel depicts an example of “mild” cell loss.", "The middle right panel depicts an example of “moderate” cell loss.", "The bottom right panel depicts an example of “severe” cell loss.", "The bottom edge of the DMEK graft depicted in the bottom right panel was heavily damaged due to incomplete trephination and increased manipulation during loading into a corneal tissue carrier.", "FIG.", "10 is a series of images depicting ECL due to staining methods.", "The left column includes example images representing unstained preloaded grafts, prestained preloaded grafts, and preloaded grafts stained while inside of a Straiko modified Jones tube (injector).", "The middle column includes Calcein-AM stained images.", "The right column includes FIJI segmented images of the grafts in the middle column.", "Row A depicts an example of an unstained preloaded graft with 12.5% ECL.", "Row B depicts a prestained graft with 13.9% ECL.", "Row C depicts a preloaded graft stained inside of the injector with 20.6% ECL.", "Arrowheads show damage that may have been due to the graft scraping against the injector.", "The chevron indicates possible “contact” damage between graft and cannula.", "FIG.", "11 is a series of images depicting staining of a DMEK graft inside of a modified Jones tube (injector).", "Black arrowheads show the location of the DMEK graft inside of the injector.", "Image A depicts that the unstained DMEK graft was positioned near the beveled opening of the injector.", "Image B depicts that a cannula was used to deliver Trypan blue for staining.", "Image C depicts that the graft was stained for 4 minutes.", "Image D depicts that balanced salt solution (BSS) was drawn into the injector to dilute the Trypan blue.", "Image E depicts the stained DMEK graft.", "FIG.", "12A is a series of images of Trypan blue serial dilution standards.", "The numbers represent dilutions from the original 0.06% Trypan blue concentration.", "Each dilution contains ½ of the Trypan blue concentration of the previous sample.", "The blue color of the Trypan blue is depicted in grayscale in the figures.", "FIG.", "12B is an image of a prestained graft before (Day 0) and an image of a prestained graft after overnight shipping (Day 1) from Oregon to New York.", "FIG.", "12C is a series of still frames from a video showing a prestained graft being used in a simulated surgery after a 3-day shipping event.", "Image C1 depicts removal of the loaded injector from the viewing chamber.", "Image C2 depicts replacing the OPTISOL™-GS with BSS.", "Image C3 depicts delivery of the graft into the anterior chamber.", "Image C4 depicts that the graft was unscrolled and that the S-stamp was clearly visible and showed that the graft was in the proper orientation.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The various embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to assemblies for storing, handling, transporting, viewing, evaluating, and/or shipping corneal tissue.", "In some embodiments, the assemblies include a viewing chamber and a corneal tissue carrier.", "The assemblies may also include a corneal tissue sample, wherein the corneal tissue sample is disposed within the corneal tissue carrier.", "Also disclosed herein are methods of processing corneal tissue samples and methods of administering corneal tissue samples to a subject.", "The disclosed methods can include preparing and/or obtaining a corneal tissue sample assembly.", "Various features of the corneal tissue sample assemblies disclosed herein may be grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.", "Many of these features may be used alone and/or in combination with one another in the various embodiments.", "Embodiments may be understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout.", "It will be readily understood that the components of the present disclosure, as generally described and illustrated in the drawings herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.", "Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the assembly is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but is merely representative of possible embodiments of the disclosure.", "In some cases, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail.", "While the various aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.", "The phrases “connected to,” “coupled to,” and “in communication with” refer to any form of interaction between two or more entities, including but not limited to mechanical, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, fluid, and thermal interaction.", "Two components may be coupled to each other even though they are not in direct contact with each other.", "For example, two components may be coupled to each other through an intermediate component.", "The phrase “fluid communication” is used in its ordinary sense, and is broad enough to refer to arrangements in which a fluid (e.g., a gas or a liquid) can flow from one element to another element when the elements are in fluid communication with each other.", "The term “resilient” refers to a component, device, or object having a particular shape that can then be elastically deformed into a different shape, but that may return to the original shape when unconstrained.", "For example, a resilient arm may extend from an inner surface of a viewing chamber and, in use, the resilient arm may then be constrained (i.e., temporarily engaged with a corneal tissue carrier) to elastically deform it into a second shape (i.e., displaced laterally due to interaction with the corneal tissue carrier), then unconstrained (i.e., removed from engagement with the corneal tissue carrier) such that the resilient arm returns to its first shape or substantially returns to its first shape.", "FIG.", "1A is an exploded view of an assembly or corneal tissue sample assembly 100 for storing, handling, transporting, viewing, evaluating, and/or shipping corneal tissue.", "FIG.", "1B is a perspective view of the assembly 100 in a closed configuration and FIG.", "1C is a top view of the assembly 100.FIG.", "2 is a side view of the assembly 100 in a second configuration.", "With reference to FIGS.", "1A-2, the assembly can include a viewing chamber 110, wherein the viewing chamber 110 includes a body 112 and a lid 118.In some embodiments, the viewing chamber 110 may be a BAUSCH & LOMB™ corneal viewing chamber, a KROLMAN™ viewing chamber, a NUMEDIS INC.™ TRANSEND™ corneal tissue chamber, a STEPHENS INSTRUMENTS™ VISIONPAK™ disposable corneal viewing chamber, derivatives thereof, or another suitable viewing chamber.", "In various embodiments, the viewing chamber 110 may be formed from a polymer, a glass, or another suitable material.", "In specific embodiments, the viewing chamber 110 may be formed from a biocompatible material (e.g., a biocompatible polymer, a biocompatible glass, etc.).", "The assembly 100 can further include a corneal tissue carrier 120 (also referred to herein as an injector, a Straiko modified Jones tube, a Jones tube, or a tube).", "The corneal tissue carrier 120 can be removably coupled to an inner portion 113 of the body 112 of the viewing chamber 110.In certain embodiments, the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be a Straiko modified Jones tube, a Jones tube, derivatives thereof, or another suitable tissue carrier.", "In some embodiments, the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be formed from a polymer, a glass, or another suitable material.", "In specific embodiments, the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be formed from a biocompatible material (e.g., a biocompatible polymer, a biocompatible glass, etc.).", "When the corneal tissue carrier 120 is coupled to the inner portion 113 of the body 112, the lid 118 may be coupled to the body 112.In some embodiments, the lid 118 may not be in contact with the corneal tissue carrier 120 when the lid 118 is coupled to the body 112.In some other embodiments, the lid 118 may be in contact, or gently contact, the corneal tissue carrier 120 when the lid is coupled to the body 112.The assembly 100 can further include a corneal tissue sample 5 (also referred to herein as a DMEK graft, a DMEK graft scroll, or a graft).", "The corneal tissue sample 5 may be suitable for various forms of keratoplasty or endothelial keratoplasty (e.g., DMEK, PDEK, DSAEK, Ultra-thin DSAEK, etc.).", "In some embodiments, the corneal tissue sample 5 may be a graft comprising corneal endothelium and Descemet membrane.", "In some other embodiments, the corneal tissue sample 5 may include corneal endothelium, Descemet membrane, and/or pre-Descemet's membrane.", "In particular embodiments, the corneal tissue sample 5 may be a DMEK graft or a graft suitable for a DMEK procedure.", "In alternative embodiments, the corneal tissue sample 5 may also include stroma.", "In certain embodiments, the thickness of the corneal tissue sample 5 may be less than about 200 microns, less than about 150 microns, less than about 100 microns, less than about 50 microns, less than about 25 microns, less than about 10 microns, or another suitable thickness.", "In particular embodiments, the thickness of the corneal tissue sample 5 is less than about 100 microns.", "In specific embodiments, the thickness of the corneal tissue sample 5 is less than about 50 microns.", "As shown, the corneal tissue sample 5 may be disposed within the corneal tissue carrier 120.In certain embodiments, the corneal tissue sample 5 may be stained before being disposed within the corneal tissue carrier 120.In certain other embodiments, the corneal tissue sample 5 may be disposed within the corneal tissue carrier 120 and then stained.", "For example, the corneal tissue sample 5 may be stained with Trypan blue, a mixture comprising Trypan blue, a biocompatible stain, or another suitable dye or stain.", "In some embodiments, at least a portion of each of the viewing chamber 110 and the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be substantially transparent.", "The viewing chamber 110 and the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be substantially transparent such that the corneal tissue sample 5 can be visible to a user.", "For example, the corneal tissue sample 5 may be disposed within the corneal tissue carrier 120, and the corneal tissue carrier 120 including the corneal tissue sample 5 may be further disposed within the viewing chamber 110.In such configurations, the substantial transparency of the viewing chamber 110 and the corneal tissue carrier 120 may allow or permit the user to view the corneal tissue sample 5.In certain embodiments, the corneal tissue carrier 120 and the viewing chamber 110 are substantially transparent and/or substantially clear such that a user may view and/or evaluate the corneal tissue sample 5 disposed within the corneal tissue carrier 120 and the viewing chamber 110 using corneal tissue evaluation instruments and/or methods such as specular microscopy, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, light microscopy, and/or optical coherence tomography.", "The corneal tissue carrier 120 can include an inner cavity 122, wherein the corneal tissue sample 5 can be disposed in the inner cavity 122.The corneal tissue carrier 120 can further include at least one opening or first opening 124.The first opening 124 may be disposed at or adjacent a first or proximal end 121 of the corneal tissue carrier 120.The corneal tissue carrier 120 can further include a second opening 126.The second opening 126 may be disposed at or adjacent a second or distal end 123 of the corneal tissue carrier 120.In some embodiments, the inner cavity 122 of the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be in communication (e.g., fluid communication) with the inner portion 113 of the body 112 of the viewing chamber 100 via the first opening 124 and/or the second opening 126.The corneal tissue carrier 120 may have various sizes and/or shapes.", "For example, a length of the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be from about 10 mm to about 100 mm, about 25 mm to about 50 mm, about 30 mm to about 40 mm, or another suitable length.", "In some embodiments, the length of the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be about 32 mm, about 35 mm (e.g., about 35.2 mm), or about 38 mm (e.g., about 37.6 mm).", "A maximum width of the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be from about 1 mm to about 10 mm, from about 3 mm to about 8 mm, from about 5 mm to about 6 mm, or another suitable width.", "In some embodiments, the maximum width of the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be about 5.6 mm, about 5.9 mm (e.g., about 5.88 mm), or about 6 mm.", "The first and second openings 124, 126 may also have various sizes and/or shapes.", "For example, the first and second openings 124, 146 may be substantially circular, substantially ellipsoidal, or another suitable shape.", "In some embodiments, the first opening 124 may be substantially circular, wherein the first opening 124 has an inside diameter and an outside diameter (i.e., the material forming the corneal tissue carrier 120 has a thickness).", "The outside diameter of the first opening 124 may be from about 2 mm to about 6 mm, about 3 mm to about 5 mm, about 3.5 mm to about 4 mm, or another suitable outside diameter.", "For example, the outside diameter of the first opening 124 may be about 3.8 mm, about 3.85 mm, or about 3.9 mm.", "The inside diameter of the first opening 124 may be from about 0.5 mm to about 4 mm, about 1 mm to about 3 mm, about 1.5 mm to about 2 mm, or another suitable inside diameter.", "For example, the inside diameter of the first opening 124 may be about 1.6 mm (e.g., about 1.64 mm), about 1.7 mm, or about 1.9 mm (e.g., about 1.87 mm).", "In some embodiments, the second opening 126 may be substantially ellipsoidal, wherein the second opening 126 has an inside major axis, an outside major axis, an inside minor axis, and an outside minor axis.", "The outside major axis of the second opening 126 may be from about 1 mm to about 5 mm, about 1.5 mm to about 4 mm, about 2 mm to about 3.5 mm, or another suitable outside major axis.", "For example, the outside major axis of the second opening 126 may be about 2.2 mm (e.g., about 2.23 mm), about 2.7 mm (e.g., about 2.72 mm), or about 3 mm.", "The inside major axis of the second opening 126 may be from about 0.3 mm to about 4 mm, about 0.5 mm to about 3 mm, about 1 mm to about 2.5 mm, or another suitable inside major axis.", "For example, the inside major axis of the second opening 126 may be about 1.5 mm, about 1.9 mm (e.g., about 1.86 mm), or about 2.1 mm (e.g., about 2.14 mm).", "Furthermore, the outside minor axis of the second opening 126 may be from about 0.5 mm to about 4 mm, about 1 mm to about 3 mm, about 1.5 mm to about 2.5 mm, or another suitable outside minor axis.", "For example, the outside minor axis of the second opening 126 may be about 1.9 mm (e.g., about 1.91 mm) or about 2.4 mm (e.g., about 2.38 mm).", "The inside minor axis of the second opening 126 may be from about 0.3 mm to about 4 mm, about 0.5 mm to about 3 mm, about 1 mm to about 2 mm, or another suitable inside minor axis.", "For example, the inside minor axis of the second opening 126 may be about 1.2 mm, about 1.4 mm (e.g., about 1.42 mm), or about 1.5 mm (e.g., about 1.52 mm).", "In some embodiments, the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be configured to be coupled to a syringe, for example, the proximal end 121 of the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be coupleable to a distal end of a syringe (see FIG.", "4).", "In certain embodiments, a portion of medical tubing may be coupled to the proximal end 121 of the corneal tissue carrier 120.The portion of medical tubing can be in fluid communication with the inner cavity 122 of the corneal tissue carrier 120 via the first opening 124.In certain embodiments, the medical tubing may be integral with the corneal tissue carrier 120.In certain other embodiments, each of the medical tubing and the corneal tissue carrier 120 may be discrete components.", "With reference to FIG.", "2, a preservation fluid 130 can be disposed within at least a portion of the inner portion 113 of the body 112 of the viewing chamber 110.Additionally, the preservation fluid 130 can be disposed within at least a portion of the inner cavity 122 of the corneal tissue carrier 120 (e.g., when the corneal tissue carrier 120 is disposed within the inner portion 113 of the body 112).", "In certain embodiments, the preservation fluid 130 may be disposed only within at least a portion of the inner cavity 122 of the corneal tissue carrier 120 and not within at least a portion of the inner portion 113 of the body 112 of the viewing chamber 110.In various embodiments, the preservation fluid 130 may be disposed within the inner portion 113 and the inner cavity 122 such that the corneal tissue sample 5 is substantially immersed in the preservation fluid 130.In certain embodiments, the preservation fluid 130 may be OPTISOL™-GS, OPTISOL™, LIFE4° C.™ (NUMEDIS™, Inc.), EUSOL-C™ (CORNEAL CHAMBER™, ALCHIMIA™, Sri), CORNEA COLD® (EUROBIO™), CORNISOL™ (AUROLAB™), a derivative thereof, or another suitable preservation fluid.", "Referring again to FIGS.", "1A-2, the body 112 of the viewing chamber 110 may include a plurality of arms or resilient arms 115 extending from an inner surface of the body 112 (e.g., an inner surface of the inner portion 113 of the body 112).", "The plurality of arms 115 may be configured to removably couple the corneal tissue carrier 120 to the inner portion 113 of the body 112.Each of the arms 115 may be resilient, such that each of the arms 115 has lateral flexibility.", "For example, in the illustrated embodiment the plurality of arms 115 are disposed in a circle (see FIG.", "1C).", "Upon placement of the corneal tissue carrier 120 between at least two arms 115, each of the two arms 115 may be displaced substantially parallel with a tangent of the circle.", "The arms 115 can exert a force on the corneal tissue carrier 120 such that the corneal tissue carrier 120 is coupled to the body 112 of the viewing chamber 110 via the arms 115.For clarity, only a subset of the plurality of arms 115 is labeled in FIGS.", "1A-2.FIGS.", "3A and 3B illustrate additional embodiments of corneal tissue carriers 220, 220′ that can, in certain respects, resemble components of the corneal tissue carrier 120 described in connection with FIGS.", "1A-2.It will be appreciated that all the illustrated embodiments may have analogous features.", "Accordingly, like features are designated with like reference numerals, with the leading digits incremented to “2.” For instance, the inner cavity is designated as “122” in FIGS.", "1A-2, and an analogous inner cavity is designated as “222” in FIG.", "3A.", "Relevant disclosure set forth above regarding similarly identified features thus may not be repeated hereafter.", "Moreover, specific features of the corneal tissue carrier 120 and related components shown in FIGS.", "1A-2 may not be shown or identified by a reference numeral in the drawings or specifically discussed in the written description that follows.", "However, such features may clearly be the same, or substantially the same, as features depicted in other embodiments and/or described with respect to such embodiments.", "Accordingly, the relevant descriptions of such features apply equally to the features of the corneal tissue carriers 220, 220′ of FIGS.", "3A and 3B.", "Any suitable combination of the features, and variations of the same, described with respect to the corneal tissue carrier 120 and components illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-2 can be employed with the corneal tissue carriers 220, 220′ and components of FIGS.", "3A and 3B, and vice versa.", "This pattern of disclosure applies equally to further embodiments depicted in subsequent figures and described hereafter.", "With reference to FIG.", "3A, one or more caps or plugs 228a, 228b may be removably coupled to the corneal tissue carrier 220.A first cap 228a may be coupleable to a first end 221 of the corneal tissue carrier 220, for example, at or adjacent a first opening 224 of the corneal tissue carrier 220.In some other embodiments, a second cap 228b may be coupleable to a second end 223 of the corneal tissue carrier 220, for example, at or adjacent a second opening 226 of the corneal tissue carrier 220.The caps 228a, 228b may inhibit or restrict passage of a corneal tissue sample out of the inner cavity 222 of the corneal tissue carrier 220.In some embodiments, the caps 228a, 228b may allow or permit passage of fluid (e.g., a preservation fluid) into and/or out of the inner cavity 222 of the corneal tissue carrier 220.As illustrated, one or more of the caps 228a, 228b may include at least one of a mesh material, a web-like material, and/or a permeable material.", "The cap (i.e., caps 228a, 228b) may include a mesh portion such that passage of a corneal tissue sample through the cap is substantially inhibited, while passage of a fluid through the cap is allowed or permitted.", "In some embodiments, a width of each of the openings in the mesh may be less than about 2 mm, less than about 1 mm, less than about 0.75 mm, less than about 0.5 mm, less than about 0.25 mm, less than about 0.1 mm, less than about 0.05 mm, less than about 0.02 mm, or another suitable size.", "In specific embodiments, a width of each of the openings in the mesh may be about 0.02 mm.", "In various embodiments, the caps 228a, 228b may include one or more apertures (e.g., openings).", "With reference to FIG.", "3B, one or more caps or plugs 228a′, 228b′ may be removably coupled to the corneal tissue carrier 220′.", "A first plug 228a′ may be coupleable to a first end 221′ of the corneal tissue carrier 220′, for example, within at least a portion of a first opening 224′ of the corneal tissue carrier 220′.", "A second cap 228b′ may be coupleable to a second end 223′ of the corneal tissue carrier 220′, for example, at or adjacent a second opening 226′ of the corneal tissue carrier 220′.", "The caps or plugs 228a′, 228b′ may inhibit or restrict passage of a corneal tissue sample out of the inner cavity 222′ of the corneal tissue carrier 220′.", "In some embodiments, the caps or plugs 228a′, 228b′ may inhibit or restrict passage of fluid into and/or out of the inner cavity 222′ of the corneal tissue carrier 220′ (e.g., the caps or plugs 228a′, 228b′ may seal, or substantially seal, the corneal tissue carrier 220′).", "Accordingly, a preservation fluid may be disposed only within at least a portion of the inner cavity 222′ of the corneal tissue carrier 220′ and not within at least a portion of an inner portion of a body of a viewing chamber.", "Any combination of caps or plugs (e.g., caps or plugs that allow passage of fluid and/or caps or plugs that inhibit passage of fluid) may be used with the corneal tissue carriers disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "4 depicts a corneal tissue carrier 320 coupled to a syringe 340.As shown, the corneal tissue carrier 320 may be coupled to the syringe 340 via a portion of medical tubing 345.In some embodiments, the medical tubing 345 may be about 14 French gauge.", "In some other embodiments, the medical tubing 345 may be about 6 French gauge, about 8 French gauge, about 10 French gauge, about 12 French gauge, about 16 French gauge, about 18 French gauge, about 20 French gauge, or another suitable size.", "An assembly or corneal tissue sample assembly for storing, handling, transporting, viewing, evaluating, and/or shipping corneal tissue may lack a viewing chamber.", "In various embodiments, the assembly may include a corneal tissue carrier, one or more caps or plugs, and/or a syringe as depicted, for example, in FIGS.", "3A-4.Furthermore, a corneal tissue sample may be disposed in the corneal tissue carrier.", "The corneal tissue sample may be immersed or substantially immersed in a preservation fluid that is disposed within at least a portion of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier.", "Methods related to processing a corneal tissue sample are also disclosed herein.", "In some embodiments, a method of processing a corneal tissue sample may include obtaining a corneal tissue sample and disposing the corneal tissue sample in an inner cavity of a corneal tissue carrier.", "As described above, the corneal tissue sample may be a graft comprising corneal endothelium and Descemet membrane.", "The corneal tissue sample may be suitable for various forms of keratoplasty (e.g., DMEK, PDEK, DSAEK, Ultra-thin DSAEK, etc.).", "In some embodiments, the corneal tissue sample may be a graft comprising corneal endothelium and Descemet membrane.", "In some other embodiments, the corneal tissue sample 5 may include corneal endothelium, Descemet membrane, and/or pre-Descemet's membrane.", "In particular embodiments, the corneal tissue sample is a DMEK graft or a graft suitable for a DMEK procedure.", "In specific embodiments, the corneal tissue sample may also include stroma.", "In some embodiments, the thickness of the corneal tissue sample may be less than about 200 microns, less than about 150 microns, less than about 100 microns, less than about 50 microns, less than about 25 microns, less than about 10 microns, or another suitable thickness.", "In particular embodiments, the thickness of the corneal tissue sample is less than about 100 microns.", "In specific embodiments, the thickness of the corneal tissue sample is less than about 50 microns.", "The method may also include staining the corneal tissue sample (e.g., with Trypan blue).", "The method of processing the corneal tissue sample may further include coupling the corneal tissue carrier to an inner portion of a viewing chamber.", "As described above, the corneal tissue carrier may be coupleable to the inner portion of the viewing chamber via a plurality of arms extending from an inner surface of the viewing chamber.", "Upon coupling of the corneal tissue carrier to the viewing chamber, the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier may be in fluid communication with the inner portion of the viewing chamber.", "In certain embodiments, the method of processing the corneal tissue sample may further include filling at least a portion of the inner portion of the viewing chamber and/or the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier with a preservation fluid such that the corneal tissue sample is substantially immersed in the preservation fluid.", "In certain other embodiments, the method of processing the corneal tissue sample may include filling at least a portion of the inner cavity of the corneal tissue carrier with the preservation fluid, while not filling the inner portion of the viewing chamber, and sealing the corneal tissue carrier (e.g., with caps or plugs) such that the corneal tissue sample is substantially immersed in the preservation fluid.", "The method of processing the corneal tissue sample may also include closing or sealing the viewing chamber (e.g., with a lid) such that passage of the preservation fluid out of the inner portion of the viewing chamber is inhibited.", "In some embodiments, the viewing chamber may be tipped over (e.g., during transportation or shipping) and the lid may act to limit or prevent the leakage of the preservation fluid.", "Upon disposition of the corneal tissue sample within the corneal tissue carrier and the viewing chamber, the corneal tissue sample may be viewed, assessed, and/or evaluated to determine the suitability of the corneal tissue sample for transplantation.", "In some embodiments, the corneal tissue sample, and any damage to the corneal tissue sample, can be evaluated to determine the suitability or the corneal tissue sample for transplantation.", "Damage to the corneal tissue sample can be “overall” damage (e.g., damage to any portion of the corneal tissue sample) or “concentrated” damage (e.g., damage that is concentrated at a certain portion or portions of the corneal tissue sample).", "Evaluating the corneal tissue sample may include using at least one of slit-lamp biomicroscopy, specular microscopy, light microscopy, and/or optical coherence tomography.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B are images of DMEK grafts, wherein the dark areas are regions of endothelial cell death.", "In certain embodiments, a practitioner may determine that a corneal tissue sample is suitable for transplantation if the corneal tissue sample includes about 10% overall damage.", "In certain other embodiments, however, the practitioner may determine that a corneal tissue sample having about 10% damage is not suitable for transplantation if substantially all of the damage is concentrated at the center of the corneal tissue sample (e.g., as indicated by the arrow in FIG.", "5A).", "Likewise, the practitioner may determine that a corneal tissue sample having about 10% damage is not suitable for transplantation if substantially all of the damage is concentrated along one edge of the corneal tissue sample (e.g., as indicated by the arrow in FIG.", "5B).", "If damage is concentrated, for example, at the edge of the corneal tissue sample the corneal tissue sample may detach from a subject's eye after transplantation because there may be an insufficient number of cells along the edge of the corneal tissue sample.", "In various embodiments, evaluating the corneal tissue sample may include at least one of assessing, calculating, counting, determining, and/or estimating an endothelial cell density (ECD) of the corneal tissue sample.", "A practitioner may reject the corneal tissue sample (e.g., determine the corneal tissue sample is not suitable for transplantation) when the ECD is below about 4000 cells/mm2, below about 3000 cells/mm2, below about 2500 cells/mm2, below about 2000 cells/mm2, below about 1500 cells/mm2, below about 1000 cells/mm2, or below another suitable number of cells/mm2.In certain embodiments, evaluating the corneal tissue sample may include at least one of assessing, calculating, counting, determining, and/or estimating a percentage of ECL of the corneal tissue sample.", "A practitioner may reject the corneal tissue sample when the estimated percentage of ECL is above about 5%, above about 10%, above about 15%, above about 20%, above about 25%, above about 30%, or above another suitable percentage.", "In some embodiments, a practitioner may evaluate a corneal tissue sample and determine if the ECL is mild, mild-moderate, moderate, or severe (see, e.g., FIG.", "9).", "The practitioner may determine that the corneal tissue sample is not suitable for transplantation if the ECL is severe.", "In various embodiments, 0% to about 10% ECL may be mild, about 10% to about 15% ECL may be mild-moderate, about 15% to about 20% ECL may be moderate, and above about 20% ECL may be severe.", "The method of processing the corneal tissue sample may also include coupling a cap to an opening of the corneal tissue carrier.", "As discussed above, the cap may limit or inhibit passage of the corneal tissue sample out of the corneal tissue carrier.", "Furthermore, the cap may allow or permit passage of the preservation fluid into and out of the corneal tissue carrier.", "Methods related to administering a corneal tissue sample to a subject in need thereof are also disclosed herein.", "In some embodiments, a method of administering a corneal tissue sample may include obtaining a corneal tissue sample assembly.", "The corneal tissue sample assembly, as described above, may include a viewing chamber, a corneal tissue carrier removably coupled to an inner portion of the viewing chamber, and a corneal tissue sample disposed within the corneal tissue carrier.", "A method of administering a corneal tissue sample may further include administering the corneal tissue sample to a subject.", "In some embodiments, the subject may be a patient in need of a corneal tissue transplant.", "A method of administering a corneal tissue sample may include removing the corneal tissue carrier from the viewing chamber.", "In some embodiments, the corneal tissue sample may be a stained corneal tissue sample.", "In some other embodiments, the method of administering the corneal tissue sample may include staining the corneal tissue sample.", "The method of administering the corneal tissue sample may also include rinsing the stained corneal tissue sample.", "For example, the corneal tissue sample may be rinsed prior to administering the corneal tissue sample to the subject.", "As stated above, the corneal tissue sample assembly may include a medical tubing that is coupled to the corneal tissue carrier.", "As such, a method of administering a corneal tissue sample may include coupling a syringe to the medical tubing and actuating the syringe to deliver the corneal tissue sample to the subject.", "In some other embodiments, a method of administering a corneal tissue sample may include retrieving the corneal tissue sample from a corneal tissue carrier with a tool (e.g., a micro-forceps).", "The corneal tissue sample may then be pulled into the anterior chamber of the eye.", "This method of administering a corneal tissue sample may be referred to as the “pull-through” technique.", "In certain embodiments, the “pull-through” technique may be used with a corneal tissue sample (e.g., a DMEK scroll) disposed within a corneal tissue carrier as disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of processing, evaluating, and/or distributing a corneal tissue sample (“tissue”).", "The flow chart also illustrates a method of providing information regarding a corneal tissue sample to a user (e.g., a surgeon).", "In some embodiments, the steps depicted within the dashed line may only be performed when the corneal tissue sample is disposed within a corneal tissue sample assembly as disclosed herein (i.e., wherein the corneal tissue sample is visible within the corneal tissue sample assembly).", "With continued reference to FIG.", "6, a practitioner may determine that a corneal tissue sample is suitable for use in DMEK.", "Upon such a determination, the corneal tissue sample may be processed for DMEK and disposed within a corneal tissue assembly (i.e., the tissue may be “preloaded”).", "The suitability of the corneal tissue sample for transplantation (e.g., the “quality” of the corneal tissue sample) may be evaluated via slit-lamp biomicroscopy, specular microscopy, light microscopy, and/or optical coherence tomography.", "In certain embodiments, if the corneal tissue sample is determined to be unsuitable for transplantation it may not “pass” and the corneal tissue sample may be discarded.", "If, however, the corneal tissue sample is determined to be suitable for transplantation it may “pass” and the corneal tissue sample may be provided to a surgeon (“surgeon A”) along with a description of the corneal tissue sample's quality.", "Surgeon A may not accept the corneal tissue sample due to various factors (e.g., due to surgeon A's own preferences and/or requirements regarding a corneal tissue sample).", "In some embodiments, the rejected corneal tissue sample may be offered to another surgeon (“surgeon B”), if time permits.", "If, however, surgeon A accepts the corneal tissue sample, surgeon A may administer the corneal tissue sample to a subject (i.e., the corneal tissue sample may be transplanted).", "As can be appreciated, additional methods and/or method steps can be derived from FIGS.", "1A-6 and the corresponding disclosure.", "It has been demonstrated that good quality specular images of corneal tissue samples disposed within a corneal tissue carrier and a viewing chamber can be acquired, which can provide accurate ECD measurements (see, e.g., Study 1 described at least in part in Examples 1-12 below).", "In some embodiments, the number of cells that can be counted per image can be affected by the tightness of a DMEK graft scroll.", "For example, fewer cells can be counted on a graft that scrolls tightly (see FIG.", "7C, top images), and these grafts may require up to four images to obtain the desired number of measured cells.", "Grafts that scroll loosely, however, can provide a flatter surface that can allow for more cells to be counted (see FIG.", "7C, bottom images).", "These loosely scrolled grafts may require only three images to obtain ECD calculations based on >100 cells measured.", "In certain embodiments, post-processing cell counts may be measured.", "In various embodiments, evaluation of the graft by slit-lamp biomicroscopy may be required for eye bank prepared tissues (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Medical Standards.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America;2016).", "In the processing validation round described herein, 16 preloaded grafts were prepared and loaded into the injectors.", "Technician-estimated tissue damage levels based on slit-lamp examination were lower than actual damage for 62% of grafts.", "This underestimation may have been due to further manipulation of the grafts prior to analysis.", "DMEK scrolls were injected into a bed of viscoelastic and unfurled for staining as previously reported (see Schallhorn J M, et al.", "Cornea.", "2016;35:377-382).", "Thus, the graft was once again pushed through the injector opening, possibly acquiring more damage, and then maneuvered to open by the injection of more viscoelastic.", "This technique of analysis, while necessary, has been shown to induce additional damage to DMEK grafts (see Schallhorn J M, et al.", "Cornea.", "2016;35:377-382).", "It was further found that estimation of graft damage improved over time.", "The largest differences between estimated ECL and actual ECL occurred in the first six grafts of the validation study (range: 4.4-15%), while the smallest differences were found in the last six grafts of the series (range: 0.9-7.1%) (see FIG.", "7F).", "This trend continued for the grafts prepared for the shipping and extended viability studies.", "These results suggest that post-processing slit-lamp evaluations can be done with reasonable accuracy by trained eye bank technicians and evaluations may improve as technicians become more familiar with evaluating DMEK grafts in the scrolled conformation.", "In some embodiments, a glass Straiko modified Jones tube may be used for post-processing evaluation.", "For example, a Jones tube can be useful in post-processing evaluation because it is substantially clear and it can fit into a KROLMAN™ viewing chamber.", "As many eye banks use KROLMAN™ viewing chambers, additional modifications to eye banks' procedures may not be required (see FIGS.", "7A and 7B).", "Disposition of a Jones tube and a DMEK scroll inside of a viewing chamber can enable eye bank technicians to evaluate the grafts with equipment already on hand.", "In addition, surgeons and practitioners can continue to receive prepared tissues in a manner already familiar to them (see FIG.", "7B).", "At least one difference in the ECL of pre-stripped and preloaded grafts was observed in the studies disclosed herein (see Table 1).", "Pre-stripped tissues showed an average of 9.3±5.9% ECL (n=14), while preloaded grafts from the processing study showed an average ECL of 16.8±5.9% ECL (n=16), which was significantly higher than pre-stripped tissue alone.", "The difference in ECL may be due to the additional manipulation required to process preloaded tissues (e.g., graft trephination and loading into the injector) (see FIG.", "8).", "Further, preloaded grafts are unfurled on a bed of viscoelastic for analysis, and therefore may be prone to additional damage caused by this analysis method.", "Similar to a previous study comparing ECL from two different injector systems (see Schallhorn J M, et al.", "Cornea.", "2016;35:377-382), the amount of ECL that includes trephination and injector damage may be more similar to ECL caused during actual surgical events.", "Thus, the ECL due to pre-stripping alone can be used as a baseline value for comparison of ECL added by preloading grafts.", "TABLE 1 Endothelial Cell Loss (ECL) by Experimental Groups ECL (% cell death) Average ECD (cells/mm2) Average ± p- Donor Age (years) N SD Median Range Pre Post value Average Median Range Total Preloaded 31 15.6 ± 6.4 14.1 6.9-50.4 2607 2724 0.1 64 65 46-75 Tissues 1.Processing & 16 16.8 ± 5.9§ 16.7 7.0-25.9 2528 2560 0.34 63 64 46-75+ Evaluation 2.Shipping Study 10 18.5 ± 12.4 14.0 8.5-50.4‡ 2697 2854 0.08 67 67 65-69 3.Extended Cell 5 13.1 ± 9.5 10.6 6.9-29.8† 2634 2714 0.67 58 58 56-61 Viability Pre-stripped Only 14 9.3 ± 5.9§ 7.2 3.7-26.0* 2701 2553 0.12 66 66 55-74+ The row labeled “Total Preloaded Tissues” contains combined results from the processing and evaluation, shipping, and extended cell viability studies.", "P-values in the table are specific to pre- and post-processing ECD measurements.", "§ECL is significantly different (p < 0.01).", "+Age ranges not significantly different (p = 0.37).", "‡One tissue fell out of the glass tube during a shipping event and incurred extensive damage.", "†Tissue with 29.8% final ECL had approximately 17% ECL prior to processing based on Trypan blue staining and FIJI analysis.", "*ECL pattern on graft with 26% damage suggests excess damage may have been caused during transfer of tissue to microscope slide for analysis.", "In some embodiments, analysis of tissues processed earlier in the present study revealed higher than desired amounts of ECL (>25% ECL).", "The cell loss may have occurred due to several technical reasons, including partial trephination of the desired graft zone, scraping the graft against the opening of the injector while loading, and touch defects while unfurling the tissue for analysis (see FIGS.", "8 and 9).", "However, improvement in graft quality was observed as the technicians continued to prepare additional grafts (see FIG.", "7E).", "Improvements in graft quality were seen throughout the remainder of the study, as the median ECL decreased as technicians processed tissues for the shipping and extended cell viability experiments (see Table 1).", "Tissue quality may improve as trained eye bank technicians continue to prepare preloaded grafts.", "Cell viability of grafts from the processing and evaluation study was not significantly different than cell viability of those grafts subjected to two shipping events (see Table 1).", "This may suggest that shipping preloaded grafts inside of a corneal tissue carrier and a viewing chamber does not cause additional graft damage.", "An extended cell viability study was performed to examine whether preloaded DMEK grafts stored in OPTISOL™-GS can survive for several days in cold storage.", "The study was conducted to assess graft viability for surgeons who prefer to receive prepared grafts one day prior to scheduled surgeries as well as to account for possible shipping delays (e.g., due to weather).", "Thus, several grafts were prepared and stored in cold storage for five days prior to examining cell viability.", "With the exception of one graft that had 17% ECL prior to processing, all other grafts stored for five days showed ECL similar to those of the processing and shipping studies (see Table 1).", "Thus, preloaded grafts can survive in cold storage for an extended period of time.", "In a second study of prestained and preloaded DMEK grafts, average donor age was 58 years (range: 50-75 years), 10% were pseudophakic, and 10% had a history of diabetes (see, e.g., Study 2 described at least in part in Examples 13-16 below).", "Endothelial cell densities for tissues used in studies where ECL was measured ranged from 2066-2994 cells/mm2 (average: 2560 cell/mm2).", "Unstained preloaded DMEK grafts that were stored for 3 days in cold storage showed an average of 15±3% cell loss (95% CI=11-18%, n=5), and was not significantly different from prestained grafts, which had an average cell loss of 16±4% (95% CI=10-22%, n=5, P=1.0) (see FIG.", "10).", "Grafts that were preloaded and then stained inside the injector showed an average of 18±2% cell loss (95% CI=16-20%, n=5), and was not significantly different than grafts that were prestained (P=0.15) or unstained (P=0.09) (see FIG.", "10, row C and FIG.", "11).", "All 8 prestained grafts remained contained by the glass injector after being shipped from Portland, Oreg.", "to New York City, N.Y. Two grafts settled at the beveled tip of the modified Jones tube and 3 grafts settled in the flanged base of the tube.", "In all cases, less than 1 mm of the scroll extended beyond the edge of the glass tube.", "The grafts were repositioned into the center of the Straiko modified Jones tube by holding the viewing chamber such that the tube was oriented vertically and gently agitating the chamber.", "Two of the preloaded Straiko modified Jones tubes arrived with small air bubbles in the tube.", "While still submerged in OPTISOL™-GS and cradled in the viewing chamber, the air bubbles were exchanged for OPTISOL™-GS using a 30-gauge cannula.", "Prior to shipping, all grafts were stained deep blue to levels between the 1st and 2nd dilutions (see FIG.", "12A, panels 1 and 2).", "As stated above, the blue color of the Trypan blue is depicted in grayscale in the figures.", "One day post-processing and after cross-country shipment, the grafts remained blue with levels between the 3rd and 4th dilutions (n=3, see FIG.", "12B, panels 3 and 4).", "Grafts examined 3 days after processing and cross-country shipment appeared lighter with blue levels between the 4th and 5th dilutions (n=5, see FIG.", "12C, panels 4 and 5).", "Despite a reduction in stain levels, all grafts prepared 3 days prior to simulated surgery were visible after injection into donor eyes and were opened successfully (see FIG.", "12C).", "It was shown that preloaded DMEK tissues can be prestained with Trypan blue for 4 minutes and stored in cold storage for up to 3 days without a significant increase in cell loss compared to unstained tissues.", "These results were consistent with a recent report showing that staining DMEK grafts with 0.06% Trypan blue for up to 5 minutes yielded sufficiently blue grafts without additional cell loss (see Majmudar P A, et al.", "Enhancing DMEK Success by Identifying Optimal Levels of Trypan Blue Dye Application to Donor Corneal Tissue.", "Cornea.", "2016).", "Furthermore surgeons have stained DMEK grafts with 0.06% Trypan blue for 4 minutes prior to transplantation without negatively affecting surgical outcomes (see Terry M A, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015;34:845-852).", "Previous studies have demonstrated different methods used to preload DMEK grafts at the eye bank (see Parekh M, et al.", "Am J Ophthalmol.", "2016;166:120-125 and Tran K D, et al.", "Cornea.", "2017;36:484-490), and one study has shown that grafts can be evaluated accurately after loading into the Straiko modified Jones tube (see Tran KD, et al.", "Cornea.", "2017;36:484-490).", "While the purpose of this study was not to examine whether prestained tissue can be evaluated according to current standards (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Medical Standards.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America;2016), it was found that both specular microscopy and slit-lamp examination were possible with prestained preloaded tissues.", "For prestained grafts, all external surfaces of the scroll can be evaluated by rotating the chamber during slit-lamp evaluations.", "However, it can be difficult to visualize the endothelium that is on the interior of a tightly scrolled prestained graft as the scroll is less transparent due to staining.", "In these instances, visualization can be aided by retro-illumination of the scrolled graft by shining a light source (e.g., a pen light) through the graft towards the observer.", "A protocol for staining DMEK grafts once they are loaded in the modified Jones tube was also examined (see FIG.", "11).", "While a significant increase in ECL was not seen in this protocol, a trend towards additional cell loss was seen.", "Without being bound by any one particular theory, a larger sample size may reveal a small but significant increase in ECL that would be consistent with additional tissue manipulation resulting from the staining and washing steps.", "Damage patterns such as the fine scratch-like streaks observed on these grafts (see FIG.", "10, row C) may be due to additional scraping against the injector as previously suggested (see_Schallhorn J M, et al.", "Cornea.", "2016;35:377-382).", "Indeed, a review of videos from Study 2 shows where the scraping damage may have been introduced.", "In the shipping studies, a subset of prestained grafts 3 days post-processing were chosen to be examined to push the limits of stain retention.", "It has been shown that prestained grafts retain a sufficient level of darkness after a 3-day shipping period (see FIGS.", "12A-12C).", "However, it was noted that there was a noticeable reduction in the level of staining on the grafts analyzed in this study.", "Thus, prestained DMEK grafts do not retain 100% of the stain intensity when stored in OPTISOL™-GS for several days.", "This may also increase the difficulty of graft visualization and unscrolling during transplants for surgeons who are just starting to learn DMEK.", "As demonstrated, pre-stripped and pre-punched DMEK grafts can also be prestained and preloaded into a clinical injector with acceptable cell loss.", "In addition, it has been shown that these highly processed tissues retain a sufficient level of stain for implantation and unscrolling after shipment to a distant surgical center.", "EXAMPLES The following examples are illustrative of disclosed methods and assemblies.", "In light of this disclosure, those of skill in the art will recognize that variations of these examples and other examples of the disclosed methods and assemblies would be possible without undue experimentation.", "Example 1 Preloaded DMEK Grafts in Viewing Chambers Examples 1-12 describe a first study (Study 1).", "After separation from the underlying stroma, all DMEK grafts (31/31) submerged in OPTISOL™-GS scrolled into their natural conformations with the endothelium facing outward.", "Grafts remained in the scrolled conformation after being drawn into a Straiko modified Jones tube (see FIG.", "7A).", "The tube containing the graft was placed into a KROLMAN™ viewing chamber between the cornea support prongs or arms (see FIG.", "7A).", "The chamber was filled with 20 mL of OPTISOL™-GS and then sealed by replacement of the lid.", "As a result, the presentation of the preloaded graft inside the viewing chamber was similar to current tissue presentation after preparation at the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank (see FIG.", "7B).", "Example 2 Specular Microscopy of Preloaded DMEK Grafts Specular images and ECDs of all preloaded grafts used in this study were successfully obtained (31/31 grafts; see FIG.", "7C).", "Average ECD for all tissues prior to processing was 2607±312 cells/mm2, and was not significantly different from the post-processing average of 2724±339 cells/mm2 (p=0.10; see Table 1).", "The average number of cells used to calculate ECD for preloaded grafts was 97±17 cells, and ranged from 71-130 cells.", "The number of cells that can be measured was determined by scroll tightness, with looser scrolls allowing for more cells to be counted (see FIG.", "7C).", "Example 3 Slit-Lamp Biomicroscopy and Cell Viability of Preloaded DMEK Grafts To determine whether preloaded grafts can be sufficiently evaluated by slit-lamp biomicroscopy, a validation study was performed to determine how well technicians can identify ECL due to the preparation process.", "Sixteen preloaded grafts were prepared by three trained eye bank technicians and each graft was evaluated using the slit lamp by a technician who did not prepare that graft (see FIG.", "7D).", "Various patterns of graft damage due to pre-stripping, injector loading/unloading, and touch defects were observed during slit-lamp evaluation and revealed by Calcein-AM staining (see FIG.", "8).", "However, no specific defects caused by the tissue settling on the glass tube were observed.", "Overall, the average estimate ECL for all grafts was 15.6±5.8% (range: 7.5-30.0%).", "Quantified ECL by vital-dye staining and analysis using FIJI Weka Segmentation revealed an average ECL of 16.8±5.9% (range: 7.0-25.9%).", "Total ECL of preloaded grafts was underestimated 62% of the time, and the average difference between estimated and actual ECL was 5.3±3.6% (range: 0.9-15%).", "The amount of quantified ECL, and the differences in estimated and actual ECL, decreased over the course of this study (see FIGS.", "7E and 7F).", "Example 4 ECL Due to Eye Bank Pre-Peeling Alone To examine whether there is a difference in ECL between the preparation of preloaded DMEK grafts and the current eye bank prepared DMEK grafts (pre-stripping alone), 14 DMEK grafts were prepared under the current protocol of the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank and ECL was analyzed using vital-dye staining and FIJI.", "The average ECL due to peeling alone was 9.3±5.9% (median: 7.2%, range: 3.7-26.0%) and was significantly lower than that of preloaded tissues (p<0.01; see Table 1).", "Donor age range and pre-processing ECD measurements for these grafts were not significantly different than the 16 preloaded grafts examined above (p=0.37 and p=0.19, respectively).", "Therefore, the preloaded grafts prepared in this study showed a higher amount of ECL than tissues subjected to pre-stripping alone.", "Example 5 Shipping of Preloaded DMEK Grafts To test whether it is feasible to ship preloaded grafts in the present setup, and to examine whether shipping events induce additional damage to the grafts, shipping studies were performed using 10 preloaded grafts over three shipments.", "Each shipment contained two shipping events where tissues were shipped from the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Transplant Services Center (UT-Southwestern) and back to the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank for analysis (˜48 hours from preparation to analysis).", "Of the 10 tissues shipped, only one fell out of the Straiko modified Jones tube and settled on the bottom of the viewing chamber, which constituted a 90% success rate for this series of shipping events.", "The average amount of ECL of the 10 shipped tissues was 18.5±12.4% (median: 14.0%, range 8.5-50.4%), and this included the tissue that fell out of the Jones tube which incurred 50.4% ECL.", "When the graft that was dislodged from the carrier tube is excluded, the average ECL from this shipping study decreased to 15.0 ±5.7% (median: 13.5%, range: 8.5-26.4%), and was not significantly different than preloaded tissues that were not shipped (p=0.48).", "These results indicate that preloaded DMEK grafts can be shipped with minimal additional damage if they remain within the glass carrier tube.", "Example 6 Extended Viability of Preloaded DMEK Grafts To test the extended viability of preloaded DMEK grafts, five preloaded tissues were prepared and stored at 4° C. for five days prior to analysis by vital-dye staining and FIJI.", "Average ECL at the end of the five-day study was 13.1±9.5% (median: 10.6%, range: 6.9-29.8%).", "One tissue showed 29.8% ECL after five days in storage; however, Trypan blue staining of this tissue prior to processing revealed approximately 17% cell death.", "Thus, the increase in cell loss due to processing and long-term storage (-12.8%) was within the range of the other four tissues analyzed in this arm of the study.", "Taken together, these results suggest that preloaded tissues can survive for at least five days post preparation when placed in a viewing chamber filled with 20 mL of OPTISOL™-GS.", "Example 7 Donor Characteristics A total of 45 research corneas suitable for DMEK were utilized.", "Donor age range was 46-75 years (median of 65 years), 51% were male, 9% were pseudophakic, and 20% had a history of diabetes.", "Death to recovery time for all tissues was between 3 and 24 hours.", "ECD ranged from 1751 cells/mm2 to 3,125 cells/mm2 (median of 2,660 cells/mm2).", "Donor age range and average ECD for specific experiments are summarized in Table 1.Example 8 Tissue Preparation All donor corneas used in this study were deemed unsuitable for transplant due to reasons other than endothelial pathology.", "Pre-stripped DMEK grafts were prepared according to previously described protocols (see Holiman J, et al.", "In: Mohit Parekh.", "; Stefano Ferrari D P, ed.", "Eye Banking: Nova Biomedical; 2015:123-139 and Veldman P B, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015) by trained eye bank technicians at the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank (Portland, Oreg., USA) who routinely prepare grafts for transplant use.", "Preloaded DMEK graft preparations are described in greater detail below.", "All prepared grafts were stored at 4° C. in 20 mL of OPTISOL™-GS after preparation (BAUSCH & LOMB™, St. Louis, Mo., USA).", "Pre-processing and post-processing evaluation were performed according to the standard operation procedures of LIONS VISIONGIFT™ and EBAA Medical Standards (see Eye Bank Association of America.", "2016 Medical Standards.", "Washington D.C.: Eye Bank Association of America; 2016).", "Slit-lamp images were acquired on a HAAG-STREIT™ BX 900® slit-lamp system (HAAG-STREIT™ USA, Mason, Ohio, USA) equipped with a CANON™ digital SLR camera (CANON™ USA, Melville, N.Y., USA), and specular images were acquired on a KONAN™ KERATO ANALYZER EKA-10™ with the EB10 software package (KONAN™ MEDICAL, Irvine, Calif., USA).", "For standard pre-peeled DMEK grafts, three central images were acquired and approximately 100 cells were used to determine ECD (at least 50 cells were counted per image).", "For preloaded grafts, three to four images were acquired centrally and an average of 97 cells were measured to calculate ECD.", "EXAMPLE 9 Preloading DMEK Grafts After the application of an S-stamp, grafts were laid flat onto the underlying stroma.", "An 8.0 mm Hessburg-Barron trephine (BARRON PRECISION INSTRUMENTS™, Grand Blanc, Mich., USA) was used to excise the graft.", "Excess endothelium-Descemet membrane surrounding the graft zone was removed.", "Grafts were stained with Trypan blue (U-BLUE™; USIOL™, Lexington, Ky., USA) for 30 seconds and washed gently with BSS PLUS® irrigating solution (ALCON®, Ft. Worth, Tex., USA).", "Images of the Trypan blue stained grafts were imaged using a ZEISS™ OPMIMD S-5 microscope (ZEISS™, Thornwood, N.Y., USA) equipped with an OPTRONICS® MICROCAST® HD digital camera (OPTRONICS®, Goleta, Calif., USA) to document cell loss pattern due to pre-stripping.", "Grafts were submerged in OPTISOL™-GS, lifted using a MORIA™ micro-dissector (MORIA™, Antony, France), and allowed to scroll for two minutes.", "Loading of the injector was performed with minor modifications to a previously described technique (see Terry M A, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015;34:845-852).", "In brief, a Straiko modified Jones tube (GUNTHER WEISS SCIENTIFIC GLASSBLOWING™, Portland, Oreg., USA) was prepared by attaching approximately 15 mm of #14 French naso-gastric catheter tubing to the base of the Jones tube (COVIDIEN™, Mansfield, Mass., USA).", "The other end of the catheter tubing was attached to a 5 mL syringe, and the whole injector apparatus was filled with OPTISOL™-GS.", "DMEK scrolls were drawn into the injector, and the Jones tube was removed from the catheter tubing and syringe.", "The Jones tube containing the scrolled graft was placed inside a KROLMAN™ viewing chamber (KROLMAN™, Boston, Mass., USA).", "Example 10 Shipping of Preloaded DMEK Grafts A total of 10 preloaded DMEK grafts were shipped over three separate occasions during the course of one month.", "On each occasion, tissues were packed using standard eye bank protocol and shipped overnight from the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank to UT-Southwestern.", "At UT-Southwestern, tissues were repacked with fresh wet ice and returned overnight to the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank for analysis.", "Example 11 Endothelial Cell Viability Analysis Cell loss due to pre-stripping alone: pre-stripped grafts lying flat on the underlying stroma were stained with Calcein-AM (2.5 μg/mL; THERMOFISHER™, Grand Island, N.Y., USA) for 40 minutes at room temperature.", "Grafts were gently rinsed with BSS PLUS® prior to trephination using a 9.5 mm Hessburg-Barron trephine.", "The graft and underlying stroma were transferred onto a glass slide containing a bed of viscoelastic (OCCULON™; USIOL™, Lexington, Ky., USA) for image acquisition.", "Only the 8.0 mm central region of the graft was analyzed to exclude trephination damage which is not part of the pre-stripping process.", "Cell loss of preloaded DMEK grafts: preloaded grafts were injected into a bed of Calcein-AM infused viscoelastic on a microscope slide.", "Calcein-AM at 12.5 μg/mL was mixed with OCCULON™ at a ratio of 4:1 to make a final cocktail of 2.5 μg/mL Calcein-AM+80% viscoelastic.", "Grafts were unfurled in this mixture and left to continue staining for 40 minutes prior to image acquisition.", "All grafts were imaged using an XDY-1 inverted fluorescent microscope (ALLTION®, Wuzhou, China).", "For each graft, approximately 20-30 images were acquired at 20× magnification and stitched together using ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS™ 7.0 software (ADOBE SYSTEMS™, San Jose, Calif., USA).", "Cell viability analysis was performed using Trainable Weka Segmentation in FIJI (see Schindelin J, et al.", "Nat Methods.", "2012;9:676-682) as previously described (see Jardine G J, et al.", "Curr Eye Res.", "2014;39:894-901 and Schallhorn J M, et al.", "Cornea.", "2016;35:377-382).", "Example 12 Statistics Descriptive values are shown as mean±standard deviation.", "Non-parametric Wilcoxon tests (see Wilcoxon F. J Econ Entomol.", "1946;39:269) were used to determine statistical significance, which is defined as p<0.05.Statistical analysis was performed using R Statistical Software (see R: A language and environment for statistical computing.", "[computer program].", "Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2010; version 3.2.4).", "Example 13 Donor Tissue and Tissue Preparation Examples 13-16 describe a second study (Study 2).", "DMEK quality corneas used for this research were deemed unsuitable for transplant due to medical rule-outs other than endothelial pathology, and consent for research was obtained for all tissues.", "DMEK grafts used for ECL analysis were prepared using previously described protocols for stripping (see Holiman J, et al.", "An Eye Bank DMEK Tissue Preperation Program for Corneas Stored at 4° C. In: Mohit Parekh.", "; Stefano Ferrari D P, ed.Eye Banking: Nova Biomedical; 2015:123-139; and Veldman P B, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015;34:1175-1178) and for preloading (see Tran K D, et al.", "Cornea.", "2017;36:484-490) by the same trained Research Fellow.", "Grafts that were shipped to Weill Cornell Medical College were prepared by trained eye bank technicians at LIONS VISIONGIFT™.", "All grafts were punched with an 8.0 mm Barron Hessburg trephine (BARRON PRECISION INSTRUMENTS™).", "Grafts were stained for 15 seconds with 0.06% Trypan blue (C-Blue; STEPHENS INSTRUMENTS™, Lexington, Ky.) to visualize complete trephination at the graft edges.", "Peripheral Descemet membrane was removed, and the grafts were separated from the corneoscleral cap with micro-forceps and laid back down on the fluid coated stromal bed.", "Five pairs of corneas were used in experiments comparing preloaded DMEK grafts that were unstained and preloaded DMEK grafts that were prestained with Trypan blue.", "For the unstained group, the grafts were allowed to scroll in the corneoscleral cap, which was filled with OPTISOL™-GS (BAUSCH & LOMB™, St. Louis, Mo.)", "prior to loading into a Straiko modified Jones tube (GUNTHER WEISS SCIENTIFIC GLASS™, Hillsboro, Oreg.).", "The mate corneas were stained with Trypan blue solution filling the corneoscleral cap for 4 minutes.", "After staining, the Trypan blue was diluted and replaced with OPTISOL™-GS and the scrolls were suctioned up from the corneoscleral cap into a Straiko modified Jones tube.", "All Straiko modified Jones tubes containing the preloaded grafts (stained and unstained) were submerged in 20 mL of OPTISOL™-GS, docked between the support posts of the viewing chamber (KROLMAN™, Boston, Mass.)", "and stored for 3 days at 4° C. prior to analysis.", "Five unstained and preloaded grafts were stained inside of the Straiko modified Jones tube after 3 days in cold storage.", "BSS (ALCON®, Fort Worth, Tex.)", "from a petri dish was drawn into the injector to replace the OPTISOL™-GS in the modified Jones tubes.", "The grafts were moved towards the tip of the injector and stained with Trypan blue (0.06%) for 4 minutes (see FIGS.", "10 and 11).", "After 4 minutes, more BSS was drawn into the injector to dilute the Trypan blue.", "Further dilutions were possible by moving the plunger of the injector back and forth to promote fluid exchange with new BSS.", "Example 14 Endothelial Cell Viability Analysis Straiko modified Jones tubes were removed from the viewing chamber and the Straiko injector was assembled as previously described (see Terry M A, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015;34:845-852).", "DMEK grafts were ejected onto a microscope slide coated with a mixture of Calcein-AM (BIOTIUM™, Fremont, Calif.) and viscoelastic (OCCULON™; STEPHENS INSTRUMENTS™, Lexington, Ky.) comprised of 2.5 μg/mL Calcein-AM+80% viscoelastic.", "Grafts were unscrolled using viscoelastic as previously described (see Tran K D, et al.", "Cornea.", "2017;36:484-490 and Schallhorn J M, et al.", "Cornea.", "2016;35:377-382) and stained in the mixture for 40 minutes.", "Stained grafts were imaged on an XDY-1 inverted fluorescent microscope by K. T.) (ALLTION®).", "Approximately 30 images were acquired per graft at 20× magnification, and the individual images were assembled using ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS™ 14.0 software (ADOBE SYSTEMS™).", "ECL was quantified as previously described using Trainable Weka Segmentation in FIJI (see Schallhorn J M, et al.", "Cornea.", "2016;35:377-382; Jardine G J, et al.", "Curr Eye Res.", "2014;39:894-901; and Schindelin J, et al.", "Nat Methods.", "2012;9:676-682).", "All grafts were randomized and analyzed by 2 readers who were masked to the treatment of the grafts (unstained, prestained, and stained inside of the injector).", "The values reported in this study are the average from the 2 readers, and their readings were not significantly different from each other (P=0.3).", "Example 15 Statistical Analysis R Statistical Software, version 3.2.4, (seeR: A language and environment for statistical computing.", "[computer program].", "Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2010) was employed for statistical analysis.", "Descriptive values are shown as mean±standard deviation.", "Non-parametric Wilcoxon tests were used to determine statistical significance which was defined as P<0.05.Example 16 Evaluation of Prestained Grafts after Cross-Country Shipping Eight additional prestained and preloaded grafts (containing S-stamps) were shipped to Weill Cornell Medical College and examined by an experienced DMEK corneal surgeon, 1 or 3 days after preparation.", "Prior to shipping, the color saturation of the stained grafts was measured using a reference serial dilution series (1/2)X of Trypan blue (see FIG.", "12A).", "Here, X is the number of dilutions such that dilution 0 is the original concentration of 0.06% Trypan blue, dilution #1 equals ½ of the original Trypan concentration (FIG.", "12A, panel 1), and dilution #2 is ¼ of the original concentration (FIG.", "12A, panel 2), and so on.", "Trypan dilutions were imaged using a ZEISS™ OPMIMD S-5 microscope (ZEISS™, Thornwood, N.Y.) equipped with an OPTRONICS® MICROCAST® HD digital camera (OPTRONICS®, Goleta, Calif.), and the reference was assembled using ADOBE PHOTOSHOP™ CS6 (ADOBE SYSTEMS™).", "The color saturation of the grafts was assessed again using the same reference standards prior to injection into donor eyes.", "For the simulated DMEK surgery using grafts prepared and shipped 3 days prior, the Straiko modified Jones tubes containing the grafts were assembled as previously described (see Terry M A, et al.", "Cornea.", "2015;34:845-852), and the grafts were injected into the donor eyes and opened using standard techniques (see Liarakos V S, et al.", "JAMA Ophthalmol.", "2013;131:29-35 and Yoeruek E, et al.", "Cornea.", "2013;32:370-373).", "Example 17 Testing Silicone Caps A closed silicone cap was coupled to one end of a first Jones tube such that the first corneal tissue carrier had one opening to the surrounding OPTISOL™.", "An open silicone cap (i.e., a cap having a 1 mm opening) was coupled to one end of a second Jones tube such that the second corneal tissue carrier has two openings to the surrounding OPTISOL™.", "In order to test for the maximum potential damage a cap might induce, pre-loaded grafts were allowed to settle on the silicone caps and the grafts were stored at 4° C. for 5 days.", "After 5 days of storage, all grafts were stained with Calcein-AM (a cell viability stain) and cell viability was examined.", "All grafts were viable and no significant cell death patterns were observed associated with a graft settling on a cap.", "Additional grafts were preloaded in Jones tubes with the closed silicone caps at the LIONS VISIONGIFT™ eye bank in Portland, Oreg.", "and shipped to Cornell University in New York City, N.Y. via plane.", "The position of the grafts inside the Jones tubes was examined upon arrival at Cornell University.", "Of the grafts received and examined, the grafts remained in the cavity of the Jones tubes, and the caps remained attached to Jones tubes after cross-country shipping.", "Any methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions for performing the described method.", "The method steps and/or actions may be interchanged with one another.", "In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the embodiment, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified.", "References to approximations are made throughout this specification, such as by use of the term “substantially.” For each such reference, it is to be understood that, in some embodiments, the value, feature, or characteristic may be specified without approximation.", "For example, where qualifiers such as “about” and “substantially” are used, these terms include within their scope the qualified words in the absence of their qualifiers.", "For example, where the term “substantially transparent” is recited with respect to a feature, it is understood that in further embodiments, the feature can have a precisely transparent configuration.", "Numerous references have been made to printed publications throughout this specification.", "Each of the above-cited references and printed publications is individually incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment” or “the embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.", "Thus, the quoted phrases, or variations thereof, as recited throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.", "Similarly, in the above description of embodiments, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.", "This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that any claim require more features than those expressly recited in that claim.", "Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in a combination of fewer than all features of any single foregoing disclosed embodiment.", "The claims following this written disclosure are hereby expressly incorporated into the present written disclosure, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.", "This disclosure includes all permutations of the independent claims with their dependent claims.", "Moreover, additional embodiments capable of derivation from the independent and dependent claims that follow are also expressly incorporated into the present written description.", "Without further elaboration, it is believed that one skilled in the art can use the preceding description to utilize the invention to its fullest extent.", "The claims and embodiments disclosed herein are to be construed as merely illustrative and exemplary, and not a limitation of the scope of the present disclosure in any way.", "It will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art, with the aid of the present disclosure, that changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the disclosure herein.", "In other words, various modifications and improvements of the embodiments specifically disclosed in the description above are within the scope of the appended claims.", "Moreover, the order of the steps or actions of the methods disclosed herein may be changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.", "In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is required for proper operation of the embodiment, the order or use of specific steps or actions may be modified.", "The scope of the invention is therefore defined by the following claims and their equivalents." ] ]
Patent_15874789
[ [ "TWO-LAYER SEPARATION-TYPE EYE DROP CONTAINING SQUALANE", "The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technique for formulating a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution in which, during storage, an aqueous layer and an oil-containing layer containing squalane are separated from each other, wherein it is possible to homogeneously disperse the oil-containing layer in the aqueous layer while suppressing foaming by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration, and the homogeneous dispersed state is maintained in a stable manner at least until administration.", "A two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane and water, wherein hyaluronic acid and/or a salt thereof and polyvinyl alcohol are contained in the ophthalmic solution and the polyvinyl alcohol content is set to 0.025 to 0.1 w/v %, whereby it is possible to homogeneously disperse the oil-containing layer in the aqueous layer while suppressing foaming by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration, and to maintain the homogeneous dispersed state in a stable manner at least until administration." ], [ "1.A two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution comprising an oil-containing layer and an aqueous layer, wherein when statically stored, an upper layer consisting of the oil-containing layer and a lower layer consisting of the aqueous layer are formed, the oil-containing layer contains squalane, the aqueous layer contains hyaluronic acid and/or its salt and polyvinyl alcohol, with 0.1 to 0.5 w/v % of hyaluronic acid and/or its salt and 0.025 to 0.1 w/v % of polyvinyl alcohol being present in the ophthalmic solution.", "2.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to claim 1, comprising 1 to 10 w/v % of squalane.", "3.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to claim 1 wherein the ophthalmic solution is for non-human mammals.", "4.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to claim 1, comprising 0.2 to 10 parts by weight of polyvinyl alcohol per 100 parts by weight of squalane.", "5.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to claim 1, wherein the ophthalmic solution is for treatment of dry eye.", "6.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to claim 1 wherein the ophthalmic solution is for protecting cornea.", "7.A method of treating dry eye, comprising a step of administering the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to claim 1 to mammalian eyes suffering from dry eye.", "8.A method of protecting the cornea, comprising a step of administering the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to claim 1 to mammalian eyes requiring corneal protection." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In the modern society, stresses that affect the cornea and conjunctiva increase, such as wearing contact lens, techno-stress, contact with allergies, air pollution, which associates with increasing patients suffering from dry eye.", "Patients suffering from dry eye tend to have lower corneal and conjunctival functions than normal to easily cause corneal epithelial disorder, corneal epithelial erosion, corneal ulcer, conjunctivitis, keratitis, eye infections, or the like.", "Conventionally known methods for the prophylaxis or treatment of dry eye or eye diseases associated with reduced corneal and conjunctival functions include protecting the cornea and conjunctiva through administration of ophthalmic solution containing viscoelastic substances, such as chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid, to impart water retention.", "The ophthalmic solution containing viscoelastic substances, however, may fail to provide a sufficient therapeutic effect because of insufficient protection for the cornea or conjunctiva.", "Therefore, there is a need for developing novel ophthalmic solution.", "Ophthalmic solutions containing squalane have been recently reported to be effective for eye diseases such as dry eye.", "For example, the following ophthalmic solutions have been reported: an ophthalmic solution containing squalane is effective for the treatment of dry eye because it has an action to inhibit water evaporation (see Patent Document 1); an ophthalmic solution containing an oil, such as squalane, and a mucopolysaccharide is effective for the prophylaxis or improvement of dry eye associated with enhanced evaporation of tear fluid (see Patent Document 2); an ophthalmic solution containing squalane and vitamin E is effective for the treatment of inflammatory eye diseases (see Patent Document 3); and the like.", "Since squalane thus has an activity to protect the cornea and the conjunctiva, the ophthalmic solution containing squalane are considered effective for the prophylaxis or treatment of dry eye as well as eye diseases associated with reduced corneal and conjunctival functions.", "Thus practical application of the ophthalmic solution containing squalane has been desired.", "Since squalane is oil and thus not compatible with water, ophthalmic solution containing squalane are typically designed as non-aqueous formulations, ophthalmic ointments, or emulsion formulations.", "Non-aqueous formulations and ophthalmic ointments, however, disadvantageously tend to cause pain at administration, blurred vision, stickiness, or others, which hinders continued use.", "Emulsion formulations containing squalane disadvantageously involve addition of a significant amount of surfactants to emulsify squalane, which causes irritations at administration or induces side effects.", "Furthermore, emulsion formulations containing squalane also disadvantageously require a large emulsifying device to be homogeneous an oil layer containing squalane in an aqueous layer in industrial manufacturing.", "Patent Document 1 has reported a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution including two separate layers of an oil layer containing squalane and an aqueous layer, wherein the oil layer can be dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration.", "Such a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution advantageously causes no reduction in comfort during use, unlike non-aqueous formulations nor ophthalmic ointments, because of the fact that the oil layer containing squalane is dispersed in the aqueous layer in the use of the ophthalmic solution, and further eliminates the need for a large amount of surfactants added or a large emulsifying device in manufacturing, unlike emulsion formulations.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane, however, may suffer from foaming by shaking before administration or a difficulty in achieving homogeneous dispersion of the oil layer in the aqueous layer only by shaking.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane may cause separation of the oil layer and the aqueous layer immediately after the oil layer is temporarily dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking before administration, resulting in uneven concentration distribution of active ingredients, such as squalane, in the ophthalmic solution at administration.", "The ophthalmic solution with foaming or uneven dispersion thus fails to achieve homogeneous concentration of active ingredients, such as squalane, throughout the ophthalmic solution to cause uneven doses of active ingredients, which may inhibit achievement of expected prophylactic or therapeutic effects.", "Such problems have not been overcome by conventional techniques to hinder practical application of two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane.", "More specifically, the present invention relates to a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution in which, during storage, an aqueous layer and an oil-containing layer containing squalane are separated from each other, wherein the oil-containing layer can be homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration while foaming is suppressed, and the homogeneous dispersion can be stably maintained at least until administration.", "BACKGROUND ART In the modern society, stresses that affect the cornea and conjunctiva increase, such as wearing contact lens, techno-stress, contact with allergies, air pollution, which associates with increasing patients suffering from dry eye.", "Patients suffering from dry eye tend to have lower corneal and conjunctival functions than normal to easily cause corneal epithelial disorder, corneal epithelial erosion, corneal ulcer, conjunctivitis, keratitis, eye infections, or the like.", "Conventionally known methods for the prophylaxis or treatment of dry eye or eye diseases associated with reduced corneal and conjunctival functions include protecting the cornea and conjunctiva through administration of ophthalmic solution containing viscoelastic substances, such as chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronic acid, to impart water retention.", "The ophthalmic solution containing viscoelastic substances, however, may fail to provide a sufficient therapeutic effect because of insufficient protection for the cornea or conjunctiva.", "Therefore, there is a need for developing novel ophthalmic solution.", "Ophthalmic solutions containing squalane have been recently reported to be effective for eye diseases such as dry eye.", "For example, the following ophthalmic solutions have been reported: an ophthalmic solution containing squalane is effective for the treatment of dry eye because it has an action to inhibit water evaporation (see Patent Document 1); an ophthalmic solution containing an oil, such as squalane, and a mucopolysaccharide is effective for the prophylaxis or improvement of dry eye associated with enhanced evaporation of tear fluid (see Patent Document 2); an ophthalmic solution containing squalane and vitamin E is effective for the treatment of inflammatory eye diseases (see Patent Document 3); and the like.", "Since squalane thus has an activity to protect the cornea and the conjunctiva, the ophthalmic solution containing squalane are considered effective for the prophylaxis or treatment of dry eye as well as eye diseases associated with reduced corneal and conjunctival functions.", "Thus practical application of the ophthalmic solution containing squalane has been desired.", "Since squalane is oil and thus not compatible with water, ophthalmic solution containing squalane are typically designed as non-aqueous formulations, ophthalmic ointments, or emulsion formulations.", "Non-aqueous formulations and ophthalmic ointments, however, disadvantageously tend to cause pain at administration, blurred vision, stickiness, or others, which hinders continued use.", "Emulsion formulations containing squalane disadvantageously involve addition of a significant amount of surfactants to emulsify squalane, which causes irritations at administration or induces side effects.", "Furthermore, emulsion formulations containing squalane also disadvantageously require a large emulsifying device to be homogeneous an oil layer containing squalane in an aqueous layer in industrial manufacturing.", "Patent Document 1 has reported a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution including two separate layers of an oil layer containing squalane and an aqueous layer, wherein the oil layer can be dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration.", "Such a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution advantageously causes no reduction in comfort during use, unlike non-aqueous formulations nor ophthalmic ointments, because of the fact that the oil layer containing squalane is dispersed in the aqueous layer in the use of the ophthalmic solution, and further eliminates the need for a large amount of surfactants added or a large emulsifying device in manufacturing, unlike emulsion formulations.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane, however, may suffer from foaming by shaking before administration or a difficulty in achieving homogeneous dispersion of the oil layer in the aqueous layer only by shaking.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane may cause separation of the oil layer and the aqueous layer immediately after the oil layer is temporarily dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking before administration, resulting in uneven concentration distribution of active ingredients, such as squalane, in the ophthalmic solution at administration.", "The ophthalmic solution with foaming or uneven dispersion thus fails to achieve homogeneous concentration of active ingredients, such as squalane, throughout the ophthalmic solution to cause uneven doses of active ingredients, which may inhibit achievement of expected prophylactic or therapeutic effects.", "Such problems have not been overcome by conventional techniques to hinder practical application of two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane.", "PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication (JP-A) No.", "10-218760 Patent Document 2: JP-A No.", "2007-211008 Patent Document 3: WO 2006/22291 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for formulating a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution in which, during storage, an aqueous layer and an oil-containing layer containing squalane are separated from each other, wherein the oil-containing layer can be homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration while foaming is suppressed, and the homogeneous dispersion is stably maintained at least until administration.", "Means for Solving the Problem The intensive studies of the present inventors to solve the above-described problems have found that a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane and water is allowed to further contain hyaluronic acid and/or its salt and polyvinyl alcohol, wherein the content of polyvinyl alcohol is set to 0.025 to 0.1 w/v %, whereby the oil-containing layer can be homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration while foaming is suppressed, and the homogeneous dispersion is stably maintained at least until administration.", "Further studies based on such a finding have completed the present invention.", "That is, the present invention provides a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution in the following aspects.", "Item 1.A two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution comprising an oil-containing layer and an aqueous layer, wherein the oil-containing layer contains squalane, the aqueous layer contains hyaluronic acid and/or its salt and polyvinyl alcohol, with 0.025 to 0.1 w/v % of polyvinyl alcohol being present in the ophthalmic solution.", "Item 2.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to Item 1, comprising 0.1 to 0.5 w/v % of hyaluronic acid and/or its salt.", "Item 3.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to Item 1 or 2, comprising 1 to 10 w/v % of squalane.", "Item 4.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to any one of Items 1 to 3 wherein the ophthalmic solution is for non-human mammals.", "Item 5.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to any one of Items 1 to 4, comprising 0.2 to 10 parts by weight of polyvinyl alcohol per 100 parts by weight of squalane.", "Item 6.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to any one of Items 1 to 5, wherein the ophthalmic solution is for treatment of dry eye.", "Item 7.The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to any one of Items 1 to 5 wherein the ophthalmic solution is for protecting cornea.", "Item 8.Use of the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to any one of Items 1 to 5 for the manufacture of an agent for treatment of dry eye.", "Item 9.Use of the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to any one of Items 1 to 5 for the manufacture of an agent for protecting cornea.", "Item 10.A method of treating dry eye, comprising a step of administering the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to Items 1 to 5 to mammalian eyes suffering from dry eye.", "Item 11.A method of protecting the cornea, comprising a step of administering the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution according to Items 1 to 5 to mammalian eyes requiring corneal protection.", "Advantages of the Invention According to the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention, the oil-containing layer containing squalane is separated from the aqueous layer during storage and the oil-containing layer can be homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration while foaming is suppressed.", "Furthermore, according to the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention, the homogeneous dispersion of the oil-containing layer in the aqueous layer can be stably maintained by temporarily shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration, whereby the homogeneous dispersion of squalane can be maintained at least until administration.", "In addition, the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention eliminates the need for the step of homogenizing the ophthalmic solution during the manufacture, resulting in simple manufacture.", "This can overcome drawbacks of non-aqueous formulations, ophthalmic ointments, and emulsion formulations.", "Since the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention has good effect of inhibiting water evaporation and provides good protection for the cornea and the conjunctiva, it is effective for the prophylaxis or treatment of dry eye as well as eye diseases associated with reduced corneal and conjunctival functions.", "EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is a two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution including an oil-containing layer and an aqueous layer, wherein the oil-containing layer contains squalane, and the aqueous layer contains hyaluronic acid and/or its salt and polyvinyl alcohol, with 0.025 to 0.1 w/v % of polyvinyl alcohol being present in the ophthalmic solution.", "As used herein, the term “two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution” refers to an ophthalmic solution in which, during storage, an oil-containing layer and an aqueous layer are separated from each other, wherein the oil-containing layer can be dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking the ophthalmic solution before administration for use.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is described below in more detail.", "Ingredients The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention contains squalane.", "Squalane is an oil and fat referred to also as 2,6,10,15,19,23-hexamethyl tetracosane.", "Squalane used in the present invention may be either semisynthetic one obtained by reduction of naturally occurring squalene, or synthetic one obtained by chemical synthesis.", "Semisynthetic squalane can be obtained by reduction of squalene present in deep sea fish, such as sharks, or olive oil, rice bran oil, wheat germ oil, sesame oil, cotton seed oil, or the like.", "Synthetic squalane can be obtained by synthesis using geranylacetone and acetylene compounds as raw materials.", "Although the content of squalane in the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is not limited to particular values and appropriately set according to the pharmacological action based on squalane, it is, for example, 1 to 10 w/v %, preferably 2 to 8 w/v %, more preferably 3 to 7 w/v % to further improve the effect of suppressing foaming and the dispersibility during shaking and the effect of maintaining the dispersion after shaking.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention contains hyaluronic acid and/or its salt.", "Hyaluronic acid salts are any pharmaceutically acceptable salts, and examples thereof include alkali metal salts, such as sodium salt and potassium salt.", "In the present invention, hyaluronic acid and its salts may be used alone or may be used in combination.", "Of hyaluronic acid and its salts, hyaluronic acid salts are preferred, and sodium hyaluronate is more preferred.", "Hyaluronic acid and/or its salts used in the present invention may be either natural product or synthetic one.", "For example, hyaluronic acid and/or its salts that can be used may be extracted from animal tissues, such as cockscombs, or may be produced by fermentation engineering using culture of microorganisms producing hyaluronic acid, such as Streptococcus zooepidemicus, or the like.", "The weight average molecular weight of hyaluronic acid and/or its salt is any value within the range that is generally employed in the ophthalmologic field, typically 500,000 to 1,200,000, preferably 600,000 to 1,200,000.Although the content of hyaluronic acid and/or its salt in the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is not limited to particular values and appropriately set according to the pharmacological action based on hyaluronic acid and/or its salt, it is, for example, 0.1 to 0.5 w/v %, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 w/v %, more preferably 0.3 to 0.4 w/v % to further improve the effect of suppressing foaming and the dispersibility during shaking and the effect of maintaining the dispersion after shaking.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention further contains polyvinyl alcohol.", "The viscosity of polyvinyl alcohol (4 w/w % solution) used in the present invention is any value within the range that is generally employed in the ophthalmologic field, typically 2 to 100 mm2/s.", "As used therein, the term “viscosity of polyvinyl alcohol (4 w/w % solution)” refers to a value obtained by dissolving 4 w/w % of polyvinyl alcohol in purified water at 60° C. to 80° C., cooling the resulting solution, and measuring the viscosity of the solution at 20±0.1° C. with a capillary viscometer (The Japanese Pharmacopoeia 16th Edition, Viscosity Determination, Method I).", "Polyvinyl alcohol used in the present invention may be fully saponified or may be partially saponified.", "In the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention, the content of polyvinyl alcohol is set within the range of 0.025 to 0.1 w/v %.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution containing squalane and water is thus allowed to further contain hyaluronic acid and/or its salt and a predetermined amount of polyvinyl alcohol, whereby the oil-containing layer containing squalane can be homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous layer while foaming due to the shaking of the ophthalmic solution before administration is suppressed, and the homogeneous dispersion can be stably maintained at least until administration.", "The content of polyvinyl alcohol in the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is preferably 0.025 to 0.05 w/v % to further improve the effect of suppressing foaming and the dispersibility during shaking and the effect of maintaining the dispersion after shaking.", "The ratio of squalane and polyvinyl alcohol in the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is within the range that satisfies the above contents of squalane and polyvinyl alcohol.", "The content of polyvinyl alcohol is typically 0.2 to 10 parts by weight, preferably 0.3 to 5 parts by weight, more preferably 0.3 to 4 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of squalane to further improve the effect of suppressing foaming and the dispersibility during shaking and the effect of maintaining the dispersion after shaking.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention contains water as a base in addition to the above ingredients.", "In the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention, water constitutes the balance other than the above ingredients and optionally added pharmacological ingredients and additives.", "The content of water is appropriately set according to the contents of other ingredients added.", "Specifically, the content of water in the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is, for example, 80 to 98 w/v %, preferably 90 to 97 w/v %, more preferably 93 to 96 w/v %.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention may optionally contain other pharmacological ingredients in addition to the above-described ingredients.", "Examples of pharmacological ingredients that can be added include anti-inflammatory agents, such as glycyrrhizinate dipotassium, pranoprofen, allantoin, epsilon aminocaproic acid, bromfenac, ketorolac tromethamine, nepafenac, berberine chloride, berberine sulfate, sodium azulene sulfonate, zinc sulfate, zinc lactate, and lysozyme hydrochloride; antihistamines, such as chlorpheniramine maleate and diphenhydramine hydrochloride; antiallergic agents, such as sodium cromoglicate, ketotifen fumarate, acitazanolast, amlexanox, pemirolast potassium, and tranilast; antibiotics, such as norfloxacin, ofloxacin, lomefloxacin, levofloxacin, and gentamicin; vitamins, such as ascorbic acid, flavin adenine dinucleotide sodium, cyanocobalamine, pyridoxine hydrochloride, tocopherol acetate, retinol acetate, retinol palmitate, panthenol, calcium pantothenate, and sodium pantothenate; amino acids, such as aspartic acid, taurine, and sodium chondroitin sulfate; anticholinesterases, such as neostigmine methylsulfate; vasoconstrictors, such as naphazoline, tetrahydrozoline, epinephrine, ephedrine, phenylephrine, and dl-methylephedrine; therapeutic agents for keratoconjunctival (corneal and conjunctival) epithelial disorders, such as diquafosol sodium; sulfa drugs, such as sulfadiazine, sulfisoxazole, sulfisomidine, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethoxypyridazine, sulfamethoxazole, sulfaethidole, sulfamethomidine, sulfaphenazole, sulfaguanidine, phthalylsulfathiazole, and succinylsulfathiazole.", "The compounds illustrated herein may be in the form of pharmaceutically acceptable salts or may be in the form of other salts.", "These pharmacological ingredients may be used alone or may be used in combination.", "Furthermore, the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention may optionally contain additives that are typically used in ophthalmic solution.", "Specific examples of such additives include buffers, isotonizing agents, solubilizing agents, viscous bases, chelating agents, cooling agents, pH adjusters, preservatives, stabilizers, and surfactants.", "Examples of buffers include phosphate buffer, borate buffer, citrate buffer, tartrate buffer, acetate buffer, Tris buffer, and amino acids.", "Examples of isotonizing agents include saccharides, such as sorbitol, glucose, and mannitol; polyhydric alcohols, such as glycerol and propylene glycol; salts, such as sodium chloride; and boric acid.", "Examples of solubilizing agents include polyhydric alcohols, such as glycerol and macrogol.", "Examples of viscous bases include water soluble polymers, such as polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyethylene glycol, and carboxy vinyl polymer; and celluloses, such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose.", "Examples of chelating agents include disodium edetate and citric acid.", "Examples of cooling agents include 1-menthol, borneol, camphor, and eucalyptus oil.", "Examples of pH adjusters include alkalis, such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide; and acids, such as acetic acid, citric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, and tartaric acid.", "Examples of preservatives include sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, methyl parahydroxybenzoate, ethyl parahydroxybenzoate, propyl parahydroxybenzoate, chlorobutanol, chlorhexidine gluconate, boric acid, dehydroacetic acid, sodium dehydroacetate, benzethonium chloride, benzyl alcohol, zinc chloride, parachlorometaxylenol, chlorocresol, phenethyl alcohol, polidronium chloride, and thimerosal.", "Examples of stabilizers include polyvinylpyrrolidone, sodium sulfite, monoethanolamine, glycerol, propylene glycol, cyclodextrin, dextran, ascorbic acid, disodium edetate, taurine, and tocopherol.", "Examples of surfactants include nonionic surfactants, such as tyloxapol, polyoxyethylene hydrogenated castor oil, polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene block copolymer, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester, and octoxynol; amphoteric surfactants, such as alkyl diaminoethylglycine and lauryldimethyl betaine aminoacetate; anionic surfactants, such as alkyl sulfate, N-acyl taurine salt, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether phosphate, and polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate; cationic surfactants, such as alkyl pyridinium salts and alkylamine salts.", "pH/Osmotic Pressure The pH and osmotic pressure of the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention are not limited to particular values as long as they are within the ranges acceptable for ophthalmic solution.", "Specifically, the pH of the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is about 3 to 9, preferably about 6.5 to 7.5.The osmotic pressure of the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is about 0.5 to 3, preferably about 0.9 to 1.1 as the ratio of osmotic pressure to physiological saline solution in accordance with the Japanese pharmacopoeia.", "The pH and the ratio of osmotic pressure here are the values measured while the oil-containing layer containing squalane is homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous layer.", "Properties/Direction for Use After the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is statically stored, the oil-containing layer and the aqueous layer are separated from each other.", "The oil-containing layer is the upper layer and the aqueous layer is the lower layer.", "The oil-containing layer contains squalane and optionally added pharmacological ingredients and additives that are compatible with squalane.", "The oil-containing layer may be either in the form of an oil layer composed of squalane-containing oil or in the form of an emulsified layer in which squalane-containing oil is emulsified, according to the types and contents of pharmacological ingredients and additives that are added to the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention.", "The aqueous layer contains hyaluronic acid and/or its salt, polyvinyl alcohol, water, and optionally added pharmacological ingredients and additives that are compatible with water.", "Shaking the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention before administration causes the oil-containing layer to be homogeneously dispersed and emulsified in the aqueous layer as fine oil droplets.", "After the oil-containing layer is temporarily dispersed in the aqueous layer by shaking, the homogeneous dispersion is stably maintained typically for 30 seconds or more, preferably for 1 minute.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention thus can maintain the homogeneous dispersion at least for the time required for ordinary administration after the oil-containing layer is temporarily dispersed in the aqueous layer.", "This prevents separation of the oil-containing layer and the aqueous layer or uneven dispersion to avoid uneven doses of squalane or the like.", "In order to homogeneously disperse the oil-containing layer in the aqueous layer in the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention, an eye drop bottle containing the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is shaken by hand.", "More specifically, an eye drop bottle containing the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is shaken up and down about 5 to 20 reciprocating cycles.", "After the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention is temporarily brought by shaking into the state where the oil-containing layer is homogeneously dispersed in the aqueous layer, and then statically stored, the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution is returned to the state where the oil-containing layer is separated from the aqueous layer.", "Production Method The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention can be produced in accordance with a preparation method known per se, for example, using the method described in General Rules for Preparations in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia 16th Edition.", "More specifically, the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention can be produced by adding squalane, hyaluronic acid and/or its salt, polyvinyl alcohol, and optionally added pharmacological ingredients and additives, to water.", "Applications Since the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention has a good action to inhibit water evaporation, it is useful for diseases associated with lipid abnormalities (reduced secretion, changes composition) in tear fluid, and can be thus used as therapeutic agents for dry eye, particularly therapeutic agents for evaporative dry eye.", "Since the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention inhibits evaporation of tear fluid to protect the cornea, it can be used not only as therapeutic agents for dry eye but also as corneal protectants, for example, for the prophylaxis or treatment of keratoconjunctival (corneal and conjunctival) epithelial disorders, Sjogren's syndrome, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, blepharitis, conjunctivitis, scleritis, postoperative inflammation, pemphigoid, blepharitis marginalis, incomplete eyelid closure, and sensory nerve numbness.", "The two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention can be also applied not only to human but also to non-human mammals, such as dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, rabbits, and livestock.", "In particular, the administration to non-human mammals has a specific problem that it takes a longer time than that to human.", "This is because human applies ophthalmic solution to eyes of non-human mammals while the non-human mammals are fixed so that they cannot move.", "On the other hand, the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention can overcome such a problem at administration to non-human mammals since it can stably maintain the homogeneous dispersion of the oil-containing layer in the aqueous layer after shaking, which allows administration of the ophthalmic solution in an homogeneous dispersion even when the administration takes a longer time after shaking.", "In light of such advantageous effects of the present invention, suitable targets for application of the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention are non-human mammals.", "EXAMPLES The present invention is described below in detail by way of Examples, but the present invention is not restricted by these.", "Test Example 1: Evaluation on Condition of Foaming and Dispersibility The ophthalmic solutions of Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6 described in Table 1 were obtained according to an ordinary method.", "In Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5, the ophthalmic solutions were apparently separated into two layers in the static state.", "The upper layer was an emulsion containing oil droplets and the lower layer was a transparent, colorless aqueous solution.", "In Comparative Example 6, the ophthalmic solution was a transparent, colorless aqueous solution.", "A glass vial (4 mL volume, available from AS ONE Corporation) was filled with 3 mL of each ophthalmic solution obtained above and shaken vigorously 20 times.", "The appearance of each ophthalmic solution was observed for 1 minute after completion of shaking to evaluate the condition of foaming and the dispersibility.", "The condition of foaming and the dispersibility were evaluated by rating according to the following criteria.", "<Criteria> Condition of Foaming 0: A large amount of foam was produced.", "1: A large amount of foam was produced but immediately reduced to an acceptable level.", "2: No foam was produced or only a little foam in an acceptable level for placing drops in the eye.", "Dispersibility 0: No emulsion occurred where oil floated to cause separation.", "1: Emulsion occurred but cloudy dispersion throughout the liquid was not maintained for 30 seconds or more.", "2: Emulsion occurred and cloudy dispersion throughout the liquid was maintained for 30 seconds or more.", "The obtained results are shown in Table 1.The results indicated that the ophthalmic solutions containing squalane, sodium hyaluronate, polyvinyl alcohol, and water in the static state caused the separation of the aqueous layer and the oil-containing layer containing emulsified squalane.", "When the content of polyvinyl alcohol was from 0.025 to 0.1 w/v % in the ophthalmic solutions containing squalane, sodium hyaluronate, polyvinyl alcohol, and water, the ophthalmic solution achieved the homogeneous dispersion of fine oil droplets of squalane while suppressing foaming due to shaking, and furthermore maintained this homogeneous dispersion for 30 seconds or more (Examples 1 to 6).", "On the other hand, when the ophthalmic solution contained squalane, sodium hyaluronate, and water with no polyvinyl alcohol, shaking the ophthalmic solution even failed to provide dispersion of squalane-containing oil (Comparative Example 1).", "When the ophthalmic solution contained squalane, sodium hyaluronate, polyvinyl alcohol, and water, with the content of polyvinyl alcohol being more than 0.1 w/v %, shaking the ophthalmic solution provided relatively good dispersion of squalane-containing oil but caused significant foaming (Comparative Examples 2 to 4).", "Furthermore, when the ophthalmic solution contained squalane, polyvinyl alcohol, and water with no sodium hyaluronate, the ophthalmic solution suppressed foaming due to shaking to temporarily form a homogeneous dispersion, but failed to stably maintain the dispersion, and after 30 seconds, squalane-containing oil floated, resulting in the separation of the aqueous layer and the oil-containing layer containing emulsified squalane.", "TABLE 1 Example 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sodium hyaluronate 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.3 Squalane 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 3.0 7.0 Polyvinyl alcohol#1 0.025 0.05 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Sodium dihydrogen 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 phosphate dihydrate Sodium chloride 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 Sodium hydroxide Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate amount amount amount amount amount amount Purified water Balance Balance Balance Balance Balance Balance pH 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 Total volume (mL) 100 100 100 100 100 100 Evaluation Condition of 2 2 2 2 2 2 results foaming Dispersibility 2 2 2 2 2 2 Total#2 4 4 4 4 4 4 Comparative Example 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sodium hyaluronate 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0 0.3 Squalane 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 0 Polyvinyl alcohol#1 0 0.15 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1 Sodium dihydrogen 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 phosphate dihydrate Sodium chloride 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 Sodium hydroxide Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate amount amount amount amount amount amount Purified water Balance Balance Balance Balance Balance Balance pH 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 Total volume (mL) 100 100 100 100 100 100 Evaluation Condition of 2 0 0 0 0 2 results foaming Dispersibility 0 2 2 2 1 — Total#2 2 2 2 2 1 — The unit of the content of each ingredient is w/v % in Table.", "“—” means unmeasured or uncalculated in Table.", "#1Polyvinyl alcohol used was the trade name “Gohsenol EG-05” (available from The Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.).", "#2The “total” means the total value of the rating for the condition of foaming and the rating for the dispersibility.", "Test Example 2: Evaluation on Effect of Inhibiting Water Evaporation The ophthalmic solutions of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 to 6 prepared in Test Example 1 were evaluated for their effect of inhibiting water evaporation.", "Specifically, 3 ml of each ophthalmic solution in a glass vial (4 mL volume, available from AS ONE Corporation) was shaken vigorously 20 times, placed in a petri dish (45 mm in diameter, 17 mm in height), and stored with no cover at 25° C. and a relative humidity of 40% for 5 hours.", "After 0.5 hours, the residual ophthalmic solution was weighed, and the water evaporation rate (mg/min) was calculated.", "The obtained results are shown in Table 2.The results showed that the ophthalmic solution containing squalane, sodium hyaluronate, polyvinyl alcohol, and water, with the content of polyvinyl alcohol being from 0.025 to 0.1 w/v %, exhibited a significantly low water evaporation rate, which indicated that such ophthalmic solution prevented the ocular mucous membrane from being dried and thus provided good corneal protection.", "TABLE 2 Water evaporation rate (mg/min) Example 1 0.98 Example 2 1.64 Example 3 1.29 Comparative Example 1 3.16 Comparative Example 2 2.98 Comparative Example 3 4.33 Comparative Example 4 5.31 Comparative Example 5 3.03 Comparative Example 6 4.80 Preparation Examples Preparation Examples of the two-layer separation-type ophthalmic solution of the present invention are described below.", "TABLE 3 Preparation Preparation Preparation Preparation Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Sodium hyaluronate 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.4 Squalane 5.0 4.0 3.0 7.0 Polyvinyl alcohol 0.05 0.1 0.05 0.025 Sodium dihydrogen phosphate dihydrate 0.2 0.2 0.2 0 Boric acid 0 — — 1.0 Sodium chloride 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.4 Benzalkonium chloride 0.005% — — — Chlorhexidine gluconate — 0.005% — — Potassium sorbate — — 0.1 — Sodium hydroxide Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate amount amount amount amount Hydrochloric acid Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate amount amount amount amount Purified water Balance Balance Balance Balance pH 7.0 7.0 5.0 8.0 Total volume (mL) 100 100 100 100 The unit of the content of each ingredient is w/v % in Table." ] ]
Patent_15874790
[ [ "AERIAL VEHICLES AND METHODS OF USE", "An aerial vehicle capable of convertible flight from hover to linear flight includes a body having a longitudinal body axis, a plurality of forward wings, a plurality of aft wings, at least one motor, and at least three aerodynamic propulsors driven by the at least one motor.", "Each forward wing extends a forward wing plane.", "Each aft wing extends from an aft wing plane.", "The aerodynamic propulsors are mounted longitudinally between the plurality of forward wings and plurality of aft wings." ], [ "1.An aerial vehicle, comprising: a body having a central longitudinal body axis, the body including a plurality of aft wings, each aft wing of the plurality of aft wings extending in an aft wing plane that contains the central longitudinal body axis; at least one motor supported by the body; and at least three aerodynamic propulsors driven by the at least one motor, the at least three aerodynamic propulsors being connected to the plurality of aft wings and lying in a horizontal plane that is perpendicular to the central longitudinal body axis, the at least three aerodynamic propulsors being configured to provide translational control about the central longitudinal body axis, and pitch, yaw, and roll control.", "2.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, the body further comprising a longitudinally forward, transversely central nose section that terminates in an aerodynamically shaped nose.", "3.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a removable undercarriage assembly attached to the body which extends beyond a radially outermost point of the at least three aerodynamic propulsors from the central longitudinal body axis.", "4.The aerial vehicle of claim 3, further comprising landing pads on a radially outwardmost end of the undercarriage assembly from the central longitudinal body axis.", "5.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of turning vane flaps to provide pitch, yaw, and roll control and translational flight control along transverse and rotational body axes relative to the central longitudinal body axis.", "6.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the plurality of aft wings are structurally connected to the body, and wherein structural loads are transferred from the plurality of aft wings to the body.", "7.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a communication module capable of receiving a command signal from a human-operated transmitter or satellite and providing the command signal to the at least one motor.", "8.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, further comprising an undercarriage defining a propulsor cage to mitigate object strikes against at least one of the aerodynamic propulsors.", "9.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a flight director including an inner loop stability augmentation system and outer loop guidance, navigation, and control system which senses both spatial orientation and location and issues flight control commands to counter deviations from commanded flight paths.", "10.The aerial vehicle of claim 1, further comprising an emitter configured to emit beams operating in any radio frequency, infrared, ultraviolet or visible wavelength and a sensor configured to sense the beams.", "11.An aerial vehicle, comprising: a body having a central longitudinal body axis, the body including a plurality of aft wings, each aft wing of the plurality of aft wings extending in an aft wing plane that contains the central longitudinal body axis; at least three aerodynamic propulsors, each of the aerodynamic propulsors having a motor associated therewith and driving the aerodynamic propulsor, the at least three aerodynamic propulsors being located between the plurality of forward wings and the plurality of aft wings and lying in a horizontal plane that is perpendicular to the central longitudinal body axis, the at least three aerodynamic propulsors being configured to provide translational control about the central longitudinal body axis and pitch, yaw, and roll control; a communication module capable of receiving a command signal from a human-operated transmitter or satellite and providing the command signal to at least one of the motors; and a flight director in data communication with at least one of the motors associated with the at least three aerodynamic propulsors, the flight director having a stability augmentation system configured to receive flight state information and pilot commands and to output flight control commands based at least partially upon the flight state information and pilot commands.", "12.The aerial vehicle of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of turning vane flaps to provide pitch, yaw, and roll control and translational flight control along transverse and rotational body axes, the plurality of turning vane flaps operably connected to vane motors, wherein the vane motors are in data communication with the flight director.", "13.The aerial vehicle of claim 12, further comprising orientation and acceleration sensors in data communication with the flight director, the orientation and acceleration sensors configured to provide flight state information to the stability augmentation system.", "14.The aerial vehicle of claim 12, further comprising a proximity sensor in data communication with the flight director, the proximity sensor configured to detect a direction of and a distance to an object relative to the body.", "15.An aerial vehicle, comprising: a body having a central longitudinal body axis and a forward end and an aft end, the body including a plurality of aft wings, each aft wing of the plurality of aft wings extending in an aft wing plane that contains the central longitudinal body axis; at least three aerodynamic propulsors, each of the aerodynamic propulsors having a motor associated therewith and driving the aerodynamic propulsor, the at least three aerodynamic propulsors being connected to the plurality of aft wings, lying in a horizontal plane that is perpendicular to the central longitudinal body axis, and located within the radially outwardmost point such that the structural leading edge forms a propulsor cage that provides protection for the aerodynamic propulsors from impact, the at least three aerodynamic propulsors being configured to provide translational control about the central longitudinal body axis and pitch, yaw, and roll control; and a flight director in data communication with each of the motors associated with the at least three aerodynamic propulsors, the flight director having a stability augmentation system configured to receive flight state information and pilot commands and to output flight control commands based at least partially upon the flight state information and pilot commands.", "16.The aerial vehicle of claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the structural leading edge is curved.", "17.The aerial vehicle of claim 15, wherein the body further includes a cargo volume, the cargo volume configured to deploy at least part of a cargo contained therein during flight.", "18.The aerial vehicle of claim 15, wherein the plurality of forward wings and the plurality of aft wings comprise removable training wings." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>1.Field of the Disclosure (Technical Field) The disclosure is concerned with aerial vehicles.", "More particularly, pertains to a class of flying toys which are able to hover like helicopters, then convert and fly like airplanes using a plurality of propellers and wings for lift and flight control." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description.", "This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.", "In an embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes a body, at least one motor supported by the body, and at least three aerodynamic propulsors driven by the at least one motor.", "The body includes a plurality of forward wings and a plurality of aft wings extending away from a longitudinal axis of the body.", "The plurality of forward wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The plurality of aft wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The at least three aerodynamic propulsors are positioned longitudinally between the plurality of forward wings and plurality of aft wings.", "In another embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes a body, at least three aerodynamic propulsors each driven by a motor, a communication module, and a flight director.", "The body includes a plurality of forward wings and a plurality of aft wings extending away from a longitudinal axis of the body.", "The plurality of forward wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The plurality of aft wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The at least three aerodynamic propulsors are positioned longitudinally between the plurality of forward wings and plurality of aft wings.", "The flight director is in data communication with at least one of the motors associated with the at least three aerodynamic propulsors and has a stability augmentation system configured to receive flight state information and pilot commands and to output flight control commands based at least partially upon the flight state information and pilot commands.", "In yet another embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes a body, at least three aerodynamic propulsors each driven by a motor, a communication module, and a flight director.", "The body includes a plurality of forward wings and a plurality of aft wings extending away from a longitudinal axis of the body.", "The plurality of forward wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The plurality of forward wings includes a structural leading edge that is configured to structurally support landing gear and extends through a radially outwardmost point of the aerial vehicle.", "The plurality of aft wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The at least three aerodynamic propulsors are positioned longitudinally between the plurality of forward wings and plurality of aft wings and within the radially outwardmost point such that the structural leading edge forms a propulsor cage that provides protection for the aerodynamic propulsors from impact.", "The flight director is in data communication with at least one of the motors associated with the at least three aerodynamic propulsors and has a stability augmentation system configured to receive flight state information and pilot commands and to output flight control commands based at least partially upon the flight state information and pilot commands.", "Additional features of embodiments of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of such embodiments.", "The features of such embodiments may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.", "These and other features will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of such embodiments as set forth hereinafter." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/734,864, filed Jun.", "9, 2015, and entitled “AERIAL VEHICLES AND METHODS OF USE.” U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/734,864 is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/120,446, filed Jun.", "10, 2014, and entitled “REMOTE-CONTROLLED CONVERTIBLE MULTI-PROPELLER TOY.” U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/734,864 is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/120,447, filed Jun.", "20, 2014, and entitled “AERIAL VEHICLES AND METHODS OF USE.” The disclosures of these application are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND 1.Field of the Disclosure (Technical Field) The disclosure is concerned with aerial vehicles.", "More particularly, pertains to a class of flying toys which are able to hover like helicopters, then convert and fly like airplanes using a plurality of propellers and wings for lift and flight control.", "2.BACKGROUND ART For more than two centuries, multi-propeller aircraft have been experimented with, starting with the fabled toy of Launoy and Bienvenu of 1783.These devices were and are limited mostly to hover-type flight modes, flying at low speeds for limited endurances and distances.", "Airplanes and gliders have similarly been in existence for many hundreds of years, flying much faster with greater endurances and range.", "SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description.", "This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.", "In an embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes a body, at least one motor supported by the body, and at least three aerodynamic propulsors driven by the at least one motor.", "The body includes a plurality of forward wings and a plurality of aft wings extending away from a longitudinal axis of the body.", "The plurality of forward wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The plurality of aft wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The at least three aerodynamic propulsors are positioned longitudinally between the plurality of forward wings and plurality of aft wings.", "In another embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes a body, at least three aerodynamic propulsors each driven by a motor, a communication module, and a flight director.", "The body includes a plurality of forward wings and a plurality of aft wings extending away from a longitudinal axis of the body.", "The plurality of forward wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The plurality of aft wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The at least three aerodynamic propulsors are positioned longitudinally between the plurality of forward wings and plurality of aft wings.", "The flight director is in data communication with at least one of the motors associated with the at least three aerodynamic propulsors and has a stability augmentation system configured to receive flight state information and pilot commands and to output flight control commands based at least partially upon the flight state information and pilot commands.", "In yet another embodiment, an aerial vehicle includes a body, at least three aerodynamic propulsors each driven by a motor, a communication module, and a flight director.", "The body includes a plurality of forward wings and a plurality of aft wings extending away from a longitudinal axis of the body.", "The plurality of forward wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The plurality of forward wings includes a structural leading edge that is configured to structurally support landing gear and extends through a radially outwardmost point of the aerial vehicle.", "The plurality of aft wings extends in a forward wing plane that contains the longitudinal body axis and is tilted no more than 15 degrees from the longitudinal body axis.", "The at least three aerodynamic propulsors are positioned longitudinally between the plurality of forward wings and plurality of aft wings and within the radially outwardmost point such that the structural leading edge forms a propulsor cage that provides protection for the aerodynamic propulsors from impact.", "The flight director is in data communication with at least one of the motors associated with the at least three aerodynamic propulsors and has a stability augmentation system configured to receive flight state information and pilot commands and to output flight control commands based at least partially upon the flight state information and pilot commands.", "Additional features of embodiments of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of such embodiments.", "The features of such embodiments may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.", "These and other features will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of such embodiments as set forth hereinafter.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a more particular description will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.", "For better understanding, like elements have been designated by like reference numbers throughout the various accompanying figures.", "Though some elements in some figures have the same reference number as elements in other figures, these elements may be the same or may differ.", "While some of the drawings are schematic representations of concepts, at least some of the drawings may be drawn to scale.", "Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates an example of the physics of the pitchback instability coupled with cross-flow drag problems which plague open-propeller and shrouded-propeller aerial vehicle designs.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates the wall recirculation zone with resulting wall suction moments.", "FIG.", "3 is a comparison of energy requirements of a convertible aerial vehicle versus conventional helicopter and airplane designs.", "FIG.", "4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle having a propeller cage, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle with removable training wings in an assembled and disassembled form, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle with multiple sets of propellers and without an undercarriage, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "8 is a side view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle along the body in a hover flight configuration illustrating pitch, roll and yaw moments and longitudinal body axis and transverse body axis translational force vectors, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "9 is a side view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle in an airplane-mode illustrating pitch, yaw and roll moments and longitudinal body axis and transverse body axis translational force vectors, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle in quiescent hover flight and the physics of deck-level hovering flight during transition and/or when exposed to a lateral gust field.", "FIG.", "11 schematically illustrates communication of pilot commands and/or other flight commands to an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates a schematic drawing of an embodiment of stability and control loop architecture, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates a pair of embodiments of aerial vehicle toys engaged in ribbon-cutting and laser-tag dogfight flight, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "14 is a perspective view of a pair of embodiments of convertible aerial vehicles engaging in lofting and deploying a cargo, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "15 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a core of a convertible aerial vehicle with structural leading wing edges, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "16 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle including the core of FIG.", "15 in an assembled and partially disassembled form, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "17 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle with a curved leading wing edge in an assembled and partially disassembled form, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "18 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle with a canard wing set, according to the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "19 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle with a rocket propulsor mounted in the body, according to the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below.", "These described embodiments are examples of the presently disclosed techniques.", "Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all features of an actual implementation may be described in the specification.", "It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions will be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another.", "Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.", "When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements.", "The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.", "Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.", "It should be understood that any directions or reference frames in the preceding description are merely relative directions or movements.", "For example, any references to “up” and “down” or “above” and “below” or “forward” and “aft” are merely descriptive of the relative position or movement of the related elements.", "Any element described in relation to an embodiment or a figure herein may be combinable with any element of any other embodiment or figure described herein.", "This disclosure generally relates to aerial vehicles.", "This disclosure relates to aerial vehicles with multiple aerodynamic propulsors that are capable of flight convertible from a hover flight to an airplane-type or translational flight mode.", "Multi-propeller aerial vehicles are susceptible to being disturbed by gust fields via pitchback instabilities and large cross-flow drag levels when in hovering flight.", "This tendency for instability increases the probability of a crash, which, in turn, often leads to vehicle breakage and/or harm to bystanders.", "A more debilitating crash mode which is not readily apparent is related to wall-suction.", "As a hovering aerial vehicle approaches a vertical surface, especially one which is close to the ground, a toroidal vortex is established in the form of a recirculation donut.", "This recirculation zone generates a strong downwash field on the wall-side of the propellers, thereby reducing lift and pitching the propellercraft towards the wall.", "This almost always leads to a crash.", "One solution to catastrophic propeller breakage is to install propeller guards.", "However, propeller guards lead to high weight increments and even greater pitchback instabilities and crossflow drag when in freeflight, when exposed to a gust and close to walls.", "The translational problem is weakly dealt with by pitching the aircraft into the local gust field.", "While sometimes effective, the response time is often slow and leads to gross body rotations which disturb camera views which are often used for piloting via First Person View (FPV) systems.", "While aerial vehicles which can fly like helicopters are accepted by the market and toys that can fly like airplanes are similarly desirable, it is clear that an aerial vehicle which possesses the best of both flight modes can be more desirable than either one individually.", "At least one embodiment described herein is capable of both hovering and airplane-like translational flight (i.e., applying thrust in a direction that is generally parallel to the ground for an extended period of time).", "In at least one embodiment described herein, an aerial vehicle achieves improved hover performance like a helicopter and yet maintains the ability to execute fully acrobatic maneuvers like a high performance airplane.", "In general, aircraft that are good at airplane-type flight have very limited hover maneuverability and are susceptible to lateral gusts when in a hover, are often flipped over when in hover modes and are unable to land without catastrophic wing, empennage, fuselage and/or propeller strike.", "Aerial vehicles which are good at hovering and low-speed flight often have such tremendous levels of drag when in high speed flight that they cannot even begin to reach conventional airplane or toy airplane speeds.", "There are five main challenges of conventional multi-propeller aircraft which may feed into each other, including aerodynamic instabilities due to propeller pitchback and/or crossflow drag; flight near hard surfaces and/or objects; toroidal recirculation near vertical surfaces and/or objects; exacerbation of instability by thrust-based navigation; and wall suction leading to body rotations.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "1, a propeller 102 may experience pitchback instabilities 104 and crossflow drag 106 that induce large body rotational and spatial excursions (i.e., deviations from intended flight pattern or direction) in the propeller 102 or in hovering vehicles that employ the propeller 102 when flying in real atmospheric conditions.", "These excursions often lead to crashes unto themselves against hard objects, the ceiling, the ground, or people, resulting in harm to individuals and/or damage to the vehicle and surrounding environment.", "Further, as shown in FIG.", "2, the excursions may place a vehicle 108 employing the propeller 102 in the proximity of a vertical surface 110 (like the side of a house or wall) where a toroidal recirculation zone 112, induces a high level of downwash on the propeller 102 or vehicle 108 propeller-side closest to the vertical surface 110, which in turn sucks the vehicle 108 towards the vertical surface 110 or wall.", "The toroidal recirculation zone 112 may lead to vehicle 108 instabilities, which may be exacerbated by attempts to stabilize the vehicle 108.For example, if a hovering vehicle 108 relies only upon thrust to escape the wall suction, then often, as wall-side thrust is increased (either by the pilot or a flight controller), the strength of the toroidal recirculation zone 112 and its suction correspondingly increases as adverse downwash velocities grow.", "Such toroidal recirculation zone 112 suction at or near vertical surfaces 110 may induce both wall-side rotation and translation, which may in turn frequently induce crashes, disturb camera angles via body rotations, lead to mechanical breakage, and, in flight close to people, can even harm individuals.", "The most common design feature on aerial vehicles that is used to prevent catastrophic propeller damage is the addition of a propeller guard.", "While effective in preventing some damage, propeller guards are heavy and, through their very geometry, may induce even greater levels of the cross-flow drag and pitchback instability described in relation to FIG.", "1.Occasionally, large training cross-arms are added to the landing gear at the bottom of the aircraft, thereby allowing the user to learn how to fly the aircraft.", "While protecting the aircraft from downward strikes, the aircraft can be easily flipped over when close to the ground, inducing propeller damage.", "Cross-arms are exceedingly heavy and draggy as they lie directly in the propwash close to the ground, which compromises maneuverability.", "As used herein, “draggy” should be understood to describe one or more features of a vehicle that increase the aerodynamic drag of the vehicle.", "The comparatively high weight of cross-arms also leads to a net downward shift in center of gravity which exacerbates pendulum instabilities.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates that if a given aircraft with a fixed amount of maximum power is flown in a helicopter-like (hover) configuration, it will have a reasonable hover required-power but will have a comparatively low helicopter maximum translational flight speed 218, which is determined when the helicopter required-power line 214 intersects the available power line.", "Similarly, the airplane required-power line 216 is dominated by stall-related effects at low speeds leading to an airplane minimum speed.", "Like helicopters, the airplane required-power line will intersect at a given available power line, which determines the airplane maximum translational flight speed 220, which is much higher than the helicopter maximum translational flight speed 218.At least one embodiment of a convertible aerial vehicle described herein displays a convertible required-power line 222 that lacks the stall speed constraint of an airplane which sets wing areas to high levels.", "Instead, the wings of the convertible aircraft can be significantly smaller.", "This, in turn, leads to a dramatic reduction in wetted area (i.e., the area of atmosphere through which the vehicle moves) which decreases total flat plate equivalent drag, f. Because f of the convertible aerial vehicle is much lower than that of a similarly powered airplane, a simple relationship governing the convertible maximum translational flight speed 224 of the aircraft makes the relationship clear.", "Given two otherwise identical designs, the one with a lower value of equivalent flat plate area will be faster: 2   η p  P sav ρ  ( f + C L 2 π   Ae ) 3 = V max ( eq .", " 1 ) Wherein: ηp is the propeller efficiency, Psav is the shaft power available, p is the density of air, f is the parasite area of the aircraft, CL is the lift coefficient of the lifting surface, A is the aspect ratio of the lifting surface, and e is the Oswald's efficiency of the lifting surface.", "If one assumes that the design will fly at the maximum value of lift-to-drag for greatest efficiency, via tailoring wing areas for maximum efficiency cruise speed then equation 1 becomes: η p  P sav ρ   f 3 = V max ( eq .", " 2 ) Accordingly, as wing areas are reduced because of the relaxation or elimination of stall constraints, the convertible aerial vehicle will be able to either go faster with the same size powerplant and/or achieve the same top speed with a smaller motor.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a potential opportunity presented by a synergistically designed convertible aerial vehicle.", "An embodiment of a synergistically designed convertible aerial vehicle may hover with system-level Figure of Merit (FOM) similar to or greater than that of a helicopter and then convert to a translational flight mode for high speed flight (which is typically two to five times greater than the highest speeds that can be achieved by a conventional helicopter), then convert back to hover flight for, in one example, landing.", "In another example, the translational flight may include flight generated by one or more propulsors that lies mostly in a horizontal plane and is close to the primary direction of flight.", "In conventional, commercial aircraft, jet engines are typically tilted less than 15° from the body longitudinal axis, which in turn is typically oriented within 15° of a horizontal plane for most of the flight and principally in the direction of flight, which coincides with the x-direction stability axis.", "Other examples of airplane mode flight include that which is achieved by gliders as noted by the direction of flight as coinciding with the x-direction stability axis in still-air conditions with no propulsors present.", "Aircraft which possess translational flight capability typically have one or more thrust generating mechanisms which generate propulsive thrust principally parallel to the aircraft longitudinal axis, which possesses the lowest levels of cross-flow drag in a given flight mode, which for conventional aircraft is the body x-axis.", "Convertible aerial vehicle have historically been able to achieve higher speeds than helicopters while maintaining some form of hover flight capability.", "At least one embodiment of an aerial vehicle disclosed herein, however, promises to have even greater hover efficiency by boosting system-level Figures of Merit by 2% to 5% over a helicopter.", "At least one embodiment of a convertible aircraft described herein generates strong airflows along its body-x axis in hovering flight, which is tilted approximately 90° to the horizontal, and the body-x axis is the axis of lowest drag presentation.", "The total crossflow drag is, therefore, mitigated with respect to helicopters.", "Another pair of features reducing drag along the body longitudinal axis are the comparatively low wetted area and the form factor.", "This low wetted area is an artifact of the relaxation of stall constraints which allows lifting surfaces to shrink with respect to the sizes required for takeoff and landing required by airplanes.", "With shrunken lifting surfaces, the low wetted areas present much lower drag than that caused by much larger wings which are typically found on conventional aircraft of the same weight.", "Although the present disclosure may describe embodiments in terms of toy embodiments, the present disclosure is not so limited.", "Rather, principles and elements of the disclosure apply to aerial vehicles generally.", "For example, at least one aerial vehicle herein may be used in a larger-scale aerial vehicle, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle.", "These unmanned aerial vehicles may include the following ranges of size: from 2 centimeters (cm) to 5 meters (m) in main propeller diameters.", "Furthermore, although most embodiments are described in terms of having propellers, other aerodynamic propulsors may be used.", "For example, in some embodiments a ducted fan, small jet engine, rocket engine, other aerodynamic propulsor, or combinations thereof may be used.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4, an aerial vehicle 308 according to the present disclosure may include propellers 302 that may be mounted between a forward wing set 326 and an aft wing set 328; neither at the front, nor at the back of the aircraft.", "The forward wing set 326 and aft wing set 328 may be mounted to a central body 330 having a longitudinal body axis 332 extending therethrough.", "The central body 330 may include at least one bay which may be of any cross-sectional geometry or size and may house things like batteries, receiver and/or transmitter electronics, sensors, general cargo, or combinations thereof.", "The mounting position of the propellers 302 may allow the vehicle 308 to shield the propellers 302 from objects above (i.e., in the longitudinal axis 332 of the body 302 —including tree branches or light fixtures as the aircraft is caught in a ceiling suction toroid) or below.", "In some embodiments, the leading edge 334 of the forward wing set 326 may be both structural and load-bearing to the point that they accommodate a protective undercarriage assembly 336 which both ties into and/or forms the vehicle 308 primary structure.", "The undercarriage assembly 336 may be positioned in and/or attached to the forward portion of the vehicle 308 rather than the aft portion of the vehicle 308, which may reduce or remove any destabilizing shift in center of gravity.", "Legs 338 of the undercarriage assembly 336 and/or propeller cages may extend beyond the radial outermost point of the propellers 302, thereby shielding the propellers 302 from damage in the event of a rough landing or crash.", "Similarly, should the vehicle 308 fly into a person or other object, shielding the propellers 302 may reduce or eliminate the probability of striking an individual with the propellers 302 and/or the probability of an injury in the event of a strike may be reduced.", "Unlike a propeller guard surrounding a propeller, which may generate pitchback instabilities and crossflow drag increments as described in relation to FIG.", "1, an undercarriage assembly 336 may generate a pitchforward stabilizing increment as the aerodynamic center lies below the propeller 302 planes and center of gravity of the vehicle 308.When combined with a plurality of landing pads 340 located on the undercarriage assembly 336 radially and distally away from the body 330, the crossflow drag of the landing pads 340 may further accentuate stabilizing pitchforward moments.", "The landing pads 340 may be connected to the undercarriage assembly 336 using a connection of variable compliance to allow tunable damping, compliance, and energy absorption upon landing or obstacle strike.", "In embodiments with an undercarriage assembly 336, the aerial vehicle 308 may be increased in structural strength by fixing the undercarriage assembly 336 directly into the forward wing set 326 primary structure while possessing extremely low levels of wetted area and form drag as it presents a low-drag aerodynamic profile.", "Because of the low wetted area increments, the crossflow drag may be between one to three orders of magnitude less than a propeller guard in hover.", "In forward flight, the geometry of the undercarriage assembly 336 is such that the low wetted area increments mean that the corresponding equivalent flat plate drag increment may also be an order of magnitude lower than that of a propeller guard.", "In embodiments where the undercarriage assembly 336 is positioned far upstream of the propeller 302, the translational flight drag may be further reduced as the dynamic pressure ratio at that location is approximately 1.0.Propeller guards of conventional aircraft generally operate at substantially higher dynamic pressure ratios which drives up their drag increments (typically due to scrubbing drag) even further relative to an undercarriage assembly 336 arrangement, especially considering that their form drag is high as well as wetted area.", "In some embodiments, the aerial vehicle 308 may include turning vane flaps 342 movable relative to the aft wing set 328 by a hinge 344 or other pivoting connection.", "The turning vane flaps 342 may lie below the propellers 302 and firmly in the propeller slipstreams.", "This orientation may facilitate execution of full pitch, roll and yaw control moments about the center of gravity.", "In some embodiments, when the control deflections and associated degrees of freedom of the turning vane flaps 342 are combined with motor control degrees of freedom, at least one of the embodiments of an aerial vehicle 308 may easily execute rotation-free translations and execute body-level stationkeeping even in the presence of high gust fields.", "The aircraft may be kept in moment equilibrium with the deck level in hovering flight while turning vanes apply net forces along the transverse body axes in either direction.", "Longitudinal body axis 332 position control may be maintained via propeller thrust manipulation coming from speed and/or blade feathering angle variations.", "In embodiments with propeller shielding and/or translational control aspects of the design (i.e., turning vane flaps 342), at least one embodiment of an aerial vehicle 308 will maintain extremely high levels of pitch control authority useful for conversion between hover and translational flight modes and maintenance of flight stability in the transition corridor.", "Specifically, pitch control may be executed independently and collectively via variations of the thrust between the propellers 302 which are displaced from each other in the transverse direction relative to the body 330 (i.e.", "fuselage) as well as turning vane flap 342 deflections, which generate elevator-equivalent pitching moments.", "Movement of the aerial vehicle 308 may be defined relative to an x-, y-, and z-axis reference frame as depicted in FIG.", "4.The x-direction may be parallel to the longitudinal axis 332 of the vehicle 308 and the x- and y-directions may be transverse directions perpendicular to one another.", "Roll control about the x-axis may be established in at least one embodiment by differential speed control of propellers 302 and/or turning vane flap 342 deflections.", "Yaw control about the body 330 z-axis may be similarly controlled by differential speed control of the propellers 302 displaced laterally along the body 330 y-axis and/or turning vane flap 342 deflections which generate rudder-equivalent moments about the body 330 z-axis.", "Translational control along y- and z-axes of the aerial vehicle 308 may be provided by maintaining moment equilibrium about the two axes via thrust manipulation from the propellers 302 while simultaneously executing rudder-equivalent and/or elevator-equivalent turning vane flap 342 deflections.", "Translational control along the x-axis may be obtained by direct thrust variations via speed control of the propellers 302.In at least one embodiment of an aerial vehicle 308 disclosed herein, the control aspects may include as many as eleven degrees of freedom.", "Embodiments with higher number of wing pairs in the forward wing set 326 and the aft wing set 328 and/or propellers 302 may possess even higher numbers of degrees of freedom.", "At least one embodiment of an aerial vehicle 308 incorporates an overall configuration which is extremely low drag in converted, translational flight, which synergistically lends efficient hover properties as well.", "Multi-propeller aerial vehicles typically use truss or round-bar arm designs to support the propellers 302.The support arms create nontrivial crossflow blockage drag, as the support arms sit directly below the propeller in the high dynamic pressure region of the flow.", "At least one embodiment of an aerial vehicle according to the present disclosure excludes support arms and/or may include aerodynamic fairings 346 immediate behind the propellers 302, where the fairings 346 may be fixed to the aft wing set 328.The drag associated with support arms may be unacceptable in convertible flight (i.e., flight from hover to translational flight).", "Accordingly, the total blockage drag of the design may be one to two orders of magnitude lower in a hover and at certain boattail heights above the ground may actually produce lifting thrust.", "Embodiments of aerial vehicles 308 without truss or round-bar support arms directly below the propeller may lead to overall hover efficiencies which are significantly greater than conventional multi-propeller toys and even conventional helicopter toys.", "As a result, in these embodiments, the total power required to hover will be reduced, which in turn, may shrink battery sizes relative to the other designs, which lowers weight, component, and manufacturing costs.", "Because the takeoff weight to empty weight sensitivities of multi-propeller toys is typically high when dimensions are small, at least one embodiment of an aerial vehicle toy includes this beneficial property, which shrinks gross weights.", "Because the weights of the embodiments having this design will be lower than a conventionally configured aerial vehicle, it will not only cost less, but it will tend to be much more robust as inertial loads during object strike will be lower and product safety will be similarly enhanced beyond just those levels which are provided by the unique undercarriage assembly 336.Relative to a conventionally configured helicopter, propeller torque is exactingly countered, not by a tail rotor which consumes 10%-15% of the main rotor power, but by balancing lifting propellers 302, which counter torque with no parasitic losses such as seen in a conventionally configured helicopter.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, the aerial vehicle 308 may include a nose 348 that can be of an aerodynamically faired configuration allowing smooth passage of air in both hover and translational flight modes and may have holes or slots allowing for induction of an internal airflow to cool internal electronics and batteries.", "A number of storage bays 350 may be included, that may hold a variety of devices from stability augmentation systems to sensors to general cargo to energy storage devices.", "The aerial vehicle 308 may include an aft body portion 352.In some embodiments, the aft body portion 352 can house a variety of mission packages and/or cargo.", "In other embodiments, the aft body portion 352 can be substantially empty to maintain proper weight and balance distributions of the aerial vehicle 308 as a whole.", "The aerial vehicle 308 may include one or more powerpods 354.In some embodiments, the one or more powerpods 354 may have a comparatively high aspect ratio configuration (i.e., ratio of a longitudinal dimension to a transverse dimension) and may support propellers 302 structurally from the front and back while passing structural loads through the motor shaft via, for example, bearing assemblies.", "The propellers 302 may be foldable, flexible, frangible and/or deformable for packaging, flight safety and robustness.", "At least one motor 356 may provide shaft power to the propellers 302 to turn them in a variety of directions and speeds depending on the number of wings and associated powerpod 354 assemblies.", "The aerial vehicle 308 may include the fairings 346.In some embodiments, the fairings 346 may act as structural supports for the at least one motor 356 and/or termina of the aft wing set 328, undercarriage assembly 336, alighting assemblies, other structural or shielding components, or combinations thereof.", "The aerial vehicle 308 may include forward wing set 326 that may support the forward sections of the powerpods 354 structurally by passing structural loads directly to a forward body portion 358.As described herein, the aerial vehicle 308 may include landing gear, such as the undercarriage assembly 336 with legs 338 and landing pads 340.The forward wing set 326 may integrate the landing gear and pass landing loads from the undercarriage assembly 336 directly to the forward wing set 326 primary structures.", "The aerial vehicle 308 may include an aft wing set 328 that may structurally connect the powerpods 354 to the aft body portion 352.The forward wing set 326 and the aft wing set 328 may contain a variety of structural members and/or electrical lines to sustain and/or control flight.", "The aft wing set 328 may structurally support turning vane flaps 342.FIG.", "5 illustrates another embodiment of an aerial vehicle 408 having a configuration with more than one set of propellers 402 per powerpod 454 which may be rotated in the same or opposite directions.", "The propellers 402A, 402B may be driven by motors in both the forward and aft portions of the powerpods 454A, 454B.", "The undercarriage assembly 436 may be amenable to the formation of a propeller cage 460 or protective basket which may allow for safe flight to protect the propellers 402 from obstacles and similarly protect the object or people from the propellers 402.The vertical basket arches 462 may connect to a basket hoop 464 which may fully enclose the propellers 402 in a low-drag configuration.", "The aerial vehicle 408 can also be equipped with binocular sensors like pinhole cameras 468A, 468B which may be laterally displaced to offer an operator both parallax and depth perception via displacement along the body y-axis.", "The aerial vehicle 408 can also be equipped with monocular sensors 470 mounted on pan-tilt-zoom assemblies in any portion of the aerial vehicle 408.Antennae of a variety of configurations may be mounted on any portion of the aerial vehicle 408 and/or incorporated into the body 430 or undercarriage assembly 436.In some embodiments, an aerial vehicle may be flown in first person via a vision aided system, leading to a first-person view (FPV) piloting scheme.", "An aerial vehicle may be flown by waypoint navigation scheme, third-person flight modes, arcade or a hybrid of any of the above.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an embodiment of an aerial vehicle 508 that is a conversion training variant which may include a number of features which assist in stabilizing conversions between hover flight and translational flight.", "The aerial vehicle 508 may include a removable training wing set 572 configured to supplement the wing sets of the aerial vehicle 508.In some embodiments, the aerial vehicle 508 may have a forward wing set 526A connected to the body 530 and mounted forward of the propellers 502.The forward wing set 526A may be structurally supported by an undercarriage assembly 536 that extends radially and aftwardly, at least partially defining the leading edge of the forward wing set 526A.", "The removable training wing set 572 may include a relatively large training forward wing set 526B that is configured to connect to the body 530 and/or the leading edge of the forward wing set 526A and supplement the forward wing set 526A.", "The removable training wing set 572 may include a relatively large training aft wing set 528B that is configured to connect to the body 530 and/or the training forward wing set 526B.", "The size, and hence drag, of the training aft wing set 528B may be so great that they may induce a large aftward shift along the body x-axis of the aerodynamic center of the aerial vehicle 508.Such a shift of the aerodynamic center of the aerial vehicle 508 may lead to such high static margin that as the aerial vehicle 508 is exposed to increasing flight speeds, the aerial vehicle 508 attitude is forced ever further into the local freestream velocity vectors.", "Embodiments including an oversized training aft wing set 528B may aid pilots, such as novice pilots who are learning how to convert flight modes.", "However, because the removable training wing set 572 can more than double the wetted area, the removable training wing set 572 is not generally suitable for high speed flight.", "Thus, in some embodiments, the removable training wing set 572 may be removed, for example, once the pilot gains experience and confidence with conversion.", "In some embodiments, the removable training wing set 572 may be a single structural component that is selectively connectable to the aerial vehicle 508 as a whole.", "In other embodiments, the removable training wing set 572 may have discrete components that a user may selectively apply to the aerial vehicle 508 for different training purposes and/or flight characteristics.", "For example, the training forward wing set 526B and the training aft wing set 528B may be applied and/or removed from the aerial vehicle 508 independently from one another.", "As with many training schemes, the training forward wing set 526B and the training aft wing set 528B may come in a variety of chords and spans so that the level of stability may be gradually reduced with increasing levels of pilot skill and confidence.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates yet another embodiment of an aerial vehicle 608 with the undercarriage assembly removed and a set of forward propellers 602C mounted forward of the forward wing set 626 and forward of the propellers 602A mounted between the forward wing set 626 and aft wing set 628.Forward propellers 602C, and associated motor assemblies 656C can be mounted to the body 630 and/or forward powerpods 654C and used to boost maximum flight speeds, both in hover flight and translational flight modes; however because the propellers lie outside of the protection of the space between the forward wing set 626 and aft wing set 628, this configuration may be reserved for more experienced pilots.", "The position of the forward propellers 602C may induce a power-on forward shift in effective aerodynamic center position and accordingly reduce the total static margin.", "In some embodiments, fixed or movable stabilizers 674 may be included for both stabilization and control.", "The embodiments of aerial vehicles described herein will have a high number of independent and dependent degrees of freedom with respect to a conventionally configured multi-propeller aircraft, helicopter, or airplane.", "FIG.", "8 is a lateral view of an embodiment of an aerial vehicle 708 along the body y-axis illustrating the aerial vehicle 708 in hover flight.", "The aerial vehicle 708 may include a plurality of propellers 702 which may each generate a yawing moment 776.These yawing moments 776 are a function of propeller types, pitch angles, rotational speeds and directions which may be varied, from flight to flight or in-flight.", "As the propellers 702 are spun at different speeds relative to each other or their blade angles are pitched more or less relative to each other, the thrust vector 778 of each propeller 702 may be manipulated for control of moments about the center of mass 780 of the aerial vehicle 708.Turning vane flaps may generate elevator forces 782 in elevator-equivalent and rudder-equivalent directions.", "These force vectors may be varied with respect to each other to generate pitching moments about the center of mass 780, either positive or negative.", "If the sum of the thrust vectors 778 from the propellers 702 on a first lateral side of the aerial vehicle 708 is greater than the sum of the thrust vectors 778 from the propellers 702 on a second lateral side of the aerial vehicle 708, then the aerial vehicle 708 pitches around the center of mass 780, providing all other force vectors remain unchanged.", "The elevator forces 782 are represented by the two visible components of those vectors.", "The elevator forces 782 may manipulate the aerial vehicle 708 in z-axis translational motions as well as generate pitching moments about the aircraft center of mass 780.FIG.", "9 is a top-view of the aerial vehicle 708 of FIG.", "8 in fully-converted translational flight.", "As the sum of the thrust vectors 778A from the propellers 702 on the first lateral side of the aerial vehicle 708 becomes greater than the sum of the thrust vectors 778B from the propellers 702 on the second lateral side of the aerial vehicle 708, the aerial vehicle 708 will yaw clockwise as seen in this view about the aircraft center of mass 780.The elevator forces 782 may manipulate the aerial vehicle 708 in y-axis translational motions as well as generate yawing moments about the aircraft center of mass 780.These force differentials (i.e., pitch, roll, yaw) may be accomplished by, for example, varying propeller speeds and/or turning vane orientations as described herein.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates how an embodiment of an aerial vehicle 808 may maintain deck-level translations and equilibrium during relative movement of the aerial vehicle 808 and the surrounding air.", "The aerial vehicle 808 in a quiescent flight condition with a farfield freestream velocity near zero exhibits essentially no cross-flow drag, D˜0.As the aircraft is exposed to a lateral flow speed induced by direct translation of the aerial vehicle 808 or a gust of air 884, a crossflow-drag component 886 will go to a non-zero value.", "To counter this crossflow drag component 886 the pilot and/or flight director may command the turning vane flaps 842 to generate countering lateral elevator forces 882.To maintain moment equilibrium about the center of mass 880, the thrust force of the windward propellers 878A may be reduced with respect to the thrust force of the leeward propellers 878B while the sum of thrust force of the windward propellers 878A and thrust force of the leeward propellers 878B is at the same level as when the aerial vehicle 808 was in hover flight with zero cross-flow.", "This differential in thrust force 878A, 878B may generate a counterclockwise moment about the center of mass 880 which may be used to exactly counter a clockwise moment generated by the elevator force 882 generated by the turning vane flaps 842.Accordingly, the aerial vehicle 808 may be kept in exact force and moment equilibrium with a level deck.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates a plurality of guidance, navigation, and flight command signals that may be transmitted to an aerial vehicle 908.In some embodiments, a conventional radio controller 988 may be used to directly and/or indirectly communication pilot commands to the aerial vehicle 908 via a signal in the electromagnetic spectrum.", "The pilot commands may be transmitted to a receiver unit 990 within the aerial vehicle 908 which may be attached to one or more antennae.", "In other embodiments, one or more satellites 992 can send a number of electromagnetic signals to the aerial vehicle 908 so as to provide spatial orientation to the receiver unit 990.The aerial vehicle 908 may also be fitted with a plurality of proximity sensors 994 operating in acoustic and/or radio frequencies using electromagnetic waves or optical or infrared signals.", "These signals may be used to increase situational awareness for pilot-commanded flight and/or used as part of an automatic or semi-automatic flight control system.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates an embodiment of a data flowchart 901 depicting data flow through a flight director with inner loop stability augmentation system (SAS) 903 and an outer loop guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) system 905.A plurality of sensors may be used to determine atmospherics information 907 and provide the atmospherics information 907 to the flight director.", "One or more onboard sensors in a collision avoidance and obstacle spatial proximity system may also provide collision avoidance information 909 and aid in establishing aircraft and operator situational awareness.", "Collision avoidance information 909 may be supplied with pilot commands 911 to the outer GNC system 905 which feeds data to the aerial vehicle only upon mixing within an inner SAS 903.The outer GNC system 905 may receive a waypoint schedule 913 that is at least partially provided by communication with one or more satellites 992, described in relation to FIG.", "11.The outer GNC system 905 and inner SAS 903 may provide power and flight control surface commands 915 to the aerial vehicle 908 to move the aerial vehicle 908 according to the pilot commands 911 in light of the atmospherics information 907, collision avoidance information 909, and the necessary modifications to maintain stability according to the inner SAS 903.The aerial vehicle 908 may move in the intended direction and relay back flight state information 917 to the inner SAS 903 and the outer GNC system 905.In some embodiments, the flight state information may include pitch, orientation, speed, acceleration, inertial moments, altitude, position, other values, or combinations thereof.", "At least one embodiment of an aerial vehicle toy may be used in a number of aerial games in addition to simple acrobatics which can be commanded.", "FIG.", "13 shows a pair of aerial vehicles 1008 engaging in combat using a form of radio frequency, optical, infrared, UV, or other electromagnetic beam targeting an opposing aircraft.", "As the beam originates from an emitter 1096 from the pursuing aerial vehicle 1008, travels through space and hits the opposing aerial vehicle 1008 on a receiver 1098.The result of a beam strike could be the emission of a sound signaling a hit, a loss of power, a prescribed aircraft maneuver and/or loss of power or complete motor shut-down.", "Other activities may include using an embodiment of an aerial vehicle 1108 to loft a given payload 1119A as shown in FIG.", "14.Such a payload may be any form of harmless game-related substance and under current FAA rules may be flown indoors.", "The payload 1119B in freefall may be safe to humans upon impact, such as a water-balloon, a shaving-cream filled balloon or a bag of flour.", "When mounted to the aircraft, the payload 1119A may be released by a remotely controlled release mechanism 1121.Other payloads may include liquids held in a reservoir which may be ejected from a nozzle 1123 a given distance like shaving cream or other effluents, such as SILLY STRING.", "In some embodiments, such a reservoir may be located within a body 1130 of the aerial vehicle 1108 and may be ejected from the nozzle 1123 upon receiving a command from the pilot or other operator.", "FIG.", "15 illustrates the internal core of the aerial vehicle 508 described in relation to FIG.", "6.The internal core may include an undercarriage assembly 536 and a support member 525.The undercarriage assembly 536 and support member 525 may provide a structural framework upon with the plurality of powerpods 554 and propellers 502 may be mounted.", "The core may include a flight director 527 in electrical communication with a plurality of sensors and/or communication modules to convert pilot commands and flight state information into flight commands, as described in relation to FIG.", "12.The core may include an energy storage device 529 in electrical communication with the flight director 527, the plurality of sensors, emitters, the communication module, the plurality of powerpods 554, any other devices described herein, or combinations thereof.", "In other embodiments, the flight director 527 may include an inertial measuring unit (IMU) which will send signals to a comparator which will mix motor command signals which will be amplified by the power electronics assembly.", "The power electronics assembly will be used to drive indicator sound generators and/or lights to demonstrate to the operator different states of readiness and/or flight command levels.", "The power electronics assembly will also send power to the powerpods 554.The flight director 527 may be shock mounted on a piece of mounting material 531 which is designed so as to provide both equivalent spring stiffness and damping so as to induce stable, controllable flight.", "The undercarriage assembly 536 forms a straight structural triangle stretching between the energy storage device 529 and the support member 525.The mounting material 531 may interface with the support member 525.The support member 525 may have a light fill center or closed center.", "In the case of a closed center, powerpods 554 are connected at some distance from the center of the support member 525.The support member 525 may include or be made of any comparatively stiff material like cast nylon or graphite-epoxy composite, which may surround softer material like foam, balsa or honeycomb or no material at all for an open configuration.", "FIG.", "16 shows the aerial vehicle 508 with a forward wing set 526 and body 530 affixed to the core of FIG.", "15 and the aerial vehicle 508 with a nose 548 removed to provide access to the energy storage device 529.The nose 548 may be polygonal, oval, irregular, or circular in cross section and may be composed of materials which are capable of accepting multiple impact loads from crashing into surfaces soft and hard.", "The nose 548 may be filled with energy absorbing foam and may be made from sheet stock.", "The nose 548 may be designed to aerodynamically shield the energy storage device 529 and seat over the forward portion of the body 530, which, in turn may have a polygonal, oval, irregular or circular cross section.", "The body 530 transfers forward body structural loads, air, and D'Alembert's forces aft towards the forward sections of the undercarriage assembly 536.Because the undercarriage assembly 536 may be stiffer, stronger and heavier per unit volume than the lifting surfaces (i.e., forward wing set 526) which may be made from materials like polymer or metal honeycomb, foam, foil, paper or balsa, they have several effects on the section and whole surface aeroelastic stability.", "Because the lifting surfaces can be made from comparatively lightweight materials, a longitudinal section across the wing would be composed of a stiff, strong, comparatively heavy leading edge 534 component as the undercarriage assembly 536 also forms the leading edge 534 of the forward wing set 526.While in some embodiments, the undercarriage assembly 536 may be removable, the undercarriage assembly 536 may be integrated into the primary structure of the aerial vehicle 508.Accordingly, the undercarriage assembly 536 may be a load-bearing member through which landing, takeoff, flight, other loads, or combinations thereof are passed.", "Because a given longitudinal section of the forward wing set 526 and undercarriage assembly 536 shows a leading edge 534 reinforced by the undercarriage assembly 536, and the density of the undercarriage assembly 536 may be as much as two orders of magnitude greater than the density of the rest of the forward wing set 526, the section center of gravity is shifted forward in front of the section aerodynamic center, which, sub-sonically, will be close to the quarter-chord.", "Similarly, the torsional and flexural stiffnesses of the undercarriage assembly 536 may be greater than the torsional and flexural stiffnesses of the rest of the forward wing set 526, which trails the undercarriage assembly 536 in the longitudinal direction.", "The effect of this geometric arrangement on sectional elastic axis is similar to that of the effect on the section center of gravity.", "Because the undercarriage assembly 536 is often two to five orders of magnitude greater in flexural and torsional stiffness than the rest of the forward wing set 526 which trails it, the elastic axis position quite often is far in front of the quarter-chord of the section, which is approximately the position of the section aerodynamic center.", "At least partially due to this structural arrangement, both the section center of gravity and the elastic axis may be positioned in front of the section aerodynamic center.", "While the undercarriage assembly and leading edge of the wing set have been described as being substantially straight, the leading edge of the wing set may be or include curved elements as shown in FIG.", "17.An embodiment of an aerial vehicle 1208 having a curvilinear undercarriage assembly 1236 may shrink the total aft body length by as much as a factor of two while maintaining an equivalent surface area of a forward wing set 1226.The leading edge 1234 may include a curve in a range having upper and lower values including any of 10°, 20°, 30°, 40°, 50°, 60°, 70°, 80°, 90°, or any values therebetween.", "For example, the leading edge 1234 may curve between 10° and 90°.", "In other examples, the leading edge 1234 may curve between 20° and 50°.", "In yet other examples, the leading edge 1234 may curve about 30°.", "Similarly to FIG.", "16, FIG.", "17 depicts the aerial vehicle 1208 with a removable nose 1248 removed to allow access to an energy storage device 1229 and/or other electronics.", "FIG.", "18 depicts an embodiment of an aerial vehicle 1308 including a canard wing set 1333 mounted to a body 1330 of the aerial vehicle 1308.An aerial vehicle 1308 including curvilinear forward surfaces and/or empennage pieces such as the canard wing set 1333 in addition to the forward wing set 1326 and aft wing set 1328, the aerodynamic center may be positioned precisely for maintenance of proper stability and maneuverability when converted from hover flight to translational flight.", "FIG.", "19 depicts an embodiment of an aerial vehicle 1408 including a plurality of types of propulsors.", "The aerial vehicle 1408 may include at least three aerodynamic propulsors of a first type, such as the propellers 1402 described herein, in combination with a propulsor of a second type.", "In some embodiments, the aerial vehicle 1408 may include at least three propellers 1402 located equidistant from a longitudinal axis 1432 of the aerial vehicle 1408 with a central mounting channel 1435 that may house a rocket propulsor 1437.The rocket propulsor 1437 may be a solid fuel rocket, a liquid fuel rocket, staged rocket, other type of rocket, or combinations thereof.", "In some embodiments, the rocket propulsor 1437 may be mounted forward of the at least three propellers 1402.In other embodiments, the rocket propulsor 1437 may be positioned such that an exhaust path of the rocket propulsor 1437 may not overlap with the at least three propellers 1402.The central mounting channel 1435 may be constructed of heat-resistant materials so as to resist the effects of ejection charges of the rocket propulsor 1437 at the conclusion of core burn.", "This configuration of rocket propulsor 1437 may be initiated by on-board or ground-based electronics and/or power and/or may be fired by a fuse type assembly.", "After the rocket propulsor 1437 is consumed, a recoil charge may or may not be used to eject the entire rocket propulsor 1437 or it may be retained for the rest of the flight.", "The central mounting channel 1435 may place the rocket thrust vector straight through the aircraft center of mass and along the longitudinal axis 1432 for maintenance of flight stability upon motor firing.", "The articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements in the preceding descriptions.", "The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.", "Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.", "Numbers, percentages, ratios, or other values stated herein are intended to include that value, and also other values that are “about” or “approximately” the stated value, as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art encompassed by embodiments of the present disclosure.", "A stated value should therefore be interpreted broadly enough to encompass values that are at least close enough to the stated value to perform a desired function or achieve a desired result.", "The stated values include at least the variation to be expected in a suitable manufacturing or production process, and may include values that are within 5%, within 1%, within 0.1%, or within 0.01% of a stated value.", "A person having ordinary skill in the art should realize in view of the present disclosure that equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that various changes, substitutions, and alterations may be made to embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "Equivalent constructions, including functional “means-plus-function” clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function, including both structural equivalents that operate in the same manner, and equivalent structures that provide the same function.", "It is the express intention of the applicant not to invoke means-plus-function or other functional claiming for any claim except for those in which the words ‘means for’ appear together with an associated function.", "Each addition, deletion, and modification to the embodiments that falls within the meaning and scope of the claims is to be embraced by the claims.", "The terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” as used herein represent an amount close to the stated amount that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result.", "For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and within less than 0.01% of a stated amount.", "Further, it should be understood that any directions or reference frames in the preceding description are merely relative directions or movements.", "For example, any references to “up” and “down” or “above” or “below” are merely descriptive of the relative position or movement of the related elements.", "Although the preceding description has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather it extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874792
[ [ "VISUALIZING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DATA ELEMENTS AND GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF DATA ELEMENT ATTRIBUTES", "In general, metadata is stored in a data storage system.", "Summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system is computed, and the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object is stored.", "A visual representation is generated of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object." ], [ "1.A method including: storing, in a data storage system, a transformation object representing transformation of data and at least two dataset objects representing stored data in datasets; storing, in a data storage system, data lineage information linking the at least two dataset objects to the transformation object representing transformation of data; computing summary data for the transformation object, including computing an indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified; generating a data lineage diagram that includes a visual representation of the data lineage information, in which the data lineage diagram includes at least two data element nodes that represent the at least two dataset objects, a transformation node that represents the transformation object, and directed links between each of the at least two data element nodes that represent a dataset object and the transformation node that represents the transformation object, wherein the directed links represent flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object; and including in the data lineage diagram, a representation of the summary data in proximity to the transformation node that represents the transformation object, in which the transformation node is connected to directed links representing flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object, wherein the representation of the summary data includes a representation of the indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified.", "2.The method of claim 1 in which the representation of the summary data is associated with a legend that classifies the representation of the summary data.", "3.The method of claim 1 in which hovering a cursor over the visual representation generates a window containing information related to the representation of the summary data.", "4.The method of claim 1 in which the representation of the summary data represents a characteristic that is selectable by a user.", "5.A system including: means for storing, in a data storage system, a transformation object representing transformation of data and at least two dataset objects representing stored data in datasets; means for storing, in a data storage system, data lineage information linking the at least two dataset objects to the transformation object representing transformation of data; means for computing summary data for the transformation object, including computing an indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified; means for generating a data lineage diagram that includes a visual representation of the data lineage information, in which the data lineage diagram includes at least two data element nodes that represent the at least two dataset objects, a transformation node that represents the transformation object, and directed links between each of the at least two data element nodes that represent a dataset object and the transformation node that represents the transformation object, wherein the directed links represent flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object; and means for including in the data lineage diagram, a representation of the summary data in proximity to the transformation node that represents the transformation object, in which the transformation node is connected to directed links representing flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object, wherein the representation of the summary data includes a representation of the indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified.", "6.A system for processing data, the system including a computer having one or more processors and at least one data storage system storing instructions that when executed by the computer causes the computer to perform: storing, in a data storage system, a transformation object representing transformation of data and at least two dataset objects representing stored data in datasets; storing, in a data storage system, data lineage information linking the at least two dataset objects to the transformation object representing transformation of data; computing summary data for the transformation object, including computing an indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified; generating a data lineage diagram that includes a visual representation of the data lineage information, in which the data lineage diagram includes at least two data element nodes that represent the at least two dataset objects, a transformation node that represents the transformation object, and directed links between each of the at least two data element nodes that represent a dataset object and the 4 transformation node that represents the transformation object, wherein the directed links represent flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object; and including in the data lineage diagram, a representation of the summary data in proximity to the transformation node that represents the transformation object, in which the transformation node is connected to directed links representing flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object, wherein the representation of the summary data includes a representation of the indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified.", "7.The system of claim 6 in which the representation of the summary data is associated with a legend that classifies the representation of the summary data.", "8.The system of claim 6 in which hovering a cursor over the visual representation generates a window containing information related to the representation of the summary data.", "9.The system of claim 6 in which the representation of the summary data represents a characteristic that is selectable by a user.", "10.A computer-readable device storing a computer program, the computer program including executable instructions for causing a computer to: store, in a data storage system, a transformation object representing transformation of data and at least two dataset objects representing stored data in datasets; store, in a data storage system, data lineage information linking the at least two dataset objects to the transformation object representing transformation of data; compute summary data for the transformation object, including computing an indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified; generate a data lineage diagram that includes a visual representation of the data lineage information, in which the data lineage diagram includes at least two data element nodes that represent the at least two dataset objects, a transformation node that represents the transformation object, and directed links between each of the at least two data element nodes that represent a dataset object and the transformation node that represents the transformation object, wherein the directed links represent flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object; and supplement the data lineage diagram with a representation of the summary data in proximity to the transformation node that represents the transformation object, in which the transformation node is connected to directed links representing flows of data between the dataset objects and the transformation object, wherein the representation of the summary data includes a representation of the indication of how recently the transformation object has been updated or modified.", "11.The computer-readable device of claim 10, wherein the representation of the summary data is associated with a legend that classifies the representation of the summary data.", "12.The computer-readable device of claim 10, wherein the computer program further includes executable instructions for causing the computer to enable a cursor to be hovered over the visual representation to generate a window containing information related to the representation of the summary data.", "13.The computer-readable device of claim 10, wherein the representation of the summary data represents a characteristic that is selectable by a user." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>This description relates to visualizing relationships between data elements and graphical representations of data element attributes.", "Enterprises use complex data processing systems, such as data warehousing, customer relationship management, and data mining, to manage data.", "In many data processing systems, data are pulled from many different data sources, such as database files, operational systems, flat files, the Internet, etc, into a central repository.", "Often, data are transformed before being loaded in the data system.", "Transformation may include cleansing, integration, and extraction.", "To keep track of data, its sources, and the transformations that have happened to the data stored in a data system, metadata can be used.", "Metadata (sometimes called “data about data”) are data that describe other data's attributes, format, origins, histories, inter-relationships, etc.", "Metadata management can play a central role in complex data processing systems.", "Sometimes a database user may want to investigate how certain data are derived from different data sources.", "For example, a database user may want to know how a dataset or data object was generated or from which source a dataset or data object was imported.", "Tracing a dataset back to sources from which it is derived is called data lineage tracing (or “upstream data lineage tracing”).", "Sometimes a database user may want to investigate how certain datasets have been used (called “downstream data lineage tracing” or “impact analysis”), for example, which application has read a given dataset.", "A database user may also be interested in knowing how a dataset is related to other datasets.", "For example, a user may want to know if a dataset is modified, what tables will be affected." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In a general aspect, a method includes storing metadata in a data storage system.", "Summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system is computed, and the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object is stored.", "A visual representation is generated of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "Aspects can include one or more of the following features.", "The representation represents quality of the metadata object.", "The representation represents whether the metadata object has been recently updated.", "The representation represents a source from which the metadata object was last updated.", "The representation is associated with a legend that classifies the representation.", "Hovering a cursor over the visual representation generates a window containing information related to the representation.", "The representation represents a characteristic that is selectable by a user.", "In a general aspect, a system includes means for storing metadata in a data storage system, and means for computing summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system.", "A system also includes means for storing the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object, and means for generating a visual representation of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "In a general aspect, a computer system is configured to store metadata in a data storage system, and compute summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system.", "The summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object is stored, and a visual representation is generated of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "In a general aspect, a computer-readable medium stores a computer program, and the computer program includes instructions for causing a computer to store metadata in a data storage system.", "Summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system is computed, and the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object is stored.", "A visual representation is generated of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "Aspects can have one or more of the following advantages.", "The system enables users to visualize relationships between objects, and view certain attributes of objects in a contextual setting.", "When working with metadata, users are able to understand the origins of an object before certain actions are taken.", "Users can know which objects are affected by manipulation of any particular object.", "Users are also able to view attributes of certain objects in an environment where relationships between those objects are clearly shown." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of and claims priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 120 to U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "12/629,466, filed Dec. 2, 2009, which claims priority to U.S.", "Application Ser.", "No.", "61/119,201, filed on Dec. 2, 2008.Each of the above-listed applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND This description relates to visualizing relationships between data elements and graphical representations of data element attributes.", "Enterprises use complex data processing systems, such as data warehousing, customer relationship management, and data mining, to manage data.", "In many data processing systems, data are pulled from many different data sources, such as database files, operational systems, flat files, the Internet, etc, into a central repository.", "Often, data are transformed before being loaded in the data system.", "Transformation may include cleansing, integration, and extraction.", "To keep track of data, its sources, and the transformations that have happened to the data stored in a data system, metadata can be used.", "Metadata (sometimes called “data about data”) are data that describe other data's attributes, format, origins, histories, inter-relationships, etc.", "Metadata management can play a central role in complex data processing systems.", "Sometimes a database user may want to investigate how certain data are derived from different data sources.", "For example, a database user may want to know how a dataset or data object was generated or from which source a dataset or data object was imported.", "Tracing a dataset back to sources from which it is derived is called data lineage tracing (or “upstream data lineage tracing”).", "Sometimes a database user may want to investigate how certain datasets have been used (called “downstream data lineage tracing” or “impact analysis”), for example, which application has read a given dataset.", "A database user may also be interested in knowing how a dataset is related to other datasets.", "For example, a user may want to know if a dataset is modified, what tables will be affected.", "SUMMARY In a general aspect, a method includes storing metadata in a data storage system.", "Summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system is computed, and the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object is stored.", "A visual representation is generated of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "Aspects can include one or more of the following features.", "The representation represents quality of the metadata object.", "The representation represents whether the metadata object has been recently updated.", "The representation represents a source from which the metadata object was last updated.", "The representation is associated with a legend that classifies the representation.", "Hovering a cursor over the visual representation generates a window containing information related to the representation.", "The representation represents a characteristic that is selectable by a user.", "In a general aspect, a system includes means for storing metadata in a data storage system, and means for computing summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system.", "A system also includes means for storing the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object, and means for generating a visual representation of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "In a general aspect, a computer system is configured to store metadata in a data storage system, and compute summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system.", "The summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object is stored, and a visual representation is generated of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "In a general aspect, a computer-readable medium stores a computer program, and the computer program includes instructions for causing a computer to store metadata in a data storage system.", "Summary data identifying one or more characteristics of each of multiple metadata objects stored in the data storage system is computed, and the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in association with the given metadata object is stored.", "A visual representation is generated of a diagram including nodes representing respective metadata objects and relationships among the nodes.", "Generating the visual representation includes superimposing a representation of a characteristic identified by the summary data characterizing a given metadata object in proximity to the node representing the given metadata object.", "Aspects can have one or more of the following advantages.", "The system enables users to visualize relationships between objects, and view certain attributes of objects in a contextual setting.", "When working with metadata, users are able to understand the origins of an object before certain actions are taken.", "Users can know which objects are affected by manipulation of any particular object.", "Users are also able to view attributes of certain objects in an environment where relationships between those objects are clearly shown.", "DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of a computing system.", "FIGS.", "2A-2E are diagrams showing relationships between nodes of data.", "FIGS.", "3-5 are diagrams showing graphical overlays superimposed on nodes of data.", "DESCRIPTION The system enables users to visualize relationships between objects, stored in a wide variety of data storage systems.", "The relationships among the objects can represent various dependencies and/or associations appropriate to the applications for which the data objects are used.", "As an example of one of the types of systems in which these techniques can be used, a system is described in which the objects represent elements of a graph-based computation environment.", "FIG.", "1A is a block diagram showing the interrelationship of parts of a computing system 100 for developing, executing and managing graph-based computations.", "A graph-based computation is implemented using a “data flow graph” that is represented by a directed graph, with vertices in the graph representing components (either data files or processes), and the directed links or “edges” in the graph representing flows of data between components.", "A graphic development environment (GDE) 102 provides a user interface for specifying executable graphs and defining parameters for the graph components.", "The GDE may be, for example, the CO>OPERATING SYSTEM® GDE available from Ab Initio.", "The GDE 102 communicates with a repository 104 and a parallel operating environment 106.Also coupled to the repository 104 and the parallel operating environment 106 are a User Interface module 108 and an executive 110.In some examples, repository 104 includes both a base data store 105A and an interface data store 105B.", "A base data store stores technical metadata, and may include applications along with their associated metadata, such as graphs and transforms.", "In addition to storing technical metadata, the base data store may also perform various kinds of analysis including dependency analysis (e.g., computing data lineage, as described in more detail below), or may receive and store the results of such analysis.", "In some examples, base data store 105A and interface data store 105B may be combined and implemented as a single data store.", "While technical metadata is useful to developers in a variety of functions, there are many instances in which a higher level of metadata needs to be analyzed and manipulated.", "This higher level metadata, sometimes referred to as “enterprise” or “business” metadata is often useful in data analysis.", "Some examples of business metadata include data stewardship, which indicates which employee is responsible for the data, and data dictionaries, which are business definitions for files and fields within files.", "Business metadata goes beyond technical descriptions of data, and can be stored on a platform that is separate from the base data store 105A, such as an interface data store 105B.", "The interface data store 105B may be a relational database that primarily serves to store business metadata.", "The interface data store may communicate with the base data store and extract its metadata, and it can also pull its information from a variety of other sources such as graphs, spreadsheets, logical models, database tables, or additional third party sources of data.", "In some examples, the base data store 105A is a scalable object-oriented database system designed to support the development and execution of graph-based applications and the interchange of metadata between the graph-based applications and other systems (e.g., other operating systems).", "The repository 104 is a storage system for all kinds of metadata, including documentation, record formats (e.g., fields and data types of records in a table), transform functions, graphs, jobs, and monitoring information.", "The repository 104 also stores metadata objects that represent actual data to be processed by the computing system 100 including data stored in an external data store 112.An example of a repository that includes features for importing and managing metadata from various sources is described in co-pending U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "61/119,148, entitled “DATA MAINTENANCE SYSTEM,” filed on Dec. 2, 2008, incorporated herein by reference.", "Similar features can be incorporated into the repository 104.The parallel operating environment 106 accepts a specification of a data flow graph generated in the GDE 102 and generates computer instructions that correspond to the processing logic and resources defined by the graph.", "The parallel operating environment 106 then typically executes those instructions on a plurality of processors (which need not be homogeneous).", "An example of a suitable parallel operating environment is the CO>OPERATING SYSTEM®.", "The User Interface module 108 provides a web-browser-based view of the contents of the repository 104.Using the User Interface module 108, a user 103 may browse objects, create new objects, alter existing objects, specify application parameters, schedule jobs, etc.", "The User Interface module 108 generates forms-based browser screens for a user to search for and view objects and information about objects stored in the repository 104.The repository 104 stores metadata including metadata objects for graph-based applications including graph components and other functional objects for building computation graphs.", "As stated previously, metadata stored in base data store 105A of repository 104 includes, for example, “technical” metadata (e.g., application-related business rules, record formats, and execution statistics), while the interface data store 105B may include business metadata such as user-defined documentation of job functions, roles, and responsibilities.", "The information stored in the repository 104 in the form of metadata objects enables various kinds of analysis about applications and the data processed by those applications.", "Subsets of this information may be stored in interface data store 105B.", "For example, as discussed further below, a user can obtain answers to questions about data lineage (e.g., Where did a given value come from?", "How was the output value computed?", "Which applications produce and depend on this data?).", "A developer can understand the consequences of proposed modifications (e.g., If this piece changes, what else will be affected?", "If this source format changes, which applications will be affected?).", "A user/developer can also obtain questions to answers involving both technical metadata and business metadata (e.g., Which groups are responsible for producing and using this data?", "Who changed this application last?", "What changes did they make?).", "The repository 104 is able to track the state of stored metadata objects.", "Objects stored in the repository 104 are versioned, making it possible to examine the state of things as of last week, last month, or last year, and to compare it with the state of things today.", "The repository 104 collects job-tracking, or execution information which enables trend analysis (e.g., How fast is our data growing?)", "and capacity planning (e.g., How long did that application take to run?", "How much data did it process, and at what rate?", "What resources did the application consume?", "When will we need to add another server?).", "A user can view (and optionally, edit) information contained in and/or associated with the stored metadata through the User Interface module 108.A metadata viewing environment can represent various kinds of metadata objects using various graphical representations including icons and groupings of icons presented by the User Interface module 108 on a display.", "A metadata object can represent different types of data elements (e.g., data used as input or output of an executable program) and/or transformations (e.g., any type of data manipulation associated with a data processing entity, such as data flow graph, that processes or generates data).", "The viewing environment can show relationships as lines connecting graphical nodes that represent metadata objects or groupings of metadata objects, as described in more detail below.", "In some cases, the interface data store 105B can extract the relationships (such as lineage information) from the base data store 105A, or from other sources of data.", "The interface data store 105B may hold a high-level summary of data lineage.", "The lineage information (or other data dependency analysis) can be computed automatically within the system 100, or can be received from an external system, or from manual input.", "For example, the system 100 can receive lineage information that has been gathered and prepared by humans analyzing the code.", "The lineage information can be imported into the repository 104 from files in any of a variety of predetermined formats (e.g., in spreadsheets).", "FIG.", "2A shows an example of a metadata viewing environment.", "In some examples, the metadata viewing environment is an interface that runs on top of a browser.", "In the example of FIG.", "2A, the metadata viewing environment displays information related to a data lineage diagram 200A.", "One example of metadata viewing environment is a web-based application that allows a user to visualize and edit metadata.", "Using the metadata viewing environment, a user can explore, analyze, and manage metadata using a standard Web browser from anywhere within an enterprise.", "Each type of metadata object has one or more views or visual representations.", "The metadata viewing environment of FIG.", "2A illustrates a lineage diagram for target element 206A.", "For example, the lineage diagram displays the end-to-end lineage for the data and/or processing nodes that represent the metadata objects stored in the repository 104; that is, the objects a given starting object depends on (its sources) and the objects that a given starting object affects (its targets).", "In this example, connections are shown between data elements 202A and transformations 204A, two examples of metadata objects.", "The metadata objects are represented by nodes in the diagram.", "Data elements 202A can represent datasets, tables within datasets, columns in tables, and fields in files, messages, and reports, for example.", "An example of a transformation 204A is an element of an executable that describes how a single output of a data element is produced.", "The connections between the nodes are based on relationships among the metadata objects.", "FIG.", "2B is illustrates a corresponding lineage diagram 200B for the same target element 206A shown in FIG.", "2A except each element 202B is grouped and shown in a group based on a context.", "For example, data elements 202B are grouped in datasets 208B (e.g., tables, files, messages, and reports), applications 210B (that contain executables such as graphs and plans and programs, plus the datasets that they operate on), and systems 212B.", "Systems 212B are functional groupings of data and the applications that process the data; systems consist of applications and data groups (e.g., databases, file groups, messaging systems, and groups of datasets).", "Transformations 204B are grouped in executables 214B, applications 210B, and systems 212B.", "Executables such as graphs, plans or programs, read and write datasets.", "Parameters can set what groups are expanded and what groups are collapsed by default.", "This allows users to see the details for only the groups that are important to them by removing unnecessary levels of details.", "Using the metadata viewing environment to perform data lineage calculations is useful for a number of reasons.", "For example, calculating and illustrating relationships between data elements and transformations can help a user determine how a reported value was computed for a given field report.", "A user may also view which datasets store a particular type of data, and which executables read and write to that dataset.", "In the case of business terms, the data lineage diagram may illustrate which data elements (such as columns and fields) are associated with certain business terms (definitions in an enterprise).", "Data lineage diagrams shown within the metadata viewing environment can also aid a user in impact analysis.", "Specifically, a user may want to know which downstream executables are affected if a column or field is added to a dataset, and who needs to be notified.", "Impact analysis may determine where a given data element is used, and can also determine the ramifications of changing that data element.", "Similarly, a user may view what datasets are affected by a change in an executable, or whether it safe to remove a certain database table from production.", "Using the metadata viewing environment to perform data lineage calculations for generating data lineage diagrams is useful for business term management.", "For instance, it is often desirable for employees within an enterprise to agree on the meanings of business terms across that enterprise, the relationships between those terms, and the data to which the terms refer.", "The consistent use of business terms may enhance the transparency of enterprise data and facilitates communication of business requirements.", "Thus, it is important to know where the physical data underlying a business term can be found, and what business logic is used in computations.", "Viewing relationships between data nodes can also be helpful in managing and maintaining metadata.", "For instance, a user may wish to know who changed a piece of metadata, what the source (or “source of record”) is for a piece of metadata, or what changes were made when loading or reloading metadata from an external source.", "In maintaining metadata, it may be desirable to allow designated users to be able to create metadata objects (such as business terms), edit properties of metadata objects (such as descriptions and relationships of objects to other objects), or delete obsolete metadata objects.", "The metadata viewing environment provides a number of graphical views of objects, allowing a user to explore and analyze metadata.", "For example, a user may view the contents of systems and applications and explore the details of any object, and can also view relationships between objects using the data lineage views, which allows a user to easily perform various types of dependency analysis such as the data lineage analysis and impact analysis described above.", "Hierarchies of objects can also be viewed, and the hierarchies can be searched for specific objects.", "Once the object is found bookmarks can be created for objects allowing a user to easily return to them.", "With the proper permissions, a user can edit the metadata in the metadata viewing environment.", "For example, a user can update descriptions of objects, create business terms, define relationships between objects (such as linking a business term to a field in a report or column in a table), move objects (for instance, moving a dataset from one application to another) or delete objects.", "In FIG.", "2C a corresponding lineage diagram 200C for target element 206A is shown, but the level of resolution is set to applications that are participating in the calculation for the target data element 206A.", "Specifically, applications 202C, 204C, 206C, 208C, and 210C are shown, as only those applications directly participate in the calculation for the target data element 206A.", "If a user wishes to view any part of the lineage diagram in a different level of resolution (e.g., to display more or less detail in the diagram), the user may activate the corresponding expand/collapse button 212C.", "FIG.", "2D shows a corresponding lineage diagram 200D at a different level of resolution.", "In this example, an expand/collapse button 212C has been activated by a user, and the metadata viewing environment now displays the same lineage diagram, but application 202C has been expanded to show the datasets 214D and executables 216D within application 202C.", "FIG.", "2E shows a corresponding lineage diagram 200E at a different level of resolution.", "In this example, a user has selected to show everything expanded by a custom expansion.", "Any field or column which is an ultimate source of data (e.g., it has no upstream systems) is expanded.", "In addition, fields that have a specific flag set are also expanded.", "In this example, the specific flags are set on datasets and fields at a key intermediate point in the lineage, and one column is the column for which the lineage is being shown.", "The User Interface module 108 determines which nodes need to be collapsed and which nodes need to be excluded from the diagram entirely.", "Users can also configure their own diagrams.", "For example, diagrams can be configured so that they follow primary/foreign key relationships in the metadata.", "Filters may also be applied to the dependency analysis to exclude information from the lineage diagram.", "For example, if a user desires to exclude datasets from the lineage diagram that are reject files, the user could toggle the display of reject files in the lineage diagram on and off.", "Viewing elements and relationships in the metadata viewing environment can be made more useful by adding information relevant to each of the nodes that represent them.", "One exemplary way to add relevant information to the nodes is to graphically overlay information on top of certain nodes.", "These graphics may show some value or characteristic of the data represented by the node, and can be any property in the metadata database.", "This approach has the advantage of combining two or more normally disparate pieces of information (relationships between nodes of data and characteristics of the data represented by the nodes) and endeavors to put useful information “in context.” For example, characteristics such as metadata quality, metadata freshness, or source of record information can be displayed in conjunction with a visual representation of relationships between data nodes.", "While some of this information may be accessible in tabular form, it may be more helpful for a user to view characteristics of the data along with the relationships between different nodes of data.", "A user can select which characteristic of the data will be shown on top of the data element and/or transformation nodes within the metadata viewing environment.", "Which characteristic is shown can also be set according to default system settings.", "In the example of FIG.", "3, node 300 also displays a graphical overlay 302 that contains information pertaining to the freshness of the metadata represented by the node.", "The “metadata freshness” refers to how recently the metadata has been updated or modified from an external source.", "By “hovering” a cursor over graphical overlay 302, a window 304 can be called up that contains more detail about the characteristic currently displayed by the graphical overlay 302.The graphical overlays may be color-coded, with the different colors of the graphics mapping to different meanings via legend 306.In the example of FIG.", "4, graphical overlays representing levels of metadata quality are superimposed on top of data element nodes including overlay 402 on node 400.Measures of metadata quality can be used by a business, for example, to profile a periodic (e.g., monthly) data feed sent from a business partner before importing or processing the data.", "This would enable the business to detect “bad” data (e.g., data with a percentage of invalid values higher than a threshold) so it doesn't pollute an existing data store by actions that may be difficult to undo.", "Like the previous example, by hovering a cursor over graphical overlay 402, a window 404 can be called up that contains more detail about the characteristic currently displayed by the graphical overlay 402.In the example of FIG.", "5, graphical overlays representing the type of the source of record are superimposed on top of data element and transformation nodes.", "Node 500 has an overlay 502 that indicates the source of record is an “Active Import Source.” This means that the metadata was imported automatically from a source such as a spreadsheet file.", "By hovering a cursor over graphical overlay 502, a window 504 can be called up that contains details such as the type of file used for the import (an Excel spreadsheet in this example), the name of the file, the owner of the file, and the date of the import.", "Node 506 has an overlay 508 that indicates the source of record is “Manually Maintained.” This means that the metadata was modified manually by a user (e.g., using the User Interface Module 108).", "By hovering a cursor over the graphical overlay 508, a window 510 can be called up that contains details such as the name of the user that modified the metadata and the date of the modification.", "The record storage and retrieval approach described above, including the modules of the system 100 and the procedures performed by the system 100, can be implemented using software for execution on a computer.", "For instance, the software forms procedures in one or more computer programs that execute on one or more programmed or programmable computer systems (which may be of various architectures such as distributed, client/server, or grid) each including at least one processor, at least one data storage system (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device or port, and at least one output device or port.", "The software may form one or more modules of a larger program, for example, that provides other services related to the design and configuration of computation graphs.", "The nodes and elements of the graph can be implemented as data structures stored in a computer readable medium or other organized data conforming to a data model stored in a data repository.", "The approaches described above can be implemented using software for execution on a computer.", "For instance, the software forms procedures in one or more computer programs that execute on one or more programmed or programmable computer systems (which may be of various architectures such as distributed, client/server, or grid) each including at least one processor, at least one data storage system (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device or port, and at least one output device or port.", "The software may form one or more modules of a larger program, for example, that provides other services related to the design and configuration of computation graphs.", "The nodes and elements of the graph can be implemented as data structures stored in a computer readable medium or other organized data conforming to a data model stored in a data repository.", "The software may be provided on a storage medium, such as a CD-ROM, readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer or delivered (encoded in a propagated signal) over a communication medium of a network to the computer where it is executed.", "All of the functions may be performed on a special purpose computer, or using special-purpose hardware, such as coprocessors.", "The software may be implemented in a distributed manner in which different parts of the computation specified by the software are performed by different computers.", "Each such computer program is preferably stored on or downloaded to a storage media or device (e.g., solid state memory or media, or magnetic or optical media) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer, for configuring and operating the computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer system to perform the procedures described herein.", "The inventive system may also be considered to be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer system to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein.", "A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.", "Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.", "For example, some of the steps described above may be order independent, and thus can be performed in an order different from that described.", "It is to be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims.", "For example, a number of the function steps described above may be performed in a different order without substantially affecting overall processing.", "Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15874800
[ [ "CO-INTEGRATION OF TENSILE SILICON AND COMPRESSIVE SILICON GERMANIUM", "Integrated circuits are disclosed in which the strain properties of adjacent pFETs and nFETs are independently adjustable.", "The pFETs include compressive-strained SiGe on a silicon substrate, while the nFETs include tensile-strained silicon on a strain-relaxed SiGe substrate.", "Adjacent n-type and p-type FinFETs are separated by electrically insulating regions formed by a damascene process.", "During formation of the insulating regions, the SiGe substrate supporting the n-type devices is permitted to relax elastically, thereby limiting defect formation in the crystal lattice of the SiGe substrate." ], [ "1.An integrated circuit comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a strain-relaxed semiconductor region inlaid in the semiconductor substrate; a tensile semiconductor active layer on the strain-relaxed semiconductor region; a first FinFET formed in the tensile semiconductor active layer; and electrically insulating regions positioned between the strain-relaxed semiconductor region and the semiconductor substrate.", "2.The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a compressive semiconductor active layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the tensile semiconductor active layer is laterally enveloped by the compressive semiconductor active layer.", "3.The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the tensile semiconductor active layer is aligned vertically with the strain-relaxed semiconductor region.", "4.The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the insulating regions have substantially straight, vertical sides and widths in the range of 50 and 100 nm.", "5.The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising: a compressive semiconductor active layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the tensile semiconductor active layer is laterally enveloped by the compressive semiconductor active layer; and a second FinFET formed in the compressive semiconductor active layer.", "6.The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a compressive semiconductor active layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the electrically insulating regions extend between the compressive semiconductor active layer and the tensile semiconductor active layer.", "7.The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a compressive semiconductor active layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the compressive semiconductor active layer is a compressive SiGe active layer and the tensile semiconductor active layer is a tensile silicon active layer.", "8.The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the tensile semiconductor active layer includes a plurality of tensile semiconductor fins on the strain-relaxed semiconductor region and extending parallel to each other in a first direction, the integrated circuit further comprising: a plurality of conductive gates that extend parallel to each other in a second direction that is transverse to the first direction.", "9.The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the strain-relaxed semiconductor region extends to a first depth into the semiconductor substrate and the electrically insulating regions extend to a second depth into the semiconductor substrate, the second depth being less than the first depth.", "10.The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a compressive semiconductor active layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the tensile semiconductor active layer and the compressive semiconductor active layer have similar thicknesses.", "11.A finFET device, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a strain-relaxed semiconductor region formed within the semiconductor substrate; a tensile semiconductor fin on top of the strain-relaxed semiconductor region; a source region formed in the tensile semiconductor fin; a drain region formed in the tensile semiconductor fin; a channel region formed in the tensile semiconductor fin and coupling the source region to the drain region; and a gate structure that wraps around three sides of the tensile semiconductor fin.", "12.The n-type device of claim 11 wherein the gate structure includes a gate dielectric and a conductive gate.", "13.The device of claim 11, further comprising electrically insulating regions extending into the semiconductor substrate and laterally enveloping the strain-relaxed semiconductor region.", "14.The device of claim 11, further comprising a compressive semiconductor active layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the tensile semiconductor active layer is laterally enveloped by the compressive semiconductor active layer.", "15.The device of claim 14, wherein the compressive semiconductor active layer is a compressive SiGe active layer and the tensile semiconductor active layer is a tensile silicon active layer.", "16.An integrated circuit comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a strain-relaxed semiconductor region inlaid in the semiconductor substrate; a first plurality of compressive semiconductor active fins on the silicon substrate; a second plurality of compressive semiconductor active fins on the silicon substrate; a plurality of tensile semiconductor active fins on the strain-relaxed semiconductor region and between the first and second pluralities of compressive semiconductor active fins; and transistors formed in the first and second compressive semiconductor active fins and in the tensile semiconductor active fins.", "17.The integrated circuit of claim 16, further comprising: a first electrically insulating region extending into the semiconductor substrate and along a first side wall of the strain-relaxed semiconductor region; and a second electrically insulating region extending into the semiconductor substrate and along a second side wall of the strain-relaxed semiconductor region 18.The integrated circuit of claim 17, wherein the first electrically insulating region extends between the plurality of first compressive semiconductor active fins and the plurality of tensile semiconductor active fins, and the second electrically insulating region extends between the second compressive semiconductor active fins and the plurality of tensile semiconductor active fins.", "19.The integrated circuit of claim 17, wherein the strain-relaxed semiconductor region has a first depth into the semiconductor substrate and the first and second electrically insulating regions having second depths that are greater than the first depth.", "20.The integrated circuit of claim 16, wherein the transistors include: a plurality of p-type FinFETs formed in the first and second pluralities of compressive semiconductor active fins; and a plurality of n-type FinFETs formed in the plurality of tensile semiconductor active fins." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY <EOH>Dislocation defects that cause mechanical instability in FinFETs can be avoided by creating a germanium-rich layer that is relaxed, as an alternative to a strained film.", "A self-aligned SiGe FinFET device of the present disclosure features a strain-relaxed substrate having a high germanium concentration.", "Integrated circuits are disclosed in which the strain properties of constituent pFETs and nFETs are independently adjustable.", "The pFETs include compressive-strained SiGe on a silicon substrate, while the nFETs include tensile-strained silicon on a strain-relaxed SiGe substrate.", "Adjacent n-type and p-type FinFETs are separated by insulating regions formed using a damascene process.", "During formation of the insulating regions, the SiGe substrate supporting the n-type devices is permitted to relax elastically, thereby limiting defect formation in the crystal lattice of the SiGe substrate." ], [ "BACKGROUND Technical Field The present disclosure generally relates to techniques for fabricating high performance fin field-effect transistors (FinFETs) and, in particular, to techniques for defect reduction in strained silicon transistors.", "Description of the Related Art Advanced integrated circuits often feature strained channel transistors, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, FinFET structures, or combinations thereof, in order to continue scaling transistor gate lengths below 20 nm.", "Such technologies allow the channel length of the transistor to be made smaller while minimizing detrimental consequences such as current leakage and other short channel effects.", "A FinFET is an electronic switching device that features a conduction channel in the form of a semiconducting fin that extends outward from the substrate surface.", "In such a device, the gate, which controls current flow in the fin, wraps around three sides of the fin so as to influence current flow from three surfaces instead of one.", "The improved control achieved with a FinFET design results in faster switching performance in the “on” state and less current leakage in the “off” state than is possible in a conventional planar device.", "FinFETs are described in further detail in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,759,874, and U.S. Patent Application Publication US2014/0175554.Strained silicon transistors have been developed to increase mobility of charge carriers, i.e., electrons or holes, passing through a semiconductor lattice.", "Incorporating strain into the channel of a semiconductor device stretches the crystal lattice, thereby increasing charge carrier mobility in the channel so that the device becomes a more responsive switch.", "Introducing a compressive strain into a pFET transistor tends to increase hole mobility in the channel, resulting in a faster switching response to changes in voltage applied to the transistor gate.", "Likewise, introducing a tensile strain into an nFET tends to increase electron mobility in the channel, also resulting in a faster switching response.", "There are many ways to introduce tensile or compressive strain into transistors, for both planar devices and FinFETs.", "In general, such techniques typically entail incorporating into the device epitaxial layers of one or more materials having crystal lattice dimensions or geometries that differ slightly from those of the silicon substrate.", "Strain and mobility effects within an epitaxially grown crystal are tuned by controlling the elemental composition of the crystal.", "Such epitaxial layers can be incorporated into source and drain regions, into the transistor gate that is used to modulate current flow in the channel, or into the channel itself, which is a portion of the fin.", "For example, one way to introduce strain is to replace bulk silicon from the source and drain regions, or from the channel, with silicon compounds such as silicon germanium (SiGe).", "Because Si—Ge bonds are longer than Si—Si bonds, there is more open space in a SiGe lattice.", "The presence of germanium atoms having longer bonds stretches the lattice, causing internal strain.", "Electrons can move more freely through a lattice that contains elongated Si—Ge and Ge—Ge bonds, than through a lattice that contains shorter Si—Si bonds.", "Replacing silicon atoms with SiGe atoms can be accomplished during a controlled process of epitaxial crystal growth, in which a new SiGe crystal layer is grown from the surface of a bulk silicon crystal, while maintaining the same crystal structure of the underlying bulk silicon crystal.", "It has been determined that epitaxial SiGe films containing a high concentration of germanium, e.g., in the range of 25%-40%, provide enhanced electron mobility compared with lower concentration SiGe films.", "Thus, from the point of view of device performance, it is generally advantageous to increase the percent concentration of germanium atoms in the fins in a FinFET.", "Alternatively, strain can be induced in the fin from below the device by using various types of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates.", "An SOI substrate features a buried insulator, typically a buried oxide layer (BOX) underneath the active area.", "SOI FinFET devices have been disclosed in patent applications assigned to the present assignee, for example, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/231,466, entitled “SOT FinFET Transistor with Strained Channel,” U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/588,116, entitled “Silicon Germanium-on-insulator FinFET,” and U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/588,221, entitled “Defect-Free Strain-Relaxed Buffer Layer.” While a strained silicon lattice is beneficial, creating strain by incorporating germanium atoms using existing methods tends to damage the crystal lattice.", "As a result, the lattice structures of germanium-rich films tend to be mechanically unstable, especially if they contain a high number of structural defects such as faults, or dislocations.", "Furthermore, a mechanically unstable SiGe fin may be structurally limited with regard to its aspect ratio, or height-to-width ratio.", "Such a limitation is undesirable because one advantage of a FinFET is that the fin, being a vertical structure, has a small footprint.", "BRIEF SUMMARY Dislocation defects that cause mechanical instability in FinFETs can be avoided by creating a germanium-rich layer that is relaxed, as an alternative to a strained film.", "A self-aligned SiGe FinFET device of the present disclosure features a strain-relaxed substrate having a high germanium concentration.", "Integrated circuits are disclosed in which the strain properties of constituent pFETs and nFETs are independently adjustable.", "The pFETs include compressive-strained SiGe on a silicon substrate, while the nFETs include tensile-strained silicon on a strain-relaxed SiGe substrate.", "Adjacent n-type and p-type FinFETs are separated by insulating regions formed using a damascene process.", "During formation of the insulating regions, the SiGe substrate supporting the n-type devices is permitted to relax elastically, thereby limiting defect formation in the crystal lattice of the SiGe substrate.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts.", "The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.", "FIG.", "1 is a flow diagram showing steps in a first method of fabricating an integrated circuit that includes compressive strained SiGe pFETs together with tensile silicon nFETs, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIG.", "2A is a top plan view of a SiGe active layer on a silicon substrate, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIG.", "2B is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG.", "2A.", "FIG.", "3A is a top plan view of a large trench formed in the nFET region of the silicon substrate, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIG.", "3B is a cross-sectional view of the large trench shown in FIG.", "3A.", "FIG.", "4A is a top plan view of an active layer of silicon indicating the orientation of fins formed below an oxide surface, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIG.", "4B is a cross-sectional view of the active layer of silicon shown in FIG.", "4A, along a cut line 4B-4B substantially parallel to a fin, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIG.", "4C is a cross-sectional view of an active layer of silicon along a cut line 4C-4C across the fins, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIG.", "5A is a top plan view of the active layer of silicon following formation of isolation trenches between nFET and pFET regions, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIGS.", "5B, 5C are cross-sectional views corresponding to FIG.", "5A.", "FIG.", "6A is a top plan view of the active layer of silicon after filling the isolation trenches and inter-fin regions with oxide, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIGS.", "6B, 6C are cross-sectional views corresponding to FIG.", "6A.", "FIG.", "7A is a top plan view of the nFET and pFETs, following formation of a polysilicon gate, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "FIGS.", "7B, 7C are cross-sectional views corresponding to FIG.", "7A.", "FIG.", "8 is a flow diagram showing steps in a second method of fabricating an integrated circuit that includes compressive strained SiGe pFETs together with tensile silicon nFETs, according to an alternative embodiment as described herein.", "FIG.", "9 is a cross-sectional view showing isolation regions between nFET and pFET devices, prior to fin formation, according to the second fabrication method shown in FIG.", "8.FIG.", "10 is a cross-sectional view showing isolation regions between nFET and pFET devices that are shallower than the intervening strain-relaxed SiGe substrate, according to one embodiment as described herein.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the disclosed subject matter.", "However, the disclosed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details.", "In some instances, well-known structures and methods of semiconductor processing have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the descriptions of other aspects of the present disclosure.", "Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims that follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, that is, as “including, but not limited to.” Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.", "Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same aspect.", "Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more aspects of the present disclosure.", "Reference throughout the specification to integrated circuits is generally intended to include integrated circuit components built on semiconducting substrates, whether or not the components are coupled together into a circuit or able to be interconnected.", "Throughout the specification, the term “layer” is used in its broadest sense to include a thin film, a cap, or the like and one layer may be composed of multiple sub-layers.", "Reference throughout the specification to conventional thin film deposition techniques for depositing silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, metals, or similar materials include such processes as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), plasma vapor deposition (PVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), electroplating, electro-less plating, and the like.", "Specific embodiments are described herein with reference to examples of such processes.", "However, the present disclosure and the reference to certain deposition techniques should not be limited to those described.", "For example, in some circumstances, a description that references CVD may alternatively be done using PVD, or a description that specifies electroplating may alternatively be accomplished using electro-less plating.", "Furthermore, reference to conventional techniques of thin film formation may include growing a film in-situ.", "For example, in some embodiments, controlled growth of an oxide to a desired thickness can be achieved by exposing a silicon surface to oxygen gas or to moisture in a heated chamber.", "Reference throughout the specification to conventional photolithography techniques, known in the art of semiconductor fabrication for patterning various thin films, includes a spin-expose-develop process sequence typically followed by an etch process.", "Alternatively or additionally, photoresist can also be used to pattern a hard mask (e.g., a silicon nitride hard mask), which, in turn, can be used to pattern an underlying film.", "Reference throughout the specification to conventional etching techniques known in the art of semiconductor fabrication for selective removal of polysilicon, silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, metals, photoresist, polyimide, or similar materials includes such processes as wet chemical etching, reactive ion (plasma) etching (RIE), washing, wet cleaning, pre-cleaning, spray cleaning, chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) and the like.", "Specific embodiments are described herein with reference to examples of such processes.", "However, the present disclosure and the reference to certain deposition techniques should not be limited to those described.", "In some instances, two such techniques may be interchangeable.", "For example, stripping photoresist may entail immersing a sample in a wet chemical bath or, alternatively, spraying wet chemicals directly onto the sample.", "Specific embodiments are described herein with reference to co-integrated tensile nFETs and compressive pFETs that have been produced; however, the present disclosure and the reference to certain materials, dimensions, and the details and ordering of processing steps are exemplary and should not be limited to those shown.", "Turning now to the figures, FIG.", "1 shows steps in a method 200 of fabricating p-type FinFETs, or pFETs, having compressive strain, co-integrated with n-type FinFETs, or nFETs, having tensile strain, according to one embodiment.", "Steps 202-219 in the method 200 are further illustrated by FIGS.", "2A-7C, and described below.", "In each of the Figures, A is a top plan view of co-integrated FinFETs at the present step during fabrication, indicating cut lines for cross-sectional views; B is a cross-sectional view along a cut line parallel to the fins of the FinFETs; and C is a cross-sectional view along a cut line transverse to the fins.", "One exemplary nFET and two exemplary pFETs are shown in each cross-sectional view.", "At 202, a blanket epitaxial SiGe film having compressive strain is grown on a silicon substrate 220 to form a compressive SiGe active layer 222.The compressive SiGe active layer 222 (cSiGe) is desirably in the range of about 10-100 nm thick with a target thickness of 40 nm and has a Ge concentration in the range of about 15-50%, with a target concentration of 25% germanium.", "The compressive SiGe active layer 222 is a fully compressively-strained film that will include at least one source and one drain of a p-type FinFET, and a fin channel coupling the source to the drain.", "At 204, the compressive SiGe active layer 222 and the silicon substrate 220 are patterned together to open the nFET regions, and to cover the pFET regions, according to one embodiment as illustrated in FIGS.", "2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B.", "First, a blanket hard mask 224 is deposited on the compressive SiGe active layer 222, and patterned in the usual way, using a photoresist 226, and, optionally, an optical planarization layer (OPL).", "The hard mask 224, and subsequent hard masks described below, can be made of SiN, SiO2, or a SiO2/SiN bi-layer.", "The hard mask 224 can be deposited according to any conventional method such as, for example, plasma-enhanced CVD (PE-CVD), low pressure CVD (LP-CVD), rapid thermal CD (RT-CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), or the like.", "Then, the SiN hard mask 224 is used to etch an opening 228 into the underlying epitaxial SiGe layer, the opening 228 extending further into the silicon substrate 220 to form a damascene trench having a width “a” and a depth “d.” The width can be anywhere in the range of 10 nm-100 um.", "The depth is desirably in the range of about 50-400 nm.", "The dimensions a and d may depend on, for example, whether or not logic or SRAM devices are being fabricated.", "At 206, a thick SiGe layer 230 is formed to fill the opening 228, according to one embodiment as shown in FIGS.", "4B, 4C.", "Filling the opening 228 completes a damascene process that forms a strained SiGe layer in the silicon substrate 220, underneath the active layer where the nFET will later be formed.", "The thick SiGe layer 230 effectively serves as a substrate taking the place of the silicon substrate 220.In one embodiment, the thick SiGe layer 230 is formed by selective epitaxial growth from the underlying silicon substrate 220.The selective epitaxy process proceeds from bottom to top, in the nFET region only, stopping at the surface of the silicon substrate 220.The hard mask 224 remains in place during the selective epitaxy process.", "A chlorine-based chemistry or a silane-based chemistry, for example, can be used to suppress growth from the sidewalls of the silicon substrate 220, thereby achieving a directional deposition.", "Such a technique for directional epitaxy is known to those skilled in the art of epitaxial crystal growth.", "The thickness of the thick SiGe layer 230 can be maximized without forming crystal defects by tuning the germanium concentration.", "Further optimization to maximize mechanical stress in the fin channels may entail forming a thick SiGe layer 230 that has a vertical germanium concentration gradient that can be achieved by varying an amount of germanium during the directional deposition step.", "Alternatively, other techniques for directional epitaxy may be used to grow the thick SiGe layer 230.The resulting inlaid thick SiGe layer 230 in the nFET region has a compressive strain.", "At 208, an epitaxial silicon active layer 232 is formed, according to one embodiment, as shown in FIGS.", "4B and 4C.", "In one embodiment, the epitaxial silicon active layer 232 is also grown directionally upward from the surface of the thick SiGe layer 230, while suppressing growth from sidewalls of the SiGe active layer 222.The epitaxial silicon active layer 232 has a thickness target approximately equal to that of the surrounding compressive SiGe layer 222.The epitaxial silicon active layer 232 is thus formed in the active region that will include a source and a drain of an n-type FinFET, as well as a fin channel coupling the source to the drain.", "The epitaxial silicon active layer 232 can be grown as an added step in the same process as the thick SiGe layer 230, in which a flow of germanium gas is turned off at the transition between SiGe and silicon.", "A timed epitaxy process can be used, wherein the time for each step is based on the desired mask opening a, and a known growth rate for each of epitaxial SiGe and epitaxial silicon.", "Source and drain regions of the epitaxial silicon active layer 232 may be doped in-situ during epitaxial growth.", "The epitaxial silicon active layer 232 thus formed is a relaxed layer, having a crystal structure similar to that of the substrate 220.At 210, following the directional epitaxy steps, the hard mask 224 is removed e.g., by any suitable method.", "At 212, fins 240 are formed in the compressive SiGe active layer 222, and in the tensile silicon active layer 232, according to one embodiment, as shown in FIGS.", "4A and 4C.", "FIG.", "4A shows a top view of the nFET and pFETs after formation of the fins 240 and an inter-fin oxide 244.Although the surface is covered with a pad oxide 242, the underlying fins 240 are indicated by dashed lines, as is the epitaxial silicon active layer 232 which also delineates the boundaries of the thick SiGe layer 230.In a FinFET device, the fin embodies the conduction channel, which couples source and drain regions to one another.", "To form the fins 240, shown in FIG.", "4C, first the pad oxide 242 is deposited, and on top of the pad oxide 242, a pad nitride (SiN) layer is used as a fin hard mask (not shown) to define the fins 240 by a conventional photolithography method.", "Alternatively, the fins 240 can be defined using a sidewall image transfer (SIT) method that is capable of producing very narrow features, as is known in the art.", "In one embodiment, the fins 240 have fin widths in the range of about 5-20 nm.", "In the pFET regions, the fins 240 extend vertically into the silicon substrate 220 below the compressive SiGe active layer 222.In the nFET region, the fins 240 extend vertically through the tensile silicon active layer 232 and into the thick SiGe layer 230.Following fin formation, the pad oxide 242 and the fin hard mask, both bearing a fin pattern, are removed.", "In preparation for the next process step, spaces between the fins 240 are filled with the inter-fin oxide 244.The inter-fin oxide 244 is then planarized so as to re-establish the pad oxide 242, slightly above the fins 240 and the inter-fin oxide 244.At 214, parallel cuts 252, substantially parallel to the fins 240, and perpendicular cuts 254, transverse to the fins 240, are made between pFET and nFET active regions, according to one embodiment, as shown in FIGS.", "5A-5C.", "First, a SiN cut hard mask 250 is formed on top of the pad oxide 242.The parallel cuts 252 are then patterned in the SiN cut hard mask 250, as shown in FIGS.", "5A, 5C.", "The pattern of parallel cuts 252 shown in FIG.", "5A is then transferred to the substrate 220 by etching, so that the parallel cuts 252 extend downward between the thick SiGe layer 230 and the silicon substrate 220 to a cut depth 245.In FIGS.", "5B, 5C, the cut depth 245 is shown slightly below the SiGe depth d. In general, however, the cut depth 245 can be less than, equal to, or greater than, the depth d of the thick SiGe layer 230, although it may be advantageous for the cut depth 245 to be greater than the depth d of the thick SiGe layer 230.Next, in a subsequent lithography step, perpendicular cuts 254 are patterned in the cut hard mask 250, as shown in FIGS.", "5A, 5B.", "The pattern of perpendicular cuts 254, shown in FIG.", "5A, is then transferred to the substrate 220 by etching, so that the perpendicular cuts 254 extend downward between the thick SiGe layer 230 and the silicon substrate 220 to about the same cut depth 245 as the parallel cuts 252, as shown in FIG.", "5B.", "Each one of the cuts 252, 254 thus creates three free surfaces 253 adjacent to a lower portion of the thick SiGe layer 230.The depths of the perpendicular cuts 254 can be less than, equal to, or greater than the depths of the parallel cuts 252.As the parallel cuts 252 are made, the thick SiGe layer 230 relaxes elastically (rSiGe), either partially or fully, in a horizontal direction parallel to the active layers 222 and 232.Such elastic relaxation transforms the thick SiGe layer 230 from a compressively strained layer to a strain-relaxed SiGe region 258 inlaid in the silicon substrate 220.The elastic relaxation occurs without creating defects, as would otherwise occur in a conventional process that relies on plastic relaxation.", "Likewise, as the perpendicular cuts 254 are made, the strain-relaxed SiGe region 258 experiences a biaxial elastic relaxation in which the SiGe fully relaxes elastically, in all directions, again without creating defects.", "At the same time as the cuts 252, 254 are made, the overlying epitaxial silicon active layer 232 is segmented from the compressive SiGe active layer 222, and the epitaxial silicon active layer 232 is transformed into a biaxially tensilely-strained film.", "The resulting tensile silicon active layer 243 provides superior electron mobility within the nFET fins.", "Meanwhile, the compressive SiGe active layer 222 on either side of the tensile silicon active layer 243 remains fully compressively-strained to provide superior hole mobility within the pFET fins.", "In this way, the compressive strain in the pFETs and the tensile strain in the nFETs are adjusted independently.", "At 216, photoresist is stripped from the cut hard mask 250 and the cuts 252, 254 are filled with oxide, creating insulating regions 262, 264, respectively, according to one embodiment, as shown in FIGS.", "6A-6C.", "The insulating regions 262, 264 electrically insulate the nFET and the pFETs from one another.", "The insulating regions 262, 264 have substantially straight, vertical sides, in contrast with the usual sloped sides.", "Oxide within the insulating regions 262, 264 is then planarized to stop on the cut hard mask 250, before the cut hard mask 250 is removed.", "The oxide is then recessed further so as to remove the pad oxide 242 from the fins 240.The insulating regions 262, 264 may extend beyond the tops of the fins 240, as shown in FIGS.", "6B, 6C.", "At 218, a gate structure 255 is formed transverse to the fins 240, according to one embodiment, as shown in FIGS.", "7A-7C.", "The gate structure 255 of the FinFET devices wraps around three sides of each fin so as to control current flow therein more precisely than is possible in a conventional planar device.", "The gate structure 255 includes a gate dielectric 266 and a gate 268, which may be made of polysilicon, for example.", "Alternatively, the gate 268 may be made of metal, or it may be made of polysilicon initially and later replaced with metal using a replacement metal gate process as is well known in the art.", "First, oxide within the insulating regions 262, 264 is partially removed, down to the surface of the substrate 220.Next, the gate dielectric 266, e.g., a thin layer of SiO2, HfO2, or the like, is formed over the fins 240.Finally, a thick polysilicon gate 268 is formed on top of the gate dielectric 266, and the gate dielectric 266 and the polysilicon gate 268 are patterned with features transverse to the fins, in the usual way.", "At 219, the source and drain regions are doped, according to one embodiment.", "The source and drain regions of the p-type compressive SiGe active layer 222, and of the n-type tensile silicon active layer 232, can be doped by ion or plasma implantation, or combinations thereof, using the existing gate structure 255 as a mask.", "Alternatively, raised source and drain regions may be grown epitaxially from the source and drain regions and doped in-situ.", "Using either technique, a self-aligned doping step completes formation of the co-integrated nFET and pFET devices.", "FIG.", "8 shows a series of steps in a method 300 of fabricating p-type FinFETs, or pFETs, having compressive strain, co-integrated with n-type FinFETs, or nFETs having tensile strain, according to an alternative embodiment.", "In the method 300, some steps occur in a different order, for example, the fins 240 are formed after the insulating regions 262, 264.FIGS.", "9 and 10 show exemplary cross-sectional views of structures 320a,b formed in accordance with the method 300 that includes steps 302-320.The structures 320a,b show the nFET and pFETs following step 314, which is after completion of the insulating regions 264, but prior to formation of the fins 240 at 316.In FIG.", "9, the insulating regions 264a extend to a depth 245a below the depth, d, of the strain-relaxed SiGe region 258.In FIG.", "10, the insulating regions 264b extend to a depth 245b above the depth, d, of the strain-relaxed SiGe region 258.The sequence of steps in the exemplary method 300 is otherwise similar to those in the method 200.As in the method 200, the insulating regions 262 and 264 made by the method 300 can extend to a depth that is less than, equal to, or greater than, the depth of the trench that defines the boundary of the strain-relaxed SiGe region 258, while still inducing relaxation of the SiGe and tensile strain in the silicon active layer 232.It will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited except as by the appended claims.", "These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description.", "In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.", "Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.", "The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.", "All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.", "Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments." ] ]
Patent_15874813
[ [ "SINGLE CRYSTAL ACOUSTIC RESONATOR AND BULK ACOUSTIC WAVE FILTER", "A method of wafer scale packaging acoustic resonator devices and an apparatus therefor.", "The method including providing a partially completed semiconductor substrate comprising a plurality of single crystal acoustic resonator devices provided on a silicon and carbide bearing material, each having a first electrode member, a second electrode member, and an overlying passivation material.", "At least one of the devices to be configured with an external connection, a repassivation material overlying the passivation material, an under metal material overlying the repassivation material.", "Copper pillar interconnect structures are then configured overlying the electrode members, and solder bump structures are form overlying the copper pillar interconnect structures." ], [ "1-14.", "(canceled) 15.A method of wafer scale packaging Group III-Nitride containing devices, the method comprising: providing a substrate member having a surface region, the substrate comprising a silicon and carbide bearing material; forming a thickness of Group III-Nitride material overlying the surface region; forming an insulating material overlying a portion of the thickness of Group III-Nitride material; forming a contact region to expose a portion of the thickness of the Group III-Nitride material; forming a pillar structure comprising a copper material within the contact region; and forming a thickness of solder material overlying the pillar structure to cause formation of a solder bump; and bonding the solder bump to a contact member on a substrate structure.", "16.The method of claim 15 wherein the Group III-Nitride material is deposited by LPCVD; and further comprising using dichlorosilane (DCS), provided with or without Ammonia, to clean and prepare a surface for single crystal growth.", "17.The method of claim 15 wherein the Group III-Nitride material is selected from at least one of a single crystal oxide including a high K dielectric, ZnO, or MgO.", "18.The method of claim 15 wherein the Group III-Nitride material is characterized by X-ray diffraction with clear peak at a detector angle (2-θ) associated with single crystal film and whose Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) is measured to be less than 1.0°.", "19.A wafer scale package apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a mounting substrate member, the mounting substrate member being optically transparent, the mounting substrate member comprising a surface region; a single crystal acoustic resonator device configured overlying the surface region, the single crystal acoustic resonator device comprising a resonator structure and a contact structure; a patterned solder structure overlying the surface region and configured between the single crystal acoustic resonator device and the surface region; and a first air gap region provided from the patterned solder structure and configured between the resonator structure and a first portion of the mounting substrate member, wherein the first air gap region has a height of 10 um to 50 um; wherein the single crystal acoustic resonator device comprises a silicon and carbide bearing substrate member, a silicon surface region, and a silicon and carbide bearing backside region, an epitaxial material comprising single crystal piezo material overlying the silicon and carbide bearing surface region to a desired thickness, a trench region to form an exposed portion of the silicon and carbide bearing surface region through a pattern provided in the epitaxial material, a topside landing pad metal within a vicinity of the trench region and overlying the exposed portion of the silicon and carbide bearing surface region, the first electrode member overlying a portion of the epitaxial material, and the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal, a backside trench region exposing a backside of the epitaxial material overlying the first electrode member, and exposing a backside of the landing pad metal and a backside resonator metal material overlying the backside of the epitaxial material to form a connection from the epitaxial material to the to the backside of the landing pad metal to couple the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal; wherein the mounting substrate member is characterized by a first coefficient of thermal expansion and wherein the silicon and carbide bearing substrate member is characterized by a second coefficient of thermal expansion, the first coefficient of thermal expansion being matched to the second coefficient of thermal expansion; wherein the mounting substrate member comprises a borosilicate glass material or a boro-float glass material.", "20.A method for packaging a resonator device, the method using a wafer scale packaging process, the method comprising: providing a single crystal acoustic resonator device formed on a silicon and carbide bearing substrate having a first thickness, the single crystal acoustic resonator device comprising a resonator structure and a contact structure; forming a patterned solder structure configured overlying the single crystal acoustic resonator device and the surface region to form a first air gap region provided from the patterned solder structure and configured between the resonator structure and a first portion of a mounting substrate member, wherein the first air gap region having a height of 10 um to 50 um, the patterned solder structure having a patterned upper surface region; forming a thickness of an epoxy material overlying the patterned upper surface region, while maintaining the resonator structure free from any of the epoxy material; positioning the mounting substrate member to the epoxy material; curing the epoxy material to mate the single crystal acoustic resonator device to the mounting substrate member, the mounting substrate member being optically transparent, the mounting substrate member comprising a surface region; and processing the silicon substrate to remove a portion of the silicon substrate to form a resulting silicon substrate of a second thickness, the second thickness being less than the first thickness, the resulting silicon substrate having a silicon backside region.", "21.The method of claim 20 wherein the first thickness of the silicon and carbide bearing substrate ranges from 300 um to 1000 um and the second thickness ranges from 20 um to 100 um, while the silicon substrate is maintained against the mounting substrate member configured to act as a stiffener during the processing of the silicon and carbide bearing substrate, the processing comprising a grinding and polishing process; wherein the epoxy material is a two-stage epoxy material; wherein the height is about 25 um; wherein the height is measured from a first perimeter region to a second perimeter region of the first air gap.", "22.The method of claim 20 wherein the patterned solder structure further comprises a second air gap region provided from the patterned solder structure and configured between the contact structure and a second portion of the mounting substrate member.", "23.The method of claim 20 wherein the single crystal acoustic resonator device comprises a silicon and carbide bearing substrate member, a silicon and carbide bearing surface region, and a silicon and carbide bearing backside region, an epitaxial material comprising single crystal piezo material overlying the silicon and carbide bearing surface region to a desired thickness, a trench region to form an exposed portion of the silicon and carbide bearing surface region through a pattern provided in the epitaxial material, a topside landing pad metal within a vicinity of the trench region and overlying the exposed portion of the silicon and carbide bearing surface region, the first electrode member overlying a portion of the epitaxial material, and the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal, a backside trench region exposing a backside of the epitaxial material overlying the first electrode member, and exposing a backside of the landing pad metal and a backside resonator metal material overlying the backside of the epitaxial material to form a connection from the epitaxial material to the backside of the landing pad metal to couple to the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal.", "24.The method of claim 20 wherein the single crystal acoustic resonator device comprises a silicon and carbide bearing substrate member, a silicon and carbide bearing surface region, and a silicon and carbide bearing backside region, an epitaxial material comprising single crystal piezo material overlying the silicon and carbide bearing surface region to a desired thickness, a trench region to form an exposed portion of the silicon and carbide bearing surface region through a pattern provided in the epitaxial material, a topside landing pad metal within a vicinity of the trench region and overlying the exposed portion of the silicon and carbide bearing surface region, the first electrode member overlying a portion of the epitaxial material, and the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal, a backside trench region exposing a backside of the epitaxial material overlying the first electrode member, and exposing a backside of the landing pad metal and a backside resonator metal material overlying the backside of the epitaxial material to form a connection from the epitaxial material to the backside of the landing pad metal to couple to the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal; and further comprising: forming a passivation material overlying the silicon and carbide bearing backside region; forming a repassivation material overlying the passivation material, the repassivation material having a first region exposing the first electrode member and a second region expositing the second electrode member; forming an under metal material overlying the repassivation material and covering the first region and the second region such that the first electrode member and the second electrode member are each in electrical and physical contact with the under metal material; forming a thickness of resist material overlying the under metal material to cause a substantially planarized surface region; patterning the substantially planarized surface region of the thickness of resist material to expose a first region corresponding to the first electrode member and a second region corresponding to the second electrode member; filling the first region and the second region using a deposition process to form a first copper pillar structure overlying the first electrode member and a second copper pillar structure overlying the second electrode member; forming a solder material overlying the first copper pillar structure and the second copper pillar structure; processing the thickness of resist material to substantially remove the thickness of resist material and expose the under metal material; removing any exposed portions of the under metal material; and subjecting the solder material on the first copper pillar structure and the second copper pillar structure to cause formation of a first solder bump structure overlying the first copper pillar structure and a second solder bump structure overlying the second copper pillar structure.", "25.The method of claim 24 wherein the single crystal piezo material is selected from at least one of GaN, AlN, AlGaN, InN, BN, or other group III nitrides; wherein the epitaxial material has a thickness of greater than 0.4 um, the epitaxial material being characterized by a dislocation density of less than 1012 defects/cm2.26.The method of claim 24 wherein the single crystal piezo material is selected from at least one of GaN, AlN, AlGaN, InN, BN, or other group III nitrides; wherein the epitaxial material has a thickness of greater than 0.4 um, the epitaxial material being characterized by a dislocation density of less than 1012 defects/cm2.27.The method of claim 24 wherein the single crystal piezo material is selected from at least one of a single crystal oxide including a high K dielectric, ZnO, or MgO.", "28.The method of claim 24 wherein the single crystal piezo material is characterized by X-ray diffraction with clear peak at a detector angle (2-θ) associated with single crystal film and whose Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) is measured to be less than 1.0°.", "29.The method of claim 24 wherein the single crystal piezo material is deposited by LPCVD; and further comprising using dichlorosilane (DCS), provided with or without ammonia, to clean and prepare a surface for growth of the single crystal piezo material." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention relates generally to electronic devices.", "More particularly, the present invention provides techniques related to low defect acoustic resonator devices and bulk acoustic wave (“BAW”) filters and filter circuits.", "Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to a resonator devices and BAW filters for a communication device, mobile device, computing device, among others.", "Mobile telecommunication devices have been successfully deployed world-wide.", "Over a billion mobile devices, including cell phones and smartphones, were manufactured in a single year and unit volume continues to increase year-over-year.", "With ramp of 4G/LTE in about 2012, and explosion of mobile data traffic, data rich content is driving the growth of the smartphone segment—which is expected to reach 2B per annum within the next few years.", "Coexistence of new and legacy standards and thirst for higher data rate requirements is driving RF complexity in smartphones.", "Unfortunately, limitations exist with conventional RF technology that is problematic, and may lead to drawbacks in the future.", "From the above, it is seen that techniques for improving electronic devices are highly desirable." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>According to the present invention, techniques generally related to electronic devices are provided.", "More particularly, the present invention provides techniques related to a wafer scale packaging for a resonator device.", "Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to a resonator device for a communication device, mobile device, computing device, among others.", "In an example, the present invention provides a substrate structure and cover glass arrangement in order to achieve a low defect acoustic resonator device which can singulated and electrically connected to the outside world or other external circuitry.", "The substrate structure has a substrate member comprising a lattice constant chosen to closely match the lattice constant of single crystal piezoelectric material resulting in high acoustic velocity in the resonator.", "In an example, the substrate member has an upper region, and optionally, has a plurality of recessed regions configured by the support members.", "The substrate has a thickness of single crystal piezo material formed overlying the upper region.", "This substrate can be a silicon and carbide bearing substrate member.", "In an example, the thickness of single crystal piezo material has a first surface region and a second surface region opposite of the first surface region.", "In an example, the structure has a plurality of exposed regions of the second surface region of the thickness of single crystal piezo material, each of the exposed regions configured by at least a pair of support members and is configured to form an element of the array structure.", "Of course, there can also be other features.", "In an example, the present invention provides for a single crystal Al x Ga 1-x N (0<x<1) dielectric that exhibits 30% higher piezoelectric constant compared to a similar designed dielectric synthesized using a thin-film sputtering deposition technique.", "In an example, a sputtered AlN layer deposited using conventional thin-film methods has an x-ray full width half maximum (“FWHM”) measurement of greater than 1 degree and high dislocation density of >10 10 /cm 2 .", "By comparison, a single crystal Al x Ga 1-x N grown on silicon carbide (e.g., SiC) by CVD (e.g.", "MOCVD) exhibits an x-ray FWHM measurement of less than 0.25 degree and lower dislocation density of approximately 2×10 10 /cm 2 .", "Lower defect density is expected to translate to higher acoustic velocity.", "Therefore, a material approach is desired to obtain highest performance acoustic resonator for BAW filter.", "In one or more examples, the present techniques provides for growth of Al x Ga 1-x N layers on silicon carbide; remove silicon carbide to form membrane; deposit electrodes on both sides of the piezoelectric layer and provide cover glass approach for integrated packaging or smart glass.", "In an embodiment, the present low defect density Al x Ga 1-x N single crystal acoustic resonator is combined with a wafer scale packaging apparatus including a partially completed semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor substrate comprising a plurality of single crystal acoustic resonator devices, each of the devices having a first electrode member, a second electrode member, and an overlying metallization layer to bond with a cover glass wafer, the cover glass configured with a first metallized surface, second metallization surface and filled via structure available to electrically connect the two metallization layers; a backside via structure on the partially completed semiconductor substrate which has patterned metal forming the second electrode and interconnect metal to either an adjacent resonator electrode or through hole via structure used to make connection from the backside plane to the front side plane of the partially completed semiconductor wafer; a backside cover wafer used to cover the acoustic membrane; and the resulting two electrodes being routed from the piezo membrane to the top of the cover glass.", "One or more benefits are achieved over pre-existing techniques using the invention.", "In particular, the invention enables a cost-effective resonator device for communications applications with a 30% advantage in physical material properties.", "In a specific embodiment, the present device can be manufactured in a relatively simple and cost effective manner.", "Depending upon the embodiment, the present apparatus and method can be manufactured using conventional materials and/or methods according to one of ordinary skill in the art.", "The present device uses aluminum, gallium and nitrogen containing material that is single crystalline.", "Depending upon the embodiment, one or more of these benefits may be achieved.", "Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention may be realized by reference to the latter portions of the specification and attached drawings." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation-in-part application of the following filed patent application, commonly owned: U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/341,314, (Attorney Docket No.", ": A969RO-000400US) titled “WAFER SCALE PACKAGING”, filed Jul.", "25, 2014.The present application incorporates by reference, for all purposes, the following filed patent applications, all commonly owned: U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/298,057, (Attorney Docket No.", "A969RO-000100US) titled “RESONANCE CIRCUIT WITH A SINGLE CRYSTAL CAPACITOR DIELECTRIC MATERIAL”, filed Jun.", "6, 2014, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/298,076, (Attorney Docket No.", "A969RO-000200US) titled “METHOD OF MANUFACTURE FOR SINGLE CRYSTAL CAPACITOR DIELECTRIC FOR A RESONANCE CIRCUIT”, filed Jun.", "6, 2014, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/298,100, (Attorney Docket No.", "A969RO-000300US) titled “INTEGRATED CIRCUIT CONFIGURED WITH TWO OR MORE SINGLE CRYSTAL ACOUSTIC RESONATOR DEVICES”, filed Jun.", "6, 2014, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/449,001, (Attorney Docket No.", ": A969RO-000500US) titled “MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE CONFIGURED WITH A SINGLE CRYSTAL PIEZO RESONATOR STRUCTURE”, filed Jul.", "31, 2014, and U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/469,503, (Attorney Docket No.", ": A969RO-000600US) titled “MEMBRANE SUBSTRATE STRUCTURE FOR SINGLE CRYSTAL ACOUSTIC RESONATOR DEVICE”, filed Aug. 26, 2014.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to electronic devices.", "More particularly, the present invention provides techniques related to low defect acoustic resonator devices and bulk acoustic wave (“BAW”) filters and filter circuits.", "Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to a resonator devices and BAW filters for a communication device, mobile device, computing device, among others.", "Mobile telecommunication devices have been successfully deployed world-wide.", "Over a billion mobile devices, including cell phones and smartphones, were manufactured in a single year and unit volume continues to increase year-over-year.", "With ramp of 4G/LTE in about 2012, and explosion of mobile data traffic, data rich content is driving the growth of the smartphone segment—which is expected to reach 2B per annum within the next few years.", "Coexistence of new and legacy standards and thirst for higher data rate requirements is driving RF complexity in smartphones.", "Unfortunately, limitations exist with conventional RF technology that is problematic, and may lead to drawbacks in the future.", "From the above, it is seen that techniques for improving electronic devices are highly desirable.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, techniques generally related to electronic devices are provided.", "More particularly, the present invention provides techniques related to a wafer scale packaging for a resonator device.", "Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to a resonator device for a communication device, mobile device, computing device, among others.", "In an example, the present invention provides a substrate structure and cover glass arrangement in order to achieve a low defect acoustic resonator device which can singulated and electrically connected to the outside world or other external circuitry.", "The substrate structure has a substrate member comprising a lattice constant chosen to closely match the lattice constant of single crystal piezoelectric material resulting in high acoustic velocity in the resonator.", "In an example, the substrate member has an upper region, and optionally, has a plurality of recessed regions configured by the support members.", "The substrate has a thickness of single crystal piezo material formed overlying the upper region.", "This substrate can be a silicon and carbide bearing substrate member.", "In an example, the thickness of single crystal piezo material has a first surface region and a second surface region opposite of the first surface region.", "In an example, the structure has a plurality of exposed regions of the second surface region of the thickness of single crystal piezo material, each of the exposed regions configured by at least a pair of support members and is configured to form an element of the array structure.", "Of course, there can also be other features.", "In an example, the present invention provides for a single crystal AlxGa1-xN (0<x<1) dielectric that exhibits 30% higher piezoelectric constant compared to a similar designed dielectric synthesized using a thin-film sputtering deposition technique.", "In an example, a sputtered AlN layer deposited using conventional thin-film methods has an x-ray full width half maximum (“FWHM”) measurement of greater than 1 degree and high dislocation density of >1010/cm2.By comparison, a single crystal AlxGa1-xN grown on silicon carbide (e.g., SiC) by CVD (e.g.", "MOCVD) exhibits an x-ray FWHM measurement of less than 0.25 degree and lower dislocation density of approximately 2×1010/cm2.Lower defect density is expected to translate to higher acoustic velocity.", "Therefore, a material approach is desired to obtain highest performance acoustic resonator for BAW filter.", "In one or more examples, the present techniques provides for growth of AlxGa1-xN layers on silicon carbide; remove silicon carbide to form membrane; deposit electrodes on both sides of the piezoelectric layer and provide cover glass approach for integrated packaging or smart glass.", "In an embodiment, the present low defect density AlxGa1-xN single crystal acoustic resonator is combined with a wafer scale packaging apparatus including a partially completed semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor substrate comprising a plurality of single crystal acoustic resonator devices, each of the devices having a first electrode member, a second electrode member, and an overlying metallization layer to bond with a cover glass wafer, the cover glass configured with a first metallized surface, second metallization surface and filled via structure available to electrically connect the two metallization layers; a backside via structure on the partially completed semiconductor substrate which has patterned metal forming the second electrode and interconnect metal to either an adjacent resonator electrode or through hole via structure used to make connection from the backside plane to the front side plane of the partially completed semiconductor wafer; a backside cover wafer used to cover the acoustic membrane; and the resulting two electrodes being routed from the piezo membrane to the top of the cover glass.", "One or more benefits are achieved over pre-existing techniques using the invention.", "In particular, the invention enables a cost-effective resonator device for communications applications with a 30% advantage in physical material properties.", "In a specific embodiment, the present device can be manufactured in a relatively simple and cost effective manner.", "Depending upon the embodiment, the present apparatus and method can be manufactured using conventional materials and/or methods according to one of ordinary skill in the art.", "The present device uses aluminum, gallium and nitrogen containing material that is single crystalline.", "Depending upon the embodiment, one or more of these benefits may be achieved.", "Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention may be realized by reference to the latter portions of the specification and attached drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to more fully understand the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings.", "Understanding that these drawings are not to be considered limitations in the scope of the invention, the presently described embodiments and the presently understood best mode of the invention are described with additional detail through use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.", "1 is a simplified diagram illustrating a surface single crystal acoustic wave resonator according to an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a simplified diagram illustrating a bulk single crystal acoustic resonator according to an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a simplified diagram illustrating a feature of a bulk single crystal acoustic resonator according to an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "9 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "10 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a simplified diagram of a substrate member according to an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "12 is a simplified diagram of a substrate member according to an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "13 is a simplified table illustrating features of a conventional filter compared against the present examples according to examples of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "14 to 26B illustrate a manufacturing method for a single crystal acoustic resonator device according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "27 to 32 illustrate a manufacturing method for wafer scale packaging of a wafer comprising a plurality of single crystal acoustic resonators devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "33 is a top view diagram of a bumped wafer to be singulated or processed according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "34A to 34C illustrate a side-view, top-view, and bottom-view diagrams of a resonator device according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "35 and 36 illustrate an example of mounting a resonator device on a laminate structure and a molding process according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "37 to 54 illustrate a method of manufacturing a resonator device on a transparent substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "55A and 55B illustrate a plurality of resonator devices according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "56A to 61D illustrate examples of resonator devices according to various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "62 is a simplified plot of insertion loss plotted against frequency according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, techniques generally related to electronic devices are provided.", "More particularly, the present invention provides techniques related to a single crystal acoustic resonator.", "Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to a resonator device for a communication device, mobile device, computing device, among others.", "As additional background, the number of bands supported by smartphones is estimated to grow by 7-fold compared to conventional techniques.", "As a result, more bands mean high selectivity filter performance is becoming a differentiator in the RF front end of smartphones.", "Unfortunately, conventional techniques have severe limitations.", "That is, conventional filter technology is based upon amorphous materials and whose electromechanical coupling efficiency is poor (only 7.5% for non-lead containing materials) leading to nearly half the transmit power dissipated in high selectivity filters.", "In addition, single crystal acoustic wave devices are expected to deliver improvements in adjacent channel rejection.", "Since there are twenty (20) or more filters in present smartphone and the filters are inserted between the power amplifier and the antenna solution, then there is an opportunity to improve the RF front end by reducing thermal dissipation, size of power amplifier while enhancing the signal quality of the smartphone receiver and maximize the spectral efficiency within the system.", "Utilizing single crystal acoustic wave device (herein after “BAW” device) and filter solutions, one or more of the following benefits may be achieved: (1) large diameter silicon wafers (up to 200 mm) are expected to realize cost-effective high performance solutions, (2) electromechanical coupling efficiency is expected to more than triple with newly engineered strained piezo electric materials, (3) Filter insertion loss is expected to reduce by 1dB enabling longer battery life, improve thermal management with smaller RF footprint and improving the signal quality and user experience.", "These and other benefits can be realized by the present device and method as further provided throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "1 is a simplified diagram illustrating a surface single crystal acoustic resonator according to an example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "The present surface single crystal acoustic resonator device 100 having a crystalline piezo material 120 overlying a substrate 110 is illustrated.", "As shown, an acoustic wave propagates in a lateral direction from a first spatial region to a second spatial region substantially parallel to a pair of electrical ports 140, which form an inter-digital transducer configuration 130 with a plurality of metal lines 131 that are spatially disposed between the pair of electrical ports 140.In an example, the electrical ports on the left side can be designated for signal input, while the electrical ports on the right side are designated for signal output.", "In an example, a pair of electrode regions are configured and routed to a vicinity of a plane parallel to a contact region coupled to the second electrode material.", "In a SAW device example, surface acoustic waves produce resonant behavior over a narrow frequency band near 880 MHz to 915 MHz frequency band—which is a designated passband for a Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) LTE enabled mobile smartphone.", "Depending on region of operation for the communication device, there can be variations.", "For example, in North American transmit bands, the resonator can be designed such that resonant behavior is near the 777 MHz to 787 MHz frequency passband.", "Other transmit bands, found in other regions, can be much higher in frequency, such as the Asian transmit band in the 2570 MHz to 2620 MHz passband.", "Further, the examples provided here are for transmit bands.", "In similar fashion, the passband on the receiver side of the radio front end also require similar performing resonant filters.", "Of course, there can be variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "Other characteristics of surface acoustic wave devices include the fundamental frequency of the SAW device, which is determined by the surface propagation velocity (determined by the crystalline quality of the piezo-electric material selected for the resonator) divided by the wavelength (determined by the fingers in the interdigitated layout in FIG.", "1).", "Measured propagation velocity (also referred to as SAW velocity) in GaN of approximately 5800 m/s has been recorded, while similar values are expected for AlN.", "Accordingly, higher SAW velocity of such Group III-nitrides enables a resonator to process higher frequency signals for a given device geometry.", "Resonators made from Group III-nitrides are desirable as such materials operate at high power (leveraging their high critical electric field), high temperature (low intrinsic carrier concentration from their large bandgap) and high frequency (high saturated electron velocities).", "Such high power devices (greater than 10 Watts) are utilized in wireless infrastructure and commercial and military radar systems to name a few.", "Further, stability, survivability and reliability of such devices are critical for field deployment.", "Further details of each of the elements provided in the present device can be found throughout the present specification and more particular below.", "FIG.", "2 is a simplified diagram illustrating a bulk single crystal acoustic resonator according to an example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "The present bulk single crystal acoustic resonator device 200 having a crystalline piezo material is illustrated.", "As shown, an acoustic wave propagates in a vertical direction from a first spatial region to a second spatial region between an upper electrode material 231 and a substrate member 210.As shown, the crystalline piezo material 220 is configured between the upper (231) and lower (232) electrode material.", "In an embodiment, the substrate member 210 can be a silicon and carbide bearing substrate member.", "The top electrode material 231 is configured underneath a plurality of optional reflector layers, which are formed overlying the top electrode 231 to form an acoustic reflector region 240.In a bulk acoustic wave (hereinafter “BAW”) device example, acoustic waves produce resonant behavior over a narrow frequency band near 3600 MHz to 3800 MHz frequency band—which is a designated passband for a LTE enabled mobile smartphone.", "Depending on region of operation for the communication device, there can be variations.", "For example, in North American transmit bands, the resonator can be designed such that resonant behavior is near the 2000 MHz to 2020 MHz frequency passband.", "Other transmit bands, found in other regions such as the Asian transmit band in the 2500 MHz to 2570 MHz passband.", "Further, the examples provided here are for transmit bands.", "In similar fashion, the passband on the receiver side of the radio front end also require similar performing resonant filters.", "Of course, there can be variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "Other characteristics of single crystal BAW devices include the electromechanical acoustic coupling in the device, which is proportionate to the piezoelectricity constant (influence by the design and strain of the single crystal piezo layer) divided by the acoustic wave velocity (influenced by scattering and reflections in the piezo material).", "Acoustic wave velocity in GaN of over 5300 m/s has been observed.", "Accordingly, high acoustic wave velocity of such Group III-nitrides enables a resonator to process higher frequency signals for a given device geometry.", "Similar to SAW devices, resonators made from Group III-nitrides are desirable as such materials operate at high power (leveraging their high critical electric field), high temperature (low intrinsic carrier concentration from their large bandgap) and high frequency (high saturated electron velocities).", "Such high power devices (greater than 10 Watts) are utilized in wireless infrastructure and commercial and military radar systems to name a few.", "Further, stability, survivability and reliability of such devices are critical for field deployment.", "Further details of each of the materials provided in the present device can be found throughout the present specification and more particular below.", "In an example, the device has a substrate, which has a surface region.", "In an example, the substrate can be a thickness of material, a composite, or other structure.", "In an example, the substrate can be selected from a dielectric material, a conductive material, a semiconductor material, a carbide material, or any combination of these materials.", "In an example, the substrate can also be a polymer member, a single crystal silicon carbide member, or the like.", "In a preferred example, the substrate is selected from a material provided from silicon, a gallium arsenide, an aluminum oxide, or others, and their combinations.", "In an example, the substrate is silicon.", "The substrate has a surface region, which can be in an off-set or off cut configuration.", "In an example, the surface region is configured in an off-set angle ranging from 0.5 degree to 1.0 degree.", "In an example, the substrate is <111> oriented and has high resistivity (greater than 103 ohm-cm).", "Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "In an example, the device has a first electrode material coupled to a portion of the substrate and a single crystal capacitor dielectric material having a thickness of greater than 0.4 microns (um).", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor dielectric material has a suitable dislocation density.", "The dislocation density is less than 1012 defects/cm2, and greater than 104 defects per cm2, and variations thereof.", "The device has a second electrode material overlying the single crystal capacitor dielectric material.", "Further details of each of these materials can be found throughout the present specification and more particularly below.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor material is a suitable single crystal material having desirable electrical properties.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor material is generally a gallium and nitrogen containing material such as a AlN, AlGaN, or GaN, among InN, InGaN, BN, or other group III nitrides.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor material is selected from at least one of a single crystal oxide including a high K dielectric, ZnO, MgO, or alloys of MgZnGaInO.", "In an example, the high K is characterized by a defect density of less than 1012 defects/cm2, and greater than 104 defects per cm2.Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor dielectric material is characterized by a surface region at least 50 um by 50 um, and variations.", "In an example, the surface region can be 200 um×200 um or as high as 1000 um×1000 um.", "Of course, there are variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor dielectric material is configured in a first strain state to compensate to the substrate.", "That is, the single crystal material is in a compressed or tensile strain state in relation to the overlying substrate material.", "In an example, the strained state of a GaN when deposited on silicon is tensile strained whereas an AlN layer is compressively strain relative to the silicon substrate.", "In a preferred example, the single crystal capacitor dielectric material is deposited overlying an exposed portion of the substrate.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor dielectric is lattice mismatched to the crystalline structure of the substrate, and may be strain compensated using a compressively strain piezo nucleation layer such as AlN or SiN.", "In an example, the device has the first electrode material is configured via a backside of the substrate.", "In an example, the first electrode material is configured via a backside of the substrate.", "The configuration comprises a via structure configured within a thickness of the substrate.", "In an example, the electrode materials can be made of a suitable material or materials.", "In an example, each of the first electrode material and the second electrode material is selected from a refractory metal or other precious metals.", "In an example, each of the first electrode material and the second electrode material is selected from one of tantalum, molybdenum, platinum, titanium, gold, aluminum tungsten, or platinum, combinations thereof, or the like.", "In an example, the first electrode material and the single crystal capacitor dielectric material comprises a first interface region substantially free from an oxide bearing material.", "In an example, the first electrode material and the single crystal capacitor dielectric material comprises a second interface region substantially free from an oxide bearing material.", "In an example, the device can include a first contact coupled to the first electrode material and a second contact coupled to the second electrode material such that each of the first contact and the second contact are configured in a co-planar arrangement.", "In an example, the device has a reflector region configured to the first electrode material.", "In an example, the device also has a reflector region configured to the second electrode material.", "The reflector region is made of alternating low impedance (e.g.", "dielectric) and high-impedance (e.g.", "metal) reflector layers, where each layer is targeted at one quarter-wave in thickness, although there can be variations.", "In an example, the device has a nucleation material provided between the single crystal capacitor dielectric material and the first electrode material.", "The nucleation material is typically AlN or SiN.", "In an example, the device has a capping material provided between the single crystal capacitor dielectric material and the second electrode material.", "In an example, the capping material is GaN.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor dielectric material preferably has other properties.", "That is, the single crystal capacitor dielectric material is characterized by a FWHM of less than one degree.", "In an example, the single crystal capacitor dielectric is configured to propagate a longitudinal signal at an acoustic velocity of 5000 meters/second and greater.", "In other embodiments where strain is engineered, the signal can be over 6000 m/s and below 12,000 m/s.", "Of course, there can be variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "The device also has desirable resonance behavior when tested using a two-port network analyzer.", "The resonance behavior is characterized by two resonant frequencies (called series and parallel)—whereby one exhibits an electrical impedance of infinity and the other exhibits an impedance of zero.", "In between such frequencies, the device behaves inductively.", "In an example, the device has s-parameter derived from a two-port analysis, which can be converted to impedance.", "From s11 parameter, the real and imaginary impedance of the device can be extracted.", "From s21, the transmission gain of the resonator can be calculated.", "Using the parallel resonance frequency along the known piezo layer thickness, the acoustic velocity can be calculated for the device.", "FIG.", "3 is a simplified diagram illustrating a feature of a bulk single crystal acoustic resonator according to an example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "As shown, diagram 300 shows the present invention applied as a band pass filter for RF signals.", "A specific frequency range is allowed through the filter, as depicted by the darkened block elevated from the RF spectrum underneath the wavelength illustration.", "This block is matched to the signal allowed through the filter in the illustration above.", "Single crystal devices can offer better acoustic quality versus BAW devices due to lower filter loss and relieving the specification requirements on the power amplifier.", "These can result benefits for devices utilizing the present invention such as extended battery, efficient spectrum use, uninterrupted caller experience, and others.", "FIG.", "4 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "In an example, the structure 400 is configured on a bulk substrate member 410, including a surface region.", "In an example, the single crystal piezo material epitaxial 420 is formed using a growth process.", "The growth process can include chemical vapor deposition, molecular beam epitaxial growth, or other techniques overlying the surface of the substrate.", "In an example, the single crystal piezo material can include single crystal gallium nitride (GaN) material, single crystal Al(x)Ga(1−x)N where 0<x<1.0 (x=“Al mole fraction”) material, single crystal aluminum nitride (AlN) material, or any of the aforementioned in combination with each other.", "Of course, there can also be modifications, alternatives, and variations.", "Further details of the substrate can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "5 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "In an example, the structure 500 is configured overlying a nucleation region 430, which is overlying a surface of the substrate 410.In an example, the nucleation region 430 is a layer or can be multiple layers.", "The nucleation region is made using a piezo-electric material in order to enable acoustic coupling in a resonator circuit.", "In an example, the nucleation region is a thin piezo-electric nucleation layer, which may range from about 0 to 100 nm in thickness, may be used to initiate growth of single crystal piezo material 420 overlying the surface of the substrate.", "In an example, the nucleation region can be made using a thin SiN or AlN material, but can include variations.", "In an example, the single crystal piezo material has a thickness that can range from 0.2 um to 20 um, although there can be variations.", "In an example, the piezo material that has a thickness of about 2 um is typical for 2 GHz acoustic resonator device.", "Further details of the substrate can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "6 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "In an example, the structure 600 is configured using a GaN piezo material 620.In an example, each of the regions are single crystal or substantially single crystal.", "In an example, the structure is provided using a thin AlN or SiN piezo nucleation region 430, which can be a layer or layers.", "In an example, the region is unintentional doped (UID) and is provided to strain compensate GaN on the surface region of the substrate 410.In an example, the nucleation region has an overlying GaN single crystal piezo region (having Nd—Na: between 1014/cm3 and 1018/cm3), and a thickness ranging between 1.0 um and 10 um, although there can be variations.", "Further details of the substrate can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "7 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "As shown, the structure 700 is configured using an AlN piezo material 720.Each of the regions is single-crystal or substantially single crystal.", "In an example, the structure is provided using a thin AlN or SiN piezo nucleation region 430, which can be a layer or layers.", "In an example, the region is unintentional doped (UID) and is provided to strain compensate AlN on the surface region of the substrate 410.In an example, the nucleation region has an overlying AlN single crystal piezo region (having Nd—Na: between 1014/cm3 and 1018/cm3), and a thickness ranging between 1.0 um and 10 um, although there can be variations.", "Further details of the substrate can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "8 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "As shown, the structure 800 is configured using an AlGaN piezo material 820.Each of the regions is single-crystal or substantially single crystal.", "In an example, the structure is provided using a thin AlN or SiN piezo nucleation region 430, which can be a layer or layers.", "In an example, the region is unintentional doped (UID) and is provided to strain compensate AlN on the surface region of the substrate 410.In an example, the AlGaN single crystal piezo layer where Al(x)Ga(1−x)N has Al mole composition 0<x<1.0, (Nd—Na: between 1014/cm3 and 1018/cm3), a thickness ranging between 1 um and 10 um, among other features.", "Further details of the substrate can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "9 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "The structure 900 is configured using an AlN/AlGaN piezo material 920.Each of the regions is single-crystal or substantially single crystal.", "In an example, the structure is provided using a thin AlN or SiN piezo nucleation region 930, which can be a layer or layers.", "In an example, the region is unintentional doped (UID) and is provided to strain compensate AlN on the surface region of the substrate 910.In an example, one or more alternating stacks are formed overlying the nucleation region.", "In an example, the stack includes AlGaN/AlN single crystal piezo layer where Al(x)Ga(1−x)N has Al mole composition 0<x<1.0; (Nd—Na: between 1014/cm3 and 1018/cm3), a thickness ranging between 1.0 um and 10 um; a AlN (1 nm<thickness<30 nm) serves to strain compensate lattice and allow thicker AlGaN piezo layer.", "In an example, the final single crystal piezo layer is AlGaN.", "In an example, the structure has a total stack thickness of at least 1 um and less than 10 um, among others.", "Further details of the substrate can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "10 is a simplified diagram illustrating a piezo structure according to an alternative example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "As shown, the structure 1000 has an optional GaN piezo-electric cap layer or layers 1040.In an example, the cap layer 1040 or region can be configured on any of the aforementioned examples, among others.", "In an example, the cap region can include at least one or more benefits.", "Such benefits include improved electro-acoustic coupling from topside metal (electrode 1) into piezo material, reduced, surface oxidation, improved manufacturing, among others.", "In an example, the GaN cap region has a thickness ranging between 1 nm-10 nm, and has Nd—Na: between 1014/cm3 and 1018/cm3, although there can be variations.", "Further details of the substrate can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "11 is a simplified diagram of a substrate member according to an example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "In an example, the single crystal acoustic resonator material 1120 can be a single crystal piezo material epitaxial grown (using CVD or MBE technique) on a substrate 1110.The substrate 1110 can be a bulk substrate, a composite, or other member.", "The bulk substrate 1110 is preferably gallium nitride (GaN), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon (Si), sapphire (Al2O3), aluminum nitride (AlN), combinations thereof, and the like.", "FIG.", "12 is a simplified diagram of a substrate member according to an example of the present invention.", "This diagram is merely an example, which should not unduly limit the scope of the claims.", "In an example, the single crystal acoustic resonator material 1220 can be a single crystal piezo material epitaxial grown (using CVD or MBE technique) on a substrate 1210.The substrate 1210 can be a bulk substrate, a composite, or other member.", "The bulk substrate 1210 is preferably gallium nitride (GaN), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon (Si), sapphire (Al2O3), aluminum nitride (AlN), combinations thereof, and the like.", "In an example, the surface region of the substrate is bare and exposed crystalline material.", "FIG.", "13 is a simplified table illustrating features of a conventional filter compared against the present examples according to examples of the present invention.", "As shown, the specifications of the “Present Example” versus a “Conventional” embodiment are shown with respect to the criteria under “Filter Solution”.", "In an example, the GaN, SiC and Al2O3 orientation is c-axis in order to improve or even maximize a polarization field in the piezo-electric material.", "In an example, the silicon substrate orientation is <111> orientation for same or similar reason.", "In an example, the substrate can be off-cut or offset.", "While c-axis or <111> is nominal orientation, an offcut angle between +/−1.5 degrees may be selected for one or more of the following reasons: (1) controllability of process; (2) maximization of K2 of acoustic resonator, and other reasons.", "In an example, the substrate is grown on a face, such as a growth face.", "A Ga-face is preferred growth surface (due to more mature process).", "In an example, the substrate has a substrate resistivity that is greater than 104 ohm-cm, although there can be variations.", "In an example, the substrate thickness ranges 100 um to 1 mm at the time of growth of single crystal piezo deposition material.", "Of course, there can be variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "As used herein, the terms “first” “second” “third” and “nth” shall be interpreted under ordinary meaning.", "Such terms, alone or together, do not necessarily imply order, unless understood that way by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "Additionally, the terms “top” and “bottom” may not have a meaning in reference to a direction of gravity, while should be interpreted under ordinary meaning.", "These terms shall not unduly limit the scope of the claims herein.", "As used herein, the term substrate is associated with Group III-nitride based materials including GaN, InGaN, AlGaN, or other Group III containing alloys or compositions that are used as starting materials, or AlN or the like.", "Such starting materials include polar GaN substrates (i.e., substrate where the largest area surface is nominally an (h k l) plane wherein h=k=0, and l is non-zero), non-polar GaN substrates (i.e., substrate material where the largest area surface is oriented at an angle ranging from about 80-100 degrees from the polar orientation described above towards an (h k l) plane wherein l=0, and at least one of h and k is non-zero) or semi-polar GaN substrates (i.e., substrate material where the largest area surface is oriented at an angle ranging from about +0.1 to 80 degrees or 110-179.9 degrees from the polar orientation described above towards an (h k l) plane wherein l=0, and at least one of h and k is non-zero.).", "As shown, the present device can be enclosed in a suitable package.", "FIGS.", "14-26 illustrate a manufacturing method for a single crystal acoustic resonator device in an example of the present invention.", "This illustration is merely an example, and should not unduly limit the scope of the claims herein.", "Referring to these Figures, an example of a manufacturing process can be briefly described below: 1.Start; 2.Provide a substrate member, e.g., 150mm or 200mm diameter material, having a surface region; 3.Treat the surface region; 4.Form an epitaxial material comprising single crystal piezo material overlying the surface region to a desired thickness; 5.Pattern the epitaxial material using a masking and etching process to form a trench region by causing formation of an exposed portion of the surface region through a pattern provided in the epitaxial material; 6.Form topside landing pad metal, which may include a stack that has a metal layer that reacts slowly with etchants in a backside substrate etching process, as defined below.", "7.Form topside electrode members, including a first electrode member overlying a portion of the epitaxial material, and a second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal; 8.Selectively form topside overlay metallization such as Ti/Al (100 Å/2 um) for (a) reduce line losses and (b) provides thick metal to attach cu-pillar, which will be later described.", "9.Form passivation material overlying upper region of patterned material; 10.Mask and remove (via etching) selective portions of the passivation material to expose portions of the overlay topside metallization to form bonding pads; 11.Mask and remove (via etching) a portion of the substrate from the backside to form a first trench region exposing a backside of the epitaxial material overlying the first electrode member, and a second trench region exposing a backside of the landing pad metal; 12.Optionally, remove mask from backside; 13.Mask and remove (via) etching portions of the backside to expose a backside of the epitaxial material overlying the first electrode member, and to expose a backside of the landing pad, while causing the first trench region to include a first step region and the second trench region to include a second step region, while maintaining a mechanical rib structure between the first trench region and the second trench region; 14.Form backside resonator metal material for the second electrode overlying the exposed portion of the epitaxial material (or piezo membrane) to form a connection from the epitaxial material to the backside of the landing pad metal coupled to the second electrode member overlying the topside landing pad metal; 15.Form resonator active area using a masking and etching process, while electrically and spatially isolating the first electrode member from the second electrode member on the top side, while also fine tuning the resonance capacitor; and 16.Perform other steps, as desired.", "The aforementioned steps are provided for the formation of a resonator device using a single crystal capacitor dielectric.", "As shown, a pair of electrode members is configured to provide for contact from one side of the device.", "One of the electrode members uses a backside contact, which is coupled to a metal stack layer to configure the pair of electrodes.", "Of course, depending upon the embodiment, steps or a step can be added, removed, combined, reordered, or replaced, or has other variations, alternatives, and modifications.", "Further details of the present manufacturing process can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "As shown in FIG.", "14, the method begins by providing a substrate member 1410.The substrate member has a surface region.", "In an example, the substrate member thickness is 400 um, which can have a diameter of 150 mm or 200 mm diameter material, although there can be variations from 50 mm to 300 mm.", "In an example, the surface region of the substrate member is treated.", "The treatment often includes cleaning and/or conditioning.", "In an example, the treatment occurs in an MOCVD or LPCVD reactor with ammonia gas flowing at high temperature (e.g.", "in the range from 940° C. to 1100° C.) at a pressure ranging from one-tenth of an atmosphere to one atmosphere.", "In LPCVD process, dichlorosilane (DCS) is used (with or without the addition of Ammonia) to clean and prepare a surface for single crystal growth.", "Depending upon the embodiment, other treatment processes can also be used.", "In an example, the method includes formation of an epitaxial material comprising single crystal piezo material 1420 overlying the surface region to a desired thickness, as shown.", "Using a configuration of Trimethylgallium (TMG), Trimethylaluminium (TMA), ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen (H2) gases, the epitaxial material is grown under high temperature in the range of 940° C. to 1100° C. in an atmospheric controlled environment using a MOCVD or LPCVD growth apparatus to a thickness ranging from 0.4 um to 7.0 um, depending on target resonance frequency of the capacitor device.", "The material also has a defect density of 104 to 1012 per cm2, although there can be variations.", "In an example, the epitaxial material 1420 is patterned, as shown in FIG.", "15.Patterning involves a masking and etching process.", "The mask is often 1-3 um of photoresist.", "Etching uses chlorine-based chemistries (gases may include BC13, C12, SF6 and/or argon) in an RIE or ICP etch tool, under controlled temperature and pressure conditions to adjust the etch rate and sidewall profile.", "The patterning forms a trench region (or via structure) by causing formation of an exposed portion of the surface region through a pattern provided in the epitaxial material 1421.In an example, the method forms a topside landing pad metal 1430, shown in FIG.", "16, which may include a stack that has a metal layer that reacts slowly with etchants in a backside substrate etching process, as defined below.", "In an example, the metal is a refractory metal (such as tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten) or other metal (such as gold, aluminum, titanium or platinum).", "The metal is used subsequently as a stop region for a backside etch process, as noted.", "In an example, the method forms a topside metal structure, as shown in FIG.", "17.The structure has topside electrode members, including a first electrode member 1441 overlying a portion of the epitaxial material, and a second electrode member 1442 overlying the topside landing pad metal 1430, as shown.", "The metal structure can include an interconnect feed metal 1443 and a metal interconnect 1444.The metal structure is made using a refractory metal (such as tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten), and has a thickness of 300 nm, chosen such, when combined with the piezo material thickness, defines the resonant frequency of the capacitor device.", "Furthermore, FIG.", "18 shows an expanded view with bonding contacts 1440 and overlay metal materials 1445.The method forms a thickness of protecting material 1450, as shown in FIG.", "19.In an example, the method forms a combination of silicon dioxide, which forms a conforming structure, and an overlying silicon nitride capping material.", "The silicon dioxide and silicon nitride materials are formed using a combination of silane, nitrogen and oxygen sources and deposited using a PECVD chamber.", "In an example, the method also may include other steps or other materials, as desirable.", "In an example, the method includes a mask and remove (via etching) to form contact openings.", "That is, selective portions of the passivation material are removed to expose portions of the overlay topside metallization 1445 to form bonding pads.", "As shown, the passivation material has openings for the bonding pads.", "In an example, the method performs backside processing, by flipping the substrate top-side down.", "In an example, the method includes a patterning process of the backside of the substrate.", "The process uses a mask and removal process via etching a portion of the substrate from the backside to form a first trench region exposing a backside of the epitaxial material overlying the first electrode member, and a second trench region exposing a backside of the landing pad metal.", "In an example, etching is performed using chlorine-based or fluorine-based gas in either an RIE or ICP reactor with temperature and pressure defined to control etch rate, selectivity and sidewall slope.", "Referring to the FIGS.", "20-23, the method performs a multiple step backside process.", "As shown, the method includes a mask 1451 and etching process to remove a portion of the substrate 1411 from the backside to form a first trench region exposing a backside of the epitaxial material overlying the first electrode member, and a second trench region exposing a backside of the landing pad metal.", "The mask is then removed.", "The method includes another mask 1452 and etching process, shown in FIG.", "23, to process portions of the backside of the substrate 1411 to expose a backside of the epitaxial material 1421 overlying the first electrode 1441 member, and to expose a backside of the landing pad 1430, while causing the first trench region to include a first step region and the second trench region to include a second step region.", "As shown, the method also maintains a mechanical rib structure 1413 between the first trench region and the second trench region.", "Next in FIG.", "24, the method includes formation of a backside resonator metal material 1446 or backside electrode for the second electrode 1442 overlying the exposed portion of the epitaxial material 1421 (or piezo membrane) to form a connection from the epitaxial material 1420 to the backside of the landing pad metal 1430 coupled to the second electrode member 1442 overlying the topside landing pad metal 1430.As shown, there can be an intentional gap 1414 between the backside electrode 1446 and a portion of the substrate 2512.As shown, the piezo membrane is sandwiched between the pair of electrodes 1441-1442 and 1446, which are configured from the top-side and backside of the substrate member 1412.The member is <111> oriented silicon substrate with a resistivity of greater than 10 ohm-cm.", "In an example, the method forms or patterns the resonator active area using a masking and etching process.", "The end objective is to electrically and spatially isolate the first electrode member from the second electrode member on the top side, while also fine tuning the resonance capacitor.", "In an example, the resonator active area is 200 um by 200 um.", "The patterning uses chlorine-based or fluorine-based RIE or ICP etching technique.", "In an example, the present method can also include one or more of these processes for formation of the upper electrode structures, passivation material, and backside processing.", "In an example, the present substrate including overlying structures can include a surface clean using HCl:H2O (1:1) for a predetermined amount of time, followed by rinse and load into evaporation tool.", "In the evaporation tool to form the electrode metallization, the method includes a molybdenum (Mo) metal (3000 Å) using an e-beam evaporation process technique on a masked and patterned top side of the single crystal piezo material.", "In an example, if desired, a thin titanium adhesion metal (<100 Å) can be deposited prior to formation of the Mo metal.", "Such titanium metal serves as a glue layer, among other features.", "In an example, the method performs a mask and pattern process to define Mo in field areas (leaving Mo in probe pad, coplanar waveguide (CPW) interconnect, top-plate/first electrode, via landing pad/second electrode, and alignment mark areas.", "In an example, titanium-aluminum (100 Å/4 um) is deposited on Mo metal in probe pad and CPW areas.", "In an example, Ti/Al is formed on the landing pad for subsequently deposited copper-tin metal pillars for wafer-level flip-chip package—CuSn pillars and die sawing are deposited.", "In an example, the method forms a dielectric passivation (25 um of spin-on polymer photo-dielectric (ELECTRA WLP SH32-1-1) of top-side surface, or alternatively a combination of SiN or SiO2 is formed overlying the top surface.", "In an example, the method includes patterning to open bond pads and probe pads by exposing photo-dielectric and developing away dielectric material 1450 on pads, as shown in FIG.", "25.The patterning process completes an upper region of the substrate structure, before backside processing is performed.", "Further details of the present method can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIG.", "26A shows an example of the final device 2600 with electrode connections 1461 and 1462 coupled to the bonding pads, and the intrinsic device 1401 marked by the dotted box.", "FIG.", "26B shows device 2602, which is a simplified representation of device 2600, with epitaxial material 2621, a first electrode 2661, a second electrode 2662, and interconnection 2604.FIG.", "26B also shows equivalent circuit 2603 with the interconnection 2604 represented within the dotted box.", "In an example, the substrate is provided on a flip mount wafer and mount (using photoresist) onto a carrier wafer to begin backside process.", "In an example, the backside processing uses a multi-step (e.g., two step) process.", "In an example, the wafer is thinned from about 500 um to about 300 um and less using backside grinding process, which may also include polishing, and cleaning.", "In an example, the backside is coated with masking material, such as photoresist, and patterned to open trench regions for the piezo material and the landing pad regions.", "In an example, the method incudes a shallow etch process into the substrate, which can be silicon for example.", "In an example, the method coats the backside with photoresist to open and expose a backside region of the piezo material, which exposes a full membrane area, which includes enclosed the piezo material and the landing pad areas.", "In an example, the method also performs an etch until the piezo material and the landing pads are exposed.", "In an example, the “rib” support is feature which results from 2-step process, although there can be variations, as further described below.", "In an example, the backside is patterned with photoresist to align the backside pad metal (electrode #2), interconnect and landing pad.", "In an example, the backside is treated using a cleaning process using dilute HCl:H2O (1:1), among other suitable processes.", "In an example, the method also includes deposition of about 3000A of Mo metal in selective areas, provided that the backside of the wafer is patterned with metal in a selective manner and not blanket deposition.", "In an example, the metal is formed in limited areas to reduce parasitic capacitance and enables routing of backside for circuit implementation, which is beneficial for different circuit node interconnections.", "In an example, if desired, a thin titanium adhesion metal (<100 Å) can be deposited prior to Mo as a glue material.", "In an example, the method also includes formation of a dielectric passivation (25 um of spin-on polymer photo-dielectric (e.g., ELECTRA WLP SH32-1-1) of backside side surface for mechanical stability.", "In an example in an alternative example, the method includes deposition of SiN and/or SiO2 to fill the backside trench region to provide suitable protection, isolation, and provide other features, if desired.", "In an example, the method then separates and/or unmounts the completed substrate for transfer into a wafer carrier.", "The completed substrate has the devices, and overlying protection materials.", "In an example, the substrate is now ready for saw and break, and other backend processes such as wafer level packaging, or other techniques.", "Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "FIGS.", "27-32 illustrate a manufacturing method for wafer scale packaging of a wafer comprising a plurality single crystal acoustic resonator devices in an example of the present invention.", "This illustration is merely an example, and should not unduly limit the scope of the claims herein.", "Referring to these Figures, an example of a manufacturing process can be briefly described below: 1.Start; 2.Provide a partially completed semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor substrate comprising one-or-more (N) single crystal acoustic resonator devices, each of the N devices having a first electrode member and a second electrode member, and an overlying passivation material, the N devices being numbered R1, R2, .", ".", ".", "RN-1, and RN; 3.For at least each of R1 and RN, form a repassivation material overlying the passivation material, the repassivation material having a first region exposing the first electrode member and a second region expositing the second electrode member, such as those described in the present specification but can include variations; 4.Form an under metal material overlying the repassivation material and covering the first region and the second region such that the first electrode member and the second electrode member are each in electrical and physical contact with the under metal material; 5.Form a thickness of resist material overlying the under metal material to cause a substantially planarized surface region; 6.Pattern the substantially planarized surface region of the thickness of resist material to expose a first region corresponding to the first electrode member and a second region corresponding to the second electrode member; 7.Fill the first region and the second region using a deposition process to form a first copper pillar structure overlying the first electrode member and a second copper pillar structure overlying the second electrode member; 8.Form a solder material overlying the first copper pillar structure and the second copper pillar structure; 9.Process the thickness of resist material to substantially remove the thickness of resist material and expose the under metal material; 10.Remove any exposed portions of the under metal material; 11.Subject the solder material on the first copper pillar structure and the second copper pillar structure to cause formation of a first solder bump structure overlying the first copper pillar structure and a second solder bump structure overlying the second copper pillar structure for at least each of R1 and RN.", "12.Perform other steps, as desired.", "The aforementioned steps are provided for the formation of a packaged resonator device including a single crystal capacitor dielectric.", "Of course, depending upon the embodiment, steps or a step can be added, removed, combined, reordered, or replaced, or has other variations, alternatives, and modifications.", "Further details of the present manufacturing process can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "Referring to these Figures, the method includes providing a partially completed semiconductor substrate.", "In an example, the semiconductor substrate comprises one-or-more (N) single crystal acoustic resonator devices.", "Each of the N devices has a first electrode member and a second electrode member, and an overlying passivation material.", "In an example, the N devices are numbered R1, R2, .", ".", ".", "RN-1, and RN.", "In an example, the partially completed semiconductor substrate can be the one described in the aforementioned text.", "In an example, for at least each of R1 and RN, the method includes forming a repassivation material 1451 overlying the passivation material, as shown in FIG.", "27.In an example, the repassivation material has a first region exposing the first electrode member and a second region exposing the second electrode member, such as those described in the present specification but can include variations.", "In an example, before depositing the repassivation material, or coating, the method performs a surface cleaning process, such as oxygen (O2) plasma.", "Other cleaning processes include dilute acids (such as HCl:H2O) or ammonia and provide removing of oxides, polymer residue.", "Of course, there can be variations.", "In an example, the repassivation coating 1451 is deposited using suitable techniques.", "In an example, the repassivation coating can be a BCB (Cyclotene 4024-40 material), sold by DOW Chemical or other companies.", "In an example, the coating has a thickness ranging from 1 um to 25 um and is preferably about 5 um, although there can be variations.", "In an example, the method also includes an align, expose, develop, and cure process.", "The method also includes a cleaning process, such as oxygen (O2) plasma.", "Of course, there can be variations.", "As shown, the method includes forming an under metal material 1470 overlying the re-passivation material, as shown in FIG.", "28.In an example, the under metal material 1470 can be sputter deposited or Under-Bump-Metal (UBM) Ti—Cu (100 Å/2000 Å).", "In an example, the method covers the first region and the second region such that the first electrode member 1441 and the second electrode member 1442 are each in electrical and physical contact with the under metal material 1470.In an example, the method includes forming a thickness of resist material 1471 overlying the under metal material 1470 to cause a substantially planarized surface region, as shown in FIG.", "29.In an example, the method includes applying a negative resist mask layer 1471.In an example, the method includes developing and cleaning.", "That is, the method forms a thickness of resist material ranging from 2 um to 10 um, and preferably about 5 um.", "In an example, the method includes patterning the substantially planarized surface region of the thickness of resist material to expose a first region corresponding to the first electrode member and a second region corresponding to the second electrode member.", "In an example, the method includes exposing the resist material using either a UV-radiation stepper or contact aligner to expose the resist material.", "The resist in first region and the second region is developed using AZ 326 MIF chemical.", "In an example, the method includes filling the first region and the second region using a deposition process to form a first copper pillar structure 1472 overlying the first electrode member 1441 and a second copper pillar structure 1472 overlying the second electrode member 1442.In an example, the method includes forming a solder material 1473 overlying the first copper pillar structure 1472 and the second copper pillar structure 1472.In an example, the method processes the thickness of resist material 1471 to substantially remove the thickness of resist material 1471 and expose the under metal material 1451, as shown in FIG.", "30.In an example, the method removes any exposed portions of the under metal material 1470, as shown in FIG.", "31.In an example, the method subjects the solder material on the first copper pillar structure 1472 and the second copper pillar structure 1472 to cause formation of a first solder bump structure 1474 overlying the first copper pillar structure 1472 and a second solder bump structure 1474 overlying the second copper pillar structure 1472 for at least each of R1 and RN.", "The process is shown in FIG.", "32.As shown, the copper and tin is deposited using a plating process.", "The thickness ranges from 20 um to 100 um, while the target thickness of copper is 50 um and 20 um for tin.", "In an example, the bumps are characterized by a pitch between bumps ranging from 50 um to 500 um, and preferably at 175 um, although there are variations.", "FIG.", "33 is a top view diagram of a bumped wafer 3300 to be singulated or processed.", "In an example, the method then separates and/or unmounts the completed substrate for transfer into a wafer or die carrier.", "The completed substrate has the devices, and overlying protection materials.", "In an example, the substrate is now ready for saw and break, and other backend processes such as wafer level packaging, or other techniques.", "Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "In an example, the processed wafer is sawed to singulate each of the chips or each resonator/filter.", "In an example, the wafer is mounted on blue tape, such as Blue Adhesive Plastic Film (PVC) manufactured by Nitto or Minitron.", "In an example, a dimension between each die is called the street width ranging from 20 um to 100 um and having a target is 80 um.", "In an example, the wafer has an M×N array of devices.", "In an example, a saw (or laser) makes N+1 cuts along all the rows in the array, then makes M+1 cuts on each and all of the columns in the array.", "In an example, after the cuts are complete, the blue tape is stretched onto a large round ring to separate the devices/circuits for picking operation.", "Of course, there can be variations.", "FIGS.", "34A to 34C illustrate a side-view, top-view, and bottom view diagrams of the subject resonator device in an example.", "FIG.", "34A shows the side view 3401 of a resonator device.", "As shown, the device has substrate 3410 with an epitaxial layer 3420 formed overlying, which can be a single crystal Group III-Nitride piezo layer.", "The device also includes an interconnect or via structure 3431, first and second electrode member 3441, 3442, a backside electrode member 3443, and copper pillar structures 3474.FIG.", "34B shows the top view 3402 of the same resonator device with six copper pillar structures 3474 configured near an input region and an output region.", "FIG.", "34C shows the back side view 3403, which shows the backside electrode 3443 and the piezo layer 3420.Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "FIGS.", "35 and 36 illustrate an example of mounting the device on a laminate structure 1480, and a molding process.", "These examples shows a bumped single crystal acoustic resonator flip mounted onto a laminate board 1480 with properties characterized by a thickness, dielectric constant.", "Examples of such laminate materials include CX-50, MS46L and, of course, others.", "The laminate material has traces 1481, which can connect between one or more planes in the laminate by a via structure 1482 or the like.", "The traces 1481 are comprised of metal (e.g.", "copper) with plating material such as tin, gold, aluminum, and, of course, others.", "The traces 1481 on the laminate approximately 25 um thick, but can range from 10 um to 100 um.", "The single crystal acoustic resonator is attached to laminate using a combination of temperature and applied force.", "As shown in FIG.", "36, the single crystal acoustic resonator can be exposed or encapsulated 1490 in plastic prior to mounting on laminate.", "The mounted embodiment can either be a single resonator or a filter circuit (consisting or more than one resonator).", "FIGS.", "37 to 54 illustrate a method of manufacturing a resonator device on a transparent substrate in an example.", "This illustration is merely an example, and should not unduly limit the scope of the claims herein.", "As shown, the method can be outlined as follows: 1.Start; 2.Provide a single crystal acoustic resonator device formed on a silicon substrate having a first thickness.", "In an example, the single crystal acoustic resonator device comprises a resonator structure and a contact structure; 3.Form a patterned solder structure configured overlying the single crystal acoustic resonator device and the surface region to form a first air gap region provided from the patterned solder structure and configured between the resonator structure and a first portion of the mounting structure, wherein the first air gap structure having a height of 10 microns to 50 microns, the patterned solder structure having a patterned upper surface region; 4.Form a thickness of an epoxy material overlying the patterned upper surface region, while maintaining the resonator structure free from any of the epoxy material; 5.Position a mounting substrate member to the epoxy material; 6.Cure the epoxy material to mate the single crystal acoustic resonator device to the mounting substrate member.", "In an example, the mounting substrate member is optically transparent, the mounting substrate member comprising a surface region; 7.Process the silicon substrate to remove a portion of the silicon substrate to form a resulting silicon substrate of a second thickness, the second thickness being less than the first thickness, the resulting silicon substrate having a silicon backside region.", "8.Perform other steps, as desired.", "The aforementioned steps are provided for the formation of a packaged resonator device including a single crystal capacitor dielectric.", "Of course, depending upon the embodiment, steps or a step can be added, removed, combined, reordered, or replaced, or has other variations, alternatives, and modifications.", "Further details of the present manufacturing process can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "Referring to FIGS.", "37-40, the method includes providing a single crystal acoustic resonator device 3720 formed on a silicon substrate 3710 having a first thickness, as shown in FIG.", "37.In an example, the substrate has a single crystal piezo material, such as GaN, AlGaN, or AlN.", "The material has a thickness ranging from 0.4 um to 7 um, although there may be variations.", "In an example, a 2 um piezo is optimal thickness for 2 GHz.", "In an example, the substrate can be silicon, sapphire, SiC, among others.", "In an example, the piezo material is configured c-axis up orientation to achieve polarization field.", "In an example, the single crystal acoustic resonator device comprises a resonator structure and a contact structure.", "As shown in FIG.", "38, the substrate 3710 is a silicon substrate, an overlying single crystal piezo material 3720, and an electrode member or backside electrode 3746.In an example, the electrode can be Mo, Ta or other refractory metal, typical thickness is 300 nm, with a range of 30 nm to 4000 nm, although there can be variations.", "In an example, the method includes a mask and etch topside trench to remove piezo material 3720, as shown in FIG.", "39.In an example, the etch process can include a reactive ion etch process using BCl3, Ar gas, SF6 or others.", "In an example, the process uses a PlasmaTherm model 770 ICP-RIE operated at 7mT, 20 sccm Cl2, 8 sccm of BCl3, 5 sccm of Ar at 400 W ICP and 25 W RIE.", "Of course, there can be variations.", "In an example, the method deposits a “Backside” plug metal 3747, as shown.", "The plug metal can include Ti/Al (100 Å/2 um), among others.", "In an example, the metal serves as a “catch pad” for backside contact.", "Referring to FIG.", "41, the method forms a patterned solder material structure or solder dam mask 3730 configured overlying the single crystal acoustic resonator device and the surface region to form a first air gap region 3719 provided from the patterned solder structure 3730 and configured between the resonator structure and a first portion of the mounting structure or mounting substrate member, wherein the first air gap structure or region 3719 having a height of 10 microns to 50 microns.", "In an example, the patterned solder structure has a patterned upper surface region.", "In an example, the method forms a thickness of an epoxy material 3731 overlying the patterned upper surface region, while maintaining the resonator structure free from any of the epoxy material, as shown in FIG.", "42.Referring now to FIG.", "43, the method positions a mounting substrate member 3739 to the epoxy material.", "In an example, the method cures the epoxy material 3731 to mate the single crystal acoustic resonator device to the mounting substrate member 3739.In an example, the mounting substrate member 3739 is optically transparent.", "In an example, the mounting substrate member 3739 comprises a surface region.", "Further, in an example, the mounting substrate 3739 comprises of BF33 or BK7 glass material, and is selected to match temperature coefficient of expansion with the silicon substrate member.", "In an example referring to FIG.", "44, the method processes the silicon substrate to remove a portion of the silicon substrate to form a resulting silicon substrate 3711 of a second thickness, the second thickness being less than the first thickness.", "In an example, the resulting silicon substrate 3711 has a silicon backside region.", "In an example, the method performs a backside via and capacitor etch of the substrate 3712.The etch exposes a portion of the landing pad 3747 and backside of piezo membrane 3721, as shown in FIG.", "45.In an example, the etch can use a SF6 gas enables selective RIE process.", "Of course, there can be other variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "Referring to FIGS.", "46-48, the method forms metallization overlying the thinned substrate member, which can include a first electrode 3741 and second electrode 3742.In an example, the method performs a topside capacitor plate (with the first electrode 3741) and connect landing pad to topside plane (with the second electrode 3742) deposition process.", "In an example, the plate and pad are made of a suitable material such as Mo, Ta or other refractory metal, among combinations thereof.", "In an example, the thickness of such layer ranges from 1000 Å to 10,000 Å, while 3000Å is target thickness, although there can be variations.", "In an example, the layer has a titanium (Ti) cap metal may be used to prevent oxidation of refractory metal.", "In an example, the method can also form via deposition a topside overlay metal material 3745, as shown in FIG.", "47.In an example, the metal has a sufficient thickness for to act as a pad for probing and has low resistance for a high quality interconnect.", "In an example, the interconnect has Ti/Al (100 Å/2 um) as a target thickness, although there can be thicknesses of 0.5 um to 5 um.", "In an example, the method also provides formation of a solder dam mask 3731 or other fill material, which is patterned, as shown in FIG.", "48.The material is configured to protect the surface region from scratches, and has a thickness of 1 um to 50 um and a target thickness of 5 um, while there can be variations.", "Referring now to FIGS.", "49-54, the method performs a bump process.", "In an example, the method includes forming a repassivation material 3751 overlying the solder dam mask material, as shown in FIG.", "49.In an example, the repassivation material has a first region exposing the first electrode member 3761 and a second region exposing the second electrode member 3761.In an example, the method includes forming an under metal material 3770 overlying the repassivation material and covering the first region and the second region such that the first electrode member and the second electrode member are each in electrical and physical contact with the under metal material.", "This is shown in FIG.", "50.In an example, the metal material can be a Ti/Cu seed material, among others.", "In an example, the method includes forming a thickness of resist material 3771 overlying the under metal material 3770 to cause a substantially planarized surface region, as shown in FIG.", "51.The resist material 3771 is developed and surface cleaned.", "In an example, the method includes patterning the substantially planarized surface region of the thickness of resist material 3771 to expose a first region corresponding to the first electrode member 3761 and a second region corresponding to the second electrode member 3762.In an example, the method includes filling the first region and the second region using a deposition process to form a first copper pillar structure 3772 overlying the first electrode member and a second copper pillar structure 3772 overlying the second electrode member.", "In an example, the method includes forming a solder material 3773 overlying the first copper pillar structure 3772 and the second copper pillar structure 3772.The method also processes the thickness of resist material 3771 to substantially remove the thickness of resist material 3771 and expose the under metal material 3770, as shown in FIG.", "52.In an example, the method also removes any exposed portions of the under metal material 3770, as shown in FIG.", "53.The method subjects the solder material on the first copper pillar structure and the second copper pillar structure to cause formation of a first solder bump structure 3774 overlying the first copper pillar structure and a second solder bump structure 3774 overlying the second copper pillar structure.", "This is shown in FIG.", "54.Further details of various resonator device structures can be found throughout the present specification, and more particularly below.", "FIGS.", "55A and 55B is a plurality of resonator devices in an example of the present invention.", "FIG.", "55A shows a configuration 5501 with only 1 contact region containing a through via structure along with 7 resonators to build a seven element filter circuit.", "FIG.", "55B shows an equivalent block diagram 5502.Referring to FIG.", "55A and 55B, the following illustration configures a filter with reduced or even minimal use of vias to save substrate area.", "In an example, the range of values for the present filter configuration is from seven down to one, or a single via (shown right).", "In an example, the present illustration uses the following boundary conditions: (1) Input of R1 and output of R7 are arranged such they are both topside node 1; (2) maximize the number of internal nodes, which use common node, and (3) the common node (bottom of R2, R4, R6) combine at the top surface of the substrate.", "As shown, only a single via is included, which leads to savings in expense, processing, and substrate area.", "Of course, there are multiple examples that can range from the single via to seven vias or more.", "In an example, the second electrodes are shared on a common internal node using a backside connection and metallization.", "In an example, the first electrodes are shared using a top side connection, which couple each of them together.", "In an example, only R4 has a via structure, which couples to the lower common electrode member.", "Of course, there can be variations, modifications, and alternatives.", "In an example, the fewer vias leads to less parasitic capacitance or other loads, and reduces processes, and improves substrate usage, which are beneficial for the manufacture of highly integrated devices.", "FIGS.", "56A to 56D illustrate examples of resonator devices according to embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "56A shows a block configuration 5601 of seven resonator devices configured as a 7-resonator ladder BAW filter circuit.", "FIG.", "56B shows a top view 5602 of the device with copper pillar bump structures 5640.In this embodiment, not every resonator is connected to a bump.", "Internal nodes within the filter circuit can be internally connected and do not require connection through solder bumps.", "FIG.", "56C shows a back-side view 5603 of the same device and FIG.", "56D shows a side view 5604 of the same device.", "As shown, the top view shows a pair of grounds G, G, which relate to the BAW circuit.", "In an example, Sin and Sout are also shown and coupled between R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, and R7, where R2 and R6 coupled to each other to R4 and the via.", "In an example, the back-side is also shown.", "The side view has recessed regions and bulk regions, as shown.", "FIGS.", "57A shows a similar device 5701 with copper pillar bump structures 5740 as shown in FIG.", "56A with a cross-sectional plane marker B-B′.", "FIG.", "57B shows a cross-sectional view 5702 of the device across the B-B′ plane.", "This device includes a substrate 5710, single crystal piezo layer 5720, and copper bumps 5740.FIGS.", "58A shows a similar device 5801 with copper pillar bump structures 5840 as shown in FIG.", "56A with a cross-sectional plane marker C-C′.", "FIG.", "58B shows a cross-sectional view 5802 of the device across the C-C′ plane.", "This device includes a substrate 5810, single crystal piezo layer 5820, and copper bumps 5840.FIG.", "59 illustrates a flip-chip filter on laminate (multi-chip module) according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown, the device 5900 can include a resonator device include a piezo layer 5920 overlying a substrate 5910, which is flipped and coupled to a laminate board 5980 through copper bumps 5940 connected to metal interconnects 5981.FIG.", "60 shows a similar device 6000, but the device is packaged in an encapsulation 5990.FIGS.", "61A to 61D illustrate examples of resonator devices according to embodiments of the present invention.", "FIG.", "61A shows a block configuration 6101 of seven resonator devices configured as a 7-resonator ladder BAW filter circuit on laminate.", "Each of R1-R7 is flip chip single crystal acoustic resonators, which are selected to create a desired filter response.", "FIG.", "61B shows a side view 6102 of the same device.", "FIG.", "61C shows a top view 6103 of the same device with the copper bumps 6140.FIG.", "61D shows a backside view 6104 with the vias being visible and configured with Sin and Sout.", "FIG.", "62 is a simplified plot 6200 of insertion loss (also referred to as S21, transmission gain, or insertion gain) plotted against frequency in an example.", "The plot is a characteristic loss added by encapsulating the bumped resonator (or filter circuit) with plastic material.", "As shown, microwave s-parameter can be measured for the flip chip resonator (device or filter circuit).", "In an example, delta S21 is an insertion loss of the device in flip chip configuration (open air).", "For a good solution the difference between S21,p and S21,fc (defined as deltaS21) is less than the plot below.", "Of course, there can be other examples, and alternatives.", "While the above is a full description of the specific embodiments, various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may be used.", "As an example, the packaged device can include any combination of elements described above, as well as outside of the present specification.", "As used herein, the term “substrate” can mean the bulk substrate or can include overlying growth structures such as a gallium and nitrogen containing epitaxial region, or functional regions, combinations, and the like.", "Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874815
[ [ "Devices and Methods for Processing and Disambiguating Touch Inputs Using Intensity Thresholds Based on Prior Input Intensity", "An electronic device detects a change in intensity of an input on an input element that includes detecting an increase in intensity followed by a decrease in intensity, and determines whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, which require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met.", "The first up-click intensity threshold is time varying, in accordance with the detected intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "If the first decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria, first feedback is provided, indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click, and if the first decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, the first feedback is not provided." ], [ "1.A method comprising: at an electronic device with a display and an intensity sensitive input element for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element: detecting a first increase in intensity of an input on the input element that meets down-click detection criteria; after detecting the first increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detecting a first decrease in intensity of the contact; in response to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input: determining whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, wherein: for the first decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met, and; the first up-click intensity threshold is time varying, in accordance with the detected intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the input; in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, providing first feedback indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click; and in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, forgoing providing the first feedback.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein, for the first increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input increase above a first down-click intensity threshold in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met; and the method includes: after determining that the first decrease in intensity meets the up-click detection criteria, detecting a second increase in intensity of the input; and in response to detecting the second increase in intensity of the input: in accordance with a determination that the second increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click detection criteria, providing second feedback indicating that the second increase in intensity was recognized as part of a double-click input, wherein: for the second increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input increase above a second down-click intensity threshold in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met; and the second down-click intensity threshold is time varying, in accordance with the detected intensity of the input during the second increase in intensity of the contact that is detected after the first decrease in intensity of the input; and in accordance with a determination that the second increase in intensity of the input does not meet the down-click detection criteria, forgoing providing the second feedback.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the second down-click intensity threshold is time varying in accordance with a low pass filtering of the detected intensity of the input during the second increase in intensity of the contact that is detected after the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "4.The method of claim 2, including, after detecting the second increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detecting a second decrease in intensity of the contact; in response to detecting the second decrease in intensity of the input: in accordance with a determination that the second decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria, providing third feedback indicating that the second decrease in intensity was recognized as an up-click input, wherein: for the second decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a second up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met; and the second up-click intensity threshold is selected based on the intensity of the input during the second increase in intensity of the contact; and in accordance with a determination that the second decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, forgoing providing the third feedback.", "5.The method of claim 2, further comprising generating a same second tactile output in conjunction with multiple instances of detecting that the first decrease in intensity of an input detected on the input element meets the up-click detection criteria, including instances in which the up-click detection criteria is associated with different up-click intensity thresholds.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein for the first increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input increase above a first down-click intensity threshold in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the input on the input element comprises an input on a touch-sensitive surface.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the first up-click intensity threshold is time varying in accordance with a low pass filtering of the detected intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "9.The method of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact changes based on the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact such that: when the up-click intensity is based on a first intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the first intensity value has a first value; and when the up-click intensity is based on a second intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact that is greater than the first intensity value, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the second intensity value has a second value that is different from the first value.", "10.The method of claim 9, wherein the magnitude of the up-click intensity threshold is set by multiplying the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact by an adjustment value that is determined based at least in part on the magnitude of the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact.", "11.The method of claim 9, wherein the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact changes in accordance with a maximum characteristic intensity of the input.", "12.The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies smoothly from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies between the first intensity value and the second intensity value, wherein the first intensity value is less than the second intensity value.", "13.The method of claim 1, wherein the up-click intensity threshold is no less than a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold.", "14.The method of claim 1, wherein the up-click intensity threshold is determined in accordance with a multiplier, having a value greater than zero and less than one, applied to a characteristic intensity of the input.", "15.The method of claim 5, wherein the multiplier changes in accordance with the characteristic intensity of the input.", "16.The method of claim 5, wherein the multiplier smoothly varies from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the characteristic intensity of the input varies between a first intensity value and a second intensity value, wherein the first intensity value is less than the second intensity value.", "17.The method of claim 1, wherein the up-click intensity threshold is the greater of a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold and a value determined in accordance with a multiplier, having a value greater than zero and less than one, applied to a characteristic intensity of the input.", "18.The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a first tactile output in conjunction with detecting that the increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click detection criteria.", "19.The method of claim 9, further comprising generating a second tactile output in conjunction with detecting that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria.", "20.The method of claim 1, further comprising generating, in response to detecting the increase in intensity of the input on the input element that meets the down-click detection criteria, a response that is displayed on the display of the electronic device.", "21.The method of claim 1, wherein providing the first feedback includes generating a response that is displayed on the display of the electronic device.", "22.The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a same first tactile output in conjunction with multiple instances of detecting that the increase in intensity of an input detected on the input element meets the down-click detection criteria, including instances in which the down-click detection criteria is associated with different down-click intensity thresholds.", "23.An electronic device, comprising: a display; an intensity sensitive input element for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element; one or more processors; memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: detecting a first increase in intensity of an input on the input element that meets down-click detection criteria; after detecting the first increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detecting a first decrease in intensity of the contact; in response to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input: determining whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, wherein: for the first decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met, and; the first up-click intensity threshold is time varying, in accordance with the detected intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the input; and in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, providing first feedback indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click; and in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, forgoing providing the first feedback.", "24.A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device with a display, and an intensity sensitive input element for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element, cause the device to: detect a first increase in intensity of an input on the input element that meets down-click detection criteria; after detecting the first increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detect a first decrease in intensity of the contact; in response to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input: determine whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, wherein: for the first decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met, and; the first up-click intensity threshold is time varying, in accordance with the detected intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the input; and in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, provide first feedback indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click; and in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, forgo providing the first feedback." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The use of intensity sensitive input elements, including but not limited to touch-sensitive surfaces, as input devices for computers and other electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recent years.", "Exemplary intensity sensitive input elements include buttons that include a contact intensity sensor, and touchpads and touch-screen displays that include contact intensity sensors.", "Touch inputs on such surfaces are used to manipulate user interfaces and user interface objects on a display.", "Exemplary user interface objects include digital images, video, text, icons, control elements such as buttons and other graphics.", "Exemplary manipulations include adjusting the position and/or size of one or more user interface objects or activating buttons or opening files/applications represented by user interface objects, scrolling or changing user interfaces within an application or otherwise manipulating user interfaces.", "Certain manipulations of user interface objects or user interfaces are associated with certain types of touch inputs, which are referred to as gestures.", "Conventional methods and interfaces for processing touch inputs are inefficient in disambiguating certain touch inputs to determine intended gestures and intended manipulations of user interface objects.", "Thus, it would be desirable to have a framework for improved processing and disambiguation of touch inputs." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Accordingly, there is a need for electronic devices with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for processing and disambiguating touch inputs.", "Such methods and interfaces optionally complement or replace conventional methods for processing and disambiguating touch inputs.", "Such methods and interfaces reduce the number, extent, and/or nature of the inputs from a user and produce a more efficient human-machine interface.", "For battery-operated devices, such methods and interfaces conserve power and increase the time between battery charges.", "The above deficiencies and other problems associated with user interfaces for electronic devices with touch-sensitive surfaces are reduced or eliminated by the disclosed devices.", "In some embodiments, the device is a desktop computer.", "In some embodiments, the device is portable (e.g., a notebook computer, tablet computer, or handheld device).", "In some embodiments, the device is a personal electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device, such as a watch).", "In some embodiments, the device has a touchpad.", "In some embodiments, the device has a touch-sensitive display (also known as a “touch screen” or “touch-screen display”).", "In some embodiments, the device has a graphical user interface (GUI), one or more processors, memory and one or more modules, programs or sets of instructions stored in the memory for performing multiple functions.", "In some embodiments, the user interacts with the GUI primarily through stylus and/or finger contacts and gestures on the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, the functions optionally include image editing, drawing, presenting, word processing, spreadsheet making, game playing, telephoning, video conferencing, e-mailing, instant messaging, workout support, digital photographing, digital videoing, web browsing, digital music playing, note taking, and/or digital video playing.", "Executable instructions for performing these functions are, optionally, included in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium or other computer program product configured for execution by one or more processors.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a method, which is performed at an electronic device with a display and an intensity sensitive input element (e.g., a hardware button, a touch-sensitive surface, or a region of a device that is associated with one or more intensity sensors) for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element, includes detecting a first increase in intensity of an input on the input element that meets a down-click detection criteria, and after detecting the first increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detecting a first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "The method further includes determining whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, wherein: for the first decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met, and the first up-click intensity threshold is selected based on the intensity of the input during the increase in intensity of the contact that was detected prior to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "The method also includes, in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, providing first feedback indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click input, and in accordance with a determination that the decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, forgoing providing the first feedback.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a method, which is performed at an electronic device with a display and an intensity sensitive input element (e.g., a hardware button, a touch-sensitive surface, or a region of a device that is associated with one or more intensity sensors) for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element, includes detecting a change in intensity of an input on the input element that includes an increase in intensity of the input on the input element followed by a decrease in intensity of the input on the input element; recognizing at least a portion of the change in intensity of the input as a first input event that is associated with a first operation; and after recognizing the first input event, delaying performance of the first operation while monitoring subsequent changes in intensity of the input for a second input event, wherein the delay is limited by a default delay time period.", "The method further includes, after delaying performance of the first operation: in accordance with a determination that the second input event has been recognized before the default delay time period has elapsed, performing a second operation and forgoing performance of the first operation; in accordance with a determination that early-confirmation criteria for the first input event have been met before the default delay time period has elapsed without the second input event being recognized, performing the first operation before the default delay time period has elapsed; and in accordance with a determination that the default delay time period has elapsed without the early-confirmation criteria for the first input event being met and without the second input event being recognized, performing the first operation once the default delay time period has elapsed.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a method, which is performed at an electronic device with a display and an intensity sensitive input element (e.g., a hardware button, a touch-sensitive surface, or a region of a device that is associated with one or more intensity sensors) for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element, includes detecting an input sequence that includes an increase in intensity of an input that corresponds to a first input event.", "The method further includes, in response to detecting the input sequence: in accordance with a determination that a second input event, including a decrease in intensity of the input after the first input event, is detected within a first time period after the first input event is detected, performing a first operation.", "The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the second input event is not detected within a second time period that is longer than the first time period and that the input had a characteristic intensity above a respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, performing a second operation once the second time period has elapsed, wherein the second time period is determined based at least in part on an intensity of the input after the first input event is detected.", "The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the second input event is not detected within a third time period that is longer than the second time period and that the input did not have a characteristic intensity above the respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, performing the second operation once the third time period has elapsed.", "In accordance with some embodiments, an electronic device includes a display, a touch-sensitive surface, optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs; the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and the one or more programs include instructions for performing or causing performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a computer readable storage medium has stored therein instructions which when executed by an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to perform or cause performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a graphical user interface on an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory includes one or more of the elements displayed in any of the methods described herein, which are updated in response to inputs, as described in any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, an electronic device includes: a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface; and means for performing or causing performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, an information processing apparatus, for use in an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, and optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, includes means for performing or causing performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "Thus, electronic devices with displays, one or more touch-sensitive surfaces and one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface are provided with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for processing and disambiguating touch inputs, thereby increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction with such devices.", "Such methods and interfaces may complement or replace conventional methods for processing and disambiguating touch inputs." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/270,789, filed Sep. 20, 2016, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "62/384,053, filed Sep. 6, 2016, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.", "TECHNICAL FIELD This relates generally to electronic devices with one or more intensity sensitive input elements, including but not limited to electronic devices with touch-sensitive displays and optionally other input elements to detect intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surfaces.", "BACKGROUND The use of intensity sensitive input elements, including but not limited to touch-sensitive surfaces, as input devices for computers and other electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recent years.", "Exemplary intensity sensitive input elements include buttons that include a contact intensity sensor, and touchpads and touch-screen displays that include contact intensity sensors.", "Touch inputs on such surfaces are used to manipulate user interfaces and user interface objects on a display.", "Exemplary user interface objects include digital images, video, text, icons, control elements such as buttons and other graphics.", "Exemplary manipulations include adjusting the position and/or size of one or more user interface objects or activating buttons or opening files/applications represented by user interface objects, scrolling or changing user interfaces within an application or otherwise manipulating user interfaces.", "Certain manipulations of user interface objects or user interfaces are associated with certain types of touch inputs, which are referred to as gestures.", "Conventional methods and interfaces for processing touch inputs are inefficient in disambiguating certain touch inputs to determine intended gestures and intended manipulations of user interface objects.", "Thus, it would be desirable to have a framework for improved processing and disambiguation of touch inputs.", "SUMMARY Accordingly, there is a need for electronic devices with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for processing and disambiguating touch inputs.", "Such methods and interfaces optionally complement or replace conventional methods for processing and disambiguating touch inputs.", "Such methods and interfaces reduce the number, extent, and/or nature of the inputs from a user and produce a more efficient human-machine interface.", "For battery-operated devices, such methods and interfaces conserve power and increase the time between battery charges.", "The above deficiencies and other problems associated with user interfaces for electronic devices with touch-sensitive surfaces are reduced or eliminated by the disclosed devices.", "In some embodiments, the device is a desktop computer.", "In some embodiments, the device is portable (e.g., a notebook computer, tablet computer, or handheld device).", "In some embodiments, the device is a personal electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device, such as a watch).", "In some embodiments, the device has a touchpad.", "In some embodiments, the device has a touch-sensitive display (also known as a “touch screen” or “touch-screen display”).", "In some embodiments, the device has a graphical user interface (GUI), one or more processors, memory and one or more modules, programs or sets of instructions stored in the memory for performing multiple functions.", "In some embodiments, the user interacts with the GUI primarily through stylus and/or finger contacts and gestures on the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, the functions optionally include image editing, drawing, presenting, word processing, spreadsheet making, game playing, telephoning, video conferencing, e-mailing, instant messaging, workout support, digital photographing, digital videoing, web browsing, digital music playing, note taking, and/or digital video playing.", "Executable instructions for performing these functions are, optionally, included in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium or other computer program product configured for execution by one or more processors.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a method, which is performed at an electronic device with a display and an intensity sensitive input element (e.g., a hardware button, a touch-sensitive surface, or a region of a device that is associated with one or more intensity sensors) for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element, includes detecting a first increase in intensity of an input on the input element that meets a down-click detection criteria, and after detecting the first increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detecting a first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "The method further includes determining whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, wherein: for the first decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met, and the first up-click intensity threshold is selected based on the intensity of the input during the increase in intensity of the contact that was detected prior to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "The method also includes, in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, providing first feedback indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click input, and in accordance with a determination that the decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, forgoing providing the first feedback.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a method, which is performed at an electronic device with a display and an intensity sensitive input element (e.g., a hardware button, a touch-sensitive surface, or a region of a device that is associated with one or more intensity sensors) for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element, includes detecting a change in intensity of an input on the input element that includes an increase in intensity of the input on the input element followed by a decrease in intensity of the input on the input element; recognizing at least a portion of the change in intensity of the input as a first input event that is associated with a first operation; and after recognizing the first input event, delaying performance of the first operation while monitoring subsequent changes in intensity of the input for a second input event, wherein the delay is limited by a default delay time period.", "The method further includes, after delaying performance of the first operation: in accordance with a determination that the second input event has been recognized before the default delay time period has elapsed, performing a second operation and forgoing performance of the first operation; in accordance with a determination that early-confirmation criteria for the first input event have been met before the default delay time period has elapsed without the second input event being recognized, performing the first operation before the default delay time period has elapsed; and in accordance with a determination that the default delay time period has elapsed without the early-confirmation criteria for the first input event being met and without the second input event being recognized, performing the first operation once the default delay time period has elapsed.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a method, which is performed at an electronic device with a display and an intensity sensitive input element (e.g., a hardware button, a touch-sensitive surface, or a region of a device that is associated with one or more intensity sensors) for detecting intensity of user inputs with the input element, includes detecting an input sequence that includes an increase in intensity of an input that corresponds to a first input event.", "The method further includes, in response to detecting the input sequence: in accordance with a determination that a second input event, including a decrease in intensity of the input after the first input event, is detected within a first time period after the first input event is detected, performing a first operation.", "The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the second input event is not detected within a second time period that is longer than the first time period and that the input had a characteristic intensity above a respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, performing a second operation once the second time period has elapsed, wherein the second time period is determined based at least in part on an intensity of the input after the first input event is detected.", "The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the second input event is not detected within a third time period that is longer than the second time period and that the input did not have a characteristic intensity above the respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, performing the second operation once the third time period has elapsed.", "In accordance with some embodiments, an electronic device includes a display, a touch-sensitive surface, optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, one or more processors, memory, and one or more programs; the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors and the one or more programs include instructions for performing or causing performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a computer readable storage medium has stored therein instructions which when executed by an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to perform or cause performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, a graphical user interface on an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, a memory, and one or more processors to execute one or more programs stored in the memory includes one or more of the elements displayed in any of the methods described herein, which are updated in response to inputs, as described in any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, an electronic device includes: a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface; and means for performing or causing performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "In accordance with some embodiments, an information processing apparatus, for use in an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, and optionally one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, includes means for performing or causing performance of the operations of any of the methods described herein.", "Thus, electronic devices with displays, one or more touch-sensitive surfaces and one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface are provided with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for processing and disambiguating touch inputs, thereby increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction with such devices.", "Such methods and interfaces may complement or replace conventional methods for processing and disambiguating touch inputs.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the various described embodiments, reference should be made to the Description of Embodiments below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.", "FIG.", "1A is a block diagram illustrating a portable multifunction device with a touch-sensitive display in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIG.", "1B is a block diagram illustrating example components for event handling in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIG.", "1C is a block diagram illustrating a tactile output module in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a portable multifunction device having a touch screen in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "2B-2C show exploded views of an intensity-sensitive input device in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of an example multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIG.", "4A illustrates an example user interface for a menu of applications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIG.", "4B illustrates an example user interface for a multifunction device with a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "4C-4E illustrate examples of dynamic intensity thresholds in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "4F-4G illustrate a set of sample tactile output patterns in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "5A-5II illustrate example user interfaces and a variety of timeout periods and intensity thresholds used for detecting gestures in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "6A-6F are flow diagrams illustrating a method of processing and disambiguating touch inputs in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "7A-7E are flow diagrams illustrating a method of processing and disambiguating touch inputs in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "8A-8C are flow diagrams illustrating a method of processing and disambiguating touch inputs in accordance with some embodiments.", "FIGS.", "9-11 are functional block diagrams of an electronic device in accordance with some embodiments.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In electronic devices that display graphical user interfaces and have an intensity sensitive input element, it is challenging to both accurately and quickly detect and distinguish between multiple distinct gestures, such as a deep press gesture, a long press gesture, a single click gesture, a double click gesture, and possible a triple click gesture.", "Such gestures involve an input having time varying intensity.", "Distinguishing between such gestures requires analysis of both the intensity of an input on the input element, as well as analysis of timing aspects or features of the input.", "Furthermore, some users have a “heavier touch” than others, putting more pressure, on average, than other users.", "Similarly, some users enter gestures at higher speed than other users.", "Despite these different patters or styles of user inputs, the electronic device needs to accurately discern user intent, and must do so with low latency, so that the operations the user is requesting or commanding occur quickly in response to the user's touch inputs.", "In some embodiments, to achieve such accuracy and touch input processing performance, one or more intensity thresholds, used for detecting a gesture or portions of a gesture, vary in accordance with the intensity of the user's input during one or more preceding portions of the gesture.", "Furthermore, in some embodiments, to achieve such accuracy and touch input processing performance, one or more time periods used in the analysis of a touch input varies in accordance with the intensity of the touch input, thereby enabling faster recognition of certain gestures when predefined criteria are satisfied.", "In another aspect, haptic feedback, also called tactile outputs, can be used to facilitate user input, confirm the recognition of various user inputs, and alert the user to the occurrence of various events, various input conditions, and the like.", "As the number and complexity of haptic feedback events in a device increases, it becomes important to ensure that specific tactile outputs be consistently generated, even when the detection criteria for triggering those tactile outputs vary (e.g., the detection criteria for triggering a long press tactile output may differ from one application to another, or from one context in an application to another context in the same application).", "Below, FIGS.", "1A-1B, 2, and 3 provide a description of example devices.", "FIGS.", "4A-4B, and 5A-51I illustrate example user interfaces of an electronic device configured to monitor an input on an intensity sensitive input element and detect various events, such as up-clicks, down-clicks, single clicks, double clicks, deep press inputs, and long press inputs, using a variety of input intensity criteria and timing criteria for fast and efficient determination of user inputs.", "FIGS.", "6A-6F illustrate a flow diagram of a method of monitoring an input on an intensity sensitive input element, and detecting an up-click and/or a down-click in the monitored input using one or more intensity thresholds that are based on prior input intensity of the input.", "FIGS.", "7A-7E illustrate a flow diagram of a method of monitoring changes in intensity of an input and applying early-confirmation criteria for recognizing single click inputs, as distinguished from double click inputs, on an expedited basis.", "FIGS.", "8A-8C illustrate a flow diagram of a method of monitoring changes in intensity of an input and applying intensity-sensitive criteria for recognizing long press inputs on an expedited basis.", "The user interfaces in FIGS.", "5A-5N are used to illustrate the processes in FIGS.", "6A-6F.", "The user interfaces in FIGS.", "5O-5Y are used to illustrate the processes in FIGS.", "7A-7E.", "The user interfaces in FIGS.", "5Z-5II are used to illustrate the processes in FIGS.", "8A-8C.", "Example Devices Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.", "In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described embodiments.", "However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.", "In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.", "It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.", "are, in some instances, used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.", "For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of the various described embodiments.", "The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "The terminology used in the description of the various described embodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.", "As used in the description of the various described embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.", "As used herein, the term “if” is, optionally, construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” depending on the context.", "Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [a stated condition or event] is detected” is, optionally, construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [the stated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the stated condition or event],” depending on the context.", "Embodiments of electronic devices, user interfaces for such devices, and associated processes for using such devices are described.", "In some embodiments, the device is a portable communications device, such as a mobile telephone, that also contains other functions, such as PDA and/or music player functions.", "Example embodiments of portable multifunction devices include, without limitation, the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Other portable electronic devices, such as laptops or tablet computers with touch-sensitive surfaces (e.g., touch-screen displays and/or touchpads), are, optionally, used.", "It should also be understood that, in some embodiments, the device is not a portable communications device, but is a desktop computer with a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch-screen display and/or a touchpad).", "In the discussion that follows, an electronic device that includes a display and a touch-sensitive surface is described.", "It should be understood, however, that the electronic device optionally includes one or more other physical user-interface devices, such as a physical keyboard, a mouse and/or a joystick.", "The device typically supports a variety of applications, such as one or more of the following: a note taking application, a drawing application, a presentation application, a word processing application, a website creation application, a disk authoring application, a spreadsheet application, a gaming application, a telephone application, a video conferencing application, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, a workout support application, a photo management application, a digital camera application, a digital video camera application, a web browsing application, a digital music player application, and/or a digital video player application.", "The various applications that are executed on the device optionally use at least one common physical user-interface device, such as the touch-sensitive surface.", "One or more functions of the touch-sensitive surface as well as corresponding information displayed on the device are, optionally, adjusted and/or varied from one application to the next and/or within a respective application.", "In this way, a common physical architecture (such as the touch-sensitive surface) of the device optionally supports the variety of applications with user interfaces that are intuitive and transparent to the user.", "Attention is now directed toward embodiments of portable devices with touch-sensitive displays.", "FIG.", "1A is a block diagram illustrating portable multifunction device 100 with touch-sensitive display system 112 in accordance with some embodiments.", "Touch-sensitive display system 112 is sometimes called a “touch screen” for convenience, and is sometimes simply called a touch-sensitive display.", "Device 100 includes memory 102 (which optionally includes one or more computer readable storage mediums), memory controller 122, one or more processing units (CPUs) 120, peripherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, input/output (I/O) subsystem 106, other input or control devices 116, and external port 124.Device 100 optionally includes one or more optical sensors 164.Device 100 optionally includes one or more intensity sensors 165 for detecting intensity of contacts on device 100 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive display system 112 of device 100).", "Device 100 optionally includes one or more tactile output generators 167 for generating tactile outputs on device 100 (e.g., generating tactile outputs on a touch-sensitive surface such as touch-sensitive display system 112 of device 100 or touchpad 355 of device 300).", "These components optionally communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines 103.As used in the specification and claims, the term “tactile output” refers to physical displacement of a device relative to a previous position of the device, physical displacement of a component (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface) of a device relative to another component (e.g., housing) of the device, or displacement of the component relative to a center of mass of the device that will be detected by a user with the user's sense of touch.", "For example, in situations where the device or the component of the device is in contact with a surface of a user that is sensitive to touch (e.g., a finger, palm, or other part of a user's hand), the tactile output generated by the physical displacement will be interpreted by the user as a tactile sensation corresponding to a perceived change in physical characteristics of the device or the component of the device.", "For example, movement of a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a touch-sensitive display or trackpad) is, optionally, interpreted by the user as a “down click” or “up click” of a physical actuator button.", "In some cases, a user will feel a tactile sensation such as an “down click” or “up click” even when there is no movement of a physical actuator button associated with the touch-sensitive surface that is physically pressed (e.g., displaced) by the user's movements.", "As another example, movement of the touch-sensitive surface is, optionally, interpreted or sensed by the user as “roughness” of the touch-sensitive surface, even when there is no change in smoothness of the touch-sensitive surface.", "While such interpretations of touch by a user will be subject to the individualized sensory perceptions of the user, there are many sensory perceptions of touch that are common to a large majority of users.", "Thus, when a tactile output is described as corresponding to a particular sensory perception of a user (e.g., an “up click,” a “down click,” “roughness”), unless otherwise stated, the generated tactile output corresponds to physical displacement of the device or a component thereof that will generate the described sensory perception for a typical (or average) user.", "Using tactile outputs to provide haptic feedback to a user enhances the operability of the device and makes the user-device interface more efficient (e.g., by helping the user to provide proper inputs and reducing user mistakes when operating/interacting with the device) which, additionally, reduces power usage and improves battery life of the device by enabling the user to use the device more quickly and efficiently.", "In some embodiments, a tactile output pattern specifies characteristics of a tactile output, such as the amplitude of the tactile output, the shape of a movement waveform of the tactile output, the frequency of the tactile output, and/or the duration of the tactile output.", "When tactile outputs with different tactile output patterns are generated by a device (e.g., via one or more tactile output generators that move a moveable mass to generate tactile outputs), the tactile outputs may invoke different haptic sensations in a user holding or touching the device.", "While the sensation of the user is based on the user's perception of the tactile output, most users will be able to identify changes in waveform, frequency, and amplitude of tactile outputs generated by the device.", "Thus, the waveform, frequency and amplitude can be adjusted to indicate to the user that different operations have been performed.", "As such, tactile outputs with tactile output patterns that are designed, selected, and/or engineered to simulate characteristics (e.g., size, material, weight, stiffness, smoothness, etc.", "); behaviors (e.g., oscillation, displacement, acceleration, rotation, expansion, etc.", "); and/or interactions (e.g., collision, adhesion, repulsion, attraction, friction, etc.)", "of objects in a given environment (e.g., a user interface that includes graphical features and objects, a simulated physical environment with virtual boundaries and virtual objects, a real physical environment with physical boundaries and physical objects, and/or a combination of any of the above) will, in some circumstances, provide helpful feedback to users that reduces input errors and increases the efficiency of the user's operation of the device.", "Additionally, tactile outputs are, optionally, generated to correspond to feedback that is unrelated to a simulated physical characteristic, such as an input threshold or a selection of an object.", "Such tactile outputs will, in some circumstances, provide helpful feedback to users that reduces input errors and increases the efficiency of the user's operation of the device.", "In some embodiments, a tactile output with a suitable tactile output pattern serves as a cue for the occurrence of an event of interest in a user interface or behind the scenes in a device.", "Examples of the events of interest include activation of an affordance (e.g., a real or virtual button, or toggle switch) provided on the device or in a user interface, success or failure of a requested operation, reaching or crossing a boundary in a user interface, entry into a new state, switching of input focus between objects, activation of a new mode, reaching or crossing an input threshold, detection or recognition of a type of input or gesture, etc.", "In some embodiments, tactile outputs are provided to serve as a warning or an alert for an impending event or outcome that would occur unless a redirection or interruption input is timely detected.", "Tactile outputs are also used in other contexts to enrich the user experience, improve the accessibility of the device to users with visual or motor difficulties or other accessibility needs, and/or improve efficiency and functionality of the user interface and/or the device.", "Tactile outputs are optionally accompanied with audio outputs and/or visible user interface changes, which further enhance a user's experience when the user interacts with a user interface and/or the device, and facilitate better conveyance of information regarding the state of the user interface and/or the device, and which reduce input errors and increase the efficiency of the user's operation of the device.", "FIG.", "4F provides a set of sample tactile output patterns that may be used, either individually or in combination, either as is or through one or more transformations (e.g., modulation, amplification, truncation, etc.", "), to create suitable haptic feedback in various scenarios and for various purposes, such as those mentioned above and those described with respect to the user interfaces and methods discussed herein.", "This example of a palette of tactile outputs shows how a set of three waveforms and eight frequencies can be used to produce an array of tactile output patterns.", "In addition to the tactile output patterns shown in this figure, each of these tactile output patterns is optionally adjusted in amplitude by changing a gain value for the tactile output pattern, as shown, for example for FullTap 80 Hz, FullTap 200 Hz, MiniTap 80 Hz, MiniTap 200 Hz, MicroTap 80 Hz, and MicroTap 200 Hz in FIG.", "4G, which are each shown with variants having a gain of 1.0, 0.75, 0.5, and 0.25.As shown in FIG.", "4G, changing the gain of a tactile output pattern changes the amplitude of the pattern without changing the frequency of the pattern or changing the shape of the waveform.", "In some embodiments, changing the frequency of a tactile output pattern also results in a lower amplitude as some tactile output generators are limited by how much force can be applied to the moveable mass and thus higher frequency movements of the mass are constrained to lower amplitudes to ensure that the acceleration needed to create the waveform does not require force outside of an operational force range of the tactile output generator (e.g., the peak amplitudes of the FullTap at 230 Hz, 270 Hz, and 300 Hz are lower than the amplitudes of the FullTap at 80 Hz, 100 Hz, 125 Hz, and 200 Hz).", "In FIG.", "4F, each column shows tactile output patterns that have a particular waveform.", "The waveform of a tactile output pattern represents the pattern of physical displacements relative to a neutral position (e.g., xzero) versus time that an moveable mass goes through to generate a tactile output with that tactile output pattern.", "For example, a first set of tactile output patterns shown in the left column in FIG.", "4F (e.g., tactile output patterns of a “FullTap”) each have a waveform that includes an oscillation with two complete cycles (e.g., an oscillation that starts and ends in a neutral position and crosses the neutral position three times).", "A second set of tactile output patterns shown in the middle column in FIG.", "4F (e.g., tactile output patterns of a “MiniTap”) each have a waveform that includes an oscillation that includes one complete cycle (e.g., an oscillation that starts and ends in a neutral position and crosses the neutral position one time).", "A third set of tactile output patterns shown in the right column in FIG.", "4F (e.g., tactile output patterns of a “MicroTap”) each have a waveform that includes an oscillation that include one half of a complete cycle (e.g., an oscillation that starts and ends in a neutral position and does not cross the neutral position).", "The waveform of a tactile output pattern also includes a start buffer and an end buffer that represent the gradual speeding up and slowing down of the moveable mass at the start and at the end of the tactile output.", "The example waveforms shown in FIG.", "4F-4G include xmin and xmax values which represent the maximum and minimum extent of movement of the moveable mass.", "For larger electronic devices with larger moveable masses, there may be larger or smaller minimum and maximum extents of movement of the mass.", "The example shown in FIGS.", "4F-4G describes movement of a mass in 1 dimension, however similar principles would also apply to movement of a moveable mass in two or three dimensions.", "As shown in FIG.", "4F, each tactile output pattern also has a corresponding characteristic frequency that affects the “pitch” of a haptic sensation that is felt by a user from a tactile output with that characteristic frequency.", "For a continuous tactile output, the characteristic frequency represents the number of cycles that are completed within a given period of time (e.g., cycles per second) by the moveable mass of the tactile output generator.", "For a discrete tactile output, a discrete output signal (e.g., with 0.5, 1, or 2 cycles) is generated, and the characteristic frequency value specifies how fast the moveable mass needs to move to generate a tactile output with that characteristic frequency.", "As shown in FIG.", "4F, for each type of tactile output (e.g., as defined by a respective waveform, such as FullTap, MiniTap, or MicroTap), a higher frequency value corresponds to faster movement(s) by the moveable mass, and hence, in general, a shorter time to complete the tactile output (e.g., including the time to complete the required number of cycle(s) for the discrete tactile output, plus a start and an end buffer time).", "For example, a FullTap with a characteristic frequency of 80 Hz takes longer to complete than FullTap with a characteristic frequency of 100 Hz (e.g., 35.4 ms vs. 28.3 ms in FIG.", "4F).", "In addition, for a given frequency, a tactile output with more cycles in its waveform at a respective frequency takes longer to complete than a tactile output with fewer cycles its waveform at the same respective frequency.", "For example, a FullTap at 150 Hz takes longer to complete than a MiniTap at 150 Hz (e.g., 19.4 ms vs. 12.8 ms), and a MiniTap at 150 Hz takes longer to complete than a MicroTap at 150 Hz (e.g., 12.8 ms vs. 9.4 ms).", "However, for tactile output patterns with different frequencies this rule may not apply (e.g., tactile outputs with more cycles but a higher frequency may take a shorter amount of time to complete than tactile outputs with fewer cycles but a lower frequency, and vice versa).", "For example, at 300 Hz, a FullTap takes as long as a MiniTap (e.g., 9.9 ms).", "As shown in FIG.", "4F, a tactile output pattern also has a characteristic amplitude that affects the amount of energy that is contained in a tactile signal, or a “strength” of a haptic sensation that may be felt by a user through a tactile output with that characteristic amplitude.", "In some embodiments, the characteristic amplitude of a tactile output pattern refers to an absolute or normalized value that represents the maximum displacement of the moveable mass from a neutral position when generating the tactile output.", "In some embodiments, the characteristic amplitude of a tactile output pattern is adjustable, e.g., by a fixed or dynamically determined gain factor (e.g., a value between 0 and 1), in accordance with various conditions (e.g., customized based on user interface contexts and behaviors) and/or preconfigured metrics (e.g., input-based metrics, and/or user-interface-based metrics).", "In some embodiments, an input-based metric (e.g., an intensity-change metric or an input-speed metric) measures a characteristic of an input (e.g., a rate of change of a characteristic intensity of a contact in a press input or a rate of movement of the contact across a touch-sensitive surface) during the input that triggers generation of a tactile output.", "In some embodiments, a user-interface-based metric (e.g., a speed-across-boundary metric) measures a characteristic of a user interface element (e.g., a speed of movement of the element across a hidden or visible boundary in a user interface) during the user interface change that triggers generation of the tactile output.", "In some embodiments, the characteristic amplitude of a tactile output pattern may be modulated by an “envelope” and the peaks of adjacent cycles may have different amplitudes, where one of the waveforms shown above is further modified by multiplication by an envelope parameter that changes over time (e.g., from 0 to 1) to gradually adjust amplitude of portions of the tactile output over time as the tactile output is being generated.", "Although specific frequencies, amplitudes, and waveforms are represented in the sample tactile output patterns in FIG.", "4F for illustrative purposes, tactile output patterns with other frequencies, amplitudes, and waveforms may be used for similar purposes.", "For example, waveforms that have between 0.5 to 4 cycles can be used.", "Other frequencies in the range of 60 Hz-400 Hz may be used as well.", "Table 1 provides examples of particular haptic feedback behaviors, configurations, and examples of their use.", "TABLE 1 Behavior Config- Feedback uration Configuration Examples User Interface Haptics Retarget MicroTap Drag calendar event across day boundary Default High (270 Hz) Retarget in orb quick action menu Gain: 0.4 Sliding over origin point in a scrubber Minimum Reaching 0 degrees when cropping/ Interval: 0.05 straightening Rearranging a list when items snap together Retarget MicroTap Retarget in A-Z scrubber Strong High (270 Hz) Gain: 0.5 Minimum Interval: 0.05 Retarget MicroTap Spinning a wheel in the wheels of time Picker High (270 Hz) user interface Gain: 0.4 Minimum Interval: 0.05 Impact MicroTap Changing scrubbing speed when Default Medium adjusting a slider (150 Hz) Creating a new calendar event by Gain max: 0.8 tapping and holding Gain min: 0.0 Activating a toggle switch (changing the switch from on to off or off to on) Reaching a predefined orientation on a compass (e.g., every 45 degrees from North) Reaching a level state (e.g., 0 degrees tilt in any axis for 0.5 seconds) Dropping a pin in a map Sending or receiving a message with an emphasis animation (e.g., “slam” effect) Sending or receiving an acknowledgment of a message Snapping a ruler to different orientations (e.g., every 45 degrees) Crossing over a suggested photo while scrubbing through a burst of photos Crossing over a detent in a scrubber (e.g., text size, haptic strength, display brightness, display color temperature) Transaction failure notification (ApplePay Failure) Impact MicroTap Picking up an existing item (e.g., a Light Medium calendar event, a favorite in web (150 Hz) browser) Gain max: 0.6 Moving a time selector over a minor Gain min: 0.0 division of time (e.g., 15 min) in sleep alarm Impact MicroTap Moving a time selector over a major Strong Medium division of time (e.g., 1 hour) in sleep (150 Hz) alarm Gain max: 1.0 Gain min: 0.0 Edge MicroTap Dragging a brightness scrubber to an Scrubber Medium edge of the scrubber (150 Hz) Dragging a volume scrubber to an Gain max: 0.6 edge of the scrubber Gain min: 0.3 Edge MicroTap Reaching maximum zoom level when Zoom High (270 Hz) zooming into a photo Gain: 0.6 Re-centering a map Drag MicroTap Pickup and drop an event in calendar Default High (270 Hz) Gain Pickup: 1.0 Gain Drop: 0.6 Drag MicroTap Rearrange lists in weather, contacts, Snapping High (270 Hz) music, etc.", "Gain Pickup: 1.0 Gain Drop: 0.6 Gain Snap: 1.0 States Swipe in: Swipe to delete a mail message or Swipe MiniTap High conversation Action (270 Hz) Swipe to mark a mail message as Gain: 1.0 read/unread in mail Swipe out: Swipe to delete a table row (e.g., a MicroTap document in a document creation/ High (270 Hz) viewing application, a note in a notes Gain: 0.55 application, a location in a weather application, a podcast in a podcast application, a song in a playlist in a music application, a voice memo in a voice recording application Swipe to delete a message while displaying a pressure-triggered preview Swipe to mark a message as read/ unread while displaying a pressure- triggered preview Swipe to delete a news article Swipe to favorite/love a news article Button MicroTap Reply to message/conversation Default High (270 Hz) Adding a bookmark in an electronic Gain: 0.9 book reader application Activating a virtual assistant Starting to record a voice memo Stopping recording a voice memo Button MiniTap Low Delete message/conversation Destructive (100 Hz) Feedback Intensity: 0.8 Event FullTap Confirmation that a payment has Success Medium been made (200 Hz) Alert that authentication is needed Gain: 0.7 to make a payment (e.g., biometric MiniTap High authentication or passcode (270 Hz) authentication) Gain: 1.0 Adding a payment account to an electronic wallet application Event MiniTap High Failure to process a payment transaction Error (270 Hz) Failure to authenticate a fingerprint Gain: 0.85 detected on a fingerprint sensor Gain: 0.75 Incorrect passcode/password entered FullTap in a passcode/password entry UI Medium (200 Hz) Gain: 0.65 FullTap Low (150 Hz) Gain: 0.75 Event FullTap High Shake to undo Warning (300 Hz) Gain: 0.9 FullTap Custom (270 Hz) Gain: 0.9 Force Press States MicroTap Orb-Peek/Preview (e.g., peek at a mail Preview Custom message) (200 Hz) Gain: 1.0 States FullTap Orb-Pop/Commit (e.g., pop into full Preview Custom mail message) (150 Hz) Gain: 1.0 States MicroTap Orb-Unavailable (e.g., press hard on an Preview Custom app icon that doesn't have any (200 Hz) associated quick actions) Gain: 1.0 System Haptics Device MicroTap Press power button once to lock device Locked Medium (150 Hz) Gain: 1.0 MiniTap Medium (150 Hz) Gain: 1.0 Vibe on Vibe at 150 Hz Attach device to power source Attach that gradually increases in amplitude Ringtones Custom tactile Receive phone call or text message & Alerts output using one or more of: Vibe 150 Hz MicroTap 150 Hz MiniTap 150 Hz FullTap 150 Hz Solid-State Home Button 1 (“Tick”) MiniTap Press home button with click option 1 230 Hz selected Gain: 1.0 2 (“Tak”) MiniTap Press home button with click option 2 270 Hz selected Gain: 1.0 3 (“Tock”) MiniTap Press home button with click option 3 300 Hz selected Gain: 1.0 It should be appreciated that device 100 is only one example of a portable multifunction device, and that device 100 optionally has more or fewer components than shown, optionally combines two or more components, or optionally has a different configuration or arrangement of the components.", "The various components shown in FIG.", "1A are implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits.", "Memory 102 optionally includes high-speed random access memory and optionally also includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memory devices.", "Access to memory 102 by other components of device 100, such as CPU(s) 120 and the peripherals interface 118, is, optionally, controlled by memory controller 122.Peripherals interface 118 can be used to couple input and output peripherals of the device to CPU(s) 120 and memory 102.The one or more processors 120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in memory 102 to perform various functions for device 100 and to process data.", "In some embodiments, peripherals interface 118, CPU(s) 120, and memory controller 122 are, optionally, implemented on a single chip, such as chip 104.In some other embodiments, they are, optionally, implemented on separate chips.", "RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals, also called electromagnetic signals.", "RF circuitry 108 converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic signals.", "RF circuitry 108 optionally includes well-known circuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth.", "RF circuitry 108 optionally communicates with networks, such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication.", "The wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), high-speed uplink packet access (HSDPA), Evolution, Data-Only (EV-DO), HSPA, HSPA+, Dual-Cell HSPA (DC-HSPA), long term evolution (LTE), near field communication (NFC), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ax, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for e-mail (e.g., Internet message access protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instant messaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), Instant Messaging and Presence Service (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document.", "Audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, and microphone 113 provide an audio interface between a user and device 100.Audio circuitry 110 receives audio data from peripherals interface 118, converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to speaker 111.Speaker 111 converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves.", "Audio circuitry 110 also receives electrical signals converted by microphone 113 from sound waves.", "Audio circuitry 110 converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to peripherals interface 118 for processing.", "Audio data is, optionally, retrieved from and/or transmitted to memory 102 and/or RF circuitry 108 by peripherals interface 118.In some embodiments, audio circuitry 110 also includes a headset jack (e.g., 212, FIG.", "2A).", "The headset jack provides an interface between audio circuitry 110 and removable audio input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with both output (e.g., a headphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., a microphone).", "I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on device 100, such as touch-sensitive display system 112 and other input or control devices 116, with peripherals interface 118.I/O subsystem 106 optionally includes display controller 156, optical sensor controller 158, intensity sensor controller 159, haptic feedback controller 161, and one or more input controllers 160 for other input or control devices.", "The one or more input controllers 160 receive/send electrical signals from/to other input or control devices 116.The other input or control devices 116 optionally include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.", "), dials, slider switches, joysticks, click wheels, and so forth.", "In some alternate embodiments, input controller(s) 160 are, optionally, coupled with any (or none) of the following: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, stylus, and/or a pointer device such as a mouse.", "The one or more buttons (e.g., 208, FIG.", "2A) optionally include an up/down button for volume control of speaker 111 and/or microphone 113.The one or more buttons optionally include a push button (e.g., 206, FIG.", "2A).", "Touch-sensitive display system 112 provides an input interface and an output interface between the device and a user.", "Display controller 156 receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to touch-sensitive display system 112.Touch-sensitive display system 112 displays visual output to the user.", "The visual output optionally includes graphics, text, icons, video, and any combination thereof (collectively termed “graphics”).", "In some embodiments, some or all of the visual output corresponds to user interface objects.", "As used herein, the term “affordance” refers to a user-interactive graphical user interface object (e.g., a graphical user interface object that is configured to respond to inputs directed toward the graphical user interface object).", "Examples of user-interactive graphical user interface objects include, without limitation, a button, slider, icon, selectable menu item, switch, hyperlink, or other user interface control.", "Touch-sensitive display system 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set of sensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact.", "Touch-sensitive display system 112 and display controller 156 (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detect contact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on touch-sensitive display system 112 and converts the detected contact into interaction with user-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages or images) that are displayed on touch-sensitive display system 112.In some embodiments, a point of contact between touch-sensitive display system 112 and the user corresponds to a finger of the user or a stylus.", "Touch-sensitive display system 112 optionally uses LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, or LED (light emitting diode) technology, although other display technologies are used in other embodiments.", "Touch-sensitive display system 112 and display controller 156 optionally detect contact and any movement or breaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensing technologies now known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with touch-sensitive display system 112.In some embodiments, projected mutual capacitance sensing technology is used, such as that found in the iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Touch-sensitive display system 112 optionally has a video resolution in excess of 100 dpi.", "In some embodiments, the touch screen video resolution is in excess of 400 dpi (e.g., 500 dpi, 800 dpi, or greater).", "The user optionally makes contact with touch-sensitive display system 112 using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, and so forth.", "In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to work with finger-based contacts and gestures, which can be less precise than stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger on the touch screen.", "In some embodiments, the device translates the rough finger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position or command for performing the actions desired by the user.", "In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, device 100 optionally includes a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particular functions.", "In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output.", "The touchpad is, optionally, a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from touch-sensitive display system 112 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen.", "Device 100 also includes power system 162 for powering the various components.", "Power system 162 optionally includes a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices.", "Device 100 optionally also includes one or more optical sensors 164.FIG.", "1A shows an optical sensor coupled with optical sensor controller 158 in I/O subsystem 106.Optical sensor(s) 164 optionally include charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistors.", "Optical sensor(s) 164 receive light from the environment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the light to data representing an image.", "In conjunction with imaging module 143 (also called a camera module), optical sensor(s) 164 optionally capture still images and/or video.", "In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located on the back of device 100, opposite touch-sensitive display system 112 on the front of the device, so that the touch screen is enabled for use as a viewfinder for still and/or video image acquisition.", "In some embodiments, another optical sensor is located on the front of the device so that the user's image is obtained (e.g., for selfies, for videoconferencing while the user views the other video conference participants on the touch screen, etc.).", "Device 100 optionally also includes one or more contact intensity sensors 165.FIG.", "1A shows a contact intensity sensor coupled with intensity sensor controller 159 in I/O subsystem 106.Contact intensity sensor(s) 165 optionally include one or more piezoresistive strain gauges, capacitive force sensors, electric force sensors, piezoelectric force sensors, optical force sensors, capacitive touch-sensitive surfaces, or other intensity sensors (e.g., sensors used to measure the force (or pressure) of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface).", "Contact intensity sensor(s) 165 receive contact intensity information (e.g., pressure information or a proxy for pressure information) from the environment.", "In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112).", "In some embodiments, at least one contact intensity sensor is located on the back of device 100, opposite touch-screen display system 112 which is located on the front of device 100.Device 100 optionally also includes one or more proximity sensors 166.FIG.", "1A shows proximity sensor 166 coupled with peripherals interface 118.Alternately, proximity sensor 166 is coupled with input controller 160 in I/O subsystem 106.In some embodiments, the proximity sensor turns off and disables touch-sensitive display system 112 when the multifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the user is making a phone call).", "Device 100 optionally also includes one or more tactile output generators 167.FIG.", "1A shows a tactile output generator coupled with haptic feedback controller 161 in I/O subsystem 106.Tactile output generator(s) 167 optionally include one or more electroacoustic devices such as speakers or other audio components and/or electromechanical devices that convert energy into linear motion such as a motor, solenoid, electroactive polymer, piezoelectric actuator, electrostatic actuator, or other tactile output generating component (e.g., a component that converts electrical signals into tactile outputs on the device).", "Tactile output generator(s) 167 receive tactile feedback generation instructions from haptic feedback module 133 and generates tactile outputs on device 100 that are capable of being sensed by a user of device 100.In some embodiments, at least one tactile output generator is collocated with, or proximate to, a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112) and, optionally, generates a tactile output by moving the touch-sensitive surface vertically (e.g., in/out of a surface of device 100) or laterally (e.g., back and forth in the same plane as a surface of device 100).", "In some embodiments, at least one tactile output generator sensor is located on the back of device 100, opposite touch-sensitive display system 112, which is located on the front of device 100.Device 100 optionally also includes one or more accelerometers 168.FIG.", "1A shows accelerometer 168 coupled with peripherals interface 118.Alternately, accelerometer 168 is, optionally, coupled with an input controller 160 in I/O subsystem 106.In some embodiments, information is displayed on the touch-screen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based on an analysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers.", "Device 100 optionally includes, in addition to accelerometer(s) 168, a magnetometer (not shown) and a GPS (or GLONASS or other global navigation system) receiver (not shown) for obtaining information concerning the location and orientation (e.g., portrait or landscape) of device 100.In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102 include operating system 126, communication module (or set of instructions) 128, contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130, graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, haptic feedback module (or set of instructions) 133, text input module (or set of instructions) 134, Global Positioning System (GPS) module (or set of instructions) 135, and applications (or sets of instructions) 136.Furthermore, in some embodiments, memory 102 stores device/global internal state 157, as shown in FIGS.", "1A and 3.Device/global internal state 157 includes one or more of: active application state, indicating which applications, if any, are currently active; display state, indicating what applications, views or other information occupy various regions of touch-sensitive display system 112; sensor state, including information obtained from the device's various sensors and other input or control devices 116; and location and/or positional information concerning the device's location and/or attitude.", "Operating system 126 (e.g., iOS, Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.)", "and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components.", "Communication module 128 facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports 124 and also includes various software components for handling data received by RF circuitry 108 and/or external port 124.External port 124 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.)", "is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.).", "In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g., 30-pin) connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the 30-pin connector used in some iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.", "In some embodiments, the external port is a Lightning connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatible with the Lightning connector used in some iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad® devices from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects contact with touch-sensitive display system 112 (in conjunction with display controller 156) and other touch-sensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel).", "Contact/motion module 130 includes various software components for performing various operations related to detection of contact (e.g., by a finger or by a stylus), such as determining if contact has occurred (e.g., detecting a finger-down event), determining an intensity of the contact (e.g., the force or pressure of the contact or a substitute for the force or pressure of the contact), determining if there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., detecting one or more finger-dragging events), and determining if the contact has ceased (e.g., detecting a finger-up event or a break in contact).", "Contact/motion module 130 receives contact data from the touch-sensitive surface.", "Determining movement of the point of contact, which is represented by a series of contact data, optionally includes determining speed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of the point of contact.", "These operations are, optionally, applied to single contacts (e.g., one finger contacts or stylus contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g., “multitouch”/multiple finger contacts).", "In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 and display controller 156 detect contact on a touchpad.", "Contact/motion module 130 optionally detects a gesture input by a user.", "Different gestures on the touch-sensitive surface have different contact patterns (e.g., different motions, timings, and/or intensities of detected contacts).", "Thus, a gesture is, optionally, detected by detecting a particular contact pattern.", "For example, detecting a finger tap gesture includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting a finger-up (lift off) event at the same position (or substantially the same position) as the finger-down event (e.g., at the position of an icon).", "As another example, detecting a finger swipe gesture on the touch-sensitive surface includes detecting a finger-down event followed by detecting one or more finger-dragging events, and subsequently followed by detecting a finger-up (lift off) event.", "Similarly, tap, swipe, drag, and other gestures are optionally detected for a stylus by detecting a particular contact pattern for the stylus.", "In some embodiments, detecting a finger tap gesture (e.g., on touch-sensitive display system 112) depends on the length of time between detecting the finger-down event and the finger-up event, but is independent of the intensity of the finger contact between detecting the finger-down event and the finger-up event.", "In some embodiments, a tap gesture is detected in accordance with a determination that the length of time between the finger-down event and the finger-up event is less than a predetermined value (e.g., less than 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 or 0.5 seconds), independent of whether the intensity of the finger contact during the tap meets a given intensity threshold (greater than a nominal contact-detection intensity threshold), such as a light press or deep press intensity threshold.", "Thus, a finger tap gesture can satisfy input criteria that are configured to be met even when the characteristic intensity of a contact does not satisfy a given intensity threshold.", "For clarity, the finger contact in a tap gesture typically needs to satisfy a nominal contact-detection intensity threshold, below which the contact is not detected, in order for the finger-down event to be detected.", "A similar analysis applies to detecting a tap gesture by a stylus or other contact.", "In cases where the device is configured to detect a finger or stylus contact hovering over a touch sensitive surface, the nominal contact-detection intensity threshold optionally does not correspond to physical contact between the finger or stylus and the touch sensitive surface.", "The same concepts apply in an analogous manner to other types of gestures.", "For example, a swipe gesture, a pinch gesture, a depinch gesture, and/or a long press gesture are optionally detected (e.g., on touch-sensitive display system 112) based on the satisfaction of criteria that are independent of intensities of contacts included in the gesture.", "For example, a swipe gesture is detected based on an amount of movement of one or more contacts; a pinch gesture is detected based on movement of two or more contacts towards each other; a depinch gesture is detected based on movement of two or more contacts away from each other; and a long press gesture is detected based on a duration of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface with less than a threshold amount of movement.", "As such, the statement that gesture recognition criteria are configured to be met when a contact in a gesture has an intensity below a respective intensity threshold means that the gesture recognition criteria are capable of being satisfied even if the contact(s) in the gesture do not reach the respective intensity threshold.", "It should be understood, however, that this statement does not preclude the gesture recognition criteria from being satisfied in circumstances where one or more of the contacts in the gesture do reach or exceed the respective intensity threshold.", "For example, a tap gesture is configured to be detected if the finger-down and finger-up event are detected within a predefined time period, without regard to whether the contact is above or below the respective intensity threshold during the predefined time period, and a swipe gesture is configured to be detected if the contact movement is greater than a predefined magnitude, even if the contact is above the respective intensity threshold at the end of the contact movement.", "Contact intensity thresholds, duration thresholds, and movement thresholds are, in some circumstances, combined in a variety of different combinations in order to create heuristics for distinguishing two or more different gestures directed to the same input element or region so that multiple different interactions with the same input element are enabled to provide a richer set of user interactions and responses.", "The statement that a particular set of gesture recognition criteria are configured to be met when a contact in a gesture has an intensity below a respective intensity threshold does not preclude the concurrent evaluation of other intensity-dependent gesture recognition criteria to identify other gestures that do have a criteria that is met when a gesture includes a contact with an intensity above the respective intensity threshold.", "For example, in some circumstances, first gesture recognition criteria for a first gesture—which are configured to be met when a gesture has an intensity below a respective intensity threshold—are in competition with second gesture recognition criteria for a second gesture—which are dependent on the gesture reaching the respective intensity threshold.", "In such competitions, the gesture is, optionally, not recognized as meeting the first gesture recognition criteria for the first gesture if the second gesture recognition criteria for the second gesture are met first.", "For example, if a contact reaches the respective intensity threshold before the contact moves by a predefined amount of movement, a deep press gesture is detected rather than a swipe gesture.", "Conversely, if the contact moves by the predefined amount of movement before the contact reaches the respective intensity threshold, a swipe gesture is detected rather than a deep press gesture.", "Even in such circumstances, the first gesture recognition criteria for the first gesture are still configured to be met when a contact in the gesture has an intensity below the respective intensity because if the contact stayed below the respective intensity threshold until an end of the gesture (e.g., a swipe gesture with a contact that does not increase to an intensity above the respective intensity threshold), the gesture would have been recognized by the first gesture recognition criteria as a swipe gesture.", "As such, particular gesture recognition criteria that are configured to be met when an intensity of a contact remains below a respective intensity threshold will (A) in some circumstances ignore the intensity of the contact with respect to the intensity threshold (e.g.", "for a tap gesture) and/or (B) in some circumstances still be dependent on the intensity of the contact with respect to the intensity threshold in the sense that the particular gesture recognition criteria (e.g., for a long press gesture) will fail if a competing set of intensity-dependent gesture recognition criteria (e.g., for a deep press gesture) recognize an input as corresponding to an intensity-dependent gesture before the particular gesture recognition criteria recognize a gesture corresponding to the input (e.g., for a long press gesture that is competing with a deep press gesture for recognition).", "Graphics module 132 includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on touch-sensitive display system 112 or other display, including components for changing the visual impact (e.g., brightness, transparency, saturation, contrast or other visual property) of graphics that are displayed.", "As used herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations and the like.", "In some embodiments, graphics module 132 stores data representing graphics to be used.", "Each graphic is, optionally, assigned a corresponding code.", "Graphics module 132 receives, from applications etc., one or more codes specifying graphics to be displayed along with, if necessary, coordinate data and other graphic property data, and then generates screen image data to output to display controller 156.Haptic feedback module 133 includes various software components for generating instructions used by tactile output generator(s) 167 to produce tactile outputs at one or more locations on device 100 in response to user interactions with device 100.Text input module 134, which is, optionally, a component of graphics module 132, provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications (e.g., contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, browser 147, and any other application that needs text input).", "GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and provides this information for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138 for use in location-based dialing, to camera 143 as picture/video metadata, and to applications that provide location-based services such as weather widgets, local yellow page widgets, and map/navigation widgets).", "Applications 136 optionally include the following modules (or sets of instructions), or a subset or superset thereof: contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or contact list); telephone module 138; video conferencing module 139; e-mail client module 140; instant messaging (IM) module 141; workout support module 142; camera module 143 for still and/or video images; image management module 144; browser module 147; calendar module 148; widget modules 149, which optionally include one or more of: weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and other widgets obtained by the user, as well as user-created widgets 149-6; widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6; search module 151; video and music player module 152, which is, optionally, made up of a video player module and a music player module; notes module 153; map module 154; and/or online video module 155.Examples of other applications 136 that are, optionally, stored in memory 102 include other word processing applications, other image editing applications, drawing applications, presentation applications, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voice replication.", "In conjunction with touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, contacts module 137 includes executable instructions to manage an address book or contact list (e.g., stored in application internal state 192 of contacts module 137 in memory 102 or memory 370), including: adding name(s) to the address book; deleting name(s) from the address book; associating telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), physical address(es) or other information with a name; associating an image with a name; categorizing and sorting names; providing telephone numbers and/or e-mail addresses to initiate and/or facilitate communications by telephone 138, video conference 139, e-mail 140, or IM 141; and so forth.", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, telephone module 138 includes executable instructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to a telephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in address book 137, modify a telephone number that has been entered, dial a respective telephone number, conduct a conversation and disconnect or hang up when the conversation is completed.", "As noted above, the wireless communication optionally uses any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies.", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, microphone 113, touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, optical sensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, contact list 137, and telephone module 138, videoconferencing module 139 includes executable instructions to initiate, conduct, and terminate a video conference between a user and one or more other participants in accordance with user instructions.", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, e-mail client module 140 includes executable instructions to create, send, receive, and manage e-mail in response to user instructions.", "In conjunction with image management module 144, e-mail client module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mails with still or video images taken with camera module 143.In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, the instant messaging module 141 includes executable instructions to enter a sequence of characters corresponding to an instant message, to modify previously entered characters, to transmit a respective instant message (for example, using a Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia Message Service (MMS) protocol for telephony-based instant messages or using XMPP, SIMPLE, Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) or IMPS for Internet-based instant messages), to receive instant messages and to view received instant messages.", "In some embodiments, transmitted and/or received instant messages optionally include graphics, photos, audio files, video files and/or other attachments as are supported in a MMS and/or an Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS).", "As used herein, “instant messaging” refers to both telephony-based messages (e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) and Internet-based messages (e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, APNs, or IMPS).", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, GPS module 135, map module 154, and music player module 152, workout support module 142 includes executable instructions to create workouts (e.g., with time, distance, and/or calorie burning goals); communicate with workout sensors (in sports devices and smart watches); receive workout sensor data; calibrate sensors used to monitor a workout; select and play music for a workout; and display, store and transmit workout data.", "In conjunction with touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, optical sensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and image management module 144, camera module 143 includes executable instructions to capture still images or video (including a video stream) and store them into memory 102, modify characteristics of a still image or video, and/or delete a still image or video from memory 102.In conjunction with touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and camera module 143, image management module 144 includes executable instructions to arrange, modify (e.g., edit), or otherwise manipulate, label, delete, present (e.g., in a digital slide show or album), and store still and/or video images.", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, browser module 147 includes executable instructions to browse the Internet in accordance with user instructions, including searching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages or portions thereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to web pages.", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147, calendar module 148 includes executable instructions to create, display, modify, and store calendars and data associated with calendars (e.g., calendar entries, to do lists, etc.)", "in accordance with user instructions.", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and browser module 147, widget modules 149 are mini-applications that are, optionally, downloaded and used by a user (e.g., weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3, alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or created by the user (e.g., user-created widget 149-6).", "In some embodiments, a widget includes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file.", "In some embodiments, a widget includes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file (e.g., Yahoo!", "Widgets).", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150 includes executable instructions to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specified portion of a web page into a widget).", "In conjunction with touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, search module 151 includes executable instructions to search for text, music, sound, image, video, and/or other files in memory 102 that match one or more search criteria (e.g., one or more user-specified search terms) in accordance with user instructions.", "In conjunction with touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, video and music player module 152 includes executable instructions that allow the user to download and play back recorded music and other sound files stored in one or more file formats, such as MP3 or AAC files, and executable instructions to display, present or otherwise play back videos (e.g., on touch-sensitive display system 112, or on an external display connected wirelessly or via external port 124).", "In some embodiments, device 100 optionally includes the functionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.).", "In conjunction with touch-sensitive display system 112, display controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, notes module 153 includes executable instructions to create and manage notes, to do lists, and the like in accordance with user instructions.", "In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, map module 154 includes executable instructions to receive, display, modify, and store maps and data associated with maps (e.g., driving directions; data on stores and other points of interest at or near a particular location; and other location-based data) in accordance with user instructions.", "In conjunction with touch-sensitive display system 112, display system controller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140, and browser module 147, online video module 155 includes executable instructions that allow the user to access, browse, receive (e.g., by streaming and/or download), play back (e.g., on the touch screen 112, or on an external display connected wirelessly or via external port 124), send an e-mail with a link to a particular online video, and otherwise manage online videos in one or more file formats, such as H.264.In some embodiments, instant messaging module 141, rather than e-mail client module 140, is used to send a link to a particular online video.", "Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to a set of executable instructions for performing one or more functions described above and the methods described in this application (e.g., the computer-implemented methods and other information processing methods described herein).", "These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules are, optionally, combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments.", "In some embodiments, memory 102 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.", "Furthermore, memory 102 optionally stores additional modules and data structures not described above.", "In some embodiments, device 100 is a device where operation of a predefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad.", "By using a touch screen and/or a touchpad as the primary input control device for operation of device 100, the number of physical input control devices (such as push buttons, dials, and the like) on device 100 is, optionally, reduced.", "The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through a touch screen and/or a touchpad optionally include navigation between user interfaces.", "In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user, navigates device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any user interface that is displayed on device 100.In such embodiments, a “menu button” is implemented using a touchpad.", "In some other embodiments, the menu button is a physical push button or other physical input control device instead of a touchpad.", "FIG.", "1B is a block diagram illustrating example components for event handling in accordance with some embodiments.", "In some embodiments, memory 102 (in FIG.", "1A) or 370 (FIG.", "3) includes event sorter 170 (e.g., in operating system 126) and a respective application 136-1 (e.g., any of the aforementioned applications 136, 137-155, 380-390).", "Event sorter 170 receives event information and determines the application 136-1 and application view 191 of application 136-1 to which to deliver the event information.", "Event sorter 170 includes event monitor 171 and event dispatcher module 174.In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes application internal state 192, which indicates the current application view(s) displayed on touch-sensitive display system 112 when the application is active or executing.", "In some embodiments, device/global internal state 157 is used by event sorter 170 to determine which application(s) is (are) currently active, and application internal state 192 is used by event sorter 170 to determine application views 191 to which to deliver event information.", "In some embodiments, application internal state 192 includes additional information, such as one or more of: resume information to be used when application 136-1 resumes execution, user interface state information that indicates information being displayed or that is ready for display by application 136-1, a state queue for enabling the user to go back to a prior state or view of application 136-1, and a redo/undo queue of previous actions taken by the user.", "Event monitor 171 receives event information from peripherals interface 118.Event information includes information about a sub-event (e.g., a user touch on touch-sensitive display system 112, as part of a multi-touch gesture).", "Peripherals interface 118 transmits information it receives from I/O subsystem 106 or a sensor, such as proximity sensor 166, accelerometer(s) 168, and/or microphone 113 (through audio circuitry 110).", "Information that peripherals interface 118 receives from I/O subsystem 106 includes information from touch-sensitive display system 112 or a touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, event monitor 171 sends requests to the peripherals interface 118 at predetermined intervals.", "In response, peripherals interface 118 transmits event information.", "In other embodiments, peripheral interface 118 transmits event information only when there is a significant event (e.g., receiving an input above a predetermined noise threshold and/or for more than a predetermined duration).", "In some embodiments, event sorter 170 also includes a hit view determination module 172 and/or an active event recognizer determination module 173.Hit view determination module 172 provides software procedures for determining where a sub-event has taken place within one or more views, when touch-sensitive display system 112 displays more than one view.", "Views are made up of controls and other elements that a user can see on the display.", "Another aspect of the user interface associated with an application is a set of views, sometimes herein called application views or user interface windows, in which information is displayed and touch-based gestures occur.", "The application views (of a respective application) in which a touch is detected optionally correspond to programmatic levels within a programmatic or view hierarchy of the application.", "For example, the lowest level view in which a touch is detected is, optionally, called the hit view, and the set of events that are recognized as proper inputs are, optionally, determined based, at least in part, on the hit view of the initial touch that begins a touch-based gesture.", "Hit view determination module 172 receives information related to sub-events of a touch-based gesture.", "When an application has multiple views organized in a hierarchy, hit view determination module 172 identifies a hit view as the lowest view in the hierarchy which should handle the sub-event.", "In most circumstances, the hit view is the lowest level view in which an initiating sub-event occurs (i.e., the first sub-event in the sequence of sub-events that form an event or potential event).", "Once the hit view is identified by the hit view determination module, the hit view typically receives all sub-events related to the same touch or input source for which it was identified as the hit view.", "Active event recognizer determination module 173 determines which view or views within a view hierarchy should receive a particular sequence of sub-events.", "In some embodiments, active event recognizer determination module 173 determines that only the hit view should receive a particular sequence of sub-events.", "In other embodiments, active event recognizer determination module 173 determines that all views that include the physical location of a sub-event are actively involved views, and therefore determines that all actively involved views should receive a particular sequence of sub-events.", "In other embodiments, even if touch sub-events were entirely confined to the area associated with one particular view, views higher in the hierarchy would still remain as actively involved views.", "Event dispatcher module 174 dispatches the event information to an event recognizer (e.g., event recognizer 180).", "In embodiments including active event recognizer determination module 173, event dispatcher module 174 delivers the event information to an event recognizer determined by active event recognizer determination module 173.In some embodiments, event dispatcher module 174 stores in an event queue the event information, which is retrieved by a respective event receiver module 182.In some embodiments, operating system 126 includes event sorter 170.Alternatively, application 136-1 includes event sorter 170.In yet other embodiments, event sorter 170 is a stand-alone module, or a part of another module stored in memory 102, such as contact/motion module 130.In some embodiments, application 136-1 includes a plurality of event handlers 190 and one or more application views 191, each of which includes instructions for handling touch events that occur within a respective view of the application's user interface.", "Each application view 191 of the application 136-1 includes one or more event recognizers 180.Typically, a respective application view 191 includes a plurality of event recognizers 180.In other embodiments, one or more of event recognizers 180 are part of a separate module, such as a user interface kit (not shown) or a higher level object from which application 136-1 inherits methods and other properties.", "In some embodiments, a respective event handler 190 includes one or more of: data updater 176, object updater 177, GUI updater 178, and/or event data 179 received from event sorter 170.Event handler 190 optionally utilizes or calls data updater 176, object updater 177 or GUI updater 178 to update the application internal state 192.Alternatively, one or more of the application views 191 includes one or more respective event handlers 190.Also, in some embodiments, one or more of data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178 are included in a respective application view 191.A respective event recognizer 180 receives event information (e.g., event data 179) from event sorter 170, and identifies an event from the event information.", "Event recognizer 180 includes event receiver 182 and event comparator 184.In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 also includes at least a subset of: metadata 183, and event delivery instructions 188 (which optionally include sub-event delivery instructions).", "Event receiver 182 receives event information from event sorter 170.The event information includes information about a sub-event, for example, a touch or a touch movement.", "Depending on the sub-event, the event information also includes additional information, such as location of the sub-event.", "When the sub-event concerns motion of a touch, the event information optionally also includes speed and direction of the sub-event.", "In some embodiments, events include rotation of the device from one orientation to another (e.g., from a portrait orientation to a landscape orientation, or vice versa), and the event information includes corresponding information about the current orientation (also called device attitude) of the device.", "Event comparator 184 compares the event information to predefined event or sub-event definitions and, based on the comparison, determines an event or sub-event, or determines or updates the state of an event or sub-event.", "In some embodiments, event comparator 184 includes event definitions 186.Event definitions 186 contain definitions of events (e.g., predefined sequences of sub-events), for example, event 1 (187-1), event 2 (187-2), and others.", "In some embodiments, sub-events in an event 187 include, for example, touch begin, touch end, touch movement, touch cancellation, and multiple touching.", "In one example, the definition for event 1 (187-1) is a double tap on a displayed object.", "The double tap, for example, comprises a first touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a first lift-off (touch end) for a predetermined phase, a second touch (touch begin) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, and a second lift-off (touch end) for a predetermined phase.", "In another example, the definition for event 2 (187-2) is a dragging on a displayed object.", "The dragging, for example, comprises a touch (or contact) on the displayed object for a predetermined phase, a movement of the touch across touch-sensitive display system 112, and lift-off of the touch (touch end).", "In some embodiments, the event also includes information for one or more associated event handlers 190.In some embodiments, event definition 187 includes a definition of an event for a respective user-interface object.", "In some embodiments, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which user-interface object is associated with a sub-event.", "For example, in an application view in which three user-interface objects are displayed on touch-sensitive display system 112, when a touch is detected on touch-sensitive display system 112, event comparator 184 performs a hit test to determine which of the three user-interface objects is associated with the touch (sub-event).", "If each displayed object is associated with a respective event handler 190, the event comparator uses the result of the hit test to determine which event handler 190 should be activated.", "For example, event comparator 184 selects an event handler associated with the sub-event and the object triggering the hit test.", "In some embodiments, the definition for a respective event 187 also includes delayed actions that delay delivery of the event information until after it has been determined whether the sequence of sub-events does or does not correspond to the event recognizer's event type.", "When a respective event recognizer 180 determines that the series of sub-events do not match any of the events in event definitions 186, the respective event recognizer 180 enters an event impossible, event failed, or event ended state, after which it disregards subsequent sub-events of the touch-based gesture.", "In this situation, other event recognizers, if any, that remain active for the hit view continue to track and process sub-events of an ongoing touch-based gesture.", "In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 includes metadata 183 with configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how the event delivery system should perform sub-event delivery to actively involved event recognizers.", "In some embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate how event recognizers interact, or are enabled to interact, with one another.", "In some embodiments, metadata 183 includes configurable properties, flags, and/or lists that indicate whether sub-events are delivered to varying levels in the view or programmatic hierarchy.", "In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 activates event handler 190 associated with an event when one or more particular sub-events of an event are recognized.", "In some embodiments, a respective event recognizer 180 delivers event information associated with the event to event handler 190.Activating an event handler 190 is distinct from sending (and deferred sending) sub-events to a respective hit view.", "In some embodiments, event recognizer 180 throws a flag associated with the recognized event, and event handler 190 associated with the flag catches the flag and performs a predefined process.", "In some embodiments, event delivery instructions 188 include sub-event delivery instructions that deliver event information about a sub-event without activating an event handler.", "Instead, the sub-event delivery instructions deliver event information to event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or to actively involved views.", "Event handlers associated with the series of sub-events or with actively involved views receive the event information and perform a predetermined process.", "In some embodiments, data updater 176 creates and updates data used in application 136-1.For example, data updater 176 updates the telephone number used in contacts module 137, or stores a video file used in video player module 152.In some embodiments, object updater 177 creates and updates objects used in application 136-1.For example, object updater 177 creates a new user-interface object or updates the position of a user-interface object.", "GUI updater 178 updates the GUI.", "For example, GUI updater 178 prepares display information and sends it to graphics module 132 for display on a touch-sensitive display.", "In some embodiments, event handler(s) 190 includes or has access to data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178.In some embodiments, data updater 176, object updater 177, and GUI updater 178 are included in a single module of a respective application 136-1 or application view 191.In other embodiments, they are included in two or more software modules.", "It shall be understood that the foregoing discussion regarding event handling of user touches on touch-sensitive displays also applies to other forms of user inputs to operate multifunction devices 100 with input-devices, not all of which are initiated on touch screens.", "For example, mouse movement and mouse button presses, optionally coordinated with single or multiple keyboard presses or holds; contact movements such as taps, drags, scrolls, etc., on touch-pads; pen stylus inputs; movement of the device; oral instructions; detected eye movements; biometric inputs; and/or any combination thereof are optionally utilized as inputs corresponding to sub-events which define an event to be recognized.", "FIG.", "1C is a block diagram illustrating a tactile output module in accordance with some embodiments.", "In some embodiments, I/O subsystem 106 (e.g., haptic feedback controller 161 (FIG.", "1A) and/or other input controller(s) 160 (FIG.", "1A)) includes at least some of the example components shown in FIG.", "1C.", "In some embodiments, peripherals interface 118 includes at least some of the example components shown in FIG.", "1C.", "In some embodiments, the tactile output module includes haptic feedback module 133.In some embodiments, haptic feedback module 133 aggregates and combines tactile outputs for user interface feedback from software applications on the electronic device (e.g., feedback that is responsive to user inputs that correspond to displayed user interfaces and alerts and other notifications that indicate the performance of operations or occurrence of events in user interfaces of the electronic device).", "Haptic feedback module 133 includes one or more of: waveform module 123 (for providing waveforms used for generating tactile outputs), mixer 125 (for mixing waveforms, such as waveforms in different channels), compressor 127 (for reducing or compressing a dynamic range of the waveforms), low-pass filter 129 (for filtering out high frequency signal components in the waveforms), and thermal controller 131 (for adjusting the waveforms in accordance with thermal conditions).", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback module 133 is included in haptic feedback controller 161 (FIG.", "1A).", "In some embodiments, a separate unit of haptic feedback module 133 (or a separate implementation of haptic feedback module 133) is also included in an audio controller (e.g., audio circuitry 110, FIG.", "1A) and used for generating audio signals.", "In some embodiments, a single haptic feedback module 133 is used for generating audio signals and generating waveforms for tactile outputs.", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback module 133 also includes trigger module 121 (e.g., a software application, operating system, or other software module that determines a tactile output is to be generated and initiates the process for generating the corresponding tactile output).", "In some embodiments, trigger module 121 generates trigger signals for initiating generation of waveforms (e.g., by waveform module 123).", "For example, trigger module 121 generates trigger signals based on preset timing criteria.", "In some embodiments, trigger module 121 receives trigger signals from outside haptic feedback module 133 (e.g., in some embodiments, haptic feedback module 133 receives trigger signals from hardware input processing module 146 located outside haptic feedback module 133) and relays the trigger signals to other components within haptic feedback module 133 (e.g., waveform module 123) or software applications that trigger operations (e.g., with trigger module 121) based on activation of the hardware input device (e.g., a home button).", "In some embodiments, trigger module 121 also receives tactile feedback generation instructions (e.g., from haptic feedback module 133, FIGS.", "1A and 3).", "In some embodiments, trigger module 121 generates trigger signals in response to haptic feedback module 133 (or trigger module 121 in haptic feedback module 133) receiving tactile feedback instructions (e.g., from haptic feedback module 133, FIGS.", "1A and 3).", "Waveform module 123 receives trigger signals (e.g., from trigger module 121) as an input, and in response to receiving trigger signals, provides waveforms for generation of one or more tactile outputs (e.g., waveforms selected from a predefined set of waveforms designated for use by waveform module 123, such as the waveforms described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS.", "4F-4G).", "Mixer 125 receives waveforms (e.g., from waveform module 123) as an input, and mixes together the waveforms.", "For example, when mixer 125 receives two or more waveforms (e.g., a first waveform in a first channel and a second waveform that at least partially overlaps with the first waveform in a second channel) mixer 125 outputs a combined waveform that corresponds to a sum of the two or more waveforms.", "In some embodiments, mixer 125 also modifies one or more waveforms of the two or more waveforms to emphasize particular waveform(s) over the rest of the two or more waveforms (e.g., by increasing a scale of the particular waveform(s) and/or decreasing a scale of the rest of the waveforms).", "In some circumstances, mixer 125 selects one or more waveforms to remove from the combined waveform (e.g., the waveform from the oldest source is dropped when there are waveforms from more than three sources that have been requested to be output concurrently by tactile output generator 167) Compressor 127 receives waveforms (e.g., a combined waveform from mixer 125) as an input, and modifies the waveforms.", "In some embodiments, compressor 127 reduces the waveforms (e.g., in accordance with physical specifications of tactile output generators 167 (FIG.", "1A) or 357 (FIG.", "3)) so that tactile outputs corresponding to the waveforms are reduced.", "In some embodiments, compressor 127 limits the waveforms, such as by enforcing a predefined maximum amplitude for the waveforms.", "For example, compressor 127 reduces amplitudes of portions of waveforms that exceed a predefined amplitude threshold while maintaining amplitudes of portions of waveforms that do not exceed the predefined amplitude threshold.", "In some embodiments, compressor 127 reduces a dynamic range of the waveforms.", "In some embodiments, compressor 127 dynamically reduces the dynamic range of the waveforms so that the combined waveforms remain within performance specifications of the tactile output generator 167 (e.g., force and/or moveable mass displacement limits).", "Low-pass filter 129 receives waveforms (e.g., compressed waveforms from compressor 127) as an input, and filters (e.g., smooths) the waveforms (e.g., removes or reduces high frequency signal components in the waveforms).", "For example, in some instances, compressor 127 includes, in compressed waveforms, extraneous signals (e.g., high frequency signal components) that interfere with the generation of tactile outputs and/or exceed performance specifications of tactile output generator 167 when the tactile outputs are generated in accordance with the compressed waveforms.", "Low-pass filter 129 reduces or removes such extraneous signals in the waveforms.", "Thermal controller 131 receives waveforms (e.g., filtered waveforms from low-pass filter 129) as an input, and adjusts the waveforms in accordance with thermal conditions of device 100 (e.g., based on internal temperatures detected within device 100, such as the temperature of haptic feedback controller 161, and/or external temperatures detected by device 100).", "For example, in some cases, the output of haptic feedback controller 161 varies depending on the temperature (e.g.", "haptic feedback controller 161, in response to receiving same waveforms, generates a first tactile output when haptic feedback controller 161 is at a first temperature and generates a second tactile output when haptic feedback controller 161 is at a second temperature that is distinct from the first temperature).", "For example, the magnitude (or the amplitude) of the tactile outputs may vary depending on the temperature.", "To reduce the effect of the temperature variations, the waveforms are modified (e.g., an amplitude of the waveforms is increased or decreased based on the temperature).", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback module 133 (e.g., trigger module 121) is coupled to hardware input processing module 146.In some embodiments, other input controller(s) 160 in FIG.", "1A includes hardware input processing module 146.In some embodiments, hardware input processing module 146 receives inputs from hardware input device 145 (e.g., other input or control devices 116 in FIG.", "1A, such as a home button).", "In some embodiments, hardware input device 145 is any input device described herein, such as touch-sensitive display system 112 (FIG.", "1A), keyboard/mouse 350 (FIG.", "3), touchpad 355 (FIG.", "3), one of other input or control devices 116 (FIG.", "1A), or an intensity-sensitive home button (e.g., as shown in FIG.", "2B or a home button with a mechanical actuator as illustrated in FIG.", "2C).", "In some embodiments, hardware input device 145 consists of an intensity-sensitive home button (e.g., as shown in FIG.", "2B or a home button with a mechanical actuator as illustrated in FIG.", "2C), and not touch-sensitive display system 112 (FIG.", "1A), keyboard/mouse 350 (FIG.", "3), or touchpad 355 (FIG.", "3).", "In some embodiments, in response to inputs from hardware input device 145, hardware input processing module 146 provides one or more trigger signals to haptic feedback module 133 to indicate that a user input satisfying predefined input criteria, such as an input corresponding to a “click” of a home button (e.g., a “down click” or an “up click”), has been detected.", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback module 133 provides waveforms that correspond to the “click” of a home button in response to the input corresponding to the “click” of a home button, simulating a haptic feedback of pressing a physical home button.", "In some embodiments, the tactile output module includes haptic feedback controller 161 (e.g., haptic feedback controller 161 in FIG.", "1A), which controls the generation of tactile outputs.", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback controller 161 is coupled to a plurality of tactile output generators, and selects one or more tactile output generators of the plurality of tactile output generators and sends waveforms to the selected one or more tactile output generators for generating tactile outputs.", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback controller 161 coordinates tactile output requests that correspond to activation of hardware input device 145 and tactile output requests that correspond to software events (e.g., tactile output requests from haptic feedback module 133) and modifies one or more waveforms of the two or more waveforms to emphasize particular waveform(s) over the rest of the two or more waveforms (e.g., by increasing a scale of the particular waveform(s) and/or decreasing a scale of the rest of the waveforms, such as to prioritize tactile outputs that correspond to activations of hardware input device 145 over tactile outputs that correspond to software events).", "In some embodiments, as shown in FIG.", "1C, an output of haptic feedback controller 161 is coupled to audio circuitry of device 100 (e.g., audio circuitry 110, FIG.", "1A), and provides audio signals to audio circuitry of device 100.In some embodiments, haptic feedback controller 161 provides both waveforms used for generating tactile outputs and audio signals used for providing audio outputs in conjunction with generation of the tactile outputs.", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback controller 161 modifies audio signals and/or waveforms (used for generating tactile outputs) so that the audio outputs and the tactile outputs are synchronized (e.g., by delaying the audio signals and/or waveforms).", "In some embodiments, haptic feedback controller 161 includes a digital-to-analog converter used for converting digital waveforms into analog signals, which are received by amplifier 163 and/or tactile output generator 167.In some embodiments, the tactile output module includes amplifier 163.In some embodiments, amplifier 163 receives waveforms (e.g., from haptic feedback controller 161) and amplifies the waveforms prior to sending the amplified waveforms to tactile output generator 167 (e.g., any of tactile output generators 167 (FIG.", "1A) or 357 (FIG.", "3)).", "For example, amplifier 163 amplifies the received waveforms to signal levels that are in accordance with physical specifications of tactile output generator 167 (e.g., to a voltage and/or a current required by tactile output generator 167 for generating tactile outputs so that the signals sent to tactile output generator 167 produce tactile outputs that correspond to the waveforms received from haptic feedback controller 161) and sends the amplified waveforms to tactile output generator 167.In response, tactile output generator 167 generates tactile outputs (e.g., by shifting a moveable mass back and forth in one or more dimensions relative to a neutral position of the moveable mass).", "In some embodiments, the tactile output module includes sensor 169, which is coupled to tactile output generator 167.Sensor 169 detects states or state changes (e.g., mechanical position, physical displacement, and/or movement) of tactile output generator 167 or one or more components of tactile output generator 167 (e.g., one or more moving parts, such as a membrane, used to generate tactile outputs).", "In some embodiments, sensor 169 is a magnetic field sensor (e.g., a Hall effect sensor) or other displacement and/or movement sensor.", "In some embodiments, sensor 169 provides information (e.g., a position, a displacement, and/or a movement of one or more parts in tactile output generator 167) to haptic feedback controller 161 and, in accordance with the information provided by sensor 169 about the state of tactile output generator 167, haptic feedback controller 161 adjusts the waveforms output from haptic feedback controller 161 (e.g., waveforms sent to tactile output generator 167, optionally via amplifier 163).", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touch screen (e.g., touch-sensitive display system 112, FIG.", "1A) in accordance with some embodiments.", "The touch screen optionally displays one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200.In these embodiments, as well as others described below, a user is enabled to select one or more of the graphics by making a gesture on the graphics, for example, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scale in the figure) or one or more styluses 203 (not drawn to scale in the figure).", "In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurs when the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics.", "In some embodiments, the gesture optionally includes one or more taps, one or more swipes (from left to right, right to left, upward and/or downward) and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, left to right, upward and/or downward) that has made contact with device 100.In some implementations or circumstances, inadvertent contact with a graphic does not select the graphic.", "For example, a swipe gesture that sweeps over an application icon optionally does not select the corresponding application when the gesture corresponding to selection is a tap.", "Device 100 optionally also includes one or more physical buttons, such as “home” or menu button 204.As described previously, menu button 204 is, optionally, used to navigate to any application 136 in a set of applications that are, optionally executed on device 100.Alternatively, in some embodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI displayed on the touch-screen display.", "In some embodiments, device 100 includes the touch-screen display, menu button 204 (sometimes called home button 204), push button 206 for powering the device on/off and locking the device, volume adjustment button(s) 208, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card slot 210, head set jack 212, and docking/charging external port 124.Push button 206 is, optionally, used to turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the device by depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefined time interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate an unlock process.", "In some embodiments, device 100 also accepts verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through microphone 113.Device 100 also, optionally, includes one or more contact intensity sensors 165 for detecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive display system 112 and/or one or more tactile output generators 167 for generating tactile outputs for a user of device 100.FIGS.", "2B-2C show exploded views of a first input device suitable for use in the electronic devices shown in FIGS.", "1A, 2A, 3, and/or 4A (e.g., as home button 204).", "FIG.", "2B shows an example of an intensity-sensitive home button with capacitive sensors used to determine a range of intensity values that correspond to force applied to the intensity-sensitive home button.", "FIG.", "2C shows an example of a home button with a mechanical switch element.", "With reference to FIG.", "2B, the input device stack 220 includes a cover element 222 and a trim 224.In the illustrated embodiment, the trim 224 completely surrounds the sides of the cover element 222 and the perimeter of the top surface of the cover element 222.Other embodiments are not limited to this configuration.", "For example, in one embodiment the sides and/or top surface of the cover element 222 can be partially surrounded by the trim 224.Alternatively, the trim 224 can be omitted in other embodiments.", "Both the cover element 222 and the trim 224 can be formed with any suitable opaque, transparent, and/or translucent material.", "For example, the cover element 222 can be made of glass, plastic, or sapphire and the trim 224 may be made of a metal or plastic.", "In some embodiments, one or more additional layers (not shown) can be positioned below the cover element 222.For example, an opaque ink layer can be disposed below the cover element 222 when the cover element 222 is made of a transparent material.", "The opaque ink layer can conceal the other components in the input device stack 220 so that the other components are not visible through the transparent cover element 222.A first circuit layer 226 can be disposed below the cover element 222.Any suitable circuit layer may be used.", "For example, the first circuit layer 226 may be a circuit board or a flexible circuit.", "The first circuit layer 226 can include one or more circuits, signal lines, and/or integrated circuits.", "In one embodiment, the first circuit layer 226 includes a biometric sensor 228.Any suitable type of biometric sensor can be used.", "For example, in one embodiment the biometric sensor is a capacitive fingerprint sensor that captures at least one fingerprint when a user's finger (or fingers) approaches and/or contacts the cover element 222.The first circuit layer 226 may be attached to the bottom surface of the cover element 222 with an adhesive layer 230.Any suitable adhesive can be used for the adhesive layer.", "For example, a pressure sensitive adhesive layer may be used as the adhesive layer 230.A compliant layer 232 is disposed below the first circuit layer 226.In one embodiment, the compliant layer 232 includes an opening 234 formed in the compliant layer 232.The opening 234 exposes the top surface of the first circuit layer 226 and/or the biometric sensor 228 when the device stack 220 is assembled.", "In the illustrated embodiment, the compliant layer 232 is positioned around an interior perimeter of the trim 224 and/or around a peripheral edge of the cover element 222.Although depicted in a circular shape, the compliant layer 232 can have any given shape and/or dimensions, such as a square or oval.", "The compliant layer 232 is shown as a continuous compliant layer in FIGS.", "2B and 2C, but other embodiments are not limited to this configuration.", "In some embodiments, multiple discrete compliant layers may be used in the device stack 220.Additionally, in some embodiments, the compliant layer 232 does not include the opening 234 and the compliant layer 232 extends across at least a portion of the input device stack 220.For example, the compliant layer 232 may extend across the bottom surface of the cover element 222, the bottom surface of the first circuit layer 226, or a portion of the bottom surface of the cover element 222 (e.g., around the peripheral edge of the cover element) and the bottom surface of the first circuit layer 226.A second circuit layer 238 is positioned below the first circuit layer 226.A flexible circuit and a circuit board are examples of a circuit layer that can be used in the second circuit layer 238.In some embodiments, the second circuit layer 238 can include a first circuit section 240 and a second circuit section 242.The first and second circuit sections 240, 242 can be electrically connected one another other.", "The first circuit section 240 can include a first set of one or more intensity sensor components that are included in an intensity sensor.", "In some embodiments, the first circuit section 240 can be electrically connected to the first circuit layer 226.For example, when the first circuit layer 226 includes a biometric sensor 228, the biometric sensor 228 may be electrically connected to the first circuit section 240 of the second circuit layer 238.The second circuit section 242 can include additional circuitry, such as signal lines, circuit components, integrated circuits, and the like.", "In one embodiment, the second circuit section 242 may include a board-to-board connector 244 to electrically connect the second circuit layer 238 to other circuitry in the electronic device.", "For example, the second circuit layer 238 can be operably connected to a processing device using the board-to-board connector 244.Additionally or alternatively, the second circuit layer 238 may be operably connected to circuitry that transmits signals (e.g., sense signals) received from the intensity sensor component(s) in the first circuit section 240 to a processing device.", "Additionally or alternatively, the second circuit layer 238 may be operably connected to circuitry that provides signals (e.g., drive signals, a reference signal) to the one or more intensity sensor components in the first circuit section 240.In some embodiments, the first circuit section 240 of the second circuit layer 238 may be attached to the bottom surface of the first circuit layer 226 using an adhesive layer 236.In a non-limiting example, a die attach film may be used to attach the first circuit section 240 to the bottom surface of the first circuit layer 226.A third circuit layer 246 is disposed below the first circuit section 240 of the second circuit layer 238.The third circuit layer 246 may include a second set of one or more intensity sensor components that are included in an intensity sensor.", "The third circuit layer 246 is supported by and/or attached to a support element 248.In one embodiment, the support element 248 is attached to the trim 224 to produce an enclosure for the other components in the device stack 220.The support element 248 may be attached to the trim 224 using any suitable attachment mechanism.", "The first set of one or more intensity sensor components in the first circuit section 240 and the second set of one or more intensity sensor components in the third circuit layer 246 together form an intensity sensor.", "The intensity sensor can use any suitable intensity sensing technology.", "Example sensing technologies include, but are not limited to, capacitive, piezoelectric, piezoresistive, ultrasonic, and magnetic.", "In the examples shown in FIGS.", "2B and 2C, the intensity sensor is a capacitive force sensor.", "With a capacitive force sensor, the first set of one or more intensity sensor components can include a first set of one or more electrodes 250 and the second set of one or more force sensor components a second set of one or more electrodes 252.Although shown in a square shape in FIGS.", "2B and 2C each electrode in the first and second sets of one or more electrodes 250, 252 can have any given shape (e.g., rectangles, circles).", "Additionally, the one or more electrodes in the first and second sets 250, 252 may be arranged in any given pattern (e.g., one or more rows and one or more columns).", "FIGS.", "2B and 2C show two electrodes in the first and second sets of one or more electrodes 250, 252.However, other embodiments are not limited to this configuration.", "The first and second sets of one or more electrodes 250, 252 may each be a single electrode or multiple discrete electrodes.", "For example, if the first set of one or more electrodes is a single electrode, the second set of one or more electrodes comprises multiple discrete electrodes.", "In some embodiments, the second set of one or more electrodes can be a single electrode and the first set includes multiple discrete electrodes.", "Alternatively, both the first and second sets of one or more electrodes may each include multiple discrete electrodes.", "Each electrode in the first set of one or more electrodes 250 is aligned in at least one direction (e.g., vertically) with a respective electrode in the second set of one or more electrodes 252 to produce one or more capacitors.", "When a force input is applied to the cover element 222 (e.g., the input surface of the input device), at least one electrode in the first set 250 moves closer to a respective electrode in the second set 252, which varies the capacitance of the capacitor(s).", "A capacitance signal sensed from each capacitor represents a capacitance measurement of that capacitor.", "A processing device (not shown) is configured to receive the capacitance signal(s) and correlate the capacitance signal(s) to an amount of intensity applied to the cover element 222.In some embodiments the force sensor can replace a switch element and different intensity thresholds can be used to determine activation events.", "In some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2C, a switch element 254 can be positioned below the support element 248.The switch element 254 registers a user input when a force input applied to the cover element 222 exceeds a given amount of force (e.g., a force threshold associated with closing the distance between the first circuit section 240 and the third circuit layer 246).", "Any suitable switch element can be used.", "For example, the switch element 254 may be a dome switch that collapses when the force input applied to the cover element 222 exceeds the force threshold.", "When collapsed, the dome switch completes a circuit that is detected by a processing device and recognized as a user input (e.g., a selection of an icon, function, or application).", "In one embodiment, the dome switch is arranged such that the apex of the collapsible dome is proximate to the bottom surface of the support plate 248.In another embodiment, the base of the collapsible dome can be proximate to the bottom surface of the support plate 248.FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of an example multifunction device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface in accordance with some embodiments.", "Device 300 need not be portable.", "In some embodiments, device 300 is a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a multimedia player device, a navigation device, an educational device (such as a child's learning toy), a gaming system, or a control device (e.g., a home or industrial controller).", "Device 300 typically includes one or more processing units (CPU's) 310, one or more network or other communications interfaces 360, memory 370, and one or more communication buses 320 for interconnecting these components.", "Communication buses 320 optionally include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controls communications between system components.", "Device 300 includes input/output (I/O) interface 330 comprising display 340, which is typically a touch-screen display.", "I/O interface 330 also optionally includes a keyboard and/or mouse (or other pointing device) 350 and touchpad 355, tactile output generator 357 for generating tactile outputs on device 300 (e.g., similar to tactile output generator(s) 167 described above with reference to FIG.", "1A), sensors 359 (e.g., optical, acceleration, proximity, touch-sensitive, and/or contact intensity sensors similar to contact intensity sensor(s) 165 described above with reference to FIG.", "1A).", "Memory 370 includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory devices; and optionally includes non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices.", "Memory 370 optionally includes one or more storage devices remotely located from CPU(s) 310.In some embodiments, memory 370 stores programs, modules, and data structures analogous to the programs, modules, and data structures stored in memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG.", "1A), or a subset thereof.", "Furthermore, memory 370 optionally stores additional programs, modules, and data structures not present in memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100.For example, memory 370 of device 300 optionally stores drawing module 380, presentation module 382, word processing module 384, website creation module 386, disk authoring module 388, and/or spreadsheet module 390, while memory 102 of portable multifunction device 100 (FIG.", "1A) optionally does not store these modules.", "Each of the above identified elements in FIG.", "3 are, optionally, stored in one or more of the previously mentioned memory devices.", "Each of the above identified modules corresponds to a set of instructions for performing a function described above.", "The above identified modules or programs (i.e., sets of instructions) need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, and thus various subsets of these modules are, optionally, combined or otherwise re-arranged in various embodiments.", "In some embodiments, memory 370 optionally stores a subset of the modules and data structures identified above.", "Furthermore, memory 370 optionally stores additional modules and data structures not described above.", "Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”) that are, optionally, implemented on portable multifunction device 100.FIG.", "4A illustrates an example user interface for a menu of applications on portable multifunction device 100 in accordance with some embodiments.", "Similar user interfaces are, optionally, implemented on device 300.In some embodiments, user interface 400 includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof: Signal strength indicator(s) 402 for wireless communication(s), such as cellular and Wi-Fi signals; Time 404; a Bluetooth indicator; Battery status indicator 406; Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as: Icon 416 for telephone module 138, labeled “Phone,” which optionally includes an indicator 414 of the number of missed calls or voicemail messages; Icon 418 for e-mail client module 140, labeled “Mail,” which optionally includes an indicator 410 of the number of unread e-mails; Icon 420 for browser module 147, labeled “Browser;” and Icon 422 for video and music player module 152, also referred to as iPod (trademark of Apple Inc.) module 152, labeled “iPod;” and Icons for other applications, such as: Icon 424 for IM module 141, labeled “Messages;” Icon 426 for calendar module 148, labeled “Calendar;” Icon 428 for image management module 144, labeled “Photos;” Icon 430 for camera module 143, labeled “Camera;” Icon 432 for online video module 155, labeled “Online Video;” Icon 434 for stocks widget 149-2, labeled “Stocks;” Icon 436 for map module 154, labeled “Maps;” Icon 438 for weather widget 149-1, labeled “Weather;” Icon 440 for alarm clock widget 149-4, labeled “Clock;” Icon 442 for workout support module 142, labeled “Workout Support;” Icon 444 for notes module 153, labeled “Notes;” and Icon 446 for a settings application or module, which provides access to settings for device 100 and its various applications 136.It should be noted that the icon labels illustrated in FIG.", "4A are merely examples.", "For example, in some embodiments, icon 422 for video and music player module 152 is labeled “Music” or “Music Player.” Other labels are, optionally, used for various application icons.", "In some embodiments, a label for a respective application icon includes a name of an application corresponding to the respective application icon.", "In some embodiments, a label for a particular application icon is distinct from a name of an application corresponding to the particular application icon.", "FIG.", "4B illustrates an example user interface on a device (e.g., device 300, FIG.", "3) with a touch-sensitive surface 451 (e.g., a tablet or touchpad 355, FIG.", "3) that is separate from the display 450.Device 300 also, optionally, includes one or more contact intensity sensors (e.g., one or more of sensors 357) for detecting intensity of contacts on touch-sensitive surface 451 and/or one or more tactile output generators 359 for generating tactile outputs for a user of device 300.Although many of the examples that follow will be given with reference to inputs on touch screen display 112 (where the touch sensitive surface and the display are combined), in some embodiments, the device detects inputs on a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the display, as shown in FIG.", "4B.", "In some embodiments, the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., 451 in FIG.", "4B) has a primary axis (e.g., 452 in FIG.", "4B) that corresponds to a primary axis (e.g., 453 in FIG.", "4B) on the display (e.g., 450).", "In accordance with these embodiments, the device detects contacts (e.g., 460 and 462 in FIG.", "4B) with the touch-sensitive surface 451 at locations that correspond to respective locations on the display (e.g., in FIG.", "4B, 460 corresponds to 468 and 462 corresponds to 470).", "In this way, user inputs (e.g., contacts 460 and 462, and movements thereof) detected by the device on the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., 451 in FIG.", "4B) are used by the device to manipulate the user interface on the display (e.g., 450 in FIG.", "4B) of the multifunction device when the touch-sensitive surface is separate from the display.", "It should be understood that similar methods are, optionally, used for other user interfaces described herein.", "Additionally, while the following examples are given primarily with reference to finger inputs (e.g., finger contacts, finger tap gestures, finger swipe gestures, etc.", "), it should be understood that, in some embodiments, one or more of the finger inputs are replaced with input from another input device (e.g., a stylus input).", "Similarly, when multiple user inputs are simultaneously detected, it should be understood that multiple finger contacts, or a combination of finger contacts and stylus input are used simultaneously.", "As used in the specification and claims, the term “intensity” of a contact on a touch-sensitive surface refers to the force or pressure (force per unit area) of a contact (e.g., a finger contact or a stylus contact) on the touch-sensitive surface, or to a substitute (proxy) for the force or pressure of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface.", "The intensity of a contact has a range of values that includes at least four distinct values and more typically includes hundreds of distinct values (e.g., at least 256).", "Intensity of a contact is, optionally, determined (or measured) using various approaches and various sensors or combinations of sensors.", "For example, one or more force sensors underneath or adjacent to the touch-sensitive surface are, optionally, used to measure force at various points on the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some implementations, force measurements from multiple force sensors are combined (e.g., a weighted average or a sum) to determine an estimated force of a contact.", "Similarly, a pressure-sensitive tip of a stylus is, optionally, used to determine a pressure of the stylus on the touch-sensitive surface.", "Alternatively, the size of the contact area detected on the touch-sensitive surface and/or changes thereto, the capacitance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto, and/or the resistance of the touch-sensitive surface proximate to the contact and/or changes thereto are, optionally, used as a substitute for the force or pressure of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are used directly to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is described in units corresponding to the substitute measurements).", "In some implementations, the substitute measurements for contact force or pressure are converted to an estimated force or pressure and the estimated force or pressure is used to determine whether an intensity threshold has been exceeded (e.g., the intensity threshold is a pressure threshold measured in units of pressure).", "Using the intensity of a contact as an attribute of a user input allows for user access to additional device functionality that may otherwise not be readily accessible by the user on a reduced-size device with limited real estate for displaying affordances (e.g., on a touch-sensitive display) and/or receiving user input (e.g., via a touch-sensitive display, a touch-sensitive surface, or a physical/mechanical control such as a knob or a button).", "In some embodiments, contact/motion module 130 uses a set of one or more intensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by a user (e.g., to determine whether a user has “clicked” on an icon).", "In some embodiments, at least a subset of the intensity thresholds are determined in accordance with software parameters (e.g., the intensity thresholds are not determined by the activation thresholds of particular physical actuators and can be adjusted without changing the physical hardware of device 100).", "For example, a mouse “click” threshold of a trackpad or touch-screen display can be set to any of a large range of predefined thresholds values without changing the trackpad or touch-screen display hardware.", "Additionally, in some implementations a user of the device is provided with software settings for adjusting one or more of the set of intensity thresholds (e.g., by adjusting individual intensity thresholds and/or by adjusting a plurality of intensity thresholds at once with a system-level click “intensity” parameter).", "As used in the specification and claims, the term “characteristic intensity” of a contact refers to a characteristic of the contact based on one or more intensities of the contact.", "In some embodiments, the characteristic intensity is based on multiple intensity samples.", "The characteristic intensity is, optionally, based on a predefined number of intensity samples, or a set of intensity samples collected during a predetermined time period (e.g., 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 seconds) relative to a predefined event (e.g., after detecting the contact, prior to detecting liftoff of the contact, before or after detecting a start of movement of the contact, prior to detecting an end of the contact, before or after detecting an increase in intensity of the contact, and/or before or after detecting a decrease in intensity of the contact).", "A characteristic intensity of a contact is, optionally based on one or more of: a maximum value of the intensities of the contact, a mean value of the intensities of the contact, an average value of the intensities of the contact, a top 10 percentile value of the intensities of the contact, a value at the half maximum of the intensities of the contact, a value at the 90 percent maximum of the intensities of the contact, a value produced by low-pass filtering the intensity of the contact over a predefined period or starting at a predefined time, or the like.", "In some embodiments, the duration of the contact is used in determining the characteristic intensity (e.g., when the characteristic intensity is an average of the intensity of the contact over time).", "In some embodiments, the characteristic intensity is compared to a set of one or more intensity thresholds to determine whether an operation has been performed by a user.", "For example, the set of one or more intensity thresholds may include a first intensity threshold and a second intensity threshold.", "In this example, a contact with a characteristic intensity that does not exceed the first threshold results in a first operation, a contact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds the first intensity threshold and does not exceed the second intensity threshold results in a second operation, and a contact with a characteristic intensity that exceeds the second intensity threshold results in a third operation.", "In some embodiments, a comparison between the characteristic intensity and one or more intensity thresholds is used to determine whether or not to perform one or more operations (e.g., whether to perform a respective option or forgo performing the respective operation) rather than being used to determine whether to perform a first operation or a second operation.", "In some embodiments, a portion of a gesture is identified for purposes of determining a characteristic intensity.", "For example, a touch-sensitive surface may receive a continuous swipe contact transitioning from a start location and reaching an end location (e.g., a drag gesture), at which point the intensity of the contact increases.", "In this example, the characteristic intensity of the contact at the end location may be based on only a portion of the continuous swipe contact, and not the entire swipe contact (e.g., only the portion of the swipe contact at the end location).", "In some embodiments, a smoothing algorithm may be applied to the intensities of the swipe contact prior to determining the characteristic intensity of the contact.", "For example, the smoothing algorithm optionally includes one or more of: an unweighted sliding-average smoothing algorithm, a triangular smoothing algorithm, a median filter smoothing algorithm, and/or an exponential smoothing algorithm.", "In some circumstances, these smoothing algorithms eliminate narrow spikes or dips in the intensities of the swipe contact for purposes of determining a characteristic intensity.", "The user interface figures described herein optionally include various intensity diagrams that show the current intensity of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface relative to one or more intensity thresholds (e.g., a contact detection intensity threshold IT0, a light press intensity threshold ITL, a deep press intensity threshold ITD (e.g., that is at least initially higher than IL), and/or one or more other intensity thresholds (e.g., an intensity threshold IH that is lower than IL)).", "This intensity diagram is typically not part of the displayed user interface, but is provided to aid in the interpretation of the figures.", "In some embodiments, the light press intensity threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will perform operations typically associated with clicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad.", "In some embodiments, the deep press intensity threshold corresponds to an intensity at which the device will perform operations that are different from operations typically associated with clicking a button of a physical mouse or a trackpad.", "In some embodiments, when a contact is detected with a characteristic intensity below the light press intensity threshold (e.g., and above a nominal contact-detection intensity threshold IT0 below which the contact is no longer detected), the device will move a focus selector in accordance with movement of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface without performing an operation associated with the light press intensity threshold or the deep press intensity threshold.", "Generally, unless otherwise stated, these intensity thresholds are consistent between different sets of user interface figures.", "In some embodiments, the response of the device to inputs detected by the device depends on criteria based on the contact intensity during the input.", "For example, for some “light press” inputs, the intensity of a contact exceeding a first intensity threshold during the input triggers a first response.", "In some embodiments, the response of the device to inputs detected by the device depends on criteria that include both the contact intensity during the input and time-based criteria.", "For example, for some “deep press” inputs, the intensity of a contact exceeding a second intensity threshold during the input, greater than the first intensity threshold for a light press, triggers a second response only if a delay time has elapsed between meeting the first intensity threshold and meeting the second intensity threshold.", "This delay time is typically less than 200 ms (milliseconds) in duration (e.g., 40, 100, or 120 ms, depending on the magnitude of the second intensity threshold, with the delay time increasing as the second intensity threshold increases).", "This delay time helps to avoid accidental recognition of deep press inputs.", "As another example, for some “deep press” inputs, there is a reduced-sensitivity time period that occurs after the time at which the first intensity threshold is met.", "During the reduced-sensitivity time period, the second intensity threshold is increased.", "This temporary increase in the second intensity threshold also helps to avoid accidental deep press inputs.", "For other deep press inputs, the response to detection of a deep press input does not depend on time-based criteria.", "In some embodiments, one or more of the input intensity thresholds and/or the corresponding outputs vary based on one or more factors, such as user settings, contact motion, input timing, application running, rate at which the intensity is applied, number of concurrent inputs, user history, environmental factors (e.g., ambient noise), focus selector position, and the like.", "Example factors are described in U.S. patent application Ser.", "Nos.", "14/399,606 and 14/624,296, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.", "For example, FIG.", "4C illustrates a dynamic intensity threshold 480 that changes over time based in part on the intensity of touch input 476 over time.", "Dynamic intensity threshold 480 is a sum of two components, first component 474 that decays over time after a predefined delay time p1 from when touch input 476 is initially detected, and second component 478 that trails the intensity of touch input 476 over time.", "The initial high intensity threshold of first component 474 reduces accidental triggering of a “deep press” response, while still allowing an immediate “deep press” response if touch input 476 provides sufficient intensity.", "Second component 478 reduces unintentional triggering of a “deep press” response by gradual intensity fluctuations of in a touch input.", "In some embodiments, when touch input 476 satisfies dynamic intensity threshold 480 (e.g., at point 481 in FIG.", "4C), the “deep press” response is triggered.", "FIG.", "4D illustrates another dynamic intensity threshold 486 (e.g., intensity threshold ID).", "FIG.", "4D also illustrates two other intensity thresholds: a first intensity threshold IH and a second intensity threshold IL.", "In FIG.", "4D, although touch input 484 satisfies the first intensity threshold IH and the second intensity threshold IL prior to time p2, no response is provided until delay time p2 has elapsed at time 482.Also in FIG.", "4D, dynamic intensity threshold 486 decays over time, with the decay starting at time 488 after a predefined delay time p1 has elapsed from time 482 (when the response associated with the second intensity threshold IL was triggered).", "This type of dynamic intensity threshold reduces accidental triggering of a response associated with the dynamic intensity threshold ID immediately after, or concurrently with, triggering a response associated with a lower intensity threshold, such as the first intensity threshold IH or the second intensity threshold IL.", "FIG.", "4E illustrate yet another dynamic intensity threshold 492 (e.g., intensity threshold ID).", "In FIG.", "4E, a response associated with the intensity threshold IL is triggered after the delay time p2 has elapsed from when touch input 490 is initially detected.", "Concurrently, dynamic intensity threshold 492 decays after the predefined delay time p1 has elapsed from when touch input 490 is initially detected.", "So a decrease in intensity of touch input 490 after triggering the response associated with the intensity threshold IL, followed by an increase in the intensity of touch input 490, without releasing touch input 490, can trigger a response associated with the intensity threshold ID (e.g., at time 494) even when the intensity of touch input 490 is below another intensity threshold, for example, the intensity threshold IL.", "An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the light press intensity threshold ITL to an intensity between the light press intensity threshold ITL and the deep press intensity threshold ITD is sometimes referred to as a “light press” input.", "An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the deep press intensity threshold ITD to an intensity above the deep press intensity threshold ITD is sometimes referred to as a “deep press” input.", "An increase of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold IT0 to an intensity between the contact-detection intensity threshold IT0 and the light press intensity threshold ITL is sometimes referred to as detecting the contact on the touch-surface.", "A decrease of characteristic intensity of the contact from an intensity above the contact-detection intensity threshold IT0 to an intensity below the contact-detection intensity threshold IT0 is sometimes referred to as detecting liftoff of the contact from the touch-surface.", "In some embodiments IT0 is zero.", "In some embodiments, IT0 is greater than zero.", "In some illustrations a shaded circle or oval is used to represent intensity of a contact on the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some illustrations, a circle or oval without shading is used represent a respective contact on the touch-sensitive surface without specifying the intensity of the respective contact.", "In some embodiments, the dynamic intensity thresholds illustrated in FIGS.", "4C-4E are used for inputs on touch-sensitive display system 112.In some embodiments, different criteria (e.g., criteria described with respect to FIGS.", "5A-5II) are used for inputs on an intensity-sensitive input device, such as intensity-sensitive home buttons illustrated in FIGS.", "2B and 2C.", "In some embodiments, the criteria described with respect to FIGS.", "5A-5II are used for all inputs instead of the dynamic intensity thresholds illustrated in FIGS.", "4C-4E.", "In some embodiments, described herein, one or more operations are performed in response to detecting a gesture that includes a respective press input or in response to detecting the respective press input performed with a respective contact (or a plurality of contacts), where the respective press input is detected based at least in part on detecting an increase in intensity of the contact (or plurality of contacts) above a press-input intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the increase in intensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the respective operation is performed on a “down stroke” of the respective press input).", "In some embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contact below the press-input threshold (e.g., the respective operation is performed on an “up stroke” of the respective press input).", "In some embodiments, the device employs intensity hysteresis to avoid accidental inputs sometimes termed “jitter,” where the device defines or selects a hysteresis intensity threshold with a predefined relationship to the press-input intensity threshold (e.g., the hysteresis intensity threshold is X intensity units lower than the press-input intensity threshold or the hysteresis intensity threshold is 75%, 90%, or some reasonable proportion of the press-input intensity threshold).", "Thus, in some embodiments, the press input includes an increase in intensity of the respective contact above the press-input intensity threshold and a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresis intensity threshold that corresponds to the press-input intensity threshold, and the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the subsequent decrease in intensity of the respective contact below the hysteresis intensity threshold (e.g., the respective operation is performed on an “up stroke” of the respective press input).", "Similarly, in some embodiments, the press input is detected only when the device detects an increase in intensity of the contact from an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity at or above the press-input intensity threshold and, optionally, a subsequent decrease in intensity of the contact to an intensity at or below the hysteresis intensity, and the respective operation is performed in response to detecting the press input (e.g., the increase in intensity of the contact or the decrease in intensity of the contact, depending on the circumstances).", "For ease of explanation, the description of operations performed in response to a press input associated with a press-input intensity threshold or in response to a gesture including the press input are, optionally, triggered in response to detecting: an increase in intensity of a contact above the press-input intensity threshold, an increase in intensity of a contact from an intensity below the hysteresis intensity threshold to an intensity above the press-input intensity threshold, a decrease in intensity of the contact below the press-input intensity threshold, or a decrease in intensity of the contact below the hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to the press-input intensity threshold.", "Additionally, in examples where an operation is described as being performed in response to detecting a decrease in intensity of a contact below the press-input intensity threshold, the operation is, optionally, performed in response to detecting a decrease in intensity of the contact below a hysteresis intensity threshold corresponding to, and lower than, the press-input intensity threshold.", "As described above, in some embodiments, the triggering of these responses also depends on time-based criteria being met (e.g., a delay time has elapsed between a first intensity threshold being met and a second intensity threshold being met).", "Although only specific frequencies, amplitudes, and waveforms are represented in the sample tactile output patterns in FIG.", "4F for illustrative purposes, tactile output patterns with other frequencies, amplitudes, and waveforms may be used for similar purposes.", "For example, waveforms that have between 0.5 to 4 cycles can be used.", "Other frequencies in the range of 60 Hz-400 Hz may be used as well.", "User Interfaces and Associated Processes Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”) and associated processes that may be implemented on an electronic device, such as portable multifunction device 100 or device 300, with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and one or more sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface.", "FIGS.", "5A-5II illustrate example user interfaces and a variety of timeout periods and intensity thresholds used for detecting gestures.", "Some of the intensity thresholds and timeout periods are based on prior input intensity (e.g., during input of a gesture, some intensity thresholds are based on a characteristic intensity or representative intensity of the input during the same gesture), in accordance with some embodiments.", "The user interfaces in these figures are used to illustrate the processes described below, including the processes in FIGS.", "6A-6F, 7A-7E, and 8A-8C.", "For convenience of explanation, some of the embodiments will be discussed with reference to operations performed on a device with a touch-sensitive display system 112.In such embodiments, the focus selector is, optionally: a respective finger or stylus contact, a representative point corresponding to a finger or stylus contact (e.g., a centroid of a respective contact or a point associated with a respective contact), or a centroid of two or more contacts detected on the touch-sensitive display system 112.However, analogous operations are, optionally, performed on a device with a display 450 and a separate touch-sensitive surface 451 in response to detecting the contacts on the touch-sensitive surface 451 while displaying the user interfaces shown in the figures on the display 450, along with a focus selector.", "FIGS.", "5A-5N illustrate user interfaces, user input intensities and corresponding intensity thresholds, for distinguishing between a number of gestures, such as single click, double click and long press gestures.", "FIGS.", "5A-5C illustrate a single click gesture on a home button 204 of an electronic device that also includes a touch-sensitive display 112.In some embodiments, home button 204 is separate from the display and, optionally, includes a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display.", "In some embodiments, home button 204 is a virtual home button that is displayed on the display (e.g., with a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display or, optionally, using intensity sensors integrated into the display to determine an intensity of an input with the virtual home button).", "Home button 204 is associated with an intensity sensor that is used to measure the intensity of use inputs on the home button.", "FIG.", "5A shows the electronic device 100, display 112 and home button 204, and also shows a first down-click intensity threshold ID.", "As shown in FIG.", "5B, a touch input 505 on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 520, sometimes called a first down-click, reaching a peak intensity, IPeak, that is above a first down-click intensity threshold ID (e.g., because a user will typically overshoot the down-click intensity threshold when performing a down-click operation).", "As a result, the electronic device, or a module thereof (e.g., contact/motion module 130, FIG.", "1A), detects that the increase in intensity meets down-click detection criteria, which requires that the intensity of the input increase above the first down-click intensity threshold ID in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met.", "In some embodiments, when the down-click intensity threshold is reached the device provides feedback (e.g., audio and/or tactile feedback) indicating that the down-click intensity threshold has been reached.", "As shown in FIG.", "5C, after the first increase in intensity, the intensity of the touch input on home button 204 decreases, and the electronic device detects a first decrease in intensity of the contact 522, sometimes called a first up-click.", "In the example shown in FIGS.", "5B-5C, the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, which requires that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold IU in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met.", "As will be explained in more detail below, the first up-click intensity threshold IU is selected based on the intensity of the input during the first increase in intensity of the contact 520.As a result of the first decrease in intensity of the contact 522 meeting the up-click detection criteria, electronic device 100 provides first feedback.", "In the example shown in FIGS.", "5B-5C, the first feedback is, or includes, switching from displaying the user interface of a first application (e.g., a timer application) to displaying an application launch user interface.", "In some embodiments, the user interface transition shown in FIGS.", "5B-5C is accomplished by closing the application (e.g., a timer application), or ceasing to display the user interface of the application, in response to single click gesture on home button 204, the performance of which is detected when the first decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria.", "In some embodiments, when the up-click intensity threshold is reached the device provides feedback (e.g., audio and/or tactile feedback) indicating that the up-click intensity threshold has been reached.", "In some embodiments, the tactile output for the up-click is different from the tactile output for the down-click (e.g., the tactile output for the up-click has a reduced amplitude relative to the down-click tactile output, such as the MicroTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern with a gain of 0.5 as opposed to a MicroTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern with a gain of 1.0 for the down-click).", "In contrast to the touch input-based gesture represented by FIGS.", "5B-5C, a touch input-based gesture represented by FIGS.", "5B and 5F corresponds to a touch input in which the first decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria (e.g., does not decrease below the first up-click intensity threshold IU), and as a result, the electronic device forgoes providing the first feedback (e.g., the visual, audio and/or tactile feedback).", "FIG.", "5D-5E illustrate a second single click input.", "As shown in FIG.", "5D, a second touch input 507 on home button 204, detected after the conclusion of the first touch input 505 (shown in FIG.", "5C), has an intensity that changes over time, including an increase in intensity 524, reaching a peak intensity, IPeak, that is above the first down-click intensity threshold ID.", "As a result, the electronic device, or a module thereof (e.g., contact/motion module 130, FIG.", "1A), detects that the increase in intensity 524 meets the down-click detection criteria.", "In some embodiments, when the down-click intensity threshold is reached the device provides feedback (e.g., audio and/or tactile feedback) indicating that the down-click intensity threshold has been reached.", "As shown in FIG.", "5E, after the increase in intensity 524 of the second input 507, the intensity of the touch input on home button 204 decreases, and the electronic device detects a decrease in intensity of the input 526.In the example shown in FIGS.", "5D-5E, the decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, which requires that the intensity of the input decrease below the first up-click intensity threshold IU in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met.", "As a result of the decrease in intensity of the input meeting the up-click detection criteria, electronic device 100 provides feedback.", "In the example shown in FIGS.", "5D-5E, the feedback is, or includes, scrolling from one screen of icons in an application launching user interface (as shown in FIG.", "5D), including a first set of application launch icons, to another screen of icons in the application launch user interface, including a second set of application launch icons that include application launch icons not in the first set of application launch icons.", "In some embodiments, when the up-click intensity threshold is reached the device provides feedback (e.g., audio and/or tactile feedback) indicating that the up-click intensity threshold has been reached.", "In FIGS.", "5C, 5D and 5E, indicator 510 indicates the point in time at which the down-click detection criteria is met, indicator 512 indicates the point in time at which the up-click detection criteria is met, indicator 514 indicates the point in time at which the down-click detection criteria is met for a second time, and indicator 516 indicates the point in time at which the up-click detection criteria is met for a second time.", "In some embodiments, the electronic device or a module thereof (e.g., an application-independent module, such as contact/motion module 130, FIG.", "1A) generates an event (e.g., a down-click event) in response to the down-click detection criteria being met, or generates an event (e.g., an up-click event) in response to the down-click detection criteria being met, or both.", "In some embodiments, the event (e.g., a down-click event or an up-click event) is delivered to one or more targets, such as an application, or a web page for processing by instructions in the web page, or to a web browser, which is a special case of an application, and/or a haptics feedback module, such as module 133, FIG.", "1A.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "5C, in some embodiments, a tactile output 502 (e.g., a tactile output having the MicroTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F) is generated in conjunction with the electronic device detecting that the decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click criteria, sometimes called detecting an up-click or detecting a single click input.", "Furthermore, referring to FIGS.", "5B, 5BB, 5DD, 5FF, 5HH and 5II, in some embodiments, a tactile output 502 or 504 is generated in conjunction with the electronic device detecting that the increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click criteria, sometimes called detecting a down-click or a long press, for example as discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "5Z through 5II.", "FIGS.", "5G-5I illustrate two examples of double click inputs and the provision of corresponding feedback.", "In particular, FIG.", "5G shows a touch input that includes a first increase in intensity 532, reaching a peak intensity, IPeak, that is above a first down-click intensity threshold ID.", "After reaching the peak intensity, IPeak, the touch input includes a first decrease in intensity of the input 534, to a low intensity, IValley, that is below a first up-click intensity threshold IU in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met.", "As noted above, the first up-click intensity threshold IU is determined based on the intensity of the input during the first increase in intensity of the contact 532.Subsequent to the first decrease in intensity 534, the touch input includes a second increase in intensity 536 to an intensity above a second down-click intensity threshold ID2.As will be explained in more detail below, the second down-click intensity threshold ID2 is determined based on the intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "For example, in some embodiments the second down-click intensity threshold ID2 is determined based on the minimum or lowest intensity of the input, IValley, during the first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "In some embodiments, the input shown in FIG.", "5G includes a first increase in intensity 532 that satisfies down-click detection criteria, as indicated by indicator 510, followed by a first decrease in intensity 534 that satisfies up-click detection criteria, as indicated by indicator 512, followed by a second increase in intensity 536 that satisfies the down-click detection criteria as indicated by indicator 518, where the down-click detection criteria includes a first down-click intensity threshold for the first increase in intensity and includes a second down-click intensity threshold for the second increase in intensity.", "In some embodiments, represented by the transition from FIG.", "5G to FIG.", "5I, when the electronic device 101 determines that the first increase in intensity 532, first decrease in intensity 534 and second increase in intensity 536 of the input shown in FIG.", "5G has satisfied the down-click detection criteria, up-click detection criteria, and down-click detection criteria, respectively, the electronic device produces second feedback (e.g., visual, audio and/or tactile feedback) indicating that the second increase in intensity was recognized as part of a double-click input, such as displaying a multitasking user interface as shown in FIG.", "5H.", "In some embodiments, the second feedback is generated, or initiated, at or immediately following the time, indicated by indicator 518 in FIGS.", "5G and 5I, at which the second increase in intensity satisfies the down-click detection criteria.", "It is noted that in some embodiments, or in some circumstances, “one and a half clicks” (e.g., an input that includes, in sequence, first down-click, a first up-click and a second down-click) is treated as double click, which triggers performance of an action, such as producing the second feedback.", "In some embodiments, the second feedback is or includes transitioning to a multitasking user interface, as shown in FIG.", "5I.", "In some embodiments, the second feedback is or includes generating a tactile output 503, as shown in FIGS.", "5H and 5I In some embodiments, tactile output 503 is a tactile output having the MiniTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F).", "In some embodiments, represented by the transition from FIG.", "5G to FIG.", "5H, the input shown in FIG.", "5G continues, with a second decrease in intensity 538 that falls below the up-click intensity threshold IU, and thereby meets the up-click detection criteria at the time indicated by indicator 522.While FIG.", "5H shows the same up-click intensity threshold IU for both the first and second decreases in intensity, in some embodiments, or in some circumstances, the up-click intensity threshold for the second up-click (e.g., the second decrease in intensity) is different from the up-click intensity threshold for the first up-click (e.g., the first decrease in intensity).", "It is noted that in some embodiments, or in some circumstances, “two full clicks” (e.g., an input that includes, in sequence, first down-click 532, a first up-click 534, a second down-click 536, and a second up-click 538) is treated as double click, which triggers performance of an action, such as producing the second feedback (e.g., visual, audio and/or tactile feedback).", "In some embodiments, the second feedback is transitioning to a multitasking user interface, as shown in FIG.", "5H.", "FIG.", "5J shows, in graph form, how the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold ID (see FIGS.", "5C, and 5E-5I) to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact changes based on the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact.", "As shown, the ratio has a maximum value, a2, when the input intensity is ID1, which is greater (e.g., higher) than the first down-click intensity threshold ID, and has a minimum value, a1, when the input intensity is ID2, which is greater (e.g., higher) than ID1.The ratio has a value between 0 and 1.In some embodiments, the ratio's maximum value, a2, is equal to 0.73 and the ratio's minimum value, a1, is equal to 0.6.In one example, when the low pass filtered current intensity of the contact (as discussed below with reference to FIG.", "5K) is 500 g, the ratio is 0.6 and when the low-pass filtered current intensity of the contact is 300 g, the ratio is 0.73.More generally, when the up-click intensity is based on a first intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the first intensity value has a first value; and when the up-click intensity is based on a second intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact that is greater than the first intensity value, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the second intensity value has a second value that is different from (e.g., lower than or higher than) the first value.", "In some embodiments, the ratio shown in FIG.", "5J is multiplier that is applied to (e.g., multiplied with) a characteristic intensity of the input (e.g., a peak intensity of the input during the first increase in intensity, or an intensity value obtained by low-pass filtering the intensity during the first decrease in intensity) to determine the up-click intensity threshold IU.", "FIG.", "5K illustrates the determination of an up-click intensity threshold IU(t) 546 that dynamically changes as intensity of the input changes during a first decrease in intensity 542, after the electronic device has detected a first increase in intensity 540.More specifically, during the first decrease in intensity 542, the intensity of the input is low pass filtered, producing a first time varying value ILPup 544.The first time varying value is then multiplied by either a fixed value, such as 0.7, or an intensity-based value, such as the ratio shown in FIG.", "5J, to produce a time varying up-click intensity threshold IU(t), where the “(t)” symbol indicates that the value is time varying.", "When the intensity of the input matches or decreases below the time varying up-click intensity threshold IU(t), as shown at indicator 548, the up-click detection criteria are satisfied.", "FIG.", "5L illustrates the determination of a down-click intensity threshold ID(t) 554 that dynamically changes as intensity of the input changes during a second increase in intensity 550, after the electronic device has detected a first increase in intensity 540 and a first decrease in intensity 542.More specifically, during the second increase in intensity 550, the intensity of the input is low pass filtered, producing a second time varying value ILPdown 552.In some embodiments, the low pass filtered intensity (ILPdown 552) of the detected intensity of the input during the second increase 550 in intensity of the contact is initially set, at the start of the second increase 550 in intensity of the contact, to the lowest intensity, IValley, of the input during the first decrease 534 in intensity of the contact.", "The second time varying value ILPdown 552 is then multiplied by either a fixed value, such as 1.4, (or, alternatively, divided by a fixed value, such as 0.7) or an intensity-based value, such as the ratio shown in FIG.", "5J, to produce a time varying up-click intensity threshold IU(t) 554, where the “(t)” symbol indicates that the value is time varying.", "When the intensity of the input matches or increases above the time varying down-click intensity threshold ID(t) 554, as shown at indicator 556, the down-click detection criteria are met.", "FIG.", "5M illustrates the determination of an up-click intensity threshold IU2(t) 561 that dynamically changes as intensity of the input changes during a second decrease in intensity 558 (sometimes called a second up-click), after the electronic device has detected a second increase in intensity 550.More specifically, during the second decrease in intensity 558, the intensity of the input is low pass filtered, producing a second time varying value ILP2up 560.The second time varying value is then multiplied by either a fixed value, such as 0.7, or an intensity-based value, such as the ratio shown in FIG.", "5J, to produce a time varying up-click intensity threshold IU2(t) 561, where the “(t)” symbol indicates that the value is time varying.", "When the intensity of the input matches or decreases below the time varying up-click intensity threshold IU2(t) 561, as shown at indicator 562, the up-click detection criteria are satisfied.", "FIG.", "5N is similar to FIG.", "5M, with the exception that a minimum up-click intensity threshold IUM is applied to the time varying up-click intensity threshold IU2(t) 561 of FIG.", "5M, thereby producing a modified time varying up-click intensity threshold IU2M(t) 563.In other words, time varying up-click intensity threshold IU2M(t) 563 is, at each point in time, equal to the greater of time varying up-click intensity threshold IU2(t) 561 and the minimum up-click intensity threshold IUM.", "FIGS.", "5O-5Y illustrate user interfaces, user input intensities and corresponding intensity thresholds, for distinguishing between single click inputs or gestures and double click inputs or gestures, with accelerated or expedited recognition of single click gestures (e.g., based on a determination that a double click input is not going to be performed).", "FIGS.", "5O-5P illustrate a single click gesture, sometimes called a single tap or single tap gesture, on a home button 204 of an electronic device that also includes a touch-sensitive display 112.Home button 204 includes an intensity sensor for measuring the intensity of use inputs on the home button.", "FIG.", "5O shows the electronic device 100, display 112 and home button 204, and also shows a first down-click intensity threshold ID, a first up-click intensity threshold IU, and an early confirmation threshold IA, sometimes called the accelerated confirmation threshold.", "As shown in FIG.", "5O, a touch input 523 on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 532, sometimes called a first down-click, reaching a peak intensity IPeak, that is above a first down-click intensity threshold ID.", "As a result, the electronic device, or a module thereof (e.g., contact/motion module 130, FIG.", "1A), detects that the increase in intensity meets down-click detection criteria, as indicated by indicator 510 at time T1, which requires that the intensity of the input increase above the first down-click intensity threshold ID in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met.", "After the first increase in intensity 532, the intensity of the touch input 523 on home button 204 decreases, and the electronic device detects a first decrease in intensity of the contact 534, sometimes called a first up-click.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5O, the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, as indicated by indicator 512 at time T2a, where the input meets up-click detection criteria requires that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold IU in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met.", "If the first increase in intensity meets the down-click detection criteria and the first decrease in intensity meets the up-click detection criteria, the device recognizes at least a portion of the change in intensity of the input as first event, for example a click event, sometimes called a first click.", "If the current context of the electronic device 100 allows both single click and double click inputs on home button 204, the performance of a first operation associated with recognizing a single click is delayed until the device determines that the user is not inputting a double click, or equivalently, that the first click is not the first part of a double click.", "In some embodiments, the delay in performing the first operation is limited to a default delay time, such as 300 ms or 500 ms.", "However, if the electronic device can determine that the input satisfied early confirmation criteria, indicating that the input will not be a double click, prior to expiration of the default delay time, the electronic device can initiate performance of the first operation as soon as that determination is made.", "In some embodiments, the early-confirmation criteria requires that the intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity remains below a confirmation intensity threshold, IA, for more than an early confirmation time threshold.", "For example, in some embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, is 100 g, while the up-click detection threshold, IU, is 150 g, or 200 g, or more, and thus the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, is lower than the up-click detection threshold.", "In some embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, is determined in accordance with a peak characteristic intensity of the input, IPeak, detected during the detected increase in intensity of the input, prior to detecting the decrease in intensity of the input on the input element.", "For example, in some embodiments, the up-click detection threshold, IU, is determined in accordance with the peak characteristic intensity of the input, IPeak, detected during the detected increase in intensity of the input, prior to detecting the decrease in intensity of the input on the input element, and the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, is set in accordance with the up-click detection threshold, IU.", "In some such embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, is set to a level that is a predefined amount less (e.g., 50 g less) than the up-click detection threshold, IU, while in other such embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, is set to a level that is a predefined multiple or percentage of (e.g., 0.90 times or 90% of) up-click detection threshold, IU.", "In some embodiments, the up-click threshold is a dynamically determined up-click threshold as described above with reference to FIGS.", "5A-5N.", "Optionally, a tactile output 502 (e.g., a tactile output having the MicroTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F) is generated in conjunction with the electronic device detecting the increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click criteria, sometimes called detecting or recognizing a down-click, or in conjunction with the electronic device detecting the decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click criteria, sometimes called detecting or recognizing an up-click or single click input.", "In some embodiments, the tactile output for the up-click is different from the tactile output for the down-click (e.g., the tactile output for the up-click has a reduced amplitude relative to a down-click tactile output, such as the MicroTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern with a gain of 0.5 as opposed to a MicroTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern with a gain of 1.0 for the down-click).", "In FIG.", "5P, the first decrease 534 of the input shown in FIG.", "5O continues, passing the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, at time T2, as indicated by indicator 564.However, in this example, the input ends with liftoff of the finger or stylus at time Toff, thereby ending the gesture.", "In some embodiments, termination of the input by liftoff of the contact during the first decrease in intensity is treated as confirmation that the gesture is a single click (or, equivalently, single tap).", "As a result, the electronic device performs the first operation, which in this example includes ending display of the user interface of the application displayed prior to the single tap being received, and thus the display 112 of the electronic device transitions from displaying the user interface of a first application (e.g., a time application) to displaying a set of application launch icons in an application launching user interface.", "In FIG.", "5Q, a touch input 525 detected (e.g., while an application user interface similar to the user interface illustrated in FIG.", "5O is displayed on touch-sensitive display 112) on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 532, sometimes called a first down-click, followed by a first decrease 534 in intensity.", "Indicator 512 indicates the point in time at which the up-click detection criteria are met, and indicator 564 indicates the point in time at which the first decrease in intensity reaches the confirmation intensity threshold, IA.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5Q, after reaching the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, the input remains at an intensity below the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, starting at time T2 for a period of time that lasts at least the confirmation time threshold.", "A timeout period called the “fast timeout period” starts at time T2, when the intensity of the input decreases below the confirmation threshold, IA.", "When the duration of the fast timeout period reaches the confirmation time threshold, at time T3, the input is confirmed to be a single click, as indicated by indicator 565.As a result of the fast timeout period reaching the confirmation time threshold, at time T3 in the example in FIG.", "5Q, the first operation (e.g., an operation associated with recognizing a single click) is performed, or performance of the first operation is initiated.", "As noted above, in these examples, the first operation includes ending display of the user interface of the application displayed prior to the single tap being received (e.g., an application user interface illustrated in FIG.", "5O), and thus the display 112 of the electronic device transitions from displaying the user interface of a first application (e.g., a time application) to displaying a set of application launch icons in an application launching user interface.", "FIG.", "5R illustrates a continuation of the input shown in FIG.", "5Q.", "In this example, a second single tap is received by the electronic device, subsequent to confirmation (e.g., at time T3) that the initial input was a single tap input and performance, or initiation of performance, of the first operation.", "In particular, the second single tap includes a second increase in intensity 566 that meets the down-click detection criteria, as indicated by indicator 567, and a second decrease in intensity 568 that meets the up-click detection criteria, as indicated by indicator 569.In this example, when the second single tap is detected, for example when the second decrease in intensity 568 meets the up-click detection criteria, another operation is performed.", "In the example shown in FIGS.", "5Q and 5R, that operation includes scrolling from one screen of icons in an application launching user interface (as shown in FIG.", "5Q), including a first set of application launch icons, to another screen of icons in the application launch user interface (as shown in FIG.", "5R), including a second set of application launch icons that include application launch icons not in the first set of application launch icons.", "It is noted that in the example shown in FIG.", "5R, during the second decrease in intensity 568, the intensity also falls below the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, as indicated by indicator 570.However, unless the electronic device is configured to detect, single click, double click and triple click inputs, the fact that the intensity has fallen below the confirmation intensity threshold, IA, during the second decrease in intensity, may not trigger any additional actions by the electronic device.", "For further considerations in detecting multi-click gestures, see discussion of FIG.", "5Y, below.", "In FIG.", "5S, a touch input 527 on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 532 and a first decrease in intensity 534 that decreases below an up-click intensity threshold IU, at time T2A, as indicated by indicator 512.After the intensity decreases below up-click intensity threshold IU, which can be considered to be a first event, the intensity of touch input 527 remains at an intensity below the up-click intensity threshold IU, but above below the confirmation intensity threshold, IA.", "Performance of the first operation, in response to the first event, is delayed until a default delay time period elapses, for example at time T4, as indicated by indicator 571.As noted above, in these examples, the first operation includes ending display of the user interface of the application displayed prior to the single tap being received, and thus the display 112 of the electronic device transitions from displaying the user interface of a first application (e.g., a time application) to displaying a set of application launch icons in an application launching user interface.", "In some embodiments, a delay time is monitored or measured from the time at which a first down-click is detected, indicated as time T1 in FIG.", "5S.", "In some other embodiments, the delay time is measured from the time at which a first up-click is detected, indicated as time T2A in FIG.", "5S.", "In some embodiments, measurement of the delay time stops and the measured delay time is reset to zero, if the intensity of the input increases above the up-click intensity threshold IU prior to the delay time reaching the default delay time period.", "The default delay time period is typically significantly longer than the early confirmation time threshold.", "For example, in some embodiments the default delay time period is a value between 300 ms and 500 ms while the early confirmation time threshold is a value between 100 ms and 200 ms. As shown in FIGS.", "5T, 5U and 5V, in some embodiments the early confirmation criteria is satisfied when the cumulative amount of time that the intensity of the input is below the early confirmation threshold IA reaches the early confirmation time threshold.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5T, after the first increase in intensity 532 and first decrease in intensity 534, the intensity of the input decreases below the up-click intensity threshold IU and the early confirmation threshold IA, at time T2, as indicated by indicator 568, but then increases to a value above the early confirmation threshold IA at time T2-1 without satisfying the early confirmation criteria.", "As shown in FIG.", "5U, the intensity of the input again decreases below the early confirmation threshold IA, as indicated by indicator 572, at time T2-2, and then, as shown in FIG.", "5V, remains below the early confirmation threshold IA until the cumulative amount of time that the input intensity has remained below the early confirmation threshold IA reaches the early confirmation time threshold, at time T3-2, as indicated by indicator 573.Thus, at time T3-2, the electronic device performs or initiates performance of the first operation.", "As noted above, in these examples, the first operation includes ending display of the user interface of the application displayed prior to the single tap being received, and thus the display 112 of the electronic device transitions from displaying the user interface of a first application (e.g., a time application) to displaying a set of application launch icons in an application launching user interface.", "In FIG.", "5W, a touch input 531 on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 532 and a first decrease in intensity 534 that decreases below an up-click intensity threshold IU, as indicated by indicator 512, and then below early confirmation threshold IA at time T2, as indicated by indicator 568.The input then continues with a second increase in intensity 536 to an intensity above the down-click intensity threshold ID (or alternatively to an intensity above a second down-click intensity threshold ID2 as shown in FIG.", "5G), as indicated by indicator 574.The second increase in intensity 536 occurs prior to expiration of the default delay time period, and also prior to the intensity of the input satisfying the early confirmation criteria, and therefore the electronic device recognizes the second input event (e.g., a double click), and the first operation is not performed.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5W, the time period from time T2, when the intensity falls below the early confirmation intensity threshold IA to time T2-1, when the intensity rises above the early confirmation threshold IA, is less than the early confirmation time threshold.", "Instead, in response to the second increase in intensity 536 to an intensity above the down-click intensity threshold ID, the electronic device transitions from displaying a previous user interface, such as the user interface of an application (as shown in FIG.", "5O), to a displaying multitasking user interface, as shown in FIG.", "5W.", "Optionally, a tactile output 503, is generated in conjunction with the electronic device recognizing the second input event (e.g., detecting that the second increase in intensity 536 continues to an intensity above the down-click intensity threshold prior to expiration of the default delay time period).", "In some embodiments, tactile output 503 is a tactile output having the MiniTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F).", "As shown in FIG.", "5X, a touch input 533 on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 532 and a first decrease in intensity 534 that decreases below an up-click intensity threshold IU, as indicated by indicator 512, and then below early confirmation threshold IA.", "In some embodiments, measurement of the delay time (used for delaying performance of a first operation corresponding to a single click input), starts from a time at which the intensity of the input decreases below an up-click intensity threshold IU, and continues to be measured so long as the input remains below the up-click intensity threshold IU.", "Alternatively, in some embodiments, measurement of the delay time starts from a time at which the intensity of the input increases above a down-click intensity threshold ID, as shown in FIG.", "5S, and once an up-click is detected, continues to be measured so long as the intensity of the input 533 remains below the up-click intensity threshold IU.", "In FIG.", "5Y, the electronic device determines whether the intensity of a touch input 531 satisfies double click criteria or triple click criteria, and thus determines whether the input is a double click or triple click.", "The touch input 531 (also shown in FIG.", "5W) on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 532 and a first decrease in intensity 534 that decreases below an up-click intensity threshold IU, as indicated by indicator 512, and then below early confirmation threshold IA at time T2, as indicated by indicator 568.Input 531 then continues with a second increase in intensity 536 to an intensity above the down-click intensity threshold ID (or alternatively to an intensity above a second down-click intensity threshold ID2 as shown in FIG.", "5G), as indicated by indicator 574, and a second decrease in intensity 538 to an intensity below the up-click intensity threshold IU, as indicated by indicator 522.At this point the intensity of input 531 has followed the changes required for a double click.", "Subsequent to this point, four possible continuations of input 531 are shown in FIG.", "5Y.", "One possibility shown in FIG.", "5Y is liftoff or discontinuation of the touch input 531, as indicated by indicator 576, which in some embodiments is sufficient to satisfy double click detection criteria.", "A second possibility shown in FIG.", "5Y is that the intensity of touch input 531 falls below and remains below the early confirmation threshold IA for at least an early confirmation time threshold, as indicated by indicator 577, and thereby satisfies the double click detection criteria.", "A third possibility shown in FIG.", "5Y is that the intensity of touch input 531 falls below and remains below the up-click intensity threshold IU (and above the early confirmation threshold IA) for at least a default delay time threshold, as indicated by indicator 578, and thereby satisfies the double click detection criteria.", "The electronic device, in response to detecting that input 531 satisfies the double click detection criteria, performs or initiates performance of a second operations, such as transitioning from a prior user interface to a multitasking user interface, as shown in FIG.", "5Y.", "A fourth possibility shown in FIG.", "5Y is that, subsequent to the second decrease in intensity 538, and without touch input 531 satisfying the double click detection criteria, the intensity of touch input 531 has a third increase in intensity 580, during which the intensity increases above the down-click intensity threshold ID (or alternatively increases above a respective down-click intensity threshold ID that is based on historic intensity of the touch input 531), as indicated by indicator 579, and thereby satisfies triple click detection criteria.", "The electronic device, in response to detecting that input 531 satisfies the triple click detection criteria, performs or initiates performance of a third operation, such as transitioning from a prior user interface to a predefined user interface (e.g., a device settings interface) or transitioning into an accessibility mode.", "When there is a triple click operation that is configured to be detected in response to a change in intensity of a contact on the home button, the device optionally imposes a delay in detecting the double click operation after detecting the second up-click to ensure that a triple click will not be detected.", "The delay in detecting the double click optionally operates in a similar fashion to the delay in detecting a single click described above with reference to FIGS.", "5O-5Y.", "FIGS.", "5Z-5II depict touch inputs scenarios in which the length of time in which it takes to recognize a “long press” depends on the intensity of the touch input.", "For example, if the default time for recognizing a long press input is, say, 500 ms, in accordance with some embodiments, the time for recognizing an input as a long press input decreases to 400 ms or even 300 ms if the intensity of the input reaches predefined or corresponding intensity levels.", "FIG.", "5Z shows a graph in which a rate, sometimes called a recognition rate or timer rate, changes with the intensity of an input.", "More specifically, when the intensity is below a first down-click intensity threshold ID, the rate is a default rate, r0.When the intensity is between the first down-click intensity threshold ID and a second down-click intensity threshold ID+, the rate changes from a first rate, r1 to a second rate r2.In some embodiments, the rate changes linearly from the first rate, r1 to the second rate r2 as the intensity of the input changes from ID to ID+.", "However, in some embodiments, the rates changes from the first rate r1 to the second rate r2 in a number of discrete steps, such as one or more steps, two or more steps, or three or more steps, as the intensity of the input changes from ID to ID+.", "In some embodiments, a timeout timer or counter is updated at periodic intervals in accordance with the current rate, as determined by the current or most recently measured input intensity.", "For example, in some embodiments, the timeout timer or counter is updated as indicated by pseudocode representation in Table 1, of a timeout timer update function.", "TABLE 1 Timeout Timer Update Function timeout_value = start_value // e.g., 500 ms / // e.g., repeat the following steps every 20 millisecond // Repeat every N milliseconds until timeout_value ≤ 0 { timeout_value = timeout_value - rate(current_intensity) If current_intensity = 0 { return} } Return timeout_event In Table 1, “timeout_value” is the current value of the timer; start value is the default timeout period, such as 500 ms; current_intensity is the current intensity, or last measured intensity, of the input; rate(current_intensity) is the rate function, which maps the current intensity to a rate, one example of which is shown in FIG.", "5Z; and timeout_event is an event that is delivered to a respective software module, such as contact/motion module 130, or any of applications 136, when the timer “times out” (i.e., when the timeout_value reaches or falls below zero).", "In some embodiments, the timeout timer update function is first called when the intensity of the input reaches a predefined intensity threshold, such as the first down-click intensity threshold ID, and thus the timeout_value of the timeout timer is initialized to the default timeout period when the intensity of the input reaches the predefined intensity threshold.", "The amount of time that the timeout timer or counter takes to expire, and then issue a timeout event, varies depending on the intensity of the input.", "Also, in some embodiments, if the intensity of the input satisfies (e.g., reaches or falls below) an up-click intensity threshold, the timeout function terminates, without issuing a timeout event.", "For example, in some embodiments, the intensity of the input satisfies the up-click intensity threshold if there is liftoff of the contact.", "In some embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is a dynamic intensity threshold as described above with reference to FIGS.", "5A-5N.", "In FIG.", "5AA, electronic device 100 receives a touch input 535 on home button 204, the touch input having a measured or detected intensity, and displays a user interface on display 112.In this example, the displayed user interface is the user interface of an application.", "FIG.", "5AA includes a first graph showing the intensity of an input 535 over a period of time, a second graph showing the value of the aforementioned timeout timer over the same period of time, and a third graph showing the timer rate during the same period of time, which is a function of the input intensity.", "In FIG.", "5AA, when the intensity of input 535 reaches, or rises above, the first down-click intensity threshold ID, at time T1 as indicated by indicator 582, the timeout timer is initialized to a starting value, such as the default timeout time for detecting a long press.", "Furthermore, the intensity of input 535 remains above the first down-click intensity threshold ID, and the value of the timeout timer decreases at a rate determined by the intensity of input 535.Since, in this example, the intensity of input 535 remains constant during this period of time, the timeout timer decreases at a constant rate determined by the intensity of input 535.In the example shown in FIG.", "5BB, the intensity of input 543 remains constant from time T1 through time T2, as indicated by indicator 583, and at time T2 the value of the timeout time reaches zero, indicating that the timeout period for detecting a long press has expired, sometimes called detecting a long press.", "Furthermore, as shown in FIG.", "5BB, once the period for detecting a long press has expired, electronic device 100 performs an operation (e.g., transitioning to a user assistance user interface) in accordance with a corresponding determination.", "In some embodiments, the aforementioned determination includes a determination that the intensity of the input did not satisfy up-click detection criteria prior to expiration of the timeout period.", "Furthermore, in some, the operation performed when a long press is detected includes generating a tactile output 504.In some embodiments, tactile output 504 is a tactile output having the FullTap (125 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F).", "In contrast to FIG.", "5BB, in FIG.", "5II, electronic device 100 receives a touch input 543 on home button 204, the touch input having a measured or detected intensity, and displays a user interface on display 112 (not shown in FIG.", "5II, but can be seen in FIG.", "5AA).", "FIG.", "5II includes a first graph showing the intensity of an input 543 over a period of time, a second graph showing the value of the aforementioned timeout timer over the same period of time, and a third graph showing the timer rate during the same period of time, which is a function of the input intensity.", "In FIG.", "5II, the intensity of input 543 remains below the first down-click intensity threshold ID, through the time period from time T1 to time T6, as indicated by indicator 587.The timeout timer is initialized to a starting value, such as the default timeout time for detecting a long press.", "Furthermore, since the intensity of input 535 remains below the first down-click intensity threshold ID, the value of the timeout timer decreases at a default rate.", "Since, in this example, the intensity of input 535 remains below the first down-click intensity threshold ID during this period of time, the value of the timeout timer decreases at a constant, default rate, and thus expires after a default time period, represented in FIG.", "5II by the time from T1 to T6.Furthermore, as shown in FIG.", "5II, once the default time period for detecting a long press has expired, electronic device 100 performs an operation (e.g., transitioning to a user assistance user interface) in accordance with a corresponding determination.", "In some embodiments, the aforementioned determination includes a determination that the intensity of the input did not satisfy up-click detection criteria prior to expiration of the default timeout period.", "Furthermore, in some, the operation performed when a long press is detected includes generating a tactile output 504.In some embodiments, tactile output 504 is a tactile output having the FullTap (125 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F).", "In FIG.", "5CC, electronic device 100 receives a touch input 537 on home button 204, the touch input having a measured or detected intensity, and displays a user interface on display 112.In this example, the displayed user interface is the user interface of an application.", "FIG.", "5CC is similar to FIG.", "5AA, except that the intensity of touch input 537 is higher, or has greater magnitude, than touch input 535 in FIG.", "5AA.", "As a result, the timer rate in the example shown in FIG.", "5CC is higher or greater than the timer rate in the example shown in FIG.", "5AA, and the value of the timeout timer decreases at a faster rate in FIG.", "5CC than in FIG.", "5AA.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5DD, the intensity of input 537 remains constant from time T1 through time T3, which is before time T2, and the value of the timeout timer reaches zero at time T3, as indicated by indicator 584, indicating that the timeout period for detecting a long press has expired.", "Thus, the timeout period (T1 to T3) for detecting a long press is shorter in the example shown in FIGS.", "5CC-5DD than the timeout period (T1 to T2) in the example shown in FIGS.", "5AA-5BB, because the intensity of the touch input in the example shown in FIGS.", "5CC-5DD is higher than the example shown in FIGS.", "5AA-5BB, and the corresponding timer rate in the example shown in FIGS.", "5CC-5DD is higher than the example shown in FIGS.", "5AA-5BB.", "Furthermore, as shown in FIG.", "5DD, once the period for detecting a long press has expired, electronic device 100 performs an operation (e.g., transitioning to a user assistance user interface) in accordance with a corresponding determination.", "In some embodiments, the aforementioned determination includes a determination that the intensity of the input did not satisfy up-click detection criteria prior to expiration of the timeout period.", "In FIG.", "5EE, electronic device 100 receives a touch input 539 on home button 204, the touch input having a measured or detected intensity, and displays a user interface on display 112.In this example, the displayed user interface is the user interface of an application.", "FIG.", "5EE is similar to FIGS.", "5AA and 5CC, except that the intensity of touch input 539 is higher, or has greater magnitude, than touch input 535 in FIG.", "5AA and touch input 537 in FIG.", "5CC.", "As a result, the timer rate in the example shown in FIG.", "5EE is higher or greater than the timer rates in the examples shown in FIGS.", "5AA and 5CC, and the value of the timeout timer decreases at a faster rate in FIG.", "5EE than in FIGS.", "5AA and 5CC.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5FF, the intensity of input 539 remains constant from time T1 through time T4, which is before time T3 and time T2, and the value of the timeout timer reaches zero at time T4, as indicated by indicator 585, indicating that the timeout period for detecting a long press has expired.", "Thus, the timeout period (T1 to T4) for detecting a long press is shorter in the example shown in FIGS.", "5EE-5FF than the timeout period (T1 to T2) in the example shown in FIGS.", "5AA-5BB and the timeout period (T1 to T3) in the example shown in FIGS.", "5CC-5DD, because the intensity of the touch input in the example shown in FIGS.", "5EE-5FF is higher than the examples shown in FIGS.", "5AA-5BB and 5CC-5DD, and the corresponding timer rate in the example shown in FIGS.", "5EE-5FF is higher than the examples shown in FIGS.", "5AA-5BB and 5CC-5DD.", "Furthermore, as shown in FIG.", "5FF, once the period for detecting a long press has expired, electronic device 100 performs an operation (e.g., transitioning to a user assistance user interface) in accordance with a corresponding determination.", "In some embodiments, the aforementioned determination includes a determination that the intensity of the input did not satisfy up-click detection criteria prior to expiration of the timeout period.", "In FIG.", "5GG, electronic device 100 receives a touch input 541 on home button 204, the touch input having a measured or detected intensity, and displays a user interface on display 112.In this example, the displayed user interface is the user interface of an application.", "FIG.", "5GG is similar to FIG.", "5AA, and touch input 541 has the same or a similar intensity as touch input 535 in FIG.", "5AA.", "As a result, the timer rate in the example shown in FIG.", "5GG is the same or similar to the timer rate in the example shown in FIG.", "5AA, and the value of the timeout timer decreases at the same or a similar rate in FIG.", "5GG as in FIG.", "5AA.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5HH, the intensity of input 541 varies or changes between time T1 and time T5.In this example, the intensity of input 541 at time T5, indicated by indicator 586, is at or approximately at the intensity level associated with a maximum timer rate for the timeout timer.", "Due to the changes in intensity between time T1 and time T5, the timer rate changes between time T1 and time T5, in accordance with the intensity of input 541, and thus the rate at which the value of the timeout timer decreases changes between time T1 and time T5.In this example, the rate at which the value of the timeout timer decreases accelerates when the intensity of the input increases at time T3b.", "Alternatively, had the intensity of the input decreased at time T3b, the rate at which the value of the timeout timer decreases would have decelerated.", "In this example, the value of the timeout timer reaches zero at time T5, indicating that the timeout period for detecting a long press has expired.", "The timeout period in this example is the period for time T1 to time T5.Furthermore, as shown in FIG.", "5HH, once the period for detecting a long press has expired, electronic device 100 performs an operation (e.g., transitioning to a user assistance user interface) in accordance with a corresponding determination.", "In some embodiments, the aforementioned determination includes a determination that the intensity of the input did not satisfy up-click detection criteria prior to expiration of the timeout period.", "FIGS.", "6A-6F are flow diagrams illustrating a method 600 of monitoring an input on an intensity sensitive input element, and detecting an up-click and/or a down-click in the monitored input using one or more intensity thresholds that are based on prior input intensity of the input.", "Method 600 is performed at an electronic device (e.g., device 300, FIG.", "3, or portable multifunction device 100, FIG.", "1A) with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and one or more sensors 165 to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, the electronic device at which method 600 is performed includes, in addition to the touch-sensitive surface, a home button 204 that includes one of sensors 165.In some embodiments, home button 204 is separate from the display and, optionally, includes a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display.", "In some embodiments, home button 204 is a virtual home button that is displayed on the display (e.g., with a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display or, optionally, using intensity sensors integrated into the display to determine an intensity of an input with the virtual home button).", "In some embodiments, the display is a touch-screen display and the touch-sensitive surface is on or integrated with the display.", "In some embodiments, the display is separate from the touch-sensitive surface.", "Some operations in method 600 are, optionally, combined and/or the order of some operations is, optionally, changed.", "As described below, method 600 provides a way to accurately determine user intent, with respect to whether a touch input includes an up-click or down-click, by taking into account the intensity of the user's input during a portion of the input immediately preceding a decrease in intensity, or immediately preceding an increase in intensity.", "Method 600 reduces “false positives,” such as inputs incorrectly detected as including an up-click or down-click, as well as “false negatives,” such as inputs incorrectly detected as not including a respective up-click or down-click, thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface.", "For battery-operated electronic devices, taking into account the priority intensity of a user's touch input enables a user to enter gestures, such as one or more of a single click, double click and triple click gesture, faster and more efficiently, which conserves power and increases the time between battery charges.", "The device detects (602) a first increase in intensity of an input on the input element that meets down-click detection criteria, and after detecting the first increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detects (608) a first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "5B, a touch input 505 on home button 204 has an intensity that changes over time, including a first increase in intensity 520, sometimes called a first down-click, reaching a peak intensity, IPeak, that is above a first down-click intensity threshold ID.", "As shown in FIG.", "5C, after the first increase in intensity, the intensity of the touch input on home button 204 decreases, and the electronic device detects a first decrease in intensity of the contact 522, sometimes called a first up-click.", "In some embodiments, the input on the input element comprises (604) an input on a touch-sensitive surface.", "In the example shown in FIGS.", "5B and 5C, the input on the input element is an input 505 on home button 204.Furthermore, in some embodiments, for the first increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require (606) that the intensity of the input increase above a first down-click intensity threshold, such as first down-click intensity threshold ID shown in FIGS.", "5B and 5C, in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met.", "In some embodiments, and in the example shown in FIGS.", "5B and 5C, the down-click intensity threshold is a fixed, predefined value, and thus is neither time-varying nor based on the intensity of the input immediately prior to the detecting the first increase in intensity of the input (602).", "In response to detecting (610) the first decrease in intensity of the input (e.g., decrease 552, FIG.", "5C), method 600 includes determining (612) whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, where (A) for the first decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold (e.g., threshold IU, FIG.", "5C) in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met, and (B) the first up-click intensity threshold (e.g., threshold IU, FIG.", "5C) is selected based on the intensity of the input during the increase in intensity (e.g., first increase, 520, FIGS.", "5B-5C) of the contact that was detected prior to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "As explained in more detail below, the first up-click intensity threshold is based on either a peak intensity, IPeak (see FIG.", "5C), of the input prior to the first decrease 522, or another characteristic intensity or representative intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, the peak intensity, or characteristic intensity or representative intensity is multiplied by a multiplier, such as a value between 0.6 and 0.75, to determine the first up-click intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, the first up-click intensity threshold is time varying (632), in accordance with a low pass filtering of the detected intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "For example, FIG.", "5K illustrates the determination of an up-click intensity threshold IU(t) 546 that dynamically changes as intensity of the input changes during a first decrease in intensity 542.In the example discussed above with respect to FIG.", "5K, during the first decrease in intensity 542, the intensity of the input is low pass filtered, producing a first time varying value ILPup 544.The first time varying value is then multiplied by either a fixed value, such as 0.7, or an intensity-based value, such as the ratio shown in FIG.", "5J, to produce a time varying up-click intensity threshold IU(t), where the “(t)” symbol indicates that the value is time varying.", "In some embodiments, as discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "5J-5N, a ratio of the up-click intensity threshold IU to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact changes (642) based on the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact (e.g., the low-pass filtered peak intensity value of the input) such that when the up-click intensity is based on a first intensity value (e.g., intensity ID1, FIG.", "5J) that represents the intensity of the contact, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the first intensity value has a first value (e.g., a2, FIG.", "5J); and when the up-click intensity is based on a second intensity value (e.g., intensity ID2, FIG.", "5J) that represents the intensity of the contact that is greater than the first intensity value, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the second intensity value has a second value (e.g., a1) that is different from (e.g., lower than or higher than) the first value (e.g., when the low-pass filtered current intensity of the contact is 500 g, the ratio is 0.6 and when the low-pass filtered current intensity of the contact is 300 g, the ratio is 0.73).", "In some embodiments, changing the ratio based on the intensity of the contact accounts for thermal drift that increases at higher intensity levels.", "In some embodiments, as discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "5J-5N, the magnitude of the up-click intensity threshold is set (644) by multiplying the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact (e.g., the peak intensity of the contact before detecting the decrease in the intensity of the contact, or the low-pass filtered current intensity of the contact) by an adjustment value (e.g., a value between 0 and 1) that is determined based at least in part on the magnitude of the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact (e.g., the peak intensity of the contact before detecting the decrease in the intensity of the contact, or the low-pass filtered current intensity of the contact).", "In some embodiments, as discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "5J-5N, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact changes (646) in accordance with a maximum characteristic intensity of the input.", "For example, the multiplier changes from a predefined maximum value when the detected intensity is below a first intensity value, e.g., 300 g, and to a predefined minimum value for when the detected intensity is above a second intensity value, e.g., 500 g. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG.", "5J, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies smoothly (648) from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies between the first intensity value and the second intensity value, where the first intensity value is less than the second intensity value.", "In some embodiments, “varying smoothly” means that the ratio changes from the predefined maximum value to the predefined minimum value in two or more steps, or three or more steps, as the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies between the first intensity value and the second intensity value.", "More generally, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies monotonically from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies between the first intensity value and the second intensity value.", "In some embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is no less than a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold (649).", "For example, while the aforementioned ratio or multiplier is applied to the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact, the up-click intensity threshold is set to the greater of the predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold (e.g., 130 g) and the up-click intensity threshold determined using the ratio or multiplier.", "In equation form, the imposition of a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold may be represented as: IU=max(ITmin,Irepresentative*β) where ITmin is the predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold, Irepresentative is the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact, and β is the aforementioned ratio or multiplier.", "In some embodiments, examples of which are discussed above with reference to FIG.", "5J-5N, the up-click intensity threshold is determined in accordance with a multiplier (634), having a value greater than zero and less than one, applied to a characteristic intensity of the input.", "The multiplier is, effectively, the aforementioned ratio, and is multiplied by the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact.", "As discussed elsewhere in more detail, the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact is, in some embodiments, the peak intensity before an up-click, or the lowest intensity immediately preceding a down-click.", "In some other embodiments, the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact is a low-pass filtered intensity value for a respective portion of the input, as shown in FIG.", "5L for second down-click) and as shown in FIGS.", "5K and 5N for a first or second up-click.", "In some embodiments, the multiplier changes (636) in accordance with the characteristic intensity of the input.", "For example, in some embodiments, the multiplier smoothly varies (638) from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the characteristic intensity of the input varies between a first intensity value and a second intensity value, where the first intensity value is less than the second intensity value.", "In some embodiments, “varying smoothly” means that the multiplier changes from the predefined maximum value to the predefined minimum value in two or more steps, or three or more steps, as the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies between the first intensity value and the second intensity value.", "For example, the multiplier changes from a predefined maximum value when the detected intensity is below a first intensity value, e.g., 300 g, and to a predefined minimum value for when the detected intensity is above a second intensity value, e.g., 500 g. More generally, the multiplier varies monotonically from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies between the first intensity value and the second intensity value.", "In some embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is the greater of a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold and a value determined in accordance with the multiplier (e.g., a value greater than zero and less than one), applied to a characteristic intensity of the input (640).", "In equation form, the imposition of a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold may be represented as: IU=max(ITmin,Ichar*β) where ITmin is the predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold, Ichar is the characteristic intensity of the contact, and β is the aforementioned multiplier.", "Furthermore, in accordance with a determination (616) that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, the electronic device provides first feedback indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click, and in accordance with a determination (616) that the decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, the electronic device forgoes providing the first feedback.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "5C, when decrease 522 in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria (indicated by indicator 512), the device provides tactile output 502 to indicate that decrease 522 in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click, and as illustrated in FIG.", "5F, when decrease 530 in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, the electronic device does not generate a tactile output (e.g., tactile output 502) that indicates recognition of a decrease (e.g., decrease 530) in intensity of the input as an up-click.", "Having now considered detection of various aspects of a first click, we now consider detection of various aspects of a second click.", "In particular, after determining that the first decrease in intensity meets the up-click detection criteria, the electronic device detects (614) a second increase in intensity of the input.", "A variety of scenarios in which a second increase in intensity is detected are discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "5D-5E, 5G-5I, and 5L-5N.", "In response to detecting the second increase in intensity of the input (620), in accordance with a determination that the second increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click detection criteria, the electronic device provides second feedback indicating that the second increase in intensity was recognized as part of a double-click input.", "For example, as discussed above with reference to FIG.", "5G, a second tactile output 503 is generated in conjunction with detecting the up-click of a second click of an input 511 on home button 204.For example, in some embodiments, the second (down-click) tactile output is generated with the one or more tactile output generators 167 (FIG.", "1A) of the electronic device.", "In another example, providing the second feedback includes generating an audio output with one or more speakers (e.g., speaker 111, FIG.", "1A), and/or displaying a change in the graphical user interface displayed on the electronic device's display (e.g., display 112, FIGS.", "5G, 5H) in accordance with a double click operation, such as displaying a multitasking user interface, as shown in FIG.", "5H.", "For the second increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require (622) that the intensity of the input increase above a second down-click intensity threshold (e.g., intensity threshold ID2, FIG.", "5G) in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met, and the second down-click intensity threshold for the second increase in intensity is selected (624) based on the intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "5G, the second down-click intensity threshold for the second increase in intensity is selected based on the lowest intensity, Ivalley, of the input during the first decrease 534 in intensity of the contact.", "In some embodiments, the second down-click intensity threshold is time varying, and the second down-click intensity threshold is selected (626) based on a low pass filtering of the detected intensity of the input during the second increase in intensity of the contact that is detected after the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "For example, the decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria.", "FIG.", "5L shows an example of a time varying second down-click intensity threshold, IU(t) 554, that is selected or determined based on a low pass filtering (ILPdown 552) of the detected intensity of the input during the second increase 550 in intensity of the contact.", "In some embodiments, the low pass filtered intensity (ILPdown 552) of the detected intensity of the input during the second increase 550 in intensity of the contact is initially set, at the start of the second increase 550 in intensity of the contact, to the lowest intensity, IValley, of the input during the first decrease 534 in intensity of the contact.", "In response to detecting the second increase in intensity of the input (620), in in accordance with a determination (628) that the second increase in intensity of the input does not meet the down-click detection criteria, the electronic device forgoes providing the second feedback.", "For example, in FIG.", "5G, if the input were to stop (e.g., if the contact were to lift off) prior to the intensity reaching the second down-click intensity threshold ID2, the second increase in intensity of the input would not meet the down-click detection criteria, and the electronic device would forgo providing the second feedback.", "In some embodiments, method 600 includes generating (650) a first tactile output in conjunction with detecting that the increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click detection criteria.", "For example, as discussed above with reference to FIG.", "5C, a first tactile output 502 is generated in conjunction with detecting a down-click during a decrease in intensity 522 of an input 505 on home button 204.In some embodiments, method 600 includes generating (652) a second tactile output in conjunction with detecting that the decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria.", "For example, as discussed above with reference to FIG.", "5G, a second tactile output 503 is generated in conjunction with detecting the up-click of a second click of an input 511 on home button 204.In some embodiments, method 600 includes generating (654), in response to detecting the increase in intensity of the input on the input element that meets the down-click detection criteria, a response that is displayed on the display of the electronic device.", "In one example, the response that is displayed is response to that visually distinguishes an object in the user interface or a region of the user interface whose position corresponds to the input.", "In some embodiments, providing the first feedback includes generating (656) a response that is displayed on the display of the electronic device.", "For example, in the example shown in FIGS.", "5B-5C, the response, which may be called a first click or single click response, switching from displaying the user interface of a first application (e.g., a timer application) to displaying an application launch user interface.", "In some embodiments, method 600 includes generating (658) a same first tactile output in conjunction with multiple instances of detecting that the increase in intensity of an input detected on the input element meets the down-click detection criteria, including instances in which the down-click detection criteria is associated with different down-click intensity thresholds.", "For example, even when a first down-click and a second down-click are detected at different intensity thresholds, the same tactile output (e.g., a tactile output having the MicroTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F) is generated for both the first down-click and the second down-click.", "In some embodiments, method 600 includes generating (660) a same second tactile output in conjunction with multiple instances of detecting that the decrease in intensity of an input detected on the input element meets the up-click detection criteria, including instances in which the up-click detection criteria is associated with different up-click intensity thresholds.", "For example, even when a first up-click and a second up-click are detected at different intensity thresholds, the same tactile output (e.g., a tactile output having the MiniTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F) is generated for both the first up-click and the second up-click.", "In some embodiments, the up-click tactile output pattern has a lower gain than the down-click tactile output pattern (e.g., the up-click tactile output pattern is a reduced amplitude version of the down-click tactile output pattern).", "In some embodiments, method 600 includes, after detecting the second increase in intensity of the input on the input element (e.g., increase 536 in intensity of input 513, FIG.", "5H), detecting (662) a second decrease in intensity of the contact (e.g., decrease 538 in intensity of input 513, FIG.", "5H), and providing third feedback (e.g., performing a double click operation, an example of which is described above with reference to FIG.", "5H) indicating that the second decrease in intensity was recognized as an up-click input in response to detecting the second decrease in intensity of the input.", "In such embodiments, for the second decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a second up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met; and the second up-click intensity threshold is selected based on the intensity of the input during the second increase in intensity of the contact.", "Furthermore, in accordance with a determination that the second decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, the electronic device forgoes providing the third feedback (e.g., by forgoing performance of a double click operation).", "In some embodiments, the third feedback is generated, or initiated, at or immediately following the time, indicated by indicator 522 in FIG.", "5H, at which the second decrease in intensity satisfies the up-click detection criteria.", "In some embodiments, the third feedback is or includes transitioning to a multitasking user interface, as shown in FIG.", "5H.", "In some embodiments, the third feedback is or includes generating a tactile output 503, as shown in FIG.", "5H.", "In some embodiments, tactile output 503 is a tactile output having the MiniTap (270 Hz) tactile output pattern, FIG.", "4F).", "It should be understood that the particular order in which the operations in FIGS.", "6A-6F have been described is merely an example and is not intended to indicate that the described order is the only order in which the operations could be performed.", "One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize various ways to reorder the operations described herein.", "Additionally, it should be noted that details of other processes described herein with respect to other methods described herein (e.g., methods 700 and 800) are also applicable in an analogous manner to method 600 described above with respect to FIGS.", "6A-6F.", "For example, method 600 of monitoring an input on an intensity sensitive input element, and detecting an up-click and/or a down-click in the monitored input using one or more intensity thresholds that are based on prior input intensity of the input, described above with reference to FIGS.", "6A-6E, optionally has one or more of the characteristics of the method of accelerated detection of single clicks described herein with reference to method 700, and/or the method of accelerated detection of long press inputs described herein with reference to method 800.For brevity, these details are not repeated here.", "In accordance with some embodiments, FIG.", "9 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device 900 configured in accordance with the principles of the various described embodiments.", "The functional blocks of the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of the various described embodiments.", "It is understood by persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described in FIG.", "9 are, optionally, combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of the various described embodiments.", "Therefore, the description herein optionally supports any possible combination or separation or further definition of the functional blocks described herein.", "As shown in FIG.", "9, an electronic device 900 includes a display unit 902 (e.g., corresponding to display 112) configured to display a user interface, an intensity sensitive input unit 904 (e.g., corresponding to home button 204) configured to detect intensity of user inputs with the input element, and a processing unit 910 coupled with the display unit 902 and the intensity sensitive input unit 904.In some embodiments, electronic device 900 also includes touch-sensitive surface unit 906 for receiving touch inputs on a surface, such as a display surface of display unit 902, and one or more tactile output units 908 for generating tactile outputs, also coupled to processing unit 910.In some embodiments, processing unit 910 includes one or more of the following sub-units: intensity monitoring unit 912, up-click determining unit 914, down-click determining unit 916, and feedback unit 918.In some embodiments, feedback unit 918 includes response display unit 920 and tactile output unit 922.Processing unit 910 is configured to: detect (e.g., using intensity monitoring unit 912) a first increase in intensity of an input on the input element that meets down-click detection criteria, and after detecting the first increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detect a first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "In response to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input, processing unit 910 determines (e.g., using up-click determining unit) whether the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, wherein for the first decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a first up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met, and the first up-click intensity threshold is selected based on the intensity of the input during the increase in intensity of the contact that was detected prior to detecting the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "Processing unit 910, in accordance with a determination that the first decrease in intensity of the input meets up-click detection criteria, provides first feedback (e.g., using feedback unit 918) indicating that the first decrease in intensity of the input was recognized as an up-click, and in accordance with a determination that the decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, forgoes providing the first feedback.", "In some embodiments, for the first increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input increase above a first down-click intensity threshold in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met.", "In some such embodiments, processing unit 910 is further configured to, after determining that the first decrease in intensity meets the up-click detection criteria, detect (e.g., using intensity monitoring unit 912) a second increase in intensity of the input; and in response to detecting the second increase in intensity of the input, in accordance with a determination (e.g., using down-click determining unit 916)) that the second increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click detection criteria, provide second feedback (e.g., using feedback unit 918) indicating that the second increase in intensity was recognized as part of a double-click input.", "For the second increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input increase above a second down-click intensity threshold in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met.", "In these embodiments, the second down-click intensity threshold for the second increase in intensity is selected based on the intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the contact, and in accordance with a determination (e.g., using down-click determining unit 916) that the second increase in intensity of the input does not meet the down-click detection criteria, processing unit 910 forgoes providing the second feedback.", "In some embodiments, the second down-click intensity threshold is time varying, and the second down-click intensity threshold is selected by processing unit 912 (e.g., using down-click determining unit 916) based on a low pass filtering of the detected intensity of the input during the second increase in intensity of the contact that is detected after the first decrease in intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, for the first increase in intensity, the down-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input increase above a first down-click intensity threshold in order for the down-click detection criteria to be met.", "In some embodiments, the input on the intensity sensitive input unit 904 comprises an input on a touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, the first up-click intensity threshold is time varying, in accordance with a low pass filtering of the detected intensity of the input during the first decrease in intensity of the contact.", "In some embodiments, a ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact changes based on the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact such that, when the up-click intensity is based on a first intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the first intensity value has a first value; and when the up-click intensity is based on a second intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact that is greater than the first intensity value, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to the second intensity value has a second value that is different from the first value.", "In some embodiments, the magnitude of the up-click intensity threshold is set (e.g., by processing unit 910 or up-click determining unit 914) by multiplying the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact by an adjustment value that is determined based at least in part on the magnitude of the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact.", "In some embodiments, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact changes in accordance with a maximum characteristic intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, the ratio of the up-click intensity threshold to an intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies smoothly from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the intensity value that represents the intensity of the contact varies between the first intensity value and the second intensity value, wherein the first intensity value is less than the second intensity value.", "In some embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is no less than a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is determined (e.g., by processing unit 910 or up-click determining unit 914) in accordance with a multiplier, having a value greater than zero and less than one, applied to a characteristic intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, the multiplier changes in accordance with the characteristic intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, the multiplier smoothly varies from a predefined maximum value to a predefined minimum value as the characteristic intensity of the input varies between a first intensity value and a second intensity value, wherein the first intensity value is less than the second intensity value.", "In some embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is the greater of a predefined minimum up-click intensity threshold and a value determined in accordance with a multiplier, having a value greater than zero and less than one, applied to a characteristic intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, processing unit 910 is further configured to generate (e.g., using tactile output unit 922 of feedback unit 918) a first tactile output in conjunction with detecting that the increase in intensity of the input meets the down-click detection criteria.", "In some embodiments, processing unit 910 is further configured to generate (e.g., using tactile output unit 922 of feedback unit 918) a second tactile output in conjunction with detecting that the decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to generate, in response to detecting the increase in intensity of the input on the input element that meets the down-click detection criteria, a response (e.g., using response display unit 920 of feedback unit 918) that is displayed by display unit 902 of the electronic device.", "In some embodiments, providing the first feedback includes generating a response (e.g., using response display unit 920 of feedback unit 918) that is displayed by display unit 902 of the electronic device.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to generate a same first tactile output in conjunction with multiple instances of detecting that the increase in intensity of an input detected on the input element meets the down-click detection criteria, including instances in which the down-click detection criteria is associated with different down-click intensity thresholds.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to, after detecting the second increase in intensity of the input on the input element, detect a second decrease in intensity of the contact; and, in response to detecting the second decrease in intensity of the input, in accordance with a determination that the second decrease in intensity of the input meets the up-click detection criteria, provide third feedback indicating that the second decrease in intensity was recognized as an up-click input.", "In such embodiments, for the second decrease in intensity, the up-click detection criteria require that the intensity of the input decrease below a second up-click intensity threshold in order for the up-click detection criteria to be met; and the second up-click intensity threshold is selected based on the intensity of the input during the second increase in intensity of the contact.", "In such embodiment, the processing unit is configured, in accordance with a determination (e.g., by up-click determining unit 914) that the second decrease in intensity of the input does not meet the up-click detection criteria, to forgo providing the third feedback.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to generate (e.g., using tactile output unit 922 of feedback unit 918) a same second tactile output in conjunction with multiple instances of detecting that the decrease in intensity of an input detected on the input element meets the up-click detection criteria, including instances in which the up-click detection criteria is associated with different up-click intensity thresholds.", "The operations in the information processing methods described above with reference to FIGS.", "6A-6F are, optionally implemented by running one or more functional modules in information processing apparatus such as general purpose processors (e.g., as described above with respect to FIGS.", "1A and 3) or application specific chips.", "The operations described above with reference to FIGS.", "6A-6F are, optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS.", "1A-1B or FIG.", "3.For example, detection operations 602, 608, 614, etc., and determine operations 612, etc.", "are, optionally, implemented by contact/motion module 130, and feedback operations that provide tactile outputs are implemented by haptic feedback module 133, while some other operations are, optionally, implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190.Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the event information to application 136-1.A respective event recognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information to respective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a first location on the touch-sensitive surface (or whether rotation of the device) corresponds to a predefined event or sub-event, such as selection of an object on a user interface, or rotation of the device from one orientation to another.", "When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event.", "Event handler 190 optionally uses or calls data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the application internal state 192.In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by the application.", "Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on the components depicted in FIGS.", "1A-1B.", "FIGS.", "7A-7E are flow diagrams illustrating a method 700 of monitoring an input on an intensity sensitive input element, and detecting whether the input is a single click or double click.", "Method 700 is performed at an electronic device (e.g., device 300, FIG.", "3, or portable multifunction device 100, FIG.", "1A) with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and one or more sensors 165 to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, the electronic device at which method 700 is performed includes, in addition to the touch-sensitive surface, a home button 204 that includes one of sensors 165.In some embodiments, home button 204 is separate from the display and, optionally, includes a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display.", "In some embodiments, home button 204 is a virtual home button that is displayed on the display (e.g., with a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display or, optionally, using intensity sensors integrated into the display to determine an intensity of an input with the virtual home button).", "In some embodiments, the display is a touch-screen display and the touch-sensitive surface is on or integrated with the display.", "In some embodiments, the display is separate from the touch-sensitive surface.", "Some operations in method 700 are, optionally, combined and/or the order of some operations is, optionally, changed.", "As described below, method 700 provides a way to accurately determine user intent, with respect to whether a touch input is a single click or double click, on an accelerated basis, by taking into account the intensity of the user's input during a portion of the input immediately following recognition of a first event (e.g., that a first decrease in intensity of the input has fallen below an up-click intensity threshold).", "Method 700 reduces latency, by recognizing single click inputs faster than would otherwise be possible, while avoiding “false positives,” such as inputs incorrectly detected as a single click, thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface.", "For battery-operated electronic devices, taking into account the priority intensity of a user's touch input enables a user to enter gestures, such as a single click or double click, faster and more efficiently, which conserves power and increases the time between battery charges.", "The device detects (702) a change in intensity of an input on an input element (e.g., input 523 on home button 204, FIG.", "5O) that includes detecting (702) an increase in intensity of the input (e.g., increase 532, FIG.", "5O) on the input element followed by a decrease in intensity of the input (e.g., decrease 534, FIG.", "5O) on the input element.", "The increase in intensity followed by a decrease in intensity is sometimes called a click, or first click or single click, depending on the circumstances.", "In some embodiments, the input on the input element is or includes an input on a touch-sensitive surface (704), such as surface of home button 204 (FIG.", "5O) or a touch-sensitive surface of the electronic device's touch-sensitive display 112.In some embodiments, detecting a change in intensity of the input on the input element includes continuously detecting (706) the input on the input element.", "Method 700 further includes recognizing (708) at least a portion of the change in intensity of the input as a first input event that is associated with a first operation.", "As noted above, the first input event is sometimes called a click or first click.", "An example is described above with reference to FIG.", "5O.", "After recognizing the first input event, method 700 includes delaying (710) performance of the first operation while monitoring subsequent changes in intensity of the input for a second input event, wherein the delay is limited by a default delay time period.", "Thus, performance of the first operation, such as changing the displayed user interface from an application user interface currently display to home screen or application launching user interface, is delayed or deferred while the device continues to monitor changes in intensity of the input.", "As noted above with reference to FIG.", "5P, in some embodiments, if there is liftoff of the contact, the monitoring of changes in the intensity of the input stops, and therefore performance of the first operation is not deferred after liftoff of the is detected.", "Method 700 further includes, after delaying performance of the first operation (712): in accordance with a determination that the second input event (e.g., has been recognized before the default delay time period has elapsed, performing (714) a second operation and forgoing performance of the first operation.", "As explained above with reference to FIG.", "5W, this circumstance corresponds to detection of a double click, sometimes by detecting “one and half” clicks prior to expiration of the default delay time.", "Method 700 further includes, after delaying performance of the first operation (712): in accordance with a determination that early-confirmation criteria for the first input event have been met before the default delay time period has elapsed without the second input event being recognized, performing (716) the first operation before the default delay time period has elapsed.", "As explained above with reference to FIGS.", "5Q-5V, when the early-confirmation criteria are met before the default delay time period has elapsed without the second input event being recognized, a single click is recognized and acted upon, by performing the first operation, on an accelerated basis (e.g., before the default delay time period has elapsed).", "This reduces the latency of the device in recognizing the user input as a single click.", "Various ways that the early-confirmation criteria for the first input event can be met are described in more detail below with respect to operations 722-738, and are also explained in some detail above with respect to FIGS.", "5Q-5V.", "Method 700 further includes, after delaying performance of the first operation (712): in accordance with a determination that the default delay time period has elapsed without the early-confirmation criteria for the first input event being met and without the second input event being recognized, performing (718) the first operation once the default delay time period has elapsed.", "As explained above with reference to FIG.", "5S, this circumstance occurs when the early-confirmation criteria are not met before the default delay time period has elapsed without the second input event being recognized, and thus a single click is recognized and acted upon, by performing the first operation, only after the default delay time period has elapsed.", "This is effectively the backup or default, where detecting that the input is single click and is not a double click takes the normal or default amount of time.", "In some embodiments, the early-confirmation criteria (used in operation 716, described above) for the first input event comprise criteria that the intensity of the input remains below a confirmation intensity threshold for more than an early confirmation time threshold (720).", "For example, in FIG.", "5Q, the early-confirmation criteria for the first input event comprise criteria that the intensity of the input remains below confirmation intensity threshold IA, which is lower than the up-click intensity threshold IU, for more than an early confirmation time threshold, which corresponds to the length of time between T2 and T3 in FIGS.", "5Q and 5R.", "For comparison, the default delay time period is shown in FIG.", "5S, as corresponding to the length of time between T1 (down-click detection) and T4, or alternatively the length of time between T2A (up-click detection) and T4, as described in more detail above with reference to FIG.", "5S.", "In some embodiments, the early confirmation time threshold is less than half the default delay time period (722).", "For example, in some embodiments, the default delay time period is 500 ms, while the early confirmation time threshold is 150 ms, or 200 ms, or a value between 150 ms and 240 ms.", "In some embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold (e.g., confirmation intensity threshold IA in FIGS.", "5O-5Y) is below an up-click intensity threshold (e.g., up-click intensity threshold IU in FIGS.", "5O-5Y) used for recognizing the second input event (724).", "For example, in some embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold is 150 g while the up-click intensity threshold is 200 g. In some other embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold is less than 150 g while the up-click intensity threshold is more than 150 g. Furthermore, in some such embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is determined (726) in accordance with a characteristic intensity of the input during the detected increase in intensity of the input in which the input reached a peak intensity prior to detecting the decrease in intensity of the input on the input element.", "Examples of up-click intensity thresholds that are determined in this manner, sometimes called time-varying intensity thresholds, are discussed above with reference to FIGS.", "5K and 5M.", "FIGS.", "5K and 5M show examples in which the up-click intensity threshold is determined using a low pass filtered intensity of the contact.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes monitoring a duration of a fast timeout period, starting when the intensity of the input decreases below the confirmation intensity threshold (728).", "This is shown, for example in FIGS.", "5Q, 5R and 5T-5V, with the monitoring of the fast timeout period starting at time T2, which is when the intensity of the input decreases below the confirmation intensity threshold IA in those examples.", "In some embodiments, the duration of the fast timeout period is a cumulative amount of time, after the fast timeout period starts, that the intensity of the input is below the confirmation intensity threshold (730).", "Measurement of the duration of the fast timeout period as a cumulative amount of time, after the fast timeout period starts, that the intensity of the input is below the confirmation intensity threshold is discussed in more detail above with reference to FIGS.", "5T-5V.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes determining (732) the confirmation intensity threshold (e.g., threshold IA in FIGS.", "5O-5Y) in accordance with a peak characteristic intensity of the input (e.g., IPeak, FIG.", "5O) detected during the detected increase in intensity of the input, prior to detecting the decrease in intensity of the input on the input element.", "Further explanation and examples of how the confirmation intensity threshold is determine are provided above with respect to FIG.", "5O.", "In some embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold is independent of a peak characteristic intensity of the input detected during the detected increase in intensity of the input (734).", "For example, the confirmation intensity threshold is set to a fixed intensity threshold, such as 100 g or 150 g, independent of the peak characteristic intensity of the input detected during the detected increase in intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes monitoring (736) a duration of the default timeout period starting when the intensity of the input increases to a down-click intensity threshold.", "In some other embodiments, method 700 includes monitoring (738) a duration of the default timeout period starting when the intensity of the input decreases to an up-click intensity threshold.", "Both of these options for monitoring the duration of the default timeout period are described above with reference to FIG.", "5S.", "In FIG.", "5S, time T1 is the time at which the intensity of the input has increased to the down-click intensity threshold ID, while time T2A is the time at which the intensity of the input has decreased to the up-click intensity threshold IU.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes, after delaying performance of the first operation, in accordance with a determination that a second input event has been recognized after the default delay time period has elapsed, performing (739) a third operation.", "For example, referring to FIG.", "5S, after the default time period has expired, at time T4, if a second input event is recognized, it would be treated as a separate event, such as a separate single click, and the third operation would correspond to the operation to be performed by the electronic device in response to a single client.", "A similar example is shown in FIG.", "5R, in which the input includes a single click after the early-confirmation criteria are satisfied at time T3.In that example, the resulting third operation is scrolling from one screen of icons in an application launching user interface, including a first set of application launch icons, to another screen of icons in the application launch user interface.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes detecting (741) a sequence of distinct inputs on the input element, separated by periods during which no input is detected on the input element, and repeating the recognizing and delaying with respect to a plurality of the inputs in the sequence of distinct inputs.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "5E and described above with respect to FIG.", "5E, the device may detect a touchdown of a first input (e.g., touch input 505, FIGS.", "5B-5C) on the input element followed by liftoff of the first input and touchdown of a second input (e.g., touch input 507, FIG.", "5E) on the input element.", "In response, the electronic device repeats the recognizing of the first input event, and delays performance of the first operation, with respect to each input in the sequence of distinct inputs.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes, after delaying performance of the first operation, in accordance with a determination that the first input event meets (740) long press input criteria before the second input event has been recognized, performing a third operation and forgoing performance of the first operation and the second operation.", "For example, the first input event may be a down-click, and the third operation in this circumstance may be a long press operation, such as invoking a virtual assistant or a dictation mode of operation.", "Recognition of long press inputs and responding to long press inputs are discussed in more detail with respect to FIGS.", "5Z to 5II and FIGS.", "8A-8C.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes generating (742) a first tactile output (e.g., first tactile output 502, FIG.", "5O) in conjunction with recognizing the first input event (e.g., recognizing a down-click at time T1, or recognizing an up-click at time T2a, FIG.", "5O).", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes generating (744) a second tactile output in conjunction with recognizing the second input event, as described above with reference to FIG.", "5W.", "In some embodiments, the first operation is or includes (746) ceasing to display a user interface for an application (and, optionally returning to displaying a home screen or application launch screen for the device), for example as shown in the transition for FIGS.", "5O to 5Q, and the second operation comprises a multitasking operation (e.g., switching between applications or displaying a user interface that provides options for switching between a plurality of different applications such as concurrently open applications or recently used applications, as shown in FIG.", "5W).", "In some embodiments, the first operation is or includes (748) scrolling from one screen of icons in an application launching user interface (e.g., an application launching user interface including a first set of application launch icons), to another screen of icons in the application launch user interface (e.g., including a second set of application launch icons that include application launch icons not in the first set of application launch icons), as shown in the transition from FIG.", "5Q to 5R, and the second operation comprises a multitasking operation (e.g., switching between applications or displaying a user interface that provides options for switching between a plurality of different applications such as concurrently open applications or recently used applications, as shown in FIG.", "5W).", "In some embodiments, recognition of the first input event is based on detection of a change in a characteristic intensity of an input with reference to a first intensity threshold (e.g., an up-click intensity threshold); and recognition of the second input event is based on detection of a change in a characteristic intensity of an input with reference to a second intensity threshold (e.g., a down-click intensity threshold) that is different from the first intensity threshold.", "For example, with reference to FIG.", "5Y, the up-click intensity threshold IU, used for recognition of the first event, is distinct from (e.g., lower than) the down-click intensity threshold ID, used for recognition of the second event.", "In some embodiments, method 700 includes, after recognizing the second input event (e.g., a second up-click event, corresponding to indicator 522 in FIG.", "5Y), delaying (760) performance of the second operation while monitoring subsequent changes in intensity of the input for a third input event (e.g., a third down-click, sometimes called a triple click event, corresponding to indicator 579), where the delay is limited by a second default delay time period.", "Method 700 further includes, after delaying (762) performance of the second operation, in accordance with a determination that the third input event has been recognized (e.g., corresponding to indicator 579, FIG.", "5Y) before the second default delay time period has elapsed, performing (764) a third operation (e.g., a triple click operation) and forgoing performance of the second operation (e.g., a double click operation).", "Otherwise, after delaying (762) performance of the second operation, method 700 includes, in accordance with a determination that early-confirmation criteria for the second input event have been met before the second default delay time period has elapsed (e.g., as indicated by indictor 577, FIG.", "5Y) without the third input event being recognized, performing (766) the second operation (e.g., the double click operation) before the second default delay time period has elapsed.", "Further, after delaying (762) performance of the second operation, method 700 includes, in accordance with a determination that the second default delay time period has elapsed without the early-confirmation criteria for the second input event being met (e.g., as indicated by indictor 578, FIG.", "5Y) and without the third input event being recognized, performing (768) the second operation (e.g., the double click operation) once the second default delay time period has elapsed.", "In some embodiments, the second default delay time period is the same as the first default delay time period.", "In some other embodiments, the second default delay time period is longer or shorter than the first default delay time period.", "In accordance with some embodiments, FIG.", "10 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device 1000 configured in accordance with the principles of the various described embodiments.", "The functional blocks of the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of the various described embodiments.", "It is understood by persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described in FIG.", "10 are, optionally, combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of the various described embodiments.", "Therefore, the description herein optionally supports any possible combination or separation or further definition of the functional blocks described herein.", "As shown in FIG.", "10, an electronic device 1000 includes a display unit 1002 (e.g., corresponding to display 112) configured to display a user interface, an intensity sensitive input unit 1004 (e.g., corresponding to home button 204) configured to detect intensity of user inputs with the input element, and a processing unit 1010 coupled with the display unit 1002 and the intensity sensitive input unit 1004.In some embodiments, electronic device 1000 also includes touch-sensitive surface unit 1006 for receiving touch inputs on a surface, such as a display surface of display unit 1002, and one or more tactile output units 1008 for generating tactile outputs, also coupled to processing unit 1010.In some embodiments, processing unit 1010 includes one or more of the following sub-units: intensity monitoring unit 1012, single-click determining unit 1014, double-click determining unit 1016, feedback unit 1018 and delay unit 1024.In some embodiments, single-click determining unit 1014 includes early confirmation unit 1015.In some embodiments, feedback unit 1018 includes response display unit 1020 and tactile output unit 1022.Processing unit 1010 is configured to: detect (e.g., using intensity monitoring unit 912) a change in intensity of an input on the intensity sensitive input unit that includes detecting an increase in intensity of the input on the intensity sensitive input unit followed by a decrease in intensity of the input on the intensity sensitive input unit; recognize (e.g., using single-click determining unit 1014) at least a portion of the change in intensity of the input as a first input event that is associated with a first operation; and delay performance of the first operation (e.g., using delay unit 1024), after recognizing the first input event, while monitoring subsequent changes in intensity of the input for a second input event, wherein the delay is limited by a default delay time period.", "Processing unit 1010 is further configured to, after delaying performance of the first operation: in accordance with a determination that the second input event has been recognized (e.g., using double-click determining unit 1016) before the default delay time period has elapsed, perform a second operation and forgoing performance of the first operation; in accordance with a determination that early-confirmation criteria for the first input event have been met (e.g., using early confirmation unit 1014) before the default delay time period has elapsed without the second input event being recognized, perform the first operation before the default delay time period has elapsed; and in accordance with a determination that the default delay time period has elapsed without the early-confirmation criteria for the first input event being met (e.g., using early confirmation unit 1014) and without the second input event being recognized (e.g., using double-click determining unit), perform the first operation once the default delay time period has elapsed.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to perform a third operation, after delaying performance of the first operation, in accordance with a determination that a second input event has been recognized (e.g., using double-click determining unit 1016) after the default delay time period has elapsed.", "In some embodiments, the input on the intensity sensitive input unit is or includes an input on a touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, detecting a change in intensity of the input on the intensity sensitive input unit includes continuously detecting the input on the intensity sensitive input unit.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to detect a sequence of distinct inputs on the intensity sensitive input unit, separated by periods during which no input is detected on the intensity sensitive input unit, and repeating the recognizing (e.g., using the single-click determining unit) and delaying (e.g., using delay unit 1024) with respect to a plurality of the inputs in the sequence of distinct inputs.", "In some embodiments, the early-confirmation criteria for the first input event are or include criteria that the intensity of the input remains below a confirmation intensity threshold for more than an early confirmation time threshold.", "In some embodiments, the early confirmation time threshold is less than half the default delay time period.", "In some embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold is below an up-click intensity threshold used for recognizing the second input event.", "In some embodiments, the up-click intensity threshold is determined (e.g., using single-click determining unit 1014) in accordance with a characteristic intensity of the input during the detected increase in intensity of the input in which the input reached a peak intensity prior to detecting the decrease in intensity of the input on the intensity sensitive input unit.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to monitor a duration of a fast timeout period (e.g., using early confirmation unit 1015) starting when the intensity of the input decreases below the confirmation intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, the duration of the fast timeout period is a cumulative amount of time, after the fast timeout period starts, that the intensity of the input is below the confirmation intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to determine the confirmation intensity threshold (e.g., using single-click determining unit 1014 or early confirmation unit 1015) in accordance with a peak characteristic intensity of the input detected during the detected increase in intensity of the input, prior to detecting the decrease in intensity of the input on the intensity sensitive input unit.", "In some other embodiments, the confirmation intensity threshold is independent of a peak characteristic intensity of the input detected during the detected increase in intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to monitor a duration of the default timeout period (e.g., using single-click determining unit 1014) starting when the intensity of the input increases to a down-click intensity threshold.", "In some other embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to monitor a duration of the default timeout period starting when the intensity of the input decreases to an up-click intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to generate a first tactile output (e.g., using tactile output unit 1022) in conjunction with recognizing the first input event.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to generate a second tactile output (e.g., using tactile output unit 1022) in conjunction with recognizing the second input event.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to, after recognizing the second input event (e.g., using double-click determining unit), delay performance of the second operation (e.g., using delay unit 1024) while monitoring subsequent changes in intensity of the input for a third input event, where the delay is limited by a second default delay time period.", "The processing unit is further configured to, after delaying performance of the second operation, in accordance with a determination that the third input event has been recognized before the second default delay time period has elapsed, perform a third operation and forgoing performance of the second operation.", "The processing unit is also configured to, in accordance with a determination that early-confirmation criteria for the second input event have been met before the second default delay time period has elapsed without the third input event being recognized, perform the second operation before the second default delay time period has elapsed.", "Further, the processing unit is configured to, in accordance with a determination that the second default delay time period has elapsed without the early-confirmation criteria for the second input event being met and without the third input event being recognized, perform the second operation once the second default delay time period has elapsed.", "In some embodiments, the first operation comprises ceasing to display a user interface for an application, and the second operation comprises a multitasking operation.", "In some other embodiments, the first operation comprises scrolling from one screen of icons in an application launching user interface, to another screen of icons in the application launch user interface, and the second operation comprises a multitasking operation.", "In some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to, after delaying performance of the first operation (e.g., using delay unit 1024), perform a third operation and forgo performance of the first operation and the second operation in accordance with a determination that the first input event meets long press input criteria before the second input event has been recognized.", "In some embodiments, recognition of the first input event is based on detection of a change in a characteristic intensity of an input with reference to a first intensity threshold; and recognition of the second input event is based on detection of a change in a characteristic intensity of an input with reference to a second intensity threshold that is different from the first intensity threshold.", "The operations in the information processing methods described above with reference to FIGS.", "7A-7E are, optionally implemented by running one or more functional modules in information processing apparatus such as general purpose processors (e.g., as described above with respect to FIGS.", "1A and 3) or application specific chips.", "The operations described above with reference to FIGS.", "7A-7E are, optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS.", "1A-1B or FIG.", "3.For example, detection operations 702, 706, etc., and recognize and determine operations 708, 714, 716, 718, etc.", "are, optionally, implemented by contact/motion module 130, and feedback operations that provide tactile outputs are implemented by haptic feedback module 133, while some other operations are, optionally, implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190.Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the event information to application 136-1.A respective event recognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information to respective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a first location on the touch-sensitive surface (or whether rotation of the device) corresponds to a predefined event or sub-event, such as selection of an object on a user interface, or rotation of the device from one orientation to another.", "When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event.", "Event handler 190 optionally uses or calls data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the application internal state 192.In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by the application.", "Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on the components depicted in FIGS.", "1A-1B.", "FIGS.", "8A-8C are flow diagrams illustrating a method 800 of monitoring an input on an intensity sensitive input element, detecting a long press on an accelerated basis, and if a long press is detected, performing a corresponding operation.", "Method 800 is performed at an electronic device (e.g., device 300, FIG.", "3, or portable multifunction device 100, FIG.", "1A) with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and one or more sensors 165 to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, the electronic device at which method 800 is performed includes, in addition to the touch-sensitive surface, a home button 204 that includes one of sensors 165.In some embodiments, home button 204 is separate from the display and, optionally, includes a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display.", "In some embodiments, home button 204 is a virtual home button that is displayed on the display (e.g., with a set of one or more intensity sensors that are separate from intensity sensors used to detect the intensity of inputs on the display or, optionally, using intensity sensors integrated into the display to determine an intensity of an input with the virtual home button).", "In some embodiments, the display is a touch-screen display and the touch-sensitive surface is on or integrated with the display.", "In some embodiments, the display is separate from the touch-sensitive surface.", "Some operations in method 800 are, optionally, combined and/or the order of some operations is, optionally, changed.", "As described below, method 800 provides a way to accurately determine user intent, with respect to whether a touch input is a long press, on an accelerated basis, by taking into account the intensity of the user's input.", "Method 800 reduces latency, by recognizing long press inputs faster than would otherwise be possible, while avoiding “false positives,” such as inputs incorrectly detected as a long press, thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface.", "For battery-operated electronic devices, taking into account the intensity of a user's touch input enables a user to enter gestures, such as a long press, faster and more efficiently, which conserves power and increases the time between battery charges.", "The device detects (802) an input sequence that includes an increase in intensity of an input that corresponds to a first input event (e.g., a down-click event).", "In some embodiments, the input on the input element is or includes (804) an input on a touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, or in some circumstances, the increase in intensity of the input is followed by a decrease in intensity of the input, for example as shown in FIG.", "5BB.", "Method 800 includes, in response to detecting the input sequence (806), in accordance with a determination that a second input event (e.g., an up-click event), including a decrease in intensity of the input after the first input event, is detected within a first time period after the first input event is detected, performing (808) a first operation (e.g., a single click operation).", "For example, FIG.", "5X shown an input having an increase in intensity 532 followed by a decrease in intensity 534.If a second input event corresponding to the decrease occurs within the first time period after the first input event is detected, then a long press has not been detected and the first operation, such as a single click operation, is performed.", "Method 800 further includes, in accordance with a determination that the second input event (e.g., an event that corresponds to a reversal of the first input event such as an up-click event) is not detected within a second time period that is longer than the first time period and that the input had a characteristic intensity above a respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed (e.g., as shown in FIG.", "5BB, the characteristic intensity of the input was above the respective intensity threshold (e.g., ID) between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed), performing (809) a second operation (e.g., a long press operation) once the second time period has elapsed (e.g., in response to the second time period elapsing (e.g., sooner/faster than the normal long press operation), wherein the second time period is determined based at least in part on an intensity of the input after the first input event is detected.", "Method 800 further includes, in accordance with a determination that the second input event is not detected within a third time period (e.g., the default time period discussed above with reference to FIG.", "5II) that is longer than the second time period and that the input did not have a characteristic intensity above the respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, performing (810) the second operation (e.g., the long press operation) once the third time period has elapsed (e.g., in response to the third time period elapsing, corresponding to time T5 in FIG.", "5II; see above discussion of FIGS.", "5A, 5B and 5II).", "Optionally, method 800 includes, in accordance with a determination that the second input event is not detected within the second time period and that the input did not have a characteristic intensity above the respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed (e.g., as shown in FIG.", "5II), forgoing (512) performance of the second operation (e.g., the long press operation) once the second time period has elapsed until at least the third time period (e.g., called the default time period in the above discussion of FIG.", "5II) has elapsed.", "Thus, in this circumstance, because the intensity of the input is not above the respective intensity threshold, the long press operation is not accelerated.", "In some embodiments, method 800 includes recognizing (814) the first input event in accordance with an increase in intensity of the input that satisfies a first intensity threshold and recognizing the second input event in accordance with an decrease in intensity of the input that satisfies a second intensity threshold that is distinct from the first intensity threshold.", "For example, FIG.", "5X shown an input having an increase in intensity 532 that satisfies a down-click intensity threshold ID, followed by a decrease in intensity 534 that satisfies an up-click intensity threshold IU that is distinct from the down-click intensity threshold ID.", "In some embodiments, the respective intensity threshold is greater (816) than the first intensity threshold (e.g., referring to FIGS.", "5Z and 5AA, the respective intensity threshold is an intensity threshold such as ID+, which is greater than the down-click intensity threshold ID), and the second intensity threshold (e.g., up-click intensity threshold IU) is less than the first intensity threshold (e.g., down-click intensity threshold ID).", "In some embodiments, method 800 includes monitoring (818) a duration of a timeout period starting when the increase in intensity of the input satisfies the first intensity threshold, and comparing the duration of the timeout period with at least one of the first time period, second time period and third time period.", "See examples described above with respect to FIGS.", "5BB, 5DD and 5FF.", "In some embodiments, method 800 includes stopping (820) the monitoring of the duration of the timeout period when the decrease in intensity of the input satisfies the second intensity threshold.", "For example, referring to FIG.", "5X, if the intensity of the input falls below the up-click intensity threshold IU, the monitoring of the duration of the timeout period is stopped.", "In some embodiments, method 800 includes accelerating (822) a rate at which the timeout period accumulates when intensity of the input exceeds a first predefined intensity threshold (e.g., the respective intensity threshold), wherein the accelerated rate is higher than a default rate.", "As described above with reference to FIGS.", "5BB, 5DD and 5FF, when the intensity of the input exceeds the first predefined intensity threshold, which in those examples is the down-click intensity threshold ID, the rate of which the timeout period accumulates is an accelerated rate.", "In some embodiments, method 800 further includes decelerating (824) a rate at which the timeout period accumulates when intensity of the input decreases.", "In some embodiments, the third time period is (826) a maximum duration of the timeout period before performing the second operation (e.g., a default timeout period, such as 500 ms).", "In some embodiments, monitoring the duration of the timeout period continues until either a determination that the second input event is detected, or duration of the timeout period is equal to the third time period, whichever occurs first, and the second time period comprises a minimum duration of the timeout period before performing the second operation.", "In some embodiments, the second time period is constrained (828) to a least a minimum duration (e.g., in some embodiments, the time to detect a long press input does not decrease below 300 ms, no matter how high the intensity of the input reaches).", "In some embodiments, the minimum duration (e.g., 300 ms) is more than half of the maximum duration (e.g., 500 ms).", "In some embodiments, monitoring the duration of the timeout period includes decaying (830) a time value, starting at an initial time value, at a rate that changes in accordance with the intensity of the input.", "For examples, see FIGS.", "5BB, 5DD, 5FF and 5HH, and the discussion, above, of those figures.", "In some embodiments, the first operation is or includes closing (832) an application, and the second operation comprises displaying a virtual assistant user interface.", "In some embodiments, the first operation is or includes (834) scrolling from one screen of icons in an application launching user interface (e.g., an application launching user interface including a first set of application launch icons), to another screen of icons in the application launch user interface (e.g., including a second set of application launch icons that include application launch icons not in the first set of application launch icons), as shown in the transition from FIG.", "5Q to 5R, and the second operation is or includes displaying a virtual assistant user interface (e.g., as shown in FIGS.", "5BB, 5DD, 5FF and 5HH).", "In accordance with some embodiments, FIG.", "11 shows a functional block diagram of an electronic device 1100 configured in accordance with the principles of the various described embodiments.", "The functional blocks of the device are, optionally, implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software to carry out the principles of the various described embodiments.", "It is understood by persons of skill in the art that the functional blocks described in FIG.", "11 are, optionally, combined or separated into sub-blocks to implement the principles of the various described embodiments.", "Therefore, the description herein optionally supports any possible combination or separation or further definition of the functional blocks described herein.", "As shown in FIG.", "11, an electronic device 1100 includes a display unit 1002 (e.g., corresponding to display 112) configured to display a user interface, an intensity sensitive input unit 1104 (e.g., corresponding to home button 204) configured to detect intensity of user inputs with the input element, and a processing unit 1110 coupled with the display unit 1102 and the intensity sensitive input unit 1104.In some embodiments, electronic device 1000 also includes touch-sensitive surface unit 1106 for receiving touch inputs on a surface, such as a display surface of display unit 1102, and one or more tactile output units 1108 for generating tactile outputs, also coupled to processing unit 1010.In some embodiments, processing unit 1110 includes one or more of the following sub-units: intensity monitoring unit 1112, long press determining unit 1114, single-click determining unit 1116, and feedback unit 1118.In some embodiments, feedback unit 1118 includes response display unit 1120 and tactile output unit 1122.Processing unit 1110 is configured to: detect (e.g., using intensity monitoring unit 912) an input sequence that includes detecting an increase in intensity of an input that corresponds to a first input event; and, in response to detecting the input sequence: in accordance with a determination (e.g., using single click determining unit 1116) that a second input event, including a decrease in intensity of the input after the first input event, is detected within a first time period after the first input event is detected, perform a first operation; in accordance with a determination (e.g., using single click determining unit 1116) that the second input event is not detected within a second time period that is longer than the first time period and (e.g., using long press determining unit 1114) that the input had a characteristic intensity above a respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, perform a second operation once the second time period has elapsed, wherein the second time period is determined based at least in part on an intensity of the input after the first input event is detected; and in accordance with a determination that the second input event is not detected (e.g., using single click determining unit 1116) within a third time period that is longer than the second time period and (e.g., using long press determining unit 1114) that the input did not have a characteristic intensity above the respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, perform the second operation once the third time period has elapsed.", "In some embodiments, processing unit 1110 is further configured to, in accordance with a determination (e.g., using single click determining unit 1116) that the second input event is not detected within the second time period and (e.g., using single click determining unit 1116) that the input did not have a characteristic intensity above the respective intensity threshold between when the first input event was detected and when the second time period elapsed, forgo performance of the second operation once the second time period has elapsed until at least the third time period has elapsed.", "In some embodiments, the input on the intensity sensitive input unit comprises an input on a touch-sensitive surface.", "In some embodiments, processing unit 1110 is further configured to recognize the first input event in accordance with an increase in intensity of the input that satisfies a first intensity threshold and recognize (e.g., using single click determining unit 1116) the second input event in accordance with an decrease in intensity of the input that satisfies a second intensity threshold that is distinct from the first intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, the respective intensity threshold is greater than the first intensity threshold, and the second intensity threshold is less than the first intensity threshold.", "See discussion of FIG.", "5X with respect to down-click intensity threshold ID (corresponding to the first intensity threshold) and up-click intensity threshold IU (corresponding to the first intensity threshold).", "In some embodiments, processing unit 1110 is further configured to monitor (e.g., using intensity monitoring unit 1112 and/or long press determining unit 1114) a duration of a timeout period starting when the increase in intensity of the input satisfies the first intensity threshold, and comparing the duration of the timeout period with at least one of the first time period, second time period and third time period.", "In some embodiments, processing unit 1110 is further configured to stop the monitoring of the duration of the timeout period when the decrease in intensity of the input satisfies the second intensity threshold.", "In some embodiments, processing unit 1110 is further configured to accelerate a rate at which the timeout period accumulates when intensity of the input exceeds a first predefined intensity threshold, wherein the accelerated rate is higher than a default rate.", "In some embodiments, processing unit 1110 is further configured to decelerate a rate at which the timeout period accumulates when intensity of the input decreases.", "In some embodiments, the third time period comprises a maximum duration of the timeout period before performing the second operation.", "In some embodiments, the second time period is constrained to a least a minimum duration.", "In some embodiments, monitoring the duration of the timeout period comprises decaying a time value, starting at an initial time value, at a rate that changes in accordance with the intensity of the input.", "In some embodiments, the first operation is or includes closing an application, and the second operation comprises displaying a virtual assistant user interface.", "In some other embodiments, the first operation is or includes scrolling from one screen of icons in an application launching user interface (e.g., an application launching user interface including a first set of application launch icons, an example of which is shown in FIG.", "5Q), to another screen of icons in the application launch user interface (e.g., an application launching user interface including a second set of application launch icons that include application launch icons not in the first set of application launch icons, an example of which is shown in FIG.", "5R), and the second operation comprises displaying a virtual assistant user interface (e.g., an example of which is shown in FIGS.", "5BB, 5DD, and 5FF).", "The operations in the information processing methods described above with reference to FIGS.", "8A-8C are, optionally implemented by running one or more functional modules in information processing apparatus such as general purpose processors (e.g., as described above with respect to FIGS.", "1A and 3) or application specific chips.", "The operations described above with reference to FIGS.", "8A-8C are, optionally, implemented by components depicted in FIGS.", "1A-1B or FIG.", "3.For example, detection operations 802, 808, etc., and recognize and determine operations 808, 810, 812, etc.", "are, optionally, implemented by contact/motion module 130, and feedback operations that provide tactile outputs are implemented by haptic feedback module 133, while some other operations are, optionally, implemented by event sorter 170, event recognizer 180, and event handler 190.Event monitor 171 in event sorter 170 detects a contact on touch-sensitive display 112, and event dispatcher module 174 delivers the event information to application 136-1.A respective event recognizer 180 of application 136-1 compares the event information to respective event definitions 186, and determines whether a first contact at a first location on the touch-sensitive surface (or whether rotation of the device) corresponds to a predefined event or sub-event, such as selection of an object on a user interface, or rotation of the device from one orientation to another.", "When a respective predefined event or sub-event is detected, event recognizer 180 activates an event handler 190 associated with the detection of the event or sub-event.", "Event handler 190 optionally uses or calls data updater 176 or object updater 177 to update the application internal state 192.In some embodiments, event handler 190 accesses a respective GUI updater 178 to update what is displayed by the application.", "Similarly, it would be clear to a person having ordinary skill in the art how other processes can be implemented based on the components depicted in FIGS.", "1A-1B.", "The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments.", "However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.", "Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings.", "The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best use the invention and various described embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated." ] ]
Patent_15874820
[ [ "TAMPER DETECTION FOR HARDWARE DEVICES", "A manufacturer of computing equipment may generate a signature for computing equipment by measuring various attributes of the computing equipment, such as the impedance across circuits included in the computing equipment.", "Verification equipment may be provided to a recipient of the computing equipment.", "The verification equipment may be configured to generate a signature of the computing equipment over a physical connection between the verification equipment and the computing equipment.", "A determination may be made whether the computing equipment has been tamper with based at least in part on the signature generated by the manufacturer and the signature generated by the recipient." ], [ "1.A computer-implemented method, comprising: obtaining a signature of a computing device that is based at least in part on a set of results from a set of tests performed against the computing device, the set of results obtained at least in part by collecting a set of measurements of properties of the computing device suitable for generating a signature of the computing device, the signature of the computing device based at least in part on a set of properties unique to the computing device that, when changed, indicate a modification to the computing device, where at least one of the tests of the set of tests comprises measuring an electrical property of a circuit of the computing device; and comparing the signature to a previously determined signature of the computing device to enable verification of the computing device.", "2.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises calibrating a verification device based at least in part on calibration information provided by a manufacturer of the verification device.", "3.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of tests of the computing device further comprise a set of tests that, when executed by a verification device, measures current through a plurality of different circuits of the computing device to measure electrical properties of the computing device.", "4.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computer-implemented method further includes performing a set of calculations on the computer device to be verified and comparing the time required with a time value associated with the obtained signature.", "5.A system, comprising: at least one computer system implementing one or more services, wherein the one or more services: obtain a signature of a computing device that is based at least in part on a set of results from performing a plurality of tests against the computing device, the plurality of tests measuring a plurality of properties of the computing device unique to the computing device that, when changed, indicate a modification to the computing device; and compare the signature to a previously determined signature of the computing device to enable verification of the computing device.", "6.The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of tests further comprises performing at least one hard disk drive test of the computing device to obtain information corresponding to a hard disk drive of the computing device.", "7.The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of tests further comprises a test to measure electromagnetic radiation or other radiation released by the computing device.", "8.The system of claim 5, wherein the one or more services further reflect a tolerance level for the determined signature, where the tolerance level indicates a range of values for a measured electrical property of a circuit associated with the previously determined signature.", "9.The system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of tests further comprises a test to measure a decay rate of a battery connected to a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) of the computing device.", "10.The system of claim 5, wherein the system is different from the computing device to be verified.", "11.The system of claim 5, wherein the system is connectible via a physical link to a port of the computing device to enable the system to measure impedance and electrical current on the computing device.", "12.The system of claim 5, wherein the system provides a signature that is verifiable by a recipient to demonstrate that the system itself has not been tampered with.", "13.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable instructions that, as a result of being executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to at least: obtain, by a verification device, a signature of a computing device that is based at least in part on a set of results from a set of tests against the computing device, the set of tests measuring a set of properties of the computing device unique to the computing device that, when changed, indicate modification to the computing device; and compare the signature to a previously determined signature of the computing device to enable verification of the computing device.", "14.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions executable to cause the computer system to provide an indication that the computing device has been tampered with.", "15.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions executable to cause the computer system to measure a backlight of a display of the computing device.", "16.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions executable to cause the computer system to: generate a signature of the computing device; verify that the generated signature matches the previously determined signature; and indicate whether the generated signature and the previously determined signature match.", "17.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions executable to cause the computer system to execute, by the verification device, a plurality of tests of the computing device, wherein verification of the signature for the computing device further includes verifying a second signature based at least in part on a set of results obtained from the executed plurality of tests.", "18.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein: the instructions further comprise instructions executable to cause the computer system to: execute the test of the computing device over a plurality of executions; and verify the signature for the computing device by verifying a second signature based at least in part on a set of determined values corresponding to the plurality of executions of the test of the computing device.", "19.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions that cause the computer system to verify the signature of the computing device further include instructions that cause the computer system to execute the test of the computing device a plurality of times, where at least a portion of the executions of the test pass a current over a different set of pins of the port than at least one other execution of the test.", "20.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions executable to cause the computer system to execute a second test of the computing device, where the second test is configured to: determine a second value corresponding to an application loaded into memory of the computing device; and verify the signature for the computing device by verifying the signature based at least in part on the determined value and the determined second value." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The manufacture and use of computing equipment, for a variety of purposes, has proliferated in recent years.", "Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may offer for sale computing equipment which may be purchased by organizations and other entities.", "The computing equipment may then be delivered to the recipient, e.g., the organization or other entity acquiring the computing equipment.", "However, delivery of the computing equipment may provide opportunities for unauthorized access to the computing equipment as the equipment travels from one entity to the other, often being in the physical control of multiple different entities along the way.", "Ensuring that the equipment has not been altered (e.g., with unauthorized software and/or hardware components) can cause significant effort and/or expense.", "A recipient of such equipment may, for example, obtain the equipment from the source and guard the equipment during its travels to protect against unauthorized access.", "This, however, is generally impractical for most entities, especially given the economics involving the abundance of conventional shipping services." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates an environment in which computing equipment may be exposed to attack before delivery to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "2 illustrates an environment in which verification equipment may be used to determine whether computing equipment has been altered before delivery to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "3 illustrates an environment in which a manufacturer may provide verification equipment to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "4 illustrates an environment in which a manufacturer may provide verification information to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "5 illustrates an example process for determining verification information for computing equipment to be delivered to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "6 illustrates an example process for determining whether computing equipment has been altered during delivery in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "7 illustrates an environment in which verification equipment may be used to determine whether a computing devices has be tampers with in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "8 is an illustrative example of components of computing equipment for which a signature may be determined in accordance with one embodiment; and FIG.", "9 illustrates an environment in which various embodiments can be implemented.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/624,480, filed on Feb. 17, 2015, entitled “TAMPER DETECTION FOR HARDWARE DEVICES,” the content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND The manufacture and use of computing equipment, for a variety of purposes, has proliferated in recent years.", "Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may offer for sale computing equipment which may be purchased by organizations and other entities.", "The computing equipment may then be delivered to the recipient, e.g., the organization or other entity acquiring the computing equipment.", "However, delivery of the computing equipment may provide opportunities for unauthorized access to the computing equipment as the equipment travels from one entity to the other, often being in the physical control of multiple different entities along the way.", "Ensuring that the equipment has not been altered (e.g., with unauthorized software and/or hardware components) can cause significant effort and/or expense.", "A recipient of such equipment may, for example, obtain the equipment from the source and guard the equipment during its travels to protect against unauthorized access.", "This, however, is generally impractical for most entities, especially given the economics involving the abundance of conventional shipping services.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates an environment in which computing equipment may be exposed to attack before delivery to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "2 illustrates an environment in which verification equipment may be used to determine whether computing equipment has been altered before delivery to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "3 illustrates an environment in which a manufacturer may provide verification equipment to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "4 illustrates an environment in which a manufacturer may provide verification information to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "5 illustrates an example process for determining verification information for computing equipment to be delivered to a recipient in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "6 illustrates an example process for determining whether computing equipment has been altered during delivery in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "7 illustrates an environment in which verification equipment may be used to determine whether a computing devices has be tampers with in accordance with an embodiment; FIG.", "8 is an illustrative example of components of computing equipment for which a signature may be determined in accordance with one embodiment; and FIG.", "9 illustrates an environment in which various embodiments can be implemented.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, various embodiments will be described.", "For purposes of explanation, specific configurations and details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments.", "However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without the specific details.", "Furthermore, well-known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the embodiment being described.", "Techniques described and suggested herein relate to improvements in detecting hardware tampering by a recipient of computing equipment.", "A manufacturer or similar entity may sign or determine a signature for hardware (and the software loaded onto the hardware) before delivery to the recipient.", "The recipient may receive the signature from the manufacturer and then verify the received signature upon receipt.", "The recipient may verify the signature by at least using verification equipment provided by the manufacturer to generate a signature for the received hardware and comparing the generated signature to the received signature from the manufacturer.", "Specifically, the hardware can be signed using small unique variabilities in the physical parameters between any two units of hardware.", "For example, impedance at various ports or interfaces of a unit of hardware can be measured across a specified set of frequencies.", "The measured impedance for a particular unit of hardware may be distinct from the measured impedance for another unit of hardware.", "The measured impedance may be used, by the manufacturer, to generate and/or determine a signature for a particular unit of hardware.", "Changes to a unit of hardware, such as an attacker tampering with the unit of hardware, may cause the measured impedance at various ports to differ from the impedance measured by the manufacturer.", "Additionally, the physical weight, performance of software executed by the unit of hardware, performance of various components of the unit of hardware, or other parameters of the hardware may be used in determining a signature for the unit of hardware.", "For example, in order to determine a signature for computing equipment suitable for verification of the computing equipment by the recipient, the manufacturer may measure the impedance of various components of the computing equipment by connecting the verification equipment to a port or interface of the computing equipment.", "The verification equipment may be configured to execute a variety of different tests of the connected computing equipment.", "For example, a laptop with 2 Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, a display port, and an Ethernet port may be connected to the verification equipment and impedance measurements across 100, 1000, and 10K Hz may be obtained.", "The impedance measurements may provide a set of numbers, the precision of the set of numbers may be calibrated for reliability across multiple measurements, and the set of numbers may comprise the signature for the laptop.", "Multiple measurements may be used to determine a single signature for the computing equipment.", "Furthermore, a fault tolerance level may be determined such that a signature determined by the recipient may be considered the same as the signature determined by the manufacturer, if the signature determined by the recipient is within a certain range of the signature determined by the manufacturer.", "Returning to the example above, if the impedance measured by the recipient across the display port is within a predefined range of the measured impedance by the manufacturer, the component of the signature may be considered to be the same for verification purposes.", "Furthermore, the tolerance level of various components of the signature may be different.", "For example, the tolerance level for the measured impedance of the USB port may differ from the tolerance level for the measured impedance of the display port.", "In various embodiments, the average distance or differences in the measured values of the signature determined by the recipient and the values of the signature provided by the manufacturer must be within the tolerance level.", "Any tampering with the computing equipment (e.g., affixing or otherwise connecting a listening and/or transmission device) may change the signature.", "The signature may be sent by the manufacturer to the recipient using a variety of different mechanisms.", "For example, the signature may be transmitted electronically, separate from the shipment of the hardware.", "Providing the signature to the recipient allows the recipient to utilize verification equipment, calibrated to standards determined by the manufacturer, to verify the received device against the signature provided by the manufacturer.", "Similarly the software, e.g., executable code stored on a hard disk drive of the unit of hardware, may be signed prior to delivery to the recipient such that the software can be verified by executing a hard disk testing application (e.g., hashing the data stored on the hard disk drive using a predetermined hashing algorithm) to verify the signature for the software.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an environment 100 in which a manufacturer 102 may provide a deliverable 104 to a recipient 106.The manufacturer 102 may be an organization or other entity which provides deliverables 104, such as computing equipment, to recipients.", "For example, the manufacturer 102 may provide an online marketplace for computing equipment manufactured by the manufacturer 102.Described in greater detail below, the manufacturer 102 may provide a variety of mechanisms to enable the recipient 106 to determine if the deliverable 104 has been tampered with in transit 110.The recipient 106 may be an organization or other entity attempting to obtain computing equipment from the manufacturer 102.For example, the recipient 106 may be a computing resource service provider purchasing computer servers from the manufacturer 102.The deliverables may include any physical computing hardware that may be tampered with or altered by an attacker 108.For example, the deliverables 104 may include laptops, desktops, tablets, mobile phones, server computers, networking appliances, or any other computing device which may be exposed to an attacker 108 during transit 110.Prior to providing the deliverable 104 to the recipient 106, the manufacturer 102 may determine a signature for the deliverable 104.The determined signature may be used by the recipient 106 to detect modifications to the deliverable 104.For example, the attacker 108 may modify the deliverable 104 by adding additional components to the deliverable during transit 110.As described in greater detail below, the signature may be configured such that changes or modification to the deliverable 104 may cause a change to the signature.", "Returning to the example above, the modification to the deliverable 104 by the attacker 108 may alter the measured impedance at various ports on the deliverable 104.Additionally, the modification to the deliverable 104 by the attacker 108 may cause various operations of the deliverable 104 to take longer.", "For example, a particular calculation when executed by the deliverable 104 may take 10 milliseconds longer as a result of the modification to the deliverable 104 made by the attacker 104.The attacker 108 may tamper with the deliverable 104 during transit 110, performing a variety of different modifications to the deliverable 104.For example, the attacker 108 may attach a vampire tap other similar device configured to intercept signals generated and/or transmitted by the deliverable 104.The attacker 108 may, during transit 110, replace one or more components of the deliverable 104, add components to the deliverable 104 (e.g., the vampire tap described above or an inductive coil with a battery), or modify software or firmware of the deliverable 104.The manufacturer 102 may generate a signature for the deliverable 104, prior to transit 110, the signature may be based at least in part on measurements obtained from the deliverable 104 which may change if the attacker 108 tampers with the deliverable 104 as described above.", "For example, if the attacker 108 replaces a network interface of the deliverable 104 the measurement of various attributes of the replacement network interface may be different then measurements obtained by the manufacturer of the original network interface.", "The signature may be provided to the recipient 106 and the recipient may utilize verification equipment to determine if the deliverable 104 has been tampered with by the attacker 106 in transit 110.FIG.", "2 illustrates an environment 200 in which a recipient 206 may verify that a deliverable 204 has not been tampered with based at least in part on a signature obtained from a manufacturer or other entity responsible for providing the deliverable to a destination 202.The destination 202 may be a geographic location suitable for the recipient 106 to accept delivery of the deliverable 204.For example, the destination 202 may be an office building where the recipient 206 conducts business activities.", "Furthermore, the destination 202 may include verification equipment 210.The verification equipment 210 may be a device configured to generate a signature based at least in part on the deliverable 204.The verification equipment 210 may be provided by the manufacturer, as described above, and may be calibrated based at least in part on verification equipment used by the manufacturer to determine the signature for the deliverable 204 prior to the manufacturer providing the deliverable 204 to the recipient 206 at the destination 202.In various embodiments, the recipient 206 obtains the verification equipment 210 independently from the manufacturer and calibrates the verification equipment 210 based at least in part on calibration information provided by the manufacturer.", "The signature may include a set of measurements of other information obtained from the deliverable 204.For example, the signature may include a set of ports of the deliverable 204 and a measured impedance of one or more circuits connected to at least one port of the set of ports at different frequencies, a set of application loaded into memory of the deliverable 204 and a hash of each application of the set of applications, a result of memory tests of the deliverable 204, a latency of an operation of the deliverable 204, or any combination thereof suitable for determining if the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "The verification equipment 210 may comprise a processor and memory with executable instructions, that, when executed by the processor, cause the verification equipment 210 to determine a signature for the deliverable and provide the recipient 206 with an indication of whether the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "In various embodiments, the verification equipment 210 is configured to display a signature of the deliverable 204 which is then compared by the recipient 206 to the signature provided by the manufacturer in order to determine if the deliverable has been tampered with.", "In yet another embodiment, the verification equipment is configured to display a score indicating a likelihood or probability that the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "The verification equipment 210 may be physically connected 208 to the deliverable 204 in order to determine a signature for the deliverable 204.For example, the verification equipment 210 may be connected to a USB port of the deliverable 204.The physical connection 208 may be made between the verification equipment 210 and particular inspection pins, described in greater detail below, of the deliverable 204.In various embodiments, the inspections pins are configured such that the recipient may visually inspect the inspections pins and detect if the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "Additionally, the inspection pins may be configured such that once the verification equipment 210 has determined a signature from the deliverable 204 the inspection pins may be removed from the deliverable 204.The verification equipment 210 may be configured to run a plurality of tests automatically during the verification of the deliverable 204, the results of the plurality of tests may be used by the verification equipment to determine a signature for the deliverable 204 and/or determine whether the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "For example, once the physical connection 208 between the verification equipment 210 and the deliverable 204 is established, the verification equipment 210 may automatically perform one or more operations to determine a signature for the deliverable 204.In addition, the verification equipment 210 may also be configured to load executable instructions into the memory of the deliverable 204 and cause execution of the instructions loaded into memory by one or more processors of the deliverable 204.The executable instructions loaded into memory, when executed by the one or more processors, may cause the deliverable to provide the verification equipment 210 with information suitable for determining a signature for the deliverable 204.For example, execution of the instructions may cause the deliverable 204 to perform various tests of the memory and provide the results of the various memory tests to the verification equipment 210 or provide the contents of memory to the verification equipment 210.The memory tests may include memory cycle tests, table dumps of memory, bad sector tests, latency test, or other test of memory.", "Similarly, the verification equipment may, through the physical connection 208, test and/or obtain various measurements from a hard disk drive included in the deliverable 204.The verification equipment may be configured to perform a set of operations described herein such as impedance testing, acceptance testing, measuring the current between two points of the deliverable 204, or other operation suitable for determine the signature of the deliverable 204.For example, the impedance of the deliverable 204 may be measured by applying a sinusoidal voltage or waveform to the deliverable 204 in series with a resistor, and measuring the voltage across the resistor and across the deliverable 204.Performing this measurement by sweeping the frequencies of the applied signal provides the impedance phase and magnitude.", "Information obtained by the verification equipment 210 may comprise the signature for the deliverable and may be compared to the signature determined by the manufacturer in order to determine if the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "In various embodiments, the verification equipment 210 may include a scale or other device to measure the weight of the deliverable 204.The measured weight may be included in the signature determined by the verification equipment 210.The verification equipment may obtain, as an input, the results of the various operations performed by the verification equipment 210 and/or deliverable 204 and may provide the recipient 206 with the test results.", "The test results may include a signature or a determination of whether the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "The verification equipment 210 may be further configured to measure electromagnetic radiation or other radiation released by the deliverable 204.The verification equipment 210 may be configured to measure a waveform or a signal over a variety of different frequencies and spectrums.", "The waveforms measured by the verification equipment 210 may include a shape and form of a signal such as the wave moving in a physical medium or an abstract representation of the wave.", "A signal the signal, which may be represented by the waveform, may be a function that conveys information about the behavior or attributes of some phenomenon.", "In another example, any quantity exhibiting variation in time or variation in space (such as an image) may be considered a signal, as described herein, that might provide information on the status of the deliverable 204.The signal may include, among others, audio, video, speech, image, communication, geophysical, sonar, radar, medical, and musical signals.", "For example, the verification equipment 210 may measure the backlight of a display of the deliverable 204.In another example, the verification equipment 210 may measure the decay rate of a battery connected to a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) of the deliverable 204.The test results may be used to generate the signature for the deliverable 204 including a tolerance level within which the generated signature for the deliverable 204 may be considered as matching the signature provided by the manufacturer.", "A tolerance level may be indicated for each component of the signature.", "In another example, the tolerance level may indicate a number of components of the signature that must match the signature provided by the manufacturer in order for the verification equipment 210 to determine that the deliverable 204 has not been tampered with.", "The verification equipment 210 may be configured to exercise and/or test as many components of the deliverable 204 as possible within a level of fidelity sufficient for use to determine a signature for the deliverable 204.For example, the verification equipment 210 may cause the deliverable 204 to calculate a value or determine a result of a computation.", "The verification equipment 210 may determine an amount of time taken by the deliverable 204 to calculate the value.", "The amount of time taken by the deliverable 204 to calculate the value may be included in the signature and/or used to determine if the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "For example, if it took the deliverable 204 longer to calculate the value at the destination 202 then the time it took to calculate the value as measured by the manufacturer may indicate that the deliverable has been tampered with.", "Additionally, the verification equipment 210 may be configured to repeat verification operations and determine the signature based at least in part on multiple measurements obtained from the repeated verification operations.", "For example, the verification equipment 210 may measure the impedance at the physical connection 208 over multiple rounds over an interval of time.", "Each round may provide a measured value that the verification equipment 210 may include in the signature.", "For example, the verification equipment 210 may take the average of the measured values or other statistically significant values calculated from the set of measured values.", "Similarly, the testing of the software included in the deliverable 204 and acceptance testing of the deliverable may be repeated over a plurality of rounds.", "In various embodiments, a signature is determined for each round and a determination is made for each round whether the deliverable 204 has been tampered with.", "For example, the verification equipment 210 may be configured to verify the deliverable 204 have not been tampered with over 10 rounds.", "For each round one or more of the verification operations described above may be executed, such as impedance testing, acceptance testing, software testing, or memory testing.", "A round signature may then be determined based at least in part on the verification operation performed and determination of tampering may be made based at least in part on the signature provided by the manufacturer.", "As described above a tolerance level may be applied to the signature generated by the verification equipment 210.If a portion of the rounds indicate that the deliverable 204 has been tampered with as a result of the signature not matching the signature provided by the manufacturer, the verification equipment 210 may indicate that the deliverable 204 have been tampered with.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an environment 300 in which a manufacturer may calibrate and provide verification equipment 310 to a recipient 306.The verification equipment 310 may be used by the recipient 306 to verify that computing equipment, as described above.", "The verification equipment 310 may be provided to the recipient separate from the deliverable described above.", "This may reduce the likelihood of an attacker obtaining both the deliverable and the verification equipment 310 and tampering with both.", "Returning to FIG.", "3, manufacturer 302 may calibrate the verification equipment 310 before providing the verification equipment 310 to the recipient 306.Calibrating the verification equipment may include a second verification device or a standard maintained by the manufacturer 302.For example, the manufacturer may maintain a computer system with several ports for which the impedance is known and has been previously measured.", "The ports may be connected to one or more circuits of the computer system for which the impedances at various frequencies is known.", "The verification equipment 310 may then be used to generate a signature for the computer system.", "The verification equipment 310 may then be calibrated based at least in part on the generated signature and the known values for the measured impedance of computer system at the several ports.", "The verification equipment 310 may be configured by the manufacturer 302 such that the verification equipment 310 maintained the same calibration as set by the manufacturer.", "This may enable the recipient 306 to establish a physical connection between the verification equipment 310 and the deliverable, as described above, and obtain verification information without the need to calibrate the verification equipment 310 prior to obtaining the verification information.", "The verification information may include a signature, a score, or other indication of whether the deliverable has been tampered with, as described above.", "For example, the verification equipment 310 may display a number to the recipient 306 which the recipient may compare with information provided by the manufacturer 302 in order to determine if the deliverable has been tampered with.", "Furthermore, the verification equipment 310 may provide a signature or other information that is verifiable by recipient 306.The verifiable information may indicate that the verification equipment 310 was provided by the manufacturer 302 and has not been tampered with.", "For example, the verification equipment 310 may include barcode or other information that may be used to generate a digital signature that can then be verified.", "In another example, the verification equipment 310 may include software that may be digitally signed by the manufacturer 302.FIG.", "4 illustrates an environment 400 in which a manufacturer 402 may determine verification information for a deliverable 404 in accordance with the present disclosure.", "The verification information may be used by a recipient 406 to determine if the deliverable 404 has been tampered with in transit to the recipient 406.For example, as described above, the verification information may include a signature that the recipient may compare to a second signature determined by the recipient's 406 verification equipment.", "The manufacturer 402 may, as part of the manufacturing and/or shipping process, generate a signature for the deliverable 404 prior to providing the deliverable 404 to the recipient 406.The signature may be included in the verification information provided to the recipient 406.For example, the signature may be included along with a serial number or other identification information for the deliverable 404 and a tolerance level for any signatures generated by the verification equipment provided to the recipient 406.In various embodiments, the verification information only include the signature to be used by the recipient 406 to determine if the deliverable 404 has been tampered with.", "In order to generate at least a portion of the verification information, the manufacturer 402 may establish a physical connection between the deliverable 404 and the verification equipment 410.The verification equipment 410 may then execute a plurality of the tests configured to obtain information from the deliverable 404, the results of the plurality of tests may be used by the manufacturer 402 to generate a signature for the deliverable 404.The plurality of tests may include any of the tests described herein in connection with verifying that the deliverable 404 has not been tampered with.", "For example, the manufacturer 402 may utilize the verification equipment 410 to determine an impedance measurement at various ports of the deliverable 404.The various ports may enable connections to one or more circuits of the deliverable.", "The manufacturer 402 may then use the determined impedance measurements to generate a signature to include in the verification information.", "Similarly, the verification equipment 410 may also be configured to load executable instructions into the memory of the deliverable 404 and cause execution of the instructions loaded into memory by one or more processors of the deliverable 404.The executable instructions loaded into memory, when executed by the one or more processors, may cause the deliverable 404 to perform various calculations and the verification equipment 410 may determine an amount of time required by the deliverable 404 to complete the calculations.", "As described above, multiple measurements and results obtained by the verification equipment 410 may be used in generating a single signature and/or included in the verification information provided to the recipient 406.The verification equipment 410 may be configured to perform a set of operations such as impedance testing, acceptance testing, or other operation suitable for generating the signature of the deliverable 404.For example, the verification equipment 410 may determine a waveform corresponding to various signals which may be obtained from the deliverable 404, such as various types of radiation that may be obtained from the deliverable 404.In various embodiments, the verification equipment 410 generates the signature based at least in part on information obtained by performing the set of operations.", "In yet other embodiments, the verification equipment 410 is configured to provide the information obtained by performing the set of operations on another computer system of the manufacturer 402 responsible for generating the signature.", "For example, manufacturer may operate a webserver including an interface for communicating information to the recipient.", "The verification equipment 410 may provide the webserver with information corresponding to the set of operations performed on the deliverable 404, such as impedance measurements, hashes of software or firmware loaded into memory of the deliverable 404, and latency of various calculation performed by the deliverable 404.The webserver may then determine the signature for the deliverable based at least in part on the provided information and may transmit the determined signature to the recipient 406.The verification equipment 410 or other computing device of the manufacturer 402 may determine a tolerance level within which the signature for the deliverable 404 may be considered as matching the signature generated by the recipient.", "The verification equipment 410 may, for example, determine the tolerance level by at least taking a plurality of measurements and calculating a variance between at least a portion of the plurality of measurements.", "The tolerance level may be based at least in part on the calculated variance such that a measurement or obtained information within the variance may be considered to be within the tolerance level.", "FIG.", "5 shows an illustrative example of a process 500 which may be used to generate a signature for computing equipment using verification equipment of a manufacturer in accordance with an embodiment.", "The process 500 may be performed by any suitable system or combination of systems such as the verification equipment described above in connection with FIG.", "4.Returning to FIG.", "5, in an embodiment, the process 500 includes calibrating the verification equipment 502.As described above in FIG.", "3, the manufacturer may calibrate the verification equipment in order to ensure that measurement and other operations performed by the verification equipment are suitable to generate a signature for the computing equipment to be provided to the recipient.", "In numerous variations to the process 500, the manufacturer may calibrate the verification equipment and provide the verification equipment to the recipient prior to delivery of the computing equipment requested by the recipient.", "Returning to FIG.", "5, in an embodiment, the process 500 further includes connecting the verification equipment to the computing equipment 504.For example, the verification equipment may be connected over a physical link to a port of the computing equipment, such as a USB port or Ethernet port.", "The physical connection may enable communication between the verification equipment and the computing equipment as well as enable the verification equipment to measure impedance and electrical current at various points on the computing equipment.", "For example, the verification equipment may pass a waveform or signal, such as an electrical current, over the physical connection to a circuit of the computing equipment in order to measure an electrical property of the circuit.", "The computing equipment may include specific ports and/or inspections pins configured to enable the physical connection between the verification equipment and the computing equipment.", "The manufacturer may then generate a signature for the computing equipment using the verification equipment 506.The verification equipment may, as described above, perform a set of operations and obtain information corresponding to the computing equipment suitable for generating the signature for the computing equipment.", "For example, the verification equipment may perform acceptance testing on the computing equipment and obtain latency and impedance information corresponding to the performance of the computing equipment.", "The obtained information may then be included in a signature generated by the verification equipment.", "Once the verification equipment has generated the signature, a tolerance level may be determined for the generated signature 508.As described above, the tolerance level may indicate an amount by which a signature generated by the recipient may vary from the signature generated by the manufacturer and still indicate that the computing equipment has not been tampered with.", "The tolerance level may indicate a different amount for each component of the signature or a total amount of components of the signature that may vary from the manufacturer provided signature.", "The tolerance level may be determined based at least in part on the fidelity of the measurements and other information obtained by the verification equipment and/or the accuracy of the verification equipment.", "The manufacturer may then provide the generated signature to the recipient 510.The manufacturer may utilize a notification service or similar mechanism for providing the generated signature.", "The notification service may comprise a collection of computing resources collectively configured to provide a web service or other interface and browser-based management console.", "The management console can be used to configure topics for which the recipient seeks to receive notifications, signatures, tolerance levels, verification information, identification information for the computing equipment, or configure delivery of the messages over the recipients' protocol of choice (i.e., hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), e-mail, and short message service (SMS), among others).", "The notification service may provide notifications to the recipient using a “push” mechanism without the need to periodically check or “poll” for new information and updates.", "In numerous variations to the process 500, the verification equipment and the generated signature may be provided to the recipient prior to the manufacturer sending the computing equipment to the recipient.", "FIG.", "6 shows an illustrative example of a process 600 which may be used to determine if computing equipment has been tampered with based at least in part on a signature determined by verification equipment of a recipient.", "The process 600 may be performed by any suitable system or combination of systems such as the verification equipment described above in connection with FIG.", "2.Returning to FIG.", "6, in an embodiment, the process 600 includes receiving a computing equipment signature 602.As described above, the manufacturer may determine the signature for the computing equipment and provide the signature to the recipient.", "The recipient may then connect the verification equipment to the computing equipment 604.The recipient may connect to verification equipment to a port or interface of the computing equipment.", "For example, the computing equipment may contain a set of exposed pins that may be used in connection with the verification equipment to the computing equipment.", "Furthermore, the set of exposed pins may be tamper resistant.", "Once the verification equipment is connected, the verification equipment may execute one or more tests of the computing equipment 606.The one or more tests may be configured to measure and/or determine various attributes of the computing equipment as described above.", "For example, the verification equipment may measure the impedance across various points on the computing device.", "The verification equipment may then determine a signature for the computing equipment 608.The determined signature may be based at least in part on results obtained by the verification equipment from executing the one or more tests.", "The determined signature for the computing equipment may then be compared to the received signature for the computing equipment 610.The recipient may provide the received signature to the verification equipment, for example, by inputting the signature into an input device of the verification equipment.", "In numerous variations to the process 600, the verification equipment may provide the recipient or another computing device with the determined signature through an output device of the verification equipment.", "Returning to FIG.", "6, the verification equipment may determine if the determined signature for the computing equipment and the received signature for the computing equipment are within a tolerance level 612.For example, the verification equipment may determine that the value of the determined signature for the computing equipment is a tolerance value of the value of the received signature of the computing equipment.", "As a result, the verification equipment may provide the recipient with an indication that the computing equipment has not been altered or otherwise tampered with 614.The indication may be provided by an output device of the verification equipment.", "Alternatively, if the verification equipment determines that the received signature and the determined signature are not within the tolerance level or otherwise do not match, the verification equipment may provide the recipient with an indication that the computing device has been altered or tampered.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates an environment 700 in which a recipient may determine verification information for a deliverable 704 in accordance with the present disclosure.", "The verification information may be used by to determine if the deliverable 704 has been tampered with in transit to the recipient.", "For example, as described above, the verification information may include a signature that the recipient may compare to a manufacturer signature as described above.", "The verification information may be displayed on an interface 726 of the verification equipment 710.The recipient may establish various physical connections 702 between the verification equipment 710 and the deliverable 704.The verification equipment 710 may include a set of cables which may be connected to various ports of the deliverable 704.Furthermore, the cables may be color coordinated to match connection ports of the deliverable 704 or otherwise indicate which ports to connect to the verification equipment 710.The deliverable 704 may include variety of ports and/or interfaces suitable for connecting the verification equipment 710.For example, the deliverable may include a USB, a Video Graphics Array (VGA) port, a display port, a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) port, a IEEE 1394 (e.g., FireWire) port, an audio port, a PS/2 port, a serial port, an external serial ATA port, or other port suitable for connecting the verification equipment 710.Furthermore, the verification equipment 710 may perform multiple tests on a single port.", "For example, an HDMI or a USB port may comprises multiple conductors (e.g., pins), the verification equipment 710 may perform various test using different sets of conductors of the port.", "The test may, for example, measure the impedance or other properties (e.g.", "voltage sources, current sources, resistances, inductances, capacitances) of a circuit connected to the port.", "The circuit may include an electrical circuit comprising of a closed loop, giving a return path for the current, and an interconnection of electrical components (e.g.", "batteries, resistors, inductors, capacitors, switches).", "Generally, the techniques described herein may be used to measure properties of circuits and sub-circuits, accessible via the ports, include conventional ports include in the deliverable 704 such as a USB port or a special purpose port included by the manufacturer for the purpose of verification.", "The verification equipment 710 may generate a signature by at least executing a variety of different test using the physical connection 702.In various embodiments, the verification equipment 710 is configured to automatically generate the signature and determine if the deliverable 704 has been tampered with once the physical connection 702 to the deliverable 704 has been detected.", "Additionally, the verification equipment 710 may be configured with a tolerance level.", "For example, the measured impedance for various circuits of the deliverable included in the signature generated by the verification equipment needs to be within a predefined range in order for the verification equipment 710 to determine that the measured impedance matches the signature provided by the manufacturer.", "The tolerance level (e.g., predefined range) may differ between components of the signature of the deliverable 704.For example, the tolerance level for the measured impedance may be greater than the tolerance level for the weight of the deliverable 704.In yet other embodiments, the tolerance level for a component of the signature may be zero or otherwise indicate that the measured value and the value provided by the manufacturer must match.", "For example, if the signature includes a hash of the software loaded into memory of the deliverable 704, the manufacturer may indicate that the hash values must match in order for the verification equipment 710 to determine that the deliverable 704 has not been tampered with.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "7, the interface 726 may indicate if the signature determined by the verification equipment 710 matches the signature provided by the manufacturer.", "As described above, only a portion of the signature may match and the verification equipment 710 and/or recipient may determine the deliverable 704 has not been tampered with.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "7, the measure impedance for port 2 may not match the value provided in the manufacturer's signature but the recipient may determine that the deliverable 704 has not been tampered with.", "FIG.", "8 is an illustrative, simplified block diagram of an example device 800 that may be used to practice at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In various embodiments, the device 800 may be used to implement any of the systems illustrated herein and described above.", "For example, the device 800 may be used to implement a verification equipment, in accordance with various embodiments.", "As shown in FIG.", "8, the device 800 may include one or more processors 802 that may be configured to communicate with and are operatively coupled to a number of peripheral subsystems via a bus subsystem 804.These peripheral subsystems may include a storage subsystem 806, comprising a memory subsystem 808 and a file storage subsystem 810, one or more user interface output devices 814, a network interface subsystem 816, a cryptographic module 824, comprising a memory subsystem 830 and one or more cryptographic processors 832.The bus subsystem 804 may provide a mechanism for enabling the various components and subsystems of device system 800 to communicate with each other as intended.", "Although the bus subsystem 804 is shown schematically as a single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilize multiple busses.", "An inspection point 840 may be connected to the bus system 804.The inspection point 840 may include a set of inspection pins, as described above, which may be used to establish a physical connection with the verification equipment.", "For example, the inspection point 840 may be a Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) port or interface configured to enable various tests of the device system 800.In another example, the inspection point 840 may include a fuse configured to indicate the first time the device system 800 is turned on.", "The fuse may be configured such that the first time the device system 800 is turned on the fuse is blown and an indication is provided, such as an indicating pin, striker pin, indicating disc, or element window.", "The fuse may be installed at a time enabling a customer receiving the device to inspect the fuse, thereby determining if the device has been powered on while in transit (a sign of unauthorized access to the device).", "The network interface subsystem 816 may provide an interface to other device systems and networks.", "The network interface subsystem 816 may serve as an interface for receiving data from and transmitting data to other systems from the device system 800.For example, the network interface subsystem 816 may enable transmission of computing device signatures and other information, such as electronic requests to access a system (e.g., receive a webpage) and may enable receipt of responses to the requests, such as webpages or other information.", "The network interface subsystem 816 may also facilitate the receipt and/or transmission of data on other networks, such as an organizations intranet and/or other networks described below.", "User interface output devices 814, if any, may include a display subsystem or non-visual displays, such as audio and/or tactile output devices, etc.", "Generally, the output devices 814 may invoke one or more of any of the five senses of a user.", "The display subsystem may be a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat-panel device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diode (LED) display, or a projection or other display device.", "In general, use of the term “output device” is intended to include all possible types of devices and mechanisms for outputting information from the device system 800.The output device(s) 814 may be used, for example, to present user interfaces to facilitate user interaction with applications performing processes described herein and variations therein, when such interaction may be appropriate, such as presenting the user with information corresponding to a signature determined for a connected computing device.", "While a device 800 with user interface output devices is used for the purpose of illustration, it should be noted that the device 800 may operate without an output device, such as when the device 800 is operated in a server rack and, during typical operation, an output device is not needed.", "The storage subsystem 806 may provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing the basic programming and data constructs that may provide the functionality of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The applications (programs, code modules (i.e., programming modules), instructions) that, when executed by one or more processors, may provide the functionality of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, may be stored in the storage subsystem 806.These application modules or instructions may be executed by the one or more processors 802.The storage subsystem 806 may additionally provide a repository for storing data used in accordance with the present disclosure.", "The storage subsystem 806 may comprise a memory subsystem 808, which may include a main random access memory (RAM) 818 for storage of instructions and data during program execution and a read only memory (ROM) 820.The storage subsystem 806 may also provide a file/disk storage subsystem 810.The cryptographic module 824, which may be a trusted platform module (TPM), includes a memory subsystem 830, including a main random access memory (RAM) 828 for storage of instructions and data during program execution and a read only memory (ROM) 826, in which fixed cryptographic information may be stored, such as a hardware secret stored securely within the device 800 so as to be non-exportable (i.e., inaccessible through any call to the cryptographic module 824).", "The cryptographic module 824, in some embodiments, operates wholly or partly in compliance with Trusted Computing Group's TPM Main Specification level 2, Version 1.2, Revision 116, TPM Main Specification level 2, Version 1.2, Revision 103 and/or ISO/IEC 11889, which are incorporated herein by reference.", "The device 800 may also store cryptographic keys in RAM 828 and/or processor registers for temporary cryptographic processing.", "The cryptographic information stored in memory may be used in combination with cryptographic information obtained via the network interface 816 and/or one or more of the user interface input devices 812.The one or more cryptographic processors may be used to perform cryptographic operations in the device and may include a random number generator, SHA-2 or other hash generator and an encryption-decryption-signature engine.", "The one or more cryptographic processors may also be configured to perform one or more encryption/decryption algorithms in accordance with one or more cryptographic algorithms, such as public key and/or private key cryptographic algorithms.", "For example, as discussed, numerous variations utilize symmetric and/or asymmetric cryptographic primitives.", "Symmetric key algorithms may include various schemes for performing cryptographic operations on data including block ciphers, stream ciphers and digital signature schemes.", "Example symmetric key algorithms include, but are not limited to, the advanced encryption standard (AES), the data encryption standard (DES), triple DES (3DES), Serpent, Twofish, blowfish, CAST5, RC4 and the international data encryption algorithm (IDEA).", "Symmetric key algorithms may also include those used to generate output of one way functions and include, but are not limited to algorithms that utilize hash-based message authentication codes (HMACs), message authentication codes (MACs) in general, PBKDF2 and Bcrypt.", "Asymmetric key algorithms may also include various schemes for performing cryptographic operations on data.", "Example algorithms include, but are not limited to those that utilize the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol, the digital signature standard (DSS), the digital signature algorithm, the ElGamal algorithm, various elliptic curve algorithms, password-authenticated key agreement techniques, the pallier cryptosystem, the RSA encryption algorithm (PKCS#1), the Cramer-Shoup cryptosystem, the YAK authenticated key agreement protocol, the NTRUEncrypt cryptosystem, the McEliece cryptosystem, and others.", "Elliptic curve algorithms include the elliptic curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) key agreement scheme, the Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES), the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA), the ECMQV key agreement scheme and the ECQV implicit certificate scheme.", "Other algorithms and combinations of algorithms are also considered as being within the scope of the present disclosure.", "Generally, one or more components of the cryptographic module 924 may be configured to collectively perform various operations used generating cryptographically verifiable information for authentication objects.", "As noted above, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, hardware secrets are securely stored within the cryptographic module 824.In some embodiments, the cryptographic module is implemented as or may contain a physically unclonable function (PUF), which is a function implemented in physical hardware to use one or more hardware secrets that are based at least in part on physical characteristics of the PUF.", "As a result, any attempt to obtain a hardware secret may require physical intrusion into the PUF and physical intrusion may alter the physical characteristics of the PUF, thereby destroying the hardware secret.", "Example PUFs that may be used include PUFs using explicitly-introduced randomness, optical PUFs, coating PUFs, PUFs using intrinsic randomness, delay PUFs, static random access memory (SRAM) PUFs, butterfly PUFs, bistable ring PUFs, magnetic PUFs, metal resistance PUFs and/or other devices whose physical characteristics encode information usable as or for a hardware secret.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates aspects of an example environment 900 for implementing aspects in accordance with various embodiments.", "As will be appreciated, although a web-based environment is used for purposes of explanation, different environments may be used, as appropriate, to implement various embodiments.", "The environment includes an electronic client device 902, which can include any appropriate device operable to send and/or receive requests, messages or information over an appropriate network 904 and, in some embodiments, convey information back to a user of the device.", "Examples of such client devices include personal computers, cell phones, handheld messaging devices, laptop computers, tablet computers, set-top boxes, personal data assistants, embedded computer systems, electronic book readers and the like.", "The network can include any appropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, a cellular network, a local area network, a satellite network or any other such network and/or combination thereof.", "Components used for such a system can depend at least in part upon the type of network and/or environment selected.", "Protocols and components for communicating via such a network are well known and will not be discussed herein in detail.", "Communication over the network can be enabled by wired or wireless connections and combinations thereof.", "In this example, the network includes the Internet, as the environment includes a web server 906 for receiving requests and serving content in response thereto, although for other networks an alternative device serving a similar purpose could be used as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.", "The illustrative environment includes at least one application server 908 and a data store 910.It should be understood that there can be several application servers, layers or other elements, processes or components, which may be chained or otherwise configured, which can interact to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriate data store.", "Servers, as used herein, may be implemented in various ways, such as hardware devices or virtual computer systems.", "In some contexts, servers may refer to a programming module being executed on a computer system.", "As used herein, unless otherwise stated or clear from context, the term “data store” refers to any device or combination of devices capable of storing, accessing and retrieving data, which may include any combination and number of data servers, databases, data storage devices and data storage media, in any standard, distributed, virtual or clustered environment.", "The application server can include any appropriate hardware, software and firmware for integrating with the data store as needed to execute aspects of one or more applications for the client device, handling some or all of the data access and business logic for an application.", "The application server may provide access control services in cooperation with the data store and is able to generate content including, but not limited to, text, graphics, audio, video and/or other content usable to be provided to the user, which may be served to the user by the web server in the form of HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”), Extensible Markup Language (“XML”), JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets (“CSS”) or another appropriate client-side structured language.", "Content transferred to a client device may be processed by the client device to provide the content in one or more forms including, but not limited to, forms that are perceptible to the user audibly, visually and/or through other senses including touch, taste, and/or smell.", "The handling of all requests and responses, as well as the delivery of content between the client device 902 and the application server 908, can be handled by the web server using PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (“PHP”), Python, Ruby, Perl, Java, HTML, XML or another appropriate server-side structured language in this example.", "It should be understood that the web and application servers are not required and are merely example components, as structured code discussed herein can be executed on any appropriate device or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.", "Further, operations described herein as being performed by a single device may, unless otherwise clear from context, be performed collectively by multiple devices, which may form a distributed and/or virtual system.", "The data store 910 can include several separate data tables, databases, data documents, dynamic data storage schemes and/or other data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating to a particular aspect of the present disclosure.", "For example, the data store illustrated may include mechanisms for storing production data 912 and user information 916, which can be used to serve content for the production side.", "The data store also is shown to include a mechanism for storing log data 914, which can be used for reporting, analysis or other such purposes.", "It should be understood that there can be many other aspects that may need to be stored in the data store, such as page image information and access rights information, which can be stored in any of the above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanisms in the data store 910.The data store 910 is operable, through logic associated therewith, to receive instructions from the application server 908 and obtain, update or otherwise process data in response thereto.", "The application server 908 may provide static, dynamic or a combination of static and dynamic data in response to the received instructions.", "Dynamic data, such as data used in web logs (blogs), shopping applications, news services and other such applications may be generated by server-side structured languages as described herein or may be provided by a content management system (“CMS”) operating on, or under the control of, the application server.", "In one example, a user, through a device operated by the user, might submit a search request for a certain type of item.", "In this case, the data store might access the user information to verify the identity of the user and can access the catalog detail information to obtain information about items of that type.", "The information then can be returned to the user, such as in a results listing on a web page that the user is able to view via a browser on the user device 902.Information for a particular item of interest can be viewed in a dedicated page or window of the browser.", "It should be noted, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure are not necessarily limited to the context of web pages, but may be more generally applicable to processing requests in general, where the requests are not necessarily requests for content.", "Each server typically will include an operating system that provides executable program instructions for the general administration and operation of that server and typically will include a computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a hard disk, random access memory, read only memory, etc.)", "storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of the server, allow the server to perform its intended functions.", "Suitable implementations for the operating system and general functionality of the servers are known or commercially available and are readily implemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly in light of the disclosure herein.", "The environment, in one embodiment, is a distributed and/or virtual computing environment utilizing several computer systems and components that are interconnected via communication links, using one or more computer networks or direct connections.", "However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equally well in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than are illustrated in FIG.", "9.Thus, the depiction of the system 900 in FIG.", "9 should be taken as being illustrative in nature and not limiting to the scope of the disclosure.", "The various embodiments further can be implemented in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases can include one or more user computers, computing devices or processing devices which can be used to operate any of a number of applications.", "User or client devices can include any of a number of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop, laptop or tablet computers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular, wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols.", "Such a system also can include a number of workstations running any of a variety of commercially-available operating systems and other known applications for purposes such as development and database management.", "These devices also can include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals, thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable of communicating via a network.", "These devices also can include virtual devices such as virtual machines, hypervisors and other virtual devices capable of communicating via a network.", "Various embodiments of the present disclosure utilize at least one network that would be familiar to those skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of a variety of commercially-available protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”), User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”), protocols operating in various layers of the Open System Interconnection (“OSI”) model, File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”), Universal Plug and Play (“UpnP”), Network File System (“NFS”), Common Internet File System (“CIFS”) and AppleTalk.", "The network can be, for example, a local area network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, a wireless network, a satellite network and any combination thereof.", "In embodiments utilizing a web server, the web server can run any of a variety of server or mid-tier applications, including Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) servers, FTP servers, Common Gateway Interface (“CGP”) servers, data servers, Java servers, Apache servers and business application servers.", "The server(s) also may be capable of executing programs or scripts in response to requests from user devices, such as by executing one or more web applications that may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# or C++, or any scripting language, such as Ruby, PHP, Perl, Python or TCL, as well as combinations thereof.", "The server(s) may also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase® and IBM® as well as open-source servers such as MySQL, Postgres, SQLite, MongoDB, and any other server capable of storing, retrieving and accessing structured or unstructured data.", "Database servers may include table-based servers, document-based servers, unstructured servers, relational servers, non-relational servers or combinations of these and/or other database servers.", "The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memory and storage media as discussed above.", "These can reside in a variety of locations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computers across the network.", "In a particular set of embodiments, the information may reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”) familiar to those skilled in the art.", "Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may be stored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate.", "Where a system includes computerized devices, each such device can include hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, for example, at least one central processing unit (“CPU” or “processor”), at least one input device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch screen or keypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a display device, printer or speaker).", "Such a system may also include one or more storage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices and solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (“RAM”) or read-only memory (“ROM”), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards, etc.", "Such devices also can include a computer-readable storage media reader, a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, etc.)", "and working memory as described above.", "The computer-readable storage media reader can be connected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storage medium, representing remote, local, fixed and/or removable storage devices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting and retrieving computer-readable information.", "The system and various devices also typically will include a number of software applications, modules, services or other elements located within at least one working memory device, including an operating system and application programs, such as a client application or web browser.", "It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments may have numerous variations from that described above.", "For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets) or both.", "Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.", "Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in the art, including storage media and communication media, such as, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmission of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data, including RAM, ROM, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (“EEPROM”), flash memory or other memory technology, Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (“CD-ROM”), digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the system device.", "Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the various embodiments.", "The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.", "It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.", "Other variations are within the spirit of the present disclosure.", "Thus, while the disclosed techniques are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and have been described above in detail.", "It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.", "The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the disclosed embodiments (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context.", "The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted.", "The term “connected,” when unmodified and referring to physical connections, is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within, attached to or joined together, even if there is something intervening.", "Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.", "The use of the term “set” (e.g., “a set of items”) or “subset” unless otherwise noted or contradicted by context, is to be construed as a nonempty collection comprising one or more members.", "Further, unless otherwise noted or contradicted by context, the term “subset” of a corresponding set does not necessarily denote a proper subset of the corresponding set, but the subset and the corresponding set may be equal.", "Conjunctive language, such as phrases of the form “at least one of A, B, and C,” or “at least one of A, B and C,” unless specifically stated otherwise or otherwise clearly contradicted by context, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may be either A or B or C, or any nonempty subset of the set of A and B and C. For instance, in the illustrative example of a set having three members, the conjunctive phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” and “at least one of A, B and C” refer to any of the following sets: {A}, {B}, {C}, {A, B}, {A, C}, {B, C}, {A, B, C}.", "Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require at least one of A, at least one of B and at least one of C each to be present.", "Operations of processes described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.", "Processes described herein (or variations and/or combinations thereof) may be performed under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions and may be implemented as code (e.g., executable instructions, one or more computer programs or one or more applications) executing collectively on one or more processors, by hardware or combinations thereof.", "The code may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium, for example, in the form of a computer program comprising a plurality of instructions executable by one or more processors.", "The computer-readable storage medium may be non-transitory.", "The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed.", "No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.", "Embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention.", "Variations of those embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description.", "The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate and the inventors intend for embodiments of the present disclosure to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.", "Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law.", "Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.", "All references, including publications, patent applications and patents, cited herein, including IEEE 1149.1 Standard Test Access Port and Boundary-Scan Architecture or JTAG, are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein." ] ]
Patent_15874822
[ [ "OFDM TRANSMISSION METHOD AND DEVICE IN WIRELESS LAN SYSTEM", "An apparatus and method for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system is disclosed, in which the apparatus for OFDM transmission in the WLAN system includes a signal repetition unit to repeat an encoded signal based on a block unit and output the encoded signal and a repeated signal, an interleaver to interleave the encoded signal and the repeated signal and output an interleaved signal, a modulator to modulate the interleaved signal and output modulated symbols, and a phase rotation unit to phase shift the modulated symbols." ], [ "1.A communication method by a communication apparatus in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the method comprising: generating a physical frame with a modulation and coding scheme for BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying); and transmitting the physical frame, wherein a frequency domain repetition is applied to the physical frame when the physical frame is transmitted, wherein the frequency domain repetition includes mapping a same information to a first part of frequency subcarriers and a second part of the frequency subcarriers, wherein the information is mapped to the first part of frequency subcarriers based on the modulation and coding scheme for BPSK, and wherein the information is mapped to the second part of frequency subcarriers based on the modulation and coding scheme for BPSK and a phase rotation.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein first symbols are symbols allocated to the first part of frequency subcarriers, and wherein second symbols are symbols allocated to the second part of frequency subcarriers.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the second symbols are obtained by applying the phase rotation to the first symbols.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the physical frame includes a plurality of time domain fields.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of time domain fields include data field.", "6.The method of claim 5, wherein the frequency domain repetition is applied to the data field.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the first part of frequency subcarriers is a lower half of the frequency subcarriers and, wherein the first part of frequency subcarriers is a upper half of the frequency subcarriers.", "8.A communication apparatus in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the apparatus comprising: a processor; and a transmitter, wherein the processor is configured to: generate a physical frame with a modulation and coding scheme for BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying), control the transmitter to transmit the physical frame, wherein a frequency domain repetition is applied to the physical frame when the physical frame is transmitted, wherein the frequency domain repetition includes mapping a same information to a first part of frequency subcarriers and a second part of the frequency subcarriers, wherein the information is mapped to the first part of frequency subcarriers based on the modulation and coding scheme for BPSK, and wherein the information is mapped to the second part of frequency subcarriers based on the modulation and coding scheme for BPSK and a phase rotation.", "9.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein first symbols are symbols allocated to the first part of frequency subcarriers, and wherein second symbols are symbols allocated to the second part of frequency subcarriers.", "10.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second symbols are obtained by applying the phase rotation to the first symbols.", "11.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the physical frame includes a plurality of time domain fields.", "12.The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the plurality of time domain fields include data field.", "13.The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the frequency domain repetition is applied to the data field.", "14.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first part of frequency subcarriers is a lower half of the frequency subcarriers and, wherein the first part of frequency subcarriers is a upper half of the frequency subcarriers 15.The apparatus of claim 8, the apparatus further comprises a phase rotation unit." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In general, development of wireless local area network (WLAN) technology has advanced in three directions.", "One direction indicates technology for improving a transmission rate and includes WLAN technology using a 60 gigahertz (GHz) band and WLAN technology using a 5 GHz band.", "Another direction indicates wideband WLAN technology using a frequency band under 1 GHz to extend coverage when compared to existing WLAN technology, and still another direction indicates technology for reducing link set-up time of a WLAN system.", "Wideband WLAN technology may support a multi-bandwidth and adopt an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission method.", "The OFDM transmission method may have an issue related to a high peak to average power ratio (PAPR)." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 illustrates a diagram describing a multi-bandwidth of a wideband wireless local area network (WLAN) system.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a diagram describing a frame structure of a 1 megahertz (MHz) mode among a multi-bandwidth of a wideband WLAN system.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a diagram describing a transmitting end structure of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a diagram describing an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) method of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate diagrams describing examples of configuring a duplication mode frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a diagram describing an OFDM apparatus of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a diagram describing an OFDM apparatus of a WLAN system according to another embodiment of the present invention.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/017,035 filed Feb. 5, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/408,933 filed Dec. 17, 2014 (now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,264,274 issued Feb. 16, 2016), which is a U.S. National Stage of International Patent Application No.", "PCT/KR2013/005376 filed Jun.", "19, 2013, which claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos.", "10-2012-0065520 and 10-2013-0069404 filed Jun.", "19, 2012 and Jun.", "18, 2013, respectively, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system.", "BACKGROUND ART In general, development of wireless local area network (WLAN) technology has advanced in three directions.", "One direction indicates technology for improving a transmission rate and includes WLAN technology using a 60 gigahertz (GHz) band and WLAN technology using a 5 GHz band.", "Another direction indicates wideband WLAN technology using a frequency band under 1 GHz to extend coverage when compared to existing WLAN technology, and still another direction indicates technology for reducing link set-up time of a WLAN system.", "Wideband WLAN technology may support a multi-bandwidth and adopt an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission method.", "The OFDM transmission method may have an issue related to a high peak to average power ratio (PAPR).", "DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Goals An aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus and method for reducing a peak to average power ratio (PAPR) when an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation of a frequency repetition scheme is used in a wideband wireless local network (WLAN) system.", "An aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus and method for reducing power consumption of a station in a WLAN system.", "Technical Solutions According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, the apparatus including a signal repetition unit to repeat an encoded signal based on a block unit and output the encoded signal and a repeated signal, an interleaver to interleave the encoded signal and the repeated signal and output an interleaved signal, a modulator to modulate the interleaved signal and output modulated symbols, and a phase rotation unit to phase shift the modulated symbols.", "The phase rotation unit may maintain phase of symbols obtained by modulating the encoded signal among the modulated symbols, and phase shift symbols obtained by modulating the repeated signal among the modulated symbols.", "The phase rotation unit, among the symbols obtained by modulating the repeated signal, may maintain phase of a portion of symbols and phase shift remaining symbols.", "The phase rotation unit may phase shift the modulated symbols by 45 degrees (°), 90°, 135°, or 180°.", "The encoded signal may include data used for a bandwidth mode having a lowest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) among a plurality of bandwidths supported in the WLAN system.", "A frame structure of the bandwidth mode having the lowest SNR may include a base frame and a duplication frame having a phase different from a phase of the base frame, and the base frame may include a short training field (STF), a long training field (LTF), and a repetition coded signal (SIG) field.", "According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for OFDM transmission in a WLAN system, the method including outputting an encoded signal and a repeated signal by repeating the encoded signal based on a block unit, outputting an interleaved signal by interleaving the encoded signal and the repeated signal, outputting modulated symbols by modulating the interleaved signal, and phase shifting the modulated symbols.", "According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided an apparatus for OFDM transmission in a WLAN system, the apparatus including a signal repetition unit to repeat an encoded signal based on a block unit and output the encoded signal and a repeated signal, a bit conversion unit to convert bit information associated with the repeated signal, an interleaver to interleave the encoded signal and a signal obtained by conversing the bit information and output an interleaved signal, and a modulator to modulate the interleaved signal and output modulated symbols.", "According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for OFDM transmission in a WLAN system, the apparatus including outputting an encoded signal and a repeated signal by repeating the encoded signal based on a block unit, conversing bit information associated with the repeated signal, outputting an interleaved signal by interleaving the encoded signal and a signal obtained by conversing the bit information, and outputting modulated symbols by modulating the interleaved signal.", "Advantageous Effects According to example embodiments, there is provided an apparatus and method for reducing a peak to average power ratio (PAPR) when an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation of a frequency repetition scheme is used in a wideband wireless local network (WLAN) system.", "Accordingly, it is possible to reduce power consumption of a station in a WLAN system.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates a diagram describing a multi-bandwidth of a wideband wireless local area network (WLAN) system.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a diagram describing a frame structure of a 1 megahertz (MHz) mode among a multi-bandwidth of a wideband WLAN system.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a diagram describing a transmitting end structure of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a diagram describing an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) method of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate diagrams describing examples of configuring a duplication mode frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a diagram describing an OFDM apparatus of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a diagram describing an OFDM apparatus of a WLAN system according to another embodiment of the present invention.", "BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.", "The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a diagram describing a multi-bandwidth of a wideband wireless local area network (WLAN) system.", "A wideband WLAN system, for example, a WLAN system defined in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ah standard, may support a multi-bandwidth.", "The multi-bandwidth may include a first bandwidth having the lowest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and a second bandwidth that is two times greater than the first bandwidth.", "In this instance, a value of the first bandwidth may be 1 megahertz (MHz).", "Referring to FIG.", "1, the multi-bandwidth may include a 1 MHz bandwidth 110, a 2 MHz bandwidth 120, a 4 MHz bandwidth 130, an 8 MHz bandwidth 140, and a 16 MHz bandwidth 150.A frequency band of the wideband WLAN system may be less than or equal to 1 gigahertz (GHz).", "Accordingly, “the multi-bandwidth may be expressed to include 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz”.", "In FIG.", "1, a frequency lower limit value 161 may be a value between 700 MHz and 920 MHz, and a frequency upper limit value 163 may be a value between 750 MHz and 930 MHz.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "1, the 1 MHz bandwidth 110 may be allocated through an entire channel, and remaining bandwidths, for example, the 2 MHz bandwidth 120, the 4 MHz bandwidth 130, the 8 MHz bandwidth 140, and the 16 MHz bandwidth 150 may be allocated to only a portion of a section of the entire channel.", "For example, the 16 MHz bandwidth 150 may be allocated between a predetermined frequency value 165 of FIG.", "1 and the frequency upper limit value 163.Referring to FIG.", "1, eight channels are allocated to the 2 MHz bandwidth 120, four channels are allocated to the 4 MHz bandwidth 130, and two channels are allocated to the 8 MHz bandwidth 140.However, an allocation of channels illustrated in FIG.", "1 is an example and thus, a number of channels and a frequency band may be configured using a variety of methods.", "In the present specification, a transmission mode having a value of the 1 MHz bandwidth 110 is referred to as a 1 MHz mode, and a transmission mode having a value of the 2 MHz bandwidth 120 is referred to as a 2 MHz mode.", "The 1 MHz mode may refer to a transmission mode that maintains an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol structure and includes 32 subcarriers.", "In this instance, the 1 MHz mode may use a frequency domain repetition transmission method and thus, may have the lowest transmission rate among bandwidths.", "However, in the 1 MHz mode, a signal may be transmitted to the farthest distance since the 1 MHz mode has a low SNR.", "In a wideband WLAN system using a frequency band less than 1 GHz, terminals may receive a signal transmitted in the 1 MHz mode and a signal transmitted in the 2 MHz mode.", "A wideband WLAN system may have a low data transmission rate and a low transmission frequency.", "Thus, reducing a power consumption of the wideband WLAN system for a durable use after an installation, and extending a communication range of a station (STA) or an access point (AP) are significant.", "To extend a communication range of sensor devices requiring a low data transmission rate, a frequency repetition scheme may be used with respect to a binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) of the 1 MHz mode and a ½ binary convolutional code (BCC) transmission rate.", "However, in an OFDM transmission method, a relatively high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) may be obtained when an identical symbol is transmitted through two subcarriers.", "Thus, inefficiency of a power amplifier caused by the PAPR may be an issue in the OFDM transmission method.", "According to example embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the PAPR by shifting phase of symbol after a process of modulation.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a diagram describing a frame structure of a 1 MHz mode among a multi-bandwidth of a wideband WLAN system.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, a 1 MHz mode frame may include a short training field (STF) 210, a long training field (LTF-1) 220, and a repetition coded signal (SIG) field 230.The STF 210 may refer to a short training field for signal detection, automatic gain control, and initial synchronization.", "The LTF-1 220 may refer to a channel estimation field for accurate synchronization and SIG symbol detection.", "The repetition coded SIG field 230 may be provided in a structure in which information associated with a bandwidth is omitted and includes 36-bit information.", "In FIG.", "2, in addition to the LTF-1 220, LFT-2 to LTF-N may be included to estimate a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication channel.", "Each length of the LFT-2 to the LTF-N may vary based on a number of transmission streams.", "“Repetition or non-repetition (SERVICE+DATA)” of FIG.", "2 may refer to actual data to be transmitted.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a diagram describing a transmitting end structure of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, a transmitting end may perform a repeated transmission in a frequency domain by BPSK modulating a 1 MHz mode frame.", "A scrambler 310 may randomize data received from a media access control (MAC) layer.", "A forward error correction (FEC) 320 may perform a ½ encoding for correcting a forward error.", "A 2× block-wise repetition 330 may indicate a unit repeating a bit string based on a block unit inserted to a single OFDM symbol.", "For example, the 2x block-wise repetition 330 may repeat an encoded bit string based on 12-bit units and output the encoded bit string+a repeated bit string.", "An interleaver 340 may perform interleaving.", "A BPSK 350 may indicate a unit performing a BPSK modulation.", "An inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) 370 may perform 32-bit IFFT that transforms a frequency domain signal to a time domain signal.", "When a guard interval is added in a guard interval (GI) 380, the time domain signal output from the IFFT 370 may be processed using an analog 390.In this instance, output signal from the BPSK 350 may be input directly to the IFFT 370.However, when the output signal is input directly to the IFFT 370, a structure in which an identical signal is repeated twice in a single OFDM symbol may be configured.", "Thus, the structure in which an identical signal is repeated twice in a single OFDM may have a greater PAPR as compared to a PAPR of general OFDM signal due to characteristic correlations obtained by a signal repetition.", "The characteristic correlations obtained by a signal repetition may be decreased by phase shifting.", "A phase rotation 360 phase shifts an output signal from the BPSK 350 based on a predetermined rule.", "In this instance, the predetermined rule may be verified using a control signal.", "For example, the predetermined rule may refer to a rule for phase shifting symbols obtained by BPSK modulating a repeated signal among BPSK modulated symbols.", "As another example, an output signal of each block illustrated in FIG.", "3 may be expressed as Table 1.TABLE 1 Output End Bit String Comment FEC 320 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 12 bits of encoded signal 2x b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 24 bit strings block-wise b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12 Bold font: repetition repeated signal 330 Interleaver b1 b9 b5 b2 b10 b6 b3 b11 b7 b4 b12 b8 Varies based on 340 b5 b1 b9 b6 b2 b10 b7 b3 b11 b8 b4 b12 structure of interleayer BPSK 350 a1a9 a5 a2 a10 a6 a3 a11a7 a4 a12 a8 aN refers to a a5 a1 a9 a6 a2 a10 a7 a3 a11 a8 a4 a12 symbol obtained by BPSK modulating bn (n = 1, 2, .", ".", ".", "12) Bold font: symbol obtained by BPSK modulating repeated signal Phase a1a9 a5 a2 a10 a6 a3 a11a7 a4 a12 a8 Bold and rotation a5 a1 a9 a6 a2 a10 a7 a3 a11 a8 a4 a12 underlined font: 360 Q(quadrature) BPSK modulation phase shifting by 90°, and 6 symbols are QBPSK modulated among 24 bit strings a1a9 a5 a2 a10 a6 a3 a11a7 a4 a12 a8 Bold and a5 a1 a9 a6 a2 a10 a7 a3 a11 a8 a4 a12 underlined font: QBPSK modulation shifting phase by 180°, and symbol having phase shifted by 180° indicates reversal of sign Referring to Table 1, 12 independent BPSK modulation signals may be transmitted through two subcarriers included in a single OFDM symbol.", "Also, the phase rotation 360 may maintain phase of symbols (a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9 a10 a11 a12) obtained by modulating encoded signals (b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7, b8, b9, b10, b11, b12) and may shift phase of symbols (a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, a6, a7, a8, a9, a10, a11, a12) obtained by modulating repeated signals among the modulated symbols.", "In this instance, among the symbols (a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, a6, a7, a8, a9, a10, a11, a12) obtained by modulating the repeated symbols, the phase rotation 360 may also maintain phase of a portion of symbols and shift phase of six symbols (a5, a6, a1, a2, a10, a3).", "Accordingly, when phase of a portion of symbols is maintained and remaining symbols are phase shifted among symbols obtained by modulating a repeated signal, the PAPR may be minimized.", "The phase rotation 360 may phase shift modulated symbols by 45°, 90°, 135°, or 180°.", "When the modulated symbols are phase shifted by 45°, 135°, or 180°, phase shifted symbols may be changed.", "For example, modulated symbols are phase shifted by 180°, the phase rotation 360 may phase shift “a6 a8 a1 a10 a11 a12” with reference to Table 1.When the phase shift is 180°, the phase rotation 360 may be realized by a simple sign reversal.", "In this instance, the simple sign reversal may indicate that a BPSK symbol is changed from “−1” to “1”, and a BPSK symbol is changed from “1” to “−1”.", "In particular, phase shifting by 180° may be realized by a sign reversal of “a6 a8 a1 a10 a11 a12” after a BPSK modulation.", "However, before the BPSK modulation, the phase shifting by 180° may also realized by converting “0” to “1”, and “1” to “0” in bit information, which differs from an illustration of FIG.", "3.Accordingly, a process of the phase rotation 360 may be substituted for a bit conversion on “b1 b6 b8 b10 b1 b12” repeated in the 2x block-wise repetition 330.Here, the bit conversion may be an exclusive OR (XOR) operation performed on the repeated bit string [b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12] and [1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1].", "In addition, when phase of all symbols (a1 a9 a5 a2 a10 a6 a3 a11 a7 a4 a12 a8 a5 a1 a9 a6 a2 a10 a7 a3 a11 a8 a4 a12) is shifted, irrespective of repetition among the symbols, the PAPR may decrease.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a diagram describing an OFDM method for a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "The method illustrated in FIG.", "4 may be performed by the transmitting end of FIG.", "3 or a transmission apparatus of FIG.", "6.Before operation 410, the transmitting end may repeat an encoded signal and output the encoded signal and a repeated signal.", "The transmission end may interleave the encoded signal and the repeated signal and output an interleaved signal.", "In operation 410, the transmission end may shift phase of modulated symbols.", "In operation 420, the transmission end may generate a time domain signal from a frequency domain signal through an IFFT.", "In operation 430, the transmission end may transmit a frame.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate diagrams describing examples of configuring a duplication mode frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5A illustrates a 2 MHz duplication mode frame.", "In this instance, the 2 MHz duplication mode frame may include a base frame 510 and a duplication frame 520 having a phase different from a phase of the base frame 510 by 90 degrees (°).", "Referring to FIG.", "5A, a transmission of a duplication mode frame may be performed by phase shifting a frame by 90° based on a direct current (DC) tone and transmitting the frame and the phase-shifted frame, through two bands, respectively.", "For example, a process of transmitting the duplication mode frame may include an operation of transmitting a base frame through a first band and simultaneously transmitting a duplication frame through a second band.", "Accordingly, a reception end receiving a duplication mode frame may perform demodulation by receiving a frame received from any one of the first band and the second band.", "The base frame 510 of FIG.", "5 may be provided in a structure identical to that of the 1 MHz mode frame of FIG.", "2.Thus, the base frame 510 may include a short training field (STF), a long training field (LTF), and an SIG field.", "The SIG field of a 1 MHz mode frame may be provided in a structure in which information associated with a bandwidth is omitted, with reference to FIG.", "2.When the duplication mode frame is configured based on the 1 MHz bandwidth, inserting information for defining a bandwidth is required.", "For example, bandwidth information may be inserted using a portion of bits among four bits defined as a reserved bit of SIG.", "In this instance, the bandwidth information may refer to information associated with a bandwidth of a frequency axis used in the example of FIG.", "5A.", "Also, the bandwidth information may be defined using a portion of lower bits of a scrambler sheet included in a service field.", "Three bits may be required to divide a bandwidth into 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz and subsequently identify the divided bandwidths.", "Accordingly, the 1 MHz frame structure may be provided in a structure in which information associated with a multi-bandwidth is omitted, and a base frame 510 generated based on the 1 MHz frame structure may include information associated with the multi-bandwidth in a signal field or a service field.", "FIG.", "5B illustrates a 4 MHz duplication mode frame.", "The 4 MHz duplication mode frame may include a base frame 510 and three duplication frames having a phase different from a phase of the base frame 510 by 180°.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a diagram describing an OFDM apparatus of a WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "6, an OFDM transmission apparatus of a WLAN system according to an example embodiment includes a signal repetition unit 610, an interleaver 620, a modulator 630, a phase rotation unit 640, and a transmitter 650.The signal repetition unit 610 may perform a function of the 2x block-wise repetition 330 of FIG.", "3 identically.", "The signal repetition unit 610 may repeat an encoded signal based on a block unit and output the encoded signal and a repeated signal.", "Here, the encoded signal may correspond to data used for a bandwidth mode having a lowest SNR among a plurality of bandwidths supported in a WLAN system.", "In this instance, a frame structure of the bandwidth having the lowest SNR may include a base frame and a duplication frame having phase different from phase of the base frame, and the base frame may include an STF, an LTF, and a repetition coded SIG field.", "The interleaver 620 may perform a function of the interleaver 340 of FIG.", "3 identically.", "The interleaver may interleave the encoded signal and the repeated signal and output an interleaved signal.", "The modulator 630 may perform a function of the BPSK 350 of FIG.", "3 identically.", "The modulator 630 may modulate the interleaved signal and output modulated symbols.", "The phase rotation unit 640 may perform a function of the phase rotation 360 of FIG.", "3 identically.", "The phase rotation unit 640 may phase shift the modulated symbols.", "The phase rotation unit 640 may maintain phase of symbols obtained by modulating encoded signals among the modulated symbols, and phase shift symbols obtained by modulating repeated signals among the modulated symbols.", "Among the symbols obtained by modulating the repeated symbols, the phase rotation unit 640 may maintain phase of a portion of symbols and phase shift remaining symbols.", "The phase rotation unit 640 may phase shift modulated symbols by 45°, 90°, 135°, or 180°.", "The transmitter 650 may include the IFFT 370, the GI 380, and the analog 390 of FIG.", "3.The transmitter 650 may transmit a 1 MHz mode frame or transmit the duplication mode frame of FIG.", "5.Thus, the transmitter 650 may transmit the base frame 510 of FIG.", "5 through a first bandwidth, and simultaneously transmit the duplication mode frame 520 of FIG.", "5 through a second bandwidth.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a diagram describing an OFDM apparatus of a WLAN system according to another embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "7, an OFDM transmission apparatus 700 of a WLAN system according to an example embodiment may include a signal repetition unit 710, a bit conversion unit 720, an interleaver 730, a modulator 730, and a transmitter 750.The signal repetition unit 710 may perform a function of the 2× block-wise repetition 330 of FIG.", "3 identically.", "The signal repetition unit 710 may repeat an encoded signal based on a block unit and output the encoded signal and a repeated signal.", "Here, the encoded signal may correspond to data used for a bandwidth mode having the lowest SNR among a plurality of bandwidths supported in a WLAN system.", "The bit conversion unit 720 may perform a conversion on bit information of the repeated signal.", "A bit conversion may be performing an XOR operation, as described with reference to FIG.", "3.Among bit information of the repeated signal, the bit conversion unit 720 may maintain signs of a portion of bits, and change signs of remaining bits.", "For example, the bit conversion unit 720 may perform the XOR operation on the repeated bit string [b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 b8 b9 b10 b11 b12] and [1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1].", "The interleaver 730 may perform a function of the interleaver 340 of FIG.", "3 identically.", "The interleaver 730 may interleave the encoded signal and a signal obtained by a conversion of the bit information, and output an interleaved signal.", "The modulator 730 may perform a function of the BPSK 350 of FIG.", "3 identically.", "The modulator 730 may modulate the interleaved signal and output modulated symbols.", "The transmitter 750 may include the IFFT 370, the GI 380, and the analog 390 of FIG.", "3.The transmitter may transmit a 1 MHz mode frame, or transmit the duplication mode frame of FIG.", "5.Thus, the transmitter 750 may transmit the base frame 510 of FIG.", "5 through a first bandwidth, and simultaneously transmit the duplication mode frame 520 through a second bandwidth.", "The method according to the above-described embodiments may be recorded in non-transitory computer-readable media including program instructions to implement various operations embodied by a computer.", "The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like.", "Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy discs, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM discs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as optical discs; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like.", "Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.", "The described hardware devices may be configured to act as one or more software modules in order to perform the operations of the above-described embodiments, or vice versa.", "Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments.", "Instead, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents." ] ]
Patent_15874827
[ [ "ENHANCING TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION UNIFORMITY ACROSS A PRINTER DIE", "According to an example, in a method for enhancing temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die, in which the printer die includes a plurality of drop generators arranged in a plurality of columns, a warming map that identifies the drop generators of the plurality of drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses to enhance temperature distribution uniformity across the printer die may be accessed.", "The warming map may identify a non-uniform distribution of the drop generators across a column of the plurality of columns.", "In addition, the warming map may be implemented to supply the drop generators identified in the warming map as the drop generators that are to receive the warming pulses." ], [ "1-15.", "(canceled) 16.A method for enhancing temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die, wherein the printer die comprises a plurality of drop generators arranged in a plurality of columns, said method comprising: accessing a warming map that identifies the drop generators of the plurality of drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses to enhance temperature distribution uniformity across the printer die, wherein the warming map identifies a non-uniform distribution of the drop generators across a column of the plurality of columns, wherein the plurality of columns comprises a first column and a second column along a width of the printer die, wherein the drop generators arranged along the first column are arranged substantially parallel to the drop generators arranged along the second column, and wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators includes a different distribution of drop generators along the first column as compared with the second column; and implementing the warming map to supply the drop generators identified in the warming map as the drop generators that are to receive the warming pulses.", "17.The method according to claim 16, wherein the printer die comprises a first end, a second end, and a middle section, and wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators includes a larger number of the drop generators near the first end and the second end as compared with the middle section.", "18.The method according to claim 17, wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators includes a distribution of the drop generators that includes only the drop generators located at the first end and the second end.", "19.The method according to claim 16, wherein the printer die comprises a plurality of print slots, wherein each of the plurality of print slots includes a pair of columns of the plurality of columns, wherein accessing the warming map further comprises accessing a plurality of warming maps, and wherein each of the plurality of warming maps corresponds to the columns of drop generators in a respective one of the plurality of print slots.", "20.The method according to claim 19, wherein a first warming map of the plurality of warming maps differs from a second warming map of the plurality of warming maps.", "21.The method according to claim 19, wherein the columns of the plurality of print slots are arranged in parallel and in an aligned arrangement with respect to each other, wherein a first print slot of the plurality of print slots is positioned at a bottom location of the printer die, a second print slot of the plurality of print slots is positioned at a top location of the printer die, and a third print slot of the plurality of print slots is positioned between the first print slot and the second print slot, wherein a first warming map of the plurality of warming maps corresponds to the first print slot, a second warming map of the plurality of warming maps corresponds to the second print slot, and a third warming map of the plurality of warming maps corresponds to the third print slot, and wherein the first warming map includes a larger number of drop generators that are to be supplied with the warming pulses as compared to the third warming map.", "22.The method according to claim 16, wherein accessing the warming map further comprises accessing the warming map from a plurality of available warming maps, wherein each of the plurality of available warming maps identifies a different non-uniform distribution of the drop generators.", "23.The method according to claim 22, wherein accessing the warming map further comprises accessing the warming map from the plurality of available warming maps based upon at least one of a running drop generator activation history or local temperatures on the printer die.", "24.The method according to claim 16, wherein accessing the warming map further comprises accessing the warming map at least one of before or during a printing operation.", "25.An apparatus for enhancing temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die, said apparatus comprising: a warming map accessing module that accesses a warming map from a plurality of available warming maps based upon at least one of a running drop generator activation history and local temperatures on the printer die, wherein each of the plurality of available warming maps identifies a different non-uniform distribution of the drop generators of the plurality of drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses to enhance temperature distribution uniformity across the printer die, wherein the accessed warming map identifies a non-uniform distribution of the drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses across a column of the plurality of columns; and a drop generator warming pulse supplying module that implements the accessed warming map in supplying warming pulses to the drop generators identified in the accessed warming map as the drop generators that are to receive the warming pulses.", "26.The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the plurality of columns comprises a first column and a second column along a width of the printer die, wherein the drop generators arranged along the first column are arranged substantially parallel to the drop generators arranged along the second column, and wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators includes a different distribution of drop generators along the first column as compared with the second column.", "27.The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the printer die comprises a plurality of print slots, wherein each of the plurality of print slots includes a pair of columns of the plurality of columns, wherein accessing the warming map further comprises accessing a plurality of warming maps, wherein each of the plurality of warming maps corresponds to the columns of drop generators in a respective one of the plurality of print slots, and wherein a first warming map of the plurality of warming maps differs from a second warming map of the plurality of warming maps.", "28.The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the warming map accessing module further accesses a warming map from a plurality of available warming maps, wherein each of the plurality of available warming maps identifies a different non-uniform distribution of the drop generators.", "29.The apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators further includes a larger number of the drop generators near a first end and a second end of the printer die as compared with a middle section of the printer die that are to be supplied with warming pulses.", "30.The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses includes a distribution of the drop generators that includes only the drop generators located at the first end and the second end.", "31.A non-transitory computer readable storage medium on which is stored machine readable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to: access a warming map from a plurality of available warming maps based upon at least one of a running drop generator activation history and local temperatures on the printer die, wherein each of the plurality of available warming maps identifies a different non-uniform distribution of the drop generators of the plurality of drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses to enhance temperature distribution uniformity across the printer die, wherein the accessed warming map identifies a non-uniform distribution of the drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses across a column of the plurality of columns; and implement the accessed warming map to supply warming pulses to the drop generators identified in the accessed warming map as the drop generators that are to receive the warming pulses.", "32.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators further includes a larger number of the drop generators near a first end and a second end of the printer die as compared with a middle section of the printer die that are to be supplied with warming pulses.", "33.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 31, wherein the instructions that when executed further cause the processor to: access the warming map from the plurality of available warming maps based upon at least one of a running drop generator activation history and local temperatures on the printer die.", "34.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 31, wherein the plurality of columns comprises a first column and a second column along a width of the printer die, wherein the drop generators arranged along the first column are arranged substantially parallel to the drop generators arranged along the second column, and wherein the non-uniform distribution of the drop generators includes a different distribution of drop generators along the first column that are to be supplied with warming pulses as compared with the second column.", "35.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 31, wherein the printer die comprises a plurality of print slots, wherein each of the plurality of print slots includes a pair of columns of the plurality of columns, wherein a plurality of warming maps are accessed, and wherein each of the plurality of warming maps corresponds to the columns of drop generators in a respective one of the plurality of print slots." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In thermal inkjet printing systems, a thermal inkjet (TIJ) printhead typically ejects printing fluid drops from a reservoir through a plurality of nozzles onto a print medium.", "The nozzles are typically arranged in one or more arrays or columns such that properly sequenced ejection of printing fluid from the nozzles causes intended images to be printed on a print medium as the printhead and/or print medium move relative to each other.", "TIJ printheads eject printing fluid drops from a nozzle by passing electrical current through a heating element, which generates heat and vaporizes a small portion of the printing fluid within a firing chamber.", "The rapidly expanding vapor bubble forces a small amount of printing fluid to drop out of the nozzle.", "When the heating element cools, the vapor bubble quickly collapses, drawing more printing fluid from the reservoir into the firing chamber.", "During printing, heat from the heating elements as well as the physical configuration and thermal characteristics of the TIJ die affect the temperature of the TIJ die.", "For instance, the areas, e.g., ends, of the TIJ die that do not contain heating elements often act as heat sinks and thus pull heat from locations in the TIJ die containing heating elements.", "Thermal differences over the nozzle column area of the TIJ die have a significant influence on characteristics of the printing fluid drops being fired from the nozzles.", "For example, a higher die temperature results in a higher drop weight and drop velocity, while a lower die temperature results in a lower drop weight and velocity.", "Thus, variations in temperature across the die have been known to result in variations in drop weight, velocity and shape, which have been known to have a considerable impact on print quality.", "For example, drops with lower drop weight ejected from cooler areas of the die have been known to result in printed areas on the print medium that have less printing fluid than intended.", "The areas printed with less printing fluid will appear to be lighter than other areas printed with drops of higher drop weight ejected from warmer areas of the die.", "In general, print quality problems associated with inconsistent drop characteristics caused by variations in temperature across the TIJ die are referred to as light area banding (LAB), die boundary banding (DBB), and hue shift." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limited in the following figure(s), in which like numerals indicate like elements, in which: FIG.", "1A is a simplified diagram of a printing system, which may implement various aspects of the methods disclosed herein, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "1B is a simplified schematic diagram of a print slot depicted in FIG.", "1A , according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "1C is a simplified schematic diagram of a manner in which signal lines shown in FIG.", "1B may be connected between a controller and drop generators, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 is a simplified block diagram of the printing system shown in FIG.", "1A , according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram of a method for enhancing temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die, according to examples of the present disclosure; FIGS.", "4-6 are respective diagrams of warming maps, according to examples of the present disclosure; and FIG.", "7 is schematic representation of a computing device, which may be employed to perform various functions of the controller depicted in FIG.", "2 , according to an example of the present disclosure.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "BACKGROUND In thermal inkjet printing systems, a thermal inkjet (TIJ) printhead typically ejects printing fluid drops from a reservoir through a plurality of nozzles onto a print medium.", "The nozzles are typically arranged in one or more arrays or columns such that properly sequenced ejection of printing fluid from the nozzles causes intended images to be printed on a print medium as the printhead and/or print medium move relative to each other.", "TIJ printheads eject printing fluid drops from a nozzle by passing electrical current through a heating element, which generates heat and vaporizes a small portion of the printing fluid within a firing chamber.", "The rapidly expanding vapor bubble forces a small amount of printing fluid to drop out of the nozzle.", "When the heating element cools, the vapor bubble quickly collapses, drawing more printing fluid from the reservoir into the firing chamber.", "During printing, heat from the heating elements as well as the physical configuration and thermal characteristics of the TIJ die affect the temperature of the TIJ die.", "For instance, the areas, e.g., ends, of the TIJ die that do not contain heating elements often act as heat sinks and thus pull heat from locations in the TIJ die containing heating elements.", "Thermal differences over the nozzle column area of the TIJ die have a significant influence on characteristics of the printing fluid drops being fired from the nozzles.", "For example, a higher die temperature results in a higher drop weight and drop velocity, while a lower die temperature results in a lower drop weight and velocity.", "Thus, variations in temperature across the die have been known to result in variations in drop weight, velocity and shape, which have been known to have a considerable impact on print quality.", "For example, drops with lower drop weight ejected from cooler areas of the die have been known to result in printed areas on the print medium that have less printing fluid than intended.", "The areas printed with less printing fluid will appear to be lighter than other areas printed with drops of higher drop weight ejected from warmer areas of the die.", "In general, print quality problems associated with inconsistent drop characteristics caused by variations in temperature across the TIJ die are referred to as light area banding (LAB), die boundary banding (DBB), and hue shift.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limited in the following figure(s), in which like numerals indicate like elements, in which: FIG.", "1A is a simplified diagram of a printing system, which may implement various aspects of the methods disclosed herein, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "1B is a simplified schematic diagram of a print slot depicted in FIG.", "1A, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "1C is a simplified schematic diagram of a manner in which signal lines shown in FIG.", "1B may be connected between a controller and drop generators, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 is a simplified block diagram of the printing system shown in FIG.", "1A, according to an example of the present disclosure; FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram of a method for enhancing temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die, according to examples of the present disclosure; FIGS.", "4-6 are respective diagrams of warming maps, according to examples of the present disclosure; and FIG.", "7 is schematic representation of a computing device, which may be employed to perform various functions of the controller depicted in FIG.", "2, according to an example of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is described by referring mainly to an example thereof.", "In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure.", "It will be readily apparent however, that the present disclosure may be practiced without limitation to these specific details.", "In other instances, some methods and structures have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present disclosure.", "As used herein, the terms “a” and “an” are intended to denote at least one of a particular element, the term “includes” means includes but not limited to, the term “including” means including but not limited to, and the term “based on” means based at least in part on.", "Disclosed herein are methods for enhancing temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die and apparatuses for implementing the methods.", "In the methods, a warming map that identifies the drop generators of a plurality of drop generators that are to be supplied with warming pulses to enhance temperature distribution uniformity across the printer die may be accessed.", "The warming map may identify a non-uniform distribution of the drop generators across a column of a plurality of columns.", "In addition, the warming map may be implemented to supply the drop generators identified in the warming map as the drop generators that are to receive the warming pulses.", "Through implementation of the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein, temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die may be enhanced.", "In one regard, therefore, the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein may enable the drop generators of a printer die to drop substantially equivalently sized drops of printing fluid and thus substantially enhance a print quality of the printer die.", "With reference first to FIG.", "1A, there is shown a simplified schematic diagram of a printing system 100, which may implement various aspects of the methods disclosed herein, according to an example.", "It should be understood that the printing system 100 depicted in FIG.", "1A may include additional elements and that some of the elements depicted therein may be removed and/or modified without departing from a scope of the printing system 100.As shown in FIG.", "1A, the printing system 100 may include a controller 102 and a printer die 108, in which the printer die 108 includes a number of print slots 108-114.The print slots 108-114 may equivalently be denoted as printheads.", "Although the printing system 100 has been depicted as including a single printer die 106, the printing system 100 may include a plurality of printer die 106 arranged in series, in which the series of printer die 106 may form a module.", "In addition, the printing system 100 may include multiple modules that may be stacked together in a linear fashion.", "Each of the print slots 108-114 may be supplied with different printing fluids, such as inks, dyes, pre-treatments, varnishes, etc., to be ejected from nozzles contained in the print slots 108-114.In a particular example, each of the print slots 108-114 is supplied with different colored printing fluids.", "For instance, a first print slot 108 may be supplied with a black colored printing fluid, a second print slot 110 may be supplied with a cyan colored printing fluid, a third print slot 112 may be supplied with a magenta colored printing fluid, and a fourth print slot 114 may be supplied with a yellow colored printing fluid.", "In other examples, the printing system 100 may include additional print slots that may be supplied with differently colored printing fluids.", "In yet other examples, the printing system 100 may include a single print slot 106, for instance, that is to print a black colored printing fluid.", "Each of the print slots 108-114 is depicted as including a plurality of drop generators 116 arranged along two parallel columns.", "The drop generators 116 are depicted as being arranged along a first drop generator column 115a and a second drop generator column 115b.", "A relatively small number of drop generators 116 is shown for convenience, but it should be clearly understood that each of the print slots 108-114 may include much larger numbers of drop generators 116, for instance, to be able to print at 600 dpi or more across the width of a media 130.Each of the drop generators 116 may be a resistor (or equivalently, a heating element) that may be energized to cause drops of printing fluid to be ejected out of respective nozzles (an example is shown in FIG.", "1B).", "That is, for instance, the drop generators 116 may be supplied with an ejection pulse to cause the printing fluid to be vaporized, thus forming a bubble that causes the printing fluid to be ejected.", "The ejection pulse may include both a precursor pulse and a firing pulse.", "As discussed in greater detail herein below, the controller 102 also includes a warming map implementing apparatus 104 that is to access a warming map that identifies the drop generators 116 of the printer die 106 that are to be supplied with warming pulses to warm the printer die during a warming operation, in which the warming map identifies a non-uniform distribution of the drop generators 116 across a column of the plurality of columns that are to be supplied with the warming pulses.", "The warming pulse may include a precursor pulse without a firing pulse.", "As discussed herein, a distribution of drop generators 116 across a column 115a of drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with the warming pulses may be construed as being non-uniform when a larger number of drop generators 116 in a particular section of the drop generators 116 as compared with the number of drop generators 116 in another section are included in the distribution of the drop generators that are to be supplied with the warming pulses.", "Thus, for instance, a distribution in which every other drop generator 116 along a column of drop generators 116 is identified in a warming map to receive warming pulses during a warming operation may be construed as being a warming map having a uniform distribution of drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with warming pulses.", "In addition, the warming map implementing apparatus 104 may supply the drop generators 116 identified in the warming map as drop generators that are to receive warming pulses during a warming operation with the warming pulses during the warming operation.", "According to an example, the warming map implementing apparatus 104 supplies the drop generators 116 identified in the warming map with warming pulses, e.g., supplies precursor pulses without supplying firing pulses.", "As such, the warming map implementing apparatus 104 may not supply the drop generators 116 identified in the warming map with firing pulses to cause printing fluid to be ejected out of nozzles during a warming operation.", "Instead, the duration of the pulses supplied to the drop generators 116 identified in the warming map may only be sufficient to heat printing fluid, and thus a section of printer die 106, around the identified drop generators 116.As also shown in FIG.", "1A, the drop generators 116 are to drop printing fluid onto the media 130 as either the media 130 is fed past the print slots 108-114 in the feed direction 132 or the drop generators 116 are moved over the media 130 in a direction opposite the feed direction 132.In either arrangement, any given location on the media 130 may receive printing fluid from the same drop generator 116 and thus, the printing system 100 may be construed as being a page wide printing system.", "In this example, the printer die 106 may not be scanned in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction 132 during a printing operation.", "In other examples, the printer die 106 may be scanned in a scanning direction along a direction perpendicular to the feed direction 132 during printing operations, and thus, the printing system 100 may be construed as being a scanning type of printing system.", "In addition, although particular reference is made throughout the present disclosure that the media 130 is fed in the feed direction 132, it should be understood that the print slots 108-114 may equivalently be moved in the direction opposite the feed direction 132 without departing from a scope of the methods and apparatuses disclosed in the present disclosure.", "Turning now to FIG.", "1B, there is shown a simplified schematic diagram of a print slot 108, according to an example.", "It should be understood that the other print slots 110-114 may have similar configurations as the print slot 108 depicted in FIG.", "1B.", "It should also be understood that the print slot 108 depicted in FIG.", "1B may include additional elements and/or that the elements depicted therein may be removed and/or modified without departing from a scope of the print slot 108.As shown in FIG.", "1B, the print slot 108 may include multiple drop generators 116, for instance, arranged along two substantially parallel columns 115a, 115b (two of the drop generators 116 are shown in FIG.", "1B).", "In addition, the drop generators 116 may receive printing fluid 118 from a printing fluid supply 120 that may be connected to a printing fluid reservoir (not shown).", "Particularly, printing fluid 118 from the printing fluid supply 120 may be supplied into a printing fluid chamber (or equivalently, a firing chamber) 122 and application of ejection pulses on a drop generator 116 may cause a printing fluid drop 126 to be ejected through a nozzle 124 and onto the media 130.As shown in FIG.", "1B, the nozzles 124 on opposite sides of the printing fluid supply 120 may have approximately the same widths with respect to each other.", "According to an example, the drop generator 116 is a resistor that is energized, e.g., heated, through receipt of an electrical signal through a signal line 128.A simplified example of a manner in which signal lines 128 may be connected between the controller 102 and the drop generators 116, according to an example, is depicted in FIG.", "10.It should, however, be understood that the controller 102 may control the transmission of electrical signals to each of the drop generators 116 through use of other mechanisms, for instance, multiplexers, etc.", "Particularly, during a printing operation, the drop generator 116 may receive an ejection pulse, e.g., both a precursor pulse and a firing pulse, to cause a bubble to be formed in the printing fluid 118 contained in the printing fluid chamber 122, which may cause a printing fluid drop 126 to be ejected through the nozzle 124.During a warming operation, the drop generator 116 may receive a warming pulse, e.g., a precursor pulse without a firing pulse.", "As such, during the warming operation, the drop generator 116 may heat the printing fluid 118 in the printing fluid chamber 122 without causing a printing fluid drop 126 from being ejected through the nozzle 124.The heating of the printing fluid 118 may also cause areas in the printer die 106 that are near the heated printing fluid 118 to also become heated.", "As discussed herein, the drop generators 116 that are supplied with the warming pulses to thus heat intended areas of the printer die 106 are identified in a warming map.", "In addition, because a non-uniform temperature distribution may exist across a printer die 106, the warming map may identify a non-uniform distribution of drop generators 116 that are to receive the warming pulses.", "That is, for instance, the warming map may identify the drop generators 116 that are located near areas of the printer die 106 that have relatively lower temperatures as the drop generators that are to be supplied with the warming pulses.", "By way of particular example in which heat is known to be dissipated at a faster rate at the ends of the printer die 106 and thus the ends of the printer die 106 have relatively lower temperatures than the middle section of the printer die 106, the warming map may include a larger number of drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with the warming pulses at the ends of the printer die 106 as compared with the number of drop generators 116 located near the middle section of the printer die 106.Furthermore, the warming map may indicate that only the drop generators 116 located at the ends of the printer die 106 are to be supplied with the warming pulses and that the drop generators 116 located near the middle of the printer die 106 are not to receive the warming pulses during a warming operation.", "During a printing operation, the controller 102 may selectively activate the drop generators 116 according to a proper sequence as the media 130 is fed in the feed direction 132 to cause printing fluid drops 126 to be dropped at the appropriate locations on the media 130.According to an example, the controller 102 may also cause the printer die 106 to be scanned in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction 132 during a printing operation.", "In addition, the drop generators 116 may be selectively energized to form a desired image on the media 130.The desired image may include any of text, pictures, lines, drawings, filled-in drawings, etc.", "Turning now to FIG.", "2, there is shown a simplified block diagram of the printing system 100, according to an example.", "It should be understood that the printing system 100 depicted in FIG.", "2 may include additional elements and that some of the elements depicted therein may be removed and/or modified without departing from a scope of the printing system 100.As shown in FIG.", "2, the controller 102 is depicted as including, in addition to the warming map implementing apparatus 104, a processor 202, a signal line interface 204, and a data store 206.The warming map implementing apparatus 104 is also depicted as including a warming map accessing module 210 and a drop generator warming pulse supplying module 212.Although not shown, the controller 102 may further include an interface to an actuator (not shown) that is to control feeding of the media 130, an actuator that is to control scanning of a carriage on which the printer die 106 is positioned, etc.", "The processor 202, which may be a microprocessor, a micro-controller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like, is to perform various processing functions in the controller 102.The processing functions may include invoking or implementing the warming map implementing apparatus 104 and particularly, the modules 210 and 212 of the warming map implementing apparatus 104, as discussed in greater detail herein below.", "According to an example, the warming map implementing apparatus 104 is a hardware device on which is stored various sets of machine readable instructions.", "The warming map implementing apparatus 104 may be, for instance, a volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), memristor, flash memory, floppy disk, a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), a digital video disc read only memory (DVD-ROM), or other optical or magnetic media, and the like, on which software may be stored.", "In this example, the modules 210 and 212 may be software modules, e.g., sets of machine readable instructions, stored in the warming map implementing apparatus 104.In another example, the warming map implementing apparatus 104 may be a hardware component, such as a chip, an integrated circuit, etc., and the modules 210 and 212 may be hardware modules on the hardware component.", "In a further example, the modules 210 and 212 may include a combination of software and hardware modules.", "In a yet further example, the processor 202 may be an ASIC that is to perform the functions of the modules 210 and 212.In this example, the processor 202 and the warming map implementing apparatus 104 may be a single processing apparatus.", "The processor 202 may store data in the data store 206 and may use the data in implementing the modules 210 and 212.For instance, the processor 202 may store data pertaining to an image that is to be printed onto a medium 130.In any regard, the data store 206 may be volatile and/or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, EEPROM, MRAM, phase change RAM (PCRAM), memristor, flash memory, and the like.", "In addition, or alternatively, the data store 206 may be a device that may read from and write to a removable media, such as, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or other optical or magnetic media.", "The signal line interface 204 may include hardware and/or software to enable the processor 202 to respectively send electrical signals to the drop generators 116 over signal lines 128.Although not shown, the signal line interface 204 may be connected to a power source from which the electrical signals may be transmitted to the respective drop generators 114.In addition, the processor 202 may be connected to an input/output interface (not shown) that may enable the processor 202 to access a network, such as an internal network, the Internet, etc., over which the processor 202 may receive files containing images to be printed.", "The input/output interface may include a network interface card and/or may also include hardware and/or software to enable the processor 202 to communicate with various input and/or output devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a display, another computing device, etc., through which a user may input instructions into the printing system 100.Various manners in which the processor 202 in general, and the modules 210 and 212 in particular, may be implemented are discussed in greater detail with respect to the method 300 depicted in FIG.", "3.Particularly, FIG.", "3 depicts a flow diagram of a method 300 for enhancing temperature distribution uniformity across a printer die 106, according to an example.", "It should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the method 300 may represent generalized illustrations and that other operations may be added or existing operations may be removed, modified, or rearranged without departing from the scope of the method 300.Generally speaking, the processor 202 depicted in FIG.", "2 may implement method 300 through implementation of at least some of the modules 210 and 212.The description of the method 300 is made with reference to the printing system 100 illustrated in FIGS.", "1A-2 for purposes of illustration.", "It should, however, be clearly understood that printing systems having other configurations may be implemented to perform the method 300 without departing from the scope of the method 300.With reference to the method 300 depicted in FIG.", "3, at block 302, a warming map that identifies the drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with warming pulses to enhance temperature distribution uniformity across the printer die 106 may be accessed.", "As discussed herein, the warming map may identify a non-uniform distribution of the drop generators 116 across a column of the plurality of columns.", "Various examples of non-uniform distributions are discussed in greater detail herein below.", "According to an example, the warming map accessing module 210 may access the warming map from the data store 206.In another example, the warming map may be firmware and the warming map accessing module 210 may access the warming map, which may be hardcoded on the warming map implementing apparatus 104.At block 304, the warming map may be implemented to supply the drop generators 116 identified in the warming map as the drop generators that are to receive the warming pulses.", "Particularly, the drop generator warming pulse supplying module 212 may supply the drop generators 116 identified in the warming map as the drop generators that are to receive the warming pulses over respective signal lines 128.The warming pulses may be a continuous series of pulses that have pulse widths of sufficiently short durations so that the energy of the pulses is insufficient to cause a deposition of a printing fluid drop from a nozzle 124 of a print slot 108.By way of particular example, a warming pulse may have a duration of around 400 nanoseconds, whereas a firing pulse, which is of sufficient duration to cause a printing fluid drop 126 to be dropped, may have a duration of around 1000 nanoseconds.", "In addition, an ejection pulse may include a precursor pulse having a duration of around 400 nanoseconds with a delay of about 600 nanoseconds between the precursor pulse and the firing pulse.", "Turning now to FIGS.", "4-6, there are shown warming maps 400-600 that respectively identify non-uniform distributions of the drop generators 116 that are to receive warming pulses across two columns 115a, 115b of a printer die 106 according to various examples.", "It should be clearly understood that the warming maps 400-600 are not exhaustive of the warming maps that may be implemented in the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein.", "Instead, it should be understood that warming maps having other non-uniform distributions of the drop generators 116 that are to receive warming pulses during a warming operation may be implemented.", "In FIGS.", "4-6, the numbers 1-60 represent either individual drop generators 116 or primitives, in which each of the primitives includes a plurality of drop generators 116, and the locations of the numbers represent a physical location across a printer die 106.Thus, for instance, the numbers 1-12 may correspond to a left (first) end of the printer die 106, the numbers 47-60 may correspond to a right (second) end of the printer die 106, and the numbers 13-44 may correspond to a middle section of the printer die 106.By way of example, each of the primitives includes a group of 11 drop generators 116.For purposes of convenience, reference herein to drop generators 116 should be construed as additionally or alternatively referencing primitives.", "Although the warming maps in FIGS.", "4-6 are depicted as including 60 drop generators 116, it should be understood that the warming maps may include any reasonably suitable number of drop generators 116 (or primitives) without departing from a scope of the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein.", "Moreover, the “X” corresponding to a number indicates that that drop generator 116 is to be supplied with warming pulses during a warming operation.", "According to an example, the warming maps 400-600 may be generated through testing of the performance of the drop generators 116.That is, a set of printing fluid printed by the printer die 106 may be examined to determine which of the drop generators 116 may have deposited relatively smaller drops of printing fluid as compared with the other drop generators 116.Those drop generators 116 that have deposited relatively smaller drops of material may be identified in a warming map as being the drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with warming pulses during a warming operation.", "As another example, the warming maps 400-600 may be generated through thermal imaging of the printer die 106, for instance, following a printing operation, to identify areas of lower temperature and the drop generators 116 located near the areas of lower temperature may be identified in a warming map as being the drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with warming pulses during a warming operation.", "In one regard, therefore, the warming map may differ for different types of printing systems, different printmodes of a printing system, etc.", "In addition, the warming maps for printer die 106 that are formed of different types of materials, e.g., ceramic, plastic, etc., may differ from each other.", "With reference first to FIG.", "4, in the warming map 400, a larger number of the drop generators 116 located near the ends 402 and 404 of the printer die 106 as compared with the drop generators 116 located in the middle section 406 are designated to receive the warming pulses during a warming operation.", "In the warming map 400, therefore, the drop generators 116 located at various positions across the width of the printer die 116 may be supplied with warming pulses during a warming operation.", "Turning now to FIG.", "5, the warming map 500 is similar to the warming map 400 depicted in FIG.", "4, but includes a relatively smaller number of drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with the warming pulses during a warming operation as compared with the warming map 400.In one regard, the warming map 500 may require a lower peak power needed to warm the printer die 106 as compared with the warming map 400.In addition, the warming map 500 may cause the warming operation to be performed more often, which may cause the warming map implementing apparatus 104 to remain active for a longer period of time during a printing operation, which may also help enhance temperature distribution uniformity across the printer die 106.With reference to FIG.", "6, only the drop generators 116 located at the ends 402 and 404 of the printer die 106 are identified in the warming map 600 as being the drop generators 116 that are to be supplied with warming pulses during a warming operation.", "In this example, therefore, the drop generators 116 located at the middle section 406 of the printer die 106 are not to receive warming pulses during a warming operation.", "In other examples, the warming map may include a different distribution of the drop generators 116 located along a first column 115a of a print slot 108 as compared with the drop generators 116 located along a second column 115b of the print slot 108.As discussed above with respect to FIG.", "1A, the printer die 106 may include a number of print slots 108-114, in which each of the print slots 108-114 is to print a differently colored printing fluid.", "According to an example, the method 300 is implemented separately for each of the print slots 108-114.That is, a warming map for the drop generators 116 in each of the print slots 108-114 may be accessed and implemented.", "In one example, the same warming map may be accessed and implemented for the drop generators 116 in each of the print slots 108-114.In another example, a first warming map may be accessed and implemented for the drop generators 116 in one of the print slots 108-114 and a second warming map be accessed and implemented for the drop generators 116 in another one of the print slots 108-114, in which the second warming map differs from the first warming map.", "In this example, for instance, the warming maps for the print slots 108 and 114 located near the top and bottom of the printer die 106 may have a larger number of drop generators 116 that are to receive the warming pulses than the warming maps for the print slots 110 and 112 located near the middle of the printer die 106 that are to be supplied with the warming pulses during a warming operation.", "According to another example, at block 302, the warming map accessing module 210 may access a warming map from a plurality of available warming maps to which the warming map accessing module 210 may have access.", "For instance, the warming map accessing module 210 may have access to each of the warming maps 400-600.In this example, each of the available warming maps may identify a different non-uniform distribution of drop generators 116.By way of example, the warming map accessing module 210 may access a first warming map to be implemented during a warming operation that is performed prior to performing a printing operation and may access a second warming map to be implemented during warming operation that is performed during a printing operation.", "As another example, the warming map accessing module 210 may access a first warming map to be implemented for a first type of print mode and a second warming map to be implemented for a second type of print mode.", "As a yet further example, the warming map accessing module 210 may access a first warming map when the printing system 100 is to print graphics and to access a second warming map when the printing system 100 is to print text.", "As a further example, the warming map accessing module 210 may automatically switch between different warming maps in order to achieve the highest level of temperature distribution uniformity.", "In this example, the decision as to which warming map to implement may be based upon a running drop generator 116 firing history, data obtained by local temperature sensors, etc.", "Some or all of the operations set forth in the method 300 may be contained as utilities, programs, or subprograms, in any desired computer accessible medium.", "In addition, the method 300 may be embodied by computer programs, which may exist in a variety of forms both active and inactive.", "For example, they may exist as machine readable instructions, including source code, object code, executable code or other formats.", "Any of the above may be embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.", "Examples of non-transitory computer readable storage media include computer system RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and magnetic or optical disks or tapes.", "It is therefore to be understood that any electronic device capable of executing the above-described functions may perform those functions enumerated above.", "Turning now to FIG.", "7, there is shown a schematic representation of a computing device 700, which may be employed to perform various functions of the controller 102 depicted in FIG.", "2, according to an example.", "The computing device 700 may include a processor 702, a display 704, such as a monitor; a network interface 708, such as a Local Area Network LAN, a wireless 802.11x LAN, a 3G mobile WAN or a WiMax WAN; and a computer-readable medium 710.Each of these components may be operatively coupled to a bus 712.For example, the bus 712 may be an EISA, a PCI, a USB, a FireWire, a NuBus, or a PDS.", "The computer readable medium 710 may be any suitable medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor 702 for execution.", "For example, the computer readable medium 710 may be non-volatile media, such as an optical or a magnetic disk; volatile media, such as memory.", "The computer-readable medium 710 may also store a warming map implementing machine readable instructions 714, which may perform the method 300 and may include the modules 210 and 212 of the warming map implementing apparatus 104 depicted in FIG.", "2.In this regard, the warming map implementing machine readable instructions 714 may include a warming map accessing module 210 and a drop generator warming pulse supplying module 212.Although described specifically throughout the entirety of the instant disclosure, representative examples of the present disclosure have utility over a wide range of applications, and the above discussion is not intended and should not be construed to be limiting, but is offered as an illustrative discussion of aspects of the disclosure.", "What has been described and illustrated herein is an example of the disclosure along with some of its variations.", "The terms, descriptions and figures used herein are set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant as limitations.", "Many variations are possible within the spirit and scope of the disclosure, which is intended to be defined by the following claims—and their equivalents—in which all terms are meant in their broadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated." ] ]
Patent_15874837
[ [ "Flexible Cushioning Pads, Items Incorporating Such Pads, and Methods of Making and Using", "Disclosed herein are conformable protection pads, which can be integrated into articles such as clothing and protective cases." ], [ "1.A cushioning pad section, comprising: a hinge comprising a thickness and a width, the hinge comprising a continuous upper layer and a continuous lower layer, the continuous upper layer at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer; and a cushioning region adjacent to the hinge, the cushioning region having a thickness greater than the thickness of the hinge, the cushioning region further comprising a cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer.", "2.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the continuous upper layer is at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer in the hinge by a plurality of portions of cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper and lower layers.", "3.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the hinge has a width ranging from about 1 mil to about 10 mils.", "4.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the hinge has a thickness ranging from about 1 mil to about 10 mils.", "5.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the hinge has a thickness ranging from about 1 mil to about 10 mils.", "6.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the hinge has a thickness of about ranging from about 5 mil to about 8 mils.", "7.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material comprises a density ranging from about 10 to about 30 pounds per cubic foot.", "8.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material comprises a density ranging from about 15 to about 25 pounds per cubic foot.", "9.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material is a rate dependent foam.", "10.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, further comprising a garment, wherein the cushioning pad is attached to the garment by stitching.", "11.The cushioning pad section of claim 10, wherein the garment is a compression sleeve, and the cushioning medallion is configured to correspond to an elbow joint.", "12.The cushioning pad section of claim 10, wherein the garment is a compression leg sleeve, and the cushioning medallion is configured to correspond to a knee joint.", "13.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the continuous upper and lower layers are thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) layers.", "14.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the continuous upper and lower layers are TPE layers bonded to a layer of spandex fabric, and the TPE layers are disposed adjacent to the cushioning material.", "15.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the cushioning material is a cellular material comprising a plurality of cells having a minimum cell diameter, and the thickness of the cushioning material between the inner layer and the outer layer is less than the minimum cell diameter.", "16.A cushioning pad section, comprising: a perimeter hinge comprising a thickness and a width, the perimeter hinge comprising a continuous upper layer and a continuous lower layer, the continuous upper layer at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer; a cushioning region adjacent to the perimeter hinge, the cushioning region having a thickness greater than the thickness of the perimeter hinge, the cushioning region further comprising a cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer; and a perimeter flange spaced apart from the cushioning region by the width of the perimeter hinge, the perimeter hinge having a thickness approximately equal to the combined thickness of the inner layer and the outer layer.", "17.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, further comprising a groove defined in the upper surface of the cushioning region, the groove comprising a thickness less than the thickness of the cushioning region and greater than the thickness of the hinge.", "18.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the perimeter hinge has a width ranging from about 1 mil to about 10 mils.", "19.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the perimeter hinge has a thickness ranging from about 1 mil to about 10 mils.", "20.The cushioning pad section of claim 1, wherein the perimeter hinge has a thickness of about ranging from about 5 mil to about 8 mils." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Many activities, especially athletic activities, involve potential risk to the body from impact.", "Elbows, knees, shoulders, ankles, hips and other joints can be especially susceptible to impact damage and yet are challenging to protect without restricting the range of motion and movement of the individual.", "Impact protection can be heavy, non-breathable or restrictive, or alternatively does not target certain body parts accurately, or does so inconsistently.", "Some impact protection systems consist of separate rigid pads that are heavy, and restrict motion.", "The rigid components can be lined with some form of soft cushioning to make them comfortable against the body, which is an attempt to cushion impacts to the body, but the extra layers add to the weight and discomfort of the pads.", "In addition, the padding systems can be hot to wear, and also restrict the evaporation of moisture and sweat.", "Other protective pads are made from materials that are softer, so they bend, but offer little in the way of protection against a serious impact, especially an impact from a rock or other hard object.", "These materials include standard chemically foamed polyether or polyester foams.", "Other padding can be made from stiffer foam materials, such as cross-linked polyethylene foams or EVA foams.", "Such foams offer a bit more protection, but restrict the user's range of motion.", "Overall, such materials offer insufficient protection, while restricting motion.", "There also have been attempts to use stiffer foams as pads, but the foam had to be cut in strips in order to reduce the restriction of movement that a solid foam piece would cause.", "Unfortunately for the wearer, the strips offered less than optimal protection.", "Foam can also be thermoformed into curved or complex shapes, and sewn between layers of material that holds the strips or pieces in place.", "Other materials that offer better impact absorption such as d30 have also been used in padding, but these materials are also stiff.", "Attempts have been made to make the foregoing materials appear less stiff to the wearer by creating thinner regions in each piece which allows better flexing.", "But protective pads manufactured this way cannot offer full range of motion at the location of the padding, because the material breaks apart when flexed at the thinner areas.", "These materials also need to be buried beneath layers of fabric because they are not durable or aesthetically pleasing enough to be exposed.", "The use of covering materials adds unnecessary weight to the padding, and increases the cost of the pads.", "A need exists for improved protective padding, particularly for areas requiring range of motion, and for joints." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure is directed, in one embodiment, to a cushioning pad that includes a first channel comprising a thickness and a width.", "The first channel comprises a continuous upper layer and a continuous lower layer, which is at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer.", "The cushioning region is disposed adjacent to the first channel, and has a thickness greater than the thickness of the first channel.", "The cushioning region further includes a cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer.", "A groove maybe defined in the upper surface of the cushioning region, with a thickness less than the thickness of the cushioning region and greater than the thickness of the first channel.", "In some embodiments, the cushioning pad includes a perimeter flange spaced apart from the cushioning region by the width of the channel, and the perimeter flange has a thickness greater than the thickness of the first channel and less than the thickness of the cushioning region.", "The perimeter flange includes the cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer.", "In some embodiments, the continuous upper layer is at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer in the perimeter channel by a plurality of portions of cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper and lower layers.", "In some embodiments, the perimeter channel includes a continuous layer of cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper and lower layers.", "The present disclosure is directed, in another embodiment, to a cushioning pad including a perimeter channel comprising a thickness and a width.", "The perimeter channel includes a continuous upper layer and a continuous lower layer.", "The continuous upper layer is at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer.", "The cushioning pad includes a cushioning region adjacent to the perimeter channel, which has a thickness greater than the thickness of the perimeter channel.", "The cushioning region also includes a cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer.", "A perimeter flange is spaced apart from the cushioning region by the width of the perimeter channel, and has a thickness approximately equal to the combined thickness of the inner layer and the outer layer.", "In any of the embodiments of the cushioning pad, the continuous upper and lower layers can comprise a polyester thermoplastic polyurethane.", "In any of the embodiments of the cushioning pad, the continuous upper and lower layers can comprise a TPE film bonded to a layer spandex fabric, such that the TPE layers are disposed adjacent to the cushioning material.", "In any of the embodiments of the cushioning pad, the cushioning material can comprise a cellular material comprising a plurality of cells having a minimum cell diameter, and the thickness of the cushioning material between the inner layer and the outer layer is less than the minimum cell diameter." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Priority is hereby claimed to commonly-owned and co-pending U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/401,373 filed on Aug. 11, 2010 and U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/382,022 filed on Sep. 12, 2010, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, and U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/404,906, filed on Oct. 12, 2010, and U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/412,767, filed on Nov. 11, 2010.TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to conformable protection pads, articles that include such pads, methods of making and using the pads and articles and, in particular, to conformable protection pads for humans, for areas that require free range of motion.", "BACKGROUND Many activities, especially athletic activities, involve potential risk to the body from impact.", "Elbows, knees, shoulders, ankles, hips and other joints can be especially susceptible to impact damage and yet are challenging to protect without restricting the range of motion and movement of the individual.", "Impact protection can be heavy, non-breathable or restrictive, or alternatively does not target certain body parts accurately, or does so inconsistently.", "Some impact protection systems consist of separate rigid pads that are heavy, and restrict motion.", "The rigid components can be lined with some form of soft cushioning to make them comfortable against the body, which is an attempt to cushion impacts to the body, but the extra layers add to the weight and discomfort of the pads.", "In addition, the padding systems can be hot to wear, and also restrict the evaporation of moisture and sweat.", "Other protective pads are made from materials that are softer, so they bend, but offer little in the way of protection against a serious impact, especially an impact from a rock or other hard object.", "These materials include standard chemically foamed polyether or polyester foams.", "Other padding can be made from stiffer foam materials, such as cross-linked polyethylene foams or EVA foams.", "Such foams offer a bit more protection, but restrict the user's range of motion.", "Overall, such materials offer insufficient protection, while restricting motion.", "There also have been attempts to use stiffer foams as pads, but the foam had to be cut in strips in order to reduce the restriction of movement that a solid foam piece would cause.", "Unfortunately for the wearer, the strips offered less than optimal protection.", "Foam can also be thermoformed into curved or complex shapes, and sewn between layers of material that holds the strips or pieces in place.", "Other materials that offer better impact absorption such as d30 have also been used in padding, but these materials are also stiff.", "Attempts have been made to make the foregoing materials appear less stiff to the wearer by creating thinner regions in each piece which allows better flexing.", "But protective pads manufactured this way cannot offer full range of motion at the location of the padding, because the material breaks apart when flexed at the thinner areas.", "These materials also need to be buried beneath layers of fabric because they are not durable or aesthetically pleasing enough to be exposed.", "The use of covering materials adds unnecessary weight to the padding, and increases the cost of the pads.", "A need exists for improved protective padding, particularly for areas requiring range of motion, and for joints.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure is directed, in one embodiment, to a cushioning pad that includes a first channel comprising a thickness and a width.", "The first channel comprises a continuous upper layer and a continuous lower layer, which is at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer.", "The cushioning region is disposed adjacent to the first channel, and has a thickness greater than the thickness of the first channel.", "The cushioning region further includes a cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer.", "A groove maybe defined in the upper surface of the cushioning region, with a thickness less than the thickness of the cushioning region and greater than the thickness of the first channel.", "In some embodiments, the cushioning pad includes a perimeter flange spaced apart from the cushioning region by the width of the channel, and the perimeter flange has a thickness greater than the thickness of the first channel and less than the thickness of the cushioning region.", "The perimeter flange includes the cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer.", "In some embodiments, the continuous upper layer is at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer in the perimeter channel by a plurality of portions of cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper and lower layers.", "In some embodiments, the perimeter channel includes a continuous layer of cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper and lower layers.", "The present disclosure is directed, in another embodiment, to a cushioning pad including a perimeter channel comprising a thickness and a width.", "The perimeter channel includes a continuous upper layer and a continuous lower layer.", "The continuous upper layer is at least partially bonded to the continuous lower layer.", "The cushioning pad includes a cushioning region adjacent to the perimeter channel, which has a thickness greater than the thickness of the perimeter channel.", "The cushioning region also includes a cushioning material disposed between and bonded to the continuous upper layer and the continuous lower layer.", "A perimeter flange is spaced apart from the cushioning region by the width of the perimeter channel, and has a thickness approximately equal to the combined thickness of the inner layer and the outer layer.", "In any of the embodiments of the cushioning pad, the continuous upper and lower layers can comprise a polyester thermoplastic polyurethane.", "In any of the embodiments of the cushioning pad, the continuous upper and lower layers can comprise a TPE film bonded to a layer spandex fabric, such that the TPE layers are disposed adjacent to the cushioning material.", "In any of the embodiments of the cushioning pad, the cushioning material can comprise a cellular material comprising a plurality of cells having a minimum cell diameter, and the thickness of the cushioning material between the inner layer and the outer layer is less than the minimum cell diameter.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features and advantages will be apparent from the following more particular description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views.", "The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "1A is a top view of one exemplary cushioning pad according to the present disclosure, with various cushioning regions; FIG.", "1B is a top views of the cushioning pad shown in FIG.", "1A; FIG.", "1C is a top views of the cushioning pad shown in FIG.", "1A; FIG.", "1D is a top views of the cushioning pad shown in FIG.", "1A; FIG.", "1E is a top views of the cushioning pad shown in FIG.", "1A; FIG.", "2 is a schematic side view of the cushioning pad of FIG.", "1A, through line 2-2; FIG.", "3 is a schematic side view of the cushioning pad of FIG.", "1A, through line 3-3; FIG.", "4 is a top view of another exemplary cushioning pad according to the present disclosure; FIG.", "5 is a schematic side view of the cushioning pad of FIG.", "4, through line 5-5; FIG.", "6 is a schematic side view of the cushioning pad of FIG.", "4, through line 6-6; FIG.", "7 is a top view of another exemplary cushioning pad according to the present disclosure; FIG.", "8 is a perspective view of the cushioning pad of FIG.", "7; FIG.", "9 is a schematic side view of the cushioning pad of FIG.", "7, through line 8-8; FIG.", "10 is a top view of another exemplary cushioning pad according to the present disclosure; FIG.", "11 is a perspective view of the cushioning pad of FIG.", "10; FIG.", "12 shows a partial view of a user wearing a compression sleeve in which the cushioning pad of FIG.", "7 has been integrated, and showing the conformance of the cushioning pad to the elbow when the elbow is articulated; and FIG.", "13 is a front view of a compression t-shirt in which the cushioning pad of FIG.", "7 has been integrated.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS The present disclosure is directed to an improved, conforming cushioning pad, to items that include the pads, and to methods of making and using the pads.", "The present pads include cushioning regions of various shapes, sizes, configurations and thicknesses.", "For ease of discussion, the terms “cushioning region” and “medallion” will used interchangeably throughout the description.", "Various materials can be used for the medallions, as will be described below.", "The medallions are spaced apart by channels of various depths and configurations, which define the perimeter of the medallions.", "The upper surface of the medallions may include grooves of various depths and configurations, which define, in part, the contours of the medallions.", "In some instances, a perimeter flange is provided, spaced apart from the perimeter of the pad.", "The combination of the medallions, channels, grooves and flange, as well as the materials from which the pads are formed, together provide various functional characteristics to the pad.", "For example, the channels are deeper than the grooves, and are configured to provide unrestricted, free range of motion in critical areas, such as around joints.", "The grooves are shallower than the hinges, and provide flexibility, while retaining some cushioning and/or impact resistance.", "However, it should be understood that both the channels and the grooves function as “hinges,” providing the pad with multilevel hinging.", "The present cushioning pads can be incorporated into clothing, and can be designed to have specific functional characteristics.", "Such clothing is unique in its ability to provide mobile protection to areas of the body that flex, particularly joints.", "The padding can be incorporated into garments in a unique way, such that garment materials fit snugly, but stretch and conform to the body, or to a specific joint shape, resulting in an integrated padding system that protects the wearer from impact better than other products, because the pad is in constant and direct contact with the wearer during the full range of motion.", "Garments incorporating the present pads provide improved protection from injury when worn, because the base of the pad, or the material to which the base of the pad is attached, can be maintained in direct contact with the user's body during use, when incorporated into clothing that stretches and fits snugly, such as compression clothing.", "The flexibility of the pads allows the pads to conform to a user's body shape, so that the pad can be maintained in contact with the user's body.", "That is, without the degree of flexibility of the present pads, the pads would not be capable of conforming to the changing body contours of the user, while in motion.", "For ease of discussion, the term “flexible,” as used herein, means the ability of the pad to move by bending, twisting, flexing and/or stretching, and the like.", "By combining specific shapes, sizes, configurations, contours and orientations of the medallions, hinges, grooves and/or a perimeter flange, with specific pad and clothing materials, garments can be designed to maximize a user's free range of motion, while protecting specific, targeted areas of the body, particularly joints.", "Such garments are aesthetically pleasing, more durable, lower in cost, more comfortable, and provide significant range of motion and targeted, accurate, protection to the body.", "Similarly, the present cushioning pads can be incorporated into other items, such as protective cases.", "For example, the padding can be incorporated into sleeves or cases that correspond to the shape and size of an electronic device, such as a laptop computer or a media device, such that they fit snugly, but also stretch and conform to the exterior of the case.", "Cases comprising the present pads can provide lightweight, flexible and impact-resistant protection.", "The construction of the present pads and items including such pads provide items that are rugged, durable, and able to withstand the temperatures, detergents and mechanical action used in industrial and/or commercial laundering, unlike other padded clothing, which tends to degrade under such harsh conditions.", "FIGS.", "1A-1E, and FIGS.", "2-3, when taken together, illustrate one exemplary cushioning pad 100 according to the present disclosure.", "Pad 100 has a shape, size and configuration adapted to the contours of an elbow joint, as noted above, but it should be understood that the pad can comprise any shape, size or configuration as is practical or desired for a particular design or application.", "As shown, pad 100 comprises a front surface 10, a back surface 12 and a perimeter 14.As shown in cross-section in FIGS.", "2 and 3, pad 100 comprises a cushioning layer 15 disposed between optional outer and inner layers 16,17.The optional outer layer 16 can comprise any material capable of providing sufficient elasticity to prevent tearing and/or stretching when a force is applied thereto; sufficient structural integrity to be formed into predetermined shapes; and that is capable of withstanding the environment in which it is intended to be used (e.g., repetitive deformations such as twisting, bending, flexing, stretching, and the like), without substantial degradation.", "The outer layer 16 also can be selected to facilitate the handling of layer 15, which can comprise adhesive characteristics, in some instances.", "Therefore, the outer layer 16 can be selected to provide a relatively non-tacky surface and smooth surface to the human touch, after molding.", "Outer layer 16 can comprise any thickness, and the thickness can be varied depending upon the application.", "The desired thickness for a particular application can be determined using routine experimentation by those of ordinary skill in the art.", "Outer layer 16 can comprise a thickness ranging from about 0.2 milli-inches (hereinafter “mil”) to about 60 mils, more particularly from about 0.5 mils to about 30 mils, and more particularly still from about 1.0 mil to about 15 mils.", "In instances in which the hand-feel of the products is important, it has been found desirable to minimize the thickness of the outer layer.", "Therefore, in such products it can be desirable to use the thinnest outer layer possible without sacrificing durability.", "For example, for applications in which a relatively thin outer layer 16 is desirable, it can comprise a thickness ranging from about 0.2 mil to about 6 mil, more particularly from about 0.5 mil to about 3 mil, and more particularly still from about 0.6 mil to about 2 mil.", "In some instances, it can be desirable to use a thicker outer layer 16, which can provide increased durability in comparison to thinner outer layers.", "For example, when the present materials are used in vibration dampening applications, it can be desirable for the thickness of the outer layer 16 to be about 50 to about 60 mil.", "Alternatively, thicker layers can be desirable when the cushioning layer is tacky, because the tacky material can be exposed if the outer layer 16 is punctured, making the products difficult to handle.", "When the present products are formed using a thermoforming process, it can be desirable to use an outer layer having a thickness of up to about ⅛ inch, and even thicker in some instances when desired or necessary.", "It has been found that it is possible to maintain very soft pliability for outer layers having a thickness of as much as 6 mil or more by applying heat and/or a vacuum during the thermoforming process.", "Outer layer 16 can be applied as a sheet of material during the molding process.", "In the form of a sheet, and especially when the outer layer is relatively thin, the material can be very flexible and may wrinkle and/or fold very easily during handling.", "Therefore, the outer layer 16 also can comprise a support layer (not illustrated), which assists in handling the material.", "Alternatively, the outer layer may also be applied as a coating of material during or after the molding process, using a variety of techniques known to those of skill in the art.", "Suitable materials for the outer layer 16 include plastics, elastomeric materials such as rubber, thermoplastic elastomers (“TPE”), and/or the like, and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing materials.", "Examples of plastics that can be used for the outer layer include, but are not limited to, ethylene-vinyl acetate (“EVA”), nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polyolefin, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”), polystyrenes, polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”), latex rubber, silicone, vinyl, and combinations thereof.", "Other possible materials for the outer layer 16 include a variety of other synthetic and/or non-synthetic materials including, but not limited to, paper, fabric, metal, metallized plastic, plastic film, metal foil, and/or the like, as well as composites and/or combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing.", "Other durable materials can be used for the outer layer including knit, woven and nonwoven fabrics, leather, vinyl or any other suitable material.", "Use of a fabric layer as outer layer 16 can be advantageous because it can trap and disperse air bubbles that may otherwise form in or between the layers, resulting in a better appearance for the final molded products.", "It can be desirable to use materials for the outer layer than are somewhat elastic; therefore, stretchy fabrics, such as spandex fabrics, can be desirable.", "The use of stretch fabric as the outer layer can be desirable because it can improve the flexing of the hinges and grooves, and the forming of the outer layer into a contoured shape.", "In some cases, heating or otherwise forming or pre-stretching materials with more limited stretch, can improve the molding process.", "When outer layer 16 comprises a fabric layer, the fabric can be knit, woven, non-woven, synthetic, non-synthetic, and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing, and the fabric layer can be laminated to, for example, a TPE film.", "When the pad application requires stretch, then use of an outer layer with elongation may be desirable, and when the outer layer is a laminate, it may be desirable for each layer in the laminate to elongate.", "As noted above, it can be desirable to use materials for the outer layer than are somewhat elastic, such as the TPE materials mentioned above.", "Such TPE materials also can be desirable because they are available as films, in relatively low thicknesses.", "Any film thickness can be used provided it is compatible with the method of molding and suitable for the intended application, but film thicknesses of between about 1 mil and about 10 mils are desirable.", "Thicker films are more durable, but thinner films are less expensive, and may provide a softer feel.", "There are other reasons to choose thicker films, such as when thermoforming deeper shapes, as described later herein.", "While films thinner than 1 mil or thicker than 10 mils can be used in such applications, it may be desirable to use thicker films.", "The use of a film rather than a fabric as the outside layer can make the product easy to clean and protect the cushioning material from damage and dirt.", "The films can comprise an elongation of about 100 percent (%) to about 1500%, more particularly about 200% to about 1000%, and more particularly still about 300% to about 700%″.", "Some possible TPE materials include styrenic block copolymers, polyolefin blends, elastomeric alloys, thermoplastic polyurethanes, thermoplastic copolyester, thermoplastic polyamides, and combinations thereof.", "Examples of commercially available elastomeric alloys include melt-processable rubbers and thermoplastic vulcanizates.", "Examples of suitable TPEs include thermoplastic polyurethanes (“TPU”).", "TPU film can be desirable due to its combination of durability, elasticity, softness and flexibility.", "One suitable film is a polyester polyurethane film available from Deerfield Urethane, a Bayer Material Science Company, under the product name Dureflex PS5400.It can be desirable to use a polyester TPU film, rather than a polyether TPU film, because the polyester TPU film, in addition to having improved abrasion resistance in comparison to polyether TPU film, also performs unexpectedly well under high humidity conditions, such as in athletic clothing and commercial laundering.", "Additionally, pads and garments can be manufactured with both fabric and film on different parts of the pad, allowing for full range of motion and further protection from the use of both materials.", "It may be desirable that the outer layer be a composite of a fabric and film so that the film aids in protecting the hinge during flexing and can also serve as a protective barrier for the cushioning material.", "Inner layer 17 can comprise the same materials as the outer layer 16.When inner layer 17 comprises a fabric layer, the fabric can be knit, woven, non-woven, synthetic, non-synthetic, and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing, and the fabric layer can be laminated to, for example, a TPE film.", "When the pad application requires stretch, then use of an inner layer with elongation may be desirable, and when the inner layer is a laminate, it may be desirable for each layer in the laminate to elongate.", "Use of a fabric layer as inner layer 17 can be advantageous because it can trap and disperse air bubbles that may otherwise form in or between the layers, resulting in a better appearance for the final molded products.", "The use of active agents in one or more of the inner layer, outer layer and/or the cushioning layer can be desirable.", "For example, the addition of a silver or copper based active agent can provide the material with antimicrobial or antifungal properties.", "The use of actives in the inner or outer layer or the foam itself can be desirable, such as the addition of silver or copper based actives to act as an antimicrobial or antifungal agent.", "One or both of inner and outer layers 16,17 also can comprise color, graphics and/or indicia, including text.", "The color, graphics and/or indicia disposed on such layers can be transmitted through other layers when they are formed from colorless and/or transparent materials, which can be desirable for aesthetic and costs reasons.", "In addition, if desired, one or both of inner and outer layers 16,17 also can be fluid-permeable.", "“Fluid-permeable,” as used herein, means that the material from which the layer is formed is open to passage or entrance of a fluid material.", "With continued reference to FIGS.", "1A-1E, and FIGS.", "2-3, pad 100 comprises least one cushioning region disposed in the upper surface 10.In the present exemplary embodiment, pad 100 comprises a central, circular medallion 18.A first, upper, crescent-shaped medallion 20 is disposed adjacent to, above and spaced apart from medallion 18, and an upper, semi-circular shaped medallion 22 is disposed adjacent to, above and spaced apart from the upper crescent region 20.A second, lower, crescent-shaped medallion 24 is disposed adjacent to, below and spaced apart from the central region 18, opposite from and spaced apart from the upper crescent region 20.An approximately trapezoidal medallion 26 is disposed adjacent to, below and spaced apart from the lower crescent-shaped medallion 24; and, a second, lower, approximately semi-circular medallion 28 is disposed adjacent to, below and spaced apart from the trapezoidal region 26.Opposing approximately trapedoizal-shaped medallions 30,32 are disposed on the left and right sides of the central region 20, adjacent to and spaced apart from the upper and lower crescent regions 20,24.As shown best in FIGS.", "1C, 2 and 3, each of the foregoing medallions 18, 30, 32 comprises an upper surface 34 and a sidewall 36 extending downwardly to the upper surface 10 of the pad 100.The sidewalls 36 may be perpendicular to the upper surface 34, or have an angled profile relative to the upper surface 34, coming to a point at the bottom of the hinge or groove.", "Thus, the hinges and/or grooves may have a saw-tooth shape or have angled walls in some embodiments, which minimizes the exposure of the hinges.", "The size, shape, thickness and material composition of the medallions may be varied, depending on a number of factors including, but not limited to, desired amount of flexibility for the pad.", "In addition, the configuration of the medallions may be varied, and more than one type of medallion shape may be used in the pads.", "Cushioning layer 15 can comprise one or more layers of any material or combination of materials having sufficient structural integrity to be formed into predetermined shapes, such as by molding, and that are capable of withstanding the environment in which they are intended to be used, without substantial degradation.", "The material type and composition can be selected to provide articles and/or regions of articles with predetermined material characteristics, which can be used to customize the pads for specific applications such as cushioning, impact resistance, wear resistance, and the like.", "Examples of suitable materials include polymeric materials, composite materials, and the like.", "Examples of suitable polymeric materials include, but are not limited to, thermosetting polymeric materials, elastomeric polymeric materials, thermoplastic materials, including thermoplastic elastomeric materials, and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing.", "Some possible polymeric materials include, but are not limited to, polyurethane, silicone, and/or the like, and combinations comprising at least one of the foregoing materials.", "In some instances, it may be desirable for the pad to have cushioning characteristics to provide a soft, pliable and comfortable feel such as when used in contact with a body.", "In such instances, it has been found that some polymeric gels may be suitable.", "One example of a suitable polymeric gel is a polyurethane gel comprising a durometer ranging from about 0.01 Shore 00 to less than or equal to about 70 Shore A, more particularly less than 70 Shore 00, more particularly still less than 60 Shore 00.The material can comprise a durometer ranging from about 30 Shore 000 to about 88 Shore D. The durometer of the polymer can be determined by those of ordinary skill in the art using tools such as durometers or penetrometers.", "Formation of the gel can take place by a variety of methods known to those of skill in the art.", "For example, formation of a polyurethane gel can comprise reacting suitable pre-polymeric precursor materials e.g., reacting a polyol and an isocyanate in the presence of a catalyst.", "In some instances, it may be desirable for the pad to be lightweight, and in such instances, the cushioning material 15 may comprise a foam material, such as a low density foam material.", "Examples of suitable low density foams include polyester and polyether polyurethane foams.", "In some instances, it may be desirable for the pad to be capable of providing impact resistance.", "In such instances, various types of impact absorbing materials have been found suitable for the cushioning material, particularly energy absorbing foams.", "For such applications, it can be desirable for such foams to have a density ranging from about 5 to about 35 pounds per cubic foot (pcf), more particularly from about 10 to about 30 pcf, and more particularly still from about 15 to about 25 pcf.", "Suitable rate dependent foams are available from Rogers Corporation under the brand names PORON® and PORON XRD®, which are open cell, microcellular polyurethane foams.", "With continued reference to FIGS.", "1A-1E, and FIGS.", "2-3, one or more channels are defined in the upper surface 10 to maintain the medallions 18, 30, 32 in spaced apart relation.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, channels 38 have a width “W1” defined by the spacing between the perimeter of adjacent medallions, a depth “D1” defined by the spacing between the upper surface 34 of the medallions and the upper surface 10 of the pad 100, and a thickness “T1” defined by the combined thicknesses of the inner and outer layers 16,17 and the cushioning material 15 disposed between the layers.", "For each of discussion, the “channels” will be referred to hereinafter as hinges throughout the description, without intending to limit the fact that the grooves also function as hinging elements.", "The width W1 of the hinges can be varied as desired or needed, and can range from as narrow as about 1 mil to about 1000 mils, or more.", "In some instances, it can be desirable for the width “W1” of the hinges to be as narrow as possible, in order to maximize the protective features of the medallions, while maintaining the hinging ability of the pads.", "Such applications would include applications in which maximum protection is desired, or in which the hinge is intended to wrap around a corner.", "Where impact protection is desired, the width of the hinges can be designed to be narrower than the width of the object which would impact the pad.", "In such instances, the width W1 can range from about 1 mil to about 10 mils, more particularly from about 3 mils to about 7 mils, and more particularly still about 5 mils.", "In other instances, in which the protective features are less important, it can be desirable for the width “W1” of the hinges to be much wider, in order to maximize the aesthetic feature of the hinges, which can be made to contrast in color with the medallions.", "In such instances, the width W1 can be in the millimeter or centimeter range, or even greater, if desired.", "The hinges 38 may be linear channels that are disposed along parallel and/or intersecting axes, as shown in FIG.", "1C.", "As shown in the present embodiment, hinges 38 may be approximately aligned along parallel axes “A1” and “A2.” Hinges 38 may also be curved, as shown by curves “A3” and “A4.” The depth of the hinges between the medallions may be the same or different, and the depth may vary along the hinge.", "Both curved and linear hinges may be used in combination in the pads, as in the present embodiment, and may include a combination of curved and linear hinged areas.", "As shown best in FIG.", "1B, an optional perimeter flange 40 (hereinafter “flange”) may be defined in the upper surface 10 to maintain the medallions in spaced apart related from the perimeter of the pad.", "In the present embodiment, the optional perimeter flange 40 has a width “W2” defined by the spacing between the perimeter of the outermost medallions and the perimeter 14 of the pad 100.The width W2 of the perimeter flange 40 may vary, as desired.", "As will be described in greater detail below, the perimeter flange 40 is thinner than the medallions, allowing the pad to be attached to items such as clothing along the flange area using a variety of techniques, such as by sewing, gluing, bonding, and the like.", "When integrated with, for example, a compression sleeve, the pad can be sewn, glued or otherwise attached to the outside of the sleeve fabric, or it can be sewn or attached to the interior surface of the sleeve, and exposed through a corresponding opening in the sleeve.", "Optionally, the upper surfaces 34 of the medallions may be contoured using a variety of geometries, including planar surfaces, curved surfaces, and combinations of planar and curved surfaces.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, in the present embodiment, the upper surface 34 of medallion 26 comprises a planar portion 34a lying in a plane “P1” that is approximately parallel to a plane “P2,” P2 being co-planar with the upper surface 10 of pad 100.The upper surface 34 of medallion 26 also comprises another portion 34b lying in a plane P3 that intersects planes P1 and P2.The thickness of portion 34b generally decreases radially toward the perimeter of the medallion 26.Alternatively, the upper surface 34 of a medallion may comprise a surface that is defined by a thickness that generally decreases radially toward the perimeter of the medallion, or toward the perimeter of the pad.", "As shown best in FIGS.", "1C and 3, optionally, one or more grooves 42 may be formed in the upper surface 34 of the medallions.", "Like the hinges 38, the grooves 42 increase the flexibility of the pad, and as the thickness of the cushioning layer 15 in the grooves 42 is decreased, the flexibility of the grooves 42, and pad 100, increases.", "The width, depth, orientation and position of the grooves 42 in the upper surfaces 34 of the medallions may be varied, depending on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the desired direction and amount of flexibility, and the like.", "Like hinges 38, the grooves 42 may be curved grooves, or linear grooves that are disposed along parallel and/or intersecting axes.", "Both curved and linear grooves may be used in combination, and the grooves may include both curved and linear regions.", "As shown in FIG.", "1E, in the present embodiment, the left trapezoidal medallion 30 comprises a first linear groove 42x having an axis “A4” that intersects the center medallion 18 and a second a linear groove 42y having an axis “A5” that intersects with axis A4.As shown, both axes intersect approximately at the center of center medallion 18 and extend radially from the center medallion 18 toward the perimeter 14 of the pad 100, but it should be understood that it is not necessary for the axes of the grooves to intersect at the center of the pad.", "Similarly, adjacent medallion 20 comprises a third linear grove 42z having an axis “A6” that intersects with axes A4 and A5.The thickness of the grooves in a pad or in a medallion may be the same or different, and the thickness may vary along the axis or length of the groove, and from groove to groove.", "FIGS.", "4-6, when taken together, illustrate another embodiment of an exemplary cushioning pad 200 according to the present disclosure.", "Pad 200 has a similar structure to pad 100, comprising a front surface 10, a back surface 12 and an outer edge/perimeter 14, with a cushioning layer 15 disposed between optional outer and inner layers 16,17.Pad 200 comprises the same medallions as in pad 100.Optionally, one or more grooves 42 may be formed in the upper surface 34 of the medallions.", "Also as in the previous embodiment, hinges 38 are defined in pad 200, to maintain the medallions in spaced apart relation, and to provide flexibility to the pad.", "The hinges 38 have a width “W1” defined by the spacing between the perimeter of adjacent medallions, and a depth “D1” defined by the spacing between the upper surface 34 of the medallions the upper surface 10 of the pad 200, and a thickness “T2” defined by the combined thicknesses of the inner and outer layers 16,17 and the cushioning material 15, if any, disposed between the layers.", "Pad 200 also comprises an additional perimeter hinge 50, which corresponds to the shape of the perimeter of the pad.", "Like hinge 38, perimeter hinge 50 has a width “W1” defined by the spacing between the perimeter of adjacent medallions and perimeter flange 40, a depth “D1” defined by the spacing between the upper surface 34 of the medallions and the upper surface 10 of the pad 200, and a thickness “T2” defined by the combined thicknesses of the inner and outer layers 16,17 and the cushioning material 15, if any, disposed between the layers.", "In the present embodiment, the thickness of the cushioning layer 15 disposed between the upper and lower layers 16,17 in hinges 38,50 is minimized during the manufacturing process, such that its thickness approaches zero in the hinges 38,50.As a result, the cushioning material in the hinges 38,50 may not be visible to the naked eye, or only detectable using very sensitive thickness gauges.", "The residual cushioning material remaining in between layers 16,17 assists in bonding layers 16,17 together in the hinges 38,50.Depending on the materials used, the bonding between layers 16,17 may be at least partially a chemical, thermal and/or mechanical bond.", "For example, if the material used as the cushioning layer is a resin, the residual resin in the hinges 38,50 can function as an adhesive to bond layers 16,17 together.", "Use of the resin as a bonding agent is advantageous, because it eliminates the need for a separate adhesive in the very thin hinge areas, and it keeps the bond consistent and equally flexible throughout pad, thereby enhancing the durability of the pad.", "Alternatively, if a fabric is used as one of layers 16,17, the bond between the layers in the hinges may be at least partially mechanical, as a result of the resin being squeezed into opening or pores in the fabric, such that portions of layers 16,17 bond during manufacturing, resulting in “islands” of bonded layers 15,16,17 disposed between islands of bonded layers 16,17.By minimizing or eliminating the cushioning layer 15 in hinges 38,50, the flexibility of the hinges is maximized, such that the entire pad 200 is capable of bending, flexing, folding and twisting in a variety of direction.", "For example, pad 200 bending or flexing along the hinges 38,50 by as much as 180 degrees in the direction of arrow “A,” as shown in FIG.", "5.In the opposite direction “B,” the flexibility is limited only by the thickness and spacing of the medallions.", "In the present embodiment, the presence of the continuous bond between the inner and outer layers 16,17 in the hinges 38,50 is advantageous because it “locks” the medallions in place, minimizing or preventing the egress of cushioning material from the pad or, alternatively, minimizing or preventing the ingress of materials, such as fluids, into the pads.", "Therefore, the hinges 38,50 stabilize the pads, particularly the cushioning material, such that fluids and other materials are not able to penetrate the pad, which might otherwise lead to delamination.", "Another exemplary cushioning pad 300 according to the present disclosure is illustrated in FIGS.", "7-9, when taken together.", "Pad 300 is similar in construction to pad 200, and additionally comprises a hinge 60 disposed between medallions 32a,b.", "Like hinges 38,50, the addition of hinge 60 increases the capability of pad 300 to bend, flex, fold and twist in a variety of directions.", "Another exemplary cushioning pad 400 according to the present disclosure is illustrated in FIGS.", "10-11, when taken together.", "Pad 400 is similar in construction to pad 300, and additionally comprises two concentric hinges 38a,b, defining concentric medallions 18b,c disposed around a center medallion 18a.", "Like hinges 38,50,60, the addition of concentric hinges 38a,b increases the capability of pad 300 to bend, flex, fold and twist in a variety of directions, particularly in the elbow joint region.", "The size, shape, configuration, orientation and dimensions of the pad, medallions, medallion contours, hinges, grooves and flange may be varied as desired in order to achieve the desired characteristics for the pad design.", "All of the foregoing features, alone or in combination, are designed to facilitate the flexibility of the pad either inwardly or outwardly to conform to a user's body during movement.", "However, it should be understood that in each of the foregoing embodiments, and in any pad according to the present disclosure, all of the foregoing measurements can vary depending on the desired characteristics and design of the pad.", "For example, the pads are designed to provide a variety of characteristics such as, but not limited to, cushioning, vibration dampening and/or impact absorption, and the like.", "The characteristics of the pad may be varied by changing the thickness and/or material type of cushioning layer 15 in the medallions, changing the spacing between the medallions (i.e., the width of the hinges), and/or changing the contours of the medallions, and the like.", "For example, using a gel for cushioning layer 15 provides a pad with cushioning and vibration dampening characteristics; using a foam decreases the weight of the pad; using a rate dependent or impact absorbing foam increases the impact absorption of the pad; etc.", "In general, increasing the thickness of the cushioning layer 15 in the medallions generally increases the foregoing characteristics; and using a combination of materials for cushioning layer 15 may provide a combination of characteristics.", "In each of the foregoing embodiments, and in any pad according to the present disclosure, the hinges are designed provide flexibility to the pad in targeted areas in which flexibility is desired or needed.", "Using curved, parallel and/or intersecting hinges allows the flexibility of the pad to be tailored to specific functions, such as protecting joints during motion.", "The width, depth, orientation and position of the hinges may vary, depending on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the desired amount and location of flexibility for the pad.", "The flexibility of the hinges can be varied, by varying the thickness of the material in the hinge regions.", "For example, decreasing the thickness of the material in the hinges increases the flexibility of the pad, and increasing the thickness of the material in the hinge regions decreases the flexibility.", "In some embodiments that include one or both of the inner and outer layers 16,17, it is possible to “squeeze” the cushioning layer 15 in the hinges to minimize or eliminate the amount of material in the hinge region.", "In such embodiments, maximum flexibility can be achieved when the thickness of the cushioning layer 15 approaches zero in the hinges, or when the pad is molded without cushioning layer 15 in the hinges 38.For example, when using inner and outer layers 16,17 with thicknesses of about 4 mils, it is possible to achieve hinge thicknesses approaching 8 mils, or approaching the combined thickness of the inner and outer layers 16,17, by removing as much cushioning material 15 from the hinge area, as is possible during the molding process.", "Thus, maximum protection may be achieved using a hinge depth of less than about 20% of the medallion thickness, more particularly less than about 10% of the medallion thickness, and more particularly still less than about 5% of the medallion thickness.", "Successful parts have been made with hinge depths of 0.020″, 0.040″ and up to 0.080″.", "When the pads are molded with a front layer, a back layer, or both layers, the maximum pad flexibility may be achieved when the hinge thickness approximately corresponds to the combined thickness of the layer(s) other than layer 15, or when the thickness of the cushioning layer 15 approaches zero.", "Deep hinges can also have some foam thickness, and still provide great mobility.", "As noted below, one feature of the present protective pads is that the outer and/or inner layers can protect the cushioning layer from breaking at the relatively thin hinge regions during repetitive flexing, so the foam thickness is not limited by the foam flex strength, as long as the foam is bonded to either or both inner and outer layers.", "In each of the foregoing embodiments, and in any pad according to the present disclosure, the width of the hinges, or spacing between the medallions, is designed allow the pad to bend as much as possible, while still retaining the protective characteristics of the medallions.", "Therefore, the spacing between the medallions can be determined by the amount of distance needed to have a flexible hinge, without exposing too much space between the medallions, such that injuries would occur when the gap between the medallions is impacted.", "Thus, maximum protection may be achieved using a hinge width of less than about 20% of the medallion thickness, more particularly less than about 10% of the medallion thickness, and more particularly still less than about 5% of the medallion thickness.", "As noted above, the use of angled or saw-toothed shaped hinges and/or grooves (not illustrated) can also reduce the amount of exposed unprotected surface.", "In each of the foregoing embodiments, and in any pad according to the present disclosure, the grooves 42 are designed allow the pad to bend in targeted areas.", "The width, depth, orientation and position of the grooves 42 may vary, again depending on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the desired amount of bending for the pad and/or medallion in which the groove is formed.", "The grooves 42 are designed to be thicker than the hinge areas, but thinner than the medallions, at the thickest point of the medallions.", "Thus, groove thickness can range from about 10 percent (%) to 95% of the medallion thickness, about 20% to about 75% of the medallion thickness, and more particularly still about 50% of the medallion thickness.", "As noted above, the outer and inner layers 16,17 are optional, but they may be desirable for many reasons, particularly when the cushioning layer 15 is a cellular material, and/or is a material that does not easily retain its shape.", "For example, in the embodiments described above, both the outer and inner layers 16,17 are continuously bonded to cushioning layer 15 across the entire pads, including in the hinges.", "Depending on the construction of the pad, the outer and inner layers may be bonded to cushioning layer 15, or they may be bonded to each other, when the amount of material in the hinges is minimized or eliminated.", "One significant advantage of bonding the front layer to cushioning layer 15 is to provide a continuous, uninterrupted surface above and below cushioning layer 15 i.e., to encapsulate cushioning layer 15, other than at the perimeter of the pad.", "The continuous upper and lower layers strengthen the hinge and groove areas, minimizing breakage in the hinges and/or grooves, which may otherwise occur due to the flexing of the pad during use, because the hinges and/or grooves are thinner than the medallions.", "At least one bonded layer may be used for the protection of the thin hinge areas during flexing.", "A thermoplastic polyurethane film, when used as the outer layer 16, is particularly good at preventing cracking or breaking of layer 17 in the hinges or grooves.", "The inner layer can also provide strength to the hinges or grooves if bonded to the foam, or in many embodiments, both inner and outer layers are bonded to the foam.", "In cases where the hinge thickness is very low, especially with little or no film in the hinge, both inner and outer bonded layers are desirable to maintain the structural integrity of the pads.", "It is desirable to use a material with substantial elasticity for the inner and outer layers, such as TPE films, spandex fabrics, and the like.", "In some embodiments, the use of a fabric with a laminated film backing may be desirable as an inside or outside layer.", "An inner layer that is a laminate of a fabric and a film, such as a polyurethane film laminate, can be very desirable for maximizing the durability of the hinges.", "As described above, another aspect of the present disclosure is the integration of the above-described pad into garments, particularly compression garments, to protect specific areas of the body.", "When one of the foregoing pads is integrated into a compression sleeve or garment that is tightly fitting to the wearer, the hinged and/or grooved multilayer pad structure is sewn, adhered or otherwise attached to a spandex fabric or otherwise stretchable material in such a way that the hinged pads are held in form fitting contact with the area to be protected.", "The pad can be sewn to the inside or outside of a garment.", "It may be desirable to have the pad cover only a portion of the full circumference of the sleeve, so that the sleeve can still stretch significantly to fit the wearer.", "The integration of the uniquely hinged protective pad with the compression garment offers particular synergies by creating a simple way to add a significant impact absorbing pad to specific body areas, without altering the entire garment.", "FIG.", "12 shows a compression sleeve 500 comprising a cushioning pad 300, attached to the body 64 of the sleeve 500.As shown, the pad 300 is attached to the sleeve 500 by stitching the perimeter flange 40 to the body 64 of the sleeve 500, such that in use, the position of the center medallion 18 corresponds to the user's elbow.", "In use, when the user's arm is bent, the combination of the flexible hinges 38 and grooves 42 allow the pad to conform to the bent configuration of the user's arm, while maintaining the position of center medallion 18 relative to the elbow.", "When the pad is integrated with a compression sleeve, some unique properties and advantages are provided in comparison to other methods of protecting moving joints.", "When integrated into a compression sleeve, the pad can be in continuous intimate contact with the joint to be protected, which may be desirable when protecting flexible joints such as knees, elbows, shoulders and ankles, because properly designed hinges allow the protective sleeves to naturally remain in the correct position and orientation.", "When hinges are properly designed, the protective compression sleeve moves as one with the arm, allowing much wider range of motion than traditional padding.", "Also, with the protective sleeve in intimate contact with the joint and skin, there is no additional impact caused by the pad hitting the skin or joint after impact from an outside object.", "Stiffer pads may not be capable of being in continuous contact with the specific body area or joint, because they are not flexible or form-fitting.", "If not form-fitted, the pads may become part of the impact that injures the wearer.", "Pads in a sleeve configuration are uniquely better able to protect a moving joint, because they can wrap around a wide radius, and in some instances provide 360 degrees of protection by wrapping the entire joint.", "In general, it is desirable to leave some area of the compression sleeve without the additional padding layers, to allow the sleeve to stretch and conform better to the arm.", "FIG.", "13 shows a compression shirt 600 comprising a cushioning pad 300, attached to the body 80 of the shirt 600.As shown, the pad 300 is attached to the shirt 600 by stitching the perimeter flange 40 to the body 80 of the shirt 500, such that the position of the center medallion 18 corresponds to the center of the user's chest.", "In use, the combination of the flexible hinges 38 and grooves 42 allow the pad 300 to conform to the user's chest region, maintaining the pad 300 in close proximity to the user body, thereby maximizing the impact-absorption capability of the pad 300 when the user is subject to an impact in the chest region.", "The garments can also be made from a wicking fabric that is designed to move moisture away from the skin layer.", "The present pads also may be designed to enhance air and/or moisture transmission, without significantly compromising protection, which is not an option with other protective padding.", "The hinges, grooves and/or medallions may comprise perforations (not illustrated), which enhances moisture or air transmission rates.", "The use of a wicking fabric as the inner layer or in combination with a TPE film layer as the inner layer, can enhance comfort as well and wick moisture through the hinges.", "Also, the use of a high moisture vapor transmissive (“MVT”) film layer can further enhance comfort.", "Such films can function by chemical absorption/desorption.", "Examples of such films are available under the product name Sympatex, or TX1540 from Omniflex.", "The use of microporous high MVT films such as Goretex or Porelle (by Porvair) can also be used, or other similar films.", "In some embodiments, the pads may be formed such that the foam has a generally uniform density throughout the pad.", "Specifically, in some instances it may be desirable not to compress the foam in the grooves or hinges during molding or forming, because the compression increases the density of the foam, which tends to reduce the range of motion and provide non-uniform padding levels by eliminating foam.", "The contoured medallions and variations in foam thickness not only provide an aesthetically pleasing pad, but they also provide maximal protection where protection is most needed, and less protection where less is needed.", "By using uniform foam density and varying thickness where needed, the weight of the pad is reduced, and the range of motion is increased.", "Using thermoforming or compression to take foam and compress areas to shape may increase density in those areas and create additional weight, uneven protection and less range of motion.", "The present pads may be manufactured using techniques disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,827,704 and U.S.", "Publication Nos.", "US 2008/0034614 and US 2009/0255625, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "The molds for the present pads are designed to allow layers 15,16,17 to be compressed together under conditions sufficient to minimize or eliminate the foam in the hinges 38,50,60, for certain embodiments of the pads, while allowing the layers to bond together, which may be a chemical, thermal and/or mechanical bond.", "The pad construction, with inner and outer film layers, allow the manufacturer to make the gaps between sections of the pad smaller, because it is not necessary to use fabric to locate and position the pad.", "It also allows the manufacturer to angle and shape these grooves and hinges in the most appropriate way to cover and protect the wearer fully while stretching, fitting, and remaining in place during the activity.", "The ability to create an exposed protective foam pad, in contrast to a pad enclosed in a pocket, enclosed in fabric or flexible film provides a unique and critical ability to offer protection for individuals wearing supportive or corrective braces, such as knee braces, ankle supports, back supports, and the like.", "Thus, the pads can be attached or adhered to mechanical supports to protect adaptive mobility athletes from themselves and from other athletes with similar braces.", "Similarly, the design of pads according to the present disclosure can be customized and adhered to braces worn by conventionally mobile athletes.", "This provides protection to both the wearer of the brace but also other athletes who come in contact with the corrective brace.", "One example of such a brace is the padding on knee braces used in professional football.", "The present pads can also be used on shin guards worn by youth, adult and professional soccer players.", "The properties of impact absorbing foam padding in combination with form fitting garments provides unique and highly accurate protection of targeted body parts.", "Therefore, one embodiment of this disclosure is flexible, form-fitting breathable shin and ankle guards for soccer players.", "Significantly, such shin and ankle guards provide more protection to soccer players due to the closer fit of the foam, more comfort from the wicking materials, venting and perforation used in construction, and a more durable product than, for example, non-breathable, hard plastic pad held in place with straps or friction of the user's sock.", "The foam padding and other layers as noted earlier can be designed with perforations either throughout the material, or within the groove or hinge areas, without significant deterioration of the protection.", "The fact that all layers of the pad are continuously bonded together, in some embodiments, allows the transpiration of water vapor to pass more easily through pre-established pathways.", "Once the moisture is wicked into the fabric layer, it can be channeled out through the pads because the surfaces are bonded.", "This is an important distinction from other pads, which have one or more of the layers free floating, making them more uncomfortable to wear.", "Pads comprising continuous inner and outer layers that are bonded to cushioning layer 15 in the medallions, hinges and grooves, provide free range of motion and a durable pad, because it allows the pad to flex and hinge along with the specific area of the body without degradation.", "The fact that the pad has a continuous inner surface, outer surface or both, maintains the orientation and position of the hinges, as well as the spacing.", "The present pads are in contrast to pads and garments in which foam has been cut, scored, or molded in separate pieces, to form the hinges, which can allow too much stretch between the pads and allow injury to the user.", "The present protective pads allow the fixed orientation of the pads.", "This feature may be less desirable for application in which significantly moving joint areas are not being protected, and are just making generalized shirt or pant padding.", "The integration of the pad into a compression or form-fitting garment allows protection to specific areas of the body including joints; the protection is not just from outside impact.", "Use of such compression or form-fitting garments with the present pads keeps the pad from separating from the skin prior to impact, which may cause secondary impact to the body.", "In certain embodiments, the fact that the outside surface (fabric or film) is (in some embodiments) the actual outside surface of the garment or sleeve, is an important distinction.", "Pads that have unbonded fabric or other covering sewn across the outside, covering the padding, allow slippage of the outer layer across the padding on impact, which affects the precision of the impact protection.", "When wearing the current garments, the wearer has the pad on the exterior of a form-fitted garment, and enjoys more accurate protection of the specific body area or joint.", "Having the exposed outer layer of the present disclosure pad as the outside layer of the garment or sleeve (as shown in FIGS.", "12 and 13), also allows improved moisture or air flow management, which is superior to cut foam pieces with any form of loose cover.", "Precision air channels and perforations in some embodiments allows less heat and moisture build-up.", "In addition, embodiments with the outside surface of the pad exposed allow for the inside of a form fitting garment to lie flat against the user's skin, as the inside surface of the pad can generally be flat.", "When attached to the outside of an elastic fabric, the user can have an uninterrupted layer of elastic fabric or other material against the skin.", "This allows the pad to closely hug the skin surface, and also to have a more seam-free interior surface which is less likely to cause abrasions or irritations to the skin.", "Use of the pads exposed on the surface also provides for more ability to make hinges or grooves tighter and/or smaller because an add-on external material could otherwise block proper hinging by filling in the hinge spaces and interfering with the movement of the hinges.", "The grooves and hinges can also be angled and shaped in specific designs to cover and protect the subject more precisely.", "The creation of specific and more aerodynamic shapes can also be made on the garment surface using the present pads.", "The aerodynamic surface, combined with protection, can be an advantage in sports such as ski racing, in which the wearer would be protected, for example from impacts with gates, while having enhanced lower wind resistance.", "Other sports can benefit from improved aerodynamics, such as bike racing.", "Use of the present impact absorbing pads, when exposed on the surface of a garment, allows the impact absorbing foam to react faster, because there are no unnecessary layer(s) between the foam and impact.", "This can be a desirable feature when using “rate dependent” impact absorbing foams, such as Poron XRD, or other such materials.", "These materials stiffen on impact, and the use on the exposed surface with only a single layer of bonded film or other material between foam, and the object impacting the pad allows the foams to react better and more quickly.", "In some embodiments, the use of film, particularly polyester polyurethane film, as the outside layer of a pad attached to a sleeve or garment, creates a durable and more cleanable pad system.", "The exterior surface, with the film exposed, can be both durable and dirt resistant.", "Fabric as a top layer, whether sewn or otherwise attached, can rip and tear or get dirty, and in these complex garments, can be difficult to clean.", "Fabric and/or film that is continuously bonded as an inner or outer layer, either together in the hinge areas, or to the cushioning material in the medallions, would be more durable than unbonded sewn fabric used in many pads, in which a torn outer garment exposes the pad meant to protect the wearer to dislocation or removal from the garment.", "In the embodiments of the present disclosure that use a fabric layer as the inner or outer layer, a film layer inside the fabric can also minimize and/or prevent dirt or liquid from infiltrating or penetrating the foam.", "The fact that the pads in many embodiments are molded with uniform density of foam padding (i.e., not higher density compressed foam) allows more precise design of the protection, and greater range of motion than varied densities caused by compression.", "The present pads, clothing and methods of manufacture are advantageous for many reasons.", "For example, a single continuous pad with many elements provides an economic advantage over traditional pad construction techniques, by eliminating labor-intensive cutting, scoring or thermoforming that may otherwise be required for end garment construction.", "The use of bonded hinges that approach zero thickness for cushioning layer 15 is very unique.", "In such near zero thickness hinge areas, the top surface of the outer layer is still bonded to the inner layer throughout the hinge that can allow dramatically improved range of motion in specific, selected areas.", "As noted, hinge areas can be anywhere from near zero thickness (less than 0.001″ (1 mil) of foam) or much higher, provided that they are less than the thicker areas of cushioning material.", "Some embodiments have hinge areas near zero while others are at 0.010″ (10 mils), 0.020″ (20 mils) or even 0.080″ (80 mils) or 0.120″ (120 mils).", "The combination of both hinge and groove areas in multiple orientations allows the formation of pads that combine the full range of motion where needed, but protective padding in other areas where less flex is required.", "The use of a bonded inner layer with elasticity and a bonded outer layer with elasticity is also desirable in embodiments where stretch is desired, such as when the cushioning pad is attached to a stretch garment.", "Where near the thickness of the hinge areas approaches zero, or in thin hinge areas (less than 0.100″ (1 mil) foam), the fact that the entire pad has a continuously bonded inner or outer layer (or both) maintains spacing and prevents separation of an unprotected area.", "This is in contrast to pads in which separate cut pieces are used to create the pad, because the cut pieces can separate under duress and allow the user to be exposed, and possibly injured.", "In some embodiments, the use of narrow hinge spacing has proved desirable to prevent exposed areas when the joint is flexed in certain ways.", "The present disclosure allows very narrow hinges, or very narrow spacing between medallions, without the danger of the hinge separating during use.", "Some embodiments, which are designed for joints, comprise a central medallion (e.g., center circular medallion, bulls-eye medallion, polygonal medallion, and the like), that is surrounded by concentric hinges.", "The center medallion can be used to properly locate and position the pad, such that the central medallion is located over the joint (e.g., elbow bone).", "The flexible nature, durability and dual-film layer construction of the protective padding is suited to providing protection to individuals that wear supportive and corrective braces, including but not limited to knee braces, ankle braces and back supports.", "The use of multiple levels of hinges and grooves in multiple orientations in some embodiments is both desirable and unique.", "The present pads can be manufactured to provide better protection to specific body areas while being lightweight, which is a significant advantage to athletes and active individuals.", "One advantage of the present protective pads is that an entire flexing region can be protected by one large pad or several large pads designed specifically for a certain part of the body, rather than smaller cut pads or strips that is sewn into a garment.", "The integrated large pad is both more economical, and also prevents shifting of the cut or strips of pads that would cause gaps in protection.", "In addition to providing better and more accurate protection than current products, the present protective pads allow the entire durable pad to be exposed, which can be both an aesthetic advantage and weight savings, and can make the pad more comfortable with better moisture or air transmission.", "By exposed, it is meant that it is not necessary to put the pads in pockets, or to sew the pads into pockets, where they would remain loose in the pocket.", "Instead, the present pads are attached directly to an underlying material by sewing.", "Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other methods of attachment may be used, but it has been found that sewing provides certain advantages.", "In contrast to heat sealing or welding, it has been found that sewing the cushioning pads in place along the perimeter flange prevents or minimizes the pads from separating from the garment, which is advantageous in comparison to pads that are loose within the garment (i.e., held loosely in pockets designed to contain the pads), or that are attached by welding, heat sealing, and the like.", "In addition, exceptionally durable cushioning pads can be made according to the present disclosure, comprising inner and outer film layers, with cushioning material between the film layers, defined by hinges with a “near zero” thickness of cushioning material between the inner and outer layers, and that terminate at the outer edge with the combination of a near-zero perimeter hinge adjacent to a perimeter flange with a relatively low thickness of cushioning material disposed between the inner and outer layers.", "The foregoing pads are exceptional durable, and can withstand repeated commercial laundering.", "In such pads, when incorporated into garments, it is theorized that the thickness of the perimeter flange (e.g., about 20 mils) provides a sturdier region for stitching, which would otherwise would fray and rip without the cushioning material if unsupported by the 20 mil perimeter flange.", "Moreover, the perimeter flange makes a more attractive product, with a softer edge than is possible by terminating with the film at the perimeter of the cushioning pad.", "It is also thought that the near-zero hinges throughout the pad allow the pad contribute to the durability of the pad during the washing cycle, because the foam material in the hinges is so thin, that a cellular structure no longer exists.", "Thus, the stitched perimeter flange prevents or minimizes the pad from lifting off in repeated washing, i.e., locking down the perimeter of the cushioning pad.", "In addition, the continuous bonding of the inner and outer films either to the cushioning material in the medallion regions, or to each other in the hinges, prevents or minimizes the chance of fluid or other materials from getting into the pad, and of the cushioning material from escaping from the pads.", "In combination, both features enhance the durability of the many pads in rigorous conditions, eliminating or preventing completely the delamination of layers, as occurs in other products.", "It is thought that the perimeter flange and adjacent near zero hinge prevent or minimize fluid and/or particulates from infiltrating the pads beyond the perimeter flange, because the foam has been removed almost completely from the hinge area, and without the cellular structure of the foam in the hinge area, fluid and/or particulates cannot migrate past the perimeter flange.", "Therefore, the perimeter hinge acts as a buffer to the infiltration of fluid and/or particulates into the pad.", "Similarly, the “network” of hinges throughout the cushioning pads, particularly when the hinges are “near zero” hinges, further improves the durability of the pads, because eliminating and/or minimizing the foam, or other cushioning material in the hinge area, increases the bond strength in the hinges.", "The bond strength is increased in the hinge area because the remaining cushioning material in the hinge areas is insufficient to support the foam structure (in the case of a foam).", "If foam remains in the hinges, the bond strength may be limited to the foam tear strength.", "Thus, when the thickness of the foam, or other cushioning material, is minimized, the bond in the hinges increases, because there are no thin foam cell walls to tear.", "That is, without a cellular foam structure in the hinges, there is no space for fluid and/or particulate penetration beyond the perimeter flange.", "As a result, if a single medallion or hinge is damaged or compromised, damage to the entire pad is minimized or compartmentalized, because the damage may extend only to the adjacent pad and/or hinge.", "Another advantage of the present pads is that the combination of deep hinges and less deep grooves, or multi-level hinging, provides a protective garments with improved protection, while maintaining a significant range of motion in the protected area.", "The use of connected top, bottom or both layers allows for the more precise use of the hinges and grooves, and keeps the individual medallions from moving relative to one another.", "In addition, the integration with stretchable form-fitting garment material results in significant wrapping of the protected area and keeps the exterior pad in continuous contact with the specific area of the body.", "Example 1 A cushioning pad was molded to form an elbow pad according to design shown in FIG.", "1.The materials used were PORON for cushioning layer 15 (bright yellow color), a stretchable fabric (black) for inner layer 17 having a thickness of about 19 mils, and a transparent polyurethane TPE film layer 16 having a thickness of about 4 mils.", "After molding, measurements of combined thickness in cross-section were taken, as shown below in Table A.", "TABLE A Thickness Location thousands of an inch (mils) Center Medallion 18 0.250″ (250 mils) Right Side Medallion 32 0.250″ (250 mils) Channels/Hinges 38 0.040″ (40 mils) Groove 42 (thinnest region) 0.129″ (129 mils) Groove 42 (thickest region) 0.141″ (141 mils) Perimeter flange 40 0.040 (40 mils) In this example, the mold was not designed to compress the layers during molding so as to remove the foam from the hinge area.", "A visual inspection of the pad shows that the front of the pad is uniformly bright yellow in color, as would be expected if foam remained in the hinge area.", "The resulting hinges were flexible, but not so much as to be “floppy.” Example 2 A cushioning pad was molded to form an elbow pad according to design shown in FIG.", "7, using the same materials used in Example 1.After molding, measurements of combined thickness in cross-section were taken, as shown below in Table B.", "TABLE B Thickness Location thousands of an inch (mils) Center Medallion 18 0.250″ (250 mils) Right Side Medallion 32 0.250″ (250 mils) Groove 42 (thinnest region) 0.129″ (129 mil) Groove 42 (thickest region) 0.141″ (141 mils) Hinges 38, 50 0.023″ (23 mils) Perimeter flange 40 0.040″ (40 mils) In this example, the mold was designed to compress the material in the hinge regions during molding so as to eliminate or minimize the amount of foam (in cushioning layer 15) from the hinge areas.", "A visual inspection of the pad shows that the medallions and flange were uniformly bright yellow in color, as would be expected if foam remained in those areas, whereas the hinges were uniformly black, as would be expected if as much foam as possible was removed or squeezed from the hinge areas during manufacture.", "The resulting hinges were extremely flexible, so much so that the pad was “floppy” at the hinges, and foldable by about 180 degrees at the hinges.", "In general there are many important distinctions between the present disclosure and any prior art, but some of the important ones are as follows: It should be noted that the terms “first,” “second,” and the like herein do not denote any order or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.", "Similarly, it is noted that the terms “bottom” and “top” are used herein, unless otherwise noted, merely for convenience of description, and are not limited to any one position or spatial orientation.", "In addition, the modifier “about” used in connection with a quantity is inclusive of the stated value and has the meaning dictated by the context (e.g., includes the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity).", "Compounds are described herein using standard nomenclature.", "For example, any position not substituted by an indicated group is understood to have its valency filled by a bond as indicated, or a hydrogen atom A dash (“-”) that is not between two letters or symbols is used to indicate a point of attachment for a substituent.", "For example, —CHO is attached through the carbon of the carbonyl group.", "Unless defined otherwise herein, all percentages herein mean weight percent (“wt.", "%”).", "Furthermore, all ranges disclosed herein are inclusive and combinable (e.g., ranges of “up to about 25 weight percent (wt.", "%), with about 5 wt.", "% to about 20 wt.", "% desired, and about 10 wt.", "% to about 15 wt.", "% more desired,” are inclusive of the endpoints and all intermediate values of the ranges, e.g., “about 5 wt.", "% to about 25 wt.", "%, about 5 wt.", "% to about 15 wt.", "%”, etc.).", "The notation “+/−10% means that the indicated measurement may be from an amount that is minus 10% to an amount that is plus 10% of the stated value.", "Finally, unless defined otherwise, technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as is commonly understood by one of skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.", "While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure.", "In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof.", "Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874841
[ [ "FINFET WITH IMPROVED GATE DIELECTRIC", "A semiconductor device includes a substrate structure comprising a substrate and a plurality of fins on the substrate.", "Each of the fins includes a fluorine-doped top portion." ], [ "1.A semiconductor device comprising: a substrate structure comprising a substrate and a plurality of fins on the substrate, wherein the fins each comprise a fluorine-doped top portion.", "2.The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the fluorine-doped top portion has a depth less than 3 nm and a dopant concentration in a range between 1×1017 and 1×1021 atoms/cm3.3.The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of fins comprises a first fin being a portion of a core device and a second fin being a portion of an I/O device.", "4.The semiconductor device of claim 3, further comprising: a second gate insulating material surrounding an exposed portion of the second fin; and a third gate insulating material surrounding an exposed portion of the first fin and the second gate insulating material.", "5.The semiconductor device of claim 4, wherein the third gate insulating material comprises: an interfacial layer on the exposed portion of the first fin; and a high-k dielectric layer on the interfacial layer and on the second gate insulating material.", "6.The semiconductor device of claim 5, further comprising: an interlayer dielectric layer surrounding the fins." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention relates generally to semiconductor technology.", "Specifically, embodiments of the invention are directed to semiconductor device structures and a method of manufacturing the same.", "As the feature size of metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) continues to decrease, short channel effects have become a critical design issue due to the reduction in the size of the gate length.", "Fin Field-effect transistor (FinFET) devices exhibit excellent gate controllability on channel charge, superior electrostatic control capability, higher drive current and lower power consumption, so that the feature size of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices can be further reduced to increase the integration density in accordance with Moore's Law.", "However, strong electric fields in the proximity of the top corners of the fin may adversely affect gate dielectric integrity, time-dependent dielectric breakdown, negative bias temperature instability and positive bias temperature instability of a FinFET device.", "Thus, the strength of electric fields at the top corners of the fin may impact the reliability and performance of a FinFET device.", "Currently, rounding the corners of the fin is the main technique to improve the reliability of a FinFET device.", "This technique appears to be effective for core FinFET devices, however, it is less effective for input/output (I/O) FinFET devices.", "The present inventor has discovered that, in the conventional method of forming a FinFET device, the filler material disposed between the fins may be removed by etching, causing impurities to migrate into the channel region, thereby reducing the FinFET performance.", "Thus, there is a need to provide a novel fin-type semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof to overcome the above-described problems." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present inventor has discovered that the reliability of a FinFET device can be improved by performing a fluorine ion implantation into the top portion of the fin.", "The novel method of introducing fluorine ions into the fin of a FinFET device results in an improvement in gate dielectric integrity, time-dependent dielectric breakdown, negative bias temperature instability and positive bias temperature instability of the FinFET device.", "Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for manufacturing a fin-type semiconductor device having improved reliability and performance.", "The method includes providing a substrate structure comprising a substrate, a plurality of fins on the substrate, and a hardmask layer on the fins.", "The method further includes forming an insulating layer on the substrate structure covering the fins and the hardmask, removing a portion of the insulating layer by etching to expose the hardmask, removing the hardmask, and performing a fluorine ion implantation into a top portion of the fins.", "In one embodiment, the fluorine ion implantation includes implanting fluorine ions at an energy in a range between 2 KeV and 10 KeV using a dose in a range between 1×10 13 and 1×10 15 atoms/cm 2 .", "In one embodiment, the plurality of fins includes a first fin being a portion of a core device and a second fin being a portion of an I/O device.", "In one embodiment, the method further includes, after the fluorine ion implantation, forming a recess in the insulating layer to expose a portion of the first fin and a portion of the second fin.", "In one embodiment, the method also includes forming a first gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the first fin and a second gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the second fin.", "The first gate structure includes a first gate insulating material on the exposed portion of the first fin and a first gate on the first gate insulating material.", "The second gate structure includes a second gate insulating material on the exposed portion of the second fin and a second gate on the second gate insulating material.", "In one embodiment, the method also includes forming an interlayer dielectric layer surrounding the first and second gate structures, performing a chemical physical polishing process on the interlayer dielectric layer to expose a surface of the first and second gate structures, removing the first gate and the second gate, forming a patterned mask on the second gate structure while exposing the first gate insulating material on the first fin, removing the first gate insulating material to expose a surface of the first fin, removing the patterned mask, and forming a third dielectric material on the exposed surface of the first fin and on the second gate insulating material of the second fin.", "In one embodiment, forming the third dielectric material includes forming an interfacial layer on the exposed surface of the first fin, and forming a high-k dielectric layer on the interface layer of the first fin and on second gate insulating material of the second fin.", "Embodiments of the present invention also provide a semiconductor device.", "The semiconductor device includes a substrate structure having a substrate and a plurality of fins on the substrate.", "The fins each include a fluorine-doped top portion.", "The fluorine-doped top portion has a depth less than 3 nm and a dopant concentration in a range between 1×10 17 and 1×10 21 atoms/cm 3 .", "In one embodiment, the plurality of fins includes a first fin being a portion of a core device and a second fin being a portion of an I/O device.", "In one embodiment, the semiconductor device further includes a second gate insulating material surrounding an exposed portion of the second device, and a third gate insulating material surrounding an exposed portion of the first fin and the second gate insulating material.", "The third gate insulating material may include an interfacial layer on the exposed portion of the first fin, and a high-k dielectric layer on the interfacial layer and on the second gate insulating material.", "In one embodiment, the semiconductor device may further include an interlayer dielectric layer surrounding the fins." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/236,331, filed on Aug. 12, 2016, which claims priority to Chinese patent application No.", "201610018952.5, filed on Jan. 13, 2016, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to semiconductor technology.", "Specifically, embodiments of the invention are directed to semiconductor device structures and a method of manufacturing the same.", "As the feature size of metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) continues to decrease, short channel effects have become a critical design issue due to the reduction in the size of the gate length.", "Fin Field-effect transistor (FinFET) devices exhibit excellent gate controllability on channel charge, superior electrostatic control capability, higher drive current and lower power consumption, so that the feature size of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices can be further reduced to increase the integration density in accordance with Moore's Law.", "However, strong electric fields in the proximity of the top corners of the fin may adversely affect gate dielectric integrity, time-dependent dielectric breakdown, negative bias temperature instability and positive bias temperature instability of a FinFET device.", "Thus, the strength of electric fields at the top corners of the fin may impact the reliability and performance of a FinFET device.", "Currently, rounding the corners of the fin is the main technique to improve the reliability of a FinFET device.", "This technique appears to be effective for core FinFET devices, however, it is less effective for input/output (I/O) FinFET devices.", "The present inventor has discovered that, in the conventional method of forming a FinFET device, the filler material disposed between the fins may be removed by etching, causing impurities to migrate into the channel region, thereby reducing the FinFET performance.", "Thus, there is a need to provide a novel fin-type semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof to overcome the above-described problems.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventor has discovered that the reliability of a FinFET device can be improved by performing a fluorine ion implantation into the top portion of the fin.", "The novel method of introducing fluorine ions into the fin of a FinFET device results in an improvement in gate dielectric integrity, time-dependent dielectric breakdown, negative bias temperature instability and positive bias temperature instability of the FinFET device.", "Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for manufacturing a fin-type semiconductor device having improved reliability and performance.", "The method includes providing a substrate structure comprising a substrate, a plurality of fins on the substrate, and a hardmask layer on the fins.", "The method further includes forming an insulating layer on the substrate structure covering the fins and the hardmask, removing a portion of the insulating layer by etching to expose the hardmask, removing the hardmask, and performing a fluorine ion implantation into a top portion of the fins.", "In one embodiment, the fluorine ion implantation includes implanting fluorine ions at an energy in a range between 2 KeV and 10 KeV using a dose in a range between 1×1013 and 1×1015 atoms/cm2.In one embodiment, the plurality of fins includes a first fin being a portion of a core device and a second fin being a portion of an I/O device.", "In one embodiment, the method further includes, after the fluorine ion implantation, forming a recess in the insulating layer to expose a portion of the first fin and a portion of the second fin.", "In one embodiment, the method also includes forming a first gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the first fin and a second gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the second fin.", "The first gate structure includes a first gate insulating material on the exposed portion of the first fin and a first gate on the first gate insulating material.", "The second gate structure includes a second gate insulating material on the exposed portion of the second fin and a second gate on the second gate insulating material.", "In one embodiment, the method also includes forming an interlayer dielectric layer surrounding the first and second gate structures, performing a chemical physical polishing process on the interlayer dielectric layer to expose a surface of the first and second gate structures, removing the first gate and the second gate, forming a patterned mask on the second gate structure while exposing the first gate insulating material on the first fin, removing the first gate insulating material to expose a surface of the first fin, removing the patterned mask, and forming a third dielectric material on the exposed surface of the first fin and on the second gate insulating material of the second fin.", "In one embodiment, forming the third dielectric material includes forming an interfacial layer on the exposed surface of the first fin, and forming a high-k dielectric layer on the interface layer of the first fin and on second gate insulating material of the second fin.", "Embodiments of the present invention also provide a semiconductor device.", "The semiconductor device includes a substrate structure having a substrate and a plurality of fins on the substrate.", "The fins each include a fluorine-doped top portion.", "The fluorine-doped top portion has a depth less than 3 nm and a dopant concentration in a range between 1×1017 and 1×1021 atoms/cm3.In one embodiment, the plurality of fins includes a first fin being a portion of a core device and a second fin being a portion of an I/O device.", "In one embodiment, the semiconductor device further includes a second gate insulating material surrounding an exposed portion of the second device, and a third gate insulating material surrounding an exposed portion of the first fin and the second gate insulating material.", "The third gate insulating material may include an interfacial layer on the exposed portion of the first fin, and a high-k dielectric layer on the interfacial layer and on the second gate insulating material.", "In one embodiment, the semiconductor device may further include an interlayer dielectric layer surrounding the fins.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein: FIG.", "1 is a simplified flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to various embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; FIG.", "15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention; and FIG.", "16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an intermediate structure of a semiconductor device in a stage of manufacture according to embodiments of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following description, numerous specific details are provided for a thorough understanding of the present invention.", "However, it should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the present invention may be realized without one or more of these details.", "In other examples, features and techniques known in the art will not be described for purposes of brevity.", "It should be understood that the drawings are not drawn to scale, and similar reference numbers are used for representing similar elements.", "Embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to cross-section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the invention.", "The thickness of layers and regions in the drawings may be exaggerated relative to each other for clarity.", "Additionally, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected.", "Thus, embodiments of the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing.", "FIG.", "1 is a simplified flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to various embodiments of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "2 through 16 are schematic cross-sectional views of intermediate stages of a method for manufacturing a fin-type semiconductor device having improved gate dielectric quality according to embodiments of the present invention.", "A method for manufacturing a fin-type semiconductor device will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.", "1 and FIGS.", "2 through 16.In accordance with the present invention, the method may include: S11: providing a substrate structure.", "The substrate structure includes a substrate, one or more fins disposed on the substrate and separated from each other by shallow trench isolations, and a hardmask on the fins.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, the substrate structure includes a substrate (e.g., a silicon substrate) 21, a plurality of fins on the substrate 21, and a hardmask 222 on the fins.", "For example, the fins may include silicon, and the hardmask may include silicon nitride.", "In one embodiment, the fins may include a first set of fins 31 for forming core devices and a second set of fins 32 for forming input/output devices, as shown in FIG.", "2.The first set and second sets of fins each may include any integer number of fins.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "2, two fins are used in the first set and one fin is used in the second set.", "But it is understood that the number is arbitrary chosen for describing the example embodiment and should not be limiting.", "In some embodiments, the substrate structure may also include a pad oxide layer 51 disposed between the hardmask and the top surface of the fins, as shown in FIG.", "2.S12: forming an insulating layer on the substrate structure to cover the fins and the hardmask.", "For example, an insulating layer 24 may be formed using a fluid chemical vapor deposition (FCVP) on the substrate to cover the hardmask and the fins, as shown in FIG.", "3.In some embodiments, prior to forming insulating layer 24, the method may also include forming an oxide liner (not shown) using an oxidation or oxide deposition process.", "The oxide liner can repair damage caused by the etching of the fins.", "The insulating layer is then formed on the oxide liner.", "In some embodiments, after forming the insulating layer, the method may further include performing an annealing process on the substrate structure.", "S13: removing a portion of the insulating layer to expose a surface of the hardmask.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is performed on insulating layer 24 until a surface of the hardmask is exposed.", "S14: removing the hardmask.", "As shown in FIG.", "5, hardmask 222 is removed.", "S15: after the hardmask has been removed, a fluorine ion implantation is performed to implant fluorine ions (atoms) into the top portion of the fins on the substrate structure.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "6, a fluorine ion implantation 60 is performed on the substrate structure to implant fluorine ions into the top portion of the fins to form a fluorine doped portion 26.In some embodiments, the fluorine ion implantation may be performed at an energy in the range between 2 keV and 10 keV and a dose in the range between 1.0×1013 and 1.0×1015 atoms/cm2.In certain embodiments, the doped depth of the fluorine doped region 25 may be less than 3 nm, and the fluorine ion doping concentration in the doped region may be in the range between 1.0×107 and 1.0×1021 atoms/cm3.Thus, a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device is provided according to some embodiments of the present invention.", "Since fluorine ions are implanted into the top portion of the fins, which passivate the fin top portion dangling bonds, in particular, the implanted fluorine ions provide a better passivation of the dangling bonds of the fin top portion of the fins in the core devices, thereby improving the performance and reliability of the semiconductor device.", "In the embodiment, the method may further include forming a recess (trench) in insulating layer 24 to expose at least a portion of the fins, as shown in FIG.", "7.For example, the recess may be formed by performing an etching process on the insulating layer.", "In one embodiment, forming the recess may also include the removal of pad oxide layer 51.In the embodiment, the method may further include forming a first gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the first set of fins and a second gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the second set of fins.", "The first gate structure includes a first gate insulating material and a first gate electrode on the first gate insulating material, and the second gate structure includes a second gate insulating material and a second gate electrode on the second gate insulating material.", "The process of forming the first and second gate structures is described in detail below with reference to FIGS.", "8 to 11.Referring to FIG.", "8, a first gate insulating material 281 is formed on the exposed portion of first set of fins 31, and a second gate insulating material 282 is formed on the exposed portion of second set of fins 32.For example, first and second gate insulating materials 281 and 282 may be silicon dioxide.", "In one embodiment, second gate insulating material 282 has a thickness that is greater than the thickness of first gate insulating material 281.For example, first and second gate insulating materials 281 and 282 may be formed using an oxidation process.", "Thereafter, a patterned gate electrode may be formed on the structure shown in FIG.", "8.Referring to FIG.", "9, a gate electrode material 41 is formed on the substrate structure using a deposition process.", "The gate electrode material may be polysilicon but is not limited thereto.", "Thereafter, a CMP process is performed on gate electrode material 41, and a hardmask (optional) 42 is formed on the planarized gate electrode material.", "Thereafter, the optional hardmask (if any) and the gate electrode material are removed by etching using a patterned mask (e.g., a patterned photoresist, not shown) to form a first gate 411 and a second gate 412, as shown in FIG.", "11.It is noted that the first and second gates are shown as a single entity in some embodiments.", "In other embodiments, the first and second gates are separated from each other.", "Thus, the first gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the first set of fins and the second gate structure surrounding the exposed portion of the second set of fins are formed.", "The first gate structure includes first gate insulating material 281 and first gate 411, and the second gate structure includes second gate insulating material 282 and second gate 412.In the embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include forming an interlayer dielectric layer surrounding the first and second gate structures while exposing a surface of the first and second gate structures.", "The method also includes removing the first and second gates, forming a patterned mask exposing the first gate insulating material of the first set of fins, and removing the first gate insulating material using the patterned mask as a mask to expose a portion of the first set of fins.", "The method further includes removing the patterned mask and forming a third gate insulating material on the exposed portion of the first set of fins and on the second gate insulating material of the second set of fins.", "In some embodiments, the third gate insulating material may include an interfacial layer on the exposed portion of the first set of fins and a high-k (high dielectric constant) dielectric layer on the second gate insulating material of the second set of fins.", "Referring to FIG.", "12, an interlayer dielectric layer 44 surrounds the first and second gate structures but exposes a surface of the first and second gate structures.", "For example, the interlayer dielectric layer can be formed using a deposition process on the structure shown in FIG.", "11.A planarization (e.g., CMP) process is then performed on the interlayer dielectric layer to expose a surface of the first and second gate structures.", "In this step the hardmask 42 if present is also removed.", "Thereafter, first and second gates 411, 412 are removed, as shown in FIG.", "13.Thereafter, a patterned mask 46 is formed on second set of fins 32 while exposing first gate insulating material 281 of the first set of fins.", "The first gate insulating material is then removed to expose a surface of the first set of fins, as shown in FIG.", "14.Thereafter, patterned mask 46 is removed.", "Thereafter, an interfacial layer 48 is formed on the exposed surface of the first set of fins, as shown in FIG.", "15.The interfacial layer may be formed using an oxidation process.", "For example, the interfacial layer may be a silicon dioxide layer.", "The interfacial layer may be used as a part of the gate insulating material.", "In some embodiments, interfacial layer 48 can be formed using a chemical oxidation process.", "In other embodiments, interfacial layer 48 can be formed using an in-situ steam generation (ISSG) process on the exposed surface of first set of fins 31 and on second gate insulating material 282 of second set of fins 32 (not shown).", "Thereafter, a high-k dielectric layer 49 is formed on interfacial layer 48 and second gate insulating material 282 of second set of fins 32.Interfacial layer 48 and high-k dielectric layer 49 together form a third gate insulating material.", "In other embodiments, if the interfacial layer is formed on the exposed surface of the first set of fins and on the second gate insulating material of the second set of fins in previous steps, then the high-k dielectric layer is formed on the interfacial layer in this step.", "Thus, a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device is provided according to the embodiments of the present invention.", "Since the fluorine ions passivate the top portion of the fins, the quality of the interfacial layer (used as a part of the gate insulating material) and the high-k dielectric layer is improved, thereby improving the semiconductor device reliability, in particular, the reliability of the input/output devices.", "In one embodiment, the method may further include performing an annealing process on the substrate structure after forming the third gate insulating material.", "The annealing process may further improves the quality of the gate insulating material on the top portion of the fins and thus the reliability of the gate insulating material.", "Embodiments of the present invention also provide a semiconductor device.", "Referring to FIG.", "16, the semiconductor device may include a substrate structure that includes a substrate 21, a plurality of fins 31, 32 on the substrate, and a fluorine doped portion 26 on the top portion of the fins.", "The fluorine doped region passivate dangling bonds of the top portion of the fins, in particular, the dangling bonds on the interfacial layer of the core devices, thereby improving the device reliability.", "In one embodiment, the fluorine ion implantation may be performed at an energy in the range between 2 keV and 10 keV, and a dose in the range between 1.0×1013 and 1.0×1015 atoms/cm2.In certain embodiments, the fluorine-doped top portion has a depth less than 3 nm, and a dopant concentration is in the range between 5.0×1017 and 5.0×1021 atoms/cm3.Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that other proper process conditions may exist.", "Referring still to FIG.", "16, first set of fins 31 may be used as a part of core devices and second set of fins may be used as a part of input/output (I/O) devices according to one embodiment of the present invention.", "For example, a fin of the first set of fins is a portion of a FinFET device in the core region, and a fin of the second set of fins is a portion of a FinFET device in the input/output region.", "In the embodiment, the semiconductor device may also include a second gate insulating material 282 surrounding an exposed portion of second set of fins 32, and a third gate insulating material surrounding an exposed surface of first set of fins 31 and second gate insulating material 282 of second set of fins 32.In some embodiments, the third gate insulating material may include an interfacial layer 48 formed on the exposed surface of first set of fins 31, and a high-k dielectric layer 49 on interfacial layer 48 and second gate insulating material 282 of second fins 32.In other embodiments, the third gate insulating material may further include an interfacial layer on the exposed surface of the first set of fins and the second gate insulating material of the second set of fins, and a high-k dielectric layer on the interfacial layer.", "In one embodiment, the semiconductor device may also include a gate electrode disposed on the high-k dielectric layer and source/drain regions on opposite sides of the gate electrode (not shown).", "The location, shape of the source/drain regions adjacent to the gate electrode are apparent to those of skill in the art and will not be described herein for the sake of brevity.", "Thus, a method for manufacturing semiconductor device and a semiconductor device manufactured using the method have been described in accordance with the present invention.", "In order not to obscure the inventive concepts of the disclosure, well-known elements and fabrication techniques have not been described in detail.", "In other instances, specific details have been provided in order to provide a thorough understanding of the inventive concepts and a description of the embodiments of the invention.", "However, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the described inventive concepts may be employed without these specific details.", "While the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense.", "Rather, the purpose of the illustrative embodiments is to make the spirit of the present invention be better understood by those skilled in the art.", "In order not to obscure the scope of the invention, many details of well-known processes and manufacturing techniques are omitted.", "Various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reference to the description.", "It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications.", "Furthermore, some of the features of the preferred embodiments of the present invention could be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other features.", "As such, the foregoing description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles of the invention, and not in limitation thereof." ] ]
Patent_15874843
[ [ "VIBRATORY UNLOADING KNEE BRACE FOR KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS", "A knee device and method of stimulating muscles is disclosed.", "The knee device includes a knee brace with a support frame and vibration components.", "The vibration components are connected to the support frame by adjustable arms that allow for precise adjustments in the spatial position and orientation of the vibration components.", "The vibration components can be activated by the ambulation of a user." ], [ "1.A device for the stimulation of muscles, the device comprising: a support frame, the support frame including an intermediate portion extending between an upper bar and a lower bar, the intermediate portion including a primary hinge, the primary hinge being configured to facilitate a bending of the upper bar relative to the lower bar; a first arm assembly, the first arm assembly including a first elongated segment and a second elongated segment, a first end portion of the first elongated segment being adjustably secured to the upper bar, a second end portion of the first elongated segment being adjustably secured to a third end portion of the second elongated segment; and a first vibration component mounted on a fourth end portion of the second elongated segment, the first vibration component being configured to generate vibrations.", "2.The device of claim 1, further comprising a second arm assembly and a second vibration component, wherein the second arm assembly is adjustably secured to the lower bar, and the second vibration component is mounted on the second arm assembly.", "3.The device of claim 2, further comprising a third arm assembly and a third vibration component, wherein the third arm assembly is adjustably secured to the upper bar, and the third vibration component is mounted on the third arm assembly.", "4.The device of claim 1, further comprising a first switch device, wherein the first switch device is activated in response to a compressive force.", "5.The device of claim 4, wherein the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the first switch device.", "6.The device of claim 3, further comprising a first switch device and a second switch device, wherein the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the first switch device, and wherein the second vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the second switch device.", "7.The device of claim 6, wherein the third vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to the activation signal generated from the first switch device.", "8.The device of claim 1, wherein the first segment is capable of both translational motion and rotational motion.", "9.The device of claim 1, wherein the second segment is capable of both translational motion and rotational motion.", "10.The device of claim 1, wherein the first vibration component is capable of rotational motion.", "11.The device of claim 1, wherein the first vibration component has five degrees of freedom.", "12.The device of claim 1, further comprising a first shell, the first shell being attached to the upper bar, the first shell including a first cuff portion sized and dimensioned to wrap around a thigh region of a person.", "13.The device of claim 12, further comprising a second shell, the second shell being attached to the lower bar, the second shell including a second cuff portion sized and dimensioned to wrap around a calf region of a person.", "14.The device of claim 5, further comprising a control unit, the control unit being configured to receive the activation signal and activate a motor in the first vibration component.", "15.A method of providing stimulation to muscles, the method comprising: securing a knee brace to a leg of a user, the knee brace including a first arm assembly connected to a support frame, a vibration component being mounted on an end of the first arm assembly; adjusting the first arm assembly by sliding a first elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a first direction that is substantially perpendicular to a first longitudinal axis of the leg, wherein the first elongated segment is elongated in the first direction; rotating the first vibration component until an end of a stimulator shaft protruding from a housing of the first vibration component directly faces toward a region of the leg where muscle stimulation is desired; compressing a first switch device, thereby activating the first vibration component; and delivering vibrational stimulation to the first region of the leg via the stimulator shaft.", "16.The method of providing stimulation to muscles of claim 15, wherein adjusting the first arm assembly further comprises sliding a second elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the second elongated segment is elongated in the second direction.", "17.The method of providing stimulation to muscles of claim 15, wherein adjusting the first arm assembly further comprises rotating the first elongated segment about a second longitudinal axis of the first elongated segment.", "18.The method of providing stimulation to muscles of claim 17, wherein adjusting the first arm assembly further comprises rotating the second elongated segment about a third longitudinal axis of the second elongated segment, the third longitudinal axis being substantially perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis.", "19.The method of providing stimulation to muscles of claim 15, wherein compressing the first switch device further comprises the user taking at least a first step with the leg on which the knee device is secured.", "20.The method of providing stimulation to muscles of claim 15, further comprising ceasing delivery of the vibrational stimulus when the compressive force on the first switch device is released." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Osteoarthritis (OA) results from hyaline cartilage degeneration.", "OA is the most prevalent systematic disease in the synovial joints like those associated with the knee.", "OA causes pain and muscular activity, as well as issues with proprioception and deficits in knee stability.", "Knee OA, also referred to as KOA, interferes with activities of daily living (ADL) by limiting physical function and, in particular, ambulation.", "Knee OA prevalence has been reported as ranging between 8.1-16%.", "The annual cost of knee OA pain management is about 51 billion in the United States of America alone.", "The burdens on health care resources and on the economy caused by KOA are substantial.", "Various forms of conservative treatments, including medication, physical therapy, and orthotics have been investigated as potential methods of KOA management.", "In some cases, sufferers of KOA are prescribed the use of unloader knee braces.", "For example, individuals with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA) may utilize such braces to help unload the damaged compartment.", "However, these orthoses, despite providing some advantages, can lead to a reduction in the surrounding knee muscular activity.", "This reduction leads to muscle atrophy that results in knee OA progression.", "In order to address this, local muscle vibration has been used to help increase muscle activity, thereby increasing muscular activity and reducing pressure associated with the damaged knee compartment.", "It is important to note that muscle activation timing is an important issue in walking and each muscle group has peak activation during different phases of the gait cycle.", "Therefore, it is anticipated that orthoses configured to activate the suitable part of muscle groups during the appropriate phase of a gait cycle would be useful in rehabilitation of subjects with knee OA.", "There is a need in the art for a vibration orthotics that can be easily applied by a user, worn comfortably throughout the day, and provide such restorative benefits to the physiological regions associated with KOA." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description.", "This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.", "Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.", "In one general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a device for the stimulation of muscles.", "The device includes a support frame, where the support frame includes an intermediate portion extending between an upper bar and a lower bar.", "The intermediate portion further includes a primary hinge, where the primary hinge is configured to facilitate a bending of the upper bar relative to the lower bar.", "The device also includes a first arm assembly, the first arm assembly including a first elongated segment and a second elongated segment.", "A first end portion of the first elongated segment is adjustably secured to the upper bar, and a second end portion of the first elongated segment is adjustably secured to a third end portion of the second elongated segment.", "Furthermore, the device includes a first vibration component mounted on a fourth end portion of the second elongated segment, where the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations.", "The above general aspect may include one or more of the following features.", "In one example, the device also includes a second arm assembly and a second vibration component, where the second arm assembly is adjustably secured to the lower bar, and the second vibration component is mounted on the second arm assembly.", "In some cases, there is a third arm assembly and a third vibration component, where the third arm assembly is adjustably secured to the upper bar, and the third vibration component is mounted on the third arm assembly.", "In another example, the device can include a first switch device, where the first switch device is activated in response to a compressive force.", "In some implementations, the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the first switch device.", "In another implementation, the device includes both a first switch device and a second switch device, where the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the first switch device, and where the second vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the second switch device.", "In some cases, the third vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to the activation signal generated from the first switch device.", "As another example, the first segment may be capable of both translational motion and rotational motion, and/or the second segment can be capable of both translational motion and rotational motion.", "In one implementation, the first vibration component is capable of rotational motion.", "In another implementation, the first vibration component has five degrees of freedom.", "Furthermore, the device may also include a first shell, where the first shell is attached to the upper bar, and the first shell includes a first cuff portion sized and dimensioned to wrap around a thigh region of a person.", "In some cases, the device also has a second shell, where the second shell is attached to the lower bar, and the second shell includes a second cuff portion sized and dimensioned to wrap around a calf region of a person.", "In another example, the device further includes a control unit, the control unit being configured to receive the activation signal and activate a motor in the first vibration component.", "In another general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method of providing stimulation to muscles.", "The method can include securing a knee brace to a leg of a user, the knee brace including a first arm assembly connected to a support frame, and a vibration component being mounted on an end of the first arm assembly.", "The method also includes adjusting the first arm assembly by sliding a first elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a first direction that is substantially perpendicular to a first longitudinal axis of the leg, where the first elongated segment is elongated in the first direction.", "In addition, the method may include rotating the first vibration component until an end of a stimulator shaft protruding from a housing of the first vibration component directly faces toward a region of the leg where muscle stimulation is desired, as well as compressing a first switch device, thereby activating the first vibration component.", "The method can also include delivering vibrational stimulation to the first region of the leg via the stimulator shaft.", "The above general aspect may include one or more of the following features.", "In one example, adjusting the first arm assembly can further include sliding a second elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, where the second elongated segment is elongated in the second direction.", "In another example, adjusting the first arm assembly further includes rotating the first elongated segment about a second longitudinal axis of the first elongated segment.", "In addition, in some implementations, adjusting the first arm assembly further includes rotating the second elongated segment about a third longitudinal axis of the second elongated segment, the third longitudinal axis being substantially perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis.", "In some cases, compressing the first switch device further includes the user taking at least a first step with the leg on which the knee device is secured.", "In another implementation, the method includes ceasing delivery of the vibrational stimulus when the compressive force on the first switch device is released.", "Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the implementations will be, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description.", "It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description and this summary, be within the scope of the implementations, and be protected by the following claims." ], [ "BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) results from hyaline cartilage degeneration.", "OA is the most prevalent systematic disease in the synovial joints like those associated with the knee.", "OA causes pain and muscular activity, as well as issues with proprioception and deficits in knee stability.", "Knee OA, also referred to as KOA, interferes with activities of daily living (ADL) by limiting physical function and, in particular, ambulation.", "Knee OA prevalence has been reported as ranging between 8.1-16%.", "The annual cost of knee OA pain management is about 51 billion in the United States of America alone.", "The burdens on health care resources and on the economy caused by KOA are substantial.", "Various forms of conservative treatments, including medication, physical therapy, and orthotics have been investigated as potential methods of KOA management.", "In some cases, sufferers of KOA are prescribed the use of unloader knee braces.", "For example, individuals with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA) may utilize such braces to help unload the damaged compartment.", "However, these orthoses, despite providing some advantages, can lead to a reduction in the surrounding knee muscular activity.", "This reduction leads to muscle atrophy that results in knee OA progression.", "In order to address this, local muscle vibration has been used to help increase muscle activity, thereby increasing muscular activity and reducing pressure associated with the damaged knee compartment.", "It is important to note that muscle activation timing is an important issue in walking and each muscle group has peak activation during different phases of the gait cycle.", "Therefore, it is anticipated that orthoses configured to activate the suitable part of muscle groups during the appropriate phase of a gait cycle would be useful in rehabilitation of subjects with knee OA.", "There is a need in the art for a vibration orthotics that can be easily applied by a user, worn comfortably throughout the day, and provide such restorative benefits to the physiological regions associated with KOA.", "SUMMARY This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description.", "This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.", "Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.", "In one general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a device for the stimulation of muscles.", "The device includes a support frame, where the support frame includes an intermediate portion extending between an upper bar and a lower bar.", "The intermediate portion further includes a primary hinge, where the primary hinge is configured to facilitate a bending of the upper bar relative to the lower bar.", "The device also includes a first arm assembly, the first arm assembly including a first elongated segment and a second elongated segment.", "A first end portion of the first elongated segment is adjustably secured to the upper bar, and a second end portion of the first elongated segment is adjustably secured to a third end portion of the second elongated segment.", "Furthermore, the device includes a first vibration component mounted on a fourth end portion of the second elongated segment, where the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations.", "The above general aspect may include one or more of the following features.", "In one example, the device also includes a second arm assembly and a second vibration component, where the second arm assembly is adjustably secured to the lower bar, and the second vibration component is mounted on the second arm assembly.", "In some cases, there is a third arm assembly and a third vibration component, where the third arm assembly is adjustably secured to the upper bar, and the third vibration component is mounted on the third arm assembly.", "In another example, the device can include a first switch device, where the first switch device is activated in response to a compressive force.", "In some implementations, the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the first switch device.", "In another implementation, the device includes both a first switch device and a second switch device, where the first vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the first switch device, and where the second vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to an activation signal generated by the second switch device.", "In some cases, the third vibration component is configured to generate vibrations in response to the activation signal generated from the first switch device.", "As another example, the first segment may be capable of both translational motion and rotational motion, and/or the second segment can be capable of both translational motion and rotational motion.", "In one implementation, the first vibration component is capable of rotational motion.", "In another implementation, the first vibration component has five degrees of freedom.", "Furthermore, the device may also include a first shell, where the first shell is attached to the upper bar, and the first shell includes a first cuff portion sized and dimensioned to wrap around a thigh region of a person.", "In some cases, the device also has a second shell, where the second shell is attached to the lower bar, and the second shell includes a second cuff portion sized and dimensioned to wrap around a calf region of a person.", "In another example, the device further includes a control unit, the control unit being configured to receive the activation signal and activate a motor in the first vibration component.", "In another general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method of providing stimulation to muscles.", "The method can include securing a knee brace to a leg of a user, the knee brace including a first arm assembly connected to a support frame, and a vibration component being mounted on an end of the first arm assembly.", "The method also includes adjusting the first arm assembly by sliding a first elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a first direction that is substantially perpendicular to a first longitudinal axis of the leg, where the first elongated segment is elongated in the first direction.", "In addition, the method may include rotating the first vibration component until an end of a stimulator shaft protruding from a housing of the first vibration component directly faces toward a region of the leg where muscle stimulation is desired, as well as compressing a first switch device, thereby activating the first vibration component.", "The method can also include delivering vibrational stimulation to the first region of the leg via the stimulator shaft.", "The above general aspect may include one or more of the following features.", "In one example, adjusting the first arm assembly can further include sliding a second elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, where the second elongated segment is elongated in the second direction.", "In another example, adjusting the first arm assembly further includes rotating the first elongated segment about a second longitudinal axis of the first elongated segment.", "In addition, in some implementations, adjusting the first arm assembly further includes rotating the second elongated segment about a third longitudinal axis of the second elongated segment, the third longitudinal axis being substantially perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis.", "In some cases, compressing the first switch device further includes the user taking at least a first step with the leg on which the knee device is secured.", "In another implementation, the method includes ceasing delivery of the vibrational stimulus when the compressive force on the first switch device is released.", "Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the implementations will be, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description.", "It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description and this summary, be within the scope of the implementations, and be protected by the following claims.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord with the present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation.", "In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements.", "FIG.", "1 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of a knee brace device; FIG.", "2 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of a knee brace device; FIG.", "3 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of joints of a knee brace device; FIG.", "4 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of joints of a knee brace device; FIG.", "5 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of vibration components of a knee brace device; FIG.", "6 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of vibration components of a knee brace device; FIG.", "7 is an illustration of an implementation of a vibration component of a knee brace device and its corresponding arm assembly; FIG.", "8 is an illustration of an implementation of a vibration component of a knee brace device; FIG.", "9 is an illustration of an implementation of a vibration component of a knee brace device; FIG.", "10 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of switch components of a knee brace device; FIG.", "11 is an isometric illustration of an implementation of switch components of a knee brace device; and FIG.", "12 is a flow chart depicting an implementation of a method of providing stimulation to muscles using the disclosed knee brace device.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant teachings.", "However, it should be apparent that the present teachings may be practiced without such details.", "In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present teachings.", "The following detailed description is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the methods and devices disclosed in exemplary implementations of the present disclosure.", "For purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure.", "However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required to practice the disclosed exemplary implementations.", "Descriptions of specific exemplary implementations are provided only as representative examples.", "Various modifications to the exemplary implementations will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations and applications without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.", "The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown, but is to be accorded the widest possible scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.", "As will be discussed herein, systems and methods directed to a knee joint brace device (“knee device”) for treatment of osteoarthritis are disclosed.", "The systems and methods may include the usage of a knee brace or cage as well as vibration components for individuals who have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee or who otherwise suffer from knee joint-related conditions.", "Osteoarthritis is among the most common systematic conditions associated with the joints of the knee.", "This condition is known to be a destructive joint disease that causes pain and contributes to functional problems such as losses in muscle strength, depth sense, and muscular stability.", "Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) has a major effect on daily physical functions and can lead to mild to severe functional limitations.", "KOA is caused by the destruction of joint cartilage, changes to the bones beneath the cartilage, osteophyte growth at bone edges, and weakness of muscles around the joint.", "Generally, it is understood that there are two kinds of sensory fibers that are different in respect to the kind of potentials they generate: Type I (including Ia and Ib), and Type II.", "The Type Ia fibers are the largest and fastest fibers, and they fire when the muscle is stretching.", "Type Ia fibers essentially supply proprioceptive or balance information about the rate of change of its respective muscle.", "The muscles and sensory fibers surrounding the knee play an important role as active stabilizers and are crucial in protection of the joint structures against damaging influences.", "This is true in particular with respect to the Type Ia muscle fibers.", "In people suffering from knee osteoarthritis, a weakness in the quadriceps femoris muscle is evident.", "The muscle in individuals with knee osteoarthritis is about 20-40 percent weaker relative to healthy people of the same age and gender.", "The weakness in the quadriceps femoris muscle generally leads to an increase in joint loading of the knee, which frequently results in further damage to joint cartilage.", "In many cases, the symptoms of the condition can arise from a failure in strengthening the muscles around the knee joint.", "Thus, stimulation of afferent Type Ia sensory fibers and/or other parts of the surrounding muscle provides a means of increasing the functionality of these muscles.", "As will be discussed herein, one approach that can provide such beneficial stimulation is the transmission of localized vibration, or physical oscillations, through the outer body to the muscles.", "For example, if vibration is transmitted to a muscle tendon while walking, the activity level of the associated muscle will increase.", "Thus, a device in which vibration can be provided to the muscles around the knee can help reduce the detrimental effects of osteoarthritis.", "The knee device disclosed here can be used to provide all-day reliable and localized stimulation of afferent type Ia sensory fibers in individuals suffering from knee osteoarthritis.", "Referring to FIGS.", "1 and 2, one implementation of a knee device is illustrated.", "FIG.", "1 presents an isometric view of an implementation of the knee device (“device”) 100, and FIG.", "2 presents a similar view with dotted lines to indicate portions of the device 100 that are not visible in FIG.", "1.A set of axes are also provided for purposes of reference, identified as a longitudinal axis 170, a lateral axis 180, and a vertical axis 190.As will be discussed below, the device 100 can comprise various multiple distinct portions or components that are joined together or otherwise associated with one another.", "In the implementation of FIGS.", "1 and 2, device 100 can be seen to include a support frame 110, a plurality of vibration components 120, a first shell 130, a second shell 140, a plurality of joint mechanisms (“joints”) 150, and a switch portion 160.For purposes of reference, the support frame 110 can be understood to include three general portions: an upper strap or upper bar 112, a lower strap or lower bar 114, and an intermediate joint portion (“intermediate portion”) 116.In one implementation, the intermediate portion 116 can be disposed or extend between the upper bar 112 and the lower bar 114.Furthermore, in some implementations, the upper bar 112, the intermediate portion 116, and the lower bar 114 can be connected or joined such that they form a substantially continuous and elongated portion that provide a resilient support structure to the device 100 and permit the stable attachment of additional components, as will be described below.", "For consistency and convenience, directional adjectives are employed throughout this detailed description corresponding to the illustrated implementations.", "The term “longitudinal” as used throughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to a direction extending a length of device 100.In some cases, for example, a longitudinal direction may be understood to extend in a manner substantially parallel to longitudinal axis 170, or between a first edge 102 (running along the top portion of the first shell 130) and a second edge 104 (running along the bottom portion of the second shell 140).", "Also, the term “lateral” as used throughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to a direction extending a width of device 100.In one case, a lateral direction may be understood to extend in a manner substantially parallel to lateral axis 180, or between a first side 106 and a second side 108 of device 100.Furthermore, the term “vertical” as used throughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to a direction generally perpendicular to both the lateral direction and the longitudinal direction, or the direction substantially parallel to the vertical axis 190.In addition, the vertical direction extends in a direction extending between an outer side 192 and an inner side 194.For purposes of reference, outer side 192 refers generally to the side or surface that faces outward or away from the leg, and inner side 194 refers generally to the side or surface that faces inward or toward the leg when the device 100 is worn.", "Thus, inner side 194 includes surfaces or portions which can contact or be pressed against portions of the leg on which device 100 is worn.", "In different implementations, the device 100 includes provisions for comfortable and stable use of the device.", "For example, first shell 130 can be applied to or worn around a thigh region or upper part of a human leg (above the knee).", "In addition, second shell 140 can be applied to or worn around a calf region or lower part of a human leg (below the knee).", "In some implementations, the curvature associated with the of the first shell 130 may correspond generally to the average curvature of an adult thigh, and the curvature of the second shell 140 may correspond generally to the average curvature of an adult calf, such as a “universal sizing design” that allows adjustments in the size of the device.", "However, in other implementations, each device can be customized and built according to the size and proportions of a specific individual, thereby maximizing comfort and wearability.", "In some other implementations, there may be standard sizes corresponding to gender and common anatomical proportions, such as thigh and calf circumferences and lengths.", "For example, the device can be made available in an extra-small (XS), small (S), medium (M), large (L), extra-large (XL), double-extra-large (2XL), and so forth.", "The sizes can be varied based on whether the device is intended for a female or male, or children.", "In different implementations, each shell can include an anchor portion 122 and a cuff portion 124.Anchor portion 122 can be understood to include the portion that is substantially flat, or lies in a generally horizontal plane.", "Anchor portion 122 may be mechanically secured, joined, connected, or adhesively attached to a portion of the upper bar 112 of the support frame 110.In addition, it can be seen that for each shell, cuff portion 124 extends outward and upward with a substantially concave inner surface.", "In some implementations, cuff portion 124 can vary in dimensions and shape as discussed above with respect to sizing.", "Furthermore, the inner surface and opposite facing outward surface of each shell can be substantially smooth, as shown in FIGS.", "1 and 2.In other implementations, either or both of the inner surface and outer surface of the shell can include undulations, bumps, curvature, or other texturing patterns that can promote comfort, grip, and fit of the shell along the leg.", "Furthermore, in some implementations, there may be cushioning or a hygienic replaceable insert that can be disposed between the leg and the inner surface of the shell when the device is worn.", "It should be understood that in different implementations the device 100 can be secured to a leg using straps, buckles, clasps, hook and loop material, magnets, compression spring loading, or other such components.", "The material of the shells can include one or more of polyethylene, cross-linked polyethylene, polyurethane and reticulated polyurethane, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), woven and nonwoven fabric composites, elastic materials such as spandex, materials providing excellent compression and can absorb muscles shocks in physical activity, microfibers, cotton, elastane, and materials that are skin-friendly, breathable and provide softness, as well as other materials known to provide water, humidity, fungus, and abrasion resistance.", "As noted above, different components of the device 100 can be secured to portions of the support frame 110.In FIGS.", "1 and 2, it can be seen that the first shell 130 is disposed above and attached to upper bar 112 and the second shell 140 is attached to lower bar 114.Each bar is generally an elongated member; for example, upper bar 112 extends between first edge 102 and the intermediate portion 116.Furthermore, lower bar 114 extends between intermediate portions 116 and second edge 104.The overall length of the device 100 can be understood to extend between first edge 102 and the end of the switch portion 160, where the switch portion 160 may be adjustable in length (see FIGS.", "9 and 10).", "In different implementations, the device 100 includes provisions for accommodating the natural motion and movements of a leg.", "Referring now to FIGS.", "3 and 4, an isolated magnified view of the intermediate portion 116 is depicted.", "FIG.", "3 presents an isometric view of an implementation of the intermediate portion 116, and FIG.", "4 presents a similar view with dotted lines to indicate interior components of the intermediate portion 116 that are not visible in FIG.", "3.As shown in FIGS.", "3 and 4, the intermediate portion 116 includes a primary gear hinge (“primary hinge”) 310 disposed between a first hinge joint (“first hinge”) 320 and a second hinge joint (“second hinge”) 330.It can be understood that the primary hinge 310 is configured to facilitate an elastic bending of the knee brace for accommodating the natural range of motion of a leg during use.", "Thus, in one implementation, the primary hinge works to permit repeated bending of the knee brace such that the upper bar and the lower bar can move relative to one another.", "The support frame can be understood to extend in a generally linear or flat initial position and transition to a variety of bent or curved positions where an angle between the upper bar and lower bar can vary widely.", "In some implementations, the primary hinge 310 can include a housing 340 with an inner cover 342 and an outer cover 344.As shown in FIG.", "4, the housing 340 can support and/or protect the engagement and motion between a first gear 350 and a second gear 360.Each gear includes a plurality of teeth which are intermeshed with the teeth of the opposing gear, permitting pivotable motion.", "It will be appreciated that the housing 340 is shown as an example, and the housing can include different shapes and sizes depending on the application and user.", "In one implementation, the teeth of the first gear 350 and the teeth second gear 360 are intermeshed and engaged with one another in all positions of relative rotation between the arms.", "In some cases, this arrangement helps prevent injury of the knee by guiding the knee into positions where there is less potential for or a likelihood of traumatization of the knee, especially undesired hyperextension.", "In addition, in different implementations, first hinge 320 and second hinge 330 can be configured to provide valgus and varus adjustment to fit individual's alignment.", "The first hinge 320 is disposed between the primary hinge 310 and the first shell 130 associated with the thigh region, and second hinge 330 is disposed between the primary hinge 310 and the second shell 140 associated with the calf region.", "Thus, the inclusion of each hinge at their respective positions allows the brace to be adjusted to accommodate an individual's gait or stance.", "For example, the first hinge 320 and second hinge 330 can provide protection in conditions known as a valgus deformity (“knock-kneed”), an outward rotation of the tibia on the femur.", "The hinges can also provide protection for individuals with a condition known as a varus deformity, an inward rotation of the tibia, resulting in a leg that appears bowed out (“bowlegged”).", "Both conditions can lead to misalignments of the hip or knee, potentially causing injury and knee pain.", "In some implementations, the hinges can help reduce the effects of these conditions.", "Referring now to FIGS.", "5-8, additional details are provided with respect to the vibration features of the device 100.In FIGS.", "5 and 6, an isolated magnified view of a central portion of the device 100 is depicted.", "FIG.", "5 presents an isometric view of an implementation of the central portion, and FIG.", "6 presents a similar view with dotted lines to indicate components of the central portion that are not visible in FIG.", "5.In different implementations, the device 100 includes a plurality of vibration components.", "As noted earlier, in one implementation, the device 100 includes three vibration components.", "However, in other implementations, there may be additional or fewer vibration components included in the device.", "In FIGS.", "5 and 6, it can be seen that device 100 includes a first vibration component (“first component”) 510, a second vibration component (“second component”) 520, and a third vibration component (“third component”) 530.Each vibration component is secured to an arm assembly.", "Furthermore, it can be seen that first component 510 is secured to a first arm assembly (“first arm”) 512, second component 520 is secured to a second arm assembly (“second arm”) 522, and third component 530 is secured to a third arm assembly (“third arm”) 532.In other implementations, there may be additional vibration components secured to additional arms, or there may be more than one vibration component secured to a single arm.", "In addition, in some other implementations, there can be vibration components disposed on the support frame and/or attached to the shells.", "In different implementations, the first component 510 is configured for stimulation of the Quadriceps Femoris Muscle region.", "Thus, this vibrator component is located above the knee joint and in the front when the device is worn.", "In addition, the second component 520 is configured for stimulation of the Hamstring Muscle region.", "This vibrator is associated with the region above the knee joint and in the back when the device is worn.", "Furthermore, the third component 530 is configured to stimulate the Gastrocnemius Muscle region.", "Therefore, this vibrator is located below the knee joint and in the back when the device is worn.", "In different implementations, the device can include provisions for maneuvering and adjusting the position of each vibration component relative to the leg.", "As identified above, vibration components can be mounted on various types of moveable and adjustable arms in some implementations.", "For purposes of simplicity, only one arm (third arm 532) will be discussed herein.", "However, it should be understood that in some implementations the features and properties of third arm 532 are applicable to other arm assemblies.", "Thus, first arm 512 and/or second arm 522 can be understood to be substantially similar in function and design as third arm 532 in one implementation.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, in one implementation, third arm 532 includes a first elongated bar segment (“first segment”) 710 and a second elongated bar segment (“second segment”) 720.The first segment 710 and/or second segment 720 can include an elongated bar or rod, or other substantially rigid elongated shape.", "In one implementation, each segment may include a substantially round cross-section, though some portions can include variations in size and shape (for example, see looped portion of the receiving end 714 identified below).", "In one implementation, a segment may include other cross-sectional shapes such as pentagonal, hexagonal, or other shapes.", "In addition, in some cases, some surface portions of a segment can include texturing that allows an easier grip by a user.", "For purposes of reference, first segment 710 can be understood to extend between a first end portion or an anchoring end portion (“anchoring end”) 712 and a second end portion or receiving end portion (“receiving end”) 714, where the anchoring end 712 is movably connected or adjustably secured through a base portion 790 to the lower bar 114.For purposes of this description, the terms adjustably secured or movably connected refer to a stable, firm attachment or link between two components or parts, where at least one of the two parts can continue to move relative to the second part while the two parts are secured to one another.", "In addition, with respect to the adjustably secured components described herein, if a part is moved or adjusted, it is configured to remain generally stable in the new position and orientation until moved again by an external force.", "Furthermore, in some implementations, base portion 790 is associated with, contains, or is attached to a control unit that operates in conjunction with the switch components (see FIGS.", "10 and 11).", "It should be understood that in some implementations, the anchoring end 712 is inserted into and secured within base portion 790 via a through-hole aperture or channel.", "In other implementations, the anchoring end 712 can be secured through any include other attachment devices or connectors that permit translational movement and/or rotational motion (either clockwise or counter-clockwise) of the first segment 710.In addition, the receiving end 714 can include provisions for movable connection to the second segment 720.For example, in FIG.", "7, receiving end 714 includes a looped portion with a through-hole aperture that is sized and dimensioned to snugly receive a portion of second segment 720.In other implementations, the receiving end 714 may not include a looped portion, and instead can any include other attachment devices or connectors that permit translational movement and/or rotational motion (either clockwise or counter-clockwise) of the second segment 720.Similarly, the second segment 720 can be understood to extend between a third end portion or connecting portion 722 and a fourth end portion or mounting portion 724.The connecting portion 722 is the portion of the second segment 720 that is sized and dimensioned to slide snugly into the aperture formed in the looped portion of the receiving end 714 identified above.", "Furthermore, mounting portion 724 at the opposite end of the second segment 720 is configured to be inserted and/or secured with the vibration component.", "Thus, a component housing 770 can be seen in FIG.", "7 to which the mounting portion 724 is movably connected.", "Extending outward from the component housing 770 is a stimulator portion 772 of the third component 530, which will be discussed in further detail with reference to FIGS.", "8 and 9 below.", "In different implementations, the device can include provisions for allowing adjustment of the spatial position and/or orientation of the vibration components.", "In some implementations, the connection between each segment may be loosened to permit a user to reposition one or more portions of the arm or vibration component.", "For example, two portions may be connected by a screw mechanism, such that a user is able to unfasten and fasten the connections to allow for adjustments.", "In one implementation, some portions of the segments can include threading and/or threaded holes.", "In some implementations, there can be any other mechanism that is configured to allow the secure connection between two portions as well as linear and/or rotational motion.", "In different implementations, the wide range of spatial adjustments noted above are made possible through the arm mechanism and connection of each portion, as described above, which allows each vibration component to achieve five degrees of freedom, including three degrees of freedom achieved by rotational motion and two degrees of freedom achieved by translational motion.", "In FIG.", "7, a magnified isolated view of a vibration component and associated arm is depicted.", "It can be seen that first segment 710 is configured to move translationally back and forth (or up and down) in a first direction 702 substantially parallel to the lateral axis 180.In addition, the first segment 710 is capable of rotational motion about a fixed axis (here, its longitudinal axis 706, or the direction along which first segment 710 is elongated).", "Thus the first segment 710 can move or turn 360 degrees relative to the base portion 790, as represented by arrow 704.In addition, second segment 720 is configured to move translationally back and forth (or up and down) in a second direction 752 substantially parallel to the vertical axis 190.In addition, the second segment 720 is capable of rotational motion about a fixed axis (here, its longitudinal axis 756, or the direction along which second segment 720 is elongated).", "In other words, the second segment 720 can move or turn 360 degrees relative to the first segment 710, as represented by arrow 754.Furthermore, the component housing 770 is capable of rotational motion relative to the second segment 720, as represented by arrow 756.Thus, in some implementations, the position of each vibration components can be understood to be highly adjustable, and can be repositioned over a wide range with great sensitivity.", "As noted earlier, the vibration components are configured to generate vibrations.", "In some implementations, the vibrations generated by the vibration components are of generally lower frequencies.", "In different implementations, the vibration components can be configured to produce vibrations mechanically, electromagnetically, or by shockwave or ultrasound.", "Furthermore, in some cases, the vibrations are generated mechanically and applied locally to the injured knee in a manner designed to help stimulate the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) thereby increasing the blood supply to the afflicted knee and associated tendons, muscles and joints and thereby accelerating recovery.", "In addition, to reduce knee pain, the knee and the region around the knee can be contacted with the vibrating component as applied by the device.", "Thus, rather than the use of cumbersome, require time, and often expensive whole body vibration apparatuses, the device presented here allows for portability and easy, comfortable usability in different environments and during different everyday activities.", "The vibrational benefits can be provided as part of a person's normal routine, with little interference in their day-to-day schedule.", "For purposes of clarity, FIGS.", "8 and 9 depict an isolated view of one implementation of a vibration component.", "As noted above, the vibration components are configured to produce mild to moderate vibrations.", "In some cases, the vibration intensity may be comparable to those produced by a vibrating mobile telephone or a massage device.", "However, in different implementations, the level of vibration intensity can be adjusted and fine-tuned for an individual's needs and comfort.", "Thus, the frequency of vibration may range from approximately 5 to 500 oscillations per second (i.e., around 5 to 500 Hz).", "In one implementation, the frequency of vibration applied to the knee region is generally accepted to range between 10 Hz and 50 Hz.", "In some implementations, the intensity may be adjusted by a control panel available directly on the device.", "However, in other implementations, the device may include an option for a remote control or a web or mobile application through which the vibration settings may be adjusted.", "In different implementations, the mechanism for the vibration itself can be achieved using known various technologies and located in the component housing 770.As one example, a motor can drive a gear on which is set a weight mounted off-center on the gear.", "When the motor spins the gear/weight off-center combination can cause a vibration.", "In another example, presented in FIGS.", "8 and 9, the mechanism is dependent on a stepper motor 800 (either five-phase or two-phase), which generally includes a stator and rotor.", "The rotor can be made up of three components: a first rotor, a second rotor, and a permanent magnet.", "The circular motion of the motor can then be translated into linear movement at the stimulator shaft portion (“stimulator portion”) 772, which extends through the component housing 770 and protrudes outside of the housing to provide a vibrational contact surface with the leg or with the clothing covering the leg.", "In other words, the stimulator portion 772 can include an elongated rod or bar which projects from the outer surface of the housing, providing a vibrating surface which can be arranged to contact the targeted region of the knee.", "In some cases, a vibration nozzle might be used.", "However, it should be understood that in other implementations, any other type of motor can be used to generate the requisite vibration.", "In addition, the size of the vibration components can vary in different implementations.", "For example, the component housing can be approximately between 2 and 10 cm in length, height, and/or width.", "The stimulator portion 772 may protrude from the housing by approximately 0.5 to 50 mm, and have a diameter of approximately 0.5 to 2 cm.", "However, in other implementations, the dimensions of the housing and the stimulator portion can vary widely, beyond the ranges identified, in order to best accommodate the needs of each individual.", "In different implementations, the vibration components may be battery powered.", "The batteries can be rechargeable and/or replaceable.", "In one implementation, the device may include an adaptor that can allow all of the vibration components to be recharged by a single connection to an electrical power source.", "In some other implementations, the device can be powered by an electrical source or run on both battery and electrical power.", "The device can also include provisions for activation of the different vibration components.", "Referring now to FIGS.", "10 and 11, additional details are provided with respect to the activation or switch portion of the knee device.", "In FIGS.", "10 and 11, an isolated magnified view of the switch portion 160 of a knee device is depicted.", "FIG.", "10 presents an isometric view of an implementation of the switch portion, and FIG.", "11 presents a similar view with dotted lines to indicate components of the switch portion that are not visible in FIG.", "11.As shown in FIGS.", "10 and 11, in some implementations, the knee device can include a first switch device (“first switch”) 1010 and a second switch device (“second switch”) 1020.In one implementation, each switch includes a plurality of terminals.", "In FIGS.", "10 and 11, second switch 1020 is shown to include a first terminal 1030 and a second terminal 1040 disposed along an upper surface 1050 of the switch.", "It should be understood in one implementation, each switch can include at least two individual terminals.", "Furthermore, in some implementations, each terminal is connected to a wire that allows electrical current to travel between the switch and a corresponding control unit.", "Thus, the first terminal 1030 is connected to first wires 1032 and the second terminal 1040 is connected to second wires 1042.The wires can be highly resilient and flexible, as well as substantially thin or narrow.", "A switch can be connected via wires to an electric control system or transmitter, as referred to in FIG.", "7 (see control unit in base portion 790).", "In different implementations, each switch can be configured to provide feedback to and activation of different vibration components.", "In the device presented here, the first switch 1010 is connected to a control unit that is further connected to the first component and the second component.", "Thus, activation of the first switch 1010 results in an “on” state for both the first component and the second component.", "Similarly, the second switch 1020 is connected to a control unit that is further connected to the third component.", "Activation of the second switch 1020 results in an “on” state for the third component.", "Furthermore, in some implementations, a connection or wire for transmitting commands to the vibration component extends between the control unit and the vibration component via a hollow interior of the arm assembly, or along the outer surface of the arm assembly.", "In some implementations, each switch can include an activation mechanism.", "For example, in FIGS.", "10 and 11, the first switch 1010 includes a stepper mechanism 1060.Thus, the switch can be positioned along a person's foot (i.e., beneath the sole of the foot or shoe) and contact with the floor can compress the stepper mechanism and activate the switch.", "In cases where the switch is placed on the bottom of the shoe, various adhesives or connective mechanisms may be used.", "In some implementations, the switch includes an “on-off” button or lever which has a sensitivity allowing it to be compressed, and thereby is activated by the pressure typically applied under a person's foot during ambulation.", "In one implementation, the switch is a micro-switch.", "As an example, in some implementations, the first switch can be positioned in a heel region via adhesive, and the second switch can be positioned toward a forefoot region by a hook and loop material.", "The adhesive can be reusable or replaceable.", "In this example, the first component and the second component will be active or “on” during the periods in which a person's heel is on the floor and pressure is exerted on the first switch.", "Similarly, the third component will be active or “on” during the periods in which the person's forefoot is on the floor and pressure is exerted on the second switch.", "In everyday use, because a person's feet are initially flat on the floor, both microswitches would be activated from the weight of the person.", "Each wire would then carry a signal to the corresponding control unit which indicates that each microswitch is activated and turns on the three vibration components.", "During the walking process, when a portion of a foot near a microswitch is not on the ground, there will be insufficient pressure on that microswitch to activate it.", "As any foot portion is placed on the ground, the pressure then on the corresponding microswitch will activate it.", "Each microswitch, upon activation, induces the wire to carry a signal to the corresponding control unit indicating that that the specified microswitch is currently activated; this signal continues as long as that microswitch remains activated by the pressure.", "Thus, in some implementations, the duration of the activation and corresponding vibration is related to the stance phase—the time period during which a particular portion of the foot is supporting the body above it.", "The duration of the non-activation corresponds to the swing phase—the time period during which the particular portion of the foot is swinging or free from (not in contact with) the walking surface.", "Referring now to FIG.", "12, a flow chart depicting an implementation of a method of stimulating muscles, or providing stimulation to muscles, is shown.", "Generally, the method can include a first step 1210 of securing a knee brace to a leg of a user, where the knee brace includes a first arm assembly connected to a support frame, and a vibration component is mounted on an end of the first arm assembly, as well as a second step 1220 of adjusting the first arm assembly by sliding a first elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a first direction that is substantially perpendicular to a first longitudinal axis of the leg, where the first elongated segment is elongated in the first direction.", "As described above, the knee brace can include a plurality of arm assemblies; thus, while only one arm assembly is identified in the first step 1210, it should be understood that additional arm assemblies can be adjusted.", "In addition, the method includes a third step 1230 of rotating the first vibration component until an end of a stimulator shaft protruding from a housing of the first vibration component directly faces toward a region of the leg where muscle stimulation is desired, a fourth step 1240 of compressing a first switch device, thereby activating the first vibration component, and a fifth step 1250 of delivering vibrational stimulation to the first region of the leg via the stimulator shaft.", "In some implementations, the method can include additional steps or features.", "For example, the step of adjusting the first arm assembly can further include sliding a second elongated segment of the first arm assembly along a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction, where the second elongated segment is elongated in the second direction.", "In addition, the step of adjusting the first arm assembly can also include rotating the first elongated segment about a second longitudinal axis of the first elongated segment.", "In another implementation, adjusting the first arm assembly further includes rotating the second elongated segment about a third longitudinal axis of the second elongated segment, the third longitudinal axis being substantially perpendicular to the first longitudinal axis.", "Furthermore, in some implementations, compressing the first switch device further includes the user taking at least a first step with the leg on which the knee device is secured.", "In one implementation, the method can also include ceasing delivery of the vibrational stimulus when the compressive force on the first switch device is released.", "While various implementations have been described, the description is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting, and it is understood that many more implementations and implementations are possible that are within the scope of the implementations.", "Although many possible combinations of features are shown in the accompanying figures and discussed in this detailed description, many other combinations of the disclosed features are possible.", "Any feature of any implementation may be used in combination with or substituted for any other feature or element in any other implementation unless specifically restricted.", "Therefore, it will be understood that any of the features shown and/or discussed in the present disclosure may be implemented together in any suitable combination.", "Accordingly, the implementations are not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.", "Also, various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the attached claims.", "While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein.", "It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all applications, modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the present teachings.", "Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact.", "They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.", "The scope of protection is limited solely by the claims that now follow.", "That scope is intended and should be interpreted to be as broad as is consistent with the ordinary meaning of the language that is used in the claims when interpreted in light of this specification and the prosecution history that follows and to encompass all structural and functional equivalents.", "Notwithstanding, none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails to satisfy the requirement of Sections 101, 102, or 103 of the Patent Act, nor should they be interpreted in such a way.", "Any unintended embracement of such subject matter is hereby disclaimed.", "Except as stated immediately above, nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims.", "It will be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.", "Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.", "The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.", "An element proceeded by “a” or “an” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.", "The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure.", "It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.", "In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various examples for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.", "This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.", "Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed example.", "Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter." ] ]
Patent_15874846
[ [ "METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GENOMIC VISUALIZATION", "A method and system for correlating genome data with EMR/MR data is disclosed herein.", "The method includes identifying a plurality of sources of genome data.", "The method also includes generating an index file for each of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes transmitting each index file to a central depository.", "The method also includes identifying electronic medical record (EMR) and/or personal health record (PHR) data at each source of the plurality of sources of genome data.", "The method also includes correlating each genome file of the plurality of genome files with a corresponding EMR/MR data." ], [ "1.A method for correlating genome data from a subject with one or more of electronic medical record (EMR) data and personal health record (PHR) data from the subject, the method comprising: receiving, at a distributed server, via an internet network connection, a genome file specific to the subject, the genome file comprising at least a variant call file (VCF); indexing and encrypting, by the distributed server, the subject's genome file, the subject's genome file being associated with a first De-identified Identifier (DID); generating and encrypting, by the distributed server, an index file for the genome file; transmitting, via the internet network connection, one or more of the genome file and the index file to a central depository for storage thereby; receiving, at the central depository, via the internet network connection, the one or more of EMR and PHR data for the subject; generating, at the central depository, a second DID for the received one or more of EMR and PHR data, where the second DID corresponds to the first DID; and correlating at least one of the genome file and the index file of the subject with one or more corresponding EMR and PHR data; wherein an algorithm utilized to generate the DID for the genome file is also used for generating the DID for the one or more of the EMR and PHR data allowing for matching based on the DID.", "2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more of EMR and PHR data comprises phenotypic data.", "3.The method according to claim 1, wherein the index file is searchable at a chromosome level, exome level, gene level, allele panel, or at an individual SNP or allele level.", "4.The method according to claim 1, wherein the genome file is capable of being tracked and controlled by an owner of the genome file.", "5.The method according to claim 1, wherein the genome file is generated by processing sequence data to generate a sequenced data file, processing the sequenced data file to generate mapped data file, processing the mapped data to generate an aligned data file, and processing the aligned data file to generate a variant called data file (VCF).", "6.The method according to claim 5, wherein generating the index file comprises processing sequence data to generate one or more of a BCL and a FASTQ file, processing the BCL or FASTQ file to generate one or more of a sequence alignment map (SAM) and a binary sequence alignment map (BAM) file, and processing one or more of the SAM and BAM file to generate a variant call file (VCF).", "7.The method according to claim 6, further comprising encrypting the VCF.", "8.The method according to claim 1, further comprises searching the index file for a specific anomaly.", "9.The method according to claim 1, further comprising brokering the index file and the one or more EMR and PHR data.", "10.A system for searching correlated genome data and one or more electronic medical record (EMR) data and personal health record (PHR) data from a subject, the system comprising: a distributed server for receiving genomic data from a subject, the genomic data being specific to the subject and comprising a variant call file, the distributed server being configured for indexing the subject's genomic data and for encrypting one or more of the genomic data and a generated index file, the genomic data and the index file of the subject being associated with a first DID, the distributed server having an internet network connection for receiving and transmitting the genomic data and the generated index file; a source for the one or more EMR and PHR data files, comprising a database for encrypting and storing the EMR and PHR data files of the subject, the encrypted EMR and PHR data files having a second DID, the source having an internet network connection for transmitting the encrypted EMR and PHR files, wherein the first DID corresponds to the second DID; and a central depository server, associated with both the distributed server and the source for EMR and PHR data files via the internet network connection, and configured for receiving and decrypting one or more of the genomic data and the index files from the distributed server, and for receiving and decrypting the EMR and PHR data files from the source, and further configured for associating the one or more of the genomic data and index file with one or more of the EMR and PHR files based on their respective DIDs; a browser for searching one or more of the genomic data and the index file and the one or more EMR and PHR files; wherein an algorithm utilized to generate the DID for the one or more of the genomic data and the index file is also used for generating the unique DID for the one or more EMR and PHR files allowing for matching based on the DID number.", "11.The system according to claim 10, wherein the EMR and PHR data comprises phenotypic data.", "12.The system according to claim 10, wherein the one or more of genomic data and index file is searchable at a chromosome level, exome level, gene level, allele panel, or at an individual SNP or allele level.", "13.The system according to claim 10, wherein one or more of the genomic data, the index file, the EMR and PHR data files is capable of being tracked and controlled by the subject.", "14.The system according to claim 10, wherein the genomic data is generated and received from one or more sources of genomic data.", "15.The system according to claim 14, wherein the generating of genomic data comprises processing sequence data to generate a sequenced data file, processing the sequenced data file to generate a mapped data file, and processing the mapped data file to generate an aligned data file, and processing the aligned data file to generate a variant called data file (VCF).", "16.The system according to claim 15, wherein the generating of the genomic data comprises processing sequence data to generate one or more of a BCL and FASTQ file, processing the BCL and FASTQ file to generate one or more of a binary sequence alignment map (BAM) or sequence alignment map (SAM) file, and processing the one or more BAM and SAM file to generate the variant call file (VCF).", "17.The system according to claim 16, wherein one or more of the BCL, FASTQ, BAM, SAM, and VCF is encrypted.", "18.The system according to claim 11, further comprising a privacy control engine configured to allow an owner of one or more of the encrypted genomic data, index file, EMR and PHR files to track and control access thereto.", "19.A system for searching correlated genomic data and one or more electronic medical record (EMR) data and personal health record (PHR) data files from a subject, the system comprising: a distributed server, having an internet network connection for receiving one or more of a FASTQ and a BCL file, the FASTQ or BCL file comprising genetic sequence data from a subject, the genetic sequence data comprising a first sequence of nucleotides, the distributed server being associated with a database storing a reference genome sequence, the reference genome sequence comprising a second sequence of nucleotides, and the distributed server being configured for performing each of a mapping operation, an alignment operation, and a variant calling operation on the genomic sequencing data in comparison to the reference genome sequence to produce a genome file, the genome file being specific to the subject and comprising a variant call file, the distributed server further being configured for encrypting the subject's genome file, associating the genome file with a first DID unique to the subject, and transmitting the encrypted file; a source for encrypting and storing one or more EMR and PHR data files of the subject, the encrypted EMR and PHR data files having a second DID unique to the subject, the source having an internet network connection for transmitting the encrypted EMR and PHR data files, wherein the first DID matches the second DID; and a central depository server, associated with both the distributed server and the source for EMR and PHR data files via the internet network connection, and configured for receiving and decrypting the genome file from the distributed server, and for receiving and decrypting the EMR and PHR files from the source, and further configured for associating the genome file with the one or more EMR and PHR data files based on their respective DIDs; wherein, an algorithm utilized to generate the DID for the genome file is also used for generating the DID for the one or more EMR and PHR files allowing for matching based on the DID number.", "20.The system according to claim 19, wherein one or more of the genomic data, the index file, the EMR and PHR data files is capable of being tracked and controlled by the subject." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>One aspect of the present invention is a method for correlating genome data with EMR/PHR data.", "The method includes identifying a plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each source of the plurality of sources comprises a plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes indexing and encrypting each of the plurality of genome files utilizing a processor at a source site for the source.", "Each of the plurality of genome files is identified with a unique DID.", "The method also includes generating an index file for each of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes transmitting each index file to a central depository.", "Each index file is stored as part of a plurality of index files.", "The method also includes identifying electronic medical record (EMR) and/or personal health record (PHR) data at each source of the plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each EMR/PHR data has a unique DID, and each EMR/PHR data matches a genome file of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes correlating each genome file of the plurality of genome files with a corresponding EMR/PHR data.", "Another aspect of the present invention is a system for searching correlated genome data and EMR data.", "The system comprises a central depository site, a plurality of sources for genome data, a plurality of sources for EMR/PHR data, and search browser.", "The central depository site comprises a plurality of index files.", "Each of the plurality of index files represents encrypted genome files.", "Each of plurality of sources for genome data comprises a database of encrypted genome files.", "Each of the plurality of encrypted genome files has a unique DID.", "Each of the plurality of sources for EMR/PHR data comprises a database of EMR/PHR files.", "Each of the plurality of EMR/PHR files has a unique DID.", "Each EMR/PHR file matches a genome file having the same unique DID.", "The browser is for searching the plurality of index files.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "The method includes indexing and encrypting each of the plurality of genome files utilizing a processor at a source site.", "Each of the plurality of genome files is identified with a unique DID.", "The method also includes generating an index file for each of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes transmitting each index file to a brokering server.", "Each index file is stored as part of a plurality of searchable index files.", "The method also includes identifying electronic medical record (EMR) and/or personal health record (PHR) data at each source of a plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each EMR/PHR data has a unique DID.", "Each EMR/PHR data matches a genome file of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes matching each genome file of the plurality of genome files with a corresponding EMR/PHR data.", "The method also includes searching the plurality of searchable index files at a browser for the brokering server.", "The owner of an encrypted genome file controls access to the encrypted genome file and tracks the encrypted genome file.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "The method includes searching a plurality of index files for a specific genome level.", "Each of the plurality of index files represents encrypted genome data for an owner of the data.", "The specific level is selected from a chromosome level, an exome level, a gene level, an allele panel, or at an individual SNP or allele level.", "The method also includes identifying a set of index files of the plurality of index files for review.", "The method also includes requesting permission for access to the encrypted genome data and EMR/PHR data from an owner of the data for each index file of the set of index files.", "The method also includes receiving permission from the owner of the data.", "The method also includes receiving the genome data and the EMR/PHR data.", "Having briefly described the present invention, the above and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/076,583, filed on Mar.", "21, 2016, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "62/137,103, filed on Mar.", "23, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to genomic visualization.", "Description of the Related Art Genomic visualization tools have been devised to assist researchers, laboratories, and other users to visually display and understand genomic data.", "The genomic data is often in the form of individual samples having chromosomal data (including measurements of at least one event at a particular location on the chromosomes).", "An event here would indicate some measurement related to the genome.", "Examples of such measurements include the expression of a gene, an exon at a particular location, the number of copies of a portion of the genome that have been gained or lost, the extent of methylation of the genome at a particular location, the affinity of certain promoters to bind to a particular area on the genome, etc.", "In some cases, users may calculate a frequency of event based on a frequency of occurrence of the event in the selected sample.", "For example, it may be desirable to calculate the frequency of aberration, such as the frequency of a gain or loss of chromosomal copies when compared to a reference sample in a selected population of samples.", "In other circumstances, it may be desirable to review an annotation regarding specific information as related to a particular chromosomal region of the chromosome.", "Such information might include items such as what genes are present in a location and if there are known copy number polymorphisms in that area (including a list of such polymorphisms).", "Other items might include information pertaining to the presence of miroRNAs and potential Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)s in the area, etc.", "Genomic data are available from public or private databases and academic or commercial diagnostic laboratories.", "Genomic data can also be obtained by sequencing the entire genome of an individual, or a portion thereof.", "Suitable methods of DNA sequencing include Sanger sequencing, polony sequencing, pyrosequencing, ion semiconductor sequencing, single molecule sequencing, and the like.", "Sequenced genomic data can be provided as electronic text files, html files, xml files and various other regular databases formats.", "Existing systems available for visualization of chromosomal or genomic annotations, such as the University of California of Santa Cruz browser and the Ensemble Genome Browser, display various annotations for a specific region of the genome.", "Ensemble is a joint project between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.", "The molecular data to be processed in a bioinformatics based platform typically concerns genomic data, such as Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) data.", "For example, a well-known method for generating DNA data involves DNA sequencing.", "DNA sequencing can be performed manually, such as in a lab, or may be performed by an automated sequencer, such as at a core sequencing facility, for the purpose of determining the genetic makeup of a sample of an individual's DNA.", "The person's genetic information may then be used in comparison to a referent, e.g., a reference genome, so as to determine its variance therefrom.", "Such variant information may then be subjected to further processing and used to determine or predict the occurrence of a diseased state in the individual.", "Manual or automated DNA sequencing may be employed to determine the sequence of nucleotide bases in a sample of DNA, such as a sample obtained from a subject.", "Using various different bioinformatics techniques these sequences may then be assembled together to generate the genomic sequence of the subject, and/or mapped and aligned to genomic positions relative to a reference genome.", "This sequence may then be compared to a reference genomic sequence to determine how the genomic sequence of the subject varies from that of the reference.", "Such a process involves determining the variants in the sampled sequence and presents a central challenge to bioinformatics methodologies.", "Genomic data includes sequences of the DNA bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T).", "Genomic data includes sequences of the RNA bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and uracil (U).", "Genomic data also includes epigenetic information such as DNA methylation patterns, histone deacetylation patterns, and the like.", "“Phenotypic traits” are an organism's observable characteristics, including but not limited to its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, behavior, and products of behavior (such as a bird's nest).", "Phenotypic traits also include diseases, such as various cancers, heart disease, Age-related Macular Degeneration, and the like.", "Non-limiting general definitions for terms utilized in the pertinent art are set forth below.", "Allele is any two or more alternative forms of the same gene that have the same relative position on homologous chromosomes.", "BAM format is a binary alignment map format, which is the binary version of SAM.", "Chromosome is a strand of DNA that is encoded with genes.", "DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains the genetic code.", "It consists of two nucleotide chains in a double helix and joined by hydrogen bonds between complimentary bases of adenine and thymine, and cystosine and guanine.", "Exome is part of the genome formed by exons, the sequences which when transcribed remain within the mature RNA after the introns are removed by RNA splicing.", "Genome is the full set of chromosomes, the genetic material of an organism, and includes genes and non-coding sequences of DNA/RNA.", "Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) is a set of conventions for controlling the transfer of information via the Internet from a web server computer to a client computer, and also from a client computer to a web server, and Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (“HTTPS”) is a communications protocol for secure communication via a network from a web server computer to a client computer, and also from a client computer to a web server by at a minimum verifying the authenticity of a web site.", "Internet is the worldwide, decentralized totality of server computers and data-transmission paths which can supply information to a connected and browser-equipped client computer, and can receive and forward information entered from the client computer.", "Nucleic acid library is a plurality of polynucleotide molecules that are prepared, assemble and/or modified for a specific process.", "Phenotype is the composite of an organism's observable characteristics or traits, such as its morphology, development, biochemical or physiological properties, phenology, behavior, and products of behavior.", "A phenotype results from the expression of an organism's genes as well as the influence of environmental factors.", "SAM is sequence alignment map format is a text format of mapping sequence reads (sequence information from a fragment whose physical genomic position is unknown) with a matching sequence in a reference genome.", "Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (“SNP”) is a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide in the genome differs between members of a species (or between paired chromosomes in an individual).", "URL or Uniform Resource Locator is an address on the World Wide Web.", "User Interface or UI is the junction between a user and a computer program.", "An interface is a set of commands or menus through which a user communicates with a program.", "A command driven interface is one in which the user enter commands.", "A menu-driven interface is one in which the user selects command choices from various menus displayed on the screen.", "Variant calling is a method of identifying factual differences between sequence reads of test samples and a reference sequence.", "Variant calling is used to identify somatic variants with a high degree of confidence.", "Web-Browser is a complex software program, resident in a client computer, that is capable of loading and displaying text and images and exhibiting behaviors as encoded in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) from the Internet, and also from the client computer's memory.", "Major browsers include MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER, NETSCAPE, APPLE SAFARI, MOZILLA FIREFOX, and OPERA.", "Web-Server is a computer able to simultaneously manage many Internet information-exchange processes at the same time.", "Normally, server computers are more powerful than client computers, and are administratively and/or geographically centralized.", "An interactive-form information-collection process generally is controlled from a server computer, to which the sponsor of the process has access.", "There is a need for distributing genomic data from a source to a recipient in a secure and efficient means.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention is a method for correlating genome data with EMR/PHR data.", "The method includes identifying a plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each source of the plurality of sources comprises a plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes indexing and encrypting each of the plurality of genome files utilizing a processor at a source site for the source.", "Each of the plurality of genome files is identified with a unique DID.", "The method also includes generating an index file for each of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes transmitting each index file to a central depository.", "Each index file is stored as part of a plurality of index files.", "The method also includes identifying electronic medical record (EMR) and/or personal health record (PHR) data at each source of the plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each EMR/PHR data has a unique DID, and each EMR/PHR data matches a genome file of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes correlating each genome file of the plurality of genome files with a corresponding EMR/PHR data.", "Another aspect of the present invention is a system for searching correlated genome data and EMR data.", "The system comprises a central depository site, a plurality of sources for genome data, a plurality of sources for EMR/PHR data, and search browser.", "The central depository site comprises a plurality of index files.", "Each of the plurality of index files represents encrypted genome files.", "Each of plurality of sources for genome data comprises a database of encrypted genome files.", "Each of the plurality of encrypted genome files has a unique DID.", "Each of the plurality of sources for EMR/PHR data comprises a database of EMR/PHR files.", "Each of the plurality of EMR/PHR files has a unique DID.", "Each EMR/PHR file matches a genome file having the same unique DID.", "The browser is for searching the plurality of index files.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "The method includes indexing and encrypting each of the plurality of genome files utilizing a processor at a source site.", "Each of the plurality of genome files is identified with a unique DID.", "The method also includes generating an index file for each of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes transmitting each index file to a brokering server.", "Each index file is stored as part of a plurality of searchable index files.", "The method also includes identifying electronic medical record (EMR) and/or personal health record (PHR) data at each source of a plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each EMR/PHR data has a unique DID.", "Each EMR/PHR data matches a genome file of the plurality of genome files.", "The method also includes matching each genome file of the plurality of genome files with a corresponding EMR/PHR data.", "The method also includes searching the plurality of searchable index files at a browser for the brokering server.", "The owner of an encrypted genome file controls access to the encrypted genome file and tracks the encrypted genome file.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "The method includes searching a plurality of index files for a specific genome level.", "Each of the plurality of index files represents encrypted genome data for an owner of the data.", "The specific level is selected from a chromosome level, an exome level, a gene level, an allele panel, or at an individual SNP or allele level.", "The method also includes identifying a set of index files of the plurality of index files for review.", "The method also includes requesting permission for access to the encrypted genome data and EMR/PHR data from an owner of the data for each index file of the set of index files.", "The method also includes receiving permission from the owner of the data.", "The method also includes receiving the genome data and the EMR/PHR data.", "Having briefly described the present invention, the above and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of a system for genomic visualization with privacy control.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow chart for a method for correlating genome data with EMR/PHR data.", "FIG.", "3 is a flow chart for a method for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "FIG.", "4 is a flow chart for a method for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "FIG.", "5 is a communications sequence diagram for genomic visualization.", "FIG.", "6 is a block diagram for a method for genomic visualization.", "FIG.", "7 is a block diagram for a method for processing of the genomic data at the genomic data site.", "FIG.", "7A is an illustration of an index file for a patient.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A system 100 for genomic visualization with privacy control is shown in FIG.", "1.The system 100 includes a central depository site 101, a source of genomic data 102, a source of EMR data 103, and owner 104 (the patient) of the genomic data and EMR data, and a plurality of search entities 105a-c.", "The central depository site 101 functions as a brokerage of data between sources that have generated genomic data 102 and EMR data 103, and multiple searchers that utilize the information for academic, commercial and other purposes.", "The search entities 105 are researchers like universities, biotechnology companies, hospitals, and the like.", "The owner 104 preferably controls access to the unencrypted data and also tracks the data as it is distributed to search entities 105a-c.", "The EMR data of a patient includes general health records, medical procedure records, allergies, illnesses, and the like of the patient.", "The genomic data is preferably encrypted and indexed and stored locally.", "Thus, the central site 101 is not a warehouse of data, requiring an enormous storage data facility.", "The central site 101 only maintains a plurality of index files that can be easily searched.", "Further, the processing of the genomic data is performed at the genomic data site 102.A general process for processing the genomic data involves processing sequence data to generate a sequenced data file, processing the sequenced data file to generate an aligned data file, and processing the aligned data file to generate a variant called data file (VCF).", "One specific process for processing the genomic data involves processing sequence data to generate a FASTQ file, processing the FASTQ file to generate a binary sequence alignment map (BAM) file, and processing the BAM file to generate a variant call file (VCF).", "A more detail description is set forth in Van Rooyen et al., U.S. Patent Publication Number 20140371110 for Bioinformatics Systems, Apparatuses, and Methods Executed On An Integrated Circuit Processing Platform, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "The VCF is indexed into an index file and then encrypted.", "A DID (De-identified Identifier, e.g., a unique ID token that includes no identifying information like a patient's email, phone number, date-of-birth, zip, etc.)", "number is provided to each index file to maintain privacy and anonymity.", "The algorithm utilized to generate the DID for the index file is the same one used for the EMR data, and therefore the files can be matched based on the DID number.", "The index files are transmitted from each genomic data site 102 to the central site 101.The index files are searchable at a chromosome level, exome level, gene level, allele panel, or at an individual SNP or allele level.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a flow chart for a method 200 for correlating genome data with EMR/PHR data.", "At block 201, sources of genome data are identified.", "Each source comprises a plurality of genome files.", "At block 202, each of the plurality of genome files indexed and encrypted utilizing a processor at a source site for the source.", "Each of the plurality of genome files is identified with a unique DID.", "At block 203, an index file is generated for each of the plurality of genome files.", "At block 204, each index file is transmitted to a central depository site.", "Each index file is stored as part of a plurality of index files.", "At block 205, the electronic medical record (EMR) and/or personal health record (PHR) data is identified at each source of the plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each EMR/PHR data has a unique DID, and each EMR/PHR data matches a genome file of the plurality of genome files.", "At block 206, each genome file of the plurality of genome files is correlated with a corresponding EMR/PHR data.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a flow chart for a method 300 for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "At block 301, each of the plurality of genome files is indexed and encrypted utilizing a processor at a source site.", "Each of the plurality of genome files is identified with a unique DID.", "At block 302, an index file is generated for each of the plurality of genome files.", "At block 303, each index file is transmitted to a brokering server.", "Each index file is stored as part of a plurality of searchable index files.", "At block 304, electronic medical record (EMR) and/or personal health record (PHR) data is identified at each source of a plurality of sources of genome data.", "Each EMR/PHR data has a unique DID.", "Each EMR/PHR data matches a genome file of the plurality of genome files.", "At block 305, each genome file of the plurality of genome files is matched with a corresponding EMR/PHR data.", "At block 306, the plurality of searchable index files is search at a browser for the brokering server.", "The owner of an encrypted genome file controls access to the encrypted genome file and tracks the encrypted genome file.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a flow chart for a method 400 for privacy controlled genomic visualization.", "At block 401, a plurality of index files is searched for a specific genome level.", "Each of the plurality of index files represents encrypted genome data for an owner of the data.", "The specific level is selected from a chromosome level, an exome level, a gene level, an allele panel, or at an individual SNP or allele level.", "At block 402, a set of index files of the plurality of index files is identified for review.", "At block 403, permission for access to the encrypted genome data and EMR/PHR data is requested from an owner of the data for each index file of the set of index files.", "At block 404, permission is received from the owner of the data.", "At block 405, the genome data and the EMR/PHR data are received by the searcher.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a communication sequence diagram 500 for genomic visualization with privacy control.", "A search entity 105 searches the index files available at the central search site 101 using a central site browser.", "The search results are returned to the search entity 105.The search entity then requests permission for the unencrypted genome files which are represented by some or all of the index files.", "Since the index files only provide information on a variation, with no identifying information, the search entity must now receive permission from the owner of the genome to gain access to the more detailed information.", "The central search site 101 acts as a broker and presents the request to the owner.", "Preferably, the requests involve details behind the research so that the owner will know what his or her information is to be used for by the search entity 105.The owner then grants permission to the central search site 105 for access to the unencrypted genome data and the EMR data that matches the genome data.", "The central search site 101 then requests that the EMR data file be sent from the EMR data site 103, and that the genome data be sent from the genomic data site 102.The central search site 101 unencrypts the data and transfers the EMR data and the genome data to the search entity 105.The owner 104 tracks the data sent to the search entity, enabling privacy control by the owner 104.FIG.", "6 is a block diagram for a method 600 for genomic visualization.", "FIG.", "7 is a block diagram for a method 700 for processing of the genomic data at the genomic data site.", "FIG.", "7A is an illustration of an index file for a patient.", "The networks utilized with the present invention may be one or more of a wireless network, a wired network or any combination of wireless network and wired network.", "The networks utilized may include one or more of an Internet network, a wireless local area network (“LAN”), a cellular network, a fiber optics network, a passive optical network, a cable network, a satellite network (e.g., operating in Band C, Band Ku or Band Ka), a Global System for Mobile Communication, a Personal Communication Service, a Personal Area Network Wi-Fi, Fixed Wireless Data, IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.15.1, 802.11n and 802.11g or any other wired or wireless network for transmitting and receiving a data signal.", "The network may utilize one or more protocols of one or more network elements to which it is communicatively coupled.", "The network may translate to or from other protocols to one or more protocols of devices connected to the network.", "The invention may utilized a plurality of interconnected networks, such as, for example, a service provider network, the Internet, a broadcaster's network, a cable television network, a corporate network, and a home net.", "Each of the interface descriptions preferably discloses use of at least one communication protocol to establish handshaking or bi-directional communications.", "These protocols preferably include but are not limited to XML, HTTP, TCP/IP, Serial, UDP, FTP, Web Services, WAP, SMTP, SMPP, DTS, Stored Procedures, Import/Export, Global Positioning Triangulation, IM, SMS, MMS, GPRS and Flash.", "The storage of data may be network accessible storage and may be local, remote, or a combination thereof.", "The storage of data may utilize a redundant array of inexpensive disks, tape, disk, a storage area network, an internet small computer systems interface a common Internet File System, network attached storage, a network file system, or other computer accessible storage.", "The databases used with the system preferably include but are not limited to MSSQL, Access, MySQL, Progress, Oracle, DB2, Open Source DBs and others.", "Operating system used with the system preferably include Microsoft 2010, XP, Vista, 200o Server, 2003 Server, 2008 Server, Windows Mobile, Linux, Android, Unix, I series, AS 400 and Apple OS.", "The underlying protocol at a server is preferably Internet Protocol Suite (Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”)), and the transmission protocol to receive a file is preferably a file transfer protocol (“FTP”), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”), Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTPS”) or other similar protocols.", "The transmission protocol ranges from SIP to MGCP to FTP and beyond.", "The protocol at the server is preferably HTTPS.", "It is further noted that the software described herein may be tangibly embodied in one or more physical media, such as, but not limited to, a compact disc (“CD”), a digital versatile disc (“DVD”), a floppy disk, a hard drive, read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), as well as other physical media capable of storing software, or combinations thereof Numerous references were made regarding servers, services, interfaces, portals, platforms, or other systems formed from computing devices.", "It should be appreciated that the use of such terms is deemed to represent one or more computing devices having at least one processor configured to execute software instructions stored on a computer readable tangible, non-transitory medium.", "For example, a server can include one or more computers operating as a web server, database server, or other type of computer server in a manner to fulfill described roles, responsibilities, or functions.", "The genomic visualization system may utilize various computing devices including servers, graphical user interfaces, databases, engines, controllers, or other types of computing devices operating individually or collectively.", "One skilled in the pertinent art will appreciate that the computing devices comprise a processor configured to execute software instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium (e.g., hard drive, solid state drive, RAM, flash, ROM, etc.).", "The software instructions preferably configure the computing device to provide the roles, responsibilities, or other functionality as discussed below with respect to the invention.", "In preferred embodiments, the servers, databases, or interfaces preferably exchange data using standardized protocols or algorithms, possibly based on HTTP, HTTPS, AES, public-private key exchanges, web service APIs, known financial transaction protocols, or other electronic information exchanging methods.", "Data exchanges preferably are conducted over the Internet, LAN, a packet-switched network, WAN, VPN, or other type of packet switched network.", "One skilled in the pertinent art will appreciate that the form of a computer program product stored by one or more computer-readable storage media having computer-readable program code, or instructions, embodied in or on the storage media.", "Any suitable computer readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, flash devices and/or any combination thereof In addition, various signals representing data or events as described herein may be transferred between a source and a destination in the form of electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media—e.g.", "air and/or space.", "Data may move between various entities in any of the embodiments of the invention via electronic transmission or manual means.", "Electronic transmission may utilize email, SMS or any other suitable method.", "Manual exchange may utilize floppy disks, USB drives, CDs, DVDs or any other suitable mechanism.", "An exemplary hardware configuration of a computing system utilized with the invention preferably includes at least one processor or central processing unit (CPU).", "The CPUs are preferably interconnected via a system bus to a RAM, a ROM, input/output (I/O) adapter, user interface adapter, a communication adapter for connecting the system to a data processing network, the Internet, an Intranet, a LAN, or the like, and a display adapter for connecting the bus to a display device.", "Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized with the invention.", "The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium.", "A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a RAM, a ROM, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an optical fiber, a portable CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with a system, apparatus, or device running an instruction.", "Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.", "The program code may run entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.", "In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a LAN or a WAN or the connection may be made to an external computer through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider.", "There are many processing stages for data from DNA (or RNA) sequencing, which can vary depending on the sequencing technology and the application.", "Processing steps include: Signal processing on electrical measurements from the sequencer; Image processing on optical measurements from the sequencer; Base calling using processed signal or image data to determine the most likely nucleotide sequence and confidence scores; Filtering sequenced reads with low quality or polyclonal clusters; Detecting and trimming adapters, key sequences, barcodes, and low quality read ends; De novo sequence assembly, utilizing De Bruijn graphs and/or sequence graphs; De Bruijn and sequence graph construction, editing, trimming, cleanup, repair, coloring, annotation, comparison, transformation, splitting, splicing, analysis, subgraph selection, traversal, iteration, recursion, searching, filtering, import, export; Mapping reads to a reference genome; Aligning reads to candidate mapping locations in a reference genome; Local assembly of reads mapped to a reference region; Sorting reads by aligned position; Marking duplicate reads, including PCR or optical duplicates; Re-alignment of multiple overlapping reads for indel consistency; Base quality score recalibration; Variant calling (single sample or joint); Structural variant analysis; Copy number variant analysis; Somatic variant calling (tumor sample only, matched tumor/normal, or tumor/unmatched normal); RNA splice junction detection; RNA alternative splicing analysis; RNA transcript assembly; RNA transcript expression analysis; RNA differential expression analysis; RNA variant calling; DNA/RNA difference analysis; DNA methylation analysis and calling; Variant quality score recalibration; Variant filtering; Variant annotation from known variant databases; Sample contamination detection and estimation; Phenotype prediction, disease testing; Treatment response prediction, custom treatment design; Ancestry and mutation history analysis; Population DNA analysis, genetic marker identification; Encoding genomic data into standard formats (e.g.", "FASTA, FASTQ, SAM, BAM, VCF, BCF); Decoding genomic data from standard formats; Querying, selecting or filtering genomic data subsets; General compression and decompression for genomic files (gzip, BAM compression); Specialized compression and decompression for genomic data (CRAM); Genomic data encryption and decryption; Statistics calculation, comparison, and presentation from genomic data; Genomic result data comparison, accuracy analysis and reporting; Genomic file storage, archival, retrieval, backup, recovery, and transmission; Genomic database construction, querying, access management, data extraction.", "A more detailed description of a system for analysis of biological and chemical materials is set forth in van Rooyen et al., U.S. Patent Publication Number 20140371110 for Bioinformatics Systems, Apparatuses, and Methods Executed On An Integrated Circuit Processing Platform, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A more detailed description of a system for analysis of biological and chemical materials is set forth in van Rooyen et al., U.S. Patent Publication Number 20140309944 for Bioinformatics Systems, Apparatuses, and Methods Executed On An Integrated Circuit Processing Platform, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A more detailed description of a system for analysis of biological and chemical materials is set forth in van Rooyen et al., U.S. Patent Publication Number 20140236490 for Bioinformatics Systems, Apparatuses, and Methods Executed On An Integrated Circuit Processing Platform, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A more detailed description of a system for analysis of biological and chemical materials is set forth in van Rooyen et al., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,014,989 for Bioinformatics Systems, Apparatuses, and Methods Executed On An Integrated Circuit Processing Platform, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A more detailed description of a system for analysis of biological and chemical materials is set forth in U.S. Patent Publication Number 20150339437, for Dynamic Genome Reference Generation For Improved NGS Accuracy And Reproducibility, filed Feb. 24, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "A description of a GFET is set forth in Hoffman et al., U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/963253, filed on Dec. 9, 2015, for Chemically Sensitive Field Effect Transistor, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "From the foregoing it is believed that those skilled in the pertinent art will recognize the meritorious advancement of this invention and will readily understand that while the present invention has been described in association with a preferred embodiment thereof, and other embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings, numerous changes modification and substitutions of equivalents may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention which is intended to be unlimited by the foregoing except as may appear in the following appended claim.", "Therefore, the embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in the following appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874851
[ [ "COMPUTER DEVICE AND METHOD FOR READING OR WRITING DATA BY COMPUTER DEVICE", "A computer device and a method for reading or writing data by a computer device are provided.", "In the computer device, a central processing unit (CPU) is connected to a cloud controller using a double data rate (DDR) interface.", "Because the DDR interface has a high data transmission rate, interruption of CPU can be avoided.", "In addition, the CPU converts a read or write operation request into a control command and writes the control command into a transmission queue in the cloud controller.", "Because the cloud controller performs a read operation or a write operation on a network device according to operation information in the control command, after writing the control command into the transmission queue, the CPU does not need to wait for an operation performed by the cloud controller and can continue to perform other processes." ], [ "1.A computer device, comprising a central processing unit (CPU) and a cloud controller; wherein the cloud controller comprises: a memory storing a transmission queue and a response queue; a double data rate (DDR) interface connecting the CPU to the cloud controller; and a network interface connecting the cloud controller to a network device; wherein the CPU is configured to: convert a request to perform an operation on the network device into a control command; and write the control command into the transmission queue in the cloud controller, wherein the control command instructs the cloud controller to perform the operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the operation; and wherein the cloud controller is configured to: perform the operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command when the control command in the transmission queue is triggered; receive a response from the network device; and write the response into the response queue.", "2.The computer device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission queue comprises a command transmission queue and a data transmission queue, and the response queue comprises a response command queue and a data receiving queue; wherein when the request to perform an operation on the network device is a request to read data from the network device, the CPU is configured to: convert the request to read data from the network device into a read control command; and write the read control command into the command transmission queue, wherein the read control command carries read operation information and instructs the cloud controller to read data from the network device according to the read operation information; and the cloud controller is configured to: send a read request to the network device according to the read operation information when the read control command in the command transmission queue is triggered; receive a read response and data from the network device; write the read response from the network device into the response command queue; and write the data received from the network device into the data receiving queue.", "3.The computer device according to claim 2, wherein the read operation information comprises an address, in the network device, of the data to be read and a length of the data to be read.", "4.The computer device according to claim 2, wherein the read operation information comprises a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read and a length of the data to be read.", "5.The computer device according to claim 2, wherein the CPU is further configured to: after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue, query, in a polling manner, whether the read response from the network device exists in the response command queue; and read, from the data receiving queue, the data received from the network device when it is determined that the read response from the network device exists in the response command queue and the read response is a read success response.", "6.The computer device according to claim 2, wherein the cloud controller is further configured to: notify the CPU by way of an interrupt after the read response from the network device is written in the response command queue; and wherein the CPU is further configured to: obtain the read response from the response command queue according to the interrupt; and read, from the data receiving queue, the data received from the network device when the read response indicates a read success.", "7.The computer device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission queue comprises a command transmission queue and a data transmission queue, and the response queue comprises a response command queue and a data receiving queue; wherein when the request to perform an operation on the network device is a request to write data to the network device, the CPU is configured to: convert the request to write data to the network device into a write control command; write the write control command into the command transmission queue; and write data to be written to the network device into the data transmission queue, wherein the write control command carries write operation information and instructs the cloud controller to write the data to the network device according to the write operation information; and the cloud controller is configured to: extract, from the data transmission queue according to the write operation information in the write control command when the write control command in the command transmission queue is triggered, the data to be written to the network device; send the data to the network device for writing the data into the network device according to the write operation information; receiving a write response from the network device; and write the write response from the network device into the response command queue.", "8.The computer device according to claim 7, wherein the write operation information comprises an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written, and an address, in the data transmission queue, of the data to be written.", "9.The computer device according to claim 7, wherein the write operation information comprises a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written, and an address, in the data transmission queue, of the data to be written.", "10.The computer device according to claim 7, wherein the CPU is further configured to: after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue, query, in a polling manner, whether the write response from the network device exists in the response command queue; and obtain the write response when it is determined that the write response from the network device exists in the response command queue.", "11.The computer device according to claim 7, wherein the cloud controller is further configured to: notify the CPU by way of an interrupt after the write response from the network device is written in the response command queue; and wherein the CPU is further configured to: obtain the write response from the response command queue according to the interrupt.", "12.A method for use by a computer device, wherein the computer device comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and a cloud controller, the cloud controller comprises a double data rate (DDR) interface connecting the CPU to the cloud controller, and a network interface connecting the cloud controller to a network device; wherein the method comprises: converting, by the CPU, a request to perform an operation on the network device into a control command; writing, by the CPU, the control command into a transmission queue in the cloud controller, wherein the control command instructs the cloud controller to perform the operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the operation; performing, by the cloud controller, the operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command when the control command in the transmission queue is triggered; receiving, by the cloud controller, a response from the network device; and writing, by the cloud controller, response into a response queue in the cloud controller.", "13.The method according to claim 12, wherein the transmission queue comprises a command transmission queue and a data transmission queue, and the response queue comprises a response command queue and a data receiving queue; wherein when the request to perform an operation on the network device is a request to read data from the network device, the method comprises: converting, by the CPU, the request to dear data from the network device into a read control command; and writing, by the CPU, the read control command into the transmission queue, wherein the read control command carries read operation information and instructs the cloud controller to read data from the network device according to the read operation information; sending, by the cloud controller, a read request to the network device according to the read operation information when the read control command in the command transmission queue is triggered; receiving, by the cloud controller, a read response and data from the network device; writing, by the cloud controller, the read response from the network device into the response command queue; and writing, by the cloud controller, the data received from the network device into the data receiving queue.", "14.The method according to claim 13, wherein the read operation information comprises an address, in the network device, of the data to be read; or the read operation information comprises a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read.", "15.The method according to claim 13, further comprising: after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue, querying, by the CPU in a polling manner, whether the read response from the network device exists in the response command queue; and reading, by the CPU from the data receiving queue, the data received from the network device when it is determined that the read response from the network device exists in the response command queue and the read response is a read success response.", "16.The method according to claim 13, further comprising: notifying, by the cloud controller, the CPU by way of an interrupt after the read response from the network device is written in the response command queue; obtaining, by the CPU, the read response from the response command queue according to the interrupt; and reading, by the CPU from the data receiving queue, the data received from the network device when the read response indicates a read success.", "17.The method according to claim 12, wherein the transmission queue comprises a command transmission queue and a data transmission queue, and the response queue comprises a response command queue and a data receiving queue; wherein when the request to perform an operation on the network device is a request to write data to the network device, the method comprises: converting, by the CPU, the request to write data to the network device into a write control command; writing, by the CPU, the write control command into the transmission queue; writing, by the CPU, data to be written to the network device into the data transmission queue, wherein the write control command carries write operation information and instructs the cloud controller to write the data to the network device according to the write operation information; extracting, by the cloud controller from the data transmission queue according to the write operation information in the write control command, the data to be written to the network device, when the write control command in the command transmission queue is triggered; sending, by the cloud controller, the data to the network device for writing the data into the network device according to the write operation information; receiving, by the cloud controller, a write response from the network device; and writing, by the cloud controller, the write response from the network device into the response command queue.", "18.The method according to claim 17, wherein the write operation information comprises an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written, and an address, in the data transmission queue, of the data to be written; or the write operation information comprises a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written, and an address, in the data transmission queue, of the data to be written.", "19.The method according to claim 17, further comprising: after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue, querying, by the CPU in a polling manner, whether the write response from the network device exists in the response command queue; and obtaining, by the CPU, the write response when it is determined that the write response from the network device exists in the response command queue.", "20.The method according to claim 17, further comprising: notifying, by the could controller, the CPU by way of an interrupt after the write response from the network device is written in the response command queue; and obtaining, by the CPU, the write response from the response command queue according to the interrupt." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>With development of data centers and approaching of the era of big data, data center architecture has developed from a tightly coupled silo-like server architecture into a virtualization-technology-centered architecture.", "To adapt to the coming era of big data, existing data centers are faced with a series of challenges in future big data processing.", "The challenges include P bits/second real-time data processing, dynamic resource allocation and adjustment on demand, energy efficiency improvement of a large-scale system, etc.", "In response, high-throughput computer data centers with features such as resource pooling, hardware decoupling, and silicon photonic interconnection come into being.", "In an architecture of a high-throughput computer data center, pooling of memory resources, input/output resources, or the like are implemented.", "A high-throughput computing node is connected to a memory resource pool or an input/output resource pool using a network, so as to dynamically allocate and adjust resources and improve system energy efficiency.", "Due to the resource pooling, hardware decoupling makes an interconnect technology, for example, silicon photonic interconnection, a most crucial technology.", "A current data center level interconnect technology relies mainly on Ethernet interconnect technology.", "However, due to a complex and bloated protocol stack and an extremely high interconnect delay of the Ethernet itself, the interconnect technology becomes less capable of meeting requirements of a data center on quick and high-capacity data exchange.", "On the other hand, simplified Pooled Resource Access Protocol (PRAP) that can provide high bandwidth and low delay can meet the low delay requirement of high-throughput computer data centers.", "In a current method for decoupling a built high-throughput computer, a cloud controller is used as a key module for the interconnection.", "The PRAP interconnect protocol is used to connect a computing pool, a remote memory resource pool, an input/output (I/O) resource pool, and the like, and a double data rate (DDR) interface is used to connect to a central processing unit (CPU).", "However, when data in the remote memory resource pool or input/output resource pool needs to be read, due to a network delay, the cloud controller cannot return requested data at the DDR interface within a specified time.", "Therefore, when a CPU of a high-throughput computer accesses the remote memory resource pool or input/output resource pool using a network, an interrupt of the CPU is caused, leading to a high access delay and a problem that overall performance of a system is affected because the CPU cannot perform another operation during the interrupt." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Embodiments of the present application provide a computer device and a method for reading or writing data by a computer device, so as to resolve an existing problem that system performance is affected due to a high delay when a CPU of a computer device reads or writes remote data.", "To achieve the foregoing objective, a first aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer device, including a central processing unit (CPU) and a cloud controller, where the cloud controller includes a transmission queue module, a response queue module, a double data rate (DDR) interface, and a network interface, the DDR interface is configured to connect the CPU to the cloud controller, and the network interface is configured to connect the cloud controller to a network device; the CPU is configured to: after generating a request for performing a readorwrite operation on the network device, convert the read or write operation request into a control command, and write the control command into the transmission queue module, where the control command is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation or a write operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the read operation or the write operation; and the cloud controller is configured to: perform the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command when the control command in the transmission queue module is triggered, receive a response message sent by the network device, and write the response message sent by the network device into the response queue module.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a read operation request; the transmission queue module includes a command transmission queue module and a data transmission queue module; the response queue module includes a response command queue module and a data receiving queue module; the CPU is further configured to: convert the read operation request into a read control command, and write the read control command into the command transmission queue module, where the read control command carries read operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation on the network device according to the read operation information; and the cloud controller is further configured to: perform the read operation on the network device according to the read operation information in the read control command when the read control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, receive a read response message sent by the network device, write the read response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module, and write, into the data receiving queue module, data that is to be read by means of the read operation and that is returned by the network device.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read operation information includes an address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation; or the read operation information includes a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a third possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the CPU is further configured to: after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module, query, in a polling manner, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and read, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation when the CPU determines that the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module and the read response message is a read success response message.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fourth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the cloud controller is further configured to: determine whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notify the CPU by means of an interrupt when the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and the CPU is further configured to: receive an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, obtain the read response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message, and read, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation when the obtained read response message indicates a read success.", "With reference to the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fifth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a write operation request; the transmission queue module includes a command transmission queue module and a data transmission queue module; the response queue module includes a response command queue module and a data receiving queue module; the CPU is further configured to: convert the write operation request into a write control command, write the write control command into the command transmission queue module, and write, into the data transmission queue module, data to be written by means of the write operation, where the write control command carries write operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to write, into the network device according to the write operation information, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and the cloud controller is further configured to: extract, from the data transmission queue module according to the write operation information in the write control command when the write control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, the data to be written by means of the write operation, and write, into the network device, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and write the write response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module when receiving a write response message sent by the network device.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a sixth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the write operation information includes an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation; or the write operation information includes a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a seventh possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the CPU is further configured to: after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module, query, in a polling manner, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and obtain the write response message when the CPU determines that the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in an eighth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the cloud controller is further configured to: determine whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notify the CPU by means of an interrupt when the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and the CPU is further configured to: receive an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, and obtain the write response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message.", "A second aspect of the embodiments of the present application further provides application a method for reading or writing data by a computer device, where the computer device includes a central processing unit (CPU), a cloud controller, and a network interface, the CPU is connected to the cloud controller using a double data rate (DDR) interface, and the network interface is configured to connect the cloud controller to a network device; and the method includes: converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller, where the control command is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation or a write operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the read operation or the write operation; and performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command when the control command in the transmission queue module is triggered, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a read operation request; correspondingly, the converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller includes: converting, by the CPU, the read operation request into a read control command, and writing the read control command into a command transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, where the read control command carries read operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation on the network device according to the read operation information; and the performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device includes: performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation on the network device according to the read operation information in the read control command when the read control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, receiving a read response message sent by the network device, writing the read response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module of the response queue module, and writing, into the data receiving queue module of the response queue module, data that is to be read by means of the read operation and that is returned by the network device.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a second possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read operation information includes an address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation; or the read operation information includes a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a third possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module, querying, by the CPU in a polling manner, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and reading, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation when the CPU determines that the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module and the read response message is a read success response message.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fourth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, determining, by the cloud controller, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notifying the CPU by means of an interrupt when the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and receiving, by the CPU, an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, obtaining the read response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message, and when the obtained read response message indicates a read success, reading, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "With reference to the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fifth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a write operation request; correspondingly, the converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller includes: converting, by the CPU, the write operation request into a write control command, writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, and writing, into the data transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, data to be written by means of the write operation, where the write control command carries write operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to write, into the network device according to the write operation information, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and the performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device includes: extracting, by the cloud controller from the data transmission queue module according to the write operation information in the write control command when the write control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, the data to be written by means of the write operation, and writing, into the network device, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and writing the write response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module of the response queue module when receiving a write response message sent by the network device.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a sixth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the write operation information includes an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation; or the write operation information includes a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a seventh possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the method further includes: after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module, querying, by the CPU in a polling manner, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and obtaining the write response message when the CPU determines that the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in an eighth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the method further includes: determining, by the cloud controller, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notifying the CPU by means of an interrupt when the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and receiving, by the CPU, an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, and obtaining the write response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message.", "According to the computer device and the method for reading or writing data by a computer device that are provided in the embodiments of the present application, a CPU of the computer device is connected to a cloud controller using a DDR interface, and an interrupt is avoided because the DDR interface has a high data transmission rate.", "In addition, the CPU converts a read or write operation request into a control command and writes the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller.", "Because the cloud controller performs a read operation or a write operation on a network device according to operation information in the control command, after writing the control command into the transmission queue module, the CPU does not need to wait for an operation performed by the cloud controller and can continue to perform other service processing, for example, continue to write another control command.", "This avoids a waste of CPU resources, and improves CPU utilization and overall performance of a system." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/CN2015/084816, filed on Jul.", "22, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present application relates to the field of information technologies, and in particular, to a computer device and a method for reading/writing data by a computer device.", "BACKGROUND With development of data centers and approaching of the era of big data, data center architecture has developed from a tightly coupled silo-like server architecture into a virtualization-technology-centered architecture.", "To adapt to the coming era of big data, existing data centers are faced with a series of challenges in future big data processing.", "The challenges include P bits/second real-time data processing, dynamic resource allocation and adjustment on demand, energy efficiency improvement of a large-scale system, etc.", "In response, high-throughput computer data centers with features such as resource pooling, hardware decoupling, and silicon photonic interconnection come into being.", "In an architecture of a high-throughput computer data center, pooling of memory resources, input/output resources, or the like are implemented.", "A high-throughput computing node is connected to a memory resource pool or an input/output resource pool using a network, so as to dynamically allocate and adjust resources and improve system energy efficiency.", "Due to the resource pooling, hardware decoupling makes an interconnect technology, for example, silicon photonic interconnection, a most crucial technology.", "A current data center level interconnect technology relies mainly on Ethernet interconnect technology.", "However, due to a complex and bloated protocol stack and an extremely high interconnect delay of the Ethernet itself, the interconnect technology becomes less capable of meeting requirements of a data center on quick and high-capacity data exchange.", "On the other hand, simplified Pooled Resource Access Protocol (PRAP) that can provide high bandwidth and low delay can meet the low delay requirement of high-throughput computer data centers.", "In a current method for decoupling a built high-throughput computer, a cloud controller is used as a key module for the interconnection.", "The PRAP interconnect protocol is used to connect a computing pool, a remote memory resource pool, an input/output (I/O) resource pool, and the like, and a double data rate (DDR) interface is used to connect to a central processing unit (CPU).", "However, when data in the remote memory resource pool or input/output resource pool needs to be read, due to a network delay, the cloud controller cannot return requested data at the DDR interface within a specified time.", "Therefore, when a CPU of a high-throughput computer accesses the remote memory resource pool or input/output resource pool using a network, an interrupt of the CPU is caused, leading to a high access delay and a problem that overall performance of a system is affected because the CPU cannot perform another operation during the interrupt.", "SUMMARY Embodiments of the present application provide a computer device and a method for reading or writing data by a computer device, so as to resolve an existing problem that system performance is affected due to a high delay when a CPU of a computer device reads or writes remote data.", "To achieve the foregoing objective, a first aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a computer device, including a central processing unit (CPU) and a cloud controller, where the cloud controller includes a transmission queue module, a response queue module, a double data rate (DDR) interface, and a network interface, the DDR interface is configured to connect the CPU to the cloud controller, and the network interface is configured to connect the cloud controller to a network device; the CPU is configured to: after generating a request for performing a readorwrite operation on the network device, convert the read or write operation request into a control command, and write the control command into the transmission queue module, where the control command is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation or a write operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the read operation or the write operation; and the cloud controller is configured to: perform the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command when the control command in the transmission queue module is triggered, receive a response message sent by the network device, and write the response message sent by the network device into the response queue module.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a read operation request; the transmission queue module includes a command transmission queue module and a data transmission queue module; the response queue module includes a response command queue module and a data receiving queue module; the CPU is further configured to: convert the read operation request into a read control command, and write the read control command into the command transmission queue module, where the read control command carries read operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation on the network device according to the read operation information; and the cloud controller is further configured to: perform the read operation on the network device according to the read operation information in the read control command when the read control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, receive a read response message sent by the network device, write the read response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module, and write, into the data receiving queue module, data that is to be read by means of the read operation and that is returned by the network device.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read operation information includes an address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation; or the read operation information includes a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a third possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the CPU is further configured to: after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module, query, in a polling manner, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and read, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation when the CPU determines that the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module and the read response message is a read success response message.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fourth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the cloud controller is further configured to: determine whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notify the CPU by means of an interrupt when the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and the CPU is further configured to: receive an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, obtain the read response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message, and read, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation when the obtained read response message indicates a read success.", "With reference to the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fifth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a write operation request; the transmission queue module includes a command transmission queue module and a data transmission queue module; the response queue module includes a response command queue module and a data receiving queue module; the CPU is further configured to: convert the write operation request into a write control command, write the write control command into the command transmission queue module, and write, into the data transmission queue module, data to be written by means of the write operation, where the write control command carries write operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to write, into the network device according to the write operation information, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and the cloud controller is further configured to: extract, from the data transmission queue module according to the write operation information in the write control command when the write control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, the data to be written by means of the write operation, and write, into the network device, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and write the write response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module when receiving a write response message sent by the network device.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a sixth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the write operation information includes an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation; or the write operation information includes a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a seventh possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the CPU is further configured to: after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module, query, in a polling manner, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and obtain the write response message when the CPU determines that the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in an eighth possible implementation of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the cloud controller is further configured to: determine whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notify the CPU by means of an interrupt when the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and the CPU is further configured to: receive an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, and obtain the write response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message.", "A second aspect of the embodiments of the present application further provides application a method for reading or writing data by a computer device, where the computer device includes a central processing unit (CPU), a cloud controller, and a network interface, the CPU is connected to the cloud controller using a double data rate (DDR) interface, and the network interface is configured to connect the cloud controller to a network device; and the method includes: converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller, where the control command is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation or a write operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the read operation or the write operation; and performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command when the control command in the transmission queue module is triggered, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a read operation request; correspondingly, the converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller includes: converting, by the CPU, the read operation request into a read control command, and writing the read control command into a command transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, where the read control command carries read operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation on the network device according to the read operation information; and the performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device includes: performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation on the network device according to the read operation information in the read control command when the read control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, receiving a read response message sent by the network device, writing the read response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module of the response queue module, and writing, into the data receiving queue module of the response queue module, data that is to be read by means of the read operation and that is returned by the network device.", "With reference to the first possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a second possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read operation information includes an address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation; or the read operation information includes a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a third possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module, querying, by the CPU in a polling manner, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and reading, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation when the CPU determines that the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module and the read response message is a read success response message.", "With reference to the first possible implementation or the second possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fourth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, determining, by the cloud controller, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notifying the CPU by means of an interrupt when the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and receiving, by the CPU, an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, obtaining the read response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message, and when the obtained read response message indicates a read success, reading, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "With reference to the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a fifth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the read or write operation request is a write operation request; correspondingly, the converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller includes: converting, by the CPU, the write operation request into a write control command, writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, and writing, into the data transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, data to be written by means of the write operation, where the write control command carries write operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to write, into the network device according to the write operation information, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and the performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device includes: extracting, by the cloud controller from the data transmission queue module according to the write operation information in the write control command when the write control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, the data to be written by means of the write operation, and writing, into the network device, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and writing the write response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module of the response queue module when receiving a write response message sent by the network device.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a sixth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the write operation information includes an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation; or the write operation information includes a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in a seventh possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the method further includes: after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module, querying, by the CPU in a polling manner, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and obtaining the write response message when the CPU determines that the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "With reference to the fifth possible implementation or the sixth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, in an eighth possible implementation of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the method further includes: determining, by the cloud controller, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notifying the CPU by means of an interrupt when the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module; and receiving, by the CPU, an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, and obtaining the write response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message.", "According to the computer device and the method for reading or writing data by a computer device that are provided in the embodiments of the present application, a CPU of the computer device is connected to a cloud controller using a DDR interface, and an interrupt is avoided because the DDR interface has a high data transmission rate.", "In addition, the CPU converts a read or write operation request into a control command and writes the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller.", "Because the cloud controller performs a read operation or a write operation on a network device according to operation information in the control command, after writing the control command into the transmission queue module, the CPU does not need to wait for an operation performed by the cloud controller and can continue to perform other service processing, for example, continue to write another control command.", "This avoids a waste of CPU resources, and improves CPU utilization and overall performance of a system.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a implementation of a high-throughput computer data center; FIG.", "2 is a simplified block diagram of a computer device according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.", "3 is a schematic block diagram of a implementation of a computer device according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.", "4 is a schematic diagram of reading or writing remote data by a computer device according to an embodiment of the present application; and FIG.", "5 is a flowchart of a method for reading or writing data by a computer device according to an embodiment of the present application.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS FIG.", "1 is a schematic architecture diagram of an implementation of a high-throughput computer data center.", "A computer device includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, and a cloud controller.", "The cloud controller is connected to a remote resource pool using a network.", "The remote resource pool includes storage resources, input/output resources, or the like.", "The storage resources, for example, dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) and non-volatile memories (NVMs) form a storage resource pool.", "The input/output resources, for example, network adapters and Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) interfaces, form an input/output resource pool.", "It should be noted that FIG.", "1 shows merely an example of a structural diagram of a high-throughput computer data center.", "During implementation, other hardware resources (for example, a bus), other resource pools (for example, a computing resource pool), or the like may be further included.", "In addition, in a computer device, multiple central processing units and multiple memories may form a computing resource pool or the like.", "Moreover, a quantity of resources in the resource pool shown in FIG.", "1 is used as an example.", "During implementation, at least two resources may be included, for example, a memory resource pool may include at least two memories.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "1, in addition to a local memory (for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) using a DDR interface), a CPU in the computer device also has a remote storage space allocated by a system.", "Each physical storage space is mapped to a global address space.", "A mapping relationship of the address space is stored in a driver of a cloud controller corresponding to each CPU.", "For example, a CPU 1 has a 10 GB local memory and a 100 GB remote storage resource (that is, storage spaces in the storage resource pool that are connected using a network and can be accessed) in total.", "Assuming that the CPU 1 can access a remote storage resource pool including a storage space A and a storage space B, and the storage space A and the storage space B each are a storage resource with a capacity of 50 GB, the CPU 1 can access a 110 GB storage space in total.", "The total storage space includes a storage space of 0 to 10 GB in the local memory and a storage space of 10 GB to 110 GB in the remote storage resource pool.", "When the CPU 1 accesses the local memory, data can be accessed within a specified time because network transmission is not required.", "However, when data is not in the local memory, but in the remote storage resource pool, for example, in the storage space A or the storage space B, a cloud controller 1 can read the data only by accessing the remote storage resource pool using a network.", "Because network transmission is required, the cloud controller 1 cannot return the requested data to the CPU 1 at a DDR interface within a specified time.", "Therefore, after receiving a data read request delivered by the CPU 1, the cloud controller 1 packs the request, sends the request to the storage resource pool using the network, to obtain data, and returns an ECC error or a PAGE error to the CPU 1.When receiving error information from the cloud controller 1, the CPU 1 interrupts current memory access and suspends a corresponding access thread.", "After receiving the data sent from the storage resource pool, the cloud controller 1 generates an interrupt signal to notify the CPU 1.The CPU 1 can obtain, according to the received interrupt signal and by resending a memory reading request, the data that needs to be read.", "Because the data has been written into a storage space of the cloud controller 1 at this time, the CPU 1 can obtain the data at the DDR interface within a specified time.", "Therefore, when data that needs to be accessed by the CPU 1 is not inside the cloud controller 1, the CPU 1 needs to perform one interrupt operation and two read operations.", "As a result, a high access delay is caused, and overall performance of a system is affected because the CPU 1 cannot perform another operation during the interruption.", "To resolve problems of an excessively high access delay and low system performance that are caused by a network delay when a CPU in the foregoing high-throughput computer data center accesses data that is not in a local resource, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer device 10.As shown in FIG.", "2, the computer device 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 100 and a cloud controller 200.The cloud controller 200 includes a transmission queue module 201, a response queue module 202, a double data rate (DDR) interface 203, and a network interface 204.The DDR interface 203 is configured to connect the CPU 100 to the cloud controller 200, and the network interface 204 is configured to connect the cloud controller 200 to a network device.", "The CPU 100 is configured to: after generating a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device, convert the read or write operation request into a control command, and write the control command into the transmission queue module 201.The control command instructs the cloud controller 200 to perform a read operation or a write operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the read operation or the write operation.", "The cloud controller 200 is configured to: when the control command in the transmission queue module 201 is triggered, perform the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command, receive a response message sent by the network device, and write the response message sent by the network device into the response queue module 202.In this embodiment of the present application, the network device connected to the computer device 10 using the network interface 204 is a device connected to the computer device 10 using a network.", "When the CPU 100 needs to access data in the network device, the cloud controller 200 needs to send a data read or write message to the network device using the network, and receives a response message or data returned by the network device using the network.", "The CPU 100 is connected to the cloud controller 200 using the DDR interface 203, and an interrupt is avoided because the DDR interface 203 has a high data transmission rate.", "In addition, the CPU 100 converts a read or write operation request into a control command and writes the control command into the transmission queue module 201 of the cloud controller 200.Because the cloud controller 200 performs the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to operation information in the control command, after writing the control command into the transmission queue module 201, the CPU 100 does not need to wait for an operation performed by the cloud controller 200, and can continue to perform other service processing, for example, continue to write another control command.", "This avoids a waste of CPU 100 resources, and improves CPU 100 utilization and overall performance of the computer device.", "During further implementation, the transmission queue module 201 and the response queue module 202 of the cloud controller 200 may be implemented by hardware such as a register or a memory, and are connected to the DDR interface and the like using a hardware interface.", "For example, the transmission queue module 201 stores, using hardware such as a register, a control command written by the CPU 100, and the response queue module 202 stores a response message using hardware such as a register.", "In addition, the transmission queue module 201 and the response queue module 202 store related commands or messages in an ordered arrangement manner such as in a queue form, such that the cloud controller 200 can read commands or write response messages in a queue form.", "In this embodiment of the present application, that the control command in the transmission queue module 201 is triggered may be that when the control command is written into the transmission queue module 201, the cloud controller 200 is triggered to extract the control command from the transmission queue module 201 and execute the control command.", "Further, a control unit or a control module of the cloud controller 200 may extract the control command from the transmission queue module 201 and execute the control command.", "The control unit or the control module of the cloud controller 200 is also a hardware control component, and is connected to the transmission queue module 201, the response queue module 202, or the network interface 204 using an interface.", "When the read or write operation request is a read operation request, as shown in FIG.", "3, the transmission queue module 201 includes a command transmission queue module 2011 and a data transmission queue module 2012; the response queue module 202 includes a response command queue module 2021 and a data receiving queue module 2022; the CPU 100 is further configured to: convert the read operation request into a read control command, and write the read control command into the command transmission queue module 2011, where the read control command carries read operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller 200 to perform a read operation on the network device according to the read operation information; and the cloud controller 200 is further configured to: when the read control command in the command transmission queue module 2011 is triggered, perform the read operation on the network device according to the read operation information in the read control command, receive a read response message sent by the network device, write the read response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module 2021, and write, into the data receiving queue module 2022, data that is to be read by means of the read operation and that is returned by the network device.", "Further, the converting the read operation request into a read control command, and writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module 2011 is implemented by a driver that runs in the CPU 100.That the read control command in the command transmission queue module 2011 is triggered may be that when the read control command is written into the command transmission queue module 2011, the cloud controller is triggered to extract the read control command from the command transmission queue module 2011.During further implementation, a control unit or a control module of the cloud controller may extract the read control command from the command transmission queue module 2011 when the read control command is written into the command transmission queue module 2011, and execute the read control command.", "The read operation information may include an address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation; or the read operation information includes a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "Optionally, the performing, by the cloud controller 200, the read operation on the network device according to the read operation information in the read control command may include: creating a communications packet using the address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and the length of the data to be read by means of the read operation, and sending the communications packet to the network device using a network; or creating, by the cloud controller 200, a communications packet using the node address and the offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and the length of the data to be read by means of the read operation, and sending the communications packet to the network device using a network.", "Further, the communications packet may be a PRAP data packet.", "After converting the read operation request into the read control command and writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module 2011, the CPU 100 may perform another operation, for example, continue to write another read control command or write control command.", "The cloud controller 200 may extract the read control command from the command transmission queue module 2011 when the read control command is written into the command transmission queue module 2011, execute the read control command, write a result of executing the read control command into the response command queue module 2021, and when obtaining data that is read, write the read data into the data receiving queue module 2022.In this way, a read operation request is converted into two processes of writing a read control command by the CPU 100 and executing the read control command by the cloud controller 200.The CPU 100 can execute another task with no need to wait for a result of performing a read operation by the cloud controller 200, and only needs to obtain a read operation result when a read operation response command is written into the response command queue module 2021.This avoids an interrupt caused because the CPU 100 waits for a read operation result for an excessively long time, and improves resource utilization of the CPU 100 and overall performance of a system.", "In this embodiment of the present application, the CPU 100 may obtain the read operation result by querying in a polling manner or by being notified by means of an interrupt.", "For example, after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module, the CPU 100 queries, in a polling manner, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021, that is, repeatedly queries, according to a preset time interval, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021.When determining that the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021, the CPU 100 obtains the response message in the response command queue module 2021.When the read response message is a read success response message, the CPU 100 reads, from the data receiving queue module 2022, the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "The obtaining the read operation result by being notified by means of an interrupt includes: determining, by the cloud controller 200, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021, and notifying the CPU 100 by means of an interrupt when the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021.Further, the response command queue module 2021 may notify the CPU 100 by means of an interrupt when the read response message is written into the response command queue module 2021.The CPU 100 receives an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller 200, obtains the read response message from the response command queue module 2021 according to the interrupt message, and when the obtained read response message indicates a read success, reads, from the data receiving queue module 2022, the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "During further implementation, the CPU 100 may write a polling-based query manner or an interrupt-based notification manner into a register of the cloud controller 200.The cloud controller 200 obtains, from the register, information written by the CPU 100.If the polling-based query manner is written into the register, the CPU 100 proactively queries, in a polling manner, the response command queue module 2021; if the interrupt-based notification manner is written into the register, the cloud controller 200 notifies the CPU 100 by means of an interrupt when the read response message is written into the response command queue module 2021.When the read or write operation request is a write operation request, as shown in FIG.", "3, the transmission queue module 201 includes a command transmission queue module 2011 and a data transmission queue module 2012; the response queue module 202 includes a response command queue module 2021 and a data receiving queue module 2022; the CPU 100 is further configured to: convert the write operation request into a write control command, write the write control command into the command transmission queue module 2011, and write, into the data transmission queue module 2012, data to be written by means of the write operation, where the write control command carries write operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller 200 to write, into the network device according to the write operation information, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and the cloud controller 200 is further configured to: when the write control command in the command transmission queue module 2011 is triggered, extract, from the data transmission queue module 2012 according to the write operation information in the write control command, the data to be written by means of the write operation, and write, into the network device, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and when receiving a write response message sent by the network device, write the write response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module 2021.Further, the converting the write operation request into a write control command and writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module 2011 is implemented by a driver that runs in the CPU 100.That the write control command in the command transmission queue module 2011 is triggered may be that when the write control command is written into the command transmission queue module 2011, the cloud controller is triggered to extract the write control command from the command transmission queue module 2011.During further implementation, a control unit or a control module of the cloud controller may extract the write control command from the command transmission queue module 2011 when the write control command is written into the command transmission queue module 2011, and execute the read control command.", "In a further implementation, the write operation information includes an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation; or the write operation information includes a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation.", "Optionally, the extracting, by the cloud controller 200 from the data transmission queue module 2012 according to the write operation information in the write control command, the data to be written by means of the write operation, and writing, into the network device, the data to be written by means of the write operation may include: creating a communications packet using the data to be written by means of the write operation, the address of the network device, and the length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and sending the communications packet to the network device using a network; or creating, by the cloud controller 200, a communications packet using the data to be written by means of the write operation, the node address and the offset address of the network device, and the length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and sending the communications packet to the network device using a network.", "Further, the communications packet may be a PRAP data packet.", "After converting the write operation request into the write control command and writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module 2011, the CPU 100 may perform another operation, for example, continue to write another read control command or write control command.", "The cloud controller 200 may extract the write control command from the command transmission queue module 2011 when the write control command is written into the command transmission queue module 2011, execute the write control command, and write a result of executing the write control command into the response command queue module 2021.In this way, a write operation request is converted into two processes of writing a write control command into the command transmission queue module 2011 of the cloud controller and executing the write control command by the cloud controller 200.The CPU 100 can execute another task with no need to wait for a result of performing a write operation by the cloud controller 200, and only needs to obtain a write operation result when a write operation response command is written into the response command queue module 2021.This avoids an interrupt caused because the CPU 100 waits for a write operation result for an excessively long time, and improves resource utilization of the CPU 100 and overall performance of the computer device.", "In this embodiment of the present application, the CPU 100 may further obtain the write operation result by querying in a polling manner or by being notified by means of an interrupt.", "For example, after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module, the CPU 100 queries, in a polling manner, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021, that is, repeatedly queries, according to a preset time interval, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021.When determining that the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021, the CPU 100 obtains the write response message.", "The obtaining the write operation result by being notified by means of an interrupt includes: determining, by the cloud controller 200, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021, and notifying the CPU 100 by means of an interrupt when the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module 2021.Further, the cloud controller 200 may notify the CPU 100 by means of an interrupt when the write response message is written into the response command queue module 2021.The CPU 100 is further configured to: receive an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller 200, and obtain the write response message from the response command queue module 2021 according to the interrupt message.", "In the foregoing embodiment, the command transmission queue module 2011, the data transmission queue module 2012, the response command queue module 2021, and the data receiving queue module 2022 may be implemented by hardware such as a register or a memory, and are connected to the DDR interface or the like using a hardware interface.", "In addition, the command transmission queue module 2011 and the response command queue module 2021 store related commands or messages in an ordered arrangement manner such as in a queue form, and the data transmission queue module 2012 and the data receiving queue module 2022 store related data in an ordered arrangement manner such as in a queue form, such that the cloud controller 200 can perform reading or writing in a queue form.", "Further, a control unit or a control module of the cloud controller 200 may extract a control command from the command transmission queue module 2011 or the response command queue module 2021, execute the control command, and read data from the data transmission queue module 2012 or write data into the data receiving queue module 2022.The control unit or the control module of the cloud controller 200 is also a hardware control component, and is connected to the command transmission queue module 2011, the data transmission queue module 2012, the response command queue module 2021, the data receiving queue module 2022, and the network interface 204 using interfaces.", "In an optional implementation, the computer device 10 further includes a memory, and the CPU 100 obtains to-be-read data from the data receiving queue module 2022 and writes the to-be-read data into the memory.", "For example, the to-be-read data may be written into the memory in a direct memory access (DMA) manner.", "The writing, by the CPU 100 into the data transmission queue module 2012, the data to be written by means of the write operation is writing, into the data transmission queue module 2012 by configuring a DMA controller of a memory controller (MC), the data in the memory that is to be written by means of the write operation.", "In this embodiment of the present application, the network device is a device connected to the computer device using a network, and includes a device that provides a storage resource or a device that provides an input/output resource.", "Optionally, the device that provides a storage resource includes a device that provides a memory resource.", "The computer device 10 in the foregoing embodiment may be applied to a high-throughput computer data center, and is used as a high-throughput computer for data processing.", "When the computer device 10 is used as a high-throughput computer for data processing, the computer device 10 may include at least two CPUs and at least two memories.", "The at least two CPUs form a CPU resource pool and separately process data in the high-throughput computer data center.", "It should be noted that the DDR interface in the foregoing embodiment is a quick interface for reading or writing data between a CPU and a memory currently.", "To quickly read or write data, the DDR is used between the CPU 100 and the cloud controller 200, so as to meet a requirement of quickly obtaining data by the CPU.", "However, in this embodiment of the present application, no limitation is imposed on a form of an interface used between a CPU and a cloud controller.", "Another interface that can be used for quickly reading or writing data and that can meet a requirement of quickly reading or writing data by a CPU, for example, an interface whose reading or writing rate is equal to or similar to a reading or writing rate between a CPU and a memory, can be used as an interface between the CPU and the cloud controller.", "The following uses an example to describe a schematic diagram of a manner of reading or writing remote data by a computer device according to an embodiment of the present application.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, in addition to a local memory (for example, a DRAM using a DDR interface), a CPU 1 in a CPU resource pool also has remote storage spaces (a storage space A and a storage space B) allocated by a system.", "Each physical storage space is mapped to a global address space.", "A mapping relationship of the address space is stored in a driver of a cloud controller corresponding to each CPU.", "In this embodiment, descriptions are provided using an example in which the remote storage spaces include only the storage space A and the storage space B.", "During further implementation, two or more storage spaces may be included.", "For example, the CPU 1 has a 10 GB local memory and a 100 GB remote storage resource in total.", "The CPU 1 can access a remote storage resource pool including the storage space A and the storage space B, and the storage space A and the storage space B each are a storage space with a capacity of 50 GB.", "In this case, the CPU 1 can access a 110 GB storage space in total: a storage space of 0 to 10 GB in the local memory and a storage space of 10 GB to 110 GB in the remote storage resource pool.", "When the CPU 1 accesses the local memory, if an address space of 0 GB to 10 GB is accessed, the address space is mapped to the local memory, and the local memory is accessed using the DDR interface.", "When the CPU 1 accesses an address space of 10 GB to 110 GB, for example, 1 MB data needs to be written into the address space of 10 GB to 110 GB, the following steps are included: Step 1: A driver of the CPU 1 first writes, into a data transmission queue module of a cloud controller 1, the 1 MB data that needs to be written.", "It is assumed that the data is stored in an address of 5 KB in the data transmission queue module.", "Step 2: The driver of the CPU 1 obtains an address, in the storage resource pool, into which the 1 MB data to be written.", "Assuming that the address is the 100th GB address, the address is mapped to an address of 40 GB in the storage space B.", "Because an address range mapped to the storage space A is 10 GB to 60 GB, an address range mapped to the storage space B is 60 GB to 110 GB.", "Step 3: The driver of the CPU 1 writes, into a command transmission queue module of the cloud controller 1, address information of the remote storage space B, an offset address of 40 GB of the storage space B, an address of 5 KB in a data transmission queue, information of a data length of 1 MB, an identifier ID (for example, 0x01) of a current command, and other information.", "The driver of the CPU 1 may write the command into the command transmission queue module of the cloud controller 1 by writing the command into a particular register.", "Step 4: The cloud controller 1 obtains a new command (that is, the command of writing 1 MB data) from the command transmission queue module after finding that the command transmission queue module is not empty, parses the command to obtain the address of the remote storage space B, the offset address of the storage space B, the command identifier ID, and the data length, and other information, obtains corresponding data from the data transmission queue module according to the address, in the data transmission queue module, of the 1 MB data in the command transmission queue module to create a communications packet, and sends the communications packet to the storage space B using a network.", "In this case, if the CPU 1 needs to further perform another write operation, the driver of the CPU 1 may repeatedly perform the foregoing steps, and continue to write corresponding data and a corresponding command into the cloud controller 1.Step 5: After the 1 MB data is written into the storage space B, return a packet (carrying the corresponding command identifier ID: 0x01) indicating that data writing is complete.", "After the cloud controller 1 of the CPU 1 receives the returned packet, the cloud controller 1 of the CPU 1 writes information that a write command is complete into the response command queue module.", "The driver of the CPU 1 obtains, by querying the response command queue module, a write complete operation in which an identifier is 0x01, or the response command queue module notifies, by means of an interrupt, the CPU 1 that the write complete operation in which an identifier is 0x01 has been received, and the CPU 1 learns that the write operation of writing 1 MB data in the 100th GB address is complete.", "When the CPU 1 accesses an address space of 10 GB to 110 GB, for example, 1 MB data needs to be read from the address space of 10 GB to 110 GB, the following steps are included: Step 1: The driver of the CPU 1 obtains an address of to-be-read data in the storage resource pool.", "Assuming that the address is an address of 100 GB, the address is mapped to an address of 40 GB on a node B.", "Step 2: The driver of the CPU 1 writes, into the command transmission queue module of the cloud controller 1, address information of the storage space B, an offset address of 40 GB of the to-be-read data in the storage space B, information of a data length of 1 MB, an identifier ID (for example, 0x02) of a current command, and other information.", "The driver of the CPU 1 may write, by writing a command of reading the 1 MB data into a particular register, the command of reading the 1 MB data into the command transmission queue module of the cloud controller 1.Step 3: After finding that a command transmission queue is not empty, the cloud controller 1 obtains, from the command transmission queue module, the command of reading the 1 MB data, parses the command to obtain the address information of the remote storage space B, the offset address of the 1 MB data in the storage space B, the command identifier ID, the data length, and other information to create a communications packet, and sends the communications packet to the storage space B using a network.", "If the CPU 1 needs to further perform another read or write operation, the CPU 1 may repeatedly perform the foregoing steps, but different command identifiers need to be used to represent different commands.", "Step 4: After reading the corresponding data from the remote storage space B, the cloud controller 1 stores the returned data in the data receiving queue module, and writes, into the response command queue module, a command identifier ID 0x02, address information (10 KB) in a data receiving queue, a data length of 1 MB, and other information.", "Step 5: The driver of the CPU 1 may query, in a polling manner, a status of the response command queue module, or the response command queue module notifies the CPU 1 by means of an interrupt, and the driver of the CPU 1 learns, by reading the response command queue module, a response message of the reading the 1 MB data.", "When the response message indicates a read success, the 1 MB data is read from the data receiving queue module according to information, in the data receiving queue module, about the read data and is written into the local memory, or is read by means of DMA by configuring a DMA controller of the CPU.", "The further implementation is described using a network device for storing a resource as an example.", "The computer device provided in this embodiment of the present application may read data from a device that provides an input/output resource or write data into a device that provides an input/output resource.", "In this case, the network device is the device that provides the input/output resource.", "An embodiment of the present application further provides a method for reading or writing data by a computer device.", "The computer device includes a central processing unit (CPU), a cloud controller, and a network interface.", "The CPU is connected to the cloud controller using a double data rate (DDR) interface, and the network interface is configured to connect the cloud controller to a network device.", "FIG.", "5 is a schematic flowchart of a method for reading or writing data by a computer device according to an embodiment of the present application.", "The method includes the following steps: Step 500: The CPU converts a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writes the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller, where the control command is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation or a write operation on the network device, and the control command carries operation information of the read operation or the write operation.", "Step 502: The cloud controller performs the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command when the control command in the transmission queue module is triggered, and writes a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device.", "According to the foregoing method embodiment, the CPU is connected to the cloud controller using the DDR interface, and an interrupt is avoided because the DDR interface has a high data transmission rate.", "In addition, the CPU converts a read or write operation request into a control command and writes the control command into the transmission queue module of the cloud controller.", "Because the cloud controller performs the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to operation information in the control command, after writing the control command into the transmission queue module, the CPU does not need to wait for an operation performed by the cloud controller and can continue to perform other service processing, for example, continue to write another control command.", "This avoids a waste of CPU resources, and improves CPU utilization.", "During further implementation, if the read or write operation request is a read operation request, the converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller includes: converting, by the CPU, the read operation request into a read control command, and writing the read control command into a command transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, where the read control command carries read operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to perform a read operation on the network device according to the read operation information; and the performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device includes: performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation on the network device according to the read operation information in the read control command when the read control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, receiving a read response message sent by the network device, writing the read response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module of the response queue module, and writing, into the data receiving queue module of the response queue module, data that is to be read by means of the read operation and that is returned by the network device.", "The read operation information may include an address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation; or the read operation information includes a node address and an offset address, in the network device, of the data to be read by means of the read operation and a length of the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "After converting the read operation request into the read control command and writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module, the CPU may perform another operation, for example, continue to write another read control command or write control command.", "The cloud controller may extract the read control command from the command transmission queue module when the read control command is written into the command transmission queue module, execute the read control command, write a result of executing the read control command into the response command queue module, and write read data into the data receiving queue module when obtaining the read data.", "In this way, a read operation request is converted into two processes of writing a read control command by a CPU and executing the read control command by the cloud controller.", "The CPU can execute another task with no need to wait for a result of performing a read operation by the cloud controller, and only needs to obtain a read operation result when a read operation response command is written into the response command queue module.", "This avoids an interrupt caused because the CPU waits for a read operation result for an excessively long time, and improves resource utilization of the CPU.", "Further, in this embodiment of the present application, the CPU may obtain the read operation result by querying in a polling manner or by being notified by means of an interrupt.", "When obtaining the read operation result by querying in a polling manner, the CPU queries, in a polling manner, after writing the read control command into the command transmission queue module, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, that is, repeatedly queries, according to a preset time interval, whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "When determining that the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module and the read response message is a read success response message, the CPU reads, from the data receiving queue module, data to be read by means of the read operation.", "When obtaining the read operation result by being notified by means of an interrupt, the cloud controller determines whether the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notifies the CPU by means of an interrupt when the read response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "The CPU receives an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, obtains the read response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message, and when the obtained read response message indicates a read success, reads, from the data receiving queue module, the data to be read by means of the read operation.", "When the read or write operation request is a write operation request, the converting, by the CPU, a request for performing a read or write operation on the network device into a control command, and writing the control command into a transmission queue module of the cloud controller includes: converting, by the CPU, the write operation request into a write control command, writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, and writing, into the data transmission queue module of the transmission queue module, data to be written by means of the write operation, where the write control command carries write operation information and is used to instruct the cloud controller to write, into the network device according to the write operation information, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and the performing, by the cloud controller, the read operation or the write operation on the network device according to the operation information in the control command, and writing a response message sent by the network device into a response queue module of the cloud controller when receiving the response message sent by the network device includes: when the write control command in the command transmission queue module is triggered, extracting, by the cloud controller from the data transmission queue module according to the write operation information in the write control command, the data to be written by means of the write operation, and writing, into the network device, the data to be written by means of the write operation; and when receiving a write response message sent by the network device, writing the write response message sent by the network device into the response command queue module of the response queue module.", "The write operation information may include an address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation; or the write operation information includes a node address and an offset address of the network device, a length of the data to be written by means of the write operation, and an address, in the data transmission queue module, of the data to be written by means of the write operation.", "After converting the write operation request into the write control command and writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module, the CPU may perform another operation, for example, continue to write another read control command or write control command.", "The cloud controller may extract the write control command from the command transmission queue module when the write control command is written into the command transmission queue module, execute the write control command, and write a result of executing the write control command into the response command queue module.", "In this way, a write operation request is converted into two processes of writing a write control command into the command transmission queue module of the cloud controller and executing the write control command by the cloud controller.", "The CPU can execute another task with no need to wait for a result of performing a write operation by the cloud controller, and only needs to obtain a write operation result when a write operation response command is written into the response command queue module.", "This avoids an interrupt caused because the CPU waits for a write operation result for an excessively long time, and improves resource utilization of the CPU.", "Further, in this embodiment of the present application, the CPU may obtain the write operation result by querying in a polling manner or by being notified by means of an interrupt.", "When obtaining the write operation result by querying in a polling manner, the CPU queries, in a polling manner, after writing the write control command into the command transmission queue module, whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and the CPU obtains the write response message when determining that the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "When obtaining the write operation result by being notified by means of an interrupt, the cloud controller determines whether the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module, and notifies the CPU by means of an interrupt when the write response message sent by the network device exists in the response command queue module.", "The CPU receives an interrupt message sent by the cloud controller, and obtains the write response message from the response command queue module according to the interrupt message.", "The implementation of the foregoing method embodiment may also be implemented with reference to the implementations of the computer device 10, and no details are repeated.", "A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof.", "To clearly describe the interchangeability between the hardware and the software, the foregoing has generally described compositions and steps of each example according to functions.", "Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions.", "A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the present application.", "It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, reference may be made to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.", "In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners.", "For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example.", "For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation.", "For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed.", "In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces, indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units, or electrical connections, mechanical connections, or connections in other forms.", "The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units.", "A part or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments of the present application.", "In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.", "The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional unit.", "When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.", "Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or all or a part of the technical solutions may be implemented in the form of a software product.", "The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or a part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application.", "The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.", "The foregoing descriptions are merely embodiments of the present application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application.", "Any modification or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.", "Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims." ] ]
Patent_15874852
[ [ "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS SEMISOLID DIE CASTING", "A method for continuous semisolid die casting.", "The method is achieved using an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting.", "The apparatus includes: a first preparation device for producing a nucleating agent, a second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry, a semisolid die casting machine, and a central controller.", "The second preparation device includes a slurry generator.", "The method includes: controlling, by the central controller, the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent, and delivering the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device; controlling, by the central controller, the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry, and delivering the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; and controlling, by the central controller, the semisolid die casting machine to perform semisolid die casting." ], [ "1.A method for continuous semisolid die casting, the method being achieved using an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting, the apparatus comprising: a first preparation device for producing a nucleating agent, a second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry, a semisolid die casting machine, and a central controller, the second preparation device comprising a slurry generator, and the method comprising: controlling, by the central controller, the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent, and delivering the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device; controlling, by the central controller, the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry, and delivering the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; and controlling, by the central controller, the semisolid die casting machine to perform semisolid die casting.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first preparation device comprises a resistance furnace and a sealed cap, and, controlling, by the central controller, the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent, and delivering the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device comprises: putting spindles of the nucleating agent into the resistance furnace of the first preparation device; locking the sealed cap of the first preparation device; heating the resistance furnace to melt the spindles of the nucleating agent into a liquid nucleating agent with a preset temperature; heating a metal mold to a first preset temperature; closing the metal mold, and injecting the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold; allowing the generation of the solid nucleating agent, and opening the metal mold; and delivering the produced solid nucleating agent to the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry; wherein the preset temperature of the liquid nucleating agent is 650-700 degrees Celsius, and the first preset temperature of the metal mold is 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein a mass of the solid nucleating agent transmitted to the slurry generator of the second preparation device accounts for 0.5-1.5% of that of the liquid slurry.", "4.The method of claim 3, wherein the mass of the solid nucleating agent transmitted to the slurry generator of the second preparation device accounts for 1% of that of the liquid slurry.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the solid nucleating agent is hollow hemispherical particles, and a mass of each particle is 10-20 g. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the second preparation device further comprises a gas cooling mechanical stirrer, the gas cooling mechanical stirrer comprises a hollow stirring rod equipped with a temperature measuring apparatus, and, controlling the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry comprises: controlling the gas cooling mechanical stirrer to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period; obtaining a temperature of semisolid slurry by the temperature measuring apparatus of the hollow stirring rod; and controlling a temperature of the slurry generator so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at a second preset temperature; wherein the preset rotate speed is 200-1000 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 10-25 second, and the second preset temperature is 595-605 degrees Celsius.", "7.The method of claim 6, wherein the preset rotate speed is 800 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 20 second, and the second preset temperature is 605 degrees Celsius.", "8.An apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting, the apparatus comprising: a first preparation device for a producing nucleating agent; a second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry, the second preparation device comprising a slurry generator; a semisolid die casting machine; and a central controller; wherein: the central controller is adapted to: control the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device; control the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry and deliver the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; and control the semisolid die casting machine to perform semisolid die casting.", "9.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein: the first preparation device comprises a resistance furnace, a sealed cap, a lift tube, a metal mold, a hydraulic equipment, and a delivering equipment for delivering the solid nucleating agent; the central controller is adapted to control the first preparation device to produce the solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent as follows: putting spindles of the nucleating agent into the resistance furnace of the first preparation device; locking the sealed cap of the first preparation device; heating the resistance furnace to melt the spindles of the nucleating agent into a liquid nucleating agent with a preset temperature; heating a metal mold to a first preset temperature; closing the metal mold, and injecting the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold; allowing the generation of the solid nucleating agent, and opening the metal mold; and delivering the produced solid nucleating agent to the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry; wherein the preset temperature of the liquid nucleating agent is 650-700 degrees Celsius, and the first preset temperature of the metal mold is 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "10.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein: the second preparation device comprises a gas cooling mechanical stirrer and a slurry generator, the gas cooling mechanical stirrer comprises a hollow stirring rod equipped with a temperature measuring apparatus; the central controller is adapted to: control the gas cooling mechanical stirrer to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period; control the temperature measuring apparatus of the hollow stirring rod to acquire a temperature of semisolid slurry; and control a temperature of the slurry generator so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at a second preset temperature; wherein the preset rotate speed is 200-1000 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 10-25 second, and the second preset temperature is 595-605 degrees Celsius." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In view of the above-described problems, one objective of the disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting that are efficient and stable when preparing semisolid slurry.", "To achieve the above objectives, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for continuous semisolid die casting, the method being achieved using an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting, the apparatus comprising: a first preparation device for producing a nucleating agent, a second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry, a semisolid die casting machine, and a central controller, the second preparation device comprising a slurry generator, and the method comprising: controlling, by the central controller, the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent, and delivering the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device; controlling, by the central controller, the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry, and delivering the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; and controlling, by the central controller, the semisolid die casting machine to perform semisolid die casting.", "In a class of this embodiment, the first preparation device comprises a resistance furnace and a sealed cap, and, controlling, by the central controller, the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent, and delivering the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device comprises: putting spindles of the nucleating agent into the resistance furnace of the first preparation device; locking the sealed cap of the first preparation device; heating the resistance furnace to melt the spindles of the nucleating agent into a liquid nucleating agent with a preset temperature; heating a metal mold to a first preset temperature; closing the metal mold, and injecting the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold; allowing the generation of the solid nucleating agent, and opening the metal mold; and delivering the produced solid nucleating agent to the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry.", "Specifically, the preset temperature of the liquid nucleating agent is 650-700 degrees Celsius, and the first preset temperature of the metal mold is 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "In a class of this embodiment, a mass of the solid nucleating agent transmitted to the slurry generator of the second preparation device accounts for 0.5-1.5% of that of the liquid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, the mass of the solid nucleating agent transmitted to the slurry generator of the second preparation device accounts for 1% of that of the liquid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, the solid nucleating agent is hollow hemispherical particles, and a mass of each particle is 10-20 g. In a class of this embodiment, the second preparation device further comprises a gas cooling mechanical stirrer, the gas cooling mechanical stirrer comprises a hollow stirring rod equipped with a temperature measuring apparatus, and, controlling the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry comprises: controlling the gas cooling mechanical stirrer to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period; obtaining a temperature of semisolid slurry by the temperature measuring apparatus of the hollow stirring rod; and controlling a temperature of the slurry generator so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at a second preset temperature.", "Specifically, the preset rotate speed is 200-1000 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 10-25 second, and the second preset temperature is 595-605 degrees Celsius.", "In a class of this embodiment, the preset rotate speed is 800 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 20 second, the second preset temperature is 605 degrees Celsius.", "According to another aspect of the disclosure, the disclosure also provides an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting, the apparatus comprising: a first preparation device for producing nucleating agent, a second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry, a semisolid die casting machine, and a central controller; the central controller is adapted to: control the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device; control the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry and deliver the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; and control the semisolid die casting machine to perform semisolid die casting.", "In a class of this embodiment, the first preparation device for producing nucleating agent comprises a resistance furnace, a sealed cap, a lift tube, a metal mold, a hydraulic equipment, and a delivering equipment for delivering solid nucleating agent; the central controller is adapted to control the first preparation device to produce the solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent as follows: putting spindles of the nucleating agent into the resistance furnace of the first preparation device; locking the sealed cap of the first preparation device; heating the resistance furnace to melt the spindles of the nucleating agent into a liquid nucleating agent with a preset temperature; heating a metal mold to a first preset temperature; closing the metal mold, and injecting the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold; and allowing the generation of the solid nucleating agent, and opening the metal mold; and delivering the produced solid nucleating agent to the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry.", "Specifically, the preset temperature of the liquid nucleating agent is 650-700 degrees Celsius, and the first preset temperature of the metal mold is 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "In a class of this embodiment, the second preparation device comprises a gas cooling mechanical stirrer and a slurry generator, the gas cooling mechanical stirrer comprises a hollow stirring rod equipped with a temperature measuring apparatus, and the central controller is adapted to: control the gas cooling mechanical stirrer to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period; control the temperature measuring apparatus of the hollow stirring rod to acquire a temperature of semisolid slurry; and control a temperature of the slurry generator so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at a second preset temperature.", "Specifically, the preset rotate speed is 200-1000 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 10-25 second, and the second preset temperature is 595-605 degrees Celsius.", "The method and apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting provided in the disclosure have the following advantages: (1) adding the solid nucleating agent into the liquid slurry, and controlling the addition percentage of the nucleating agent and the relative temperature of the nucleating agent and the liquid slurry, so that the temperature of the liquid slurry can be lowered rapidly, the solid nucleating agent can be melted and decomposed to form a lot of solid nucleation during stirring procedure, therefore the dendrite broken up because of the stirring operation can form refined and uniform globular grain structure, and content of the solid slurry in the produced semisolid slurry can be increased and maintained at about 42-50% all the time.", "The time required for preparing the slurry is decreased, the content of the solid slurry in the semisolid slurry is increased, and refined and uniform globular grains can be obtained, therefore the problem of the content of solid slurry being low during conditional semisolid slurry preparation is solved, and the efficiency in preparing semisolid slurry is improved, and the quality of the semisolid slurry can remain stable.", "(2) The three procedures of solid nucleating agent preparation, semisolid slurry preparation, semisolid slurry die casting can be performed circularly, and the integrated semisolid die casting production device can operate automatically and stably.", "The semisolid products produced by using the die casting technique have the advantages of stable quality and higher acceptability, therefore, the production cost is decreased.", "The semisolid production using the die casting process with the integrated device circularly performing the process provides a new semisolid die casting production method, and provides a new idea for the development of semisolid die casting technique." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No.", "PCT/CN2017/077539 with an international filing date of Mar.", "21, 2017, designating the United States, now pending, and further claims foreign priority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No.", "201610216958.3 filed Apr.", "8, 2016.The contents of all of the aforementioned applications, including any intervening amendments thereto, are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The invention relates to a method and apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting.", "Description of the Related Art Existing semisolid die casting methods include mechanical stirring, electromagnetic stirring, controlled solidification, strain activation, and powder metallurgy.", "These methods are disadvantageous for the following reasons: (1) the slurry preparation device is complex and costly, (2) the solid to liquid ratio in the semisolid slurry is difficult to control, and (3) the solid content of the slurry is unstable.", "In addition, the processes are inefficient, and the semisolid slurry prepared by the processes includes coarse, large globular grains and low degree of roundness.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-described problems, one objective of the disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting that are efficient and stable when preparing semisolid slurry.", "To achieve the above objectives, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for continuous semisolid die casting, the method being achieved using an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting, the apparatus comprising: a first preparation device for producing a nucleating agent, a second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry, a semisolid die casting machine, and a central controller, the second preparation device comprising a slurry generator, and the method comprising: controlling, by the central controller, the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent, and delivering the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device; controlling, by the central controller, the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry, and delivering the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; and controlling, by the central controller, the semisolid die casting machine to perform semisolid die casting.", "In a class of this embodiment, the first preparation device comprises a resistance furnace and a sealed cap, and, controlling, by the central controller, the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent, and delivering the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device comprises: putting spindles of the nucleating agent into the resistance furnace of the first preparation device; locking the sealed cap of the first preparation device; heating the resistance furnace to melt the spindles of the nucleating agent into a liquid nucleating agent with a preset temperature; heating a metal mold to a first preset temperature; closing the metal mold, and injecting the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold; allowing the generation of the solid nucleating agent, and opening the metal mold; and delivering the produced solid nucleating agent to the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry.", "Specifically, the preset temperature of the liquid nucleating agent is 650-700 degrees Celsius, and the first preset temperature of the metal mold is 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "In a class of this embodiment, a mass of the solid nucleating agent transmitted to the slurry generator of the second preparation device accounts for 0.5-1.5% of that of the liquid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, the mass of the solid nucleating agent transmitted to the slurry generator of the second preparation device accounts for 1% of that of the liquid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, the solid nucleating agent is hollow hemispherical particles, and a mass of each particle is 10-20 g. In a class of this embodiment, the second preparation device further comprises a gas cooling mechanical stirrer, the gas cooling mechanical stirrer comprises a hollow stirring rod equipped with a temperature measuring apparatus, and, controlling the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry comprises: controlling the gas cooling mechanical stirrer to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period; obtaining a temperature of semisolid slurry by the temperature measuring apparatus of the hollow stirring rod; and controlling a temperature of the slurry generator so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at a second preset temperature.", "Specifically, the preset rotate speed is 200-1000 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 10-25 second, and the second preset temperature is 595-605 degrees Celsius.", "In a class of this embodiment, the preset rotate speed is 800 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 20 second, the second preset temperature is 605 degrees Celsius.", "According to another aspect of the disclosure, the disclosure also provides an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting, the apparatus comprising: a first preparation device for producing nucleating agent, a second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry, a semisolid die casting machine, and a central controller; the central controller is adapted to: control the first preparation device to produce a solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device; control the second preparation device to produce semisolid slurry and deliver the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; and control the semisolid die casting machine to perform semisolid die casting.", "In a class of this embodiment, the first preparation device for producing nucleating agent comprises a resistance furnace, a sealed cap, a lift tube, a metal mold, a hydraulic equipment, and a delivering equipment for delivering solid nucleating agent; the central controller is adapted to control the first preparation device to produce the solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent as follows: putting spindles of the nucleating agent into the resistance furnace of the first preparation device; locking the sealed cap of the first preparation device; heating the resistance furnace to melt the spindles of the nucleating agent into a liquid nucleating agent with a preset temperature; heating a metal mold to a first preset temperature; closing the metal mold, and injecting the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold; and allowing the generation of the solid nucleating agent, and opening the metal mold; and delivering the produced solid nucleating agent to the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry.", "Specifically, the preset temperature of the liquid nucleating agent is 650-700 degrees Celsius, and the first preset temperature of the metal mold is 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "In a class of this embodiment, the second preparation device comprises a gas cooling mechanical stirrer and a slurry generator, the gas cooling mechanical stirrer comprises a hollow stirring rod equipped with a temperature measuring apparatus, and the central controller is adapted to: control the gas cooling mechanical stirrer to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period; control the temperature measuring apparatus of the hollow stirring rod to acquire a temperature of semisolid slurry; and control a temperature of the slurry generator so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at a second preset temperature.", "Specifically, the preset rotate speed is 200-1000 revolutions/second, the preset time period is 10-25 second, and the second preset temperature is 595-605 degrees Celsius.", "The method and apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting provided in the disclosure have the following advantages: (1) adding the solid nucleating agent into the liquid slurry, and controlling the addition percentage of the nucleating agent and the relative temperature of the nucleating agent and the liquid slurry, so that the temperature of the liquid slurry can be lowered rapidly, the solid nucleating agent can be melted and decomposed to form a lot of solid nucleation during stirring procedure, therefore the dendrite broken up because of the stirring operation can form refined and uniform globular grain structure, and content of the solid slurry in the produced semisolid slurry can be increased and maintained at about 42-50% all the time.", "The time required for preparing the slurry is decreased, the content of the solid slurry in the semisolid slurry is increased, and refined and uniform globular grains can be obtained, therefore the problem of the content of solid slurry being low during conditional semisolid slurry preparation is solved, and the efficiency in preparing semisolid slurry is improved, and the quality of the semisolid slurry can remain stable.", "(2) The three procedures of solid nucleating agent preparation, semisolid slurry preparation, semisolid slurry die casting can be performed circularly, and the integrated semisolid die casting production device can operate automatically and stably.", "The semisolid products produced by using the die casting technique have the advantages of stable quality and higher acceptability, therefore, the production cost is decreased.", "The semisolid production using the die casting process with the integrated device circularly performing the process provides a new semisolid die casting production method, and provides a new idea for the development of semisolid die casting technique.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting of the disclosure; FIG.", "2 is a flow chart of a method for continuous semisolid die casting of the disclosure; and FIG.", "3 illustrates metallographic structure of a semisolid slurry produced using the method of the disclosure.", "In the drawings, the flowing reference numbers are used: 1.Central controller; 2.First preparation device for producing nucleating agent; 201.Resistance furnace; 202.Sealed cap; 203.Lift tube; 204.Metal mold; 205.Hydraulic equipment; 206.Delivering equipment for delivering solid nucleating agent; 3.Second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry; 301.Gas cooling mechanical stirrer; 302.Slurry generator; 4.Semisolid die casting machine.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS For further illustrating the invention, experiments detailing a method and apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting are described below.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for continuous semisolid die casting, which comprises: a central controller 1, a first preparation device 2 for producing nucleating agent, a second preparation device 3 for producing semisolid slurry, semisolid die casting machine 4, and the first preparation device 2 for producing nucleating agent, the second preparation device 3 for producing semisolid slurry, the semisolid die casting machine 4 are all connected with the central controller 1 through electrical signals.", "The central controller 1 controls the whole production process, all procedure operations are performed circularly and automatically by means of numerical control program and corresponding induction position switch, so that continuous die casting production can be realized.", "The central controller 1 controls the first preparation device 2 to produce solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent to a slurry generator of the second preparation device 3; controls the second preparation device 3 to produce semisolid slurry and deliver the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine 4; controls the semisolid die casting machine 4 to perform semisolid die casting.", "The first preparation device 2 for producing nucleating agent comprises: a resistance furnace 201, a sealed cap 202, a lift tube 203, a metal mold 204, a hydraulic equipment 205, and a delivering equipment 206 for delivering solid nucleating agent.", "The central controller 1 controls the first preparation device 2 to produce solid nucleating agent and deliver the solid nucleating agent according to the following method: after the nucleating agent spindles are put into the resistance furnace 201, controlling the sealed cap 202 to be locked, controlling the resistance furnace 201 to heat the nucleating agent spindles to liquid nucleating agent with the liquid preset temperature, controlling the metal mold 204 to be heated to the first preset temperature and maintain this temperature, controlling the hydraulic equipment 205 to close the metal mold 204, controlling the lift tube 203 to inject the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold 204; after the solid nucleating agent is produced, controlling the hydraulic equipment 205 to open the metal mold 204, delivering the solid nucleating agent to the solid nucleating agent transmitting equipment through the delivering equipment 206 for delivering solid nucleating agent; the liquid preset temperature being 650-700 degrees Celsius, the first preset temperature being 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "The metal mold 204 comprises an upper diaphragm chamber and a lower diaphragm chamber, after the hydraulic equipment 205 being controlled to open the metal mold 204, the upper diaphragm chamber can be transmitted by a screw rod and moved to a slurry preparation area, and the solid nucleating agent can be transmitted to delivering equipment 206 for delivering solid nucleating agent.", "The second preparation device 3 comprises: gas cooling mechanical stirrer 301, slurry generator 302, and there is a temperature measuring apparatus provided in a hollow stirring rod.", "The gas cooling mechanical stirrer 301 comprises the hollow stirring rod with a copper pipe in it.", "When the stirring rod rotates, the compressed air with a certain flux and pressure will exchange heat with molten aluminum indirectly, to cool the molten aluminum.", "Preferably, when setting the gas cooling mechanical stirrer, the pressure of cooling air is set to 3.5-4.5 kPa, the flux of the compressed air is set to 10-30 L/min.", "The central controller 1 controls the gas cooling mechanical stirrer 301 to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period.", "The temperature of the semisolid slurry will be obtained by the temperature measuring apparatus in the hollow stirring rod.", "The preparation temperature of the slurry generator is controlled so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at a second preset temperature, and the fluctuation range of the second preset temperature is +3 degrees Celsius.", "The preset rotate speed is 200-1000 revolutions/second, and the preset time period is 10-25 second, the second preset temperature is 595-605 degrees Celsius.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow chart of the semisolid die casting production process.", "The present method comprises the following steps executed by the central controller: Step 1, controlling first preparation device for producing nucleating agent to produce solid nucleating agent and to deliver the solid nucleating agent to the slurry generator of the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry; Step 2, controlling the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry to produce semisolid slurry and to deliver the semisolid slurry to the semisolid die casting machine; Step 3, controlling the semisolid die casting machine to perform die casting.", "The present method will be explained in detail.", "In step 1, after the nucleating agent spindles are put into the resistance furnace, control the sealed cap to be locked, control the resistance furnace to heat the nucleating agent spindles to liquid nucleating agent with the liquid preset temperature, control the metal mold to be heated to the first preset temperature and maintain this temperature, control the hydraulic equipment to close the metal mold, control the lift tube to inject the liquid nucleating agent into the metal mold; after the solid nucleating agent is produced, control the hydraulic equipment to open the metal mold, delivering the produced solid nucleating agent to the solid nucleating agent transmitting equipment through the delivering equipment for delivering solid nucleating agent (such as launder).", "Wherein, the liquid preset temperature is 650-700 degrees Celsius, preferably 680 degrees Celsius, the first preset temperature is 180-240 degrees Celsius.", "The metal mold is heated to 180-240 degrees Celsius and is maintained at this degree Celsius.", "Under this circumstance, the temperature of the nucleating agent particles can maintain at 80-120 degrees Celsius, so that the hollow hemispherical nucleating agent particles added during slurry preparation can be melted to form solid nucleation easily.", "The nucleating agent particles with temperature being 80-120 degrees Celsius play a role of fast cooling during slurry preparation.", "The mass of solid nucleating agent delivered to the slurry generator of the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry accounts for 0.2-1.5% of the mass of the liquid slurry.", "The addition amount of the nucleating agent will influence the roundness of the globular grain and solid content, as illustrated in Table 1.TABLE 1 Influence of addition amount of solid nucleating agent on roundness of the globular grain and solid content Addition Test No.", "of nucleating agent/g Addition percentage/% Roundness 1 0.5 0.68 36 2 0.58 0.70 38 3 0.67 0.72 39 4 0.75 0.76 42 5 0.83 0.78 46 6 0.92 0.82 50 7 1.0 0.88 56 8 1.08 0.82 50 9 1.17 0.84 48 10 1.25 0.83 49 11 1.33 0.84 46 12 1.42 0.86 44 13 1.5 0.85 42 As can be known from Table 1, the addition percentage of the nucleating agent is in the range of 0.5-1.5%, when the addition amount increases, the globular grains of the semisolid slurry will be more rounding, and the proportion of solid content will increase too.", "When the addition percentage is above 1%, the proportion of solid content of slurry will decrease, and the roundness will decrease too.", "Therefore, the preferred addition amount of solid nucleating agent particles is 1% of the amount of the alloy for preparing the slurry.", "The solid nucleating agent is hollow hemispherical particles, and the mass of each particle is 10-20 g. In step 2, the operation of controlling the second preparation device for producing semisolid slurry to produce semisolid slurry comprises: controlling gas cooling mechanical stirrer to stir in the slurry generator at a preset rotate speed for a preset time period; obtaining the temperature of the semisolid slurry by the temperature measuring apparatus in the hollow stirring rod; controlling the preparation temperature of the slurry generator so that the temperature of the semisolid slurry holds at the second preset temperature; the preset rotate speed being 200-1000 revolutions/second, and the preset time period being 10-25 second, the second preset temperature being 595-605 degrees Celsius.", "The rotate speed and time period of the stirring rod affect the structure of globular grains and mechanical property, as illustrated in Table 2.TABLE 2 Influence of stirring speed and stirring time on mechanical property of semisolid production Molten Stirring Stirring Strength of Yield Test aluminum speed/ time extension/ strength/ No.", "temperature/° C. r · min−1 period/s mPa mPa Elongation/% 1 685 900 25 225 116 2.7 2 685 800 20 234 119 3.7 3 680 800 25 231 114 3.2 4 680 700 20 229 117 4.0 5 675 700 20 212 122 3.0 6 675 600 15 189 110 2.2 7 670 800 20 254 135 4.5 8 670 700 15 230 117 3.6 9 665 800 20 220 130 3.5 10 665 600 15 215 127 2.8 11 660 800 20 223 115 2.9 12 660 700 15 235 126 3.5 As can be known from Table 2, during slurry preparation, the stirring speed and the stirring time of the stirring rod directly influence the mechanical property of the semisolid die casting production.", "When the temperature of the molten aluminum in the furnace is 670 degrees Celsius, the stirring rod stirs to prepare the slurry, with the following parameters: the rotate speed is 800 revolutions/second for 20 seconds, and the temperature of the semisolid slurry is 605 degrees Celsius.", "In this circumstance, the performance of the semisolid production by using the semisolid slurry die casting process is better.", "As the stirring speed increases, the morphology of the primary solid phase in the semisolid die casting structure will be refined and uniform and the distribution will be more even.", "The reasons are: (a) the increased stirring speed can facilitate improving the convection intensity of melt in the crucible, the increased convection intensity can facilitate the alloy melt realizing higher degree of supercooling in same time period, therefore nucleus can be formed more easily, at the same time, the increased convection intensity can facilitate the distribution of the interior temperature field and concentration field in the undercooling alloy melt being more even; (b) when the stirring speed is relatively low, the times and the intensities of the impacts between the dendrites and the stirring blades, between the dendrites and the cylinder wall, between the dendrites and the dendrites are not high enough, therefore only part of the dendrites are broken up.", "As the stirring speed increases, the intensities and frequencies of the impacts will increase enormously, which are benefit for breaking off of the dendrite arms, and also benefit for rounding at angle place of granular grain, so that the nearly globular grains can be formed.", "However, high stirring speed will cause serious air entrapment in the alloy melt and more pore defects in the structure, which are not good for the improvement of the workpiece performance.", "FIG.", "3 is the metallographic structure chart of the semisolid slurry produced by using the method of the present method.", "The disclosure has the following beneficial effects: (1) adding the solid nucleating agent into the liquid slurry, and controlling the addition percentage of the nucleating agent and the relative temperature of the nucleating agent and the liquid slurry, so that the temperature of the liquid slurry can be lowered rapidly, the solid nucleating agent can be melted and decomposed to form a lot of solid nucleation during stirring procedure, therefore the dendrite broken up because of the stirring operation can form refined and uniform globular grain structure, and content of the solid slurry in the produced semisolid slurry can be increased and maintained at about 42-50% all the time.", "The time required for preparing the slurry is decreased, the content of the solid slurry in the semisolid slurry is increased, and refined and uniform globular grains can be obtained, therefore the problem of the content of solid slurry being low during conditional semisolid slurry preparation is solved, and the efficiency in preparing semisolid slurry is improved, and the quality of the semisolid slurry can remain stable.", "(2) The three procedures of solid nucleating agent preparation, semisolid slurry preparation, semisolid slurry die casting can be performed circularly, and the integrated semisolid die casting production device can operate automatically and stably.", "The semisolid products produced by using the die casting technique have the advantages of stable quality and higher acceptability, therefore, the production cost is decreased.", "The semisolid production using the die casting process with the integrated device circularly performing the process provides a new semisolid die casting production method, and provides a new idea for the development of semisolid die casting technique.", "Finally, what should be made clear is that, in this text, the terms “contain”, “comprise” or any other variants are intended to mean “nonexclusively include” so that any process, method, article or equipment that contains a series of factors shall include not only such factors, but also include other factors that are not explicitly listed, or also include intrinsic factors of such process, method, object or equipment.", "Without more limitations, factors defined by the phrase “contain a .", ".", ".", "” or its variants do not rule out that there are other same factors in the process, method, article or equipment which include said factors.", "The semisolid production method using a continuous die casting technique in the disclosure can increase the solid content of the slurry, provide refined and uniform globular grains, solve the problem of the solid content being low during traditional semisolid slurry preparation, therefore, the efficiency in preparing semisolid slurry is improved and the quality of semisolid slurry can remain stable.", "In the apparatus, the three procedures of solid nucleating agent preparation, semisolid slurry preparation, semisolid slurry die casting can be performed circularly, and the integrated semisolid die casting production device can operate automatically and stably.", "The semisolid products produced by using the die casting technique have the advantages of stable quality and higher acceptability, therefore, the production cost is decreased.", "The semisolid production using the die casting process with the integrated device circularly performing the process provides a new semisolid die casting production method, and provides a new idea for the development of semisolid die casting technique.", "Unless otherwise indicated, the numerical ranges involved in the invention include the end values.", "While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15874858
[ [ "METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PREPARING SEMI-SOLID SLURRY", "A method for preparing semisolid slurry.", "The method is achieved using a device for preparing semisolid slurry.", "The device includes a slurry vessel and a mechanical stirring rod.", "The mechanical stirring rod includes a first end and a second end extending into the slurry vessel.", "The method includes: S1.", "putting a molten alloy having a first preset temperature into the slurry vessel; S2.", "cooling the molten alloy to a second preset temperature, positioning the second end of the mechanical stirring rod to be 5-25 mm higher than the bottom wall of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod and injecting a cooling medium into the mechanical stirring rod; and S3: allowing the temperature of the molten alloy to be 10-90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling, to yield a semisolid slurry." ], [ "1.A method for preparing semisolid slurry, the method being achieved using a device for preparing semisolid slurry, the device comprising a slurry vessel and a mechanical stirring rod, the mechanical stirring rod comprising a first end and a second end extending into the slurry vessel, and the method comprising: S1: putting a molten alloy having a first preset temperature into the slurry vessel, wherein the first preset temperature is 30-120 degrees centigrade higher than a liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; S2: cooling the molten alloy to a second preset temperature, positioning the second end of the mechanical stirring rod to be 5-25 mm higher than a bottom wall of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod at 100-900 rpm and injecting a cooling medium having a temperature of between −10 and 100 degrees centigrade into the mechanical stirring rod at a flow rate of 5-25 L/minute; wherein the second preset temperature is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; and S3: allowing a temperature of the molten alloy to be 10-90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling, to yield a semisolid slurry.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein, in S2, when the temperature of the molten alloy is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, a stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 100-400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is between −10 and 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10-25 L/minute; and when the temperature of the molten alloy is 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 400-900 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20-80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 5-15 L/minute.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein: in S1, the first preset temperature of the molten alloy is 75 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; in S2, when the temperature of the molten alloy is 40 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is positioned to be 15 mm higher than a bottom wall of the slurry vessel, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 250 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 18 L/minute; when the temperature of the molten alloy is 5 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 650 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10 L/minute; and in S3, when the temperature of the semisolid slurry is 50 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling, to yield the semisolid slurry.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the alloy comprises aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, copper alloy and zinc alloy.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the cooling medium is water, heat conduction oil or liquid organic solvent.", "6.A device for preparing semisolid slurry, the device comprising: a slurry vessel; a mechanical stirring rod; a plurality of stirring blades; a cooling medium controller; a cooling medium inlet pipe; and a cooling medium recycling pipe; wherein: the mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure comprising a first end and a second end; the second end extends into the slurry vessel; the plurality of stirring blades is inserted in the hollow structure, and a vertical interval between the plurality of stirring blades and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 35-50 mm; and a first end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a first end of the cooling medium recycling pipe are connected to the cooling medium controller, and a second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe extend into the mechanical stirring rod.", "7.The device of claim 6, wherein the mechanical stirring rod is provided with a coating agent, and the coated agent coating is grease, filler or oil.", "8.The device of claim 6, wherein the stirring blades are made of nitrided die steel.", "9.The device of claim 6, further comprising a first temperature measuring equipment and a second temperature measuring equipment, wherein the first temperature measuring equipment is disposed in the slurry vessel, the second temperature measuring equipment is disposed on the cooling medium inlet pipe.", "10.The device of claim 6, wherein the mechanical stirring rod is vertically inserted into the slurry vessel along a central axis of the slurry vessel, a distance between the second end of the mechanical stirring rod and the bottom wall of the slurry vessel is adjustable along the central axis." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In view of the above-described problems, one objective of the disclosure is to provide a method and device for preparing semisolid slurry that feature efficient and stable cooling capacity.", "To achieve the above objectives, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for preparing semisolid slurry, the method being achieved using a device for preparing semisolid slurry, the device comprising a slurry vessel and a mechanical stirring rod, the mechanical stirring rod comprising a first end and a second end extending into the slurry vessel, and the method comprising: S 1 : putting a molten alloy having a first preset temperature into the slurry vessel, wherein the first preset temperature is 30-120 degrees centigrade higher than a liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; S 2 : cooling the molten alloy to a second preset temperature, positioning the second end of the mechanical stirring rod to be 5-25 mm higher than a bottom wall of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod at 100-900 rpm and injecting a cooling medium having a temperature of between −10 and 100 degrees centigrade into the mechanical stirring rod at a flow rate of 5-25 L/minute; wherein the second preset temperature is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; and S 3 : allowing a temperature of the molten alloy to be 10-90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling, to yield a semisolid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, in S 2 , when the temperature of the molten alloy is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, a stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 100-400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is between −10 and 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10-25 L/minute; when the temperature of the molten alloy is 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 400-900 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20-80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 5-15 L/minute.", "In a class of this embodiment, in S 1 , the first preset temperature of the molten alloy is 75 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; in S 2 , when the temperature of the molten alloy is 40 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is positioned to be 15 mm higher than a bottom wall of the slurry vessel, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 250 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 18 L/minute; when the temperature of the molten alloy is 5 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 650 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10 L/minute; and in S 3 , when the temperature of the semisolid slurry is 50 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling, to yield the semisolid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, the alloy comprises aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, copper alloy or zinc alloy.", "In a class of this embodiment, the cooling medium is water, heat conduction oil or liquid organic solvent.", "In another aspect, the disclosure provides a device for preparing semisolid slurry, the device comprising: a slurry vessel, a mechanical stirring rod, a plurality of stirring blades, a cooling medium controller, a cooling medium inlet pipe, and a cooling medium recycling pipe.", "The mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure comprising a first end and a second end; the second end extends into the slurry vessel; the plurality of stirring blades is inserted in the hollow structure, and a vertical interval between the plurality of stirring blades and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 35-50 mm; and a first end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a first end of the cooling medium recycling pipe are connected to the cooling medium controller, and a second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe extend into the mechanical stirring rod.", "According to the method for preparing semisolid slurry in the disclosure, the cooling medium is injected into the mechanical stirring rod, and the slurry is stirred and cooled by the mechanical stirring rod.", "In S 1 , the temperature of molten alloy is 30-120 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the temperature of the molten alloy will be further decreased when putting the molten alloy into the slurry vessel, the temperature of the molten alloy in this state is affect by the heat exchanging between the molten alloy and the slurry vessel, and the temperature range of the molten alloy after the heat exchanging comprises the temperature range of molten alloy being treated by the subsequent procedures; in S 2 , the temperature is set to 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy when stirring begins, the mechanical stirring rod is inserted at this time and the slurry is stirred and cooled.", "The insertion of the mechanical stirring rod has a role of chilling function on the slurry, and the temperature range of 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy has certain buffer function, therefore when the slurry will form dendrite structure, the energy field and the temperature field in the slurry vessel are even.", "Mechanical stirring can break the primary solid phase, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 100-900 rpm, this stirring speed can maintain the stirring function in the slurry and break the dendrite structure, and will not cause slurry splash and serious air entrapment.", "The cooling medium is injected into the slurry when stirring the slurry, the temperature of the cooling medium is −10-100 degrees centigrade, the flow rate of the injected cooling medium is 5-25 L/minute, and the temperature difference between the cooling medium and the molten alloy is large, therefore the heat can be exchanged rapidly.", "Finally, the terminal temperature for slurry preparation is set to the temperature of 10-90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, at this temperature, the alloy slurry has higher semisolid content.", "The depth of the mechanical stirring rod inserted in the slurry vessel is decided by two factors: cooling function and stirring function.", "The closer the second end of the mechanical stirring rod to the bottom of the slurry vessel, the bigger the heat transferring area between the slurry and the mechanical stirring rod.", "Considering the relative position of the stirring blades and the second end the mechanical stirring rod, the second end of the mechanical stirring rod extends to the position of 5-25 mm from the bottom of the slurry vessel, and at this position, good heat exchanging effect and even and sufficient stirring can be obtained.", "S 2 comprises two stages, step S 21 and step S 22 : In S 21 , when the temperature of the molten alloy is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 100-400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is −10-50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10-25 L/minute; In S 22 , when the temperature of the slurry is 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 400-900 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20-80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 5-15 L/minute; In S 21 , during stirring and cooling procedure, the molten slurry is transformed to the semisolid slurry.", "In this procedure, cooling is a main function, and stirring is an auxiliary function, and the temperature of the slurry can be evenly decreased to the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy during a short time period, so that the slurry preparation efficiency can be improved.", "Therefore, the temperature of the cooling medium is set to −10-50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate is set to 10-25 L/minute, to enhance the cooling effect.", "The cooling medium exchanges heat with the slurry through the stirring effect of the stirring blades.", "To maintain even temperature of the whole slurry, the stirring speed should be larger than 100 rpm, and to guarantee the sufficient contact of the stirring blade member and the slurry, the stirring speed should be no more than 400 rpm.", "In S 22 , during stirring and cooling procedure, when the temperature of the slurry is 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, there are some primary solid phase in the slurry, and at this phase the main function is stirring, the auxiliary function is cooling.", "The temperature of the cooling medium should not be too low, because too low temperature will cause much coarse primary crystal phase structure, larger slurry viscosity and poor slurry mobility.", "Therefore, the temperature of the cooling medium is set to 20-80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is set to 5-15 L/minute.", "On the other hand, for the slurry with larger viscosity, the stirring function should be increased, so that more refined and rounding globular grains structure can be produced from the slurry.", "In this procedure, the stirring speed should be 400-900 rpm, since rapid stirring speed may cause the problems such as slurry splash and serious air entrapment.", "The efficiency of slurry preparation is higher, and the quality of the slurry is good, by combining stirring and cooling.", "The method of the disclosure can be used for semisolid alloy slurry production, such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, copper alloy and zinc alloy.", "Before preparing slurry, get certain alloy and measure its DSC curve, that is, Differential Scanning Calorimeter curve, to measuring the feature points in the phase change process and deciding the solidus temperature and the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy.", "The method for slurry preparation in the disclosure corresponds to the phase change process of the alloy.", "It is proved by many test that, the method is suitable for different alloy, especially for the above four alloys.", "The cooling medium comprises water, heat conduction oil or liquid organic solvent, the cooling medium is chosen according to the declined range of the temperature during slurry preparation process.", "It should be noted that, any cooling medium that can be used for the method and realize the effect of decreasing slurry temperature is in the protect scope of the disclosure.", "According to another aspect of the disclosure, the disclosure provides a device used for the method for preparing semisolid slurry.", "The device comprises a slurry vessel, a mechanical stirring rod, a plurality of stirring blades, a cooling medium controller, a cooling medium inlet pipe, a cooling medium recycling pipe; the mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure which comprising a first end and a second end, the second end is inserted into the slurry in stirring state, the plurality of stirring blades are inserted into the hollow structure of the mechanical stirring rod, and a vertical interval h 1 between the plurality of stirring blades and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 35-50 mm; a first end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a first end of the cooling medium recycling pipe are connected to the cooling medium controller respectively, and a second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe extend into the mechanical stirring rod.", "By using the above structure, the device has the following benefits compared with the prior art: the device of the disclosure comprises a set of mechanical stirring apparatus, in which the mechanical stirring rod is provided with a plurality of stirring blades, the mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure, the plurality of stirring blades are inserted into the hollow structure of the mechanical stirring rod, one ends of the stirring blades contact with the cooling medium in the mechanical stirring rod, another ends of the stirring blades are inserted into the slurry to stir.", "By using this structure design, the stirring blades play a role of heat conductor between the cooling medium and the slurry, and exchange heat with the slurry when breaking the dendrite.", "For the height, the vertical interval h 1 between the plurality of stirring blades and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 35-50 mm, the vertical interval is the vertical distance between the lowest point of the stirring blade member in the vertical direction and the horizontal plane containing the second end of the mechanical stirring rod.", "By this distance, the stirring effect can concentrate on the central section and bottom of the slurry vessel, and the dendrite of the molten alloy can be broken completely, and the convection intensity can be increased, so that the temperature field and the concentration field in the undercooling alloy slurry can be even and uniform.", "Furthermore, the mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure, and the cooling medium inlet pipe and the cooling medium recycling pipe can be inserted in it.", "The cooling medium controller connects with the cooling medium inlet pipe and the cooling medium recycling pipe respectively, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 10-20 mm, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 300-350 mm.", "This distance is decided according to the cooling effect and liquid discharging.", "This distance should guarantee the cooling medium has enough staying time and can be discharged from the cooling medium recycling pipe successfully.", "To avoid the cooling medium in the mechanical stirring rod entering into the slurry, the first end of the mechanical stirring rod is specifically connected.", "Furthermore, the mechanical stirring rod is provided with a coating agent, the coated agent coating comprises grease, filler or oil, specifically, mixture of heat resistant grease, filler or oil, having the functions of heat resistant and corrosion resistance of alloy liquid, to decrease the occurrence of accidents.", "Furthermore, the stirring blades is H13 heat resisting die steel with its surface being nitrided.", "This material can not only realize good heat conduction effect, but also prevent the corrosion of alloy liquid and extend the service life of the device.", "It should be noted that, the stirring blades is not restricted to the above material, any material that can realize good heat conduction effect and prevent the corrosion of alloy liquid is within the protect scope of the disclosure.", "Furthermore, the above device for preparing semisolid slurry comprises the first temperature measuring equipment and the second temperature measuring equipment, the first temperature measuring equipment is disposed in the slurry vessel, to monitor the temperature of the slurry in real time, and control the slurry preparation procedure.", "The second temperature measuring equipment is disposed on the cooling medium inlet pipe, for monitoring the temperature of the output cooling medium, to facilitate slurry preparation.", "The mechanical stirring rod is vertically inserted into the slurry vessel along the central axis of the slurry vessel, the mechanical stirring rod is located in the central position of the slurry vessel, guaranteeing that the mechanical effect and the heat exchanging effect are transmitted from the central position of the slurry vessel to the outside, and the slurry has even and uniform globular grains.", "On the other hand, the insertion depth of the mechanical stirring rod is decided according to the specific slurry preparation process, and the position of the mechanical stirring rod is adjustable, guaranteeing the best stirring effect and cooling effect.", "The examples of the disclosure are described with reference to the figures, and the other features and benefits will be clear." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No.", "PCT/CN2016/105099 with an international filing date of Nov. 8, 2016, designating the United States, now pending, and further claims foreign priority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No.", "201510873950.X filed Dec. 2, 2015.The contents of all of the aforementioned applications, including any intervening amendments thereto, are incorporated herein by reference.", "Inquiries from the public to applicants or assignees concerning this document or the related applications should be directed to: Matthias Scholl P.C., Attn.", ": Dr. Matthias Scholl Esq., 245 First Street, 18th Floor, Cambridge, Mass.", "02142.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The disclosure relates to a method and device for preparing semisolid slurry.", "Description of the Related Art Existing methods for preparing semisolid slurry include mechanical stirring, electromagnetic stirring, controlled solidification, strain activation, and powder metallurgy.", "These methods are disadvantageous for the following reasons: (1) the slurry preparation device is complex and costly; (2) the solid to liquid ratio in the semisolid slurry is difficult to control; (3) the solid content of the slurry is unstable; and (4) the cooling efficiency is relatively low.", "In addition, the processes are inefficient, and the semisolid slurry prepared by the processes includes coarse, large globular grains and low degree of roundness.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-described problems, one objective of the disclosure is to provide a method and device for preparing semisolid slurry that feature efficient and stable cooling capacity.", "To achieve the above objectives, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for preparing semisolid slurry, the method being achieved using a device for preparing semisolid slurry, the device comprising a slurry vessel and a mechanical stirring rod, the mechanical stirring rod comprising a first end and a second end extending into the slurry vessel, and the method comprising: S1: putting a molten alloy having a first preset temperature into the slurry vessel, wherein the first preset temperature is 30-120 degrees centigrade higher than a liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; S2: cooling the molten alloy to a second preset temperature, positioning the second end of the mechanical stirring rod to be 5-25 mm higher than a bottom wall of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod at 100-900 rpm and injecting a cooling medium having a temperature of between −10 and 100 degrees centigrade into the mechanical stirring rod at a flow rate of 5-25 L/minute; wherein the second preset temperature is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; and S3: allowing a temperature of the molten alloy to be 10-90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling, to yield a semisolid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, in S2, when the temperature of the molten alloy is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, a stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 100-400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is between −10 and 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10-25 L/minute; when the temperature of the molten alloy is 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 400-900 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20-80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 5-15 L/minute.", "In a class of this embodiment, in S1, the first preset temperature of the molten alloy is 75 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; in S2, when the temperature of the molten alloy is 40 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is positioned to be 15 mm higher than a bottom wall of the slurry vessel, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 250 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 18 L/minute; when the temperature of the molten alloy is 5 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 650 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10 L/minute; and in S3, when the temperature of the semisolid slurry is 50 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling, to yield the semisolid slurry.", "In a class of this embodiment, the alloy comprises aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, copper alloy or zinc alloy.", "In a class of this embodiment, the cooling medium is water, heat conduction oil or liquid organic solvent.", "In another aspect, the disclosure provides a device for preparing semisolid slurry, the device comprising: a slurry vessel, a mechanical stirring rod, a plurality of stirring blades, a cooling medium controller, a cooling medium inlet pipe, and a cooling medium recycling pipe.", "The mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure comprising a first end and a second end; the second end extends into the slurry vessel; the plurality of stirring blades is inserted in the hollow structure, and a vertical interval between the plurality of stirring blades and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 35-50 mm; and a first end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a first end of the cooling medium recycling pipe are connected to the cooling medium controller, and a second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe extend into the mechanical stirring rod.", "According to the method for preparing semisolid slurry in the disclosure, the cooling medium is injected into the mechanical stirring rod, and the slurry is stirred and cooled by the mechanical stirring rod.", "In S1, the temperature of molten alloy is 30-120 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the temperature of the molten alloy will be further decreased when putting the molten alloy into the slurry vessel, the temperature of the molten alloy in this state is affect by the heat exchanging between the molten alloy and the slurry vessel, and the temperature range of the molten alloy after the heat exchanging comprises the temperature range of molten alloy being treated by the subsequent procedures; in S2, the temperature is set to 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy when stirring begins, the mechanical stirring rod is inserted at this time and the slurry is stirred and cooled.", "The insertion of the mechanical stirring rod has a role of chilling function on the slurry, and the temperature range of 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy has certain buffer function, therefore when the slurry will form dendrite structure, the energy field and the temperature field in the slurry vessel are even.", "Mechanical stirring can break the primary solid phase, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 100-900 rpm, this stirring speed can maintain the stirring function in the slurry and break the dendrite structure, and will not cause slurry splash and serious air entrapment.", "The cooling medium is injected into the slurry when stirring the slurry, the temperature of the cooling medium is −10-100 degrees centigrade, the flow rate of the injected cooling medium is 5-25 L/minute, and the temperature difference between the cooling medium and the molten alloy is large, therefore the heat can be exchanged rapidly.", "Finally, the terminal temperature for slurry preparation is set to the temperature of 10-90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, at this temperature, the alloy slurry has higher semisolid content.", "The depth of the mechanical stirring rod inserted in the slurry vessel is decided by two factors: cooling function and stirring function.", "The closer the second end of the mechanical stirring rod to the bottom of the slurry vessel, the bigger the heat transferring area between the slurry and the mechanical stirring rod.", "Considering the relative position of the stirring blades and the second end the mechanical stirring rod, the second end of the mechanical stirring rod extends to the position of 5-25 mm from the bottom of the slurry vessel, and at this position, good heat exchanging effect and even and sufficient stirring can be obtained.", "S2 comprises two stages, step S21 and step S22: In S21, when the temperature of the molten alloy is 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 100-400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is −10-50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 10-25 L/minute; In S22, when the temperature of the slurry is 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod is 400-900 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium is 20-80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is 5-15 L/minute; In S21, during stirring and cooling procedure, the molten slurry is transformed to the semisolid slurry.", "In this procedure, cooling is a main function, and stirring is an auxiliary function, and the temperature of the slurry can be evenly decreased to the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy during a short time period, so that the slurry preparation efficiency can be improved.", "Therefore, the temperature of the cooling medium is set to −10-50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate is set to 10-25 L/minute, to enhance the cooling effect.", "The cooling medium exchanges heat with the slurry through the stirring effect of the stirring blades.", "To maintain even temperature of the whole slurry, the stirring speed should be larger than 100 rpm, and to guarantee the sufficient contact of the stirring blade member and the slurry, the stirring speed should be no more than 400 rpm.", "In S22, during stirring and cooling procedure, when the temperature of the slurry is 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, there are some primary solid phase in the slurry, and at this phase the main function is stirring, the auxiliary function is cooling.", "The temperature of the cooling medium should not be too low, because too low temperature will cause much coarse primary crystal phase structure, larger slurry viscosity and poor slurry mobility.", "Therefore, the temperature of the cooling medium is set to 20-80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium is set to 5-15 L/minute.", "On the other hand, for the slurry with larger viscosity, the stirring function should be increased, so that more refined and rounding globular grains structure can be produced from the slurry.", "In this procedure, the stirring speed should be 400-900 rpm, since rapid stirring speed may cause the problems such as slurry splash and serious air entrapment.", "The efficiency of slurry preparation is higher, and the quality of the slurry is good, by combining stirring and cooling.", "The method of the disclosure can be used for semisolid alloy slurry production, such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, copper alloy and zinc alloy.", "Before preparing slurry, get certain alloy and measure its DSC curve, that is, Differential Scanning Calorimeter curve, to measuring the feature points in the phase change process and deciding the solidus temperature and the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy.", "The method for slurry preparation in the disclosure corresponds to the phase change process of the alloy.", "It is proved by many test that, the method is suitable for different alloy, especially for the above four alloys.", "The cooling medium comprises water, heat conduction oil or liquid organic solvent, the cooling medium is chosen according to the declined range of the temperature during slurry preparation process.", "It should be noted that, any cooling medium that can be used for the method and realize the effect of decreasing slurry temperature is in the protect scope of the disclosure.", "According to another aspect of the disclosure, the disclosure provides a device used for the method for preparing semisolid slurry.", "The device comprises a slurry vessel, a mechanical stirring rod, a plurality of stirring blades, a cooling medium controller, a cooling medium inlet pipe, a cooling medium recycling pipe; the mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure which comprising a first end and a second end, the second end is inserted into the slurry in stirring state, the plurality of stirring blades are inserted into the hollow structure of the mechanical stirring rod, and a vertical interval h1 between the plurality of stirring blades and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 35-50 mm; a first end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a first end of the cooling medium recycling pipe are connected to the cooling medium controller respectively, and a second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and a second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe extend into the mechanical stirring rod.", "By using the above structure, the device has the following benefits compared with the prior art: the device of the disclosure comprises a set of mechanical stirring apparatus, in which the mechanical stirring rod is provided with a plurality of stirring blades, the mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure, the plurality of stirring blades are inserted into the hollow structure of the mechanical stirring rod, one ends of the stirring blades contact with the cooling medium in the mechanical stirring rod, another ends of the stirring blades are inserted into the slurry to stir.", "By using this structure design, the stirring blades play a role of heat conductor between the cooling medium and the slurry, and exchange heat with the slurry when breaking the dendrite.", "For the height, the vertical interval h1 between the plurality of stirring blades and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 35-50 mm, the vertical interval is the vertical distance between the lowest point of the stirring blade member in the vertical direction and the horizontal plane containing the second end of the mechanical stirring rod.", "By this distance, the stirring effect can concentrate on the central section and bottom of the slurry vessel, and the dendrite of the molten alloy can be broken completely, and the convection intensity can be increased, so that the temperature field and the concentration field in the undercooling alloy slurry can be even and uniform.", "Furthermore, the mechanical stirring rod is a hollow structure, and the cooling medium inlet pipe and the cooling medium recycling pipe can be inserted in it.", "The cooling medium controller connects with the cooling medium inlet pipe and the cooling medium recycling pipe respectively, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 10-20 mm, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 300-350 mm.", "This distance is decided according to the cooling effect and liquid discharging.", "This distance should guarantee the cooling medium has enough staying time and can be discharged from the cooling medium recycling pipe successfully.", "To avoid the cooling medium in the mechanical stirring rod entering into the slurry, the first end of the mechanical stirring rod is specifically connected.", "Furthermore, the mechanical stirring rod is provided with a coating agent, the coated agent coating comprises grease, filler or oil, specifically, mixture of heat resistant grease, filler or oil, having the functions of heat resistant and corrosion resistance of alloy liquid, to decrease the occurrence of accidents.", "Furthermore, the stirring blades is H13 heat resisting die steel with its surface being nitrided.", "This material can not only realize good heat conduction effect, but also prevent the corrosion of alloy liquid and extend the service life of the device.", "It should be noted that, the stirring blades is not restricted to the above material, any material that can realize good heat conduction effect and prevent the corrosion of alloy liquid is within the protect scope of the disclosure.", "Furthermore, the above device for preparing semisolid slurry comprises the first temperature measuring equipment and the second temperature measuring equipment, the first temperature measuring equipment is disposed in the slurry vessel, to monitor the temperature of the slurry in real time, and control the slurry preparation procedure.", "The second temperature measuring equipment is disposed on the cooling medium inlet pipe, for monitoring the temperature of the output cooling medium, to facilitate slurry preparation.", "The mechanical stirring rod is vertically inserted into the slurry vessel along the central axis of the slurry vessel, the mechanical stirring rod is located in the central position of the slurry vessel, guaranteeing that the mechanical effect and the heat exchanging effect are transmitted from the central position of the slurry vessel to the outside, and the slurry has even and uniform globular grains.", "On the other hand, the insertion depth of the mechanical stirring rod is decided according to the specific slurry preparation process, and the position of the mechanical stirring rod is adjustable, guaranteeing the best stirring effect and cooling effect.", "The examples of the disclosure are described with reference to the figures, and the other features and benefits will be clear.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a flow diagram of a method for preparing semisolid slurry of one embodiment of the disclosure; and FIG.", "2 is a schematic diagram of a device for preparing semisolid slurry of one embodiment of the disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The method for preparing semisolid slurry in the disclosure comprises the following steps: Step S1, putting a molten alloy having a first preset temperature into a slurry vessel, wherein the first preset temperature being 30-120 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; Step S2, when a temperature of the molten alloy being decreased to a second preset temperature, adjusting the location of a mechanical stirring rod, extending a second end of the mechanical stirring rod to a position of 5-25 mm from the bottom of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod, a stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 100-900 rpm, the second preset temperature being 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; meantime, cooling medium is injected into the mechanical stirring rod with a first preset flow rate, a temperature of the cooling medium being −10-100 degrees centigrade, and the first preset flow rate being 5-25 L/minute; Step S3, when a temperature of the semisolid slurry being 10-90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling to yield semisolid slurry.", "Step S2 comprises step S21 and step S22, which are: Step S21, when the temperature of the molten alloy being 20-60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 100-400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being −10-50 degrees centigrade, and a flow rate of the cooling medium being 10-25 L/minute; Step S22, when the temperature of the slurry being 0-10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 400-900 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being 20-80 degrees centigrade, and a flow rate of the cooling medium being 5-15 L/minute.", "The steps of the slurry preparation method will be described in detail by means of examples.", "EXAMPLE 1 Step 101, putting molten aluminum alloy having a first preset temperature into a slurry vessel, the first preset temperature being 30 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; Step 102, when a temperature of the molten aluminum alloy being decreased to a second preset temperature, adjusting the location of a mechanical stirring rod, extending a second end of the mechanical stirring rod to the position of 5 mm from the bottom of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod, a stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 500 rpm, the second preset temperature being 20 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy; meantime, cooling medium is injected into the mechanical stirring rod with a first preset flow rate, a temperature of the cooling medium being 100 degrees centigrade, and the first preset flow rate being 25 L/minute; Step 103, when a temperature of the semisolid slurry being 10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the aluminum alloy, stopping stirring and cooling to yield aluminum alloy semisolid slurry.", "EXAMPLE 2 Step 201, putting molten magnesium alloy having a first preset temperature into a slurry vessel, the first preset temperature being 70 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; Step 2021, when a temperature of the molten magnesium alloy being 40 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the magnesium alloy, adjusting the location of a mechanical stirring rod, extending a second end of the mechanical stirring rod to the position of 25 mm from the bottom of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 100 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being −10 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium being 10 L/minute; Step 2022, when a temperature of the slurry being 10 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the magnesium alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being 20 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium being 5 L/minute; Step 203, when a temperature of the magnesium alloy semisolid slurry being 90 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling to yield magnesium alloy semisolid slurry.", "EXAMPLE 3 Step 301, putting molten zinc alloy having a first preset temperature into a slurry vessel, the first preset temperature being 75 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the zinc alloy; Step 3021, when a temperature of the molten zinc alloy being 40 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, adjusting the location of a mechanical stirring rod, extending a second end of the mechanical stirring rod to the position of 15 mm from the bottom of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 250 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being 20 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium being 18 L/minute; Step 3022, when a temperature of the slurry being 5 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the zinc alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 650 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium being 10 L/minute; Step 303, when a temperature of the zinc alloy semisolid slurry being 50 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the zinc alloy, stopping stirring and cooling to yield alloy semisolid slurry.", "EXAMPLE 4 Step 401, putting molten copper alloy having a first preset temperature into a slurry vessel, the first preset temperature being 120 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy; Step 4021, when a temperature of the molten copper alloy being 60 degrees centigrade higher than the liquidus temperature of the copper alloy, adjusting the location of a mechanical stirring rod, extending a second end of the mechanical stirring rod to the position of 10 mm from the bottom of the slurry vessel, rotating the mechanical stirring rod, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 400 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being 50 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium being 25 L/minute; Step 4022, when a temperature of the slurry being decreased to the liquidus temperature of the copper alloy, the stirring speed of the mechanical stirring rod being 900 rpm, the temperature of the cooling medium being 80 degrees centigrade, and the flow rate of the cooling medium being 15 L/minute; Step 403, when a temperature of the copper alloy semisolid slurry being 40 degrees centigrade lower than the liquidus temperature of the molten alloy, stopping stirring and cooling to yield copper alloy semisolid slurry.", "The device for preparing semisolid slurry will be described below.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, according to the schematic diagram of an example in working state, the device for preparing semisolid slurry comprises: a slurry vessel 2, a mechanical stirring rod 3, two stirring blades 8, a cooling medium controller 7, a cooling medium inlet pipe 4, a cooling medium recycling pipe 6, a first temperature measuring equipment 1 and a second temperature measuring equipment 5, the first temperature measuring equipment 1 is disposed in the slurry vessel 2, the second temperature measuring equipment 5 is disposed on the cooling medium inlet pipe 4, the mechanical stirring rod 3 is a hollow structure which comprising a first end 31 and a second end 32, the second end 32 is inserted into the slurry in stirring state, the two stirring blades 8 are inserted into the hollow structure of the mechanical stirring rod, and the vertical interval h1 between the stirring blades 8 and the second end 32 of the mechanical stirring rod is 42 mm; a first end of the cooling medium inlet pipe 4 and a first end of the cooling medium recycling pipe 6 are connected to the cooling medium controller 7 respectively, and a second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe 4 and a second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe 6 extend into the mechanical stirring rod.", "The distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 15 mm, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 325 mm.", "The mechanical stirring rod is provided with a coating agent, the stirring blades is H13 heat resisting die steel with its surface being nitrided.", "Furthermore, the mechanical stirring rod 3 is vertically inserted into the slurry vessel 2 along the central axis of the slurry vessel 2, the distance between the second end 32 of the mechanical stirring rod 3 and the bottom of the slurry vessel 2 can be adjusted along the central axis.", "Specially, the number of the stirring blade numbers is three, the vertical interval h1 is 50 mm, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 10 mm, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 300 mm.", "The number of the stirring blade numbers may be four or above four, the vertical interval h1 is 35 mm, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium inlet pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 20 mm, the distance between the second end of the cooling medium recycling pipe and the second end of the mechanical stirring rod is 350 mm.", "TEST EXAMPLE 1 The aluminum alloy semisolid slurry is produced by using the methods and devices in the above examples.", "Its temperature is 600 degrees centigrade, and solid content is 42%.", "The aluminum alloy semisolid slurry is die casted to yield die casting products.", "The morphology of the metallographic structure of the die casting products is good, and the shape factor of the globular grains is 0.88.TEST EXAMPLE 2 The magnesium alloy semisolid slurry is produced by using the methods and devices in the above examples.", "Its temperature is 495 degrees centigrade, and solid content is 45%.", "The aluminum alloy semisolid slurry is die casted to yield die casting products.", "The morphology of the metallographic structure of the die casting products is good, and the shape factor of the globular grains is 0.78.TEST EXAMPLE 3 The aluminum zinc semisolid slurry is produced by using the methods and devices in the above examples.", "Its temperature is 390 degrees centigrade, and solid content is 52%.", "The aluminum alloy semisolid slurry is die casted to yield die casting products.", "The morphology of the metallographic structure of the die casting products is good, and the shape factor of the globular grains is 0.82.TEST EXAMPLE 4 The aluminum copper semisolid slurry is produced by using the methods and devices in the above examples.", "Its temperature is 860 degrees centigrade, and solid content is 56%.", "The aluminum alloy semisolid slurry is die casted to yield die casting products.", "The morphology of the metallographic structure of the die casting products is good, and the shape factor of the globular grains is 0.75.It can be seen from the above test examples that the method and device for preparing semisolid slurry in the disclosure have the benefits of high slurry preparation efficiency, high quality of the semisolid slurry, wide range of alloy application.", "Specifically, the benefits are: (1) high slurry preparation efficiency, high quality of the semisolid slurry: the stirring blades are inserted into the hollow structure of the mechanical stirring rod, the cooling medium exchanges heat with the slurry through the stirring apparatus, stirring and cooling are realized at the same time, and the controlling of the stirring and cooling procedures is combined with alloy phase diagram, to yield the semisolid slurry with high roundness of globular grains and high solid content.", "(2) wide range of alloy application: the operation of slurry preparation is combined with alloy phase diagram, the temperature, flow rate of the cooling medium and the mechanical stirring speed, etc.", "are controlled.", "The method and device provided in the disclosure can be applied for preparing semisolid slurry of multiple alloys, such as aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, zinc alloy or cooper alloy.", "The above examples can be implemented individually and can be combined in various ways, all these variants are in the protection scope of the disclosure.", "The method and device of preparing the semisolid slurry combine the cooling apparatus and the stirring apparatus to yield high slurry preparation efficiency.", "The temperature, flow rate of the cooling medium and the mechanical stirring speed are controlled to yield the semisolid slurry with high quality.", "Also, the method and device have wide range of alloy application, can solve the problems of unstable solid content of slurry and low preparation efficiency, therefore, is suitable for semisolid die casting production.", "Unless otherwise indicated, the numerical ranges involved in the invention include the end values.", "While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15874861
[ [ "TRANSCRANIAL CURRENT STIMULATION SYSTEM AND VIRTUAL REALITY FOR TREATMENT OF PTSD OR FEARS", "Described is a system for treating traumatic memories.", "During a wake stage, a virtual environment is displayed to a subject.", "A traumatic episode that may be similar to a traumatic memory of the subject is displayed to the user in the virtual environment in a benign setting.", "A transcranial current stimulation (tCS) controller applies a pattern of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the subject during the traumatic episode, such that the traumatic memory in a benign setting is associated with the pattern of tDCS.", "During a sleep stage, if slow-wave sleep in the subject is detected via electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, then in a first time period, the tCS controller may a transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to the subject followed by a second time period without stimulation.", "In a third time period, the tCS controller may apply the pattern of tDCS to the subject.", "The sleep stage may be repeated until a desired weakening of the traumatic memory is reached." ], [ "1.A system for treating fear and stress from traumatic memories, the system comprising: one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable instructions encoded thereon such that when executed, the one or more processors perform operations of: during a wake stage, causing a virtual environment to be displayed via a virtual reality system in a benign setting; displaying a traumatic episode in the virtual environment via the virtual reality system, wherein the traumatic episode is created to include painful aspects of a traumatic memory; and using a transcranial current stimulation (tCS) controller, applying a pattern of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) while the traumatic episode is being displayed via the virtual reality system to associate the traumatic memory with the pattern of tDCS given in the benign setting.", "2.The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein during a sleep stage, if a period of slow-wave sleep is detected via electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, then the one or more processors further perform an operation of: causing the tCS controller to apply a transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to the prefrontal cortex of the subject.", "3.The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the virtual environment is gradually altered to be similar to an environment in which the subject experienced the traumatic memory.", "4.The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the pattern of tDCS is a Spatial-Temporal Amplitude Modulated Pattern (STAMP).", "5.The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the duration of the tDCS application is varied based on the traumatic memory.", "6.The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein the period of slow-wave sleep comprises a slow-wave oscillation, and wherein the one or more processors further perform an operation of, using the tCS controller, applying the pattern of tDCS for at least a portion of the slow-wave oscillation.", "7.The system as set forth in claim 6, wherein the slow-wave oscillation comprises a plurality of UP phases, and wherein the one or more processors further perform an operation of, using the tCS controller, applying the pattern of tDCS to a percentage of the plurality of UP phases.", "8.A computer implemented method for treating fear and stress from traumatic memories, the method comprising an act of: causing one or more processors to execute instructions encoded on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such that upon execution, the one or more processors perform operations of: during a wake stage, causing a virtual environment to be displayed via a virtual reality system in a benign setting; displaying a traumatic episode in the virtual environment via the virtual reality system, wherein the traumatic episode is created to include painful aspects of a traumatic memory; and using a transcranial current stimulation (tCS) controller, applying a pattern of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) while the traumatic episode is being displayed via the virtual reality system to associate the traumatic memory with the pattern of tDCS given in the benign setting.", "9.The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein during a sleep stage, if a period of slow-wave sleep is detected via electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, then the one or more processors further perform an operation of: causing the tCS controller to apply a transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to the prefrontal cortex of the subject.", "10.The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the virtual environment is gradually altered to be similar to an environment in which the subject experienced the traumatic memory.", "11.The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the pattern of tDCS is a Spatial-Temporal Amplitude Modulated Pattern (STAMP).", "12.The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the duration of the tDCS application is varied based on the traumatic memory.", "13.The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein the period of slow-wave sleep comprises a slow-wave oscillation, and wherein the one or more processors further perform an operation of, using the tCS controller, applying the pattern of tDCS for at least a portion of the slow-wave oscillation.", "14.The method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the slow-wave oscillation comprises a plurality of UP phases, and wherein the one or more processors further perform an operation of, using the tCS controller, applying the pattern of tDCS to a percentage of the plurality of UP phases.", "15.A computer program product for treating fear and stress from traumatic memories, the computer program product comprising: computer-readable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by a computer having one or more processors for causing the processor to perform operations of: during a wake stage, causing a virtual environment to be displayed via a virtual reality system in a benign setting; displaying a traumatic episode in the virtual environment via the virtual reality system, wherein the traumatic episode is created to include painful aspects of a traumatic memory; and using a transcranial current stimulation (tCS) controller, applying a pattern of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) while the traumatic episode is being displayed via the virtual reality system to associate the traumatic memory with the pattern of tDCS given in the benign setting.", "16.The computer program product as set forth in claim 15, wherein during a sleep stage, if a period of slow-wave sleep is detected via electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, then the one or more processors further perform an operation of: causing the tCS controller to apply a transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to the prefrontal cortex of the subject.", "17.The computer program product as set forth in claim 15, wherein the pattern of tDCS is a Spatial-Temporal Amplitude Modulated Pattern (STAMP).", "18.The computer program product as set forth in claim 15, further comprising instructions for causing the one or more processors to cause the tCS controller to vary the duration of the tDCS application based on the traumatic memory.", "19.The computer program product as set forth in claim 16, wherein the period of slow-wave sleep comprises a slow-wave oscillation, and wherein the computer program product further comprises instructions for causing the one or more processors to further perform an operation of, using the tCS controller, applying the pattern of tDCS for at least a portion of the slow-wave oscillation.", "20.The computer program product as set forth in claim 19, wherein the slow-wave oscillation comprises a plurality of UP phases, and wherein the computer program product further comprises instructions for causing the one or more processors to further perform an operation of, using the tCS controller, applying the pattern of tDCS to a percentage of the plurality of UP phases.", "21.The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the virtual environment is altered in a series of sessions to gradually increase the level of discomfort of a subject.", "22.The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein following a duration of application of the tACS to the prefrontal cortex of the subject, a duration of no stimulation occurs, wherein the duration of no stimulation is shorter than the duration of application of the tACS, and wherein following the duration of no stimulation, the one or more processors further perform an operation of causing the tCS controller to apply the pattern of tDCS to the subject to weaken the traumatic memory.", "23.The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the virtual environment is altered in a series of sessions to gradually increase the level of discomfort of a subject.", "24.The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein following a duration of application of the tACS to the prefrontal cortex of the subject, a duration of no stimulation occurs, wherein the duration of no stimulation is shorter than the duration of application of the tACS, and wherein following the duration of no stimulation, the one or more processors further perform an operation of causing the tCS controller to apply the pattern of tDCS to the subject to weaken the traumatic memory." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>The present invention relates to a system for treatment of traumatic memories and, more particularly, to a system for treatment of traumatic memories using a combination of transcranial current stimulation and virtual reality.", "The system comprises one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable instructions encoded thereon such that when executed, the one or more processors perform multiple operations.", "During a wake stage, the system causing a virtual environment to be displayed via a virtual reality system in a benign setting.", "A traumatic episode is displayed in the virtual environment via the virtual reality system, wherein the traumatic episode is created to include painful aspects of a traumatic memory.", "Using a transcranial current stimulation (tCS) controller, a pattern of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is applied while the traumatic episode is being displayed via the virtual reality system to associate the traumatic memory with the pattern of tDCS given in the benign setting.", "In another aspect, during a sleep stage, if a period of slow-wave sleep is detected via electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, then the system causes the tCS controller to apply a transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to the prefrontal cortex of the subject.", "In another aspect, the virtual environment is gradually altered to be similar to an environment in which the subject experienced the traumatic memory.", "In another aspect, the pattern of tDCS is a Spatial-Temporal Amplitude Modulated Pattern (STAMP).", "In another aspect, the duration of the tDCS application is varied based on the traumatic memory.", "In another aspect, the period of slow-wave sleep comprises a slow-wave oscillation, and wherein the system, using the tCS controller, applies the pattern of tDCS for at least a portion of the slow-wave oscillation.", "In another aspect, the slow-wave oscillation comprises a plurality of UP phases, and the system, using the tCS controller, applies the pattern of tDCS to a percentage of the plurality of UP phases.", "In another aspect, the virtual environment is altered in a series of sessions to gradually increase the level of discomfort of a subject.", "In another aspect, following a duration of application of the tACS to the prefrontal cortex of the subject, a duration of no stimulation occurs, wherein the duration of no stimulation is shorter than the duration of application of the tACS, and wherein following the duration of no stimulation, the system causes the tCS controller to apply the pattern of tDCS to the subject to weaken the traumatic memory.", "Finally, the present invention also includes a computer program product and a computer implemented method.", "The computer program product includes computer-readable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by a computer having one or more processors, such that upon execution of the instructions, the one or more processors perform the operations listed herein.", "Alternatively, the computer implemented method includes an act of causing a computer to execute such instructions and perform the resulting operations." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a Continuation-in-Part application of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser.", "No.", "15/332,787, filed in the United States on Oct. 24, 2016, entitled, “Method and System to Accelerate Consolidation of Specific Memories Using Transcranial Stimulation,” which is a Non-Provisional patent application of 62/245,730, filed in the United States on Oct. 23, 2015, entitled, “Method and System to Accelerate Consolidation of Specific Memories Using Transcranial Stimulation,” the entirety of which are hereby incorporated by reference.", "The present application is ALSO a Non-Provisional patent application of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/516,350, filed in the United States on Jun.", "7, 2017, entitled, “A Method for Low Latency Automated Closed-Loop Synchronization of Neurostimulation Interventions to Neurophysiological Activity,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.", "The present application is ALSO a Non-Provisional patent application of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/478,538, filed in the United States on Mar.", "29, 2017, entitled, “Transcranial Current Stimulation System and Virtual Reality for Treatment of PTSD and Irrational Fears,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.", "GOVERNMENT LICENSE RIGHTS This invention was made with government support under U.S. Government Contract Number W911NF-16-C-0018.The government may have certain rights in the invention.", "BACKGROUND OF INVENTION (1) Field of Invention The present invention relates to a system for treatment of traumatic memories and, more particularly, to a system for treatment of traumatic memories using a combination of transcranial current stimulation and virtual reality.", "(2) Description of Related Art Traumatic memories are intense, stressful, and emotionally paralyzing.", "The reconsolidation hypothesis states that when a consolidated memory is recalled, it becomes unstable and susceptible to modification for a discrete period of time, gradually becoming stable again.", "The most common method for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is aversion therapy under the guidance of a psychologist or psychiatrist, in order to associate more benign, safe feelings with the stressful memory.", "However, this process is inefficient; it can take years of therapy to overcome the painful memory, since the intense emotion of the initial experience causes it to be strongly encoded.", "Prior art methods to impair existing declarative memories in humans by disrupting reconsolidation either use a behavioral re-conditioning paradigm during waking (see Literature Reference No.", "4 of the List of Incorporated Literature References) or employ drugs that inhibit protein synthesis during or following the experience of a traumatic memory (see Literature Reference No.", "5).", "Often, medication such as Prozac or Zoloft is prescribed to PTSD sufferers, but these antidepressants do not treat the causes, only the symptoms, and have the potential for psychological dependence and addiction.", "Midazolam specifically disrupts reconsolidation (see Literature Reference No.", "2), but it is a powerful sedative, also used as a lethal injection drug, and can be dangerous.", "Furthermore, prior art psychological trauma counseling is a very slow process that can take years.", "As an alternative to traditional “talk therapy”, Virtual Reality is recently being explored to increase the power of a recalled traumatic episode.", "One example is the BRAVEMIND program being funded by ARL for military PTSD treatment.", "Another example is used to treat a fear of flying.", "However, none of these methods use cued recall during sleep to consolidate the treatment into long-term memory.", "Thus, a continuing need exists for a system that employs high-definition transcranial current stimulation during both waking and sleep to proactively disrupt the cycle of reconsolidation of a traumatic memory and to promote consolidation of a new, more benign association, to weaken the effect of the trauma electrically.", "SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a system for treatment of traumatic memories and, more particularly, to a system for treatment of traumatic memories using a combination of transcranial current stimulation and virtual reality.", "The system comprises one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable medium having executable instructions encoded thereon such that when executed, the one or more processors perform multiple operations.", "During a wake stage, the system causing a virtual environment to be displayed via a virtual reality system in a benign setting.", "A traumatic episode is displayed in the virtual environment via the virtual reality system, wherein the traumatic episode is created to include painful aspects of a traumatic memory.", "Using a transcranial current stimulation (tCS) controller, a pattern of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is applied while the traumatic episode is being displayed via the virtual reality system to associate the traumatic memory with the pattern of tDCS given in the benign setting.", "In another aspect, during a sleep stage, if a period of slow-wave sleep is detected via electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, then the system causes the tCS controller to apply a transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to the prefrontal cortex of the subject.", "In another aspect, the virtual environment is gradually altered to be similar to an environment in which the subject experienced the traumatic memory.", "In another aspect, the pattern of tDCS is a Spatial-Temporal Amplitude Modulated Pattern (STAMP).", "In another aspect, the duration of the tDCS application is varied based on the traumatic memory.", "In another aspect, the period of slow-wave sleep comprises a slow-wave oscillation, and wherein the system, using the tCS controller, applies the pattern of tDCS for at least a portion of the slow-wave oscillation.", "In another aspect, the slow-wave oscillation comprises a plurality of UP phases, and the system, using the tCS controller, applies the pattern of tDCS to a percentage of the plurality of UP phases.", "In another aspect, the virtual environment is altered in a series of sessions to gradually increase the level of discomfort of a subject.", "In another aspect, following a duration of application of the tACS to the prefrontal cortex of the subject, a duration of no stimulation occurs, wherein the duration of no stimulation is shorter than the duration of application of the tACS, and wherein following the duration of no stimulation, the system causes the tCS controller to apply the pattern of tDCS to the subject to weaken the traumatic memory.", "Finally, the present invention also includes a computer program product and a computer implemented method.", "The computer program product includes computer-readable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by a computer having one or more processors, such that upon execution of the instructions, the one or more processors perform the operations listed herein.", "Alternatively, the computer implemented method includes an act of causing a computer to execute such instructions and perform the resulting operations.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed descriptions of the various aspects of the invention in conjunction with reference to the following drawings, where: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram depicting the components of a system for treatment of traumatic memories according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 is an illustration of a computer program product according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.", "3A is an illustration of a wake stage of the method for treatment of traumatic memories according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.", "3B is an illustration of a sleep stage of the method for treatment of traumatic memories according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG.", "4 is a flow diagram illustrating day operation of the system for treatment of traumatic memories according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and FIG.", "5 is a flow diagram illustrating sleep operation of the system for treatment of traumatic memories according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a system for treatment of traumatic memories and, more particularly, to a system for treatment of traumatic memories using a combination of transcranial current stimulation and virtual reality.", "The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and to incorporate it in the context of particular applications.", "Various modifications, as well as a variety of uses in different applications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to a wide range of aspects.", "Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the aspects presented, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.", "In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention.", "However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without necessarily being limited to these specific details.", "In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.", "The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with this specification and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.", "All the features disclosed in this specification, (including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.", "Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.", "Furthermore, any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step for” performing a specific function, is not to be interpreted as a “means” or “step” clause as specified in 35 U.S.C.", "Section 112, Paragraph 6.In particular, the use of “step of” or “act of” in the claims herein is not intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C.", "112, Paragraph 6.Before describing the invention in detail, first a list of cited references is provided.", "Next, a description of the various principal aspects of the present invention is provided.", "Finally, specific details of various embodiment of the present invention are provided to give an understanding of the specific aspects.", "(1) LIST OF INCORPORATED LITERATURE REFERENCES The following references are cited and incorporated throughout this application.", "For clarity and convenience, the references are listed herein as a central resource for the reader.", "The following references are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.", "The references are cited in the application by referring to the corresponding literature reference number, as follows: 1.Foe E B.", "Social Anxiety Disorder Treatments: Psychosocial Therapies.", "J. Clin.", "Psychiatry.", "2006; 67 Suppl 12:27-30.2.Bustos S G, Maldonado H, Molina V A. Midazolam Disrupts Fear Memory Reconsolidation.", "Neuroscience.", "2006; 139: 831-42.3.Bikson M, Datta A, Parra L C, Dmochowski J, Su Y. Neurocranial Electrostimulation Models, Systems, Devices, and Methods.", "July.", "4.Chan J C K, LaPaglia J A. Impairing Existing Declarative Memory in Humans by Disrupting Reconsolidation.", "Proc.", "Nati.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "2013; 110: 9309-13.5.Brunet A, Orr S P, Tremblay J, Robertson K, Nader K, Pitman R K. Effect of Post-Retrieval Propranol on Psychophysiologic Responding During Subsequent Script-Driven Traumatic imagery in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.", "J. Psychiatr.", "Res.", "2008; 42: 503-6.6.Marshall, L, Helgadóttir, H, Mölle, M, Born, J.", "Boosting Slow Oscillations During Sleep Potentiates Memory.", "Nature.", "2006; 444, 610-613.7.Cox R, Korjoukov I, de Boer M, Talamini L M. Sound Asleep: Processing and Retention of Slow Oscillation Phase-Targeted Stimuli.", "PLoS ONE.", "2014; 9(7).", "8.Weathers, F W, Blake, D D, Schnurr, P P, Kaloupek, D G, Marx, B P, & Keane, TM.", "The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5).", "2013.", "(2) PRINCIPAL ASPECTS Various embodiments of the invention include three “principal” aspects.", "The first is a system for treatment of traumatic memories.", "The system is typically in the form of a computer system operating software or in the form of a “hard-coded” instruction set.", "This system may be incorporated into a wide variety of devices that provide different functionalities.", "The second principal aspect is a method, typically in the form of software, operated using a data processing system (computer).", "The third principal aspect is a computer program product.", "The computer program product generally represents computer-readable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as an optical storage device, e.g., a compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD), or a magnetic storage device such as a floppy disk or magnetic tape.", "Other, non-limiting examples of computer-readable media include hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), and flash-type memories.", "These aspects will be described in more detail below.", "A block diagram depicting an example of a system (i.e., computer system 100) of the present invention is provided in FIG.", "1.The computer system 100 is configured to perform calculations, processes, operations, and/or functions associated with a program or algorithm.", "In one aspect, certain processes and steps discussed herein are realized as a series of instructions (e.g., software program) that reside within computer readable memory units and are executed by one or more processors of the computer system 100.When executed, the instructions cause the computer system 100 to perform specific actions and exhibit specific behavior, such as described herein.", "The computer system 100 may include an address/data bus 102 that is configured to communicate information.", "Additionally, one or more data processing units, such as a processor 104 (or processors), are coupled with the address/data bus 102.The processor 104 is configured to process information and instructions.", "In an aspect, the processor 104 is a microprocessor.", "Alternatively, the processor 104 may be a different type of processor such as a parallel processor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable logic array (PLA), complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).", "The computer system 100 is configured to utilize one or more data storage units.", "The computer system 100 may include a volatile memory unit 106 (e.g., random access memory (“RAM”), static RAM, dynamic RAM, etc.)", "coupled with the address/data bus 102, wherein a volatile memory unit 106 is configured to store information and instructions for the processor 104.The computer system 100 further may include a non-volatile memory unit 108 (e.g., read-only memory (“ROM”), programmable ROM (“PROM”), erasable programmable ROM (“EPROM”), electrically erasable programmable ROM “EEPROM”), flash memory, etc.)", "coupled with the address/data bus 102, wherein the non-volatile memory unit 108 is configured to store static information and instructions for the processor 104.Alternatively, the computer system 100 may execute instructions retrieved from an online data storage unit such as in “Cloud” computing.", "In an aspect, the computer system 100 also may include one or more interfaces, such as an interface 110, coupled with the address/data bus 102.The one or more interfaces are configured to enable the computer system 100 to interface with other electronic devices and computer systems.", "The communication interfaces implemented by the one or more interfaces may include wireline (e.g., serial cables, modems, network adaptors, etc.)", "and/or wireless (e.g., wireless modems, wireless network adaptors, etc.)", "communication technology.", "In one aspect, the computer system 100 may include an input device 112 coupled with the address/data bus 102, wherein the input device 112 is configured to communicate information and command selections to the processor 100.In accordance with one aspect, the input device 112 is an alphanumeric input device, such as a keyboard, that may include alphanumeric and/or function keys.", "Alternatively, the input device 112 may be an input device other than an alphanumeric input device.", "In an aspect, the computer system 100 may include a cursor control device 114 coupled with the address/data bus 102, wherein the cursor control device 114 is configured to communicate user input information and/or command selections to the processor 100.In an aspect, the cursor control device 114 is implemented using a device such as a mouse, a track-ball, a track-pad, an optical tracking device, or a touch screen.", "The foregoing notwithstanding, in an aspect, the cursor control device 114 is directed and/or activated via input from the input device 112, such as in response to the use of special keys and key sequence commands associated with the input device 112.In an alternative aspect, the cursor control device 114 is configured to be directed or guided by voice commands.", "In an aspect, the computer system 100 further may include one or more optional computer usable data storage devices, such as a storage device 116, coupled with the address/data bus 102.The storage device 116 is configured to store information and/or computer executable instructions.", "In one aspect, the storage device 116 is a storage device such as a magnetic or optical disk drive (e.g., hard disk drive (“HDD”), floppy diskette, compact disk read only memory (“CD-ROM”), digital versatile disk (“DVD”)).", "Pursuant to one aspect, a display device 118 is coupled with the address/data bus 102, wherein the display device 118 is configured to display video and/or graphics.", "In an aspect, the display device 118 may include a cathode ray tube (“CRT”), liquid crystal display (“LCD”), field emission display (“FED”), plasma display, or any other display device suitable for displaying video and/or graphic images and alphanumeric characters recognizable to a user.", "The computer system 100 presented herein is an example computing environment in accordance with an aspect.", "However, the non-limiting example of the computer system 100 is not strictly limited to being a computer system.", "For example, an aspect provides that the computer system 100 represents a type of data processing analysis that may be used in accordance with various aspects described herein.", "Moreover, other computing systems may also be implemented.", "Indeed, the spirit and scope of the present technology is not limited to any single data processing environment.", "Thus, in an aspect, one or more operations of various aspects of the present technology are controlled or implemented using computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer.", "In one implementation, such program modules include routines, programs, objects, components and/or data structures that are configured to perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.", "In addition, an aspect provides that one or more aspects of the present technology are implemented by utilizing one or more distributed computing environments, such as where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network, or such as where various program modules are located in both local and remote computer-storage media including memory-storage devices.", "An illustrative diagram of a computer program product (i.e., storage device) embodying the present invention is depicted in FIG.", "2.The computer program product is depicted as floppy disk 200 or an optical disk 202 such as a CD or DVD.", "However, as mentioned previously, the computer program product generally represents computer-readable instructions stored on any compatible non-transitory computer-readable medium.", "The term “instructions” as used with respect to this invention generally indicates a set of operations to be performed on a computer, and may represent pieces of a whole program or individual, separable, software modules.", "Non-limiting examples of“instruction” include computer program code (source or object code) and “hard-coded” electronics (i.e.", "computer operations coded into a computer chip).", "The “instruction” is stored on any non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as in the memory of a computer or on a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, and a flash drive.", "In either event, the instructions are encoded on a non-transitory computer-readable medium.", "(3) SPECIFIC DETAILS OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS Traumatic memories are intense, stressful, and emotionally paralyzing.", "The reconsolidation hypothesis states that when a consolidated memory is recalled, it becomes unstable and susceptible to modification for a discrete period of time, gradually becoming stable again.", "The most common method for treatment of PTSD is aversion therapy under the guidance of a psychologist or psychiatrist, in order to associate more benign (i.e., gentle, not harmful), safe feelings with the stressful memory.", "However, this process is inefficient; it can take years of therapy to overcome the painful memory, since the intense emotion of the initial experience causes it to be strongly encoded.", "The system described herein will make these therapy sessions with the professional much more effective, achieving the goals of therapy much faster.", "The system consists of two stages.", "The first stage is to employ virtual reality to evoke the painful memory, including painful aspects of the memory, under safe and controlled conditions (e.g., a benign setting).", "Safe and controlled conditions may simply involve being in a home or office.", "The benign setting is key, because the subject can experience the traumatic memory with less fear and stress.", "This is the basis of aversion therapy.", "This, in itself, is not new, but it increases the efficacy of the second stage.", "The second stage of the system is to apply a weak, unique pattern of electrical stimulation to the scalp during one or more of these aversion therapy sessions, and then use this same pattern as a cue during sleep to promote reactivation of the new benign association during sleep, consolidating it much faster than normal.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B depict the two stages of the invention described herein.", "FIG.", "3A illustrates the wake stage, wherein the subject 300 relives the traumatic episode in the virtual world (created by three-dimensional (3D) images in a VR (virtual reality) head-mounted display 302 (e.g., a virtual reality system) and spatialized audio 304 over headphones 306).", "During the episode, a unique spatial pattern of high definition (HD) transcranial stimulation is applied (i.e.", "HD-tCS control signals 308).", "U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser.", "No.", "15/332,787, which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully disclosed herein, described how such a pattern is determined.", "In short, the pattern is a set of currents, one for each stimulation electrode on the scalp, and this spatial pattern must be different from any other pattern associated with any other experience applied to this subject.", "During the sleep stage, as shown in FIG.", "3B, when the computer 310 detects slow-wave oscillations in the HD-EEG data 312, the same pattern of stimulation is applied (i.e.", "HD-tCS control signals 308), thereby cueing a recall of the therapy session.", "As shown in FIGS.", "3A and 3B, the subject 300 wears a high-density array of electrical stimulators 314 HD-tCS (high-definition transcranial current stimulation) on his or her head.", "Additionally, the subject 300 wears a virtual reality head-mounted display 302 on the eyes (“VR HMD”), and spatialized audio 304 over headphones.", "A computer 308 projects a compelling virtual environment on the display 302, and the subject 300 should feel immersed and comfortable in the environment, as it is changed gradually to become very similar to the environment in which the subject experienced the traumatic episode.", "A therapist or a loved one can make the subject 300 feel comfortable and safe, for example, by holding a hand or putting a hand on a shoulder.", "The painful memory is evoked by creating the situation in the virtual environment.", "The virtual reality simulator (see FIG.", "4, element 400) notifies the HD-tCS controller (FIG.", "4, element 310) the precise time when the painful memory is being simulated.", "From the time the memory is evoked, during the extent of the experience, a unique Spatial-Temporal Amplitude Modulated Pattern (STAMP) of weak current is applied to the scalp of the subject 300.The best result will be if the experience can be evoked suddenly and strongly, and for a short time span on the order of seconds or a minute, so that a strong mental impression can be associated with the STAMP.", "The strength of the experience may be determined by biometrics measurements from a sensor such as galvanic skin response relative to baseline readings from the subject taken before the session, or by subjective indications the subject can be asked to give, such as indicating a level of stress from 1 to 10 by holding up fingers.", "FIG.", "4 is a flow diagram depicting the day (or wake) operation stage of the present invention.", "As described above, a virtual world is created by a virtual reality simulator 400 and displayed via a virtual reality head-mounted display (VR HMD) 302.The virtual reality simulator 400 is a computer configured to render a 3D image of some environment that may be real or computer-generated, and display it on a stereoscopic display (such as a VR HMD), where the point-of-view of the display is controlled by location/direction/gyroscope sensors on the head and other parts of the body.", "The painful episode 402 (having a start and an end) is evoked by creating the situation in the virtual environment.", "For example, if a painful memory is associated with a room, the interior of a vehicle, or a particular outdoor location, the virtual environment may include images from photographs of that location.", "In some embodiments, the virtual environment may be a representation of that location created from software based on descriptions or images of the environment.", "Particular cues associated with the traumatic memory such as an item, people wearing camouflage, particular types of vehicles, implements, may be included in the virtual environment.", "In some embodiments, the situation created by the virtual environment may be new rather than based on a person's prior specific experiences.", "For example, the environment may include getting in various types of aircraft, or being on an elevated platform such as a balcony, porch, or cliff.", "Additional examples are provided below with respect to types of therapy sessions.", "The virtual reality simulator 400 notifies the HD-tCS controller the precise time when the painful memory is being simulated.", "The computer 310 causes the tCS controller to apply a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) stamp for the duration of the painful episode 402.tDCS is a form of neurostimulation that uses constant, low current delivered to electrodes arranged on the scalp.", "Thus, stimulation currents are held constant.", "FIG.", "5 is a flow diagram illustrating a sleep operation (or stage), which is described in detail in U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/516,350, which is hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.", "The technique employs a rolling mean of EEG channels and fits a 1 Hertz (Hz) oscillation to the previous second or so, and that fitted oscillation is the prediction for the next positive phase of the slow wave oscillation.", "Note that the actual phase of SWO constantly varies around 1 Hz so one has to constantly update prediction of the next UP phase.", "On the night after (or other suitable time) the therapy session described above for the day (or wake) operation stage, the subject 300 again wears the same high-density array of stimulators 314 on the head (FIG.", "3B), this time including sensors, such as EEG (electro-encephalogram).", "The computer 308 monitors the EEG recording.", "When a period of slow-wave sleep is detected (element 500), such as a period when EEG oscillates at a frequency of 0.5-1 Hertz (Hz).", "The system then commands the HD-tCS array of stimulators to apply a short period (e.g., 5 cycles) of tACS (transcranial alternating current stimulation) to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of the subject (element 504).", "tACS is a noninvasive means by which alternating electrical current applied through the skin and skull entrains in a frequency-specific fashion the neural oscillations of the underlying brain.", "tACS currents are time dependent and have a sinusoidal shape.", "Amplitude, frequency, and relative phases can be controlled across stimulation electrodes.", "This lengthens the period of slow-wave sleep and strengthens the amplitude of the slow-wave oscillation (SWO).", "The EEG can be analyzed after the stimulation, and the power of the SWO can be determined, as described in Literature Reference No.", "6.Then, after a short cool-down period (e.g., approximately 3 seconds) (element 506), the system causes the HD-tCS array to stimulate the STAMP montage for the duration of the positive half-cycle of the SWO (approximately 500 milliseconds (ms), called the UP-phase (element 508).", "The architecture of the slow-wave oscillation is well-known in the art, such as described in Literature Reference No.", "7.These two stages (elements 504 and 506) lead to improved consolidation of the memory that was cued by the STAMP montage.", "Neuronal membrane potentials switch from a depolarized level during an UP-phase to a hyperpolarized level during a DOWN-phase.", "This shift in the membrane potential has been used to detect cortical UP/DOWN phases.", "This two-stage process (FIGS.", "3A-3B, 4, and 5) may be repeated to get the desired improvement in the subject's condition.", "A desired improvement would be a subjective judgement (e.g., a survey or questionnaire) of the PTSD sufferer who would report frequency and intensity of experiences of PTSD during the days and nights of treatment.", "When the subject feels that PTSD is no longer a debilitating condition, the subject's treatment could be stopped.", "All memories are consolidated during the SWO periods.", "The “time for stim?” box 502 in FIG.", "5 becomes true when an UP-phase prediction is available and there is enough time to ramp up the stimulation (100 ms, depending on the tCS controller).", "While the disclosure describes a specific embodiment employing transcranial direct current electrical stimulation (tDCS) and tACS, variations of the protocol are also possible.", "For instance, the intervention can include tACS alone or tDCS alone.", "Further, the tACS and/or tDCS can be delivered via implanted electrodes rather than transcranially.", "In addition, the intervention can include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or targeted memory reactivation (TMR) via auditory or olfactory stimulation.", "Moreover, in an alternative embodiment, exposure therapy in a session with a therapist talking though the traumatic experience may be used to replace the display of the virtual reality to the subject.", "In summary, this disclosure describes a system to weaken a traumatic memory by using a unique, weak pattern of transcranially-applied electrical stimulation to tag a reactivation of the memory in a benign setting during a therapy session and, subsequently, to cue the benign association during sleep, thereby consolidating the benign association.", "During the therapy session in a virtual environment, the traumatic episode is recreated, and the STAMP pattern is applied while the stressful episode is being simulated.", "During positive phases of slow-wave oscillation (SWO) period of sleep, a period of tACS is applied, interleaved with the STAMP.", "The STAMP acts as a cue to reactivate the benign association.", "Some SWO cycles should be un-STAMPed to allow time for other memories to consolidate.", "The intensity of the traumatic episode can be increased from waking session to waking session, until the subject is relieved of the painful associations.", "The therapy can be staged to present short, mild experiences during the first treatment periods, and gradually increase their intensity and duration.", "For example, to weaken a fear of heights, the first experience might be on a porch in a virtual environment, with no railing, only a meter or so off the ground.", "After enough sessions that the subject is comfortable, the porch can be raised by a meter or two at a time to present more challenging experiences.", "Likewise, for fear of flying, the first experiences might be just walking into an airplane and buckling the seat belt.", "Later, a takeoff can be added, and finally turbulence.", "It is easy to create very compelling experiences in such a virtual world.", "Various fears may be addressed using this system, including fear of objects, animals, insects, sounds, sensations, experiences, smells, etc.", "For each case, the fear may be addressed by presenting the fear through virtual reality while making the experience more benign through the use of a controlled environment and/or the assistance of other persons.", "Fear of sensations and experiences may be simulated with props or controlled presentation of the feared experience.", "For example, fear of heat or cold may be addressed with gradually increasing application of the feared experience in small amounts to a subject while they are presented with the virtual environment and while transcranial direct current stimulation is applied to the subject.", "The targeted transcranial neurostimulation system according to embodiments of the present disclosure will cure people of post-traumatic stress and irrational fears and rid them of disturbing memories without physical risk to the patient.", "It is reasonable and useful to fear traumatic events, but when such fears become crippling and debilitating, it is a problem.", "The invention described herein has goals similar to trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy techniques (e.g., Literature Reference No.", "1) common in psychological treatment.", "The approach is to relive the trauma in a safe setting, guided by a skilled therapist, and learn a new association.", "However, unlike such techniques that require appointments with trained therapists for months or years of sessions, the system and method according to embodiment of this disclosure can accelerate treatment.", "Unlike pharmacological intervention, the approach described herein has low physical risk and no pharmacological side effects, and will be more effective than behavioral therapies.", "Additionally, the approach will allow, for the first time, a targeted personalized closed-loop system for weakening the specific memories that are bothering the patient.", "Several commercial companies market high-definition transcranial stimulation products to which the invention described herein can be applied.", "The advantages of the system and method according to embodiments of the present disclosure include the following.", "The therapeutic procedure is safe; it does not require drugs.", "The therapy can be added to standard psychological therapy techniques to greatly improve their effectiveness.", "The therapy is targeted; it is applied only during certain periods of sleep with the only side-effects being a more restful night's sleep (due to the AC protocol applied to lengthen the slow wave sleep stage), compared with a drug treatment whose effects can have unintended systemic chemical side-effects.", "As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the patient may sleep during the day and be awake during the night, so any reference to a “night's sleep” or “night operation” can be considered to be applicable to whenever the patient sleeps, day or night.", "In addition, due to its ability to enhance the efficacy of therapy sessions, the system can significantly decrease the number of such sessions required.", "The desired end-result is subjective.", "The patient wants relief from debilitating PTSD experiences that may occur daily and can destroy a person's ability to hold down a job and/or to take care of their children.", "The resulting depression can lead to drinking or drugs to try to numb the emotions.", "There are well established assessment measures used to diagnose PTSD and to measure the effectiveness of therapy.", "There are a number of structured interviews and self-report questionnaires that may be used, and some are targeted at particular forms of PTSD (e.g., due to rape, battle, accidents).", "For instance, the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) was created by the National Center for PTSD, and is one of the most widely used PTSD interviews (see Literature Reference No.", "8).", "The first stage of transition would be a clinical system, for lab use where the disturbing memory needs to be artificially evoked.", "A second stage would be a home system that can be either self-initiated or works automatically.", "A final stage would be a portable personal therapy system that also can be operated by a naïve user with minimal supervision.", "Finally, while this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the invention may have other applications in other environments.", "It should be noted that many embodiments and implementations are possible.", "Further, the following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the specific embodiments described above.", "In addition, any recitation of “means for” is intended to evoke a means-plus-function reading of an element and a claim, whereas, any elements that do not specifically use the recitation “means for”, are not intended to be read as means-plus-function elements, even if the claim otherwise includes the word “means”.", "Further, while particular method steps have been recited in a particular order, the method steps may occur in any desired order and fall within the scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15874866
[ [ "PROPULSION APPARATUS FOR SHIP", "Provided is a ship propelling apparatus including a rotation shaft on which a rear propeller is fixed; a front propeller rotatably supported on the rotation shaft in front of the rear propeller; and a counter-rotating device through which the rotation shaft passes, which includes a gear box including therein a plurality of gears configured to reverse rotation of the rotation shaft and transfer the reversed rotation to the front propeller, and which is installed in an installation space formed at the rear of a ship.", "The rotation shaft includes a measurement hole formed to pass through a center of the rotation shaft for centering of the counter-rotating device installed in the installation space; and an individual lubricant path separated from the measurement hole." ], [ "1-16.", "(canceled) 17.A ship propelling apparatus comprising: a rear propeller fixed on a rotation shaft; a front propeller supported rotatably on the rotation shaft in front of the rear propeller; and a counter-rotating device configured to reverse rotation of the rotation shaft and transfer the reversed rotation to the front propeller, wherein the counter-rotating device comprises a gear box including therein a plurality of gears for reversing rotation of the front propeller and accommodated in an installation space formed in a tail of a ship, and a fixing flange provided at the front of the gear box, and including a separation groove which is a through-groove, wherein the gear box is separated from the installation space by applying a force to the gear box by inserting a bolt into the separation groove.", "18.The ship propelling apparatus of claim 17, wherein a plurality of separation grooves are formed along a marginal portion of the fixing flange that is in close contact with the gear box.", "19.The ship propelling apparatus of claim 18, further comprising a coupling member which is coupled to the separation groove and into which a clamp bolt is inserted to fix the front of the gear box on the tail of the ship.", "20.The ship propelling apparatus of claim 19, wherein the gear box is separated from the installation space due to a force applied to the gear box by the bolt inserted into the separation groove in a state in which the clamp bolt and the coupling member are loosened from the separation groove.", "21.The ship propelling apparatus of claim 17, wherein a marginal portion of the fixing flange that is in close contact with the gear box comprises: clamp grooves into which clamp bolts are inserted to fix a front cover on the tail of the ship; and separation grooves formed alternately with the clamp grooves.", "22.The ship propelling apparatus of claim 21, wherein the gear box is separated from the installation space due to a force applied to the front cover by the bolts inserted into the separation grooves in a state in which the clamp bolts are loosened from the clamp grooves.", "23.The ship propelling apparatus of claim 17, wherein the fixing flange is coupled to the tail of the ship or formed integrally with the tail of the ship." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In general, a ship propelling apparatus includes one spiral propeller.", "However, in the case of a propelling apparatus including one propeller, the rotational energy of water streams generated when the propeller rotates cannot be used as a propulsive force, thereby causing a high energy loss.", "A counter-rotating propeller (CRP) is capable of collecting rotational energy, which may be lost, as a propulsive force.", "In the CRP, a propulsive force is generated as two coaxial propellers rotate in opposite directions.", "The rotational energy of a fluid passing through a front propeller is collected as a propulsive force by a rear propeller as the rear propeller rotates reversely.", "Thus, the CRP exhibits a higher propelling performance than a propelling apparatus including one propeller.", "However, since the CRP includes a counter-rotating device enabling two propellers to rotate in opposite directions, a hollow shaft, etc., the CRP is thus relatively difficult to manufacture, install, maintain, and repair.", "US Patent Publication No.", "US2011/0033296 (publication date: Feb. 10, 2011) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No.", "sho 62-279189 (publication date: Dec. 4, 1987) have disclosed examples of the CRP described above.", "US Patent Publication No.", "US2011/0033296 has disclosed a CRP including a planetary gear type counter-rotating device and a hollow shaft installed in a hull of a ship.", "Japanese Patent Application Publication No.", "sho 62-279189 has disclosed a double counter-rotating apparatus which is a planetary gear type counter-rotating apparatus installed in the tail of a ship." ], [ "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a ship propelling apparatus in which two propellers rotate in opposite directions to generate a propulsive force, and a ship including the same.", "BACKGROUND ART In general, a ship propelling apparatus includes one spiral propeller.", "However, in the case of a propelling apparatus including one propeller, the rotational energy of water streams generated when the propeller rotates cannot be used as a propulsive force, thereby causing a high energy loss.", "A counter-rotating propeller (CRP) is capable of collecting rotational energy, which may be lost, as a propulsive force.", "In the CRP, a propulsive force is generated as two coaxial propellers rotate in opposite directions.", "The rotational energy of a fluid passing through a front propeller is collected as a propulsive force by a rear propeller as the rear propeller rotates reversely.", "Thus, the CRP exhibits a higher propelling performance than a propelling apparatus including one propeller.", "However, since the CRP includes a counter-rotating device enabling two propellers to rotate in opposite directions, a hollow shaft, etc., the CRP is thus relatively difficult to manufacture, install, maintain, and repair.", "US Patent Publication No.", "US2011/0033296 (publication date: Feb. 10, 2011) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No.", "sho 62-279189 (publication date: Dec. 4, 1987) have disclosed examples of the CRP described above.", "US Patent Publication No.", "US2011/0033296 has disclosed a CRP including a planetary gear type counter-rotating device and a hollow shaft installed in a hull of a ship.", "Japanese Patent Application Publication No.", "sho 62-279189 has disclosed a double counter-rotating apparatus which is a planetary gear type counter-rotating apparatus installed in the tail of a ship.", "DISCLOSURE Technical Problem One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a ship propelling apparatus that includes a simpler drivetrain system than in the related art, guarantees stable counter-rotations of two propellers, and is easy to manufacture, install, maintain, and repair, and a ship including the same.", "One or more embodiments of the present invention also provide a ship propelling apparatus including a sealing device for securing the reliability of sealing performance between a front propeller and a rear propeller that rotate in counter-directions, and a ship including the same.", "One or more embodiments of the present invention also provide a ship propelling apparatus in which a bolt is inserted into a separation groove of a front fixing member installed in the front of a gear box so that the gear box may be efficiently separated from an installation space in a tail of a ship due to a force applied to the gear box when the bolt is moved forward, and a ship including the same.", "Technical Solution One aspect of the present invention provides a ship propelling apparatus including a rotation shaft on which a rear propeller is fixed; a front propeller rotatably supported on the rotation shaft in front of the rear propeller; and a counter-rotating device through which the rotation shaft passes, which includes a gear box including therein a plurality of gears configured to reverse rotation of the rotation shaft and transfer the reversed rotation to the front propeller, and which is installed in an installation space formed at the rear of a ship.", "The rotation shaft includes a measurement hole formed to pass through a center of the rotation shaft for centering of the counter-rotating device installed in the installation space; and an individual lubricant path separated from the measurement hole.", "Also, the counter-rotating device may include a first connector coupled to a drive flange provided on the rotation shaft so as to transfer a rotational force of the rotation shaft to the plurality of gears, and a second connector coupled to a hub of the front propeller to transfer outputs of the plurality of gears to the front propeller.", "Also, the plurality of gears may include a drive bevel gear coupled to the first connector; a driven bevel gear supported rotatably around the rotation shaft and coupled to the second connector; and at least one reverse bevel gear configured to reverse rotation of the drive bevel gear and transfer the reversed rotation to the driven bevel gear.", "Another aspect of the present invention provides a ship propelling apparatus including a rear propeller fixed on a rotation shaft; a front propeller supported rotatably on the rotation shaft in front of the rear propeller; and a counter-rotating device configured to reverse rotation of the rotation shaft and transfer the reversed rotation to the front propeller.", "The counter-rotating device may include a gear box including therein a plurality of gears for reversing rotation of the front propeller and accommodated in an installation space formed in a tail of a ship, and a fixing flange provided at the front of the gear box, and including a separation groove which is a through-groove, wherein the gear box is separated from the installation space by applying a force to the gear box by inserting a bolt into the separation groove.", "Also, a plurality of separation grooves may be formed along a marginal portion of the fixing flange that is in close contact with the gear box.", "The ship propelling apparatus may further include a coupling member which is coupled to the separation groove and into which a clamp bolt is inserted to fix the front of the gear box on the tail of the ship.", "Also, the gear box may be separated from the installation space due to a force applied to the gear box by the bolt inserted into the separation groove in a state in which the clamp bolt and the coupling member are loosened from the separation groove.", "Also, a marginal portion of the fixing flange that is in close contact with the gear box may include clamp grooves into which clamp bolts are inserted to fix a front cover on the tail of the ship; and separation grooves formed alternately with the clamp grooves.", "Also, the gear box may be separated from the installation space due to a force applied to the front cover by the bolts inserted into the separation grooves in a state in which the clamp bolts are loosened from the clamp grooves.", "Also, the fixing flange may be coupled to the tail of the ship or formed integrally with the tail of the ship.", "Still another aspect of the present invention provides a ship propelling apparatus including a rear propeller fixed on a rotation shaft; a front propeller supported rotatably on the rotation shaft in front of the rear propeller; a counter-rotating device including a plurality of gears for revering rotation of the rotation shaft and transferring the reversed rotation to the front propeller, and accommodated in an installation space formed in a tail of a ship; and a sealing device configured to seal between a hub of the front propeller and a hub of the rear propeller.", "The sealing device may include a pressurizing ring member coupled to one of the hubs and configured to apply a pressurizing force to the other hub; and a support ring member coupled to the other hub, and configured to be in surface contact with the pressurizing ring member in a sliding manner.", "Also, the pressurizing ring member may include a fixing ring coupled to one of the hubs; a moving ring disposed apart from the fixing ring, and including a pressurizing unit that is in surface contact with the support ring member; and an elastic unit coupled between the fixing ring and the moving ring, and configured to apply a pressurizing force to pressurize the moving ring toward the support ring member.", "Also, the pressurizing unit may be coupled to the moving ring to be detachable from the moving ring.", "Also, a sliding surface of the pressurizing unit that is in surface contact with the support ring member may be perpendicular to the rotation shaft.", "Also, the elastic unit may include a pair of fixing units, both ends of which are coupled to outer surfaces of the fixing ring and the moving ring; and a circular arc unit configured to connect the pair of fixing units to apply the pressurizing force.", "The ship propelling apparatus may further include a sealing unit configured to seal between the moving ring and the pressurizing unit.", "Advantageous Effects A propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is easy to manufacture and install, since centering of a counter-rotating device can be performed via a measurement hole formed in a rotation shaft after a gear box of the counter-rotating device is loaded into an installation space formed in a tail of a ship in a state in which the counter-rotating device is manufactured and assembled outside the ship.", "Also, a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is easy to maintain and repair since a gear box of a counter-rotating device can be separated from a ship when the gear box is out of order.", "Also, a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention causes a front propeller to reversely rotate using a plurality of bevel gears and thus may have a smaller volume and a simpler drivetrain system than a general planetary gear type counter-rotating device.", "Also, since the volume of the counter-rotating device is small, the counter-rotating device can be installed in a tail a ship.", "Also, in a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a counter-rotating device may be installed in a tail of a ship and thus a hollow shaft employed in the related art may be omitted.", "Thus, the structure of a drivetrain system may be simpler than in the related art, the size of an area that needs to be lubricated may be reduced, and various problems that may occur due to lubrication may be minimized.", "Also, in a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a sealing device may allow radial displacement of a front propeller or a rear propeller due to a non-uniform load applied thereto, thereby enhancing the sealing performance thereof.", "Also, a bolt may be inserted into a separation groove formed in a front fixing member installed in the front of a gear box so that the gear box may be efficiently separated from an installation space in a tail of a ship due to a force applied to the gear box when the bolt is moved forward.", "DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a propelling apparatus is applied to a ship according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional view of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is an exploded perspective view of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is an exploded perspective view of a counter-rotating device of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a structure in which bearings are mounted to support a front propeller of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a structure in which bearings are mounted to support a front propeller of a propelling apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which a first radial bearing is loosened.", "FIG.", "7 is a cross-sectional view of a counter-rotating device of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which a counter-rotating device is separated.", "FIG.", "8 is a cross-sectional view of a method of aligning a center of a rotation shaft assembled in a gear box included in the counter-rotating device of FIG.", "7 and a center of a main drive shaft coupled to a drive source using a shaft alignment tester.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates the shaft alignment tester of the FIG.", "8.FIG.", "10 illustrates a state in which an optical sensor unit included in the shaft alignment tester of FIG.", "9 is installed and a rear end of a rotation shaft is closed by a sealing cap.", "FIG.", "11 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a counter-rotating device of a propelling apparatus is mounted in an installation space formed in a tail of a ship according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "12 is a cross-sectional view of a first sealing device of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "13 is an exploded perspective view of a first sealing device of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "14 is a cross-sectional view of a second sealing device of a propelling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "15 is a cross-sectional view of a propelling apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "16 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing device installed between the front of a propelling apparatus and a rear propeller according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "17 illustrates a structure for supplying a lubricant to a sealing device installed between the front of a propelling apparatus and a rear propeller according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "18 illustrates a structure of a connecting fluid path formed in a hub of a rear propeller of a propelling apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "19 is a diagram illustrating a change in the location of a fluid path caused by a change in the length of a main shaft according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "20 is a cross-sectional view of a separation groove formed in a front fixing member provided in front of a gear box included in the counter-rotating device of FIG.", "8.FIG.", "21 is a cross-sectional view of a fixing flange in which the front fixing member of FIG.", "20 is provided.", "FIG.", "22 is a cross-sectional view of a separation groove formed in the fixing flange of FIG.", "21.FIG.", "23 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a gear box is separated from an installation space formed in a tail of a ship using a jack bolt inserted into the separation groove in the fixing flange of FIG.", "22.FIG.", "24 is a cross-sectional view of another example of the fixing flange of FIG.", "22.FIG.", "25 is a cross-sectional view of another example of the fixing flange of FIG.", "21 in which a coupling member is coupled to a separation groove which also serves as a clamp groove.", "FIG.", "26 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a gear box is separated from an installation space formed in the tail of a ship by a jack bolt inserted into the separation groove in the fixing flange of FIG.", "25.MODES OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "As illustrated in FIGS.", "1 and 2, a ship propelling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a front propeller 10 and a rear propeller 20 disposed at the rear of a ship 1 such that shaft lines thereof coincide with each other, and a counter-rotating device 30 installed in a tail 3 of the ship 1 to cause the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 to rotate in opposite directions.", "That is, the ship propelling apparatus is a double counter-rotating propelling apparatus in which the two propellers 10 and 20 rotate in opposite directions to generate a propulsive force.", "Here, the tail 3 of the ship 1 means a streamlined portion (i.e., a stern boss) of the ship 1 protruding toward the rear thereof to install the front and rear propellers 10 and 20 and the counter-rotating device 30 therein.", "The tail 3 of the ship 1 may be manufactured by casting, and fixed on the ship 1 by welding.", "Also, the tail 3 of the ship 1 includes an installation space 4 having pass-through front and rear portions to accommodate a gear box 40 of the counter-rotating device 30 which will be described below.", "Inner surfaces of the installation space 4 may be processed in a cylindrical shape by boring to correspond to the shape of the gear box 40.As illustrated in FIGS.", "2 and 3, the counter-rotating device 30 includes the gear box 40 accommodated in the installation space 4 of the tail 3 of the ship 1, and a rotation shaft 5 supported rotatably on the gear box 40 while passing through a roughly central portion of the gear box 40.As illustrated in FIGS.", "2 to 4, the counter-rotating device 30 may include a drive bevel gear 31 installed in the gear box 40 to rotate together with the rotation shaft 5, a driven bevel gear 32 disposed opposite the drive bevel gear 31 to be supported rotatably on the rotation shaft 5 in the gear box 40, and a plurality of reverse bevel gears 33 configured to reverse rotation of the drive bevel gear 31 and transfer the reversed rotation to the driven bevel gear 32.The counter-rotating device 30 may further include a cylindrical first connector 35 for connecting the rotation shaft 5 and the drive bevel gear 31, and a cylindrical second connector 36 for connecting the driven bevel gear 32 and a hub 11 of the front propeller 10.A front end of the rotation shaft 5 protruding toward the front of the gear box 40 may be connected to a main drive shaft 6 in the ship 1 such that the front end thereof can be combined with/separated from the main drive shaft 6.The main drive shaft 6 may be connected to a drive source 8 (a diesel engine, a motor, a turbine, etc.)", "installed in the ship 1 to cause the rotation shaft 5 to rotate together with the main drive shaft 6 as illustrated in FIG.", "1.The rear propeller 20 is fixed on the rotation shaft 5 extending to the rear of the gear box 40, and the front propeller 10 is rotatably supported on an outer interface between the rear propeller 20 and the gear box 40.As will be described in detail below, the front propeller 10 may be connected to the counter-rotating device 30 so that the front propeller 10 may rotate in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the rear propeller 20 when the rotation shaft 5 rotates.", "The main drive shaft 6 and the rotation shaft 5 may be coupled using a cylindrical coupling device 7 by spline shaft coupling such that they can be combined with each other or separated from each other.", "Here, the spline shaft coupling is provided as an example but a method of connecting the main drive shaft 6 and the rotation shaft 5 is not limited thereto.", "Alternatively, flange coupling, a friction clutch method, a magnetic clutch method, etc.", "may be selectively employed.", "The rear propeller 20 is fixed on a tail portion of the rotation shaft 5 to rotate together with the rotation shaft 5 as illustrated in FIGS.", "2 and 3.The rear propeller 20 includes a hub 21 fixed on the rotation shaft 5, and a plurality of wings 22 provided on an outer surface of the hub 21.The hub 21 of the rear propeller 20 may be fixed on the rotation shaft 5 by press-fitting a shaft coupling hole 23 in a center thereof to an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.A fixing cap 24 is clamped to a rear end of the rotation shaft 5 to firmly fix the rear propeller 20 on the rotation shaft 5.For the coupling, a tail portion 5a of the rotation shaft 5 may be provided in the form of a tapered outer surface, the external diameter of which tapers toward the rear thereof, and the shaft coupling hole 23 of the hub 21 may be provided in the form of a tapered inner surface corresponding to the outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.In FIG.", "2, reference numeral ‘25’ denotes a propeller cap installed on the hub 21 to cover a rear end of the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20 and the fixing cap 24.The front propeller 10 is installed rotatably on an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5 between the rear propeller 20 and the counter-rotating device 30.The front propeller 10 includes the hub 11 supported rotatably on the outer surface of the rotation shaft 5, and a plurality of wings 12 provided on an outer surface of the hub 11.The front propeller 10 may be installed on an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5 before the rear propeller 20 is installed.", "Also, since the front propeller 10 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the rear propeller 20, a wing angle of the front propeller 10 is different from that of the rear propeller 20.The hub 11 of the front propeller 10 may be supported rotatably on an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5 by a first thrust bearing 13, a second thrust bearing 14, and a first radial bearing 15 as illustrated in FIGS.", "2 and 5.The first thrust bearing 13 and the second thrust bearing 14 may be installed between a front inner side of the hub 11 and the outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.The first radial bearing 15 may be installed between a rear inner surface of the hub 11 and the outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.The first radial bearing 15 may withstand a radial load applied by the front propeller 10 in a radial direction of the rotation shaft 5, and the first and second thrust bearings 13 and 14 may withstand thrust loads applied in front of and at the rear of the rotation shaft 5.In detail, the second thrust bearing 14 may withstand a thrust load applied from the front propeller 10 to a bow of the ship 1 when the ship 1 moves forward, and the first thrust bearing 13 may withstand a thrust load applied from the front propeller 10 toward the stern of the ship 1 when the ship 1 moves backward.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "5, an inner ring of the first thrust bearing 13 and an inner ring of the second thrust bearing 14 are disposed in contact with each other in a state in which they are press-fitted at an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5, and may be thus supported not to be pushed out in an axial direction.", "An outer ring of the first thrust bearing 13 is supported by a fixing ring 39 installed in the second connector 36 combined with the hub 11 not to be pushed out in the axial direction.", "A first cylindrical support ring 17a and a second cylindrical support ring 17b are installed between the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 and the rotation shaft 5 not to push out the second thrust bearing 14 in the axial direction.", "The first support ring 17a may be disposed between an outer ring of the second thrust bearing 14 and an outer ring of the first radial bearing 15 to support the second thrust bearing 14 and the first radial bearing 15.The second support ring 17b may be disposed between an inner ring of the second thrust bearing 14 and an inner ring of the first radial bearing 15 to support the second thrust bearing 14 and the first radial bearing 15.Also, a distance adjustment ring 18 may be installed on an inner surface of the hub 11 between the outer ring of the first radial bearing 15 and a first sealing cover 71 which will be described below not to cause the outer ring of the first radial bearing 15 to be pushed out in the axial direction.", "Here, in order to more stably support the outer ring of the first radial bearing 15, a case in which the distance adjustment ring 18 is installed is provided, but if the outer ring of the first radial bearing 15 is press-fitted on an internal surface of the hub 11, the outer ring of the first radial bearing 15 may be fixed even when the distance adjustment ring 18 is not installed.", "Thus, the distance adjustment ring 18 may be selectively employed according to design.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "5, a cylindrical wedge member 16 may be installed between the inner ring of the first radial bearing 15 and an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5 so that the inner ring of the first radial bearing 15 may not be pushed out in the axial direction.", "The wedge member 16 includes a tapered outer surface, the external diameter of which tapers toward the rear of the wedge member 16, and a screw thread formed on an outer surface of the rear of the wedge member 16.An inner surface of the wedge member 16 may be press-fitted and fixed to an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.The movement of the inner ring of the first radial bearing 15 may be constrained by inserting a lock nut 16a into the screw thread in the rear of the wedge member 16.Thus, the first radial bearing 15 may be firmly fixed between an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5 and an inner surface of the hub 11.A fixing clip 16b may be inserted into the wedge member 16 and the lock nut 16a to prevent the wedge member 16 and the lock nut 16a from being loosened.", "When the front propeller 10 is installed, first, the first thrust bearing 13, the second thrust bearing 14, the first and second support rings 17a and 17b, and the wedge member 16 may be sequentially installed on an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.Then, as illustrated in FIG.", "6, an outer side of the rotation shaft 5 is coupled to the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 to couple an inner surface of the hub 11 to the outer rings of the first and second thrust bearings 13 and 14.Then, the first radial bearing 15 is installed by being pushed between an outer surface of the wedge member 16 and an inner surface of the hub 11, and then the lock nut 16a may be inserted into the wedge member 16 to fix the inner ring of the first radial bearing 15.After the first radial bearing 15 is installed, the distance adjustment ring 18 may be installed and the first sealing cover 71 may be mounted.", "When the first radial bearing 15 is fixed using the wedge member 16 as described above, even if an error occurs during manufacture of components, such as the first and second support rings 17a and 17b, etc.", "and an installation location of the first radial bearing 15 is changed, a coupling error may be compensated by adjusting mounting locations of the wedge member 16 and the first radial bearing 15.That is, the first radial bearing 15 may be fixed in a state in which the wedge member 16 and the first radial bearing 15 are pressed toward the first and second support rings 17a and 17b, thereby minimizing a coupling error between components.", "The distance between the outer ring of the first radial bearing 15 and the first sealing cover 71 may be measured and the distance adjustment ring 18 may be manufactured and installed based on the measured distance, in a state in which the first radial bearing 15 is mounted.", "When the front propeller 10 is separated from the rotation shaft 5 to be repaired in the future, the first sealing cover 71 and the distance adjustment ring 18 are separated from each other, the lock nut 16a is loosened from the wedge member 16 to separate the first radial bearing 15, and then the front propeller 10 is pulled to be separated from the rotation shaft 5 in a rear direction.", "After the front propeller 10 is separated, the first and second thrust bearings 13 and 14, the wedge member 16, are the first and second support rings 17a and 17b are exposed and thus may be also easily separated from the rotation shaft 5.As illustrated in FIGS.", "2 and 4, the gear box 40 of the counter-rotating device 30 may include a body unit 41 having a cylindrical shape, configured to accommodate therein the drive bevel gear 31, the driven bevel gear 32, and the plurality of reverse bevel gears 33, and both ends of which are open; a front cover 42 coupled to the body unit 41 to close a front opening of the body unit 41; and a rear cover 43 coupled to the body unit 41 to close a rear opening of the body unit.", "The front cover 42 may rotatably support the first connector 35 passing through a central portion thereof.", "The rear cover 43 may also rotatably support the second connector 36 passing through a central portion thereof.", "To this end, a front bearing 44 may be installed between an outer surface of the first connector 35 and the front cover 42, and a rear outer bearing 45 may be installed between an outer surface of the second connector 36 and the rear cover 43.A plurality of rear outer bearings 45 may be continuously installed in a direction of the length of the rotation shaft 5 to cause the second connector 36 to rotate while the second connector 36 are stably supported.", "A rear inner bearing 46 may be installed between an inner surface of the second connector 36 and the rotation shaft 5 to rotatably support the second connector 36, and a cylindrical sleeve bearing 47 may be installed between the first connector 35 and an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.Also, a cylindrical separation ring 49 may be installed on an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5 between an inner ring of the rear inner bearing 46 and the sleeve bearing 47 to support between the inner ring of the rear inner bearing 46 and the sleeve bearing 47.All the front bearing 44, the rear outer bearing 45, and the rear inner bearing 46 may be radial bearings.", "The bearings 44, 45, and 46 may enable the rotation shaft 5, the first connector 35, and the second connector 36 to stably rotate while supporting radial load applied thereto.", "The drive bevel gear 31 is coupled to the first connector 35 by clamping them with a plurality of clamp bolts 31a to rotate together with the first connector 35.The driven bevel gear 32 is also coupled to the second connector 36 by clamping them with a plurality of clamp bolts 32a.", "An internal diameter of the driven bevel gear 32 may be spaced apart from the rotation shaft 5 so that rotation of the driven bevel gear 32 may not be interfered by the rotation shaft 5.The plurality of reverse bevel gears 33 are disposed between the drive bevel gear 31 and the driven bevel gear 32 while being engaged with the drive bevel gear 31 and the driven bevel gear 32.A shaft 34 supporting the reverse bevel gears 33 is disposed in a direction crossing the rotation shaft 5 (a direction of the radius of the rotation shaft 5), and the reverse bevel gears 33 may be disposed around the rotation shaft 5 in a radial form.", "Also, bearings 34a and 34b may be installed at both ends of the shaft 34 of the reverse bevel gears 33 to smoothly rotate the shaft 34.An internal frame 50 may be installed in the gear box 40 to install the reverse bevel gears 33.The internal frame 50 may be fixed in the body unit 41 by clamping a plurality of fixing members 51 thereto while the internal frame 50 is present in the gear box 40.As illustrated in FIG.", "4, a through-hole 52 through which the rotation shaft 5 passes is formed at a center of the internal frame 50, and the internal frame 50 may be provided in a cylindrical or polygonal shape, the width W (in the direction of the length of the rotation shaft 5) of which is less than a maximum external diameter of the reverse bevel gears 33.The internal frame 50 accommodates the reverse bevel gears 33 to be rotable, and includes a plurality of gear installation units 53, both sides of which are open to cause the reverse bevel gears 33 to be geared with the drive bevel gear 31 and the driven bevel gear 32.The internal frame 50 further includes first shaft supports 54 and second shaft supports 55 configured to support the bearings 34a and 34b installed at both ends of the shaft 34 of the reverse bevel gears 33, respectively.", "The components of the internal frame 50 may be disposed radially around the through-hole 52 so as to install the plurality of reverse bevel gears 33.As illustrated in FIG.", "4, the first shaft support 54 and the second shaft support 55 may be open in a direction of one side of the internal frame 50 so as to install the shaft 34 of the reverse bevel gears 33.Here, a first clamp member 54a and a second clamp member 55a may be mounted to fix the bearings 34a and 34b while covering the bearings 34a and 34b.", "Thus, when the reverse bevel gears 33 are installed in the internal frame 50, the reverse bevel gears 33, the shaft 34 of the reverse bevel gears 33, and the bearings 34a and 34b are assembled together, and the assembly is installed by loading it into the gear installation units 53 from a direction of one side surface of the internal frame 50 and fixed by clamping the first and second clamp members 54a and 55a thereto.", "The above method of installing the reverse bevel gears 33 into the internal frame 50 is just an example, and a method of installing the reverse bevel gear 33 is not limited thereto.", "When the internal frame 50 is formed in a different shape than that described above, a method of installing the reverse bevel gears 33 into the internal frame 50 may be changed.", "The internal frame 50 into which the reverse bevel gears 33 are installed may be loaded into the body unit 41 of the gear box 40 and fixed in the body unit 41 by clamping the plurality of fixing members 51 thereto, before the drive bevel gear 31, the driven bevel gear 32, the front cover 42, and the rear cover 43 are installed during assembly of the counter-rotating device 30.The plurality of fixing members 51 may be provided in the form of cylindrical pins as illustrated in FIGS.", "4 and 7.The fixing member 51 is installed to be loaded into the body unit 41 while passing through the body unit 41 from an external side of the body unit 41.Thus, the internal frame 50 may be supported to be fixed by inner ends of the fixing member 51.The internal frame 50 may be bound by inserting the inner ends of the fixing member 51 into the fixing grooves 56 formed in the circumferential surface of the internal frame 50.Outer ends of the fixing member 51 may be fixed on the body unit 41 by clamping them with a clam screw.", "In the gear box 40, a reverse bevel gear assembly including the internal frame 50 may be installed in the body unit 41, the drive bevel gear 31 and the driven bevel gear 32 may be installed via openings at both sides of the body unit 41, and then components such as the front cover 42, the rear cover 43, the first connector 35, and the second connector 36 may be installed.", "Thus, the counter-rotating device 30 is easy to assemble and repair.", "In the present embodiment, the counter-rotating device 30 includes the plurality of reverse bevel gear 33 but may include one reverse bevel gear 33 provided that the reverse bevel gear 33 is capable of reversing rotation of the drive bevel gear 31 and transferring the reversed rotation to the driven bevel gear 32.A small-sized ship that does not require a high drive load may be actuated using only one reverse bevel gear.", "Also, as illustrated in FIGS.", "2 and 7, the counter-rotating device 30 includes an electric power supply device 60 configured to connect the rotation shaft 5 and the first connector 35 to be detachable from each other.", "The electric power supply device 60 includes a drive flange 61 provided on the rotation shaft 5 in front of the gear box 40, a driven flange 62 provided on the first connector 35 to be disposed opposite the drive flange 61, a friction member 63 disposed between the drive flange 61 and the driven flange 62, and a plurality of connecting bolts 64 for clamping the drive flange 61, the driven flange 62, and the friction member 63 while passing through them.", "The drive flange 61 may be integrally formed with the rotation shaft 5, or may be separately manufactured and fixed on the rotation shaft 5 by welding or the like.", "The driven flange 62 may be integrally formed with the first connector 35.The friction member 63 may be split into a plurality of semi-circulator parts so that the friction member 63 may be removed in an outer radial direction by loosening and removing the connecting bolts 64.The electric power supply device 60 may be configured such that the plurality of connecting bolts 64 are loosened to separate the friction member 63 from the electric power supply device 60 to stop supply of power to the drive flange 61 and the driven flange 62 if needed.", "For example, when the counter-rotating device 30 malfunctions during an operation of the ship 1, supply of power to the first connector 35 from the rotation shaft 5 may be stopped.", "In this case, the ship 1 may be operated only by operating the rear propeller 20.The second connector 36 includes a connecting flange 37 coupled to the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 at a read end thereof.", "The connecting flange 37 may be integrally formed with the second connector 36, and fixed on a front surface of the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 by clamping them with a plurality of clamp bolts 37a.", "Thus, rotation of the driven bevel gear 32 may be transferred to the front propeller 10 via the second connector 36.A cylindrical third support ring 38a and a cylindrical fourth support ring 38b supporting the rear inner bearing 46 may be installed between the second connector 36 and an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.The third support ring 38a may be disposed between an inner ring of the rear inner bearing 46 and an inner ring of the first thrust bearing 13 to maintain the distance between the inner ring of the rear inner bearing 46 and the inner ring of the first thrust bearing 13.The fourth support ring 38b may be installed on an inner surface of the second connector 36 to support an outer ring of the rear inner bearing 46.Also, the fixing ring 39 may be mounted at a rear end of the second connector 36 to prevent the fourth support ring 38b from being separated.", "The fixing ring 39 may support the outer ring of the first thrust bearing 13 as illustrated in FIGS.", "2 and 5.In the counter-rotating device 30, the first connector 35 rotates when the rotation shaft 5 rotates, and the drive bevel gear 31 coupled to the first connector 35 also rotates.", "The rotation of the drive bevel gear 31 is reversed by the plurality of reverse bevel gears 33 and transferred to the driven bevel gear 32.Thus, the driven bevel gear 32 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the drive bevel gear 31.Also, the rotation of the driven bevel gear 32 is transferred to the front propeller 10 via the second connector 36.Thus, the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 may rotate in opposite directions.", "As described above, the counter-rotating device 30 according to the present invention causes the two propellers 10 and 20 to rotate in opposite directions using the plurality of bevel gears 31, 32, and 33, and may be thus smaller in volume than a general planetary gear type counter-rotating device according to the related art.", "Accordingly, the volume of the gear box 40 installed in the tail 3 of the ship 1 may be minimized.", "A general planetary gear type counter-rotating device includes a sun gear installed on a rotation shaft, a planet gear installed at an outer side of the sun gear, and a cylindrical internal gear installed at an outer side of the planet gear, and thus has a relatively large volume.", "Also, the volume of the general planetary gear type counter-rotating device should be very large in consideration of rotation of the internal gear which is an outermost gear and an outer casing thereof.", "Thus, the general planetary gear type counter-rotating device is actually very difficult to install in a tail of a ship.", "Even if the general planetary gear type counter-rotating device is installed in the tail of the ship, the tail of the ship should be very large.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "2, a propelling apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a first sealing device 90 for sealing a space between the tail 3 of the ship 1 and the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 to protect them against seawater (or fresh water) or foreign substances, and a second sealing device 110 for sealing a space between the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 and the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20 for the same purpose.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "12, the first sealing device 90 may include a cylindrical first lining 91 installed on the connecting flange 37 of the second connector 36 fixed on the front surface of the hub 11 of the front propeller, and a cylindrical first sealing member 92 covering an outer surface of the first lining 91 in contact with an outer surface of the first lining 91 and one end of which is fixed on the rear cover 43.The first sealing member 92 includes a plurality of packings 93a, 93b, and 93c installed on an inner surface thereof facing the first lining 91 to be spaced apart from one another in contact with an outer surface of the first lining 91, and a fluid path 95 via which a fluid is supplied to seal grooves between the packings 93a, 93b, and 93c.", "The fluid path 95 of the first sealing member 92 may be connected to a lubricant supply path 96 passing through the front of the gear box 40 and the rear covers 42 and 43 so as to supply a lubricant of a predetermined pressure to the front of the gear box 40 and the rear covers 42 and 43 (see FIG.", "2).", "The packings 93a, 93b, and 93c are pressurized against the first lining 91 by supplying the lubricant of the predetermined pressure to the grooves between the packings 93a, 93b, and 93c, thereby preventing seawater or foreign substances from penetrating into the ship 1.The first lining 91 may be split into a first member 91a and a second member 91b, both sides of which have semi-circular shape as illustrated in FIG.", "13.A packing 91d may be inserted into split portions 91c of the first and second members 91a and 91b to seal the first and second members 91a and 91b when the first and second members 91a and 91b are combined with each other.", "A first binding unit 91e protruding from a side to another side is provided at a free end of a split portion of the first member 91a.", "A second binding unit 91f corresponding to the first binding unit 91e is provided at the second member 91b opposite to the first member 91a to be combined with the first binding unit 91e.", "Here, a clamp bolt 91g may be clamped to the first binding unit 91e and the second binding unit 91f to firmly couple them with each other.", "A flange unit 91h fixed on the connecting flange 37 may be firmly fixed on the hub 11 by clamping the flange unit 91h with a plurality of clamp bolts 91i.", "Although both ends of the first lining 91 are split to be easily installed, the first lining 91 is not limited thereto and may have a cylindrical shape in which the first member 91a and the second member 91b are integrally formed.", "Similarly, the first sealing member 92 may be manufactured by stacking and fixing rings 92a, 92b, and 92c, which are formed in a semicircle shape, on an outer side of the first lining 91 in the direction of the length of the rotation shaft 5.The rings 92a, 92b, and 92c may be bound to one another by clamping them with bolts or welding.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "14, the second sealing device 110 may include a cylindrical second lining 111 installed on a front surface of the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20, and a cylindrical second sealing member 112 covering an outer surface of the second lining 111 in contact with the outer surface of the second lining 111 and one end of which is fixed on a rear end of the hub 11 of the front propeller.", "Similar to the first sealing member 92, the second sealing member 112 includes a plurality of packings 113a, 113b, and 113c installed therein, and a fluid path 115 via which a fluid is supplied to grooves between the packings 113a, 113b, and 113c.", "The fluid path 115 of the second sealing member 112 may communicate with a lubricant path 120 provided on a location biased from a central portion of the rotation shaft 5.To this end, a first connecting fluid path 121 connecting the lubricant path 120 and an inner space 122 of the second lining 111 may be formed in the rotation shaft 5 in the direction of the radius of the rotation shaft 5, and a second connecting fluid path 123 communicating between the inner space 122 of the second lining 111 and the fluid path 115 of the second sealing member 112 may be formed in the hub 11 of the front propeller 10.Thus, the packings 113a, 113b, and 113c may be pressurized by a lubricant supplied toward the second sealing member 112 from the lubricant path 120, thereby sealing the packings 113a, 113b, and 113c.", "A measurement through-hole 100 is formed in a central portion of the rotation shaft 5 in the axial direction to control centering of the gear box 40 when the gear box 40 is installed in the installation space 4 as illustrated in FIG.", "2.The centering of the gear box 40 performed via the measurement through-hole 100 will be described below.", "Similar to the first lining 91 and the first sealing member 92 of the first sealing device 90, the second lining 111 and the second sealing member 112 are formed in a semicircle shape and combined with each other after the rear propeller 20 is installed.", "Although the lubricant path 120 is disposed as an independent fluid path on the location biased from the central portion of the rotation shaft 5 in the present embodiment, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto and a plurality of lubricant paths 120 may be disposed in a radial form around the central portion of the rotation shaft 5.Also, the lubricant path 120 may serve as lubricant supply path via which a lubricant is supplied from a lubricant supply device (not shown) installed in the ship 1, may lubricate the vicinity of the rotation shaft 5, or serve as a lubricant collecting path via which a lubricant supplied to a sealing device is collected to the lubricant supply device.", "As illustrated in FIGS.", "2 and 5, the front propeller 10 includes the ring type first sealing cover 71 mounted at the rear end of the hub 11 to seal a space between an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5 and an inner surface of the hub 11.The first sealing cover 71 includes a sealing member 71a for increasing an adhesion between an inner circumferential surface of the first sealing cover 71 and the outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.The first sealing cover 71 may prevent seawater from flowing into the gear box 40 even when the seawater penetrates into the inner space 122 of the second lining 111 due to a malfunction of the second sealing device 110.That is, the first sealing cover 71 may serve as a secondary barrier wall to more reliably prevent seawater from penetrating into the gear box 40.Referring to FIG.", "2, a second sealing cover 72 having a similar shape as that of the first sealing cover 71 may be installed on the driven flange 62 in front of the gear box 40 to seal between the driven flange 62 and an outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.The second sealing cover 72 may prevent a lubricant filled in the gear box 40 from leaking to the ship 1.The counter-rotating device 30 may include a front-surface sealing cover 73 for covering a front surface of the front bearing 44 between the front cover 42 and the first connector 35 to seal the front bearing 44, and a rear-end sealing cover 74 for covering a rear end of the rear outer bearing 45 between the rear cover 43 and the second connector 36 to seal the rear outer bearing 45.The front-surface sealing cover 73 and the rear-end sealing cover 74 may be provided in a form similar as that of the first sealing cover 71 described above.", "The front-surface sealing cover 73 and the rear-end sealing cover 74 may prevent a lubricant in the gear box 40 from leaking to the outside of the gear box 40.Furthermore, even if seawater penetrates into an inner space of the first lining 91 due to a malfunction of the first sealing device 90, the rear-end sealing cover 74 may serve as a secondary barrier wall preventing the seawater from flowing into the gear box 40, similar to the first sealing cover 71.Also, a propelling apparatus according to the present embodiment may include a second radial bearing 81, a third thrust bearing 82, and a fourth thrust bearing 83 which support the rotation shaft 5 in front of the gear box 40.The second radial bearing 81 may be fixed on a first bearing support 86 in the ship 1 while being accommodated in a first bearing case 84.The third and fourth thrust bearings 82 and 83 may be also fixed on a second bearing support 87 in the ship 1 such that inner rings thereof are supported while being accommodated in a second bearing case 85.The second radial bearing 81 supports the rotation shaft 5 in front of the gear box 40, thereby preventing the rotation shaft 5 from vibrating or shaking in a radial direction thereof.", "The third and fourth thrust bearings 82 and 83 transfer an axial-direction force, which is transferred to the rotation shaft 5 from the front and rear propellers 10 and 20, toward the ship 1.In particular, the third thrust bearing 82 transfers to the ship 1 a force applied from the rotation shaft 5 to the bow of the ship 1 when the ship 1 moves forward, and the fourth thrust bearing 83 transfers to the ship 1 a force applied from the rotation shaft 5 to the tail of the ship 1 when the ship 1 moves backward.", "In FIG.", "2, reference numeral ‘131’ denotes a first cover ring for covering a space between the tail 3 of the ship 1 and the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 at an outer side of the first sealing device 90, and reference numeral ‘132’ denotes a second cover ring for covering a space between the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 and the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20 at an outer side of the second sealing device 110.The first cover ring 131 may be fixed on the tail 3 of the ship 1 to be slightly spaced from the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 or may be fixed on hub 11 of the front propeller 10 to be slightly spaced from the tail 3 of the ship 1 so that the first cover ring 131 may rotate together with the front propeller 10.Similarly, the second cover ring 132 may be fixed on the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 or the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20, and rotate together with the front propeller 10 or the rear propeller 20 on which the second cover ring 132 is fixed.", "Next, a method of manufacturing a propelling apparatus according to the present embodiment and installing the propelling apparatus in a ship will be described with reference to FIGS.", "7 to 11 below.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "7, in order to install a propelling apparatus, the gear box 40 of the counter-rotating device 30, components related to the gear box 40, and the rotation shaft 5 are assembled together before the propelling apparatus is installed in the ship 1.That is, the body unit 41, the internal frame 50 in which the reverse bevel gears 33 are assembled, the drive bevel gear 31, the driven bevel gear 32, the first connector 35, the front cover 42, the front bearing 44, the second connector 36, the rear cover 43, the rear outer bearing 45, etc.", "are assembled together at an outer side of the rotation shaft 5.The first lining 91 and the first sealing member 92 of first sealing device 90 are also installed between the connecting flange 37 of the second connector 36 and the rear cover 43.The counter-rotating device 30 may be precisely manufactured since components thereof may be manufactured and then assembled in a separate manufacturing plant.", "Also, the first sealing device 90 that should be generally installed after the front propeller 10 is installed may be mounted beforehand in the counter-rotating device 30, thereby simplifying a subsequent process of installing the propelling apparatus in the ship 1.The rotation shaft 5 and the counter-rotating device 30 assembled in the manufacturing plant may be transferred to a dock where the ship 1 is manufactured or the like using a transportation means, and installed in the tail 3 of the ship 1.In this case, a lifting device, e.g., a crane, which is capable of lifting the assembly of the counter-rotating device 30 may be used.", "When the counter-rotating device 30 is mounted, first, the gear box 40 of the counter-rotating device 30 is loaded into the installation space 4 in the tail 3 of the ship 1 from the rear of the ship 1 in a sliding manner.", "Then, the rotation shaft 5 and the main drive shaft 6 are aligned to each other such that the centers thereof coincide.", "That is, the main drive shaft 6 is connected to the drive source 8 such that the center of the main drive shaft 6 coincides with a (virtual) shaft line of the drive source 8.Thus, since the rotation shaft 5 is aligned such that the center thereof coincides with the center of the main drive shaft 6, the center of the rotation shaft 5 and the center of the main drive shaft 6 coincide with each other.", "Referring to FIG.", "8, a shaft alignment tester may be used to align the rotation shaft 5 and the main drive shaft 6 with each other such that the centers thereof coincide with each other.", "In the shaft alignment tester, light is radiated to the measurement through-hole 100 of the rotation shaft 5 from the front of the rotation shaft 5 using a light radiation unit 210 (which will be described below), and a point on which the light passing through the measurement through-hole 100 of the rotation shaft 5 is incident is measured using an optical sensor unit 220 (which will be described below).", "Examples of the radiated light may include a laser ray, infrared light, etc.", "The rotation shaft 5 is aligned with the main drive shaft 6 and coupled to the main drive shaft 6, based on a value measured by the shaft alignment tester.", "In this case, the front end of the rotation shaft 5 is coupled to the main drive shaft 6 to be detachable from the main drive shaft 6 as described above.", "Also, the main drive shaft 6 and the rotation shaft 5 may be coupled to each other, for example, by the cylindrical coupling device 7 by spline shaft coupling such that they can be separated from/coupled to each other.", "Referring to FIG.", "9, the shaft alignment tester includes the light radiation unit 210 and the optical sensor unit 220.As illustrated in FIG.", "9(a), the light radiation unit 210 radiates light to measurement through-hole 100 of the rotation shaft 5 from the center of the main drive shaft 6.The light radiation unit 210 may be installed at an inner side of the main drive shaft 6 or in front of the drive source 8 to be installed at an inner side of a tunnel bearing 9 (see FIG.", "1) supporting the main drive shaft 6.Hereinafter, a case in which the light radiation unit 210 is installed at the inner side of the main drive shaft 6 will be described for convenience of explanation.", "Here, the tunnel bearing 9 is designed such that the center thereof coincides with the center of the main drive shaft 6 with respect to a shaft line, and may include, for example, a sleeve bearing.", "The light radiation unit 210 includes a light source 211 and a first tiltmeter 212.The light source 211 radiates light.", "In this case, the light may be a laser ray, etc.", "The light source 211 radiates light in a horizontal direction that coincides with the center of the main drive shaft 6.In this case, the first tiltmeter 212 measures horizontality of a light radiation unit 210.By measuring the horizontality of the light radiation unit 210, whether the light is radiated from the light radiation unit 210 in the horizontal direction may be tested.", "The height of the light radiation unit 210 may be adjusted using a first adjustment member 213 to control a reference position C1 at which light is to be radiated to coincide with the center of the main drive shaft 6.The reason why the height of the light radiation unit 210 is adjusted is to set the reference position C1 at which light is radiated to coincide with the center of the main drive shaft 6, so that light may be radiated onto a point that coincides with the center of the main drive shaft 6.The first adjustment member 213 includes a first support bar 213a and a first leveler 213b.", "The height of the light radiation unit 210 may be adjusted by moving the light radiation unit 210 vertically along the first support bar 213a using the first leveler 213b.", "An operator may adjust the height of the light radiation unit 210 using an external device connected to the light radiation unit 210 while checking the coordinates of the reference position C1 of the light radiation unit 210, so that the reference position C1 of the light radiation unit 210 may coincide with the center of the main drive shaft 6.The first support bar 213a is coupled to a first fixing unit 215.The light radiation unit 210 is fixed on an inner surface of the main drive shaft 6 using the first fixing unit 215.For example, since the bottom of the first fixing unit 215 is formed to correspond to an internal curvature of the main drive shaft 6, the first fixing unit 215 may thus enable the light radiation unit 210 to be stably fixed on the inner surface of the main drive shaft 6.The first fixing unit 215 may be formed of a magnetic substance, and thus enables the light radiation unit 210 to be installed to be attachable/detachable.", "However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and the first fixing unit 215 may be attached by welding or the like.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "9(b), the optical sensor unit 220 is installed at the rotation shaft 5 or the rear of the rotation shaft 5 to face the light radiation unit 210, and measures a point on which light is incident.", "For example, the optical sensor unit 220 may be installed in a hollow portion of or a rear end 5b of the rotation shaft 5 to measure a point on which light is incident.", "The optical sensor unit 220 includes a light-receiving unit 221, a second tiltmeter 222, and a determination unit (not shown).", "The light-receiving unit 221 detects the light incident from the light radiation unit 210.The light-receiving unit 221 may display the point on which light is incident on a screen thereof.", "An operator may check the point on which light is incident, which is displayed on the screen, and align the gear box 40 such that the center of the rotation shaft 5 and the center of the main drive shaft 6 coincide with each other.", "In this case, as another example, data regarding the coordinates of point on which light is incident may be transmitted to an external device.", "In this case, the operator may check a state in which the rotation shaft 5 and the main drive shaft 6 are aligned to each other, based on the coordinates displayed on the external device.", "The second tiltmeter 222 measures the horizontality of the optical sensor unit 220, so that the light radiation unit 210 and the optical sensor unit 220 may radiate light and receive the light in the horizontal direction.", "The determination unit determines whether the center of the rotation shaft 5 and the center of the main drive shaft 6 are aligned to each other, based on the point on which light is incident.", "The determination unit determines that the center of the rotation shaft 5 and the center of the main drive shaft 6 are aligned to each other when light is incident on a reference position C2 of the optical sensor unit 220 that coincides with the reference position C1 of the light radiation unit 210 radiating light.", "Here, the reference position C2 of the optical sensor unit 220 is set to coincide with the center of the rotation shaft 5.When it is determined that the center of the rotation shaft 5 and the center of the main drive shaft 6 are aligned to each other, this fact may be informed to the operator using an alarm, etc.", "The height of the optical sensor unit 220 may be adjusted by a second adjustment member 223 such that the reference position C2 on which light is incident coincides with the center of the rotation shaft 5.The second adjustment member 223 includes a second support bar 223a and a second leveler 223b.", "The height of the optical sensor unit 220 may be adjusted by moving the optical sensor unit 220 vertically along the second support bar 223a using the second leveler 223b.", "An operator may adjust the height of the optical sensor unit 220 using an external device connected to the optical sensor unit 220 while checking the coordinates of the reference position C2 of the optical sensor unit 220, so that the reference position C2 of the optical sensor unit 220 may coincide with the center of the rotation shaft 5.The second support bar 223a is coupled to a second fixing unit 225.The optical sensor unit 220 is fixed on a rear end surface of the rotation shaft 5 using the second fixing unit 225.The second fixing unit 225 may be formed of a magnetic substance and thus enables the optical sensor unit 220 to be installed to be attachable/detachable.", "However, embodiments of the present invention is not limited thereto and the second fixing unit 225 may be attached by welding, using a clamp means, etc.", "When it seems that the shafts 5 and 6 are misaligned to each other, the shaft alignment tester may measure an alignment state between the shafts 5 and 6 by radiating and receiving light periodically or according to a control command received from an external device, and provide a result of the measurement to the external device.", "To this end, the light radiation unit 210 and the optical sensor unit 220 may each include a controller (not shown).", "For example, the controller of the light radiation unit 210 causes the light radiation unit 210 to radiate light periodically or according to a control command transmitted from the external device, and the controller of the optical sensor unit 220 measures a point on which the received light is incident and provides a result of the measurement to the external device.", "FIG.", "10(a) illustrates a structure in which the optical sensor unit 220 is fixed at the rear end of the rotation shaft 5.Referring to FIG.", "10(b), when measurement using the shaft alignment tester is completed, the rear end of the rotation shaft 5 is closed by a sealing cap 230.As described above, since the rotation shaft 5 and the main drive shaft 6 are aligned with each other using the shaft alignment tester such that the centers thereof coincide with each other, the precision and efficiency of aligning the shafts 5 and 6 may be increased and the shafts 5 and 6 may be prevented from being fatigued, damaged, and vibrating.", "After the counter-rotating device 30 is loaded and arranged in the installation space 4 of the tail 3 of the ship 1, a front fixing member 48a and a rear fixing member 48b are respectively installed on the front and rear of the gear box 40 to fix the gear box 40 in the tail 3 of the ship 1 as illustrated in FIG.", "11.The front and rear fixing members 48a and 48b may be split into several parts.", "The front and rear fixing members 48a and 48b may be fixed on a structure including the gear box 40 and the tail 3 of the ship 1 by clamping them with a plurality of clamp bolts.", "An operator may exactly install the rear fixing member 48b by accessing the rear of the ship 1, and the front fixing member 48a by accessing the inside of the ship 1.As described above, the counter-rotating device 30 installed by being loaded in the installation space 4 of the tail 3 of the ship 1 may be separated from the ship 1 and repaired when the counter-rotating device 30 malfunctions.", "Accordingly, the counter-rotating device 30 is easy to repair.", "In the present embodiment, the front fixing member 48a and the rear fixing member 48b are clamped to the front and rear of the gear box 40 in order to firmly fix the gear box 40.However, when the gear box 40 is loaded in the installation space 4, an outer surface of the gear box 40 is continuously supported by an inner surface of the installation space 4 and thus the gear box 40 may be fixed in the tail 3 of the ship 1 by clamping only the rear fixing member 48b thereto.", "After the gear box 40 is fixed in the tail 3 of the ship 1, the main drive shaft 6 and the rotation shaft 5 are coupled by the coupling device 7, and the second radial bearing 81 and the third and fourth thrust bearings 82 and 83 are installed in the ship 1 to support the rotation shaft 5 in the ship 1.After the counter-rotating device 30 is installed in the tail 3 of the ship 1, the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 and other components related thereto may be installed on the rotation shaft 5, and the second sealing device 110 may be installed as illustrated in FIGS.", "1 and 2, thereby completing installation of the propelling apparatus.", "As described above, the gear box 40 mounted in the installation space 4 of the tail 3 of the ship 1 may malfunction and should be thus separated from the installation space 4 to be repaired.", "However, the gear box 40 weighs at least several tens of tons and is thus difficult to be separated from installation space 4.Thus, there is a growing need to efficiently separate the gear box 40 from the installation space 4.To this end, referring to FIG.", "20, the front fixing member 48a may include a first clamp groove 2201, a second clamp groove 2202, and a separation groove 2211.The front fixing member 48a is fixed on the tail 3 of the ship 1 by screwing a clamp bolt 2208 into the first clamp groove 2201.Also, the gear box 40 is fixed on the tail 3 of the ship 1 by screwing a clamp bolt 2209 into the second clamp groove 2202.In this case, when the gear box 40 is loaded in the installation space 4, an outer surface of the gear box 40 is continuously supported by an inner surface of the installation space 4 and thus the gear box 40 may be thus fixed on the tail 3 of the ship 1 by simply clamping only the rear fixing member 48b thereto.", "In this case, the second clamp groove 2202 and the clamp bolt 2209 clamped thereto may be omitted.", "In order to separate the gear box 40 from the installation space 4, the clamp bolt 2209 is loosened from the rear fixing member 48b (see FIG.", "8) while the front fixing member 48a is coupled to the tail 3 of the ship 1.Then, when a jack bolt 2212 which will be described below is screwed into the separation groove 2211 and moved forward to apply a force to the front cover 42, the gear box 40 is separated from the installation space 4.Here, that the gear box 40 is separated from the installation space 4 by screwing the jack bolt 2212 into the separation groove 2211 may be understood to include moving the gear box 40 to be spaced by a predetermine distance from the installation space 4 by screwing the jack bolt 2212 into the separation groove 2211.Referring to FIG.", "21, the front fixing member 48a may be provided in the form of a fixing flange 2210.Similar to the front fixing member 48a, the separation groove 2211 which is a through-groove is formed in the fixing flange 2210 in front of the gear box 40 to separate the gear box 40 from the installation space 4 when a force is applied to the gear box 40 by screwing a bolt into the separation groove 2211.In this case, the fixing flange 2210 may be coupled to the tail 3 of the ship 1 by welding or clamping them with a bolt or may be integrally formed with the tail 3 of the ship 1.Referring to FIGS.", "22 and 23, a plurality of separation grooves 2211 may be formed along a marginal portion 2213 of the fixing flange 2210 which is closely in contact with the front cover 42 of the gear box 40.The gear box 40 may be separated from the installation space 4 by screwing the jack bolt 2212 into each of the separation grooves 2211 formed along the marginal portion 2213 of the fixing flange 2210 and moving the jack bolt 2212 by applying a force to the front cover 42 in a state in which the rear fixing member 48b (see FIG.", "8) is unclamped from the gear box 40.In the present embodiment, a case in which the jack bolt 2212 is used has been described above, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto and various other clamp means may be used provided that they can be used to apply a force to the front cover 42 clamped into the separation groove 2211 in order to separate the gear box 40 from the installation space 4.Referring to FIG.", "24, as another example, the fixing flange 2210 may be provided in a form including the clamp grooves 2202 and separation grooves 2211 as describe above.", "That is, the marginal portion 2213 of the fixing flange 2210 may include the clamp grooves 2202 which are through-grooves into which clamp bolts (not shown) are screwed in order to fix the gear box 40 on the tail 3 of the ship 1.In this case, the separation grooves 2211 and the clamp grooves 2202 may be alternately formed.", "In this case, in order to separate the gear box 40 from the installation space 4, the rear fixing member 48b (see FIG.", "8) is unclamped and the clamp bolts are unscrewed from the clamp grooves 2202.Next, the jack bolt 2212 is screwed in each of the separation grooves 2211 formed in the marginal portion 2213 of the fixing flange 2210 and moved forward by applying a force to the front cover 42 to separate the gear box 40 from the installation space 4.The structure of the marginal portion 2213 of the fixing flange 2210 described above with reference to FIGS.", "22 and 24 is also applicable to a marginal portion of the front fixing member 48a of FIG.", "20 that is closely in contact with the front cover 42 of the gear box 40.Referring to FIGS.", "25 and 26, the separation groove 2211 of FIG.", "22 may also serve as a clamp groove into which a clamp bolt 2209a is inserted to fix the gear box 40 on the tail 3 of the ship 1.In this case, it is assumed that the diameter of the jack bolt 2212 is greater than that of the clamp bolt 2209a.", "To this end, a coupling member 2220 including a screw thread in inner and outer marginal portions thereof may be coupled to the separation groove 2211.The coupling member 2220 includes a hollow portion 2220a into which the clamp bolt 2209a is inserted to fix the front of the gear box 40 on the tail 3 of the ship 1.An inner shape of the separation groove 2211 corresponds to a shape of the coupling member 2220.The clamp bolt 2209a may be formed in a shape including a screw thread corresponding to an inner shape coupling member 2220.To fix the gear box 40 on the tail 3 of the ship 1, the coupling member 2220 is coupled to the separation groove 2211, and the clamp bolt 2209a is inserted into the coupling member 2220 to couple the coupling member 2220 to a groove 42a formed in a front surface of the front cover 42 of the gear box 40.Then, in order to separate the gear box 40 from the installation space 4, the rear fixing member 48b (see FIG.", "8) is unclamped, the clamp bolt 2209a and the coupling member 2220 are sequentially loosened from the separation groove 2211, and the jack bolt 2212 is inserted into the separation groove 2211 and moved forward to apply a force to the gear box 40.In this case, the jack bolt 2212 may be formed in a shape corresponding to the inner shape of the separation groove 2211 so that the jack bolt 2212 may be inserted into the separation groove 2211.Next, an operation of a propelling apparatus according to the present invention will be described.", "In the propelling apparatus, when the rotation shaft 5 rotates as the drive source 8 included in the ship 1 operates, the rear propeller 20 coupled directly to the rear end of the rotation shaft 5 rotates together with the rotation shaft 5 in a direction in which the rotation shaft 5 rotates.", "At the same time, the drive bevel gear 31 of the counter-rotating device 30 rotates together with the rotation shaft 5 since it is fixed on the rotation shaft 5.The rotation of the drive bevel gear 31 is reversed by the plurality of reverse bevel gears 33 and transferred to the driven bevel gear 32.Thus, the driven bevel gear 32 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the rotation shaft 5.Thus, the front propeller 10 coupled to the driven bevel gear 32 via the second connector 36 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the rear propeller 20.The front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 that rotate in opposite directions have different wing angles and thus generate propelling water flows in the same direction.", "That is, the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 generate propelling water flows in a backward direction when the ship 1 moves forward, and generate propelling water flows in a forward direction while rotating reversely when the ship moves backward.", "Propelling water flows generated when the ship 1 moves forward collect as a propulsive force the rotational energy of a liquid passing through the front propeller 10 when the rear propeller 20 rotates reversely, thereby improving the propelling performance of the ship 1.This also applies when the ship 1 moves backward.", "When the ship 1 moves forward, the front propeller 10 generates propelling water flows in the backward direction and thus a reaction force corresponding the propelling water flows is applied to the front propeller 10.The reaction force is transferred to the rotation shaft 5 via the second thrust bearing 14 and used as a propulsive force.", "When the ship 1 moves forward, the rear propeller 20 also generates propelling water flows in the backward direction and a reaction force is applied thereto.", "The reaction force is also transferred to the rotation shaft 5 directly coupled to the rear propeller 20 and used as a propulsive force.", "When the ship 1 moves backward, a propulsive force generated by the front propeller 10 is transferred to the rotation shaft 5 via the first thrust bearing 13, and a propulsive force generated by the rear propeller 20 is transferred to the rotation shaft 5 coupled directly to the rear propeller 20.Accordingly, in the propelling apparatus according to the present embodiment, propulsive forces generated by operating the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 are transferred to the rotation shaft 5 when the ship 1 moves forward and backward.", "The propulsive forces transferred to the rotation shaft 5 are transferred to the ship 1 via the third and fourth thrust bearings 82 and 83, thereby propelling the ship 1 to move.", "A sealing device installed between a front propeller and a rear propeller according to another embodiment of the present invention will now be described.", "Elements having the same functions as those of the elements in the previous embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described in detail.", "Referring to FIGS.", "15 to 19, a sealing device 1110 according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a pressurizing ring member 1120 and a support ring member 1130 that are in surface contact with each other in a sliding manner to enhance the sealing performance of the sealing device 1110 by preventing a sealing efficiency from being degraded even when the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 that rotate in opposite directions move in a direction of the radius of the rotation shaft 5 due to non-uniform load applied thereto.", "The pressurizing ring member 1120 is configured to apply pressure against the support ring member 1130.The pressurizing ring member 1120 includes a fixing ring 1121 coupled to the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20, a moving ring 1125 including a pressurizing unit 1123 that is disposed apart from the fixing ring 1121 and that is in surface contact with the support ring member 1130, and an elastic unit 1127 coupled between the fixing ring 1121 and the moving ring 1125 to apply pressure onto the moving ring 1125 toward the support ring member 1130.The fixing ring 1121 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and one end of the fixing ring 1121 is fixedly coupled to the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20 via a fixing member 1124 such as a bolt to form a watertight construction.", "The moving ring 1125 is spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the fixing ring 1121 in the axial direction of the rotation shaft 5, and has a hollow cylindrical shape surrounding the outer surface of the rotation shaft 5.The elastic unit 1127 includes a pair of fixing portions 1127a and 1127b, both ends of which are coupled to an outer surface of the fixing ring 1121 and an outer surface of the moving ring 1125 in a watertight construction so as to seal between the fixing ring 1121 and the moving ring 1125, and a circular arc portion 1127c connects the pair of fixing portions 1127a and 1127b and providing an elastic force.", "That is, the pair of fixing portions 1127a and 1127b are pressurized to be in contact with each other by a support 1127d to form a watertight construction and are thus coupled to the outer surfaces of the fixing ring 1121 and the moving ring 1125, respectively.", "The circular arc portion 1127c may be bent to a predetermined curvature to provide an elastic force for pressurizing the moving ring 1125.The elastic unit 1127 according to the present embodiment is not limited thereto and various well-known means may be used as the elastic unit 1127 provided that they can generate pressure applied toward the support ring member 1130.The pressurizing unit 1123 may have a cylindrical shape and be coupled to a side of the moving ring 1125 to be detachable from the moving ring 1125.The pressurizing unit 1123 causes friction rotation to occur when it is in surface contact with the support ring member 1130, and is formed of a material having high wear resistance.", "A sliding surface 1123a of the pressurizing unit 1123 that is in surface contact with the support ring member 1130 may be formed to be perpendicular to the rotation shaft 5.A sealing unit 1128 may be provided between the pressurizing unit 1123 and the moving ring 1125 to prevent seawater from penetrating between the pressurizing unit 1123 and the moving ring 1125.Although the pressurizing unit 1123 is configured to be detachable from the moving ring 1125 in the present embodiment, the pressurizing unit 1123 may be formed integrally with the moving ring 1125.The support ring member 1130 has a cylindrical shape coupled to the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 via a fixing member 1129 such as a bolt.", "In this case, support ring member 1130 is also coupled to the hub 11 of the front propeller 10 to form a watertight construction.", "A rear surface of the support ring member 1130 may be a sliding surface 1131 formed in parallel with a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft 5 to be in surface contact with the sliding surface 1123a of the pressurizing unit 1123.The support ring member 1130 may be also formed of a material having high wear resistance.", "Due to the above structure, even if the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 move in the direction of the radius of the rotation shaft 5 due to a non-uniform load applied thereto, the sliding surface 1123a of the pressurizing ring member 1120 and the sliding surface 1131 of the support ring member 1130 that are pressurized against each other to be in friction contact with each other in a sliding manner are capable of absorbing the movement of the front propeller 10 and the rear propeller 20 in the direction of the radius of the rotation shaft 5, thereby enhancing the reliability of the sealing performance.", "The sealing device 1110 performing a sealing function using friction rotation by the sliding surfaces 1123a and 1131 according to the present embodiment may be supplied a lubricant from a lubricant supply device 1140 loaded in the ship 1 to prevent the performance of the sealing device 1110 from being degraded due to frictional heat, as illustrated in FIG.", "17.The lubricant supply device 1140 includes a lubricant tank 1141 storing a lubricant, a lubricant supply line 1142 for supplying the lubricant from the lubricant tank 1141 to an inner space 1122 of the sealing device 1110, and a lubricant collecting line 1143 for collecting the lubricant from the inner space 1122 of the sealing device 1110.The lubricant supply line 1142 is coupled to a lubricant supply path 1150 formed in the rotation shaft 5.The lubricant collecting line 1143 is coupled to a lubricant collecting path 1160 formed in the rotation shaft 5.One end of the lubricant supply path 1150 may be coupled to a lubricant supply unit 1151 installed on the rotation shaft 5, and another end of lubricant supply path 1150 may be coupled to the inner space 1122 formed between the rotation shaft 5 and the sealing device 1110 so as to communicate with the inner space 1122.One end of the lubricant collecting path 1160 may be coupled to a lubricant collecting unit 1161 installed on the rotation shaft 5, and another end of the lubricant collecting path 1160 may be coupled to a connecting fluid path 1170 formed in the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20 to communicate with the connecting fluid path 1170.The connecting fluid path 1170 is a pipe line connecting the lubricant collecting path 1160 and the inner space 1122.One end 1171 of the connecting fluid path 1170 may be connected to the inner space 1122, and another end 1173 of the connecting fluid path 1170 may be connected to an opening hole 1162 formed in an end portion of the lubricant collecting unit 1161.Also, the other end 1173 (hereinafter referred to as a ‘communication hole’) of the connecting fluid path 1170 connected to the opening hole 1162 may have a width W2 that is greater than a width W1 of the opening hole 1162 as illustrated in FIG.", "18.As illustrated in FIG.", "19, the length of the rotation shaft 5 is changed due to thermal stress caused by seasonal variations and the change in the length of the rotation shaft 5 results in a change in the location of the opening hole 1162 connected to the communication hole 1173 when the rear propeller 20 is coupled to the rotation shaft 5.However, the change in the location of opening hole 1162 may be compensated using the communication hole 1173 that is relatively wider.", "The width W2 of the communication hole 1173 may be twice to four times the width W1 of the opening hole 1162.Although the communication hole 1173 of the connecting fluid path 1170 formed in the hub 21 of the rear propeller 20 is described as wider than the opening hole 1162 of the lubricant collecting path 1160 formed in the rotation shaft 5 in the present embodiment, embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.", "For example, various structures including a fluid path for supplying a lubricant to a sealing device connected to a hub of a propeller via the hub of the propeller may be used.", "That is, in a structure in which a fluid path 1160 through which a lubricant flows (which is not limited to a lubricant collecting path herein) is formed in the rotation shaft 5 and the connecting fluid path 1170 connected to the fluid path 1160 is formed in the hub 21 of a propeller (which is not limited to a rear propeller), the communication hole 1173 of the connecting fluid path 1170 connected to the opening hole 1162 of the fluid path 1160 is formed to be wider than the opening hole 1162.Referring back to FIGS.", "16 and 17, the lubricant supply device 1140 may further include a pump 1144 and a cooling device 1145 that are installed at the lubricant supply line 1142, and a valve 1146, an oil separator 1147, and a filter 1148 that are installed at the lubricant collecting line 1143.The pump 1144 pumps a lubricant stored in the lubricant tank 1141, squeeze-pumps the lubricant to the lubricant supply unit 1151 via the lubricant supply line 1142.The lubricant pumped by the pump 1144 is cooled by the cooling device 1145 and transferred to the inner space 1122 of the sealing device 1110 via the lubricant supply path 1150.The lubricant transferred to the inner space 1122 cools the sealing device 1110, passes through the connecting fluid path 1170 and the lubricant collecting path 1160, and returns to the lubricant collecting line 1143 via the lubricant collecting unit 1161.In this case, seawater may flow into the inner space 1122 of the sealing device 1110 via a gap between the sliding surfaces 1123a and 1131.The seawater flown into the inner space 1122 is mixed with the lubricant in the inner space 1122 and collected via the lubricant collecting line 1143.The oil separator 1147 installed at the lubricant collecting line 1143 separates the seawater from the lubricant mixed with the seawater.", "Foreign substances are removed from the lubricant from which the seawater is separated by the filter 1148, and the lubricant is collected again to the lubricant tank 1141.Although the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited thereto.", "It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874879
[ [ "DIGITAL AC/DC POWER CONVERTER", "A digital AC/DC power converter comprises an active PFC module, a single switch module having a single switch, a power output module having a transformer, a digital control module having a microcontroller, and a rectifying and filtering module having a full-bridge rectifier, an EMI filter, and a capacitor that is less than 1 μF.", "The single switch is electrically connected to the active PFC module, and a primary winding of the transformer is electrically connected to the active PFC module.", "The microcontroller provides a PWM signal to control the switching state of the single switch, so that the active PFC module transforms AC frequency from less than 300 Hz into over 30,000 Hz and outputs a rectified AC voltage waveform.", "The EMI filter blocks high electromagnetic frequencies and the capacitor smooths a variation in the rectified voltage waveform and output the smoothed rectified voltage waveform to the active PFC module." ], [ "1.A digital AC/DC power converter, comprising: an active PFC module; a single switch module having a single switch, wherein the single switch is electrically connected to the active PFC module; a power output module comprising a transformer, the transformer having a primary winding, wherein the primary winding of the transformer is electrically connected to the active PFC module; a digital control module having a microcontroller and electrically connected to the single switch module, wherein the microcontroller provides PWM signals to control the switching state of the single switch module, so that the active PFC module transforms an AC frequency from no more than 300 Hz into at least 30,000 Hz and outputs a rectified AC output voltage waveform to improve power factor; and a rectifying and filtering module electrically connected between an AC power source and the active PFC module, the rectifying and filtering module comprising: a full-bridge rectifier; an EMI filter; and a capacitor that is less than 1 μF; the EMI filter being electronically connected between the full-bridge rectifier and the capacitor, and the capacitor being connected to the active PFC module, wherein the full-bridge rectifier is configured to turn an AC input from an AC power source into a rectified voltage waveform, the EMI filter is configured to block high electromagnetic frequencies and the capacitor is configured to smooth a variation in the rectified voltage waveform from the full-bridge rectifier and output the smoothed rectified voltage waveform to the active PFC module.", "2.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 1, wherein the rectifying and filtering module provides a start-up signal to the digital control module to start the digital AC/DC power converter.", "3.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller is an at least 8-bit microprocessor that expands at least 64 times the precision of a duty cycle of the PWM signal.", "4.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 3, wherein digital control module further comprises an auxiliary integrated circuit, and the microprocessor provides the PWM signal to the auxiliary integrated circuit so that the auxiliary integrated circuit amplifies the PWM signal and provides an amplified PWM signal to the single switch module to control the switching state of the single switch.", "5.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 3, wherein the power output module further comprises a transient voltage suppressor and a freewheeling diode, and the transient voltage suppressor and the freewheeling diode are electrically connected to the primary winding of the transformer and are used to dissipate the heat and eliminate instant high-frequency pulses.", "6.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 3, wherein the power output module further comprises a secondary winding to provide a working voltage to the digital output module.", "7.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 3, wherein the power output module provides a wake-up signal to the digital control module to wake up the digital AC/DC power converter.", "8.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 3, wherein the active PFC module further comprises a boost circuit and a n type filter, and the boost circuit controls the energy output to the π type filter based on the switching of the single switch module.", "9.The digital AC/DC power converter of claim 3, wherein the active PFC module further comprises a voltage divider that provides an internal voltage of the digital power converter to the digital control module, so that the digital control module controls the duty cycle of the PWM signal based on the internal voltage." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Power factor in power converters is defined as the ratio of the real power delivered to a load to the apparent power provided by a power source, and power converters should be able to deliver power from the power source to the load with high power factor.", "Recently, government agencies gradually require power factors in power converters to exceed a certain minimum level by regulation.", "For example, Energy Star in U.S. requires power factors in power converter to achieve at least 87% if a specification of a device requires more than 49W, such as notebooks.", "On the other hand, Energy Star in U.S. requires power factors in power converter to achieve no less than 68% if a specification of a device requires no more than 5W, such as mobile phones.", "Typically, power factor correction (PFC) is achieved through the use of specific analog integrated circuits (IC) especially designed for improving PFC in power converters.", "In addition, each of the aforementioned analog ICs varies in different application fields, thus lacking a generalized structure to adopt different designs in different application field.", "For now, if a device requires more than 60W, the function of PFC is usually achieved through the use of the aforementioned analog ICs in power converters.", "However, if a device requires no more than 65W, the device usually does not have PFC function, since the price of power converters having the aforementioned analog ICs for improving PFC will be about or at least twice the price of power converters without PFC function.", "In addition, the implementation of aforementioned conventional power converters usually requires complex circuitry further requiring considerable efforts to stabilize them.", "And once again, in different applications the power converters need to utilize different specific analog ICs to achieve high power factor correction.", "In view of the above, there is a need for a power converter with non-complex circuitry that utilizes a common digital microcontroller that provides high PFC, and the digital microcontroller provides pulse width modulation (PWM) signal to control the power converter.", "The aforementioned digital microcontroller providing PWM signal is able to be regarded as a digital PWM controller." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention provides a digital AC/DC power converter with a single switch working with a microcontroller to improve power factor.", "Specifically, the microcontroller is implemented by an at least 8-bit (such as 16-bit, 32-bit .", ".", ".", "etc) microprocessor so that the precision of duty cycle of a PWM signal generated from the microprocessor is expanded.", "In one embodiment, a digital AC/DC power converter comprises an active PFC module, a single switch module, a power output module, a digital control module, and a rectifying and filtering module.", "The single switch module has a single switch electrically connected to the active PFC module.", "The power output module has a transformer, and a primary winding of the transformer is electrically connected to the active PFC module.", "The digital control module has a microcontroller that provides a PWM signal to control the switching state of the single switch, so that the active PFC module transforms an AC frequency from no more than 300 Hz into at least 30,000 Hz and outputs a rectified AC output voltage waveform to improve power factor.", "The rectifying and filtering module is electrically connected between an AC power source and the active PFC module, and has a full-bridge rectifier, an EMI filter; and a capacitor that is less than 1 μF.", "The EMI filter is electronically connected between the full-bridge rectifier and the capacitor, and the capacitor is connected to the active PFC module.", "The full-bridge rectifier is configured to turn an AC input from an AC power source into a rectified voltage waveform.", "The EMI filter is configured to block high electromagnetic frequencies, and the capacitor is configured to smooth a variation in the rectified voltage waveform from the full-bridge rectifier and output the smoothed rectified voltage waveform to the active PFC module.", "It should be understood, however, that this summary may not contain all aspects and embodiments of the present invention, that this summary is not meant to be limiting or restrictive in any manner, and that the invention as disclosed herein will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to encompass obvious improvements and modifications thereto." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/340,658, filed Jul.", "25, 2014, which claims priority to Chinese patent application Ser.", "No.", "201410225685.X, filed on May 27, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the design of a digital AC/DC power converter.", "More particularly, the present invention relates to utilizing a digital microcontroller to design a novel AC/DC power converter, so that the power factor (PF) of the AC/DC power converter is effectively improved.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Power factor in power converters is defined as the ratio of the real power delivered to a load to the apparent power provided by a power source, and power converters should be able to deliver power from the power source to the load with high power factor.", "Recently, government agencies gradually require power factors in power converters to exceed a certain minimum level by regulation.", "For example, Energy Star in U.S. requires power factors in power converter to achieve at least 87% if a specification of a device requires more than 49W, such as notebooks.", "On the other hand, Energy Star in U.S. requires power factors in power converter to achieve no less than 68% if a specification of a device requires no more than 5W, such as mobile phones.", "Typically, power factor correction (PFC) is achieved through the use of specific analog integrated circuits (IC) especially designed for improving PFC in power converters.", "In addition, each of the aforementioned analog ICs varies in different application fields, thus lacking a generalized structure to adopt different designs in different application field.", "For now, if a device requires more than 60W, the function of PFC is usually achieved through the use of the aforementioned analog ICs in power converters.", "However, if a device requires no more than 65W, the device usually does not have PFC function, since the price of power converters having the aforementioned analog ICs for improving PFC will be about or at least twice the price of power converters without PFC function.", "In addition, the implementation of aforementioned conventional power converters usually requires complex circuitry further requiring considerable efforts to stabilize them.", "And once again, in different applications the power converters need to utilize different specific analog ICs to achieve high power factor correction.", "In view of the above, there is a need for a power converter with non-complex circuitry that utilizes a common digital microcontroller that provides high PFC, and the digital microcontroller provides pulse width modulation (PWM) signal to control the power converter.", "The aforementioned digital microcontroller providing PWM signal is able to be regarded as a digital PWM controller.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a digital AC/DC power converter with a single switch working with a microcontroller to improve power factor.", "Specifically, the microcontroller is implemented by an at least 8-bit (such as 16-bit, 32-bit .", ".", ".", "etc) microprocessor so that the precision of duty cycle of a PWM signal generated from the microprocessor is expanded.", "In one embodiment, a digital AC/DC power converter comprises an active PFC module, a single switch module, a power output module, a digital control module, and a rectifying and filtering module.", "The single switch module has a single switch electrically connected to the active PFC module.", "The power output module has a transformer, and a primary winding of the transformer is electrically connected to the active PFC module.", "The digital control module has a microcontroller that provides a PWM signal to control the switching state of the single switch, so that the active PFC module transforms an AC frequency from no more than 300 Hz into at least 30,000 Hz and outputs a rectified AC output voltage waveform to improve power factor.", "The rectifying and filtering module is electrically connected between an AC power source and the active PFC module, and has a full-bridge rectifier, an EMI filter; and a capacitor that is less than 1 μF.", "The EMI filter is electronically connected between the full-bridge rectifier and the capacitor, and the capacitor is connected to the active PFC module.", "The full-bridge rectifier is configured to turn an AC input from an AC power source into a rectified voltage waveform.", "The EMI filter is configured to block high electromagnetic frequencies, and the capacitor is configured to smooth a variation in the rectified voltage waveform from the full-bridge rectifier and output the smoothed rectified voltage waveform to the active PFC module.", "It should be understood, however, that this summary may not contain all aspects and embodiments of the present invention, that this summary is not meant to be limiting or restrictive in any manner, and that the invention as disclosed herein will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to encompass obvious improvements and modifications thereto.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.", "Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment, and wherein: FIG.", "I is a comparison plot showing the difference between an analog PWM controller and a digital PWM controller.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of a low-power digital AC/DC power converter according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "3 is a schematic diagram of a low-power digital AC/DC power converter according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "4 is a block diagram of the middle/high-power digital AC/DC power converter according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "5 is a schematic diagram of the middle-power digital AC/DC power converter according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "6 is a schematic diagram of the high-power digital AC/DC power converter according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "7 is a soft-switching timing diagram of the middle-power digital AC/DC power converter according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "8 is a soft-switching timing diagram of the high-power digital AC/DC power converter according to the embodiment of the present invention.", "In accordance with common practice, the various described features are not drawn to scale and are drawn to emphasize features relevant to the present disclosure.", "Like reference characters denote like elements throughout the figures and text.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.", "This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.", "Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.", "Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.", "The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.", "As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” or “has” and/or “having” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.", "It will be understood that the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc.", "may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, parts and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, parts and/or sections should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, part or section from another element, component, region, layer or section.", "Thus, a first element, component, region, part or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.", "Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.", "It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.", "The description will be made as to the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in FIGS.", "1-8.Reference will be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail, wherein depicted elements are not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by same or similar reference numeral through the several views and same or similar terminology.", "FIG.", "1 is a comparison plot showing the difference between an analog PWM controller and a digital PWM controller.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, an analog PWM controller 101 generally has an error comparison unit 103, a calculation comparison unit 105, a ramp generator 107, a latch unit 109, and a driver unit 111.In addition, a power converter generally is able to have the analog PWM controller 101, a switch module 113, and auxiliary circuits 115 and 117.The error comparison unit 103 has an amplifier and thus has a positive end to receive a reference voltage and a negative end to receive a feedback voltage that is provided from the auxiliary circuit 115.If the feedback voltage is higher than the reference voltage, the error will not be corrected.", "The feedback voltage is formed from a voltage divider having resistors R101 and R102 in the auxiliary circuits 115, and the auxiliary circuits 115 have a capacitor C101 and a resistor R103 to form a R-C circuit, thus providing a oscillation average value of an output waveform to the error comparison unit 103.The calculation comparison unit 105 has an amplifier and thus has a positive end to receive an output signal from the ramp generator 107 and a negative end to receive an integrated signal that is formed by an output signal from the error comparison unit 103 and by an output signal from the auxiliary circuit 117.The auxiliary circuit 117 is a R-C circuit and receives the output signal from the auxiliary circuit 115 as well.", "The calculation comparison unit 105 utilizes comparison method to obtain the variation of the pulse width and output a variable width pulse signal that is similar to a rectangular waveform.", "Then, to amplify the variable width pulse signal, the latch unit 109 receives the variable width pulse signal and output a variable width rectangular pulse to the driver unit 111.Typically, the output signal from the driver unit 111 is an amplified variable width rectangular pulse and its voltage needs to be higher than 5V so as to appropriately drive the switch module 113.The switch module 113 has at least one switch component, such as a MOSFET or an IGBT, and controls the DC output of the power converter.", "On the other hand, referring to FIG.", "1, a digital PWM controller 131 generally has a power management unit 133, a controller interface 135, a digital reference voltage unit 137, a A/D converter 139 (ADC), a digital adder 141, a digital PID filter 143, a digital PWM unit 145.In addition, a power converter generally is able to have the digital PWM controller 131, a driver unit 147, a switch module 149, and an auxiliary circuit 151.The control interface 135 has a SDA interface for data communication and has a SCL interface for time/frequency communication.", "Thus, the digital reference voltage unit 137 is able to receive the signal from the power management unit 133 and the signal from the control interface 135, thus outputting a digital reference voltage to the digital adder 141.The digital adder 141 receives the signal from the ADC 139 and the signal from the digital reference voltage unit 137.The ADC 139 is able to convert an analog amount into a digital amount.", "For example, an analog 1V signal is able to be converted to a 0-255 digital signal by the ADC 139, wherein digital 0 represents 0V and digital 255 represents IV In addition, the ADC 139 receives a divided voltage formed by the resistors R105, R106 in the auxiliary circuit 151.After calculation from the digital adder 141, the digital adder 141 outputs a signal to the digital PID filter 143, and the digital PID filter 143 outputs a variable width pulse signal that is similar to a rectangular waveform.", "Then, to amplify the variable width pulse signal, the digital PWM unit 145 receives the variable width pulse signal and output a variable width rectangular pulse to the driver unit 147, so that the driver unit 147 is able to appropriately drive the switch module 149.The switch module 149 has at least one switch component, such as a MOSFET or an IGBT, and controls the DC output of the power converter.", "Hence, if the power converter adopts a digital PWM controller 131, the power converter is able to be called a digital power converter.", "Compared with the power converter having the analog PWM controller, the power converter having the digital PWM controller is advantageous in the following aspects: multiple interfaces/pins to proceed A/D conversion, multiple sampling and central control, flexibility, better complex control such as intelligent control or high-precision control, and overall costs.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of a low-power digital AC/DC power converter according to one embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, a digital power converter has a rectifying and filtering module 201, an active PFC module 203, a single switch module 205, a power output module 207, and a digital control module 209.In, FIG.", "2, the power transmission direction is from an AC input to a DC output sequentially via the rectifying and filtering module 201, the active PFC module 203, and the power output module 207.The rectifying and filtering module 201 is electrically connected to the AC input, the active PFC module 203, and the digital control module 209.The active PFC module 203 is electrically connected to the rectifying and filtering module 201, the power output module 207, and the digital control module 209.The power output module 207 is electrically connected to the DC output, the active PFC module 203, and the digital control module 209.The single switch module 205 is electrically connected to the active PFC module 203 and the digital control module 209.The digital control module 209 provides an amplified PWM signal to the single switch module 205 to control the ON/OFF switching state so that the single switch module 205 is able to output a digital PWM signal to the active PFC module 203.In addition, the single switch module 205 provides a feedback signal Iprotect to control the output of the amplified PWM signal Spwm, thus preventing potential damage of a single switch in the single switch module 205.The rectifying and filtering module 201 provides a start-up signal to the digital control module 209 to start the digital AC/DC power converter.", "The power output module 207 provides a wake-up signal to the digital control module 209 to wake up the digital AC/DC power converter.", "In addition, the active PFC module 203 provides an internal voltage of the digital power converter as a feedback signal to the digital control module 209, so that the digital control module 209 detects the internal voltage and is able to control the duty cycle of the amplified PWM signal Spwm.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic diagram of the low-power digital AC/DC power converter that illustrates more details of FIG.", "2 according to one embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, the rectifying and filtering module 201 has a voltage dependent resistor (VDR) R300, a fuse S301, a full-bridge rectifier BR1, an electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter EF, capacitors C300 and C301, and a start-up signal line 301.It should be noticed that the rectifying and filtering module 201 is connected to an AC power source for the AC input.", "Typically, the frequency of the AC input is 50-60 Hz and the AC input is electrically connected to the voltage dependent resistor R300 and the fuse S301.The voltage dependent resistor R300 is used to provide over-voltage protection, and the fuse S301 is used to provide over-current protection.", "The full-bridge rectifier BR1 makes use of four diodes in a bridge arrangement to achieve full-wave rectification that turns the AC input into a rectified voltage waveform.", "The EMI filter EF is used to block high electromagnetic frequencies that are recognized as noises.", "The capacitor C301 is used to smooth the variation in the rectified voltage waveform from full-bridge rectifier BR1.However, the capacity of the capacitor C301 is selected to be less than 1 μF and better ranges from 200 nF to 300 nF, thus merely filling a small part of the valley in the rectified voltage waveform and preventing low PFC caused by large C301 capacity.", "To decrease the power consumption of the standby state of the digital power converter, the start-up signal line 301 is responsible for transmitting the start-up signal and obtaining the signal from a half bridge of the full-bridge rectifier BR1.Thus, the signal coming from a node N0 is a half-wave rectified signal and is filtered by the capacitor C300.The filtered signal in the start-up signal line 301 is provided to an auxiliary IC 303.While the digital power converter is electrically connected to the AC input, a start-up current is immediately formed and is transmitted from the node N0 to the auxiliary IC 303 via the start-up signal line 301, thus enabling the digital power converter to work.", "In FIG.", "3, the active PFC module 203 has a boost circuit formed by an inductor L301, a diode D301 and a diode D302, a π type filter formed by an inductor L302, a capacitor C302 and a capacitor C303, and a voltage divider formed by resistors R301, R302 and R303.In the active PFC module 203, the diode D302 can be regarded as a switch electrically connected to a power MOSFET P301 in the single switch module 205, and the diode D302 is controlled by the digital control module 209 electrically connected with the power MOSFET P301.When the diode D302 is switched to an ON state, the voltage of the left side of the inductor L301 is higher than that of the right side of the inductor L301, thus storing energy in a magnetic core surrounding by the inductor L301.When the diode D302 is switched to an OFF state, the voltage of the left side of the inductor L301 is lower than that of the right side of the inductor L301, thus releasing energy in the magnetic core through the inductor L301.In addition, the diodes D301 and D302 may be high-frequency diodes.", "In the active PFC module 203, when the diode D301 is turned on, the voltage of the left side of the diode D301 is higher than that of the right side of the diode D301, thus storing the energy from the boost circuit to the capacitors C302 and C303.Basically, the energy stored in the capacitors C302 and C303 is used to fill a large part of the valley in the rectified voltage waveform.", "It should be noticed that the rectified voltage waveform can be regarded as a low-frequency envelope of a high-frequency waveform created by the amplified PWM signal Spwm provided by the digital control module 209 since the amplified PWM signal Spwm turns the frequency below 300 Hz into at least 30,000 Hz by controlling the switch state of the diode D302, wherein the frequency below 300 Hz is the frequency of AC input.", "For example, the frequency of the amplified PWM signal may be 60,000 Hz.", "Therefore, the switching of the diode D302 turns the low-frequency state of the rectified voltage waveform into a high-frequency state, thus creating the rectified AC output voltage waveform with high-frequency.", "The voltage divider formed by resistors R301, R302 and R303 is used for a microcontroller 305 in the digital control module 209 to detect the internal voltage of the digital power converter.", "When the microcontroller 305 determines the power MOSFET P301 not to work, the internal voltage is able to be proportional to input voltage from the AC power source.", "When the microcontroller 305 determines the power MOSFET P301 to work, the detected voltage is able to be proportional to the voltage boosted by the boost circuit.", "For example, when the power MOSFET P301 is working, the microcontroller 305 is able to detect the peak voltage boosted by the boost circuit.", "If the peak voltage is higher than a specific threshold, the duty cycle of the switching of the power MOSFET P301 will be adjusted by the microcontroller 305.The resistance value of the resistors R1 and R2 is able to be range from 105 to 107 Ω, and the resistors R301 and R302 need to endure at least 440V.", "In FIG.", "3, the single switch module 205 has the power MOSFET P301 and resistors R304, R305 and R306, and the power MOSFET P301 can be regarded as a single switch.", "The resistor R304 is electrically connected to the source end of the power MOSFET P301 and is also electrically connected to the auxiliary IC 303.In addition, the resistor R304 is used to sample the current passing through the source end of the power MOSFET P301.If the current passing through the source end is larger than a specific threshold, the digital control module 205 will not output the amplified PWM signal or will decrease the amplified PWM signal, thus protecting the power MOSFET P301.The resistor R305 is electrically connected to the gate end of the power MOSFET P301 and is also electrically connected to the auxiliary IC 303 in the digital control module 205.In addition, the resistor R305 is used to transmit the amplified PWM signal Spwm provided by the digital control module 209.The resistor R306 is electrically connected to the gate end of the power MOSFET P301 and is also connected to the ground, thus preventing erroneous trigger of the power MOSFET P301.In FIG.", "3, the power output module 207 has a transient voltage suppressor (TVS) D303, a freewheeling diode (FWD) D304, a transformer TR having a primary winding Np, a 1st secondary winding Ns1 and a 2nd secondary winding Ns2, and a optical coupling circuit formed by an inductor L303, resistors R308, R309 and R310, an optical coupler OC1, an diode D306, and a capacitor C308.In addition, the 1st secondary winding Ns1 is electrically connected to a diode D305, a R-C circuit having a resistor R307 and a capacitor C304, and capacitors C305, C306 and C307.Moreover, the 2nd secondary winding Ns2 is electrically connected to a diode D307 and a capacitor C310.It should be noticed that the power output module 207 further contains a capacitor C309 and is connected to a DC load for the DC output.", "The transient voltage suppressor (TVS) D303 and the freewheeling diode (FWD) D304 form an absorption circuit.", "When the power MOSFET P301 is switched to an ON state, a magnetic core surrounding by the primary side of the transformer TR stores energy passed from the active PFC module 203.When the power MOSFET P301 is switched to an OFF state, the magnetic core surrounding by the primary side of the transformer TR releases energy passed from the active PFC module 203, and thus the transient voltage suppressor D303 and the freewheeling diode D304 absorb the energy and inverse the direction of the magnetic field lines of the magnetic core surrounding by the primary side.", "Due to the aforementioned energy absorption, the transient voltage suppressor D303 and the freewheeling diode D304 dissipate the heat and eliminate instant high-frequency pulses.", "The transformer TR is used to transform the voltage from the active PFC module 203 and provide isolation between the AC input and the DC output.", "The diode D305 is used to provide rectification for the signal outputted from the 1st secondary winding Ns1.The R-C circuit having the resistor R307 and the capacitor C304 is used to absorb high-frequency pulses, and the capacitors C305, C306 and C307 is used for filtering, thus decreasing ripples of the signal outputted from the 1st secondary winding Ns1.In addition, the 2nd secondary winding Ns2 is used for providing a working voltage to the digital control module 209, so that all the components in the digital module 209 operate normally.", "For example, the auxiliary IC 303 is able to receive the working voltage provided by the 2nd secondary winding Ns2, wherein the working voltage is able to range from 4˜5V.", "The optical coupling circuit formed by the inductor L303, the resistors R308, R309 and R310, the optical coupler OC301, the diode D306, and the capacitor C308.The resistors R308 and R309 are used for voltage limitation, and the resistors R309 and R310 forms a voltage divider.", "The diode D306 is used for precise voltage regulation.", "If the voltage provided by the voltage divider formed by the resistors R309 and R310 is higher than a specific threshold, the diode D306 will be switched to an ON state.", "On the other hand, if the voltage provided by the voltage divider formed by the resistors R309 and R310 is lower than the specific threshold, the diode D306 will be switched to an ON state.", "Hence, the diode D306 decides whether the optical coupler OC301 generates lights.", "If the voltage between the resistor R308 and the diode D306 is higher than a specific threshold, the optical coupler OC301 generates lights, thus providing a feedback signal proportional to the output voltage to a microcontroller 305.In FIG.", "3, the digital control module 209 has the microcontroller 305, the auxiliary IC 303, and an optical coupling circuit formed by an optical coupler OC302, resistors R311 and R312, and a capacitor C313.The auxiliary IC 303 can be regarded as a power management and driver IC.", "The auxiliary IC 303 has Pin 1 to sense the start-up signal, Pin 2 to sense the gate current of the power MOSFET P301, Pin 3 to provide the amplified PWM signal to the power MOSFET Pi for switching control, Pin 4 to obtain the working voltage from the 2nd secondary winding Ns2.Pin 5 to receive an original PWM signal from the microcontroller 305, Pin 6 to communicate with the microcontroller 305, and Pin 7 to provide voltage for the microcontroller 305 to work.", "In addition, the communication via Pin 6 can be bi-directional and includes the function of detecting error signal of the auxiliary IC 303, confirming whether the auxiliary IC 303 is in a normal working mode.", "On the other hand, the microcontroller 305 has Pin 8 to receive the working voltage provided from the auxiliary IC 303 to make it works, Pin 9 to communicate with the auxiliary IC 303, Pin 10 to provide the PWM signal to the auxiliary IC 303, Pin 11 to detect the internal voltage of the digital power converter, Pin 12 to connect the ground, Pin 13 reserved for other use, Pin 14 to receive a wake-up signal from the digital output module 207, and Pin 15 to receive a signal representing the output voltage from the optical coupling circuit of the digital control module 209.In addition, the wake-up signal is transmitted via a wake-up signal line 307 that is designed for stand-by power mode.", "When the load connected with the DC output is in a system-off state, the design of the stand-by power in the digital power converter is able to save the power consumption of the load, reducing the original 1-3W power consumption to no more than 100 mW power consumption.", "Thus, if the voltage of the DC output has a small variation, such as 100 mV variation caused by the plug-in of an USB, the microcontroller 305 will be waked up by the wake-up signal.", "Due to the design of the power output module 207, the digital AC/DC power converter in FIG.", "3 can be regarded as a fly-back type power converter.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram of the middle/high-power AC/DC digital power converter according to another embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, a digital power converter has a rectifying and filtering module 401, an active PFC module 403, a single switch module 405, a power output module 407, and a digital control module 409.The main difference between FIG.", "2 and FIG.", "4 is that the digital control module 409 provides additional control signal Sswitch to the power output module 407, thus creating a smart control scheme to fulfill the design of quasi-resonant soft switching in a zero voltage switch (ZVS) way and thus achieving the power conversion of middle/high power application.", "For example, the middle power application refers to the application utilizing power ranging from 80˜200W, and the high power application refers to the application utilizing power ranging no less than 200W.", "FIG.", "5 is a schematic diagram of the middle-power digital AC/DC power converter according to the embodiment of the present invention.", "The main difference between FIG.", "5 and FIG.", "3 is that the implementation of the power output module 407 in FIG.", "5 is different from that of the power output module 207 in FIG.", "3.Referring to FIG.", "5, the power output module 407 includes two switches M501 and M502 in series connection to ground.", "A microcontroller 505 controls an auxiliary IC 503 to output different rectangular pulses via Pin A1 and Pin A2, so that the switch M502 maintains in an OFF state when the switch M501 is switched to an ON state, and the switch M501 maintains in an OFF state when the switch M502 is switched to an ON state.", "Therefore, two switches M501 and M502 operate alternatively in an opposite working state.", "In addition, the switches M501 and M502 may not both operate in the ON state due to the connection to ground.", "Preferably, the switches M501 and M502 may be MOSFET.", "In the aforementioned power output module 407, a transformer TR includes a primary winding Np, a 1st secondary winding Ns1 and a 2nd secondary winding Ns2.The left side of the primary winding Np is electrically connected to the switches M501 and M502, and the right side of the primary winding Np is electrically connected to two capacitors C504 and C505.When the switch M501 is in an ON state and the switch M502 is in an OFF state, the primary winding Np obtains energy from the capacitors C504 and C505.Meanwhile, the voltage in the left side of the primary winding Np is higher than and twice the voltage in the right side of the primary winding Np, and the magnetic core surrounding by the primary side of the transformer TR stores energy.", "When the switch M501 is in the ON state and the switch M502 is in the OFF state, if the switch M501 is switched to an OFF state, the voltage in the left side of the primary winding Np will be changed to be lower than and half the voltage in the right side of the primary winding Np.", "In this situation, both of the switch M501 and the switch M502 are in the OFF state.", "When the switch M501 is in the OFF state and the switch M507 is in the OFF state, if the switch M502 is switched to an ON state, the voltage in the left side of the primary winding Np will be changed to zero voltage and thus lower than the voltage in the right side of the primary winding Np, thus changing the direction of saving energy in the magnetic core of the transformer TR.", "Since the direction of magnetic lines inverses immediately in the aforementioned situation, the magnetic core is not easy to saturate, thus improving working efficiency, the operation rate of the magnetic core and the conversion rate of energy.", "Then, when the switch M501 is in the OFF state and the switch M502 is in the ON state, if the switch M502 is switched to an OFF state, the switch M501 will be prepared to switch to an ON state after the switching of the switch M502.Therefore, a complete control cycle is achieved through the aforementioned switching process of M501 and M502 in FIG.", "7.Therefore, the next start of the control cycle is to make the switch M501 be switched to an ON state, so that the switch M501 is in an ON state and the switch M502 is in an OFF state.", "In addition, the power output module 407 has two inductors L503 and L504.The inductor L503 is used to store and release redundant energy, and the inductor L504 is used to achieve filtering with a nearby magnetic core.", "Furthermore, the power output module 407 has a sampling circuit SC501 for voltage sampling in constant voltage application or current sampling in constant current application.", "Hence, the power output module 407 is designed to receive the smart control scheme of the microcontroller 505, thus making the digital power converter in the embodiment fulfill the design of quasi-resonant soft switching in a half-bridge zero-voltage-switch (ZVS) way.", "FIG.", "6 is a schematic diagram of the high-power digital AC/DC power converter according to the embodiment of the present invention.", "The main difference between FIG.", "6 and FIG.", "5 is that the implementation of the power output module 607 in FIG.", "6 is different from that of the power output module 507 in FIG.", "5.Referring to FIG.", "6, the power output module 607 has four switches M601, M602, M603 and M604.The switches M601 and M602 are used to replace the capacitors C504 and C505 in FIG.", "5.In the power output module 607, the switches M601 and M602 work in the same period of time and the switches M603, M604 work in another same period of time, respectively.", "A microcontroller 605 controls an auxiliary IC 603 to output different rectangular pulses via Pins A1, A2, A3 and A4 to control the switches M601, M602, M603, M604, respectively, so that the switches M602 and M603 maintain in an OFF state when the switches M601 and M604 are switched to an ON state, and the switches M601 and M604 maintain in an OFF state when the switches M602 and M603 are switched to an ON state.", "Therefore, the switches: M601 and M604 and the switches: M602 and M603 operate alternatively in an opposite working state.", "Preferably, the switches M601, M602, M603 and M604 may be IGBT.", "In the aforementioned power output module 607, a transformer IR includes a primary winding Np, a 1st secondary winding Ns1 and a 2nd secondary winding Ns2.The left side of the primary winding Np is electrically connected to the switches M601 and M602, and the right side of the primary winding Np is electrically connected to the switches M603 and M604.In addition, the right side of the primary winding Np is electrically connected to a capacitor C604 to isolate direct-current signal.", "When the switches M601 and M604 are in an ON state and the switches M602 and M603 are in an OFF state, the voltage in the left side of the primary winding Np is higher than the voltage in the right side of the primary winding Np.", "Then, if the switches M601 and M604 are switched to an OFF state, the voltage in the left side of the primary winding Np will be lower than the voltage in the right side of the primary winding Np, and thus all the switches M601, M602, M603 and M604 are in an OFF state.", "When all the switches M601, M602, M603 and M604 are in the OFF state, if the switches M602, M603 are switched to an ON state, the voltage in the left side of the primary winding Np will be changed to zero voltage and thus lower than the voltage in the right side of the primary winding Np, thus changing the direction of saving energy in the magnetic core of the transformer TR.", "Since the direction of magnetic lines inverses immediately in the aforementioned situation, the magnetic core is not easy to saturate, thus improving working efficiency, the operation rate of the magnetic core and the conversion rate of energy.", "Then, when the switches M601 and M604 are in the OFF state and the switches M607 and M603 are in the ON state, if the switches M602 and M603 are switched to an OFF state, the switches M601 and M604 will be prepared to switch to an ON state after the switching of the switches M607 and M603.Therefore, a complete control cycle is achieved through the aforementioned switching process in FIG.", "8.Hence, the power output module 607 is designed to receive the smart control scheme of the microcontroller 605, thus making the digital power converter in the embodiment fulfill the design of quasi-resonant soft switching a full-bridge zero-voltage-switch (ZVS) way.", "An at least 8-bit microprocessor (such as 16-bit, 32-bit .", ".", ".", "etc) may be adopted to be microcontrollers 305, 505 and 605 in the aforementioned embodiments, thus expanding at least 64 times the precision of the duty cycle of the amplified PWM signal Spwm to precisely control the increase or decrease of the duty cycle.", "For example, if the voltage of DC output is higher than a specific threshold (which can be defined as too high), the aforementioned microprocessor is able to control to decrease the duty cycle of Spwm, and if the voltage of DC output is lower than another specific threshold (which can be defined as too low), the aforementioned microprocessor is able to control to decrease the duty cycle of Spwm.", "Therefore, the expansion of the precision is achieved by software implementation in a digital microprocessor and hardware structure of the digital power converter, and thus the cost of the overall digital AC/DC power converter is down with a high-precision control of the duty cycle of PWM.", "Previous descriptions are only embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.", "Many variations and modifications according to the claims and specification of the disclosure are still within the scope of the claimed invention.", "In addition, each of the embodiments and claims does not have to achieve all the advantages or characteristics disclosed.", "Moreover, the abstract and the title only serve to facilitate searching patent documents and are not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claimed invention." ] ]
Patent_15874884
[ [ "SOCIAL MODE FOR MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN A MOBILE DEVICE AND A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM", "The automatic transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system is regulated based on the communication mode of the mobile device.", "A communication for transmission between the mobile device and the social networking system is detected.", "A communication switch setting, such as a switch position, is determined for the mobile device.", "A communication mode for the mobile device is determined based on the communication switch setting.", "For example, if the switch is in a first position, the mobile device is determined to be in a social mode.", "Likewise, if the switch is in a second position, the mobile device is determined to be a manual mode.", "If the mobile device is in the social mode, the communication is automatically transmitted.", "If the mobile device is in the manual mode, the communication is transmitted only in response to authorization from the user of the mobile device." ], [ "1.A method comprising: detecting a location by a mobile device associated with a user account maintained by a social networking system, the detected location comprising a set of geographic coordinates obtained by the mobile device, the user account associated with a user of the social networking system; determining a presence of the mobile device within fixed geographic ranges corresponding to a plurality of location entities by cross-referencing the geographic coordinates obtained by the mobile device with the fixed geographic ranges; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of location entities; and in response to the mobile device being configured to operate in a social communication mode, transmitting the selected location entity and an identity of the user account to the social networking system, the social networking system configured to automatically check in the user to the selected location entity and to generate a post indicating the check in for display within a social networking system page.", "2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting an action performed by the user; wherein the generated post further contains information about the detected action.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the performed action comprises a capturing of an image by the mobile device.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the post comprises a story within a newsfeed or timeline associated with the user.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the post comprises a story within a page corresponding to the selected location entity.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is configured to operate in the social communication mode in response to a physical switch of the mobile device being configured in a position corresponding to the social communication mode.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is configured to operate in the social communication mode in response to a selection of a configuration setting by the user within an application running on the mobile device.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the post includes text identifying the selected location entity.", "9.The method of claim 1, wherein the post identifies one or more other social networking system users associated with the user.", "10.The method of claim 9, wherein the identified one or more other social networking system users are within a proximity of the user.", "11.The method of claim 1, wherein the post identifies one or more other social networking system users that have been checked in to the selected location entity.", "12.The method of claim 1, wherein the post includes a link to a social networking system page associated with the selected location entity.", "13.The method of claim 1, wherein the post indicates that the mobile device is configured to operate in the social communication mode.", "14.The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device, prior to being configured to operate in the social communication mode, prompts a user to confirm an intention for the mobile device to operate in the social communication mode.", "15.The method of claim 1, wherein the social networking system checks the user in to the selected location entity without receiving authorization from the user.", "16.The method of claim 1, wherein the social networking system displays the post within the social networking system page without receiving authorization from the user.", "17.The method of claim 1, wherein receiving a selection of one of the plurality of location entities comprises prompting a user to select from a list of location entities.", "18.The method of claim 17, wherein the list is organized by proximity of the location entities to the user.", "19.A system, comprising: a processor; a non-transitory memory including instructions, which when executed by the processor cause the processor to perform steps including: detecting a location by a mobile device associated with a user account maintained by a social networking system, the detected location comprising a set of geographic coordinates obtained by the mobile device, the user account associated with a user of the social networking system; determining a presence of the mobile device within fixed geographic ranges corresponding to a plurality of location entities by cross-referencing the geographic coordinates obtained by the mobile device with the fixed geographic ranges; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of location entities; and in response to the mobile device being configured to operate in a social communication mode, transmitting the selected location entity and an identity of the user account to the social networking system, the social networking system configured to automatically check in the user to the selected location entity and to generate a post indicating the check in for display within a social networking system page.", "20.A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: detecting a location by a mobile device associated with a user account maintained by a social networking system, the detected location comprising a set of geographic coordinates obtained by the mobile device, the user account associated with a user of the social networking system; determining a presence of the mobile device within fixed geographic ranges corresponding to a plurality of location entities by cross-referencing the geographic coordinates obtained by the mobile device with the fixed geographic ranges; receiving a selection of one of the plurality of location entities; and in response to the mobile device being configured to operate in a social communication mode, transmitting the selected location entity and an identity of the user account to the social networking system, the social networking system configured to automatically check in the user to the selected location entity and to generate a post indicating the check in for display within a social networking system page." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>This invention relates generally to social networking, and in particular to providing a hardware switch that manages automatic and manual communication between a mobile device and a social networking system.", "Social networking systems commonly provide mechanisms allowing users to interact with the social networking system using a mobile device, such as a mobile phone.", "The user of a mobile device may interact with the social networking system in various ways, both by receiving communications from the social networking system and transmitting communications to the social networking system.", "“Communications” as used herein refers to any type of information sent between the mobile device and social networking system.", "Examples of communications include photographs, location information, phone calls, text messages, email messages, mobile device application data and notifications.", "Mobile devices may automatically receive communications from a social networking system.", "For example, a social networking system may transmit a message to a mobile device from a friend of the user of the mobile device without any explicit action by the user of the mobile device.", "Likewise, a social networking system may automatically transmit a notification to the user of a mobile device indicating that it is the user's turn in a social networking system game.", "Mobile devices may also automatically transmit communications to a social networking system.", "For example, a mobile device may have location-detection functionality, and may be set to transmit the location of the user of the mobile device to the social networking system without explicit action by the user of the mobile device.", "Likewise, a mobile device may automatically transmit photographs taken by the mobile device to the social networking system.", "The automatic transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system provides an efficient way to transfer information by minimizing the amount of input required by a user of the mobile device.", "Automatically transmitting communications is not always ideal, however, as user may want to prevent the transmission of certain communications to and from a social networking system.", "For instance, a user concerned with privacy may want to prevent the transmission of certain location information to the social networking system.", "Likewise, a user who wants to minimize interruptions may want to prevent the reception of certain notifications from the social networking system.", "Thus, a solution is needed that allows a mobile device user to efficiently switch between a communication mode that allows one or more types of automatic communications to and from a social networking system (“social mode”) and a communication mode that requires user authorization for communications to and from a social networking system (“manual mode”)." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Embodiments of the invention provide communication management between a mobile device and a social networking environment.", "A mobile device communication mode switch allows a user of the mobile device to operate the mobile device in one of two or more communication modes.", "Communications are transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment based on the communication mode of the mobile device.", "In a first communication mode, communications may be automatically transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment.", "In a second communication mode, communications may be transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment only in response to receiving authorization for the transmission from the user of the mobile device.", "The communications for transmission may be any type of information transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment.", "For example, the communications may be email messages, instant messages, photographs or other images, videos, location information or phone calls.", "The communication mode switch may be a hardware switch protruding from the mobile device, or may be any other type of switch.", "In one embodiment, a communication may be transmitted in response to an action performed on the mobile device, such as the capturing of an image by the mobile device or the determining of the location of the mobile device by the mobile device." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/506,604, filed Oct. 4, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/164,210, filed Jun.", "20, 2011, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,880,640, issued Nov. 4, 2014, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND This invention relates generally to social networking, and in particular to providing a hardware switch that manages automatic and manual communication between a mobile device and a social networking system.", "Social networking systems commonly provide mechanisms allowing users to interact with the social networking system using a mobile device, such as a mobile phone.", "The user of a mobile device may interact with the social networking system in various ways, both by receiving communications from the social networking system and transmitting communications to the social networking system.", "“Communications” as used herein refers to any type of information sent between the mobile device and social networking system.", "Examples of communications include photographs, location information, phone calls, text messages, email messages, mobile device application data and notifications.", "Mobile devices may automatically receive communications from a social networking system.", "For example, a social networking system may transmit a message to a mobile device from a friend of the user of the mobile device without any explicit action by the user of the mobile device.", "Likewise, a social networking system may automatically transmit a notification to the user of a mobile device indicating that it is the user's turn in a social networking system game.", "Mobile devices may also automatically transmit communications to a social networking system.", "For example, a mobile device may have location-detection functionality, and may be set to transmit the location of the user of the mobile device to the social networking system without explicit action by the user of the mobile device.", "Likewise, a mobile device may automatically transmit photographs taken by the mobile device to the social networking system.", "The automatic transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system provides an efficient way to transfer information by minimizing the amount of input required by a user of the mobile device.", "Automatically transmitting communications is not always ideal, however, as user may want to prevent the transmission of certain communications to and from a social networking system.", "For instance, a user concerned with privacy may want to prevent the transmission of certain location information to the social networking system.", "Likewise, a user who wants to minimize interruptions may want to prevent the reception of certain notifications from the social networking system.", "Thus, a solution is needed that allows a mobile device user to efficiently switch between a communication mode that allows one or more types of automatic communications to and from a social networking system (“social mode”) and a communication mode that requires user authorization for communications to and from a social networking system (“manual mode”).", "SUMMARY Embodiments of the invention provide communication management between a mobile device and a social networking environment.", "A mobile device communication mode switch allows a user of the mobile device to operate the mobile device in one of two or more communication modes.", "Communications are transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment based on the communication mode of the mobile device.", "In a first communication mode, communications may be automatically transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment.", "In a second communication mode, communications may be transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment only in response to receiving authorization for the transmission from the user of the mobile device.", "The communications for transmission may be any type of information transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking environment.", "For example, the communications may be email messages, instant messages, photographs or other images, videos, location information or phone calls.", "The communication mode switch may be a hardware switch protruding from the mobile device, or may be any other type of switch.", "In one embodiment, a communication may be transmitted in response to an action performed on the mobile device, such as the capturing of an image by the mobile device or the determining of the location of the mobile device by the mobile device.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a diagram illustrating the relative automatic transmission of communications in various mobile device operating modes, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a high level block diagram of a system environment suitable for managing the transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system, according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the invention in which communications are transmitted between a mobile device and a social networking system according to the communication mode of the mobile device.", "FIG.", "4 is a flow chart illustrating a process for managing the transmission of communications between a social networking system and a mobile device, according to one embodiment.", "The figures depict various embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only.", "One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview A social networking system user may be an individual or any other entity, such as a business or other non-person entity.", "Social networking systems allowing users to create, upload, display and share information within the context of the social networking system.", "Social networking system information includes biographical user information, user preferences, and content items.", "Content items may be anything that a social networking system user may create, upload, edit, share, post or interact with, such as messages, queued messages (e.g., email), text and SMS (short message service) messages, comment messages, messages sent using any other suitable messaging technique, an HTTP link, HTML files, images, videos, audio clips, documents, document edits, calendar entries or events, and other computer-related files.", "Content items may be uploaded to or created within many social networking system contexts, such as user profiles, user walls, group pages, private messages, email messages, photo albums, or any other social networking system context capable of displaying a content item.", "Collectively, social networking system contexts capable of displaying a content item are referred to as “spaces”.", "Administrators of a space are referred to as the “owners” of the space.", "Creating or uploading a content item to a space is referred to as “posting” to the space.", "Social networking systems commonly provide mechanisms allowing users to interact with objects and other users both within and external to the context of the social networking system.", "The social networking system may utilize a web-based interface comprising a series of inter-connected pages displaying and allowing users to interact with social networking system objects and information.", "For example, a social networking system may display a page for each social networking system user including objects and information entered by or related to the social networking system user (the user's “profile”).", "Social networking systems may also contain pages containing pictures or videos, dedicated to concepts, dedicated to users with similar interests (“groups”), or containing communications or social networking system activity to, from or by other users.", "Social networking system pages may contain links to other social networking system pages, and may include additional capabilities such as search, real-time communication, content-item uploading, purchasing, advertising, and any other web-based technology or ability.", "It should be noted that a social networking system interface may be accessible from a web browser or a non-web browser application, such as a dedicated social networking system mobile device or computer application.", "Accordingly, “page” as used herein may be a web page, an application interface or display, a widget displayed over a web page or application, a box or other graphical interface, an overlay window on another page (whether within or outside the context of a social networking system), or a web page external to the social networking system with a social networking system plug in or integration capabilities.", "Online social networking systems allow users to associate themselves and establish connections with other users of the social networking system.", "When two users establish a connection, they become “friends” (or, “connections”) within the context of the social networking system.", "Being friends in a social networking system may allow users access to more information about each other than would otherwise be available to unconnected users.", "For instance, being friends may allow a user to view another user's profile, to see another user's friends, or to view pictures of another user.", "Likewise, becoming friends within a social networking system may allow a user greater access to communicate with another user, such as by email (internal and external to the social networking system), instant message, text message, phone, or any other communicative interface.", "In addition, becoming friends within a social networking system may allow a user greater ability communicate about another user, such as by tagging the other user in a content item uploaded by the tagging user or any other user, or by tagging the other user in an action, a group, or any other social networking system context.", "Finally, being friends may allow a user access to view, comment on, download, endorse or otherwise interact with another user's uploaded content items.", "A social networking system may allow users to communicate both within and external to the social networking system.", "For example, a first user may send a second user a message within the social networking system, an email through the social networking system, an email external to but originating from the social networking system, an instant message within the social networking system, and an instant message external to but originating from the social networking system.", "Further, a first user may comment on the profile page of a second user, or may comment on objects associated with a second user, such as content items uploaded by the second user.", "In addition, a user may communicate by posting a note on the user's own profile.", "Finally, a user may communicate by sending a text/SMS message, a phone call or a voice message originating from or transmitted through the social networking to the mobile device of another user.", "For example, a first user may initiate a call to a second user through a voice over IP (VOIP) calling service provided by the social networking system, or may send a text/SMS message from the first's user mobile phone through the social networking system to the second user.", "Users of a social networking system may receive communications from the social networking system on mobile devices.", "As discussed above, users may access the social networking system on the mobile device through, for instance, a mobile device web browser, an email or other messaging interface on the mobile device, or through a dedicated social networking system mobile device application.", "In one embodiment, the social networking system may send notifications to the user's mobile device.", "The notifications may notify a user that a second user has communicated with or has attempted to communicate with the user, may inform the user that the user has been tagged in an image or message, may inform the user that someone has requested to become friends with the user within the social networking system, or may inform the user of any other social networking activity related to the user.", "The social networking system may transmit content items to the mobile device of a user.", "In one embodiment, a social networking system may transmit text, email or instant messages to a user's mobile device.", "Alternatively, the social networking system may transmit images, videos, documents, or event reminders to a user's mobile device.", "For example, a first user may use a desktop computer to send a second user an instant message, and the social networking system may transmit the instant message to the second user's mobile device.", "Likewise, the social networking system may transmit a voice call or a voice message to a user's mobile device.", "The social networking system may transmit location communications to a user's mobile device.", "For example, a social networking system may determine the location of a user (using, for instance, the location-detection functionality of a user's mobile device), and may transmit the identity and location of friends of the user who are nearby, or may transmit advertisement or sale/special offer information to the user for nearby businesses.", "The social networking system may also transmit application information to a user's mobile device.", "For example, a user might use a mobile device application to look up nearby restaurants, and the social networking system may transmit restaurant information to the mobile device application's interface.", "Likewise, a first user may use a mobile device application to play a game with a second user, and the social networking system may transmit game information to the mobile device game's interface.", "A user may customize the communications transmitted to the user's mobile device from a social networking system.", "In one embodiment, a user allows certain types of communications to the user's mobile device.", "For example, a user may allow a social networking system to transmit notifications to the user's mobile device, but not text/SMS messages or images.", "Likewise, a user may limit communications from the social networking system to the user's mobile device to communications related to certain other users.", "For example, a user may allow communications to the user's mobile device from or related to friends of the user, or a subset of the user's friends, such as the user's family members, but may block other communications.", "Communications from a social networking system received by a mobile device may be displayed within a social networking system application, or may utilize other mobile device interface functionalities.", "For example, a text message sent via a social networking system to a user's mobile device may appear in the mobile device's SMS application.", "Likewise, calls made from or through the social networking system may be received by a mobile device's phone application.", "Finally, notifications of communications from a social networking system may be displayed in a mobile device's notification interface.", "Users of a social networking system may transmit communications from mobile devices to the social networking system.", "As discussed above, such communications include messages, images, videos, location information, application information or any other information from a mobile device application, interface or functionality.", "For example, a user may send an email from a mobile device to the social networking system.", "Likewise, a user may use a mobile device to post a message on another user's profile or wall, or may send an instant message from the mobile device to another user.", "In one embodiment, a user may send a text/SMS message from a mobile device to a social networking system for delivery to another user.", "Likewise, a user may make a call another user through the social networking system.", "For example, a first user may use a mobile device to call a second user through a social networking system calling service.", "A social networking system may allow a user to upload pictures.", "In one embodiment, the social networking system allows a user to upload pictures from the user's mobile device.", "For example, a user's mobile device may include camera functionality, allowing the user to take photographs with the mobile device.", "The mobile device may also allow a user to perform image editing on photographs, such as image cropping, brightness adjustment, and other image processing functions.", "A user may upload photographs from the user's mobile device to the social networking system.", "A mobile device may allow a user to tag other users in images by associating an image or a location within the image with the identity of a social networking system user.", "For example, a first user may take a photo of a second user with the first user's mobile device, the first user may tag the second user in the photo, and the first user may upload the tagged photo to the social networking system.", "Similarly, users may use mobile devices to create and upload videos, documents or any other type of content item to the social networking system.", "A user may use a mobile device to create or schedule events within the social networking system.", "For example, a user may use a mobile phone's calendar functionality to schedule a meeting, may include details with the meeting, and may invite other people to the meeting.", "The user may then transmit the event from the mobile device to the social networking system.", "Likewise, a user may use a mobile device to RSVP to an event invitation, to edit event details, to reschedule an event, to cancel an event, or to respond to questions about the event.", "A user may use a mobile device application to transmit application communications to a social networking system.", "In the example of a game application discussed above, a user may play a game on a mobile device with another social networking system user, and the mobile device will transmit game-related information to the social networking system.", "A user may use a mobile device's location-detection functionality to determine the present location of the mobile device.", "Location-detection functionality may be implemented with, for example, a GPS receiver implemented in a mobile device.", "Location-detection functionality allows a mobile device to determine the device's geographic location.", "For example, a mobile device with location-detection functionality may be able to determine the longitude and latitude coordinates of the device.", "Likewise, location-detection functionality may allow a mobile device to identify the mobile device's presence at a location or event entity, such as a restaurant or other place of business, a concert or other event, a park, a race, a city, or any other identifiable location or occurrence.", "In one embodiment, locations such as these have defined geographic coordinate ranges, and a mobile device cross-references these ranges with the geographic location of the mobile device to determine the mobile device's presence at these locations.", "Likewise, in one embodiment, events have defined geographic coordinate ranges for particular periods of time, and a mobile device cross-references the ranges and time periods with the mobile device's geographic location at a particular time to determine the device's presence at these occurrences.", "For example, if a basketball game is known to occur within 100 yards of geographic coordinate (X, Y) between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm, a mobile device may determine the geographic coordinates of the mobile device and the current time, and may make a determination that the user of the mobile device is at the basketball game.", "A user may transmit location information from the user's mobile device to the social networking system.", "In one embodiment, the mobile device's geographic coordinates are transmitted to the social networking system.", "In one embodiment, the mobile device's presence at a location or event is transmitted to the social networking system.", "The social networking system may receive geographic coordinates from a mobile device, and may cross-reference determined location and event coordinates and times to determine the mobile device's presence at a particular location or event.", "Using a mobile device to detect the mobile device's presence at a location or event and transmitting this presence to the social networking system, or transmitting geographic coordinates to the social networking system to let the social networking system determine the mobile device's presence at a location or event is referred to herein as “checking in” to a location or event.", "A social networking system may display communications received from a mobile device.", "For example, if a user uses a mobile device posts a message to another user's wall, the message may be displayed on the user's wall to users who view the user's wall.", "Messages transmitted from mobile devices may be posted with an indication that a mobile device was used in posting the message.", "In one embodiment, email, text/SMS and instant messages may be displayed only to a particular intended recipient of the messages.", "Images uploaded to the social networking system using a mobile device may be automatically displayed on the user's profile, for instance on a user's wall or in image albums.", "In one embodiment, location information transmitted to the social networking system with a mobile device is displayed on the wall of the user of the mobile device indicating that the user of the mobile device checked in to a particular location.", "Alternatively, information transmitted from a mobile device to a social networking system may be displayed only to the user of the mobile device.", "For example, images uploaded to the social networking system may not be displayed to other users, but are instead stored in private image albums for viewing, editing and subsequent posting by the user of the mobile device.", "Likewise, application information transmitted from a mobile device to the social networking system may be displayed only to the user of the mobile device.", "All communications transmitted from a mobile device to a social networking system may be stored in a social graph regardless of whether the transmitted communications are visible to the user of the mobile device or other users.", "A social graph organizes information related to social networking system objects and the interactions and relationships between social networking system object.", "Thus, while communications transmitted from a mobile device may not be displayed to users of a social networking system, the association between the communications and the user of the mobile device, as well as the association between the communications and any other social networking system object, may be stored within the social networking system's social graph.", "FIG.", "1 is a diagram illustrating the relative automatic transmission of communications in various mobile device operating modes, according to one embodiment.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "1, a mobile device has at least two operating modes: social mode 110 and manual mode 120.As illustrated, the set of automatic communication transmissions 100 between a mobile device and a social networking system while the mobile device is in social mode 110 is greater than the set of automatic communication transmissions 100 while the mobile device is in manual mode 120.The automatic transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system includes communications that are transmitted without the explicit authorization from the user of the mobile device.", "For example, a social networking system may transmit a notification to the user of a mobile device indicating that the user was tagged in a photograph by another user without a request for notifications by the user of the mobile device.", "Likewise, a mobile device may transmit the location of the mobile device to the social networking system any time a user uses a mobile device's location-detection functionality to determine the location of the mobile device.", "In another example, a photograph taken with a mobile device may be automatically transmitted to the social networking system.", "Communications that are not automatically transmitted between a mobile device and a social networking system require manual authorization by the user of the mobile device.", "For example, if the automatic transmission of a communication is disabled, a user might have to explicitly request the transmission of the communication from the social networking system or may have to explicitly request the transmission of the communication to the social networking system.", "A user might explicitly request communications, such as notifications, from the social networking system by selecting a “notifications” button in a mobile device application.", "Likewise, a user may be required to approve the transmission of communications, such as location information, to the social networking system through the use of a pop-up button any time a user uses a location-detection application to determine the mobile device's location.", "Manually or explicitly requesting communications from the social networking system or requesting the transmission of communications to the social networking system is referred to herein as “authorizing” the communications.", "In one embodiment, while the mobile device is in manual mode 120, automatic communications transmissions 100 are completely prevented.", "Alternatively, automatic communications transmissions 100 may be minimal while the mobile device is in manual mode 120.For example, automatic communications transmissions 100 may be limited to notifications from the social networking system to the mobile device while the mobile device is in manual mode 120.Likewise, the set of automatic communication transmissions 100 while the mobile device is in social mode 110 and the set of automatic communication transmissions 100 while the mobile device is in manual mode 120 may be very similar.", "For example, a mobile device in manual mode 120 may automatically transmit and receive all communications than the mobile device would transmit and receive while the mobile device was in social mode 110 except for the automatic transmission of location data from the mobile device to the social networking system.", "Thus, the sets of automatic communication transmissions 100 for a mobile device in social mode 110 and a mobile device in manual mode 120 may each include any number of automatic communication transmissions 100 as long as the manual mode 120 set is a subset of the social mode 110 set.", "System Architecture FIG.", "2 is a high level block diagram of a system environment suitable for managing the transmission of communications between a mobile device and a social networking system, according to one embodiment.", "The system environment includes a mobile device 210 and a social networking system 220 that communicate through a connecting network 200.The connecting network may be the Internet, a local area network, a wireless network, a cellular network, or any other network that allows communication between modules.", "The connecting network 200 may use standard communications technologies and/or protocols.", "In alternative configurations, different and/or additional modules can be included in the system.", "In addition, the connecting network 200 may include a combination of networks.", "For example, in the embodiment where the mobile device 210 is a mobile phone, the connecting network 200 may include a cellular phone wireless network which interfaces with the Internet, allowing the mobile phone to connect with a social networking system's web servers.", "The mobile device 210 includes a communication mode switch 215 which allows a user of the mobile device 210 to toggle between two or more communication modes.", "Mobile device 210 may comprise any type of mobile computing device capable of sending or receiving communications to and from the social networking system 220, such as a mobile phone, laptop, netbook, or tablet, and including traditional non-mobile devices such as a desktop computer or a television.", "Although only one mobile device 210 is shown in FIG.", "2, any number of mobile devices may be connected to and communicate with social networking system 220 at a time.", "A user of the mobile device 210 interacts with the social networking system 220 via an application, such as a web browser or a native application, or using other mobile device 210 communicative functionality, such as an text/SMS message service or location-detection service, to perform social networking system operations such as browsing content, posting and sending messages, establishing connections with other users, uploading pictures and other content items, and to transmit and receive any other communications to and from the social networking system 220.The social networking system 220 may comprise a plurality of pages hosted on one or more web servers.", "The plurality of pages may present social networking system information.", "For example, these pages may include pages for user profiles, group profiles, fan pages, and other social networking system-related pages.", "These pages may include a variety of social networking system data, such as personal information, user settings, group settings, search results, and advertisements, as well as object and interaction data, including but not limited to user actions, profile information, relationship information, communication information, group information, fan page information, endorsement information, and content items.", "Social networking system data, such as social graph data, is stored in one or more social networking system databases.", "These databases and all other social networking system components can communicate with the user device 210 via the connecting network 200 through the social networking system web servers.", "The databases may provide social networking system object data, interaction data or any other social networking system data when by requested by another social networking system component or the mobile device 210.Operation FIG.", "3 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of the invention in which communications are transmitted between a mobile device and a social networking system according to the communication mode of the mobile device.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "3, the mobile device 210 includes a communication mode switch 215, a social networking system interface 300, a graphical user interface (GUI) 305, a talk module 310, a location module 315, a camera 320, an applications module 325, and a sensors module 330.In addition, the communications are transmitted between the mobile device 210 and the social networking system 220.Although not illustrated in FIG.", "3, the communications are transmitted through the connecting network 200.The transmitted communications include all information transmitted between the mobile device 210 and the social networking system 220.Social networking system 220 as illustrated in the embodiment of FIG.", "3 includes a communication mode module 350, a notifications module 355, a mobile device interface 360, a user profile module 365, a talk module 370, a location module 375, a user settings module 380, a user data storage module 385, a photo data storage module 390 and a location data storage module 395.Both the mobile device 210 and the social networking system 220 may include fewer or additional components, and the functionalities of two or more components may be implemented by a single component.", "The communication mode switch 215 of the mobile device 210 may be any type of switch that allows a user of the mobile device 210 to toggle between two or more communication modes.", "In one embodiment, the communication mode switch 215 is a physical switch.", "For example, the communication mode switch 215 may be a button that allows a user to toggle between communication modes when compressed.", "Likewise, the communication mode switch 215 may be a moveable switch protruding from the mobile device 210 that allows the user to toggle between communication modes by sliding or otherwise adjusting the physical position of the communication mode switch 215.In one embodiment, the communication mode switch 215 is a slideable switch that allows a user to slide the switch between two or more distinct positions, each position corresponding to a particular communication mode.", "Alternatively, the communications mode switch 215 may be a software switch that allows a user to toggle between communication modes.", "For example, the mobile device 210 may display a button on a mobile device display, and the user of the mobile device 210 may “press” the button by selecting it with an input device, such as a stylus or a finger on a touch-sensitive display, a mouse, or navigation physical buttons on the mobile device 210.Likewise, the communication mode switch 215 may be implemented through two or more displayed buttons (for instance, a drop-down list), with each button corresponding to a particular communication mode.", "The social networking system interface 300 manages communications between the mobile device's components and the social networking system 220.The social networking system interface 300 receives communications from the social networking system 220 and routes the communications to the appropriate mobile device components.", "Likewise, the social networking system interface 300 receives communications from the mobile device components and transmits the communications to the social networking system 220.The social networking system interface 300 determines the communication mode of the mobile device 210 from the communication mode switch 215.In one embodiment, the social networking system interface 300 queries or detects the position of the communication mode switch 215 and determines the communication mode based on the detected position of the switch.", "Likewise, the social networking system interface 300 may determine the communication mode of the mobile device 210 by determining a user input received through a communication mode switch 215 implemented in software.", "The mobile device 210 may transmit the communication mode of the mobile device 210 to the social networking system 220 via the social networking system interface 300 periodically.", "For example, the mobile device 210 may transmit a communication mode to the social networking system 220 every minute, every 10 minutes, or on any interval.", "Alternatively, the mobile device 210 may transmit the communication mode of the mobile device 210 to the social networking system 220 in response to receiving a request for the mobile device's communication mode from the social networking system 220, or in conjunction with each communication transmitted to the social networking system 220.The GUI 305 is a mobile device interface displayed on the monitor or screen of the mobile device 210 which allows a user of the mobile device 210 to utilize the functionality of the mobile device 210 and the mobile device's components, as well as interact with the social networking system 220 through the mobile device 210.The GUI 305 may include a software interface capable of receiving user input, and allowing a user to select between the various functionalities of the mobile device 210.For example, the GUI 305 may allow a user to select to use a phone functionality of the mobile device 210, to select text/SMS message functionality, to select location-detection functionality, to select camera functionality, and to select between one or more mobile device applications.", "In one embodiment, a user of mobile device 210 may select a social networking system application using the GUI 305.The GUI 305 may display one or more icons on the mobile device display which allow the user of the mobile device 210 to select between the various mobile device functionalities.", "In one embodiment, the GUI 305 allows a user to manually authorize the transmission of communications to the social networking system 220.For example, if the social networking system interface 300 determines from the communication mode switch 215 that the mobile device is in manual mode, the social networking system interface 300 may prompt a user to authorize the transmission of a communication by displaying an authorization option on the mobile device display through the GUI 305.The talk module 310 allows a user of a mobile device access to phone/VOIP call functionality, text/SMS messaging functionality, instant messaging functionality, email functionality and any other form of communicative functionality.", "A user of the mobile device 210 may access the communicative functionalities of the talk module 310 through the GUI module 305.A user makes a call or sends a message from the talk module 310, and the talk module 310 sends the call or message to the social networking system 220 through the social networking system interface 300.Likewise, a user receives a call or a message from the social networking system 220 through the social networking system interface 300 and at the talk module 310.The location module 315 includes location-detection functionality and allows a user of the mobile device 210 to determine the mobile device's location.", "In one embodiment, the location module 315 includes a GPS receiver or other location-detection means.", "The location module 315 may allow a user to manually determine the mobile device's location, for instance through the use of a button or application displayed via the GUI 305.Alternatively, the location module 315 may automatically and/or continuously determine the mobile device's location 210.The location module 315 may detect the geographic coordinates of the mobile device 210 and/or the presence of the mobile device 210 at a particular entity, such a business, an event, or a location.", "The location module 315 may transmit location information to the social networking system 220 through the social networking system interface 300.Likewise, the location module 315 may receive location information, such as the location of friends of the user of the mobile device, from the social networking system 220 through the social networking system interface 300.In one embodiment, the location module 315 includes map functionality, and the mobile device's location is displayed to the user of the mobile device in conjunction with a map through the GUI 305.The camera module 320 provides the user of the mobile device 210 camera functionality, allowing the user to take pictures or otherwise capture images.", "The camera module 320 may also allow a user the ability to record sound and/or video.", "Images, sound and video captured by the camera module 320 may be transmitted to the social networking system 220 through the social networking system interface 300.The applications module 325 allows a user the ability to download and operate software applications on the mobile device 210.Applications may be any software-implemented functionality, including but not limited to social networking system applications, games, navigation and map applications, communicative or messaging applications, web browsing applications, word processing and other document-editing applications, image-editing applications, media applications, digital reader applications, calendar applications, or any other software applications.", "Applications may be run in stand-alone form or may run in the background of a mobile device.", "Applications module 325 may transmit communications to and may receive communications from the social networking system 220 via the social networking system interface 300.The sensors module 330 contains hardware and software sensors that provide a user of the mobile device 210 with various functionalities.", "The sensors may interface with other mobile device components, such as the GUI 305, the location module 315 and the applications module 325.Examples of sensors contained within the sensors module 330 include an altimeter, a speedometer, an accelerometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a mood sensor, or any other sensor which can determine a particular context of the mobile device 210 or the user of the mobile device 210.The sensors module 330 may transmit sensor information to the social networking system 220 through the social networking system interface 300.Turning to the social networking system 220, the client device interface 360 manages communications between the social networking system's components and the mobile device 210.The client device interface 360 receives communications from the mobile device 210 and routes the communications to the appropriate social networking system components.", "Likewise, the client device interface 360 receives communications from the social networking system components and transmits the communications to the mobile device 210.The client device interface 360 transmits communications to the mobile device 210 based on the communication mode of the mobile device 210.In one embodiment, the client device interface 360 determines the communication mode of the mobile device 210.In this embodiment, the client device interface 360 may transmit a communication mode request to the mobile device 210.In response to this request, the mobile device 210, via the social networking system interface 300 and the communications mode switch 215, transmits the communication mode to the social networking system 220.The client device interface 360 may query the communication mode of the mobile device 210 periodically (for instance, once every 5 minutes), or may query the communication mode of the mobile device 210 before the client device interface 360 receives a communication for transmission to the mobile device 210 from one or more social networking system components 220.Likewise, as discussed above, the social networking system 220 may receive the communication mode from the mobile device 210 without requesting the communication mode.", "In one embodiment, received the communication modes of the mobile device 210 are stored in the communication mode module 350.In this embodiment, the client device interface 360 determines the communication mode of the mobile device 210 by retrieving the mobile device's stored communication mode from the communication mode module 350.The notifications module 355 produces communications (“notifications”) for transmission to the mobile device 210 via the client device interface 360.Notifications include information about social networking system activity related to the user of the mobile device 210.For example, a notification may inform a user that the user received a message through the social networking system 220, such as an email message or an instant message; that the another user posted on the user's wall or profile; that the user was invited to an event or invited to join a group; that the user was tagged in a content item, such as a picture or video; that another user commented on, liked or otherwise endorsed the user's wall posts, messages, or content items; that the user was invited to participate in or download an application; that another user requested to be friends with the user; that the user was tagged in or was asked a question by another user; or any other activity related to the user.", "The user profile module 365 includes the functionality to display a user profile page for social networking system users including objects and information entered by or related to the user.", "The user profile may display biographical information about the user, user preference information, content items, or any other information related to or entered by the user.", "The user profile may include a “wall,” which is a page or section within the user profile dedicated to displaying user activity and messages.", "In one embodiment, the user can enter information for display via the mobile device 210.For example, the user may post a message to the user's profile wall using the mobile device 210.Likewise, the user may take a photograph with the mobile device 210 and may upload the photograph to the user's wall.", "In another example, the user may use a mobile device's location-detection functionality to determine the mobile device's location, and may post this information to the user's profile.", "Information entered in, received at or displayed on a user's profile is stored in user data storage module 385.Likewise, photographs displayed on a user's profile or otherwise uploaded to the social networking system 220 are stored in photo data storage module 390.The talk module 370 provides users of the social networking system 220 with the functionality to make or receive phone/VOIP calls, to send or receive text/SMS messages, to send or receive instant messages, to send or receive emails, or any other form of communication through the social networking system 220.In addition, the talk module 370 manages the receipt and transmission of communications to and from a social networking system user.", "When a user receives a call or message through the social networking system 220, the talk module 370 may transmit the call or message to the mobile device 210 of the user through the client device interface 360.Likewise, when the user of the mobile device 210 transmits a call or a message through the social networking system 220, the talk module 370 receives the call or message via the client device interface 360 and routes the call or message to the intended recipient of the message.", "For example, the talk module 370 may receive an instant message from a first user, and may transmit the instant message to the mobile device 210 of the second user.", "If the second user responds with an email message to the first user, the mobile device 210 transmits the email to social networking system 220 and the talk module 370 routes the email to the first user.", "Information and data related to calls, messages and other communications received at or sent from the social networking system 220 may be stored in the message data storage module 385.The location module 375 receives and maintains location information from social networking system users.", "In one embodiment, a user transmits location information to the social networking system 220, and the location module 375 receives the location information from the client device interface 360.The location module 375 may display a user's location information on the user's profile page using the user profile module 365.For example, a user may check in to a restaurant using a mobile device 210 with location-detection functionality, and the location module 375 may display text indicating that the user checked in to the restaurant and the time that the user checked in to the restaurant.", "Location information is stored in location data storage module 395.The location module 375 may also receive location information from other social networking system users, and may provide all or a subset of this information to the user of the mobile device 210.In one embodiment, the social networking system 220 notifies (using, for example, notifications module 355) a first user of the mobile device 210 that a second user is nearby based on location information received for the first user.", "For example, if a first user checks in at a bar, and a second user checks in at an ice cream shop a block away, the social networking system 220 may notify each user of the location of each other.", "The user settings module 380 allows a user to adjust a number of social networking system parameters.", "In one embodiment, the user settings module 380 allows a user to customize the automatic transmission of communications in particular communication modes.", "For example, a user may specify particular communications for automatic transmission between the mobile device 210 and the social networking system 220 when the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode that otherwise would not be automatically transmitted.", "Likewise, a user may prevent particular communications from being automatically transmitted when the mobile device 210 is in the social mode that otherwise would be automatically transmitted.", "In one embodiment, the user settings module 380 allows a user to customize the automatic transmission of communications based on the type of communications and the users related to the communications.", "For example, a user may specify that email messages from family members are always automatically transmitted from the social networking system 220 to the mobile device 210 regardless of the communication mode of the mobile device 210.Likewise, a user may specify that location information indicating that a particular set of friends is nearby is always automatically transmitted to the mobile device 210.Alternatively, a user may specify that application data or messages from non-friends are never to be automatically transmitted to the mobile device 210.User settings may be stored in the user data storage module 385.In one embodiment, a user may not customize the automatic transmission of communications between a mobile device 210 and a social networking system 220.Social and Manual Modes When the mobile device 210 is in a first communication mode (referred to herein as the “social mode”), the social networking system 220 may transmit some or all communications (such as notifications and messages) to the mobile device 210 automatically, without the explicit authorization or request from the user of the mobile device 210.Similarly, when the mobile device 210 is in the social mode, the mobile device 210 may transmit some or all communications (such as photographs taken by the mobile device and location information) automatically to the social networking system 220 without the explicit authorization or request from the user of the mobile device 210.In the event that the mobile device 210 has communications to automatically transmit to the social networking system 220, but does not have access to the connecting network 200, the mobile device 210 may store the communications in a queue for when the connecting network 200 is available to the mobile device 210.When the mobile device 210 is in a second communication mode (referred to herein as the “manual mode”), the social networking system 220 may not transmit some or all communications to the mobile device 210 automatically, without the explicit authorization or request from the user of the mobile device.", "Similarly, when the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, the mobile device 210 may not transmit some or all communications automatically without the explicit authorization or request from the user of the mobile device 210.In the social mode, a social networking system 220 may automatically transmit all notifications to the mobile device 210.Likewise, in the manual mode, a social networking system 220 may transmit notifications to the mobile device 210 only at the explicit request of the user of the mobile device 210.In one embodiment, even if the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, the social networking system 220 may transmit a subset of notifications automatically.", "For example, if a mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, the social networking system 220 may still transmit notifications of messages sent to the user of the mobile device 210 from friends of the user, or the social networking system 220 may transmit notifications of events or calendar entries to the user.", "The transmission of calls and other messages (such as text/SMS messages, emails, instant messages, wall posts, and other messages) may vary based upon the communication mode of the mobile device 210.In the social mode, all calls and messages may be transmitted from the social networking system 220 to the mobile device 210.Alternatively, even in the social mode, some messages may not be transmitted by the social networking system 220.For example, instant messages may be transmitted by the social networking system 220 only if the mobile device is running an instant messaging application.", "In the manual mode, a social networking system 220 may transmit messages only at the explicit request of the user of the mobile device 210.For example, if a mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, email messages may be transmitted by the social networking system 220 to the mobile device 210 only if the user of the mobile device 210 launches an email application.", "In one embodiment, calls are not transmitted by the social networking system 220 to the mobile device 210 if the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode.", "In this embodiment, callers attempting to call the user of the mobile device 210 may instead be directed to the user's voicemail account.", "In one embodiment, even if the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, calls are still transmitted by the social networking system 220 to the mobile device 210.When the mobile device 210 is in the social mode, location information may be automatically transmitted to the social networking system 220.For example, a mobile device 210 with location-detection functionality in the social mode may automatically and continuously determine the location of the mobile device, may automatically check-in to locations or events, may automatically prompt a user to check-in to locations or events, and may automatically transmit location information and check-in information to the social networking system 220.In addition, when the mobile device 210 is in the social mode, the social networking system 220 may automatically transmit notifications of nearby users.", "For example, if a mobile device 210 is in the social mode, the social networking system 220 may transmit the names and locations of all friends of the user of the mobile 210 based on the location information received from the mobile device 210.In one embodiment, if the mobile device 210 is in the social mode, the social networking system 220 may automatically transmit information to the mobile device 210 about nearby businesses, events or other entities.", "For example, if a mobile device 210 is in the social mode, the social networking system 220 may transmit information to the mobile device 210 including special offers or advertisements from nearby business.", "Alternatively, the social networking system 220 may transmit information to the mobile device 210 about nearby events.", "When the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, location information may not be automatically transmitted to the social networking system 220.In one embodiment, a user of a mobile device 210 in manual mode must explicitly enable the mobile device's location-detection functionality to determine the location of the mobile device 210.Likewise, in one embodiment, the user of the mobile device 210 must explicitly check-in to a location or entity.", "In one embodiment, even if the mobile device 210 is in manual mode, if the user of the mobile device 210 explicitly determines the location of the mobile device 210, the mobile device 210 automatically checks-in to an applicable location or entity.", "When the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, the user of the mobile device 210 may be required to explicitly request location information from the social networking system 220 prior to receiving transmitted location information from the social networking system 220.For example, the user of a mobile device 210 in manual mode may be required to request the location of nearby friends or request special offers from nearby restaurants prior to the social networking system 220 transmitted such information to the mobile device 210.In one embodiment, if the mobile device 210 is in manual mode and the user of the mobile device 210 manually transmits location information to the social networking system 220, the social networking system 220 does not use the location information for any purpose outside of what the user of the mobile device 210 manually permits.", "In the social mode, photographs or videos may be automatically transmitted to the social networking system 220 after they are taken by the mobile device 210 without the explicit authorization or request of the user of the mobile device 210.In one embodiment, if the mobile device 210 is in the social mode, the photographs or videos transmitted to the social networking system are displayed on the wall or profile of the user of the mobile device 210.Alternatively, photographs and videos transmitted from the mobile device 210 to the social networking system 220 in the social mode may be displayed only to the user of the mobile device 210.In such an embodiment, the user may subsequently review, edit, and/or display the photographs and videos on the user's wall, profile, or any other location.", "In the manual mode, photographs or videos taken by the mobile device 210 are transmitted to the social networking system 220 only with the explicit authorization by or request of the user of the mobile device 210.For example, if a user takes a photograph with a mobile device 210, the photograph will only be transmitted to the social networking system 220 if the user selects an option to transmit the photograph to the social networking system 220.Alternatively, even in the manual mode, photographs and videos may be automatically transmitted to the social networking system 220 but not displayed on the social networking system 220 to any users but the user of the mobile device 210.For example, if a user records a video with a mobile device 210, the video may be automatically transmitted to the social networking system 220 even if the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, but only the user has the ability to view the video.", "When the mobile device 210 is in the social mode, sensor information may be transmitted to the social networking system 220 automatically, without the explicit authorization or request of the user of the mobile device 210.For example, a mobile device 210 may automatically transmit to a social networking system 220 altitude information from an altimeter, speed or velocity information from a speedometer, acceleration or position information from an accelerometer, optical information from an optical sensor, proximity information from a proximity sensor, mood information from a mood sensor, or any other sensor-related information.", "Likewise, when the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, sensor information may be transmitted to the social networking system 220 only with the explicit authorization or at the request of the user of the mobile device 210.When the mobile device 210 is in the social mode, information related to applications or application use may be automatically transmitted to the social networking system 220, without the explicit authorization or request of the user of the mobile device 210.For example, for a media-player application, information related to the media currently being played on a user's mobile device 210 using the media-player application may be transmitted to the social networking system automatically.", "In one embodiment, information related to applications or application use transmitted to the social networking system 220 is displayed on the wall or profile of the user of the mobile device 210.Likewise, in the social mode, information related to applications or application use may be automatically transmitted from the social networking system 220 to the mobile device 210.For example, a user of a mobile device 210 in social mode may be able to receive the titles of media being played in a media-player application by friends of the user.", "In one embodiment, when the mobile device 210 is in the manual mode, information related to applications or application use is not automatically transmitted between the mobile device 210 and the social networking system 220.Alternatively, even in the manual mode, some information related to applications or application use is automatically transmitted between the mobile device 210 and the social networking system 220.For example, if a user of a mobile device 210 is playing a game with a friend, a user may automatically be notified that it is the user's turn in the game, regardless of whether the mobile device 210 of the user is in the manual mode.", "In one embodiment, the mobile device 210 has three communication modes.", "In one embodiment, the mobile device 210 has a social mode, a manual mode, and a third communication mode.", "In this embodiment, the third communication mode may completely restrict communications from being transmitted between the social networking system 220 and the mobile device 210.Alternatively, the third communication mode may completely allow all communications to be automatically transmitted between the social networking system 220 and the mobile device 210.In one embodiment, the third communication mode may allow more communications to be automatically transmitted between the mobile device 210 and the social networking system 220 than the manual mode but fewer than the social mode.", "In one embodiment, a user's mobile device communication mode may be displayed to other users of the social networking system 220.Displaying a device's communication mode may include displaying which types of communications will be automatically transmitted to the user of the mobile device 210.In addition, a mobile device's communication mode may be displayed within a social networking system 220 interface.", "For example, if a mobile device 210 is set to allow all phone calls and text/SMS messages to be automatically transmitted to the mobile device 210, the profile page of the user of the mobile device 210 may display these channels of communication to a viewer of the profile page.", "Alternatively, if a user of the social networking system 220 attempts to contact the user of the mobile device 210 using a communication channel not set to be automatically transmitted to the mobile device 210, the social networking system 220 may prompt the user to contact the user of the mobile device 210 using a communication channel that is set to be automatically transmitted to the mobile device 210.FIG.", "4 is a flow chart illustrating a process for managing the transmission of communications between a social networking system and a mobile device, according to one embodiment.", "A communication for transmission between a mobile device and a social networking system is determined 400.As discussed above, the communication may be any information transmitted between the mobile device and the social networking system.", "A communication switch position is determined 410.For example, the communication switch may be in one of two or more positions.", "The communication mode of the mobile device is determined 420 based on the communication switch position.", "For example, a first communication mode may correspond to a first communication switch position, and a second communication mode may correspond to a second communication switch position.", "If the mobile device is in a social communication mode, allow 430 the automatic transmission of the determined communication between the mobile device and the social networking system.", "If the mobile device is in a manual communication mode, require 440 authorization for the transmission of the determined communication between the mobile device and the social networking system.", "In one embodiment, authorization for the transmission of communications includes the selection of a transmission option by the user of the mobile device within the mobile device interface.", "SUMMARY The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.", "Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.", "Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of the invention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information.", "These algorithmic descriptions and representations are commonly used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively to others skilled in the art.", "These operations, while described functionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to be implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits, microcode, or the like.", "Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, without loss of generality.", "The described operations and their associated modules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or any combinations thereof.", "Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein may be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in combination with other devices.", "In one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code, which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or all of the steps, operations, or processes described.", "Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein.", "This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer.", "Such a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus.", "Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.", "Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that is produced by a computing process described herein.", "Such a product may comprise information resulting from a computing process, where the information is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer program product or other data combination described herein.", "Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.", "It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon.", "Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15874887
[ [ "FLASH MEMORY APPARATUS AND STORAGE MANAGEMENT METHOD FOR FLASH MEMORY", "A method used for a flash memory module having a plurality of storage blocks each can be used as a first block or a second block includes: classifying data into a plurality of groups of data; respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks; reading out the groups of data from the first blocks; executing error correction and de-randomize operation upon read out data to generate de-randomized data; executing randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data; performing error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code; and storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block." ], [ "1.A flash memory apparatus, comprising: a flash memory module comprising a plurality of storage blocks, each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block; and a flash memory controller, configured for classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks, a cell of the first blocks being arranged for storing data of 1 bit; wherein the flash memory controller is further arranged for reading out the groups of data from the first blocks, executing error correction and de-randomize operation upon read out data to generate de-randomized data, executing randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data, performing error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code, storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block, a cell of the second block being arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "2.The flash memory apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of 3 bits, and the second block is a triple-level-cell block, and the flash memory controller is arranged for classifying the data to be programmed into three groups of data to respectively program the three groups of data into three single-level-cell blocks.", "3.The flash memory apparatus of claim 1, wherein the flash memory controller comprises: a decoding circuit, configured for executing the error correction upon the read out data; a de-randomizer, coupled to the decoding circuit, configured for performing the de-randomize operation upon the readout data to generate the de-randomized data; a randomizer, coupled to the de-randomizer, configured for executing the randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to the set of seeds to generate the randomized data; and an encoding circuit, coupled to the randomizer, configured for performing the error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate the second corresponding parity check code.", "4.A flash memory storage management method used for a flash memory module having a plurality of storage blocks, each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block, and the flash memory storage management method comprises: classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data; respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks, a cell of the first blocks being arranged for storing data of 1 bit; reading out the groups of data from the first blocks; executing error correction and de-randomize operation upon read out data to generate de-randomized data; executing randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data; performing error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code; and storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block, a cell of the second block being arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of 3 bits, and the second block is a triple-level-cell block, and the step of classifying the data to be programmed into the plurality of groups of data comprises: classifying the data to be programmed into three groups of data to respectively program the three groups of data into three single-level-cell blocks.", "6.A flash memory controller connected to a flash memory module having a plurality of storage blocks, each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block, the flash memory controller being configured for classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks, and the flash memory controller comprises: a decoding circuit, configured for executing error correction upon read out data which is read out by the flash memory controller from the first blocks; a de-randomizer, coupled to the decoding circuit, configured for performing a de-randomize operation upon the read out data to generate de-randomized data; a randomizer, coupled to the de-randomizer, configured for executing a randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data; and an encoding circuit, coupled to the randomizer, configured for performing the error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code; wherein the flash memory controller is arranged for storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block, a cell of the first blocks being arranged for storing data of 1 bit, a cell of the second block being arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "7.The flash memory controller of claim 6, wherein the cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of 3 bits, and the second block is a triple-level-cell block, and the flash memory controller is arranged for classifying the data to be programmed into three groups of data to respectively program the three groups of data into three single-level-cell blocks." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Therefore one of the objectives of the invention is to provide a flash memory apparatus and corresponding flash memory storage management method for adopting an RAID-like (Redundant Array of Independent Disks-like) error code encoding operation, to reduce error rates, reduce number of necessary parity check codes, and to appropriately program the necessary parity check codes into corresponding memory locations of data pages, so as to be able to use the parity check codes to perform error correction when program failure, word line open, and word line short occurs, to solve the problems mentioned above.", "In addition, the invention is also to provide a process which classifies data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executes error code encoding to generate a corresponding parity check code to program the groups of data and the corresponding parity check code to a plurality of first blocks and then reads out and reprograms data read from the plurality of first blocks into at least one second block after completing program of the plurality of first blocks.", "According to embodiments of the invention, a flash memory apparatus is disclosed.", "The flash memory apparatus comprises a flash memory module and a flash memory controller.", "The flash memory module comprises a plurality of storage blocks, and each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block.", "The flash memory controller is configured for classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks, reading out the groups of data from the first blocks, executing error correction and de-randomize operation upon read out data to generate de-randomized data, executing randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data, performing error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code, and storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block.", "A cell of the first blocks is arranged for storing data of 1 bit, and a cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "According to the embodiments, a flash memory storage management method used for a flash memory module having a plurality of storage blocks is disclosed.", "Each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block, and the flash memory storage management method comprises: classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data; respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks wherein a cell of the first blocks is arranged for storing data of 1 bit; reading out the groups of data from the first blocks; executing error correction and de-randomize operation upon read out data to generate de-randomized data; executing randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data; performing error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code; and storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block wherein a cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "According to the embodiments, a flash memory controller connected to a flash memory module having a plurality of storage blocks is disclosed.", "Each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block.", "The flash memory controller is configured for classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks.", "The flash memory controller comprises a decoding circuit, a de-randomizer, a randomizer, and an encoding circuit.", "The decoding circuit is configured for executing error correction upon read out data which is read out by the flash memory controller from the first blocks.", "The de-randomizer is coupled to the decoding circuit and configured for performing a de-randomize operation upon the read out data to generate de-randomized data.", "The randomizer is coupled to the de-randomizer and configured for executing a randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data.", "The encoding circuit is coupled to the randomizer and configured for performing the error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code.", "The flash memory controller is arranged for storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block.", "A cell of the first blocks is arranged for storing data of 1 bit, and a cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation in part application and claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/497,185, filed on Apr.", "25, 2017, which claims the benefits of U.S. provisional application Ser.", "No.", "62/328,025 filed on Apr.", "27, 2016, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The invention relates to a flash memory apparatus, and more particularly to a flash memory apparatus and a corresponding storage management method for performing RAID-like (Redundant Array of Independent Disks-like) error correction code (ECC) encoding operation.", "2.Description of the Prior Art Generally speaking, when performing data programming to program data into a single-level-cell (SLC) block or a multiple-level-cell (MLC) block, a conventional flash memory controller is usually arranged to program corresponding parity check codes of other data pages of a word line of a data block into the last data page of the word line, so that the conventional controller can use the corresponding parity check codes to correct errors with a certain degree of error correction capability when program failure, word line open, or word line short occurs.", "However, the utilization rate of a flash memory space inevitably becomes lower.", "For example, if one word line includes eight data pages, the conventional controller is arranged to program data into seven data pages and program parity check codes into one data page.", "That is, it is necessary to use one eighth of memory space of a data block for storing parity check codes.", "The one eighth of memory space cannot be used to store data.", "This poor user experience is usually cannot be accepted for users.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore one of the objectives of the invention is to provide a flash memory apparatus and corresponding flash memory storage management method for adopting an RAID-like (Redundant Array of Independent Disks-like) error code encoding operation, to reduce error rates, reduce number of necessary parity check codes, and to appropriately program the necessary parity check codes into corresponding memory locations of data pages, so as to be able to use the parity check codes to perform error correction when program failure, word line open, and word line short occurs, to solve the problems mentioned above.", "In addition, the invention is also to provide a process which classifies data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executes error code encoding to generate a corresponding parity check code to program the groups of data and the corresponding parity check code to a plurality of first blocks and then reads out and reprograms data read from the plurality of first blocks into at least one second block after completing program of the plurality of first blocks.", "According to embodiments of the invention, a flash memory apparatus is disclosed.", "The flash memory apparatus comprises a flash memory module and a flash memory controller.", "The flash memory module comprises a plurality of storage blocks, and each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block.", "The flash memory controller is configured for classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks, reading out the groups of data from the first blocks, executing error correction and de-randomize operation upon read out data to generate de-randomized data, executing randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data, performing error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code, and storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block.", "A cell of the first blocks is arranged for storing data of 1 bit, and a cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "According to the embodiments, a flash memory storage management method used for a flash memory module having a plurality of storage blocks is disclosed.", "Each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block, and the flash memory storage management method comprises: classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data; respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks wherein a cell of the first blocks is arranged for storing data of 1 bit; reading out the groups of data from the first blocks; executing error correction and de-randomize operation upon read out data to generate de-randomized data; executing randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data; performing error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code; and storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block wherein a cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "According to the embodiments, a flash memory controller connected to a flash memory module having a plurality of storage blocks is disclosed.", "Each storage block can be used as a first block or a second block.", "The flash memory controller is configured for classifying data to be programmed into a plurality of groups of data, respectively executing error code encoding to generate a first corresponding parity check code to store the groups of data and the first corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as first blocks.", "The flash memory controller comprises a decoding circuit, a de-randomizer, a randomizer, and an encoding circuit.", "The decoding circuit is configured for executing error correction upon read out data which is read out by the flash memory controller from the first blocks.", "The de-randomizer is coupled to the decoding circuit and configured for performing a de-randomize operation upon the read out data to generate de-randomized data.", "The randomizer is coupled to the de-randomizer and configured for executing a randomize operation upon the de-randomized data according to a set of seeds to generate randomized data.", "The encoding circuit is coupled to the randomizer and configured for performing the error code encoding upon the randomized data to generate a second corresponding parity check code.", "The flash memory controller is arranged for storing the randomized data and the second corresponding parity check code into the flash memory module as the second block.", "A cell of the first blocks is arranged for storing data of 1 bit, and a cell of the second block is arranged for storing data of at least 2 bits.", "These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a device diagram of a flash memory apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating one SLC programming executed by the flash memory controller of FIG.", "1 to program a particular group of data into an SLC block of flash memory module according to a first embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a diagram illustrating data programming from one SLC block within flash memory module to the TLC block via the internal copy operation.", "FIG.", "4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of flash memory controller in FIG.", "1 programming/writing three groups of data into multiple SLC blocks within flash memory module and moving the data into the TLC block via the internal copy operation to form a super block.", "FIG.", "5 is a diagram illustrating one SLC programming executed by the flash memory controller of FIG.", "1 to program a particular group of data into an SLC block of flash memory module according to a second embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of flash memory controller in FIG.", "1 programming/writing three groups of data into multiple SLC blocks within flash memory module and moving the data into the TLC block via the internal copy operation to form a super block.", "FIG.", "7 is a timing diagram showing a command sequence sent from the flash memory controller to the flash memory module according to a first command sequence embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a timing diagram showing a command sequence sent from the flash memory controller to the flash memory module according to a second command sequence embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "9 is a timing diagram showing a command sequence sent from the flash memory controller to the flash memory module according to a third command sequence embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "10 is a device diagram of the flash memory apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a diagram of a 3D NAND-type flash memory.", "FIG.", "12 is a schematic diagram illustrating floating gate transistors.", "FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrating multiple word line sets in one block.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Please refer to FIG.", "1, which is a device diagram of a flash memory apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the invention.", "The flash memory apparatus 100 comprises a flash memory module 105 and a flash memory controller 110.The flash memory module 105 is a flash memory module having a two-dimensional plane structure; however, this is not meant to be a limitation of the invention.", "The flash memory module 105 comprises multiple flash memory chips (not shown in FIG.", "1) and each flash memory chip includes multiple storage blocks wherein the storage block(s) may be used as first block(s) or second block(s).", "A cell/unit of a first block is arranged for storing data of 1 bit (i.e.", "two states of one bit), and a cell/unit of a second block is arranged for storing data of N bits, i.e., 2N states, wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than 1.In one embodiment, the first block maybe used as a single-level-cell (SLC) block, and the second block may be used as a multiple-level-cell block.", "The multiple-level-cell block for example includes units of a multi-level cell (MLC) block which can be used for storing data of 2 bits (i.e.", "4 states), units of a triple-level cell (TLC) block which can be used for storing data of 3 bits (i.e.", "8 states), and/or units of a quad-level cell (QLC) block which can be used for storing data of 4 bits (16 states), and so on.", "Typically, the memory cells in the flash memory module 105 have the same or similar physical structure.", "The memory cells can be arranged as SLC, MLC, or TLC blocks under the control of the flash memory controller 110.The following descriptions mainly illustrate the SLC, MLC, or TLC blocks for brevity.", "Please note that the flash memory controller 110 can arrange a part of the memory cells in a block as SLC cells and a part of the memory cells in the same block as MLC cells (or TLC cells).", "It is not a limitation to arrange all cells of a block as the same cell (e.g.", "all SLC cells).", "The flash memory controller 110 can be arranged to employ various kinds of programming schemes to control and program a storage block as the first block (e.g.", "so called SLC block) having cells each for storing data of two states of one bit or as the second block (e.g.", "so called MLC block or TLC block) having cells each for storing data of 2N states of N bits.", "Corresponding embodiments are detailed in the following paragraphs.", "Refer to FIG.", "7.FIG.", "7 is a timing diagram showing a command sequence sent from the flash memory controller 110 to the flash memory module 105 according to a first command sequence embodiment of the invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, when the flash memory controller 110 determines to control one or more blocks within flash memory module 105 as first blocks(s) such as SLC block(s) having cells for storing data of two states of 1 bit (i.e.", "bits ‘0’ and ‘1’), the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to send a SET FEATURES ('EFh') command sequence to the module 105.For example, the flash memory controller 110 may sequentially send the SET FEATURES command ‘EFh’, the address ‘ADDR’ of a control register within a chip/die of the module 105, and the values to be written into the control register ‘01h’, ‘00h’, ‘00h’, ‘00h’ (total 32 bytes but not limited), so as to enable SLC programming operation; the address ‘ADDR’ of the control register may be ‘91h’ (but not limited).", "That is, after this, such chip/die equivalently enters an SLC mode/state, and the flash memory controller 110 can treat one or more blocks of such chip/die as SLC block(s) and perform SLC programming upon such SLC block(s) if such chip/die does not exit the SLC mode/state.", "Alternatively, when the flash memory controller 110 determines to control one or more blocks within flash memory module 105 as second blocks(s) such as multi-level-cell (MLC) block(s) having cells for storing data of 4 states of 2 bits (i.e.", "bits ‘00’, ‘01’, ‘10’, ‘11’), the flash memory controller 110 is also arranged to send the SET FEATURES (‘EFh’) command sequence to the module 105.For example, the flash memory controller 110 may sequentially send the SET FEATURES command ‘EFh’, the address of the control register within the chip/die of the module 105, the values to be written into the control register ‘02h’, ‘00h’, ‘00h’, ‘00h’ (total 32 bytes but not limited), so as to enable MLC programming operation.", "That is, after this, such chip/die equivalently enters an MLC mode/state, and the flash memory controller 110 can treat one or more blocks of such chip/die as MLC block(s) and perform MLC programming upon such MLC block(s) if such chip/die does not exit the MLC mode/state.", "Alternatively, when the flash memory controller 110 determines to control one or more blocks within flash memory module 105 as second blocks(s) such as TLC block(s) having cells for storing data of 23 states of 3 bits (i.e.", "bits ‘000’, ‘001’, ‘010’, ‘011’, ‘100’, ‘101’, ‘110’, and ‘111’), the flash memory controller 110 is also arranged to send the SET FEATURES (‘EFh’) command sequence to the module 105.For example, the flash memory controller 110 may sequentially send the SET FEATURES command ‘EFh’, the address of the control register within the chip/die of the module 105, the values to be written into the control register ‘04h’, ‘00h’, ‘00h’, ‘00h’ (total 32 bytes but not limited), so as to enable TLC programming operation.", "That is, after this, such chip/die equivalently enters a TLC mode/state, and the flash memory controller 110 can treat one or more blocks of such chip/die as TLC block(s) and perform TLC programming upon such MLC block(s) if such chip/die does not exit the TLC mode/state.", "Refer to FIG.", "8.FIG.", "8 is a timing diagram showing a command sequence sent from the flash memory controller 110 to the flash memory module 105 according to a second command sequence embodiment of the invention.", "The default setting is that the flash memory controller 110 treats a block as the second block (i.e.", "the multiple-level-cell block) such as a TLC block and programs data into such TLC block.", "In this situation, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to sequentially send the start of programming command ‘80h’ (8 bytes), information of the address to be programed which is indicated by C1, C2, R1, R2, R3 (total 40 bytes but not limited), data to be programed ‘W-Data’, and the end of programming command ‘10h’ (8 bytes).", "If receiving this kind of command sequence, the flash memory module 105 knows that such block is programmed as a TLC block, e.g.", "the blocks 1052.Alternatively, when the flash memory controller 110 determines to use a block within flash memory module 105 as a first block such as an SLC block, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to send a specific command/prefix such as ‘A2h’ (8 bytes) before sending the start of programming command ‘80h’.", "That is, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to sequentially send the specific command/prefix ‘A2h’, the start of programming command ‘80h’ (8 bytes), information of the address to be programed which is indicated by C1, C2, R1, R2, R3 (total 40 bytes but not limited) , data to be programed ‘W-Data’, and the end of programming command ‘10h’ (8 bytes).", "If receiving this kind of command sequence, the flash memory module 105 knows that such block is programmed as an SLC block, e.g.", "the blocks 1051A, 1051B, and 1051C.", "In other words, in this embodiment, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to further send the specific command ‘A2h’ each time before sending the start of programming command ‘80h’ to notify the module 105 to program a block which is used as the SLC block.", "The flash memory controller 110 does not send the specific command ‘A2h’ if the controller 110 is arranged to notify the module 105 to program a block which is used as the TLC block.", "In addition, it should be noted that the specific command ‘A2h’ is similarly used in reading a block used as the SLC block and/or erasing the SLC block.", "In addition, it should be noted that in other embodiments the specific command/prefix ‘A2h’ may be placed in the middle between ‘80h’ and ‘10h’ to notify the module 105 of a block will be programmed as an SLC block.", "Refer to FIG.", "9.FIG.", "9 is a timing diagram showing a command sequence sent from the flash memory controller 110 to the flash memory module 105 according to a third command sequence embodiment of the invention.", "The default setting is that the flash memory controller 110 treats a block as the second block (i.e.", "the multiple-level-cell block) such as a TLC block and programs data into such TLC block.", "The flash memory controller 110 can be arranged to send a specific command/prefix ‘DAh’ to enable SLC mode programming of a block and send another command/prefix ‘DFh’ to disable SLC mode programming of a block.", "The command/prefix ‘DAh’ can be placed/added in the front of an erase command, a read command, or a programming command, and the command/prefix ‘DFh’ can be placed/added in the front of an erase command, a read command, or a programming command.", "For example, when the flash memory controller 110 determines to use a block within flash memory module 105 as a first block such as an SLC block as well as performs programming, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to sequentially send the specific command/prefix ‘DAh’ , the start of programming command ‘80h’ (8 bytes), information of the address to be programed which is indicated by R1-R5 (total 40 bytes but not limited), the data to be programed ‘W-Data’, and the end of programming command ‘10h’ (8 bytes).", "After this, the flash memory module 105 equivalently enters an SLC mode, and the controller 110 treats block(s) of flash memory module 105 as SLC block(s) and performs SLC programming upon such blocks if the module 105 does not exit the SLC mode.", "Additionally, for example, the flash memory controller 110 can be arranged to perform a block erase operation with SLC mode enable operation by sequentially sending the specific command/prefix ‘DAh’, the start of erase command ‘60h’, information of the address to be erased programed which is indicated by R1-R3, and the end of erase command ‘D0h’.", "After this erase operation, the flash memory module 105 equivalently enters the SLC mode, and the controller 110 treats block(s) of flash memory module 105 as SLC block(s) and performs SLC programming upon such blocks if the module 105 does not exit the SLC mode.", "Further, for example, the flash memory controller 110 can be arranged to perform an SLC page read operation by sequentially sending the specific command/prefix ‘DAh’, the start of read command ‘00h’, information of the address to be read which is indicated by C1, C2, R1-R3, and the end of read command ‘30h’.", "Alternatively, when the flash memory controller 110 determines to use block(s) within flash memory module 105 as second block(s) such as TLC block(s), the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to send the command/prefix ‘DFh’ to disable SLC programming.", "For example, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to sequentially send the specific command/prefix ‘DFh’, the start of programming command ‘80h’ (8 bytes), information of the address to be programed which is indicated by R1-R5 (total 40 bytes but not limited), and the end of programming command ‘10h’ (8 bytes).", "After this, the flash memory module 105 equivalently enters a TLC mode, and the controller 110 treats block(s) of flash memory module 105 as TLC block(s) and performs TLC programming upon such blocks if the module 105 does not exit the TLC mode.", "Additionally, for example, the flash memory controller 110 can be arranged to perform a block erase operation with TLC mode enable operation by sequentially sending the specific command/prefix ‘DFh’, the start of erase command ‘60h’, information of the address to be erased programed which is indicated by R1-R3, and the end of erase command ‘D0h’.", "After this erase operation, the flash memory module 105 equivalently enters the TLC mode, and the controller 110 treats block(s) of flash memory module 105 as TLC block(s) and performs SLC programming upon such blocks if the module 105 does not exit the TLC mode.", "Further, for example, the flash memory controller 110 can be arranged to perform a TLC page read operation by sequentially sending the specific command/prefix ‘DFh’, the start of read command ‘00h’, information of the address to be read which is indicated by C1, C2, R1-R3, and the end of read command ‘30h’.", "The flash memory controller 110 is connected to the flash memory module 105 via a plurality of channels.", "The flash memory controller 110 can use the different channels to simultaneously program data into different flash memory chips to improve the efficiency of data programming.", "The flash memory controller 110 includes an error correction code (ECC) encoding circuit 1101 and a parity check code buffer 1102.The ECC encoding circuit 1101 is arranged to perform ECC encoding operation upon data.", "For example, in the embodiments, the ECC encoding operation comprises Reed-Solomon (RS) codes encoding operation and/or exclusive-OR (XOR) encoding operation for generating corresponding parity check codes respectively.", "The parity check code buffer 1102 is used for temporarily storing the generated corresponding parity check codes.", "The flash memory controller 110 is arranged for programming data into different flash memory chips by employing an RAID-like (Redundant Array of Independent Disks-like) memory management mechanism to reduce data error rate and referring to storage locations (storage locations of SLC block(s) and storage locations of TLC block(s)) of parity check codes generated by different encoding operations when programming data into SLC block (s) so that data errors can be corrected when programming data into SLC block (s) and also can be corrected when the flash memory module 105 performs an internal copy operation to copy and move data from SLC block(s) to a TLC block.", "In practice, in order to improve the efficiency of data programming and reduce the data error rate, the flash memory module 105 is designed to include multiple channels (for example two channels in this embodiment but is not limited).", "When a channel is used by the controller 110 to program a certain data page, the controller 110 can use another channel to program another data page without waiting for the former channel.", "Each channel corresponds to respective sequencer in the controller 110 and corresponds to multiple flash memory chips (for example two chips in this embodiment but is not limited).", "Thus, one channel can be to perform data programming simultaneously for different data pages of multiple flash memory chips without waiting for completion of one chip.", "In addition, each flash memory chip includes a folded design including two different planes, and different data pages of two blocks respectively located on the two different planes can be programmed simultaneously without waiting for completion of data programming of one block when programming data into one flash memory chip.", "One super block of the flash memory module 105 is composed by multiple data pages of multiple flash memory chips of multiple channels.", "The flash memory controller 110 is arranged to program data by super blocks.", "The flash memory controller 110 programs data to SLC blocks within the flash memory module 105, and the programmed data are buffered by the SLC blocks.", "Then, the programmed data is copied and programmed to a TLC block from the SLC blocks.", "It should be noted that in other embodiments each flash memory chip may not comprise the folded design, and one data page of one block is programmed when programming data into one flash memory chip.", "It is required to wait for some times for programming data to other data pages.", "For the flow of data programming, data is programmed by the flash memory controller 110 to multiple SLC blocks 1051A-1051C, and then the programmed data is moved from the SLC blocks 1051A-1051C to the multiple-level-cell block 1052 such as the TLC block including TLC units for storing information of 23 states of 3 bits in this embodiment; the programed data is moved into the buffer 1053 and then is moved from the buffer 1053 to the multiple-level-cell block 1052 such as TLC block, and commands of the data move operations can be issued by the flash memory controller 110.That is, data of the three SLC blocks 1051A-1051C is programmed into one TLC block 1052.To perform error correction protection for data programming of SLC blocks 1051A-1051C and data programming of the TLC block 1052, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged for classifying the data into three groups of data.", "It should be noted that the flash memory controller 110 is arranged for classifying the data into two groups of data if the multiple-level-cell block for example includes MLC units which can be used for storing data of 22 states of 2 bits.", "The flash memory controller 110 is arranged for classifying the data into four groups of data if the multiple-level-cell block for example includes QLC units which can be used for storing data of 24 states of 4 bits.", "That is, the units of multiple-level-cell block 1052 are used for storing information of 2N states of N bits wherein N is an integer which is equal to or greater than 2, and the number of SLC blocks is designed as N. The flash memory controller 110 is arranged to classify data to be programmed into N groups of data to respectively program the data into N SLC blocks.", "In this embodiment, after classifying the data as three groups of data, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to execute a first SLC program to program the first group of data into the first SLC block 1051A and use the ECC coding circuit 1101 to generate corresponding parity check codes and write the corresponding parity check codes into the first SLC block 1051A.", "In this way, the data program of the SLC block 1051A is completed.", "Then, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to execute the second SLC program to program the second group of data into the second SLC block 1051B and use the ECC coding circuit 1101 to generate corresponding parity check codes and write the corresponding parity check codes into the second SLC block 1051B.", "In this way, the data program of the SLC block 1051B is completed.", "The flash memory controller 110 then is arranged to execute the third SLC program to program the third group of data into the third SLC block 1051C and use the ECC coding circuit 1101 to generate corresponding parity check codes and write the corresponding parity check codes into the third SLC block 1051C.", "In this way, the data program of the third SLC block 1051C is completed.", "When the flash memory controller 110 performs SLC program to write a particular group of data into a particular SLC block or after programming the particular SLC block has been completed, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to detect whether there are data errors.", "If data errors exist, for example program fail, one word line open, and/or two word line short occurs when programming a particular SLC block, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged for correcting the data errors by using corresponding parity check codes generated by the ECC encoding circuit 1101 when programming the particular SLC block.", "When programming the above three groups of data into the three SLC blocks 1051A-1051C or programming a particular SLC block has been completed, the flash memory module 105 is arranged for performing internal copy operation by copying and moving the three groups of data from the three SLC blocks 1051A-1051C to the TLC block 1052 or copying and moving the particular group of data from the particular SLC block to the TLC block 1052 and then performing TLC programming to write the data into the TLC block 1052 (i.e.", "the above-mentioned super block) according to the order of the three groups of data.", "The TLC block 1052 is composed by data pages of word lines of different flash memory chips of different channels.", "A data page of a word line of the TLC block 1052 for example includes an upper page, a middle page, and a lower page.", "The internal copy operation of flash memory module 105 for example is used to program/write multiple data pages of the (N)th word line of an SLC block into multiple upper pages of a word line of the TLC block 1052, to program/write multiple data pages of the (N+1)th word line of the SLC block into multiple middle pages of the same word line of the TLC block 1052, and to program/write multiple data pages of the (N+2)th word line of the SLC block into multiple lower pages of the same word line of the TLC block 1052, sequentially.", "After all the three groups of data have been programed into the TLC block 1052, the program operation for the super block is completed.", "It should be noted that, to easily implement the internal copy operation, meet the requirement of randomizer seed rules of TLC block 1052, and reduce the data error rate according to the ECC encoding capability, the internal copy operation is arranged to move data from SLC blocks into locations of upper, middle, and lower pages of multiple word lines if the TLC block 1052 according to the order of the data, and the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to program/write the different groups of data and generated corresponding parity check codes into the SLC blocks 1051A-1051C according to the requirement of randomizer seed rules of TLC block 1052 and storage locations of parity check codes of ECC encoding.", "Thus, the ECC capability of ECC encoding circuit 1101 can be arranged to correct the errors which are resulted from program failure, one word line open and/or two word line short of an SLC block when programming the SLC block, and can be also arranged to correct the errors which are resulted from program failure, one word line open and/or two word line short of TLC block 1052 when programming the TLC block 1052.In addition, if the flash memory module 105 performs memory garbage collection, the flash memory controller 110 can externally read out and retrieve data from the SLC blocks 1051A-1051C and/or from the TLC block 1052 to re-perform ECC encoding to execute SLC programming again.", "In addition, if performing SLC programming to write data into an SLC block and shutdown occurs, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to read back data from the SLC block and re-encode and re-perform ECC encoding and SLC programming the read back data into another SLC block.", "In addition, if performing TLC programming to write data into the TLC block 1052 and shutdown occurs, the flash memory module 105 is arranged to discard data currently stored by the TLC block 1052 and perform the internal copy operation to copy and program corresponding data from the SLC blocks 1051A-1051C into TLC block 1052 Please refer to FIG.", "2, which is a diagram illustrating one SLC programming executed by the flash memory controller 110 of FIG.", "1 to program a particular group of data into an SLC block of flash memory module 105 according to a first embodiment of the invention.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 of flash memory controller 110 is arranged to perform RAID-like RS (Reed Solomon) encoding operation upon data to generate corresponding parity check codes, and the parity check code buffer 1102 is used for temporarily storing the generated parity check codes.", "The flash memory module 105 includes two channels and two flash memory chips in which two sets of blocks of each chip include two different planes.", "To improve the efficiency of data programming, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged for respectively programming/writing data via the two channels into two different blocks of the two flash memory chips within flash memory module 105.As shown in FIG.", "2, in this embodiment, one SLC block for example includes (128) word lines which are respectively represented by WL0-WL127.The SLC block can be composed by only one SLC block or one set of sub-blocks of the SLC block, and depends on different definitions of SLC block in different embodiments.", "In this embodiment, one SLC block is composed by a set of (128) word lines each for example including (8) data pages.", "For the first word line WL0 of the SLC block, the flash memory controller 110 programs/writes the data pages P1 and P2 into the flash memory chip CE0 via channel CH0 and folded planes PLN0 and PLN1, then programs/writes the data pages P3 and P4 into another flash memory chip CE1 via the same channel CH0 and folded planes PLN0 and PLN1, then programs/writes the data pages P5 and P6 into the flash memory chip CE0 via another channel CH1 and folded planes PLN0 and PLN1, and then programs/writes the data pages P7 and P8 into the flash memory chip CE1 via the channel CH1 and folded planes PLN0 and PLN1; other and so on.", "The flash memory controller 110 sequentially classifies every (M) word lines among the multiple word lines WL0-WL127 of an SLC block as one group of data wherein the number (M) is an integer which is equal to or greater than two.", "For example, M is equal to three.", "Word lines WL0-WL2 are classified into the first group of data.", "Word lines WL3-WL5 are classified into the second group of data.", "Word lines WL6-WL8 are classified into the third group of data.", "Word lines WL9-WL11 are classified into the fourth group of data, and other so on.", "Word lines WL120-WL122 are classified into a third group of data which is inversely counted, i.e.", "an antepenult group.", "Word lines WL123-WL125 are classified into a second group of data which is inversely counted, i.e.", "a penultimate group.", "Word lines WL126-WL127 are classified into the last/final group of data.", "The first, third, fifth groups of word lines and so on are odd groups of word lines, and the second, fourth, sixth groups of word lines and so on are even groups of word lines.", "When each time programming/writing one group of word line data (including data of three word lines), the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to use the ECC encoding circuit 1101 to execute ECC encoding upon the group of word line data to generate and output corresponding partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102 for buffering the partial parity check codes.", "For buffering the partial parity check codes, the parity check code buffer 1102 is arranged to store partial parity check codes corresponding to odd groups of word line data in a first buffer area 1102A and to store partial parity check codes corresponding to even groups of word line data in a second buffer area 1102B.", "For example, when programming/writing data pages P1-P24 of word lines WL0-WL2, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 performs ECC encoding upon data of the data pages P1-P24 and then outputs generated partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102 and buffer the generated partial parity check codes in the first buffer area 1102A.", "When programming/writing data pages P1-P24 of word lines WL3-WL5, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 performs ECC encoding upon data of the data pages P1-P24 and then outputs generated partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102 and buffer the generated partial parity check codes in the second buffer area 1102B.", "When programming/writing data pages P25-P48 of word lines WL6-WL8, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 performs ECC encoding upon data of the data pages P25-P48 and then outputs generated partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102 and buffer the generated partial parity check codes in the first buffer area 1102A.", "The ECC encoding operation and buffer operation are performed similarly for other data pages.", "When programming/writing data pages of word lines WL120-WL122, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 performs ECC encoding upon data of the data pages of word lines WL120-WL122 and then outputs generated partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102 and buffer the generated partial parity check codes in the first buffer area 1102A.", "When programming/writing the last group of word lines (WL123-WL125) among even groups of word lines, in addition to performing SLC programming and corresponding ECC encoding operation, the flash memory controller 110 is also arranged to read back partial parity check codes corresponding to all data of even groups of word lines data buffered by the second buffer area 1102B, and to write/program all parity check codes (all partial parity check codes) corresponding to even groups of word line data into data pages of the last word line WL125 of the last group of word lines among the even groups of word lines.", "For instance, the all partial parity check codes, i.e.", "RS parity check codes corresponding to data of even groups of word lines, are programmed to the last three data pages as marked by 205 on FIG.", "2.Additionally, in addition to performing SLC programming and corresponding ECC encoding operation, when programming the last word line WL127 of the last group among the odd groups of data, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to read back partial parity check codes corresponding to all odd groups of data, i.e.", "a portion of all parity check codes, from the first buffer area 1102A.", "The flash memory controller 110 then programs/writes all parity check codes corresponding to the odd groups of data into the data pages such as the last three data pages marked by 210 of the last word line WL127 of the last odd group of word lines, to store RS parity check codes corresponding to data of all the odd groups of word lines.", "After this, programming for one SLC block is completed.", "With respect to RS encoding operation, the parity check codes corresponding to data of the odd groups of word lines are stored/programed to the last data pages of the last word line WL127 of the last group among the odd groups of word lines.", "The parity check codes corresponding to data of the even groups of word lines are stored/programed to the last data pages of the last word line WL125 of the last group among the even groups of word lines.", "In addition, as shown by the embodiment of FIG.", "2, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 performs the ECC encoding operation such as an RS code encoding operation capable of correcting error(s) of any three data pages of one SLC block.", "For example, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 performs the ECC encoding operation upon data of the three word lines WL0-WL2 to generate corresponding partial parity check codes.", "If data errors result from three data pages, e.g.", "data pages P1, P9, and P17, of the same folded plane of the same chip of the same channel, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use the generated partial parity check codes to correct data errors of the three data pages.", "The flash memory controller 110 may detect program fail when programming/writing one SLC block.", "For example, if the controller 110 detects program fail of a data page such as P9, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use corresponding partial parity check codes to correct errors of the data page P9.The flash memory controller 110 may detect one word line open when programming/writing one SLC block.", "For example, if the controller 110 detects one word line open of a data page such as P9, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use the corresponding partial parity check codes to correct errors of the data page P9.The flash memory controller 110 may detect two word line short when programming/writing one SLC block.", "For example, if the controller 110 detects data errors of two data pages such as P9 and P17 resulting from two word line short of the two data pages, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use the corresponding partial parity check codes to correct errors of the two data pages P9 and P17.If the controller 110 detects data errors of two data pages such as P17 of word line WL2 and P1 of the word line WL3 resulting from two word line short of the two data pages, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use partial parity check codes of one group of word lines WL0-WL2 and partial parity check codes of another group of word lines WL3-WL5 to respectively correct data errors of page P17 of word line WL2 and page P1 of word line WL3.If the controller 110 detects data errors of two data pages such as P1 and P2 of word line WL0 resulting from two word line short of the two data pages, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use partial parity check codes of one group of word lines WL0-WL2 to respectively correct data errors of pages P1 and P2 of word line WL0.Therefore, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can correspondingly correct data page errors resulting from program fail, one word line open or two word line short when performing programming of one SLC block.", "Please refer to FIG.", "3, which is a diagram illustrating data programming from one SLC block within flash memory module 105 to the TLC block 1052 via the internal copy operation.", "As shown by FIG.", "3, data of a group of three word lines within one SLC block is programed to one word line within TLC block 1052, to correspondingly form a least important bit (LSB) portion, a central important bit (CSB) portion, and a most important bit (MSB) portion of one data page of the word line within TLC block 1052.For instance, data of word lines WL0-WL2 of the SLC block is respectively programed to the LSB portion, CSB portion, and MSB portion of word line WL0 of TLC block 1052.Data of word lines WL3-WL5 of the SLC block is respectively programed to the LSB portion, CSB portion, and MSB portion of word line WL1 of TLC block 1052.Data of word lines WL6-WL8 of the SLC block is respectively programed to the LSB portion, CSB portion, and MSB portion of word line WL2 of TLC block 1052.That is, the internal copy operation of flash memory module 105 is used to move and program data of one SLC block into partial word lines of the TLC block by the sequence of word lines of the SLC block.", "Please refer to FIG.", "4, which is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of flash memory controller 110 in FIG.", "1 programming/writing three groups of data into multiple SLC blocks 1051A-1051C within flash memory module 105 and moving the data into the TLC block via the internal copy operation to form a super block.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 is arranged to separate data into odd groups of word line data and even groups of word line data each time when performing programming of SLC block(s), and is arranged to respectively store generated parity check codes at the last three data pages of the last word line of the odd groups of word lines and the last three data pages of the last word line of the even groups of word lines.", "When module 105 performs programming of TLC block, as shown in FIG.", "4, the parity check codes corresponding to the first group among the odd groups of word lines are programed and stored to the last three data pages, marked by 401A, of the CSB portions of word line WL42 of the super block.", "The parity check codes corresponding to the first group among the even groups of word lines are programed and stored to the last three data pages, marked by 401B, of the MSB portions of word line WL41 of the super block.", "The parity check codes corresponding to the second group among the odd groups of word lines are programed and stored to the last three data pages (marked by 402A) of the LSB portions of word line WL85 of the super block.", "The parity check codes corresponding to the second group among the even groups of word lines are programed and stored to the last three data pages, marked by 402B, of the MSB portions of word line WL84 of the super block.", "The parity check codes corresponding to the third group among the odd groups of word lines are programed and stored to the last three data pages, marked by 403A, of the MSB portions of word line WL127 of the super block.", "The parity check codes corresponding to the third group among the even groups of word lines are programed and stored to the last three data pages, marked by 403B, of the LSB portions of word line WL127 of the super block.", "If detecting data errors resulting from two word line short and occurring at two data pages (marked by 404) of word lines WL0 and WL1 of the super block, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the data page of word line WL0 by using the parity check codes 401A stored at the three data pages of the CSB portions of word line WL42, and is also capable of correcting the errors occurring at the data page of word line WL1 by using the parity check codes 401B stored at the three data pages of the MSB portions of word line WL41.Similarly, if detecting data errors resulting from two word line short and occurring at two data pages (marked by 405) of word lines WL43 and WL44 of the super block, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the LSB and CSB portions of one data page of word line WL43 and MSB portion of one data page of word line WL44 (as marked by 405) by using the parity check codes 402A stored at the LSB portions of the last three data pages of word line WL85, and is also capable of correcting the errors occurring at the MSB portion of one data page of word line WL 43 and LSB and CSB portions of one data page of word line WL44 (as marked by 405) by using the parity check codes 402B stored at the CSB portions of the last three data pages of word line WL84.Similarly, if detecting data errors resulting from two word line short and occurring at two data pages (marked by 406) of word lines WL125 and WL126 of the TLC block, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the CSB and MSB portions of one data page of word line WL125 and MSB portion of one data page of word line WL126 (as marked by 406) by using the parity check codes 403A stored at the MSB portions of the last three data pages of word line WL127, and is also capable of correcting the errors occurring at the LSB portion of one data page of word line WL125 and CSB and MSB portions of one data page of word line WL126 (as marked by 406) by using the parity check codes 403B stored at the LSB portions of the last three data pages of word line WL127.If detecting data errors resulting from one word line open or program fail and occurring at any one data page of any one word line of the super block (i.e.", "errors occurring at any three consecutive subpages) , the flash memory module 105 is also capable of correcting errors occurring at any three consecutive subpages by using corresponding parity check codes.", "According to the storage management mechanism for using flash memory controller 110 to program/write three groups of data and corresponding parity check codes into SLC blocks 1051A-1051C within flash memory module 105, when the flash memory module 105 uses the internal copy operation to sequentially program/write the data from SLC blocks 1051A-1051C into the TLC block to form a super block, the flash memory module 105 can perform error correction by using the parity check codes stored at the SLC blocks 1051A-1051C if detecting the errors resulting from one word line open, two word line short or program fail.", "Please refer to FIG.", "5, which is a diagram illustrating one SLC programming executed by the flash memory controller 110 of FIG.", "1 to program a particular group of data into an SLC block of flash memory module 105 according to a second embodiment of the invention.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 of flash memory controller 110 is arranged to perform RAID-like XOR (exclusive-OR) encoding operation upon data to generate corresponding parity check codes, and the parity check code buffer 1102 is used for temporarily storing the generated parity check codes.", "In addition, the XOR operation of ECC encoding circuit 1101 includes three different encoding engines to respectively perform XOR operations upon different word line data of SLC block(s).", "The description is detailed in the following paragraphs.", "The flash memory module 105 includes two channels and two flash memory chips.", "To improve the efficiency of data programming, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged for respectively programming/writing data via the two channels into the two flash memory chips within flash memory module 105, to respectively program data pages of one SLC block into different flash memory chips.", "In this embodiment, an SLC block of one SLC block data programming executed by flash memory controller 110 for example includes (128) word lines which are respectively represented by WL0-WL127.Each word line includes/has eight data pages.", "For example, regarding word line WL0, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 programs/writes data pages P1 and P2 into flash memory chip CE0 by using the channel CH0 and planes PLN0 and PLN1, and then programs/writes data pages P3 and P4 into another flash memory chip CE1 by using the same channel CH0 and planes PLN0 and PLN1.The ECC encoding circuit 1101 then programs/writes data pages P5 and P6 into flash memory chip CE0 by using the channel CH1 and planes PLN0 and PLN1, and programs/writes data pages P7 and P8 into another flash memory chip CE1 by using the channel CH1 and planes PLN0 and PLN1; other and so on.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 of flash memory controller 110 sequentially classifies every (M) word lines among the multiple word lines WL0-WL127 of an SLC block into one group of word lines wherein the number (M) is an integer which is equal to or greater than two.", "For example, M is equal to three.", "For example, word lines WL0-WL2 are classified into the first group.", "Word lines WL3-WL5 are classified into the second group.", "Word lines WL6-WL8 are classified into the third group.", "Word lines WL9-WL11 are classified into the fourth group, and other so on.", "Word lines WL120-WL122 are classified into a third group which is inversely counted, i.e.", "an antepenult group.", "Word lines WL123-WL125 are classified into a second group which is inversely counted, i.e.", "a penultimate group.", "Word lines WL126-WL127 are classified into the final group (the last group).", "The first, third, fifth groups and so on are odd groups of word lines, and the second, fourth, sixth groups and so on are even groups of word lines.", "When each time programming/writing one group of word line data (including data of three word lines) , the flash memory controller 110 is arranged to use the ECC encoding circuit 1101 to execute/perform ECC encoding operation upon such group of word line data to generate and output corresponding partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102 for buffering the partial parity check codes.", "When each time programming/writing data to one group of three word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 is arranged for employing three different encoding engines to perform exclusive-OR (XOR) encoding operations upon the data to be programed and thus generate and output corresponding partial parity check codes into the parity check code buffer 1102 for buffering the partial parity check codes.", "The parity check code buffer 1102 is arranged for storing/buffering the partial parity check codes corresponding to the odd groups of word line data in a first buffer area, and for storing/buffering the partial parity check codes corresponding to the even groups of word line data in a second buffer area.", "For instance, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 includes a first encoding engine, a second encoding engine, and a third encoding engine.", "When programming the data pages P1-P24 of word lines WL0-WL2, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 uses the first encoding engine to execute XOR operation upon data pages P1-P8 of the word line WL0 to generate a first partial parity check code, uses the second encoding engine to execute XOR operation upon data pages P9-P16 of the word line WL1 to generate a second partial parity check code, and then uses the third encoding engine to execute XOR operation upon data pages P17-P24 of the word line WL2 to generate a third partial parity check code.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 respectively outputs the generated partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102, to buffer the generated partial parity check codes in the first buffer area.", "When programming data pages P1-P24 of the word lines WL3-WL5, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 uses the first encoding engine to execute XOR operation upon data pages P1-P8 of the word line WL3 to generate another first partial parity check code, uses the second encoding engine to execute XOR operation upon data pages P9-P16 of the word line WL4 to generate another second partial parity check code, and then uses the third encoding engine to execute XOR operation upon data pages P17-P24 of the word line WL5 to generate another third partial parity check code.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 respectively outputs the generated partial parity check codes to the parity check code buffer 1102, to buffer the generated partial parity check codes in the second buffer area.", "Programming and encoding operations for other data pages are similar.", "That is, for data of the first, second, and third word lines of one group among the odd groups of word lines and for data of the first, second, and third word lines of one group among the even groups of word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 is arranged for performing/executing different XOR operations to respectively generate corresponding parity check codes.", "To write/program the corresponding parity check codes into appropriate storage locations of SLC block(s), the ECC encoding circuit 1101 is arranged to write/program the corresponding parity check codes into last data pages (as shown by the rectangle with slanted lines in FIG.", "5) of last six word lines WL122-WL127 when programming data pages of the last six word lines WL122-WL127.For instance, when programming data pages of the word line WL122 which is a third word line of one group among the odd groups of word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 programs/writes parity check codes corresponding to all third word lines among all odd groups of word lines into the last/final data page of the word line WL122 wherein the parity check codes corresponding to all the third word lines are all the third partial parity check codes generated by the third encoding engine for the odd groups of word lines.", "For instance, when programming data pages of the word line WL123 which is a first word line of one group among the even groups of word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 programs/writes parity check codes corresponding to all first word lines among all even groups of word lines into the last/final data page of the word line WL123 wherein the parity check codes corresponding to all the first word lines are all the first partial parity check codes generated by the first encoding engine for the even groups of word lines.", "For instance, when programming data pages of the word line WL124 which is a second word line of one group among the even groups of word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 programs/writes parity check codes corresponding to all second word lines among all even groups of word lines into the last/final data page of the word line WL124 wherein the parity check codes corresponding to all the second word lines are all the second partial parity check codes generated by the second encoding engine for the even groups of word lines.", "For instance, when programming data pages of the word line WL125 which is a third word line of the last group among the even groups of word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 programs/writes parity check codes corresponding to all third word lines among all even groups of word lines into the last/final data page of the word line WL125 wherein the parity check codes corresponding to all the third word lines are all the third partial parity check codes generated by the third encoding engine for the even groups of word lines.", "For instance, when programming data pages of the word line WL126 which is a first word line of the last group among the odd groups of word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 programs/writes parity check codes corresponding to all first word lines among all odd groups of word lines into the last/final data page of the word line WL126 wherein the parity check codes corresponding to all the first word lines are all the first partial parity check codes generated by the first encoding engine for the odd groups of word lines.", "For instance, when programming data pages of the word line WL127 which is a second word line of the last group among the odd groups of word lines, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 programs/writes parity check codes corresponding to all second word lines among all odd groups of word lines into the last/final data page of the word line WL127 wherein the parity check codes corresponding to all the second word lines are all the second partial parity check codes generated by the second encoding engine for the odd groups of word lines.", "Thus, data programming of one SLC block is completed.", "That is, when programming data into one SLC block, the flash memory controller 110 is arranged for sequentially classifies every (M) word lines among all the word lines of the SLC block into one group of word lines to generate odd groups of word lines and even groups of word lines and for respectively performing (M) times of different XOR encoding operations upon each word line of each odd group and each word line of each even group to generate (M) partial parity check codes corresponding to each word line of the odd groups and (M) partial parity check codes corresponding to each word line of the even groups.", "The flash memory controller 110 then programs/writes the (M) partial parity check codes corresponding to each word line of the odd groups into the last/final data pages of last (M) word lines among the odd groups of word lines and programs/writes the (M) partial parity check codes corresponding to each word line of the even groups into the last/final data pages of last (M) word lines among the even groups of word lines.", "For example, M is equal to three in this embodiment but is not meant to be a limitation of the invention.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 as shown in the embodiment of FIG.", "5 is arranged to perform XOR encoding operations which is capable of correcting errors occurring in any one data page of one word line of one SLC block.", "For example, when performing data programming of one SLC block, if detecting data errors resulting from program fail and occurring at a data page such as page P9 of word line WL1, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use other correct data pages P10-P16 of the same word line WL1 and corresponding partial parity check code (s) generated by the second encoding engine when processing the word line WL1 of the first group, to correct the errors occurring at the data page P9.For example, when performing data programming of one SLC block, if detecting data errors resulting from one word line open and occurring at a data page such as page P9 of word line WL1, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can also use other correct data pages P10-P16 of the same word line WL1 and corresponding partial parity check code (s) generated by the second encoding engine when processing the word line WL1 of the first group, to correct the errors occurring at the data page P9.For example, when performing data programming of one SLC block, if detecting data errors resulting from two word line short and occurring at two data pages such as page P9 of word line WL1 and page P17 of word line WL2, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use other correct data pages P10-P16 of the word line WL1 and corresponding partial parity check code(s) generated by the second encoding engine when processing the word line WL1 of the first group, to correct the errors occurring at the data page P9.In addition, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use other correct data pages P18-P24 of the word line WL2 and corresponding partial parity check code(s) generated by the third encoding engine when processing the word line WL2 of the first group, to correct the errors occurring at the data page P17 of word line WL2.If detecting data errors resulting from two word line short and occurring at two data pages such as page P17 of word line WL2 and page P1 of word line WL3, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use other correct data pages P18-P24 of the word line WL2 and corresponding partial parity check code(s) generated by the third encoding engine when processing the word line WL2 of the first group, to correct the errors occurring at the data page P17 of word line WL2.In addition, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 can use other correct data pages P2-P8 of the word line WL3 and corresponding partial parity check code(s) generated by the first encoding engine when processing the word line WL3 of the second group, to correct the errors occurring at the data page P1 of word line WL3.Thus, whether data page errors resulting from program fail, one word line open or two word line short occur when one SLC block is programed, the ECC encoding circuit 1101 is able to correct the data page errors correspondingly.", "The internal copy operation of flash memory module 105 for programming data from the above-mentioned SLC blocks into the TLC block is similarly to the internal copy operation of the embodiment of FIG.", "3, and is not detailed for brevity.", "Please refer to FIG.", "6, which is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of flash memory controller 110 in FIG.", "1 programming/writing three groups of data into multiple SLC blocks 1051A-1051C within flash memory module 105 and moving the data into the TLC block via the internal copy operation to form a super block.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1101 is arranged to separate data into odd groups of word line data and even groups of word line data each time when performing programming of SLC block(s), and is arranged to respectively store generated parity check codes at each last data page of the last three word lines of the odd groups and each last data page of the last three word lines of the even groups.", "When module 105 performs programming of TLC block, as shown in FIG.", "6 and marked by 605A, the parity check codes corresponding to a first set of word lines are programed and stored to the MSB portion of the last data page of word line WL40, last data page of word line WL41, and LSB and CSB portions of the last data page of word line WL42 within the TLC block 1052.Specifically, parity check codes corresponding to odd groups of word lines of SLC block(s) belonging to the first set are stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line WL40 and LSB and CSB portions of the last data page of word line WL42.Parity check codes corresponding to even groups of word lines of SLC block(s) belonging to the first set are stored at the LSB, CSB, and MSB portions of the last data page of word line WL41.As marked by 605B, the parity check codes corresponding to a second set of word lines are programed and stored to the CSB and MSB portions of the last data page of word line WL83, last data page of word line WL84, and LSB portion of the last data page of word line WL85 within the TLC block 1052.Specifically, for parity check codes corresponding to odd groups of word lines of SLC block(s) belonging to the second set, all the third partial parity check codes generated by the third encoding engine are stored at the CSB portion of the last data page of word line WL83 of TLC block 1052; all the first partial parity check codes generated by the first encoding engine are stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line WL84 of TLC block 1052; all the second partial parity check codes generated by the second encoding engine are stored at the LSB portion of the last data page of word line WL85 of TLC block 1052.Also, for parity check codes corresponding to even groups of word lines of SLC block (s) belonging to the second set, all the first partial parity check codes generated by the first encoding engine are stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line WL83 of TLC block 1052; all the second partial parity check codes generated by the second encoding engine are stored at the LSB portion of the last data page of word line WL84 of TLC block 1052; all the third partial parity check codes generated by the third encoding engine are stored at the CSB portion of the last data page of word line WL84 of TLC block 1052.As marked by 605C, the parity check codes corresponding to a third set of word lines are programed and stored to the last data pages (LSB, CSB, and MSB portions) of word lines WL126-WL127 of TLC block 1052.Specifically, for parity check codes corresponding to odd groups of word lines of SLC block(s) belonging to the third set, all the third partial parity check codes generated by the third encoding engine are stored at the LSB portion of the last data page of word line WL126 of TLC block 1052; all the first partial parity check codes generated by the first encoding engine are stored at the CSB portion of the last data page of word line WL127 of TLC block 1052; all the second partial parity check codes generated by the second encoding engine are stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line WL127 of TLC block 1052.Also, for parity check codes corresponding to even groups of word lines of SLC block(s) belonging to the third set, all the first partial parity check codes generated by the first encoding engine are stored at the CSB portion of the last data page of word line WL126 of TLC block 1052; all the second partial parity check codes generated by the second encoding engine are stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line WL126 of TLC block 1052; all the third partial parity check codes generated by the third encoding engine are stored at the LSB portion of the last data page of word line WL127 of TLC block 1052.Thus, when flash memory module 105 performs the internal copy operation to program data from the SLC blocks 1051A-1051C to the TLC block 1052, if detecting data errors resulting from two word line short and occurring at two data pages (marked by 610) of word lines WL0 and WL1 of the super block, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the LSB portion of the data page of word line WL0 by using the first partial parity check codes stored at the CSB portion of the last data page of word line 42 of TLC block 1052 and data stored at LSB portions of the other data pages of word line WL0.Similarly, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the CSB portion of the data page of word line WL0 by using the second partial parity check codes stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line 42 of TLC block 1052 and data stored at CSB portions of the other data pages of word line WL0.Similarly, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the MSB portion of the data page of word line WL0 by using the third partial parity check codes stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line 40 of TLC block 1052 and data stored at MSB portions of the other data pages of word line WL0.Similarly, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the LSB portion of the data page of word line WL1 by using the first partial parity check codes stored at the LSB portion of the last data page of word line 41 of TLC block 1052 and data stored at LSB portions of the other data pages of word line WL1.Similarly, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the CSB portion of the data page of word line WL1 by using the second partial parity check codes stored at the CSB portion of the last data page of word line 41 of TLC block 1052 and data stored at CSB portions of the other data pages of word line WL1.Similarly, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting the errors occurring at the MSB portion of the data page of word line WL1 by using the third partial parity check codes stored at the MSB portion of the last data page of word line 41 of TLC block 1052 and data stored at MSB portions of the other data pages of word line WL1.If detecting data errors resulting from two word line short and occurring at consecutive data pages (e.g., as marked by 615 and 620) of any two consecutive word lines of the super block, the flash memory module 105 is capable of correcting errors by using corresponding parity check codes stored at each last data page of the last six data pages of one SLC block belonging to each set.", "In addition, if detecting data errors resulting from one word line open or program fail and occurring at any single one data page of any one word line of the TLC block 1052 (e.g.", "errors occurs at LSB, CSB, and MSB portions of the same data page or at consecutive portions of two different data pages, the flash memory module 105 is also capable of correcting the errors by using the corresponding parity check codes.", "That is, according to the storage management mechanism for using flash memory controller 110 to program/write three sets of data and corresponding parity check codes into SLC blocks 1051A-1051C within flash memory module 105, when the flash memory module 105 uses the internal copy operation to sequentially program/write the data from SLC blocks 1051A-1051C into the TLC block to form a super block, the flash memory module 105 can perform error correction by using the parity check codes stored at the SLC blocks 1051A-1051C if detecting the errors resulting from one word line open, two word line short or program fail.", "Further, the above-mentioned operations can be also applied for a flash memory module including MLC blocks and QLC blocks.", "When a flash memory module including MLC blocks, the classifying operation is arranged for separating data into two groups/sets, and the XOR encoding operation is implemented by using two encoding engines; other operations are similar to those associated with the flash memory module structure with TLC blocks.", "Identically, when a flash memory module including QLC blocks, the classifying operation is arranged for separating data into four groups/sets, and the XOR encoding operation is implemented by using four encoding engines; other operations are similar to those associated with the flash memory module structure with TLC blocks.", "Further, in other embodiments, after completing program of the plurality of first blocks, the flash memory controller 110 can be arranged to perform an external copy operation to program the at least one second block; the external copy operation can be used for replacing the internal copy operation.", "One of the advantages provided by the external copy operation is that it is easy to design or configure a randomizer/de-randomizer of a flash memory controller.", "Another advantage provided by the external copy operation is that the data stored in the first blocks can be checked by the flash memory controller 115 again before storing to the second blocks.", "Refer to FIG.", "10.FIG.", "10 is a device diagram of the flash memory apparatus 1000 according to another embodiment of the invention.", "The flash memory apparatus 1000 comprises the flash memory module 105 and a flash memory controller 115 which can be used for performing an external copy operation.", "The flash memory controller 115 comprises the parity check code buffer 1102, a randomizer (hardware circuit or software) 1151A, an ECC encoding circuit 1152A, an ECC decoding circuit 1152B, and a de-randomizer (hardware circuit or software) 1151B.", "In this embodiment, the randomizer 1151A is arranged to perform a randomize operation upon the data to be programed to the first block(s) according to randomizer seed rules of the first block such as SLC block, and is arranged to perform the randomize operation upon the data to be programed to the second block (s) according to randomizer seed rules of the second block such as TLC block, respectively.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1151A having the operation similar to that of ECC encoding circuit 1101 is arranged to perform ECC encoding operation upon data, and the ECC decoding circuit 1151B is arranged to perform ECC decoding operation upon data read out from the flash memory module 105.The de-randomizer 1151B is arranged to perform de-randomize operation upon the data read out from the flash memory module 105.In practice, the operation of controller 115 of FIG.", "10 is similar to that of controller 110 of FIG.", "1, and the major difference is that the controller 115 is arranged to perform the external copy operation different from the internal copy operation of controller 110.In the super block embodiment, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged for programming data into pages of different flash memory chips by employing an RAID-like (Redundant Array of Independent Disks-like) memory management mechanism to reduce data error rate.", "In one embodiment, to program one page data into one page of an SLC block of one flash memory chip, the flash memory controller 115 may employ the randomizer 1151A to perform the randomize operation to process the one page data based on a seed of such page (or sector, or other seed unit) of the SLC block.", "For example, the seed of such page of the SLC block may be generated according to the physical address of the page of the SLC block, e.g.", "a function of the physical address of the page of the SLC block.", "The flash memory controller 115 may employ the ECC encoding circuit 1152A to encode such page data to generate a corresponding parity check code and store such page data and the parity check code into such page of the SLC block.", "This can be regarded as a first level ECC protection.", "After the data have been completely programmed, the flash memory controller 115 can read out and decode three page data of three pages by the ECC decoding circuit 1152B for correcting the read out data.", "The flash memory controller 115 employ the de-randomizer 1151B to perform the de-randomize operation to process the three page data based on the seeds of the three pages of the SLC blocks respectively.", "The flash memory controller 115 uses the de-randomized three pages of data to generate data for storing in the TLC block (the three page data are lower, middle, and upper page data of the page data of TLC block).", "The randomizer 1151A is arranged to randomize the three pages data of the TLC block based on the seeds of lower, middle, and upper pages of the TLC block respectively, e.g., using a first seed for the lower page, a second seed for the middle page, and third seed for the upper page to perform randomize operation upon the three pages of data respectively.", "The first, second, and third seeds are generated according to the physical storage address the lower, middle, and upper pages of the TLC block respectively.", "In one embodiment, the ECC encoding circuit 1152A is arranged to generate another corresponding parity check code of such page data of a page of a TLC block and program the parity check code and such page data into the page of the TLC block of the flash memory chip.", "In addition, the flash memory controller 115 can be arranged to perform the RAID-like memory management mechanism to program the above-mentioned data into different pages of one flash memory chip for further protection.", "This can be regarded as a second level ECC protection.", "In the following embodiments, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged for programming data into different pages of one flash memory chip by employing an RAID-like (Redundant Array of Independent Disks-like) memory management mechanism.", "Please note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.", "In order to improve the efficiency of data programming and reduce the data error rate, the flash memory module 105 is designed to include multiple channels (for example two channels in this embodiment but is not limited).", "When a channel is used by the controller 115 to program a certain data page, the controller 115 can use another channel to program another data page without waiting for the former channel.", "Each channel corresponds to respective sequencer in the controller 115 and corresponds to multiple flash memory chips (for example two chips in this embodiment but is not limited).", "Thus, one channel can be to perform data programming simultaneously for different data pages of multiple flash memory chips without waiting for completion of one chip.", "In addition, each flash memory chip includes a folded design including two different planes, and different data pages of two blocks respectively located on the two different planes can be programmed simultaneously without waiting for completion of data programming of one block when programming data into one flash memory chip.", "One super block of the flash memory module 105 is composed by multiple data pages of multiple flash memory chips of multiple channels.", "In this embodiment, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged to program data by super blocks.", "It should be noted that in other embodiments each flash memory chip may not comprise the folded design, and one data page of one block is programmed when programming data into one flash memory chip.", "It is required to wait for some times for programming data to other data pages.", "For the flow of data programming, the programmed data in the SLC blocks are not copied and programmed to a TLC block from the SLC blocks directly.", "The flash memory controller 115 is arranged to use the randomizer 1151A to perform the randomize operation upon data based on the seeds of SLC block and then use the ECC encoding circuit 1152A to perform ECC encoding upon the data, and to program the data and corresponding parity check code into SLC blocks.", "In the next step, the flash memory controller 115 reads out the data stored by the SLC blocks and then uses the ECC decoding circuit 1152B to perform decoding upon the read out data and uses the de-randomizer 1151B to perform the de-randomize operation upon the read data to generate the de-randomized data In the next step, the randomizer 1151A is arranged to perform the randomize operation upon the de-randomized data outputted by the de-randomizer 1151B based on the seeds of TLC block, for example, changing the randomizer seed according to the address of the TLC blocks where the data will be finally programed to, e.g.", "physical storage address of the data.", "The ECC encoding circuit 1152A performs ECC encoding upon the randomized data outputted by the randomizer 1151A, and finally the flash memory controller 115 programs the data and another parity check code into a TLC block.", "To perform error correction protection for data programming of SLC blocks 1051A-1051C and data programming of the TLC block 1052, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged for classifying the data into three groups of data.", "It should be noted that the flash memory controller 115 is arranged for classifying the data into two groups of data if the multiple-level-cell block for example includes MLC units which can be used for storing data of 22 states of 2 bits.", "The flash memory controller 115 is arranged for classifying the data into four groups of data if the multiple-level-cell block for example includes QLC units which can be used for storing data of 24 states of 4 bits.", "That is, the units of multiple-level-cell block 1052 are used for storing information of 2N states of N bits wherein N is an integer which is equal to or greater than 2, and the number of SLC blocks is designed as N. The flash memory controller 115 is arranged to classify data to be programmed into N groups of data to respectively program the data into N SLC blocks.", "In this embodiment, after classifying the data as three groups of data, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged to execute a first SLC program to program the first group of data into the first SLC block 1051A.", "The randomizer 1151A performs the randomize operation upon the first group of data based on the randomizer seed rules of SLC block, and the ECC encoding circuit 1152A generates corresponding parity check codes, which can be buffered by the buffer 1102, and writes the corresponding parity check codes into the first SLC block 1051A.", "In this way, the data program of the SLC block 1051A is completed.", "Then, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged to execute the second SLC program to program the second group of data into the second SLC block 1051B.", "The randomizer 1151A performs the randomize operation upon the second group of data based on randomizer seed rules of SLC block, and the ECC encoding circuit 1152A generates corresponding parity check codes (buffered in the buffer 1102) and writes the corresponding parity check codes into the second SLC block 1051B.", "In this way, the data program of the SLC block 1051B is completed.", "The flash memory controller 115 then is arranged to execute the third SLC program to program the third group of data into the third SLC block 1051C.", "The randomizer 1151A performs randomize operation upon the third group of data based on the randomizer seed rules of SLC block, and the ECC encoding circuit 1152A generates corresponding parity check codes (buffered in the buffer 1102) and writes the corresponding parity check codes into the third SLC block 1051C.", "In this way, the data program of the third SLC block 1051C is completed.", "When the flash memory controller 115 performs SLC program to write a particular group of data into a particular SLC block or after programming the particular SLC block has been completed, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged to detect whether there are errors.", "If errors exist, for example program fail, the flash memory controller 115 is arranged for programming the data again.", "In the super block embodiment, the TLC block 1052 is composed by data pages of word lines of different flash memory chips of different channels.", "A data page of a word line of the TLC block 1052 for example includes an upper page, a middle page, and a lower page.", "Multiple data pages of the (N)th word line of an SLC block may be configured to be programed/written into multiple upper pages of a word line of the TLC block 1052.Multiple data pages of the (N+1)th word line of the SLC block may be configured to be programed/written into multiple middle pages of the same word line of the TLC block 1052.Multiple data pages of the (N+2)th word line of the SLC block may be configured to be programed/written into multiple lower pages of the same word line of the TLC block 1052.If all the three groups of data have been programed into the TLC block 1052, the program operation for the super block is completed.", "Please note that the present invention is not limited to the super block programming operation.", "The external copy operation executed by the flash memory controller 115 is to read out the data previously stored in the three SLC blocks 1051A, 1051B, and 1051C, to employ the ECC decoding circuit 1152B to decode the data read out from the SLC blocks 1051A, 1051B, and 1051C, to employ the de-randomizer 1151B to perform the corresponding de-randomize operation upon the data outputted by the ECC decoding circuit 1152B to generate the de-randomized data, to employ the randomizer 1151A to perform the randomize operation upon the de-randomized data outputted by the de-randomizer 1151B based on the seeds of TLC block, and to employ the ECC encoding circuit 1152A to encode the randomized data outputted by the randomizer 1151A to generate another parity check code.", "The flash memory controller 115 stores data of a TLC block size with such corresponding parity check codes into locations of upper, middle, and lower pages of the word line of the TLC block 1052.The ECC encoding circuit 1152A can adopt RAID-like RS (Reed Solomon) encoding operation, RAID-like XOR (exclusive-OR) encoding operation, BCH encoding operation, LDPC encoding operation or any other ECC encoding operation.", "In one example, the ECC encoding circuit 1152A performs LDPC encoding operation upon a page of data and performs RAID-like encoding operation upon a block or blocks of data for further protection.", "The example of one SLC programming executed by the flash memory controller 115 of FIG.", "10 to adopt/perform the RAID-like RS (Reed Solomon) encoding operation to program a particular group of data into an SLC block of flash memory module 105 is similar/like to the example shown in FIG.", "2.In addition, the example of one TLC programming executed by the flash memory controller 115 of FIG.", "10 to adopt/perform the RAID-like RS (Reed Solomon) encoding operation to form a supper block is similar/like to the example shown in FIG.", "4.The detailed description is not described for brevity.", "The example of one SLC programming executed by the flash memory controller 115 of FIG.", "10 to adopt/perform the RAID-like XOR (exclusive-OR) encoding operation to program a particular group of data into an SLC block of flash memory module 105 is similar/like to the example shown in FIG.", "5.In addition, the example of one TLC programming executed by the flash memory controller 115 of FIG.", "10 to adopt/perform the RAID-like XOR (exclusive-OR) encoding operation to form a supper block is similar/like to the example shown in FIG.", "6.The detailed description is not described for brevity.", "Further, the above-mentioned operations can be also applied for a flash memory module including MLC blocks and QLC blocks.", "When a flash memory module including MLC blocks, the classifying operation is arranged for separating data into two groups/sets, and the XOR encoding operation is implemented by using two encoding engines; other operations are similar to those associated with the flash memory module structure with TLC blocks.", "Identically, when a flash memory module including QLC blocks, the classifying operation is arranged for separating data into four groups/sets, and the XOR encoding operation is implemented by using four encoding engines; other operations are similar to those associated with the flash memory module structure with TLC blocks.", "Further, it should be noted that the circuit locations of randomizer 1151A and ECC encoding circuit 1152A can be swapped, and the circuit locations of de-randomizer 1151B and ECC decoding circuit 1152B are be swapped correspondingly.", "Regarding to ECC code overhead of the data storage mechanism mentioned above, if two channels are employed for programming two memory chips and two blocks can be simultaneously programed based on the folded plane design of each memory chip, for data programming of one SLC block, there are (128) word lines in the SLC block and totally the SLC block has (8*128) data pages.", "Based on the data storage mechanism mentioned above, it is only required to use six data pages among the total (8*128) data pages to store corresponding parity check codes.", "The percentage of ECC code overhead compared to the total data storage space, i.e.", "6/(128*8), is smaller than one.", "That is, for data programming of SLC blocks and TLC block(s), it is only necessary to use a data storage space of less than 1% of the total data storage space for storing corresponding parity check codes of ECC operation.", "The utilization rate of a flash memory storage space is higher compared to the conventional scheme.", "Additionally, if four channels are employed for programming four memory chips and two blocks can be simultaneously programed based on the folded plane design of each memory chip, for data programming of one SLC block, there are (128) word lines in the SLC block and totally the SLC block has (4*4*2*128) data pages.", "Based on the data storage mechanism mentioned above, it is only required to use six data pages among the total (4*4*2*128) data pages to store corresponding parity check codes.", "The percentage of ECC code overhead compared to the total data storage space, i.e.", "6/(4*4*2*128), is decreased to be smaller and is almost 0.15%.", "That is, for data programming of SLC blocks and TLC block(s), it is only necessary to use almost 0.15% of the total data storage space for storing corresponding parity check codes of ECC operation.", "The utilization rate of a flash memory storage space can be much higher compared to the conventional scheme.", "Additionally, in other embodiment, the flash memory module 105 may be a 3D NAND-type flash memory module, and the flash memory controller 115 can be arranged to program data into a block (may be used as a single-level-cell block or as a multiple-level-cell block) of a 3D NAND-type flash memory module and can perform the above-mentioned external copy operation to program data the data read form single-level-cell blocks into a multiple-level-cell block of such 3D NAND-type flash memory module.", "Please refer to FIG.", "11, which is a diagram of a 3D NAND-type flash memory.", "As shown in FIG.", "11, the 3D NAND-type flash memory comprises multiple floating gate transistors 1103, and the structure of 3D NAND-type flash memory is made up of multiple bit lines (e.g.", "BL1-BL3) and multiple word lines (e.g.", "WL0-WL2 and WL4-WL6).", "One bit line can be also called one string.", "In FIG.", "11, taking an example of a top plane, at least one data page constitutes all floating gate transistors on the word line WL0, and another at least one data page constitutes all floating gate transistors on the word line WL1; another at least one data page constitutes all floating gate transistors on the word line WL2, and other so on.", "Further, for example, the definition of one data page (logic data page) and the relation between such data page and word line WL0 may be different, and which may depend on different data programming types adopted by the flash memory.", "Specifically, all floating gate transistors on the word line WL0 correspond to one single logic data page when the flash memory adopts single-level cell (SLC) data programming.", "All floating gate transistors on the word line WL0 may correspond to two, three, or four logic data pages when the flash memory adopts multi-level cell (MLC) data programming.", "For example, a triple-level cell (TLC) memory structure means that all floating gate transistors on the word line WL0 correspond to three logical data pages.", "Instead, a quad-level cell (QLC) memory structure means that all floating gate transistors on the word line WL0 correspond to four logical data pages.", "The description for the TLC memory structure or QLC memory structure is not detailed here for brevity.", "Additionally, for the program/erase operation of flash memory controller 115, one data page is a minimum data unit which is programed by the controller 115 into the module 105, and one block is a minimum data unit which is erased by the controller 115; that is, the controller 115 programs at least one data page for one data programming operation, and erases at least one block for one erase operation.", "Please refer to FIG.", "12, which is a schematic diagram illustrating floating gate transistors 1103.As shown in FIG.", "12, the gate and floating gate of each floating gate transistor are disposed all around its source and drain, to improve the capability of channel sensing.", "It should be noted that the examples of 3D NAND-type flash memory and floating gate transistors 1103 shown in FIG.", "11 and FIG.", "12 are not meant to be limitations of the present invention.", "In other embodiments, 3D NAND-type flash memory may be designed or configured as different structures; for example, a portion of word lines may be mutually connected.", "Also, the design or configuration of floating gate transistor 1103 may be modified as different structures.", "In some conventional 3D NAND-type flash memory structure, multiple word lines are defined as or classified into a word line set, i.e.", "a set of word lines, and such word line set correspond to or include a common control circuit.", "This inevitably causes that data errors occur at other floating gate transistors on the other word lines of such word line set when programming data to the floating gate transistors on a word line of such word line set fails.", "In the embodiment, the word lines disposed/positioned on the same plane is configured as or classified into a word line set.", "Refer back to FIG.", "11.Word lines WL0-WL3 are classified into a first word line set, and word lines WL4-WL7 are classified into a second word line set; and other so on.", "Refer to FIG.", "13, which is a diagram illustrating multiple word line sets in one block.", "As shown in FIG.", "13, it is assumed that the block has forty-eight 3D stacked planes, i.e.", "48 word line sets.", "Each word line set has four word lines and thus has all transistors on total one hundred and ninety-two word lines.", "As shown in FIG.", "13, the block has forty-eight word line sets which are represented by WL_G0_WL G47.Additionally, in this figure, the block is a TLC block.", "That is, floating gate transistors on each word line can be used for storing data content of three data pages.", "As shown by FIG.", "13, for example, floating gate transistors on word line WL0 included by the word line set WL_G0 can be used for storing lower data page P0L, middle data page P0M, and upper data page P0U.", "The floating gate transistors on word line WL1 included by the word line set WL_G0 can be used for storing lower data page P1L, middle data page P1M, and upper data page P1U.", "The floating gate transistors on word line WL2 included by the word line set WL_G0 can be used for storing lower data page P2L, middle data page P2M, and upper data page P2U.", "The floating gate transistors on word line WL3 included by the word line set WL_G0 can be used for storing lower data page P3L, middle data page P3M, and upper data page P3U.", "When the controller 115 programs or writes data into the data pages of word line set WL_G0, the controller 115 is arranged for sequentially programs data into the floating gate transistors on word lines WL0, WL1, WL2, and WL3.Even if data is successfully programed into word lines WL0 and WL1 but programming other data into word line WL2 fails (i.e.", "program fail), programming fail will occur at the word line set WL_G0 since the program fail of word line WL2 causes errors at the word lines WL0 and WL1.Further, in some situations, even data has been successfully programed into the word line set WL_G0, there is a possibility that the data cannot be readout from word line set WL_G0 or reading errors occur.", "For instance, the data cannot be read if one word line open occurs; all the data of one word line set will become erroneous if one word line in such word line set is open.", "Further, if two word lines in different word line sets are shorted (e.g.", "word lines WL3 and WL4 are shorted), then all the data of two word line sets WL_G0 and WL_G1 cannot be read successfully.", "That is, the two word line sets WL_G0 and WL_G1 are equivalently shorted.", "As mentioned above, since data errors may occur at one or two adjacent word line set(s) due to the program fail, word line open, and word line short when programming data into or reading data from a flash memory, to solve the problems, in the embodiment a method/mechanism for accessing flash memory module 105 is provided.", "One of the advantages is that the method/mechanism merely consumes less resource (i.e.", "occupies less memory space).", "Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention.", "Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874895
[ [ "COSMETIC IMPREGNATION DEVICE", "Various embodiments related to a cosmetic impregnation device have been described.", "According to one embodiment thereof, the cosmetic impregnation device comprises: an impregnation member consisting of a nonwoven fabric; and at least one antimicrobial mesh member attached to both sides of the impregnation member.", "In addition, various other embodiments are possible." ], [ "1.A cosmetic impregnation device comprising: an impregnation member including a felt; and at least one antimicrobial mesh member attached on both surfaces of the impregnation member.", "2.The cosmetic impregnation device of claim 1, wherein the impregnation member is fabricated in a vertical weaving method (vertical lap) to impart elasticity.", "3.The cosmetic impregnation device of claim 1, wherein the felt is formed of polyester.", "4.The cosmetic impregnation device of claim 1, wherein the felt has a density of 240 to 250 g/sqm.", "5.The cosmetic impregnation device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antimicrobial mesh member includes a first antimicrobial mesh member and a second antimicrobial mesh member, and wherein the first antimicrobial mesh member is attached on a first surface of the impregnation member, and the second antimicrobial mesh member is attached on a second surface of the impregnation member, opposite to the first surface.", "6.The cosmetic impregnation device of claim 1, wherein the at least one antimicrobial mesh member is attached to the impregnation member by an adhesive or thermal fusion.", "7.The cosmetic impregnation device of claim 6, wherein the adhesive is a hot melt adhesive." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a cosmetic impregnation device including at least one antimicrobial mesh member having an antimicrobial/bacteriostatic function, attached to both surfaces of an impregnation member including a felt, so that even though cosmetic contents are used for a long time, bacterial and microbiological growth may be prevented and thus the cosmetic contents may be used and maintained clean.", "In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a cosmetic impregnation device may include an impregnation member including a felt, and at least one antimicrobial mesh member attached on both surfaces of the impregnation member." ], [ "PRIORITY This application is continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/KR2016/002559 filed on Mar.", "15, 2016, which claims priority to Korean Application No.", "10-2015-0102118 filed on Jul.", "20, 2015, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND ART 1.Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure relates to a cosmetic impregnation device used for make-up.", "2.Description of the Related Art In general, cosmetic contents are in various forms such as powder, liquid, gel, cream, and solid.", "These cosmetic contents are contained and used in various cosmetic containers.", "For commercialization, cosmetic contents are contained in a portable container having a puff, so that a user may use the cosmetic contents at any time in any place.", "As the cosmetic contents pass through a mesh in the container, the discharge amount of the cosmetic contents is simultaneously adjusted.", "That is, the user grabs the puff and contacts the puff with the mesh, and at the same time, the cosmetic contents of the container are applied on the puff.", "Herein, an impregnation member impregnated with the cosmetic contents is provided inside the container.", "The structure of a cosmetic container will be described below.", "The cosmetic container includes a container body for accommodating an impregnation member impregnated with cosmetic contents, and a lid including a middle cap which is provided inside a top end of the cosmetic container and includes a mesh for discharging the cosmetic contents, and a sealing cap which is engaged with the top end of the container body in an openable and closable manner to seal the middle cap, and configured to seal and expose the mesh.", "The impregnation member may be impregnated with the cosmetic contents, thereby facilitating use of high-viscosity cosmetic contents.", "This impregnation member is formed of polyurethane sponge.", "However, the impregnation member provided in the conventional cosmetic container is configured to contact a puff that touches the skin of a user or to directly contact the user's hand.", "Therefore, if the impregnation member is used for a long time, the cosmetic contents in the impregnation member are contaminated and changed due to bacterial growth.", "Accordingly, there is a need for a device for preventing easy contamination of cosmetic contents by inhibiting bacterial growth caused by prolonged use of the cosmetic contents impregnated into an impregnation member.", "SUMMARY An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a cosmetic impregnation device including at least one antimicrobial mesh member having an antimicrobial/bacteriostatic function, attached to both surfaces of an impregnation member including a felt, so that even though cosmetic contents are used for a long time, bacterial and microbiological growth may be prevented and thus the cosmetic contents may be used and maintained clean.", "In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a cosmetic impregnation device may include an impregnation member including a felt, and at least one antimicrobial mesh member attached on both surfaces of the impregnation member.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1a is a plan view illustrating an impregnation member in a cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "1b is a side view illustrating the impregnation member in the cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3a is a plan view illustrating an assembled state of the cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3b is a side view illustrating the assembled state of the cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Terms used in various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in brief, followed by a detailed description of various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Although the terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are selected from widely used general terms in consideration of functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms may be changed according to the intention of those skilled in the art, customs, or emergence of new technologies.", "In addition, the applicant selects some terms in a specific case, and the meanings of the terms are described in detail in the description of various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Therefore, the present disclosure should be understood, not simply by the actual terms used but by the meanings of each term lying within.", "Ordinal terms such as first or second may be used to describe, not limiting, various components.", "These expressions are used to distinguish one component from another component.", "For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and vice versa without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.", "Cosmetic contents are one of liquid cosmetic contents and powder cosmetic contents.", "While liquid cosmetic contents and powder cosmetic contents are described, by way of example in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.", "That is, the cosmetic contents may be in a form other than liquid and powder.", "Herein, the embodiment will be described in the context of powder cosmetic contents.", "FIG.", "a is a plan view illustrating an impregnation member 20 in a cosmetic impregnation device 10 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG.", "a is a side view illustrating the impregnation member 20 in the cosmetic impregnation device 10 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, and FIG.", "2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "With reference to FIGS.", "1a, 1b, and 2, the structure of the cosmetic impregnation device 10 will be described.", "As illustrated in FIGS.", "1a, 1b, and 2, the cosmetic impregnation device 10 may include the impregnation member 20 including felts 20a, and at least one antimicrobial mesh member 30.The impregnation member 20 may be fabricated in a vertical weaving method (vertical lap) to impart elasticity to the felts 20a.", "The antimicrobial mesh member 30 may be attached on both surfaces of the impregnation member 20 to execute an antimicrobial/bacteriostatic function for the impregnation member 20.The felts 20a refer to fabrics produced by bonding or matting fibers through mechanical manipulation, thermal bonding, or use of a chemical agent.", "The impregnation member 20 including the felts 20a is in a similar structure to that for a bed mattress, thereby having excellent restorability and durability.", "As described above, since the impregnation member 20 is fabricated in the vertical weaving method (vertical lap) to impart elasticity to the felts 20a, use of high-viscosity cosmetic contents (foundation, make-up base, and BB cream) may be facilitated, and the cosmetic contents may be faster impregnated than in the case of using a conventional impregnation member (not shown) formed of sponge.", "Further, as the at least one antimicrobial mesh member 30 having the antimicrobial/bacteriostatic function is attached on both surfaces of the impregnation member 20 according to the embodiment, even though the cosmetic contents are used over a long term, bacterial and microbiological growth is prevented, thereby allowing clean use and maintenance of the cosmetic contents.", "Further, when the cosmetic contents are smeared on a uniform contact surface of the antimicrobial mesh member 30, cosmetic particles and the cosmetic contents may be applied uniformly across a puff.", "As a consequence, make-up convenience of a user may be increased.", "Further, the felts 20a may be formed of polyester.", "While the felts 20a are described as formed of polyester by way of example in the embodiment, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.", "That is, any material is available for the felts 20a, as far as the material is excellent in terms of restorability and durability.", "Further, the density of the felts 20a may be 240 to 250 g/sqm.", "Further, the at least one antimicrobial mesh member 30 will be described below in greater detail.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "2, the at least one antimicrobial mesh member 30 may include first and second antimicrobial mesh members 31 and 32.The first antimicrobial mesh member 31 may be attached on a first surface 21 of the impregnation member 20 in order to execute the antimicrobial/bacteriostatic function.", "The second antimicrobial mesh member 32 may be attached on a second surface 22 of the impregnation member 20, opposite to the first surface 21.Therefore, as described before with reference to FIG.", "2, the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 30 may be attached on the top and bottom surfaces of the impregnation member 20.Further, the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 30 may be attached on the first and second surfaces of the impregnation member 20 by an adhesive (not shown) or thermal fusion.", "The adhesive (not shown) may be a hot melt adhesive.", "In the embodiment, an adhesive other than the hot melt adhesive may be used.", "For example, the adhesive may be a silicon adhesive.", "Now, a description will be given of assembly of the cosmetic impregnation device 10.FIG.", "3a is a plan view illustrating an assembled state of the cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, and FIG.", "3b is a side view illustrating the assembled state of the cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.", "As described before with reference to FIG.", "2, the cosmetic impregnation device 10 may include the impregnation member 20 including the felts 20a, and the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 30.As illustrated in FIGS.", "3a and 3b, an adhesive (not shown) is coated on the first and second surfaces 21 and 22 of the impregnation member 20, and the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 30 are attached onto the first and second surfaces 21 and 22.Further, the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 30 may be brought into close contact with the first and second surfaces 21 and 22 of the impregnation member 20, and the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 31 and 32 may be attached onto the first and second surfaces 21 and 22 by thermal fusion.", "As described above, the antimicrobial mesh members 31 and 32 may be attached onto the first and second surfaces 21 and 22 of the impregnation member 20 by an adhesive or thermal fusion.", "The thus-completed impregnation device 10 is accommodated in a cosmetic container (not shown) and impregnated with cosmetic contents (not shown).", "The impregnation device 10 may be filled with cosmetic contents, and when the impregnation device 10 is completely impregnated with the cosmetic contents, a user smears the cosmetic contents on a puff (not shown) and uses the smeared puff.", "Herein, the cosmetic contents are smeared uniformly across the puff of the user.", "The puff (not shown) smeared with the cosmetic contents is applied to the skin of the user, and is smeared with the cosmetic contents and used a plurality of times.", "Herein, the puff touching the skin of the user contacts germs on the skin, and these germs are introduced into the cosmetic contents of the impregnation device 10, simultaneously with contacting the cosmetic contents.", "The germs introduced into the cosmetic contents of the impregnation device 10 are exterminated by the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 31 and 32 having the antibacterial/bacteriostatic function.", "That is, since the first and second antimicrobial mesh members 31 and 32 have the antibacterial/bacteriostatic function, bacterial growth may be prevented as well as germs introduced into the cosmetic contents may be exterminated.", "As a consequence, even though the cosmetic contents are used for a long time, the cosmetic contents may be used and maintained clean without microbial growth.", "According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, since an impregnation member is fabricated in a vertical weaving method (vertical lap) to impart elasticity to a felt, use of high-viscosity cosmetic contents is facilitated, and the impregnation speed of the cosmetic contents is much increased, compared to a conventional sponge impregnation member.", "Further, at least one antimicrobial mesh member having an antimicrobial/bacteriostatic function is attached to both surfaces of the impregnation member.", "Therefore, even though the cosmetic contents are used for a long time, bacterial and microbiological growth in the cosmetic contents is prevented and thus the cosmetic contents may be used and maintained clean.", "The above-described cosmetic impregnation device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is not limited by the foregoing embodiments and the drawings.", "Thus, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many replacements, modifications, and alterations can be made to the present disclosure within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15874897
[ [ "NEURAL SENSING METHOD FOR RETINA APPLICATION AND DEVICE THEREOF", "The present invention provides a neural sensing method, including the steps of: configuring an array of sensing units on a retina of a user; generating a control signal by a control signal generator and generating a plurality of sensing signals by the sensing units of the array of the sensing units; isolating each of the sensing signals by the control signal, thereby suppressing the mutual interference by the control signal; and generating and outputting a processing signal to at least one neuron via a signal processing module with reference to the control signal and the sensing signals.", "Herein, the sensing signal strength is higher than a threshold of the at least one neuron, and the control signal strength is lower than the threshold of the at least one neuron.", "In addition, the present invention also provides a neural sensing device for implementing the same method." ], [ "1.A neural sensing method for retina application, comprising the steps of: providing an array of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units detects a signal and generates a sensing signal; generating a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units by a control signal generator, wherein the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signal; suppressing the mutual interference between the sensing units by the control signal; outputting sensing signals by the array of sensing units to the signal processing module; and generating a processing signal by the signal processing module to stimulate at least one neuron, wherein the at least one neuron has a threshold, the sensing signal above the threshold is perceived by the at least one neuron, and the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the threshold.", "2.The neural sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal is generated before the sensing signals, or the control signal and the sensing signal are generated at the same time.", "3.The neural sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the array of the sensing units is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip, and each of the sensing units is a photodiode for replacing a photoreceptor cell on a human retina.", "4.The neural sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal generator is disposed at one side of the array of the sensing units of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the signal processing module.", "5.The neural sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal generator are electrodes installed and connected to left side and right side of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the left side and the right side of each of the sensing unit.", "6.The neural sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the control signal generator is a ring electrode installed and connected to the periphery of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the periphery of each of the sensing unit.", "7.The neural sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the processing signal outputted by the signal processing module is used for stimulating at least one ganglion cell of a human retina.", "8.The neural sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the processing signal is at least one electrical pulse.", "9.A neural sensing device for retina application, comprising: an array of sensing units, including a plurality of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units detects a signal and generates a sensing signal; a control signal generator, connected to the array of sensing units and generating a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units, wherein the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signal, and the mutual interference between the sensing units is suppressed by the control signal; and a signal processing module, connected to the array of sensing units and the control signal generator, wherein the signal processing module generates a processing signal to stimulate at least one neuron, wherein the at least one neuron has a threshold, the sensing signal above the threshold is perceived by the at least one neuron, and the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the threshold.", "10.The neural sensing device according to claim 9, wherein the control signal is generated before the sensing signals, or the control signal and the sensing signal are generated at the same time.", "11.The neural sensing device according to claim 9, wherein the array of the sensing units is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip, and each of the sensing units is a photodiode for replacing a photoreceptor cell on a human retina.", "12.The neural sensing device according to claim 9, wherein the control signal generator is disposed at one side of the array of the sensing units of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the signal processing module.", "13.The neural sensing device according to claim 9, wherein the control signal generator are electrodes installed and connected to left side and right side of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the left side and the right side of each of the sensing unit.", "14.The neural sensing device according to claim 9, wherein the control signal generator is a ring electrode installed and connected to the periphery of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the periphery of each of the sensing unit.", "15.The neural sensing device according to claim 9, wherein the processing signal outputted by the signal processing module of the neural sensing device is used for stimulating at least one ganglion cell of a human retina.", "16.The neural sensing device according to claim 9, wherein the processing signal is at least one electrical pulse." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Based on the above reasons, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a neural sensing device.", "Such neural sensing device is able to prevent the neurons from interfering with each other due to intensive signals, and further achieving the purpose of a device with high neural sensing sensitivity and high accuracy.", "For achieving the foregoing objectives, the present invention provides a neural sensing method for retina application.", "The method includes the steps of: providing an array of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units detects a signal and generates a sensing signal; generating a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units by a control signal generator, wherein the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signal; suppressing the mutual interference between the sensing units by the control signal; sensing signals by the array of sensing units to the signal processing module; and generating a processing signal by the signal processing module to stimulate at least one neuron; wherein the at least one neuron has a threshold, the sensing signal above the threshold is perceived by the at least one neuron, and the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the threshold.", "Besides, it is widely known in the art that a neuron has a sensing threshold and a neuron can only perceive a received signal that has a signal strength greater than the sensing threshold.", "Preferably, the control signal is generated before the sensing signals, or the control signal and the sensing signal are generated at the same time.", "Preferably, the array of the sensing units is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip, and each of the sensing units is a photodiode for replacing a photoreceptor cell on a human retina.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is disposed at one side of the array of the sensing units of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the signal processing module.", "Preferably, the control signal generator are electrodes installed and connected to left side and right side of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the left side and the right side of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is a ring electrode installed and connected to the periphery of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the periphery of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the processing signal outputted by the signal processing module is used for stimulating at least one ganglion cell of a human retina.", "Preferably, the processing signal is at least one electrical pulse.", "In addition, the present invention also provides a neural sensing device for retina application.", "The neural sensing device includes: an array of sensing units, including a plurality of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units detects a signal and generates a sensing signal; a control signal generator, connected to the array of sensing units and generating a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units, wherein the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signal, and the mutual interference between the sensing units is suppressed by the control signal; and a signal processing module, connected to the array of sensing units and the control signal generator, wherein the signal processing module generates a processing signal to stimulate at least one neuron; wherein the at least one neuron has a threshold, the sensing signal above the threshold is perceived by the at least one neuron, and the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the threshold.", "Preferably, the control signal is generated before the sensing signal, or, the control signal and the sensing signal are generated at the same time.", "Preferably, the array of sensing units is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip, and each of the sensing units is a photodiode for replacing a photoreceptor cell on a human retina.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is disposed at one side of the array of the sensing units of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the signal processing module.", "Preferably, the control signal generator are electrodes installed and connected to left side and right side of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the left side and the right side of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is a ring electrode installed and connected to the periphery of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the periphery of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the processing signal outputted by the signal processing module of the neural sensing device is used for stimulating at least one ganglion cell of a human retina.", "Preferably, the processing signal can be at least one electrical pulse.", "When using the neural sensing device of the present invention, the control signal generator generates the control signal to the periphery of each sensing units, so the control signal suppresses the mutual interferences between the sensing units.", "As a result, mutual interferences can be suppressed, and the at least one neuron can be prevented from malfunction.", "When the array of sensing units senses image and/or light sources, each sensing unit on the array of sensing units generates the sensing signal according to the strength distribution of the light of the image and/or light source.", "Since the control signals suppress the mutual interference as described above, when the array of sensing units senses the variation in the intensive distribution of the image and/or light source, the at least one neuron can be prevented from being interfered by multiple sensing signals.", "In this way, the present invention is able to provide a device with high neural sensing sensitivity and high accuracy." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/345,538, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a neural sensing method and device, and more particularly, relates to a neural sensing method and device thereof capable of avoiding interferences between the neurons caused by intensive signals.", "2.The Prior Arts In 2002, the Second Sight Medical Products Inc. performed human transplant operations on six blind patients utilizing its own product: the experimental electronic eye Argus I. Argus I is a bionic eye with a resolution of 16 pixels.", "With the differences in the brightness generated by the light reflection from the surfaces of the objects, Argus I gave blind patients the ability to distinguish the outlines of objects.", "In 2006, the company announced a second-generation product Argus II, which boosts the resolution up to 60 pixels.", "Argus II provides a better resolution and higher accuracy regarding the image recognition for the users.", "The device of the experimental electronic eye Argus II includes an image capturing device disposed outside of the body of a user and an image receiving chip placed inside the body of the user.", "The image capturing device includes a frame, a miniature camera, an image processing unit and a wireless communication module.", "The frame is removable worn on the face of the user, and the miniature camera and the wireless communication module are equipped on the frame.", "The miniature camera is able to capture images in front of the user to generate an imaging information.", "In addition to being disposed on the frame, the image processing unit is also connected to the miniature camera.", "The image processing unit is able to receive the imaging information generated by the miniature camera and further generates digital image information.", "At this time, the wireless communication module receives the digital image information generated by the image processing unit and transmits the digital image information to the image receiving chip.", "The image receiving chip is disposed on a retina of the user and is connected to at least one ganglion cell on the retina of the user.", "The image receiving chip is able to convert the digital image information into a neural spike, and is able to transmit the neural spike to the brain of the user via the at least one ganglion cell, thereby allowing the user to recognize an image.", "In order to enhance the resolution of image and the recognition results perceived by the user, it is inevitable for the conventional image receiving chip to increase the number of photosensitive units within a limited area of the chip so as to increase the pixel value.", "By doing so, it would shorten the distance between each photosensitive unit, and the sensing signals (herein, the sensing signals generated by the photosensitive units each has a sensing signal strength) of the photosensitive units are likely to interfere with each other during the operation.", "As a result, such configuration may have a pixel value that is even lower than the original effective pixel value.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, when the sensing signals of two adjacent photosensitive units 10 are interfering with each other, and when the stacked signal between the two adjacent photosensitive units 10 is higher than a threshold of at least one ganglion cell of the user, the two adjacent photosensitive units 10 will be recognized as one photosensitive unit 11 with a larger area by the at least one ganglion cell of the user, and the received sensing signals will be transmitted to the brain of the user.", "If all the photosensitive units are interfering with each other, the user will only be able to perceive a vague shape of light and shadow, thus losing the ability to identify images by the outline of the object.", "As a result, such image receiving chip with high pixels may lose its ability to enhance the resolution of image and recognition results for the users.", "Therefore, there is an urgent need for the industry to develop a neural sensing device that may prevent the neurons from interfering with each other from intensive signals.", "It is preferred for such neural sensing device to have the characteristics of a small body, high neural sensing sensitivity and high accuracy.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Based on the above reasons, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a neural sensing device.", "Such neural sensing device is able to prevent the neurons from interfering with each other due to intensive signals, and further achieving the purpose of a device with high neural sensing sensitivity and high accuracy.", "For achieving the foregoing objectives, the present invention provides a neural sensing method for retina application.", "The method includes the steps of: providing an array of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units detects a signal and generates a sensing signal; generating a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units by a control signal generator, wherein the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signal; suppressing the mutual interference between the sensing units by the control signal; sensing signals by the array of sensing units to the signal processing module; and generating a processing signal by the signal processing module to stimulate at least one neuron; wherein the at least one neuron has a threshold, the sensing signal above the threshold is perceived by the at least one neuron, and the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the threshold.", "Besides, it is widely known in the art that a neuron has a sensing threshold and a neuron can only perceive a received signal that has a signal strength greater than the sensing threshold.", "Preferably, the control signal is generated before the sensing signals, or the control signal and the sensing signal are generated at the same time.", "Preferably, the array of the sensing units is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip, and each of the sensing units is a photodiode for replacing a photoreceptor cell on a human retina.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is disposed at one side of the array of the sensing units of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the signal processing module.", "Preferably, the control signal generator are electrodes installed and connected to left side and right side of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the left side and the right side of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is a ring electrode installed and connected to the periphery of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the periphery of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the processing signal outputted by the signal processing module is used for stimulating at least one ganglion cell of a human retina.", "Preferably, the processing signal is at least one electrical pulse.", "In addition, the present invention also provides a neural sensing device for retina application.", "The neural sensing device includes: an array of sensing units, including a plurality of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units detects a signal and generates a sensing signal; a control signal generator, connected to the array of sensing units and generating a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units, wherein the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signal, and the mutual interference between the sensing units is suppressed by the control signal; and a signal processing module, connected to the array of sensing units and the control signal generator, wherein the signal processing module generates a processing signal to stimulate at least one neuron; wherein the at least one neuron has a threshold, the sensing signal above the threshold is perceived by the at least one neuron, and the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the threshold.", "Preferably, the control signal is generated before the sensing signal, or, the control signal and the sensing signal are generated at the same time.", "Preferably, the array of sensing units is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip, and each of the sensing units is a photodiode for replacing a photoreceptor cell on a human retina.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is disposed at one side of the array of the sensing units of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the signal processing module.", "Preferably, the control signal generator are electrodes installed and connected to left side and right side of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the left side and the right side of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the control signal generator is a ring electrode installed and connected to the periphery of each of the sensing unit of the array of sensing units, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the periphery of each of the sensing unit.", "Preferably, the processing signal outputted by the signal processing module of the neural sensing device is used for stimulating at least one ganglion cell of a human retina.", "Preferably, the processing signal can be at least one electrical pulse.", "When using the neural sensing device of the present invention, the control signal generator generates the control signal to the periphery of each sensing units, so the control signal suppresses the mutual interferences between the sensing units.", "As a result, mutual interferences can be suppressed, and the at least one neuron can be prevented from malfunction.", "When the array of sensing units senses image and/or light sources, each sensing unit on the array of sensing units generates the sensing signal according to the strength distribution of the light of the image and/or light source.", "Since the control signals suppress the mutual interference as described above, when the array of sensing units senses the variation in the intensive distribution of the image and/or light source, the at least one neuron can be prevented from being interfered by multiple sensing signals.", "In this way, the present invention is able to provide a device with high neural sensing sensitivity and high accuracy.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the interference between the sensing signals of two adjacent photosensitive units of the experimental electronic eye of the prior arts.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram schematically showing the circuits of a neural sensing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3a is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of an array of sensing units of the neural sensing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3b is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of an array of sensing units of the neural sensing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3c is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of an array of sensing units of the neural sensing device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the coupling between a sensing signal and a control signal of the neural sensing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the signal processing of the neural sensing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a flow chart illustrating a neural sensing method for retinal application according to a first embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification.", "The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.", "The present invention may also be implemented or applied as other embodiments that are not described herein, and each details described in the specification may also be changed or modified according to different aspects without departing the spirit of the present invention.", "It should be noted that the structure, ratio and size shown in the accompanying drawings of the present invention are only for illustrative purposes of the disclosure described in the specification, so those who skilled in the art may have a better understanding of the present invention.", "The structure, ratio and size shown in the accompanying drawings are not to limit the scope of the present invention; therefore, they do not represent any substantive technical meanings.", "Any structures modifications, ratios changes or size adjustment made to the drawings should still be considered to be within the scope of the present invention as long as they do not affect the effects and purposes thereof.", "Hereafter, a neural sensing device will be described in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "2 and FIG.", "3a, the neural sensing device of the present invention includes: an array of sensing units 20, a control signal generator 30 and a signal processing module 40.The array of sensing units 20 may include a plurality of sensing units 21.Each of the plurality of sensing units 21 detects a signal and generates a sensing signal, and the signal strength of each of the sensing signals is higher than a threshold of at least one neuron 50.In such a way, the at least one neuron 50 may sense effective information and transmit such information to the brain 60.According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the array of sensing units 20 is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip.", "Each of the sensing units 21 is a photodiode that can be used to replace a photoreceptor cell on a human retina; namely, each of the sensing units 21 is treated as a pixel of an image to be sensed.", "Each sensing unit 21 is able to convert the photon energy emitted thereto into electronic ionization energy, and further output it as electric energy.", "In such a way, sensing signals corresponding to the photon energy can be generated, and the sensing signals can be transmitted to the signal processing module 40.It is important to note that when a control signal is transmitted to a surrounding of each sensing unit 21, the control signal suppresses the electronic ionization energy of the sensing unit 21 as shown in FIG.", "4, or it can be regarded that the right side and the left side of the sensing signal will be blocked by the control signal.", "As a result, interference between adjacent sensing units can be prevented.", "In addition, in other embodiments of the present invention, the control signal generator 30 may be integrated into the structure of the electronic circuits (not shown) of each of the sensing units 21; as a result, the overall structure of the device may further be simplified.", "As shown in FIG.", "2 to FIG.", "4, the control signal generator 30 may be connected to the array of sensing units 20, and the control signal generator 30 is an active element and generates a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit 21 of the array of sensing units, there is no feedback system in the neural sensing device of the present invention.", "In second embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "3b, the control signal generator 30 can be electrodes that install and connect to the right and left sides of each sensing unit 21, and generate a control signal to the right and left side of each sensing unit 21 of the array of sensing units, as shown in FIG.", "4.In third embodiment, as shown in FIG.", "3c, the control signal generator 30 can be a ring electrode that install and connect to the periphery of each sensing unit 21, and generate a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit 21 of the array of sensing units, as shown in FIG.", "4.The signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signals, so the control signal suppresses the mutual interference between the sensing units.", "Also, the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the sensing threshold of the at least one neuron and therefore is not perceived by the neuron.", "Because the sensed signal is suppressed in the surrounding of each sensing unit as shown in FIG.", "4, the interference caused by the overlapping of two adjacent sensed signals shown in FIG.", "1 no longer exists.", "As a result, the control signal effectively isolates the sensed signal of each sensing unit.", "Herein, the control signal may be generated before the sensing signal, or the control signal may be generated simultaneously with the sensing signal.", "In such a way, each of the sensing signals may be isolated by the control signal, thereby suppressing interference.", "Further, once the sensing signals are isolated from each other by the control signal, the sensing signals are considered as isolated signals and are prevented from interfering with each other; therefore, the signal strength of each sensing signal may be further enhanced.", "It should be understood that the control signal has a control signal strength and each of the sensing signals has a sensing signal strength.", "In one embodiment of the present invention, the control signal strength is adjusted to be lower than the sensing signal strength.", "Thereafter, each of the sensing signals may be isolated with each other via the control signal, thereby suppressing interference with the control signal.", "The control signal strength of each control signal is lower than the threshold of the at least one neuron 50 so as to prevent the at least one neuron 50 from sensing any effective information.", "According to the theory of neuron transmission, after the at least one neuron is action potential simulated, because of the inactivation of the sodium ion (N+) channel and a refractory period, the at least one neuron 50 cannot respond to other action potentials simulations when it is under the refractory period.", "The first embodiment of the present invention takes advantage of such a characteristic to put the at least one neuron 50 in the periphery of each sensing unit 21 into the refractory period temporarily, and refrain the sensing signal generated by each sensing unit 21 from creating chain reactions at the peripherys thereof, thereby preventing the interferences between the sensing units.", "As a result, the situation in which the stacked signal strength between the adjacent sensing units 21 is higher than the threshold of the at least one neuron 50 is prevented from happening.", "Furthermore, since the signal strength of each control signal never reaches the threshold of the at least one neuron 50, effective information will never be constructed for the at least one neuron 50, thus the recognition results of the brain 60 toward the image to be sensed may stay unaffected.", "According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the control signal generator 30 may be configured at a side of the array of sensing units 20 of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator 30 may transmit the control signal to the signal processing module 40.Moreover, in other embodiment of this application, the signal strength of the control signal generated by the control signal generator 30 is negative, thereby offset the right and left side of the sensing signals.", "As shown in FIG.", "2 and FIG.", "5, the processing module 40 may be connected to the array of sensing units 20 and the control signal generator 30, and may be configured to generate and output a processing signal to the at least one neuron 50.According to the first embodiment of the present invention, neural sensing device may be directly connected to at least one ganglion cell on a human retina, so the signal processing module 40 may be used to replace the bipolar cell and/or horizontal cell on the human retina.", "Each of the at least one ganglion cells is a gangliform body structure formed by the congregation of the at least one neuron 50 of the same function.", "The bipolar cells are capable of enhancing the difference between the signal edges to increase the image sharpness perceived by the brain 60; that is, sharpening the image perceived by the brain 60.On the other hand, the horizontal cells are capable of reducing the difference in the signal edges to decrease the image sharpness perceived by the brain 60; that is, blurring the image perceived by the brain 60.In the first embodiment of the present invention, the processing signal may be at least one spike.", "After the signal processing module 40 couples the sensing signals of each sensing unit 21 with the control signals, the signal process module 40 then generates and outputs the at least one spike to the at least one neuron 50.When using the neural sensing device of the present invention, first, the array of sensing units 20 is installed on the retina of a user, and the at least one sensing unit 21 of the array of sensing units 20 is configured to be facing outward of the user to sense images outside of the retina of the user.", "The signal processing module 40 is then connected to the at least one ganglion cell on the human retina to transmit the processing signal to the at least one neuron 50.Subsequently, the control signal generator 30 generates the control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit 21, so the control signal is isolated between the sensing signals between each sensing units; in such a way, interferences between the sensing signals can be suppressed, and the at least one neuron 50 can be prevented from malfunction.", "Herein, the control signal may be generated before the sensing signal, or the control signal may be generated simultaneously with the sensing signal.", "In such a way, each of the sensing signals may be isolated by the control signal, thereby suppressing interference.", "When the array of sensing units 20 senses image and/or light sources, each sensing unit 21 on the array of sensing units 20 generates the sensing signal according to the strength distribution of the light of the image and/or light source.", "Since the control signals are isolated between each sensing signals as described above, when the array of sensing units 20 senses variation in the intensive distribution of the light of the image and/or light source, the at least one neuron 50 can be prevented from being interfered by multiple sensing signals at the same time.", "In this way, the present invention is able to provide a device with high neural sensing sensitivity and high accuracy.", "On the other hand, referring to FIGS.", "2-6, the present invention also provides a neural sensing method for retina application.", "The neural sensing method of the present invention includes Steps S60-S68, which are further described in the following section.", "Step S60: providing an array of sensing units, wherein each sensing unit of the array of sensing units detects a signal and generates a sensing signal.", "Step 62: generating a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units by a control signal generator, wherein the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the signal strength of the sensing signal.", "Step S64: suppressing the mutual interference between the sensing units by the control signal.", "Step S66: outputting sensing signals by the array of sensing units to the signal processing module.", "Step S68: generating a processing signal by the signal processing module to stimulate at least one neuron.", "Herein, the at least one neuron has a threshold, the sensing signal above the threshold is perceived by the at least one neuron, and the signal strength of the control signal is lower than the threshold.", "Furthermore, in the neural sensing method provided by the present invention, the control signal may be generated before the sensing signal, or the control signal may be generated simultaneously with the sensing signal.", "In such a way, each of the sensing signals may be isolated by the control signal, thereby suppressing interference.", "Moreover, the array of the sensing units is an array of photodiodes of an electronic retina chip, and each of the sensing units is a photodiode for replacing a photoreceptor cell on a human retina.", "Besides, in the neural sensing method provided by the present invention, the control signal generator can be electrodes that install and connect to the right and left sides of each sensing unit, and generate a control signal to the right and left side of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units.", "Moreover, the control signal generator can be a ring electrode that install and connect to the periphery of each sensing unit, and generate a control signal to the periphery of each sensing unit of the array of sensing units.", "According to the neural sensing device for retinal application provided by the present invention, similarly, in the neural sensing method for retinal application, the control signal generator is disposed at a side of the array of the sensing units of an electronic retina chip, and the control signal generator transmits the control signal to the signal processing module.", "In addition, the neural sensing device can be directly connected to at least one ganglion cell on a human retina.", "Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.", "In addition, the number of elements disclosed in the specification is only for illustrative purpose but to limit the scope of the present invention.", "The scope of the present invention should only be defined by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874898
[ [ "TERMINAL, BASE STATION, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND COMMUNICATION METHOD", "There is provided a terminal for performing OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) communication with a base station forming a cell.", "The terminal includes a control channel processing unit configured to monitor, in a sub-frame, a first control channel in a cell-specific search space that is a search space common within the cell, and a first control channel in a UE-specific search space that is a search space specific to the terminal.", "In a case where monitoring of a second control channel different from the first control channel that is in the cell-specific search space or the UE-specific search space is configured, the control channel processing unit monitors, in a sub-frame, at least both the first control channel in the cell-specific search space and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space." ], [ "1.", "(canceled) 2.A user equipment (UE) apparatus that is configured to communicate with a base station apparatus by using a primary cell and a secondary cell, the UE apparatus comprising: reception circuitry that receives a higher layer signaling; and control channel processing circuitry that monitors, based on the high layer signaling, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on the primary cell and on the secondary cell; wherein: the higher layer signaling includes at least a first information element and a second information element; the first information element specifying a first PDCCH configuration for the primary cell; the first PDCCH configuration include a first resource block assignment information and a first bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the primary cell; the second information element specifying a second PDCCH configuration for the secondary cell; and the second PDCCH configuration include a second resource block assignment information and a second bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the secondary cell.", "3.A base station apparatus that is configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) apparatus by using a primary cell and a secondary cell, the base station apparatus comprising: transmission circuitry that sends a higher layer signaling; and control channel processing circuitry transmits, based on the high layer signaling, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on the primary cell and on the secondary cell; wherein: the higher layer signaling includes at least a first information element and a second information element; the first information element specifying a first PDCCH configuration for the primary cell; the first PDCCH configuration include a first resource block assignment information and a first bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the primary cell; the second information element specifying a second PDCCH configuration for the secondary cell; and the second PDCCH configuration include a second resource block assignment information and a second bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the secondary cell.", "4.A method for a user equipment (UE) apparatus that is configured to communicate with a base station apparatus by using a primary cell and a secondary cell, the method comprising: receiving a higher layer signaling; and monitoring, based on the high layer signaling, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on the primary cell and on the secondary cell; wherein: the higher layer signaling includes at least a first information element and a second information element; the first information element specifying a first PDCCH configuration for the primary cell; the first PDCCH configuration include a first resource block assignment information and a first bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the primary cell; the second information element specifying a second PDCCH configuration for the secondary cell; and the second PDCCH configuration include a second resource block assignment information and a second bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the secondary cell.", "5.A method for a base station apparatus that is configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) apparatus by using a primary cell and a secondary cell, the method comprising: sending a higher layer signaling; and transmitting, based on the high layer signaling, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) on the primary cell and on the secondary cell; wherein: the higher layer signaling includes at least a first information element and a second information element; the first information element specifying a first PDCCH configuration for the primary cell; the first PDCCH configuration include a first resource block assignment information and a first bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the primary cell; the second information element specifying a second PDCCH configuration for the secondary cell; and the second PDCCH configuration include a second resource block assignment information and a second bitmap information indicating a time domain PDCCH monitoring pattern for the secondary cell." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>In wireless communication systems complying with the 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), and LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) standards, the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics engineers) Wireless LAN and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) standards, and so forth, a base station (cell, transmit station, transmitter, eNodeB) and a terminal (mobile terminal, receive station, mobile station, receiver, UE (User Equipment)) each include a plurality of transmit/receive antennas, and employ MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) technology to spatially multiplex data signals to realize high-speed data communication.", "In these wireless communication systems, in order to realize data communication between a base station and a terminal, it is necessary for the base station to perform various kinds of control for the terminal.", "To do this, the base station notifies the terminal of control information by using certain resources to perform data communication in the downlink and uplink.", "For example, the base station notifies the terminal of information on the allocation of resources, information on the modulation and coding of data signals, number-of-spatial-multiplexing-layers information on data signals, transmit power control information, and so forth to implement data signals.", "Transmission of such control information is realized using the method described in NPL 1.Various methods can be used as communication methods based on MIMO technology in the downlink.", "For example, a multi-user MIMO scheme in which the same resources are allocated to different terminals, a CoMP (Cooperative Multipoint) scheme in which a plurality of base stations coordinate with each other to perform data communication, and so forth can be employed.", "FIG.", "14 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the multi-user MIMO scheme is implemented.", "In FIG.", "14 , a base station 1401 performs data communication with a terminal 1402 via a downlink 1404 , and performs data communication with a terminal 1403 via a downlink 1405 .", "In this case, the terminal 1402 and the terminal 1403 perform multi-user MIMO-based data communication.", "The downlink 1404 and the downlink 1405 use the same resources in the frequency direction and the time direction.", "Further, the downlink 1404 and the downlink 1405 each control beams using a precoding technique and so forth to mutually maintain orthogonality or reduce co-channel interference.", "Accordingly, the base station 1401 can realize data communication with the terminal 1402 and the terminal 1403 using the same resources.", "FIG.", "15 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the CoMP scheme is implemented.", "In FIG.", "15 , the establishment of a wireless communication system having a heterogeneous network configuration using a macro base station 1501 with a broad coverage and a RRH (Remote Radio Head) 1502 with a narrower coverage than this macro base station is illustrated.", "Now, consideration is given of the case where the coverage of the macro base station 1501 includes part or all of the coverage of the RRH 1502 .", "In the example illustrated in FIG.", "15 , the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502 establish a heterogeneous network configuration, and coordinate with each other to perform data communication with a terminal 1504 via a downlink 1505 and a downlink 1506 , respectively.", "The macro base station 1501 is connected to the RRH 1502 via a line 1503 , and can transmit and receive a control signal and/or a data signal to and from the RRH 1502 .", "The line 1503 may be implemented using a wired line such as a fiber optic line, a wireless line that is based on relay technology, or the like.", "In this case, the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502 use frequencies (resources) some or all of which are identical, thereby improving the total frequency utilization efficiency (transmission capacity) within a coverage area established by the macro base station 1501 .", "The terminal 1504 can perform single-cell communication with the macro base station 1501 or the RRH 1502 while located near the macro base station 1501 or the RRH 1502 .", "While located near the edge (cell edge) of the coverage established by the RRH 1502 , the terminal 1504 needs to take measures against co-channel interference from the macro base station 1501 .", "There has been proposed a method for reducing or suppressing interference with the terminal 1504 in the cell-edge area by using the CoMP scheme in which neighboring base stations coordinate with each other for multi-cell communication (cooperative communication) between the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502 .", "As the CoMP scheme, for example, the method described in NPL 2 has been proposed." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a terminal, a base station, a communication system, and a communication method.", "BACKGROUND ART In wireless communication systems complying with the 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), and LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) standards, the IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics engineers) Wireless LAN and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) standards, and so forth, a base station (cell, transmit station, transmitter, eNodeB) and a terminal (mobile terminal, receive station, mobile station, receiver, UE (User Equipment)) each include a plurality of transmit/receive antennas, and employ MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) technology to spatially multiplex data signals to realize high-speed data communication.", "In these wireless communication systems, in order to realize data communication between a base station and a terminal, it is necessary for the base station to perform various kinds of control for the terminal.", "To do this, the base station notifies the terminal of control information by using certain resources to perform data communication in the downlink and uplink.", "For example, the base station notifies the terminal of information on the allocation of resources, information on the modulation and coding of data signals, number-of-spatial-multiplexing-layers information on data signals, transmit power control information, and so forth to implement data signals.", "Transmission of such control information is realized using the method described in NPL 1.Various methods can be used as communication methods based on MIMO technology in the downlink.", "For example, a multi-user MIMO scheme in which the same resources are allocated to different terminals, a CoMP (Cooperative Multipoint) scheme in which a plurality of base stations coordinate with each other to perform data communication, and so forth can be employed.", "FIG.", "14 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the multi-user MIMO scheme is implemented.", "In FIG.", "14, a base station 1401 performs data communication with a terminal 1402 via a downlink 1404, and performs data communication with a terminal 1403 via a downlink 1405.In this case, the terminal 1402 and the terminal 1403 perform multi-user MIMO-based data communication.", "The downlink 1404 and the downlink 1405 use the same resources in the frequency direction and the time direction.", "Further, the downlink 1404 and the downlink 1405 each control beams using a precoding technique and so forth to mutually maintain orthogonality or reduce co-channel interference.", "Accordingly, the base station 1401 can realize data communication with the terminal 1402 and the terminal 1403 using the same resources.", "FIG.", "15 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the CoMP scheme is implemented.", "In FIG.", "15, the establishment of a wireless communication system having a heterogeneous network configuration using a macro base station 1501 with a broad coverage and a RRH (Remote Radio Head) 1502 with a narrower coverage than this macro base station is illustrated.", "Now, consideration is given of the case where the coverage of the macro base station 1501 includes part or all of the coverage of the RRH 1502.In the example illustrated in FIG.", "15, the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502 establish a heterogeneous network configuration, and coordinate with each other to perform data communication with a terminal 1504 via a downlink 1505 and a downlink 1506, respectively.", "The macro base station 1501 is connected to the RRH 1502 via a line 1503, and can transmit and receive a control signal and/or a data signal to and from the RRH 1502.The line 1503 may be implemented using a wired line such as a fiber optic line, a wireless line that is based on relay technology, or the like.", "In this case, the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502 use frequencies (resources) some or all of which are identical, thereby improving the total frequency utilization efficiency (transmission capacity) within a coverage area established by the macro base station 1501.The terminal 1504 can perform single-cell communication with the macro base station 1501 or the RRH 1502 while located near the macro base station 1501 or the RRH 1502.While located near the edge (cell edge) of the coverage established by the RRH 1502, the terminal 1504 needs to take measures against co-channel interference from the macro base station 1501.There has been proposed a method for reducing or suppressing interference with the terminal 1504 in the cell-edge area by using the CoMP scheme in which neighboring base stations coordinate with each other for multi-cell communication (cooperative communication) between the macro base station 1501 and the RRH 1502.As the CoMP scheme, for example, the method described in NPL 2 has been proposed.", "CITATION LIST Non Patent Literature NPL 1: 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical layer procedures (Release 10), March 2011, 3GPP TS 36.212 V10.1.0 (2011-03).", "NPL 2: 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Further Advancements for E-UTRA Physical Layer Aspects (Release 9), March 2010, 3GPP TR 36.814 V9.0.0 (2010-03).", "SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem In a wireless communication system capable of MIMO communication based on a scheme such as the multi-user MIMO scheme or the CoMP scheme, however, due to the improvement in transmission capacity achievable with one base station, the number of terminals that can be accommodated also increases.", "For this reason, in a case where a base station notifies terminals of control information using conventional resources, resources allocated to the control information may be insufficient.", "In this case, it is difficult for the base station to efficiently allocate data to terminals, which may hinder the improvement of transmission efficiency.", "The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a base station, a terminal, a communication system, and a communication method that allow the base station to efficiently notify the terminal of control information in a wireless communication system in which the base station and the terminal communicate with each other.", "Solution to Problem According to an embodiment, there is provided a terminal for performing OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) communication with a base station forming a cell.", "The terminal includes a control channel processing unit configured to monitor, in one sub-frame, a first control channel in a cell-specific search space that is a search space common within the cell, and a first control channel in a UE-specific search space that is a search space specific to the terminal.", "In a case where monitoring of a second control channel different from the first control channel in the cell-specific search space or the UE-specific search space is set, the control channel processing unit at least monitors, in the one sub-frame, both the first control channel in the cell-specific search space and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space.", "Preferably, the first control channel in the cell-specific search space is a control channel which can include system information, paging, and control information concerning random access instruction.", "Preferably, the first control channel in the cell-specific search space is transmitted using a transmission port used for transmission of a cell-specific reference signal, and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space is transmitted using a transmission port used for transmission of a UE-specific reference signal.", "Preferably, the first control channel in the cell-specific search space is arranged over OFDM symbols up to a certain number of OFDM symbols from the top OFDM symbol in the sub-frame, and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space is arranged in OFDM symbols subsequent to the last one of the certain number of OFDM symbols in the sub-frame.", "Preferably, the first control channel in the cell-specific search space is a control channel usable while the terminal is in idle state and in connected state, and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space is a control channel usable only while the terminal is in the connected state.", "According to another embodiment, there is provided a base station that forms a cell and that performs OFDM communication with a terminal.", "The base station includes a transmission unit configured to notify the terminal of configuration information indicating that both a first control channel in a cell-specific search space that is a search space common within the cell and a second control channel in a UE-specific search space that is a search space specific to the terminal are at least monitored in one sub-frame.", "Preferably, the transmission unit transmits the first control channel in the cell-specific search space using a transmission port used for transmission of a cell-specific reference signal, and transmits the second control channel in the UE-specific search space using a transmission port used for transmission of as a UE-specific reference signal.", "Preferably, the transmission unit transmits the first control channel in the cell-specific search space via OFDM symbols up to a certain number of OFDM symbols from the top OFDM symbol in the sub-frame, and transmits the second control channel in the UE-specific search space via OFDM symbols subsequent to the last one of the certain number of OFDM symbols in the sub-frame.", "Preferably, the first control channel in the cell-specific search space is a control channel usable while the terminal is in idle state and in connected state, and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space is a control channel usable only while the terminal is in the connected state.", "According to still another embodiment, there is provided a communication system in which a base station forming a cell and a terminal perform OFDM communication.", "The base station includes a transmission unit configured to notify the terminal of configuration information on a second control channel.", "The terminal includes a control channel processing unit configured to monitor, in one sub-frame, a first control channel in a cell-specific search space that is a search space common within the cell, and a first control channel in a UE-specific search space that is a search space specific to the terminal.", "In a case where monitoring of the second control channel is set, the control channel processing unit at least monitors, in one sub-frame, both the first control channel in the cell-specific search space and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space.", "According to still another embodiment, there is provided a communication method for a terminal that performs OFDM communication with a base station forming a cell.", "The communication method includes a step of monitoring, in one sub-frame, a first control channel in a cell-specific search space that is a search space common within the cell, and a first control channel in a UE-specific search space that is a search space specific to the terminal; and a step of, in a case where monitoring of a second control channel different from the first control channel in the cell-specific search space or the UE-specific search space is set, at least monitoring, in the one sub-frame, both the first control channel in the cell-specific search space and the second control channel in the UE-specific search space.", "According to still another embodiment, there is provided a communication method for a base station that forms a cell and that performs OFDM communication with a terminal.", "The communication method includes a step of notifying the terminal of configuration information indicating that both a first control channel in a cell-specific search space that is a search space common within the cell, and a second control channel in a UE-specific search space that is a search space specific to the terminal are at least monitored in one sub-frame.", "Advantageous Effects of Invention According to this invention, in a wireless communication system in which a base station and a terminal communicate with each other, the base station can efficiently notify the terminal of control information.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system for performing data transmission according to a first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a base station according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a diagram illustrating an example of one resource block pair that the base station maps.", "FIG.", "5 is a diagram illustrating an example of channels that the base station maps.", "FIG.", "6 is a diagram illustrating the flow for setting UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "FIG.", "7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "FIG.", "8 is a diagram illustrating an example of UE-specific configuration information on a second control channel.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating the flow for a process for receiving a control channel and a data channel at the terminal.", "FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrating an example of frequency arrangement for cells with carrier aggregation according to a second embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a diagram illustrating another example of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "FIG.", "12 is a diagram illustrating another example of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "FIG.", "14 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the multi-user MIMO scheme is implemented.", "FIG.", "15 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the CoMP scheme is implemented.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter.", "A communication system according to the first embodiment includes a base station (transmitter, cell, transmission point, set of transmission antennas, set of transmission antenna ports, component carrier, eNodeB) and a terminal (terminal device, mobile terminal, reception point, receiving terminal, receiver, third communication device, set of receive antennas, set of receive antenna ports, UE).", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication system for performing data transmission according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "1, a base station 101 transmits control information and information data via a downlink 103 in order to perform data communication with a terminal 102.The control information is subjected to an error correction coding process and so forth, and is then mapped to a control channel.", "The control channel subjected to a modulation process is transmitted and received via a first control channel (first physical control channel) region or a second control channel (second physical control channel) region different from the first control channel region.", "The term physical control channel, as used herein, is a kind of physical channel and refers to a control channel defined in a physical frame.", "In terms of a point of view, the first control channel is a physical control channel that uses the same transmission port (antenna port) as a cell-specific reference signal.", "The second control channel is a physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as a UE-specific reference signal.", "The terminal 102 demodulates the control channel (first control channel) mapped to the first control channel region using the cell-specific reference signal, and demodulates the control channel (second control channel) mapped to the second control channel region using the UE-specific reference signal.", "The cell-specific reference signal is a reference signal common to all the terminals within a cell, and is a reference signal usable by any terminal because it is included in substantially all the resources.", "Accordingly, the first control channel can be demodulated by any terminal.", "The UE-specific reference signal is a reference signal that is included only in an allocated resource, and can be subjected to an adaptive beamforming process in a manner similar to that for data.", "Accordingly, adaptive beamforming gains can be obtained on the second control channel.", "In terms of a different point of view, the first control channel is a physical control channel over OFDM symbols located in a front part of a physical sub-frame, and may be arranged over an entire system bandwidth (component carrier (CC)) in these OFDM symbols.", "The second control channel is a physical control channel over OFDM symbols located after the first control channel in the physical sub-frame, and may be arranged in part of the system bandwidth over these OFDM symbols.", "The first control channel is arranged over OFDM symbols dedicated to a control channel which are located in a front part of a physical sub-frame, and can thus be received and demodulated prior to rear OFDM symbols used for a physical data channel.", "The first control channel can also be received by a terminal that monitors only OFDM symbols dedicated to a control channel.", "Since the first control channel can be spread out over an entire CC, it is possible to randomize inter-cell interference.", "In contrast, the second control channel is arranged over rear OFDM symbols used for a shared channel (physical data channel) which terminals under communication normally receive.", "In addition, frequency division multiplexing allows second control channels or a second control channel and a physical data channel to be orthogonally multiplexed (multiplexed without interference).", "In terms of a still different point of view, the first control channel is a cell-specific physical control channel, and is a physical channel which both a terminal in the idle state and a terminal in the connected state can acquire.", "The second control channel is a UE-specific physical control channel, and is a physical channel which only a terminal in the connected state can acquire.", "The term idle state refers to a state where data is not immediately transmitted or received, such as a state where a base station does not accumulate RRC (Radio Resource Control) information (RRC IDLE state) or a state where a mobile station is performing discontinuous reception (DRX).", "The term connected state, in contrast, refers to a state where data is ready to be immediately transmitted or received, such as a state where a terminal holds network information (RRC CONNECTED state) or a state where a mobile station is not performing discontinuous reception (DRX).", "The first control channel is a channel which a terminal can receive without depending on UE-specific RRC signaling.", "The second control channel is a channel configured using UE-specific RRC signaling, and is a channel which a terminal can receive using UE-specific RRC signaling.", "That is, the first control channel is a channel which any terminal can receive with pre-determined settings, and the second control channel is a channel for which UE-specific configurations can be easily changed.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of the base station 101 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "2, the base station 101 includes a higher layer 201, a data channel generation unit 202, a UE-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 203, a precoding unit 204, a cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 205, a transmit signal generation unit 206, and a transmission unit 207.The higher layer 201 generates information data for the terminal 102, and outputs the information data to the data channel generation unit 202.The data channel generation unit 202 performs adaptive control on the information data output from the higher layer 201 to generate a data channel for the terminal 102.Specifically, the data channel generation unit 202 performs processes such as a coding process for performing error correction coding, a scrambling process for applying a specific scrambling code to the terminal 102, a modulation process for using a multi-level modulation scheme and so forth, and a layer mapping process for performing spatial multiplexing such as MIMO.", "Furthermore, in a case where the data channel generation unit 202 is to map a control channel to a second control channel region described below, the control channel is multiplexed to the data channel.", "The UE-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 203 generates UE-specific reference signals specific to the terminal 102 (data channel demodulation reference signal, DM-RS (Demodulation Reference Signal), DRS (Dedicated Reference Signal), Precoded RS, user-specific reference signal, UE-specific RS), and multiplexes the UE-specific reference signals to the data channel generated by the data channel generation unit 202.The precoding unit 204 performs a precoding process specific to the terminal 102 on the data channel and UE-specific reference signals output from the UE-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 203.In the precoding process, preferably, phase rotation and so forth are performed on a signal to be generated so as to allow the terminal 102 to efficiently receive the signal (for example, maximize the receive power, reduce interference from neighboring cells, and/or reduce interference with neighboring cells).", "In addition, processes that can be used include, but not limited to, processes based on predetermined precoding matrices, CDD (Cyclic Delay Diversity), and transmit diversity (such as SFBC (Spatial Frequency Block Code), STBC (Spatial Time Block Code), TSTD (Time Switched Transmission Diversity), and FSTD (Frequency Switched Transmission Diversity))).", "In a case where a plurality of separate types of PMIs are fed back, the plurality of PMIs are subjected to computation such as multiplication and precoding can be performed.", "The UE-specific reference signals are implemented using signals which are known by both the base station 101 and the terminal 102.The data channel and the UE-specific reference signals are subjected to the precoding process specific to the terminal 102 by the precoding unit 204.Accordingly, when demodulating the data channel, the terminal 102 can estimate the channel state in the downlink 103 and a channel for equalizing precoding weights used by the precoding unit 204, by using the UE-specific reference signals.", "That is, the base station 101 can demodulate the signals which have been subjected to the precoding process, without the need to notify the terminal 102 of the precoding weights used by the precoding unit 204.The cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 205 generates cell-specific reference signals that are known by both the base station 101 and the terminal 102 (channel state measurement reference signal, CRS (Common RS), Cell-specific RS, Non-precoded RS) to measure the channel state of the downlink 103 between the base station 101 and the terminal 102.The generated cell-specific reference signals are multiplexed to the data channel and UE-specific reference signals subjected to the precoding process by the precoding unit 204.The cell-specific reference signals may be any signal (sequence) as long as they are signals that are known by both the base station 101 and the terminal 102.The cell-specific reference signals may be implemented using, for example, a random number or a pseudo-noise sequence based on a pre-assigned parameter such as a number (cell ID) specific to the base station 101.A method for performing orthogonalization between antenna ports, such as a method for setting a resource element to which a channel state measurement reference signal is mapped to null (zero) between the antenna ports, a method for performing code division multiplexing using a pseudo-noise sequence, or a combination thereof, may be used.", "The channel state measurement reference signal may not necessarily be multiplexed to all the sub-frames, but may be multiplexed to only some sub-frames.", "The cell-specific reference signals are reference signals to be multiplexed after the precoding process has been performed by the precoding unit 204.Thus, the terminal 102 can measure the channel state of the downlink 103 between the base station 101 and the terminal 102 using the cell-specific reference signals, and can demodulate a signal that has not yet been subjected to the precoding process by the precoding unit 204.The transmit signal generation unit 206 maps the signals output from the cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 205 to the respective resource elements of the antenna ports.", "Specifically, the transmit signal generation unit 206 maps the data channel to a shared channel (PDSCH; Physical Downlink Shared Channel) region described below, and maps the control channel to be transmitted through the second control channel region to the second control channel region.", "Further, when mapping a control channel to a first control channel (PDCCH; Physical Downlink Control Channel) region described below, the transmit signal generation unit 206 multiplexes the control channel to the signals output from the cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit 205.Here, the base station 101 can map control channels addressed to a plurality of terminals to the first control channel region or the second control channel region.", "The transmission unit 207 performs processes such as inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), the addition of guard interval, and conversion into radio frequencies, and then transmits the resulting signals via transmission antennas, where the number of transmission antennas (the number of transmission antenna ports) is at least one.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal 102 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "3, the terminal 102 includes a reception unit 301, a reception signal processing unit 302, a control channel processing unit 303, a data channel processing unit 304, and a higher layer 305.The reception unit 301 receives signals transmitted from the base station 101 using receive antennas, where the number of receive antennas (the number of receive antenna ports) is at least one, and performs a process for conversion from radio frequencies to baseband signals, the removal of the added guard interval, and a time-frequency conversion process based on fast Fourier transform (FFT) or the like.", "The reception signal processing unit 302 de-maps (de-multiplexes) the signals mapped by the base station 101.Specifically, the reception signal processing unit 302 de-maps the first control channel and/or second control channel mapped to the first control channel and/or the second control channel region, and the data channel mapped to the data channel region.", "The control channel processing unit 303 searches for and detects a control channel mapped to the first control channel region or the second control channel region and addressed to the terminal 102.The control channel processing unit 303 configures the first control channel region or the second control channel region as a control channel region in which the control channel is searched for.", "The method for setting the control channel region is determined by whether the base station 101 configures the second control channel for the terminal 102 through UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel, which is higher-layer control information (for example, RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling) of which the terminal 102 is notified.", "That is, in a case where the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the UE-specific configuration information of the second control channel and configures the second control channel, the terminal 102 searches for and detects the control channel mapped to the second control channel and addressed to the terminal 102.On the other hand, in a case where the base station 101 does not notify the terminal 102 of the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel or does not configure the second control channel, the terminal 102 searches for and detects the control channel mapped to the first control channel and addressed to the terminal 102.The control channel processing unit 303 uses the UE-specific reference signals for the demodulation of the control channel mapped to the second control channel region and addressed to the terminal 102.The control channel processing unit 303 uses the cell-specific reference signals for the demodulation of the control channel mapped to the first control channel region and addressed to the terminal 102.Further, the control channel processing unit 303 searches for and identifies the control channel addressed to the terminal 102 in the configured control channel region.", "Specifically, the control channel processing unit 303 sequentially searches all or some of the control channel candidates obtained in accordance with the type of control information, the position of the resource to be mapped, the size of the resource to be mapped, and so forth, by performing a demodulation and decoding process.", "The control channel processing unit 303 determines whether control information is the control information addressed to the terminal 102, by using error detection codes (for example, CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) codes) attached to the control information.", "This search method is also called blind decoding.", "The reception signal processing unit 302 identifies the detected control channel.", "If the de-mapped data channel includes the data channel addressed to the terminal 102, the reception signal processing unit 302 outputs the data channel to the data channel processing unit 304.A control information signal is shared with the terminal 102 (also including the higher layer), and used for various kinds of control to be performed by the terminal 102, such as the demodulation of the data channel.", "The data channel processing unit 304 performs processes, such as a channel estimation process, a channel compensation process (filtering process), a layer de-mapping process, a demodulation process, a descrambling process, and a decoding process, on the input data channel, and outputs the result to the higher layer 305.In the channel estimation process, amplitude and phase variations (frequency response, transfer function) in each resource element for each layer (rank, spatial multiplexing) are estimated (channel estimation) in accordance with the UE-specific reference signals multiplexed to the input data channel to determine channel estimates.", "For a resource element to which no UE-specific reference signals are mapped, channel estimation is performed using interpolation in the frequency direction and the time direction based on a resource element to which a UE-specific reference signal is mapped.", "In the channel compensation process, channel compensation is performed on the input data channel using the estimated channel estimates to detect (extract) the data channel for each layer.", "The detection method may be implemented using ZF (Zero Forcing)-based and/or MMSE (Minimum Mean Square Error)-based equalization, removal of interference, or the like.", "In the layer de-mapping process, signals for individual layers are de-mapped to obtain the respective codewords.", "Subsequently, the process is performed on a codeword-by-codeword basis.", "In the demodulation process, demodulation is based on the modulation scheme used.", "In the descrambling process, descrambling is based on the scrambling codes used.", "In the decoding process, an error correction decoding process is based on the coding method applied.", "FIG.", "4 is a diagram illustrating an example of one resource block pair that the base station 101 maps.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates two resource blocks (a resource block pair), and each resource block is composed of twelve subcarriers in the frequency direction, and seven OFDM symbols in the time direction.", "Each subcarrier for a duration of one OFDM symbol is called a resource element.", "The resource block pairs are arranged in the frequency direction, and the number of resource block pairs can be configured for each base station.", "For example, the number of resource block pairs can be set to 6 to 110.The width of the resource block pairs in the frequency direction is called a system bandwidth.", "A resource block pair in the time direction is called a sub-frame.", "In each sub-frame, consecutive sets of seven OFDM symbols in the time direction are each also called a slot.", "In the following description, resource block pairs are also referred to simply as resource blocks.", "Among the resource elements shown shaded, R0 to R1 represent cell-specific reference signals for antenna ports 0 to 1, respectively.", "The cell-specific reference signals illustrated in FIG.", "4 are used in the case of two antenna ports, the number of which can be changed.", "For example, cell-specific reference signals for one antenna port or four antenna ports can be mapped.", "Cell-specific reference signals can be set for up to four antenna ports (antenna ports 0 to 3).", "Among the resource elements shown shaded, D1 to D2 represent UE-specific reference signals in CDM (Code Division Multiplexing) group 1 to CDM group 2, respectively.", "The UE-specific reference signals in CDM group 1 and CDM group 2 are each subjected to CDM using orthogonal codes such as Walsh codes.", "The UE-specific reference signals in CDM group 1 and CDM group 2 are further mutually subjected to FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing).", "The UE-specific reference signals can be mapped to up to rank 8 using eight antenna ports (antenna ports 7 to 14) in accordance with the control channel or data channel to be mapped to the resource block pair.", "In addition, the UE-specific reference signals are configured such that the spreading code length for CDM and/or the number of resource elements to be mapped can be changed in accordance with the rank for mapping.", "For example, the UE-specific reference signals for ranks 1 to 2 are formed of spreading codes of 2-chip length for antenna ports 7 to 8, and are mapped to CDM group 1.The UE-specific reference signals for ranks 3 to 4 are formed of spreading codes of 2-chip length for antenna ports 9 to 10 in addition to antenna ports 7 to 8, and are further mapped to CDM group 2.The UE-specific reference signals for ranks 5 to 8 are formed of spreading codes of 4-chip length for antenna ports 7 to 14, and are mapped to CDM group 1 and CDM group 2.In the UE-specific reference signals, a scrambling code is further multiplied on an orthogonal code on each antenna port.", "The scrambling code is generated based on the cell ID and the scrambling ID which are sent from the base station 101.For example, a scrambling code is generated from a pseudo-noise sequence generated based on the cell ID and the scrambling ID which are notified by the base station 101.The scrambling ID is, for example, a value representing 0 or 1.The scrambling IDs and antenna ports to be used can also be subjected to joint coding, and information indicating them can also be formed into an index.", "Among the resource elements shown shaded, the area composed of the top first to third OFDM symbols is set as an area where the first control channel is to be mapped.", "In addition, the number of OFDM symbols in the area where the first control channel is to be mapped can be configured for each sub-frame.", "The resource elements in a solid white color represent an area where the second control channel or the shared channel is to be arranged.", "The area where the second control channel or the shared channel is to be arranged can be set for each resource block pair.", "The rank of the control channel to be mapped to the second control channel and/or the data channel to be mapped to the shared channel can be set different from the rank of the control signal to be mapped to the first control channel.", "The number of resource blocks can be changed in accordance with the frequency bandwidth (system bandwidth) used in the communication system.", "For example, 6 to 110 resource blocks can be used, the unit of which is also called a component carrier.", "A base station can further configure a plurality of component carriers for a terminal by using frequency aggregation.", "For example, a base station may configure five component carriers contiguous and/or non-contiguous in the frequency direction for a terminal, where the bandwidth of each component carrier is 20 MHz, thereby totaling a bandwidth of 100 MHz which can be supported by the communication system.", "FIG.", "5 is a diagram illustrating an example of channels that the base station 101 maps.", "In the case illustrated in FIG.", "5, a frequency bandwidth of 12 resource block pairs is used as the system bandwidth.", "The first control channel, or PDCCH, is mapped in the top first to third OFDM symbols in a sub-frame.", "The first control channel is distributed over the system bandwidth in the frequency direction.", "The shared channel is arranged in the OFDM symbols other than the OFDM symbols for the first control channel in the sub-frame.", "The details of the configuration of the PDCCH will now be described.", "The PDCCH is composed of a plurality of control channel elements (CCEs).", "The number of CCEs used in each downlink component carrier depends on the downlink component carrier bandwidth, the number of OFDM symbols constituting the PDCCH, and the number of transmission ports for downlink reference signals which depends on the number of transmission antennas in the base station used for communication.", "Each CCE is composed of a plurality of downlink resource elements (resources each defined by one OFDM symbol and one subcarrier).", "CCEs used between a base station and a terminal are assigned respective numbers to identify the CCEs.", "The numbering of the CCEs is based on a predetermined rule.", "Here, CCE_t denotes the CCE having the CCE number t. The PDCCH is constituted by an aggregation of a plurality of CCEs (CCE Aggregation).", "The number of CCEs in this aggregation is referred to as “CCE aggregation level”.", "The CCE aggregation level in the PDCCH is set in the base station in accordance with a coding rate set for the PDCCH and/or the number of bits in a DCI included in the PDCCH.", "The combination of CCE aggregation levels which can be possibly used for the terminal is determined in advance.", "An aggregation of n CCEs is referred to as “CCE aggregation level n”.", "One resource element group is composed of four neighboring downlink resource elements in the frequency domain.", "Each CCE is composed of nine different resource element groups that are scattered in the frequency domain and the time domain.", "Specifically, all the resource element groups assigned numbers for the entire downlink component carrier are interleaved in units of resource element groups using a block interleaver, and nine resource element groups having contiguous numbers, which have been interleaved, constitute one CCE.", "An area (search space, retrieval area) in which a PDCCH is searched for, called an SS (Search Space), is set for each terminal.", "Each SS is composed of a plurality of CCEs.", "The CCEs are assigned numbers in advance, and the SS is composed of a plurality of CCEs having contiguous numbers.", "The number of CCEs constituting a certain SS is determined in advance.", "An SS for each CCE aggregation level is composed of an aggregate of a plurality of PDCCH candidates.", "SSs are classified into a cell-specific search space CSS (Cell-specific SS) for which, among the included CCEs, the CCE number of the CCE having the smallest number is shared in a cell, and a UE-specific search space USS (UE-specific SS) for which the CCE number of the CCE having the smallest number is UE-specific.", "In the CSS, a PDCCH to which control information to be read by a plurality of terminals, such as system information and information concerning paging, is assigned (included), or a PDCCH to which a downlink/uplink grant indicating instructions for a fallback to a low-level transmit scheme or random access is assigned (included) can be arranged.", "A base station transmits a PDCCH using one or more CCEs in an SS set in a terminal.", "The terminal decodes a received signal using one or more CCEs in the SS, and performs a process for detecting the PDCCH addressed to the terminal (referred to as blind decoding).", "The terminal sets different SSs for the respective CCE aggregation levels.", "Thereafter, the terminal performs blind decoding using predetermined combinations of CCEs in the different SSs for the respective CCE aggregation levels.", "In other words, the terminal attempts blind decoding on each of the PDCCH candidates in the different SSs for the respective CCE aggregation levels.", "The above-described series of processes performed by the terminal is referred to as PDCCH monitoring.", "The second control channel (X-PDCCH, PDCCH on PDSCH, Extended PDCCH) is mapped in the OFDM symbols other than the OFDM symbols for the first control channel.", "The second control channel and the shared channel are arranged in different resource blocks.", "Resource blocks in which the second control channel and the shared channel may be arranged are configured for each terminal.", "The starting position for the OFDM symbols in which the second control channel is to be arranged can be determined using a method similar to that for the shared channel.", "That is, this method can be realized by the base station 101 configuring some resources in the first control channel as a PCFICH (Physical control format indicator channel), and mapping information indicating the number of OFDM symbols for the first control channel.", "The starting position for the OFDM symbols in which the second control channel is to be arranged is defined in advance, and can be set to, for example, the top fourth OFDM symbol in the sub-frame.", "In this case, if the number of OFDM symbols for the first control channel is less than or equal to 2, the second to third OFDM symbols in the resource block pair where the second control channel is to be arranged are set to null without mapping a signal.", "Other control channels or data channels can further be mapped to the resources set to null.", "The starting position for the OFDM symbols constituting the second control channel can be configured through higher-layer control information.", "The sub-frame illustrated in FIG.", "5 is time-multiplexed, and the second control channel can be configured for each sub-frame.", "As an SS in which the X-PDCCH is searched for, an SS can be composed of a plurality of CCEs similarly to the PDCCH.", "That is, a resource element group is composed of a plurality of resource elements in an area that is set as an area for the second control channel illustrated in FIG.", "5, and furthermore a CCE is composed of a plurality of resource elements.", "Accordingly, similarly to the case of the PDCCH described above, an SS in which the X-PDCCH is searched for (monitored) can be formed.", "Alternatively, as an SS in which the X-PDCCH is searched for, unlike the PDCCH, an SS can be composed of one or more resource blocks.", "That is, an SS may be composed of an aggregation of one or more resource blocks (RB Aggregation), in units of resource blocks in an area that is set as the area for the second control channel illustrated in FIG.", "5.The number of RBs included in this aggregation is referred to as an “RB aggregation level”.", "An SS is composed of a plurality of RBs having contiguous numbers, starting from the RB having the smallest number, and the number of one or more RBs having contiguous numbers is determined in advance.", "An SS for each RB aggregation level is composed of an aggregate of a plurality of X-PDCCH candidates.", "A base station transmits an X-PDCCH using one or more RBs in an SS set in a terminal.", "The terminal decodes a received signal using one or more RBs in the SS, and performs a process for detecting the X-PDCCH addressed to the terminal (performs blind decoding).", "The terminal sets different SSs for the respective RB aggregation levels.", "Thereafter, the terminal performs blind decoding using predetermined combinations of RBs in the different SSs for the respective RB aggregation levels.", "In other words, the terminal performs blind decoding on each of the X-PDCCH candidates in the different SSs for the respective RB aggregation levels (monitors the X-PDCCH).", "In a case where the base station 101 is to notify the terminal 102 of a control channel via the second control channel region, the base station 101 configures the monitoring of the second control channel for the terminal 102, and maps the control channel for the terminal 102 to the second control channel region.", "In a case where the base station 101 is to notify the terminal 102 of a control channel via the first control channel region, the base station 101 maps the control channel for the terminal 102 to the first control channel region without configuring the monitoring of the second control channel for the terminal 102.On the other hand, in a case where the monitoring of the second control channel is configured by the base station 101, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of the control channel addressed to the terminal 102 in the second control channel region.", "In a case where the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured by the base station 101, the terminal 102 does not perform blind decoding of the control channel addressed to the terminal 102 in the second control channel.", "Hereinafter, a description will be given of the control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region.", "The control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region is processed for each piece of control information on one terminal, and is subjected to processes such as, similarly to the data channel, a scrambling process, a modulation process, a layer mapping process, and a precoding process.", "The control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region is subjected to a precoding process specific to the terminal 102 together with the UE-specific reference signal.", "In this case, the precoding process is preferably performed with precoding weights suitable for the terminal 102.In a case where an SS is composed of one or more resource blocks, the control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region can be mapped so as to include different kinds of control information for the front slot (first slot) and the rear slot (second slot) in a sub-frame.", "For example, a control channel including allocation information (downlink allocation information) for a downlink shared channel to be transmitted from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 is mapped to the front slot in a sub-frame.", "On the other hand, a control channel including allocation information (uplink allocation information) for an uplink shared channel to be transmitted from the terminal 102 to the base station 101 is mapped to the rear slot in the sub-frame.", "Alternatively, a control channel including uplink allocation information for the terminal 102 with respect to the base station 101 may be mapped to the front slot in a sub-frame, and a control channel including downlink allocation information for the base station 101 with respect to the terminal 102 may be mapped to the rear slot in the sub-frame.", "A data channel for the terminal 102 or any other terminal may be mapped to the front and/or rear slot for the second control channel.", "Alternatively, a control channel for the terminal 102 or a terminal for which the second control channel has been set (including the terminal 102) may be mapped to the front and/or rear slot for the second control channel.", "The base station 101 multiplexes the UE-specific reference signal to the control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region.", "The terminal 102 performs a demodulation process on the control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region, by using the UE-specific reference signals to be multiplexed.", "UE-specific reference signals for some or all the antenna ports 7 to 14 are used.", "In this case, the control channel to be mapped to the second control channel region can be MIMO-transmitted using a plurality of antenna ports.", "For example, a UE-specific reference signal in the second control channel is transmitted using a predefined antenna port and a scrambling code.", "Specifically, a UE-specific reference signal in the second control channel is generated using antenna port 7, which is defined in advance, and a scrambling ID.", "For example, a UE-specific reference signal in the second control channel is generated using an antenna port and a scrambling ID which are sent via RRC signaling or PDCCH signaling.", "Specifically, either antenna port 7 or antenna port 8 is notified as the antenna port to be used for a UE-specific reference signal in the second control channel via RRC signaling or PDCCH signaling.", "Any value of 0 to 3 is notified as the scrambling ID to be used for the UE-specific reference signal in the second control channel via RRC signaling or PDCCH signaling.", "In the following, as an example of a method in which the base station 101 configures the second control channel for the terminal 102 (a method for configuration of the second control channel region and a method for configuration of the monitoring of the second control channel), the configuration of the second control channel region and the configuration of a transmission mode implicitly indicate the configuration of the monitoring of the second control channel.", "The base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of UE-specific configuration information for radio resources (RadioResourceConfigDedicated) through higher-layer control information, thereby configuring the second control channel.", "The UE-specific configuration information for radio resources is control information used for the configuration/reconfiguration/release of resource blocks, the UE-specific configurations for the physical channel, and so forth.", "FIG.", "6 is a diagram illustrating the flow for setting the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "The base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "The terminal 102 performs UE-specific configuration for radio resources in accordance with the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources sent from the base station 101, and notifies the base station 101 of the completion of the configuration of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "FIG.", "7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "The UE-specific configuration information for radio resources includes UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel (PhysicalConfigDedicated).", "The UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel is control information for defining UE-specific configurations for the physical channel.", "The UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel includes configuration information on channel state reports (CQI-ReportConfig), UE-specific configuration information on antenna information (AntennaInfoDedicated), and UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel (XPDCCH-ConfigDedicated).", "The configuration information on channel state reports is used to define configuration information for reporting the channel state in the downlink 103.The UE-specific configuration information on antenna information is used to define UE-specific antenna information in the base station 101.The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is used to define UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "The configuration information on channel state reports includes configuration information on aperiodic channel state reports (cqi-ReportModeAperiodic), and configuration information on periodic channel state reports (CQI-ReportPeriodic).", "The configuration information on aperiodic channel state reports is configuration information for aperiodically reporting the channel state in the downlink 103 via an uplink shared channel (PUSCH; Physical Uplink Shared Channel).", "The configuration information of the periodic channel state report is configuration information for periodically reporting the channel state in the downlink 103 via an uplink control channel (PUCCH; Physical Uplink Control Channel).", "The UE-specific configuration information on antenna information includes a transmission mode.", "The transmission mode is information indicating a transmission method by which the base station 101 communicates with the terminal 102.For example, the transmission mode is defined as any of transmission modes 1 to 10 in advance.", "Transmission mode 1 is a transmission mode based on a single-antenna port transmission scheme in which antenna port 0 is used.", "Transmission mode 2 is a transmission mode based on a transmit diversity scheme.", "Transmission mode 3 is a transmission mode based on a cyclic delay diversity scheme.", "Transmission mode 4 is a transmission mode based on a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme.", "Transmission mode 5 is a transmission mode based on a multi-user MIMO scheme.", "Transmission mode 6 is a transmission mode based on a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme in which a single antenna port is used.", "Transmission mode 7 is a transmission mode based on a single-antenna port transmission scheme in which antenna port 5 is used.", "Transmission mode 8 is a transmission mode based on a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme in which antenna ports 7 to 8 are used.", "Transmission mode 9 is a transmission mode based on a closed-loop spatial multiplexing scheme in which antenna ports 7 to 14 are used.", "Transmission modes 1 to 9 are also referred to as first transmission modes.", "Transmission mode 10 is defined as a transmission mode different from transmission modes 1 to 9.For example, transmission mode 10 can be a transmission mode based on a CoMP scheme.", "Here, extensions with the employment of the CoMP scheme include the optimization of channel state reports, improvements in accuracy (for example, the employment of information suitable for CoMP communication, such as precoding information and phase difference information between base stations), and so forth.", "Transmission mode 10 can also be a transmission mode based on a communication scheme which is an extended (enhanced) version of the multi-user MIMO scheme and which can be achieved using the communication schemes specified in transmission modes 1 to 9.The extended version of the multi-user MIMO scheme includes the optimization of channel state reports and improvements in accuracy (for example, the employment of information suitable for multi-user MIMO communication, such as CQI (Channel Quality Indicator) information), improvements in orthogonality between terminals to be multiplexed to the same resource, and so forth.", "Transmission mode 10 can also be a transmission mode based on a CoMP scheme and/or an extended multi-user MIMO scheme in addition to all or some of the communication schemes specified in transmission modes 1 to 9.For example, transmission mode 10 can be a transmission mode based on a CoMP scheme and/or an extended multi-user MIMO scheme in addition to the communication scheme specified in transmission mode 9.Alternatively, transmission mode 10 can be a transmission mode in which a plurality of channel state measurement reference signals (CSI-RS; Channel State Information-RS) can be configured.", "Transmission mode 10 is also referred to as a second transmission mode.", "A base station can communicate with a terminal configured to transmission mode 10 in which a plurality of transmission schemes can be used, without notifying the terminal of which of the plurality of transmission schemes was used when transmitting the data channel.", "That is, when receiving the data channel, the terminal can perform communication without being notified of which of the plurality of transmission schemes was used even if the terminal is configured to transmission mode 10 in which a plurality of transmission schemes can be used.", "The second transmission mode is a transmission mode in which the second control channel can be configured.", "That is, in a case where the base station 101 configures one of the first transmission modes for the terminal 102, the base station 101 maps the control channel for the terminal 102 to the first control channel region.", "In a case where the base station 101 configures the second transmission mode for the terminal 102, the base station 101 maps the control channel for the terminal 102 to the first control channel region or the second control channel region.", "On the other hand, in a case where the terminal 102 is configured to one of the first transmission modes by the base station 101, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding on the first control channel.", "In a case where the terminal 102 is configured to the second transmission mode by the base station 101, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding on one of the first control channel and the second control channel.", "In a case where the terminal 102 is configured to the second transmission mode, the terminal 102 switches (selects) the control channel to be subjected to blind decoding in accordance with whether the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel has been configured by the base station 101.That is, in a case where the terminal 102 is configured to the second transmission mode and the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is configured by the base station 101, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of the first control channel and the second control channel.", "In a case where the terminal 102 is configured to the second transmission mode and the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is not configured by the base station 101, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of only the first control channel.", "Furthermore, in a case where the terminal 102 is configured to the second transmission mode and is then configured to one of the first transmission modes by the base station 101 after the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel has been configured, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of the first control channel.", "In a case where the terminal 102 is configured to the second transmission mode and is then configured to some or all the first transmission modes by the base station 101 after the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel has been configured, the terminal 102 may perform blind decoding of the first control channel and the second control channel.", "Transmission modes (second transmission mode) in which the second control channel can be configured may include some or all the transmission modes in which the UE-specific reference signals can be used, and may include, for example, transmission modes 8 to 10.Transmission modes (first transmission mode) in which only the first control channel can be configured may include some or all the transmission modes in which it is not possible to use the UE-specific reference signals, and may include, for example, transmission modes 1 to 7.FIG.", "8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel includes sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel (XPDCCH-SubframeConfig-r11).", "The sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel is used to define sub-frame information for configuration of the second control channel.", "The sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel includes a sub-frame configuration pattern (subframeConfigPattern-r11), and second control channel configuration information (xpdcch-Config-r11).", "The sub-frame configuration pattern is information indicating a sub-frame in which the second control channel is to be configured.", "For example, the sub-frame configuration pattern is n-bit bitmap information.", "The information contained in each bit indicates whether the current sub-frame is a sub-frame to be configured as a second control channel.", "That is, in the sub-frame configuration pattern, n sub-frames can be set as a period.", "In this case, certain sub-frames to which a synchronization signal, a broadcast channel, and so forth are to be mapped can be excluded.", "Specifically, the remainder of dividing the sub-frame number defined in each sub-frame by n corresponds to each bit in the sub-frame configuration pattern.", "For example, n is set in advance to a value such as 8 or 40.If the information for a certain sub-frame in the sub-frame configuration pattern is “1”, a second control channel of this sub-frame is configured.", "If the information for a certain sub-frame in the sub-frame configuration pattern is “0”, a second control channel of this sub-frame is not configured.", "Certain sub-frames to which a synchronization signal for synchronizing the terminal 102 with the base station 101, a broadcast channel for broadcasting control information on the base station 101, and so forth are to be mapped may be prevented from being configured as a second control channel in advance.", "In another example of the sub-frame configuration pattern, a pattern of sub-frames to be configured as a second control channel is formed as an index in advance, and information indicating the index is defined as a sub-frame configuration pattern.", "The second control channel configuration information includes resource allocation type (resourceAllocationType-r11), resource allocation information (resourceBlockAssignment-r11), OFDM symbol starting position (xpdcch-Start-r11), and response signal control information (pucch-Config-r11).", "The resource allocation type is information indicating a format (type) of information specifying a resource block to be configured as a second control channel in a sub-frame.", "The resource allocation information is information specifying a resource block to be configured as a second control channel, and is defined based on the format of the resource allocation type.", "For example, the resource allocation type can define types 0 to 2.If the resource allocation type is type 0, the resource allocation information is bitmap information that can be assigned to each resource block group defined in units of a plurality of contiguous resource blocks.", "The number of resource blocks in a resource block group can be defined in accordance with the system bandwidth.", "If the resource allocation type is type 1, the resource allocation information is bitmap information that can be assigned to each resource block in a plurality of resource block group subsets, where each resource block group subset is defined in a plurality of subsets in units of resource block groups.", "The resource allocation information also includes information indicating a selected resource block group subset.", "If the resource allocation type is type 1, the resource allocation information is information indicating a resource block with which allocation starts in contiguous resource blocks, and information indicating the number of resource blocks to be allocated.", "The OFDM symbol starting position is information indicating the position of the OFDM symbol with which the second control channel starts in a sub-frame.", "For example, the OFDM symbol starting position indicates any of 1 to 3.As in the description with reference to FIG.", "5, the OFDM symbol starting position for the second control channel may be identified through PCFICH.", "The OFDM symbol starting position for the second control channel can be defined in advance, in which case the OFDM symbol starting position may not necessarily be notified.", "The response signal control information is resource allocation information for the uplink control channel for giving notification of a response signal (for example, ACK (Acknowledge), NACK (Negative ACK), or the like) indicating whether the terminal 102 has correctly received the data channel specified in the control information sent via the second control channel.", "As described above, in a case where the base station 101 is to set the second control channel, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources, which includes the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel, via RRC signaling.", "Also, in a case where the base station 101 is to change the configured second control channel, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources, which includes the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel whose parameters have been changed, via RRC signaling.", "Also, in a case where the base station 101 is to release the configured second control channel, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 via RRC signaling.", "For example, the base station 101 sends the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources, which does not include the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "Alternatively, the base station 101 may send control information for releasing the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating the flow for a process for receiving the control channel and the data channel at the terminal 102.In step S102, the terminal 102 receives UE-specific configuration information for radio resources via RRC signaling.", "In step S103, the terminal 102 identifies the received UE-specific configuration information for radio resources, and performs a UE-specific setting process for the radio resources.", "In step S104, the terminal 102 determines whether the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources includes UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "If UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is included (YES in step S104), in step S106, the terminal 102 identifies the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel, and configures the second control channel.", "In step S107, the terminal 102 searches for (blind decoding) and detects the control channel addressed to the terminal 102 in the first control channel region and the configured second control channel region.", "On the other hand, if UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is not included (NO in step S104), in step S105, the terminal 102 searches for (blind decoding) and detects the control channel addressed to the terminal 102 in the first control channel set in advance.", "In step S108, the terminal 102 identifies the detected control channel.", "In step S108, if the terminal 102 has failed to detect the control channel addressed to the terminal 102, the receiving process for the current sub-frame ends.", "In step S109, the terminal 102 performs setting for receiving the data channel in accordance with the detected control channel, and receives the data channel.", "With the use of the method described above, the base station 101 can efficiently notify the terminal 102 of control information.", "That is, the base station 101 can map the control channel for the terminal 102 to the first control channel region or the second control channel region.", "Accordingly, the base station 101 can perform efficient resource allocation scheduling of the control channel of which a plurality of terminals are notified.", "In addition, the terminal 102 can be mapped with the control channel by the base station 101 via the first control channel region or the second control channel region.", "Accordingly, the terminal 102 can reduce the number of candidates in which the control channel is searched for, and can perform an efficient receiving process.", "In the above example, a control channel for a terminal set to any of transmission modes 1 to 10 can be mapped to the first control channel region, and a control channel for a terminal set to transmission mode 10 can be mapped to the second control channel region.", "That is, the base station 101 can notify the terminal 102 of a control channel via the first control channel region regardless of the transmission mode to be configured for the terminal 102.Furthermore, in a case where the base station 101 is to configure transmission mode 10 for the terminal 102, the base station 101 can notify the terminal 102 of a control channel via the second control channel region.", "Accordingly, the base station 101 can perform resource allocation scheduling taking a communication scheme achievable with transmission mode 10 into account.", "Particularly in transmission mode 10 in which the second control channel can be configured, the base station 101 can implement a CoMP communication scheme, a multi-user MIMO communication scheme, and so forth for the terminal 102, and can thus perform resource allocation scheduling taking these communication schemes into account.", "Since the first control channel can be configured for all terminals, the base station 101 can maintain backward compatibility with terminals for which transmission mode 10 is difficult to configure.", "The notification of the control channel via the first control channel region can be achieved without configuring the second control channel, and therefore the overhead of the control information in RRC signaling can be reduced.", "The base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the control channel while switching between only the first control channel to be used and the second control channel to be used, and the terminal 102 switches the control channel region in which the control channel is monitored (blind decoding is performed) in accordance with the instruction of the base station 101.More specifically, the base station 101 determines whether the second control channel region is to be used for the transmission of the control channel addressed to the terminal 102, and explicitly or implicitly notifies the terminal 102.Further, the base station 101 sends the settings of the second control channel to the terminal 102 through signaling.", "Upon being explicitly or implicitly notified of the use of the second control channel by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors the second control channel and the first control channel in accordance with the settings of the second control channel.", "If the terminal 102 is not explicitly or implicitly notified of the use of the second control channel by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors only the first control channel.", "The switching of the control channel is controlled in accordance with an explicit or implicit notification from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 as to whether the second control channel is to be used.", "In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but not limited to, an example in which notification as to whether the second control channel is to be used is implicitly given in accordance with the transmission mode sent from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 and control information for setting the second control channel.", "For example, an agreement that only the first control channel is used in the first transmission mode and both the first control channel and the second control channel can be used in the second transmission mode is established in advance between the base station 101 and the terminal 102.Further, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the second control channel configuration information.", "Then, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of a transmission mode, thereby implicitly notifying whether the second control channel is to be used.", "The base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of second control channel region configuration information, and the terminal 102, which has been notified of the second transmission mode, monitors the first control channel and the second control channel.", "The terminal 102, which has been notified of the first transmission mode, monitors only the first control channel.", "That is, the control channel to be monitored by the terminal 102 is implicitly switched in accordance with the transmission mode of which the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102.In another example, an agreement that only the first control channel is used in a case where the second control channel configuration information (such as configuration information on the second control channel region) is not included even once in signaling such as RRC signaling or in a case where the second control channel configuration information is not configured in the terminal 102 by releasing the second control channel configuration information, and the second control channel can be used in a case where the second control channel configuration information is notified through signaling and in a case where the second control channel configuration information is configured in the terminal 102 is established in advance between the base station 101 and the terminal 102.Then, whether the second control channel is to be used is implicitly notified depending on whether the second control channel configuration information is to be configured through signaling from the base station 101 to the terminal 102.In a case where the base station 101 sets the second control channel configuration information in the terminal 102, the terminal 102 monitors the first control channel and the second control channel.", "In a case where the base station does not set the second control channel configuration information in the terminal 102, the terminal 102 monitors only the first control channel without monitoring the second control channel.", "That is, the control channel to be monitored by the terminal 102 is implicitly switched in accordance with configuration information for setting the second control channel, which is control information of which the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102.In still another example, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the second control channel region configuration information.", "In addition, the base station 101 explicitly notifies the terminal 102 of configuration information indicating whether the second control channel is to be used, through signaling such as RRC signaling.", "If the configuration information indicating whether the second control channel is to be used indicates that the second control channel is to be used, the terminal 102 monitors both the first control channel and the second control channel.", "If the configuration information indicating whether the second control channel is to be used from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 indicates that the second control channel is not to be used, the terminal 102 monitors only the first control channel.", "The control channel to be monitored by the terminal 102 may be switched in accordance with whether the configuration information indicating that the second control channel is to be used has been configured.", "In still another example, the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the second control channel region configuration information.", "The base station 101 notifies the terminal 102 of the enabling/disabling of the second control channel through signaling such as physical control information.", "In a case where the terminal 102 is notified of control information indicating the enabling of the second control channel via the first control channel, the terminal 102 starts, in addition to the monitoring of the first control channel, the monitoring of the second control channel from the sub-frame for which the terminal 102 has been notified of the enabling of the second control channel.", "In a case where the terminal 102 is notified of disabling of the second control channel via the first control channel or the second control channel, the terminal 102 stops the monitoring of the second control channel from the sub-frame subsequent to the sub-frame for which the terminal 102 has been notified of the disabling of the second control channel.", "The enabling/disabling of the second control channel may be indicated by using the code point in certain downlink control information (such as indicating that the second control channel is enabled in a case where the bit sequence in the control information format is a certain bit sequence), or by using masking with a certain code (such as indicating that the second control channel is enabled if it is masked with a certain code).", "Accordingly, the control channel can be switched in accordance with any explicit or implicit notification given by the base station 101.In this manner, according to one point of view, the monitoring of the second control channel (the monitoring of both the first control channel and the second control channel) is configured through signaling from the base station 101 to the terminal 102.In this case, the terminal 102 monitors both the first control channel and the second control channel in one sub-frame.", "That is, the terminal 102 searches for the first control channel in an SS in which the first control channel is searched for within one sub-frame, and searches for the second control channel in an SS in which the second control channel is searched for.", "In this case, any of the following methods may be used as an example of the SS setting method or the monitoring method.", "(1) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region, and a USS (second USS) is set in the second control channel region.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS, and the terminal searches for the second control channel in the second USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS in the first control channel region and the USS in the second control channel region.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the increase in the number of blind decoding attempts can be suppressed.", "(2) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region, and a USS (second USS) is set in the second control channel region.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and the terminal searches for the second control channel in the second USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS in the first control channel region and the USSs in the first control channel region and the second control channel region.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the CSS can be shared by a plurality of terminals within a cell.", "(3) A CSS (first CSS) and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region, and a CSS (second CSS) and a USS (second USS) are set in the second control channel region.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the first CSS and the first USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the first CSS and the first USS, and the terminal searches for the second control channel in the second CSS and the second USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSSs in the first control channel region and the second control channel region and the USSs in the first control channel region and the second control channel region.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, CSSs where the interference is very small can be utilized.", "Accordingly, the monitoring of the second control channel (the monitoring of both the first control channel and the second control channel) is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal.", "In this case, the terminal monitors, within one sub-frame, a control channel arranged in the base station at least both in the CSS in the first control channel region and the USS in the second control channel region for which monitoring has been set.", "This enables, while monitoring a control channel to which control information to be read by a plurality of terminals, such as system information to be arranged in the CSS and information concerning paging, is allocated, the use of an efficient second control channel.", "According to a different point of view, furthermore, the physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as that for a cell-specific reference signal, and the physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as that for a UE-specific reference signal are switched over.", "This allows the base station 101 to perform a demodulation process on the control channel for the terminal 102 using any of a cell-specific reference signal and a UE-specific reference signal in accordance with the situation, thereby implementing resource allocation scheduling taking the performance obtained from the respective reference signals into account.", "Specifically, in cases such as when the initial access is made by a terminal and when the number of terminals accommodated by a base station is small and there is no shortage of the capacity of a PDCCH, a demodulation process is performed using a cell-specific reference signal by using the control channel to be mapped to the first control channel region.", "In cases such as when the number of terminals accommodated by a base station increases and there is a shortage of the capacity of a PDCCH, a demodulation process is performed using a UE-specific reference signal by using the control channel mapped to the second control channel region.", "In particular, a terminal that performs CoMP communication switches the control channel to a physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as that for a UE-specific reference signal.", "Since a control channel that is demodulated using a UE-specific reference signal can be subjected to a precoding process suitable for the terminal 102, the terminal 102 can receive a control channel via a transmission channel excellent in transmission performance.", "In addition, for a control channel notified using a UE-specific reference signal, even in a case where the same control channel is transmitted from a plurality of base stations, a combined channel state obtained from the respective base stations can be estimated.", "Thus, the terminal 102 does not need to individually estimate the respective channel states of the base stations in CoMP communication, and can achieve an efficient receiving process.", "In addition, for a control channel that is demodulated using a cell-specific reference signal, there is no need to use any new resource, unlike a UE-specific reference signal, when the terminal 102 demodulates the control channel.", "Therefore, the base station 101 can efficiently notify the terminal 102 of a control channel without increasing overhead.", "To achieve the above advantages, there is no need for a limitation in which the resource (first control channel region) where the first control channel is to be arranged and the resource (second control channel region) where the second control channel is to be arranged are different from each other.", "Even in a case where the first control channel and the second control channel are arranged in the same resource, such as when both the first control channel and the second control channel use the PDSCH region, the above advantages are achieved as long as transmission ports associated with the respective control channels are those for a cell-specific reference signal and a UE-specific reference signal.", "To achieve the above advantages, furthermore, there is no need for a limitation in which the second control channel is a UE-specific physical control channel.", "Even in a case where the second control channel is a cell-specific physical control channel, such as when the second control channel configuration information is broadcasted via a broadcast channel and is shared and used by a plurality of terminals accommodated by a base station, the above advantages are achieved as long as transmission ports associated with the respective control channels are those for a cell-specific reference signal and a UE-specific reference signal.", "In this case, the UE-specific reference signal is a pre-configured UE-specific reference signal.", "According to a different point of view, furthermore, a physical control channel which may be arranged over an entire CC region in OFDM symbol(s) located in a front part of a physical sub-frame, and a physical control channel which may be arranged over part of a band in OFDM symbols located after this control channel are switched over.", "This allows the base station 101 to perform a resource allocation and/or scheduling process on the control channel for the terminal 102 while taking the performance of the respective resources into account.", "That is, in cases such as when the initial access is made by a terminal and when the number of terminals accommodated by a base station is small and there is no shortage of the capacity of a PDCCH or when discontinuous reception is ongoing, a physical control channel which may be arranged over an entire CC region in OFDM symbol(s) located in a front part of a physical sub-frame is used, thereby making it possible to reduce receive power while randomizing inter-cell interference.", "In cases such as when the number of terminals accommodated by a base station increases and there is a shortage of the capacity of a PDCCH or when inter-cell interference is serious, a physical control channel which may be arranged in part of a band over OFDM symbols located after the above control channel is used to prevent occurrence of interference.", "To achieve the above advantages, there is no need for a limitation in which the first control channel is set to a physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as that for a cell-specific reference signal and the second control channel is set to a physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as that for a UE-specific reference signal.", "Even in a case where the first control channel and the second control channel use the same transmission port, such as when both the first control channel and the second control channel use the same transmission port as that for a cell-specific reference signal, the above advantages are achieved as long as the respective control channels are arranged in different resources in the manner described above.", "To achieve this advantage, furthermore, there is no need for a limitation in which the second control channel is a UE-specific physical control channel.", "Even in a case where the second control channel is a cell-specific physical control channel, such as when the second control channel configuration information is broadcasted via a broadcast channel and is shared and used by a plurality of terminals accommodated by a base station, the above advantages are achieved as long as the respective control channels are arranged in different resources in the manner described above.", "According to a different point of view, furthermore, a cell-specific physical control channel and a UE-specific physical control channel are switched over.", "This allows the base station 101 to perform a resource allocation scheduling process on the control channel for the terminal 102 while taking the state of each terminal (such as idle state or connected state) into account.", "Specifically, in a case such as when the initial access is made by a terminal, when the number of terminals accommodated by a base station is small and there is no shortage of the capacity of a PDCCH, or when discontinuous reception is ongoing, a cell-specific physical control channel that can also be received by a terminal in idle state is used.", "In a case where the number of terminals accommodated by a base station increases and there is a shortage of the capacity of a PDCCH, the proportion of the use of a UE-specific physical control channel that can be acquired only by a terminal in connected state is increased.", "Particularly in a case where there is a serious shortage of the capacity of a control channel, switching to a UE-specific control channel is made.", "Since a UE-specific control channel can be configured specific to each terminal, the base station 101 can adaptively control the capacity of the total control channel also including a cell-specific control channel.", "For example, the base station 101 adaptively configures/reconfigures/releases a UE-specific control channel in accordance with the number of terminals that are notified of the control channel.", "Furthermore, since a UE-specific control channel can be configured individually for each terminal, the base station 101 can implement the configuration/reconfiguration/release of the UE-specific control channel by notifying only the target terminal.", "In addition, the notification of the control channel via a cell-specific control channel can be implemented without configuring a UE-specific control channel, and therefore the overhead of the control information in RRC signaling can be reduced.", "To achieve this advantage, there is no need for a limitation in which the first control channel is set to a physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as a cell-specific reference signal and the second control channel is set to a physical control channel that uses the same transmission port as a UE-specific reference signal.", "Even in a case where the first control channel and the second control channel use the same transmission port, such as when both the first control channel and the second control channel use the same transmission port as a cell-specific reference signal, the above advantages are achieved as long as the respective control channels are a cell-specific physical control channel and a UE-specific physical control channel.", "To achieve this advantage, furthermore, there is no need for a limitation in which the resource in which the first control channel is to be arranged and the resource in which the second control channel is to be arranged are different from each other.", "Even in a case where the first control channel and the second control channel are arranged in the same resource, such as when both the first control channel and the second control channel use the PDSCH region and the first control channel is configured via a broadcast channel, the above advantages are achieved as long as the respective control channels are a cell-specific physical control channel and a UE-specific physical control channel.", "In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but not limited to, the case where control information with which the base station 101 configures the second control channel for the terminal 102 is information specific to the terminal 102.Control information with which the base station 101 configures the second control channel for the terminal 102 may be information specific to the base station 101.For example, the base station 101 may broadcast control information for setting the second control channel to each terminal via a broadcast control channel (BCH; Broadcast Channel).", "Accordingly, the base station 101 can reduce the overhead of control information for setting the second control channel.", "In addition, the base station 101 may notify each terminal of control information for setting the second control channel, via RRC signaling, as part of cell-specific configuration information for radio resources (RadioResourceConfigCommon), which is information specific to the base station 101.Accordingly, the base station 101 does not need to schedule the setting of the second control channel for each terminal, thereby reducing the load for scheduling processing.", "In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but not limited to, a method for switching the control channel to be subjected to blind decoding by the terminal 102 in accordance with whether the base station 101 is to configure the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel for the terminal 102.For example, the base station 101 may notify the terminal 102 of information indicating whether the second control channel is to be configured, via RRC signaling or PDCCH.", "In this case, control information for setting the second control channel may be broadcasted via a broadcast control channel.", "In addition, the base station 101 may notify each terminal of control information for setting the second control channel, via RRC signaling, as part of cell-specific configuration information for radio resources, which is information specific to the base station 101.Accordingly, the base station 101 can perform efficient setting of the terminal 102.In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but not limited to, a method for switching the control channel to be subjected to blind decoding by the terminal 102 in accordance with whether the base station 101 is to configure the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel for the terminal 102.For example, the base station 101 may configure, for each sub-frame, whether the second control channel is to be configured, and may notify the terminal 102 of bitmap information indicating the setting via RRC signaling or PDCCH.", "In this case, control information for setting the second control channel may be broadcasted via a broadcast control channel.", "In addition, the base station 101 may notify each terminal of control information for setting the second control channel, via RRC signaling, as part of cell-specific configuration information for radio resources, which is information specific to the base station 101.Accordingly, the base station 101 can perform efficient setting of the terminal 102.The base station 101 can also perform efficient scheduling for the terminal 102.Furthermore, in a case where the base station 101 configures for each sub-frame, using bitmap information, whether the second control channel is to be configured, the setting for each sub-frame may be determined based on the setting of ABS (Almost Blank Subframe) in the base station 101 or any other base station.", "For example, in a sub-frame for the base station 101 that is transmitted simultaneously with a sub-frame that has been configured to an ABS by a base station neighboring the base station 101, the base station 101 configures the first control channel for the terminal 102.In a sub-frame for the base station 101 that is transmitted simultaneously with a sub-frame that is not configured to an ABS by a base station neighboring the base station 101, the base station 101 configures the second control channel for the terminal 102.An ABS is a sub-frame that is transmitted with reduced transmit power (including no transmission) with respect to channels including the shared channel, the first control channel, and the second control channel.", "The use of an ABS can reduce interference with a terminal that performs data communication with a base station neighboring a base station that has configured an ABS.", "Therefore, interference coordination between base stations (ICIC; Inter-cell interference coordination) can be achieved.", "Furthermore, the terminal 102 may select a control channel to be subjected to blind decoding, in accordance with a measurement-resource-restriction pattern of which the base station 101 notifies the terminal 102.For example, the measurement-resource-restriction pattern represents information on restricted measurement of RRM (Radio Resource Management)/RLM (Radio Link Control) in a serving cell, information on restricted measurement of RRM in neighboring base stations, and information on restricted measurement of CSI (Channel State Information) in a serving cell.", "In particular, the information on restricted measurement of CSI (Channel State Information) in a serving cell is configured as two sub-frame subsets for the terminal 102.The terminal 102 measures the channel state in the sub-frames identified by the sub-frame subsets, and performs periodic or aperiodic reporting.", "The terminal 102 may further select a control channel to be subjected to blind decoding, in accordance with the sub-frame subsets.", "For example, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of the first control channel in the sub-frames identified by one of the sub-frame subsets.", "The terminal 102 also performs blind decoding of the second control channel in the sub-frames identified by the other sub-frame subset.", "Links between the two sub-frame subsets and the two control channels may be defined in advance, or may be configured by RRC signaling.", "In a case where the second control channel has not yet been configured by the base station 101 in a sub-frame indicating the blind decoding of the second control channel, the terminal 102 performs blind decoding of the first control channel.", "Second Embodiment A second embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinafter.", "Similarly to the communication system according to the first embodiment, a communication system according to the second embodiment includes a base station 101 and a terminal 102.The following description will focus on a portion different from the first embodiment of the present invention.", "In the communication system according to the second embodiment, the base station 101 has a plurality of cells, and is capable of setting a serving cell in which the base station 101 performs data communication with the terminal 102 through carrier aggregation, where each cell is also called a component carrier (CC) and is capable of setting a specific cell ID.", "FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frequency arrangement for cells with carrier aggregation according to the second embodiment of the present invention.", "In the case illustrated in FIG.", "10, the base station 101 can perform carrier aggregation using three cells (CCs, component carriers).", "In this case, cells with carrier aggregation can be arranged contiguously and/or non-contiguously in the frequency direction, and the respective system bandwidths of the cells can be set different.", "In addition, in a case where the base station 101 is to configure carrier aggregation for the terminal 102, the base station 101 can configure a serving cell (serving CC) to be specific to the terminal 102.In this case, the base station 101 can configure one primary cell (PCC, primary CC, PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCCs, secondary CCs, SCells) for the terminal 102 as serving cells.", "The primary cell is a cell in which the terminal 102 performs data communication at a primary frequency, and implements an initial setup process or a re-connection process with the base station 101.The primary cell is a cell identified as a primary cell in a handover process from other cells (base stations, CCs).", "The primary cell can be changed through the handover process.", "The primary cell is used for the transmission of an uplink control channel (PUCCH).", "The secondary cell is a cell in which the terminal 102 performs data communication at a secondary frequency, and can be configured (also including addition/release/change) via RRC signaling.", "For example, the secondary cell can be configured at the time when RRC connection is established, and can be used to provide additional radio resources.", "In addition, the secondary cell configured using RRC signaling can be set to activation (valid) or deactivation (invalid).", "Activation or deactivation in the secondary cell is configured to reduce battery consumption in the terminal 102.The terminal 102 does not receive (does not monitor) some or all channels in the secondary cell which is set to deactivation.", "The setting of activation or deactivation in the secondary cell is performed with a timer for the signaling of the MAC (Media Access Control) layer (MAC signaling) and deactivation.", "That is, the terminal 102 is notified of bitmap information indicating activation or deactivation for each secondary cell via MAC signaling.", "If the secondary cell is set to activation, the terminal 102 activates the secondary cell.", "In a case where the terminal 102 does not receive any control channel and/or data channel by the time designated by the timer for deactivation after the secondary cell is set to deactivation, the secondary cell is deactivated.", "In a case where the terminal 102 receives a control channel and/or a data channel by the time designated by the timer for deactivation after the secondary cell is deactivated, the secondary cell is activated.", "For example, in the example in FIG.", "10, the base station 101 configures cell 2 as the primary cell and cell 3 as the secondary cell for the terminal 102.The base station 101 is also capable of setting a second control channel on a cell-by-cell basis for the terminal 102.In a case where a second control channel is configured for the primary cell by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors the second control channel in the primary cell.", "In a case where no second control channel is configured for the primary cell by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors the first control channel in the primary cell.", "In a case where the secondary cell is activated and a second control channel is configured for the secondary cell by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors the second control channel in the secondary cell.", "In a case where the secondary cell is activated and no second control channel is configured for the secondary cell by the base station 101, the terminal 102 monitors the first control channel in the secondary cell.", "Furthermore, in a case where the secondary cell is set to deactivation, the terminal 102 performs a process based on a predefined method or the method of which the terminal 102 is notified by the base station 101.For example, in a case where the secondary cell is set to deactivation, the terminal 102 does not monitor the first control channel and the second control channel in the secondary cell regardless of whether a second control channel has been configured.", "Thus, the terminal 102 can reduce monitoring processing for control channels.", "In another example, in a case where the secondary cell is set to deactivation, the terminal 102 does not monitor the second control channel in the secondary cell regardless of whether a second control channel has been configured.", "Thus, the base station 101 can notify the terminal 102 of control information through the secondary cell.", "In another example, furthermore, in a case where the secondary cell is set to deactivation and a second control channel has been configured, the terminal 102 monitors the second control channel in the secondary cell.", "Thus, the base station 101 can notify the terminal 102 of control information through the secondary cell.", "Switching as to whether the terminal 102 is to monitor the first control channel or is to monitor the second control channel in each cell may be made using the method described above in the first embodiment.", "That is, as described in the first embodiment, the switching of control channels at the terminal 102 is controlled in accordance with an explicit or implicit notification from the base station 101 to the terminal 102 as to whether the second control channel is used.", "FIG.", "11 is a diagram illustrating another example of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "In the case illustrated in FIG.", "11, the base station 101 configures carrier aggregation in the terminal 102, and configures a second control channel individually for the primary cell and the secondary cell in the terminal 102.In the example illustrated in FIG.", "11, the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources includes, in addition to the UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel described in the first embodiment, UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel in the secondary cell (PhysicalConfigDedicatedSCell-r11).", "The UE-specific configuration information for radio resources in FIG.", "11 can be the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources in the primary cell.", "The UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel is control information for defining UE-specific settings for the physical channel in the primary cell.", "The UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel in the secondary cell is control information for defining UE-specific settings for the physical channel in the secondary cell.", "The UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel and the UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel in the secondary cell each include UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in FIG.", "11 is similar to the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel described with reference to FIG.", "8, and can be independently configured for the primary cell and the secondary cell.", "The second control channel can be configured for either the primary cell or the secondary cell.", "In this case, the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is configured for only the cell in which the second control channel is configured.", "With the use of the method illustrated in FIG.", "11, the base station 101 can efficiently set a second control channel in the primary cell and the secondary cell for the terminal 102.In addition, since the UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel in each cell, which includes the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel, is included in the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources, the base station 101 can perform adaptive setting for the terminal 102 in accordance with the channel state of the downlink or the state of the base station 101.FIG.", "12 is a diagram illustrating another example of the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources.", "In the case illustrated in FIG.", "12, the base station 101 configures carrier aggregation in the terminal 102, and configures a second control channel individually for the primary cell and the secondary cell in the terminal 102.In the example illustrated in FIG.", "12, the UE-specific configuration information for radio resources includes UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel.", "The UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel includes, in addition to the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel described in the first embodiment, UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in the secondary cell (XPDCCH-ConfigDedicatedSCell-r11).", "The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in FIG.", "12 can be the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in the primary cell.", "The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is used to define UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in the primary cell.", "The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in the secondary cell is used to define UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in the secondary cell.", "The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel and the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in the secondary cell each include sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel.", "The sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel in FIG.", "12 is similar to the sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel described in FIG.", "8, and can be independently configured for the primary cell and the secondary cell.", "The second control channel can be configured for either the primary cell or the secondary cell.", "In this case, the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel or the sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel is configured for only the cell in which the second control channel is configured.", "With the use of the method illustrated in FIG.", "12, the base station 101 can efficiently set a second control channel in the primary cell and the secondary cell for the terminal 102.In addition, since the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel in each cell is included in the UE-specific configuration information for the physical channel, the base station 101 can perform adaptive setting for the terminal 102 in accordance with the channel state of the downlink or the state of the base station 101 while reducing the overhead of the control information for the terminal 102.FIG.", "13 is a diagram illustrating another example of the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel.", "In the following description, the description will be given of a difference from the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel described in FIG.", "8.The sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel included in the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel further includes an assigned cell ID (schedulingCellId-r11).", "The assigned cell ID is information indicating a cell in which the second control channel is configured with the sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel.", "The assigned cell ID is selected from among the serving cell set in the terminal 102 and/or a cell that can be configured as carrier aggregation by the base station 101.For the assigned cell ID, one or a plurality of cells can be configured.", "In a case where a plurality of assigned cell IDs are configured, part or all of the sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel can be configuration information common to the respective cells.", "In a case where a plurality of assigned cell IDs are set, furthermore, the sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel can be configured individually the respective cells.", "Furthermore, in a case where the cell identified by the assigned cell ID indicates a secondary cell and this secondary cell is set to deactivation, the terminal 102 performs a process based on a predefined method or the method notified by the base station 101.For example, the terminal 102 does not monitor the first control channel and the second control channel in the secondary cell regardless of the notified sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel.", "Thus, the terminal 102 can reduce monitoring processing for control channels.", "In another example, the terminal 102 monitors either the first control channel or the second control channel in the secondary cell regardless of the setting of deactivation for the secondary cell.", "Thus, the base station 101 can notify the terminal 102 of control information through the secondary cell.", "The UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel illustrated in FIG.", "13 can be notified and configured as control information for the primary cell and/or the secondary cell.", "In a case where the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel illustrated in FIG.", "13 is notified from only one cell, the UE-specific configuration information on the second control channel is preferably notified and configured as control information for the primary cell.", "With the use of the method illustrated in FIG.", "13, the base station 101 can efficiently configured a second control channel in the primary cell and the secondary cell for the terminal 102.In addition, since the sub-frame configuration information on the second control channel is configured so as to include the assigned cell ID, the base station 101 can perform adaptive setting for the terminal 102 in accordance with the channel state of the downlink or the state of the base station 101 while reducing the overhead of the control information for the terminal 102.With the use of the methods described above, in addition to the advantages described in the first embodiment described above, the base station 101 can efficiently configure carrier aggregation for the terminal 102, and can efficiently configure a second control channel in the primary cell and/or the secondary cell.", "Next, a description will be given of a SS in the PCell and/or the SCell and an example of search therein.", "A CSS and a USS are set for the PCell.", "On the other hand, only a USS is set for the SCell.", "Conversely, the PCell can be said to be a cell having a CSS, and the SCell can be said to be a cell having only a USS (having no CSS).", "The monitoring of the second control channel is configured in any of the cells through signaling from a base station to a terminal.", "In this case, the terminal monitors both the first control channel in at least the PCell within one sub-frame and the second control channel for which monitoring has been configured.", "That is, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the SS in which the first control channel is searched for within one sub-frame, and searches for the second control channel in the SS in which the second control channel is searched for.", "Any of the following methods may be used as an example of the SS setting method or the monitoring method in a case where the monitoring of the second control channel has been set in the PCell.", "(1) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region in the PCell, and a USS (second USS) is set in the second control channel region in the PCell.", "A USS (third USS) is set in the first control channel region in the SCell.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and searches for the first control channel in the third USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS, searches for the first control channel in the third USS, and searches for the second control channel in the second USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS in the first control channel region in the PCell, the USS in the second control channel region in the PCell, and the USS in the first control channel region in the SCell.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the increase in the number of blind decoding attempts can be suppressed.", "(2) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region in the PCell, and a USS (second USS) is set in the second control channel region in the PCell.", "A USS (third USS) is set in the first control channel region in the SCell.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and searches for the first control channel in the third USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, searches for the first control channel in the third USS, and searches for the second control channel in the second USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS in the first control channel region in the PCell, the USSs in the first control channel region and the second control channel region in the PCell, and the USS in the first control channel region in the SCell.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the CSS can be shared by a plurality of terminals within a cell.", "(3) A CSS (first CSS) and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region in the PCell, and a CSS (second CSS) and a USS (second USS) are set in the second control channel region in the PCell.", "A USS (third USS) is set in the first control channel region in the SCell.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the first CSS and the first USS, and searches for the first control channel in the third USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the first CSS and the first USS, searches for the first control channel in the third USS, and searches for the second control channel in the second CSS and the second USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSSs in the first control channel region and the second control channel region in the PCell, the USSs in the first control channel region and the second control channel region in the PCell, and the USS in the first control channel region in the SCell.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, CSSs where the interference is very small can be utilized.", "Next, any of the following methods may be used as an example of the SS setting method or the monitoring method in a case where the monitoring of the second control channel has been configured in the SCell.", "(4) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region in the PCell.", "A USS (third USS) is set in the first control channel region in the SCell, and a USS (fourth USS) is set in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and searches for the first control channel in the third USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is set through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and searches for the second control channel in the fourth USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS and USS in the first control channel region in the PCell and the USS in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the increase in the number of blind decoding attempts can be suppressed.", "(5) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region in the PCell.", "A USS (third USS) is set in the first control channel region in the SCell, and a USS (fourth USS) is set in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and searches for the first control channel in the third USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, searches for the first control channel in the third USS, and searches for the second control channel in the fourth USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS and USS in the first control channel region in the PCell, the USS in the first control channel region in the SCell, and the USS in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the CSS can be shared by a plurality of terminals within a cell.", "Next, any of the following methods may be used as an example of the SS setting method or the monitoring method in a case where the monitoring of the second control channel has been configured in both the PCell and the SCell.", "(6) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region in the PCell, and a USS (second USS) is set in the second control channel region in the PCell.", "A USS (third USS) is set in the first control channel region in the SCell, and a USS (fourth USS) is set in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and searches for the first control channel in the third USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS, and searches for the second control channel in the second USS and the fourth USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS in the first control channel region in the PCell, the USS in the second control channel region in the PCell, and the USS in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the increase in the number of blind decoding attempts can be suppressed.", "(7) A CSS and a USS (first USS) are set in the first control channel region in the PCell, and a USS (second USS) is set in the second control channel region in the PCell.", "A USS (third USS) is set in the first control channel region in the SCell, and a USS (fourth USS) is set in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is not configured, a terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, and searches for the first control channel in the third USS.", "If the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for the first control channel in the CSS and the first USS, searches for the second control channel in the second USS, searches for the first control channel in the third USS, and searches for the second control channel in the fourth USS.", "In other words, if the monitoring of the second control channel is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal, the terminal searches for a control channel arranged by the base station in the CSS and USS in the first control channel region in the PCell, the USS in the first control channel region in the SCell, the USS in the second control channel region in the PCell, and the USS in the second control channel region in the SCell.", "Therefore, the number of physical control channels usable within one sub-frame increases.", "In addition, the CSS can be shared by a plurality of terminals within a cell.", "As described above, the monitoring of the second control channel in any of the cells is configured through signaling from a base station to a terminal.", "In this case, the terminal monitors, within one sub-frame, a control channel to be arranged in the base station in both at least the CSS in the first control channel region in the PCell and the USS in the second control channel region for which monitoring has been configured.", "This enables, while monitoring a control channel to which control information to be read by a plurality of terminals, such as system information to be arranged in the CSS or information concerning paging, is allocated, the use of an efficient second control channel.", "In the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but not limited to, the case where control information for each cell is set in order to configure a second control channel for the primary cell and the secondary cell.", "That is, in a case where the control information described in the first embodiment described above is set for control information for the primary cell and a second control channel is configured for the secondary cell, the control information for the secondary cell described in the first embodiment described above may further be set.", "In the above example, furthermore, the description has focused on the case where one SCell is used.", "Similar application can be made in the case where there are a plurality of SCells.", "Alternatively, in the foregoing description, the description has been given of, but not limited to, the case where it is possible to configure a second control channel for both the PCell and the SCell.", "For example, it may be possible to configure a second control channel region for only the PCell.", "In this case, the setting of the second control channel region and the setting of monitoring indicate the setting of a second control channel in the PCell.", "Therefore, complexity of signaling can be reduced.", "In the foregoing embodiments, by way of example, but not limited thereto, a resource element and/or a resource block is used as the unit of mapping a data channel, a control channel, a PDSCH, a PDCCH, and a reference signal, and a sub-frame and/or a radio frame is used as the unit of transmission in the time direction.", "Similar advantages can be achieved with the use of the domain composed of any desired frequency and time and the time unit instead of them.", "In the foregoing embodiments, the description has been given of, but not limited to, the case where demodulation is carried out using an RS subjected to a precoding process, and a port equivalent to the layer of MIMO is used as the port corresponding to the RS subjected to the precoding process.", "Similar advantages can be achieved by applying the present invention to ports corresponding to different reference signals.", "For example, in place of a Precoded RS, an Unprecoded RS may be used, and a port that is equivalent to a port or physical antenna (or a combination of physical antennas) that is equivalent to the output edge after the precoding process has been performed may be used as a port.", "A program operating in the base station 101 and the terminal 102 according to the present invention is a program (a program for causing a computer to function) for controlling a CPU and so forth so as to implement the functions of the foregoing embodiments according to the present invention.", "Such information as handled by devices is temporarily accumulated in a RAM while processed, and is then stored in various ROMs and HDDs.", "The information is read by the CPU, if necessary, for modification/writing.", "A recording medium having the program stored therein may be any of semiconductor media (for example, a ROM, a non-volatile memory card, etc.", "), optical recording media (for example, a DVD, an MO, an MD, a CD, a BD, etc.", "), magnetic recording media (for example, a magnetic tape, a flexible disk, etc.", "), and so forth.", "Furthermore, in addition to the implementation of the functions of the embodiments described above by executing the loaded program, the functions of the present invention may be implemented by processing the program in cooperation with an operating system, any other application program, or the like in accordance with instructions of the program.", "In a case where the program is distributed to be usable on market, the program may be stored in a transportable recording medium for distribution, or may be transferred to a server computer connected via a network such as the Internet.", "In this case, a storage device in the server computer also falls within the scope of the present invention.", "In addition, part or the entirety of the base station 101 and the terminal 102 in the embodiments described above may be implemented as an LSI, which is typically an integrated circuit.", "The respective functional blocks of the base station 101 and the terminal 102 may be individually built into chips, or some or all of them may be integrated and built into a chip.", "The method for forming an integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and may be implemented by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor.", "In the case of the advent of integrated circuit technology replacing LSI due to the advancement of semiconductor technology, it is also possible to use an integrated circuit based on this technology.", "While embodiments of this invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, a specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the invention also includes design changes and the like without departing from the essence of this invention.", "In addition, a variety of changes can be made to the present invention within the scope defined by the claims, and embodiments that are achieved by appropriately combining respective technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also embraced within the technical scope of the present invention.", "Furthermore, a configuration in which the elements described in the foregoing embodiments and capable of achieving similar advantages are interchanged is also embraced within the technical scope of the present invention.", "REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 101, 1401 base station, 102, 1402, 1403, 1504 terminal, 103, 1404, 1405, 1505, 1506 downlink, 201, 305 higher layer, 202 data channel generation unit, 203 UE-specific reference signal multiplexing unit, 204 precoding unit, 205 cell-specific reference signal multiplexing unit, 206 transmit signal generation unit, 207 transmission unit, 301 reception unit, 302 reception signal processing unit, 303 control channel processing unit, 304 data channel processing unit, 1501 macro base station, 1502 RRH, 1503 line." ] ]
Patent_15874910
[ [ "METHOD FOR DECODING A SERVICE GUIDE", "The invention is: A method for decoding a service guide associated with a video bitstream comprising: (a) receiving a content fragment within the service guide, (b) receiving a name element within the content fragment, (c) receiving a description element within the content fragment and (d) decoding the service guide." ], [ "1.A method for decoding a service guide associated with a video bitstream comprising: (a) receiving a content fragment within the service guide; (b) receiving a name element within the content fragment, wherein the name element is an extended name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about the name element, where a first one of the sub-elements is a SpeechInfoURI element and a second one of the sub-elements is a SpeechInfo element; (c) determining if a first content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfoURI element; (d) receiving the first content type attribute in the SpeechInfoURI element if the first content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfoURI element; (e) setting the first content-type attribute to a first value if the first content-type attribute is not present in the SpeechInforURI element; (f) determining if a second content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfo element; (g) receiving the second content-type attribute in the SpeechInfo element if the second content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfo element; (h) setting the second content-type attribute to the first value if the second content-type attribute is not present in the SpeechInfo element; and (i) decoding the service guide.", "2.The method of claim 1 wherein the first content-type attribute indicates a content-type of a SpeechInfoobject referenced by the SpeechInfoURI element.", "3.The method of claim 1 wherein the second content-type attribute is a content-type of an embedded speech information object.", "4.The method of claim 1 wherein the first value is “application/ssml+xml”.", "5.A method for decoding a service guide associated with a video bitstream comprising: (a) receiving a content fragment within the service guide; (b) receiving a name element within the content fragment, wherein the name element is an extended name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about the name element, where a first one of the sub-elements is a SpeechInfoURI element and a second one of the sub-elements is a SpeechInfo element; (c) determining if a first content-enc attribute is present in the SpeechInfoURI element; (d) receiving the first content-enc attribute in the SpeechInfoURI element if the first content-enc attribute is present in the SpeechInfoURI element; (e) setting the first content-enc attribute to a first value if the first content-enc attribute is not present in the SpeechInforURI element; (f) determining if a second content-enc attribute is present in at least one the SpeechInfo element; (g) receiving the second content-enc attribute in the SpeechInfo element if the second content-enc attribute is present in the SpeechInfo element; (h) setting the second content-enc attribute to the first value if the second content-enc attribute is not present in the SpeechInfo element; and (i) decoding the service guide.", "6.The method of claim 5 wherein the first content-enc attribute indicates a content-type of a SpeechInfoobject referenced by the SpeechInfoURI element.", "7.The method of claim 5 wherein the second content-enc attribute is a content-type of an embedded speech information.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the first value is “application/ssml+xml”.", "9.A device for decoding a service guide associated with a video bitstream, the device comprising: a memory; and a processor, wherein the processor configured to perform steps of: (a) receiving a content fragment within the service guide; (b) receiving a name element within the content fragment, wherein the name element is an extended name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about the name element, where a first one of the sub-elements is a SpeechInfoURI element and a second one of the sub-elements is a SpeechInfo element; (c) determining if a first content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfoURI element; (d) receiving the first content type attribute in the SpeechInfoURI element if the first content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfoURI element; (e) setting the first content-type attribute to a first value if the first content-type attribute is not present in the SpeechInforURI element; (f) determining if a second content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfo element; (g) receiving the second content-type attribute in the SpeechInfo element if the second content-type attribute is present in the SpeechInfo element; (h) setting the second content-type attribute to the first value if the second content-type attribute is not present in the SpeechInfo element; and (i) decoding the service guide." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>A broadcast service is capable of being received by all users having broadcast receivers.", "Broadcast services can be roughly divided into two categories, namely, a radio broadcast service carrying only audio and a multimedia broadcast service carrying audio, video and data.", "Such broadcast services have developed from analog services to digital services.", "More recently, various types of broadcasting systems (such as a cable broadcasting system, a satellite broadcasting system, an Internet based broadcasting system, and a hybrid broadcasting system using both a cable network, Internet, and/or a satellite) provide high quality audio and video broadcast services along with a high-speed data service.", "Also, broadcast services include sending and/or receiving audio, video, and/or data directed to an individual computer and/or group of computers and/or one or more mobile communication devices." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to a service guide.", "BACKGROUND ART A broadcast service is capable of being received by all users having broadcast receivers.", "Broadcast services can be roughly divided into two categories, namely, a radio broadcast service carrying only audio and a multimedia broadcast service carrying audio, video and data.", "Such broadcast services have developed from analog services to digital services.", "More recently, various types of broadcasting systems (such as a cable broadcasting system, a satellite broadcasting system, an Internet based broadcasting system, and a hybrid broadcasting system using both a cable network, Internet, and/or a satellite) provide high quality audio and video broadcast services along with a high-speed data service.", "Also, broadcast services include sending and/or receiving audio, video, and/or data directed to an individual computer and/or group of computers and/or one or more mobile communication devices.", "SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem In addition to more traditional stationary receiving devices, mobile communication devices are likewise configured to support such services.", "Such configured mobile devices have facilitated users to use such services while on the move, such as mobile phones.", "An increasing need for multimedia services has resulted in various wireless/broadcast services for both mobile communications and general wire communications.", "Further, this convergence has merged the environment for different wire and wireless broadcast services.", "Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), is a standard for interworking between individual mobile solutions, serves to define various application standards for mobile software and Internet services.", "OMA Mobile Broadcast Services Enabler Suite (OMA BCAST) is a specification designed to support mobile broadcast technologies.", "The OMA BCAST defines technologies that provide IP-based mobile content delivery, which includes a variety of functions such as a service guide, downloading and streaming, service and content protection, service subscription, and roaming.", "Solution to Problem According to the present invention, there is provided a method for decoding a service guide associated with a video bitstream comprising: (a) receiving a content fragment within the service guide; (b) receiving a name element within the content fragment, wherein the name element is an extended name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about the name element, the name element contains the sub-elements including a first SpeechInfoURI element and a first SpeechInfo element, and the name element includes a first text attribute which is a name of a service with a data type of string, wherein the first SpeechInfoURI element is a URI address where a first SpeechInfo object for the name element is acquired, and the first SpeechInfoURI element includes a first content-type attribute and a first content-enc attribute, wherein the first content-type is a content-type of the first SpeechInfo object referenced by the first SpeechInfoURI element and the first content-enc is a content encoding of the first SpeechInfo object referenced by the first SpeechInfoURI element, and wherein the first SpeechInfo element is embedded speech information object for the name element, and the first Speech Info element includes a second content-type attribute and a second content-enc attribute, wherein the second content-type is a content-type of the first SpeechInfo object and the second content-enc is a content encoding of the second SpeechInfo object, (c) receiving a description element within the content fragment; wherein the description element is an extended description element which includes sub-elements to indicate description and phonetic information about the description element, the description element contains the sub-elements including a second SpeechInfoURI element and a second SpeechInfo element, and the description element includes a second text attribute which is a description of the service with a data type of string, wherein the second SpeechInfoURI element is a URI address where a second SpeechInfo object for the description element is acquired, and the second SpeechInfoURI element includes a third content-type attribute and a third content-enc attribute, wherein the third content-type is a content-type of the third SpeechInfo object referenced by the second SpeechInfoURI element and the third content-enc is a content encoding of the third SpeechInfo object referenced by the second SpeechInfoURI element, and wherein the second SpeechInfo element is embedded speech information object for the description element, and the second SpeechInfo element includes a fourth content-type attribute and a fourth content-enc attribute, wherein the fourth content-type is a content-type of a fourth SpeechInfo object and the fourth content-enc is a content encoding of the fourth SpeechInfo object, (d) decoding the service guide.", "According to the present invention, there is provided a decoder for decoding a service guide associated with a video bitstream comprising: a receiver configured to receive a content fragment within the service guide, a name element within the content fragment and a description element within the content fragment, wherein the name element is an extended name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about the name element, the name element contains the sub-elements including a first SpeechInfoURI element and a first SpeechInfo element, and the name element includes a first text attribute which is a name of a service with a data type of string, wherein the first SpeechInfoURI element is a URI address where a first SpeechInfo object for the name element is acquired, and the first SpeechInfoURI element includes a first content-type attribute and a first content-enc attribute, wherein the first content-type is a content-type of the first SpeechInfo object referenced by the first SpeechInfoURI element and the first content-enc is a content encoding of the first SpeechInfo object referenced by the first SpeechInfoURI element, and wherein the first SpeechInfo element is embedded speech information object for the name element, and the first Speech Info element includes a second content-type attribute and a second content-enc attribute, wherein the second content-type is a content-type of the first SpeechInfo object and the second content-enc is a content encoding of the second SpeechInfo object, wherein the description element is an extended description element which includes sub-elements to indicate description and phonetic information about the description element, the description element contains the sub-elements including a second SpeechInfoURI element and a second SpeechInfo element, and the description element includes a second text attribute which is a description of the service with a data type of string, wherein the second SpeechInfoURI element is a URI address where a second SpeechInfo object for the description element is acquired, and the second SpeechInfoURI element includes a third content-type attribute and a third content-enc attribute, wherein the third content-type is a content-type of the third SpeechInfo object referenced by the second SpeechInfoURI element and the third content-enc is a content encoding of the third SpeechInfo object referenced by the second SpeechInfoURI element, and wherein the second SpeechInfo element is embedded speech information object for the description element, and the second SpeechInfo element includes a fourth content-type attribute and a fourth content-enc attribute, wherein the fourth content-type is a content-type of a fourth SpeechInfo object and the fourth content-enc is a content encoding of the fourth SpeechInfo object, and the decoder is configured to decode the service guide.", "Advantageous Effects of Invention The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating logical architecture of a BCAST system specified by OMA BCAST working group in an application layer and a transport layer.", "FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a service guide for use in the OMA BCAST system.", "FIG.", "2A is a diagram showing cardinalities and reference direction between service guide fragments.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram illustrating a principle of the conventional service guide delivery method.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates description scheme.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates elements and attributes for speech/phonetic information.", "FIG.", "5A illustrates elements and attributes for speech/phonetic information.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates speech information URI element in service guide.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates speech information object element in service guide.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates speech information URI element and speech information object in service guide.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates elements and attributes for speech/phonetic information.", "FIG.", "9A illustrates elements and attributes for speech/phonetic information.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates structure of an exemplary XML schema.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates structure of an exemplary XML schema.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates structure of an exemplary XML schema.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates structure of an exemplary XML schema.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG.", "1, a logical architecture of a broadcast system specified by OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) BCAST may include an application layer and a transport layer.", "The logical architecture of the BCAST system may include a Content Creation (CC) 101, a BCAST Service Application 102, a BCAST Service Distribution/Adaptation (BSDA) 103, a BCAST Subscription Management (BSM) 104, a Terminal 105, a Broadcast Distribution System (BDS) Service Distribution 111, a BDS 112, and an Interaction Network 113.It is to be understood that the broadcast system and/or receiver system may be reconfigured, as desired.", "It is to be understood that the broadcast system and/or receiver system may include additional elements and/or fewer elements, as desired.", "In general, the Content Creation (CC) 101 may provide content that is the basis of BCAST services.", "The content may include files for common broadcast services, e.g., data for a movie including audio and video.", "The Content Creation 101 provides a BCAST Service Application 102 with attributes for the content, which are used to create a service guide and to determine a transmission bearer over which the services will be delivered.", "In general, the BCAST Service Application 102 may receive data for BCAST services provided from the Content Creation 101, and converts the received data into a form suitable for providing media encoding, content protection, interactive services, etc.", "The BCAST Service Application 102 provides the attributes for the content, which is received from the Content Creation 101, to the BSDA 103 and the BSM 104.In general, the BSDA 103 may perform operations, such as file/streaming delivery, service gathering, service protection, service guide creation/delivery and service notification, using the BCAST service data provided from the BCAST Service Application 102.The BSDA 103 adapts the services to the BDS 112.In general, the BSM 104 may manage, via hardware or software, service provisioning, such as subscription and charging-related functions for BCAST service users, information provisioning used for BCAST services, and mobile terminals that receive the BCAST services.", "In general, the Terminal 105 may receive content/service guide and program support information, such as content protection, and provides a broadcast service to a user.", "The BDS Service Distribution 111 delivers mobile broadcast services to a plurality of terminals through mutual communication with the BDS 112 and the Interaction Network 113.In general, the BDS 112 may deliver mobile broadcast services over a broadcast channel, and may include, for example, a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) by 3rd Generation Project Partnership (3GPP), a Broadcast Multicast Service (BCMCS) by 3rd Generation Project Partnership 2 (3GPP2), a DVB-Handheld (DVB-H) by Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), or an Internet Protocol (IP) based broadcasting communication network.", "The Interaction Network 113 provides an interaction channel, and may include, for example, a cellular network.", "The reference points, or connection paths between the logical entities of FIG.", "1, may have a plurality of interfaces, as desired.", "The interfaces are used for communication between two or more logical entities for their specific purposes.", "A message format, a protocol and the like are applied for the interfaces.", "In some embodiments, there are no logical interfaces between one or more different functions.", "BCAST-1 121 is a transmission path for content and content attributes, and BCAST-2 122 is a transmission path for a content-protected or content-unprotected BCAST service, attributes of the BCAST service, and content attributes.", "BCAST-3 123 is a transmission path for attributes of a BCAST service, attributes of content, user preference/subscription information, a user request, and a response to the request.", "BCAST-4 124 is a transmission path for a notification message, attributes used for a service guide, and a key used for content protection and service protection.", "BCAST-5 125 is a transmission path for a protected BCAST service, an unprotected BCAST service, a content-protected BCAST service, a content-unprotected BCAST service, BCAST service attributes, content attributes, a notification, a service guide, security materials such as a Digital Right Management (DRM) Right Object (RO) and key values used for BCAST service protection, and all data and signaling transmitted through a broadcast channel.", "BCAST-6 126 is a transmission path for a protected BCAST service, an unprotected BCAST service, a content-protected BCAST service, a content-unprotected BCAST service, BCAST service attributes, content attributes, a notification, a service guide, security materials such as a DRM RO and key values used for BCAST service protection, and all data and signaling transmitted through an interaction channel.", "BCAST-7 127 is a transmission path for service provisioning, subscription information, device management, and user preference information transmitted through an interaction channel for control information related to receipt of security materials, such as a DRM RO and key values used for BCAST service protection.", "BCAST-8 128 is a transmission path through which user data for a BCAST service is provided.", "BDS-1 129 is a transmission path for a protected BCAST service, an unprotected BCAST service, BCAST service attributes, content attributes, a notification, a service guide, and security materials, such as a DRM RO and key values used for BCAST service protection.", "BDS-2 130 is a transmission path for service provisioning, subscription information, device management, and security materials, such as a DRM RO and key values used for BCAST service protection.", "X-1 131 is a reference point between the BDS Service Distribution 111 and the BDS 112.X-2 132 is a reference point between the BDS Service Distribution 111 and the Interaction Network 113.X-3 133 is a reference point between the BDS 112 and the Terminal 105.X-4 134 is a reference point between the BDS Service Distribution 111 and the Terminal 105 over a broadcast channel.", "X-5 135 is a reference point between the BDS Service Distribution 111 and the Terminal 105 over an interaction channel.", "X-6 136 is a reference point between the Interaction Network 113 and the Terminal 105.Referring to FIG.", "2, an exemplary service guide for the OMA BCAST system is illustrated.", "For purposes of illustration, the solid arrows between fragments indicate the reference directions between the fragments.", "It is to be understood that the service guide system may be reconfigured, as desired.", "It is to be understood that the service guide system may include additional elements and/or fewer elements, as desired.", "It is to be understood that functionality of the elements may be modified and/or combined, as desired.", "FIG.", "2A is a diagram showing cardinalities and reference direction between service guide fragments.", "The meaning of the cardinalities shown in the FIG.", "2 is the following: One instantiation of Fragment A as in FIG.", "2A references c to d instantiations of Fragment B.", "If c=d, d is omitted.", "Thus, if c>0 and Fragment A exists, at least c instantiation of Fragment B must also exist, but at most d instantiations of Fragment B may exist.", "Vice versa, one instantiation of Fragment B is referenced by a to b instantiations of Fragment A.", "If a=b, b is omitted.", "The arrow connection from Fragment A pointing to Fragment B indicates that Fragment A contains the reference to Fragment B.", "With respect to FIG.", "2, in general, the service guide may include an Administrative Group 200 for providing basic information about the entire service guide, a Provisioning Group 210 for providing subscription and purchase information, a Core Group 220 that acts as a core part of the service guide, and an Access Group 230 for providing access information that control access to services and content.", "The Administrative Group 200 may include a Service Guide Delivery Descriptor (SGDD) block 201.The Provision Group 210 may include a Purchase Item block 211, a Purchase Data block 212, and a Purchase Channel block 213.The Core Group 220 may include a Service block 221, a Schedule block 222, and a Content block 223.The Access Group 230 may include an Access block 231 and a Session Description block 232.The service guide may further include Preview Data 241 and Interactivity Data 251 in addition to the four information groups 200, 210, 220, and 230.The aforementioned components may be referred to as basic units or fragments constituting aspects of the service guide, for purposes of identification.", "The SGDD fragment 201 may provide information about a delivery session where a Service Guide Delivery Unit (SGDU) is located.", "The SGDU is a container that contains service guide fragments 211, 212, 213, 221, 222, 223, 231, 232, 241, and 251, which constitute the service guide.", "The SGDD may also provide the information on the entry points for receiving the grouping information and notification messages.", "The Service fragment 221, which is an upper aggregate of the content included in the broadcast service, may include information on service content, genre, service location, etc.", "In general, the ‘Service’ fragment describes at an aggregate level the content items which comprise a broadcast service.", "The service may be delivered to the user using multiple means of access, for example, the broadcast channel and the interactive channel.", "The service may be targeted at a certain user group or geographical area.", "Depending on the type of the service it may have interactive part(s), broadcast-only part(s), or both.", "Further, the service may include components not directly related to the content but to the functionality of the service such as purchasing or subscription information.", "As the part of the Service Guide, the ‘Service’ fragment forms a central hub referenced by the other fragments including ‘Access’, ‘Schedule’, ‘Content’ and ‘PurchaseItem’ fragments.", "In addition to that, the ‘Service’ fragment may reference ‘PreviewData’ fragment.", "It may be referenced by none or several of each of these fragments.", "Together with the associated fragments the terminal may determine the details associated with the service at any point of time.", "These details may be summarized into a user-friendly display, for example, of what, how and when the associated content may be consumed and at what cost.", "The Access fragment 231 may provide access-related information for allowing the user to view the service and delivery method, and session information associated with the corresponding access session.", "As such, the ‘Access’ fragment describes how the service may be accessed during the lifespan of the service.", "This fragment contains or references Session Description information and indicates the delivery method.", "One or more ‘Access’ fragments may reference a ‘Service’ fragment, offering alternative ways for accessing or interacting with the associated service.", "For the Terminal, the ‘Access’ fragment provides information on what capabilities are required from the terminal to receive and render the service.", "The ‘Access’ fragment provides Session Description parameters either in the form of inline text, or through a pointer in the form of a URI to a separate Session Description.", "Session Description information may be delivered over either the broadcast channel or the interaction channel.", "The Session Description fragment 232 may be included in the Access fragment 231, and may provide location information in a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) form so that the terminal may detect information on the Session Description fragment 232.The Session Description fragment 232 may provide address information, codec information, etc., about multimedia content existing in the session.", "As such, the ‘SessionDescription’ is a Service Guide fragment which provides the session information for access to a service or content item.", "Further, the Session Description may provide auxiliary description information, used for associated delivery procedures.", "The Session Description information is provided using either syntax of SDP in text format, or through a 3GPP MBMS User Service Bundle Description [3GPP TS 26.346] (USBD).", "Auxiliary description information is provided in XML format and contains an Associated Delivery Description as specified in [BCAST10-Distribution].", "Note that in case SDP syntax is used, an alternative way to deliver the Session Description is by encapsulating the SDP in text format in ‘Access’ fragment.", "Note that Session Description may be used both for Service Guide delivery itself as well as for the content sessions.", "The Purchase Item fragment 211 may provide a bundle of service, content, time, etc., to help the user subscribe to or purchase the Purchase Item fragment 211.As such, the ‘PurchaseItem’ fragment represents a group of one or more services (i.e.", "a service bundle) or one or more content items, offered to the end user for free, for subscription and/or purchase.", "This fragment can be referenced by ‘PurchaseData’ fragment(s) offering more information on different service bundles.", "The ‘PurchaseItem’ fragment may be also associated with: (1) a ‘Service’ fragment to enable bundled services subscription and/or, (2) a ‘Schedule’ fragment to enable consuming a certain service or content in a certain timeframe (pay-per-view functionality) and/or, (3) a ‘Content’ fragment to enable purchasing a single content file related to a service, (4) other ‘PurchaseItem’ fragments to enable bundling of purchase items.", "The Purchase Data fragment 212 may include detailed purchase and subscription information, such as price information and promotion information, for the service or content bundle.", "The Purchase Channel fragment 213 may provide access information for subscription or purchase.", "As such, the main function of the ‘PurchaseData’ fragment is to express all the available pricing information about the associated purchase item.", "The ‘PurchaseData’ fragment collects the information about one or several purchase channels and may be associated with PreviewData specific to a certain service or service bundle.", "It carries information about pricing of a service, a service bundle, or, a content item.", "Also, information about promotional activities may be included in this fragment.", "The SGDD may also provide information regarding entry points for receiving the service guide and grouping information about the SGDU as the container.", "The Preview Data fragment 241 may be used to provide preview information for a service, schedule, and content.", "As such, ‘PreviewData’ fragment contains information that is used by the terminal to present the service or content outline to users, so that the users can have a general idea of what the service or content is about.", "‘PreviewData’ fragment can include simple texts, static images (for example, logo), short video clips, or even reference to another service which could be a low bit rate version for the main service.", "‘Service’, ‘Content’, ‘PurchaseData’, ‘Access’ and ‘Schedule’ fragments may reference ‘PreviewData’ fragment.", "The Interactivity Data fragment 251 may be used to provide an interactive service according to the service, schedule, and content during broadcasting.", "More detailed information about the service guide can be defined by one or more elements and attributes of the system.", "As such, the InteractivityData contains information that is used by the terminal to offer interactive services to the user, which is associated with the broadcast content.", "These interactive services enable users to e.g.", "vote during TV shows or to obtain content related to the broadcast content.", "‘InteractivityData’ fragment points to one or many ‘InteractivityMedia’ documents that include xhtml files, static images, email template, SMS template, MMS template documents, etc.", "The ‘InteractivityData’ fragment may reference the ‘Service’, ‘Content’ and ‘Schedule’ fragments, and may be referenced by the ‘Schedule’ fragment.", "The ‘Schedule’ fragment defines the timeframes in which associated content items are available for streaming, downloading and/or rendering.", "This fragment references the ‘Service’ fragment.", "If it also references one or more ‘Content’ fragments or ‘InterativityData’ fragments, then it defines the valid distribution and/or presentation timeframe of those content items belonging to the service, or the valid distribution timeframe and the automatic activation time of the InteractivityMediaDocuments associated with the service.", "On the other hand, if the ‘Schedule’ fragment does not reference any ‘Content’ fragment(s) or ‘InteractivityData’ fragment(s), then it defines the timeframe of the service availability which is unbounded.", "The ‘Content’ fragment gives a detailed description of a specific content item.", "In addition to defining a type, description and language of the content, it may provide information about the targeted user group or geographical area, as well as genre and parental rating.", "The ‘Content’ fragment may be referenced by Schedule, PurchaseItem or ‘InteractivityData’ fragment.", "It may reference ‘PreviewData’ fragment or ‘Service’ fragment.", "The ‘PurchaseChannel’ fragment carries the information about the entity from which purchase of access and/or content rights for a certain service, service bundle or content item may be obtained, as defined in the ‘PurchaseData’ fragment.", "The purchase channel is associated with one or more Broadcast Subscription Managements (BSMs).", "The terminal is only permitted to access a particular purchase channel if it is affiliated with a BSM that is also associated with that purchase channel.", "Multiple purchase channels may be associated to one ‘PurchaseData’ fragment.", "A certain end-user can have a “preferred” purchase channel (e.g.", "his/her mobile operator) to which all purchase requests should be directed.", "The preferred purchase channel may even be the only channel that an end-user is allowed to use.", "The ServiceGuideDeliveryDescriptor is transported on the Service Guide Announcement Channel, and informs the terminal the availability, metadata and grouping of the fragments of the Service Guide in the Service Guide discovery process.", "A SGDD allows quick identification of the Service Guide fragments that are either cached in the terminal or being transmitted.", "For that reason, the SGDD is preferably repeated if distributed over broadcast channel.", "The SGDD also provides the grouping of related Service Guide fragments and thus a means to determine completeness of such group.", "The ServiceGuideDeliveryDescriptor is especially useful if the terminal moves from one service coverage area to another.", "In this case, the ServiceGuideDeliveryDescriptor can be used to quickly check which of the Service Guide fragments that have been received in the previous service coverage area are still valid in the current service coverage area, and therefore don't have to be re-parsed and re-processed.", "Although not expressly depicted, the fragments that constitute the service guide may include element and attribute values for fulfilling their purposes.", "In addition, one or more of the fragments of the service guide may be omitted, as desired.", "Also, one or more fragments of the service guide may be combined, as desired.", "Also, different aspects of one or more fragments of the service guide may be combined together, re-organized, and otherwise modified, or constrained as desired.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, an exemplary block diagram illustrates aspects of a service guide delivery technique.", "The Service Guide Deliver Descriptor fragment 201 may include the session information, grouping information, and notification message access information related to all fragments containing service information.", "When the mobile broadcast service-enabled terminal 105 turns on or begins to receive the service guide, it may access a Service Guide Announcement Channel (SG Announcement Channel) 300.The SG Announcement Channel 300 may include at least one of SGDD 200 (e.g., SGDD #1, .", ".", ".", ", SGDD #2, SGDD #3), which may be formatted in any suitable format, such as that illustrated in Service Guide for Mobile Broadcast Services, Open Mobile Alliance, Version 1.0.1, Jan. 9, 2013 and/or Service Guide for Mobile Broadcast Services, open Mobile Alliance, Version 1.1, Oct. 29, 3013; both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "The descriptions of elements and attributes constituting the Service Guide Delivery Descriptor fragment 201 may be reflected in any suitable format, such as for example, a table format and/or in an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) schema.", "The actual data is preferably provided in XML format according to the SGDD fragment 201.The information related to the service guide may be provided in various data formats, such as binary, where the elements and attributes are set to corresponding values, depending on the broadcast system.", "The terminal 105 may acquire transport information about a Service Guide Delivery Unit (SGDU) 312 containing fragment information from a DescriptorEntry of the SGDD fragment received on the SG Announcement Channel 300.The DescriptorEntry 302, which may provide the grouping information of a Service Guide includes the “GroupingCriteria”, “ServiceGuideDeliveryUnit”, “Transport”, and AlternativeAccessURI”.", "The transport-related channel information may be provided by the “Transport” or “AlternativeAccessURI”, and the actual value of the corresponding channel is provided by “ServiceGuideDeliveryUnit”.", "Also, upper layer group information about the SGDU 312, such as “Service” and “Genre”, may be provided by “GroupingCriteria”.", "The terminal 105 may receive and present all of the SGDUs 312 to the user according to the corresponding group information.", "Once the transport information is acquired, the terminal 105 may access all of the Delivery Channels acquired from a DescriptorEntry 302 in an SGDD 301 on an SG Delivery Channel 310 to receive the actual SGDU 312.The SG Delivery Channels can be identified using the “GroupingCriteria”.", "In the case of time grouping, the SGDU can be transported with a time-based transport channel such as an Hourly SG Channel 311 and a Daily SG Channel.", "Accordingly, the terminal 105 can selectively access the channels and receive all the SGDUs existing on the corresponding channels.", "Once the entire SGDU is completely received on the SG Delivery Channels 310, the terminal 105 checks all the fragments contained in the SGDUs received on the SG Delivery Channels 310 and assembles the fragments to display an actual full service guide 320 on the screen which can be subdivided on an hourly basis 321.In the conventional mobile broadcast system, the service guide is formatted and transmitted such that only configured terminals receive the broadcast signals of the corresponding broadcast system.", "For example, the service guide information transmitted by a DVB-H system can only be received by terminals configured to receive the DVB-H broadcast.", "The service providers provide bundled and integrated services using various transmission systems as well as various broadcast systems in accordance with service convergence, which may be referred to as multiplay services.", "The broadcast service providers may also provide broadcast services on IP networks.", "Integrated service guide transmission/reception systems may be described using terms of entities defined in the 3GPP standards and OMA BCAST standards (e.g., a scheme).", "However, the service guide/reception systems may be used with any suitable communication and/or broadcast system.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, the scheme may include, for example, (1) Name; (2) Type; (3) Category; (4) Cardinality; (5) Description; and (6) Data type.", "The scheme may be arranged in any manner, such as a table format of an XML format.", "The “name” column indicates the name of an element or an attribute.", "The “type” column indicates an index representing an element or an attribute.", "An element can be one of E1, E2, E3, E4, E[n].", "E1 indicates an upper element of an entire message, E2 indicates an element below the E1, E3 indicates an element below E2, E4 indicates an element below the E3, and so forth.", "An attribute is indicated by A.", "For example, an “A” below E1 means an attribute of element E1.In some cases the notation may mean the following E=Element, A=Attribute, E1=sub-element, E2=sub-element's sub-element, E[n]=sub-element of element[n−1].", "The “category” column is used to indicate whether the element or attribute is mandatory.", "If an element is mandatory, the category of the element is flagged with an “M”.", "If an element is optional, the category of the element is flagged with an “0”.", "If the element is optional for network to support it the element is flagged with a “NO”.", "If the element is mandatory for terminal to support it is flagged with a TM.", "If the element is mandatory for network to support it the element is flagged with “NM”.", "If the element is optional for terminal to support it the element is flagged with “TO”.", "If an element or attribute has cardinality greater than zero, it is classified as M or NM to maintain consistency.", "The “cardinality” column indicates a relationship between elements and is set to a value of 0, 0 .", ".", ".", "1, 1, 0 .", ".", ".", "n, and 1 .", ".", ".", "n. 0 indicates an option, 1 indicates a necessary relationship, and n indicates multiple values.", "For example, 0 .", ".", ".", "n means that a corresponding element can have no or n values.", "The “description” column describes the meaning of the corresponding element or attribute, and the “data type” column indicates the data type of the corresponding element or attribute.", "A service may represent a bundle of content items, which forms a logical group to the end-user.", "An example would be a TV channel, composed of several TV shows.", "A ‘Service’ fragment contains the metadata describing the Mobile Broadcast service.", "It is possible that the same metadata (i.e., attributes and elements) exist in the ‘Content’ fragment(s) associated with that ‘Service’ fragment.", "In that situation, for the following elements: ‘ParentalRating’, ‘TargetUserProfile’, ‘Genre’ and ‘BroadcastArea’, the values defined in ‘Content’ fragment take precedence over those in ‘Service’ fragment.", "The program guide elements of this fragment may be grouped between the Start of program guide and end of program guide cells in a fragment.", "This localization of the elements of the program guide reduces the computational complexity of the receiving device in arranging a programming guide.", "The program guide elements are generally used for user interpretation.", "This enables the content creator to provide user readable information about the service.", "The terminal should use all declared program guide elements in this fragment for presentation to the end-user.", "The terminal may offer search, sort, etc.", "functionalities.", "The Program Guide may consist of the following service elements: (1) Name; (2) Description; (3) AudioLanguage; (4) TextLanguage; (5) ParentalRating; (6) TargetUserProfile; and (7) Genre.", "The “Name” element may refer to Name of the Service, possibly in multiple languages.", "The language may be expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’.", "The “Description” element may be in multiple languages and may be expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’.", "The “AudioLanguage” element may declare for the end users that this service is available with an audio track corresponding to the language represented by the value of this element.", "The textual value of this element can be made available for the end users in different languages.", "In such a case the language used to represent the value of this element may be signaled using the built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’, and may include multi-language support.", "The AudioLanguage may contain an attribute languageSDPTag.", "The “languageSDPTag” attribute is an identifier of the audio language described by the parent ‘AudioLanguage’ element as used in the media sections describing the audio track in a Session Description.", "Each ‘AudioLanguage’ element declaring the same audio stream may have the same value of the languageSDPTag′.", "The “TextLanguage” element may declare for the end user that the textual components of this service are available in the language represented by the value of this element.", "The textual components can be, for instance, a caption or a sub-title track.", "The textual value of this element can be made available for the end users in different languages.", "In such a case the language used to represent the value of this element may be signaled using the built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’, and may include multi-language support.", "The same rules and constraints as specified for the element ‘AudioLanguage’ of assigning and interpreting the attributes languageSDPTag′ and ‘xml:lang’ may be applied for this element.", "The “languageSDPTag” attribute is an identifier of the text language described by the parent ‘TextLanguage’ element as used in the media sections describing the textual track in a Session Description.", "The “ParentalRating” element may declare criteria parents and might be used to determine whether the associated item is suitable for access by children, defined according to the regulatory requirements of the service area.", "The terminal may support ‘ParentalRating’ being a free string, and the terminal may support the structured way to express the parental rating level by using the ‘ratingSystem’ and ‘ratingValueName’ attributes.", "The “ratingSystem” attribute may specify the parental rating system in use, in which context the value of the ‘ParentalRating’ element is semantically defined.", "This allows terminals to identify the rating system in use in a non-ambiguous manner and act appropriately.", "This attribute may be instantiated when a rating system is used.", "Absence of this attribute means that no rating system is used (i.e.", "the value of the ‘ParentalRating’ element is to be interpreted as a free string).", "The “ratingValueName” attribute may specify the human-readable name of the rating value given by this ParentalRating element.", "The “TargetUserProfile” may specify elements of the users whom the service is targeting at.", "The detailed personal attribute names and the corresponding values are specified by attributes of ‘attributeName’ an ‘attributeValue’.", "Amongst the possible profile attribute names are age, gender, occupation, etc.", "(subject to national/local rules & regulations, if present and as applicable regarding use of personal profiling information and personal data privacy).", "The extensible list of ‘attributeName’ and ‘attributeValue’ pairs for a particular service enables end user profile filtering and end user preference filtering of broadcast services.", "The terminal may be able to support ‘TargetUserProfile’ element.", "The use of ‘TargetUserProfile’ element may be an “opt-in” capability for users.", "Terminal settings may allow users to configure whether to input their personal profile or preference and whether to allow broadcast service to be automatically filtered based on the users' personal attributes without users' request.", "This element may contain the following attributes: attributeName and attributeValue.", "The “attributeName” attribute may be a profile attribute name.", "The “attributeValue” attribute may be a profile attribute value.", "The “Genre” element may specify classification of service associated with characteristic form (e.g.", "comedy, drama).", "The OMA BCAST Service Guide may allow describing the format of the Genre element in the Service Guide in two ways.", "The first way is to use a free string.", "The second way is to use the “href” attributes of the Genre element to convey the information in the form of a controlled vocabulary (classification scheme as defined in [TVA-Metadata] or classification list as defined in [MIGFG]).", "The built-in XML attribute xml:lang may be used with this element to express the language.", "The network may instantiate several different sets of ‘Genre’ element, using it as a free string or with a ‘href’ attribute.", "The network may ensure the different sets have equivalent and nonconflicting meaning, and the terminal may select one of the sets to interpret for the end-user.", "The ‘Genre’ element may contain the following attributes: type and href.", "The “type” attribute may signal the level of the ‘Genre’ element, such as with the values of “main”, “second”, and “other”.", "The “href” attribute may signal the controlled vocabulary used in the ‘Genre’ element.", "After reviewing the set of programming guide elements and attributes; (1) Name; (2) Description; (3) AudioLanguage; (4) TextLanguage; (5) ParentalRating; (6) TargetUserProfile; and (7) Genre it was determined that the receiving device still may have insufficient information defined within the programming guide to appropriately render the information in a manner suitable for the viewer.", "In particular, the traditional NTSC television stations typically have numbers such as, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 49.For digital services, program and system information protocol includes a virtual channel table that, for terrestrial broadcasting defines each digital television service with a two-part number consisting of a major channel followed by a minor channel.", "The major channel number is usually the same as the NTSC channel for the station, and the minor channels have numbers depending on how many digital television services are present in the digital television multiples, typically starting at 1.For example, the analog television channel 9, WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., may identify its two over-the-air digital services as follows: channel 9-1 WUSA-DT and channel 9-2 9-Radar.", "This notation for television channels is readily understandable by a viewer, and the programming guide elements may include this capability as an extension to the programming guide so that the information may be computationally efficiently processed by the receiving device and rendered to the viewer.", "For many systems, it is desirable to include the capability to effectively provide blind or visually impaired persons the ability to more readily access video programming for a wide variety of video devices.", "For example, in a video programming guide it is desirable to permit the channel information, program information, menus, and other navigational and content related information to be read out (e.g., audio output) to the visually impaired person since they may have difficulty viewing the content or otherwise are unable to view the content because of blindness.", "Existing video programming guides were developed in a manner to most effectively present the information contained therein for visual inspection (e.g., not for those who are blind or visually impaired).", "As a result, simply including a text-to-speech conversion tends to result in a generally inferior experience for the blind or visually impaired.", "For example, if the text of the programming guide includes “C C C” it may be read out as “C” “C” “C”, but in many cases it would be preferable to read this out as “Triple C” for a more natural presentation.", "Similarly the prounciation of foreign language text when using text-to-speech coversion may not be accurate.", "As an example the text “Les Miserables” would likely not be pronounced correctly with a traditional text-to-speech conversion.", "In this manner, it is desirable to include suitable information within the environment of the video programming guide that enables the device to select a more appropriate manner of providing the content contained therein to the blind and/or visually impaired.", "In other cases, especially with proper names and foreign words (e.g., words not geographically local to the design of the device, such as a device developed for the United States market pronouncing words written in French) manner in which the words are spoken may be difficult, at best, to understand.", "While such functionality may be included within the device to facilitate such limitations, the implementation of such functionality should be undertaken in a manner that does not introduce additional limitations or ambiguities.", "These functions may be implemented in any suitable environment, such as the environment illustrated in the enclosed figures.", "Thus instead of only using text-to-speech coversion, information regarding pronunciation of words or sentences included in the service guide can be signalled within the service guide.", "This results in making the service guide information accessible.", "For example, reading out the service guide content names/descriptions using the signalled pronunciation information may be helpful for a visually impaired user.", "The information regarding pronunciation of words or sentences may be referred to as speech/phonetic information.", "The words “speech information”, “phonetic information” and “speech/phonetic information” are used interchangeably.", "In general, the speech/phonetic information may be signalled by including a reference in the service guide with the reference pointing to the speech/phonetic information (e.g.", "a URL/URI pointing to speech data) or by directly embedding the speech/phonetic information data in the service guide.", "In one embodiment, the speech information may be signaled inside one or more fragments of OMA BCAST service guide.", "In particular, it may be signaled inside ‘Content’ fragment and/or ‘Service’ fragment and/or ‘PreviewData’ fragment and/or ‘Purchase Item’ fragment and/or ‘Purchase Data’ fragment and/or ‘Purchase Channel’ fragment.", "In one embodiment, the speech information may be signaled using elements, sub-elements, and/or attributes as shown in FIG.", "5.In another embodiment the speech information could be signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in FIG.", "5A.", "In FIG.", "5A the speech information related elements, sub-elements and attributes are signaled inside the “Name” and “Description” elements of the “Service” fragment and “Content” fragment of OMA BCAST service guide.", "Thus the “Name” and “Description” elements are parents of these new elements.", "In another embodiment, a CDATA (character data) restriction may be used for the embedded speech data (SpeechInfo element).", "This may be done for example using a syntax where the embedded speech data is included inside <!", "[CDATA[ .", ".", ".", "]]> section.", "Since the embedded speech data may be a markup data itself (e.g.", "SSML data) this allows including markup tags inside this element without the XML parser parsing and interpreting those as markup.", "A constraint may be defined such that only one of speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which points to externally specified speech information or embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) may be specified when the speech object is of the same type.", "This limitation may be included because if it is allowed to include both the embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) and the speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which points to externally specified speech information and if the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of both these elements is the same then the receiving entity will not know which of the two to use for reading out the pronunciation.", "To avoid this ambiguity, in this case, only one of the two elements is preferably allowed in the service guide data.", "An exemplary example of this constraint is illustrated in FIG.", "6 and FIG.", "7.Referring to FIG.", "6, the service guide data includes a speech information URI A (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which has type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) equal to C. This URI A points to an external speech information object O which may for example reside on an external server.", "In this case, the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of the speech information object O is equal to C (same as indicated in the type attribute for Speech information URI element A).", "Referring to FIG.", "7, the service guide data includes an embedded speech information object B (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) which has type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) equal to C. In this case, the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of the speech information object B is equal to C, same as indicated in the type attribute for Speech information URI element in FIG.", "6.As a result with the constraint specified in this manner, the service guide can not include both the embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) and speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which points to externally specified speech information elements.", "In some embodiments, when the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of the embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) and speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which points to externally specified speech information is different then both of these elements may be allowed to be present in the service guide.", "In this case the receiving entity can make a decision regarding which one of the two objects to use based on its ability to handle particular type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of data.", "This is illustrated in FIG.", "8.In FIG.", "8 the service guide data includes a speech information URI U (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which has type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) equal to V. It also includes an embedded speech information object W (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) which has type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) equal to X.", "In this case the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of the speech information URI element (V) is not the same as (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) the type of the embedded speech information element (X).", "It is also noted that the speech information URI A points to an external speech information object Y which may for example reside on an external server.", "In this case the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of the speech information object Y is equal to V (same as indicated in the type attribute for Speech information URI element U).", "A content-type attribute may be signaled for speech information URL and for embedded speech information data elements.", "The content-type attribute for speech information URL element may be optional.", "The content-type attribute for embedded speech information element may be mandatory.", "Instead of “type” attribute of any URI type, the content-type attribute of string type may be signaled for speech information URL element and for embedded speech information element.", "One of the purposes of the content-type attribute field may be to describe the data type of the speech object referred by the URL and/or by the embedded.", "This knowledge may allow the receiving entity to select an appropriate agent or mechanism to present the data to the user.", "In general, the data type of the speech object referred by the URL may be obtained by sending a request to that object.", "For example a HTTP GET or HTTP HEAD request may be sent.", "However sending such a request and getting a response may add the latency.", "Thus including the content-type of the speech object referred by the URL in the service guide may quickly allow the receiving entity to know the type of data being referred.", "For example, if the receiving entity does not understand how to render data of a particular content-type as signaled by the content-type attribute value then it will not need to refer/send a request to the external object.", "In one embodiment the semantics of the Content-Type header from RFC 2616 (HTTP) may be used as the semantic for the attribute “content-type”.", "In one embodiment: The semantics of content-type shall obey the semantics of Content-Type header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.In an alternative embodiment, an attribute “content-enc” may be optionally signaled for embedded speech information data elements.", "This allows describing additional encoding applied to the embedded speech information object such as applying compression (e.g.", "gzip).", "Since the size of embedded speech information data in ESG may be large so compressing it may be beneficial in reducing the size.", "In one embodiment, the semantics of the Content-Encoding header from RFC 2616 (HTTP) could be used as the semantic for the attribute “content-enc”.", "In one embodiment: The semantics of content-enc shall obey the semantics of Content-Encoding header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.FIG.", "9 illustrates the inclusion of content encoding related attribute in addition to other speech information related elements and attributes.", "In another embodiment the speech information could be signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in FIG.", "9A.", "In FIG.", "9A the speech information related elements, sub-elements and attributes are signaled inside the “Name” and “Description” elements of the “Service” fragment and “Content” fragment of OMA BCAST service guide.", "Thus the “Name” and “Description” elements are parents of these new elements.", "In yet another embodiment, a single attribute content-type-enc may be signaled for speech information URL and for embedded speech information data elements as a whitespace separated concatenated string of ‘content-type’ and ‘content-enc’ attributes with semantics and details, as described above.", "The content-type-enc attribute may be mandatory for speech information URL element and may be mandatory for the embedded speech information element.", "Also in this case the content-enc part of the string may be optional.", "e.g.", "using ABNF notation: content-type-enc=content-type WSP (content-enc).", "Where WSP is white space and Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) is described in RFC 5234 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc5234.txt).", "The cardinality of speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which points to externally specified speech information may be equal to 0 .", ".", ".", "1, which means that zero or one such element may be present in the service guide.", "The cardinality of embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) may be equal to 0 .", ".", ".", "1, which means that zero or one such element may be present in the service guide.", "This is because one speech information URI element and one embedded speech information element are sufficient to indicate the phonetic information as these elements can apply to the entire Name and Description elements.", "Also when using SSML the elements such as <phoneme> element can already occur multiple times inside the SSML.", "In another embodiment, the cardinality of some of the elements may be changed from 0 .", ".", ".", "1 to 0 .", ".", ".", "N only when the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of those elements are different.", "In this case one or more of the following constraints may be defined: The cardinality of speech information URL element (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) which points to externally specified speech information may be equal to 0 .", ".", ".", "N, which means that zero or more such elements may be present in the service guide if the ‘content-type’ of each of the speech information URL element (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) is different.", "In another embodiment, the constraint may be stated as: When more than one speech information URL element (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) is present in the service guide, the value of ‘content-type’ attribute of each of the speech information URL element (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) may be different.", "The cardinality of embedded speech information data element (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) which points to externally specified speech information may be equal to 0 .", ".", ".", "N, which means that zero or more such elements may be present in the service guide if the ‘content-type’ of each of the embedded speech information data element (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) is different.", "In another embodiment, the constraint may be stated as: When more than one embedded speech information data element (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) is present in the service guide, the value of ‘content-type’ attribute of each of the embedded speech information data element (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) may be different.", "The XML schema may be defined to syntactically restrict the presence of only one of the two elements: speech information URL element and embedded speech information data element.", "An example XML schema for this is shown below: List 1 <?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″?> <xs:schema xmlns:xs=″http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema″> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoObject″ type=″SpeechInfoType″/> <xs:complexType name=″SpeechInfoType″> <xs:choice> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoURI″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″1″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:anyURI′′> <xs:attribute name=″Type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfo″ minOccurs=′′0″ maxOccurs=″1″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:string″> <xs:attribute name=″Type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″required″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:choice> </xs:complexType> </xs:schema> Representation of such an XML schema to syntactically restrict the presence of only one of the two elements: speech information URL element and embedded speech information data element may be indicated as shown in FIG.", "10.In an alternative embodiment such a restriction may not be defined inside XML schema and the constraint may be simply imposed semantically.", "Thus either one of the following two constraints may be required: Only one of the two elements: the speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) and embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) may be present.", "In another embodiment this constraint may be stated as: Only one of the two elements: the speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) and embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) shall be present inside a parent “Name” or “Description” element.", "In another embodiment this constraint may be stated as: Only one of the two elements: the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be present inside a parent Name or Description element.", "When the type (e.g.", "content-type/mime-type) of the speech information URL (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) and embedded speech information data (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) is different (than each other) then both these elements may be present in the service guide.", "In another embodiment this constraint may be stated as: When more than one speech information URL element (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) and embedded speech information data element (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) are present in the service guide, the value of ‘content-type’ attribute of each of the speech information URL element (e.g.", "SpeechInfoURI element) and embedded speech information data element (e.g.", "SpeechInfo element) may be different.", "In another embodiment this constraint may be stated as: When more than one SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element are present inside a parent Name or Description element in the service guide, the value of Type/content-type attribute of each of the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be different.", "In this case an example XML schema may be as shown below: List 2 <?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″?> <xs:schema xmlns:xs=″http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema″> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoObject″ type=″SpeechInfoType″/> <xs:complexType name=″SpeechInfoType″> <xs:all> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoURI″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″1″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:anyURI″> <xs:attribute name=′′Type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfo″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″1″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:string″> <xs:attribute name=″Type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″required″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:all> </xs:complexType> </xs:schema> In yet another embodiment the cardinality of elements may be relaxed further.", "In this case an example XML schema may be as shown below: List 3 <?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″?> <xs:schema xmlns:xs=″http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema″> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoObject″ type=″SpeechInfoType″/> <xs:complexType name=″SpeechInfoType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoURI″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=′′unbounded″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:anyURI″> <xs:attribute name=″Type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfo″ minOccurs=0′′ maxOccurs=″unbounded″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:string″> <xs:atttribute name=″Type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″required″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> </xs:schema> Additional embodiments for signaling the speech/phoentic information using elements, sub-elements, and/or attributes may be included.", "Information regarding pronunciation of words or sentences included in the service guide can be signalled within service guide.", "This can be helpful in making the service guide information accessible.", "For example reading out the service guide content names/descriptions using the signalled pronunciation information may be helpful for visually impaired user.", "The information regarding pronunciation of words or sentences will be referred to as speech/phonetic information.", "In general it is useful to include the speech/phonetic information by including a reference in service guide with the reference pointing to the speech/phonetic information (e.g.", "a URL/URI pointing to speech data) or by directly embedding the speech/phonetic information data in the service guide.", "In one embodiment the speech information could be signaled inside one or more fragments of OMA BCAST service guide.", "In particular it may be signaled inside ‘Content’ fragment and/or ‘Service’ fragment and/or ‘PreviewData’ fragment and/or ‘Purchase Item’ fragment and/or ‘Purchase Data’ fragment and/or ‘Purchase Channel’ fragment.", "In one embodiment the speech information could be signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in table 1 (Speech Phoenetic Information Extensions) below.", "Elements Name and Description elements from OMA BCAST service fragment are extended with addition of sub-elements and attributes related to speech phonetic information, as listed in Table 1: Speech Phonetic Information Extensions.", "TABLE 1 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions Cardi- Data Name Type Category nality Description Type Name E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Name of the Service, possibly in String multiple languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Description E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Description, possibly in multiple String languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURL SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Additionally one or more of the following constraints apply.", "When more than one SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element are present inside a parent Name or Description element in the service guide, the value of content-type attribute of each of the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be different.", "The semantics of content-type attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Type header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "The semantics of content-enc attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Encoding header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object for the corresponding SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "In another embodiment when the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In another embodiment one or more of the following may apply.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "In other embodiments instead of “application/ssml+xml” the default value for the content-type attribute when not present may be inferred to be some other value such as either “application/voicexml+xml”, or “application/srgs”, “application/srgs+xml”, “application/ccxml+xml”, and “application/pls+xml”, or “text/ssml+xml”, or some other media type value defined in http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml or some other value.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In one embodiment the speech information could be additionally signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in table 2 below.", "Elements Name and Description elements from service fragment are extended with addition of sub-elements and attributes related to speech phonetic information, as listed in, as listed in Table 2 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions.", "TABLE 2 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions Cardi- Data Name Type Category nality Description Type Name E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Name of the ‘Content’ fragment, String possibly in multiple languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Description E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Description, possibly in multiple String languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Additionally one or more of the following constraints may apply.", "When more than one SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element are present inside a parent Name or Description element in the service guide, the value of content-type attribute of each of the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be different.", "The semantics of content-type attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Type header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "The semantics of content-enc attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Encoding header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object for the corresponding SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "In another embodiment when the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In another embodiment one or more of the following may apply.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "In other embodiments instead of “application/ssml+xml” the default value for the content-type attribute when not present may be inferred to be some other value such as either “application/voicexml+xml”, or “application/srgs”, “application/srgs+xml”, “application/ccxml+xml”, and “application/pls+xml”, or “text/ssml+xml”, or some other media type value defined in http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml or some other value.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In another embodiment the following may apply.", "The speech information could be signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in table 3 below.", "Elements Name and Description elements from OMA BCAST service fragment are extended with addition of sub-elements and attributes related to speech phonetic information, as listed in Table 1: Speech Phonetic Information Extensions.", "Each of the Name and Description elements include a text attribute which provides the name and description respectively.", "Language of the text attribute is expressed with XML attribute ‘xml:lang’.", "TABLE 3 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions Cardi- Data Name Type Category nality Description Type Name E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about name.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Contains following attributes: text xml:lang text A NM/TM 1 Name of the Service.", "string xml:lang A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 The language of the text attribute string expressed with XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Description E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Description element which includes sub-elements to indicate description and phonetic information about description.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Contains following attributes: text xml:lang text A NM/TM 1 Description of the Service.", "string xml:lang A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 The language of the text attribute string expressed with XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Additionally one or more of the following constraints may apply.", "When more than one SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element are present inside a parent Name or Description element in the service guide, the value of content-type attribute of each of the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be different.", "The semantics of content-type attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Type header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "The semantics of content-enc attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Encoding header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object for the corresponding SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "In another embodiment when the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In another embodiment one or more of the following may apply: When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "In other embodiments instead of “application/ssml+xml” the default value for the content-type attribute when not present may be inferred to be some other value such as either “application/voicexml+xml”, or “application/srgs”, “application/srgs+xml”, “application/ccxml+xml”, and “application/pls+xml”, or “text/ssml+xml”, or some other media type value defined in http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml or some other value.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In one embodiment the speech information could be additionally signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in table 4 below.", "Elements Name and Description elements from service fragment are extended with addition of sub-elements and attributes related to speech phonetic information, as listed in, as listed in Table 2 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions.", "TABLE 4 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions Cardi- Data Name Type Category nality Description Type Name E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about name.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Contains following attributes: text xml:lang text A NM/TM 1 Name of the ‘Content’ fragment.", "string xml:lang A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 The language of the text attribute string expressed with XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Description E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Description element which includes sub-elements to indicate description and phonetic information about description.", "Contains the following elements: SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Contains following attributes: text xml:lang text A NM/TM 1 Description of the Content.", "string xml:lang A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 The language of the text attribute string expressed with XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Additionally one or more of the following constraints apply.", "When more than one SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element are present inside a parent Name or Description element in the service guide, the value of content-type attribute of each of the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be different.", "The semantics of content-type attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Type header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "The semantics of content-enc attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Encoding header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object for the corresponding SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "In another embodiment when the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In another embodiment one or more of the following may apply.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "In other embodiments instead of “application/ssml+xml” the default value for the content-type attribute when not present may be inferred to be some other value such as either “application/voicexml+xml”, or “application/srgs”, “application/srgs+xml”, “application/ccxml+xml”, and “application/pls+xml”, or “text/ssml+xml”, or some other media type value defined in http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml or some other value.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In an alternative embodiment the speech information could be signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in table 5 below.", "Elements Name and Description elements from OMA BCAST service fragment are extended with addition of sub-elements and attributes related to speech phonetic information as listed in Table 1: Speech Phonetic Information Extensions.", "Each of the Name and Description elements include a Text element which provides the name and description respectively.", "TABLE 5 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions Cardi- Data Name Type Category nality Description Type Name E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Container element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about name.", "Contains the following elements: Text SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Text E2 NM/TM 1 Name of the Service, possibly in string multiple languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Description E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Description element which includes sub-elements to indicate description and phonetic information about description.", "Contains the following elements: Text SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Text E2 NM/TM 1 Description, possibly in multiple string languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo String object.", "Additionally one or more of the following constraints may apply.", "When more than one SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element are present inside a parent Name or Description element in the service guide, the value of content-type attribute of each of the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be different.", "The semantics of content-type attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Type header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "The semantics of content-enc attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Encoding header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object for the corresponding SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "In another embodiment when the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In another embodiment one or more of the following may apply.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "In other embodiments instead of “application/ssml+xml” the default value for the content-type attribute when not present may be inferred to be some other value such as either “application/voicexml+xml”, or “application/srgs”, “application/srgs+xml”, “application/ccxml+xml”, and “application/pls+xml”, or “text/ssml+xml”, or some other media type value defined in http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml or some other value.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In one embodiment the speech information could be additionally signaled using elements, sub-elements and attributes as shown in table 6 below.", "Elements Name and Description elements from service fragment are extended with addition of sub-elements and attributes related to speech phonetic information, as listed in, as listed in Table 2 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions.", "TABLE 6 Speech Phonetic Information Extensions Cardi- Data Name Type Category nality Description Type Name E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Name element which includes sub-elements to indicate name and phonetic information about name.", "Contains the following elements: Text SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Text E2 NM/TM 1 Name of the ‘Content’ fragment, string possibly in multiple languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Description E1 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Extended Description element which includes sub-elements to indicate description and phonetic information about description.", "Contains the following elements: Text SpeechInfoURI SpeechInfo Text E2 NM/TM 1 Description, possibly in multiple string languages.", "The language is expressed using built-in XML attribute ‘xml:lang’ with this element.", "SpeechInfoURI E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N The URI address where SpeechInfo anyURI object for parent Name element is acquired.", "Speech file may be encoded in SSML format (http://www.w3.org/TR/speech- synthesis11/) or similar types of mark up languages.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object String referenced by SpeechInfoURI.", "SpeechInfo E2 NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "N Embedded Speech information object anyURI for parent Name element.", "Contains following attribute: content-type content-enc Content-type A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content-type of SpeechInfo object.", "String Content-enc A NM/TM 0 .", ".", ".", "1 Content encoding of SpeechInfo object.", "String Additionally one or more of the following constraints may apply.", "When more than one SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element are present inside a parent Name or Description element in the service guide, the value of content-type attribute of each of the SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall be different.", "The semantics of content-type attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Type header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "The semantics of content-enc attribute for SpeechInfoURI element and SpeechInfo element shall obey the semantics of Content-Encoding header of HTTP/1.1 protocol RFC 2616.When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object for the corresponding SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "In another embodiment when the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element or SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "In another embodiment one or more of the following may apply.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "When the content-type attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “application/ssml+xml” for that element.", "In other embodiments instead of “application/ssml+xml” the default value for the content-type attribute when not present may be inferred to be some other value such as either “application/voicexml+xml”, or “application/srgs”, “application/srgs+xml”, “application/ccxml+xml”, and “application/pls+xml”, or “text/ssml+xml”, or some other media type value defined in http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml or some other value.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element the associated speech information object is assumed to have no additional content encoding applied.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfoURI element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "When the content-enc attribute is not present for SpeechInfo element it is inferred to have a value of “identity” for that element.", "XML Schema may be used for speech information object signaling.", "In one embodiment XML schema shown below in “Table: XML schema A” is used.", "In some cases this may correspond to Table 1 and Table 2.Representation of such an XML schema may be indicated as shown in FIG.", "11.TABLE XML schema A List 4 <?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″?> <xs:schema xmlns:xs=″http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema″> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoObject″ type=″SpeechInfoType″/> <xs:complexType name=″SpeechInfoType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoURI″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=′′unbounded″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:anyURI″> <xs:attribute name=″content-type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> <xs:attribute name=′′content-enc″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:element name=′′SpeechInfo″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:string″> <xs:attribute name=″content-type″ type=″xs:string′′ use=″optional″/> <xs:attribute name=″content-enc″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> </xs:schema> In an alternative embodiment some of the use=‘optional’ may be changed to use=‘required’.", "In an alternative embodiment XML schema shown below in “Table: XML schema B” is used.", "In some cases this may correspond to Table 3 and Table 4.Representation of such an XML schema may be indicated as shown in FIG.", "12.TABLE XML schema B List 5-1 <?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″?> <xs:schema xmlns:xs=″http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema″> <xs:import namespace=′′http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace″ schemaLocation=″http://www.w3.org/2001/xml.xsd″/> <xs:complexType name=″ServiceType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″Name′′ type=″NameDescriptionType″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> <xs:element name=″Description″ type=′′NameDescriptionType″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> <xs:complexType name=″ContentType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″Name″ type=″NameDescriptionType″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> <xs:element name=″Description″ type=″NameDescriptionType″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> List 5-2 <xs:complexType name=″NameDescriptionType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoURI″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base-″xs:anyURI″> <xs:attribute name=″content-type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> <xs:attribute name=″content-enc″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfo″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:string″> <xs:attribute name=″content-type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> <xs:attribute name=″content-enc″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:sequence> <xs:attribute name=″text″ type=″xs:string″ use=″required″ /> <xs:attribute ref=″xml:lang″ use=″optional″/> </xs:complexType> </xs:schema> In an alternative embodiment XML schema shown below in “Table: XML schema C” is used.", "In some cases this may correspond to Table 5 and Table 6.Representation of such an XML schema may be indicated as shown in FIG.", "13.TABLE XML schema C List 6-1 <?xml version=″1.0″ encoding=″UTF-8″?> <xs:schema xmlns:xs=″http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema″> <xs:import namespace=″http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace″ schemaLocation=″http://www.w3.org/2001/xml.xsd″/> <xs:complexType name=″ServiceType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″Name″ type=″NameDescriptionType″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> <xs:element name=″Description″ type=″NameDescriptionType″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> <xs:complexType name=″ContentType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″Name″ type=″NameDescriptionType″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> <xs:element name=″Description″ type=″NameDescriptionType′′ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″/> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> List 6-2 <xs:complexType name=″NameDescriptionType″> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name=″Text″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:string″> <xs:attribute ref=″xml:lang″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfoURI″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded′′> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:anyURI″> <xs:attribute name=″content-type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> <xs:attribute name=″content-enc″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> <xs:element name=″SpeechInfo″ minOccurs=″0″ maxOccurs=″unbounded″> <xs:complexType> <xs:simpleContent> <xs:extension base=″xs:string″> <xs:attribute name=″content-type″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> <xs:attribute name=″content-enc″ type=″xs:string″ use=″optional″/> </xs:extension> </xs:simpleContent> </xs:complexType> </xs:element> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType> </xs:schema> In yet another embodiment <!--Name and Description elements in Service and Content Fragments of OMA BCAST service guide will be replaced with following extended elements--> <xs:element name=“Name” type=“NameDescriptionType” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“unbounded”/> <xs:element name=“Description” type=“NameDescriptionType” minOccurs=“0” maxOccurs=“unbounded”/> In some embodiments some of the elements above may be changed from E2 to E1.In some embodiments the cardinality of some of the elements may be changed.", "For example cardinality may be changed from “1” to “1 .", ".", ".", "N” or cardinality may be changed from “1” to “0 .", ".", ".", "N” or cardinality may be changed from “1” to “0 .", ".", ".", "1” or cardinality may be changed from “0 .", ".", ".", "1” to “0 .", ".", ".", "N” or cardinality may be changed from “0 .", ".", ".", "N” to “0 .", ".", ".", "1”.", "In some embodiments some of the elements could instead be signalled as attributes.", "In some embodiments some of the attributes could instead be signalled as elements.", "In another embodiments some of the “NM/TM” values in the “category” may be changed to “NM/TO” or “NO/TM” or “NO/TO”.", "In some embodiments instead of XML some other format e.g.", "JSON/CSV/BNF/ABNF/EBNF may be used for representing the same information conveyed in the XML format.", "It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above.", "Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the systems, methods, and apparatus described herein without departing from the scope of the claims." ] ]
Patent_15874911
[ [ "METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING HIGH-STRENGTH AND DUCTILE TRIP STEEL", "A method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel is disclosed.", "The method may include cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet, cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet, and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet." ], [ "1.A method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel, the method comprising: cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm; annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes; air cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature; applying intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C.; and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by: quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C.; continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a second predetermined amount of time; and air cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "2.The method according to claim 1, wherein cold rolling the low-alloy steel sheet to the thickness of 1 mm includes cold rolling the low-allow steel sheet including not more than 0.2 wt.", "% carbon, 1 wt.", "% manganese, 1.4 wt.", "% copper, 0.75 wt.", "% aluminum, and 1.34 wt.", "% silicon with the balance being iron and unavoidable impurities.", "3.The method according to claim 1, wherein continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for the second predetermined amount of time includes heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460 ° C. for 6 minutes.", "4.A method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel, the method comprising: cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet; annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet; cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet; applying intercritical annealing on the low-alloy steel sheet; and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet.", "5.The method according to claim 4, wherein annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet includes annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature below an austenite region of the low-alloy steel sheet.", "6.The method according to claim 4, wherein annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet includes annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. 7.The method according to claim 4, wherein annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet includes annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes.", "8.The method according to claim 4, wherein applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet includes applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C. 9.The method according to claim 4, wherein applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet includes applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C. for at least 6 minutes.", "10.The method according to claim 4, wherein inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet includes quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to a temperature within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature within the bainite nose for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "11.The method according to claim 4, wherein inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet includes quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for 6 minutes, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "12.The method according to claim 4, wherein cold rolling the low-alloy steel sheet includes cold rolling the low-allow steel sheet including not more than 0.2 wt.", "% carbon, 1 wt.", "% manganese, 1.4 wt.", "% copper, 0.75 wt.", "% aluminum, and 1.34 wt.", "% silicon with the balance being iron and unavoidable impurities.", "13.The method according to claim 4, wherein cold rolling the low-alloy steel sheet includes cold rolling the low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm.", "14.A method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel, the method comprising: hot rolling a low-alloy steel sheet at 1000° C.; air cooling the hot-rolled steel sheet to room temperature; cold rolling the low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm; annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes; air cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature; applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C.; and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "15.The method according to claim 14, wherein hot rolling the low-alloy steel sheet includes hot rolling the low-allow steel sheet including not more than 0.2 wt.", "% carbon, 1 wt.", "% manganese, 1.4 wt.", "% copper, 0.75 wt.", "% aluminum, and 1.34 wt.", "% silicon with the balance being iron and unavoidable impurities.", "16.The method according to claim 14, wherein applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet includes applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet for 6 minutes.", "17.The method according to claim 14, wherein inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet includes inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for 6 minutes, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels have both high strength and high ductility.", "TRIP steels are particularly suitable for automotive structural and safety components due to their high energy absorption capacity and fatigue strength.", "Besides, unique microstructures and metallurgical properties of the TRIP steels make it possible to make the automobile steel structure lighter while, at the same time, ensuring safety during potential collisions.", "TRIP steels may be considered as one of the leading types of advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs).", "TRIP steels have a microstructure consisting of ferrite, bainite, retained austenite, and sometimes martensite.", "The usual route for obtaining TRIP microstructures is by performing intercritical annealing (IA) followed by bainitic isothermal transformation (BIT) on a cold-rolled ferritic-pearlitic sheet.", "During deformation, the metastable retained austenite transforms to martensite, which is the basis of TRIP effect.", "This transformation, in turn, increases the local strain hardening rate and delays necking which results in enhanced strength-ductility combination compared to conventional steel grades.", "There is an ongoing demand for obtaining sheets with improved strength as well as excellent formability based on simpler steel compositions.", "There is, therefore, a need in both automotive and steel industries for new TRIP steels that possess higher strength and better ductility." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>This summary is intended to provide an overview of the subject matter of the present disclosure, and is not intended to identify essential elements or key elements of the subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed implementations.", "The proper scope of the present disclosure may be ascertained from the claims set forth below in view of the detailed description below and the drawings.", "In an exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel is disclosed.", "The method may include cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes, air cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C., and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "According to some exemplary embodiments, cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm may include cold rolling a low-allow steel sheet including not more than 0.2 wt.", "% carbon, 1 wt.", "% manganese, 1.4 wt.", "% copper, 0.75 wt.", "% aluminum, and 1.34 wt.", "% silicon with the balance being iron and unavoidable impurities.", "According to some exemplary embodiments, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for the second predetermined amount of time may include heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for 6 minutes.", "In an exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel is disclosed.", "The method may include cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet, cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet , and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may include annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature below an austenite region of the low-alloy steel sheet.", "According to another exemplary embodiment, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet includes annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. According to an exemplary embodiment, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may include annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes.", "According to some exemplary embodiments, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet may include applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C. According to other exemplary embodiments, applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet may include applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C. for at least 6 minutes.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, inducing the bainetic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet may include quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to a temperature within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at the temperature within the bainite nose for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, inducing the bainetic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet may include quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for 6 minutes, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "In an exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel is disclosed.", "The method may include hot rolling a low-alloy steel sheet at 1000° C., air cooling the hot-rolled steel sheet to room temperature, cold rolling the low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes, air cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C., and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of priority from pending U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "62/460,820, filed on Feb. 19, 2017, and entitled “HIGH STRENGTH AND DUCTILE THERMOMECHANICALLY-PROCESSED TRIP STEEL,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels and particularly relates to a method for manufacturing a high-strength and ductile TRIP steel.", "BACKGROUND Transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels have both high strength and high ductility.", "TRIP steels are particularly suitable for automotive structural and safety components due to their high energy absorption capacity and fatigue strength.", "Besides, unique microstructures and metallurgical properties of the TRIP steels make it possible to make the automobile steel structure lighter while, at the same time, ensuring safety during potential collisions.", "TRIP steels may be considered as one of the leading types of advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs).", "TRIP steels have a microstructure consisting of ferrite, bainite, retained austenite, and sometimes martensite.", "The usual route for obtaining TRIP microstructures is by performing intercritical annealing (IA) followed by bainitic isothermal transformation (BIT) on a cold-rolled ferritic-pearlitic sheet.", "During deformation, the metastable retained austenite transforms to martensite, which is the basis of TRIP effect.", "This transformation, in turn, increases the local strain hardening rate and delays necking which results in enhanced strength-ductility combination compared to conventional steel grades.", "There is an ongoing demand for obtaining sheets with improved strength as well as excellent formability based on simpler steel compositions.", "There is, therefore, a need in both automotive and steel industries for new TRIP steels that possess higher strength and better ductility.", "SUMMARY This summary is intended to provide an overview of the subject matter of the present disclosure, and is not intended to identify essential elements or key elements of the subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed implementations.", "The proper scope of the present disclosure may be ascertained from the claims set forth below in view of the detailed description below and the drawings.", "In an exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel is disclosed.", "The method may include cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes, air cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C., and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "According to some exemplary embodiments, cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm may include cold rolling a low-allow steel sheet including not more than 0.2 wt.", "% carbon, 1 wt.", "% manganese, 1.4 wt.", "% copper, 0.75 wt.", "% aluminum, and 1.34 wt.", "% silicon with the balance being iron and unavoidable impurities.", "According to some exemplary embodiments, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for the second predetermined amount of time may include heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for 6 minutes.", "In an exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel is disclosed.", "The method may include cold rolling a low-alloy steel sheet, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet, cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet , and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may include annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature below an austenite region of the low-alloy steel sheet.", "According to another exemplary embodiment, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet includes annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. According to an exemplary embodiment, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may include annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes.", "According to some exemplary embodiments, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet may include applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C. According to other exemplary embodiments, applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet may include applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C. for at least 6 minutes.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, inducing the bainetic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet may include quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to a temperature within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at the temperature within the bainite nose for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, inducing the bainetic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet may include quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for 6 minutes, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "In an exemplary embodiment consistent with the present disclosure, a method for manufacturing a high-strength transformation induced plasticity steel is disclosed.", "The method may include hot rolling a low-alloy steel sheet at 1000° C., air cooling the hot-rolled steel sheet to room temperature, cold rolling the low-alloy steel sheet to a thickness of 1 mm, annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a first predetermined amount of time between 45 and 90 minutes, air cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature, applying an intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature between 765° C. and 930° C., and inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to 460° C., continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord with the present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation.", "In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a method for manufacturing transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a method for manufacturing high-strength TRIP steels, consistent with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates a method for manufacturing high-strength TRIP steels, consistent with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a temperature versus time graph of an implementation of a method for manufacturing a high-strength TRIP steel, consistent with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a temperature versus time graph of an implementation of a method for manufacturing a conventional TRIP steel.", "FIG.", "5A is an optical micrograph of a conventional TRIP steel sample manufactured as described in detail in connection with EXAMPLE 3.FIG.", "5B is an optical micrograph of a conventional Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample manufactured as described in detail in connection with EXAMPLE 2.FIG.", "5C is an optical micrograph of a high-strength TRIP steel sample manufactured as described in detail in connection with EXAMPLE 1.FIG.", "6 shows engineering stress-strain curves for a high-strength TRIP steel, a conventional Cu-bearing TRIP steel, and a conventional TRIP steel, consistent with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the methods and devices disclosed in exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "For purposes of explanation, specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure.", "However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required to practice the disclosed exemplary embodiments.", "Descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments are provided only as representative examples.", "Various modifications to the exemplary implementations will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations and applications without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.", "The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the implementations shown but is to be accorded the broadest possible scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a method 100 for manufacturing transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels according to conventional methods.", "Method 100 may include step 101 of cold rolling a steel sheet; step 102 of subjecting the cold-rolled steel sheet to an intercritical annealing; and step 103 of subjecting the annealed sheet to a bainitic isothermal transformation.", "The method 100 may be utilized for obtaining TRIP microstructures in the steel sheet.", "The TRIP microstructures may consist of ferrite, bainite, retained austenite, and sometimes martensite.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, in step 102, the intercritical annealing is carried out in the austenite region between the austenite formation starting temperature (Ac1) and the austenite formation ending temperature (Ac3).", "The intercritical annealing between Ac1 and Ac3 leads to incomplete austenitization.", "With respect to step 103, the annealed steel sheet may then be cooled down or otherwise quenched to the bainite nose temperature and held at the bainite nose temperature for bainite to form in the steel structure.", "In addition, holding the quenched steel sheet at the bainite nose temperature stabilizes the retained austenite in the steel structure.", "There is a need in the art for improving properties of TRIP steels including strength, ability to deal with a range of temperatures, flexibility, and lightness, among other metallurgical properties to meet the diverse functional requirements of modem industries.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates a method 200 for manufacturing high-strength TRIP steels, consistent with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "The method 200 may include step 201 of cold rolling a low-alloyed steel sheet; step 202 of annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet; step 203 of cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet; step 204 of applying an intercrtical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet; and step 205 of inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed sheet.", "Referring to FIG.", "2A, in an exemplary embodiment, step 201 may include introducing or inputting the low-alloyed steel sheet between rollers to compress and squeeze the low-alloy steel sheet and reduce its thickness.", "The amount of strain that is put on the low-alloy steel sheet may determine the hardness of the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet.", "With respect to step 202, in an exemplary embodiment, the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may be annealed at a temperature below the austenite region of the low-alloy steel for a first predetermined amount of time.", "In other words, the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may be annealed at a temperature below Ac1 for a first predetermined amount of time.", "IN an exemplary embodiment, the first predetermined amount of time may be between 45 and 90 minutes.", "The cementite dissolution during step 201 of cold rolling the low-alloyed steel sheet and the precipitation of cementite during step 202 of annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may lead to the presence of spherical carbides in the steel structure.", "In step 202, an equiaxed ultrafine-grained microstructure may be developed that are similar to the microstructures obtained after tempering of a cold-rolled martensite.", "Referring to FIG.", "2A, after annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel, method 100 may then proceed to step 203, where the annealed low-alloy steel sheet may be air cooled to ambient temperature.", "With respect to step 204, in an exemplary embodiment, the low-alloy steel sheet may be annealed in the intercritical region or the austenite region of the low-alloy steel at a temperature between Ac1 and Ac3.The Ac1 and Ac3 temperatures may be determined by a dilatometry method, and then a temperature between Ac1 and Ac3 may be selected for carrying out the intercritical annealing.", "With reference to FIG.", "2A, after step 204 of applying the intercritical annealing to the low-alloy steel sheet, the method 100 may proceed to step 205 of inducing a bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed sheet.", "In an exemplary embodiment, inducing the bainitic isothermal transformation in the annealed sheet may include quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet to a temperature within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at the temperature within the bainite nose for a second predetermined amount of time, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "In an exemplary embodiment, the second predetermined amount of time may be six minutes.", "In step 205, the retained austenite formed in the steel structure during step 204 may be stabilized, leading to bainite formation in the steel structure.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates a method 220 for manufacturing high-strength TRIP steels, consistent with one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "Method 220 may include a step 206 of hot rolling a low-alloyed steel sheet; a step 207 of air cooling the hot-rolled low-alloy steel sheet; a step 208 of cold rolling a low-alloyed steel sheet; a step 209 of annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet; a step 210 of cooling the annealed low-alloy steel sheet; a step 211 of subjecting the low-alloy steel sheet to an intercritical annealing; and a step 212 of subjecting the annealed sheet to a bainitic isothermal transformation.", "Referring to FIG.", "2B, in an exemplary embodiment, step 206 of method 220 may include passing the low-alloy steel sheet or slab through pairs of rollers at a temperature above the recrystallization temperature of the low-alloy steel.", "Hot rolling the low-alloy steel sheet or slab may be carried out to reduce the thickness of the low-alloy steel sheet and to make the thickness of the low-alloy steel sheet uniform.", "With respect to step 207, in an exemplary embodiment, the hot-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may be air cooled to room temperature once its thickness is reduced in step 206.With reference to FIGS.", "2A and 2B, once the hot-rolled low-alloy steel sheet is cooled down to room temperature, method 220 may proceed to the subsequent steps 208 to 212 that may be similar to steps 201 to 205 of method 200.As used herein, a low-alloy steel may have a carbon (C) content between 0.15 and 0.25 wt.", "% and other alloying elements.", "The Other alloying elements may include up to 2 wt.", "% manganese (Mn) and small quantities of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), and the like.", "According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a low-alloy steel may include 0.05-0.2 wt % C, up to 2 wt.", "% Mn, and small quantities of Cu, Al, and Si with the remaining being iron and unavoidable impurities.", "According to other exemplary embodiments, the low-alloy steel may include at least one alloying component selected from the group consisting of Si, Mn, and Al.", "EXAMPLE 1 In this example, a low-alloy steel with 0.2 wt.", "% C, 1 wt.", "% Mn, 1.4 wt.", "% Cu, 0.75 wt.", "% Al, and 1.34 wt.", "% Si was prepared as an ingot with a thickness of 15 mm.", "The low-alloy steel ingot was then used as a feedstock to manufacture a high-strength TRIP steel, according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a temperature versus time graph 300 of an implementation of method 220 for manufacturing a high-strength TRIP steel, as was described in detail in connection with FIG.", "2B.", "In an exemplary embodiment, Step 301 represents implementation of step 206 of method 220, step 302 represents implementation of step 207 of method 220, step 303 represents implementation of step 208 of method 220, step 304 represents implementation of step 209 of method 220, step 305 represents implementation of step 210 of method 220, step 306 represents implementation of step 211 of method 220, and step 307 represents implementation of step 212 of method 220.Referring to FIG.", "3, the low-alloy steel ingot was hot rolled at a temperature of approximately 1000° C., which is above the recrystallization temperature of the low-alloy steel (hot rolling step 301).", "Hot rolling the low-alloy steel ingot at 1000° C. reduces the thickness of the low-alloy steel from 15 mm to approximately 7 mm.", "After a last rolling pass, the low-alloy steel sheet was air cooled to the room temperature (Air cooling step 302).", "Afterward, the low-alloy steel sheet was cold rolled down to a thickness of approximately 1 mm (cold rolling step 303).", "Then, a recrystallization annealing was applied to the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet at a temperature of approximately 650° C. for a soaking time of approximately 1 hour (annealing step 304).", "The annealed low-alloy steel sheet was then air cooled to the room temperature (cooling step 305).", "An intercritical annealing was then applied to the low-alloy steel at a temperature between the lower and the upper boundaries of the low-alloy steel, which are referred to herein as Ac1 and Ac3, respectively.", "The Ac1 and Ac3 temperatures were determined by dilatometry.", "The Ac1 temperature was determined to be approximately 765° C., and the Ac3 temperature was determined to be approximately 930° C. With reference to FIG.", "3, to obtain a TRIP microstructure, the low-alloy steel sheet was annealed at 790° C. for 6 minutes (intercritical annealing step 306).", "After that, a bainitic isothermal transformation was induced in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet in a salt bath to a temperature of approximately 460° C., which is within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a soaking time of approximately 6 min, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature (step 307).", "For ease of reference, the high-strength TRIP steel manufactured as was described in this example is referred to as “high-strength TRIP steel.” EXAMPLE 2 In this example, the low-alloy steel with 0.2 wt.", "% C, 1 wt.", "% Mn, 1.4 wt.", "% Cu, 0.75 wt.", "% Al, and 1.34 wt.", "% Si was prepared as an ingot with a thickness of 15 mm.", "The low-alloy steel ingot was then used as a feedstock to manufacture a conventional TRIP steel.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a temperature versus time graph 400 of an implementation of method 220 without performing step 209 of annealing the cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet for manufacturing a reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel.", "In an exemplary embodiment, Step 401 represents implementation of step 206 of method 220, step 402 represents implementation of step 207 of method 220, step 403 represents implementation of step 208 of method 220, step 404 represents implementation of step 211 of method 220, and step 405 represents implementation of step 212 of method 220.Referring to FIG.", "4, the low-alloy steel ingot was hot rolled at a temperature of approximately 1000° C. (hot rolling step 401).", "Hot rolling the low-alloy steel ingot at 1000° C. reduces the thickness of the low-alloy steel from 15 mm to approximately 7 mm.", "After a last rolling pass, the low-alloy steel sheet was air cooled to the room temperature (Air cooling step 402).", "Afterward, the low-alloy steel sheet was cold rolled down to a thickness of approximately 1mm (cold rolling step 403).", "An intercritical annealing was then applied to the cold-rolled low-alloy steel at 790° C. for 6 minutes (intercritical annealing step 404).", "After that, a bainitic isothermal transformation was induced in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet in a salt bath to a temperature of approximately 460° C., which is within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a soaking time of approximately 6 min, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature (step 405).", "For ease of reference, the high-strength TRIP steel manufactured as was described in this example is referred to as “reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel.” which may have similar properties as a conventional TRIP steel and is manufactured herein for purposes of comparison with the high-strength TRIP steel manufactured as was described in EXAMPLE 1.EXAMPLE 3 In this example, the low-alloy steel with 0.2 wt.", "% C, 1 wt.", "% Mn, 0.75 wt.", "% Al, and 1.34 wt.", "% Si was prepared as an ingot with a thickness of 15 mm.", "The low-alloy steel ingot was then used as a feedstock to manufacture a reference TRIP steel.", "It should be mentioned that the low-alloy steel ingot of this example does not include copper as an alloying element.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a temperature versus time graph 400 of an implementation of method 210 for manufacturing a conventional TRIP steel.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, the low-alloy steel ingot was hot rolled at a temperature of approximately 1000° C. (hot rolling step 401).", "Hot rolling the low-alloy steel ingot at 1000° C., reduces the thickness of the low-alloy steel from 15 mm to approximately 7 mm.", "After a last rolling pass, the low-alloy steel sheet was air cooled to the room temperature (Air cooling step 402).", "Afterward, the low-alloy steel sheet was cold rolled down to a thickness of approximately 1 mm (cold rolling step 403).", "An intercritical annealing was then applied to the cold-rolled low-alloy steel at 790° C. for 6 minutes (intercritical annealing step 404).", "After that, a bainitic isothermal transformation was induced in the annealed low-alloy steel sheet by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet in a salt bath to a temperature of approximately 460° C., which is within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at 460° C. for a soaking time of approximately 6 min, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature (step 405).", "For ease of reference, the high-strength TRIP steel manufactured as was described in this example is referred to as “reference TRIP steel.” MICROSTRUCTURAL EVOLUTIONS The microstructures of the high-strength TRIP steel sample, reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample, and reference TRIP steel sample were observed by an Olympus Vanox optical microscope and a Camscan MV2300 scanning electron microscope.", "The steel samples were first etched by a 2% Nital solution and LePera's reagent (1g Na2S2O5 in 100 ml H2O+4 g picric acid in 100 ml ethanol).", "FIG.", "5A is an optical micrograph 501 of the reference TRIP steel sample manufactured as described in detail in connection with EXAMPLE 3.FIG.", "5B is an optical micrograph 502 of the reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample manufactured as described in detail in connection with EXAMPLE 2.FIG.", "5C is an optical micrograph 503 of the high-strength TRIP steel sample manufactured as described in detail in connection with EXAMPLE 1.Referring to FIGS.", "5A to 5C, the microstructures of the three steel samples contain bright, small, and dispersed islands.", "These islands are the retained austenite phase.", "The distribution of the retained austenite in the high-strength TRIP steel sample as shown in the optical micrograph 503 is more uniform in comparison with the distribution of the retained austenite in the reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample as shown in the optical micrograph 502 and the distribution of the retained austenite in the conventional TRIP steel sample as shown in the optical micrograph 501.The areas without the austenite islands are fewer in the high-strength TRIP steel sample as shown in the optical micrograph 503 in comparison with the reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample as shown in the optical micrograph 502 and the reference TRIP steel sample as shown in the optical micrograph 501.The retained austenite phase governs the high strength as well as good ductility of TRIP steels by inhibition of necking as a result of the strain-induced martensitic transformation.", "A proper distribution of the retained austenite might have some advantageous effects on the mechanical properties and usefulness of TRIP steels, such as improving mechanical strength and ductility.", "With reference to FIGS.", "5A to 5C, the high-strength TRIP steel that was annealed at 650° C. for a soaking time of approximately 1 hour before the intercritical annealing shows a more uniform distribution of the retained austenite in comparison with the samples and may have better mechanical properties.", "As a result of this additional annealing step, the high-strength TRIP steel shows a tensile strength of approximately 1.2 GPa and a total elongation of approximately 37%, which falls within the range reported for the third generation advanced high-strength steels.", "MECHANICAL PROPERTIES Tensile test samples were prepared according to the JIS-Z-2201 standard with a gage length of 8 mm.", "The tensile tests were conducted at room temperature under an initial strain rate of 0.001 s−1.FIG.", "6 shows engineering stress-strain curves for the high-strength TRIP steel, reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel, and reference TRIP steel.", "The engineering stress-strain curve for the high-strength TRIP steel sample prepared as described in detail in connection with example 1 is designated by reference numeral 601; the engineering stress-strain curve for the conventional Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample prepared as described in detail in connection with example 2 is designated by reference numeral 602; and the engineering stress-strain curve for the reference TRIP steel sample prepared as described in detail in connection with example 3 is designated by reference numeral 603.Referring to FIG.", "6, it can be observed that the tensile properties of Cu-containing steel samples (the high-strength TRIP steel sample and reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample) are better than those of the reference TRIP steel that does not include copper.", "Moreover, it can be seen that the high-strength TRIP steel sample obtained from the cold rolled and annealed low-alloy steel sheet shows much better strength-ductility combination compared to the reference Cu-bearing TRIP steel sample obtained from the cold rolled low-alloy steel sheet.", "This may be related to the additional annealing step at 650° C. for 1 hour, during which an equiaxed ultrafine-grained microstructure with average ferrite grain size of approximately 700 nm and dispersed cementite particles with average size of approximately 200 nm was developed.", "The presence of these spherical carbides may be related to the cementite dissolution during cold rolling and its subsequent precipitation during annealing.", "The mechanism of cementite dissolution can be explained based on the binding energy between carbon and iron atoms in cementite and the interaction energy between carbon atoms and dislocations in the ferrite.", "The former seems to be higher than the latter, and hence, carbon atoms leave cementite and spread in the ferrite.", "The obtained microstructure is similar to that obtained after tempering of cold rolled martensite, where the mechanisms responsible for the formation of the ultrafine-grained microstructure.", "After TRIP heat treatment, this resulted a better distribution of the retained austenite phase in the microstructure of the high-strength TRIP steel, as was discussed in more detail in connection with FIGS.", "5A to 5C.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure is directed to a method for manufacturing a high-strength TRIP steel.", "The method may include the following steps.", "The low-alloy steel ingot may be hot rolled at a temperature of approximately 1000° C. After a last rolling pass, the low-alloy steel sheet may be air cooled to the room temperature.", "Afterward, the low-alloy steel sheet may be cold rolled down to a thickness of approximately 1 mm.", "The cold-rolled low-alloy steel sheet may then be subjected to a recrystallization annealing at a temperature between 625° C. and 675° C. for a soaking time between 45 and 90 minutes.", "The annealed low-alloy steel sheet may then be air cooled to the room temperature.", "The low-alloy steel may then be subjected to an intercritical annealing at a temperature between the lower and the upper boundaries of the low-alloy steel.", "After that the annealed low-alloy steel sheet was subjected to a bainitic isothermal transformation by quenching the annealed low-alloy steel sheet in a salt bath to a temperature within the bainite nose, continually heating the annealed low-alloy steel sheet at that temperature for a soaking time (the second predetermined amount of time) of approximately 6 min, and air cooling the low-alloy steel sheet to room temperature.", "While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein.", "It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all applications, modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the present teachings.", "Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact.", "They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.", "The scope of protection is limited solely by the claims that now follow.", "That scope is intended and should be interpreted to be as broad as is consistent with the ordinary meaning of the language that is used in the claims when interpreted in light of this specification and the prosecution history that follows and to encompass all structural and functional equivalents.", "Notwithstanding, none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails to satisfy the requirement of Sections 101, 102, or 103 of the Patent Act, nor should they be interpreted in such a way.", "Any unintended embracement of such subject matter is hereby disclaimed.", "Except as stated immediately above, nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims.", "It will be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.", "Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.", "The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.", "An element proceeded by “a” or “an” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.", "The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure quickly.", "It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.", "In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various implementations.", "This is for purposes of streamlining the disclosure and is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed implementations require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.", "Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed implementation.", "Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.", "While various implementations have been described, the description is intended to be exemplary, rather than limiting, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more implementations and implementations are possible that are within the scope of the implementations.", "Although many possible combinations of features are shown in the accompanying figures and discussed in this detailed description, many other combinations of the disclosed features are possible.", "Any feature of any implementation may be used in combination with or substituted for any other feature or element in any other implementation unless specifically restricted.", "Therefore, it will be understood that any of the features shown and/or discussed in the present disclosure may be implemented together in any suitable combination.", "Accordingly, the implementations are not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.", "Also, various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the attached claims." ] ]
Patent_15874914
[ [ "ELASTIC WAVE DEVICE", "A longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter is disposed on a piezoelectric substrate.", "IDT electrodes include first and second busbars.", "An inorganic insulating layer is provided on at least one side in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to an elastic wave propagation direction to cover the first or second busbars, and a first wiring line is disposed on the inorganic insulating layer to extend in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "A second wiring line three-dimensionally crosses the first wiring line with the inorganic insulating layer interposed therebetween.", "The first wiring line is connected to busbars, which are connected to the same potential, by extending through the inorganic insulating layer." ], [ "1.An elastic wave device comprising: a piezoelectric substrate; and a first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter that is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate and that includes at least three interdigital transducer (IDT) electrodes arranged in an elastic wave propagation direction; wherein each of the IDT electrodes includes a first busbar and a second busbar, the first busbar and the second busbar being respectively disposed on a first end side and a second end side in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction; an inorganic insulating layer covers a plurality of the first busbars or a plurality of the second busbars on at least one of the first end side and the second end side; the elastic wave device further includes: a first wiring line that is located above the plurality of first busbars or above the plurality of second busbars and disposed on the inorganic insulating layer so as to extend in the elastic wave propagation direction; and a second wiring line that is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate so as to three-dimensionally cross the first wiring line with the inorganic insulating layer interposed between the first wiring line and the second wiring line; and the first wiring line is connected to the busbars among the plurality of first busbars or among the plurality of second busbars, the busbars being connected to a same potential, by extending through the inorganic insulating layer.", "2.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, further comprising an elastic wave element that is disposed on a side on which the plurality of second busbars of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter are disposed.", "3.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein when the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, the first wiring line, which is located above the plurality of first busbars or above the plurality of second busbars and disposed on the inorganic insulating layer so as to extend in the elastic wave propagation direction, is superposed with the plurality of first busbars or the plurality of second busbars and does not project from the plurality of first busbars or the plurality of second busbars.", "4.The elastic wave device according to claim 2, wherein the elastic wave element is a second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter; and the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter is cascade-connected to the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "5.The elastic wave device according to claim 2, wherein the elastic wave element is an elastic wave resonator.", "6.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein, when a width direction of each of the first busbars or a width direction of each of the second busbars is parallel or substantially parallel to the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction, a width of the first wiring line is smaller than a width of each of the first busbars or a width of each of the second busbars.", "7.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the busbars, which are connected to the same potential, are busbars that are connected to a ground potential; and the first wiring line is connected to the ground potential.", "8.The elastic wave device according to claim 7, wherein the first wiring line surrounds the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "9.The elastic wave device according to claim 2, wherein the first wiring line is a wiring line connected to a ground potential and surrounds the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and the elastic wave element.", "10.The elastic wave device according to claim 9, wherein the first wiring line has a ring shape.", "11.The elastic wave device according to claim 10, wherein, when the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, the first wiring line includes a cutout portion that enables an inside and an outside of the ring shape to communicate with each other.", "12.The elastic wave device according to claim 9, wherein the ring shape is rectangular or substantially rectangular.", "13.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric substrate is a LiNbO3 substrate.", "14.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric substrate is a LiTaO3 substrate.", "15.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic insulating layer is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate so as to cover at least a plurality of the IDT electrodes of the first longitudinally coupled resonator-type elastic wave filter.", "16.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic insulating layer is made of silicon oxide.", "17.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic insulating layer is made of SiN, SiON, or Al2O3.18.The elastic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic layer includes through holes through which the first wiring line extend." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide elastic wave devices capable of reducing the area of a piezoelectric substrate surface and achieving a reduction in the size of the elastic wave device.", "An elastic wave device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a piezoelectric substrate and a first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter that is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate and that includes at least three interdigital transducer (IDT) electrodes arranged in an elastic wave propagation direction.", "Each of the IDT electrodes includes a first busbar and a second busbar, the first busbar and the second busbar being respectively disposed on a first end side and a second end side in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction.", "An inorganic insulating layer covers a plurality of the first busbars or a plurality of the second busbars on at least one of the first end side and the second end side.", "The elastic wave device further includes a first wiring line that is located above the plurality of first busbars or above the plurality of second busbars and disposed on the inorganic insulating layer so as to extend in the elastic wave propagation direction and a second wiring line that is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate so as to three-dimensionally crosses the first wiring line with the inorganic insulating layer interposed between the first wiring line and the second wiring line.", "The first wiring line is connected to the busbars among the plurality of first busbars or among the plurality of second busbars, the busbars being connected to the same potential, by extending through the inorganic insulating layer.", "An elastic wave device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes an elastic wave element that is disposed on a side on which the plurality of second busbars of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter are disposed.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, the first wiring line, which is located above the plurality of first busbars or above the plurality of second busbars and disposed on the inorganic insulating layer so as to extend in the elastic wave propagation direction, is superposed with the plurality of first busbars or the plurality of second busbars and does not project from the plurality of first busbars or the plurality of second busbars.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elastic wave element is a second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter, and the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter is cascade connected to the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "In this case, the area of an interstage region is able to be reduced.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elastic wave element is an elastic wave resonator.", "In this case, the area of a region between the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and the elastic wave resonator is able to be reduced.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, when a width direction of each of the first busbars or a width direction of each of the second busbars is parallel or substantially parallel to the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction, a width of the first wiring line is smaller than a width of each of the first busbars or a width of each of the second busbars.", "In this case, when the first wiring line is provided on the inorganic insulating layer, the degree of precision required to position the first wiring line in the width direction is able to be reduced.", "In addition, it is less likely that variations in an electrostatic capacitance between the first wiring line and the second wiring line will occur.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the busbars, which are connected to the same potential, are busbars that are connected to a ground potential, and the first wiring line is connected to the ground potential.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first wiring line surrounds the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "In this case, the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter is able to be electromagnetically shielded from the periphery of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first wiring line is a wiring line connected to a ground potential and surrounds the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and the elastic wave element.", "In this case, interference between the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and the elastic wave resonator and an element and an electrode positioned outside the wiring line is able to be reduced or prevented.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first wiring line has a ring shape.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, the first wiring line includes a cutout portion that enables the inside and the outside of the ring shape to communicate with each other.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the piezoelectric substrate is a LiNbO 3 substrate.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inorganic insulating layer is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate so as to cover at least a plurality of the IDT electrodes of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "Preferably, the inorganic insulating layer is made of silicon oxide.", "In this case, the absolute temperature coefficient of resonant frequency TCF of the elastic wave device is able to be decreased.", "In elastic wave devices according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the area of a piezoelectric substrate surface is able to be reduced, and a reduction in the size of the elastic wave device is able to be achieved.", "The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-148832 filed on Jul.", "28, 2015 and is a Continuation Application of PCT Application No.", "PCT/JP2016/070593 filed on Jul.", "12, 2016.The entire contents of each application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an elastic wave device in which a longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter is provided on a piezoelectric substrate.", "2.Description of the Related Art In an elastic wave device described in WO 2010/150882, interdigital transducer (IDT) electrodes and a ground-side wiring line are disposed on a piezoelectric substrate.", "The ground-side wiring line surrounds the IDT electrodes.", "A hot-side wiring line, which is connected to one of the IDT electrodes, three-dimensionally crosses the ground-side wiring line with an insulating film interposed therebetween.", "In WO 2014/199674, a ground-side wiring line, which connects two longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave elements to each other, and a hot-side wiring line, which connects another two longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave elements to each other, cross each other with an insulating film interposed therebetween.", "In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.", "2004-282707, wiring lines that have different potentials cross each other with an insulating film interposed therebetween.", "In elastic wave devices of the related art such as those described in WO 2010/150882, WO 2014/199674, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.", "2004-282707, a three-dimensional crossing portion is provided in a portion spaced apart from the IDT electrodes.", "Consequently, the area of a piezoelectric substrate surface inevitably increases, and it is difficult to reduce the sizes of such elastic wave devices.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide elastic wave devices capable of reducing the area of a piezoelectric substrate surface and achieving a reduction in the size of the elastic wave device.", "An elastic wave device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a piezoelectric substrate and a first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter that is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate and that includes at least three interdigital transducer (IDT) electrodes arranged in an elastic wave propagation direction.", "Each of the IDT electrodes includes a first busbar and a second busbar, the first busbar and the second busbar being respectively disposed on a first end side and a second end side in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction.", "An inorganic insulating layer covers a plurality of the first busbars or a plurality of the second busbars on at least one of the first end side and the second end side.", "The elastic wave device further includes a first wiring line that is located above the plurality of first busbars or above the plurality of second busbars and disposed on the inorganic insulating layer so as to extend in the elastic wave propagation direction and a second wiring line that is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate so as to three-dimensionally crosses the first wiring line with the inorganic insulating layer interposed between the first wiring line and the second wiring line.", "The first wiring line is connected to the busbars among the plurality of first busbars or among the plurality of second busbars, the busbars being connected to the same potential, by extending through the inorganic insulating layer.", "An elastic wave device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes an elastic wave element that is disposed on a side on which the plurality of second busbars of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter are disposed.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, the first wiring line, which is located above the plurality of first busbars or above the plurality of second busbars and disposed on the inorganic insulating layer so as to extend in the elastic wave propagation direction, is superposed with the plurality of first busbars or the plurality of second busbars and does not project from the plurality of first busbars or the plurality of second busbars.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elastic wave element is a second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter, and the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter is cascade connected to the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "In this case, the area of an interstage region is able to be reduced.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the elastic wave element is an elastic wave resonator.", "In this case, the area of a region between the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and the elastic wave resonator is able to be reduced.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, when a width direction of each of the first busbars or a width direction of each of the second busbars is parallel or substantially parallel to the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction, a width of the first wiring line is smaller than a width of each of the first busbars or a width of each of the second busbars.", "In this case, when the first wiring line is provided on the inorganic insulating layer, the degree of precision required to position the first wiring line in the width direction is able to be reduced.", "In addition, it is less likely that variations in an electrostatic capacitance between the first wiring line and the second wiring line will occur.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the busbars, which are connected to the same potential, are busbars that are connected to a ground potential, and the first wiring line is connected to the ground potential.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first wiring line surrounds the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "In this case, the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter is able to be electromagnetically shielded from the periphery of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first wiring line is a wiring line connected to a ground potential and surrounds the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and the elastic wave element.", "In this case, interference between the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and the elastic wave resonator and an element and an electrode positioned outside the wiring line is able to be reduced or prevented.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first wiring line has a ring shape.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, the first wiring line includes a cutout portion that enables the inside and the outside of the ring shape to communicate with each other.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the piezoelectric substrate is a LiNbO3 substrate.", "In an elastic wave device according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inorganic insulating layer is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate so as to cover at least a plurality of the IDT electrodes of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "Preferably, the inorganic insulating layer is made of silicon oxide.", "In this case, the absolute temperature coefficient of resonant frequency TCF of the elastic wave device is able to be decreased.", "In elastic wave devices according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the area of a piezoelectric substrate surface is able to be reduced, and a reduction in the size of the elastic wave device is able to be achieved.", "The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1A is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.", "1B is a schematic plan view illustrating an electrode structure of a longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the elastic wave device taken along line A-A of FIG.", "1A.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic plan view illustrating an elastic wave device according to a first comparative example prepared for comparison.", "FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the elastic wave device taken along line B-B of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "5 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a schematic plan view illustrating an electrical connection structure between first and second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filters according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a schematic plan view of the elastic wave device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a second comparative example prepared for comparison.", "FIG.", "9 is a graph illustrating attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention and attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second comparative example.", "FIG.", "10 is a graph illustrating, in an enlarged manner, the attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention and the attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second comparative example.", "FIG.", "11 is a partially enlarged plan view illustrating a portion at which an electrostatic capacitance is generated in the second comparative example.", "FIG.", "12 is a graph illustrating isolation characteristics in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention and isolation characteristics in the second comparative example.", "FIG.", "13 is a graph illustrating the attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second preferred embodiment of the present invention and the attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second comparative example.", "FIG.", "14 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "15 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "16 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "17 is a schematic plan view illustrating a modification of the elastic wave device according to the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "18 is a schematic plan view illustrating another modification of the elastic wave device according to the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings to clarify the present invention.", "Note that the preferred embodiments described in the present specification are examples, and it is to be noted that the configurations according to the different preferred embodiments may be partially replaced with one another or may be combined with each other.", "FIG.", "1A is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.", "1B is a schematic plan view illustrating an electrode structure of a longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter according to the present preferred embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the elastic wave device taken along line A-A of FIG.", "1A.", "An elastic wave device 1 includes a piezoelectric substrate 2 including a main surface.", "The piezoelectric substrate 2 is preferably made of LiNbO3, for example.", "The piezoelectric substrate 2 may be made of a piezoelectric single crystal, such as LiTaO3, for example.", "In addition, the piezoelectric substrate 2 may have a structure in which a piezoelectric thin film is stacked on a plurality of multilayer films.", "A first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3 is disposed on the main surface of the piezoelectric substrate 2.The first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3 includes first to third interdigital transducer (IDT) electrodes 11 to 13.In other words, the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3 is preferably a three IDT longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter, for example.", "The first to third IDT electrodes 11 to 13 are arranged in an elastic wave propagation direction on the main surface of the piezoelectric substrate 2.Reflectors 14 and 15 are respectively disposed on a first side and a second side of a region in which the first to third IDT electrodes 11 to 13 are disposed in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "FIG.", "1A schematically illustrates the positions of the first to third IDT electrodes 11 to 13 and the positions of the reflectors 14 and 15.The electrode structures of the first to third IDT electrodes and the reflectors 14 and 15 are illustrated in more detail in FIG.", "1B, which is a schematic diagram.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "1B, the first to third IDT electrodes 11 to 13 respectively include first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a disposed at a first end thereof in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction.", "In addition, second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b are respectively disposed at a second end of the first to third IDT electrodes 11 to 13 in the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction.", "One end of each of a plurality of first electrode fingers 11c is connected to the first busbar 11a.", "One end of each of a plurality of first electrode fingers 12c is connected to the first busbar 12a.", "One end of each of a plurality of first electrode fingers 13c is connected to the first busbar 13a.", "One end of each of a plurality of second electrode fingers 11d is connected to the second busbar 11b.", "One end of each of a plurality of second electrode fingers 12d is connected to the second busbar 12b.", "One end of each of a plurality of second electrode fingers 13d is connected to the second busbar 13b.", "In the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction, the reflector 14 includes a first busbar 14a, which is disposed at a first end thereof, and a second busbar 14b, which is disposed at a second end thereof, and the reflector 15 includes a first busbar 15a, which is disposed at a first end thereof, and a second busbar 15b, which is disposed at a second end thereof.", "The first busbar 14a and the second busbar 14b are short-circuited to each other by a plurality of electrode fingers.", "Similarly, the first busbar 15a and the second busbar 15b are short-circuited to each other by a plurality of electrode fingers.", "Note that the first busbars 14a and 15a and the second busbars 14b and 15b of the reflectors 14 and 15 may be omitted.", "Although the materials of the first to third IDT electrodes 11 to 13 and the materials of the reflectors 14 and 15 are not particularly limited as long as the materials are conductive materials, metals, such as Al and Au, or alloys may preferably be used, for example.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "1B, the first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a, each of which has an elongated strip shape extending in the elastic wave propagation direction, are arranged in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "The first busbar 14a and the first busbar 15a also extend linearly on an extension line that extends in the direction in which the first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a extend.", "Similarly, on the second end side in the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction, each of the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b has an elongated strip shape extending in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "Each of the second busbars 14b and 15b also has an elongated strip shape and is located on an extension line that extends in the direction in which the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b extend.", "In the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3, the first busbars 11a and 13a are connected to a signal potential, and the second busbar 11b and 13b are connected to a ground potential.", "In the second IDT electrode 12, the first busbar 12a is connected to the ground potential, and the second busbar 12b is connected to the signal potential.", "In the related art, in a longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave device, when wiring lines are provided on a piezoelectric substrate so as to be connected to other elements and connected to a ground potential, a large wiring space is required.", "In contrast, in the elastic wave device 1 according to the present preferred embodiment, such a wiring space is able to be reduced.", "This matter will now be described in more detail with reference to FIG.", "3, FIG.", "1A, and FIG.", "2.FIG.", "3 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of an elastic wave device according to a first comparative example for describing a three-dimensional crossing portion of wiring lines in the related art.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "3, first to third IDT electrodes 111 to 113 are configured in a similar manner to the first to third IDT electrodes 11 to 13 according to the present preferred embodiment.", "In addition, reflectors 114 and 115 are provided.", "The three-dimensional crossing portion is provided in the following manner, though.", "A signal wiring line 120 is connected to a second busbar 112b.", "An upper-layer wiring line 119 is connected to second busbars 111b and 113b, which are connected to a ground potential.", "Although not illustrated in FIG.", "3, in practice, the upper-layer wiring line 119 is stacked on an inorganic insulating layer 118, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.The inorganic insulating layer 118 prevents a short-circuit from occurring between the upper-layer wiring line 119 and the signal wiring line 120.As is clear from FIG.", "3, a region indicated by X1 is required in order to provide the above-mentioned three-dimensional crossing portion.", "In contrast, in the present preferred embodiment, although not illustrated in FIG.", "1A, an inorganic insulating layer 17 is provided on the entire main surface of the piezoelectric substrate 2 so as to cover the electrode structure, as illustrated in FIG.", "2.The inorganic insulating layer 17 is preferably made of silicon dioxide (SiO2), for example.", "Various inorganic insulating materials, such as SiN, SiON, and Al2O3, for example, may be used as the material of the inorganic insulating layer.", "Preferably, the absolute temperature coefficient of resonant frequency TCF is able to be decreased by using SiO2.As illustrated in FIG.", "2, in a region in which the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b are disposed, the second busbar 12b is coated with the inorganic insulating layer 17.In contrast, in portions in which the second busbar 11b and 13b are disposed, through holes are provided in the inorganic insulating layer 17.A first wiring line 18 is disposed on the inorganic insulating layer 17.The through holes are filled with the first wiring line 18, and the first wiring line 18 is electrically connected to the second busbar 11b and 13b.", "In the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3, the first wiring line 18 commonly connects the second busbars 11b and 13b, which are connected to the same potential, to each other.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "1A, the first wiring line 18 extends in the elastic wave propagation direction and is located above the region in which the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b are disposed.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "1A, a second wiring line 19 defining a signal wiring line extends to the second busbar 12b.", "The second wiring line 19 is coated with the inorganic insulating layer 17, and a short-circuit is prevented from occurring between the second wiring line 19 and the first wiring line 18.Note that the width of the wiring line in the elastic wave propagation direction, which is the length of the second wiring line 19, is preferably smaller than the length of the second busbar 12b.", "As described above, in the longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3, in the region in which the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b are disposed, the three-dimensional crossing of the first wiring line 18 connected to the ground potential and the second wiring line 19 connected to the signal potential is provided.", "Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a three-dimensional crossing portion in a region indicated by X in FIG.", "1A.", "Thus, the region indicated by X is able to be used for, for example, providing other elements.", "Therefore, the area of the piezoelectric substrate surface of the elastic wave device 1 is able to be reduced, and a reduction in the size of the elastic wave device 1 is facilitated.", "Although the side on which the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b are disposed has been described above as an example, a first wiring line 20 is disposed on the inorganic insulating layer 17 in a region in which the first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a are disposed.", "The first wiring line 20 is electrically connected to the first busbar 12a, which is connected to the ground potential.", "The first busbars 11a and 13a are electrically connected to a second wiring line 20A, which is integrally provided with the first busbars 11a and 13a.", "The second wiring line 20A is located below the inorganic insulating layer 17.The second wiring line 20A is connected to the signal potential.", "Also on the side on which the first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a are disposed, the three-dimensional crossing of the first wiring line 20 and the second wiring line 20A is achieved in the region in which the first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a are disposed, and thus, in the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction, a region outside the region in which the first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a are disposed is able to be reduced in a similar manner as described above.", "Note that, in the present preferred embodiment, although the first three IDT, longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3 is preferably provided, a longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter that includes five or more IDT electrodes may also be provided, for example.", "FIG.", "5 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "6 is a schematic plan view illustrating the electrode structure of an elastic wave device 21.The elastic wave device 21 includes a first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A.", "The first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A preferably has a configuration that is the same or substantially the same as that of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3.The first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A and the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 23 are cascade-connected to each other such that an output signal of a second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 23 corresponds to an input signal of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A.", "The second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 23 includes first to third IDT electrodes 31 to 33 and reflectors 34 and 35.First busbars 31a, 32a, and 33a of the first to third IDT electrodes 31 to 33 extend in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "A first wiring line 40 is disposed above a region in which the first busbars 31a, 32a, and 33a are disposed with an inorganic insulating layer, which is not illustrated in FIG.", "5, interposed between the first wiring line 40 and the region.", "The first wiring line 40 and a second wiring line 41, which is connected to the signal potential, three-dimensionally cross each other with the inorganic insulating layer interposed therebetween.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "5, second busbars 31b and 33b of the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 23, which is connected to an upstream stage are connected to second wiring lines 43a and 43b, respectively.", "The second wiring lines 43a and 43b are respectively electrically connected to the first busbars 11a and 13a of the first longitudinally coupled resonator-type elastic wave filter 3A, which is in a downstream stage.", "The first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A preferably has a structure that is the same or substantially the same as that of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3 according to the first preferred embodiment, except for the following.", "The first busbars 11a and 13a are connected to the second wiring lines 43a and 43b, respectively, and the second busbar 12b is connected to the ground potential.", "The first busbar 12a is electrically connected to the first wiring line 20, which is disposed on an inorganic insulating layer (not illustrated).", "The first wiring line 20 is connected to the ground potential.", "The second wiring lines 43a and 43b respectively extend to the first busbars 11a and 13a below the inorganic insulating layer.", "In the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A, the first wiring line 20 is located above the region in which the first busbars 11a, 12a, and 13a are disposed.", "In the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 23, a first wiring line 42 is located above a region in which the second busbars 31b, 32b, and 33b are disposed.", "Accordingly, three-dimensional crossing portions of the wiring lines are located not above an interstage region X2, but above the regions in which the corresponding busbars are provided.", "Thus, the distance between the upstream and downstream stages is able to be reduced.", "In other words, the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 23 is able to be located close to the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A.", "Therefore, also in the second preferred embodiment, a reduction in the size of the elastic wave device 21 is facilitated.", "In addition, in the elastic wave device 21 according to the second preferred embodiment, pass band loss is able to be reduced.", "This matter will be described below in more detail.", "FIG.", "7 is a schematic plan view of the elastic wave device according to the second preferred embodiment, and FIG.", "8 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a second comparative example.", "In the elastic wave device 21 according to the second preferred embodiment, the three-dimensional crossing portions are provided as described above.", "In contrast, in an elastic wave device 121 according to the second comparative example, which is illustrated in FIG.", "8, similar to the above-described first comparative example, a three-dimensional crossing portion is provided outside a region in which busbars of a longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter are disposed.", "Therefore, as is apparent by comparing FIG.", "8 and FIG.", "7, the interstage region X2 is larger than an interstage region Xo.", "FIG.", "9 is a graph illustrating attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second preferred embodiment and attenuation frequency characteristics of the elastic wave device according to the second comparative example, and FIG.", "10 is a graph illustrating, in an enlarged manner, the attenuation frequency characteristics of each of the elastic wave devices in their pass band.", "In both FIG.", "9 and FIG.", "10, the result in the second preferred embodiment is indicated by a solid line, and the result in the second comparative example is indicated by a dashed line.", "As is clear from FIG.", "9 and FIG.", "10, it is understood that, in a range of about 859 MHz or more and about 894 MHz or less, which is the pass band, the maximum pass band loss in the second preferred embodiment is smaller than that in the second comparative example by about 0.02 dB, for example.", "This is presumably because the first and second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filters 3A and 23 are close to each other, as illustrated in FIG.", "7, and thus, parasitic capacitance generated between the wiring lines 41 and 42 is relatively small.", "It is assumed that since wiring lines 141 and 142 in the elastic wave device 121 according to the second comparative example are long, parasitic capacitance C1, which is illustrated in FIG.", "8, is large.", "Therefore, according to the second preferred embodiment, it is assumed that a reduction in the loss is achieved as described above.", "FIG.", "12 and FIG.", "13 are graphs respectively illustrating isolation characteristics and attenuation frequency characteristics of a duplexer that includes, as its reception filters, the elastic wave device 21 according to the second preferred embodiment and the elastic wave device 121 according to the second comparative example.", "In both FIG.", "12 and FIG.", "13, the result in the second preferred embodiment is indicated by a solid line, and the result in the second comparative example is indicated by a dashed line.", "In FIG.", "12, a transmission frequency band is indicated by Tx, and a reception frequency band is indicated by Rx.", "It is understood that, in the transmission frequency band Tx, the isolation characteristics in the second preferred embodiment are significantly improved, whereas the isolation characteristics in the second comparative example are not significantly improved.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "11, in the second preferred embodiment, an electrostatic capacitance is generated in a portion in which the first wiring line 18, which is preferably connected to, for example, the ground potential, is stacked on the second wiring line 19 with the inorganic insulating layer interposed therebetween.", "Here, the width direction of each of the first and second busbars 11a to 13b is parallel or substantially parallel to the direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the elastic wave propagation direction.", "The width of each of the first and second busbars 11a to 13b corresponds to a dimension of each of the first and second busbars 11a to 13b in the width direction.", "The width of the second wiring line 19 also corresponds to a dimension of the second wiring line 19 in the width direction.", "In this case, in the second preferred embodiment, it is preferable that the width of the first wiring line 18 be smaller than the width of the second busbar 12b.", "As a result, variations in the electrostatic capacitance are able to be reduced.", "Therefore, in the case in which the elastic wave device 21 is used as, for example, a reception filter as described above, the isolation characteristics due to variations in the electrostatic capacitance in the transmission frequency band are able to be improved.", "In particular, as in the third preferred embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "14, it is preferable that the first wiring line 18 be superposed with the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b and that the first wiring line 18 not project from the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b in the width direction when the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, and it is preferable that the width of the first wiring line 18 be smaller than the width of each of the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b.", "In this case, even if the position of the first wiring line 18 is displaced in the width direction or in the elastic wave propagation direction, there is an increase in the acceptable range of deviation at the location of the first wiring line 18 that causes the area in which the first wiring line 18 and the second busbars 11b, 12b, and 13b face each other to be constant, and thus, variations in the electrostatic capacitance are able to be reduced.", "Therefore, the isolation characteristics are able to be effectively improved.", "In addition, the tolerance for the position at which the first wiring line 18 is provided is increased.", "FIG.", "15 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "In an elastic wave device 51, an elastic wave resonator is connected to the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3.The rest of the configuration of the elastic wave device 51 according to the fourth preferred embodiment is the same or substantially the same as that of the elastic wave device 1 according to the first preferred embodiment.", "In the present preferred embodiment, wiring lines three-dimensionally cross each other in the same or substantially the same manner as the first preferred embodiment.", "Thus, a distance X3 between the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3 and the elastic wave resonator 52, which is disposed on the piezoelectric substrate 2, is able to be reduced.", "Therefore, the area of the piezoelectric substrate 2 is able to be reduced, and a reduction in the size of the elastic wave device 51 is facilitated.", "As is clear from the fourth preferred embodiment, in elastic wave devices according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, various elastic wave elements, such as a longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter and an elastic wave resonator, may be connected to the longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter.", "FIG.", "16 is a schematic plan view of an elastic wave device according to a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention.", "An elastic wave device 61 according to the fifth preferred embodiment is configured in the same or substantially the same manner as the elastic wave device 21 according to the second preferred embodiment.", "In the elastic wave device 61, a first wiring line 62, which is connected to a ground potential, surrounds a region in which the first and second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 3A and 23 are disposed.", "The first wiring line 62 preferably has a rectangular or substantially rectangular frame shape, for example.", "The first wiring lines 18 and 40 are included in the first wiring line 62, which preferably has a rectangular or substantially rectangular frame shape, for example.", "The first wiring line 62 extends to the first wiring lines 20 and 42.The first wiring line 42 is located above the second busbars 31b, 32b, and 33b and extends on an inorganic insulating layer in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "In this manner, it is preferable that the first wiring line 62, which is connected to the ground potential, has a ring shape surrounding the region in which the longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filters 3A and 23 are disposed.", "As a result, the longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filters 3A and 23 are able be electromagnetically shielded from the peripheral elements and circuits.", "In addition, as illustrated in FIG.", "17, a cutout portion 62A may be provided in a portion of the first wiring line 62, which has the ring shape surrounding the region in which the longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filters 3A and 23 are disposed, the cutout portion 62A enabling the inside and the outside of the ring to communicate with each other.", "In this case, when the first wiring line 62 is provided by photolithography, a photoresist is able to be easily separated.", "Thus, the first wiring line 62 that provides the electromagnetic shielding function is able to be easily formed.", "In this case, when the piezoelectric substrate 2 is viewed in plan view, it is preferable that the cutout portion 62A be provided in the first wiring line 62 having a ring shape and that the first wiring line 62 not have a closed cavity provided inside the ring.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "18, it is also preferable that each of two first and second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filters 70 and 80 be a five-IDT longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filters.", "The first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 70 includes first to fifth IDT electrodes 71 to 75 arranged in an elastic wave propagation direction.", "In addition, reflectors 76 and 77 are arranged at opposite ends in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "The elastic wave propagation direction corresponds to the direction indicated by Z in FIG.", "18.The first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 70 is connected to an unbalanced input terminal 91.In other words, the unbalanced input terminal 91 is connected to one end of each of the IDT electrodes 72 and 74.One end of each of the IDT electrodes 71, 73, and 75 is connected to the first wiring line 40.The first wiring line 40 is connected to the one end of each of the IDT electrodes 71, 73, and 75 via through holes, which are provided in the inorganic insulating layer.", "Similarly, one end of each of the reflectors 76 and 77 is connected to the first wiring line 40.As in the case illustrated in FIG.", "16, the first wiring line 40 is included in the first wiring line 62, which preferably has a rectangular or substantially rectangular frame shape, for example.", "The first wiring line 62 is connected to a reference potential or a ground potential.", "The second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 80 is cascade-connected to the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 70.The second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 80 includes IDT electrodes 81 to 85 arranged in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "In addition, reflectors 86 and 87 are arranged at opposite ends in the elastic wave propagation direction.", "An output end of the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 80 is connected to an unbalanced output terminal 92.More specifically, one end of each of the IDT electrodes 82 and 84 is connected to the unbalanced output terminal 92.One end of each of the IDT electrodes 81, 83, and 85 is connected to the ground potential, that is, to the first wiring line 62, which preferably has a rectangular or substantially rectangular frame shape, for example.", "In other words, the first wiring line 62 is electrically connected to one of the busbars of each of the IDT electrodes 81, 83, and 85 by extending through the through holes provided in the inorganic insulating layer (not illustrated).", "Each of the busbars, which extend to the unbalanced input terminal 91 and the unbalanced output terminal 92 or extend to one of the unbalanced input terminal 91 and the unbalanced output terminal 92, and the first wiring line 62 three-dimensionally cross each other with the inorganic insulating layer interposed therebetween on the input end side and the output end side.", "Therefore, also in the present preferred embodiment, a space on the input end side and a space on the output end side are able to be reduced.", "In an interstage region, the busbars of the IDT electrodes 71, 73, and 75 of the first longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 70 and the busbars of the IDT electrodes 81, 83, and 85 of the second longitudinally coupled resonator elastic wave filter 80 are electrically connected to each other by second wiring lines 93 to 95 defining interstage connection wiring lines.", "The first wiring line 62 is electrically connected to the busbars of the IDT electrodes 72, 74, 82, and 84, the busbars being located on the side on which the interstage region is provided.", "In other words, the first wiring line 62 is electrically connected to the busbars of the IDT electrodes 72, 74, 82, and 84 on the side on which the interstage region is provided by extending through the through holes provided in the inorganic insulating layer.", "Therefore, also in the interstage region, the busbars, which are connected to the second wiring lines 93 to 95 or a signal potential, and the first wiring line 62 three-dimensionally cross each other in the region in which the busbars are provided, and thus, space saving is achieved.", "The first wiring line 62 is connected to the reference potential or the ground potential.", "The connection between the first wiring line 62 and the reference potential is provided by connecting the first wiring line 62 to a reference potential provided in or on a substrate in or on which the elastic wave device is to be mounted.", "Although the overall shape of the first wiring line 62 is preferably a ring shape, for example, the first wiring line 62 includes, in a portion thereof, a cutout portion 62B defining a slit.", "Therefore, when the first wiring line 62 is formed by photolithography, a photoresist is able to be easily separated.", "When the piezoelectric substrate is viewed in plan view, it is preferable that the length of the above-mentioned 62B in the Z direction in FIG.", "18, that is, the length of the slit be five-fold or less the line width of the first wiring line 62, for example.", "Here, the line width is a dimension W in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the first wiring line 62 having a ring shape extends annularly.", "In the case in which the length of the cutout portion 62B in the direction in which a ring-shaped portion of the first wiring line 62 extends is preferably about 10 μm or more, for example, and is five-fold or less the line width W of the first wiring line 62, a photoresist is able to be further easily separated while the electromagnetic shielding function is sufficiently provided.", "Note that the combination of the input and output terminals of the elastic wave device is not limited to unbalanced-unbalanced and may be unbalanced-balanced or balanced-unbalanced.", "While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.", "The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15874916
[ [ "NETWORK DEVICE MANAGEMENT AND VISUALIZATION", "Methods, systems and computer readable media for network device management and visualization are disclosed." ], [ "1.", "(canceled) 2.A method for enterprise network device management, the method comprising: accessing, using a device management system, a device manager application of an equipment rack; receiving, at the device management system, indictor state and network interface status information transmitted by a servicability agent executing on a processor in the equipment rack, wherein the servicability agent transmits the indictor state and network interface status information to the device manager application and the device manager application forwards the indictor state and network interface status information to the device management system; and providing for display, using one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface displaying the indicator state and network interface status information.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the accessing the device manager application includes directing a browser application to an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the device manager application embedded within a device in the equipment rack.", "4.The method of claim 2, wherein the accessing the device manager application includes connecting to a device in the equipment rack and launching the device manager application via a communications port on the equipment rack.", "5.The method of claim 2, further comprising automatically discovering components in the equipment rack and rendering a graphical user interface representing a physical view of the equipment rack.", "6.The method of claim 2, wherein the servicability agent is a standalone software program executing independently of the device manager application.", "7.The method of claim 2, wherein the servicability agent is incorporated into the device manager application.", "8.A system comprising: one or more processors coupled to a nontransitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: accessing, using a device management system, a device manager application of an equipment rack; receiving, at the device management system, indictor state and network interface status information transmitted by a servicability agent executing on a processor in the equipment rack, wherein the servicability agent transmits the indictor state and network interface status information to the device manager application and the device manager application forwards the indictor state and network interface status information to the device management system; and providing for display, using one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface displaying the indicator state and network interface status information.", "9.The system of claim 8, wherein the accessing the device manager application includes directing a browser application to an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the device manager application embedded within a device in the equipment rack.", "10.The system of claim 8, wherein the accessing the device manager application includes connecting to a device in the equipment rack and launching the device manager application via a communications port on the equipment rack.", "11.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further include automatically discovering components in the equipment rack and rendering a graphical user interface representing a physical view of the equipment rack.", "12.The system of claim 8, wherein the servicability agent is a standalone software program executing independently of the device manager application.", "13.The system of claim 8, wherein the servicability agent is incorporated into the device manager application.", "14.A nontransitory computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: accessing, using a device management system, a device manager application of an equipment rack; receiving, at the device management system, indictor state and network interface status information transmitted by a servicability agent executing on a processor in the equipment rack, wherein the servicability agent transmits the indictor state and network interface status information to the device manager application and the device manager application forwards the indictor state and network interface status information to the device management system; and providing for display, using one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface displaying the indicator state and network interface status information.", "15.The nontransitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the accessing the device manager application includes directing a browser application to an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the device manager application embedded within a device in the equipment rack.", "16.The nontransitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the accessing the device manager application includes connecting to a device in the equipment rack and launching the device manager application via a communications port on the equipment rack.", "17.The nontransitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further include automatically discovering components in the equipment rack and rendering a graphical user interface representing a physical view of the equipment rack.", "18.The nontransitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the servicability agent is a standalone software program executing independently of the device manager application.", "19.The nontransitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the servicability agent is incorporated into the device manager application." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>There may be a need to remotely visualize network equipment configurations (e.g., rack configurations), indicators (e.g., LEDs) and temperatures in order to facilitate management of the network equipment.", "Embodiments were conceived in light of the above mentioned needs, problems and/or limitations, among other things." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>One or more embodiments can include a method for enterprise network device management.", "The method can include providing for display, using one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface being configured to permit adding, deleting or modifying an equipment profile for an equipment rack.", "The method can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, add, edit or delete information corresponding to the equipment rack.", "The method can also include updating, at the one or more processors, the equipment profile.", "The method can further include storing, using the one or more processors, the updated equipment profile.", "The method can also include updating, using the one or more processors, the device management user interface based on the updated equipment profile.", "The method can also include providing a servicability agent in the equipment rack, the servicability agent configured to communicate information about the equipment rack to a device management system.", "The method can further include capturing a status of one or more indicator lights on the equipment rack and determining network status of one or more ports.", "The method can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, the status of the one or more indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports, and displaying a representation of the indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports.", "The indicator light status can be captured via periodic polling and the network interface status is determined via simple network management protocol (SNMP).", "The method can also include obtaining one or more temperatures inside one or more respective components of the equipment rack, and receiving, at the one or more processors, the one or more temperatures.", "The method can further include determining whether each temperature is within one or more predetermined ranges, and displaying a visual representation of each temperature and an indication of a predetermined range associated with each temperature.", "The method can also include providing a user interface element corresponding to each port, the user interface element configured to permit a user to change a port type of the corresponding port.", "The method can further include providing a user interface configured to permit a user to change a description, a location and an interface type for one or more interfaces associated with the equipment rack.", "Some implementations can include a system comprising one or more processors configured to perform operations.", "The operations can include providing for display, using the one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface being configured to permit adding, deleting or modifying an equipment profile for an equipment rack.", "The operations can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, add, edit or delete information corresponding to the equipment rack and updating, at the one or more processors, the equipment profile.", "The operations can further include storing, using the one or more processors, the updated equipment profile, and updating, using the one or more processors, the device management user interface based on the updated equipment profile.", "The operations can also include providing a servicability agent in the equipment rack, the servicability agent configured to communicate information about the equipment rack to a device management system.", "The operations can further include capturing a status of one or more indicator lights on the equipment rack, and determining network status of one or more ports.", "The operations can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, the status of the one or more indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports, and displaying a representation of the indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports.", "The indicator light status can be captured via periodic polling and the network interface status is determined via simple network management protocol (SNMP).", "The operations can further include obtaining one or more temperatures inside one or more respective components of the equipment rack, and receiving, at the one or more processors, the one or more temperatures.", "The operations can also include determining whether each temperature is within one or more predetermined ranges, and displaying a visual representation of each temperature and an indication of a predetermined range associated with each temperature.", "The operations can further include providing a user interface element corresponding to each port, the user interface element configured to permit a user to change a port type of the corresponding port.", "The operations can also include providing a user interface configured to permit a user to change a description, a location and an interface type for one or more interfaces associated with the equipment rack.", "Some implementations can include a nontransitory computer readable medium having software instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations.", "The operations can include providing for display, using the one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface being configured to permit adding, deleting or modifying an equipment profile for an equipment rack.", "The operations can further include receiving, at the one or more processors, add, edit or delete information corresponding to the equipment rack, and updating, at the one or more processors, the equipment profile.", "The operations can also include storing, using the one or more processors, the updated equipment profile, and updating, using the one or more processors, the device management user interface based on the updated equipment profile.", "The operations can further include providing a servicability agent in the equipment rack, the servicability agent configured to communicate information about the equipment rack to a device management system.", "The operations can also include capturing a status of one or more indicator lights on the equipment rack, and determining network status of one or more ports.", "The operations can further include receiving, at the one or more processors, the status of the one or more indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports, and displaying a representation of the indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports.", "The indicator light status can be captured via periodic polling and the network interface status is determined via simple network management protocol (SNMP).", "The operations can also include obtaining one or more temperatures inside one or more respective components of the equipment rack, and receiving, at the one or more processors, the one or more temperatures.", "The operations can further include determining whether each temperature is within one or more predetermined ranges, and displaying a visual representation of each temperature and an indication of a predetermined range associated with each temperature.", "The operations can also include providing a user interface element corresponding to each port, the user interface element configured to permit a user to change a port type of the corresponding port.", "The operations can further include providing a user interface configured to permit a user to change a description, a location and an interface type for one or more interfaces associated with the equipment rack." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/010,317 filed Aug. 26, 2013, which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/693,323, entitled “Network Device Manager, Virtual Machine Discovery And Identification, and Virtual Machine Software Licensing” and filed on Aug. 26, 2012, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments relate generally to computer networks, and more particularly, to methods, systems and computer readable media for network device management and visualization.", "BACKGROUND There may be a need to remotely visualize network equipment configurations (e.g., rack configurations), indicators (e.g., LEDs) and temperatures in order to facilitate management of the network equipment.", "Embodiments were conceived in light of the above mentioned needs, problems and/or limitations, among other things.", "SUMMARY One or more embodiments can include a method for enterprise network device management.", "The method can include providing for display, using one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface being configured to permit adding, deleting or modifying an equipment profile for an equipment rack.", "The method can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, add, edit or delete information corresponding to the equipment rack.", "The method can also include updating, at the one or more processors, the equipment profile.", "The method can further include storing, using the one or more processors, the updated equipment profile.", "The method can also include updating, using the one or more processors, the device management user interface based on the updated equipment profile.", "The method can also include providing a servicability agent in the equipment rack, the servicability agent configured to communicate information about the equipment rack to a device management system.", "The method can further include capturing a status of one or more indicator lights on the equipment rack and determining network status of one or more ports.", "The method can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, the status of the one or more indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports, and displaying a representation of the indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports.", "The indicator light status can be captured via periodic polling and the network interface status is determined via simple network management protocol (SNMP).", "The method can also include obtaining one or more temperatures inside one or more respective components of the equipment rack, and receiving, at the one or more processors, the one or more temperatures.", "The method can further include determining whether each temperature is within one or more predetermined ranges, and displaying a visual representation of each temperature and an indication of a predetermined range associated with each temperature.", "The method can also include providing a user interface element corresponding to each port, the user interface element configured to permit a user to change a port type of the corresponding port.", "The method can further include providing a user interface configured to permit a user to change a description, a location and an interface type for one or more interfaces associated with the equipment rack.", "Some implementations can include a system comprising one or more processors configured to perform operations.", "The operations can include providing for display, using the one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface being configured to permit adding, deleting or modifying an equipment profile for an equipment rack.", "The operations can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, add, edit or delete information corresponding to the equipment rack and updating, at the one or more processors, the equipment profile.", "The operations can further include storing, using the one or more processors, the updated equipment profile, and updating, using the one or more processors, the device management user interface based on the updated equipment profile.", "The operations can also include providing a servicability agent in the equipment rack, the servicability agent configured to communicate information about the equipment rack to a device management system.", "The operations can further include capturing a status of one or more indicator lights on the equipment rack, and determining network status of one or more ports.", "The operations can also include receiving, at the one or more processors, the status of the one or more indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports, and displaying a representation of the indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports.", "The indicator light status can be captured via periodic polling and the network interface status is determined via simple network management protocol (SNMP).", "The operations can further include obtaining one or more temperatures inside one or more respective components of the equipment rack, and receiving, at the one or more processors, the one or more temperatures.", "The operations can also include determining whether each temperature is within one or more predetermined ranges, and displaying a visual representation of each temperature and an indication of a predetermined range associated with each temperature.", "The operations can further include providing a user interface element corresponding to each port, the user interface element configured to permit a user to change a port type of the corresponding port.", "The operations can also include providing a user interface configured to permit a user to change a description, a location and an interface type for one or more interfaces associated with the equipment rack.", "Some implementations can include a nontransitory computer readable medium having software instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations.", "The operations can include providing for display, using the one or more processors, a device management user interface, the device management user interface being configured to permit adding, deleting or modifying an equipment profile for an equipment rack.", "The operations can further include receiving, at the one or more processors, add, edit or delete information corresponding to the equipment rack, and updating, at the one or more processors, the equipment profile.", "The operations can also include storing, using the one or more processors, the updated equipment profile, and updating, using the one or more processors, the device management user interface based on the updated equipment profile.", "The operations can further include providing a servicability agent in the equipment rack, the servicability agent configured to communicate information about the equipment rack to a device management system.", "The operations can also include capturing a status of one or more indicator lights on the equipment rack, and determining network status of one or more ports.", "The operations can further include receiving, at the one or more processors, the status of the one or more indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports, and displaying a representation of the indicator lights and the network status of the one or more ports.", "The indicator light status can be captured via periodic polling and the network interface status is determined via simple network management protocol (SNMP).", "The operations can also include obtaining one or more temperatures inside one or more respective components of the equipment rack, and receiving, at the one or more processors, the one or more temperatures.", "The operations can further include determining whether each temperature is within one or more predetermined ranges, and displaying a visual representation of each temperature and an indication of a predetermined range associated with each temperature.", "The operations can also include providing a user interface element corresponding to each port, the user interface element configured to permit a user to change a port type of the corresponding port.", "The operations can further include providing a user interface configured to permit a user to change a description, a location and an interface type for one or more interfaces associated with the equipment rack.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a diagram of an example network device manager user interface in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart of an example method for network device management in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 is a flowchart of an example method for remote indicator viewing in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart of an example method for remote temperature monitoring in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "FIG.", "5 is an example network equipment physical view in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.", "1 is a diagram of an example network device manager user interface 100 in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "The user interface 100 includes a graphical display section 102 that provides a graphical representation of network equipment including, but not limited to, a rack configuration.", "The user interface 100 also includes a navigation tree element 104 for configuring the rack components.", "The user interface can include a view of the front of the equipment rack and a view of the rear of the equipment rack and can be selectable between these two viewing modes.", "An embodiment of the user interface can include a virtualized application hosted on a management server in a rack environment.", "An embodiment can also include a browser based application.", "The network device manager can include integration with UCM-CS (SSO and Credential service) and visualization of a rack and its components (e.g., VSP7k switches, VM Hosts, Gateway and EMC storage).", "As mentioned above, the network device manager can also include a navigation tree for configuring the rack components.", "The network device manager can detect state changes of components (e.g., unreachable) and sub components (LED states).", "The network device manager can be launched either as a standalone application or from management software such as a visualization, performance and fault monitoring (VPFM) system.", "An embodiment can include a rack profile editor adapted to view/edit physical configuration changes made by a network administrator.", "The user interface can include launch points for component specific element managers, which may be external to the network device manager.", "An embodiment can also include an element to launch a VPFM monitoring dashboard.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart of an example method for network device management in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "Processing begins at 202, where the device manager is accessed.", "The device manager can be accessed in a number of ways.", "The access methods can include an on-box/embedded method in which a browser is pointed at the IP address of the device.", "The access methods can also include an off-box/plug-in method in which the application is launched through COM.", "The application can automatically discover components and render a physical view of the network equipment (e.g., a physical view of the rack configuration).", "The device manager application can operate in conjunction with a servicability agent running on a processor within the equipment rack.", "The servicability agent can be a standalone software program or can be incorporated into the device manager application.", "The servicability agent can be configured to monitor and communicate with one or more components within the equipment rack.", "Processing continues to 204.At 204, a user interface is caused to be displayed.", "The user interface can display a graphical representation of the network equipment (e.g., similar to that shown in FIG.", "1) and can also provide an interface for adding, editing and deleting individual pieces of equipment from a network equipment profile (e.g., a rack profile).", "The user interface can also display a physical status of the network equipment (e.g., LED, port, power supply, and/or the like).", "The application can also detect when a piece of equipment is not communicating or has been hot swapped.", "Processing continues to 206.At 206, external device (or element) managers can optionally be launched from the user interface.", "These external managers can include management programs for managing specific devices.", "Processing continues to 208.At 208, the updated equipment profile is stored.", "For example, is a user updates the equipment profile (e.g., rack profile) via the user interface, the updated equipment profile can be stored.", "Processing continues to 210.At 210, the graphical user interface is updated to reflect any changes to the equipment profile.", "For example, the graphical display of the network equipment can be updated to reflect changes made to the network equipment profile.", "It will be appreciated that 202-210 can be repeated in whole or in part in order to accomplish a contemplated network equipment management task.", "FIG.", "3 is a flowchart of an example method for remote indicator viewing in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "Processing begins at 302, where status indicator information is obtained.", "The status indicators can include lights or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on components in the equipment rack.", "Processing continues to 304.At 304, network interface status information is obtained.", "The network interface status information can include network port connectivity status, data transfer status and/or data rate status.", "The network interface status can be shown by one or more indicator lights near the port.", "Processing continues to 306.At 306, the servicability agent can transmit the indictor state and/or network interface status information to the device manager application.", "Processing continues to 308.At 308, the received indicator state and network interface status information can be stored by the device manager.", "Processing continues to 310.At 310, the rack profile graphical user interface is updated to reflect the received indicator status and network interface status information.", "It will be appreciated that 302-310 can be repeated in whole or in part in order to accomplish a contemplated equipment monitoring task.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart of an example method for remote temperature monitoring in accordance with at least one embodiment.", "Processing begins at 402, where temperature information from components in the equipment rack is obtained.", "For example, the temperatures can be obtained from thermal sensors built-in to the components (e.g., thermal sensors in the cases, processor thermal sensors or the like).", "Processing continues to 404.At 404, the temperature data is provided to the device manager (e.g., by a servicability agent).", "Processing continues to 406.At 406, the device manager can threshold the temperatures to determine if they fall within one or more predetermined ranges.", "Processing continues to 408.At 408, the temperature data is stored.", "Processing continues to 410.At 410, the rack profile graphical user interface is updated to reflect the temperature (and temperature range) information.", "For example, color codes can be used to show the temperature of devices in the rack, where green is used to indicate a temperature within a normal operating range, yellow is used to indicate a temperature approaching an undesirable level and red is used to indicate a temperature at an undesirable level (e.g., exceeding safe operation temperature).", "It will be appreciated that 402-410 can be repeated in whole or in part in order to accomplish a contemplated equipment monitoring task.", "FIG.", "5 shows an example network equipment physical view (or visualization).", "The visualization 502 represents the physical network equipment in a rack corresponding to a network 504.The visualization 502 can include switches 506 and servers 508.The visual elements can be exact or specific representations of actual hardware or can be generic representations that correspond to component types (e.g., temperature, status and power indicators, management servers, switches, servers and/or power supplies).", "A VPFM system can include a menu having an option to open the network equipment device manager.", "The network equipment device manager can be an off-box (proxy) implementation on VM, for example.", "In the physical view, servers, storage and network can be shown on face plates.", "Server face plates shown in the physical view can be generic (e.g., not exact, as different server vendors often have different face plates).", "Some implementations can include a user interface configured to permit a user to view and/or change port type (e.g., port “flavor”) from the user interface.", "For example, a port could be changed from Avaya Aura to VDI or Avaya AURA/VDI.", "Also, some implementations can include a user interface configured to permit a user to assign a description, location and/or type to an interface and change the interface from one type to another.", "It will be appreciated that the modules, processes, systems, and sections described above can be implemented in hardware, hardware programmed by software, software instructions stored on a nontransitory computer readable medium or a combination of the above.", "A system as described above, for example, can include a processor configured to execute a sequence of programmed instructions stored on a nontransitory computer readable medium.", "For example, the processor can include, but not be limited to, a personal computer or workstation or other such computing system that includes a processor, microprocessor, microcontroller device, or is comprised of control logic including integrated circuits such as, for example, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).", "The instructions can be compiled from source code instructions provided in accordance with a programming language such as Java, C, C++, C#.net, assembly or the like.", "The instructions can also comprise code and data objects provided in accordance with, for example, the Visual Basic™ language, or another structured or object-oriented programming language.", "The sequence of programmed instructions, or programmable logic device configuration software, and data associated therewith can be stored in a nontransitory computer-readable medium such as a computer memory or storage device which may be any suitable memory apparatus, such as, but not limited to ROM, PROM, EEPROM, RAM, flash memory, disk drive and the like.", "Furthermore, the modules, processes systems, and sections can be implemented as a single processor or as a distributed processor.", "Further, it should be appreciated that the steps mentioned above may be performed on a single or distributed processor (single and/or multi-core, or cloud computing system).", "Also, the processes, system components, modules, and sub-modules described in the various figures of and for embodiments above may be distributed across multiple computers or systems or may be co-located in a single processor or system.", "Example structural embodiment alternatives suitable for implementing the modules, sections, systems, means, or processes described herein are provided below.", "The modules, processors or systems described above can be implemented as a programmed general purpose computer, an electronic device programmed with microcode, a hard-wired analog logic circuit, software stored on a computer-readable medium or signal, an optical computing device, a networked system of electronic and/or optical devices, a special purpose computing device, an integrated circuit device, a semiconductor chip, and/or a software module or object stored on a computer-readable medium or signal, for example.", "Embodiments of the method and system (or their sub-components or modules), may be implemented on a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element, an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit such as a discrete element circuit, a programmed logic circuit such as a PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, or the like.", "In general, any processor capable of implementing the functions or steps described herein can be used to implement embodiments of the method, system, or a computer program product (software program stored on a nontransitory computer readable medium).", "Furthermore, embodiments of the disclosed method, system, and computer program product (or software instructions stored on a nontransitory computer readable medium) may be readily implemented, fully or partially, in software using, for example, object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer platforms.", "Alternatively, embodiments of the disclosed method, system, and computer program product can be implemented partially or fully in hardware using, for example, standard logic circuits or a VLSI design.", "Other hardware or software can be used to implement embodiments depending on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the systems, the particular function, and/or particular software or hardware system, microprocessor, or microcomputer being utilized.", "Embodiments of the method, system, and computer program product can be implemented in hardware and/or software using any known or later developed systems or structures, devices and/or software by those of ordinary skill in the applicable art from the function description provided herein and with a general basic knowledge of the software engineering and computer networking arts.", "Moreover, embodiments of the disclosed method, system, and computer readable media (or computer program product) can be implemented in software executed on a programmed general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like.", "It is, therefore, apparent that there is provided, in accordance with the various embodiments disclosed herein, methods, systems and computer readable media for network device management and visualization.", "While the disclosed subject matter has been described in conjunction with a number of embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations would be, or are, apparent to those of ordinary skill in the applicable arts.", "Accordingly, Applicants intend to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, equivalents and variations that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter." ] ]
Patent_15874922
[ [ "NOVEL BIOBIASED POLYESTER", "A novel linear polyester resin is made by condensation of one or more aliphatic or cycloaliphatic polyols with one or more aliphatic or cycloaliphatic polyfunctional acids derived from biobased materials or a biological feedstock.", "Coating compositions and coated substrates using the novel linear polyester resin are also described." ], [ "1.A coating composition, comprising: a binder comprising a linear polyester resin having number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least about 1000, hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least about 1000 mg KOH per gram, and less than about 5 percent by weight aromatic groups; and optionally, a curing agent capable of reacting with the linear polyester resin to produce a crosslinked polymeric network; and at least one pigment.", "2.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin has Mn of about 1500 to about 6000.3.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin has Mn of about 3000 to about 5000.4.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin is substantially free of aromatic groups.", "5.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin is substantially free of cycloaliphatic groups.", "6.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin has hydroxyl number of about 1000 to 2000 mg KOH per gram.", "7.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin has hydroxyl number of about 1200 to 1600 mg KOH per gram.", "8.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin is derived from the reaction of an aliphatic diol with an aliphatic diacid.", "9.The composition of claim 6, wherein the aliphatic diol is tetramethylpentanediol.", "10.The composition of claim 8, wherein the aliphatic diacid has a structure of a compound of Formula (I): R1O—C(═O)-(A)n-C(═O)—OR2 (I) wherein R1 and R2 are each independently H, C1-C6 alkyl, or C2-C6 alkylene; A is a divalent organic group of formula C1-C10 alkyl, C2-C10 alkylene, or C3-C10 cycloalkyl; and n is an integer between 1 and 20.11.The composition of claim 10, wherein R1 and R2 are each independently H, A is —CH2— and n is a number between 2 and 4.12.The composition of claim 10, wherein the aliphatic diacid of Formula I is succinic acid.", "13.The composition of claim 10, wherein the aliphatic diacid is derived from bio-based material.", "14.The composition of claim 12, wherein the aliphatic diacid is succinic acid.", "15.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin has Tg of greater than −10° C. 16.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin has Tg of about −30° C. to about 20° C. 17.The composition of claim 1, wherein the linear polyester resin has low solution viscosity.", "18.The composition of claim 17, wherein the linear polyester resin has low solution viscosity of about 4000 to 5000 cps.", "19.A method of making a coated article, comprising: providing a substrate; applying to the substrate a coating composition comprising a binder comprising a linear polyester resin having number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least about 1000, hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least 1000 mg KOH per gram, and less than 5 percent by weight aromatic groups; and optionally, a curing agent capable of reacting with the linear polyester resin to produce a crosslinked polymeric network; and at least one pigment; and curing the coating composition on the substrate to provide the coated article.", "20.A coated article, comprising: a substrate; and a cured coating formed on the substrate, wherein the cured coating is formed from a coating composition comprising a binder comprising a linear polyester resin having number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least about 1000, hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least 1000 mg KOH per gram, and less than 5 percent by weight aromatic groups; and optionally, a curing agent capable of reacting with the linear polyester resin to produce a crosslinked polymeric network; and at least one pigment." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>High solids polyester resins are used in a wide variety of industrial liquid applications.", "Conventional polyesters of this type include alkyds, low molecular weight oligoester systems and highly branched or dendritic polyester systems.", "Environmental concerns over waste, sustainability and the rising costs of raw materials derived from petroleum sources have created a global need to make polymers and resins from renewable and environmentally friendly biobased or biologically derived feedstock.", "For example, alkyd resins and other polyesters derived from waste materials and recycled feedstock are used to make “green” coating compositions for various applications.", "Therefore, used cooking oil, called yellow grease or brown grease, is typically trapped and filtered out of waste water streams and rendered into animal feed, biodiesel fuel and the like.", "In addition, waste cooking oil may be used as a fatty acid feedstock for producing alkyd resins, although these alkyd resins may lack the hardness, durability and early water resistance required of a water-reducible coating composition.", "However, existing high solids alkyd and polyester systems may lack the hardness, durability and weatherability of conventional industrial coatings, and the relatively low molecular weight of polyesters used in conventional high solids systems leads to products with poor mechanical properties.", "Moreover, conventional polyester systems when used in coil lines sometimes produce oven fouling where low molecular weight residues of the polyester are formed during the coil process and condense back onto the coated substrate.", "From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that what is needed in the art is a high solids polyester coating composition that is made from biobased renewable feedstock and has optimal mechanical properties and performance while also eliminating specific processing concerns." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a coating composition that includes a binder that comprises a linear polyester resin having number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least about 1000, hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least about 1000 mg KOH per gram, and less than about 5 percent by weight aromatic groups; and optionally, a curing agent capable of reacting with the linear polyester resin to produce a crosslinked polymeric network.", "The coating composition also includes at least one pigment.", "In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a coated article that includes a substrate with a cured coating applied thereon.", "The cured coating is derived from a coating composition.", "In a preferred aspect, the coating composition includes a binder that comprises a linear polyester resin having number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least about 1000, hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least about 1000 mg KOH per gram, and less than about 5 percent by weight aromatic groups; and optionally, a curing agent capable of reacting with the linear polyester resin to produce a crosslinked polymeric network.", "The coating composition also includes at least one pigment.", "In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure also provides methods of preparing coated articles using the coating composition described herein.", "The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the present invention.", "The description that follows more particularly exemplifies illustrative embodiments.", "In several places throughout the application, guidance is provided through lists of examples, which can be used in various combinations.", "In each instance, the recited list serves only as a representative group and should not be interpreted as an exclusive list.", "The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set for in the accompanying drawings and the description below.", "Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims priority of International Application No.", "PCT/US2016/042321 filed Jul.", "14, 2016, which claims priority from U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/194,901 filed 21 Jul.", "2015 and entitled “Novel Biobased Polyester,” incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION High solids polyester resins are used in a wide variety of industrial liquid applications.", "Conventional polyesters of this type include alkyds, low molecular weight oligoester systems and highly branched or dendritic polyester systems.", "Environmental concerns over waste, sustainability and the rising costs of raw materials derived from petroleum sources have created a global need to make polymers and resins from renewable and environmentally friendly biobased or biologically derived feedstock.", "For example, alkyd resins and other polyesters derived from waste materials and recycled feedstock are used to make “green” coating compositions for various applications.", "Therefore, used cooking oil, called yellow grease or brown grease, is typically trapped and filtered out of waste water streams and rendered into animal feed, biodiesel fuel and the like.", "In addition, waste cooking oil may be used as a fatty acid feedstock for producing alkyd resins, although these alkyd resins may lack the hardness, durability and early water resistance required of a water-reducible coating composition.", "However, existing high solids alkyd and polyester systems may lack the hardness, durability and weatherability of conventional industrial coatings, and the relatively low molecular weight of polyesters used in conventional high solids systems leads to products with poor mechanical properties.", "Moreover, conventional polyester systems when used in coil lines sometimes produce oven fouling where low molecular weight residues of the polyester are formed during the coil process and condense back onto the coated substrate.", "From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that what is needed in the art is a high solids polyester coating composition that is made from biobased renewable feedstock and has optimal mechanical properties and performance while also eliminating specific processing concerns.", "SUMMARY In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a coating composition that includes a binder that comprises a linear polyester resin having number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least about 1000, hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least about 1000 mg KOH per gram, and less than about 5 percent by weight aromatic groups; and optionally, a curing agent capable of reacting with the linear polyester resin to produce a crosslinked polymeric network.", "The coating composition also includes at least one pigment.", "In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a coated article that includes a substrate with a cured coating applied thereon.", "The cured coating is derived from a coating composition.", "In a preferred aspect, the coating composition includes a binder that comprises a linear polyester resin having number average molecular weight (Mn) of at least about 1000, hydroxyl equivalent weight of at least about 1000 mg KOH per gram, and less than about 5 percent by weight aromatic groups; and optionally, a curing agent capable of reacting with the linear polyester resin to produce a crosslinked polymeric network.", "The coating composition also includes at least one pigment.", "In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure also provides methods of preparing coated articles using the coating composition described herein.", "The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the present invention.", "The description that follows more particularly exemplifies illustrative embodiments.", "In several places throughout the application, guidance is provided through lists of examples, which can be used in various combinations.", "In each instance, the recited list serves only as a representative group and should not be interpreted as an exclusive list.", "The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set for in the accompanying drawings and the description below.", "Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.", "Selected Definitions Unless otherwise specified, the following terms as used herein have the meanings as provided below.", "As used herein, the term “organic group” means a hydrocarbon group (with optional elements other than carbon and hydrogen, such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and silicon) that is classified as an aliphatic group, cyclic group, or combination of aliphatic and cyclic groups (e.g., alkaryl and aralkyl groups).", "The term “aliphatic group” means a saturated or unsaturated linear or branched hydrocarbon group.", "This term is used to encompass alkyl, alkenyl, and alkynyl groups, for example.", "The term “alkyl group” means a saturated linear or branched hydrocarbon group including, for example, methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, t-butyl, heptyl, dodecyl, octadecyl, amyl, 2-ethylhexyl, and the like.", "The term “alkenyl group” means an unsaturated, linear or branched hydrocarbon group with one or more carbon-carbon double bonds, such as a vinyl group.", "The term “alkynyl group” means an unsaturated, linear or branched hydrocarbon group with one or more carbon-carbon triple bonds.", "The term “cyclic group” means a closed ring hydrocarbon group that is classified as an alicyclic group or an aromatic group, both of which can include heteroatoms.", "The term “alicyclic group” means a cyclic hydrocarbon group having properties resembling those of aliphatic groups.", "The term “cycloaliphatic” is used interchangeably with “alicyclic group” herein.", "A group that may be the same or different is referred to as being “independently” something.", "Substitution is anticipated on the organic groups of the compounds of the present invention.", "For example, the phrase “alkyl group” is intended to include not only pure open chain saturated hydrocarbon alkyl substituents, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, t-butyl, and the like, but also alkyl substituents bearing further substituents known in the art, such as hydroxy, alkoxy, alkylsulfonyl, halogen atoms, cyano, nitro, amino, carboxyl, etc.", "Thus, “alkyl group” includes ether groups, haloalkyls, nitroalkyls, carboxyalkyls, hydroxyalkyls, sulfoalkyls, etc.", "The term “component” refers to any compound that includes a particular feature or structure.", "Examples of components include compounds, monomers, oligomers, polymers, and organic groups contained there.", "The term “substantially free” of a particular compound or component means that the compositions of the present invention contain less than 5 percent by weight of the compound or component based on the total weight of the composition.", "Unless otherwise indicated, a reference to a “(meth)acrylate” compound (where “meth” is bracketed) is meant to include both acrylate and methacrylate compounds.", "The term “on”, when used in the context of a coating applied on a surface or substrate, includes both coatings applied directly or indirectly to the surface or substrate.", "Thus, for example, a coating applied to a primer layer overlying a substrate constitutes a coating applied on the substrate.", "The term “volatile organic compound” (“VOC”) refers to any compound of carbon, excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate, which participates in atmospheric photochemical reactions.", "Typically, volatile organic compounds have a vapor pressure equal to or greater than 0.1 mm Hg.", "As used herein, “volatile organic compound content” (“VOC content”) means the weight of VOC per volume of the coating solids, and is reported, for example, as kilograms (kg) of VOC per liter.", "Unless otherwise indicated, the term “polymer” includes both homopolymers and copolymers (i.e., polymers of two or more different monomers).", "The term “comprises” and variations thereof do not have a limiting meaning where these terms appear in the description and claims.", "The terms “preferred” and “preferably” refer to embodiments of the invention that may afford certain benefits, under certain circumstances.", "However, other embodiments may also be preferred, under the same or other circumstances.", "Furthermore, the recitation of one or more preferred embodiments does not imply that other embodiments are not useful, and is not intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the invention.", "As used herein, “a,” “an,” “the,” “at least one,” and “one or more” are used interchangeably.", "Thus, for example, a coating composition that comprises “an” additive can be interpreted to mean that the coating composition includes “one or more” additives.", "Also herein, the recitations of numerical ranges by endpoints include all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, 5, etc.).", "Furthermore, disclosure of a range includes disclosure of all subranges included within the broader range (e.g., 1 to 5 discloses 1 to 4, 1.5 to 4.5, 1 to 2, etc.).", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present description provides coating compositions including one or more novel polyesters.", "The coating composition includes a binder resin and optionally, at least one pigment.", "The binder resin includes a novel polyester, an optional crosslinker and other optional additives that are conventionally used in coating compositions.", "The present description also provides coated articles that comprise a substrate coated with the coating composition described herein.", "In one embodiment, the novel polyester described herein may be formed from compounds having reactive functional groups, including for example, hydroxyl, acid, anhydride, acyl, and ester functional groups and the like.", "Under proper conditions, compounds having reactive hydroxyl functional groups may react with acid, anhydride, acyl or ester groups to form a polyester.", "Suitable compounds for forming polyesters include mono-, di-, and polyfunctional compounds, with difunctional compounds preferred.", "In an aspect, suitable compounds include those having reactive functional groups of a single type, such mono-, di- and polyfunctional alcohols, or mono-, di-, and polyfunctional acids, for example.", "In another aspect, suitable compounds include those with two or more types of reactive functional groups such as a compound with anhydride and acid functionality or a compound with acid and hydroxyl functionality, for example.", "In one embodiment, the novel polyester described herein may be a linear polyester.", "By “linear polyester” is meant one or more condensation polymers that may be formed by condensation of at least one mono-, di-, or polyfunctional hydroxyl functional compounds (e.g.", "polyol) with one or more mono-, di-, or polyfunctional carboxyl functional compounds (e.g.", "acids, anhydrides, and the like).", "In an aspect, the linear polyester described herein is a condensation polymer formed by condensation of a difunctional alcohol with a difunctional acid.", "In one embodiment, the novel linear polyester described herein is prepared by condensation of an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic acid, ester, or anhydride with a suitable polyol.", "Suitable difunctional aliphatic acids, esters, or anhydrides include compounds having the structure shown in Formula (I); R1O—C(═O)-(A)n-C(═O)—OR2 (I) In Formula (I), R1 and R2 are each independently H, unsubstituted or substituted C1-C6 alkyl, or unsubstituted or substituted C2-C6 alkylene, A is a divalent organic group of formula unsubstituted or substituted C1-C10 alkyl, unsubstituted or substituted C2-C10 alkylene, or unsubstituted or substituted C3-C10 cycloalkyl; and n is an integer between 1 and 20.In a preferred aspect, R1 and R2 are each independently H, A is —CH2—, and n is an integer between 2 and 4.Examples of difunctional aliphatic acids, esters or anhydrides of Formula (I) include, without limitation, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipic acid, pimelic acid, suberic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, diglycolic acid, maleic acid, maleic anhydride, fumaric acid, itaconic acid, dimer fatty acids, malic acid, esters of these acids, and the like.", "In a preferred aspect, the difunctional aliphatic acid is succinic acid or adipic acid, with succinic acid most preferred.", "In one embodiment, the difunctional aliphatic acid used to form the linear polyester described herein is derived from biobased materials, i.e.", "materials or products derived from or made using biological raw materials.", "Such materials are renewable and are typically obtained from or produced by living organisms such as, for example, plants, trees, algae, bacteria, yeast, fungi, protozoa, insects, animals, and the like.", "Processes for obtaining diacids from such biomaterials are known to those of skill in the art.", "For example, many organic acids including, without limitation, fumaric acid, malic acid, succinic acid, and the like, may be obtained by anaerobic fermentation of various types of bacteria and/or mold.", "Biobased or bioderived difunctional acids are preferred because of a lower ecological footprint associated with production and use of such materials.", "Examples of difunctional cycloaliphatic acids, esters or anhydrides of Formula (I) include, without limitation, 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid and their methyl esters, hexabydrophthalic anhydride (HHPA), and the like.", "Suitable polyols for preparing the novel polyesters described herein include aliphatic and cycloaliphatic polyols, with aliphatic polyols preferred.", "Examples of suitable aliphatic polyols include, without limitation, diols such as 1,6-hexanediol, pentaerythritol, trimethylolpropane, 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, neopentyl glycol, 2-butyl-2-ethyl-1,3-propanediol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,3-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, tetramethyl pentanediol (TMPD), trimethylol ethane, 3-hydroxy-2,2-dimethylpropyl 3-hydroxy-2,2-dimethylpropionate (HPHP), etc.", "Presently preferred compounds include 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, neopentyl glycol, and TMPD, with TMPD most preferred.", "Examples of suitable cycloaliphatic polyols include, without limitation, 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-cyclohexanediol, 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydrogenated bisphenol A, etc.", "Although difunctional aromatic acids, esters and anhydrides may be used to prepare polyesters, the amount of aromatic compounds should be limited.", "Without limiting to theory, it is believed that aromatic compounds may detract from the weathering stability, reflectivity and other performance attributes of a coating composition containing a binder resin that includes the linear polyester described herein.", "Similarly, aromatic polyols should be used only in limited quantities, as these compounds may have a negative impact on the physical and performance attributes of the ultimate coating composition containing a binder than includes the linear polyester described herein.", "Accordingly, the linear polyester described herein includes less than about 20, preferably less than 15, more preferably less than 10, and most preferably less than 5 percent by weight of aromatic groups.", "Preferably, the binder resin that includes the linear polyester resin includes less than 40, preferably less than 30, more preferably less than 20, and most preferably less than 10 percent by weight of aromatic groups.", "The novel linear polyester described herein has high hydroxyl equivalent weight relative to other polyesters known in the art.", "Preferred linear polyesters as described herein have hydroxyl numbers of from about 500 to 2500, more preferably 1000 to 2000, most preferably 1200 to 1600.Preferred linear polyesters as described herein have acid numbers from about 2 to 20, preferably about 5 to 10.The number average molecular weight (Mn) of the linear polyester described herein suitably may range from about 1000 to 10,000, preferably from about 1500 to 6000, more preferably from about 3000 to 5000.The novel linear polyester described herein has higher Tg relative to other polyesters known in the art.", "Preferred linear polyesters as described herein have Tg of about −30° C. to 20° C., preferably −20° C. to 10° C., more preferably −10° C. to 0° C. The novel linear polyester described herein has low solution viscosity relative to other polyesters known in the art.", "Preferred linear polyesters demonstrate solution viscosities of less than about 10,000 cps, preferably less than about 5000, and more preferably between about 4000 and 5000 cps (approximately Z3 on the Gardner-Holt viscosity scale).", "The linear polyesters described herein may be made by any of the conventional processes, preferably with the use of a catalyst as well as passage of an inert gas through the reaction mixture.", "Esterification takes place almost quantitatively and may be monitored by determining the acid and/or hydroxyl numbers or by monitoring the Gardner-Holt viscosity of the product.", "The polyesters described herein are typically made up in organic solvents, such as 1-methoxy-2-propanol acetate, cyclohexanone, xylene, high boiling aromatic solvents such as AROMATIC 100, AROMATIC 150, and the like, and mixtures thereof.", "The linear polyester described herein is included in a binder that may be formulated into a coating composition.", "In one embodiment, the binder may further comprise an optional crosslinker compound.", "The crosslinker may be used to facilitate cure of the coating and to build desired physical properties.", "Suitable crosslinkers include aromatic and non-aromatic crosslinkers.", "Again, for the reasons previously discussed, it is presently believed that limiting the total amount of aromaticity in the coating will provide coatings with the highest reflectivity.", "For that reason, it is expected that a non-aromatic crosslinker is preferred over an aromatic crosslinker when all other considerations are equal.", "Polyesters having hydroxyl groups are curable through the hydroxyl groups, e.g., (i) with aminoplasts, which are oligomers that are the reaction products of aldehydes, particularly formaldehyde, or (ii) with amino- or amido-group-carrying substances exemplified by melamine, urea, dicyandiamide, benzoguanamine and glycoluril, or (iii) with blocked isocyanates.", "Hydroxyl cross-linking agents are well known to those of skill in the art.", "Suitable crosslinkers include aminoplasts, which are modified with alkanols having from one to four carbon atoms.", "It is suitable in many instances to employ precursors of aminoplasts such as hexamethylol melamine, dimethylol urea, hexamethoxymethyl melamine, and the etherified forms of the others.", "Thus, a wide variety of commercially available aminoplasts and their precursors can be used for combining with the polyesters.", "Suitable amino crosslinking agents include those sold by Cytek under the trademark CYMEL (e.g., CYMEL 301, CYMEL 303, and CYMEL 385 alkylated melamine-formaldehyde resins, or mixtures or such resin, are useful) or by Solutia under the trademark RESIMENE.", "Hydroxyl-reactive cross-linking is generally provided in an amount sufficient to react with at least one-half the hydroxyl groups of the polyester, i.e., be present at least one-half the stoichiometric equivalent of the hydroxyl functionality.", "Preferably, the cross-linking agent is sufficient to substantially react with all of the hydroxyl functionality of the polyester, and cross-linking agents having nitrogen cross-linking fimctionality are provided in amounts of from about 2 to about 12 equivalents of nitrogen cross-linking functionality per equivalent of hydroxyl functionality of the polyester.", "This typically translates to an aminoplast being provided at between about 10 and about 70 phr.", "Suitable crosslinkers also include blocked isocyanates.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,246,557 describes some suitable blocked isocyanates.", "Blocked isocyanates are isocyanates in which each isocyanate group has reacted with a protecting or blocking agent to form a derivative which will dissociate on heating to remove the protecting or blocking agent and release the reactive isocyanate group.", "Compounds already known and used as blocking agents for polyisocyanates include aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or aralkyl monohydric alcohols, hydroxylamines and ketoximes.", "Preferred blocked polyisocyanates dissociate at temperatures of around 160° C. or lower.", "Lower dissociation temperatures are desirable (assuming the coating is still stable at ambient temperatures) for energy savings reasons and where heat sensitive materials are being utilized.", "The presence of a catalyst is preferred in order to increase the rate of reaction between the liberated polyisocyanate and the active hydrogen containing compound.", "The catalyst can be any catalyst known in the art, e.g.", "dibutyl tin dilaurate or triethylene diamine.", "Preferred linear polyesters as described herein are high solids polyesters.", "In a preferred aspect, the linear polyesters are TMPD-succinate polyesters prepared by the condensation of TMPD with succinic acid.", "These polyesters demonstrate high molecular weight (Mn), high Tg, and surprisingly low solution viscosities relative to conventional high solids polyester systems used in industrial liquid coatings applications.", "Conventionally, high solids polyester systems involve two types of compositions.", "The first type includes slightly branched oligoesters with low molecular weight (Mn) of about 750 to 1000.These oligoesters are then formulated to achieve a high percentage of non-volatile material content (NVM %) of about 80 to 90%, high solution viscosities from about 5,000 to 10,000 cps and Tg values of below −10° C. Due to the relatively low molecular weight and low Tg, these materials provide poor mechanical performance when used in coating compositions.", "TMPD is often used in resins that include these oligoesters as it provides excellent physical properties, including improved flow and leveling.", "However, the presence of a sterically hindered secondary hydroxyl groups makes it difficult to achieve higher molecular weights (i.e.", "Mn>1500) without decomposition of the molecule.", "The second type of high solids polyester system includes dendritic or hyperbranched polyesters.", "Dendritic polyesters are characterized by densely branched structures and a large number of reactive end groups.", "These polyesters are obtained by polymerization of AB2 monomers, resulting in branched structures that demonstrate exponential growth in both molecular weight and end-group functionality.", "Using a controlled stepwise synthesis with an AB2 polyol such as dimethylpropionic acid (DMPA), it is possible to produce hyperbranched resin with higher molecular weights (Mn of 3000 or more) with low solution viscosities of 5000 cps or less, while having NVM % and Tg values comparable to the oligoesters described above.", "However, these hyperbranched polymers produce coatings with poor fabrication properties due to the high end-group functionality and their highly branched architecture.", "Moreover, DMPA is an expensive material and hyperbranched dendrimer polyesters are often prohibitively costly.", "Surprisingly, the linear polyesters described herein, such as the polyesters formed by the reaction of TMPD and succinic acid, for example, can achieve the higher molecular weights (Mn>3000 or more) with low solution viscosities and higher Tg comparable to the hyperbranched dendritic polyesters.", "In addition, the highly linear, low functional structure of these polyesters produces coatings with superior mechanical properties as compared to both the oligoester and dendritic polymer approaches.", "The linear polyesters described herein may be included in a binder that may be formulated into a coating composition.", "In one embodiment, in addition to the polyester resin and optional crosslinker compound, the coating composition may contain up to about 60 wt.", "percent pigments and optional fillers.", "Suitably, the pigment: binder weight ratio is at least 0.9:1, more preferably at least 0.95:1 and most preferably at least 1:1.In preferred embodiment, the pigment: binder weight ratio does not exceed about 1.4:1.TiO2 is a preferred pigment for the high reflectivity coatings of the present invention.", "A wide variety of TiO2 fillers are suitable.", "It is presently preferred to utilize rutile TiO2.If desired, the TiO2 may be surface treated.", "The surface treatment used may be chosen to fit the particular purpose of the coating.", "For example, a coating made for an interior application may use a different treatment than one designed for exterior usage.", "Other additives known in the art, such as flow modifiers, viscosity modifiers and other binders may be dispersed in the coating composition.", "A catalytic amount of a strong acid (e.g., p-toluenesulfonic acid) may be added to the composition to hasten the cross-linking reaction.", "As previously mentioned, the coating composition may further comprise one or more carriers (e.g., solvents).", "Suitable carriers include 1-methyoxy-2-propanol acetate, cyclohexanone, xylene, alcohol (e.g., butanol), high boiling aromatic solvents, such as AROMATIC 100, 150 and 200, etc., and mixtures thereof.", "The coating composition thus obtained may be applied to a variety of different substrates.", "Exemplary substrate materials include metals, metal alloys, intermetallic compositions, metal-containing composites, combinations of these, and the like.", "The coating compositions can be applied on new substrates or can be used to refurbish old substrates.", "In one embodiment, the coating composition thus obtained may be applied to sheet metal for a variety of end uses, such as, for example, lighting fixtures; architectural metal skins, e.g., gutter stock, window blinds, siding and window frames; and the like, by spraying, dipping, or brushing but is particularly suited for a coil coating operation wherein the composition is wiped onto the sheet as it unwinds from a coil and then baked as the sheet travels toward an uptake coil winder.", "Examples of other uses for the coating composition include, without limitation, as coatings applied to natural materials, building materials, trucks, railcars, freight containers, flooring materials, walls, furniture, other building materials, motor vehicle components, aircraft components, marine components, machinery components, laminates, equipment components, appliances, packaging, and the like.", "In one embodiment, the coating composition may be used to produce a highly reflective coating.", "Without limiting to theory, the use of cycloaliphatic groups in the backbone of a polymer is believed to contribute to increased reflectivity, as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,244,506, for example.", "With regard to reflectivity, the use of a cycloaliphatic group containing compound in place of an aromatic group containing compound results in a lower refractive index for the cured binder.", "The linear polyesters described herein are devoid of aromatic groups but maintain Tg values of greater than −10° C. and offer the same benefit of improved reflectivity at a much lower cost than polyesters with cycloaliphatic acids or anhydrides in the backbone.", "In another embodiment, the coating composition may be used to produce a superdurable polyester.", "It is believed that the use of cycloaliphatic and aliphatic groups in the backbone of a polymer contributes to UV stability, implicated in outdoor weathering.", "This is attributable to aliphatic and cycloaliphatic groups being transparent to light at certain wavelengths, i.e.", "about 290 to 310 nm.", "The absence of aromatic groups in the linear polyesters described herein contributes to excellent UV stability, particularly when tested in accelerated QUV-A cabinets.", "In one embodiment, the coating composition described herein can be used as a high solids polyester for low isocyanate 2K polyurethane systems.", "Conventionally, in order to meet low VOC requirements, 2K polyurethane coating systems typically use low molecular weight (Mn of approximately 1000) polyesters with corresponding low OH equivalent weights (approximately 300 to 4000 mg KOH/g).", "To maximize coating performance, the coating systems typically use a stoichiometric equivalent concentration of isocyanate crosslinker.", "Using conventional polyols of low OH equivalent weights, the isocyanate demand tends to be both high and prohibitively expensive.", "By using the linear polyesters described herein, it is possible to formulate a high solids coating composition with comparable solution viscosities to conventional high solids systems but with OH equivalent weights in the 1200-1600 range with Tg values higher than −10° C. Such 2K coatings require 50% or less isocyanate than conventional systems with comparable physical and mechanical performance characteristics In one embodiment, the coating composition may be used as a coating, especially a coil coating, used to coat the back side of an aluminum or steel sheet, also known as coil backer coatings.", "Conventionally, to meet low VOC requirements, the industry has relied on low molecular weight, high solids alkyd and polyester resins.", "However, when oligomeric polyesters are used in high speed, induction-heated coil lines, oven fouling is observed.", "Fouling manifests itself as a low molecular weight residue that condenses in the oven and subsequently drips back onto the coated substrate.", "This is a serious problem that reduces the utility of these polyester systems.", "The linear polyesters described herein have comparable solution viscosities as conventional high solid alkyd and polyester resins, but two- to three times the molecular weight.", "Accordingly, it is possible to use these polyester resins in coating compositions for use as coil backer coatings while maintaining low VOC and significantly reducing oven fouling problems.", "EXAMPLES The invention is illustrated by the following examples.", "It is to be understood that the particular examples, materials, amounts, and procedures are to be interpreted broadly in accordance with the scope and spirit of the inventions as set forth herein.", "Unless otherwise indicated, all parts and percentages are by weight and all molecular weights are weight average molecular weight.", "Unless otherwise specified, all chemicals used are commercially available from, for example, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo.", "Example 1.Preparation of TMPD-Succinate Polyester Resin 541 grams of TMPD, 22 grams of glycerin, 438 grams of succinic acid, and 1.0 gram of butyl stannoic acid were charged to a 2.0 liter flask equipped with an agitator, packed column, condenser, thermometer, and inert gas inlet.", "The reaction flask was flushed with inert gas and the contents heated to 210° C. over a 6 hour period while removing water.", "The batch temperature was held at 210° C. until an acid number less than 30 was achieved.", "The packed column was removed and replaced by a Dean Stark trap.", "26 grams of xylene were introduced into the reactor to facilitate azeotropic removal of water.", "The reaction was held at 210° C. until an acid number of less than 20 was achieved.", "The batch was cooled to 180° C. and 164 grams of Aromatic 100 were added to the reaction flask.", "A polyester product with final acid number of 15 and final Tg of −7.7° C. is obtained.", "The final viscosity measured as an 80% solution in Aromatic 100 was Z3 (Gardner-Holt).", "The color as measured on the Gardner scales was 1.Example 2.Comparison of TMPD-Succinate Polyester to Conventional Polyester Table 1 demonstrates the difference in key physical properties between a linear polyester made according to Example 1 (TMPD-SA) and other conventional high solids polyester systems and dendritic polyester systems.", "TABLE 1 TMPD-Succinate Polyester versus Conventional and Dendritic Polyesters TMPD/SA Coil Backer Polyurethane Dendritic Polyol Mn 3700 730 721 3400 Viscosity Z3 Z3-Z5 Z3-Z5 — % NVM 80 84 83 90 OH Eq.", "Wt.", "1250 390 372 282 Tg ° C. −7.7 −12.7 −10.5 −36.0 Example 3.Comparison of Various Diol Succinates Table 2 compares the Tg values of various diol succinates with the linear polyester (TMPD succinate) made according to Example 1.TABLE 2 Tg Comparison of Various Diol Succinates Diol Tg ° C. Neopentyl Glycol −17.0 Propylene Glycol −11.3 1,4 CHDM −9.4 Tetramethylpentane diol (TMPD) −7.7 2,2,4,4 Tetramethyl-1,3 cyclobutanediol 18.0 (TMCD) Tricyclodecane dimethanol (TCDM) 15.9 Example 4.Comparison of Various Diol Succinates Table 3 compares TMPD-succinate prepared according to Example 1 with TMPD-adipate, a linear polyester prepared by condensation of adipic acid with TMPD using a process similar to Example 1.TABLE 3 Tg Comparison of TMPD Succinate versus TMPD Adipate Aliphatic Diacid Tg ° C. Succinic −7.7 Adipic −39.3 The complete disclosure of all patents, patent applications, and publications, and electronically available material cited herein are incorporated by reference.", "The foregoing detailed description and examples have been given for clarity of understanding only.", "No unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom.", "The invention is not limited to the exact details shown and described, for variations obvious to one skilled in the art will be included within the invention defined by the claims.", "The invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced, in some embodiments, in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein." ] ]
Patent_15874925
[ [ "Simplified Audio Navigation Instructions", "In some implementations, a mobile device can be configured to provide simplified audio navigation instructions.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can provide a reduced set of audio navigation instructions so that the audio instructions are only presented to the user when the user wishes to or needs to hear the instructions.", "A user can enable the simplified audio navigation instructions.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can be enabled automatically.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can be configured with rules for when to present audio navigation instructions.", "For example, the rules can specify that audio navigation instructions are to be provided for complex road segments, a user defined portion of a route, or specified road types, among other criteria.", "The mobile device can be configured with exceptions to the rules such that audio navigation instructions can be presented when the user has, for example, deviated from a defined route." ], [ "1.", "(canceled) 2.A method comprising: obtaining, by a mobile device, a route between a starting location and a destination location, the route including a first portion and a second portion; determining that the mobile device is configured, based on user selection of a control setting associated with presenting simplified navigation instructions for portions of routes determined by the mobile device, to present full navigation instructions for the first portion of the route, and to present simplified navigation instructions for the second portion of the route, wherein the full navigation instructions correspond to detailed information presented for navigating a route while the simplified navigation instructions correspond to a reduced amount of information presented for navigating a route; obtaining a location of the mobile device along the route; presenting, by the mobile device, full navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to the first portion of the route; and presenting, by the mobile device, simplified navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to the second portion of the route.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the simplified navigation instructions include a reduced set of audio instructions.", "4.The method of claim 2, wherein the full navigation instructions include turn-by-turn instructions.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the turn-by-turn instructions include zoomed in presentation of the route presenting a close up navigation display of individual turns in conjunction with corresponding audio navigation instructions.", "6.The method of claim 2, wherein the simplified navigation instructions include overview instructions.", "7.The method of claim 6, wherein the overview instructions include an overview navigation display presenting the entire route in conjunction with an indication of a location on the route where the mobile device is presently located.", "8.The method of claim 2, wherein the full navigation instructions are presented by default in absence of the user selection of the control setting.", "9.The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving, at the mobile device, a user input selecting the control setting.", "10.A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: obtaining, by a mobile device, a route between a starting location and a destination location, the route including a first portion and a second portion; determining that the mobile device is configured, based on user selection of a control setting associated with presenting simplified navigation instructions for portions of routes determined by the mobile device, to present full navigation instructions for the first portion of the route, and to present simplified navigation instructions for the second portion of the route, wherein the full navigation instructions correspond to detailed information presented for navigating a route while the simplified navigation instructions correspond to a reduced amount of information presented for navigating a route; obtaining a location of the mobile device along the route; presenting, by the mobile device, full navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to the first portion of the route; and presenting, by the mobile device, simplified navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to the second portion of the route.", "11.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the simplified navigation instructions include a reduced set of audio instructions.", "12.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the full navigation instructions include turn-by-turn instructions.", "13.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the turn-by-turn instructions include zoomed in presentation of the route presenting a close up navigation display of individual turns in conjunction with corresponding audio navigation instructions.", "14.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the simplified navigation instructions include overview instructions.", "15.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the overview instructions include an overview navigation display presenting the entire route in conjunction with an indication of a location on the route where the mobile device is presently located.", "16.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the full navigation instructions are presented by default in absence of the user selection of the control setting.", "17.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, at the mobile device, a user input selecting the control setting.", "18.A system comprising: one or more processors; and a machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising: obtaining, by a mobile device, a route between a starting location and a destination location, the route including a first portion and a second portion; determining that the mobile device is configured, based on user selection of a control setting associated with presenting simplified navigation instructions for portions of routes determined by the mobile device, to present full navigation instructions for the first portion of the route, and to present simplified navigation instructions for the second portion of the route, wherein the full navigation instructions correspond to detailed information presented for navigating a route while the simplified navigation instructions correspond to a reduced amount of information presented for navigating a route; obtaining a location of the mobile device along the route; presenting, by the mobile device, full navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to the first portion of the route; and presenting, by the mobile device, simplified navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to the second portion of the route.", "19.The system of claim 18, wherein the simplified navigation instructions include a reduced set of audio instructions.", "20.The system of claim 18, wherein the full navigation instructions include turn-by-turn instructions.", "21.The system of claim 20, wherein the turn-by-turn instructions include zoomed in presentation of the route presenting a close up navigation display of individual turns in conjunction with corresponding audio navigation instructions.", "22.The system of claim 18, wherein the simplified navigation instructions include overview instructions.", "23.The system of claim 22, wherein the overview instructions include an overview navigation display presenting the entire route in conjunction with an indication of a location on the route where the mobile device is presently located.", "24.The system of claim 18, wherein the full navigation instructions are presented by default in absence of the user selection of the control setting." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Mobile computing devices often include navigation features.", "A user can enter a starting location and a destination location in a user interface of the mobile device and the mobile device can calculate, or request from a server, a route and instructions for traversing the route from the starting location to the destination location.", "Often the navigation instructions can include a navigation display (e.g., map and highlighted route).", "The navigation instructions can include audio instructions that can tell the user which direction to go, which turn to take, etc." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In some implementations, a mobile device can be configured to provide simplified audio navigation instructions.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can provide a reduced set of audio navigation instructions so that the audio instructions are only presented to the user when the user wishes to or needs to hear the instructions.", "A user can enable the simplified audio navigation instructions.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can be enabled automatically.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can be configured with rules for when to present audio navigation instructions.", "For example, the rules can specify that audio navigation instructions are to be provided for complex road segments, a user defined portion of a route, or specified road types, among other criteria.", "The mobile device can be configured with exceptions to the rules such that audio navigation instructions can be presented when the user has, for example, deviated from a defined route.", "Particular implementations provide at least the following advantages: A user will no longer be bothered with instructions for portions of a route that the user is familiar with.", "The user can be prompted to return to a route when the user deviates from the route.", "Details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.", "Other features, aspects, and potential advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation (and claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC 120) of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/587,604, filed May 5, 2017, now allowed, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/054,248, filed Oct. 15, 2013, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,644,983, issued May 9, 2017.Both of these prior applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure generally relates to mobile device navigation.", "BACKGROUND Mobile computing devices often include navigation features.", "A user can enter a starting location and a destination location in a user interface of the mobile device and the mobile device can calculate, or request from a server, a route and instructions for traversing the route from the starting location to the destination location.", "Often the navigation instructions can include a navigation display (e.g., map and highlighted route).", "The navigation instructions can include audio instructions that can tell the user which direction to go, which turn to take, etc.", "SUMMARY In some implementations, a mobile device can be configured to provide simplified audio navigation instructions.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can provide a reduced set of audio navigation instructions so that the audio instructions are only presented to the user when the user wishes to or needs to hear the instructions.", "A user can enable the simplified audio navigation instructions.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can be enabled automatically.", "The simplified audio navigation instructions can be configured with rules for when to present audio navigation instructions.", "For example, the rules can specify that audio navigation instructions are to be provided for complex road segments, a user defined portion of a route, or specified road types, among other criteria.", "The mobile device can be configured with exceptions to the rules such that audio navigation instructions can be presented when the user has, for example, deviated from a defined route.", "Particular implementations provide at least the following advantages: A user will no longer be bothered with instructions for portions of a route that the user is familiar with.", "The user can be prompted to return to a route when the user deviates from the route.", "Details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.", "Other features, aspects, and potential advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.", "DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates a graphical user interface for presenting navigation instructions on a mobile device.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a graphical user interface for configuring simplified audio navigation instructions.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of a system for providing simplified audio navigation instructions.", "FIG.", "4 is flow diagram of an example process for presenting simplified audio navigation instructions.", "FIG.", "5 is a block diagram of an example computing device that can implement the features and processes of FIGS.", "1-4.Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION This disclosure describes various Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for implementing various features, processes or workflows.", "These GUIs can be presented on a variety of electronic devices including but not limited to laptop computers, desktop computers, computer terminals, television systems, tablet computers, e-book readers and smart phones.", "One or more of these electronic devices can include a touch-sensitive surface.", "The touch-sensitive surface can process multiple simultaneous points of input, including processing data related to the pressure, degree or position of each point of input.", "Such processing can facilitate gestures with multiple fingers, including pinching and swiping.", "When the disclosure refers to “select” or “selecting” user interface elements in a GUI, these terms are understood to include clicking or “hovering” with a mouse or other input device over a user interface element, or touching, tapping or gesturing with one or more fingers or stylus on a user interface element.", "User interface elements can be virtual buttons, menus, selectors, switches, sliders, scrubbers, knobs, thumbnails, links, icons, radio buttons, checkboxes and any other mechanism for receiving input from, or providing feedback to a user.", "Overview In some implementations, a mobile device can include navigation software that can generate a route from a starting location to a destination location.", "For example, the starting location can be a user-specified starting location or the starting location can be automatically determined (e.g., the current location of the mobile device).", "The destination location can be a user-specified location, for example.", "Once the route is determined, the mobile device can provide navigation instructions to the user for traversing the route.", "For example, the navigation instructions can include graphical instructions (e.g., a map with highlighted route).", "The navigation instructions can include audio instructions (e.g., a voice telling the user where to go).", "The mobile device can monitor the user's progress along the route using common location determination technologies (e.g., using global navigation satellite system “GNSS” data, wireless network data, cellular data) and provide navigation instructions corresponding to the user's (mobile device's) current location.", "Often, the user knows most of a route from a starting location to a destination location and just needs help navigating a complex portion of the route or a portion of the route that the user is unfamiliar with.", "Receiving audio navigation instructions for portions of the route that the user is familiar with can be annoying and can interfere with the enjoyment of other media, such as music, for example.", "Thus, in some implementations, the mobile device can be configured to provide simplified audio navigation instructions to the user that only present audio navigation instructions for portions of the route identified by the user or identified by the mobile device based on, for example, the complexity of portions of the route.", "Thus, the mobile device will present audio navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to a portion of the route where audio navigation instructions should be presented.", "Conversely, the mobile device will not present audio navigation instructions when the location of the mobile device corresponds to a portion of the route where audio navigation instructions should not be presented, as indicated by the audio navigation options described below.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a graphical user interface (GUI) 100 for presenting navigation instructions on a mobile device.", "For example, GUI 100 can be a user interface of the mobile device mentioned above.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "1, GUI 100 can present a map.", "The map can include a highlighted route that traverses road segments 104-120 from a starting location 102 to a destination location 122.In some implementations, the mobile device can be configured to present audio navigation instructions.", "For example, the audio navigation instructions can provide voice prompts that tell the user how to traverse a route.", "The voice prompts can tell the user to travel along road segment 104 and turn left onto road segment 106, for example.", "In some implementations, the voice prompts can provide instructions to the user for every turn and every road along the route.", "The voice prompts can provide instructions to continue on road segment 110 or take the exit onto road segment 112, for example.", "However, the user may be familiar with road segments 104-112 and may not desire audio navigation instructions for the portion of the route that includes road segments 104-112.Since the combination of road segments 114-120 is more complicated, the user may desire audio navigation instructions for these road segments.", "Moreover, the user may not be familiar with road segments 114-122 and may wish for audio navigation instructions to be provided for these road segments.", "Enabling Simplified Audio Navigation Instructions FIG.", "2 illustrates a graphical user interface 200 for configuring simplified audio navigation instructions.", "In some implementations, GUI 200 can include graphical element 202 that can present an interactive element 204 (e.g., toggle, button, etc.)", "for manually enabling and/or disabling simplified audio navigation instructions.", "A user can select interactive element 204 to enable or disable simplified audio navigation instructions, for example.", "When simplified audio navigation instructions are enabled, the mobile device will provide audio navigation instructions (e.g., voice prompts) for some portions of a route and not for other portions of a route.", "Rules or criteria for identifying portions of a route where audio navigation instructions are presented are described in detail below.", "In some implementations, GUI 200 can include graphical element 206 for enabling simplified audio navigation instructions automatically when the mobile device has detected playback of media by the mobile device.", "For example, a user can select interactive element 208 to automatically enable simplified audio navigation instructions when the mobile device determines that the mobile device is currently playing audio media (e.g., music, video soundtrack, podcast, radio, etc.).", "Thus, the audio navigation instructions will only interrupt the playback of the media for important instructions that the user may need to hear.", "Determining When to Present Audio Instructions In some implementations, when simplified audio navigation instructions are enabled, audio navigation instructions will only be presented for identified or specified portions of a route.", "For example, when simplified audio navigation instructions are enabled, the set of audio navigation instructions normally presented to the user for navigating a route can be reduced so that only the set of audio instructions needed or desired by the user are presented to the user while the user navigates the route.", "In some implementations, the portions of a route where audio navigation instructions will be presented are automatically determined.", "For example, the mobile device can automatically determine portions of a route where audio navigation instructions will be presented by default.", "For example, unless the user enables one of the audio navigation options described below, the mobile device will automatically determine for which portions of a route audio navigation instructions should be presented.", "The user can override the default route portion selection by selecting or enabling one of the user-selectable options described below.", "In some implementations, audio navigation instructions can be presented for complex portions of a route in addition to the user-specified audio navigation options described below.", "Determining Complexity of Route Portions In some implementations, the mobile device can automatically determine a portion of a route where audio navigation instructions will be presented based on the complexity of the portion of the route.", "The complexity of a portion of the route can be determined based on, for example, the number of turns (e.g., road changes) within the portion of the route.", "For example, a single turn within a five mile portion of the route can be identified as a low complexity portion of the route.", "Five turns within a one mile portion of the route can be identified as a high complexity portion of the route.", "For example, complexity can be defined as a ratio of turns per mile (e.g., turns/mile).", "If a portion of a route is above a threshold complexity ratio (e.g., 3 turns per mile), then the portion of the route can be identified as a portion of the route where audio navigation instructions should be provided.", "If the portion of the route is less than the threshold complexity ratio, then the portion of the route can be identified as a portion of the route where audio navigation instructions should not be provided.", "As the user traverses the route, audio navigation instructions will be presented according to the complexity analysis described above.", "In some implementations, route portion complexity can be determined based on historical navigation data.", "For example, the mobile device can maintain historical data describing navigation errors committed by the user.", "For example, the historical data can keep track of locations where a user misses a turn while traversing a route.", "If the user often misses the same turn, a route segment that includes the often missed turn can be identified as a complex portion of the route and the mobile device can present audio instructions for the often missed turn.", "In some implementations, route portion complexity can be determined based on crowd sourced navigation data.", "For example, similar to using the individual user historical data described above to determine complexity of a route portion, historical navigation data can be collected from multiple users using multiple mobile devices.", "The crowd sourced historical navigation data can be analyzed for common navigation errors (e.g., a commonly missed turn).", "When a route includes a route portion that is associated with a common navigation error (e.g., missed turn), the route portion can be identified as a complex route portion and audio navigation instructions can be provided for the complex portion of the route.", "User-Specified Audio Navigation Options In some implementations, the portions of a route where audio navigation instructions will be presented can be specified by the user.", "For example, the user can provide input to GUI 200 to specify portions of a route where the mobile device should present audio navigation instructions.", "In some implementations, GUI 200 can present graphical element 210 including interactive element 212 (e.g., toggle, button, etc.)", "for enabling audio navigation instructions for surface streets only.", "For example, the user can select interactive element 212 to enable or disable the surface streets only option.", "In some implementations, when the surface streets only option is enabled, the mobile device will not present audio navigation instructions for highways, freeways, etc.", "When the surface streets only option is enabled, audio navigation instructions will only be presented for non-highway type roads (e.g., city streets, rural routes, country roads, etc.).", "For example, referring to FIG.", "1, if road segment 110 is a highway (e.g., highway, freeway, etc.", "), then, when the user starts traversing the route, the user will receive audio navigation instructions for the road segments 104, 106 and 108.The mobile device will stop providing audio navigation instructions for road segment 110 (e.g., because road segment 110 is a highway).", "The mobile device will resume presenting audio navigation instructions when the user exits road segment 110 to begin traversing road segments 112, 114, 116, 118 and 120 to destination 122.In some implementations, GUI 200 can present graphical element 214 including interactive elements 216 and 218 for enabling or disabling audio instructions for the last portion of a route.", "For example, the user can enable or disable audio instructions for the end portion of a route by selecting interactive element 218.The user can input a number into interactive element 216 (e.g., a text box) to indicate for how much of the end of a route audio instructions should be presented.", "For example, the user can indicate a number (e.g., 5) to indicate that audio navigation instructions should be presented only for the last 5 miles of a route.", "In some implementations, the mobile device can be configured to present audio navigation instructions for the starting portion of a route.", "For example, the user can interact with GUI 200 to specify a first number of miles for presenting audio navigation instructions in the same manner described above for the last number of miles of a route.", "The user can specify that audio navigation instructions should be presented for the first ten miles of a route, for example.", "In some implementations, GUI 200 can present graphical element 220 including interactive elements 222 and 224 for enabling or disabling audio instructions within a radius distance of a destination location.", "For example, the user can enable or disable the radius distance option by selecting interactive element 224.The user can specify the radius distance by inputting a number into interactive element 222 (e.g., a text box).", "For example, the user can input the number 3 to indicate that instructions should be provided when the user enters within a three mile radius of the destination location of the route.", "For example, referring to FIG.", "1, the radius distance can be indicated by dotted line 130.When the user navigates along the route and enters the area delineated by dotted line 130, the mobile device will begin presenting audio navigation instructions to the user.", "In some implementations, the user can adjust the radius distance by interacting with GUI 100.For example, the user can provide a touch input gesture (e.g., touch and drag, two finger touch and separate fingers, pinch fingers together, etc.)", "to make the radius distance larger or smaller.", "In some implementations, the mobile device can be configured to provide instructions within a radius distance of the starting location.", "The user can specify the radius distance for the starting location in the same manner as described above for the destination location.", "For example, the user can specify that audio navigation instructions should be presented within a two mile radius of the starting location.", "Once the mobile device moves outside the two mile radius, the mobile device will cease presenting audio navigation instructions for the route.", "In some implementations, GUI 200 can present graphical element 226 including interactive element 228 for enabling or disabling audio navigation instructions for a previously traveled route.", "For example, a user can select interactive element 228 to cause the simplified audio navigation instruction options for a previous route to be reversed.", "For example, referring to FIG.", "1, when a user traverses the route from starting location 102 to destination location 122, the user can configure the mobile device to only provide navigation instructions for the last 5 miles of the route, as described above.", "If the starting location 102 is the user's home and destination location 122 corresponds to a restaurant, for example, the user may wish to reverse the route to go back home after dining at the restaurant.", "The user can specify the route (e.g., from destination location 122 to starting location 102) and the mobile device can determine that the route corresponds to the reverse of the previous route from starting location 102 to destination location 122.When the mobile device determines that the maintain options during route reversal option is enabled and that the user is reversing a previous route, the mobile device can automatically provide audio navigation instructions for the same portions of the route that audio navigation instructions were provided on the previous trip.", "For example, on the route from starting location 102 to destination location 122, the user may have configured the simplified navigation instructions to provide audio navigation instructions for only the last five miles of the trip.", "On the reverse trip, the mobile device can automatically provide audio navigation instructions for the first five miles of the trip, since on the previous trip the user indicated that the user did not need audio instructions until the last five miles.", "Similarly, the radius distance and/or surface street settings of the previous trip and be applied to the return trip when the maintain options during route reversal option is enabled.", "Exceptions In some implementations, the mobile device can present audio navigation instructions for portions of a route not identified by the mobile device or user.", "For example, if the user deviates from the route on a portion of the route where, based on the complexity of the route or user specified options, no audio navigation instructions should be presented, then based on the detected deviation, the mobile device can begin presenting audio navigation instructions to the user.", "For example, referring to FIG.", "1, if the mobile device is configured to prevent audio navigation instructions from being presented to the user while on road segment 110 and the user deviates from the highlighted route by exiting road segment 110 (e.g., highway) onto road segment 124, then the mobile device can begin presenting audio navigation instructions to the user.", "The audio navigation instructions can continue until the user returns to a portion of the prescribed route where audio navigation instructions should not be presented.", "Server Implementation The description above discloses functions and features in terms of a mobile device configured to perform the functions and provide the features described.", "However, some of the functions and features can be performed by a server in communication with the mobile device over a network connection.", "For example, the route determination, historical data and crowd sourcing features can be performed by a server that determines a route, analyzes the historical data, and collects the crowd sourced information and transmits the route and navigation instructions to the mobile device for presentation to the user.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of a system 300 for providing simplified audio navigation instructions.", "For example, system 300 can include server 302.Server 302 can be a navigation server configured to receive route requests from mobile devices 304, 305 and 306.For example, mobile device 304 can send a navigation request that includes a starting location, a destination location and audio navigation instruction options to server 302.The server 302 can receive the request and generate a route based on the starting location and destination location.", "In some implementations, server 302 can generate audio navigation instructions for traversing the generated route.", "For example, when simplified audio navigation instructions are disabled on mobile device 304, then the server 302 can generate audio navigation instructions for the entire route.", "In some implementations, when simplified audio navigation instructions are enabled on mobile device 304, server 302 can generate audio navigation instructions for the entire route.", "For example, server 302 can generate audio navigation instructions for the entire route and the mobile device 304 can determine where along a route to present audio navigation instructions based on complexity or user-selected options, as described above.", "In some implementations, when simplified audio navigation instructions are enabled and no user options have been specified, then the server 302 can determine portions of the route for which audio navigation instructions should be generated based on the complexity of portions of the route.", "For example, server 302 can determine complexity based on turns per mile, as described above.", "Server 302 can determine complexity based on crowd sourced historical navigation data received from mobile devices 304-306.Server 302 can analyze the historical data to determine locations where navigation areas commonly occur and if those locations are located on the generated route, the portion of the generated route that includes those locations can be identified as a complex portion of the route.", "In some implementations, when simplified audio navigation instructions are enabled and one of the user specified options is enabled, then server 302 can determine portions of the route for which audio navigation instructions should be generated based on the user selected options.", "For example, if the user has specified that audio navigation instructions should be presented for the first (or last) five miles of a route, server 302 will generate audio navigation instructions for only the first (or last) five miles of a route.", "If the user has specified that audio navigation instructions should be presented within a six mile radius of the destination (or starting) location, then server 302 will generate audio navigation instructions for only the portion of the route within the six mile radius of the destination (or starting) location.", "In some implementations, if the user has enabled the maintain options during route reversal option, the mobile device 304 will determine that the previous route has been reversed and send the appropriate options to the server 302.For example, the mobile device 304 can determine that the previous route is being reversed by comparing the start location (S1) and destination location (D1) from the previous route to the start location (S2) and destination location (D2) of the subsequent route.", "For example, if S2 is the same location as D1 and D2 is the same location as S1, then the previous route has been reversed.", "In some implementations, if the previous route is reversed on the subsequent route, then the simplified audio navigation options can be reversed as well.", "For example, if on the previous route, the mobile device 304 was configured to provide audio navigation instructions for the last three miles of the route.", "On the subsequent reverse route, the mobile device 304 can be automatically configured to provide audio navigation instructions for the first three miles of the reverse route.", "The mobile device 304 can then send the start location (S2), destination location (D2) and reverse audio navigation options to server 302 so that server 302 can generate the route and audio navigation instructions.", "In some implementations, once server 302 has generated the route and audio navigation instructions, the server 302 can transmit the route (e.g., map data and route data) and audio navigation instructions to mobile device 304.Map Display In some implementations, the map display presented by the mobile device can present the route to be traveled by a user.", "For example, the mobile device can include a navigation (e.g., map and route) display as illustrated by FIG.", "1.In some implementations, the navigation display can present an overview of the route on a map.", "For example, the overview navigation display can show the entire route and indicate a location on the route where the mobile device is currently located.", "In some implementations, the navigation display can show a turn-by-turn presentation of the route.", "For example, the turn-by-turn display can be a zoomed in presentation of the route that presents a close up view of a single turn.", "In some implementations, the mobile device can present the overview navigation display or the turn-by-turn navigation display based on when (or where) audio navigation instructions are presented to the user of the mobile device.", "For example, if the mobile device is configured to present audio navigation instructions only for the last four miles of the route, then the mobile device will present the overview navigation display for the first portion of the route where no audio navigation instructions are presented and present the turn-by-turn (e.g., zoomed in) navigation display for the last four miles of the route.", "Example Process FIG.", "4 is flow diagram of an example process 400 for presenting simplified audio navigation instructions.", "For example, process 400 can present a reduced set of audio navigation instructions to a user so that the user will receive audio navigation instructions when the user needs the instructions without imposing the audio navigation instructions upon the user when the user does not need or want the audio navigation instructions.", "At step 402, the mobile device can receive start and destination locations.", "For example, the user can specify the start location by specifying a location (e.g., an address) or indicating to the mobile device that the current location of the mobile device should be used as the starting location.", "The user can specify the destination location by inputting an address or selecting an address (e.g., from an address book, webpage, etc.).", "At step 404, the mobile device can determine that simplified audio navigation instructions are enabled.", "For example, the mobile device can determine that the user has selected to enable simplified audio navigation instructions on an audio navigation settings interface of the mobile device.", "The mobile device can determine that simplified audio navigation should be automatically enabled when the mobile device determines that a media application on the mobile device is currently playing audio media (e.g., music), as described above with reference to FIG.", "2.At step 406, the mobile device can determine which simplified audio navigation options are enabled.", "For example, the mobile device can determine that the default route complexity based audio navigation instructions should be presented to the user if no other user-selectable options have been enabled or selected.", "The mobile device can determine that radius based, route distance based (e.g., first/last n miles), street type based audio navigation instructions should be presented.", "The mobile device can determine if the maintain options during route reversal option has been selected.", "At step 408, the mobile device can generate route and audio navigation instructions based on the enabled simplified audio navigation options.", "For example, the mobile device can transmit start location, destination location and audio navigation options to a server and the server can generate a route and navigation instructions based on the start location, destination location and audio navigation options.", "In some implementations, the audio navigation instructions can be determined based on a previously traversed route when the maintain options during route reversal option is selected.", "For example, the server can generate audio navigation instructions for complex portions of the route, portions of the route that are within the user-defined radius of the start or destination location, portions of the route that are the first or last n (e.g., 5, 7, 11 miles, etc.)", "of the route, or portions of the route that are comprised of non-highway roads.", "In some implementations, the mobile device can include map data such that the mobile device can compute the desired route and generate the audio navigation instructions according to the default or user-selected options.", "At step 410, the mobile device can present the generated route and the audio navigation instructions according to the audio navigation options.", "For example, the mobile device can receive the map data, route data and audio navigation instructions from the server and present the map, route and audio navigation instructions to the user.", "The audio navigation instructions can be presented for only the portions of the route indicated by the user (e.g., first/last portion, radius, street type selection) or determined by the mobile device (or server) to be complex portions of the route.", "In some implementations, the mobile device can present the graphical map and route data in an overview map display when audio navigation instructions are not presented for a portion of the route.", "In some implementations, the mobile device can present the graphical map and route data in a turn-by-turn map display when audio navigation instructions are presented for a portion of the route.", "In some implementations, audio navigation instructions can be presented when the user deviates from a prescribed route.", "Once the user returns to a portion of the prescribed route where audio navigation instructions are not to be presented, the mobile device will cease presenting audio navigation instructions until the mobile device enters a portion of the route where audio navigation instructions are desired by the user, as indicated by the default or selected audio navigation options.", "Example System Architecture FIG.", "5 is a block diagram of an example computing device 500 that can implement the features and processes of FIGS.", "1-4.The computing device 500 can include a memory interface 502, one or more data processors, image processors and/or central processing units 504, and a peripherals interface 506.The memory interface 502, the one or more processors 504 and/or the peripherals interface 506 can be separate components or can be integrated in one or more integrated circuits.", "The various components in the computing device 500 can be coupled by one or more communication buses or signal lines.", "Sensors, devices, and subsystems can be coupled to the peripherals interface 506 to facilitate multiple functionalities.", "For example, a motion sensor 510, a light sensor 512, and a proximity sensor 514 can be coupled to the peripherals interface 506 to facilitate orientation, lighting, and proximity functions.", "Other sensors 516 can also be connected to the peripherals interface 506, such as a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) (e.g., GPS receiver), a temperature sensor, a biometric sensor, magnetometer or other sensing device, to facilitate related functionalities.", "A camera subsystem 520 and an optical sensor 522, e.g., a charged coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, can be utilized to facilitate camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips.", "The camera subsystem 520 and the optical sensor 522 can be used to collect images of a user to be used during authentication of a user, e.g., by performing facial recognition analysis.", "Communication functions can be facilitated through one or more wireless communication subsystems 524, which can include radio frequency receivers and transmitters and/or optical (e.g., infrared) receivers and transmitters.", "The specific design and implementation of the communication subsystem 524 can depend on the communication network(s) over which the computing device 500 is intended to operate.", "For example, the computing device 500 can include communication subsystems 524 designed to operate over a GSM network, a GPRS network, an EDGE network, a Wi-Fi or WiMax network, and a Bluetooth™ network.", "In particular, the wireless communication subsystems 524 can include hosting protocols such that the device 500 can be configured as a base station for other wireless devices.", "An audio subsystem 526 can be coupled to a speaker 528 and a microphone 530 to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as speaker recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and telephony functions.", "The audio subsystem 526 can be configured to facilitate processing voice commands, voice printing and voice authentication, for example.", "The I/O subsystem 540 can include a touch-surface controller 542 and/or other input controller(s) 544.The touch-surface controller 542 can be coupled to a touch surface 546.The touch surface 546 and touch-surface controller 542 can, for example, detect contact and movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with the touch surface 546.The other input controller(s) 544 can be coupled to other input/control devices 548, such as one or more buttons, rocker switches, thumb-wheel, infrared port, USB port, and/or a pointer device such as a stylus.", "The one or more buttons (not shown) can include an up/down button for volume control of the speaker 528 and/or the microphone 530.In one implementation, a pressing of the button for a first duration can disengage a lock of the touch surface 546; and a pressing of the button for a second duration that is longer than the first duration can turn power to the computing device 500 on or off.", "Pressing the button for a third duration can activate a voice control, or voice command, module that enables the user to speak commands into the microphone 530 to cause the device to execute the spoken command.", "The user can customize a functionality of one or more of the buttons.", "The touch surface 546 can, for example, also be used to implement virtual or soft buttons and/or a keyboard.", "In some implementations, the computing device 500 can present recorded audio and/or video files, such as MP3, AAC, and MPEG files.", "In some implementations, the computing device 500 can include the functionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod™.", "The computing device 500 can, therefore, include a 36-pin connector that is compatible with the iPod.", "Other input/output and control devices can also be used.", "The memory interface 502 can be coupled to memory 550.The memory 550 can include high-speed random access memory and/or non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical storage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR).", "The memory 550 can store an operating system 552, such as Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks.", "The operating system 552 can include instructions for handling basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks.", "In some implementations, the operating system 552 can be a kernel (e.g., UNIX kernel).", "In some implementations, the operating system 552 can include instructions for performing voice authentication.", "For example, operating system 552 can implement the simplified audio navigation features as described with reference to FIGS.", "1-4.The memory 550 can also store communication instructions 554 to facilitate communicating with one or more additional devices, one or more computers and/or one or more servers.", "The memory 550 can include graphical user interface instructions 556 to facilitate graphic user interface processing; sensor processing instructions 558 to facilitate sensor-related processing and functions; phone instructions 560 to facilitate phone-related processes and functions; electronic messaging instructions 562 to facilitate electronic-messaging related processes and functions; web browsing instructions 564 to facilitate web browsing-related processes and functions; media processing instructions 566 to facilitate media processing-related processes and functions; GNSS/Navigation instructions 568 to facilitate GNSS and navigation-related processes and instructions; and/or camera instructions 570 to facilitate camera-related processes and functions.", "The memory 550 can store other software instructions 572 to facilitate other processes and functions, such as the simplified audio navigation processes and functions as described with reference to FIGS.", "1-4.The memory 550 can also store other software instructions 574, such as web video instructions to facilitate web video-related processes and functions; and/or web shopping instructions to facilitate web shopping-related processes and functions.", "In some implementations, the media processing instructions 566 are divided into audio processing instructions and video processing instructions to facilitate audio processing-related processes and functions and video processing-related processes and functions, respectively.", "Each of the above identified instructions and applications can correspond to a set of instructions for performing one or more functions described above.", "These instructions need not be implemented as separate software programs, procedures, or modules.", "The memory 550 can include additional instructions or fewer instructions.", "Furthermore, various functions of the computing device 500 can be implemented in hardware and/or in software, including in one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits." ] ]
Patent_15874926
[ [ "HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE WITH CONTROL ELEMENT", "A household appliance includes at least one control element for modifying at least one operating parameter of the household appliance.", "At least one modification of at least one operating parameter which modification has been executed last is resettable by a reset control element.", "In a method for operating a domestic appliance, a most recently executed modification of an operating parameter can be reset by an operator." ], [ "1.A household appliance comprising: at least one physical control element operable to input a sequence of a plurality of modifications, each of the plurality of modifications modify at least one operating parameter of the household appliance; and a physical reset control element configured to reset, within a predefined period of time, at least one most recently made modification from a sequence of recently made modifications, wherein the at least one most recently made modification is carried out within the predefined period of time.", "2.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the sequence of recently made modifications includes the at least one operating parameter modified by the at least one physical control element.", "3.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the physical reset control element is configured to reset a number of modifications most recently made from the plurality of modifications of the at least one operating parameter made using the at least one physical control element.", "4.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the at least one operating parameter is modified as a result of an actuation of the control element.", "5.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the at least one operating parameter is modified as a result of a number of actuations of the at least one physical control element carried out consecutively, wherein the number of actuations are carried out consecutively within the predefined period of time.", "6.The household appliance of claim 5, wherein the predefined period of time is at least three seconds.", "7.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the predefined period of time is approximately five minutes.", "8.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the at least one most recently made modification is resettable after the household appliance has been switched off, up to another predefined period of time.", "9.The household appliance of claim 1, further comprising a memory device coupled to the physical reset control element, the memory device being configured to store the most recently made modification and to restore the most recently made modification by actuation of the physical reset control element.", "10.The household appliance of claim 1, further comprising a memory device coupled to the physical reset control element, the memory device being configured to store the at least one operating parameter with each modification which it undergoes.", "11.The household appliance of claim 10, wherein the at least one operating parameter is at least one current period of time.", "12.The household appliance of claim 10, wherein the memory device is configured to automatically erase storage of the most recently made modification, when the at least one operating parameter has not been changed by the modification.", "13.The household appliance of claim 1, further comprising a cooking device with a cooktop.", "14.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the operating parameter is selected from the group consisting of adjustment of a heat setting, adjustment of a zone addition, adjustment of a heat boost and adjustment of a timer time.", "15.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the operating parameter is selected from the group consisting of activation of a timer, activation of a roasting sensor system, activation of an automatic program system, activation of a selection/menu button, activation of a child lock, activation of a wipe protection and activation of a hotplate by actuating a main switch.", "16.The household appliance of claim 1, wherein the at least one physical control element is a control panel of a sensor array and the physical reset control element is a control area of the sensor array.", "17.A method for operating a domestic appliance, comprising: receiving, via at least one physical control element, a sequence of two or more inputs to modify at least one operating parameter of the domestic appliance; receiving a reset input via a physical reset control element; and resetting, within a predefined period of time, at least one most recently made modification from a sequence of recently made modifications, wherein the at least one most recently made modification is carried out within the predefined period of time.", "18.The method of claim 17, wherein the most recently made modification is resettable at least during normal operation.", "19.A household appliance, comprising: a cooking device; at least one physical control element operable to input a sequence of a plurality of modifications, each of which modify at least one operating parameter of the cooking device; and a physical reset control element configured to reset, within a predefined period of time, at least one most recently made modification from a sequence of recently made modifications, wherein the at least one most recently made modification is carried out within the predefined period of time." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention relates to a household appliance with at least one control element for modifying at least one operating parameter of the household appliance.", "The invention further relates to a method for operating a household appliance.", "It is known that if a control element which is provided for modifying at least one operating parameter of the household appliance is not operated correctly, an operator or user must reset this operating parameter.", "The difficulty which arises in such cases is that the operator frequently no longer remembers the value of the operating parameter set incorrectly by the incorrect operation of the control element.", "It can even occur that a number of operating parameters are set incorrectly by the incorrect operation of a control element, which further complicates making a new setting.", "The task of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, at least in part." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>This object is achieved by the features of the independent claims.", "Preferred embodiments are especially to be taken from the dependent claims.", "The object is achieved by a household appliance with a least one control element for modifying at least one operating parameter of the household appliance.", "The household appliance also has at least one reset control element which is intended for resetting at least one most recently carried out modification.", "This gives the advantage that the operator no longer has to remember the incorrectly set value but merely needs to actuate the reset control element in order to return the value to its original setting.", "Such resetting is also able to be executed especially easily, especially with a few actuations.", "A control element can for example be understood as a physical control element, e.g.", "a switch, a button, a slider etc., or also a control panel of a sensor array etc.", "for example.", "The reset control element can especially be embodied as a separate switch or button.", "The switch or the button might be a physical switch or button or might for example be a control area of a sensor array.", "The reset control element might be one function of a multifunction button.", "The resetting of at least one modification recently carried out can include the resetting of just one modification, the last one carried out.", "One embodiment is that the reset control element is configured for resetting a number of recently carried out modifications, e.g.", "the last two, three or more modifications carried out.", "The resetting of a number of modifications can for example be undertaken by actuating the reset control element just as frequently and/or by a longer-duration actuation of the reset control element if the reset control element is equipped with what is referred to as a repeat function.", "Another embodiment is that a modification of the at least one operating parameter is undertaken as a result of precisely one actuation of an associated control element.", "Another embodiment is that the at least one operating parameter is modified as a result of a number of consecutive actuations of the at least one control element, wherein two actuations carried out directly one after the other do not extend beyond a predetermined period of time.", "This enables series of actuations which are carried out one after the other in a sufficiently rapid sequence to be canceled or reset with a single actuation of the reset control element.", "In such cases the content relationship between these actuations is established by the sufficiently rapid sequence, wherein the “sufficiently rapid” sequence is determined by the first predefined period of time.", "A further embodiment is that the predefined period of time amounts to at least approximately one second, especially at least approximately three seconds, especially approximately five seconds.", "A further embodiment is that a modification is able to be reset up to a second predefined period of time.", "The advantage achieved by this is that a reset is only carried out for changes which do not lie too far back and consequently make little sense for a current situation.", "For example by switching off a heat setting of a cooking device a temperature of the cooked item might have cooled down so far after five minutes that simply resetting it to its previous state would no longer produce a satisfactory cooking result.", "A development is that the second predefined period of time lies between thirty seconds and ten minutes, especially lasts for at least one minute, especially approximately five minutes.", "A development is that the second predefined period of time is dependent on an operating state and/or a modification of the operating state of the household appliance.", "Thus the household appliance can recognize this operating state (e.g.", "on the basis of operating parameters set) and automatically assign an associated second predefined period of time, especially assigned automatically by the household appliance.", "This makes possible an especially effectively assigned resetting.", "For example the second predefined period of time can be set for a cooktop as a function of a value of a heat setting before a modification, after the modification and/or of the extent of the modification.", "Another embodiment is that a modification is able to be reset after the household appliance is switched off up to a third predefined period of time, which is especially shorter than the second predefined period of time.", "The provision of the third predefined period of time prevents a household appliance deliberately switched off and switched back on again much later being reset to operating parameter values before it was switched off.", "A development is that the third predefined period of time amounts to a maximum of around one minute.", "For example the household appliance can in this way be switched back on after a switch off before the third period of time is reached or exceeded and can be reset by means of the reset control element again at least to the state obtaining before the switch-off.", "The domestic appliance can be switched on and reset to the operating parameter values valid before the switch-on for example by actuating the main switch and then the reset control element or by actuating only the reset control element (especially within the third predefined period of time).", "These alternatives are especially also provided for the case in which the switching off has been carried out automatically especially after a long continuous actuation has been identified.", "A further development is that modifications made during normal operation are able to be reset by means of the reset control element.", "Normal operation can especially be understood as operation between switching on and switching off the household appliance.", "A specific development is that only modifications made during normal operation are able to be reset.", "In this case in particular modifications made after switching off the household appliance may no longer be reset, for example since an associated memory or memory area is erased with the switching off.", "An embodiment is also that specific modifications (especially modifications of specific parameters) are able to be reset and other modifications (especially modifications of other parameters) are not able to be reset.", "This enables the resetting to be designed in an even more user-friendly way.", "This exploits the fact that a few operating parameters are able to be reset simply and intuitively, while resetting of other operating parameters is either able to be carried out just as easily with other means or does not make possible any resetting that can be implemented intuitively.", "A development is that modifications of an operating parameter are especially able to be reset if this operating parameter can assume more than two values.", "That an operating parameter can assume more than two values can especially mean that it includes an operating parameter range, e.g.", "a number of heat settings.", "However modifications of an operating parameter which can assume two or fewer values can basically also be reset.", "The non-resettable modifications can especially include modifications which activate or switch in a function (e.g.", "activate a roasting sensor system) or trigger a sequence (e.g.", "starting a timer or of automatic programming).", "The non-resettable modifications can especially include modifications which are only used for appliance control (e.g.", "triggering of a “select” button or a menu button).", "Another embodiment is that a resetting by the reset control element is only then able to be initiated if there is no incorrect actuation present.", "Thus a new modification following on directly from the resetting can be avoided because of the non-rectified incorrect actuation function.", "A development is that a resetting by the reset control element is only then able to be initiated if there is no incorrect actuation of a resettable control element present.", "The reset control element might thus trigger and a resetting might however be carried out if an incorrect actuation of a non-resettable control element is present.", "A development is also that the incorrect actuation is a permanent actuation.", "In such cases it is assumed that a specific control element does not have to be actuated for longer than a fourth predefined period of time and/or usually is not actuated for longer than the fourth predefined period of time.", "If a specific control element is actuated for as long as or for longer than the fourth predefined period of time, an incorrect actuation is assumed.", "This permanent actuation can for example be created by laying objects on the at least one control element or if electrically conductive liquid, e.g.", "noodle water, spills onto a capacitively-responsive sensor array.", "Another type of incorrect actuation, depending on operational control, might comprise a simultaneous actuation of a number of control elements for example.", "Another embodiment is that the reset control element is coupled to a memory device, wherein the memory device is configured to store the at least one modification made most recently.", "This makes a simple resetting possible.", "The memory device might be a memory device assigned permanently to the reset control element for example or might be present as a memory area of a memory unit of a central control unit of the household appliance.", "A development is to restore the at least one modification with a respective actuation of the resetting control element (and to do so into a memory or into memory areas in which the values of the operating parameters are able to be stored or are stored during operation of the household appliance).", "The restoring makes an especially simple resetting implementation possible.", "A development is that at least one operating parameter is able to be modified automatically and with each (i.e.", "also an automatic) modification which it undergoes, is able to be stored or is stored.", "This also enables operating parameters which change over time to be reset to values valid immediately before a modification and not just to originally set values.", "Such a modification can also be an automatic modification of the operating parameter.", "The at least one predefined operating parameter can include at least one ongoing period of time, especially a timer time and/or a cooking time.", "A general development is also that only modifications which have been made by a manual actuation of a control element are able to be reset.", "Modifications made automatically, e.g.", "an automatic countdown of a period of time executed by a control device, are consequently not able to be reset by an actuation of the reset control element in such cases.", "In particular a change in a manual and automatically modifiable operating parameter might only be able to be reset if the modification has been made manually and otherwise the value of the operating parameter is only updated.", "A further embodiment is that a storage of a modification is able to be deleted automatically (i.e.", "is deleted or is not even made at all) if the associated at least one operating parameter has not been modified by the modification.", "This might be the case for example for a modification of an operating parameter in which a target value corresponds to an initial value.", "This enables storage space to be saved and an operator is not confused during resetting by not recognizing any change on actuating the reset control element.", "A development is that the storage of a modification is able to be erased automatically if the associated at least one operating parameter, without taking into account at least one modification carried out automatically, has not been changed by the modification.", "The storage of the modification is thus also able to be erased automatically if, since the last, modification undertaken manually, an operating parameter has automatically changed its setting.", "The household appliance can basically comprise any household appliance, especially a cooking appliance, especially a cooker.", "Another embodiment is that the household appliance is a cooker in the form of a cooking appliance with a cooktop.", "The invention is able to be implemented advantageously particularly for this embodiment, since many settings are specifically made and also modified during a cooking process.", "For a cooking appliance in particular the following modifications are able to be reset for example: an adjustment of a heat setting, an adjustment of a zone switch-in, an adjustment of start to boil setting (especially its activation, if necessary also a period of time and/or a level) and/or an adjustment (including activation) of a timer time.", "For example the following modifications might not be able to be reset: an activation of a time, an activation of a roasting sensor system, an activation of an automatic program, an activation of a selection/menu button, an activation of a child lock, an activation of a wipe protection (especially by an actuation of a respectively assigned control element) and/or an activation of the at least one hot plate by actuating the main switch.", "Another development is that with a resetting of the at least one operating parameter an associated display of the value of the parameter is reset, if present.", "The display can e.g.", "be an alphanumeric display and/or a symbol display.", "The object is achieved by a method for operating a household appliance, wherein at least one modification of an operating parameter recently carried out is able to be reset by an operator.", "The method produces the same advantage as the household appliance and can also be embodied in a similar way.", "Thus the modification might be able to be carried out by means of actuating a reset control element.", "The at least one modification might also be able to be reset during normal operation." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation, under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 120, of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/238,201, filed Feb. 11, 2014, now allowed, which is a U.S. national stage application under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 371 of PCT/EP2012/066637, filed Aug. 28, 2012, which designated the United States; this application also claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119, to German Application No.", "10 2011 081 767.0, filed Aug. 30, 2011.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a household appliance with at least one control element for modifying at least one operating parameter of the household appliance.", "The invention further relates to a method for operating a household appliance.", "It is known that if a control element which is provided for modifying at least one operating parameter of the household appliance is not operated correctly, an operator or user must reset this operating parameter.", "The difficulty which arises in such cases is that the operator frequently no longer remembers the value of the operating parameter set incorrectly by the incorrect operation of the control element.", "It can even occur that a number of operating parameters are set incorrectly by the incorrect operation of a control element, which further complicates making a new setting.", "The task of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, at least in part.", "BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This object is achieved by the features of the independent claims.", "Preferred embodiments are especially to be taken from the dependent claims.", "The object is achieved by a household appliance with a least one control element for modifying at least one operating parameter of the household appliance.", "The household appliance also has at least one reset control element which is intended for resetting at least one most recently carried out modification.", "This gives the advantage that the operator no longer has to remember the incorrectly set value but merely needs to actuate the reset control element in order to return the value to its original setting.", "Such resetting is also able to be executed especially easily, especially with a few actuations.", "A control element can for example be understood as a physical control element, e.g.", "a switch, a button, a slider etc., or also a control panel of a sensor array etc.", "for example.", "The reset control element can especially be embodied as a separate switch or button.", "The switch or the button might be a physical switch or button or might for example be a control area of a sensor array.", "The reset control element might be one function of a multifunction button.", "The resetting of at least one modification recently carried out can include the resetting of just one modification, the last one carried out.", "One embodiment is that the reset control element is configured for resetting a number of recently carried out modifications, e.g.", "the last two, three or more modifications carried out.", "The resetting of a number of modifications can for example be undertaken by actuating the reset control element just as frequently and/or by a longer-duration actuation of the reset control element if the reset control element is equipped with what is referred to as a repeat function.", "Another embodiment is that a modification of the at least one operating parameter is undertaken as a result of precisely one actuation of an associated control element.", "Another embodiment is that the at least one operating parameter is modified as a result of a number of consecutive actuations of the at least one control element, wherein two actuations carried out directly one after the other do not extend beyond a predetermined period of time.", "This enables series of actuations which are carried out one after the other in a sufficiently rapid sequence to be canceled or reset with a single actuation of the reset control element.", "In such cases the content relationship between these actuations is established by the sufficiently rapid sequence, wherein the “sufficiently rapid” sequence is determined by the first predefined period of time.", "A further embodiment is that the predefined period of time amounts to at least approximately one second, especially at least approximately three seconds, especially approximately five seconds.", "A further embodiment is that a modification is able to be reset up to a second predefined period of time.", "The advantage achieved by this is that a reset is only carried out for changes which do not lie too far back and consequently make little sense for a current situation.", "For example by switching off a heat setting of a cooking device a temperature of the cooked item might have cooled down so far after five minutes that simply resetting it to its previous state would no longer produce a satisfactory cooking result.", "A development is that the second predefined period of time lies between thirty seconds and ten minutes, especially lasts for at least one minute, especially approximately five minutes.", "A development is that the second predefined period of time is dependent on an operating state and/or a modification of the operating state of the household appliance.", "Thus the household appliance can recognize this operating state (e.g.", "on the basis of operating parameters set) and automatically assign an associated second predefined period of time, especially assigned automatically by the household appliance.", "This makes possible an especially effectively assigned resetting.", "For example the second predefined period of time can be set for a cooktop as a function of a value of a heat setting before a modification, after the modification and/or of the extent of the modification.", "Another embodiment is that a modification is able to be reset after the household appliance is switched off up to a third predefined period of time, which is especially shorter than the second predefined period of time.", "The provision of the third predefined period of time prevents a household appliance deliberately switched off and switched back on again much later being reset to operating parameter values before it was switched off.", "A development is that the third predefined period of time amounts to a maximum of around one minute.", "For example the household appliance can in this way be switched back on after a switch off before the third period of time is reached or exceeded and can be reset by means of the reset control element again at least to the state obtaining before the switch-off.", "The domestic appliance can be switched on and reset to the operating parameter values valid before the switch-on for example by actuating the main switch and then the reset control element or by actuating only the reset control element (especially within the third predefined period of time).", "These alternatives are especially also provided for the case in which the switching off has been carried out automatically especially after a long continuous actuation has been identified.", "A further development is that modifications made during normal operation are able to be reset by means of the reset control element.", "Normal operation can especially be understood as operation between switching on and switching off the household appliance.", "A specific development is that only modifications made during normal operation are able to be reset.", "In this case in particular modifications made after switching off the household appliance may no longer be reset, for example since an associated memory or memory area is erased with the switching off.", "An embodiment is also that specific modifications (especially modifications of specific parameters) are able to be reset and other modifications (especially modifications of other parameters) are not able to be reset.", "This enables the resetting to be designed in an even more user-friendly way.", "This exploits the fact that a few operating parameters are able to be reset simply and intuitively, while resetting of other operating parameters is either able to be carried out just as easily with other means or does not make possible any resetting that can be implemented intuitively.", "A development is that modifications of an operating parameter are especially able to be reset if this operating parameter can assume more than two values.", "That an operating parameter can assume more than two values can especially mean that it includes an operating parameter range, e.g.", "a number of heat settings.", "However modifications of an operating parameter which can assume two or fewer values can basically also be reset.", "The non-resettable modifications can especially include modifications which activate or switch in a function (e.g.", "activate a roasting sensor system) or trigger a sequence (e.g.", "starting a timer or of automatic programming).", "The non-resettable modifications can especially include modifications which are only used for appliance control (e.g.", "triggering of a “select” button or a menu button).", "Another embodiment is that a resetting by the reset control element is only then able to be initiated if there is no incorrect actuation present.", "Thus a new modification following on directly from the resetting can be avoided because of the non-rectified incorrect actuation function.", "A development is that a resetting by the reset control element is only then able to be initiated if there is no incorrect actuation of a resettable control element present.", "The reset control element might thus trigger and a resetting might however be carried out if an incorrect actuation of a non-resettable control element is present.", "A development is also that the incorrect actuation is a permanent actuation.", "In such cases it is assumed that a specific control element does not have to be actuated for longer than a fourth predefined period of time and/or usually is not actuated for longer than the fourth predefined period of time.", "If a specific control element is actuated for as long as or for longer than the fourth predefined period of time, an incorrect actuation is assumed.", "This permanent actuation can for example be created by laying objects on the at least one control element or if electrically conductive liquid, e.g.", "noodle water, spills onto a capacitively-responsive sensor array.", "Another type of incorrect actuation, depending on operational control, might comprise a simultaneous actuation of a number of control elements for example.", "Another embodiment is that the reset control element is coupled to a memory device, wherein the memory device is configured to store the at least one modification made most recently.", "This makes a simple resetting possible.", "The memory device might be a memory device assigned permanently to the reset control element for example or might be present as a memory area of a memory unit of a central control unit of the household appliance.", "A development is to restore the at least one modification with a respective actuation of the resetting control element (and to do so into a memory or into memory areas in which the values of the operating parameters are able to be stored or are stored during operation of the household appliance).", "The restoring makes an especially simple resetting implementation possible.", "A development is that at least one operating parameter is able to be modified automatically and with each (i.e.", "also an automatic) modification which it undergoes, is able to be stored or is stored.", "This also enables operating parameters which change over time to be reset to values valid immediately before a modification and not just to originally set values.", "Such a modification can also be an automatic modification of the operating parameter.", "The at least one predefined operating parameter can include at least one ongoing period of time, especially a timer time and/or a cooking time.", "A general development is also that only modifications which have been made by a manual actuation of a control element are able to be reset.", "Modifications made automatically, e.g.", "an automatic countdown of a period of time executed by a control device, are consequently not able to be reset by an actuation of the reset control element in such cases.", "In particular a change in a manual and automatically modifiable operating parameter might only be able to be reset if the modification has been made manually and otherwise the value of the operating parameter is only updated.", "A further embodiment is that a storage of a modification is able to be deleted automatically (i.e.", "is deleted or is not even made at all) if the associated at least one operating parameter has not been modified by the modification.", "This might be the case for example for a modification of an operating parameter in which a target value corresponds to an initial value.", "This enables storage space to be saved and an operator is not confused during resetting by not recognizing any change on actuating the reset control element.", "A development is that the storage of a modification is able to be erased automatically if the associated at least one operating parameter, without taking into account at least one modification carried out automatically, has not been changed by the modification.", "The storage of the modification is thus also able to be erased automatically if, since the last, modification undertaken manually, an operating parameter has automatically changed its setting.", "The household appliance can basically comprise any household appliance, especially a cooking appliance, especially a cooker.", "Another embodiment is that the household appliance is a cooker in the form of a cooking appliance with a cooktop.", "The invention is able to be implemented advantageously particularly for this embodiment, since many settings are specifically made and also modified during a cooking process.", "For a cooking appliance in particular the following modifications are able to be reset for example: an adjustment of a heat setting, an adjustment of a zone switch-in, an adjustment of start to boil setting (especially its activation, if necessary also a period of time and/or a level) and/or an adjustment (including activation) of a timer time.", "For example the following modifications might not be able to be reset: an activation of a time, an activation of a roasting sensor system, an activation of an automatic program, an activation of a selection/menu button, an activation of a child lock, an activation of a wipe protection (especially by an actuation of a respectively assigned control element) and/or an activation of the at least one hot plate by actuating the main switch.", "Another development is that with a resetting of the at least one operating parameter an associated display of the value of the parameter is reset, if present.", "The display can e.g.", "be an alphanumeric display and/or a symbol display.", "The object is achieved by a method for operating a household appliance, wherein at least one modification of an operating parameter recently carried out is able to be reset by an operator.", "The method produces the same advantage as the household appliance and can also be embodied in a similar way.", "Thus the modification might be able to be carried out by means of actuating a reset control element.", "The at least one modification might also be able to be reset during normal operation.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following figures the invention is described schematically in greater detail on the basis of an exemplary embodiment.", "In this embodiment, for the sake of clarity, the same elements or elements which act in the same way can be provided with the same reference characters.", "FIG.", "1 shows an overhead view of a section of a cooktop with a view of a control panel, wherein the control panel is in a first actuation state; FIG.", "2 shows the control panel in a second actuation state, in which, in addition to the first actuation state, a modification of an operating parameter has been made; FIG.", "3 shows the control panel in a third actuation state, in which, in addition to the second actuation state, a further modification of an operating parameter has been made; FIG.", "4 shows the control panel in a fourth actuation state, in which, in addition to the third actuation state, yet another modification of an operating parameter has been made; FIG.", "5 shows the control panel in a fifth actuation state, in which, in addition to the fourth actuation state, yet another modification of an operating parameter has been made; FIG.", "6 shows the control panel in a sixth actuation state, in which, in addition to the fifth actuation state, yet another unintentional modification of an operating parameter has been made; and FIG.", "7 shows the control panel in a seventh actuation state, in which, in addition to the sixth actuation state, yet another, unintentional modification of an operating parameter has been made.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION FIG.", "1 shows an overhead view of a section of a cooktop 1 of a cooking device G (e.g.", "a range cooker or a stand-alone cooktop) looking at a control panel 2, wherein the control panel 2 is in a first actuation state.", "Shown above the control panel 2 are two of a total of four hotplates 3a-d able to be operated by the control panel 2.The control panel 2 is embodied for example as a capacitive sensor array and has a number of (sensor) buttons 4, 5a-d, 6a-d, 7 to 13 arranged in a row and also display panels 14a-d and 15.Individually these are a main switch 4 for switching the cooktop 1 on and off, arranged at a left-hand edge.", "In this case the cooking device G can continue to be supplied with power, e.g.", "to display an error condition, but at least the hot plates 3a, 3c are switched off.", "Located to the right next to the main switch 4 is a reduction button or “−” button 5a for reducing the heat setting of the cooktop 3a.", "The heat setting can be reduced here for example between “9” (maximum power) and “0” (cooktop switched off) in full steps or half steps and/or also in predefined steps.", "The “−” button 5a has the repeat function, i.e.", "it reduces multiple times when actuated continuously.", "Located to the right next to the “−” button 5a is an increase button or “+” button 6a to increase the heat setting of the cooktop 3a, maximally between “0” and “9”.", "The “+” button 6a also has a repeat function, i.e.", "it increases the setting multiple times when actuated continuously.", "Located to the right next to the “+” button 6a is a child lock button 7, which on actuation of a child lock suppresses actuation of the other buttons 4, 5a-d, 6a-d, 8 to 13.The child lock can be canceled again by actuating the child lock button 7 once again.", "Located on the right next to the child lock button 7 are a “−” button 5b and a “+” button 6b, which are able to be actuated or function in a similar way to the “−” button 5a and the “+” button 6a, however now for the hot plate 3b located behind the hotplate 3a.", "Located on the right next to the “+” button 6b are, in this order, a decrement timer button or“−” timer button 8, a timer activation button 9 and an increment timer button or “+” timer button 10.The timer activation button 9 enables a timer to be activated and the “−” timer button 8 and the “+” timer button 10 enable it to be adjusted, especially also decremented or incremented, possibly with a repeat function.", "Located on the right next to the “+” timer button 10 are a “−” button 5c and a “+” button 6c, which are able to be actuated or function in a similar way to the “−” button 5a and the “+” button 6a, but now for the hotplate 3c.", "Located on the right next to the “+” button 6c is a zone addition button 11, with which a hotplate expansion or cooking zone is able to be added to a hotplate, e.g.", "the hotplate 3d located behind the hotplate 3c.", "Located on the right next to the zone addition button 11 are a “−” button 5d and a “+” button 6d, which are able to be actuated or function in a similar manner to the “−” button 5a and the “+” button 6a, but now for the hotplate 3d located behind the hotplate 3c.", "Located on the right next to the “+” button 6c is a heat boost supplementary switch 12, with which a heat boost is able to be activated.", "Located on the right next to the heat boost supplementary switch 12, and thus on the right-hand edge of the control panel 2, is a reset control element in the form of a reset button 13.Located above the buttons 4, 5a-d, 6a-d, 7 to 13 are the display panels 14a-d and 15, and from left to right they are in this order: a single-segment display 14a for displaying a heat setting of the hotplate 3a, a single-segment display 14b for displaying a heat setting of the hotplate 3b, a two-digit timer display 15 for displaying the current timer time, a single-segment display 14c for displaying a heat setting of the hotplate 3c and a single-segment display 14d for displaying a heat setting of the hotplate 3d.", "In the first actuation state shown the cooktop 1 is switched on, and hotplate 3a is at a heat setting of “9”, hotplate 3b is performing a supplementary heat boost “A”, hotplate 3c is at a heat setting of “7” and hotplate 3d is switched on, but is at a heat setting of “0”.", "A zone connection for the hotplate 3d is active (associated lamp not shown).", "By actuating the “+” button 6d, as indicated by the arrow in the diagram below the control panel 2, the heat setting of hotplate 3d can be increased from “0” to “9” and this can be done by a corresponding frequent actuation of the “+” button 6d or by use of the repeat function.", "The “+” button 6d (like the “+” buttons 6a to 6c), for a first actuation after the cooktop 1 is switched on, can set the heat setting to a predefined level and only on a subsequent actuation increase the heat setting in turn.", "Such a modification of an operating parameter, because of its sufficiently rapid sequence, counts as a single modification.", "The correspondingly adjusted state of the operating panel 2 and thus also of the cooktop 1 is shown in FIG.", "2.Now, as indicated by the arrow, the heat setting of the cooktop 3d can be reduced to “8” by at least a single, short actuation of the “−” button 5d, which is shown in FIG.", "3.Subsequently the timer can be set by an actuation of the timer button 9, through which the timer display 15 is initially set to “00”, which is shown in FIG.", "4.The time can be incremented by actuating the “−” timer button 8 from the “00” in 10 steps or in other predefined time steps (e.g.", "to a value “10”, as shown in FIG.", "5) and through an (especially multiple) actuation of the “+” timer button 10 be adjusted in individual steps (steps of one minute) (e.g.", "to a value of “17”, as shown in FIG.", "6).", "Due to the unintentional switching down of the heat setting of the hotplate 3d shown by the arrow in FIG.", "6 by rapid consecutive actuations or made possible by the repeat function because of a corresponding actuation of the “−” button 5d, not only is the heat setting of the hotplate 3d adjusted, but also timers and possibly a previously activated zone addition are deactivated for this hotplate 3d.", "This is designed as a single modification.", "With this modification a number of operating parameters are thus modified by an actuation of just one actuation element.", "Through the following actuation of the reset control element 13, as indicated by the arrow in FIG.", "7, the modifications created by the last actuation of the “−”-button 5d are cancelled or reset, namely the associated heat setting of the hotplate 3d to “8”, the timer is activated and again set to a value “17”, as already shown in FIG.", "6.The displays 14d and 15 are reset accordingly.", "Actuating the reset control element 12 once more could enable further modifications (in the reverse order in which they were made) to be reset, e.g.", "the timer is then reset again to the value “10” etc.", "In such cases it is assumed that the changes made between the figures shown have been performed with an interval between them which is larger than a predefined first period of time of three seconds here for example.", "Were the timer function already started, wherein the timer time is counted down by the cooking device G independently in minutes, and were the unintentional actuation of the “−” button 5d then to occur, by the actuation of the reset button 13 the associated heat setting of the hotplate 3d would be reset to “8”, the timer activated and reset to the then current value (which can also be smaller than “17”).", "Naturally the present invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment shown.", "Thus the invention is not restricted to sensor arrays.", "The control panel can also have further characteristics, e.g.", "illustrated in the general description part.", "Then, starting from FIG.", "1, a switching-off of the main switch is undertaken (all hotplates to heat setting “0”, i.e.", "switched off, corresponding segment displays 14a-d to display “0”, timer display 15 deactivated, no additional functions such as a zone addition, a timer or a supplementary heat boost activated), by actuating the reset button 13 the setting of the cooktop 1 in accordance with FIG.", "1 can be restored or reset, if the reset button 13 is actuated within five minutes, possibly only after a renewed actuation of the main switch 4." ] ]
Patent_15874931
[ [ "HITCH MODULE", "A hitch module adapted to be coupled to a frame of a work machine or towed assembly.", "The hitch module includes a carrier assembly having a first plate and a second plate coupled to one another.", "The first and second plates are spaced from one another by a first distance, where both plates define a pivot axis.", "A guide assembly defines a longitudinal axis and is pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly about the pivot axis.", "The guide assembly has a first guide plate and a second guide plate coupled to and spaced by a second distance from one another.", "A hitch assembly is disposed at least partially between the first and second plate of the carrier assembly and the first and the second guide plate.", "The hitch link assembly is pivotal about the pivot axis and movable along the longitudinal axis." ], [ "1.An adjustable hitch, comprising: a frame configured to be coupled to a work machine; a first slot defined through the frame; a hitch assembly selectively coupled to the frame; a longitudinal slot defined through the hitch assembly; and a first engagement pin defined through both the first slot and the longitudinal slot.", "2.The adjustable hitch assembly of claim 1, further comprising a subframe coupled to the frame and having a second slot defined therethrough.", "3.The adjustable hitch assembly of claim 2, further wherein the first engagement pin is positioned through the second slot.", "4.The adjustable hitch assembly of claim 3, further comprising a third slot defined through the frame, wherein the first engagement pin is positioned through the third slot.", "5.The adjustable hitch assembly of claim 1, further wherein the first engagement pin has a tapered body.", "6.The adjustable hitch assembly of claim 5, further wherein the tapered body a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion, wherein the large diameter portion can only fit through the first slot at a central bore.", "7.The adjustable hitch assembly of claim 6, further comprising a second engagement pin that is selectively positionable within a through-hole defined in the frame.", "8.A hitch system, comprising: a frame configured to be coupled to a work machine; a hitch assembly selectively coupled to the frame; and a lock plate pivotally coupled to the frame and defining a cutout; wherein, the lock plate has a first position where the hitch assembly is not positioned in the cutout and a second position where the hitch assembly is at least partially positioned within the cutout.", "9.The hitch system of claim 8, further wherein when the lock plate is in the first position, the hitch assembly is pivotable relative to the frame.", "10.The hitch system of claim 8, further wherein when the lock plate is in the second position, the hitch assembly is not pivotable relative to the frame.", "11.The hitch system of claim 8, further comprising a longitudinal slot defined through the hitch assembly.", "13.The hitch system of claim 11, further comprising: a first engagement pin; a first slot defined through the frame; a subframe coupled to the frame; and a second slot defined through the subframe; wherein, the first engagement pin is positioned through first slot, the second slot, and the longitudinal slot.", "14.The hitch system of claim 13, further comprising a second engagement pin that is selectively positionable within a through-hole defined in the hitch assembly.", "15.The hitch system of claim 14, further wherein when the lock plate is in the first position the second engagement pin is not positioned in the through-hole and when the lock plate is in the second position, the second engagement pin is positioned at least partially within the through-hole.", "16.An adjustable hitch component, comprising: a frame configured to be coupled to a work machine; a first slot defined through the frame; a hitch assembly selectively coupled to the frame; a longitudinal slot defined through the hitch assembly; a first engagement pin defined through both the first slot and the longitudinal slot; and a lock plate pivotally coupled to the frame and defining a cutout; wherein, the lock plate has a first position where the hitch assembly is not positioned in the cutout and a second position where the hitch assembly is at least partially positioned within the cutout.", "17.The adjustable hitch component of claim 16, further comprising: a subframe coupled to the frame and having a second slot defined therethrough; a third slot defined through the frame; wherein, the first engagement pin is positioned through both the second slot and the third slot.", "18.The adjustable hitch component of claim 16, further comprising: a second engagement pin that corresponds with a through-hole defined in the hitch assembly; wherein, when the lock plate is in the first position the second engagement pin is not positioned in the through-hole and when the lock plate is in the second position, the second engagement pin is positioned at least partially within the through-hole.", "19.The adjustable hitch component of claim 16, further wherein when the lock plate is in the first position, the hitch assembly is pivotable relative to the frame and when the lock plate is in the second position, the hitch assembly is not pivotable relative to the frame.", "20.The adjustable hitch component of claim 16, further wherein the first engagement pin has a tapered body with a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion, wherein the large diameter portion can only fit through the first slot at a central bore." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>Work machines or towed assemblies often have rear hitch modules that provide a coupling location for a plurality of different towed devices.", "In addition to providing one or more coupling points, the hitch module is coupled to a frame to be sufficiently strong to pull the towed devices under different load conditions.", "In order to accommodate heavy load conditions, the hitch module is typically fixedly mounted to the frame, i.e., the hitch module does not move substantially relative to the frame.", "In this configuration, the hitch module must be correctly aligned with the towed device in order to properly couple the hitch module thereto.", "Properly aligning the hitch module with the towed device can be difficult because of the weight/positioning of the towed device and because of the location of the hitch module on the work machine or towed assembly." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a hitch module is adapted to couple to a frame of a work machine or towed assembly.", "The hitch module includes a carrier assembly including a first plate and a second plate coupled to one another, the first and second plates spaced from one another by a first distance, where both plates define a pivot axis; a guide assembly defining a longitudinal axis and being pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly about the pivot axis, the guide assembly having a first guide plate and a second guide plate coupled to and spaced by a second distance from one another, where the second distance is greater than the first distance; and a hitch assembly disposed at least partially between the first and second plate of the carrier assembly and the first and the second guide plate, the hitch link assembly being pivotal about the pivot axis relative to the carrier assembly and movable along the longitudinal axis relative to the guide assembly.", "In one example of this embodiment, the hitch assembly is movable along the longitudinal axis relative to the guide assembly between a first position and a second position; and the guide assembly is pivotable about the pivot axis in a first direction by a first angle relative to the longitudinal axis and a second direction by a second angle relative thereto.", "In a second example, the hitch assembly includes a hitch link that is movable to a plurality of positions relative to the guide assembly and carrier assembly, the plurality of positions defined within a trapezoidal-shaped area having at least four points, wherein a first point is at the first position and the first angle, a second point is at the first position and the second angle, a third point is at the second position and the first angle, and a fourth point is at the second position and the second angle.", "In a third example, a first through-hole is axially aligned through the first guide plate, the first through-hole being spaced a first radial distance from the pivot axis; an arc-shaped through-hole is defined in the first plate, the arc-shaped through-hole defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; a second through-hole is defined in the hitch assembly; a third through-hole is defined in the second plate and at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; and a fourth through-hole is defined in the second guide plate and axially aligned with the first through-hole, the fourth through-hole is defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; wherein, the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole are aligned with one another when the hitch assembly is in the first position; further wherein, the first through-hole misaligned from the second through-hole when the hitch assembly is in the second position.", "In a fourth example of this embodiment, the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, the second through hole, the third through hole and the fourth through-hole are aligned with one another when the hitch assembly is in the first position and the guide assembly is axially aligned with the longitudinal axis.", "In a fifth example, a pin is axially aligned with the first through-hole and configured to move axially along a central axis defined by the first through-hole, the pin being positionable in at least a first axial position, a second axial position, and a third axial position, wherein in the first axial position, the hitch assembly is not in the first position and the pin is disposed through a portion of the first through-hole and the arc-shaped through-hole; in the second axial position the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is not axially aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole; and in the third axial position, the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, the second through-hole, the third through-hole and the fourth through-hole.", "In a sixth example of this embodiment, a U-shaped frame member is coupled to the first guide plate, the U-shaped frame defining a pin through-hole; and a spring is disposed between the U-shaped frame member and the first guide plate; wherein, the pin is disposed through the pin through-hole in the first, second, and third axial position; further wherein, the spring biases the pin towards the second guide plate.", "In a seventh example, the pin includes at least a first stop and a second stop, the first stop limiting axial movement of the pin as it contacts the U-shaped frame member, and the second stop limiting axial movement of the pin as it contacts the first guide plate.", "In an eighth example, when the pin is in the second axial position, the hitch assembly is substantially restricted from moving out of the first position, and the hitch assembly and the guide assembly can pivot relative to the carrier member.", "In a ninth example, when the pin is in the third axial position, the hitch assembly is substantially restricted from moving out of the first position, and the hitch assembly and the guide assembly are substantially restricted from rotating relative to the carrier member.", "In another example of this embodiment, the first plate and the second plate terminate at a second radial distance from the pivot axis.", "In a further example, the guide assembly further includes at least one spacer coupling the first guide plate to the second guide plate; and at least one wear plate disposed between the first guide plate and the second guide plate, the at least one wear plate having a radially-defined edge that is disposed in contact with the first guide plate or second guide plate.", "In a different example, the hitch assembly includes a draw bar having a defined length, width, and thickness, the thickness being less than the first and second distances; a hitch link adapted to be coupled to the frame; and a hitch link coupler coupling the hitch link to the draw bar, the hitch link coupler including a grab bar.", "In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a hitch module is provided for coupling to a frame of a work machine or work implement.", "The hitch module includes a carrier assembly including a first plate, a second plate, and at least one coupler plate coupling the first and second plates to one another, the first and second plates being disposed parallel to and spaced from one another by a first distance, where a pivot axis is defined through both the first and second plates; a guide assembly defining along a longitudinal axis and being pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly about the pivot axis, the guide assembly including a first guide plate and a second guide plate coupled to and spaced by a second distance from one another, where the second distance is greater than the first distance; and a hitch assembly disposed at least partially between the first and second plates of the carrier assembly and the first and the second guide plates of the guide assembly, the hitch assembly including a draw bar and a hitch link; wherein, the hitch assembly is pivotal about the pivot axis relative to the carrier assembly and movable along the longitudinal axis relative to the guide assembly.", "In one example of this embodiment, the hitch link is longitudinally movable between a first position and a second position relative to the guide assembly; and the hitch link is pivotable about the pivot axis between a first angle and a second angle.", "In a second example, the hitch link is movable to any one of a plurality of positions relative to the guide assembly and carrier assembly, the plurality of positions defined within a trapezoidal-shaped area formed by at least four points, wherein a first point is at the first position and the first angle, a second point is at the first position and the second angle, a third point is at the second position and the first angle, and a fourth point is at the second position and the second angle.", "In another example of this embodiment, a first through-hole is axially aligned through the first guide plate, the first through-hole being spaced a first radial distance from the pivot axis; an arc-shaped through-hole is defined in the first plate, the arc-shaped through-hole defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; a second through-hole is defined in the hitch assembly; a third through-hole is defined in the second plate and defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; and a fourth through-hole is defined in the second guide plate and axially aligned with the first through-hole, the fourth through-hole defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; wherein, the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole are aligned with one another when the hitch assembly is in the first position; further wherein, the first through-hole misaligned from the second through-hole when the hitch assembly is in the second position.", "In a further example, a pin is axially aligned with the first through-hole and configured to move axially along a central axis defined by the first through-hole, the pin being positionable in at least a first axial position, a second axial position, and a third axial position, wherein in the first axial position, the hitch assembly is not in the first position and the pin is disposed through a portion of the first through-hole and the arc-shaped through-hole; in the second axial position the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is not axially aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole; and in the third axial position, the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, the second through-hole, the third through-hole and the fourth through-hole.", "In a different example, a method of coupling the hitch module to the frame includes providing a hitch coupler coupled to the frame of a work machine; positioning the pin in its first axial position; maneuvering the hitch link to any position within the trapezoidal-shaped area until the hitch link is aligned with the hitch coupler; coupling the hitch link to the hitch coupler; moving the hitch assembly along the longitudinal axis until it reaches the first distance from the carrier assembly; biasing the pin from its first axial position to its second axial position; aligning the hitch link such that the hitch link is not angularly disposed relative to the longitudinal axis; biasing the pin from its second axial position to its third axial position; and coupling the hitch module to the frame.", "In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a hitch module is provided for coupling to a frame of a work machine or work implement.", "The hitch module includes a carrier assembly including a first plate, a second plate, and at least one coupler plate coupling the first and second plates to one another, the first and second plates defining a pivot axis and being disposed parallel to and spaced from one another by a first distance, where the first plate defines an arc-shaped through-hole that defines a central axis therethrough, the central axis being disposed a first radial distance from the pivot axis; a guide assembly being pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly about the pivot axis, the guide assembly including a first guide plate, a second guide plate coupled to and spaced by a second distance from the first guide plate, at least two spacers, at least two wear plates disposed between the first and second guide plates, a U-shaped frame member coupled to the first guide plate, a pin axially movable relative to the first and second guide plates, and a spring disposed between the U-shaped frame member and the first guide plate, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance; and a hitch assembly disposed at least partially between the first and second plates of the carrier assembly and the first and the second guide plates of the guide assembly, the hitch assembly including an elongated draw bar, a hitch link coupler, and a hitch link adapted to be coupled to the frame, the hitch link coupler coupling the draw bar and hitch link to one another; wherein, the hitch assembly and guide assembly are pivotal about the pivot axis relative to the carrier assembly; further wherein, the hitch assembly is slidably movable along a longitudinal axis relative to the carrier assembly and guide assembly." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This Application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/870,630 filed on Sep. 30, 2015 and titled “HITCH MODULE,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to a hitch module, and in particular, to a hitch module that can be adjusted to a plurality of orientations.", "BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Work machines or towed assemblies often have rear hitch modules that provide a coupling location for a plurality of different towed devices.", "In addition to providing one or more coupling points, the hitch module is coupled to a frame to be sufficiently strong to pull the towed devices under different load conditions.", "In order to accommodate heavy load conditions, the hitch module is typically fixedly mounted to the frame, i.e., the hitch module does not move substantially relative to the frame.", "In this configuration, the hitch module must be correctly aligned with the towed device in order to properly couple the hitch module thereto.", "Properly aligning the hitch module with the towed device can be difficult because of the weight/positioning of the towed device and because of the location of the hitch module on the work machine or towed assembly.", "SUMMARY In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a hitch module is adapted to couple to a frame of a work machine or towed assembly.", "The hitch module includes a carrier assembly including a first plate and a second plate coupled to one another, the first and second plates spaced from one another by a first distance, where both plates define a pivot axis; a guide assembly defining a longitudinal axis and being pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly about the pivot axis, the guide assembly having a first guide plate and a second guide plate coupled to and spaced by a second distance from one another, where the second distance is greater than the first distance; and a hitch assembly disposed at least partially between the first and second plate of the carrier assembly and the first and the second guide plate, the hitch link assembly being pivotal about the pivot axis relative to the carrier assembly and movable along the longitudinal axis relative to the guide assembly.", "In one example of this embodiment, the hitch assembly is movable along the longitudinal axis relative to the guide assembly between a first position and a second position; and the guide assembly is pivotable about the pivot axis in a first direction by a first angle relative to the longitudinal axis and a second direction by a second angle relative thereto.", "In a second example, the hitch assembly includes a hitch link that is movable to a plurality of positions relative to the guide assembly and carrier assembly, the plurality of positions defined within a trapezoidal-shaped area having at least four points, wherein a first point is at the first position and the first angle, a second point is at the first position and the second angle, a third point is at the second position and the first angle, and a fourth point is at the second position and the second angle.", "In a third example, a first through-hole is axially aligned through the first guide plate, the first through-hole being spaced a first radial distance from the pivot axis; an arc-shaped through-hole is defined in the first plate, the arc-shaped through-hole defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; a second through-hole is defined in the hitch assembly; a third through-hole is defined in the second plate and at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; and a fourth through-hole is defined in the second guide plate and axially aligned with the first through-hole, the fourth through-hole is defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; wherein, the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole are aligned with one another when the hitch assembly is in the first position; further wherein, the first through-hole misaligned from the second through-hole when the hitch assembly is in the second position.", "In a fourth example of this embodiment, the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, the second through hole, the third through hole and the fourth through-hole are aligned with one another when the hitch assembly is in the first position and the guide assembly is axially aligned with the longitudinal axis.", "In a fifth example, a pin is axially aligned with the first through-hole and configured to move axially along a central axis defined by the first through-hole, the pin being positionable in at least a first axial position, a second axial position, and a third axial position, wherein in the first axial position, the hitch assembly is not in the first position and the pin is disposed through a portion of the first through-hole and the arc-shaped through-hole; in the second axial position the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is not axially aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole; and in the third axial position, the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, the second through-hole, the third through-hole and the fourth through-hole.", "In a sixth example of this embodiment, a U-shaped frame member is coupled to the first guide plate, the U-shaped frame defining a pin through-hole; and a spring is disposed between the U-shaped frame member and the first guide plate; wherein, the pin is disposed through the pin through-hole in the first, second, and third axial position; further wherein, the spring biases the pin towards the second guide plate.", "In a seventh example, the pin includes at least a first stop and a second stop, the first stop limiting axial movement of the pin as it contacts the U-shaped frame member, and the second stop limiting axial movement of the pin as it contacts the first guide plate.", "In an eighth example, when the pin is in the second axial position, the hitch assembly is substantially restricted from moving out of the first position, and the hitch assembly and the guide assembly can pivot relative to the carrier member.", "In a ninth example, when the pin is in the third axial position, the hitch assembly is substantially restricted from moving out of the first position, and the hitch assembly and the guide assembly are substantially restricted from rotating relative to the carrier member.", "In another example of this embodiment, the first plate and the second plate terminate at a second radial distance from the pivot axis.", "In a further example, the guide assembly further includes at least one spacer coupling the first guide plate to the second guide plate; and at least one wear plate disposed between the first guide plate and the second guide plate, the at least one wear plate having a radially-defined edge that is disposed in contact with the first guide plate or second guide plate.", "In a different example, the hitch assembly includes a draw bar having a defined length, width, and thickness, the thickness being less than the first and second distances; a hitch link adapted to be coupled to the frame; and a hitch link coupler coupling the hitch link to the draw bar, the hitch link coupler including a grab bar.", "In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a hitch module is provided for coupling to a frame of a work machine or work implement.", "The hitch module includes a carrier assembly including a first plate, a second plate, and at least one coupler plate coupling the first and second plates to one another, the first and second plates being disposed parallel to and spaced from one another by a first distance, where a pivot axis is defined through both the first and second plates; a guide assembly defining along a longitudinal axis and being pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly about the pivot axis, the guide assembly including a first guide plate and a second guide plate coupled to and spaced by a second distance from one another, where the second distance is greater than the first distance; and a hitch assembly disposed at least partially between the first and second plates of the carrier assembly and the first and the second guide plates of the guide assembly, the hitch assembly including a draw bar and a hitch link; wherein, the hitch assembly is pivotal about the pivot axis relative to the carrier assembly and movable along the longitudinal axis relative to the guide assembly.", "In one example of this embodiment, the hitch link is longitudinally movable between a first position and a second position relative to the guide assembly; and the hitch link is pivotable about the pivot axis between a first angle and a second angle.", "In a second example, the hitch link is movable to any one of a plurality of positions relative to the guide assembly and carrier assembly, the plurality of positions defined within a trapezoidal-shaped area formed by at least four points, wherein a first point is at the first position and the first angle, a second point is at the first position and the second angle, a third point is at the second position and the first angle, and a fourth point is at the second position and the second angle.", "In another example of this embodiment, a first through-hole is axially aligned through the first guide plate, the first through-hole being spaced a first radial distance from the pivot axis; an arc-shaped through-hole is defined in the first plate, the arc-shaped through-hole defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; a second through-hole is defined in the hitch assembly; a third through-hole is defined in the second plate and defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; and a fourth through-hole is defined in the second guide plate and axially aligned with the first through-hole, the fourth through-hole defined at the first radial distance from the pivot axis; wherein, the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole are aligned with one another when the hitch assembly is in the first position; further wherein, the first through-hole misaligned from the second through-hole when the hitch assembly is in the second position.", "In a further example, a pin is axially aligned with the first through-hole and configured to move axially along a central axis defined by the first through-hole, the pin being positionable in at least a first axial position, a second axial position, and a third axial position, wherein in the first axial position, the hitch assembly is not in the first position and the pin is disposed through a portion of the first through-hole and the arc-shaped through-hole; in the second axial position the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is not axially aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through-hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, and the second through-hole; and in the third axial position, the hitch assembly is in the first position, the guide assembly is aligned with the longitudinal axis, and the pin is disposed through the first through hole, the arc-shaped through-hole, the second through-hole, the third through-hole and the fourth through-hole.", "In a different example, a method of coupling the hitch module to the frame includes providing a hitch coupler coupled to the frame of a work machine; positioning the pin in its first axial position; maneuvering the hitch link to any position within the trapezoidal-shaped area until the hitch link is aligned with the hitch coupler; coupling the hitch link to the hitch coupler; moving the hitch assembly along the longitudinal axis until it reaches the first distance from the carrier assembly; biasing the pin from its first axial position to its second axial position; aligning the hitch link such that the hitch link is not angularly disposed relative to the longitudinal axis; biasing the pin from its second axial position to its third axial position; and coupling the hitch module to the frame.", "In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a hitch module is provided for coupling to a frame of a work machine or work implement.", "The hitch module includes a carrier assembly including a first plate, a second plate, and at least one coupler plate coupling the first and second plates to one another, the first and second plates defining a pivot axis and being disposed parallel to and spaced from one another by a first distance, where the first plate defines an arc-shaped through-hole that defines a central axis therethrough, the central axis being disposed a first radial distance from the pivot axis; a guide assembly being pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly about the pivot axis, the guide assembly including a first guide plate, a second guide plate coupled to and spaced by a second distance from the first guide plate, at least two spacers, at least two wear plates disposed between the first and second guide plates, a U-shaped frame member coupled to the first guide plate, a pin axially movable relative to the first and second guide plates, and a spring disposed between the U-shaped frame member and the first guide plate, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance; and a hitch assembly disposed at least partially between the first and second plates of the carrier assembly and the first and the second guide plates of the guide assembly, the hitch assembly including an elongated draw bar, a hitch link coupler, and a hitch link adapted to be coupled to the frame, the hitch link coupler coupling the draw bar and hitch link to one another; wherein, the hitch assembly and guide assembly are pivotal about the pivot axis relative to the carrier assembly; further wherein, the hitch assembly is slidably movable along a longitudinal axis relative to the carrier assembly and guide assembly.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above-mentioned aspects of the present disclosure and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent and the disclosure itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of the embodiments of the disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1 is an elevated perspective view of a towed assembly with at least one hitch module; FIG.", "2 is an isolated perspective view of one embodiment of a hitch module; FIG.", "3 is an isolated perspective view of a carrier assembly from the hitch module of FIG.", "2; FIG.", "4 is an isolated perspective view of a guide assembly from the hitch module of FIG.", "2; FIG.", "5 is an isolated perspective view of a hitch assembly from the hitch module of FIG.", "2; FIG.", "6 is a topside view of the hitch module in several different spatial orientations; FIG.", "7 is a longitudinal cross-section perspective view of the hitch module of FIG.", "2; FIG.", "8a is a longitudinal cross-section perspective view of the hitch module of FIG.", "2 with a pin in a first axial position; FIG.", "8b is a longitudinal cross-section perspective view of the hitch module of FIG.", "2 with the pin in a second axial position; FIG.", "8c is a longitudinal cross-section perspective view of the hitch module of FIG.", "2 with the pin in a third axial position; FIG.", "9 is a diagrammatical representation of a range of motion for a hitch link of the hitch module of FIG.", "2; FIG.", "10 is an isolated perspective view of a second embodiment of a hitch module; FIG.", "11 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the hitch module of FIG.", "10; FIG.", "12 is an isolated perspective view of a third embodiment of the a hitch module in an open position; FIG.", "13 is an isolated perspective view of the hitch module of FIG.", "12 in a closed position; FIG.", "14 is a side view of one embodiment of a hitch module that can move in an up and a down direction; FIG.", "15 is a side view of another embodiment of a hitch module that can move in an up and a down direction; and FIG.", "16a is a side view of one embodiment of a hitch module with a pin contact; FIG.", "16b is a side view of the hitch module of FIG.", "16a with the pin in the third axial position; and FIG.", "16c is a top view of the pin section of FIG.", "16a.", "Corresponding reference numerals are used to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The embodiments of the present disclosure described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms in the following detailed description.", "Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present disclosure.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, a towed assembly 100 is shown.", "The towed assembly 100 may have a frame 106 with a plurality of implements 108 coupled thereto and be configured to travel along an underlying surface.", "The frame 106 may also have at least one wheel 110 coupled thereto.", "The wheel 110 may space the frame 106 and the implements 108 a predefined distance from the underlying surface to allow the implements 108 to engage the underlying surface as desired by a user.", "In one embodiment, the towed assembly 100 may require a work machine such as a tractor to pull the towed assembly 100 along the underlying surface in order for the implements 108 to engage the underlying surface.", "In FIG.", "1, one non-limiting example is shown of how a work machine or tractor may be coupled to the towed assembly 100.More specifically, the towed assembly 100 may have a front end 102 and a rear end 104 that each have a hitch module 112 coupled thereto.", "The hitch module 112 at the front end 102 may be configured to couple to the work machine, tractor or other pulling member to allow the towed assembly 100 to travel over the underlying surface.", "Further, the hitch module 112 at the rear end 104 of the towed assembly 100 may be configured to couple to a secondary towed assembly (not shown), such as a nutrient or fertilizer applicator.", "In one embodiment, a tillage implement such as a cultivator may be coupled behind a tractor, and the applicator (e.g., nutrient or fertilizer applicator or other chemicals) may be coupled to the hitch module 112 of the cultivator.", "The applicator includes a wheeled platform on which a tank is mounted; the tank holds and distributes chemicals (e.g.", "anhydrous ammonia) or solutions.", "In another embodiment, a seed planter may be coupled to the rear of the work machine or tractor, and then a chemical tank may be coupled to the hitch module 112 of the seed planter.", "In these aforementioned embodiments, however, the order or arrangement of the implement and applicator may be switched such that the applicator is positioned between the work machine or tractor and the implement.", "Other combinations of known implements and applicators may be coupled to one another or the work machine via a hitch module.", "As such, the work machine or tractor may drive both the towed assembly 100 and the secondary towed assembly via the hitch modules 112 at both the front end 102 and the rear end 104.While hitch modules 112 for a towed assembly 100 have been described above, this disclosure is not limited to such a configuration.", "More specifically, the hitch modules described herein can be used in a plurality of different applications, and it is not limited to any one application.", "For example, the hitch module can be coupled to a tractor, a truck, a car, a trailer, or any other device that may be removably coupled to a towed assembly.", "Referring now to FIG.", "2, a hitch module 200 is shown isolated from any frame member.", "The hitch module 200 may be composed of at least a carrier assembly 202, a guide assembly 204, and a hitch assembly 206.The guide assembly 204 may be pivotally coupled to the carrier assembly 202 in such a way that allows the guide assembly 204 to pivot relative to the carrier assembly 202 about a pivot axis 208.The pivot axis 208 may be defined by a central portion of both the carrier assembly 202 and the guide assembly 204.Further, the hitch assembly 206 may be slidably coupled to the guide assembly 204 along a longitudinal axis 210 defined along the length of the hitch assembly 206.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, the longitudinal axis 210 may extend from a front portion 212 to a rear portion 214.However, the angular orientation of the longitudinal axis 210 relative to front portion 212 and the rear portion 214 may also be altered as the guide assembly 204 pivots relative to the carrier assembly 202.To better show the carrier assembly 202 of the hitch module 200 described above, an isolated view of the carrier assembly 202 is shown in FIG.", "3.More specifically, a first plate 302 and a second plate 304 are shown parallel to, and spaced apart from, one another.", "The first plate 302 and the second plate 304 can be spaced apart from one another to define a middle region 306 therebetween and have a first thickness 320.The middle region 306 may be the distance the first and second plates 302, 304 are spaced from one another.", "Further, the first thickness 320 may be defined by the distance between the outermost surfaces of the first plate 302 relative to the second plate 304.Further, the middle region 306 may be sufficiently sized to allow at least a portion of the hitch assembly 206 to at least partially slide there through.", "At least one coupler plate 308 may be coupled to both the first plate 302 and the second plate 304.The coupler plate 308 may be coupled to, and extend perpendicularly from, a surface of the second plate 304.Further, the coupled plate 308 may be coupled to the first plate 302 and the second plate 304 to maintain the spacing of the middle region 306 and the parallel alignment of the first plate 302 and the second plate 304.The first plate 302 may also have an arc-shaped through-hole 314 defined therein.", "The arc-shaped through-hole 314 may be a through-hole following an arc-shaped path defined in the first plate 302.The arc-shaped path may have a radius that is a first radial distance 316 from the pivot axis 208.The arc-shaped through-hole 314 may also be positioned towards the front portion 212 of the first plate 302 and extend between a first end wall 324 and a second end wall 326, which are defined in the first plate 302.Similarly, the second plate 304 may have a third through-hole 702 (FIG.", "7) disposed therein.", "The third through-hole 702 may be spaced the first radial distance 316 from the pivot axis 208 and be substantially circular in shape.", "The third through-hole 702 may also define a central axis 322 that extends through the arc-shaped through-hole 314.The central axis 322 may be aligned with and pass through the arc-shaped through-hole 314.Both the front portion 212 and the rear portion 214 of the first plate 302 and the second plate 304 may terminate at an arc-shaped radial edge 310.Each arc-shaped radial edge 310 may be defined by an arc-shaped terminus of the respective first or second plate 302, 304 that is a second radial distance 312 from the pivot axis 208.In one embodiment, the second plate 304 may have at least one safety through-hole 318 positioned therein.", "The safety through-hole 318 may be sized to receive a secondary coupler (not shown) that can be coupled to the hitch module 200.The secondary coupler may provide an additional means for coupling the towed assembly to the hitch module 200.Now referring to FIG.", "4, the guide assembly 204 is more clearly shown.", "The guide assembly 204 may include a first guide plate 402 coupled to a second guide plate 404 to define a second interior region 406.The second interior region 406 may correspond in thickness with the first thickness 320 of the carrier assembly 202.More specifically, the second interior region 406 may be sufficiently sized to allow at least a portion of the carrier assembly 202 to be disposed therein.", "In one embodiment, the size of the second interior region 406 may be maintained by spacers 408 disposed at each coupling location with couplers or fasteners 410.In yet another embodiment, a wear plate 412 may be positioned along an inner surface of each the first and second guide plate 402, 404.The guide assembly 204 may have multiple wear plates 412 disposed along the first and second guide plate 402, 404 at a first end 414 and a second end 416.Each wear plate 412 may have a thickness that is substantially the same as the first and second plate 302, 304.Further, each wear plate 412 may have an inner concave surface 418 that correlates with the arc-shaped radial edge 310 of the respective first or second plate 302, 304.The spacers 408 and couplers 410 may position the wear plates 412 so they are aligned with the first and second plate 302, 304 when the carrier assembly 202 is disposed within the guide assembly 204.In one embodiment, the wear plates 412 may be made of a material that reduces friction between the inner concave surface 418 of the wear plates 412 and the arc-shaped radial edge 310 of the first and second plate 302, 304.The first guide plate 402 may also have a U-shaped frame member 420 coupled thereto.", "The U-shaped frame member 420 can be mechanically coupled to the first guide plate 402 and define an interior region between the U-shaped frame member 420 and the first guide plate 402.The U-shaped frame member 420 can also have defined therein a frame through-hole 422 along a frame through-hole axis 424.Also aligned with the frame through-hole axis 424 may be a first through-hole 426 and a fourth through-hole 428.The first through-hole 426 may be defined through the first guide plate 402 and the fourth through-hole 428 may be defined through the second guide plate 404.In one embodiment, the frame through-hole 422, the first through-hole 426, and the fourth through-hole 428 may all have approximately the same diameter and be axially aligned with axis 424.Also aligned with frame through-hole axis 424 may be a pin 430.The pin 430 may have a substantially circular cross-section and a diameter that is equal to or less than the diameter of the frame through-hole 422, the first through-hole 426, and the fourth through-hole 428.The pin 430 may have a first stop 432 and a second stop 436.The first stop 432 may be disposed along a portion of the pin 430 that is outside of an interior region of the U-shaped frame member 420.The first stop 432 may contact a portion of the U-shaped frame member 420 when the pin 430 is in a fully seated position.", "Further, when the pin 430 is in the fully seated position, the pin 430 may at least partially be disposed within the fourth through-hole 428.Similarly, the second stop 436 may be disposed within the interior region of the U-shaped frame member 420.As shown in FIG.", "4, the interior region is defined between the U-shaped frame member 420 and the first guide plate 402.As such, the second stop 436 may be positioned along the pin 430 to allow the pin 430 to become disposed in a first axial position 802 (FIG.", "8).", "In the first axial position 802, the pin 430 may be moved axially along the frame through-hole axis 424 until a tip of the pin 430 terminates proximate to the first through-hole 426.In one embodiment, the pin 430 may have a spring 438 disposed around the pin 430 and between the second stop 436 and the U-shaped frame member 420 in the interior region.", "The spring 438 may provide a biasing force to the second stop 436 to move the pin 430 axially toward the fourth through-hole 428.The spring 438 may provide sufficient biasing force to position the pin 430 in the fully seated position when the pin 430 is unencumbered along the frame through-hole axis 424.Referring now to FIG.", "5 the hitch assembly 206 is shown in more detail and isolated from the carrier assembly 202 and the guide assembly 204.The hitch assembly 206 may have a draw bar 502 coupled to a hitch link 504 through one or more hitch link couplers 506.The draw bar 502 may have a base end 520 and a receiving end 522 and be substantially rectangular along a cross-section.", "The cross-section may have a thickness 508 that corresponds in dimension with the middle region 306.That is to say, the thickness 508 of the draw bar 502 may be sufficiently sized to allow the draw bar 502 to be disposed between the first and second plates 302, 304 of the carrier assembly 202.A width 510 of the draw bar 502 may be sufficiently sized to allow the draw bar 502 to become disposed between each of the spacers 408 along the longitudinal axis 210 of the guide assembly 204.In one embodiment, there may be two spacers 408 at both the first end 414 and the second end 416 of the guide assembly 204.The spacers 408 at each end may be spaced to correspond with the width 510 of the draw bar 502 to allow the draw bar 502 to be positioned therebetween while also maintaining alignment of the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206.That is to say, the spacers 408 may allow the draw bar 502 to slide axially along the longitudinal axis 210 relative to the guide assembly 204, but the spacers 408 may substantially limit the draw bar 502 from pivoting or moving transversely relative to the guide assembly 204.Rather, if a torsional force is applied to the draw bar 502, the torsional force may be transmitted through the spacers 408 to the guide assembly 204.Accordingly, if a torsional force is applied to the hitch assembly 206, the hitch assembly 206 and the guide assembly 204 may rotate about the pivot axis 208 relative to the carrier member 202 as substantially one assembly.", "The draw bar 502 may also have a stop 512 disposed near the base end thereof.", "The stop 512 may be a piece of material protruding from at least one surface of the draw bar 502 and that extends beyond the thickness 508 of the cross-section.", "Alternatively, a fastener (e.g., screw, bolt head, washer, nut, etc.)", "may be used to form the stop 512.In any event, the stop 512 may be sized to contact a portion of the guide assembly 204 when the draw bar 502 is disposed therein and extended to a maximum position.", "Alternatively, the draw bar 502 may have a through-hole 514 disposed proximate to a receiving end 522 of the draw bar 502.The through-hole 514 may have a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the pin 430 of the guide assembly 204.The second through-hole 514 may be positioned so when the draw bar 502 is disposed within the guide assembly 204 and axially positioned at a minimum position relative to the guide assembly 204, the pin 430 can be positioned at least partially in the second through-hole 514.The hitch link coupler 506 may couple the draw bar 502 to the hitch link 504.The hitch link coupler 506 may be welded, bolted, riveted, or otherwise coupled to the draw bar 502 on one side, and removably coupled to the hitch link 504 on the other side.", "More specifically, the hitch link coupler 506 may define two through-holes (not shown) therethrough that correspond with through holes (not shown) of the hitch link 504.Further still, lockpins 516 or other fasteners may be positioned through each of the two through-holes to couple the hitch link 504 to the hitch link coupler 506.In one embodiment, the hitch link coupler 506 may be two plates coupled to one another.", "One of the plates may have a substantially 90 degree bend disposed about a distal end relative to the hitch link 504 to form a grab bar 518.The grab bar 518 may be manipulated by a user to alter the location of the hitch link 504.Referring now to FIG.", "6, the hitch module 200 is shown with the first guide plate 402 removed and with the guide assembly 204 and hitch link assembly 206 in several different configurations.", "More specifically, the hitch module 200 is shown with the hitch assembly 206 in a first position 602, a second position 604, a third position 606, a fourth position 608, a fifth position 610, and a sixth position 612.In the second position 604, the longitudinal axis 210 defined by the hitch assembly 206 may be aligned with a carrier axis 614 defined along a midpoint of the carrier assembly 202.The hitch assembly 206 may be disposed at a neutral angle relative to the carrier member 202 when the longitudinal axis 210 and the carrier axis 614 align.", "Further, the hitch link 504 may be spaced a first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202 in the second position 604.The first distance 616 may be the minimum axial distance along the longitudinal axis 210 allowable between the hitch link 504 and the carrier assembly 202.Further still, when the hitch link 504 is spaced by the first distance 616 from the carrier member 202, the through-hole 514 may be substantially aligned with the arc-shaped through-hole 314.When the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 are in the first position 602, the hitch link 504 may be spaced the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202 and the longitudinal axis 210 may be oriented at a positive offset angle 618 from the carrier axis 614.The positive offset angle 618 may be the maximum positive angular position of the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 relative to the carrier assembly 202 about the pivot axis 208.The positive offset angle 618 may also position the second through-hole 514 proximate to the second end wall 326 of the arc-shaped through-hole 314.In this orientation, when the pin 430 is positioned partially in the arc-shaped through-hole 314 it may at least partially contact the second end wall 326 to restrict any further movement in the positive angular direction.", "Similarly, when the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 are in the third position 606, the hitch link 504 may be spaced the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202 and the longitudinal axis 210 may be oriented at a negative offset angle 620 from the carrier axis 614.For purposes of this disclosure, positive offset angle 618 or positive angle refers to an angular displacement of the hitch assembly or hitch link 504 relative to the carrier axis 614.Likewise, negative offset angle 620 or negative angle also refers to an angular displacement of the hitch assembly or hitch link 504 relative to the carrier axis 614.The use of the terms “positive” and “negative” may also be interchangeably referred to as clockwise and counter clockwise, respectively.", "In other words, this disclosure uses positive and negative offset angles to refer to an angular or pivotal direction relative to the carrier axis 614.The negative offset angle 620 may be the minimum negative rotation or maximum counter clockwise rotation of the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 relative to the carrier assembly 202 along the pivot axis 208.The negative offset angle 620 may also position the through-hole 514 proximate to the first end wall 324 of the arc-shaped through-hole 314.In this orientation, when the pin 430 is positioned partially in the arc-shaped through-hole 314 it may at least partially contact the first end wall 324 to restrict any further movement in the negative angular direction.", "The fifth position 610 shows the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 in the neutral angle orientation with the hitch link 504 spaced a second distance 622 from the carrier assembly 202.While the hitch link 504 is spaced the second distance 622, the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 may rotate about the pivot axis 208 between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620 as described above.", "Further, the hitch assembly 206 may be restricted from moving any farther from the carrier assembly 202 because of contact between the third stop 512 and the wear plates 412 and/or the guide assembly 204.That is to say, the draw bar 502 may not extend any further than the second distance 622 along the longitudinal axis 210 because the third stop 512 may at least partially contact the wear plates 412 and/or the guide assembly 204 when the draw bar 502 is spaced at the second distance 622.The relationship of the wear plates 412 with the arc-shaped radial edge 310 is also more clearly shown in FIG.", "6.More specifically, the inner concave surface 418 of the wear plates 412 may be concentric with the pivot axis 208.Similarly, the arc-shaped radial edges 310 of the first and second plate 302, 304 may also be concentric with the pivot axis 208.In this embodiment, as the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 rotate between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620, the wear plates 412 may slide along the arc-shaped radial edge 310 of the first and second plate 302, 304.While the draw bar 502 and hitch link 504 have been described with respect to the first and second distances 618, 622 and the positive and negative offset angles 618, 620, this disclosure is not limited to the particular orientations described and shown.", "More specifically, the draw bar 502 or hitch link 504 can be positioned at any location between the first distance 616 and the second distance 622.Further still, the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 can be disposed at many different angles relative to the carrier assembly 202 and this disclosure is not limited to any particular angular orientation.", "Now referring to FIG.", "7, a cross-sectional view along the longitudinal axis 210 is shown.", "More specifically, FIG.", "7 shows the hitch module 200 in the neutral angle with the hitch assembly 206 at the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202.In one embodiment, this may be the only orientation of the hitch module 200 that allows each of the through holes 422, 426, 314, 514, 702, and 428 to be axially aligned with one another along the frame through-hole axis 424.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "7, the pin 430 (not shown in FIG.", "7) may become disposed through each of the through-holes 422, 426, 314, 514, 702, and 428 thereby substantially locking or coupling the hitch module 200 in its neutral angular position with the hitch assembly 206 at the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202.While the through-holes 422, 426, 314, 514, 702, and 428 have been described in the above embodiment as only being aligned in one particular orientation, this disclosure is not limited to such a configuration.", "More specifically, there may be multiple positions where through-holes can align with one another to allow a pin to become disposed therethrough to maintain the orientation of the hitch module 200.In one non-limiting example, through-holes can be axially aligned at the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620.Through-holes may also be positioned with the hitch assembly 206 in the minimum or maximum position, or at any location therebetween.", "Through-holes can be defined at many different locations to allow the hitch module 200 to be substantially locked in many different orientations.", "Accordingly, this disclosure is not limited to any particular number or location of through-holes capable of locking the hitch module 200 in a particular position or orientation.", "The positioning of the pin 430 along the frame through-hole axis 424 may also determine the available movement of the hitch link 504 relative to the carrier assembly 202.More specifically, the pin 430 may be oriented in the first axial position 802 as shown in FIG.", "8a, a second axial position 804 as shown in FIG.", "8b, and a third axial position 806 as shown by FIG.", "8c.", "In the first axial position 802 the pin 430 is disposed through only a portion of the first through-hole 426 and the arc-shaped through-hole 314.In the first axial position 802, the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 may rotate about the pivot axis 208 relative to the carrier assembly 202.However, in the first axial position 802 the pin 430 may be at least partially disposed in the arc-shaped through-hole 314.Accordingly, the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 may only pivot between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620 as permitted by the arc-shaped through-hole 314.More specifically, in the positive offset angle 618, the pin 430 may contact the first end wall 324 of the arc-shaped through-hole 314 to substantially restrict any further rotation in that direction relative to the carrier assembly 202.Similarly, in the negative offset angle 620, the pin 430 may contact the second end wall 326 of the arc-shaped through-hole 314 to substantially restrict any further rotation in that direction relative to the carrier assembly 202.When the pin 430 is in the first axial position 802, the hitch assembly 206 may also be positioned at any distance between the first distance 616 and the second distance 622 relative to the carrier assembly 202.More specifically, the pin 430 may be at an axial position that does not interfere with the movement of the draw bar 502.Moreover, unless the pin 430 becomes disposed in the second through-hole 514 of the draw bar 502, the draw bar 502 may be able to move axially along the longitudinal axis 210 any distance between the first distance 616 and the second distance 622.Further, in the first axial position 802 the hitch module 200 may become disposed at any angular orientation between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620.When the pin 430 is in the second axial position 804, the hitch assembly 206 may be substantially disposed and held at the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202.In the second axial position 804, the guide assembly 204 may pivot between any angular disposition between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620.More specifically, as shown in FIG.", "8b, the pin 430 is disposed through the first through-hole 426, the arc-shaped through-hole 314, and the second through-hole 514.Similar to the first axial position 802, when the pin 430 is in the second axial position 804, the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 may be oriented at any angular position relative to the carrier assembly 202 between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620.The pin 430 may be positioned through the arc-shaped through-hole 314 but is diametrically sized to slide or otherwise move therein until the pin 430 contacts the first or second end wall 324, 326 as described in more detail above.", "In the second axial position 804, the pin 430 may be at least partially disposed within the second through-hole 514 of the draw bar 502.In this configuration, the pin 430 may substantially lock the draw bar 502 at the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202.That is to say, in the second axial position 804, the hitch module 200 may pivot between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620 but the hitch assembly 206 may be substantially restricted from moving axially along the longitudinal axis 210.Now referring to the third axial position 806 as shown in FIG.", "8c, the hitch assembly 206 may be substantially locked at the first distance 616 with the guide assembly 204 at the neutral angle.", "In the third axial position 806, the pin 430 may be disposed through the first through-hole 426, the arc-shaped through-hole 314, the second through-hole 514, the third through-hole 702 and the fourth through-hole 428.In this position, the pin 430 may substantially lock both the guide assembly 204 and the hitch assembly 206 to the carrier assembly 202 in their respective positions.", "More specifically, the hitch assembly 206 may be maintained in the neutral angle because the pin 430 creates a second pivot axis (the central axis 322) for the hitch assembly when the pin 430 is disposed through the third through-hole 702.When a force is applied to the hitch module 504 in the negative or positive offset angle 618, 620, the guide assembly 204 may try to pivot about both the central axis 322 and the pivot axis 208, which are offset from one another, thereby binding the guide assembly 204 and substantially restricting any movement out of the neutral angle.", "As described in more detail above, the spring 438 (not shown in FIGS.", "8a, 8b, and 8c) may bias the pin 430 axially towards the fourth through-hole 428.In other words, the spring 438 may bias the pin 430 towards the third axial position 806.In one embodiment, the user may provide a force to the pin 430 that sufficiently opposes the biasing force of the spring 438 to transition the pin 430 from the third axial position 806 to the first or second axial positions 802, 804.While the user holds the pin 430 in the first axial position 802, the hitch assembly 206 may be moved out of the neutral angle and to a distance other than the first distance 616.After the hitch assembly 206 is move away from the first distance 616, the user may release the pin 430 and allow the biasing force of the spring 438 press the pin 430 axially into a top surface of the draw bar 502.The pin 430 may have an end 808 that is chamfered, rounded, or otherwise smooth and that contacts the top surface of the draw bar 502 when the pin 430 is in the first axial position 802 and the spring 438 is providing the axially biasing force.", "The end 808 may be smooth enough and the biasing force of the spring 438 may be small enough to allow the draw bar 502 to slide axially along the longitudinal axis 210 between the first distance 616 and the second distance 622.However, once the hitch assembly 206 becomes disposed at the first distance 616, the pin 430 may become axially aligned with the second through-hole 514 and the biasing force of the spring 438 may force the pin 430 at least partially into the second through-hole 514, thereby substantially locking the hitch assembly 206 at the first distance 622 from the carrier assembly 202.Once the pin 430 becomes disposed in the second through-hole 514, however, the end 808 of the pin 430 may contact a top surface of the second plate 304 if the hitch module 200 is not in the neutral angle.", "That is to say, the pin 430 will not be aligned with the third through-hole 702 if the longitudinal axis 210 is not aligned with the carrier axis 614.Further, when the pin 430 is not aligned with the third through-hole 702, the biasing force of the spring 438 and the end 808 of the pin 430 may be configured to slide along the top surface of the second plate 304 as the hitch assembly 206 moves between either the positive offset angle 618 or the negative offset angle 620 into alignment with the longitudinal axis 210 and the carrier axis 614 in the neutral angle.", "If the hitch module 200 becomes positioned in the neutral angle, the biasing force of the spring 438 may be sufficient to transition the pin 430 at least partially into the third and fourth through-holes 702, 428.In other words the pin 430 may transition from the second axial position 804 to the third axial position 806 thereby locking the hitch module 200 in the neutral angle and the first distance 616 relative to the carrier assembly 202.In one nonexclusive example, the hitch module 200 may be coupled to the frame 106 of the towed assembly 100.The user may manipulate the towed assembly 100 to align the hitch module 200 with a hitch coupler of a work machine or with another towed assembly.", "The user may then position the pin 430 of the hitch module 200 in the first axial position 802 and manipulate the hitch link 504 to become aligned with the hitch coupler.", "As the user manipulates the hitch link 504, the hitch module 200 may become disposed in any configuration between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620 and the first distance 616 and the second distance 622.The user may then couple the hitch link 504 to the hitch coupler.", "Once the hitch link 504 is coupled to the hitch coupler, the user may back the work machine towards the towed assembly 100.As the work machine is backed toward the towed assembly 100, the hitch coupler may force the hitch assembly 206 along the longitudinal axis 210 to the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202.Once the hitch assembly 206 is at the first distance 616, the biasing force of the spring 438 may transition the pin 430 to the second axial position 804, thereby locking the hitch assembly 206 at the first distance 616.The user may then direct the work machine away from the towed assembly 100 along a linear path.", "As the towed assembly 100 becomes aligned along the linear path of the work machine, the longitudinal axis 210 of the hitch assembly 206 may become aligned with the carrier axis 614 where the hitch module 200 is in the neutral angle.", "Once the hitch assembly 206 is in the neutral angle, the biasing force of the spring 438 may position the pin 430 in the third axial position 806 thereby locking the hitch module 200 in the neutral angle and in the second position 604.In one embodiment, the axial position of the pin 430 may control the potential movement of the hitch module 200 as described above.", "For example, when the pin 430 is in the first axial position 802, the hitch assembly 206 may move between the first distance 616 and the second distance 622 and also move between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620.However, when the pin 430 is in the second axial position 804 the hitch assembly 206 may be locked the first distance 616 but still positionable at any location between the positive offset angle 618 and the negative offset angle 620.Finally, in the third axial position 806, the pin 430 may substantially restrict movement of the hitch assembly 206 both in the negative and/or positive offset angle 618, 620 and between the first and second distance 616, 622.In one non-limiting aspect of this embodiment, one locking mechanism (i.e., the pin 430) may substantially lock both the distance and the angle of the hitch assembly 206 relative to the carrier assembly 202.In one embodiment, the hitch link 504 may be positionable at any location relative to the carrier assembly 202 between the positive offset angle 618, the negative offset angle 620, the first distance 616 and the second distance 622.The range of the hitch link 504 is shown more clearly in FIG.", "9.More specifically a first point 902 may be the location of the hitch link 504 when the hitch assembly 206 is in the positive offset angle 618 and at the first distance 616.A second point 904 may be the location of the hitch link 504 when the hitch assembly 206 is in the negative offset angle 620 and at the first distance 616.A third point 906 may be the location of the hitch link 504 when the hitch assembly 206 is at the positive offset angle 618 and the second distance 622.Finally, a fourth point 908 may be the location of the hitch link 504 when the hitch assembly 206 is at the negative offset angle 620 and the second distance 622.An internal area 910 may be defined between the points 902, 904, 906, 908.The hitch link 504 may be positionable at any location within the internal area 910 when the pin 430 is in the first axial position 802.Further, in one non-limiting example, a first difference 912 between the first point 902 and the second point 904 may be about 13.5 inches.", "A second difference 914 between the third point 906 and the fourth point 908 may be, for example, about 22 inches.", "Finally, a third difference 916 along the longitudinal axis 210 may be about 11 inches.", "These dimensions are only provided as an example and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.", "Moreover, the internal area 910 of FIG.", "9 may form a substantially trapezoidal shape to accommodate the plurality of positions at which the hitch assembly may be disposed for coupling the hitch module to a frame of a work vehicle or towed assembly.", "Another embodiment may involve a method of assembling the hitch module 200.The method may include providing the carrier assembly 202, the guide assembly 204, and the hitch assembly 206 and placing the second guide plate 404 on a work surface (not shown) to define the longitudinal axis 210.The wear plates 412 can then be aligned at the first end 414 and the second end 416 of the second guide plate 404.The second plate 304 may be positioned on top of the second guide plate 404 with the longitudinal axis 210 disposed along a middle section of the second plate 304.The second plate 304 may be positioned between the wear plate 412 at the first end 414 and the wear plate 412 at the second end 416.The draw bar 502 may then be aligned with the longitudinal axis 210 and placed on the second plate 304 at a location where the base end 520 extends from the rear portion 214 of the second plate 304 and the receiving end 522 extends from the front portion 212 of the second plate 304.The first plate 302 may then be aligned with the longitudinal axis 210 along a middle section of the first plate 302.The front and rear portion 212, 214 of the first plate 302 may be aligned with the front and rear portion 212, 214 of the second plate 304.Further, additional wear plates 412 may be aligned with the longitudinal axis 210.One wear plate 412 may be positioned proximate to the rear portion 214 of the first plate 302 and one wear plate 412 may be positioned proximate to the front portion 212 of the first plate 302.The first guide plate 402 may be aligned with the longitudinal axis 210 and the first guide plate 402 may then be positioned on top of the first plate 302 and each wear plate 412.Next, the spacers 408 may be positioned between the wear plates 412 and the first and second guide plate 402, 404.The couplers 410 may then be positioned through the first guide plate 402, the wear plates 412 and the spacers 408, and through the second guide plate 404.The coupler plate 308 may be coupled to the first plate 302 and/or the second plate 304.The pin 430 can then be at least partially positioned through the frame through-hole 422.Further, the spring 438 may be positioned to at least partially encompass the portion of the pin 430 positioned between the U-shaped frame member 420 and the first guide plate 402.The first stop 432 can then be coupled to the pin 430 at an outer portion of the U-shaped frame member 420 and the second stop 436 can be coupled to the pin 430 at a location proximate to the spring 438.More particularly, the second stop 436 can be positioned at a location along the pin 430 that positions the pin 430 between the second stop 436 and the U-shaped frame member 420.While a method of assembling the hitch module 200 has been described in detail above in a sequential manner, the particular orientation of each assembly step is not limited.", "A person having skill in the art understands that the steps of assembly can be sequenced in a plurality of different orders without straying from these teachings.", "Accordingly, this disclosure is not limited to any particular sequence of assembly.", "Referring now to FIG.", "10, a different embodiment of a hitch module 1000 is shown.", "The hitch module 1000 may have a frame 1002 and a subframe 1004 coupled to one another.", "Further, the hitch module 1000 may define a cavity 1006 in which a hitch assembly 1008 can be positioned.", "Further, the hitch module 1000 may have a first engagement pin (not shown) and a second engagement pin 1012 positionable through the frame 1002, subframe 1004, and/or the hitch assembly 1008.In one embodiment, the hitch assembly 1008 may have a longitudinal slot 1014 disposed therein.", "Further, the subframe 1004 may have a first arc-shaped slot 1016 disposed therein.", "In this embodiment, the second engagement pin 1012 may be disposed through both the first arc-shaped slot 1016 and the longitudinal slot 1014.The cross-sectional view shown in FIG.", "11 more clearly illustrates the relationship of the second engagement pin 1012 and the hitch module 1000.More specifically, a second and third arc-shaped slot 1018, 1020 are shown defined by the frame 1002.Also shown in FIG.", "11 is a tapered body 1022 coupled to the second engagement pin 1012.The tapered body 1022 may have a small diameter and a large diameter (not specifically referenced).", "The small diameter may be sized to travel within the second arc-shaped slot 1018.The large diameter portion of the tapered body 1022 may travel along a top surface of the frame 1002 when the second engagement pin 1012 is not disposed in a central portion of the second arc-shaped slot 1018.However, when the tapered body 1022 becomes aligned with the central portion of the second arc-shaped slot 1018, the tapered body 1022 may fall into a central bore (not shown) defined in the second arc-shaped slot 1018.Once the large diameter portion of the tapered body 1022 is disposed within the central bore, the second engagement pin 1012 may then be substantially locked in the central portion of the second arc-shaped slot 1018.When the hitch assembly 1008 is locked in the central portion of the second arc-shaped slot 1018 as described above, the hitch assembly 1008 may still move axially along the longitudinal slot 1014.More specifically, the longitudinal slot 1014 may be defined along the length of the hitch assembly 1008 and be sized to allow the second engagement pin 1012 to pass therethrough.", "Accordingly, even when the second engagement pin 1012 is locked in the central position, the hitch assembly 1008 can move axially along the longitudinal slot 1014.In addition to the engagement between the longitudinal slot 1014 and the second engagement pin 1012, the hitch assembly 1008 may be held in axial alignment by rollers (not shown).", "The rollers can be located along a front end of the hitch module 1000 to maintain the position of the hitch assembly 1008.In one embodiment, when the second engagement pin 1012 is not disposed in the central portion the hitch assembly 1008 may pivot between the rollers to become disposed in several angular orientations relative to the frame 1002.The first engagement pin may be positioned substantially between the rollers.", "Further, the first engagement pin may correspond with through-holes (not shown) defined in the hitch assembly 1008.In one embodiment, the first engagement may be selectably positionable in one of a plurality of through holes in the hitch assembly 1008 to allow the hitch assembly 1008 to extend away from the frame 1002 to a plurality of distances.", "The embodiments shown and described for FIGS.", "10 and 11 may allow the hitch assembly 1008 to be adjusted both radially and axially relative to the frame 1002.Further, this embodiment may allow the hitch assembly 1008 to be substantially locked both radially and axially relative to the frame 1002.FIGS.", "12 and 13 illustrate a hitch module 1200 that utilizes many of the features of the hitch module 1000 of FIGS.", "10 and 11 but also includes a lock plate 1202 to maintain the hitch assembly 1008 in longitudinal alignment.", "More specifically, the lock plate 1202 may have a cut-out 1204 defined therein.", "The cut-out 1204 may substantially correspond with the dimensions of the hitch assembly 1008.The lock plate 1202 may be pivotally coupled to the frame 1002 to be positionable between an open position 1206 and a closed position 1302.In the open position 1206, the lock plate 1202 may not substantially restrict the hitch assembly 1008 from rotating relative to the frame 1002.However, in the closed position 1302 the lock plate 1202 may be positioned so the hitch assembly 1008 is located at least partially within the cut-out 1204 and is thereby substantially restricted from moving radially relative to the frame 1002.FIG.", "14 shows yet another embodiment where the hitch module 200 may also pivot in an up direction 1402 and a down direction 1404.In this embodiment, one or more bar linkage 1406 may couple the coupler plate 308 to a pivot plate 1408.The pivot plate 1408 may be pivotally coupled to a hitch member 1410 at a hitch pivot 1412.The pivot plate 1408 may pivot about the hitch pivot 1412 to move the hitch module 200 in the up direction 1402 and the down direction 1404.In one aspect of this embodiment, the pivot plate 1408 may also be pivotally coupled to a cylinder 1414 at a shaft end 1416.The cylinder 1414 may further be pivotally coupled to the hitch member 1410 at a base end 1418.The cylinder 1414 may have a variable stroke and the distance between the base end 1418 and the shaft end 1416, or the cylinder length, may change.", "As the cylinder 1414 length changes, the pivot plate 1408 and the hitch module 200 may move in the up direction 1402 or the down direction 1404 correspondingly.", "The cylinder 1414 may be a hydraulic cylinder, an electric actuator, a pneumatic cylinder, a bolt and nut configuration, or any other similar apparatus that can vary length.", "The embodiment shown in FIG.", "15 may be substantially the same as described above for FIG.", "14 with a few exceptions.", "For instance, instead of coupling the pivot plate 1408 to the coupler plate 308 with the bar linkage 1406, the embodiment of FIG.", "15 may be pivotally coupled to the pivot plate 1408 to the coupler plate 308 at a coupler plate axis 1502.The coupler plate 308 may also have a coupler pin 1504 positioned through an arc-shaped pivot through-hole 1506.The arc-shaped pivot through-hole 1506 may be a through-hole defined along an arc centred at the coupler plate axis 1502.In this embodiment, the hitch module 200 may pivot relative to the pivot plate 1408.More specifically, the coupler plate 308 may pivot about the coupler plate axis 1502 relative to the pivot plate 1408 as long as the coupler pin 1504 remains within the arc-shaped pivot through-hole 1506.Accordingly, the embodiment of the hitch module 200 shown in FIG.", "15 may pivot about the hitch pivot 1412 via the cylinder 1414 and may also pivot about the coupler plate axis 1502 as long as the coupler pin 1504 remains within the arc-shaped pivot through-hole 1506.Referring now to FIGS.", "16a and 16b, another embodiment of the hitch module 200 is shown where a pin contact 1602 may be positioned along the hitch assembly 206.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "16, the pin 430 may have a radial extrusion 1608 that extends radially from the central axis 322.The radial extrusion 1608 may be positioned axially along the pin 430 at a location that is just above the frame member 420 when the pin 430 is in the first axial position 802 as shown in FIG.", "16a.", "Further, the frame through-hole 422 may have a notched portion 1610 that corresponds in size with the radial extrusion 1608 of the pin 430.In this embodiment, the pin 430 may only be transitioned into, or out of, the first axial position 802 when the radial extrusion 1608 of the pin 430 is aligned with the notched portion 1610 of the frame through-hole 422.In one embodiment, the pin 430 may also have a pin arm 1612 defined at a distal portion of the pin 430 relative to the hitch assembly 206.The pin arm 1612 may define a pin arm axis 1606 that extends perpendicularly from the central axis 322.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "16a, the pin 430 may be maintained in the first axial position 802 by aligning the radial extrusion 1608 with the notched portion 1610, sliding the pin 430 to the first axial position 802, and rotating the pin 430 so the radial extrusion 1608 is no longer aligned with the notched portion 1610.In this configuration, the radial extrusion 1608 of the pin 430 may contact a portion of the frame through-hole 422 and resist the axially biasing force of the spring 438.Further, from this position, the pin 422 may not be axially moved to either the second axial position 804 or the third axial position 806 until the pin 430 is rotated to align the radial extrusion 1608 of the pin 430 with the notched portion 1610 of the frame through-hole 422.In one embodiment, the pin contact 1602 may be coupled to the hitch assembly 206.The pin contact 1602 may be an arc-shaped member extending from the hitch link coupler 506 to a pin bumper 1604 at a distal end.", "The pin bumper 1604 may be spaced to align with the pin arm 1612 when the pin 430 is in the first axial position 802.The pin bumper 1604 may further be positioned to contact the pin arm 1612 when the pin arm axis 1606 is not parallel with the longitudinal axis 210.Further, the pin bumper 1604 may also be positioned to rotate the pin arm axis 1606 into parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis 210 when the hitch assembly 206 is the first distance 616 from the carrier assembly 202.In one nonexclusive embodiment, the pin 430 may be in the third axial position 806.The user may align the radial extrusion 1608 with the notched portion 1610 and pull the pin 430 axially to the first axial position 802.The user may then rotate the pin 430 so the pin arm axis 1606 is no longer parallel with the longitudinal axis 210.The user may then release the pin 430 and allow the radial extrusion 1608 to substantially rest on portions of the frame through-hole 422 to maintain the pin 430 in the first axial position 802.The user may then manipulate the hitch link 504 to couple to a hitched assembly while the pin 430 is retained in the first axial position 802.The user may then engage a work machine to transition the hitch assembly 206 to the first distance 616.As the hitch assembly 206 is transitioned to the first distance 616, the pin bumper 1604 of the pin contact 1602 may contact the pin arm 1612 and begin to rotate the pin arm axis 1606 into parallel alignment with the longitudinal axis 210, thereby aligning the radial extrusion 1608 with the notched portion 1610.Once the hitch assembly 206 is positioned at the first distance 616, the pin bumper 1604 may have rotated the pin arm axis 1606 sufficiently to align the radial extrusion 1608 with the notched portion 1610, thereby allowing the pin 430 to become axially positioned in either the second axial position 804 or the third axial position 806.While certain axes have been defined and there particular orientation to one another has been described in detail, this disclosure is not limited to any particular axial alignments.", "More specifically, any number of axes and alignments could be used to align a radial extrusion with a notched portion of a through-hole and the particular orientations described is not limiting.", "Further, while the pin contact 1602 has been described as arc-shaped, the particular shape of the pin contact 1602 is not limiting.", "A person skilled in the art understands the many shapes in which the pin contact could be formed to achieve substantially the same result.", "Further still, multiple radial extrusions and corresponding notched sections could be used instead of just one.", "In yet another embodiment of this disclosure, the pin 430 may have a position sensor (not particularly shown) positioned thereon.", "More specifically, the second stop 436 may have a tab or other feature that provides an axial position indication of the pin 430.The position sensor may be disposed along a top portion of the first guide plate 402 at a location that allows the position sensor to determine the position of the tab or other feature.", "In this non-limiting example, as the pin 430 moves axial positions, the tab of the second stop 436 moves axially with the pin 430 thereby providing a basis for the position sensor to determine the overall axial position of the pin 430.This disclosure is not limited to such a configuration for the position sensor and many other types of sensors and locations are also considered herein.", "The position sensor may provide a signal to the user of the specific axial orientation of the pin 430.The signal may be an audible sound from a speaker or a visual indication such as illuminating a light on an instrument panel.", "More specifically, the position sensor may identify when the pin 430 is in the first axial position 802 or the third axial position 806 and send a corresponding signal to the user as described above.", "In another embodiment, the position sensor may also provide a signal to the user when the pin 430 is in the second axial position 804.The position sensor may be a proximity sensor with an integrated circuit package having a laser beam transmitter, receiver, and detector circuits.", "Alternatively, inductive proximity sensors may be used along with any other similar sensor known in the art to detect a distance between two objects.", "Many different types of sensors and locations of the sensors are considered herein and this disclosure is not limited to any particular type of sensor or signal.", "While embodiments incorporating the principles of the present disclosure have been described hereinabove, the present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments.", "Instead, this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles.", "Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874932
[ [ "DISPLAY DEVICE AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE", "An object is to provide a display device with a high aperture ratio or a semiconductor device in which the area of an element is large.", "A channel formation region of a TFT with a multi-gate structure is provided under a wiring that is provided between adjacent pixel electrodes (or electrodes of an element).", "In addition, a channel width direction of each of a plurality of channel formation regions is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode.", "In addition, when a channel width is longer than a channel length, the area of the channel formation region can be increased." ], [ "1.", "(canceled) 2.A display device comprising a pixel including a circuit implementing a circuit diagram, the circuit comprising: a first transistor; a second transistor, the second transistor electrically connected to the first transistor; a first wiring, the first wiring electrically connected to a source region and a drain region of the first transistor; a second wiring, the second wiring electrically connected to a source region and a drain region of the second transistor; and an electroluminescent element, the electroluminescent element electrically connected to the source region and the drain region of the first transistor, wherein a semiconductor layer including a channel formation region of the first transistor includes a curved portion in a top view of the semiconductor layer, wherein the first wiring is configured to transmit a current that flows into the electroluminescent element via the first transistor, wherein the first wiring and the channel formation region of the first transistor overlap each other, wherein the second wiring and a part of the first transistor overlap each other, wherein the part is one of the source region and the drain region in the semiconductor layer of the first transistor, wherein the channel formation region of the first transistor includes a region capable of flowing a carrier in a direction, wherein a longitudinal direction of the first wiring intersects with the direction, wherein a longitudinal direction of the second wiring intersects with the direction, wherein the first transistor is directly connected to the second transistor in the circuit diagram, and wherein one of the source region and the drain region of the second transistor is directly connected to the second wiring in the circuit diagram.", "3.The display device according to claim 2, wherein the curved portion is an U-shaped curved portion.", "4.The display device according to claim 2, wherein a pixel electrode of the electroluminescent element includes a rounded corner.", "5.The display device according to claim 2, wherein a gate of the first transistor is capable of being one electrode of a capacitor.", "6.The display device according to claim 5, wherein the capacitor and the semiconductor layer of the first transistor overlap each other.", "7.The display device according to claim 5, wherein the first wiring is capable of being the other electrode of the capacitor.", "8.The display device according to the claim 2, wherein the first transistor has a multi-gate structure.", "9.The display device according to claim 2, wherein the source region and the drain region of the second transistor is electrically connected to a gate of the first transistor.", "10.An electronic device comprising the display device according to claim 2.11.The display device according to claim 2, wherein the second transistor is configured to supply a signal in the second wiring to a gate of the first transistor.", "12.The display device according to claim 2, wherein the first wiring is located between adjacent pixel electrodes, wherein a channel width direction of the channel formation region of the first transistor is parallel to a longitudinal direction of one of the adjacent pixel electrodes, and wherein a channel width of the channel formation region of the first transistor is longer than a channel length of the channel formation region of the first transistor.", "13.The display device according to claim 2, wherein a gate of the first transistor is directly connected to the other of the source region and the drain region of the second transistor in the circuit diagram.", "14.A display device comprising a pixel including a circuit implementing a circuit diagram, the circuit comprising: a first transistor; a second transistor, the second transistor electrically connected to the first transistor; a first wiring, the first wiring electrically connected to a source region and a drain region of the first transistor; a second wiring, the second wiring electrically connected to a source region and a drain region of the second transistor; a third wiring, the third wiring electrically connected to a gate of the second transistor; and an electroluminescent element, the electroluminescent element electrically connected to the source region and the drain region of the first transistor, wherein a semiconductor layer including a channel formation region of the first transistor includes a curved portion in a top view of the semiconductor layer, wherein the first wiring is configured to transmit a current that flows into the electroluminescent element via the first transistor, wherein the first wiring and the channel formation region of the first transistor overlap each other, wherein the second wiring and a part of the first transistor overlap each other, wherein the part is one of the source region and the drain region in the semiconductor layer of the first transistor, wherein the channel formation region of the first transistor includes a region capable of flowing a carrier in a direction, wherein a longitudinal direction of the first wiring intersects with the direction, wherein a longitudinal direction of the second wiring intersects with the direction, wherein a longitudinal direction of the third wiring is along the direction, wherein the first transistor is directly connected to the second transistor in the circuit diagram, and wherein one of the source region and the drain region of the second transistor is directly connected to the second wiring in the circuit diagram.", "15.The display device according to claim 14, wherein the curved portion is an U-shaped curved portion.", "16.The display device according to claim 14, wherein a pixel electrode of the electroluminescent element includes a rounded corner.", "17.The display device according to claim 14, wherein a gate of the first transistor is capable of being one electrode of a capacitor.", "18.The display device according to claim 17, wherein the capacitor and the semiconductor layer of the first transistor overlap each other.", "19.The display device according to claim 17, wherein the first wiring is capable of being the other electrode of the capacitor.", "20.The display device according to the claim 14, wherein the first transistor has a multi-gate structure.", "21.The display device according to claim 14, wherein the source region and the drain region of the second transistor is electrically connected to a gate of the first transistor.", "22.An electronic device comprising the display device according to claim 14.23.The display device according to claim 14, wherein the second transistor is configured to supply a signal in the second wiring to a gate of the first transistor.", "24.The display device according to claim 14, wherein the first wiring is located between adjacent pixel electrodes, wherein a channel width direction of the channel formation region of the first transistor is parallel to a longitudinal direction of one of the adjacent pixel electrodes, and wherein a channel width of the channel formation region of the first transistor is longer than a channel length of the channel formation region of the first transistor.", "25.The display device according to claim 14, wherein a gate of the first transistor is directly connected to the other of the source region and the drain region of the second transistor in the circuit diagram." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>On the other hand, there is a problem in that, in order to increase the aperture ratio, a method in which a material with a high dielectric constant is used for a capacitor leads to an increase in the number of manufacturing steps.", "Here, in order to increase the aperture ratio without increasing the number of manufacturing steps, the area of an opening may be increased.", "However, when an opening is provided between wirings in order to increase the area of the opening, the shape of the opening is a complex shape.", "In an EL display device, when the shape of an opening is a complex shape, the length of an edge (end) of the opening becomes longer; therefore, a problem arises in that shrinkage of an EL light-emitting portion is promoted.", "Here, the shrinkage of the EL light-emitting portion refers to a state in which an effective area of an EL element (an area of a portion in which the EL element emits light) gradually decreases starting from an end, not a state in which an EL layer physically decreases.", "In addition, in a semiconductor device (e.g.", "DRAM or the like) other than a display device, it is preferable that the area of an element connected to a transistor be increased.", "Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display device with a high aperture ratio (or a semiconductor device with a large area of an element).", "In this specification, a channel formation region of a TFT means a semiconductor region which is placed under a gate electrode with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween.", "A channel length means the length in a direction in which carriers flow in the channel formation region.", "A channel width means the length of the channel formation region, which is perpendicular to a channel length direction.", "Note that in the case of a TFT with a multi-gate structure, the channel length and the channel width refer to the dimensions of each channel formation region.", "In addition, a multi-gate structure is a structure in which one TFT includes a plurality of channel formation regions.", "On the other hand, a single-gate structure is a structure in which one TFT includes one channel formation region.", "A display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor that includes a plurality of channel formation regions, where the plurality of channel formation regions is provided under the wiring, the plurality of channel formation regions is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of each of the plurality of channel formation regions is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor that includes a plurality of channel formation regions, where the plurality of channel formation regions is provided under the wiring, the plurality of channel formation regions is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of each of the plurality of channel formation regions is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor that includes a plurality of channel formation regions, where the plurality of channel formation regions is provided under the wiring, the plurality of channel formation regions is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of each of the plurality of channel formation regions is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the thin film transistor operates in a linear region.", "A voltage between a gate and a source of a transistor is set as Vgs, a voltage between the source and a drain of the transistor is set as Vds, and a threshold voltage of the transistor is set as Vth.", "In this case, a range where a relational expression of |Vgs-Vth|>|Vds| is satisfied is referred to as a linear region.", "That is, one feature is that the thin film transistor operates in the range where the voltage (Vgs) between the gate and the source is greater than or equal to the voltage (Vds) between the source and the drain by the amount of the threshold voltage (Vth) or more.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a channel width of the channel formation region is longer than a channel length of the channel formation region.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a longitudinal direction of an impurity region connecting the channel formation regions is parallel to a channel width direction.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the channel formation region is at least one of an amorphous semiconductor and a polycrystalline semiconductor.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the channel forming region is single crystal.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the thin film transistor includes an island-shaped semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film, and a gate electrode, where the island-shaped semiconductor layer includes the plurality of channel formation regions and a plurality of impurity regions, and a gate electrode is formed over the plurality of channel formation regions with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the wiring is formed over the gate electrode with an interlayer insulating film interposed therebetween.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a first capacitor that includes the island-shaped semiconductor layer, the gate insulating film over the island-shaped semiconductor layer and the gate electrode over the gate insulating film, and a second capacitor that includes the gate electrode, the interlayer insulating film over the gate electrode and the wiring over the interlayer insulating film are formed.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a longitudinal direction of the gate electrode is the channel width direction.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the wiring is formed under a partition wall (insulator) that is formed to cover an end of the pixel electrode.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that either one of a source terminal (region) or drain terminal (region) of the thin film transistor is connected to one of the adjacent pixel electrodes.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the other one of the source terminal (region) or drain terminal (region) of the thin film transistor is connected to the wiring.", "A semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring (or a longitudinal direction of the wiring).", "In addition, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the electrode.", "In addition, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent elements and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring (or a longitudinal direction of the wiring).", "In addition, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent elements and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the element.", "One feature of the semiconductor device of the present invention is that a channel width of the channel formation region is longer than a channel length of the channel formation region.", "According to the present invention, a display device with a high aperture ratio (or a semiconductor device in which the area of an element is large) can be realized.", "In addition, the shape of a pixel electrode (or an electrode of an element) need not to be a complex shape in order to increase the aperture ratio.", "Furthermore, by increasing the aperture ratio, current density for an element is lowered; because of this, the life of an element can be lengthened." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/421,611, filed Feb. 1, 2017, now allowed, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/989,886, filed Jan. 7, 2016, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,564,539, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/726,752, filed Jun.", "1, 2015, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,236,404, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/661,078, filed Mar.", "18, 2015, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,257,451, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/275,962, filed May 13, 2014, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,029,859, which is continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/848,878, filed Mar.", "22, 2013, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,969,859, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/982,200, filed Dec. 30, 2010, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,426,860, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "11/772,924, filed Jul.", "3, 2007, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,863,612, which claims the benefit of a foreign priority application filed in Japan as Serial No.", "2006-199292 on Jul.", "21, 2006, all of which are incorporated by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an active matrix display device and a semiconductor device in which elements are arranged in matrix.", "2.Description of the Related Art As an image display device, a liquid crystal display device, an electroluminescence (hereinafter referred to as “EL”) display device, and the like have been previously known.", "As types of these display devices, there are a passive matrix display device and an active matrix display device.", "The active matrix display device can perform highspeed operation even when the number of pixels is increased.", "As the active matrix display device, a TFT, a capacitor, a wiring, a pixel electrode, and the like are formed over one substrate; because of this, an aperture ratio tends to decrease.", "Accordingly, an attempt to increase the aperture ratio is done by creating design such as materials, shapes, the number, or arrangement of the TFT, the capacitor, the wiring, the pixel electrode, and the like.", "For example, a method for decreasing the area of a capacitor by using tantalum oxide, which has a high dielectric constant, as a dielectric of the capacitor is disclosed in Patent Document 1.Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No.", "1111-312808.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION On the other hand, there is a problem in that, in order to increase the aperture ratio, a method in which a material with a high dielectric constant is used for a capacitor leads to an increase in the number of manufacturing steps.", "Here, in order to increase the aperture ratio without increasing the number of manufacturing steps, the area of an opening may be increased.", "However, when an opening is provided between wirings in order to increase the area of the opening, the shape of the opening is a complex shape.", "In an EL display device, when the shape of an opening is a complex shape, the length of an edge (end) of the opening becomes longer; therefore, a problem arises in that shrinkage of an EL light-emitting portion is promoted.", "Here, the shrinkage of the EL light-emitting portion refers to a state in which an effective area of an EL element (an area of a portion in which the EL element emits light) gradually decreases starting from an end, not a state in which an EL layer physically decreases.", "In addition, in a semiconductor device (e.g.", "DRAM or the like) other than a display device, it is preferable that the area of an element connected to a transistor be increased.", "Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a display device with a high aperture ratio (or a semiconductor device with a large area of an element).", "In this specification, a channel formation region of a TFT means a semiconductor region which is placed under a gate electrode with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween.", "A channel length means the length in a direction in which carriers flow in the channel formation region.", "A channel width means the length of the channel formation region, which is perpendicular to a channel length direction.", "Note that in the case of a TFT with a multi-gate structure, the channel length and the channel width refer to the dimensions of each channel formation region.", "In addition, a multi-gate structure is a structure in which one TFT includes a plurality of channel formation regions.", "On the other hand, a single-gate structure is a structure in which one TFT includes one channel formation region.", "A display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor that includes a plurality of channel formation regions, where the plurality of channel formation regions is provided under the wiring, the plurality of channel formation regions is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of each of the plurality of channel formation regions is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor that includes a plurality of channel formation regions, where the plurality of channel formation regions is provided under the wiring, the plurality of channel formation regions is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of each of the plurality of channel formation regions is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the wiring.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode.", "In addition, a display device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent pixel electrodes and a thin film transistor that includes a plurality of channel formation regions, where the plurality of channel formation regions is provided under the wiring, the plurality of channel formation regions is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of each of the plurality of channel formation regions is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the thin film transistor operates in a linear region.", "A voltage between a gate and a source of a transistor is set as Vgs, a voltage between the source and a drain of the transistor is set as Vds, and a threshold voltage of the transistor is set as Vth.", "In this case, a range where a relational expression of |Vgs-Vth|>|Vds| is satisfied is referred to as a linear region.", "That is, one feature is that the thin film transistor operates in the range where the voltage (Vgs) between the gate and the source is greater than or equal to the voltage (Vds) between the source and the drain by the amount of the threshold voltage (Vth) or more.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a channel width of the channel formation region is longer than a channel length of the channel formation region.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a longitudinal direction of an impurity region connecting the channel formation regions is parallel to a channel width direction.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the channel formation region is at least one of an amorphous semiconductor and a polycrystalline semiconductor.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the channel forming region is single crystal.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the thin film transistor includes an island-shaped semiconductor layer, a gate insulating film, and a gate electrode, where the island-shaped semiconductor layer includes the plurality of channel formation regions and a plurality of impurity regions, and a gate electrode is formed over the plurality of channel formation regions with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the wiring is formed over the gate electrode with an interlayer insulating film interposed therebetween.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a first capacitor that includes the island-shaped semiconductor layer, the gate insulating film over the island-shaped semiconductor layer and the gate electrode over the gate insulating film, and a second capacitor that includes the gate electrode, the interlayer insulating film over the gate electrode and the wiring over the interlayer insulating film are formed.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that a longitudinal direction of the gate electrode is the channel width direction.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the wiring is formed under a partition wall (insulator) that is formed to cover an end of the pixel electrode.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that either one of a source terminal (region) or drain terminal (region) of the thin film transistor is connected to one of the adjacent pixel electrodes.", "One feature of the display device of the present invention is that the other one of the source terminal (region) or drain terminal (region) of the thin film transistor is connected to the wiring.", "A semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring (or a longitudinal direction of the wiring).", "In addition, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent electrodes and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the electrode.", "In addition, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent elements and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a direction in which current flows through the wiring (or a longitudinal direction of the wiring).", "In addition, a semiconductor device of the present invention includes a wiring provided between adjacent elements and a thin film transistor, where a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is provided under the wiring, the channel formation region is provided at a position overlapping with the wiring, and a channel width direction of the channel formation region is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the element.", "One feature of the semiconductor device of the present invention is that a channel width of the channel formation region is longer than a channel length of the channel formation region.", "According to the present invention, a display device with a high aperture ratio (or a semiconductor device in which the area of an element is large) can be realized.", "In addition, the shape of a pixel electrode (or an electrode of an element) need not to be a complex shape in order to increase the aperture ratio.", "Furthermore, by increasing the aperture ratio, current density for an element is lowered; because of this, the life of an element can be lengthened.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a layout 1 of a double-gate structure.", "FIG.", "2 is a layout 2 of a double-gate structure.", "FIG.", "3 is a circuit diagram of a pixel.", "FIGS.", "4A to 4D show the flow of manufacturing of a TFT (top views).", "FIG.", "5 is a diagram of a pixel electrode and a wiring (wiring shape: straight line).", "FIG.", "6 is a diagram of a pixel electrode and a wiring (wiring shape: zigzag).", "FIG.", "7 is a diagram of a pixel electrode and a wiring (wiring shape: meandering).", "FIG.", "8 is a layout 1 of a ingle-gate structure.", "FIG.", "9 is a layout 2 of a single-gate structure.", "FIG.", "10 is a layout 1 of a triple-gate structure.", "FIG.", "11 is a layout 2 of a triple-gate structure.", "FIGS.", "12A to 12C are each a cross-sectional view 1 of an inorganic EL element.", "FIGS.", "13A to 13C are each a cross-sectional view 2 an inorganic EL element.", "FIG.", "14A is a top view of a display device, and FIG.", "14B is a cross-sectional view of the display device.", "FIGS.", "15A and 15B are each a circuit diagram for DRAM.", "FIG.", "16 is a layout for DRAM.", "FIGS.", "17A to 17F are examples of electronic devices.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment modes of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "However, the present invention can be implemented in various modes.", "As can be easily understood by a person skilled in the art, the modes and details of the present invention can be changed in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.", "Thus, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the following description of the embodiment modes.", "Note that each of Embodiment Modes 1 to 11 can be combined, as appropriate.", "Embodiment Mode 1 In this embodiment mode, a pixel structure and a layout of a display device of the present invention will be described.", "Note that a pixel formed of two TFTs is described here.", "First, the pixel structure of the display device of the present invention is described with reference to FIG.", "3.A pixel includes a TFT (driving TFT 301) connected to a pixel electrode, a capacitor 300, a switching TFT 302, a display element 303, a scanning line 305, a signal line 304, and a power supply line 306.Note that the driving TFT 301 and the switching TFT 302 each have a double-gate structure that includes two channel formation regions.", "Note that the driving TFT 301 may have a single-gate structure or a multi-gate structure that includes three or more channel formation regions.", "Either one of a source terminal or drain terminal of the switching TFT 302 is connected to the signal line 304.A gate terminal of the switching TFT 302 is connected to the scanning line 305.The other one of the source terminal or drain terminal of the switching TFT 302 is electrically connected to a gate terminal of the driving TFT 301 and one electrode of the capacitor.", "Either one of a source terminal or drain terminal of the driving TFT 301 is connected to the power supply line 306.The other one of the source terminal or drain terminal of the driving TFT 301 is connected to the display element 303.A gate terminal of the driving TFT 301 is connected to one electrode of the capacitor and the other one of the source terminal or drain terminal of the switching TFT 302, The other terminal of the capacitor 300 is electrically connected to the power supply line 306.One terminal of the capacitor 300 is electrically connected to the gate terminal of the driving TFT 301 and the other one of the source terminal or drain terminal of the switching TFT 302.Next, a layout of a pixel portion is described with reference to FIGS.", "1 and 2.FIG.", "2 is a top view corresponding to FIG.", "1 and a diagram of a stage in which a first semiconductor layer 101, a second semiconductor layer 102, a gate wiring 105, and a gate electrode 100 are formed.", "The correspondence relation among FIGS.", "1, 2, and 3 is described.", "A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6001 corresponds to the driving TFT 301.A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6011 corresponds to the switching TFT 302.A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6012 corresponds to the capacitor 300.A pixel electrode 107 corresponds to the pixel electrode of the display element 303.A signal line 104 corresponds to the signal line 304.A power supply line 106 corresponds to the power supply line 306.In FIG.", "1, the first semiconductor layer 101 is an island-shaped semiconductor layer of the switching TFT.", "A region that overlaps with the gate wiring 105 is a channel formation region.", "A region that is connected to the signal line 104 is a source terminal (or a drain terminal).", "A region that is connected to a connection electrode 103 through a contact hole is a drain terminal (or a source terminal).", "Note that the switching TFT has a double-gate structure that includes two channel formation regions.", "Note that the switching TFT may have a single-gate structure or a multi-gate structure that includes three or more channel formation regions.", "In addition, the second semiconductor layer 102 is an island-shaped semiconductor layer of the driving TFT 301 that drives the display element.", "A region that overlaps with the gate electrode 100 is a channel formation region.", "The gate electrode of the driving TFT 301 is connected to the connection electrode 103 through a contact hole.", "Further, the source terminal (or the drain terminal) of the driving TFT 301 and the power supply line 106 are connected to each other through a contact hole.", "The drain terminal (or the source terminal) of the driving TFT 301 and a connection electrode 108 are connected to each other through a contact hole.", "In addition, the pixel electrode 107 is formed in contact with the connection electrode 108.In addition, in the second semiconductor layer 102, the power supply line 106 is arranged over the channel formation region that overlaps with the gate electrode 100 with a gate insulating film interposed therebetween.", "A capacitor that is formed between the gate electrode 100 and the power supply line 106 can be used as a storage capacitor of the display element.", "An interlayer insulating film is interposed between the gate electrode 100 and the power supply line 106.In addition, the gate electrode 100 serves as one electrode of the capacitor and a portion that overlaps with the gate electrode of the power supply line serves as the other electrode of the capacitor.", "In addition, in order to prevent a short circuit of the electrode of the display element, a region other than a light emitting area is covered with a partition wall (insulator).", "A width of a partition wall provided between right and left pixels that are adjacent to each other is approximately 20 μm to 25 μm, for example.", "In this embodiment mode, the signal line 104 and the power supply line 106 are arranged under a partition wall that has a width of 20 μm (that is, between adjacent pixel electrodes).", "Note that, in this embodiment mode, a longitudinal direction of the power supply line 106 is arranged parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode.", "Furthermore, a driving TFT is arranged under the power supply line 106 so that the driving TFT and the power supply line 106 overlap with each other.", "In addition, a channel width direction is arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction.", "However, in the present invention, it is not always necessary that the power supply line 106 be arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode and the driving TFT 301 be arranged under the power supply line 106.Therefore, when the signal line 104 is arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode, the driving TFT 301 may be arranged under the signal line 104 so that the driving 1 let 301 and the signal line 104 overlap with each other.", "In addition, when the shape of the pixel electrode has no longitudinal direction such as when the shape is a square, an approximate square (for example, a square with a truncated corner, a square with a rounded corner (not all of the corners are necessarily rounded, and some of the corners may be rounded), or the like), or a circle, there is no problem even when the driving TFT 301 is arranged under either the power supply line 106 or the signal line 104.Note that as the shape of the pixel electrode, various shapes are considered, such as a rectangle, an approximate rectangle (for example, a rectangle with a truncated corner, a rectangle with a rounded corner (not all of the corners are necessarily rounded, and some of the corners may be rounded)), an ellipse, a polygon, or an approximate polygon (for example, a polygon with a truncated corner or a polygon with a rounded corner (not all of the corners are necessarily rounded, and some of the corners may be rounded)).", "Note that the shape of the pixel electrode is not limited to these described shapes.", "Note also that when the shape of the pixel electrode is a rectangle or an approximate rectangle, a wiring is easily arranged in lattice form, whereby design layout is easily performed, which is preferable.", "In addition, the size of the pixel electrode may be different for each pixel.", "Furthermore, the shape of the pixel electrode may be different for each pixel.", "In addition, when a required channel width is shorter than the length of a short side direction of the pixel electrode, the driving TFT 301 may be arranged under a wiring so that the driving TFT 301 and the wiring that is arranged parallel to the short side direction overlap with each other.", "In addition, a part of the power supply line 106 may be arranged over or under the pixel electrode.", "In the case of such an arrangement, the gate electrode of the driving TFT 301 may be arranged so as to overlap with a part of the power supply line 106.Note that a channel width direction of the driving TFT 301 is arranged parallel to a longitudinal direction of the wiring.", "Thus, the channel width can be increased.", "In addition, since the wiring is arranged between the adjacent pixel electrodes, the longitudinal direction of the wiring is arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction or short side direction of the pixel electrode, whereby the aperture ratio can be increased.", "Note that since current generally flows in the longitudinal direction of the wiring, the channel width direction can be referred to as a direction parallel to the direction in which current flows through the wiring arranged over the channel formation region.", "In addition, a case of operation in a linear region is shown in this embodiment mode.", "The driving TFT has a double-gate structure of L<W, where a channel length is L and a channel width is W. Here, the driving TFT has a double-gate structure in which L is approximately 7 μm and W is approximately 20 μm.", "When the design of the layout of the pixel is performed, by arranging the wiring under a partition wall that has a width of 20 μm and arranging the driving TFT under the wiring, the aperture ratio can be increased even when the size of the driving TFT is increased.", "In this embodiment mode, patterning is performed such that the semiconductor layer is bent to be U-shaped with respect to the gate electrode 100 (the dashed line portion 6001 in FIGS.", "1 and 2).", "Thus, the channel width direction can be arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode (an arrow 7001 in FIGS.", "1 and 2).", "Note that the longitudinal direction of the impurity region that connects the channel formation regions to each other is preferably arranged parallel to the channel width direction.", "By this, as large a TFT as will fit can be placed in the narrow space between the pixel electrodes (in the space between the adjacent pixel electrodes), whereby the aperture ratio can be increased.", "Furthermore, in the impurity region, since current flows in the longitudinal direction of the impurity region, the resistance of the impurity region can be increased.", "Accordingly, off-current can be reduced.", "However, in the present invention, the channel width can be increased up to the length of the longitudinal direction side when the channel width direction is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode.", "Thus, the shape of the island-shaped semiconductor layer of the TFT is not limited to the U-shape as in this embodiment mode.", "Note that the capacitor 300 can be formed of the second semiconductor layer 102, the gate electrode 100, and a gate insulating film (a first storage capacitor) formed between the second semiconductor layer 102 and the gate electrode 100, and the gate electrode 100, the power supply line 106, and an interlayer insulating film (a second storage capacitor) formed between the gate electrode 100 and the power supply line 106.In this case, a storage capacitor is formed of the second semiconductor layer 102, the gate electrode 100, and the gate insulating film formed between the second semiconductor layer 102 and the gate electrode 100 in the dashed line portion 6012.Accordingly, by increasing the area of the gate electrode in the dashed line portion 6012, the size of the storage capacitor can be increased.", "With the above-described structure, as large a TFT as will fit (specifically, a TFT with a large channel width) can be placed in the narrow space between the pixel electrodes (in the space between the adjacent pixel electrodes).", "Therefore, the aperture ratio can be increased.", "Note that the TFT is very small; therefore, there is a problem in that electric characteristics easily vary due to variations in film thickness of the gate insulating film, variations in film quality, variations in an injection dose during an ion doping process, or the like.", "In particular, when amorphous silicon, microcrystalline silicon, or polycrystalline silicon is used as a semiconductor of the TFT, variations in the characteristics of the TFT (e.g., on-current, off-current, threshold voltage, mobility, or the like) caused by the crystallinity of the semiconductor are generated.", "In particular, when the characteristics of the TFT connected to the pixel vary, current (or voltage) to be supplied to the pixel varies; therefore, there is a problem in that visibility of a display device deteriorates.", "Thus, in order to solve the above-described problem, although there is a method for adopting a multi-gate structure, a TFT with the multi-gate structure has a larger area than a TFT with a single-gate structure.", "Therefore, when the TFT with the multi-gate structure is adopted in order to decrease variations in the electric characteristics of the TFT, the aperture ratio is decreased.", "However, by using the structure of the present invention, variations in the characteristics of the TFT can be reduced, and the aperture ratio can be increased, as well.", "Here, in this embodiment mode, an example of a so-called constant voltage driving method in which the driving TFT operates in a linear region is described.", "The constant voltage driving method is described hereinafter.", "There are the case where a TFT operates in a saturation region and the case where a TFT operates in a linear region.", "A voltage between a gate and a source of a transistor is set as Vgs, a voltage between the source and a drain of the transistor is set as Vds, and a threshold voltage of the transistor is set as Vth.", "In this case, a range where a relational expression of |Vgs-Vth|<|Vds| is satisfied is referred to as a saturation region.", "On the other hand, a range where a relational expression of |Vgs-Vth|>|Vds| is satisfied is referred to as a linear region.", "By operating a TFT connected to a pixel electrode of an EL element (hereinafter referred to as a “driving TFT”) in a saturation region, a method in which constant current flows to a display element is referred to as a constant current driving method.", "In the constant current driving method, since constant current can flow to the EL element, variations due to deterioration of the display element can be reduced.", "However, in the constant current driving method, when the driving TFT deteriorates, current that flows to the driving TFT is also decreased.", "Accordingly, variations of the TFT easily affect variations in brightness of the display element.", "On the other hand, by operating the driving TFT in a linear region, a method in which a constant voltage is applied to the EL element is referred to as a constant voltage driving method.", "In the constant voltage driving method, since the TFT operates in a linear region, a voltage between a source and a drain can be lowered compared with a voltage between both electrodes of the display element.", "Therefore, variations of the driving TFT which affect current that flows to the EL element can be reduced.", "Accordingly, variations in the deterioration of the TFT do not easily affect variations in brightness of the display element.", "However, even when the driving TFT operates in a linear region, an effect due to variations in the crystallinity in a plane of a substrate cannot be ignored when amorphous silicon, microcrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, or the like is used as the semiconductor layer of the TFT.", "Thus, it is preferable that the area of the channel formation region of the driving TFT be increased in order to suppress variations of the driving TFT.", "That is, a channel length and a channel width are preferably increased.", "In addition, the longer the channel width is, the lower the voltage between the source and the drain can be made.", "Furthermore, the shorter the channel length is, the lower the voltage between the source and the drain can be made.", "Therefore, the channel width is preferably longer than the channel length.", "Thus, when the TFT operates in a linear region, it is preferable that the channel width be increased in order to increase the area of the channel formation region of the driving TFT.", "Here, in general, by increasing the area of the channel formation region, the aperture ratio of the display device tends to decrease.", "That is, when variations in the characteristics of the TFT are reduced, the aperture ratio decreases.", "Namely, in general, it is very difficult to reduce variations in the characteristics of the TFT and to increase the aperture ratio at the same time.", "This becomes apparent especially when the area of the channel formation region of the TFT with the multi-gate structure is increased, as in this embodiment mode.", "However, by using the structure of this embodiment mode, variations in the characteristics of the TFT can be reduced and the aperture ratio can be increased at the same time.", "In addition, increasing the aperture ratio leads to a decrease in power consumption and an improvement in the reliability of the display element.", "That is to say, this is because the required brightness can be obtained at a lower current (or voltage) when the aperture ratio is large, in the case where constant brightness is required.", "When current (or voltage) which is supplied to the display element is low, the deterioration rate of the display element is reduced.", "In addition, the deterioration rate of the display element also varies from display element to display element.", "Therefore, when the aperture ratio is increased and the deterioration rate of the display device is decreased, variations in the deterioration of brightness of the display element can be reduced, as well.", "Thus, by the synergistic effect of a reduction in variations in the characteristics of the TFT and a reduction in variations due to an improvement in the aperture ratio, the visibility of the display device can be increased.", "Note that off-current of the TFT can be reduced by a TFT with a multi-gate structure.", "Accordingly, even when a semiconductor of a TFT is non-single crystal or a single crystal, it is preferable to use the TFT with the multi-gate structure.", "In addition, as in this embodiment mode, both the driving transistor and the switching transistor connected to the driving transistor are arranged under the wiring (the signal line or the power supply line), a channel length direction of the switching transistor is arranged perpendicular to a channel length direction of the driving transistor, and a channel width direction of the driving transistor is set as a direction in which current flows through the wiring.", "Thus, the aperture ratio can be increased.", "Embodiment Mode 2 In this embodiment mode, the meaning of “a longitudinal direction of a wiring” will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.", "5, 6, and 7.The “longitudinal direction of the wiring” (“channel width direction”) is the above-described “direction parallel to the direction in which current flows through the wiring arranged over the channel formation region.” Note that, in the case of a wiring having a zigzag shape or a wiring having a meander shape to be described later, current does not necessarily flow in a linear direction in the wiring.", "In this case, the “longitudinal direction of the wiring” (“channel width direction”) is a “direction approximately parallel to the direction in which current flows through a wiring region that is arranged over the channel formation region.” Here, the shape of the wiring need is not necessarily a straight line as shown in FIG.", "5.For example, as shown in FIG.", "6, the shape of the wiring may be a zigzag shape, as first wirings 501 and 502.In addition, as shown in FIG.", "7, the shape of the wiring may be a meander shape, as the first wirings 501 and 502.Note that FIGS.", "5, 6, and 7 each show a schematic diagram showing arrangement of wirings and pixel electrodes.", "Therefore, a TFT is not illustrated.", "Reference numerals 501 to 504 are first wirings; 601 and 602 are second wirings; and 701 to 707 are pixel electrodes.", "Note that one of the first wiring and the second wiring is a source signal line, and the other thereof is a power supply line.", "The zigzag shape is a shape having a line that proceeds by sharp turns in alternating directions.", "“Meander” means to follow a winding or intricate course.", "In addition, the meander shape has such a shape.", "As shown in FIG.", "5, when the first wirings 501 to 504 and the second wiring 601 each have a linear shape, the “longitudinal direction of the wiring (a first arrow 8001 of FIG.", "5)” is a direction parallel to a “direction (the first arrow 8001 of FIG.", "5) in which current flows through the first wiring arranged over the channel formation region.” When the wiring has a zigzag shape as shown in FIG.", "6, for example, a TFT is arranged under a first wiring region 5001 of FIG.", "6.In this case, the “longitudinal direction of the wiring (a second arrow 8002 of FIG.", "6)” is a direction parallel to a “direction (the second arrow 8002 of FIG.", "6) in which current flows through the wiring arranged over the channel formation region.” On the other hand, when the IP 1 is arranged under a second wiring region 5002 of FIG.", "6, for example, the “longitudinal direction of the wiring (a third arrow 8003 of FIG.", "6)” is a direction parallel to a “direction (the third arrow 8003 of FIG.", "6) in which current flows through the wiring arranged over the channel formation region.” In addition, even when the wiring has a meander shape as shown in FIG.", "7, current flows along the shape of the wiring.", "Therefore, there is a portion in which current flows in a direction which is not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the wiring.", "However, finally, electrons flow in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the wiring (a fourth arrow 8004 of FIG.", "7).", "Accordingly, in the case of using a wiring having such a shape, the channel width direction is the “direction approximately parallel to the direction in which current flows in the wiring region arranged over the channel formation region” or the “direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the wiring.” With the above-described structure, the wiring can be arranged in the narrow space between the pixel electrodes (in the space between adjacent pixel electrodes).", "In addition, as large a TFT as will fit (specifically, a TFT with a large channel width) can be placed under the wiring.", "Therefore, the aperture ratio can be increased.", "Embodiment Mode 3 In this embodiment mode, another variation of a layout of a driving transistor of the present invention will be exemplified.", "Note that the present invention is not limited to the layout exemplified in this embodiment mode.", "FIG.", "8 shows a layout of a single-gate structure.", "The first semiconductor layer 101 is an island-shaped semiconductor layer of a switching TFT.", "A region that overlaps with the gate wiring 105 is a channel formation region.", "A region that is connected to the signal line 104 through a contact hole is a source terminal (or a drain terminal).", "A region that is connected to the connection electrode 103 is the drain terminal (or the source terminal).", "Further, the second semiconductor layer 102 is the island-shaped semiconductor layer of the driving TFT 301 that drives the display element.", "In addition, a region that overlaps with the gate electrode 100 is a channel formation region.", "The gate electrode of the driving TFT 301 is connected to the connection electrode 103 through a contact hole.", "Furthermore, the source terminal (or the drain terminal) of the driving TFT 301 and the power supply line 106 are connected to each other.", "The drain terminal (or the source terminal) of the driving TFT 301 and the connection electrode 108 are connected to each other through a contact hole.", "In addition, the pixel electrode 107 is formed in contact with the connection electrode 108.Note that a correspondence relation between FIGS.", "8 and 3 is as follows.", "A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6002 corresponds to the driving TFT 301.A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6021 corresponds to the switching TFT 302.A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6022 corresponds to the capacitor 300.The pixel electrode 107 corresponds to the pixel electrode of the display element 303.The signal line 104 corresponds to the signal line 304, The power supply line 106 corresponds to the power supply line 306.In addition, FIG.", "9 is a top view corresponding to FIG.", "8 and a diagram of a stage in which the first semiconductor layer 101, the second semiconductor layer 102, the gate wiring 105, and the gate electrode 100 are formed.", "Patterning is performed such that an impurity region of the semiconductor layer is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode (or a direction in which current flows through the wiring or a longitudinal direction of the wiring) (the dashed line portion 6002 in FIGS.", "8 and 9).", "Thus, a channel width direction can be arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode (an arrow 7002 in FIGS.", "8 and 9), FIG.", "10 shows a layout of a triple-gate structure.", "The first semiconductor layer 101 is an island-shaped semiconductor layer of a switching TFT.", "A region that overlaps with the gate wiring 105 is a channel formation region.", "A region that is connected to the signal line 104 is a source terminal (or a drain terminal).", "A region that is connected to the connection electrode 103 through a contact hole is the drain terminal (or the source terminal).", "Further, the second semiconductor layer 102 is the island-shaped semiconductor layer of the driving TFT 301 that drives the display element.", "In addition, a region that overlaps with the gate electrode 100 is a channel formation region.", "The gate electrode of the driving TFT 301 is connected to the connection electrode 103.Furthermore, the source terminal (or the drain terminal) of the driving TFT 301 and the power supply line 106 are connected to each other through a contact hole.", "The drain terminal (or the source terminal) of the driving TFT 301 and the connection electrode 108 are connected to each other through a contact hole.", "In addition, the pixel electrode 107 is formed in contact with the connection electrode 108.Note that a correspondence relation between FIGS.", "10 and 3 is as follows.", "A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6003 corresponds to the driving TFT 301.A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6031 corresponds to the switching TFT 302.A portion encircled by a dashed line portion 6032 corresponds to the capacitor 300.The pixel electrode 107 corresponds to the pixel electrode of the display element 303.The signal line 104 corresponds to the signal line 304.The power supply line 106 corresponds to the power supply line 306.In addition, FIG.", "11 is a top view corresponding to FIG.", "10 and a diagram of a stage in which the first semiconductor layer 101, the second semiconductor layer 102, the gate wiring 105, and the gate electrode 100 are formed.", "Patterning is performed such that an impurity region of a semiconductor layer is parallel to a longitudinal direction of a pixel electrode (or a direction in which current flows through the wiring or a longitudinal direction of the wiring) (e.g., S-shape) (the dashed line portion 6003 in FIGS.", "10 and 11).", "Accordingly, a channel width direction can be arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the pixel electrode (an arrow 7003 in FIGS.", "10 and 11).", "In this embodiment mode, the layout of the TFT with one channel formation region and the layout of the TFT with three channel formation regions are described.", "In addition, the layout of the TFT with two channel formation regions is described in Embodiment Mode 1.However, the structure of the present invention is not limited to the structures of these embodiment modes and a TFT with four or more channel formation regions can also be used.", "Embodiment Mode 4 The present invention is not limited to a pixel including two TFTs.", "In the case of using a pixel structure having a driving TFT of a double-gate structure of L<W, the present invention can be used as appropriate so as to make arrangement such that the aperture ratio is increased, a simple opening shape is made, and a channel width is increased.", "Embodiment Mode 5 In this embodiment mode, a manufacturing process of a display device will be described.", "Note that in description, only a pixel portion is described; however, a manufacturing process of a driver circuit portion is not limited to this, and description thereof is omitted here, A base film formed of a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, or a silicon oxynitride film is formed over a substrate formed of glass such as barium borosilicate glass or alumino borosilicate glass, as shown in FIG.", "4A.", "Then, a semiconductor film having an amorphous structure is crystallized by using a laser crystallization method or a known thermal crystallization method, and the crystalline semiconductor film is patterned into a desired shape to obtain island-shaped semiconductor layers 4101 and 4102.Note that the base film and the semiconductor film can be formed by a known film formation method (e.g., a CVD method, a PVD method, or the like).", "Note that, here, a polycrystalline silicon film is used by crystallizing the semiconductor film.", "However, in the present invention, amorphous silicon or microcrystalline silicon may be used, as well.", "In addition, single crystal silicon may be used, as well.", "In the case of using single crystal silicon, an SOI substrate (a Silicon On Insulator substrate) in which a thin single crystal silicon layer is arranged on a substrate, or the like may be used.", "Here, when an impurity is added to a first region to be a first capacitor portion in the island-shaped semiconductor layer 4101, the first region can function as a first electrode of a first capacitor.", "Here, boron which imparts p-type conductivity is injected by an ion doping method.", "Alternatively, an impurity which imparts n-type conductivity may be injected.", "The impurity which imparts n-type conductivity includes phosphorus, arsenic, and the like.", "Note that an impurity can be added by a known method (e.g., an ion doping method, an ion shower method, or the like).", "Next, a gate insulating film which covers the island-shaped semiconductor layers 4101 and 4102 is formed.", "Then, a conductive film for forming a gate electrode is formed by using an element selected from Ta, W, Ti, Mo, Al, Cu, and the like; or an alloy material or a compound material containing the element as a main component.", "Then, the conductive film is patterned into a desired shape, and gate electrodes 4103 and 4104 (the gate electrode 4104 also serves as a scanning line) are obtained (FIG.", "4B).", "Next, when an impurity is added to each impurity region of the island-shaped semiconductor layers 4101 and 4102, a source region, a drain region and a channel formation region are formed.", "Here, boron which imparts p-type conductivity is injected by an ion doping method for forming a p-channel transistor.", "In the case of forming a n-channel transistor, an impurity which imparts n-type conductivity may be injected.", "The impurity which imparts n-type conductivity includes phosphorus, arsenic, and the like.", "Note that an impurity can be added by a known method (e.g., an ion doping method, an ion shower method, or the like).", "In addition, an LDD region may be formed in a portion that is in contact with a channel formation region.", "Next, the added impurity is activated by performing annealing.", "As an annealing method, a known technique such as furnace anneal or laser anneal may be used.", "Note that before annealing, a passivation film (e.g.", "silicon oxide or the like) may be formed by a known method (e.g.", "a CVD method, a PVD method, or the like) to protect the gate insulating film.", "Next, an interlayer insulating film is formed.", "The interlayer insulating film may be an organic insulating film or an inorganic insulating film.", "The organic insulating film can be formed of acrylic, polyimide, siloxane, or the like.", "As a method for forming the organic insulating film, a known method (a spin coating method, a dipping method, or the like) can be used.", "In addition, the inorganic insulating film can be formed of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or the like.", "The inorganic insulating film may be formed by a known method (e.g., a CVD method, a PVD method, or the like).", "Note that by using a material with a high dielectric constant, such as silicon nitride, capacitance can be increased.", "On the other hand, in the case of using the organic insulating film, planarization can be achieved.", "Note that a planarization process may be performed on the interlayer insulating film by a known technique (e.g., a CMP method).", "Next, as shown in FIG.", "4C, contact holes 4105, which reach the island-shaped semiconductor layers 4101 and 4102 and the gate electrodes 4103 and 4104, are formed.", "Wirings 4106, 4107, and 4108 (the wiring 4106 serves as a source signal line and the wiring 4107 serves as a power supply line), and an electrode 4110 are formed.", "Next, as shown in FIG.", "4D, a pixel electrode 4109 is formed.", "A material of the pixel electrode is typified by indium tin oxide (commonly called “ITO”) or the like.", "After a film formed of the above-described material is formed, the pixel electrode 4109 is patterned to obtain a desired shape, as well.", "Here, the electrode 4110 and the pixel electrode 4109 are in contact with each other through a contact hole 4105.Next, a partition wall is formed between adjacent pixels, and a portion to serve as a light-emitting area is opened by patterning.", "Then, an EL layer is formed in the opening portion.", "In this embodiment mode, the method for manufacturing a top gate TFT is described.", "However, the present invention can be used for a bottom gate TFT.", "Embodiment Mode 6 In this embodiment mode, one example of an external appearance of a light-emitting display panel is described with reference to FIGS.", "14A and 14B.", "FIG.", "14A is a top view of a panel which is obtained by sealing a space between a first substrate and a second substrate with a first sealant 1205 and a second sealant 1206.FIG.", "14B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ and a line B-B′ in FIG.", "14A.", "FIG.", "14A shows a pixel portion 1202, a monitor element portion 1230, and a scanning line driver circuit (gate line driver circuit) 1203, each of which is indicated by a dotted line.", "In this embodiment mode, the pixel portion 1202 and the scanning line driver circuit 1203 are located in the region sealed with the first sealant and the second sealant.", "A reference numeral 1201 denotes a signal line (source line) driver circuit which is provided over a first substrate 1200.As the first sealant, an epoxy resin having high viscosity including a filler is preferably used.", "On the other hand, the second sealant is preferably an epoxy resin having low viscosity.", "In addition, the first sealant 1205 and the second sealant 1206 are desirably materials which transmit as little moisture or oxygen as possible.", "In addition, a drying agent may be provided between the pixel portion 1202 and the first sealant 1205.Further, a drying agent may be provided over the scanning line or the signal line in the pixel portion.", "The drying agent is preferably a substance which adsorbs water (H2O) by chemical adsorption such as oxide of alkaline earth metal such as calcium oxide (CaO) or barium oxide (BaO).", "However, the present invention is not limited to these, and a substance which adsorbs water by physical adsorption such as zeolite or silica gel may alternatively be used.", "By using a resin having high moisture permeability and including a particulate drying agent as an interlayer insulating film, the interlayer insulating film may be fixed to a second substrate 1204 by a sealant.", "As substitute for the resin having high moisture permeability, an inorganic substance such as phosphosilicate glass (PSG), or borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) can alternatively be used.", "In addition, a drying agent may be provided in a region that overlaps with the scanning line.", "Furthermore, by using a resin having high moisture permeability and including a particulate drying agent as an interlayer insulating film, the interlayer insulating film may be fixed to the second substrate 1204 by a sealant.", "By providing these drying agents, intrusion of moisture into a display element and deterioration resulting therefrom can be suppressed without decreasing the aperture ratio.", "Therefore, variation in deterioration of the display elements in the peripheral portion and the center portion of the pixel portion 1202 can be suppressed.", "Note that a connection wiring 1210 is a connection wiring for transmitting a signal inputted to the signal line driver circuit 1201 and the scanning line driver circuit 1203 and receiving a video signal or a clock signal from an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) 1209 which serves as an external input terminal through a connection wiring 1208.Next, a cross-sectional structure is described with reference to FIG.", "14B.", "Over the first substrate 1200, a driver circuit and a pixel portion are formed, which include a plurality of semiconductor elements typified by a TFT.", "The signal line driver circuit 1201 as the driver circuit and the pixel portion 1202 are shown.", "Note that the signal line driver circuit 1201 has a CMOS circuit including both an n-channel TFT 1221 and a p-channel TFT 1222.Since the scanning line driver circuit and the TFT in the pixel portion are formed over one substrate in this embodiment mode, the volume of the light-emitting display device can be decreased.", "The pixel portion 1202 includes a plurality of pixels each including a switching TFT 1211, a driving TFT 1212, and a first pixel electrode (anode) 1213 formed of a reflective conductive film which is electrically connected to either one of a drain or source of the driving TFT 1212.In addition, an insulator 1214 (also referred to as a bank, partition wall, barrier, mound, or the like) is formed on opposite ends of the first pixel electrode (anode) 1213.In order to enhance the coverage of a film formed over the insulator 1214, the insulator 1214 is formed to have a curved surface having curvature on the top end or the bottom end.", "Further, the surface of the insulator 1214 may be covered with a protective film formed of an aluminum nitride film, an aluminum nitride oxide film, a thin film including carbon as a main component, or a silicon nitride film.", "In addition, if an organic material in which a material which absorbs visible light such as a black colorant or pigment is dissolved or dispersed is used for the insulator 1214, the stray light of a display element to be formed later can be absorbed.", "Therefore, contrast of each pixel can be improved.", "In the present invention, a scanning line, a signal line, and a TFT are arranged under the insulator.", "In addition, a TFT is arranged under the scanning line or the signal line.", "In the case where the TFT is arranged under the scanning line, a longitudinal direction of the scanning line (or a direction in which current flows) is arranged parallel to a channel width direction of the TFT.", "In the case where the TFT is arranged under the signal line, a longitudinal direction of the signal line (or a direction in which current flows) is arranged parallel to the channel width direction of the TFT.", "An electroluminescent layer 1215 is selectively formed over the first pixel electrode (anode) 1213 by evaporating an organic compound material.", "In addition, a second pixel electrode (cathode) 1216 is formed over the electroluminescent layer 1215.In this manner, a display element 1217 including the first pixel electrode (anode) 1213, the electroluminescent layer 1215, and the second pixel electrode (cathode) 1216 is formed.", "The display element 1217 emits light to the second substrate 1204 side.", "In addition, a protective stacked layer 1218 is formed in order to seal the display element 1217.The protective stacked layer 1218 has a stack of a first inorganic insulating film, a stress relaxation film, and a second inorganic insulating film.", "Then, the protective stacked layer 1218 is attached to the second substrate 1204 with the first sealant 1205 and the second sealant 1206.Note that the second sealant is preferably dropped using a device for dropping a sealant.", "After dropping or discharging the sealant from a dispenser and forming the sealant to an active matrix substrate, the second substrate is attached to the active matrix substrate in vacuum and ultraviolet curing is performed; thereby sealing can be performed.", "An antireflection film 1226 for preventing external light from reflecting off a substrate surface is provided for the surface of the second substrate 1204.Either or both of a polarizing plate and a retardation plate may be provided between the second substrate and the antireflection film.", "By providing a retardation plate or a polarizing plate, external light can be prevented from reflecting off the pixel electrode.", "Note that if the first pixel electrode 1213 and the second pixel electrode 1216 are formed using a light-transmitting conductive film or a semi-light-transmitting conductive film, and the interlayer insulating film is formed of a material which absorbs visible light or an organic material in which a material which absorbs visible light is dissolved or dispersed; each pixel electrode does not reflect external light; therefore, the retardation plate and the polarizing plate are not necessarily provided.", "The connection wiring 1208 and the FPC 1209 are electrically connected to each other through an anisotropic conductive film or an anisotropic conductive resin 1227.Further, it is preferable that a connecting portion between each wiring layer and a connecting terminal be sealed with a sealing resin.", "With such a structure, moisture can be prevented from entering the display element from the cross-sectional portion and deterioration can be prevented.", "Note that the space between the second substrate 1204 and the protective stacked layer 1218 may be filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, instead of the second sealant 1206, so that deterioration can be prevented.", "In addition, a colored layer may be provided between the second substrate and the polarizing plate.", "In this case, full color display can be performed by providing display elements capable of white light emission in the pixel portion and additionally providing colored layers of RGB.", "Alternatively, full color display can be performed by providing display elements capable of blue light emission in the pixel portion and additionally providing a color conversion layer or the like.", "Further alternatively, display elements which emit red, green, and blue light formed in the pixel portion and the colored layer may be used.", "Such a display module has high color purity of RGB, and is capable of displaying high-resolution images.", "In addition, a light-emitting display module may be formed using a substrate formed of a film, a resin, or the like as one or both of the first substrate 1200 and the second substrate 1204.If the substrate formed of a film, resin, or the like is used in such a manner, weight saving, downsizing, and thinning of the display device can be achieved.", "Furthermore, the light-emitting display module may be formed by providing an IC chip such as a controller, a memory, and a pixel driver circuit for the surface or at the end of the FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) 1209 to serve as an external input terminal.", "Embodiment Mode 7 A light-emitting element means an element (MED element) having a structure in which an organic compound layer which emits light when an electric field is generated is interposed between an anode and a cathode; however, the present invention is not limited to this.", "In addition, the light-emitting element means both an element that utilizes light (fluorescence) emitted when making a transition from a singlet exciton to a base state, and an element that utilizes light (phosphorescence) emitted when making a transition from a triplet exciton to a base state.", "As an organic compound layer, there are a hole injecting layer, a hole transporting layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron transporting layer, an electron injecting layer, and the like.", "The basic structure of a light-emitting element is a stack of an anode, a light-emitting layer, and a cathode in this order.", "Other than this, there are a structure of stacking an anode, a hole injecting layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron injecting layer, and a cathode in this order, a structure of stacking an anode, a hole injecting layer, a hole transporting layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron transporting layer, an electron injecting layer, and a cathode in this order, and the like.", "Note that the organic compound layer is not limited to a layer having a stacked structure in which the hole injecting layer, the hole transporting layer, the light-emitting layer, the electron transporting layer, the electron injecting layer, and the like are clearly distinguished.", "That is, the organic compound layer may have a structure including a layer in which respective materials forming the hole injecting layer, the hole transporting layer, the light-emitting layer, the electron transporting layer, the electron injecting layer, or the like are mixed.", "Further, an inorganic material may be mixed, as well.", "Further, any material of a low molecular material, a high molecular material, and a medium molecular material can be used for the organic compound layer of an OLED element.", "Note that in this specification, a medium molecular material does not have the sublimation property, and a molecular chain length thereof is 10 μm or less.", "Embodiment Mode 8 Another structure applicable to the display element of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS.", "12A to 12C and 13A to 13C.", "Light emitting elements (display elements) utilizing electroluminescence are classified according to whether a light emitting material is an organic compound or an inorganic compound.", "In general, the former is referred to as an organic EL element, and the latter is referred to as an inorganic EL element.", "The inorganic EL elements are classified according to their element structures into a dispersed inorganic EL element and a thin-film inorganic EL element.", "They are different in that the former includes an electroluminescent layer in which particles of a light emitting material are dispersed in a binder and the latter includes an electroluminescent layer formed of a thin film of a light emitting material; however, they are common in that electrons accelerated by a high electric field are required.", "Note that a mechanism for obtainable light emission includes a donor-acceptor recombination light emission which utilizes a donor level and an acceptor level and a localized light emission which utilizes inner-shell electron transition of metal ions.", "In general, it is often the case that the dispersed inorganic EL element performs the donor-acceptor recombination light emission and the thin-film inorganic EL element performs the localized light emission.", "A light emitting material which can be used in the present invention includes a base material and an impurity element serving as a light emitting center.", "Light emission of various colors can be obtained by changing impurity elements to be contained.", "As a method for producing a light emitting material, various methods such as a solid phase method and a liquid phase method (coprecipitation method) can be used.", "In addition, a liquid phase method such as a spray pyrolysis method, a double decomposition method, a method by precursor pyrolysis, a reverse micelle method, a combined method of one of these methods and high-temperature baking, or a freeze-drying method can be used.", "The solid phase method is a method by which a base material and an impurity element or a compound containing an impurity element are weighed, mixed in a mortar, and reacted by heating and baking in an electric furnace to make the impurity element contained in the base material.", "The baking temperature is preferably in the range of 700° C. to 1500° C. This is because solid phase reaction does not proceed when the temperature is too low and the base material is decomposed when the temperature is too high.", "Note that the baking may be performed in powder form, but the baking is preferably performed in pellet form.", "The method requires baking at a relatively high temperature; however, it is a simple method.", "Therefore, the method provides good productivity and is suitable for mass production.", "The liquid phase method (coprecipitation method) is a method by which a base material or a compound containing a base material is reacted in a solution with an impurity element or a compound containing an impurity element and the reactant is baked after being dried.", "Particles of the light emitting material are uniformly distributed; a particle size is small; and the reaction proceeds even at a low baking temperature.", "As the base material used for a light emitting material, sulfide, oxide, or nitride can be used.", "As sulfide, zinc sulfide (ZnS), cadmium sulfide (CdS), calcium sulfide (CaS), yttrium sulfide (Y2S3), gallium sulfide (Ga2S3), strontium sulfide (SrS), barium sulfide (BaS), or the like can be used, for example.", "As oxide, zinc oxide (ZnO), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), or the like can be used, for example.", "As nitride, aluminum nitride (AlN), gallium nitride (GaN), indium nitride (InN), or the like can be used, for example.", "Further, zinc selenide (ZnSe), zinc telluride (ZnTe), or the like can also be used.", "It may be a ternary mixed crystal such as calcium gallium sulfide (CaGa2S4), strontium gallium sulfide (SrGa2S4), barium gallium sulfide (BaGa2S4), or the like.", "As the light emitting center of localized light emission, manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), samarium (Sm), terbium (Tb), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), europium (Eu), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), or the like can be used.", "Note that a halogen element such as fluorine (F) or chlorine (Cl) may be added as charge compensation.", "On the other hand, as the light emitting center of donor-acceptor recombination light emission, a light emitting material which contains a first impurity element forming a donor level and a second impurity element forming an acceptor level can be used.", "As the first impurity element, fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), aluminum (Al), or the like can be used, for example.", "As the second impurity element, copper (Cu), silver (Ag), or the like can be used, for example.", "In the case of synthesizing the light emitting material of donor-acceptor recombination light emission by a solid phase method, a base material, a first impurity element or a compound containing a first impurity element, and a second impurity element or a compound containing a second impurity element are separately weighed, mixed in a mortar, and then heated and baked in an electric furnace.", "As the base material, the above-mentioned base material can be used.", "As the first impurity element, fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), or the like can be used, for example.", "As the compound containing the first impurity element, aluminum sulfide (Al2S3) or the like can o be used, for example.", "As the second impurity element, copper (Cu), silver (Ag), or the like can be used, for example.", "As the compound containing the second impurity element, copper sulfide (Cu2S), silver sulfide (Ag2S), or the like can be used, for example.", "The baking temperature is preferably in the range of 700° C. to 1500° C. This is because solid phase reaction does not proceed when the temperature is too low and the base material is decomposed when the temperature is too high.", "Note that the baking may be performed in powder form, but the baking is preferably performed in pellet form.", "As the impurity element in the case of utilizing solid phase reaction, a compound including the first impurity element and the second impurity element may be used.", "In this case, the impurity element is easily diffused and the solid phase reaction easily proceeds, so that a uniform light emitting material can be obtained.", "Furthermore, a high-purity light emitting material can be obtained since an unnecessary impurity element is not mixed.", "As the compound including the first impurity element and the second impurity element, copper chloride (CuCl), silver chloride (AgCl), or the like can be used, for example.", "Note that the concentration of the impurity element to the base material may be in the range of 0.01 atomic % to 10 atomic %, preferably 0.05 atomic % to 5 atomic %.", "In the case of the thin-film inorganic EL element, the electroluminescent layer is a layer containing the above-described light emitting material, which can be formed by a vacuum evaporation method such as a resistance heating evaporation method or an electron beam evaporation (EB evaporation) method, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method such as a sputtering method, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method such as an metal organic CVD method or a low-pressure hydride transfer CVD, an atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) method, or the like.", "FIGS.", "12A to 12C each show an example of a thin-film inorganic EL element which can be used as a display element.", "In each of FIGS.", "12A to 12C, a display element includes a first electrode layer 50, an electroluminescent layer 52, and a second electrode layer 53.Each of the display elements shown in FIGS.", "12B and 12C has a structure in which an insulating layer is provided between the electrode layer and the electroluminescent layer in the display element in FIG.", "12A.", "The display element shown in FIG.", "12B includes an insulating layer 54 between the first electrode layer 50 and the electroluminescent layer 52.The display element shown in FIG.", "12C includes an insulating layer 54a between the first electrode layer 50 and the electroluminescent layer 52 and an insulating layer 54b between the second electrode layer 53 and the electroluminescent layer 52.As described above, the insulating layer may be provided between the electroluminescent layer and either or both of the pair of electrode layers sandwiching the electroluminescent layer.", "The insulating layer may be a single layer or a stack of a plurality of layers.", "In FIG.", "12B, the insulating layer 54 is provided to be in contact with the first electrode layer 50.However, the insulating layer 54 may be provided to be in contact with the second electrode layer 53 by reversing the order of the insulating layer and the electroluminescent layer.", "In the case of the dispersed inorganic EL element, a particulate light emitting material is dispersed in a binder to form a film electroluminescent layer.", "In the case where a particle having a desired size cannot be sufficiently obtained by a production method of a light emitting material, the material may be processed into particles by crushing in a mortar or the like.", "The binder is a substance for fixing a particulate light emitting material in a dispersed manner and holding the material in shape as the electroluminescent layer.", "The light emitting material is uniformly dispersed and fixed in the electroluminescent layer by the binder.", "In the ease of the dispersed inorganic EL element, the electroluminescent layer can be formed by a droplet discharge method which can selectively form the electroluminescent layer, a printing method (such as screen printing or off-set printing), a spin-coating method, a dipping method, a dispenser method, or the like.", "The thickness is not particularly limited, but it is preferably in the range of 10 nm to 1000 nm.", "In addition, in the electroluminescent layer containing the light emitting material and the binder, the proportion of the light emitting material is preferably in the range of 50 wt % to 80 wt %.", "FIGS.", "13A to 13C each show an example of a dispersed inorganic EL element which can be used as a display element.", "A display element in FIG.", "13A has a stacked structure of a first electrode layer 60, an electroluminescent layer 62, and a second electrode layer 63, and contains a light emitting material 61 held by a binder in the electroluminescent layer 62.As the binder which can be used in this embodiment mode, an organic material or an inorganic material, or a mixed material of an organic material and an inorganic material can be used.", "As an organic material, a polymer having a relatively high dielectric constant, such as a cyanoethyl cellulose resin, or a resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, a polystyrene resin, a silicone resin, an epoxy resin, or vinylidene fluoride can be used.", "Alternatively, a heat resistant high molecular compound such as aromatic polyamide or polybenzimidazole, or a siloxane resin may be used.", "Note that the siloxane resin corresponds to a resin including a Si—O—Si bond.", "Siloxane includes a skeleton formed from a bond of silicon (Si) and oxygen (O).", "An organic group containing at least hydrogen (for example, an alkyl group or aromatic hydrocarbon) or a fluoro group may be used for a substituent, or an organic group containing at least hydrogen and a fluoro group may be used for substituents.", "Alternatively, a resin material such as a vinyl resin of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylbutyral, or the like, a phenol resin, a novolac resin, an acrylic resin, a melamine resin, a urethane resin, or an oxazole resin (polybenzoxazole) may be used.", "A dielectric constant can be adjusted by appropriately mixing high dielectric constant fine particles such as barium titanate (BaTiO3) or strontium titanate (SrTiO3) in the above resin.", "As an inorganic material included in the binder, a material selected from substances containing inorganic materials can be used, such as silicon oxide (SiOX), silicon nitride (SiNX), silicon containing oxygen and nitrogen, aluminum nitride (AlN), aluminum containing oxygen and nitrogen, aluminum oxide (Al2O3), titanium oxide (TiO2), BaTiO3, SrTiO3, lead titanate (PbTiO3), potassium niobate (KNbO3), lead niobate (PbNbO3), tantalum oxide (Ta2O5), barium tantalate (BaTa2O6), lithium tantalate (LiTaO3), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), or ZnS.", "A dielectric constant of the electroluminescent layer including the light emitting material and the binder can be controlled by making an organic material to contain a high dielectric constant inorganic material (by addition or the like), so that a dielectric constant can be increased.", "In a manufacturing process, a light emitting material is dispersed in a solution including a binder.", "As a solvent of the solution including the binder that can be used in this embodiment mode, a solvent in which a binder material is soluble and which can produce a solution having a viscosity suitable for a method for forming the electroluminescent layer (various wet processes) and a desired thickness, may be selected appropriately.", "An organic solvent or the like can be used.", "In the case of using, for example, a siloxane resin as the binder, propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (also referred to as PGMEA), 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol (also referred to as MMB), or the like can be used.", "Each of the display elements shown in FIGS.", "13B and 13C has a structure in which an insulating layer is provided between the electrode layer and the electroluminescent layer in the display element in FIG.", "13A.", "The display element shown in FIG.", "13B includes an insulating layer 64 between the first electrode layer 60 and the electroluminescent layer 62.The display element shown in FIG.", "13C includes an insulating layer 64a between the first electrode layer 60 and the electroluminescent layer 62 and an insulating layer 64b between the second electrode layer 63 and the electroluminescent layer 62.As described above, the insulating layer may be provided between the electroluminescent layer and either or both of the pair of electrode layers sandwiching the electroluminescent layer.", "In addition, the insulating layer may be a single layer or a stack of a plurality of layers.", "In FIG.", "13B, the insulating layer 64 is provided to be in contact with the first electrode layer 60.However, the insulating layer 64 may be provided to be in contact with the second electrode layer 63 by reversing the order of the insulating layer and the electroluminescent layer.", "An insulating layer such as the insulating layer 54 in FIGS.", "12A to 12C or the insulating layer 64 in FIGS.", "13A to 13C is not particularly limited, but it preferably has dielectric strength voltage and dense film quality.", "Furthermore, it preferably has a high dielectric constant.", "For example, a film of silicon oxide (SiO2), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), titanium oxide (TiO2), aluminum oxide (A12O3), hafnium oxide (HfO2), tantalum oxide (T32O5), barium titanate (BaTiO3), strontium titanate (SrTiO3), lead titanate (PbTiO3), silicon nitride (Si3N4), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), or the like, a mixed film thereof, or a stacked film of two or more kinds can be used.", "These insulating films can be formed by sputtering, evaporation, CVD, or the like.", "Alternatively, the insulating layer may be formed by dispersing particles of the insulating material in a binder.", "A binder material may be formed using a material and a method similar to those of the binder included in the electroluminescent layer.", "The thickness is not particularly limited, but it is preferably in the range of 10 nm to 1000 nm.", "The display element described in this embodiment mode, which can provide light emission by applying voltage between a pair of electrode layers sandwiching the electroluminescent layer, can be operated by either DC drive or AC drive.", "Embodiment Mode 9 In each of Embodiment Modes 1 to 8, the example of the display device mainly using electroluminescence is described.", "However, the present invention is applicable to various active matrix display devices.", "Other display devices include, for example, a liquid crystal display device, an FED (Field Emission Display), and the like.", "Embodiment Mode 10 The present invention can be applied to various semiconductor devices as well as a display device (note that a semiconductor device is a concept including a display device).", "For example, there is a memory element (storage element) such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).", "FIG.", "15A is a circuit diagram of the DRAM.", "A unit in which one terminal of a transistor 401 and a cell plate 402 (capacitor) are connected to each other is considered as one cell.", "In addition, one cell is connected to another cell with a wiring.", "The other terminal of the transistor 401 is connected to a bit line 403.In addition, a gate of the transistor 401 is connected to a word line 404.The principle of operation of the DRAM is described.", "In the case where the transistor 401 is an N-channel transistor, by applying a positive voltage to the bit line 403 and the word line 404, a charge is stored in the cell plate 402 during a data writing period.", "During a data reading period, by applying a positive voltage to the word line, the charge stored in the cell plate 402 flows to the bit line 403.In the case where the transistor 401 is a P-channel transistor, a voltage with reversed polarity may be applied during each period.", "Furthermore, the capacitance of the cell plate 402 increases as the area thereof increases.", "By increasing the capacitance, generation of a soft error (an error in which information stored in the memory cell is lost (rewritten) due to collision of cosmic rays and the like), or the like can be suppressed.", "Accordingly, in order to increase the capacitance of the capacitor, it is necessary to increase the surface area of the capacitor.", "Thus, a wiring is provided between adjacent electrodes; a thin film transistor connected to a capacitor is arranged under the wiring; and a channel width direction of a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is arranged parallel to the direction in which current flows through the wiring, or arranged parallel to a longitudinal direction of the electrode.", "Thus, the capacitance of the capacitor can be increased.", "In this embodiment mode, as shown in FIG.", "16, a channel width direction of the transistor 401 is arranged parallel to a longitudinal direction of the cell plate 402 (or the electrode of the capacitor) (an arrow 7004 in FIG.", "16).", "The transistor 401 may have a single-gate structure or a multi-gate structure.", "Note that the DRAM may have a stack type structure or a trench type structure.", "The stack type structure is such that an insulating film is formed, and then, a step is provided over a substrate by etching the insulating film, and a capacitor is embedded in the step.", "Meanwhile, the trench type structure is such that a step is provided by etching a substrate, and a capacitor is embedded in the step.", "Note that as a method for manufacturing the DRAM having the stack type structure, a transistor is foliated using SOI (Silicon On Insulator) by a known method, or a TFT is formed by the method described in Embodiment Mode 3.Then, an insulating film can be formed using acrylic, polyimide, siloxane, silicon oxide, silicone nitride, or the like, for example.", "Next, the insulating film is patterned, and then, a step is formed by etching.", "Then, a lower electrode which is in contact with either one of a source region or drain region of the transistor can be formed of metal such as aluminum, for example.", "Next, a dielectric film can be formed of titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, silicone nitride, silicon oxide, or the like, for example.", "Then, an upper electrode can be formed of tungsten silicide, polysilicon, or the like, for example, thereby forming a capacitor in the step.", "In addition, as a method for manufacturing the DRAM having the trench type structure first, patterning is performed on a substrate, and then, a step is formed on the substrate by etching.", "Then, a transistor is formed using SOI (Silicon On Insulator) by a known method, or a TFT is formed by the method described in Embodiment Mode 3.Then, a lower electrode which is in contact with either one of a source region or drain region of the transistor can be formed of metal such as aluminum, for example.", "Next, a dielectric film can be formed of titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, silicone nitride, silicon oxide, or the like, for example.", "Then, an upper electrode can be formed of tungsten silicide, polysilicon, or the like, for example, thereby forming a capacitor in the step.", "In addition, even when an element other than the DRAM is used, the present invention can be used in the case where the area of the element is expanded.", "FIG.", "15B is a circuit diagram of an element to which the present invention can be applied.", "A unit in which one terminal of a transistor 411 and an element 412 are connected to each other is considered as one cell.", "In addition, one cell is connected to another cell with a wiring.", "The other terminal of the transistor 411 is connected to a first wiring 413.In addition, a gate of the transistor 411 is connected to a second wiring 414.Thus, a wiring is provided between the adjacent elements; a thin film transistor connected to the element is arranged under the wiring; and a channel width direction of a channel formation region of the thin film transistor is arranged parallel to the direction in which current flows through the wiring, or arranged parallel to a longitudinal direction of the element.", "Thus, the area of the element or the number of elements can be increased.", "As the element 412, an organic memory, a photodiode, a piezoelectric element, or the like can be used, for example.", "When an organic memory is used as the element 412, a storage element can be formed.", "Note that, as a method of the is memory, there are a method in which memory is performed electrically by the selection of the first wiring 413 and the second wiring 414; a method in which memory is performed optically in such a way that the organic memory element, which uses an organic material, that is, a conjugated polymer material doped with a photoacid generator, is irradiated with laser light; and the like.", "When the organic memory element is formed, a certain amount of the area is necessary.", "In addition, in order to increase memory capacity, it is effective to increase the number of memory elements.", "Therefore, by using the structure of the present invention, the number of memory elements can be increased, which is effective.", "In addition, an optical sensor can be formed when a photodiode is used for the element 412.As the kinds of photodiodes, there are a PN photodiode, a PIN photodiode, an avalanche photodiode, a Schottky photodiode, and the like.", "The photoelectric conversion efficiency increases as the area of the photodiode increases; therefore, it is effective to use the structure of the present invention.", "In addition, by using a piezoelectric element as the element 412, a pressure sensor can be formed.", "Furthermore, a touch panel can be formed by forming a piezoelectric element and a display element over one substrate.", "As the piezoelectric element, there are a pressure sensitive sensor provided with a parallel-plate capacitor; a strain gage pressure sensor in which p-type silicon crystal is doped with an n-type impurity by thermal diffusion and a compensated intrinsic semiconductor region with high-resistance is used as a strain gage; and the like.", "When the piezoelectric element is formed, a certain amount of the area is necessary.", "In addition, a sensor with high sensitivity can be provided when the piezoelectric element has a larger area.", "Thus, it is effective to use the structure of the present invention.", "As described above, the present invention can be applied to various semiconductor devices.", "Embodiment Mode 11 A display device of the present invention can be used for display portions of various electronic devices.", "In particular, a display device of the present invention is desirably used for mobile devices required to be thin and light weight.", "In addition, the semiconductor device of the present invention can be used for various electronic devices.", "In particular, the semiconductor device of the present invention is desirably used for mobile devices required to be thin and Eight weight.", "Examples of electronic devices using the display device or the semiconductor device of the present invention in their housings are given as follows: a television apparatus ply referred to as TV, television, or television receiver), a camera (a video camera, a digital camera, or the like), a goggle type display, a navigation system, an audio reproducing device (car audio, an audio component, or the like), a computer, a game machine, a portable information terminal (a mobile computer, a portable phone, a portable game machine, an electronic book device, or the like), an image reproducing device provided with a recording medium (specifically, a device which reproduces a recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an HD DVD (High Definition DVD), or a Blu-ray Disk and which is equipped with a display for displaying the image), and other electronics each having a display portion.", "Specific examples of these electronic devices are shown in FIGS.", "17A to 17F.", "A portable information terminal shown in FIG.", "17A includes a main body 9201, a display portion 9202, and the like.", "A digital video camera shown in FIG.", "17B includes a main body 9702, a display portion 9701, and the like.", "A portable terminal shown in FIG.", "17C includes a main body 9101, a display portion 9102, and the like.", "A portable television apparatus shown in FIG.", "17D includes a main body 9301, a display portion 9302, and the like.", "Such a television apparatus can be widely applied to a small size television apparatus mounted on a portable terminal such as a portable phone, a medium size one which can be carried, and a large size one (e.g., 40 inches or more).", "A portable computer shown in FIG.", "17E includes a main body 9401, a display portion 9402, and the like.", "A television apparatus shown in FIG.", "17F includes a main body 9501, a display portion 9502, and the like.", "As described above, the present invention can be applied widely and used in manufacturing methods of every field of electronic devices.", "This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial No.", "2006-199292 filed in Japan Patent Office on Jul.", "21, 2006, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference." ] ]
Patent_15874939
[ [ "WATERMELON VARIETY NUN 31503 WMW", "The invention provides a new and distinct hybrid variety of Watermelon, NUN 31503 WMW, as well as seeds and plants and fruits thereof." ], [ "1.A plant, plant part or seed of triploid Watermelon variety NUN 31503 WMW, wherein a representative sample of seed of said variety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "2.The plant part of claim 1, further defined as a leaf, a seed, a fruit, a scion, a root, a rootstock, cutting, flower or a part of any of these or a cell.", "3.A seed that produces the plant of claim 1.4.A Watermelon plant which does not significantly differ from the plant of claim 1 in all of the distinguishing characteristics selected from the group consisting of: 1) average mature fruit length; 2) average mature fruit weight; 3) average mature fruit diameter; 4) blossom end rind thickness; 5) median rind thickness; 6) Refractometer % of soluble solids of juice (centre of fruit); 7) Flower diameter across staminate; and 8) petiole length, or a part of said plant.", "5.A Watermelon plant which does not differ from the plant of claim 1 as determined at the 5% significance level when grown under the same environmental conditions, or a part of said plant.", "6.A tissue or cell culture comprising cells of the plant of claim 1.7.The tissue or cell culture according to claim 6, comprising cells or protoplasts derived from a plant part selected from the group of plant parts suitable for vegetative reproduction, preferably from the group consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons, hypocotyl, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, petiole, flower, fruit, seed, stem and stalks.", "8.A Watermelon plant regenerated from the tissue or cell culture of claim 6 or 7, wherein the plant has all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of the plant of NUN 31503 WMW, or one characteristic that is different from NUN 31503 WMW, when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same environmental conditions, and wherein a representative sample of seed of NUN 31503 WMW is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "9.The plant of claim 8, where the different characteristic is effected by a mutation or by transformation.", "10.A method of producing the plant of claim 1, comprising vegetative propagation of at least a part of NUN 31503 WMW, wherein a representative sample of seed of said variety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "11.The method of claim 10, wherein said vegetative propagation comprises regenerating a whole plant from said part of NUN 31503 WMW, wherein a representative sample of seed of said variety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "12.The method of claim 10, wherein said part is a cutting, a cell culture or a tissue culture.", "13.A vegetative propagated plant, or a part of said propagated plant, propagated from the plant of claim 1 or the plant part of claim 2 wherein the vegetative propagated plant has all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of the plant of NUN 31503 WMW, or one characteristic that is different from NUN 31503 WMW, when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same conditions, and wherein a representative sample of seed of NUN 31503 WMW is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "14.A Watermelon plant having one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics which are different from those of the plant of claim 1 and which otherwise has all the physiological and morphological characteristics of the plant of claim 1, when determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same environmental conditions.", "15.The plant of claim 14, where the different characteristic is effected by a mutation or by transformation.", "16.The plant of claim 1 further comprising a single locus conversion, wherein said plant has all or all but one, two or three of the morphological and physiological characteristics of the plant of NUN 31503 WMW, wherein a representative sample of seed of said variety is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______, when said characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same environmental conditions when grown under the same environmental conditions, optionally wherein the single locus conversion confers a trait selected from the group consisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, disease resistance, environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism and modified protein metabolism.", "17.A doubled haploid cell or plant made from haploid cells of NUN 31503 WMW wherein a representative sample of seed of NUN 31503 WMW is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "18.Use of the cell or plant of claim 17 in a method for generating parental lines of NUN 31503 WMW.", "19.A method of producing a combination of parental lines of the plant of claim 1 comprising the steps of a. defining a set of genetic markers that are present in a heterozygous form in NUN 31503 WMW b. producing doubled haploid lines from NUN 31503 WMW: c. genetically characterizing the doubled haploid lines to determine whether they are present in a first homozygous form or in a second homozygous form; d. selecting at least one pair of doubled haploid lines that have complementary alleles for at least a subset of the genetic markers, wherein each member of the pair is suitable as a parental line for a hybrid organism.", "20.A combination of parental lines generated by the method of claim 19.21.A combination of two inbred plants which when crossed produce a seed or plant of claim 1.22.A plant comprising the scion or rootstock of claim 2.23.A container comprising a plant, plant part or seed of claim 1.24.A food or feed product or a processed product comprising the plant part of claim 2.25.Method for inducing mutation in the plant of claim 1 comprising the steps of a. Exposing a seed, a plant or a plant part of NUN 31503 WMW to a mutagenic chemical or to radiation, wherein a representative sample of seed of NUN 31503 WMW is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "b.", "Selecting a seed, a plant or a plant part or a cell of NUN 31503 WMW having a mutation 26.A method of producing a Watermelon fruit, comprising: a.", "Growing a plant of claim 1 until it sets fruit b.", "Collecting the fruit of step a)" ], [ "<SOH> FIELD OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, more specifically, to the development of NUN 31503 WMW (also designated as NUN 31503 or NUN 31503 triploid).", "The invention further relates to vegetative reproductions of NUN 31503 WMW, methods for tissue culture of NUN 31503 WMW and regenerating a plant from such a tissue culture and also to phenotypic variants of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits in a single variety.", "Such desirable traits may include greater yield, resistance to diseases, insects or other pests, tolerance to heat and drought, better agronomic quality, higher nutritional value, enhanced growth rate and improved fruit properties.", "Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.", "There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates if pollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower of the same genotype.", "A plant cross-pollinates if pollen comes to it from a flower of a different genotype.", "Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for (uniform) type over many generations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce a uniform population of true breeding progeny of homozygous plants.", "The development of uniform varieties requires the development of homozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants to make hybrids, and the evaluation of the hybrids resulting from the crosses.", "Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection are examples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbred plants from breeding populations.", "Those breeding methods combine the genetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-based sources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.", "The new plants are evaluated to determine which have commercial potential.", "One crop species which has been subject to such breeding programs and is of particular value is the Watermelon.", "One valuable crop which has been subject to breeding programs is Watermelon, a member of the Cucurbitacea family.", "The genus Citrullus originated in Africa.", "The plant is a large and sprawling annual, grown for its fruit.", "Watermelon fruit is often colored attractively, commonly red.", "Watermelon can contain black seeds, which are considered undesirable for certain uses.", "Many different watermelon cultivars have been produced, and watermelon breeding efforts have been underway in many parts of the world.", "Breeding objectives include varying the color, texture and flavor of the fruit, absence of seeds, disease or pest resistance, optimizing flesh thickness, yield, suitability to various climatic circumstances, solid content (% dry matter), and sugar content.", "Watermelon ( Citrullus lanatus ) can occur as a diploid, triploid or tetraploid.", "Seedless watermelon fruits are produced by using pollen from diploid male parent plants to fertilize flowers of tetraploid maternal parent plants.", "Pollination of the tetraploid flowers with diploid pollen leads to hybrid F1 seeds which are triploid (Kihara, 1951, Proceedings of American Society for Horticultural Science 58: 217-230; Eigsti 1971, Hort Science 6: 1-2).", "The triploid hybrid plants grown from these F1 seeds are self-infertile as they produce sterile pollen due to chromosome imbalance, and need to be pollinated by a diploid pollenizer to produce watermelon fruit.", "Triploid plants are, therefore, interplanted with pollenizer plants for fruit production.", "The “seedless” fruit produced after pollination on the triploid hybrid plant are not truly seedless, but often contain some undeveloped, small, pale seeds, which are edible.", "Plants are generally planted at a ratio of 1 pollenizer per every 2-4 triploid plants.", "Triploid plants and pollenizers are either planted in separate rows (e.g.", "1 row of pollenizer and 2-4 rows of triploids), or interplanted within rows (e.g.", "planting 1 pollenizer plant in between 2 to 3 triploid plants in the same row), or interplanted in narrow rows between rows of triploids (see a.o.", "Table 2 of US2006/0168701).", "The fruit produced on the pollenizer plants preferably has a different rind pattern from the fruit on the triploid hybrids, so that these can be easily distinguished.", "Although hybrid triploid (seedless) watermelons have been grown in the United States for many decades, there is still a need for improved varieties.", "Consumer demand is high, and the seedless fruit of triploid watermelons are very desired, both for the fresh and the processed market.", "Many different triploid watermelon varieties exist (available on the world wide web at cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/ which can be downloaded from cucurbit/wmelon/wmcultab.html), producing fruits of different sizes and shapes, as well as different fruit quality.", "Grading of fruits is usually done by fruit weight, to distinguish “mini” watermelons, with weights of less than 6 pounds (2.72 kg), “icebox” watermelons with weights of 8-12 pounds (3.62 kg-5.44 kg) or, according to others, of 6 to 15 pounds (2.72 kg to 6.8 kg) and “picnic” watermelons of above the icebox size, so either above 12 lb (above 5.44 kg) or above 15 pounds (above 6.8 kg).", "Furthermore, watermelon fruit flesh can have various colors, including various tints of red, pink, orange and yellow." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In an aspect of the invention, a seed of Watermelon variety NUN 31503 WMW is provided, wherein a representative sample of said seed will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "The invention also provides for a plurality of seeds of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The Watermelon seed of NUN 31503 WMW may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population of Watermelon seed.", "Therefore, seed of the invention may be defined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed, including at least about 98%, 99% or more of the seed.", "The population of seed of NUN 31503 WMW may be particularly defined as being essentially free from other seed.", "The seed population may be grown into plants to provide an essentially homogeneous population of Watermelon plants according to the invention.", "Also encompassed is a plant grown from a seed of Watermelon variety NUN 31503 WMW and a plant part thereof.", "In another aspect the invention provides for a variety of Watermelon called NUN 31503 WMW.", "The invention also provides for a progeny of NUN 31503 WMW.", "Especially, a plant or a progeny retaining all or all but one, two or three of the “morphological and physiological characteristics” of NUN 31503 WMW referred to herein, is encompassed herein as well as methods for producing that plant or progeny.", "In one aspect, a plant or a progeny of the invention have all the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "In another aspect such a plant or such progeny have all or all but one, two or three of the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW when measured under the same environmental conditions and evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% significance (which can also be expressed as a p-value) wherein a representative sample of seed of variety NUN 31503 WMW will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "In a second aspect, a plant or a progeny of the invention have all the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "In another aspect such a plant or such progeny have all or all but one, two or three of the physiological and morphological characteristics as listed in Table 1 and/or 2 for variety NUN 31503 WMW when measured under the same environmental conditions and evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% significance.", "In another aspect a plant of NUN 31503 WMW or said progeny plants has 5, 6, or more or all of the distinguishing characteristics (averages): 1) average mature fruit length; 2) average mature fruit weight; 3) average mature fruit diameter; 4) blossom end rind thickness; 5) median rind thickness; 6) Refractometer % of soluble solids of juice (centre of fruit); 7) Flower diameter across staminate; and 8) petiole length.", "NUN 31503 WMW is a triploid Watermelon and does not form seed.", "The market segment is “personal size”.", "Also a plant part obtained from variety NUN 31503 WMW is provided, wherein said plant part is selected from the group consisting of: a fruit, a harvested fruit, a part of a fruit, a leaf, a part of a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a cell, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stem or a part thereof, a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, a seed of NUN 31503 WMW, a part of a seed of NUN 31503 WMW, hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, a stock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or a part thereof.", "Fruits are particularly important plant parts.", "In a further embodiment, the plant part obtained from variety NUN 31503 WMW is a cell, optionally a cell in a cell or tissue culture.", "That cell may be grown into a plant of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The invention also provides a cell culture of NUN 31503 WMW and a plant regenerated from NUN 31503 WMW, which plant has all the characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions, as well as methods for regenerating NUN 31503 WMW.", "Alternatively, a regenerated plant may have one characteristic that is different from NUN 31503 WMW.", "Further, a vegetatively propagated plant of variety NUN 31503 WMW is provided having all or all but one, two or three of the morphological and physiological characteristics NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "Further, a Watermelon fruit produced on a plant grown from a seed of NUN 31503 WMW is provided.", "In still another aspect, a seed growing or grown on a plant of NUN 31503 WMW is provided (i.e.", "produced after pollination of the flower of NUN 31503 WMW)." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "62/450,609, filed 26 Jan. 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, more specifically, to the development of NUN 31503 WMW (also designated as NUN 31503 or NUN 31503 triploid).", "The invention further relates to vegetative reproductions of NUN 31503 WMW, methods for tissue culture of NUN 31503 WMW and regenerating a plant from such a tissue culture and also to phenotypic variants of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits in a single variety.", "Such desirable traits may include greater yield, resistance to diseases, insects or other pests, tolerance to heat and drought, better agronomic quality, higher nutritional value, enhanced growth rate and improved fruit properties.", "Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.", "There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates if pollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower of the same genotype.", "A plant cross-pollinates if pollen comes to it from a flower of a different genotype.", "Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for (uniform) type over many generations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce a uniform population of true breeding progeny of homozygous plants.", "The development of uniform varieties requires the development of homozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants to make hybrids, and the evaluation of the hybrids resulting from the crosses.", "Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection are examples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbred plants from breeding populations.", "Those breeding methods combine the genetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-based sources into breeding pools from which new lines are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.", "The new plants are evaluated to determine which have commercial potential.", "One crop species which has been subject to such breeding programs and is of particular value is the Watermelon.", "One valuable crop which has been subject to breeding programs is Watermelon, a member of the Cucurbitacea family.", "The genus Citrullus originated in Africa.", "The plant is a large and sprawling annual, grown for its fruit.", "Watermelon fruit is often colored attractively, commonly red.", "Watermelon can contain black seeds, which are considered undesirable for certain uses.", "Many different watermelon cultivars have been produced, and watermelon breeding efforts have been underway in many parts of the world.", "Breeding objectives include varying the color, texture and flavor of the fruit, absence of seeds, disease or pest resistance, optimizing flesh thickness, yield, suitability to various climatic circumstances, solid content (% dry matter), and sugar content.", "Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) can occur as a diploid, triploid or tetraploid.", "Seedless watermelon fruits are produced by using pollen from diploid male parent plants to fertilize flowers of tetraploid maternal parent plants.", "Pollination of the tetraploid flowers with diploid pollen leads to hybrid F1 seeds which are triploid (Kihara, 1951, Proceedings of American Society for Horticultural Science 58: 217-230; Eigsti 1971, Hort Science 6: 1-2).", "The triploid hybrid plants grown from these F1 seeds are self-infertile as they produce sterile pollen due to chromosome imbalance, and need to be pollinated by a diploid pollenizer to produce watermelon fruit.", "Triploid plants are, therefore, interplanted with pollenizer plants for fruit production.", "The “seedless” fruit produced after pollination on the triploid hybrid plant are not truly seedless, but often contain some undeveloped, small, pale seeds, which are edible.", "Plants are generally planted at a ratio of 1 pollenizer per every 2-4 triploid plants.", "Triploid plants and pollenizers are either planted in separate rows (e.g.", "1 row of pollenizer and 2-4 rows of triploids), or interplanted within rows (e.g.", "planting 1 pollenizer plant in between 2 to 3 triploid plants in the same row), or interplanted in narrow rows between rows of triploids (see a.o.", "Table 2 of US2006/0168701).", "The fruit produced on the pollenizer plants preferably has a different rind pattern from the fruit on the triploid hybrids, so that these can be easily distinguished.", "Although hybrid triploid (seedless) watermelons have been grown in the United States for many decades, there is still a need for improved varieties.", "Consumer demand is high, and the seedless fruit of triploid watermelons are very desired, both for the fresh and the processed market.", "Many different triploid watermelon varieties exist (available on the world wide web at cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/ which can be downloaded from cucurbit/wmelon/wmcultab.html), producing fruits of different sizes and shapes, as well as different fruit quality.", "Grading of fruits is usually done by fruit weight, to distinguish “mini” watermelons, with weights of less than 6 pounds (2.72 kg), “icebox” watermelons with weights of 8-12 pounds (3.62 kg-5.44 kg) or, according to others, of 6 to 15 pounds (2.72 kg to 6.8 kg) and “picnic” watermelons of above the icebox size, so either above 12 lb (above 5.44 kg) or above 15 pounds (above 6.8 kg).", "Furthermore, watermelon fruit flesh can have various colors, including various tints of red, pink, orange and yellow.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In an aspect of the invention, a seed of Watermelon variety NUN 31503 WMW is provided, wherein a representative sample of said seed will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "The invention also provides for a plurality of seeds of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The Watermelon seed of NUN 31503 WMW may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population of Watermelon seed.", "Therefore, seed of the invention may be defined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed, including at least about 98%, 99% or more of the seed.", "The population of seed of NUN 31503 WMW may be particularly defined as being essentially free from other seed.", "The seed population may be grown into plants to provide an essentially homogeneous population of Watermelon plants according to the invention.", "Also encompassed is a plant grown from a seed of Watermelon variety NUN 31503 WMW and a plant part thereof.", "In another aspect the invention provides for a variety of Watermelon called NUN 31503 WMW.", "The invention also provides for a progeny of NUN 31503 WMW.", "Especially, a plant or a progeny retaining all or all but one, two or three of the “morphological and physiological characteristics” of NUN 31503 WMW referred to herein, is encompassed herein as well as methods for producing that plant or progeny.", "In one aspect, a plant or a progeny of the invention have all the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "In another aspect such a plant or such progeny have all or all but one, two or three of the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW when measured under the same environmental conditions and evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% significance (which can also be expressed as a p-value) wherein a representative sample of seed of variety NUN 31503 WMW will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "In a second aspect, a plant or a progeny of the invention have all the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "In another aspect such a plant or such progeny have all or all but one, two or three of the physiological and morphological characteristics as listed in Table 1 and/or 2 for variety NUN 31503 WMW when measured under the same environmental conditions and evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% significance.", "In another aspect a plant of NUN 31503 WMW or said progeny plants has 5, 6, or more or all of the distinguishing characteristics (averages): 1) average mature fruit length; 2) average mature fruit weight; 3) average mature fruit diameter; 4) blossom end rind thickness; 5) median rind thickness; 6) Refractometer % of soluble solids of juice (centre of fruit); 7) Flower diameter across staminate; and 8) petiole length.", "NUN 31503 WMW is a triploid Watermelon and does not form seed.", "The market segment is “personal size”.", "Also a plant part obtained from variety NUN 31503 WMW is provided, wherein said plant part is selected from the group consisting of: a fruit, a harvested fruit, a part of a fruit, a leaf, a part of a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a cell, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stem or a part thereof, a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, a seed of NUN 31503 WMW, a part of a seed of NUN 31503 WMW, hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, a stock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or a part thereof.", "Fruits are particularly important plant parts.", "In a further embodiment, the plant part obtained from variety NUN 31503 WMW is a cell, optionally a cell in a cell or tissue culture.", "That cell may be grown into a plant of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The invention also provides a cell culture of NUN 31503 WMW and a plant regenerated from NUN 31503 WMW, which plant has all the characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions, as well as methods for regenerating NUN 31503 WMW.", "Alternatively, a regenerated plant may have one characteristic that is different from NUN 31503 WMW.", "Further, a vegetatively propagated plant of variety NUN 31503 WMW is provided having all or all but one, two or three of the morphological and physiological characteristics NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "Further, a Watermelon fruit produced on a plant grown from a seed of NUN 31503 WMW is provided.", "In still another aspect, a seed growing or grown on a plant of NUN 31503 WMW is provided (i.e.", "produced after pollination of the flower of NUN 31503 WMW).", "Definitions All patent and non-patent documents cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "“Watermelon” refers herein to plants of the species Citrullus lanatus.", "The most commonly eaten part of a Watermelon is the fruit.", "The fruit comprises a stem and peduncle or pedicel, receptacle, ectocarp, rind, fruit flesh, exocarp, mesocarp, external phloem, internal phloem, xylem, vascular bundle, carpel, placenta and optionally seed.", "The stem and peduncle or pedicel, receptacle, ectocarp, rind, fruit flesh, exocarp, mesocarp, external phloem, internal phloem, xylem, vascular bundle, carpel, placenta and seedcoat of the seed are maternal tissues, that is they are genetically identical to the plant on which they grow.", "“Cultivated Watermelon” refers to plants of Citrullus lanatus i.e.", "varieties, breeding lines or cultivars of the species C. lanatus, cultivated by humans and having good agronomic characteristics; preferably such plants are not “wild plants”, i.e.", "plants which generally have much poorer yields and poorer agronomic characteristics than cultivated plants and e.g.", "grow naturally in wild populations.", "“Wild plants” include for example ecotypes, PI (Plant Introduction) lines, landraces or wild accessions or wild relatives of Watermelon.", "The terms “Watermelon plant designated NUN 31503 WMW”, “NUN 31503 WMW”, “NUN 31503”, “NUN 31503 F1”, “31503 WMW” or “Watermelon 31503” are used interchangeably herein and refer to a Watermelon plant of variety NUN 31503 WMW, representative seed of which will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "A “seed of NUN 31503 WMW” refers to a Watermelon seed which can be grown into a plant of NUN 31503 WMW wherein a representative sample of viable seed of NUN 31503 WMW will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "A seed can be in any stage of maturity, for example a mature, viable seed, or an immature, non-viable seed.", "A seed comprises an embryo and maternal tissues.", "An “embryo of NUN 31503 WMW” refers to an “F1 hybrid embryo” as present in a seed of NUN 31503 WMW, a representative sample of said seed of NUN 31503 WMW will be deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "The embryo is a triploid hybrid.", "A “fruit of NUN 31503 WMW” refers to a fruit containing maternal tissues of NUN 31503 WMW as deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "The fruit of NUN 31503 WMW is seedless, as is usual for triploid watermelons.", "The skilled person is also familiar with methods for inducing parthenocarpy.", "Those methods comprise chemically or genetically inducing parthenocarpy, or by use of irradiated pollen (Moussa and Salem, 2010).", "Compounds suitable for chemically inducing parthenocarpy include auxins, gibberellins and cytokinins (see a.o.", "Hayata et al., 1995).", "A fruit can be in any stage of maturity, for example a mature fruit in the stage comprising viable seed, or an immature fruit comprising non-viable seed.", "In watermelon, growing triploid plants to produce seedless fruits is particularly preferred, see a.o.", "WO2010111031.“Tissue culture” or “cell culture” refers to a composition comprising isolated cells of the same or a different type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of a plant.", "Tissue culture of various tissues of watermelon and regeneration of plants therefrom is well known and widely published (see, e.g., Compton et al., Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 77: 231-243, 2004).", "Similarly, the skilled person is well-aware how to prepare a “cell culture”.", "“UPOV descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described for watermelon in the “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability, TG/142/5 (Geneva, 2013), as published by UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties and Plants, available on the world wide web at upov.int) and which can be downloaded from the world wide web at upov.int/ under edocs/tgdocs/en/tg142.pdf and is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "“USDA descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors for watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) as published by the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Plant Variety Protection Office, Beltsville, Md.", "20705 (available on the world wide web at ams.usda.gov) and which can be downloaded from the world wide web at /sites/default/files/media/18-Watermelon%20ST-470-18%202015.pdf.", "“RHS” refers to the Royal Horticultural Society of England which publishes an official botanical color chart quantitatively identifying colors according to a defined numbering system.", "The chart may be purchased from Royal Horticulture Society Enterprise Ltd RHS Garden; Wisley, Woking; Surrey GU236QB, UK, e.g., the RHS colour chart: 2007 (The Royal Horticultural Society, charity No: 222879, PO Box 313 London SW1P2PE.", "As used herein and except as otherwise indicated, the term “plant” includes the whole plant or any part thereof, preferably having the same genetic makeup as the plant from which it is obtained, such as a plant organ (e.g.", "harvested or non-harvested fruits), a plant cell, a plant protoplast, a plant cell tissue culture or a tissue culture from which a whole plant can be regenerated, a plant cell that is intact in a plant, a clone, a micropropagation, plant callus, a plant cell clump, a plant transplant, a vegetative propagation, a seedling, or parts of a plant (e.g.", "harvested tissues or organs), such as a fruit, a harvested fruit, a part of a fruit, a leaf, a part of a leaf, pollen, an ovule, an embryo, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stem or a part thereof, a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, a seed, a part of a seed hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, a graft, a stock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or parts of any of these and the like.", "Also any developmental stage is included, such as seedlings, cuttings prior or after rooting, mature plants or leaves.", "“Harvested plant material” refers herein to plant parts (e.g.", "fruits detached from the whole plant) which have been collected for further storage and/or further use.", "“Reference Variety” or “check variety” refers herein to variety Pixie, a commercial variety from company Nunhems B.V., which has been planted in a trial together with NUN 31503 WMW.", "USDA descriptors of NUN 31503 WMW were compared to the USDA descriptors of Pixie.", "“Rootstock” or “stock” refers to the plant selected for its roots, in particular for the resistance of the roots to diseases or stress (e.g.", "heat, cold, salinity etc.).", "Normally the quality of the fruit of the plant providing the rootstock is less important.", "“Scion” refers to a part of the plant that is attached to the rootstock.", "This plant is selected for its stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits.", "The scion contains the desired genes to be duplicated in future production by the stock/scion plant and may produce the desired Watermelon fruit.", "“Stock/scion” plant refers to a Watermelon plant comprising a rootstock from one plant grafted to a scion from another plant.", "A plant having “all the physiological and morphological characteristics” of a referred-to-plant means a plant showing the physiological and morphological characteristics of the referred-to-plant when grown under the same environmental conditions, preferably in the same experiment; the referred-to-plant can be a plant from which it was derived, e.g.", "the progenitor plant, the parent, the recurrent parent, the plant used for tissue- or cell culture, etc.", "A physiological or morphological characteristic can be a numerical characteristic or a non-numerical characteristic.", "In one aspect, a plant has “all but one, two or three of the physiological and morphological characteristics” of a referred-to-plant, or “all the physiological and morphological characteristics” of Table 1 and/or 2 or “all or all but one, two or three of the physiological and morphological characteristics” of Table 1 and/or 2.The physiological and/or morphological characteristics mentioned above are commonly evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5% or 10% if they are numerical, or for having an identical degree (or type) if not numerical, if measured under the same environmental conditions.", "For example, a progeny plant or a Single Locus Converted plant or a mutated plant of NUN 31503 WMW may have one or more (or all) of the essential physiological and/or morphological characteristics of said variety listed in Table 1 and/or 2, as determined at the 5% significance level (i.e.", "p<0.05) when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "“Distinguishing characteristics” or “distinguishing morphological and/or physiological characteristics” refers herein to the characteristics which distinguish (i.e.", "are different) between the new variety and other Watermelon varieties, such as the Reference Variety, when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "The distinguishing characteristics between NUN 31503 WMW and Reference Variety are described elsewhere herein and also can be seen in Table 1 and/or Table 2.When comparing NUN 31503 WMW with different varieties, the distinguishing characteristics will be different.", "In one aspect, the distinguishing characteristics may therefore include at least one, two, three or more (or all) of the characteristics listed in Table 1 and/or 2 and/or 3.All numerical distinguishing characteristics are statistically significantly different at p<0.05 between NUN 31503 WMW and the other variety, e.g.", "Reference Variety.", "NUN 31503 WMW has the following distinguishing characteristics when compared to the Reference Variety Pixie: 1) average mature fruit length; 2) average mature fruit weight; 3) average mature fruit diameter; 4) blossom end rind thickness; 5) median rind thickness; 6) Refractometer % of soluble solids of juice (centre of fruit); 7) Flower diameter across staminate; and 8) petiole length.", "This can be seen in among others Table 1, where the USDA characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW are compared to the characteristics of Reference Variety, when grown under the same environmental conditions Thus, a Watermelon plant “comprising the distinguishing characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW (such as a progeny plant) refers herein to a plant which does not differ significantly from said variety in the distinguishing characteristics above.", "Therefore in one aspect a plant (such as a progeny plant of NUN 31503 WMW) is provided which does not differ significantly from NUN 31503 WMW in the distinguishing characteristics above.", "Similarity and differences between two different plant lines or varieties can be determined by comparing the number of morphological and/or physiological characteristics (e.g.", "the characteristics as listed in Table 1 and/or 2) that are the same (i.e.", "statistically not significantly different) or that are different (i.e.", "statistically significantly different) between the two plant lines or varieties when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "A numerical characteristic is considered to be “the same” when the value for a numeric characteristic is not significantly different at the 1% (p<0.01) or 5% (p<0.05) significance level, using one way Analysis of variance (ANOVA), a standard method known to the skilled person.", "Non-numerical or “degree” or “type” characteristic are considered “the same” when the values have the same “degree” or “type” when scored using USDA and/or UPOV descriptors, if the plants are grown under the same environmental conditions.", "As used herein, the term “variety”, “cultivated Watermelon” or “cultivar” means a plant grouping within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which grouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of a breeder's right are fully met, can be defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination of genotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the said characteristics and considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.", "A “plant line” is for example a breeding line which can be used to develop one or more varieties.", "A breeding line is typically highly homozygous.", "“Hybrid variety” or “F1 hybrid” refers to the seeds harvested from crossing two inbred (nearly homozygous) parental lines.", "For example, the female parent is pollinated with pollen of the male parent to produce hybrid (F1) seeds on the female parent.", "It also comprises triploid hybrids, where one parental line is tetraploid and the other parental line is diploid “Regeneration” refers to the development of a plant from cell culture or tissue culture or vegetative propagation.", "“Vegetative propagation”, “vegetative reproduction” or “clonal propagation” are used interchangeably herein and mean a method of taking a part of a plant and allowing that plant part to form at least roots, and also refer to the plant or plantlet obtained by that method.", "Optionally, the vegetative propagation is grown into a mature plant.", "The skilled person is aware of what plant parts are suitable for use in the method.", "“Selfing” refers to self-pollination of a plant, i.e., the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of the same plant.", "“Crossing” refers to the mating of two parent plants.", "The term encompasses “cross-pollination” and “selfing”.", "“Cross-pollination” refers to the fertilization by the union of two gametes from different plants.", "“Yield” means the total weight of all Watermelon fruits harvested per hectare of a particular line or variety.", "It is understood that “yield” expressed as weight of all Watermelon fruits harvested per hectare can be obtained by multiplying the number of plants per hectare times the “yield per plant”.", "“Marketable yield” means the total weight of all marketable Watermelon fruits, especially fruit that is not cracked, damaged or diseased, harvested per hectare of a particular line or variety.", "As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” are used interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms or significantly reduced symptoms to a specified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmental condition compared to a susceptible plant.", "These terms are optionally also used to describe plants showing some symptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with an acceptable yield.", "“Harvest maturity” is referred to as the stage at which a Watermelon fruit is ripe or ready for harvest or the optimal time to harvest the fruit for the market, for processing or for consumption.", "In one embodiment, harvest maturity is the stage which allows proper completion of the normal ripening.", "“Flavor” (or flavour) refers to the sensory impression of a food or other substance, especially a Watermelon fruit or fruit part (fruit flesh) and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell.", "Flavor is influenced by texture properties and by volatile and/or non-volatile chemical components (organic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, salts etc.).", "“Aroma” refers to smell (or odor) characteristics of Watermelon fruits or fruit parts (fruit flesh).", "The term “traditional breeding techniques” encompasses herein crossing, selfing, selection, doubled haploid production, embryo rescue, protoplast fusion, marker assisted selection, mutation breeding etc.", "as known to the breeder (i.e.", "methods other than genetic modification/transformation/transgenic methods), by which, for example, a genetically heritable trait can be transferred from one Watermelon line or variety to another.", "It optionally includes epigenetic modifications.", "“Backcrossing” is a traditional breeding technique used to introduce a trait into a plant line or variety.", "The plant containing the trait is called the donor plant and the plant into which the trait is transferred is called the recurrent parent.", "An initial cross is made between the donor parent and the recurrent parent to produce a progeny plant.", "Progeny plants which have the trait are then crossed to the recurrent parent.", "After several generations of backcrossing and/or selfing the recurrent parent comprises the trait of the donor.", "The plant generated in this way may be referred to as a “single trait converted plant”.", "The technique can also be used on a parental line of a hybrid.", "“Progeny” as used herein refers to a plant obtained from a plant designated NUN 31503 WMW.", "A progeny may be obtained by regeneration of cell culture or tissue culture or parts of a plant of said variety or selfing of a plant of said variety or by producing seeds of a plant of said variety.", "A progeny may comprise a mutation or a transgene.", "A first generation progeny” or is the progeny directly derived from, obtained from, obtainable from or derivable from the parent plant by, e.g., regeneration.", "Progeny may have all the physiological and morphological characteristics of variety NUN 31503 WMW when grown under the same environmental conditions and/or progeny may have (be selected for having) one or more of the distinguishing characteristics of Watermelon of the invention.", "The terms “gene converted” or “conversion plant” or “single locus converted plant” in this context refer to Watermelon plants which are developed by backcrossing wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of the parent variety or line are recovered, in addition to the one or more genes transferred into the parent via the backcrossing technique (optionally including reverse breeding or reverse synthesis of breeding lines) or via genetic engineering or through mutation breeding.", "Likewise a “Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant” refers to plants which are developed by plant breeding techniques comprising or consisting of backcrossing, wherein essentially all of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of a Watermelon variety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the single locus having been transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/or by genetic transformation and/or by mutation.", "In case of a hybrid, the gene may be introduced in the male or female parental line.", "“Marker” refers to a readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited in codominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygote are readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e., a heritability of 1.“Average” refers herein to the arithmetic mean.", "The term “mean” refers to the arithmetic mean of several measurements.", "The skilled person understands that the appearance of a plant depends to some extent on the growing conditions of said plant.", "Thus, the skilled person will know typical growing conditions for Watermelons described herein.", "The mean, if not indicated otherwise within this application, refers to the arithmetic mean of measurements on at least 10 different, randomly selected plants of a variety or line.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a plant of NUN 31503 WMW wherein a representative sample of seeds of said variety is deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession number NCIMB ______.", "The present invention also relates to a seed of Watermelon variety, referred to as NUN 31503 WMW, wherein a representative sample of said seed is deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession number NCIMB ______.", "In another aspect, the invention provides for a Watermelon plant part of variety NUN 31503 WMW, preferably a fruit, a representative sample of seed from said variety is deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession number NCIMB ______.", "A seed of variety NUN 31503 WMW is obtainable by crossing the male parent of said variety with the female parent of said variety and harvesting the seeds produced on the female parent.", "The resultant seed of NUN 31503 WMW can be grown to produce plants of said variety.", "In one embodiment a seed or a plurality of seeds of said variety are packaged into a container of any size or type (e.g., bag, carton, can, etc.).", "The seed may be disinfected, primed and/or treated with various compounds, such as seed coatings or crop protection compounds.", "The seed produces a plant of NUN 31503 WMW.", "Also provided is a plant of Watermelon variety NUN 31503 WMW, or a fruit or other plant part thereof, produced from a seed, wherein a representative sample of said seed is deposited under the Budapest Treaty, with Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "Also a plant part obtained from variety NUN 31503 WMW is provided, wherein said plant part is selected from the group consisting of: a fruit, a harvested fruit, a part of a fruit, a leaf, a part of a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a cell, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stem or a part thereof, a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, a seed, a part of a seed, hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, a stock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or a part thereof.", "Fruits are particularly important plant parts.", "Fruits are parthenocarpic, or seedless, or contain immature and/or nonviable seeds.", "In a further embodiment, the plant part obtained from variety NUN 31503 WMW is a cell, optionally a cell in a cell or tissue culture.", "That cell may be grown into a plant of NUN 31503 WMW.", "A part of a variety of the invention, i.e.", "NUN 31503 WMW (or of progeny NUN 31503 WMW or of a plant having all physiological and/or morphological characteristics but one, two or three which are different from those of NUN 31503 WMW) further encompasses any cells, tissues, organs obtainable from the seedlings or plants in any stage of maturity.", "The invention also provides for a food or feed product or a processed product comprising or consisting of a plant part described herein wherein the plant part can be identified as a part of the plant of the invention.", "Preferably, the plant part is a Watermelon fruit or part thereof and/or an extract from a fruit or another plant part described herein comprising at least one cell of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The food or feed product may be fresh or processed, e.g., dried, grinded, powdered, pickled, chopped, cooked, roasted, in a sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed or concentrated, juiced, pickled, canned, steamed, boiled, fried, blanched and/or frozen, etc.", "Such a plant part of NUN 31503 WMW can be stored and/or processed further.", "Encompassed are therefore also food or feed products comprising one or more of such parts, such as canned, chopped, cooked, roasted, in a sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed or concentrated, juiced, frozen, dried, pickled, or powdered Watermelon fruit from NUN 31503 WMW or from progeny of said varieties, or from a derived variety, such as a plant having all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW.", "In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides for a Watermelon fruit of triploid variety NUN 31503 WMW, or a part of a fruit of said varieties.", "The fruit can be in any stage of maturity, for example immature or mature.", "In another embodiment, the invention provides for a container comprising or consisting of a plurality of harvested Watermelon fruits or parts of fruits of said variety, or fruits of progeny thereof, or fruits of a derived variety.", "In another embodiment the plant, plant part or seed of NUN 31503 WMW is inside a container, For example, containers such as cans, boxes, crates, bags, cartons, Modified Atmosphere Packagings, films (e.g.", "biodegradable films), etc.", "comprising a plant or a part of a plant (fresh and/or processed) of NUN 31503 WMW or a seed of NUN 31503 WMW are also provided herein.", "In a preferred embodiment, the container comprises a plurality of seeds of NUN 31503 WMW, or a plurality of plant parts of NUN 31503 WMW.", "The present invention further relates to a Watermelon variety, referred to as NUN 31503 WMW which—when compared to its REFERENCE VARIETY Pixie—has the following distinguishing characteristics: 1) average mature fruit length; 2) average mature fruit weight; 3) average mature fruit diameter; 4) blossom end rind thickness; 5) median rind thickness; 6) Refractometer % of soluble solids of juice (center of fruit); 7) Flower diameter across staminate; and 8) petiole length, where the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same environmental conditions.", "Also encompassed by the present invention are parts of that plant.", "In one embodiment a plant of NUN 31503 WMW or a progeny plant thereof, comprises all of the following morphological and/or physiological characteristics (i.e.", "average values of distinguishing characteristics, as indicated on the USDA Objective description of variety—Watermelon (unless indicated otherwise)): 1) average mature fruit length; 2) average mature fruit weight; 3) average mature fruit diameter; 4) blossom end rind thickness; 5) median rind thickness; 6) Refractometer % of soluble solids of juice (centre of fruit); 7) Flower diameter across staminate; and 8) petiole length, where the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same environmental conditions.", "An example of values for the distinguishing characteristics collected in a trial run according to UDSA requirements can be found in Table 1.A part of this plant is also provided.", "In another embodiment NUN 31503 WMW has resistance to Colletotrichum lagenarium race 1 that is 9—present (scale 1—absent/9—present) measured according to UPOV standards.", "The invention further provides a Watermelon plant which does not differ from the plant of NUN 31503 WMW as determined at the 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% or 5% significance level when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "Thus the plants are measured in the same trial.", "Preferably, the trial is conducted as recommended by the USDA or UPOV.", "The invention also comprises a part of said plant The invention also provides a tissue or cell culture comprising cells of NUN 31503 WMW.", "Such a tissue culture can be for example be grown on plates or in liquid culture, or be frozen for long term storage.", "The cells of NUN 31503 WMW used to start the culture can be selected from any plant part suitable for vegetative reproduction, or in a preferred embodiment can be selected from embryos, meristems, cotyledons, hypocotyl, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, petiole, flower, fruit, seed, stem and stalks of NUN 31503 WMW.", "In another preferred embodiment, the tissue culture does not contain somaclonal variation or has reduced somaclonal variation.", "The skilled person is familiar with methods to reduce somaclonal variation, including regular reinitiation.", "In one embodiment the invention provides a Watermelon plant regenerated from the tissue or cell culture of NUN 31503 WMW, wherein the regenerated plant is not significantly different from NUN 31503 WMW in all, or all but one, two or three, of the physiological and morphological characteristics (determined at the 5% significance level when grown under the same environmental conditions).", "Optionally, the plant has one, two or three the physiological and morphological characteristics that are effected by a mutation, preferably an induced mutation, or by transformation.", "In another embodiment, the invention provides a Watermelon plant regenerated from the tissue or cell culture of NUN 31503 WMW, wherein the plant has all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of said variety determined at the 5% significance level when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "In these cases, similarity or difference of a characteristic is determined by measuring the characteristics of a representative number of plants grown under the same environmental conditions, determining whether type/degree characteristics are the same or different and determining whether numerical characteristics are significantly different (determined at the 5% significance level).", "A Watermelon according to the invention, such as NUN 31503 WMW, or its progeny, or a plant having all physiological and/or morphological characteristics but one, two or three which are different from those of NUN 31503 WMW, can also be reproduced using vegetative reproduction methods.", "Therefore, the invention provides for a method of producing a plant, or a part thereof, of variety NUN 31503 WMW, comprising vegetative propagation of said variety.", "Vegetative propagation comprises regenerating a whole plant from a plant part of variety NUN 31503 WMW (or from a progeny of said variety or from or a plant having all physiological and/or morphological characteristics of said variety but one, two or three different characteristics), such as a cutting, a cell culture or a tissue culture.", "The invention also concerns methods of vegetatively propagating a part of the plant of the invention NUN 31503 WMW.", "In certain embodiments, the method comprises the steps of: (a) collecting tissue or cells capable of being propagated from a plant of the invention; (b) cultivating said tissue or cells to obtain proliferated shoots; and (c) rooting said proliferated shoots, to obtain rooted plantlets.", "Steps (b) and (c) may also be reversed, i.e.", "first cultivating said tissue to obtain roots and then cultivating the tissue to obtain shoots, thereby obtaining rooted plantlets.", "The rooted plantlets may then be further grown, to obtain plants.", "In one embodiment, the method further comprises step (d) growing plants from said rooted plantlets.", "Therefore, the method also comprises regenerating a whole plant from said part of NUN 31503 WMW.", "In a preferred embodiment, the part of the plant to be propagated is is a cutting, a cell culture or a tissue culture.", "The invention also provides for a vegetatively propagated plant of variety NUN 31503 WMW (or from or a plant having all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW) wherein the plant has all of the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same conditions.", "In another embodiment, the propagated plant has all but one, two or three of the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same conditions.", "A part of said propagated plant or said propagated plant with one, two or three differences is also included.", "In an embodiment, the invention provides a method for producing a Watermelon plant, comprising the steps of: a.", "Growing a plant of NUN 31503 WMW until it sets fruit b.", "Collecting the fruit of step a) Preferably, the fruit is collected at harvest maturity.", "In another embodiment, the fruit is collected when the seed is ripe.", "A plant of NUN 31503 WMW can be produced by seeding directly in the soil (e.g., field) or by germinating the seeds in controlled environment conditions (e.g., greenhouses) and optionally then transplanting the seedlings into the field.", "For example, the seed can be sown into prepared seed beds where they will remain for the entire production the crop The morphological and/or physiological differences between two different individual plants of the invention (e.g.", "between NUN 31503 WMW and a progeny of NUN 31503 WMW) or between a plant of NUN 31503 WMW or progeny of said variety, or a plant having all, or all but 1, 2, or 3, of the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW (or all, or all but 1, 2, or 3 of the characteristics as listed in Table 1 and/or 2) and another known variety can easily be established by growing said variety next to each other or next to the other variety (in the same field, under the same environmental conditions), preferably in several locations which are suitable for said Watermelon cultivation, and measuring morphological and/or physiological characteristics of a number of plants (e.g., to calculate an average value and to determine the variation range/uniformity within the variety).", "For example, trials can be carried out in Acampo Calif., USA (N 38 degrees 07′261″/W 121 degrees 18′807″, USA, whereby various characteristics, for example maturity, days from seeding to harvest, plant habit, plant attitude, leaf shape, leaf color, blistering, numbers of flowers per leaf axil, number of calyx lobes, number of petals, fruit group, immature fruit color, mature fruit color, pungency, flavor, fruit glossiness, fruit size, fruit shape, average number of fruits per plant, seed size, seed weight, anthocyanin level, disease resistance, insect resistance, can be measured and directly compared for species of Watermelon.", "Thus, the invention comprises Watermelon plant having one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics which are different from those of the plant of NUN 31503 WMW and which otherwise has all the physiological and morphological characteristics of the plant of NUN 31503 WMW, when determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same environmental conditions.", "In a preferred embodiment, the different characteristic is effected by a mutation, preferably an induced mutation, or by transformation.", "The morphological and physiological characteristics (and the distinguishing characteristics) of NUN 31503 WMW are provided in the Examples, in Table 1 and/or 2.Encompassed herein is also a plant obtainable from NUN 31503 WMW (e.g.", "by selfings and/or crossing and/or backcrossing with said variety and/or progeny of said variety) comprising all or all but one, two or three of the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW listed in Table 1 and/or 2 as determined at the 5% significance level for numerical characteristics or identical for non-numerical characteristics when grown under the same environmental conditions and/or comprising one or more (or all; or all except one, two or three) characteristics when grown under the same environmental conditions.", "Also at-harvest and/or post-harvest characteristics of fruits can be compared, such as cold storage holding quality, post-harvest flesh firmness, and Brix can be measured using known methods.", "(Fruit) Flesh firmness can for example be measured using a penetrometer, e.g.", "by inserting a probe into the fruit flesh and determining the insertion force, or by other methods.", "Fruit flesh firmness can for example be measured using a “FT 327 Penetrometer”, available from QA Supplies LLC, 1185 Pineridge Road, Norfolk, Va. 23502.The morphological and/or physiological characteristics may vary somewhat with variation in the environment (such as temperature, light intensity, day length, humidity, soil, fertilizer use), which is why a comparison under the same environmental conditions is preferred.", "Colors can best be measured against The Munsell Book of Color (Munsell Color Macbeth Division of Kollmorgan Instruments Corporation) or using the Royal Horticultural Society Chart (World Wide Web at rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHS-colour-charts).", "In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides for a Watermelon fruit of variety NUN 31503 WMW, or a part of a fruit of said varieties.", "In another embodiment, the invention provides for a container comprising or consisting of a plurality of harvested Watermelon fruits or parts of fruits of said variety, or fruits of progeny thereof, or fruits of a derived variety.", "The invention provides for methods of producing plants which retain all the morphological and physiological characteristics of a plant of the invention i.e.", "NUN 31503 WMW.", "The invention provides also for methods of producing a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW (e.g.", "as listed in Table 1 and/or 2), but which are still genetically closely related to said variety.", "The relatedness can, for example be determined by fingerprinting techniques (e.g., making use of isozyme markers and/or molecular markers such as Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers, microsatellites, minisatellites, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) markers and others).", "A plant is “closely related” to NUN 31503 WMW if its DNA fingerprint is at least 80%, 90%, 95% or 98% identical to the fingerprint of NUN 31503 WMW.", "In a preferred embodiment AFLP markers are used for DNA fingerprinting (Vos et al.", "1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23: 4407-4414).", "A closely related plant may have a Jaccard's Similarity index of at least about 0.8, preferably at least about 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or more (Gama et al., 2013.Horticultura Brasileira 31: 522-527).", "The invention also provides a plant and a variety obtained or selected by applying these methods on NUN 31503 WMW.", "Such a plant may be produced by crossing and/or selfing, or alternatively, a plant may simply be identified and selected amongst plants of said variety, or progeny of said variety, e.g.", "by identifying a variant within NUN 31503 WMW or within progeny of said variety which variant differs from NUN 31503 WMW in one, two or three of the morphological and/or physiological characteristics (e.g.", "in one, two or three distinguishing characteristics), e.g.", "those listed in Table 1 and/or 2 or others.", "In one embodiment the invention provides a Watermelon plant having a Jaccard's Similarity index with NUN 31503 WMW of at least 0.8, e.g.", "at least 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 0.98 or even at least 0.99.WO2013182646 which is incorporated by reference, relates to a non-destructive method for analyzing maternal DNA of a seed.", "In this method the DNA is dislodged from the seed coat surface and can be used to collect information on the genome of the maternal parent of the seed.", "This method for analyzing maternal DNA of a seed, comprises the steps of contacting a seed with a fluid to dislodge DNA from the seed coat surface, and analyzing the DNA thus dislodged from the seed coat surface using methods known in the art.", "The seed coat of the seed is a maternal tissue genetically identical to the female parent.", "Thus the skilled person can determine the genetics of the female parent of NUN 31503 WMW.", "Alternatively, a single trait converted plant or single locus converted plant or a plant having one, two or three characteristics that are different to those of of NUN 31503 WMW may be produced by the following steps a. obtaining a cell or tissue culture of cells of NUN 31503 WMW; b. genetically transforming or mutating said cells; c. growing the cells into a plant; and d. optionally selecting a plant that contains the desired single locus conversion or a desired trait The skilled person is familiar with various techniques for genetically transforming a single locus in a plant cell, or mutating said cells.", "Any pest or disease resistance genes may be introduced into a plant according to the invention, i.e.", "NUN 31503 WMW, progeny of said variety or into a plant comprising all but 1, 2, or 3 or more of the morphological and physiological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW (e.g.", "as listed in Table 1).", "Resistance to one or more of the following diseases or pests is preferably introduced into plants of the invention: Anthracnose, Downy Mildew, Fusarium Wilt, Gummy Stem Blight, Squash Mosaic, Watermelon Mosaic, Powdery Mildew, Cucumber Mosaic, Sunburn and Root Knot.", "Other resistance genes, against pathogenic viruses, fungi, bacteria, nematodes, insects or other pests may also be introduced.", "For breeding methods in general see Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding, 2007, George Acquaah, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-3646-4.In one embodiment, a plant according to the invention, i.e.", "NUN 31503 WMW may also be mutated (by e.g.", "irradiation, chemical mutagenesis, heat treatment, etc.)", "and mutated seeds or plants may be selected in order to change one or more characteristics of said variety.", "Methods such as TILLING may be applied to Watermelon populations in order to identify mutants.", "Similarly, NUN 31503 WMW may be transformed and regenerated, whereby one or more chimeric genes are introduced into the variety or into a plant comprising all but 1, 2, 3, or more of the morphological and physiological characteristics (e.g.", "as listed in Table 1 and/or 2).", "Transformation can be carried out using standard methods, such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation or biolistics, followed by selection of the transformed cells and regeneration into plants.", "A desired trait (e.g.", "genes conferring pest or disease resistance, herbicide, fungicide or insecticide tolerance, etc.)", "can be introduced into NUN 31503 WMW, or progeny of said variety, by transforming said variety or progeny of said variety with a transgene that confers the desired trait, wherein the transformed plant retains all or all but one, two or three of the phenotypic and/or morphological and/or physiological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW or the progeny of said variety and contains the desired trait.", "The invention also provides a plant or a cell of a plant comprising a desired trait produced by mutating a plant of variety NUN 31503 WMW or a cell thereof and selecting a plant the desired trait, wherein the mutated plant retains all or all but one of the phenotypic and morphological characteristics of said variety, optionally as described for each variety in in Table 1 and/or 2, and contains the desired trait and wherein a representative sample of seed of variety NUN 31503 WMW is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "In a further embodiment, the desired trait is selected from the group consisting of yield, compact Watermelon, fruit quality, male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance, disease resistance, Powdery mildew resistance without necrosis, environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism, modified protein metabolism and ripening.", "A suitable method for inducing mutation in NUN 31503 WMW comprises the steps of: a. Exposing a seed, a plant or a plant part or a cell of NUN 31503 WMW to a mutagenic chemical or to radiation, wherein a representative sample of seed of NUN 31503 WMW is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "b.", "Selecting a seed, a plant or a plant part or a cell of NUN 31503 WMW having a mutation c. Optionally growing and/or multiplying the seed, plant or plant part or cell of NUN 31503 WMW having the mutation.", "The invention also provides a plant having one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics which are different from those of NUN 31503 WMW and which otherwise has all the physiological and morphological characteristics of said variety, wherein a representative sample of seed of variety NUN 31503 WMW is deposited under Accession Number NCIMB ______.", "In particular variants which differ from NUN 31503 WMW in none, one, two or three of the characteristics mentioned in Table 1 and/or 2 are encompassed.", "A part of a variety of the invention, i.e.", "NUN 31503 WMW (or of progeny of said varieties or of a plant having all physiological and/or morphological characteristics but one, two or three which are different from those of said variety) encompasses any cells, tissues, organs obtainable from the seedlings or plants, such as but not limited to: a Watermelon fruit or a part thereof, a cutting, hypocotyl, cotyledon, pollen and the like.", "Such parts can be stored and/or processed further.", "Encompassed are therefore also food or feed products comprising a part of NUN 31503 WMW or a part of progeny of said varieties, or a part of a plant having all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW, comprising one or more of such parts, optionally processed (such as canned, chopped, cooked, roasted, in a sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed or concentrated, juiced, frozen, dried, pickled, or powdered).", "In one aspect a haploid plant and/or a doubled haploid plant of NUN 31503 WMW, or of a plant having all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW, or progeny of any of these, is encompassed herein.", "Haploid and doubled haploid (DH) plants can, for example, be produced by cell or tissue culture and chromosome doubling agents and regeneration into a whole plant.", "For DH production chromosome doubling may be induced using known methods, such as colchicine treatment or the like.", "In yet another aspect haploid plants and/or doubled haploid plants derived from NUN 31503 WMW that, when combined, make a set of parents of NUN 31503 WMW are encompassed herein.", "Thus the haploid plant and/or the doubled haploid plant of NUN 31503 WMW can be used in a method for generating parental lines of NUN 31503 WMW.", "Thus in one aspect, the invention relates to a method of producing a combination of parental lines of a plant of the invention (NUN 31503 WMW) comprising the step of making doubled haploid cells from haploid cells from said plant or a seed of that plant; and optionally crossing these parental lines to produce and collect seeds.", "In another aspect, the invention relates to a combination of parental lines produced by this method.", "In still another aspect said combination of parental lines can be used to produce a seed or plant of NUN 31503 WMW when these parental lines are crossed.", "In still another aspect, the invention relates to a combination of parental lines from which a seed or plant having all physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW (when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same conditions).", "In another aspect, the invention comprises a method for making doubled haploid cells from haploid cells of NUN 31503 WMW according to various methods known to the skilled person.", "A suitable method is colchicine treatment.", "In another alternative aspect, the invention provides a method of introducing a single locus conversion or single trait conversion or a desired trait into NUN 31503 WMW comprising: a. obtain a combination of a parental lines of NUN 31503 WMW, optionally through reverse synthesis of breeding lines, b. introduce a single locus conversion in at least one of the parents of step a; c. crossing the converted parent with the other parent of step a to obtain seed of NUN 31503 WMW A combination of a male and a female parental line of NUN 31503 WMW can be generated by methods described herein, for example through reverse synthesis of breeding lines.", "In an embodiment of the invention, Step b) of the above method—introduce a single locus conversion in at least one of the parents of step a—may be done through the following method: i. obtaining a cell or tissue culture of cells of the parental line of NUN 31503 WMW; ii.", "genetically transforming or mutating said cells; iii.", "growing the cells into a plant; and iv.", "optionally selecting plants that contain the single locus conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired trait.", "In another embodiment of the invention, Step b) of the above method—introduce a single locus conversion in at least one of the parents of step a—may also be done through the following method: i. crossing the parental line of NUN 31503 WMW with a second Watermelon plant comprising the single locus conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired trait; ii.", "selecting F1 progeny plants that contain the single locus conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired trait; iii.", "crossing said selected progeny plants of step ii with the parental line of step i, to produce a backcross progeny plant; iv.", "selecting backcross progeny plants comprising the single locus conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired trait and otherwise all or all but one, two or three of the morphological and physiological characteristics the parental line of step i to produce selected backcross progeny plants; and v. optionally repeating steps iii and iv one or more times in succession to produce selected second, third or fourth or higher backcross progeny plants comprising the single locus conversion, the single trait conversion or the desired trait and otherwise all or all but one, two or three of the morphological and physiological characteristics the parental line of step i to produce selected backcross progeny plants, when grown in the same environmental conditions.", "The invention further relates to plants obtained by this method.", "The above method is provided, wherein the single locus conversion concerns a trait, wherein the trait is yield or pest resistance or disease resistance.", "In one embodiment the trait is disease resistance and the resistance is conferred to Anthracnose, Downy Mildew, Fusarium Wilt, Gummy Stem Blight, Squash Mosaic, Watermelon Mosaic, Powdery Mildew, Cucumber Mosaic, Sunburn and Root Knot.", "Other resistance genes, against pathogenic viruses, fungi, bacteria, nematodes, insects or other pests may also be introduced.", "Thus, the invention also provides a combination of parental lines which, when crossed, produce a seed or plant having all physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW but one, two or three which are different (when grown under the same environmental conditions), as well as a seed or plant having all physiological and/or morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW but one, two or three which are different (when the characteristics are determined at the 5% significance level for plants grown under the same conditions).", "Also provided is a plant part obtainable from variety NUN 31503 WMW or from progeny of said variety or from a plant having all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics which are different from those of NUN 31503 WMW, or from a vegetatively propagated plant of NUN 31503 WMW (or from its progeny or from a plant having all or all but one, two or three physiological and/or morphological characteristics which are different from those of NUN 31503 WMW), being selected from the group consisting of a fruit, a harvested fruit, a part of a fruit, a leaf, a part of a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a cell, a petiole, a shoot or a part thereof, a stem or a part thereof, a root or a part thereof, a root tip, a cutting, a seed, a part of a seed, or hypocotyl, cotyledon, a scion, a stock, a rootstock, a pistil, an anther, and a flower or a part thereof.", "In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of determining the genotype of a plant of the invention comprising the step of detecting in the genome (e.g., a sample of nucleic acids) of the plant at least a first polymorphism or an allele.", "The skilled person is familiar with many suitable methods of genotyping, detecting a polymorphism or detecting an allele including restriction fragment length polymorphism identification (RFLP) of genomic DNA, random amplified polymorphic detection (RAPD) of genomic DNA, amplified fragment length polymorphism detection (AFLP), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, allele specific oligonucleotide (ASO) probes, and hybridization to DNA microarrays or beads.", "Alternatively, the entire genome could be sequenced.", "The method may, in certain embodiments, comprise detecting a plurality of polymorphisms in the genome of the plant, for example by obtaining a sample of nucleic acid from a plant and detecting in said nucleic acids a plurality of polymorphisms.", "The method may further comprise storing the results of the step of detecting the plurality of polymorphisms on a computer readable medium The invention also provides for a food or feed product comprising or consisting of a plant part described herein wherein the plant part can be identified as a part of the plant of the invention.", "Preferably, the plant part is a Watermelon fruit or part thereof and/or an extract from a fruit or another plant part described herein.", "The food or feed product may be fresh or processed, e.g., dried, grinded, powdered, pickled, chopped, cooked, roasted, in a sauce, in a sandwich, pasted, puréed or concentrated, juiced, pickled, canned, steamed, boiled, fried, blanched and/or frozen, etc.", "For example, containers such as cans, boxes, crates, bags, cartons, Modified Atmosphere Packagings, films (e.g.", "biodegradable films), etc.", "comprising a plant or a parts of a plant (fresh and/or processed) described herein or a seed of NUN 31503 WMW are also provided herein.", "Marketable Watermelon fruits are generally sorted by size and quality after harvest.", "Alternatively the Watermelon fruits can be sorted by expected shelf life, pH or Brix.", "Watermelons may also be grown for use as rootstocks (stocks) or scions (cions).", "Typically, different types of Watermelons are grafted to enhance disease resistance, which is usually conferred by the rootstock, while retaining the horticultural qualities usually conferred by the scion.", "It is not uncommon for grafting to occur between cultivated Watermelon varieties and related Watermelon species.", "Methods of grafting and vegetative propagation are well-known in the art.", "So in one aspect the invention relates to a plant comprising a rootstock or scion of NUN 31503 WMW.", "All documents (e.g., patent publications) are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "CITED REFERENCES Acquaah, Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding, 2007, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-3646-4 Compton et al., Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 77: 231-243, 2004 Eigsti 1971, Hort Science 6: 1-2 Gama et al., 2013.Horticultura Brasileira 31: 522-527 Hayata et al., 1995 Kihara, 1951, Proceedings of American Society for Horticultural Science 58: 217-230 Moussa and Salem, 2010 Martin et al.", "2008, Australian Journal of Crop Science 1(2): 43-46 Vos et al.", "1995, Nucleic Acid Research 23: 4407-4414 Wijnkers et al., Nature Protocols Volume: 9, Pages: 761-772 (2014) DOI: doi:10.1038/nprot.2014.049 WO2010111031 WO2013182646 WO2014076249 US 2006/0168701 TG/142/5 (Geneva, 2013), world wide web at upov.int/under edocs/tgdocs/en/tg142.pdf world wide web at /sites/default/files/media/18-Watermelon%20ST-470-18%202015.pdf.", "Horticultural Society Chart (World Wide Web at rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/RHS-colour-charts).", "EXAMPLES Development of NUN 31503 WMW The triploid NUN 31503 WMW was developed from a male and female proprietary inbred line of Nunhems.", "The female and male parents were crossed to produce hybrid (F1) seeds of NUN 31503 WMW The seeds of NUN 31503 WMW can be grown to produce hybrid plants and parts thereof (e.g.", "Watermelon fruit).", "The hybrid NUN 31503 WMW can be propagated by seeds or vegetative.", "The hybrid variety is uniform and genetically stable.", "This has been established through evaluation of horticultural characteristics.", "Several hybrid seed production events resulted in no observable deviation in genetic stability.", "Coupled with the confirmation of genetic stability of the female and male parents the Applicant concluded that NUN 31503 WMW is uniform and stable.", "Deposit Information A total of 2500 seeds of the hybrid variety NUN 31503 WMW will be deposited according to the Budapest Treaty by Nunhems B.V. on ______, at the NCIMB Ltd., Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, United Kingdom (NCIMB).", "The deposit will be assigned NCIMB number ______.", "A deposit of NUN 31503 WMW and of the male and female parent line is currently maintained at Nunhems B.V. Access to the deposits will be available during the pendency of this application to persons determined by the Director of the U.S. Patent Office to be entitled thereto upon request.", "Subject to 37 C.F.R.", "§ 1.808(b), all restrictions imposed by the depositor on the availability to the public of the deposited material will be irrevocably removed upon the granting of the patent.", "The deposit will be maintained for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the most recent request, or for the enforceable life of the patent whichever is longer, and will be replaced if it ever becomes nonviable during that period.", "Applicant does not waive any rights granted under this patent on this application or under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 USC 2321 et seq.).", "The most similar variety to NUN 31503 WMW is referred to as Reference Variety, a variety from Nunhems B.V. with the commercial name Pixie.", "In Table 1 a comparison between NUN 31503 WMW and the Reference Variety is shown based on a trial in the USA.", "Trial location Esparto, Calif., transplanting date: 7 Jun.", "2017.Two replications of 50 plants of each variety, from which 15 plants or plant parts were randomly selected, were used to measure characteristics.", "For numerical characteristics averages were calculated.", "For non-numerical characteristics the type/degree was determined.", "In Table 1 the USDA descriptors of NUN 31503 WMW (this application) and the Reference Variety (commercial variety) are listed.", "In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plant having the physiological and morphological characteristics of NUN 31503 WMW as presented in Table 1.TABLE 1 Objective description of varieties NUN 31503 WMW and Reference Variety Application variety Reference variety USDA descriptor NUN 31503 WMW Pixie 1.General Fruit Type Fruit type: 1 = Oblong, 2 = Round Large, 3 = Round 3 3 small (icebox), 4 = Other 2.Area of best adaptation Region: 1 = Southern US, 2 = Northeast/Central US, 3 = 4 4 Southwest US, 4 = Most US Areas, 5 = Other 3.Maturity No.", "of days from emergence to anthesis n.r.", "n.r.", "No.", "of days from pollination to maturity n.r.", "n.r.", "Days Relative Maturity (as reported in seed catalogs) 78-80 78-80 Maturity category: 1 = early, 2 = medium, 3 = late 1 1 4.Ploidy 1 = diploid, 2 = tetraploid, 3 = triploid 3 3 5.Plant Cotyledon shape: 1 = flat, 2 = folded n.r.", "n.r.", "Plant sex form: 1 = monoecious, 2 = andromonoecious 1 1 No.", "of main stems at crown 8.3 8.5 No.", "of flowers per plant at first fruit set: Staminate: n.r.", "n.r.", "Pistilate: n.r.", "n.r.", "Perfect: n.r.", "n.r.", "6.STEM Stem shape (cross section:) 1 = round, 2 = angular 2 2 Diameter (mm) at second node 10.2 9.6 Stem surface: 1 = glabrous, 2 = scabrous, 3 = pubescent, 3 3 4 = bristled Vine length (cm) (at last harvest) n.r.", "n.r.", "No.", "of Internodes (at last harvest) n.r.", "n.r.", "Ratio Vine length (cm): No of internodes (at last harvest) n.r.", "n.r.", "7.LEAF Leaf shape: 1 = ovate, 2 = obovate, 3 = round 1 1 Leaf lobes: 1 = none, 2 = lobed 2 2 Leaf length (cm) 13.97 13.87 Leaf width (cm) 16.2 15.3 Leaf size: 1 = longer than wide, 2 = length-width equal, 3 3 3 = wider than long Dorsal surface pubescence: 1 = smooth, 2 = pubescent 2 2 Ventral surface pubescence: 1 = smooth, 2 = pubescent 2 2 Leaf color: 1 = light green, 2 = gray green, 3 = medium n.r.", "n.r.", "green, 4 = dark green (Color chart value (RHS)) 8.FLOWER Diameter across Staminate (cm) 33.9 29.9 Diameter across Pistillate (cm) n.r.", "n.r.", "Diameter across Perfect (cm) n.a.", "n.a.", "Flower color: 1 = lemon yellow, 2 = yellow, 3 = orange, 2 (Yellow 6b) 2 (Yellow 9b) 4 = Other (Color chart value (RHS)) 9.MATURE FRUIT Fruit shape: 1 = round, 2 = oval, 3 = cylindrical 1 1 Long (cm) 20.7 18.4 Diameter at midsection (cm) 18.8 17.4 Average weight (kg) 4.4 3.3 Maximum fruit weight (kg) 6.8 4.3 Index = length ÷ diameter × 10 11 10.6 Fruit surface: 1 = smooth, 2 = slightly grooved, 3 = deeply 1 1 grooved Skin color pattern: 1 = solid (one color), 2 = stripe, 3 = 2 2 mottle/net Primary color: 1 = Yellow Green (Desert King), 2 = Light 4 (Green 139D) 4 (Green 139A) Green (Charleston Gray), 3 = Medium Green (Sugar baby), 4 = dark green (Florida Giant), 5 = Other (Color chart value (RHS)) Secondary color: 1 = Yellow Green, 2 = Light Green, 3 = 2 (Green 139A) 3 (Green 138A) Medium green, 4 = dark green, 5 = Other (Color chart value (RHS)) 10.RIND Rind texture: 1 = tender, 2 = brittle, 3 = tough 3 3 Thickness blossom end (mm) 10.9 6.6 Thickness sides (mm) 10.6 8.8 11.FLESH Flesh texture: 1 = crisp, 2 = soft 1 1 Flesh coarseness: 1 = course fibrous, 2 = fine—little fiber 2 2 Flesh color: 1 = white, 2 = yellow, 3 = orange, 4 = pink, 5 (Orange 35A) 5 (Red 44A) 5 = red, 6 = dark red (Color chart value (RHS)) Refractometer: % Soluble solids of juice (Center of fruit) 13.3 13.8 % Hollow heart n.r.", "n.r.", "% Placental separation n.r.", "n.r.", "% Transverse crack n.r.", "n.r.", "12.Seed N.A.—seedless N.A.—seedless TABLE 2 Application Variety Reference Variety Non-USDA descriptor NUN 31503 WMW Pixie Leaf petiole length in cm 10.57 12.57 Rind stem end thickness in mm 10.5 11.7 Flesh firmness kg/cm2 2.35 2.45 Table 1 and 2 contain typical values.", "Values may vary due to environment.", "Other values that are substantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.", "N.A.=not applicable; n.r.=not recorded." ] ]
Patent_15874940
[ [ "RELEASABLE POLYESTER HIGH GLOSS METAL TRANSFER FILM METHOD", "A carrier film of thermoplastic polyester has releasable metal adhesive properties suitable for a metal transfer in which the polyester film is metalized and the metal layer is subsequently transferred to a permanent adhesive-coated substrate.", "The metal layer is in direct contact with the polyester carrier film and no intermediate release layer is present.", "Desired metal adhesion is provided by dispersing an suitable surfactant, and optionally, a hydrocarbon wax, uniformly into the polyester film.", "Surfactant on the outer surface of the carrier film modifies metal adhesion to the polyester such that the metal can be removed in a metal transfer operation." ], [ "1.A method of transferring a metal to a substrate comprising the steps of: (A) providing a metal transfer film consisting of (i) a carrier film having a thickness of about 4-75 μm and consisting essentially of a polyester and a release agent, in which the film comprises a core layer consisting essentially of polyester and a first skin layer coextensively adjacent in direct contact with one side of the core layer, a side of the first skin layer opposite the core layer defining a metal-contacting surface, said first skin layer consisting essentially of a polyester and a release agent; in which at least one of the core layer and the first skin layer each independently comprises a heterogeneous mixture of finely divided solid particles uniformly dispersed in a continuous phase of the polyester, and in which the solid particles in the film are present in concentration and size effective to provide the metal-contacting surface with roughness characterized by Ra at most about 50 nm and Sra at most about 30; in which the release agent comprises surfactant selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactant, non-ionic surfactant, about 0.1-1 wt % paraffin wax, and a mixture thereof, and is uniformly distributed in the polyester of the first skin layer in amount effective to provide the metal-contacting surface with a preselected adhesion value to a metal in the range of about 0.4-39 g/cm (1-100 g/in) measured by a 180 degree ethylene acrylic acid polymer peel test, and (ii) a transferable layer of the metal deposited in direct contact with the metal-contacting surface, the transferable layer having a metal thickness equivalent to an optical density in the range of about 0.2-4.0; (B) providing a substrate article having a surface coated with an adhesive layer; (C) contacting the transferable layer of the metal transfer film with the adhesive layer of the substrate such that the metal transfer film bonds to the adhesive layer of the substrate; and (D) stripping the carrier film from the metal layer, thereby transferring the metal onto the substrate.", "2.The method of claim 1 in which the carrier film includes about 0.1-1 wt % paraffin wax dispersed in the polyester.", "3.The method of claim 1 in which the step of providing the metal transfer film further comprises obtaining a mixture comprising a thermoplastic polyester resin and release agent, heating the mixture effectively to melt the thermoplastic polyester resin, uniformly dispersing the release agent in the thermoplastic polyester resin, thereby forming a melt dispersion, forming a self-supporting film from a polymeric composition comprising the melt dispersion, and stretching the film in a machine direction about 3×-6× and in the transverse direction about 3×-6×, thereby causing the release agent to bloom to the outer surface of the carrier film.", "4.The method of claim 1 in which the first skin layer comprises a heterogeneous mixture of finely divided solid particles uniformly dispersed in a continuous phase of the polyester, and in which the solid particles in the carrier film are present in concentration and size effective to provide the metal-contacting surface of the first skin layer with roughness characterized by Ra at most about 50 nm and Sra at most about 30.5.The method of claim 1 in which the carrier film further comprises a second skin layer coextensively adjacent in direct contact with the core layer opposite the first skin layer, in which at least one of the core layer and the second skin layer each independently comprises a heterogeneous mixture of finely divided solid particles uniformly dispersed in a continuous phase of the polyester, and in which the solid particles in the carrier film are present in concentration and size effective to provide the metal-contacting surface of the first skin layer with roughness characterized by Ra at most about 50 nm and Sra at most about 30.6.The method of claim 5 in which any solid particles in the core layer are present in the range of about 0.01 wt % to about 0.1 wt % and have size of about 0.5 μm to about 1.0 μm.", "7.The method of claim 6 in which solid particles are present in the second skin layer in the range of about 0.01 wt % to about 0.1 wt % and have size of about 1.0 μm to about 2.4 μm.", "8.The method of claim 5 in which the carrier film exhibits a specular reflection of at least 160 gloss units measured by glossmeter at a 60° angle.", "9.The method of claim 5 in which the transferable layer of metal on the metal-contacting surface of the skin layer of the carrier film exhibits a specular reflection of at least 830 gloss units measured by glossmeter at a 60° angle.", "10.The method of claim 5 in which the metal on the substrate exhibits a specular reflection of at least 860 gloss units measured by glossmeter at a 60° angle." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Polymeric films such as PET film are commonly used to transfer metal to paperboard and other substrates for use in packaging, greeting cards, and similar product applications where it is desirable to give the product a metallic appearance.", "The technique of transferring metal from film to another substrate is used where it is not practical to metalize such substrates directly.", "One typical metal transfer technique uses a metalized conventional polymeric film and bonds the complete metalized film structure to the substrate.", "Typical methods for depositing metal onto the polymeric film include vapor and sputter metallization processes.", "Such deposition techniques typically create strong bonds between the metal and the film.", "Because metal does not readily separate from the polymeric layer of the film, in the transfer procedure the paperboard substrate becomes permanently bonded to the metalized polymeric film.", "This can create excessive non-recoverable scrap since the resulting laminate, for example generated by post-consumer packaging disposal, can not be easily recycled.", "Another technique that is well known and practiced in industry is to create a carrier film that can be used to transfer a metal layer to paperboard and other substrate materials.", "The carrier film is created by coating a layer of release material on the base polymeric film in a secondary, separate process from producing the base polymeric film.", "Subsequently, and in an entirely separate third process, a metal layer is deposited onto the release layer for example by via vapor or sputter metallization.", "The individual steps may be carried out at different locations by different converters.", "A disadvantage is that an extra processing step is required, in particular the step of applying a release layer.", "A need exists for biaxially oriented polyester films that can transfer metal from a layer deposited onto the carrier film surface to another substrate without the need for costly coatings between the metal layer and the carrier film surface.", "The primary function of the release layer is to provide appropriate adhesion between the polymeric film surface and the metal layer.", "The adhesion of the metal to the film surface should be strong enough to endure handling in manufacture, packaging, shipping, etc.", "prior to metal transfer.", "However, adhesion should be sufficiently weak that the metal layer cleanly separates from the carrier film surface when contacted with the substrate.", "Them is a need for a method of metal transfer from a polymeric film to a substrate in which a metal layer can be applied directly onto the polymeric film and in which the metal layer readily releases and separates from the film.", "It is desirable to have a carrier film that does not have an added release layer on the surface of the polymeric film.", "It is further desired to have a carrier film for metal transfer in which the base layer is a single polymeric composition that can be recycled after the metal has been transferred.", "Still further it is desired to have a polyester-based carrier film and transfer film that is free of a non-polyester release layer.", "Basically, metal is transferred by contacting an adhesive-coated substrate with the metal layer side of the polymeric carrier film composite and then peeling the polymer away to leave the metal on the substrate.", "The ability to make the transferred metal on the substrate highly glossy is very desirable.", "However, generating a high gloss appearance after removing the polymeric film is made problematic by conventional film “anti-blocking” technology.", "Polymeric film tends to stick to itself and other surfaces, sometimes referred to as “blocking,” during various film handling steps of the metal transfer operations.", "Typically, blocking is reduced by uniformly dispersing fine inorganic particles in the polymer of the carrier film.", "The particles give the film a rough surface texture that renders the film less susceptible to blocking.", "Because the metal layer profile conforms to the carrier film surface, after removal of the polymer the transferred metal exhibits a rough surface texture.", "Unfortunately, surface roughness reduces gloss such that the transferred metal has a low gloss or even matte finished appearance.", "A very smooth transferred metal surface, for example as might be formed without particles embedded in the polymer, should have high gloss appearance but is impractical to achieve because friction between adjacent polymer film layers makes film handling unmanageable.", "Thus there is an important need to have a polymeric film free of a separate release layer that can transfer metal to a substrate with superior gloss." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention provides a single or multi-layered thermoplastic polyester carrier film for metal transfer that is free of a non-polyester release layer.", "The composition of the thermoplastic polyester carrier film is preferably polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”).", "At least one surface of the novel carrier film is intended for receiving, carrying and releasing a metal layer in the process of transferring the metal layer to a substrate, such as paperboard.", "The metal receiving surface of the polyester carrier film has suitable metal adhesion and release properties that result from the incorporation of one or more release agents into the polyester carrier film metal-bearing layer.", "In one aspect, the release agent is a surfactant.", "The surfactant can be an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant or a combination of anionic and nonionic surfactants.", "The surfactant is dispersed within the carrier film metal-bearing layer.", "In another aspect the release agent in the novel polyester-based carrier film is a hydrocarbon composition wax.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides a polyester carrier film for use in metal transfer, the film having a total thickness of about 4-75 μm, and consisting essentially of polyester and a release agent of composition and amount effective to provide at least one outer surface of the film with metal adhesion of less than 100 g/in.", "The total thickness of the polyester film of this invention is preferably about 5-75 μm, more preferably about 8-50 μm, and most preferably about 10-25 μm.", "The invention also provides a method of transferring metal to a substrate comprising the steps of: (A) providing a polyester carrier film having a total thickness of 4-75 μm consisting essentially of polyester and a release agent, and (B) depositing a metal layer of thickness equivalent to an optical density in the range of up to about 4 in direct contact with an outer surface of the polyester carrier film, in which the release agent is of composition and amount effective to provide metal adhesion between the outer surface and the metal layer of about 1-100 g/in.", "Preferably the optical density of the metal layer is about 0.01-4, and more preferably about 0.4-3.3.Surface resistivity of the exposed side of the base layer is not critical, however, it typically is less than 1×10 17 ohm/square.", "The carrier film can be a composite of multiple polyester sub-layers.", "In another aspect, this invention also provides a polymeric carrier film without a release layer and having a metal side surface of the carrier film polymer suitably smooth to enable transfer of a metal layer onto a substrate with resulting high metal surface gloss.", "Desired smoothness of the metal side surface of the carrier film polymer is obtained by controlling the size and concentration of anti-block agent particles throughout the carrier film polymer including the region of the carrier film distant from, as well as the region near, the side on which the metal to be transferred is placed." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/568,785, filed Dec. 30, 2014, entitled “Releasable Polyester High Gloss Metal Transfer Film”, pending, which was a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/930,395, filed Jun.", "28, 2013, entitled “Releasable Polyester Metal Transfer Film”, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,630,385, which claimed priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119(e) to U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "61/723,967, entitled “Releasable Polyester Metal Transfer Film” filed Nov. 8, 2012, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference herein.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/568,785 also claimed priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 365(c) to PCT/US2013/068655, filed Nov. 6, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films with release properties suitable for transferring metal to substrates, such as paperboard.", "More specifically it relates to a metalized PET film able to receive, carry, and transfer onto a substrate a metal layer directly in contact with the PET layer of the film.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Polymeric films such as PET film are commonly used to transfer metal to paperboard and other substrates for use in packaging, greeting cards, and similar product applications where it is desirable to give the product a metallic appearance.", "The technique of transferring metal from film to another substrate is used where it is not practical to metalize such substrates directly.", "One typical metal transfer technique uses a metalized conventional polymeric film and bonds the complete metalized film structure to the substrate.", "Typical methods for depositing metal onto the polymeric film include vapor and sputter metallization processes.", "Such deposition techniques typically create strong bonds between the metal and the film.", "Because metal does not readily separate from the polymeric layer of the film, in the transfer procedure the paperboard substrate becomes permanently bonded to the metalized polymeric film.", "This can create excessive non-recoverable scrap since the resulting laminate, for example generated by post-consumer packaging disposal, can not be easily recycled.", "Another technique that is well known and practiced in industry is to create a carrier film that can be used to transfer a metal layer to paperboard and other substrate materials.", "The carrier film is created by coating a layer of release material on the base polymeric film in a secondary, separate process from producing the base polymeric film.", "Subsequently, and in an entirely separate third process, a metal layer is deposited onto the release layer for example by via vapor or sputter metallization.", "The individual steps may be carried out at different locations by different converters.", "A disadvantage is that an extra processing step is required, in particular the step of applying a release layer.", "A need exists for biaxially oriented polyester films that can transfer metal from a layer deposited onto the carrier film surface to another substrate without the need for costly coatings between the metal layer and the carrier film surface.", "The primary function of the release layer is to provide appropriate adhesion between the polymeric film surface and the metal layer.", "The adhesion of the metal to the film surface should be strong enough to endure handling in manufacture, packaging, shipping, etc.", "prior to metal transfer.", "However, adhesion should be sufficiently weak that the metal layer cleanly separates from the carrier film surface when contacted with the substrate.", "Them is a need for a method of metal transfer from a polymeric film to a substrate in which a metal layer can be applied directly onto the polymeric film and in which the metal layer readily releases and separates from the film.", "It is desirable to have a carrier film that does not have an added release layer on the surface of the polymeric film.", "It is further desired to have a carrier film for metal transfer in which the base layer is a single polymeric composition that can be recycled after the metal has been transferred.", "Still further it is desired to have a polyester-based carrier film and transfer film that is free of a non-polyester release layer.", "Basically, metal is transferred by contacting an adhesive-coated substrate with the metal layer side of the polymeric carrier film composite and then peeling the polymer away to leave the metal on the substrate.", "The ability to make the transferred metal on the substrate highly glossy is very desirable.", "However, generating a high gloss appearance after removing the polymeric film is made problematic by conventional film “anti-blocking” technology.", "Polymeric film tends to stick to itself and other surfaces, sometimes referred to as “blocking,” during various film handling steps of the metal transfer operations.", "Typically, blocking is reduced by uniformly dispersing fine inorganic particles in the polymer of the carrier film.", "The particles give the film a rough surface texture that renders the film less susceptible to blocking.", "Because the metal layer profile conforms to the carrier film surface, after removal of the polymer the transferred metal exhibits a rough surface texture.", "Unfortunately, surface roughness reduces gloss such that the transferred metal has a low gloss or even matte finished appearance.", "A very smooth transferred metal surface, for example as might be formed without particles embedded in the polymer, should have high gloss appearance but is impractical to achieve because friction between adjacent polymer film layers makes film handling unmanageable.", "Thus there is an important need to have a polymeric film free of a separate release layer that can transfer metal to a substrate with superior gloss.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a single or multi-layered thermoplastic polyester carrier film for metal transfer that is free of a non-polyester release layer.", "The composition of the thermoplastic polyester carrier film is preferably polyethylene terephthalate (“PET”).", "At least one surface of the novel carrier film is intended for receiving, carrying and releasing a metal layer in the process of transferring the metal layer to a substrate, such as paperboard.", "The metal receiving surface of the polyester carrier film has suitable metal adhesion and release properties that result from the incorporation of one or more release agents into the polyester carrier film metal-bearing layer.", "In one aspect, the release agent is a surfactant.", "The surfactant can be an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant or a combination of anionic and nonionic surfactants.", "The surfactant is dispersed within the carrier film metal-bearing layer.", "In another aspect the release agent in the novel polyester-based carrier film is a hydrocarbon composition wax.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides a polyester carrier film for use in metal transfer, the film having a total thickness of about 4-75 μm, and consisting essentially of polyester and a release agent of composition and amount effective to provide at least one outer surface of the film with metal adhesion of less than 100 g/in.", "The total thickness of the polyester film of this invention is preferably about 5-75 μm, more preferably about 8-50 μm, and most preferably about 10-25 μm.", "The invention also provides a method of transferring metal to a substrate comprising the steps of: (A) providing a polyester carrier film having a total thickness of 4-75 μm consisting essentially of polyester and a release agent, and (B) depositing a metal layer of thickness equivalent to an optical density in the range of up to about 4 in direct contact with an outer surface of the polyester carrier film, in which the release agent is of composition and amount effective to provide metal adhesion between the outer surface and the metal layer of about 1-100 g/in.", "Preferably the optical density of the metal layer is about 0.01-4, and more preferably about 0.4-3.3.Surface resistivity of the exposed side of the base layer is not critical, however, it typically is less than 1×1017 ohm/square.", "The carrier film can be a composite of multiple polyester sub-layers.", "In another aspect, this invention also provides a polymeric carrier film without a release layer and having a metal side surface of the carrier film polymer suitably smooth to enable transfer of a metal layer onto a substrate with resulting high metal surface gloss.", "Desired smoothness of the metal side surface of the carrier film polymer is obtained by controlling the size and concentration of anti-block agent particles throughout the carrier film polymer including the region of the carrier film distant from, as well as the region near, the side on which the metal to be transferred is placed.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic cross section view of an embodiment of the novel metal transfer film in proximity to an adhesive coated substrate prior to transferring a metal layer.", "FIG.", "2A is a surface topography map of the skin layer of the film produced with small size dispersed solid particles as further explained in Example 14.FIG.", "2B is a surface topography map of the skin layer of the film produced with large size dispersed solid particles as further explained in Example 13.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In certain aspects this invention relates to biaxially oriented coextruded multilayer polyester films that can be readily fabricated, have ease of handling, and metal release properties on at least one outer layer surface, for use in metal transfer processes.", "To fabricate this highly specialized film with special surface properties any standard method to fabricate co-extruded biaxially oriented multilayer films may be employed.", "As used herein, the term “polyester carrier film” refers to a film of polyester and release agent according to this invention prior to deposition of a layer of metal thereon.", "The term “transfer film” refers to a composite of the polyester carrier film with a metal layer of metal deposited on an outer surface of the polyester carrier film.", "The primary intended use of the novel polyester carrier film is to receive, carry and transfer some or all of the metal from the metal layer onto a surface of a substrate.", "The novel polyester carrier film has two sides and has a base layer B of polyester.", "The polyester carrier film can be monolithic consisting only of layer B, or a composite of multiple layers of polyester.", "A preferred embodiment of the invention includes at least a two layer coextruded polyester carrier film, that includes at least one outer layer A adjacent one side of base layer B with an optional opposite outer layer C. Other embodiments may include one or more inner layers I1, I2, I3 .", ".", ".", "In, positioned between the outermost and B layers, such as an A/I1/I2/B/C structure, for example.", "The outermost layers, whether A, B, or C, are sometimes referred to as skin layers.", "Any layer may contain reclaimed polyester resin.", "In the present invention either or both outer surfaces of the skin layers have metal adhesion of less than 100 g/in, preferably less than 50 g/in, and more preferably less than 20 g/in, measured as described in Test Methods section below.", "The metal adhesion property is achieved by blending into the polyester of the film surfactants that are either ionic, nonionic or a combination thereof.", "For cost effectiveness it is preferable that the surfactant component is present only in the outermost layer or layers, which are normally thinner than the total thickness of inner layers, i.e., non-skin layers.", "Some examples of nonionic surfactants may be cetostearyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, pentaethylene glycol monododecyl ether, polyoxypropylene glycol alkyl ethers, octaethylene glycol monododecyl ether, lauryl glucoside, polyoxyethylene glycol octylphenol ethers, octyl glucoside, and decyl glucoside.", "Some examples of anionic surfactant may be perfluorooctanesulfonate, perfluorobutanesulfonate, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, sodium sulphate, alkyl benzene sulfonates, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, alkyl ether phosphate, alkyl aryl ether phosphate, sodium stearate; perfluorononanoate, perfluorooctanoate, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, sodium myreth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, and ammonium lauryl sulfate, and more generally alphatic and aromatic sulphonates.", "There are a number of companies that produce master batches of surfactant compounds in PET for example, T7910 from Toray Industries, Inc. containing sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Tas1125 from Sukano containing an aliphatic sulphonate, or Elecut® S618-A1 from Takemoto Oil and Fat containing a proprietary mixture of nonionic and anionic surfactants.", "As presently understood, the parameter that mainly affects the desired degree of metal adhesion between the metal layer and an outermost polyester layer is the surface density, i.e., mass per unit area, of surfactant on the outermost surface of the polyester skin layer when the metal layer is applied.", "Surfactant that is initially uniformly dispersed within the polyester resin that forms the skin layer will bloom to the surface during the carrier film manufacturing process.", "The amount of surfactant incorporated in the polyester resin should take the blooming effect into account.", "That is, as thickness of the of the skin layer decreases, less surfactant-bearing polyester resin is used, and therefore, less surfactant at any given surfactant concentration in the polyester is available to migrate to the surface.", "Accordingly, the concentration of surfactant in the polyester resin to achieve a preselected level of metal adhesion should be increased as the thickness of the corresponding polyester layer decreases.", "The concentration of surfactant by weight in any outer layer should be at least about 0.01 wt %, preferably at least about 0.05 wt %, and more preferably at least about 0.10 wt %.", "The concentration of surfactant by weight in any outer layer is preferably less than 10 wt %, more preferably less than 5 wt %, and most preferably less than 3 wt/o.", "An advantageous feature of this invention is that metal adhesion can be controlled to a preselected value within a narrow range by adjusting the concentration of release agent in the polyester carrier film.", "Preferably the metal adhesion can be controlled to within a range of ±10 g/in of a target metal adhesion value.", "Pursuant to the guidelines just described, the actual amount of surfactant will be adjusted depending upon the thickness of the skin layer to provide a suitable metal adhesion value and should be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art without undue experimentation.", "Juxtaposition of the elements discussed above can be understood with reference to FIG.", "1.The figure shows a cross section of an embodiment of a metal transfer film 10 in proximity to a substrate 15 coated with a layer of adhesive 11.The novel metal transfer film has a multilayer composite polyester carrier film 1 of three substrata 2, 4 and 6, in the illustrated embodiment.", "Base layer 2 is a primary component layer of the multilayer carrier film 1.Adjacent and directly in contact with the base layer are layers 4 and 6.Being outermost layers of the composite polyester carrier film, layers 4 and 6 are designated as skin layers.", "The figure shows that a metal layer 8 is deposited in direct contact with the side of skin layer 6 opposite the base layer 2.In traditional metal transfer films, there is an extra release layer positioned between the metal layer 8 and the outermost layer 6 the function of which has been described above.", "The novel metal transfer film does not have a separate and distinct release layer.", "In use, an adhesive layer 11 coated onto a receiving substrate 15, is brought in contact with the metal layer 8 of the metal transfer film 10.The metal layer is then bonded to the substrate by the adhesive layer and thereafter the base layer 1 is stripped away from the metal layer.", "This process leaves the metal layer attached to the receiving substrate by the adhesive layer 11.An advantage of the novel metal transfer film is that all of the layers of the carrier film consist essentially of polyester.", "By “consists essentially of” is meant that the polymer content of the film is at least about 99 wt % and preferably exclusively polyester.", "The film can include, usually in small proportion to the polymer, and in addition to the operative surfactants, other non-polymeric ingredients such as stabilizers and additives that do not materially affect the novel aspects of the invention.", "Only the polymeric film remains after stripping the metal layer.", "Because the polymeric component of every layer of the carrier film is the same polymer, preferably PET, the residual carrier film can be recovered and recycled as a raw material for use in the same or a different end use application.", "Additional aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be explained, below.", "In a primary aspect, the present invention calls for providing a metal transfer film consisting of a carrier film of predominantly polyester and a metal layer directly in contact with the carrier film.", "A release layer as used in traditional metal film transfer operations is not present between the carrier film and the metal layer.", "The normally very high metal adhesion of the polymeric carrier film is adjusted to a preselected lower adhesive strength by incorporating a suitable release agent into the carrier film polymer.", "In accord with the principles disclosed herein, it is possible to incorporate into a polyester layer an amount of release agent effective to provide a desired degree of metal adhesion called for by a converter in a metal transfer film process.", "The preferred release agent is a surfactant or combination of surfactants.", "Preference is given to use of a mixture of anionic and nonionic surfactants.", "Optionally, hydrocarbon wax, such as paraffin wax, can be added to any or all layers of the film.", "Generally, the greater amount of release agent incorporated into the metal-contacting layer of the carrier film at a given layer thickness, the lower the metal adhesion and the more easily the metal strips from the transfer film.", "The polymeric carrier film can be monolayer or it can be a composite of multiple layers of polyester.", "In a multilayer structure the carrier film layers are fused adjacent to each other, preferably by a thermal fusion process such as coextrusion such that layers will not delaminate under metal transfer film processing conditions.", "A so-called A/B multilayer structure with a base layer (layer “B”) and a skin layer (layer “A”) is preferred.", "The skin layer is the layer in contact with the metal layer.", "An A/B/C structure is an alternately preferred structure for the novel polyester-based carrier film in which the “C” layer is a skin layer on the base layer surface opposite the A layer.", "Preferably the base layer is the predominant layer in thickness and bulk of the whole polyester-based carrier film.", "In a multilayer composite structure, the surfactant release agent particles should be present at least in the metal-contacting layer, but may also be present in other layers of the carrier film.", "The controlled metal release property of the polyester carrier film is obtained by incorporating surfactant into the carrier film, and preferably in only one or more of the outer layers.", "Preferably the surfactant is an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant or a combination thereof.", "Metal adhesion of PET without an incorporated surfactant release agent is typically much greater than 150 g/in.", "Incorporation of surfactant according to this invention can provide metal adhesion of less than 100 g/in, preferably about less than 50 g/in, and more preferably less than 20 g/in.", "In some end use applications it is desirable to transfer effectively all of the deposited metal whereas in other cases it is desirable to transfer only specific portions of the metal.", "According to this invention, all or any selected parts of the metal deposited onto the surface of the base layer may be readily transferred to the substrate utilizing well known techniques.", "Typical schemes for a metal transfer process call for providing carrier films from film “converters”, i.e., suppliers and processors of film who provide, treat and/or modify the polyester film in secondary operations that are entirely separate from and subsequent to the manufacture of the polyester film.", "Such polyester carrier films include a non-polyester composition release layer coating applied to an outer surface of a monolithic polyester film.", "Those films are in turn metalized on the release layer via a process such as vapor deposition or sputtering.", "The metal transfer film of polymeric base layer/release layer/metal layer structure is used to apply metal to substrate products such as paperboard that are not directly metalizable by conventional means.", "The paperboard converters specify, and the film converters supply, desired degrees of metal adhesion based on the nature of the product and the metal.", "An advantage of this invention is the ability to control the bond strength of the metal to the PET base layer to a preselected value within the range of metal adhesion normally desired by paperboard converters.", "The metal transfer film of this invention does not have a special, non-polyester-based release layer between the base layer and the metal.", "Thus the polyester base film metalizing converter can apply the metal in direct contact with the polyester base layer of the carrier film.", "An intermediate release layer typically applied as a coating on the base film is not required.", "This feature provides many productivity enhancing and cost saving benefits.", "It is especially valuable that the concentration of surfactant and optional wax release agent incorporated into the polymeric base layer can modify the metal adhesion of the carrier film to match the different specifications for diverse metal transfer end use applications of metal transfer converters.", "This invention further can provide metal adhesion with precision of narrow tolerance limits of the metal transfer converters' target.", "Processing of film at commercial scale normally demands moving, rolling and unrolling, among other procedures, of wide webs of the film at high speed.", "In such unit operations the webs have opportunities to come in contact with each other and with the processing equipment.", "Friction can cause the contacting webs to stick together or to jam the equipment consequently generating substantial waste product and lost productivity.", "Stagnant film, for example, when stored on a heavy roll for extended time, can also stick to itself.", "This condition is known as “blocking” in the industry.", "Giving a rough texture to the potentially contacting surfaces of the film is a way to control friction and thereby partition the webs from themselves and machinery.", "A preferred technique for roughening the surface involves embedding fine, solid, anti-blocking agent particles into a layer of the film.", "The particles at and near the sides of the film form irregularities that make the surface rough.", "Texture of the carrier film surface in contact with the metal can shape the metal layer surface transferred onto the substrate.", "Degree of surface can affect visual appearance of the finished metal-coated substrate product.", "Usually, rough surface texture gives a dull, matte finish, and conversely, a smooth surface texture gives a shiny, gloss finish.", "As used herein, a smooth surface is defined as having surface roughness Ra of about 100-150 nm.", "A more smooth surface has Ra of about 50-100 nm, and a very smooth surface has Ra of about 5-50 nm.", "A rough surface typically suitable to produce a matte appearance of the transferred metal, has an Ra of about 200-500 nm.", "The symbol “Ra” means a surface roughness measured with a “surfcorder” analytical device, for example, a SurfCorder SE 500 Surface Roughness Measuring Instrument (Kazaka Laboratory Ltd. Tokyo, Japan).", "A problem addressed by this invention is the creation of a very highly glossy surface effect, referred to herein as “high metal surface gloss” of a substrate onto which a metal layer is applied by peeling away the carrier film from a metal transfer film.", "Thus a high metal surface gloss has a remarkably shiny, bright metallic appearance to the visual observer.", "The invention provides for producing a high metal surface gloss appearance using a metal transfer film without a release layer between the carrier film and the metal layer being transferred.", "Total reflection of light impinging on an object is characterized by the two components of specular reflection and diffuse reflection.", "Gloss is an optical property of a surface related specular reflection which is mirror-like reflection of light in a specular direction at an angle equal to the incident angle.", "Diffuse reflection is light reflected at all angles.", "Factors that affect gloss are the refractive index of the illuminated object, the incident angle of light impinging on the object, and the surface topography (i.e., roughness) of the object.", "Respecting topography, the fraction of reflection that is specular increases with smoothness.", "Increased roughness caused by irregularity of the surface topography decreases the fraction of specular reflection.", "Roughness can contribute to reduced specular reflection in two ways.", "Firstly, curvature of the irregular surface contour scatters impinging light by reflecting at different angles.", "Secondly, specularly reflected light from surface locations at different elevations creates a canceling effect due to mutual specular beam interference.", "The first aspect can make the illuminated object appear dull.", "The second aspect has a light attenuating effect.", "The presence of fine, solid particles dispersed in a layer of polymeric film causes localized variations in the thickness of the film and thereby affects surface roughness.", "Thus incorporation of selected size distributions of particles at selected concentrations is a primary technique for controlling surface roughness of a film.", "The term “high metal surface gloss” means that the finished, metal-coated surface of the substrate exhibits specular reflection gloss of at least about 830 gloss units (“GU”) by glossmeter measurement at 60° angle.", "The ability to achieve high metal surface gloss product is enhanced by utilizing a metal transfer film (i.e., polymeric carrier film with metal coating) that exhibits surface smoothness of at least about 860 gloss units measured at 60° angle and at least about 1300 gloss units measured at 20° angle.", "Moreover, the smoothness of the metal-contacting side of the polymeric carrier film prior to metal deposition should correspond to at least about 180 gloss units at 60° angle.", "It also has been found that a high metal surface gloss can be obtained by transfer of metal from the novel polymeric carrier film of which the polymer-to-metal surface has a Surfcorder surface roughness, Ra, preferably at most about 50 nm, and more preferably at most about 30 nm, still more preferably at most about 25 nm, and most preferably at most about 15 nm.", "An Ra value as low as about 0 nm is theoretically suitable to provide the desired gloss but is impraticable to achieve.", "Preferably Ra can be at low as about 12 nm and more preferably about 15 nm.", "Similarly acceptable gloss performance is obtained when the polymeric carrier film surface has a stylus surface roughness value, Sra, in the range of about 0-30, preferably about 10-30 and more preferably about 10-15.Stylus surface roughness is determined using a stylus type contact profilometer, for example a Surfcorder ET-30 HK surface topography instrument (Kosaka Laboratory Ltd, Tokyo Japan).", "Most preferably, the carrier film surface should have both Ra of about 12 nm-30 nm and an Sra value of about 10-30.Carrier film surface roughness that provides high metal surface gloss is achieved by controlling the size and concentration of anti-block agent particles dispersed in the polymeric film.", "Theoretical Ra and Sra values of about 0 should be achieved from a polymeric film having no anti-block agent particles present.", "This condition is not practicable because substantially complete absence of anti-block agent particles renders surface friction of the carrier film too high for handling the film in commercial scale industrial fabrication and processing equipment.", "Thus for practical purposes, some anti-block agent particles should be uniformly dispersed in the polymer of the carrier film.", "Of course, if the particle size and/or concentration of any particles for anti-block or other purposes, such as pigmentation, is too great, the surface of the transferred metal will be too rough and finished appearance will be less glossy than high metal surface gloss.", "For adequate surface roughness to enable manageable handling of the film and yet to obtain surface smoothness consistent with high metal surface gloss the nominal particle size of anti-block particles suitable for use in this invention is preferably about 0.1 μm to about 2.4 μm, more preferably about 0.1 min to about 2.0 μm and most preferably about 0.1 μm to about 1.0 μm, and the concentration of the anti-block particles is preferably about 0.01 wt % to about 1.0 wt %, and more preferably about 0.01 wt % to about 0.05 wt %.", "As mentioned above, it is contemplated to use multi-layer composites, e.g., A/B/C layered structure, for the polymeric carrier film.", "Applying a layer of metal, M, to an exposed surface of the carrier film thus provides a metal transfer film with an M/A/B or M/A/B/C structure in which A and C are polymeric skin layers and B is a polymeric core layer.", "In such situations, it is advantageous to disperse anti-block agent particles of partitioning effective size and concentration only in outermost layers B or C as the case might be.", "That is, metal-contacting layer A would have no particles and the M/A interfacial surface kept very smooth for highly glossy metal transfer performance.", "It can be problematic for obtaining high metal surface gloss after metal transfer if excessively large or high concentrations of particles are present in layers adjacent to, and even distant from, metal contacting skin layer A.", "Particles are deliberately incorporated into outer layers B or C for anti-blocking purposes.", "Also particles can be allowed into layer B of an A/B/C structure when all or part of the polymer stream of layer B is scrap or recycled polymer that is contaminated with solid particulate matter.", "Excessively large particle sizes and concentrations tend to protrude into skin layer A and can adversely affect roughness of the metal contacting surface.", "Caution should be exercised to avoid too large or concentrated anti-block agent particles in layers B and C that will cause surface of layer A roughness parameters Ra and Sra to exceed the preferred limits specified above.", "This invention further advantageously provides the ability to utilize an A/B/A polymeric carrier film.", "This structure can be produced economically by unit operations equipped with only two extruders, i.e., one for each of layers A and B compositions.", "This set up can simply and directly make an A/B carrier film.", "Alternatively, flow from a single skin composition extruder can be split to feed A composition onto both sides of B to yield the A/B/A structure.", "The surface of the metal-contacting layer A should be smooth enough to enable transferred metal with high metal surface gloss.", "The surface of the non-metal-contacting layer A should be rough enough to provide manageable film handling.", "It has been found that an A/B/A composite carrier film suitably satisfying both gloss and film handling criterial can be made when Ra and Sra parameters of layer A are within the ranges specified above.", "Preferably according to this invention anti-block agent particles should be smaller than about 1 μm.", "However, when the core and/or skin layer on the metal-contacting side of the carrier film are suitably thick to mask the effect of large concentrations or large size of particles dispersed in a layer distant from the metal-containing side, larger particles can be used.", "For effective masking, the total thickness of layers B, and C, preferably should be at least as great as the largest particles in such distant layers.", "For example, in a metal/skin layer/core layer/skin layer metal transfer film M/A/B/C, larger size particles, i.e.", "particles nominally bigger than 1 μm, and larger concentrations of particles can be tolerated only in layer C, provided that layers A and B have a combined thickness large enough to smooth perturbations of the M/A interfacial surface that would otherwise result from the particles in layer C. According to this invention, the overall thickness of the carrier film is preferably about 5 μm to about 75 μm, more preferably about 8 μm to about 50 μm and most preferably about 10 μm to about 25 μm.", "Thickness of the metal-contacting skin layer A, and, when applicable, skin layer C, should be preferably about 0.5 μm to about 5 μm.", "Thickness of the core layer is the difference between the total carrier film thickness and the total thicknesses of the skin layers present.", "Typically, the core layer is the thickest layer of the carrier film.", "Thickness of the metal layer is typically less than about 4 optical density units that corresponds approximately to 500 angstroms.", "The metal layer thus adds negligibly to the overall thickness of the metal transfer film.", "Many types of anti-blocking particles may be used such as silica, calcium carbonate, talc, alumina, or polymeric particles, such as, cross-linked polystyrene, acrylic, polyamide, or combinations thereof.", "The smoothness characteristics for a high metal surface gloss quality specified above relate to the surface of the carrier film facing the metal being transferred.", "The surface of the side of the carrier film opposite the metal-contacting side can be less smooth.", "The non-metal-contacting side surface can have an Ra of about 5-250 nm, preferably about 5-150 nm, and more preferably about 5-50 nm.", "The optional wax release agent can be included in one or more film layers to modify the release characteristics of the film provided by the surfactant primary release agent.", "The wax need not be added to the outer release layer in order to be effective since the wax will migrate from within the film through the outer layers to the surface of the film during stretching and heat setting processes of film making.", "The wax can be added as a separate additive to the polyester resin when forming a carrier film layer.", "A preferred method of adding wax release agent to a specific layer includes recovering a waste or discarded polyester film that originally had a paraffin wax coating.", "The wax-coated film is recycled by shredding the film to fine particle size, agglomerating the shredded film by use of a bladed centrifuge process, and then re-extruding the wax containing resin into pellets.", "The resulting recycled resin pellets can be blended with other raw material resin and additional wax, as appropriate to form one or more layers of the polyester carrier film.", "Typically, the wax is about 0.1-1 wt.", "% of recycled polyester film.", "Any wax-containing layer of the novel carrier film can contain up to 100 wt.", "% of recycled polyester film.", "Without wishing to be bound by any particular theory, it is contemplated that the primary mechanism for modifying adhesion of the metal layer to polyester of the carrier film is the creation during metalization of a metal oxide layer between the polyester and the pure metal layers.", "The surfactant at the surface of the polyester carrier film supplies oxygen at this surface.", "Surfactants containing nitrate ion, sulfate ion, alkyl sulfate ion, sulfonate ion, or alkyl sulfonate ion are very suitable in this regard.", "Metal deposition methods for metalizing films typically include first evacuating oxygen from vapor, usually air, in the chamber in which metalization is to be carried out.", "This permits highly pure metal to deposit on and bond with the carrier film polymer.", "According to this invention, oxygen brought to the polymer surface by the surfactant rapidly (i.e., normally within a few minutes) reacts with the metal to create a layer of metal oxide between the polyester carrier film and the bulk of the deposited metal layer more distant from the surface.", "The resulting metal oxide layer is less adhesive to the polyester and thus facilitates release of the metal layer during the later metal transfer operation.", "It is thus understood that this invention is particularly well suited to metal transfer operations involving any metals that readily oxidize.", "Metals commonly used are aluminum, copper, silver, titanium, and a mixture of these.", "One preferred embodiment of the novel carrier film is a two layer PET film structure in which one layer is a skin layer with a thickness of preferably about 0.1-10 microns, more preferably about 0.2-6 microns, and most preferably about 0.3-2 microns.", "The second carrier film layer constitutes most of the structure thickness that is preferably about 5-75 microns, more preferably about 8-50 microns, and most preferably 10-25 microns.", "The second carrier film layer optionally contains wax added from ground, recycled, paraffin wax-coated film.", "The skin layer has a surface roughness, Ra, of preferably about 5-50 nm, more preferably about 5-30 nm, and most preferably about 5-15 nm.", "Another preferred embodiment is a three layer PET film structure in which the non-skin carrier film layer is substantially free of added particles.", "One or both skin layers have release properties by incorporation of surfactants.", "The skin layers preferably have a thickness of about 0.1-5 microns, more preferably about 0.2-3.6 microns, and most preferably about 0.3-2 microns.", "The non-skin carrier film layer can contain wax release agent from addition of recycled paraffin wax coated film.", "The carrier film has a thickness of about 5-75 microns, more preferably about 8-50 microns, and most preferably about 10-25 microns.", "The polyester for use in this invention can be prepared by any known method such as by the polycondensation of terephthalic acid or an ester-forming derivative thereof with an alkylene dihydroxyl compound.", "For example, these polymers can be copolymers of repeating units derived from aromatic dicarboxylic acid aliphatic glycol.", "Examples of suitable aromatic dicarboxylic acid are terephthalic acid, napthalenedicarboxyl acid, isophthalic acid and the like.", "Examples of aliphatic glycol are ethylene glycol, butanediol, neopentyl glycol, trimethylene glycol, cyclohexane dimethanol and the like.", "Examples of polyesters for use in the invention include copolymers coprising alkylene terephthalate or alkylene napthalenate as the main recurring units in the polymer chain.", "A preferred polyester is polyethylene terephthalate.", "EXAMPLES This invention is now illustrated by examples of certain representative embodiments thereof, wherein all parts, proportions and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.", "Test Methods Thickness: Overall film thicknesses were measured by micrometer using a stack of 10 sheets and dividing the measurement by 10.Measurements were repeated every 9 inches in the transverse direction of the web.", "The thickness of each coextruded layer of the multilayer film was calculated by the ratio of the corresponding extrusion flow rate to the total extrusion flow rate of all layers.", "Metal Adhesion: Metal adhesion was measured by a 180 degree ethylene acrylic acid polymer peel test consisting of heat sealing an adhesive layer of Dow Primacor® 3300 EAA polymer to the metalized side of the film using a Sentinel Model 12-ASL Sealer at 220° F. and 38 psi for 20 seconds.", "An Instron® 4200-004 tensile test machine was used to measure the peel force to peel away the metal with the adhesive layer at 180 degrees from the metalized surface of the film.", "Surface Roughness: Surface roughness (“Ra”) was measured by a Surfcorder Model SE-500 surface roughness measurement instrument.", "The measurements were repeated 3 times and the average value of Ra was recorded.", "Surface mapping and Sra roughness analysis was performed according to the HIPOSS (High Precision Optical Surface Sensor) method using a Stylus type surface topography analysis instrument Surfcorder ET-30 HK, equipped with an SSC Surface Picture Analyzer type SPA-1 and an SSC X-Y chart recorder type RA-XY 4A (all manufactured by Kosaka Laboratory Ltd.) Surface Resistivity: Surface resistivity was measured with a concentric ring probe from TREK, Inc, Model No.", "152 concentric ring probe resistivity meter according to ASTM Standard D 257-99.The testing conditions were 25° C. at 50% of relative humidity.", "Surface Energy: Surface energy was determined by using the known numerical relationship between surface tension in dynes/cm of a polymer surface and the contact angle of a pure water drop deposited onto the surface (Zisman correlation).", "The contact angle was measured using a Contact Angle Meter (from Tantec, Schaumberg, Ill.) as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,268,733.Surface gloss: Surface gloss was measured at 60° angle (and at 20° angle where noted) according to ASTM D 523 using a Micro TRI-Gloss Meter from BYK-Gardner.", "Three individual measurements along the machine direction of film formation (MD) and three along the transverse direction (TD) were conducted.", "The overall average of all six measurements is reported.", "The results are expressed in Gloss Units.", "The measurement results of a gloss meter are related to the amount of reflected light from a black glass standard of defined refractive index that defines a standard gloss measurement value of 100 gloss units.", "Material to be measured with a higher refractive index than the standard, such as polymeric film, can have a measurement value above 100 gloss units (GU).", "Typically, metallic surfaces measure values above about 700 GU at 60° angle and above about 1500 at 20° angle.", "Procedure: Three layer PET carrier films having A/B/C layer structure and two layer films having A/B layer structure for the examples were prepared by the following method.", "PET and ingredients listed in Table I, below, for each layer were blended, dried and then extruded in conventional melt extrusion equipment.", "To produce base layer B a serial set of single screw extruders was used.", "Reclaimed PET film was optionally included in this layer.", "For the composition of layers A and C, PET plus the other ingredients were mixed and fed through a counter-rotating twin screw extruder and dried via in-line vacuum in the melt zones of the extruder.", "Extrusion temperatures were in the range of 270° C. to 300° C. The melt flows from each extruder was filtered separately and then fed into a melt distributor such that the melt flow from the twin screw extruder was split to form layers A and C that were overlaid onto opposite sides of the melt flow forming layer B to form an overall A/B/C structure.", "To produce a two layer A/B structure, the twins screw extruder melt flow was overlaid only on one side of the base layer melt flow.", "The resulting combined melt flow entered a flat die set at about 270° C. The melt curtain exiting the die dropped and was electro-statically pinned onto a rotating casting roll chilled to about 20° C. causing the curtain to solidify into a continuously moving amorphous sheet.", "This sheet entered a set of rotating heated rolls of different speeds such that the traveling sheet was oriented about 4 times in the machine direction.", "Next, this machine-direction oriented sheet traveled into a multi-zone enclosed heated oven, where the film was first preheated to a temperature of about 90° C. In the next zone, at about 165° C., the moving film was oriented about 4 times in the transverse direction, and then heat set at about 240° C. Then the film was relaxed by about 3% in the relaxation zone of the oven.", "The resulting two layer A/B and three-layer A/B/C films were wound up into rolls as is standard industry practice.", "Comparative Example 1 A two layer PET carrier film was prepared by coextruding adjacent skin layer A and base layer B.", "Inert filler particles were dispersed in each of the molten polymer feeds to the film forming unit.", "Thickness and composition of the layers is shown in Table I.", "The concentrations and sizes of the particles gave the outer surfaces of the layers different surface roughnesses.", "No metal release agent according to this invention was included in the layers.", "The outer layers had surface resistivity on the order of magnitude of 1016 ohms/sq.", "Analytical results for this and other examples are presented in Table II.", "The surfaces of layers A and B also had surface energies typical for PET film as indicated by surface tensions of 40 dynes/cm.", "The surface of skin layer A was metalized with a layer of aluminum of thickness equal to a measured optical density of 2.5 by metal vapor deposition.", "Metal adhesion was of the aluminum layer on layer A was measured as 135 g/in.", "This is a high adhesion strength and would not be suitable for a metal transfer film.", "Example 2 A two layer PET carrier film was prepared as in Comp.", "Ex.", "1 with the exception that a release agent surfactant particles of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate at concentration 0.48% was uniformly dispersed into skin layer A.", "Surface resistivity of layer A was much reduced (order of magnitude of 1011 ohms/sq.)", "and the surface tension increased to surface tension of greater than 53.5 dynes/cm.", "The carrier film was coated with aluminum to an optical density of 2.5.Metal adhesion was measured to be 45.7 g/in.", "This represents a significant reduction relative to Comp.", "Ex.", "1 The surface resistivity of layer B lowered slightly (relative to Comp.", "Ex.", "1) but was still at the 1014 level.", "Example 3 The procedure of Ex.", "2 was repeated except that a blend of release agent surfactants alkane sulphonate (0.06%) and sodium sulfate (0.003%) was incorporated in skin layer A. Layer A had a surface resistivity on the order of 1016.Following aluminum metalization, metal adhesion was measured to be 26.7 g/in.", "The transfer film would be suitable for a metal transfer film.", "Example 4 The procedure of Ex.", "2 was repeated except that aliphatic sulphonate was substituted as the surfactant release agent at 0.015% in skin layer A.", "The surface resistivity reduced to a relatively low value of the order of magnitude of 1012 ohms/sq.", "After coating the skin layer with a 2.5 optical density thickness metal layer of aluminum, the metal adhesion was measured to be a very acceptable value of 11.2 g/in.", "Example 5 The procedure of Ex.", "4 was repeated except that the concentration of the surfactant release agent was doubled to 0.03%.", "Resistivity of layer A dropped to the 1010 range.", "After depositing aluminum to an optical density of 2.5, the metal adhesion was found to also drop to 11.2 g/in.", "that is very good for many metal transfer operations.", "Examples 6 and 8 In these examples the procedure of Ex.", "2 was repeated with a mixture of anionic/nonionic surfactants serving as the release agent.", "In Ex.", "6 the concentration of the surfactant was 1.2% and in Ex.", "8 the concentration was raised to 2.0%.", "Again, resistivities of the B layer remained at the 1014 level.", "The surfactant containing layer A showed nearly equal and significant resistivity reduction relative to Ex.", "1.After coating with aluminum, metal adhesion of the 1.2% surfactant sample was well in the range of suitable metal transfer film at 7.9 g/in.", "Increasing the concentration to 2.0% surfactant lowered the metal adhesion farther to 6 g/in.", "Example 7 The procedure of Ex.", "2 was repeated except that the polymer of layer A was a blend of 50% virgin PET and 50% Auriga PET resin “8428”.", "The Auriga PET resin contains surfactant.", "The surface resistivity of layer A did not change from that of Comp.", "Ex.", "1 however, metal adhesion of the carrier film to the aluminum layer did reduce to 33.3 g/in, which is well into the acceptable range for metal transfer films.", "Example 9 The procedure of Ex.", "2 was repeated with the exception that 0.48% sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate was added to thicker layer B as well as layer A.", "Due to the presence of surfactant in both layers, resistivities of both surfaces dropped to the approximate 1011 level.", "After metalization to 2.5 optical density with aluminum, the metal adhesion of layer A was determined to be 6.3 g/in.", "This result suggests an interaction between the layers in that the effect of the same surfactant at the same level in layer A was much enhanced by the surfactant in the adjacent layer B.", "Example 10 The procedure of Ex.", "6 was repeated except that 1.2% mixed anionic/nonionic surfactant was incorporated into thicker layer B as well as in layer A.", "Comparing this example to Ex.", "6, it appears that the analytical results were somewhat analagous to those of Ex.", "9.The surface resistivities of both A and B layers dropped by four orders of magnitude relative to Comp.", "Ex.", "1.Additionally, the metal adhesion of layer A of 4.8 g/in.", "was significantly lower than in Comp.", "Ex.", "1 and slightly lower than 6 g/in.", "of Ex.", "6.Thus there is agreement with the suggestion that some interaction between the layers due to presence of the same release agent surfactant in both on the metal adhesion value of layer A.", "Example 11 The procedure of Ex.", "8 was repeated with the exception that the additives composition of layer B was changed.", "Firstly the 0.3 μm polystyrene particles incorporated into layer B at 0.06% was replaced by 0.3% of 2.4 μm silica particles.", "Additionally, layer B included 0.05% paraffin wax release agent.", "Analytical results showed that surface resistivity of layer A dropped similarly as in Ex.", "8 to the 1010 level and that the metal adhesion reduced to a very low value of 2 g/in.", "The lower metal adhesion value further supports the suggestion that wax from layer B affects adhesion on the surface of layer A.", "Example 1 also has a relatively high surface energy of greater than 53.5 dynes/cm.", "Example 12 A three layer PET film carrier film is prepared by coextruding an A/B/C composition and structure.", "Both skin layers A and C have the same calcium carbonate/aluminum oxide particle package for modifying the surface texture and a release agent of mixed anionic/nonionic surfactant at 2.0% concentration.", "The base layer B includes a silica particle component and 0.013% paraffin wax release agent.", "The surface of layer A was metalized with aluminum to a thickness equivalent to 2.5 optical density.", "The metal adhesion of the carrier film to the metal layer was 5.1 g/in.", "Example 13 A two layer PET carrier film was prepared by coextruding (1) a 1.2 μm thick skin layer A of PET containing 1 wt % mixture of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate anionic surfactant a nonionic surfactant, 0.33 wt % of 0.1 μm size alumina particles and 0.11 wt % of 1.0 μm size calcium carbonate particles, and (2) an adjacent 10.8 μm thick, base layer B of PET containing 0.04 wt %, of 2.4 μm size silica particles.", "The filler particles were dispersed uniformly in each of the molten polymer feeds to the film forming unit.", "The concentrations and sizes of the particles gave the outer surfaces of the layers different surface roughnesses.", "The skin layer side of the carrier film was metalized with aluminum to an optical density of 2.2.Metal adhesion to the skin layer was determined to be 1.3 g/cm (3.4 g/in.).", "A layer of adhesive was coated onto the metal side of the metalized film.", "A substrate article of paperboard was placed into contact with the adhesive layer and the polymeric carrier film/metal/adhesive/paperboard composite was inserted in the nip between a pair of compression rolls then passed through an oven to cure the adhesive.", "The polymeric carrier film was peeled from the substrate leaving a metal coating exposed on the paperboard surface.", "Surface roughness and gloss values of the clear carrier film prior to metalization, the metal transfer film of metalized carrier film, and metal surface of the substrate article after the metal had been transferred to it from the carrier film are presented in Table III.", "Skin layer A surface topography of the A/B carrier layer film is shown in FIG.", "2B.", "Example 14 A 1.2 μm thick PET skin layer, A, a 9.6 μm thick PET core layer, B, and a 1.2 μm thick PET skin layer, C, were coextruded to form an A/B/C multilayer carrier film structure.", "Both skin layers A and C contained 2 wt % mixture of sodium dodecyl-benzenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant, 0.11 wt % of 1.0 μm size calcium carbonate particles and 0.33 wt % of 0.10 μm size alumina particles dispersed therein.", "The core layer B includes 0.01 wt % of 0.1 μm size alumina particles.", "The surface of layer A was metalized with aluminum to a thickness equivalent to 2.2 optical density.", "The metal adhesion of the aluminum to the carrier film was 1.2 g/cm (3.1 g/in).", "Metal was transferred from the metal transfer film to paperboard as described in Ex 13.Surface roughness and gloss data are presented in Table III.", "Skin layer A surface topography of the A/B/C carrier film is shown in FIG.", "2A.", "Example 15 A 1.2 μm thick PET skin layer, A, a 16.1 μm thick PET core layer, B, and a 1.2 μm thick PET skin layer, C, were coextruded to form an A/B/C multilayer carrier film structure.", "Both skin layers A and C contained 2 wt % mixture of sodium dodecyl-benzenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant, 0.17 wt % of 1.0 μm size calcium carbonate particles and 0.33 wt % of 0.10 μm size alumina particles dispersed therein.", "The core layer B includes 0.01 wt % of 0.1 μm size alumina particles.", "The surface of layer A was metalized with aluminum to a thickness equivalent to 2.2 optical density.", "The metal adhesion of the aluminum to the carrier film was 1.2 g/cm (3.1 g/in).", "Surface roughness and gloss data are presented in Table III.", "Example 13 demonstrates a practical implementation of using a release layer-free polymeric carrier film to transfer metal to a commercially useful substrate.", "Gloss of the transferred metal on the paperboard substrate is about equivalent to a good quality, state of the art gloss finish.", "Particles in the core layer were relatively large (2.4 μm).", "This example shows that such particles in the core layer can affect surface topography of the carrier film metal-contacting layer as seen in FIG.", "2B (rougher) compared to FIG.", "2B (smoother).", "Surface roughness likely contributed to slightly muted film and metal gloss values.", "In Example 14, a release layer-free, polymeric carrier film is able to provide a remarkably bright and shiny finish that is well within the gloss unit range for very desirable, high metal surface gloss.", "Size of particles in layers distant from the metal-contacting skin layer is reduced compared to Ex.", "13 contributing to the smoother surface topography seen in FIG.", "2A.", "Example 15 is very similar in structure to Ex.", "14 with the main exception that high concentration (i.e., 0.17 wt % vs 0.11 wt %) of 1.0 μm size, calcium carbonate particles were used in the metal-contacting skin layer A.", "The very moderate increase in particle concentration caused the gloss to diminish relative to Ex.", "14 while maintaining nearly the same Ra measured surface roughness.", "Appearance of carrier and metal transfer film was acceptable yet slightly less appealing than the preferred high metal surface gloss evident in Ex.", "14.Thus Ex.", "15 shows that the high metal surface gloss is importantly sensitive to a number of factors that include concentration of embedded particles, size of the particles in the metal-contacting skin layer and size and concentration of particles in layers distant from the metal-contacting skin layer.", "TABLE I A/B/C Layer Thickness A layer A Layer Other B Layer B Layer Other C Layer (μm) Polymer Components Polymer Components Composition Comp.", "5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none Ex.", "1 polystyrene Ex.", "2 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 0.48 wt % Sodium dodecyl- polystyrene benzenesulfonate Ex.", "3 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 0.06 wt % Alkane sulphonate polystyrene 0.03 wt % Sodium sulphate Ex.", "4 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 0.015 wt % Aliphatic Sulphonate polystyrene Ex.", "5 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 0.03 wt % Aliphatic Sulphonate polystyrene Ex.", "6 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 1.2 wt % mixture of sodium polystyrene dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant Ex.", "7 5/28/0 50 wt % virgin 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none PET polystyrene 50 wt % Auriga 8428 PET Ex.", "8 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 2.0 wt % mixture of sodium polystyrene dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant Ex.", "9 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 0.48 wt % Sodium dodecyl- polystyrene benzenesulfonate 0.48 wt % Sodium dodecyl- benzenesulfonate Ex.", "10 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.06 wt % 0.3 μm none 1.2 wt % mixture of sodium polystyrene dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a 1.2 wt % mixture of nonionic surfactant sodium dodecyl- benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant Ex.", "11 5/28/0 PET 0.4 wt % 0.9 μm CaCO3 PET 0.03 wt % 2.4 μm silica none 2.0 wt % mixture of sodium 0.05 wt % paraffin wax dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant Ex.", "12 1.2/22/1.2 PET 0.16 wt % 1.0 μm CaCO3 PET 0.075 wt % 2.4 μm silica none 0.3 wt % 0.1 μm Al2O3, 0.013 wt % paraffin wax 2.0 wt % mixture of sodium dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant Ex.", "13 1.2/10.8/0 PET 0.13 wt % 1.0 μm CaCO3 PET 0.04 wt % 2.4 μm none 0.3 wt % 0.1 μm Al2O3, Al2O3 1.0 wt % mixture of sodium dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant Ex.", "14 1.2/9.6/1.2 PET 0.11 wt % 1.0 μm CaCO3 PET 0.01 wt % 0.1 μm Same as 0.33 wt % 0.1 μm Al2O3, Al2O3 Layer A 2.0 wt % mixture of sodium dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant Ex.", "15 1.2/16.1/1.2 PET 0.17 wt % 1.0 μm CaCO3 PET 0.01 wt % 0.1 μm Same as 0.33 wt % 0.1 μm Al2O3, Al2O3 Layer A 2.0 wt % mixture of sodium dodecyl-benezenesulfonate and a nonionic surfactant TABLE II A Layer Surface B Layer A Layer B Layer A Layer Resistivity Surface Surface Surface Metal B Layer at 25 degC, Resistivity Tension by Tension by Thickness Metal 50% RH at 25 degC, 50% contact angle contact angle (optical Adhesion (ohms/sq) RH (ohms/sq) (dynes/cm) (dynes/cm) density (g/in) Comp.", "Ex.", "1 1.8 X 1016 3.1 X 1016 40 40 2.5 135 Ex.", "2 1.1 X 1011 1.6 X 1014 >53.5 40 2.5 45.7 Ex.", "3 2.2 X 1016 2.5 26.7 Ex.", "4 1.1 X 1012 2.5 11.2 Ex.", "5 4.3 X 1010 2.5 7.9 Ex.", "6 1.4 X 1010 6.5 X 1014 >53.5 41 2.5 6 Ex.", "7 1.9 X 1016 2.5 33.3 Ex.", "8 1.2 X 1010 5.7 X 1014 >53.5 41 2.5 5.2 Ex.", "9 8.0 X 1010 1.6 X 1011 >53.5 >53.5 2.5 6.3 Ex.", "10 1.6 X 1010 1.1 X 1010 >53.5 >53.5 2.5 4.8 Ex.", "11 1.2 X 1010 >53.5 2.5 2 Ex.", "12 2.5 5.1 Ex.", "13 2.2 3.4 Ex.", "14 2.2 3.1 Ex.", "15 2.2 3.1 TABLE III 60° 20° Gloss 60° Gloss 60° Gloss Gloss Metalized Transferred Ra Sra Clear Metalized Carrier Metal (nm) (nm) Film Film Film Surface Ex.", "13 52 32 164 859 1625 795 Ex.", "14 26 12 186 878 1775 836 Ex.", "15 23 176 864 1683 Although specific forms of the invention have been selected in the preceding disclosure for illustration in specific terms for the purpose of describing these forms of the invention fully and amply for one of average skill in the pertinent art, it should be understood that various substitutions and modifications which bring about substantially equivalent or superior results and/or performance are deemed to be within the scope and spirit of the following claims.", "The entire disclosures of U.S. patents and patent applications identified in this application are hereby incorporated by reference herein." ] ]
Patent_15874949
[ [ "LIGHT-EMITTING ELEMENT, DISPLAY DEVICE, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND LIGHTING DEVICE", "A light-emitting element having high emission efficiency which includes a fluorescent material as a light-emitting substance is provided.", "A light-emitting element includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the host material is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material." ], [ "1.A light-emitting element comprising: a pair of electrodes; and an electroluminescence layer between the pair of electrodes, wherein the electroluminescence layer comprises a light-emitting layer, wherein the light-emitting layer comprises a host material and a guest material, wherein the guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence, wherein light emitted from the light-emitting layer comprises light emitted from the guest material, wherein light emitted from the light-emitting layer comprises delayed fluorescence, and wherein the triplet excitation energy level of the host material is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "2.The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein the singlet excitation energy level of the host material is higher than a singlet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "3.The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein a difference between the lowest singlet excitation energy level and the lowest triplet excitation energy level in the host material is more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV.", "4.The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein the host material is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, and wherein a thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the host material is higher than a triplet excitation energy of the guest material.", "5.The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein an emission spectrum of the host material comprises a region overlapping with an absorption band on a longest wavelength side in an absorption spectrum of the t guest material.", "6.The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein the host material is a first organic compound, and wherein the guest material is a second organic compound.", "7.The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein a weight ratio of the guest material to the host material is more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05.8.A display device comprising: the light-emitting element according to claim 1; and a color filter overlapping with the light-emitting element.", "9.An electronic device comprising: the display device according to claim 8; and a housing or a touch sensor.", "10.A lighting device comprising: the light-emitting element according to claim 1; and a housing or a touch sensor.", "11.A light-emitting element comprising: a pair of electrodes; and an electroluminescence layer between the pair of electrodes, wherein the electroluminescence layer comprises a light-emitting layer, wherein the light-emitting layer comprises a first organic compound, a second organic compound, and a third organic compound, wherein a combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is capable of constituting an exciplex, wherein the third organic compound is capable of emitting fluorescence, wherein light emitted from the light-emitting layer comprises light emitted from the guest material, wherein light emitted from the light-emitting layer comprises delayed fluorescence, and wherein the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the third organic compound.", "12.The light-emitting element according to claim 11, wherein the singlet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a singlet excitation energy level of the third organic compound.", "13.The light-emitting element according to claim 11, wherein a difference between the lowest singlet excitation energy level and the lowest triplet excitation energy level in the exciplex is more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV.", "14.The light-emitting element according to claim 11, wherein the exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, and wherein a thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex is higher than the triplet excitation energy of the third organic compound.", "15.The light-emitting element according to claim 11, wherein a triplet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "16.The light-emitting element according to claim 11, wherein a singlet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the singlet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "17.The light-emitting element according to claim 11, wherein an emission spectrum of the exciplex comprises a region overlapping with an absorption band on a longest wavelength side in an absorption spectrum of the t guest material.", "18.The light-emitting element according to claim 11, wherein a weight ratio of the third organic compound to the combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05.19.A display device comprising: the light-emitting element according to claim 11; and a color filter.", "20.An electronic device comprising: the display device according to claim 19; and a housing or a touch sensor.", "21.A lighting device comprising: the light-emitting element according to claim 11; and a housing or a touch sensor.", "22.A light-emitting element comprising: a pair of electrodes; a first electroluminescence layer and a second electroluminescence layer between the pair of electrodes; and a charge generation layer between the first electroluminescence layer and the second electroluminescence layer, wherein the first electroluminescence layer comprises a first light-emitting layer, wherein the first light-emitting layer comprises a first organic compound, a second organic compound, and a third organic compound, wherein a combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is capable of constituting an exciplex, wherein the third organic compound is capable of emitting fluorescence, wherein light emitted from the light-emitting layer comprises light emitted from the guest material, wherein light emitted from the light-emitting layer comprises delayed fluorescence, and wherein the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the third organic compound.", "23.The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein the singlet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a singlet excitation energy level of the third organic compound.", "24.The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein a difference between the lowest singlet excitation energy level and the lowest triplet excitation energy level in the exciplex is more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV.", "25.The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein the exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, and wherein a thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex is higher than a phosphorescence emission energy of the third organic compound.", "26.The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein a triplet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "27.The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein a singlet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the singlet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "28.The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein an emission spectrum of the exciplex comprises a region overlapping with an absorption band on a longest wavelength side in an absorption spectrum of the t guest material.", "29.The light-emitting element according to claim 22, wherein a weight ratio of the third organic compound to the combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05.30.A display device comprising: the light-emitting element according to claim 22; and a color filter.", "31.An electronic device comprising: the display device according to claim 30; and a housing or a touch sensor.", "32.A lighting device comprising: the light-emitting element according to claim 22; and a housing or a touch sensor." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In order to increase the emission efficiency of a light-emitting element including a fluorescent material as a light-emitting substance, it is important not only to generate a singlet excited state from a triplet excited state but also to obtain light emission efficiently from the singlet excited state, that is, to increase fluorescence quantum efficiency.", "An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting element having high emission efficiency which includes a fluorescent material as a light-emitting substance.", "Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a novel light-emitting element.", "Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a novel light-emitting element with high emission efficiency and low power consumption.", "Another object is to provide a novel display device.", "Note that the descriptions of the above objects do not disturb the existence of other objects.", "In one embodiment of the present invention, there is no need to achieve all the objects.", "Other objects will be apparent from and can be derived from the descriptions of the specification and the like.", "One embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the host material is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the host material is higher than a phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex is higher than a phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A phosphorescence emission energy of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than a thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "The triplet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex is higher than a phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material.", "The phosphorescence emission energy of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that the weight ratio of the guest material to the host material be more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05.In the above embodiment, it is preferable that the difference between the triplet excitation energy level of the first organic compound and the triplet excitation energy level of the second organic compound be less than 0.4 eV.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a condensed heterocyclic skeleton and that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and a condensed heterocyclic skeleton and that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and a condensed heterocyclic skeleton, that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton, and that the carbazole skeleton and the condensed heterocyclic skeleton be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "It is more preferable that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the condensed heterocyclic skeleton be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and a benzofuropyrimidine skeleton and that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the benzofuropyrimidine skeleton be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and an aromatic amine skeleton and that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the aromatic amine skeleton be bonded to each other or be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that the EL layer further include one selected from a hole-injection layer, a hole-transport layer, an electron-transport layer, and an electron-injection layer.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a display device which includes the light-emitting element in the above embodiment and a color filter.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is an electronic device which includes the display device and a housing or a touch sensor.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a lighting device which includes the light-emitting element in the above embodiment and a housing or a touch sensor.", "In one embodiment of the present invention, a light-emitting element having high emission efficiency which includes a fluorescent material as a light-emitting substance can be provided.", "In another embodiment of the present invention, a novel light-emitting element can be provided.", "In another embodiment of the present invention, a novel light-emitting element with high emission efficiency and low power consumption can be provided.", "In another embodiment of the present invention, a novel display device can be provided.", "Note that the descriptions of these effects do not disturb the existence of other effects.", "In one embodiment of the present invention, there is no need to achieve all the above effects.", "Other effects will be apparent from and can be derived from the descriptions of the specification, the drawings, the claims, and the like." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/837,083, filed Aug. 27, 2015, now allowed, which claims the benefit of foreign priority applications filed in Japan as Serial No.", "2014-175163 on Aug. 29, 2014, Serial No.", "2014-240985 on Nov. 28, 2014, and Serial No.", "2015-108786 on May 28, 2015, all of which are incorporated by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention One embodiment of the present invention relates to a light-emitting element in which a light-emitting layer capable of providing light emission by application of an electric field is provided between a pair of electrodes, and also relates to a display device, an electronic device, and a lighting device including the light-emitting element.", "Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above technical field.", "The technical field of one embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification and the like relates to an object, a method, or a manufacturing method.", "One embodiment of the present invention relates to a process, a machine, manufacture, or a composition of matter.", "Specifically, examples of the technical field of one embodiment of the present invention disclosed in this specification include a semiconductor device, a display device, a liquid crystal display device, a light-emitting device, a lighting device, a power storage device, a memory device, a method for driving any of them, and a method for manufacturing any of them.", "2.Description of the Related Art In recent years, research and development have been extensively conducted on light-emitting elements utilizing electroluminescence (EL).", "In a basic structure of these light-emitting elements, a layer containing a light-emitting substance (an EL layer) is provided between a pair of electrodes.", "By application of a voltage between the electrodes of this element, light emission from the light-emitting substance can be obtained.", "Since the above light-emitting element is a self-luminous type, a display device using this light-emitting element has advantages such as high visibility, no necessity of a backlight, and low power consumption.", "The display device using the light-emitting element also has advantages in that it can be manufactured to be thin and lightweight and has high response speed.", "A variety of studies have been conducted to improve the emission efficiency of light-emitting elements.", "For example, a method has been proposed for a light-emitting element including a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) material and a material which emits fluorescence (hereinafter also referred to as a fluorescent material) to transfer energy from the S1 of the TADF material to the S1 of the fluorescent material (see Patent Document 1).", "Reference [Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Patent Application No.", "2014-45179 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to increase the emission efficiency of a light-emitting element including a fluorescent material as a light-emitting substance, it is important not only to generate a singlet excited state from a triplet excited state but also to obtain light emission efficiently from the singlet excited state, that is, to increase fluorescence quantum efficiency.", "An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a light-emitting element having high emission efficiency which includes a fluorescent material as a light-emitting substance.", "Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a novel light-emitting element.", "Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a novel light-emitting element with high emission efficiency and low power consumption.", "Another object is to provide a novel display device.", "Note that the descriptions of the above objects do not disturb the existence of other objects.", "In one embodiment of the present invention, there is no need to achieve all the objects.", "Other objects will be apparent from and can be derived from the descriptions of the specification and the like.", "One embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the host material is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the host material is higher than a phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex is higher than a phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A phosphorescence emission energy of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than a thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than a triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "The triplet excitation energy level of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a light-emitting element which includes a pair of electrodes and an EL layer between the pair of electrodes.", "The EL layer includes a light-emitting layer.", "The light-emitting layer includes a host material and a guest material.", "The host material includes a first organic compound and a second organic compound.", "A combination of the first organic compound and the second organic compound forms an exciplex.", "The exciplex is capable of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence.", "The guest material is capable of emitting fluorescence.", "A thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex is higher than a phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material.", "The phosphorescence emission energy of each of the first organic compound and the second organic compound is higher than the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that the weight ratio of the guest material to the host material be more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05.In the above embodiment, it is preferable that the difference between the triplet excitation energy level of the first organic compound and the triplet excitation energy level of the second organic compound be less than 0.4 eV.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a condensed heterocyclic skeleton and that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and a condensed heterocyclic skeleton and that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and a condensed heterocyclic skeleton, that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton, and that the carbazole skeleton and the condensed heterocyclic skeleton be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "It is more preferable that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the condensed heterocyclic skeleton be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and a benzofuropyrimidine skeleton and that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the benzofuropyrimidine skeleton be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that one of the first organic compound and the second organic compound have a carbazole skeleton and an aromatic amine skeleton and that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the aromatic amine skeleton be bonded to each other or be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "In the above embodiment, it is preferable that the EL layer further include one selected from a hole-injection layer, a hole-transport layer, an electron-transport layer, and an electron-injection layer.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a display device which includes the light-emitting element in the above embodiment and a color filter.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is an electronic device which includes the display device and a housing or a touch sensor.", "Another embodiment of the present invention is a lighting device which includes the light-emitting element in the above embodiment and a housing or a touch sensor.", "In one embodiment of the present invention, a light-emitting element having high emission efficiency which includes a fluorescent material as a light-emitting substance can be provided.", "In another embodiment of the present invention, a novel light-emitting element can be provided.", "In another embodiment of the present invention, a novel light-emitting element with high emission efficiency and low power consumption can be provided.", "In another embodiment of the present invention, a novel display device can be provided.", "Note that the descriptions of these effects do not disturb the existence of other effects.", "In one embodiment of the present invention, there is no need to achieve all the above effects.", "Other effects will be apparent from and can be derived from the descriptions of the specification, the drawings, the claims, and the like.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS.", "1A to 1C are a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting element, a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting layer, and a schematic diagram illustrating the correlation of energy levels.", "FIGS.", "2A and 2B are a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting layer and a schematic diagram illustrating the correlation of energy levels.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B illustrate emission spectra according to one embodiment.", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrate phosphorescence spectra according to one embodiment.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B are a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting element and a diagram illustrating the correlation of energy levels in a light-emitting layer.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B are a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting element and a diagram illustrating the correlation of energy levels in a light-emitting layer.", "FIGS.", "7A and 7B are a block diagram and a circuit diagram illustrating a display device.", "FIGS.", "8A and 8B are perspective views of an example of a touch panel.", "FIGS.", "9A to 9C are cross-sectional views of examples of a display device and a touch sensor.", "FIGS.", "10A and 10B are each a cross-sectional view of an example of a touch panel.", "FIGS.", "11A and 11B are a block diagram and a timing chart of a touch sensor.", "FIG.", "12 is a circuit diagram of a touch sensor.", "FIG.", "13 is a perspective view of a display module.", "FIGS.", "14A to 14G illustrate electronic devices.", "FIG.", "15 illustrates lighting devices.", "FIG.", "16 is a cross-sectional view of a structure of a light-emitting element in an example.", "FIG.", "17 shows luminance-current density characteristics of light-emitting elements 1 to 4 in an example.", "FIG.", "18 shows luminance-current density characteristics of light-emitting elements 5 to 7 in an example.", "FIG.", "19 shows luminance-voltage characteristics of the light-emitting elements 1 to 4 in the example.", "FIG.", "20 shows luminance-voltage characteristics of the light-emitting elements 5 to 7 in the example.", "FIG.", "21 shows current efficiency-luminance characteristics of the light-emitting elements 1 to 4 in the example.", "FIG.", "22 shows current efficiency-luminance characteristics of the light-emitting elements 5 to 7 in the example.", "FIG.", "23 shows current-voltage characteristics of the light-emitting elements 1 to 4 in the example.", "FIG.", "24 shows current-voltage characteristics of the light-emitting elements 5 to 7 in the example.", "FIG.", "25 shows external quantum efficiency-luminance characteristics of the light-emitting elements 1 to 4 in the example.", "FIG.", "26 shows external quantum efficiency-luminance characteristics of the light-emitting elements 5 to 7 in the example.", "FIG.", "27 shows electroluminescence spectra of the light-emitting elements 1 to 4 in the example.", "FIG.", "28 shows electroluminescence spectra of the light-emitting elements 5 to 7 in the example.", "FIG.", "29 shows transient EL characteristics of the light-emitting elements 1, 6, and 7 in the example.", "FIG.", "30 shows a transient EL spectrum of the light-emitting element 6 in the example.", "FIG.", "31 shows luminance-current density characteristics of light-emitting elements 8 and 9 in an example.", "FIG.", "32 shows luminance-voltage characteristics of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 in the example.", "FIG.", "33 shows current efficiency-luminance characteristics of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 in the example.", "FIG.", "34 shows current-voltage characteristics of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 in the example.", "FIG.", "35 shows external quantum efficiency-luminance characteristics of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 in the example.", "FIG.", "36 shows electroluminescence spectra of the light-emitting element 8 and 9 in the example.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.", "Note that the present invention is not limited to the following description, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.", "Therefore, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the description in the following embodiments.", "Note that the position, size, range, or the like of each component illustrated in drawings and the like is not accurately represented in some cases for easy understanding.", "Therefore, the disclosed invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, range, or the like disclosed in the drawings and the like.", "Ordinal numbers such as “first” and “second” in this specification and the like are used for convenience and do not denote the order of steps or the stacking order of layers in some cases.", "Therefore, for example, the term “first” can be replaced with the term “second”, “third”, or the like as appropriate.", "In addition, the ordinal numbers in this specification and the like are not necessarily the same as the ordinal numbers used to specify one embodiment of the present invention.", "In the description of modes of the present invention in this specification and the like with reference to the drawings, the same components in different diagrams are commonly denoted by the same reference numeral in some cases.", "In this specification and the like, the terms “film” and “layer” can be interchanged with each other.", "For example, the term “conductive layer” can be changed into the term “conductive film” in some cases, and the term “insulating film” can be changed into the term “insulating layer” in some cases.", "In this specification and the like, a fluorescent material refers to a material that emits light in the visible light region when the level of the lowest singlet excited state (S1 level) relaxes to the ground state.", "A phosphorescent material refers to a material that emits light in the visible light region at room temperature when the level of the lowest triplet excited state (T1 level) relaxes to the ground state.", "That is, a phosphorescent material refers to a material that can convert triplet excitation energy into visible light.", "In this specification and the like, a thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy refers to an emission peak (including a shoulder) on the shortest wavelength side of thermally activated delayed fluorescence.", "In this specification and the like, a phosphorescence emission energy or a triplet excitation energy refers to a phosphorescence emission peak (including a shoulder) on the shortest wavelength side of phosphorescence emission.", "Note that the phosphorescence emission can be observed by time-resolved photoluminescence in a low-temperature (e.g., 10 K) environment.", "Note that in this specification and the like, room temperature refers to a temperature in the range from 0° C. to 40° C. Embodiment 1 In this embodiment, a light-emitting element according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "1A to 1C, FIGS.", "2A and 2B, FIGS.", "3A and 3B, and FIGS.", "4A and 4B.", "<1.Structure Example 1 of Light-Emitting Element> First, a structure of a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "1A to 1C.", "FIG.", "1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting element 150 of one embodiment of the present invention.", "The light-emitting element 150 includes an EL layer 100 between a pair of electrodes (an electrode 101 and an electrode 102).", "The EL layer 100 includes at least a light-emitting layer 113.Although description is made in this embodiment assuming that the electrode 101 is an anode and the electrode 102 is a cathode, the electrodes may be interchanged in the light-emitting element 150.The EL layer 100 illustrated in FIG.", "1A includes a hole-injection layer 111, a hole-transport layer 112, an electron-transport layer 115, and an electron-injection layer 116 in addition to the light-emitting layer 113.Note that the structure of the EL layer 100 is not limited to the structure illustrated in FIG.", "1A, and at least one selected from the hole-injection layer 111, the hole-transport layer 112, the electron-transport layer 115, and the electron-injection layer 116 is included.", "Alternatively, the EL layer 100 may include a functional layer which is capable of lowering a carrier injection barrier, improving a carrier-transport property, or suppressing the occurrence of quenching due to the electrode.", "FIG.", "1B is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of the light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "1A.", "The light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "1B includes a host material 121 and a guest material 122.It is preferable that the host material 121 have a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level.", "It is particularly preferable that the host material 121 be a substance which exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature.", "Note that the host material 121 may be composed of a single material or may include a plurality of materials.", "The guest material 122 may be a light-emitting organic compound, and the light-emitting organic compound is preferably a substance capable of emitting fluorescence (hereinafter also referred to as a fluorescent material).", "An example in which a fluorescent material is used as the guest material 122 will be described below.", "Note that the guest material 122 may be read as the fluorescent material.", "<<1-1.Emission Mechanism of Light-Emitting Element>> First, an emission mechanism of the light-emitting element 150 will be described below.", "In the light-emitting element 150 of one embodiment of the present invention, voltage application between a pair of electrodes (the electrodes 101 and 102) causes electrons and holes to be injected from the cathode and the anode, respectively, into the EL layer 100 and thus current flows.", "By recombination of the injected electrons and holes, the guest material 122 in the light-emitting layer 113 of the EL layer 100 is brought into an excited state to provide light emission.", "Note that light emission from the guest material 122 can be obtained through the following two processes: (α) direct recombination process; and (β) energy transfer process.", "<<1-2.", "(α) Direct Recombination Process>> Carriers (electrons and holes) are recombined in the guest material 122, and the guest material 122 is brought into an excited state.", "In the case where the excited state of the guest material 122 is a singlet excited state, fluorescence is obtained.", "In contrast, in the case where the excited state of the guest material 122 is a triplet excited state, thermal deactivation occurs.", "In (α) direct recombination process, high emission efficiency can be obtained when the fluorescence quantum efficiency of the guest material 122 is high.", "<<1-3.", "(β) Energy Transfer Process>> Carriers are recombined in the host material 121, and the host material 121 is brought into an excited state.", "In the case where the excited state of the host material 121 is a singlet excited state and the singlet excitation energy level of the host material 121 is higher than the singlet excitation energy level of the guest material 122, excitation energy is transferred from the host material 121 to the guest material 122, and thus the guest material 122 is brought into a singlet excited state.", "Fluorescence is obtained from the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state.", "Therefore, the singlet excitation energy level of the host material 121 is preferably higher than the singlet excitation energy level of the guest material 122.Note that since direct transition of the guest material 122 from a singlet ground state to a triplet excited state is forbidden, energy transfer from the host material 121 in the singlet excited state to the guest material 122 in the triplet excited state is unlikely to be a main energy transfer process; therefore, a description thereof is omitted here.", "In other words, energy transfer from the host material 121 in the singlet excited state to the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state is important as represented by the following general formula (G1).", "1H*+1G→1H+1G* (G1) Note that in the general formula (G1), 1H* represents the singlet excited state of the host material 121; 1G represents the singlet ground state of the guest material 122; 1H represents the singlet ground state of the host material 121; and 1G* represents the singlet excited state of the guest material 122.Next, in order to describe the energy transfer process of the host material 121 and the guest material 122, a schematic diagram illustrating the correlation of energy levels is shown in FIG.", "1C.", "The following explains what terms and signs in FIG.", "1C represent: Host (121): the host material 121; Guest (122): the guest material 122 (fluorescent material); SH: the level of the lowest singlet excitation energy of the host material 121; TH: the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy of the host material 121; SG: the level of the lowest singlet excitation energy of the guest material 122 (fluorescent material); and TG: the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy of the guest material 122 (fluorescent material).", "Even in the case where the exited state of the host material 121 is the triplet excited state, when the SH of the host material 121 is higher than the SG of the guest material 122, fluorescence is obtained through the following two processes.", "The host material 121 has a small energy difference of less than or equal to 0.2 eV between the singlet excitation energy level and the triplet excitation energy level.", "Therefore, as for a first process, excitation energy is transferred from the TH to the SH of the host material 121 by reverse intersystem crossing (upconversion) as shown by a route A1 in FIG.", "1C.", "As for a subsequent second process, excitation energy is transferred from the SH of the host material 121 to the SG of the guest material 122 as shown by a route E1 in FIG.", "1C, whereby the guest material 122 is brought into the singlet excited state.", "Fluorescence is obtained from the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state.", "The above-described first and second processes are represented by the following general formula (G2).", "3H*+1G→(reverse intersystem crossing)→1H*+1G→1H+1G* (G2) Note that in the general formula (G2), 3H* represents the triplet excited state of the host material 121; 1G represents the singlet ground state of the guest material 122; 1H* represents the singlet excited state of the host material 121; 1H represents the singlet ground state of the host material 121; and 1G* represents the singlet excited state of the guest material 122.As represented by the general formula (G2), the singlet excited state (1H*) of the host material 121 is generated from the triplet excited state (3H*) of the host material 121 by reverse intersystem crossing, and then energy is transferred to the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state (1G*).", "When all the energy transfer processes described above in (β) energy transfer process occur efficiently, both the triplet excitation energy and the singlet excitation energy of the host material 121 are efficiently converted into the singlet excited state (1G*) of the guest material 122.Thus, high-efficiency light emission is possible.", "However, when the host material 121 is deactivated by emitting excitation energy as light or heat before the excitation energy is transferred from the singlet excited state and the triplet excited state of the host material 121 to the singlet excited state of the guest material 122, the emission efficiency of the light-emitting element 150 is decreased.", "For example, in the case where the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy of the host material 121 is lower than the TG of the guest material 122 as indicated by broken line B1 in FIG.", "1C (shown as “TH′” in FIG.", "1C), the excitation energy of the guest material 122 is transferred from the TG of the guest material 122 to the TH′ of the host material 121 as shown by a route E3 in FIG.", "1C.", "In that case, since there is a large energy difference between TH′ and SH, reverse intersystem crossing shown by the route A1′ in FIG.", "1C and the subsequent energy transfer process shown by the route E1 are unlikely to occur, resulting in thermal deactivation of the excitation energy of the guest material 122.Therefore, the generation efficiency of the singlet excited state of the guest material 122 is decreased.", "Thus, it is preferable that the TH of the host material 121 be higher than the TG of the guest material 122.That is, in the case where the host material 121 is a substance which exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence, it is preferable that the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the host material 121 be higher than the phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material 122.In the case where excitation energy is transferred from the TH of the host material 121 to the TG of the guest material 122 as shown by a route E2 in FIG.", "1C, the excitation energy is also thermally deactivated.", "Therefore, it is preferable that the energy transfer process shown by the route E2 in FIG.", "1C be less likely to occur because the generation efficiency of the triplet excited state of the guest material 122 can be decreased and the occurrence of thermal deactivation can be reduced.", "To achieve this, it is preferable that the weight ratio of the guest material 122 to the host material 121 be low.", "Specifically, the weight ratio of the guest material 122 to the host material 121 is preferably more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05, more preferably more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.03.Note that when the direct recombination process in the guest material 122 is dominant, a large number of triplet excited states of the guest material 122 are generated in the light-emitting layer, resulting in a decreased emission efficiency due to thermal deactivation.", "That is, it is preferable that the probability of (β) energy transfer process be higher than that of (α) direct recombination process because the occurrence of thermal deactivation when the excited state of the guest material 122 is a triplet excited state can be reduced.", "To achieve this, it is again preferable that the weight ratio of the guest material 122 to the host material 121 be low.", "Specifically, the weight ratio of the guest material 122 to the host material 121 is preferably more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05, more preferably more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.03.Next, factors controlling the above-described processes of intermolecular energy transfer between the host material 121 and the guest material 122 will be described.", "As mechanisms of the intermolecular energy transfer, two mechanisms, i.e., Förster mechanism (dipole-dipole interaction) and Dexter mechanism (electron exchange interaction), have been proposed.", "<<1-4.Förster Mechanism>> In Förster mechanism, energy transfer does not require direct contact between molecules and energy is transferred through a resonant phenomenon of dipolar oscillation between the host material 121 and the guest material 122.By the resonant phenomenon of dipolar oscillation, the host material 121 provides energy to the guest material 122, and thus, the host material 121 in an excited state is put in a ground state and the guest material 122 in a ground state is put in an excited state.", "Note that the rate constant kh*→g of Förster mechanism is expressed by Formula (1).", "[ Formula   1 ] k h * → g = 9000  c 4  K 2  φ   ln   10 128   π 5  n 4  N   τ   R 6  ∫ f h ′  ( v )  ɛ g  ( v ) v 4  dv ( 1 ) In Formula (1), v denotes a frequency, f′h(v) denotes a normalized emission spectrum of the host material 121 (a fluorescent spectrum in energy transfer from a singlet excited state, and a phosphorescent spectrum in energy transfer from a triplet excited state), εg(v) denotes a molar absorption coefficient of the guest material 122, N denotes Avogadro's number, n denotes a refractive index of a medium, R denotes an intermolecular distance between the host material 121 and the guest material 122, τ denotes a measured lifetime of an excited state (fluorescence lifetime or phosphorescence lifetime), c denotes the speed of light, ϕ denotes a luminescence quantum yield (a fluorescence quantum yield in energy transfer from a singlet excited state, and a phosphorescence quantum yield in energy transfer from a triplet excited state), and K2 denotes a coefficient (0 to 4) of orientation of a transition dipole moment between the host material 121 and the guest material 122.Note that K2=2/3 in random orientation.", "<<1-5.Dexter Mechanism>> In Dexter mechanism, the host material 121 and the guest material 122 are close to a contact effective range where their orbitals overlap, and the host material 121 in an excited state and the guest material 122 in a ground state exchange their electrons, which leads to energy transfer.", "Note that the rate constant kh*→g of Dexter mechanism is expressed by Formula (2).", "[ Formula   2 ] k h * → g = ( 2   π h )  K 2  exp  ( - 2  R L )  ∫ f h ′  ( v )  ɛ g ′  ( v )  dv ( 2 ) In Formula (2), h denotes a Planck constant, K denotes a constant having an energy dimension, v denotes a frequency, f′h(v) denotes a normalized emission spectrum of the host material 121 (a fluorescent spectrum in energy transfer from a singlet excited state, and a phosphorescent spectrum in energy transfer from a triplet excited state), ε′g(v) denotes a normalized absorption spectrum of the guest material 122, L denotes an effective molecular radius, and R denotes an intermolecular distance between the host material 121 and the guest material 122.Here, the efficiency of energy transfer from the host material 121 to the guest material 122 (energy transfer efficiency ϕET) is expressed by Formula (3).", "In the formula, kr denotes a rate constant of a light-emission process (fluorescence in energy transfer from a singlet excited state, and phosphorescence in energy transfer from a triplet excited state) of the host material 121, kn denotes a rate constant of a non-light-emission process (thermal deactivation or intersystem crossing) of the host material 121, and τ denotes a measured lifetime of an excited state of the host material 121.", "[ Formula   3 ] φ ET = k h * → g k r + k n + k h * → g = k h * → g ( 1 τ ) + k h * → g ( 3 ) According to Formula (3), it is found that the energy transfer efficiency ϕET can be increased by increasing the rate constant kh*→g of energy transfer so that another competing rate constant kr+kn (=1/k) becomes relatively small.", "<<1-6.Concept for Promoting Energy Transfer>> In both the energy transfer processes of the general formulae (G1) and (G2), since energy is transferred from the singlet excited state (1H*) of the host material 121 to the singlet excited state (1G*) of the guest material 122, energy transfers by both Förster mechanism (Formula (1)) and Dexter mechanism (Formula (2)) occur.", "First, an energy transfer by Förster mechanism is considered.", "When τ is eliminated from Formula (1) and Formula (3), it can be said that the energy transfer efficiency ϕET is higher when the quantum yield ϕ (here, a fluorescence quantum yield because energy transfer from a singlet excited state is discussed) is higher.", "However, in practice, a more important factor is that the emission spectrum of the host material 121 (here, a fluorescent spectrum because energy transfer from a singlet excited state is discussed) largely overlaps with the absorption spectrum of the guest material 122 (absorption corresponding to the transition from the singlet ground state to the singlet excited state).", "Note that it is preferable that the molar absorption coefficient of the guest material 122 be also high.", "This means that the emission spectrum of the host material 121 overlaps with the absorption band of the guest material 122 which is on the longest wavelength side.", "Next, an energy transfer by Dexter mechanism is considered.", "According to Formula (2), in order to increase the rate constant kh*→g, it is preferable that an emission spectrum of the host material 121 (here, a fluorescent spectrum because energy transfer from a singlet excited state is discussed) largely overlap with an absorption spectrum of the guest material 122 (absorption corresponding to transition from a singlet ground state to a singlet excited state).", "The above description suggests that the energy transfer efficiency can be optimized by making the emission spectrum of the host material 121 overlap with the absorption band of the guest material 122 which is on the longest wavelength side.", "In view of this, one embodiment of the present invention provides a light-emitting element which includes the host material 121 having a function as an energy donor capable of efficiently transferring energy to the guest material 122.A feature of the host material 121 is that the singlet excitation energy level and the triplet excitation energy level are close to each other.", "Specifically, it is preferable that the host material 121 have a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between the singlet excitation energy level and the triplet excitation energy level.", "This enables transition (reverse intersystem crossing) of the host material 121 from the triplet excited state to the singlet excited state to be likely to occur.", "Therefore, the generation efficiency of the singlet excited state of the host material 121 can be increased.", "Furthermore, in order to facilitate energy transfer from the singlet excited state of the host material 121 to the singlet excited state of the guest material 122 having a function as an energy acceptor, it is preferable that the emission spectrum of the host material 121 (here, the emission spectrum of a substance having a function of exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence) overlap with the absorption band of the guest material 122 which is on the longest wavelength side.", "Thus, the generation efficiency of the singlet excited state of the guest material 122 can be increased.", "Since the triplet excitation energy level of the host material 121 is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the guest material 122 in the light-emitting element 150 of one embodiment of the present invention, transition of the host material 121 from the triplet excited state to the singlet excited state and energy transfer from the singlet excited state of the host material 121 to the singlet excited state of the guest material 122 are likely to occur.", "For this reason, thermal deactivation is less likely to occur in the light-emitting element 150; thus, the emission efficiency of the light-emitting element 150 can be increased.", "In the case where the host material 121 is a substance which exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, since the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy is higher than the phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material 122, transition of the host material 121 from the triplet excited state to the singlet excited state and energy transfer from the host material 121 in the singlet excited state to the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state occur efficiently.", "For this reason, thermal deactivation is less likely to occur in the light-emitting element 150; thus, the emission efficiency of the light-emitting element 150 can be increased.", "<<1-7.Material>> In the light-emitting layer 113, the host material 121 may be composed of one kind of material or may include a plurality of materials.", "For example, in the case where the host material 121 is composed of one kind of material, any of the following materials can be used.", "First, a fullerene, a derivative thereof, an acridine derivative such as proflavine, eosin, or the like can be given.", "Furthermore, a metal-containing porphyrin, such as a porphyrin containing magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), tin (Sn), platinum (Pt), indium (In), or palladium (Pd), can be given.", "Examples of the metal-containing porphyrin include a protoporphyrin-tin fluoride complex (SnF2(Proto IX)), a mesoporphyrin-tin fluoride complex (SnF2(Meso IX)), a hematoporphyrin-tin fluoride complex (SnF2(Hemato IX)), a coproporphyrin tetramethyl ester-tin fluoride complex (SnF2(Copro III-4Me)), an octaethylporphyrin-tin fluoride complex (SnF2(OEP)), an etioporphyrin-tin fluoride complex (SnF2(Etio I)), and an octaethylporphyrin-platinum chloride complex (PtCl2(OEP)), which are shown in the following structural formulae.", "Alternatively, a heterocyclic compound having a π-electron rich heteroaromatic ring and a π-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring, such as 2-(biphenyl-4-yl)-4,6-bis(12-phenylindolo[2,3-a]carbazol-11-yl)-1,3,5-triazine (abbreviation: PIC-TRZ), 2-{4-[3-(N-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)-9H-carbazol-9-yl]phenyl}-4,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazine (abbreviation: PCCzPTzn), 2-[4-(10H-phenoxazin-10-yl)phenyl]-4,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazine (abbreviation: PXZ-TRZ), 3-[4-(5-phenyl-5,10-dihydrophenazin-10-yl)phenyl]-4,5-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazole (abbreviation: PPZ-3TPT), 3-(9,9-dimethyl-9H-acridin-10-yl)-9H-xanthen-9-one (abbreviation: ACRXTN), bis[4-(9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine)phenyl]sulfone (abbreviation: DMAC-DPS), or 10-phenyl-10H,10′H-spiro[acridin-9,9′-anthracen]-10′-one (abbreviation: ACRSA) shown in the following structural formulae, can be used as the host material 121 composed of one kind of material.", "The heterocyclic compound is preferably used because of the π-electron rich heteroaromatic ring and the π-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring, for which the electron-transport property and the hole-transport property are high.", "Note that a substance in which the π-electron rich heteroaromatic ring is directly bonded to the π-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring is particularly preferably used because the donor property of the π-electron rich heteroaromatic ring and the acceptor property of the π-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring are both increased and the difference between the level of the singlet excited state and the level of the triplet excited state becomes small.", "In the light-emitting layer 113, the guest material 122 is preferably, but not particularly limited to, an anthracene derivative, a tetracene derivative, a chrysene derivative, a phenanthrene derivative, a pyrene derivative, a perylene derivative, a stilbene derivative, an acridone derivative, a coumarin derivative, a phenoxazine derivative, a phenothiazine derivative, or the like, and for example, any of the following materials can be used.", "The examples include 5,6-bis[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-2,2′-bipyridine (abbreviation: PAP2BPy), 5,6-bis[4′-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)biphenyl-4-yl]-2,2′-bipyridine (abbreviation: PAPP2BPy), N,N-bis[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N-diphenyl-pyrene-1,6-diamine (abbreviation: 1,6FLPAPrn), N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N-bis[3-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]pyrene-1,6-diamine (abbreviation: 1,6mMemFLPAPm), N,N′-bis[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N′-diphenylstilbene-4,4′-diamine (abbreviation: YGA2S), 4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: YGAPA), 4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-4′-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: 2YGAPPA), N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine (abbreviation: PCAPA), perylene, 2,5,8,11-tetra(tert-butyl)perylene (abbreviation: TBP), 4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)-4′-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: PCBAPA), N,N″-(2-tert-butylanthracene-9,10-diyldi-4,1-phenylene)bis[N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine] (abbreviation: DPABPA), N,9-diphenyl-N-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazol-3-amine (abbreviation: 2PCAPPA), N-[4-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (abbreviation: 2DPAPPA), N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″,N′″,N′″-octaphenyldibenzo[g,p]chrysene-2,7,10,15-tetraamine (abbreviation: DBC1), coumarin 30, N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine (abbreviation: 2PCAPA), N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,9-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine (abbreviation: 2PCABPhA), N-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)-N,N′,N′-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (abbreviation: 2DPAPA), N-[9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-2-anthryl]-N,N,N-triphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (abbreviation: 2DPABPhA), 9,10-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)-N-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N-phenylanthracen-2-amine (abbreviation: 2YGABPhA), N,N,9-triphenylanthracen-9-amine (abbreviation: DPhAPhA), coumarin 6, coumarin 545T, N,N-diphenylquinacridone (abbreviation: DPQd), rubrene, 5,12-bis(1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl)-6,11-diphenyltetracene (abbreviation: BPT), 2-(2-{2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]ethenyl}-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)propanedinitrile (abbreviation: DCM1), 2-{2-methyl-6-[2-(2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[ij]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile (abbreviation: DCM2), N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(4-methylphenyl)tetracene-5,11-diamine (abbreviation: p-mPhTD), 7,14-diphenyl-N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis(4-methylphenyl)acenaphtho[1,2-a]fluoranthene-3,10-diamine (abbreviation: p-mPhAFD), 2-{2-isopropyl-6-[2-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[ij]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile (abbreviation: DCJTI), 2-{2-tert-butyl-6-[2-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[ij]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile (abbreviation: DCJTB), 2-(2,6-bis {2-[4-(dimethylamino)phenyl]ethenyl}-4H-pyran-4-ylidene)propanedinitrile (abbreviation: BisDCM), 2-{2,6-bis[2-(8-methoxy-1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H-benzo[ij]quinolizin-9-yl)ethenyl]-4H-pyran-4-ylidene}propanedinitrile (abbreviation: BisDCJTM), and 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylbisbenzo[5,6]indeno[1,2,3-cd:1′,2′,3′-lm]perylene.", "Note that the light-emitting layer 113 can be formed by an evaporation method (including a vacuum evaporation method), an inkjet method, a coating method, gravure printing, or the like.", "<2.Structure Example 2 of Light-Emitting Element> Next, a structure different from the structure illustrated in FIGS.", "1B and 1C will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "2A and 2B.", "FIG.", "2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of the light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "1A.", "The light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "2A includes the host material 121 and the guest material 122.The host material 121 includes an organic compound 121_1 and an organic compound 121_2.It is preferable that a combination of the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2 form an exciplex (also referred to as an excited complex).", "An exciplex tends to have a very small difference between the singlet excitation energy level and the triplet excitation energy level, and thus transition (reverse intersystem crossing) from the triplet excited state to the singlet excited state is likely to occur.", "One of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 serves as a host material for the light-emitting layer 113, and the other of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 serves as an assist material for the light-emitting layer 113.Note that the organic compound 121_1 serves as the host material and the organic compound 121_2 serves as the assist material in the following description.", "Note that also in the case of using a host material which allows a combination of the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2 to form an exciplex, light emission from the guest material 122 can be obtained through the following two processes: (α) direct recombination process; and (β) energy transfer process.", "Note that (α) direct recombination process is not described here because it is similar to the process described above in the subsection 1-2.<<2-1.Emission Mechanism Through (β) Energy Transfer Process>> Although there is no limitation on the combination of the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2 in the light-emitting layer 113 as long as an exciplex can be formed, it is preferred that one organic compound be a material having a hole-transport property and the other organic compound be a material having an electron-transport property.", "In that case, a donor-acceptor excited state is formed easily, which allows an exciplex to be formed efficiently.", "In the case where the combination of the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2 is a combination of the material having a hole-transport property and the material having an electron-transport property, the carrier balance can be easily controlled depending on the mixture ratio.", "Specifically, the weight ratio of the material having a hole-transport property to the material having an electron-transport property is preferably within the range of 1:9 to 9:1.Since the carrier balance can be easily controlled in the structure, a recombination region can also be easily adjusted.", "It is preferable that the exciplex formed by the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2 have a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between the singlet excitation energy level and the triplet excitation energy level.", "This enables transition (reverse intersystem crossing) of the exciplex from the triplet excitation energy level to the singlet excitation energy level to be likely to occur.", "Therefore, the generation efficiency of the singlet excited state of the exciplex, i.e., the host material 121, can be increased.", "Furthermore, it is preferable that the emission spectrum of the host material 121 (here, the emission spectrum of the exciplex formed by the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2) overlap with the absorption band of the guest material 122 which is on the longest wavelength side.", "This facilitates energy transfer from the singlet excited state of the host material 121 to the singlet excited state of the guest material 122.Therefore, the generation efficiency of the singlet excited state of the guest material 122 can be increased; thus, emission efficiency can be increased.", "Here, in order to describe the energy transfer process of the exciplex, a schematic diagram illustrating the correlation of energy levels is shown in FIG.", "2B.", "The following explains what terms and signs in FIG.", "2B represent: Host (121): the host material (organic compound 121_1); Guest (122): the guest material 122 (fluorescent material); Assist: the host material (organic compound 121_2); SH: the level of the lowest singlet excitation energy of the host material (organic compound 121_1); TH: the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy of the host material (organic compound 121_1); SE: the level of the lowest singlet excitation energy of the exciplex; TE: the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy of the exciplex; SG: the level of the lowest singlet excitation energy of the guest material 122 (fluorescent material); and TG: the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy of the guest material 122 (fluorescent material).", "When carriers (holes and electrons) are transported to the light-emitting layer 113 and one of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 receiving holes and the other receiving electrons come close to each other, the exciplex is formed at once.", "Alternatively, when one compound is brought into an excited state, the one immediately interacts with the other compound to form the exciplex.", "Therefore, most excitons in the light-emitting layer 113 exist as the exciplexes.", "The band gap of the exciplex is narrower than that of each of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2; therefore, the driving voltage can be lowered when the exciplex is formed.", "Since the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 can form a donor-acceptor excited state, the SE and the TE of the exciplex are close to each other.", "In the case where the excited state of the exciplex is a single excited state, excitation energy is transferred from the SE of the exciplex to the SG of the guest material 122 as shown by a route E4 in FIG.", "2B, whereby the guest material 122 is brought into the singlet excited state.", "Fluorescence is obtained from the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state.", "In other words, energy transfer occurs from the exciplex in the singlet excited state to the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state as represented by the following general formula (G3).", "1[H-A]*+1G→1H+1A+1G* (G3) Note that in the general formula (G3), 1[H-A]* represents the singlet excited state of the exciplex formed by the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 1212; 1G represents the singlet ground state of the guest material 122; 1H represents the singlet ground state of the organic compound 121_1; 1A represents the singlet ground state of the organic compound 121_2; and 1G* represents the singlet excited state of the guest material 122.Even in the case where the exited state of the exciplex is the triplet excited state, when the SE of the exciplex is higher than the SG of the guest material 122, fluorescence is obtained through the following two processes.", "As for a first process, excitation energy is transferred from the TE to the SE of the exciplex by reverse intersystem crossing (upconversion) as shown by a route A2 in FIG.", "2B.", "As for a subsequent second process, excitation energy is transferred from the SE of the exciplex to the SG of the guest material 122 as shown by a route E4 in FIG.", "2B, whereby the guest material 122 is brought into the singlet excited state.", "Fluorescence is obtained from the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state.", "The above-described processes through the route A2 and the route E4 may be referred to as exciplex-singlet energy transfer (ExSET) or exciplex-enhanced fluorescence (ExEF) in this specification and the like.", "The above-described first and second processes are represented by the following general formula (G4).", "3[H-A]*+1G→(reverse intersystem crossing)→1[H-A]*+1G→1H+1A+1G* (G4) Note that in the general formula (G4), 3[H-A]* represents the triplet excited state of the exciplex formed by the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 1212; 1G represents the singlet ground state of the guest material 122; 1[H-A]* represents the singlet excited state of the exciplex formed by the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2; 1H represents the singlet ground state of the organic compound 121_1; 1A represents the singlet ground state of the organic compound 121_2; and 1G* represents the singlet excited state of the guest material 122.As represented by the general formula (G4), the singlet excited state (1[H-A]*) of the exciplex is generated from the triplet excited state (3[H-A]*) of the exciplex by reverse intersystem crossing, and then energy is transferred to the guest material 122 in the singlet excited state (1G*).", "When the host material 121 has the above structure, (β) energy transfer process occurs efficiently, and both the singlet excitation energy and the triplet excitation energy of the exciplex are efficiently converted into the singlet excited state of the guest material 122.Thus, light emission can be efficiently obtained from the guest material 122 (fluorescent material) of the light-emitting layer 113.However, when the exciplex is deactivated by emitting the excitation energy as light or heat before excitation energy is transferred from the exciplex to the guest material 122, the emission efficiency may be decreased.", "For example, in the case where excitation energy is transferred from the TE of the exciplex to the TG of the guest material 122 as shown by a route E5 in FIG.", "2B, the excitation energy is thermally deactivated.", "Therefore, the weight ratio of the guest material 122 to the host material 121 is preferably more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.05, more preferably more than 0 and less than or equal to 0.03.In the case where the TH of the host material 121, i.e., the triplet excitation energy level of the organic compound 121_1 or 121_2, is lower than the TE of the exciplex as indicated by broken line B2 in FIG.", "2B (shown as “TH′” in FIG.", "2C), the excitation energy is transferred from the TE of the exciplex to the TH′ of the host material 121 as shown by a route E6 in FIG.", "2B and is then thermally deactivated.", "Thus, it is preferable that the triplet excitation energy level of each of the organic compounds 121_1 and 1212 be higher than the TE of the exciplex.", "In that case, reverse intersystem crossing occurs efficiently in the exciplex.", "Since the SE and TE of the exciplex are close to each other, in the case where the TE is lower than the TG of the guest material 122, the energy level of SE is significantly lowered to the vicinity of TG or lower than TG.", "As a result, energy transfer from SE to the SG of the guest material 122 (route E4) is unlikely to occur, and fluorescence is not easily obtained from the guest material 122.Thus, it is preferable that the TE of the exciplex be higher than the TG of the guest material 122.Accordingly, in the case where the exciplex exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, it is preferable that the phosphorescence emission energy of each of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 be higher than the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex.", "It is also preferable that the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex be higher than the phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material 122.<<2-2.Material>> In the case where the host material 121 in the light-emitting layer 113 includes the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2, i.e., two kinds of materials, any of the following materials can be used.", "Note that as the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2, a combination of two kinds of organic compounds which form an exciplex is preferably used.", "In this case, a variety of carrier-transport materials can be used as appropriate.", "In order to form an exciplex efficiently, it is particularly preferable to combine a material which easily accepts electrons (a material having an electron-transport property) and a material which easily accepts holes (a material having a hole-transport property).", "This is because in the case where the combination of a material having an electron-transport property and a material having a hole-transport property which form an exciplex is used as a host material, the carrier balance between holes and electrons in the light-emitting layer can be easily optimized by adjustment of the mixture ratio of the material having an electron-transport property and the material having a hole-transport property.", "The optimization of the carrier balance between holes and electrons in the light-emitting layer can prevent a region in which electrons and holes are recombined from existing on one side in the light-emitting layer.", "By preventing the region in which electrons and holes are recombined from existing on one side, the reliability of the light-emitting element can be improved.", "As the material which easily accepts electrons (the material having an electron-transport property), a π-electron deficient heteroaromatic compound, a metal complex, or the like can be used.", "Specific examples include a metal complex such as bis(10-hydroxybenzo[h]quinolinato)beryllium(II) (abbreviation: BeBq2), bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III) (abbreviation: BAlq), bis(8-quinolinolato)zinc(II) (abbreviation: Znq), bis[2-(2-benzoxazolyl)phenolato]zinc(II) (abbreviation: ZnPBO), or bis[2-(2-benzothiazolyl)phenolato]zinc(II) (abbreviation: ZnBTZ); a heterocyclic compound having an azole skeleton such as 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (abbreviation: PBD), 3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,2,4-triazole (abbreviation: TAZ), 1,3-bis[5-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]benzene (abbreviation: OXD-7), 9-[4-(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: CO11), 2,2′,2″-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl)tris(1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole) (abbreviation: TPBI), or 2-[3-(dibenzothiophen-4-yl)phenyl]-1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole (abbreviation: mDBTBIm-II); a heterocyclic compound having a diazine skeleton such as 2-[3-(dibenzothiophen-4-yl)phenyl]dibenzo[f,h]quinoxaline (abbreviation: 2mDBTPDBq-II), 2-[3′-(dibenzothiophen-4-yl)biphenyl-3-yl]dibenzo[f,h]quinoxaline (abbreviation: 2mDBTBPDBq-II), 2-[3′-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)biphenyl-3-yl]dibenzo[f,h]quinoxaline (abbreviation: 2mCzBPDBq), 4,6-bis[3-(phenanthren-9-yl)phenyl]pyrimidine (abbreviation: 4,6mPnP2Pm), or 4,6-bis[3-(4-dibenzothienyl)phenyl]pyrimidine (abbreviation: 4,6mDBTP2Pm-II); a heterocyclic compound having a triazine skeleton such as 2-{4-[3-(N-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)-9H-carbazol-9-yl]phenyl}-4,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-triazine (abbreviation: PCCzPTzn); and a heterocyclic compound having a pyridine skeleton such as 3,5-bis[3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]pyridine (abbreviation: 35DCzPPy) or 1,3,5-tri[3-(3-pyridyl)phenyl]benzene (abbreviation: TmPyPB).", "Among the above materials, heterocyclic compounds having diazine skeletons and triazine skeletons and heterocyclic compounds having pyridine skeletons have high reliability and are thus preferable.", "Heterocyclic compounds having diazine (pyrimidine or pyrazine) skeletons and triazine skeletons have a high electron-transport property and contribute to a decrease in drive voltage.", "In order to obtain high reliability and a high triplet excitation energy level, it is preferable that a condensed heterocyclic skeleton be included and that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that a carbazole skeleton and a condensed heterocyclic skeleton be included and that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that a carbazole skeleton and a condensed heterocyclic skeleton be included, that the condensed heterocyclic skeleton have a diazine skeleton, and that the carbazole skeleton and the condensed heterocyclic skeleton can be bonded to each other through an arylene group, and it is particularly preferable that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the condensed heterocyclic skeleton can be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "The condensed heterocyclic skeleton having a diazine skeleton is preferably a quinoxaline skeleton, a quinazoline skeleton, a benzoquinoxaline skeleton, a benzoquinazoline skeleton, a dibenzoquinoxaline skeleton, a dibenzoquinazoline skeleton, a benzofuropyrimidine skeleton, or the like.", "As the material which easily accepts holes (the material having a hole-transport property), a t-electron rich heteroaromatic compound, an aromatic amine compound, or the like can be favorably used.", "Specific examples include a compound having an aromatic amine skeleton such as 2-[N-(9-phenylcarbazol-3-yl)-N-phenylamino]spiro-9,9′-bifluorene (abbreviation: PCASF), 4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation: NPB), N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-[1,1′-biphenyl]-4,4′-diamine (abbreviation: TPD), 4,4′-bis[N-(spiro-9,9′-bifluoren-2-yl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation: BSPB), 4-phenyl-4′-(9-phenylfluoren-9-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: BPAFLP), 4-phenyl-3′-(9-phenylfluoren-9-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: mBPAFLP), 4-phenyl-4′-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: PCBA1BP), 4,4′-diphenyl-4″-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: PCBBi1BP), 4-(1-naphthyl)-4′-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: PCBANB), 4,4′-di(1-naphthyl)-4″-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)triphenylamine (abbreviation: PCBNBB), 9,9-dimethyl-N-phenyl-N-[4-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)phenyl]fluoren-2-amine (abbreviation: PCBAF), N-phenyl-N-[4-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)phenyl]spiro-9,9′-bifluoren-2-amine (abbreviation: PCBASF), N-(1,1′-biphenyl-4-yl)-N-[4-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)phenyl]-9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluoren-2-amine (abbreviation: PCBBiF); a compound having a carbazole skeleton such as 1,3-bis(N-carbazolyl)benzene (abbreviation: mCP), 4,4′-di(N-carbazolyl)biphenyl (abbreviation: CBP), 3,6-bis(3,5-diphenylphenyl)-9-phenylcarbazole (abbreviation: CzTP), or 9-phenyl-9H-3-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)carbazole (abbreviation: PCCP); a compound having a thiophene skeleton such as 4,4′,4″-(benzene-1,3,5-triyl)tri(dibenzothiophene) (abbreviation: DBT3P-II), 2,8-diphenyl-4-[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]dibenzothiophene (abbreviation: DBTFLP-III), or 4-[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-6-phenyldibenzothiophene (abbreviation: DBTFLP-IV); and a compound having a furan skeleton such as 4,4′,4″-(benzene-1,3,5-triyl)tri(dibenzofuran) (abbreviation: DBF3P-II) or 4-{3-[3-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]phenyl}dibenzofuran (abbreviation: mmDBFFLBi-II).", "Among the above materials, compounds having aromatic amine skeletons and compounds having carbazole skeletons are preferable because these compounds are highly reliable and have high hole-transport properties to contribute to a reduction in drive voltage.", "In order to obtain a high triplet excitation energy level, it is preferable that a carbazole skeleton be included.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that one aromatic amine skeleton be included.", "Alternatively, it is preferable that a carbazole skeleton and an aromatic amine skeleton be included and that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the aromatic amine skeleton can be bonded to each other, and it is particularly preferable that the 9-position of the carbazole skeleton and the aromatic amine skeleton can be bonded to each other through an arylene group.", "The organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 are not limited to the above-described compounds, as long as they can transport carriers, the combination can form an exciplex, and light emission of the exciplex overlaps with an absorption band on the longest wavelength side in an absorption spectrum of a light-emitting substance (an absorption corresponding to the transition of the light-emitting substance from the singlet ground state to the singlet excited state), and other materials may be used.", "Note that a material which can be used as the guest material 122 in the light-emitting layer 113 illustrated in FIG.", "2A is similar to the guest material 122 described in the subsection 1-7 and is therefore not described here.", "<<2-3.Relationship Between Emission Energy of Exciplex and Triplet Energy Level of Host Material>> Combinations of organic compounds which can form an exciplex of one embodiment of the present invention and the relationship between the emission energy of the exciplex and the triplet energy level of a host material will be described in detail below.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B show the emission spectra of thin films of individual organic compounds and the emission spectra of mixed films each including a combination of two different kinds of organic compounds.", "Note that FIG.", "3A shows the emission spectra of compounds 1 to 4 and exciplexes 1 to 3, and FIG.", "3B shows the emission spectra of compounds 5 to 7 and exciplexes 4 to 6.FIGS.", "3A and 3B show the emission spectra of thin films of 2-[3-(dibenzothiophen-4-yl)phenyl]dibenzo[f,h]quinoxaline (abbreviation: 2mDBTPDBq-II) as the compound 1, 4,6-bis[3-(4-dibenzothienyl)phenyl]pyrimidine (abbreviation: 4,6mDBTP2Pm-II) as the compound 2, 2,7-bis[N-(4-diphenylaminophenyl)-N-phenylamino]-spiro-9,9′-bifluorene (abbreviation: DPA2SF) as the compound 3, 2-[N-(9-phenylcarbazol-3-yl)-N-phenylamino]spiro-9,9′-bifluorene (abbreviation: PCASF) as the compound 4, 4,6-bis[3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]pyrimidine (abbreviation: 4,6mCzP2Pm) as the compound 5, N-(4-biphenyl)-N-(9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-9-phenyl-9H-carabzol-3-amine (abbreviation: PCBiF) as the compound 6, 9-phenyl-9H-3-(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)carbazole (abbreviation: PCCP) as the compound 7, and 4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (abbreviation: NPB) as a compound 8.Structural formulae and abbreviations of the compounds 1 to 8 are shown below.", "The emission spectrum of the exciplex 1 in FIG.", "3A is a result of measuring light emission from a mixed film of the compounds 1 and 3.That is, one of the compounds 1 and 3 corresponds to the organic compound 121_1, and the other corresponds to the organic compound 121_2.Similarly, the emission spectra of the exciplexes 2 and 3 are results of measuring light emissions from a mixed film of the compounds 1 and 4 and a mixed film of the compounds 2 and 4, respectively.", "Note that the emission spectra correspond to measured light emissions obtained by ultraviolet light irradiation of thin films of individual compounds and mixed films each including two compounds.", "Note that the emission spectra were measured with a PL-EL measurement apparatus (manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.).", "The thin films were formed by vacuum evaporation of the individual compounds to a thickness of 50 nm onto a quartz substrate.", "Note that the mixed films were formed by an evaporation method (co-evaporation) where two different compounds are concurrently evaporated from respective evaporation sources.", "For each of the exciplexes 1 and 2, the compound 1 is used, and the other compound for exciplex formation differs between the exciplexes 1 and 2.Therefore, although there is little difference between the emission spectrum peaks of the compounds 3 and 4, the wavelength at the emission spectrum peak of the exciplex 1 is 579 nm and the wavelength at the emission spectrum peak of the exciplex 2 is 543 nm; there is a difference of 30 nm or more between these peaks.", "This is because the exciplexes 1 and 2 are donor-acceptor exciplexes.", "That is, the singlet excitation energy of an exciplex corresponds to the energy difference between a higher highest occupied molecular orbital (also referred to as HOMO) of HOMOs of two organic compounds and a lower lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (also referred to as LUMO) of LUMOs of the two organic compounds.", "Therefore, when one of the compounds is different, the energy level of the HOMO or LUMO for exciplex formation is changed and thus the emission wavelength of an exciplex can also be changed.", "For each of the exciplexes 2 and 3, the compound 4 is used, and the other compound for exciplex formation differs between the exciplexes 2 and 3.The wavelength at the emission spectrum peak of the exciplex 3 is 528 nm; there is a difference of 15 nm between the emission spectrum peaks of the exciplexes 2 and 3.In this manner, the emission wavelength of an exciplex can be easily changed simply by changing one of compounds which form the exciplex.", "Note that since the wavelength at the emission spectrum peak of the exciplex 1 is 579 nm, the exciplex 1 is preferably mixed with a light-emitting material having a function of emitting yellow to red light as the guest material 122 for use in a light-emitting element.", "Furthermore, since the wavelengths at the emission spectrum peaks of the exciplexes 2 and 3 are 543 nm and 528 nm, respectively, the exciplex 2 or 3 is preferably mixed with a light-emitting material having a function of emitting green to red light as the guest material 122 for use in a light-emitting element.", "The emission spectrum of the exciplex 4 in FIG.", "3B is a result of measuring light emission from a mixed film of the compounds 5 and 6.That is, one of the compounds 5 and 6 corresponds to the organic compound 121_1, and the other corresponds to the organic compound 121_2.Similarly, the emission spectra of the exciplexes 5 and 6 are results of measuring light emissions from a mixed film of the compounds 5 and 7 and a mixed film of the compounds 5 and 8, respectively.", "Note that the emission spectra correspond to measured light emissions obtained by ultraviolet light irradiation of thin films of individual compounds and mixed films each including two compounds.", "For each of the exciplexes 4 to 6, the compound 5 is used, and the other compound for exciplex formation differs between the exciplexes 4 to 6.Therefore, there are differences between the emission spectrum peaks of the exciplexes 4 to 6.In this manner, the emission wavelength of an exciplex can be easily changed simply by changing one of compounds which form the exciplex.", "Note that since the wavelengths at the emission spectrum peaks of the exciplexes 4 and 6 are 545 nm and 516 nm, respectively, the exciplex 4 or 6 is preferably mixed with a light-emitting material having a function of emitting green to red light as the guest material 122 for use in a light-emitting element.", "Furthermore, since the wavelength at the emission spectrum peak of the exciplex 5 is 488 nm, the exciplex 5 is preferably mixed with a light-emitting material having a function of emitting blue to red light as the guest material 122 for use in a light-emitting element.", "Next, phosphorescence spectra of the compounds 1 to 8 are shown in FIGS.", "4A and 4B.", "The phosphorescence spectra shown in FIGS.", "4A and 4B are obtained as a result of irradiation of thin films of the individual compounds using an ultraviolet laser (He—Cd laser) with an emission wavelength of 325 nm and measurement by time-resolved photoluminescence in a low-temperature (10 K) environment.", "Note that the measurement was performed by using a PL microscope, LabRAM HR-PL, produced by HORIBA, Ltd., and a CCD detector.", "The thin films were formed by vacuum evaporation of the individual compounds to a thickness of 50 nm onto a quartz substrate.", "Tables 1 and 2 show phosphorescence emission energies obtained from phosphorescence emission peaks (including shoulders) on the shortest wavelength side of phosphorescence spectra.", "Note that a triplet excitation energy level and a singlet excitation energy level are close to each other in an exciplex; therefore, it is difficult to separate a phosphorescence spectrum and a fluorescence spectrum (thermally activated delayed fluorescence spectrum) from each other.", "Accordingly, the phosphorescence emission energies of the exciplexes in Tables 1 and 2 were obtained from the peaks of emission spectra assuming that the emission spectrum peaks (thermally activated delayed fluorescence spectrum peaks) of the exciplexes are the same as the phosphorescence spectrum peaks.", "That is, it is assumed that the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy and the phosphorescence emission energy of the exciplex are substantially equal.", "TABLE 1 Phosphorescence emission energy (eV) Compound 1 2.40 Compound 2 2.62 Compound 3 2.32 Compound 4 2.48 Exciplex 1 (Compounds 1 & 3) 2.14 Exciplex 2 (Compounds 1 & 4) 2.28 Exciplex 3 (Compounds 2 & 4) 2.35 TABLE 2 Phosphorescence emission energy (eV) Compound 5 2.70 Compound 6 2.45 Compound 7 2.65 Compound 8 2.30 Exciplex 4 (Compounds 5 & 6) 2.27 Exciplex 5 (Compounds 5 & 7) 2.54 Exciplex 6 (Compounds 5 & 8) 2.40 The phosphorescence emission energy (thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy) of each of the exciplexes 1 to 5 in Tables 1 and 2 is lower than the phosphorescence emission energy of each of the compounds which form the exciplexes.", "That is, the phosphorescence emission energy of each of the compounds 1 and 3 is higher than the phosphorescence emission energy (thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy) of the exciplex 1.The phosphorescence emission energy of each of the compounds 1 and 4 is higher than the phosphorescence emission energy (thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy) of the exciplex 2.The phosphorescence emission energy of each of the compounds 2 and 4 is higher than the phosphorescence emission energy (thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy) of the exciplex 3.The phosphorescence emission energy of each of the compounds 5 and 6 is higher than the phosphorescence emission energy (thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy) of the exciplex 4.The phosphorescence emission energy of each of the compounds 5 and 7 is higher than the phosphorescence emission energy (thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy) of the exciplex 5.In other words, the triplet energy level of each of the compounds which form the exciplexes 1 to 5 is higher than the triplet energy level of the corresponding exciplex.", "Therefore, no energy transfer from the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex to the triplet excitation energy levels of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 which form the exciplex occurs through the energy transfer process indicated by E6 in FIG.", "2B; thermal deactivation of the triplet excited state of the exciplex can be suppressed.", "Therefore, the excitation energy of the triplet excited state of the exciplex can be efficiently transferred to the singlet excited state of the guest material 122 through the singlet excited state of the exciplex generated by reverse intersystem crossing.", "For this reason, light emission can be efficiently obtained from the guest material 122.On the other hand, the phosphorescence emission energy of the exciplex 6 shown in Table 2 is higher than the phosphorescence emission energy of the compound 8, which is one of the compounds which form the exciplex.", "That is, the triplet energy level of the compound 8, which is one of the compounds which form the exciplex is lower than the triplet energy level of the exciplex 6.Thus, the energy transfer from the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex to the triplet excitation energy level of one of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 which form the exciplex through the energy transfer process indicated by E6 in FIG.", "2B might occur, resulting in thermal deactivation of the triplet excited state of the exciplex.", "In order to prevent this, it is preferable that the triplet excitation energy level of each of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 which form the exciplex be higher than the triplet excitation energy of the exciplex.", "Therefore, it is preferable that the difference between the triplet excitation energy levels of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 which form the exciplex be less than 0.4 eV.", "Table 3 shows the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy of the guest material 122.TABLE 3 Triplet excitation energy (eV) 1,6mMemFLPAPrn 1.73 TBP 1.50 DCM1 1.65 DCM2 1.61 Coumarin 6 1.88 DPQd 1.93 Rubrene 0.95 In order to obtain the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy in Table 3, the most stable structure in the lowest triplet excited state of the guest material 122 and the most stable structure in the singlet ground state were calculated using density functional theory (DFT).", "In addition, vibration analysis was conducted on each of the most stable structures, and the level of the lowest triplet excitation energy was obtained by calculation of the difference between the lowest vibrational energies in the lowest triplet excited state and the singlet ground state.", "Note that Gaussian 09 was used as a quantum chemical calculation program.", "As a basis function, 6-311G(d,p) was used, and as a functional, B3LYP was used.", "A high performance computer (ICE X manufactured by SGI Japan, Ltd.) was used for the calculation.", "Each of the triplet excitation energy levels of the compounds in Table 3 is lower than each of the triplet excitation energy levels of the exciplexes 1 to 5 in Tables 1 and 2.Therefore, when the compound in Table 3 is used as the guest material 122 and the above-described compounds which form the exciplexes 1 to 5 are used as the host material 121, the energy transfer indicated by the routes A2 and E4 in FIG.", "2B is likely to occur, and excitation energy can be efficiently transferred from the exciplex to the guest material 122.Therefore, it is preferable that the triplet excitation energy level of each of compounds which form an exciplex be higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex.", "That is, it is preferable that the triplet excitation energy level of each of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 be higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex formed by the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2.It is also preferable that the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex be higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the guest material 122.In the case where the exciplex exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, it is preferable that the phosphorescence emission energy of each of the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2 be higher than the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex formed by the organic compounds 121_1 and 121_2.It is also preferable that the thermally activated delayed fluorescence emission energy of the exciplex be higher than the phosphorescence emission energy of the guest material 122.As described above, when the singlet excitation energy levels and the triplet excitation energy levels of the host material 121 and the guest material 122 in the light-emitting layer are set as described above in one embodiment of the present invention, a light-emitting element with high emission efficiency can be provided.", "<3.Components of Light-Emitting Element> Next, details of other components of the light-emitting element 150 in FIG.", "1A will be described below.", "<<3-1.Pair of Electrodes>> The electrode 101 and the electrode 102 have functions of injecting holes and electrons into the light-emitting layer 113.The electrodes 101 and 102 can be formed using a metal, an alloy, or a conductive compound, or a mixture or a stack thereof, for example.", "A typical example of the metal is aluminum (Al); besides, a transition metal such as silver (Ag), tungsten (W), chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), or titanium (Ti), an alkali metal such as lithium (Li), sodium (Na), or cesium (Cs), or a Group 2 metal such as calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg) can be used.", "As the transition metal, a rare earth metal such as ytterbium (Yb) may be used.", "An alloy containing any of the above metals can be used as the alloy, and MgAg and AlLi can be given as examples.", "As the conductive compound, a metal oxide such as indium oxide-tin oxide (indium tin oxide) can be given.", "It is also possible to use an inorganic carbon-based material such as graphene as the conductive compound.", "As described above, the electrode 101 and/or the electrode 102 may be formed by stacking two or more of these materials.", "Light emitted from the light-emitting layer 113 is extracted through the electrode 101 and/or the electrode 102.Therefore, at least one of the electrodes 101 and 102 transmits visible light.", "In the case where the electrode through which light is extracted is formed using a material with low light transmittance, such as metal or alloy, the electrode 101 and/or the electrode 102 is formed to a thickness that is thin enough to transmit visible light (e.g., a thickness of 1 nm to 10 nm).", "<<3-2.Hole-Injection Layer>> The hole-injection layer 111 has a function of reducing a barrier for hole injection from the electrode 101 to promote hole injection and is formed using a transition metal oxide, a phthalocyanine derivative, or an aromatic amine, for example.", "As the transition metal oxide, molybdenum oxide, vanadium oxide, ruthenium oxide, tungsten oxide, manganese oxide, or the like can be given.", "As the phthalocyanine derivative, phthalocyanine, metal phthalocyanine, or the like can be given.", "As the aromatic amine, a benzidine derivative, a phenylenediamine derivative, or the like can be given.", "It is also possible to use a high molecular compound such as polythiophene or polyaniline; a typical example thereof is poly(ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonic acid), which is self-doped polythiophene.", "As the hole-injection layer 111, a layer containing a composite material of a hole-transport material and a material having a property of accepting electrons from the hole-transport material can also be used.", "Alternatively, a stack of a layer containing a material having an electron accepting property and a layer containing a hole-transport material may also be used.", "In a steady state or in the presence of an electric field, electric charge can be transferred between these materials.", "As examples of the material having an electron-accepting property, organic acceptors such as a quinodimethane derivative, a chloranil derivative, and a hexaazatriphenylene derivative can be given.", "A specific example is a compound having an electron-withdrawing group (a halogen group or a cyano group), such as 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroquinodimethane (abbreviation: F4-TCNQ), chloranil, or 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexacyano-1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene (abbreviation: HAT-CN).", "Alternatively, a transition metal oxide such as an oxide of a metal from Group 4 to Group 8 can also be used.", "Specifically, vanadium oxide, niobium oxide, tantalum oxide, chromium oxide, molybdenum oxide, tungsten oxide, manganese oxide, rhenium oxide, or the like can be used.", "In particular, molybdenum oxide is preferable because it is stable in the air, has a low hygroscopic property, and is easily handled.", "A material having a property of transporting more holes than electrons can be used as the hole-transport material, and a material having a hole mobility of 1×10−6 cm2/Vs or higher is preferable.", "Specifically, an aromatic amine, a carbazole derivative, an aromatic hydrocarbon, a stilbene derivative, or the like can be used.", "Furthermore, the hole-transport material may be a high molecular compound.", "<<3-3.Hole-Transport Layer>> The hole-transport layer 112 is a layer containing a hole-transport material and can be formed using any of the materials given as examples of the material of the hole-injection layer 111.In order that the hole-transport layer 112 has a function of transporting holes injected into the hole-injection layer 111 to the light-emitting layer 113, the HOMO level of the hole-transport layer 112 is preferably equal or close to the HOMO level of the hole-injection layer 111.<<3-4.Electron-Transport Layer>> The electron-transport layer 115 has a function of transporting, to the light-emitting layer 113, electrons injected from the electrode 102 through the electron-injection layer 116.A material having a property of transporting more electrons than holes can be used as an electron-transport material, and a material having an electron mobility of 1×10−6 cm2/Vs or higher is preferable.", "Specific examples include a metal complex having a quinoline ligand, a benzoquinoline ligand, an oxazole ligand, or a thiazole ligand; an oxadiazole derivative; a triazole derivative; a phenanthroline derivative; a pyridine derivative; and a bipyridine derivative.", "<<3-5.Electron-Injection Layer>> The electron-injection layer 116 has a function of reducing a barrier for electron injection from the electrode 102 to promote electron injection and can be formed using a Group 1 metal or a Group 2 metal, or an oxide, a halide, or a carbonate of any of the metals, for example.", "Alternatively, a composite material containing an electron-transport material (described above) and a material having a property of donating electrons to the electron-transport material can also be used.", "As the material having an electron-donating property, a Group 1 metal, a Group 2 metal, an oxide of any of the metals, or the like can be given.", "Note that the hole-injection layer 111, the hole-transport layer 112, the electron-transport layer 115, and the electron-injection layer 116 described above can each be formed by an evaporation method (including a vacuum evaporation method), an inkjet method, a coating method, a gravure printing method, or the like.", "Besides the above-mentioned materials, an inorganic compound or a high molecular compound (e.g., an oligomer, a dendrimer, or a polymer) may be used for the hole-injection layer 111, the hole-transport layer 112, the light-emitting layer 113, the electron-transport layer 115, and the electron-injection layer 116.<<3-6.Substrate>> The light-emitting element 150 is fabricated over a substrate of glass, plastic, or the like.", "As the way of stacking layers over the substrate, layers may be sequentially stacked from the electrode 101 side or sequentially stacked from the electrode 102 side.", "Note that, for example, glass, quartz, plastic, or the like can be used for the substrate over which the light-emitting element 150 can be formed.", "Alternatively, a flexible substrate can be used.", "The flexible substrate is a substrate that can be bent, such as a plastic substrate made of polycarbonate or polyarylate, for example.", "A film, an inorganic film formed by evaporation, or the like can also be used.", "Note that materials other than these can be used as long as they can function as a support in a manufacturing process of the light-emitting element and an optical element or as long as they have a function of protecting the light-emitting element and the optical element.", "The light-emitting element 150 can be formed using a variety of substrates, for example.", "The type of substrate is not limited to a certain type.", "As the substrate, a semiconductor substrate (e.g., a single crystal substrate or a silicon substrate), an SOI substrate, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, a plastic substrate, a metal substrate, a stainless steel substrate, a substrate including stainless steel foil, a tungsten substrate, a substrate including tungsten foil, a flexible substrate, an attachment film, paper including a fibrous material, a base material film, or the like can be used, for example.", "Examples of the glass substrate include a barium borosilicate glass substrate, an aluminoborosilicate glass substrate, and a soda lime glass substrate.", "Examples of the flexible substrate, the attachment film, the base film, and the like are substrates of plastics typified by polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyether sulfone (PES), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).", "Another example is a resin such as acrylic.", "Other examples are polypropylene, polyester, polyvinyl fluoride, polyvinyl chloride, and the like.", "Other examples are polyamide, polyimide, aramid, epoxy, an inorganic film formed by evaporation, paper, and the like.", "Alternatively, a flexible substrate may be used as the substrate, and the light-emitting element may be provided directly on the flexible substrate.", "Alternatively, a separation layer may be provided between the substrate and the light-emitting element.", "The separation layer can be used when part or the whole of the light-emitting element formed over the separation layer is completed, separated from the substrate, and transferred to another substrate.", "In such a case, the light-emitting element can be transferred to a substrate having low heat resistance or a flexible substrate as well.", "For the above separation layer, a stack including inorganic films, which are a tungsten film and a silicon oxide film, or a resin film of polyimide or the like formed over a substrate can be used, for example.", "In other words, after the light-emitting element is formed using a substrate, the light-emitting element may be transferred to another substrate.", "Examples of a substrate to which the light-emitting element is transferred include, in addition to the above-described substrates, a cellophane substrate, a stone substrate, a wood substrate, a cloth substrate (including a natural fiber (e.g., silk, cotton, or hemp), a synthetic fiber (e.g., nylon, polyurethane, or polyester), a regenerated fiber (e.g., acetate, cupra, rayon, or regenerated polyester, or the like), a leather substrate, and a rubber substrate.", "By using such a substrate, a light-emitting element with high durability, a light-emitting element with high heat resistance, a lightweight light-emitting element, or a thin light-emitting element can be obtained.", "The light-emitting element 150 may be formed over an electrode electrically connected to a field-effect transistor (FET), for example, which is formed over the above-mentioned substrate, so that an active matrix display device in which the FET controls the drive of the light-emitting element 150 can be manufactured.", "In this embodiment, one embodiment of the present invention has been described.", "Embodiments of the present invention are described in other embodiments.", "Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above examples.", "For example, one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above example in which the host material has a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between the singlet excitation energy level and the triplet excitation energy level.", "Depending on circumstances or conditions, the host material in one embodiment of the present invention does not necessarily have a difference of more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV between the singlet excitation energy level and the triplet excitation energy level, for example.", "Alternatively, one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above example in which the host material is a substance which exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature.", "Depending on circumstances or conditions, the host material in one embodiment of the present invention may include a substance other than the substance which exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, for example.", "Alternatively, depending on circumstances or conditions, the host material in one embodiment of the present invention does not necessarily include the substance which exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, for example.", "Alternatively, one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above example in which the triplet excitation energy level of the host material is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the guest material.", "Depending on circumstances or conditions, the triplet excitation energy level of the host material in one embodiment of the present invention is not necessarily higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the guest material, for example.", "The structure described above in this embodiment can be combined with any of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.", "Embodiment 2 In this embodiment, a light-emitting element having a structure different from that described in Embodiment 1 and an emission mechanism of the light-emitting element will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "5A and 5B.", "<Structure Example of Light-Emitting Element> FIG.", "5A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting element 450.The light-emitting element 450 illustrated in FIG.", "5A includes a plurality of light-emitting units (in FIG.", "5A, a light-emitting unit 441 and a light-emitting unit 442) between a pair of electrodes (an electrode 401 and an electrode 402).", "One light-emitting unit has the same structure as the EL layer 100 illustrated in FIG.", "1A.", "That is, the light-emitting element 150 in FIG.", "1A includes one light-emitting unit, while the light-emitting element 450 includes the plurality of light-emitting units.", "Note that the electrode 401 functions as an anode and the electrode 402 functions as a cathode in the following description of the light-emitting element 450; however, the functions may be interchanged in the light-emitting element 450.In the light-emitting element 450 illustrated in FIG.", "5A, the light-emitting unit 441 and the light-emitting unit 442 are stacked, and a charge-generation layer 445 is provided between the light-emitting unit 441 and the light-emitting unit 442.Note that the light-emitting unit 441 and the light-emitting unit 442 may have the same structure or different structures.", "For example, it is preferable that the EL layer 100 illustrated in FIG.", "1A be used in the light-emitting unit 441 and that a light-emitting layer containing a phosphorescent material as a light-emitting material be used in the light-emitting unit 442.That is, the light-emitting element 450 includes a light-emitting layer 443 and a light-emitting layer 444.The light-emitting unit 441 includes a hole-injection layer 411, a hole-transport layer 412, an electron-transport layer 413, and an electron-injection layer 414 in addition to the light-emitting layer 443.The light-emitting unit 442 includes a hole-injection layer 415, a hole-transport layer 416, an electron-transport layer 417, and an electron-injection layer 418 in addition to the light-emitting layer 444.The charge-generation layer 445 contains a composite material of an organic compound and an acceptor substance.", "For the composite material, the composite material that can be used for the hole-injection layer 111 described in Embodiment 1 may be used.", "As the organic compound, a variety of compounds such as an aromatic amine compound, a carbazole compound, an aromatic hydrocarbon, and a high molecular compound (such as an oligomer, a dendrimer, or a polymer) can be used.", "An organic compound having a hole mobility of 1×10−6 cm2/Vs or higher is preferably used.", "Note that any other substance may be used as long as the substance has a property of transporting more holes than electrons.", "Since the composite material of an organic compound and an acceptor substance has excellent carrier-injection and carrier-transport properties, low-voltage driving or low-current driving can be realized.", "Note that when a surface of a light-emitting unit on the anode side is in contact with the charge-generation layer 445 as that of the light-emitting unit 442, the charge-generation layer 445 can also serve as a hole-injection layer or a hole-transport layer of the light-emitting unit; thus, a hole-injection layer or a hole-transport layer does not need to be included in the light-emitting unit.", "The charge-generation layer 445 may have a stacked-layer structure of a layer containing the composite material of an organic compound and an acceptor substance and a layer containing another material.", "For example, the charge-generation layer 445 may be formed using a combination of a layer containing the composite material of an organic compound and an acceptor substance with a layer containing one compound selected from among electron-donating substances and a compound having a high electron-transport property.", "Furthermore, the charge-generation layer 445 may be formed using a combination of a layer containing the composite material of an organic compound and an acceptor substance with a layer including a transparent conductive film.", "The charge-generation layer 445 can be formed by an evaporation method (including a vacuum evaporation method), an inkjet method, a coating method, a gravure printing method, or the like.", "The charge-generation layer 445 provided between the light-emitting unit 441 and the light-emitting unit 442 may have any structure as long as electrons can be injected to the light-emitting unit on one side and holes can be injected into the light-emitting unit on the other side when a voltage is applied between the electrode 401 and the electrode 402.For example, in FIG.", "5A, the charge-generation layer 445 injects electrons into the light-emitting unit 441 and holes into the light-emitting unit 442 when a voltage is applied such that the potential of the electrode 401 is higher than that of the electrode 402.The light-emitting element having two light-emitting units is described with reference to FIG.", "5A; however, a similar structure can be applied to a light-emitting element in which three or more light-emitting units are stacked.", "With a plurality of light-emitting units partitioned by the charge-generation layer between a pair of electrodes as in the light-emitting element 450, it is possible to provide a light-emitting element which can emit light with high luminance with the current density kept low and has a long lifetime.", "A light-emitting element with low power consumption can be provided.", "When the structure of the EL layer 100 is applied to at least one of the plurality of units, a light-emitting element with high emission efficiency can be provided.", "The light-emitting layer 443 contains a host material 421 and a guest material 422.The light-emitting layer 444 contains a host material 431 and a guest material 432.The host material 421 includes an organic compound 421_1 and an organic compound 421_2.The host material 431 includes an organic compound 431_1 and an organic compound 431_2.In this embodiment, the light-emitting layer 443 has a structure similar to that of the light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "2A.", "That is, the host material 421 (the organic compound 421_1 and the organic compound 421_2) and the guest material 422 in the light-emitting layer 443 correspond to the host material 121 (the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2) and the guest material 122 in the light-emitting layer 113, respectively.", "In the following description, the guest material 432 contained in the light-emitting layer 444 is a phosphorescent material.", "Note that the electrode 401, the electrode 402, the hole-injection layers 411 and 415, the hole-transport layers 412 and 416, the electron-transport layers 413 and 417, and the electron-injection layers 414 and 418 correspond to the electrode 101, the electrode 102, the hole-injection layer 111, the hole-transport layer 112, the electron-transport layer 115, and the electron-injection layer 116 in Embodiment 1, respectively.", "Therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted in this embodiment.", "<Emission Mechanism of Light-Emitting Layer 443> An emission mechanism of the light-emitting layer 443 is similar to that of the light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "2B.", "<Emission Mechanism of Light-Emitting Layer 444> Next, an emission mechanism of the light-emitting layer 444 will be described below.", "The organic compound 431_1 and the organic compound 431_2 which are contained in the light-emitting layer 444 form an exciplex.", "The organic compound 431_1 serves as a host material and the organic compound 431_2 serves as an assist material in the description here.", "Although it is acceptable as long as the combination of the organic compound 431_1 and the organic compound 431_2 in the light-emitting layer 444 can form an exciplex, it is preferred that one organic compound be a material having a hole-transport property and the other organic compound be a material having an electron-transport property.", "Note that the combination of the organic compound 431_1 and the organic compound 431_2 may be similar to the combination of the organic compound 421_1 and the organic compound 421_2 which form an exciplex in the light-emitting layer 443.FIG.", "5B illustrates the correlation of energy levels of the organic compound 431_1, the organic compound 4312, and the guest material 432 in the light-emitting layer 444.The following explains what terms and signs in FIG.", "5B represent: Host (431_1): the host material (organic compound 431_1); Assist (4312): the assist material (organic compound 431_2); Guest (432): the guest material 432 (phosphorescent material); SPH: the level of the lowest singlet excited state of the host material (organic compound 431_1); TPH: the level of the lowest triplet excited state of the host material (organic compound 431_1); TPG: the level of the lowest triplet excited state of the guest material 432 (the phosphorescent material); SPE: the level of the lowest singlet excited state of the exciplex; and TPE: the level of the lowest triplet excited state of the exciplex.", "The level (SPE) of the lowest singlet excited state of the exciplex, which is formed by the organic compound 431_1 and the organic compound 431_2, and the level (TPE) of the lowest triplet excited state of the exciplex are close to each other (see E7 in FIG.", "5B).", "Both energies of SPE and TPE of the exciplex are then transferred to the level (TPG) of the lowest triplet excited state of the guest material 432 (the phosphorescent material); thus, light emission is obtained (see E5 in FIG.", "5B).", "The above-described processes through the route E7 and the route E8 may be referred to as exciplex-triplet energy transfer (ExTET) in this specification and the like.", "When one of the organic compounds 431_1 and 431_2 receiving holes and the other receiving electrons come close to each other, the exciplex is formed at once.", "Alternatively, when one compound is brought into an excited state, the one immediately takes in the other compound to form the exciplex.", "Therefore, most excitons in the light-emitting layer 444 exist as the exciplexes.", "The band gap of the exciplex is narrower than that of each of the organic compounds 431_1 and 431_2; therefore, the driving voltage of the light-emitting element can be lowered when the exciplex is formed.", "When the light-emitting layer 444 has the above structure, light emission from the guest material 432 (the phosphorescent material) of the light-emitting layer 444 can be efficiently obtained.", "Note that light emitted from the light-emitting layer 443 preferably has a peak on the shorter wavelength side than light emitted from the light-emitting layer 444.The luminance of a light-emitting element using the phosphorescent material emitting light with a short wavelength tends to degrade quickly.", "In view of the above, fluorescence is used for light emission with a short wavelength, so that a light-emitting element with less degradation of luminance can be provided.", "Furthermore, the light-emitting layer 443 and the light-emitting layer 444 may be made to emit light with different emission wavelengths, so that the light-emitting element can be a multicolor light-emitting element.", "In that case, the emission spectrum is formed by combining light having different emission peaks, and thus has at least two peaks.", "The above structure is also suitable for obtaining white light emission.", "When the light-emitting layer 443 and the light-emitting layer 444 emit light of complementary colors, white light emission can be obtained.", "In addition, white light emission with a high color rendering property that is formed of three primary colors or four or more colors can be obtained by using a plurality of light-emitting substances emitting light with different wavelengths for one of the light-emitting layers 443 and 444 or both.", "In that case, one of the light-emitting layers 443 and 444 or both may be divided into layers and each of the divided layers may contain a different light-emitting material from the others.", "Next, materials that can be used for the light-emitting layers 443 and 444 will be described.", "<Material that can be Used for Light-Emitting Layer 443> A material that can be used for the light-emitting layer 113 described in the above embodiment may be used as a material that can be used for the light-emitting layer 443.<Material that can be Used for Light-Emitting Layer 444> In the light-emitting layer 444, the host material (the organic compound 431_1 and the organic compound 431_2) is present in the highest proportion in weight ratio, and the guest material 432 (the phosphorescent material) is dispersed in the host material (the organic compound 431_1 and the organic compound 431_2).", "Examples of the organic compound 431_1 (the host material) include a zinc- or aluminum-based metal complex, an oxadiazole derivative, a triazole derivative, a benzimidazole derivative, a quinoxaline derivative, a dibenzoquinoxaline derivative, a dibenzothiophene derivative, a dibenzofuran derivative, a pyrimidine derivative, a triazine derivative, a pyridine derivative, a bipyridine derivative, a phenanthroline derivative, and the like.", "Other examples are an aromatic amine, a carbazole derivative, and the like.", "As the organic compound 431_2 (the assist material), a substance which can form an exciplex together with the organic compound 431_1 is used.", "In that case, it is preferable that the organic compound 431_1, the organic compound 431_2, and the guest material 432 (the phosphorescent material) be selected such that the emission peak of the exciplex overlaps with an adsorption band, specifically an adsorption band on the longest wavelength side, of a triplet metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transition of the phosphorescent material.", "This makes it possible to provide a light-emitting element with drastically improved emission efficiency.", "Note that in the case where a thermally activated delayed fluorescence material is used instead of the phosphorescent material, it is preferable that the adsorption band on the longest wavelength side be a singlet absorption band.", "As the guest material 432 (the phosphorescent material), an iridium-, rhodium-, or platinum-based organometallic complex or metal complex can be used; in particular, an organoiridium complex such as an iridium-based ortho-metalated complex is preferable.", "As an ortho-metalated ligand, a 4H-triazole ligand, a 1H-triazole ligand, an imidazole ligand, a pyridine ligand, a pyrimidine ligand, a pyrazine ligand, an isoquinoline ligand, and the like can be given.", "As the metal complex, a platinum complex having a porphyrin ligand or the like can be given.", "As the guest material 432 included in the light-emitting layer 444, any material can be used as long as the material can convert triplet excitation energy into light emission.", "As an example of the material that can convert triplet excitation energy into light emission, a thermally activated delayed fluorescence material can be given in addition to the phosphorescent material.", "Therefore, the term “phosphorescent material” in the description can be replaced with the term “thermally activated delayed fluorescence material”.", "Note that the thermally activated delayed fluorescence material is a material that can up-convert a triplet excited state into a singlet excited state (i.e., reverse intersystem crossing is possible) using a little thermal energy and efficiently exhibits light emission (fluorescence) from the singlet excited state.", "Thermally activated delayed fluorescence is efficiently obtained under the condition where the difference between the triplet excitation energy level and the singlet excitation energy level is more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.2 eV, preferably more than 0 eV and less than or equal to 0.1 eV.", "There is no limitation on the emission colors of the light-emitting material included in the light-emitting layer 443 and the light-emitting material included in the light-emitting layer 444, and they may be the same or different.", "Light emitted from the light-emitting materials is mixed and extracted out of the element; therefore, for example, in the case where their emission colors are complementary colors, the light-emitting element can emit white light.", "In consideration of the reliability of the light-emitting element, the emission peak wavelength of the light-emitting material (the guest material 422) included in the light-emitting layer 443 is preferably shorter than that of the light-emitting material (the guest material 432) included in the light-emitting layer 444.Note that the light-emitting layers 443 and 444 can be formed by an evaporation method (including a vacuum evaporation method), an inkjet method, a coating method, gravure printing, or the like.", "Note that the structure described above in this embodiment can be combined with any of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.", "Embodiment 3 In this embodiment, a light-emitting element having a structure different from those described in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "6A and 6B.", "<Structure Example of Light-Emitting Element> FIG.", "6A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a light-emitting element 452 of one embodiment of the present invention.", "The light-emitting element 452 includes a plurality of light-emitting units (in FIG.", "6A, a light-emitting unit 446 and a light-emitting unit 447) between an electrode 401 and an electrode 402.One light-emitting unit has the same structure as the EL layer 100 illustrated in FIG.", "1A.", "That is, the light-emitting element 150 in FIG.", "1A includes one light-emitting unit, while the light-emitting element 452 includes the plurality of light-emitting units.", "Note that the electrode 401 functions as an anode and the electrode 402 functions as a cathode in the following description of this embodiment; however, the functions may be interchanged in the light-emitting element 452.In the light-emitting element 452 illustrated in FIG.", "6A, the light-emitting unit 446 and the light-emitting unit 447 are stacked, and a charge-generation layer 445 is provided between the light-emitting unit 446 and the light-emitting unit 447.Note that the light-emitting unit 446 and the light-emitting unit 447 may have the same structure or different structures.", "For example, it is preferable that a light-emitting layer containing a fluorescent material as a light-emitting material be used in the light-emitting unit 446 and that the EL layer 100 illustrated in FIG.", "1A be used in the light-emitting unit 447.That is, the light-emitting element 452 includes a light-emitting layer 448 and a light-emitting layer 449.The light-emitting unit 446 includes a hole-injection layer 411, a hole-transport layer 412, an electron-transport layer 413, and an electron-injection layer 414 in addition to the light-emitting layer 448.The light-emitting unit 447 includes a hole-injection layer 415, a hole-transport layer 416, an electron-transport layer 417, and an electron-injection layer 418 in addition to the light-emitting layer 449.The light-emitting element having two light-emitting units is described with reference to FIG.", "6A; however, a similar structure can be applied to a light-emitting element in which three or more light-emitting units are stacked.", "With a plurality of light-emitting units partitioned by the charge-generation layer between a pair of electrodes as in the light-emitting element 452, it is possible to provide a light-emitting element which can emit light with high luminance with the current density kept low and has a long lifetime.", "A display device with low power consumption can be provided.", "When the structure of the EL layer 100 is applied to at least one of the plurality of units, a light-emitting element with high emission efficiency can be provided.", "The light-emitting layer 448 contains a host material 461 and a guest material 462.The light-emitting layer 449 contains a host material 471 and a guest material 472.The host material 471 includes an organic compound 471_1 and an organic compound 471_2.In this embodiment, the light-emitting layer 449 has a structure similar to that of the light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "2A.", "That is, the host material 471 (the organic compound 471_1 and the organic compound 471_2) and the guest material 472 in the light-emitting layer 449 correspond to the host material 121 (the organic compound 121_1 and the organic compound 121_2) and the guest material 122 in the light-emitting layer 113, respectively.", "In the following description, the guest material 462 contained in the light-emitting layer 448 is a fluorescent material.", "<Emission Mechanism of Light-Emitting Layer 448> First, an emission mechanism of the light-emitting layer 448 will be described below.", "In the light-emitting layer 448, excitons are generated by recombination of carriers.", "Because the amount of the host material 461 is large as compared to the guest material 462, the host material 461 is brought into an excited state by the exciton generation.", "The ratio of singlet excitons to triplet excitons generated by carrier recombination (hereinafter referred to as exciton generation probability) is approximately 1:3.Note that the term “exciton” refers to a carrier (electron and hole) pair.", "Since excitons have energy, a material where excitons are generated is brought into an excited state.", "First, a case where the T1 level of the host material 461 is higher than the T1 level of the guest material 462 will be described below.", "The triplet excitation energy of the host material 461 is transferred from the T1 level of the host material 461 to the T1 level of the guest material 462 (triplet energy transfer).", "However, the triplet excitation energy does not provide light emission in a visible light region because the guest material 462 is the fluorescent material.", "Thus, it is difficult to use the triplet excitation energy of the host material 461 for light emission.", "Therefore, when the T1 level of the host material 461 is higher than the T1 level of the guest material 462, it is difficult to use more than approximately 25% of injected carriers for light emission.", "FIG.", "6B illustrates the correlation of energy levels of the host material 461 and the guest material 462 in the light-emitting layer 448 of one embodiment of the present invention.", "The following explains what terms and signs in FIG.", "6B represent: Host: the host material 461; Guest: the guest material 462 (fluorescent material); SFH: the level of the lowest singlet excited state of the host material 461 (S1 level); TFH: the level of the lowest triplet excited state of the host material 461 (T1 level); SFG: the level of the lowest singlet excited state of the guest material 462 (fluorescent material) (S1 level); and TFG: the level of the lowest triplet excited state of the guest material 462 (fluorescent material) (T1 level).", "As illustrated in FIG.", "6B, the T1 level of the guest material 462 (TFG in FIG.", "6B) is higher than the T1 level of the host material 461 (TFH in FIG.", "6B).", "In addition, as illustrated in FIG.", "6B, triplet excitons collide with each other by triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) (see E9 in FIG.", "6B), and some of them are converted into singlet excitons having an energy at the level of the lowest singlet excited state of the host material 461 (SFH).", "The singlet excitation energy of the host material 461 is transferred from the level of the lowest singlet excited state of the host material 461 (SFH) to the level of the lowest singlet excited state of the guest material 462 (the fluorescent material) (SFG) that is a level lower than SFH (see E10 in FIG.", "6B).", "Thus, the guest material 462 (the fluorescent material) is brought into the singlet excited state and accordingly emits light.", "Because the T1 level of the host material is lower than the T1 level of the guest material, excitation energy at TFG is transferred to TFH without deactivation (see E11 in FIG.", "6B), which is utilized for TTA.", "When the light-emitting layer 448 has the above structure, light emission from the guest material 462 of the light-emitting layer 448 can be efficiently obtained.", "Note that the light-emitting layer 448 and the light-emitting layer 449 may be made to emit light with different emission wavelengths, so that the light-emitting element can be a multicolor light-emitting element.", "In that case, the emission spectrum is formed by combining light having different emission peaks, and thus has at least two peaks.", "The above structure is also suitable for obtaining white light emission.", "When the light-emitting layer 448 and the light-emitting layer 449 emit light of complementary colors, white light emission can be obtained.", "In addition, white light emission with a high color rendering property that is formed of three primary colors or four or more colors can be obtained by using a plurality of light-emitting substances emitting light with different wavelengths for one of the light-emitting layers 448 and 449 or both.", "In that case, one of the light-emitting layers 448 and 449 or both may be divided into layers and each of the divided layers may contain a different light-emitting material from the others.", "<Emission Mechanism of Light-Emitting Layer 449> An emission mechanism of the light-emitting layer 449 is similar to that of the light-emitting layer 113 in FIG.", "2B.", "Next, materials that can be used for the light-emitting layers 448 and 449 will be described.", "<Material that can be Used for Light-Emitting Layer 448> In the light-emitting layer 448, the host material 461 is present in the highest proportion in weight ratio, and the guest material 462 (the fluorescent material) is dispersed in the host material 461.The S1 level of the host material 461 is preferably higher than the S1 level of the guest material 462 (the fluorescent material), while the T1 level of the host material 461 is preferably lower than the T1 level of the guest material 462 (the fluorescent material).", "An anthracene derivative or a tetracene derivative is preferably used as the host material 461.This is because these derivatives each have a high S1 level and a low T1 level.", "Specific examples include 9-phenyl-3-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: PCzPA), 3-[4-(1-naphthyl)-phenyl]-9-phenyl-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: PCPN), 9-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthracenyl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole (abbreviation: CzPA), 7-[4-(10-phenyl-9-anthryl)phenyl]-7H-dibenzo[c,g]carbazole (abbreviation: cgDBCzPA), 6-[3-(9,10-diphenyl-2-anthryl)phenyl]-benzo[b]naphtho[1,2-d]furan (abbreviation: 2mBnfPPA), and 9-phenyl-10-{4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)biphenyl-4′-yl}anthracene (abbreviation: FLPPA).", "Besides, 5,12-diphenyltetracene, 5,12-bis(biphenyl-2-yl)tetracene, and the like can be given.", "Examples of the guest material 462 (the fluorescent material) include a pyrene derivative, an anthracene derivative, a triphenylene derivative, a fluorene derivative, a carbazole derivative, a dibenzothiophene derivative, a dibenzofuran derivative, a dibenzoquinoxaline derivative, a quinoxaline derivative, a pyridine derivative, a pyrimidine derivative, a phenanthrene derivative, a naphthalene derivative, and the like.", "A pyrene derivative is particularly preferable because it has a high emission quantum yield.", "Specific examples of the pyrene derivative include N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-bis[3-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]pyrene-1,6-diamine (abbreviation: 1,6mMemFLPAPm), N,N′-bis[4-(9-phenyl-9H-fluoren-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N′-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine (abbreviation: 1,6FLPAPrn), N,N′-bis(dibenzofuran-2-yl)-N,N′-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine (abbreviation: 1,6FrAPm), N,N′-bis(dibenzothiophen-2-yl)-N,N-diphenylpyrene-1,6-diamine (abbreviation: 1,6ThAPm), and the like.", "<Material that can be Used for Light-Emitting Layer 449> A material that can be used for the light-emitting layer 113 described in the above embodiment may be used as a material that can be used for the light-emitting layer 449.There is no limitation on the emission colors of the light-emitting material included in the light-emitting layer 448 and the light-emitting material included in the light-emitting layer 449, and they may be the same or different.", "Light emitted from the light-emitting materials is mixed and extracted out of the element; therefore, for example, in the case where their emission colors are complementary colors, the light-emitting element can emit white light.", "In consideration of the reliability of the light-emitting element, the emission peak wavelength of the light-emitting material (the guest material 462) included in the light-emitting layer 448 is preferably shorter than that of the light-emitting material (the guest material 472) included in the light-emitting layer 449.Note that the light-emitting layers 448 and 449 can be formed by an evaporation method (including a vacuum evaporation method), an inkjet method, a coating method, gravure printing, or the like.", "Note that the above-described structure can be combined with any of the structures in this embodiment and the other embodiments.", "Embodiment 4 In this embodiment, a display device including a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.", "7A and 7B.", "FIG.", "7A is a block diagram illustrating the display device of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.", "7B is a circuit diagram illustrating a pixel circuit of the display device of one embodiment of the present invention.", "<Display Device> The display device illustrated in FIG.", "7A includes a region including pixels of display elements (the region is hereinafter referred to as a pixel portion 802), a circuit portion provided outside the pixel portion 802 and including circuits for driving the pixels (the portion is hereinafter referred to as a driver circuit portion 804), circuits having a function of protecting elements (the circuits are hereinafter referred to as protection circuits 806), and a terminal portion 807.Note that the protection circuits 806 are not necessarily provided.", "Apart or the whole of the driver circuit portion 804 is preferably formed over a substrate over which the pixel portion 802 is formed, in which case the number of components and the number of terminals can be reduced.", "When a part or the whole of the driver circuit portion 804 is not formed over the substrate over which the pixel portion 802 is formed, the part or the whole of the driver circuit portion 804 can be mounted by chip-on-glass (COG) or tape automated bonding (TAB).", "The pixel portion 802 includes a plurality of circuits for driving display elements arranged in X rows (X is a natural number of 2 or more) and Y columns (Y is a natural number of 2 or more) (such circuits are hereinafter referred to as pixel circuits 801).", "The driver circuit portion 804 includes driver circuits such as a circuit for supplying a signal (scan signal) to select a pixel (the circuit is hereinafter referred to as a scan line driver circuit 804a) and a circuit for supplying a signal (data signal) to drive a display element in a pixel (the circuit is hereinafter referred to as a signal line driver circuit 804b).", "The scan line driver circuit 804a includes a shift register or the like.", "Through the terminal portion 807, the scan line driver circuit 804a receives a signal for driving the shift register and outputs a signal.", "For example, the scan line driver circuit 804a receives a start pulse signal, a clock signal, or the like and outputs a pulse signal.", "The scan line driver circuit 804a has a function of controlling the potentials of wirings supplied with scan signals (such wirings are hereinafter referred to as scan lines GL_1 to GL_X).", "Note that a plurality of scan line driver circuits 804a may be provided to control the scan lines GL_1 to GL_X separately.", "Alternatively, the scan line driver circuit 804a has a function of supplying an initialization signal.", "Without being limited thereto, the scan line driver circuit 804a can supply another signal.", "The signal line driver circuit 804b includes a shift register or the like.", "The signal line driver circuit 804b receives a signal (video signal) from which a data signal is derived, as well as a signal for driving the shift register, through the terminal portion 807.The signal line driver circuit 804b has a function of generating a data signal to be written to the pixel circuit 801 which is based on the video signal.", "In addition, the signal line driver circuit 804b has a function of controlling output of a data signal in response to a pulse signal produced by input of a start pulse signal, a clock signal, or the like.", "Furthermore, the signal line driver circuit 804b has a function of controlling the potentials of wirings supplied with data signals (such wirings are hereinafter referred to as data lines DL_1 to DL_Y).", "Alternatively, the signal line driver circuit 804b has a function of supplying an initialization signal.", "Without being limited thereto, the signal line driver circuit 804b can supply another signal.", "The signal line driver circuit 804b includes a plurality of analog switches or the like, for example.", "The signal line driver circuit 804b can output, as the data signals, signals obtained by time-dividing the video signal by sequentially turning on the plurality of analog switches.", "The signal line driver circuit 804b may include a shift register or the like.", "A pulse signal and a data signal are input to each of the plurality of pixel circuits 801 through one of the plurality of scan lines GL supplied with scan signals and one of the plurality of data lines DL supplied with data signals, respectively.", "Writing and holding of the data signal to and in each of the plurality of pixel circuits 801 are controlled by the scan line driver circuit 804a.", "For example, to the pixel circuit 801 in the m-th row and the n-th column (m is a natural number of less than or equal to X, and n is a natural number of less than or equal to Y), a pulse signal is input from the scan line driver circuit 804a through the scan line GL_m, and a data signal is input from the signal line driver circuit 804b through the data line DL_n in accordance with the potential of the scan line GL_m.", "The protection circuit 806 shown in FIG.", "7A is connected to, for example, the scan line GL between the scan line driver circuit 804a and the pixel circuit 801.Alternatively, the protection circuit 806 is connected to the data line DL between the signal line driver circuit 804b and the pixel circuit 801.Alternatively, the protection circuit 806 can be connected to a wiring between the scan line driver circuit 804a and the terminal portion 807.Alternatively, the protection circuit 806 can be connected to a wiring between the signal line driver circuit 804b and the terminal portion 807.Note that the terminal portion 807 means a portion having terminals for inputting power, control signals, and video signals to the display device from external circuits.", "The protection circuit 806 is a circuit that electrically connects a wiring connected to the protection circuit to another wiring when a potential out of a certain range is applied to the wiring connected to the protection circuit.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "7A, the protection circuits 806 are provided for the pixel portion 802 and the driver circuit portion 804, so that the resistance of the display device to overcurrent generated by electrostatic discharge (ESD) or the like can be improved.", "Note that the configuration of the protection circuits 806 is not limited to that, and for example, a configuration in which the protection circuits 806 are connected to the scan line driver circuit 804a or a configuration in which the protection circuits 806 are connected to the signal line driver circuit 804b may be employed.", "Alternatively, the protection circuits 806 may be configured to be connected to the terminal portion 807.In FIG.", "7A, an example in which the driver circuit portion 804 includes the scan line driver circuit 804a and the signal line driver circuit 804b is shown; however, the structure is not limited thereto.", "For example, only the scan line driver circuit 804a may be formed and a separately prepared substrate where a signal line driver circuit is formed (e.g., a driver circuit substrate formed with a single crystal semiconductor film or a polycrystalline semiconductor film) may be mounted.", "<Structural Example of Pixel Circuit> Each of the plurality of pixel circuits 801 in FIG.", "7A can have a structure illustrated in FIG.", "7B, for example.", "The pixel circuit 801 illustrated in FIG.", "7B includes transistors 852 and 854, a capacitor 862, and a light-emitting element 872.One of a source electrode and a drain electrode of the transistor 852 is electrically connected to a wiring to which a data signal is supplied (hereinafter referred to as a signal line DL_n).", "A gate electrode of the transistor 852 is electrically connected to a wiring to which a gate signal is supplied (hereinafter referred to as a scan line GL_m).", "The transistor 852 has a function of controlling whether to write a data signal.", "One of a pair of electrodes of the capacitor 862 is electrically connected to a wiring to which a potential is supplied (hereinafter referred to as a potential supply line VL_a), and the other is electrically connected to the other of the source electrode and the drain electrode of the transistor 852.The capacitor 862 functions as a storage capacitor for storing written data.", "One of a source electrode and a drain electrode of the transistor 854 is electrically connected to the potential supply line VL_a.", "Furthermore, a gate electrode of the transistor 854 is electrically connected to the other of the source electrode and the drain electrode of the transistor 852.One of an anode and a cathode of the light-emitting element 872 is electrically connected to a potential supply line VL_b, and the other is electrically connected to the other of the source electrode and the drain electrode of the transistor 854.As the light-emitting element 872, any of the light-emitting elements described in Embodiments 1 to 3 can be used.", "Note that a high power supply potential VDD is supplied to one of the potential supply line VL_a and the potential supply line VL_b, and a low power supply potential VSS is supplied to the other.", "In the display device including the pixel circuits 801 in FIG.", "7B, the pixel circuits 801 are sequentially selected row by row by the scan line driver circuit 804a in FIG.", "7A, for example, whereby the transistors 852 are turned on and a data signal is written.", "When the transistors 852 are turned off, the pixel circuits 801 in which the data has been written are brought into a holding state.", "Furthermore, the amount of current flowing between the source electrode and the drain electrode of the transistor 854 is controlled in accordance with the potential of the written data signal.", "The light-emitting element 872 emits light with a luminance corresponding to the amount of flowing current.", "This operation is sequentially performed row by row; thus, an image is displayed.", "A light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention can be used for an active matrix method in which an active element is included in a pixel of a display device or a passive matrix method in which an active element is not included in a pixel of a display device.", "In the active matrix method, as an active element (a non-linear element), not only a transistor but also a variety of active elements (non-linear elements) can be used.", "For example, a metal insulator metal (MIM), a thin film diode (TFD), or the like can also be used.", "Since these elements can be formed with a smaller number of manufacturing steps, manufacturing cost can be reduced or yield can be improved.", "Alternatively, since the size of these elements is small, the aperture ratio can be improved, so that power consumption can be reduced or higher luminance can be achieved.", "As a method other than the active matrix method, the passive matrix method in which an active element (a non-linear element) is not used can also be used.", "Since an active element (a non-linear element) is not used, the number of manufacturing steps is small, so that manufacturing cost can be reduced or yield can be improved.", "Alternatively, since an active element (a non-linear element) is not used, the aperture ratio can be improved, so that power consumption can be reduced or higher luminance can be achieved, for example.", "The structure described in this embodiment can be combined with any of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.", "Embodiment 5 In this embodiment, a display device including a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention and an electronic device in which the display device is provided with an input device will be described with reference to FIGS.", "8A and 8B, FIGS.", "9A to 9C, FIGS.", "10A and 10B, FIGS.", "11A and 11B, and FIG.", "12.<Description 1 of Touch Panel> In this embodiment, a touch panel 2000 including a display device and an input device will be described as an example of an electronic device.", "In addition, an example in which a touch sensor is used as an input device will be described.", "FIGS.", "8A and 8B are perspective views of the touch panel 2000.Note that FIGS.", "8A and 8B illustrate only main components of the touch panel 2000 for simplicity.", "The touch panel 2000 includes a display device 2501 and a touch sensor 2595 (see FIG.", "8B).", "The touch panel 2000 also includes a substrate 2510, a substrate 2570, and a substrate 2590.The substrate 2510, the substrate 2570, and the substrate 2590 each have flexibility.", "Note that one or all of the substrates 2510, 2570, and 2590 may be inflexible.", "The display device 2501 includes a plurality of pixels over the substrate 2510 and a plurality of wirings 2511 through which signals are supplied to the pixels.", "The plurality of wirings 2511 are led to a peripheral portion of the substrate 2510, and parts of the plurality of wirings 2511 form a terminal 2519.The terminal 2519 is electrically connected to an FPC 2509(1).", "The plurality of wirings 2511 can supply signals from a signal line driver circuit 2503s(1) to the plurality of pixels.", "The substrate 2590 includes the touch sensor 2595 and a plurality of wirings 2598 electrically connected to the touch sensor 2595.The plurality of wirings 2598 are led to a peripheral portion of the substrate 2590, and parts of the plurality of wirings 2598 form a terminal.", "The terminal is electrically connected to an FPC 2509(2).", "Note that in FIG.", "8B, electrodes, wirings, and the like of the touch sensor 2595 provided on the back side of the substrate 2590 (the side facing the substrate 2510) are indicated by solid lines for clarity.", "As the touch sensor 2595, a capacitive touch sensor can be used.", "Examples of the capacitive touch sensor are a surface capacitive touch sensor and a projected capacitive touch sensor.", "Examples of the projected capacitive touch sensor are a self capacitive touch sensor and a mutual capacitive touch sensor, which differ mainly in the driving method.", "The use of a mutual capacitive type is preferable because multiple points can be sensed simultaneously.", "Note that the touch sensor 2595 illustrated in FIG.", "8B is an example of using a projected capacitive touch sensor.", "Note that a variety of sensors that can sense proximity or touch of a sensing target such as a finger can be used as the touch sensor 2595.The projected capacitive touch sensor 2595 includes electrodes 2591 and electrodes 2592.The electrodes 2591 are electrically connected to any of the plurality of wirings 2598, and the electrodes 2592 are electrically connected to any of the other wirings 2598.The electrodes 2592 each have a shape of a plurality of quadrangles arranged in one direction with one corner of a quadrangle connected to one corner of another quadrangle as illustrated in FIGS.", "8A and 8B.", "The electrodes 2591 each have a quadrangular shape and are arranged in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the electrodes 2592 extend.", "A wiring 2594 electrically connects two electrodes 2591 between which the electrode 2592 is positioned.", "The intersecting area of the electrode 2592 and the wiring 2594 is preferably as small as possible.", "Such a structure allows a reduction in the area of a region where the electrodes are not provided, reducing variation in transmittance.", "As a result, variation in luminance of light passing through the touch sensor 2595 can be reduced.", "Note that the shapes of the electrodes 2591 and the electrodes 2592 are not limited thereto and can be any of a variety of shapes.", "For example, a structure may be employed in which the plurality of electrodes 2591 are arranged so that gaps between the electrodes 2591 are reduced as much as possible, and the electrodes 2592 are spaced apart from the electrodes 2591 with an insulating layer interposed therebetween to have regions not overlapping with the electrodes 2591.In this case, it is preferable to provide, between two adjacent electrodes 2592, a dummy electrode electrically insulated from these electrodes because the area of regions having different transmittances can be reduced.", "<Display Device> Next, the display device 2501 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.", "9A.", "FIG.", "9A corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line X1-X2 in FIG.", "8B.", "The display device 2501 includes a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix.", "Each of the pixels includes a display element and a pixel circuit for driving the display element.", "In the following description, an example of using a light-emitting element that emits white light as a display element will be described; however, the display element is not limited to such an element.", "For example, light-emitting elements that emit light of different colors may be included so that the light of different colors can be emitted from adjacent pixels.", "For the substrate 2510 and the substrate 2570, for example, a flexible material with a vapor permeability of lower than or equal to 1×10−5 g·m−2 day−1, preferably lower than or equal to 1×10−6 g·m2·day−1 can be favorably used.", "Alternatively, materials whose thermal expansion coefficients are substantially equal to each other are preferably used for the substrate 2510 and the substrate 2570.For example, the coefficients of linear expansion of the materials are preferably lower than or equal to 1×10−3/K, further preferably lower than or equal to 5×10−5/K, and still further preferably lower than or equal to 1×10−5/K.", "Note that the substrate 2510 is a stacked body including an insulating layer 2510a for preventing impurity diffusion into the light-emitting element, a flexible substrate 2510b, and an adhesive layer 2510c for attaching the insulating layer 2510a and the flexible substrate 2510b to each other.", "The substrate 2570 is a stacked body including an insulating layer 2570a for preventing impurity diffusion into the light-emitting element, a flexible substrate 2570b, and an adhesive layer 2570c for attaching the insulating layer 2570a and the flexible substrate 2570b to each other.", "For the adhesive layer 2510c and the adhesive layer 2570c, for example, polyester, polyolefin, polyamide (e.g., nylon, aramid), polyimide, polycarbonate, or acrylic, urethane, or epoxy can be used.", "Alternatively, a material that includes a resin having a siloxane bond can be used.", "A sealing layer 2560 is provided between the substrate 2510 and the substrate 2570.The sealing layer 2560 preferably has a refractive index higher than that of air.", "In the case where light is extracted to the sealing layer 2560 side as illustrated in FIG.", "9A, the sealing layer 2560 can also serve as an adhesive layer.", "A sealant may be formed in the peripheral portion of the sealing layer 2560.With the use of the sealant, a light-emitting element 2550R can be provided in a region surrounded by the substrate 2510, the substrate 2570, the sealing layer 2560, and the sealant.", "Note that an inert gas (such as nitrogen or argon) may be used instead of the sealing layer 2560.A drying agent may be provided in the inert gas so as to adsorb moisture or the like.", "An ultraviolet curable resin or a heat curable resin may be used; for example, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based resin, an acrylic resin, a polyimide-based resin, an epoxy-based resin, a silicone-based resin, a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) based resin, or an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) based resin can be used.", "For example, an epoxy-based resin or a glass frit is preferably used as the sealant.", "As a material used for the sealant, a material which is impermeable to moisture or oxygen is preferably used.", "The display device 2501 includes a pixel 2502R.", "The pixel 2502R includes a light-emitting module 2580R.", "The pixel 2502R includes the light-emitting element 2550R and a transistor 2502t that can supply electric power to the light-emitting element 2550R.", "Note that the transistor 2502t functions as part of the pixel circuit.", "The light-emitting module 2580R includes the light-emitting element 2550R and a coloring layer 2567R.", "The light-emitting element 2550R includes a lower electrode, an upper electrode, and an EL layer between the lower electrode and the upper electrode.", "As the light-emitting element 2550R, any of the light-emitting elements described in Embodiments 1 to 3 can be used, for example.", "A microcavity structure may be employed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode so as to increase the intensity of light having a specific wavelength.", "In the case where the sealing layer 2560 is provided on the light extraction side, the sealing layer 2560 is in contact with the light-emitting element 2550R and the coloring layer 2567R.", "The coloring layer 2567R is positioned in a region overlapping with the light-emitting element 2550R.", "Accordingly, part of light emitted from the light-emitting element 2550R passes through the coloring layer 2567R and is emitted to the outside of the light-emitting module 2580R as indicated by an arrow in FIG.", "9A.", "The display device 2501 includes a light-blocking layer 2567BM on the light extraction side.", "The light-blocking layer 2567BM is provided so as to surround the coloring layer 2567R.", "The coloring layer 2567R is a coloring layer having a function of transmitting light in a particular wavelength region.", "For example, a color filter for transmitting light in a red wavelength range, a color filter for transmitting light in a green wavelength range, a color filter for transmitting light in a blue wavelength range, a color filter for transmitting light in a yellow wavelength range, or the like can be used.", "Each color filter can be formed with any of various materials by a printing method, an inkjet method, an etching method using a photolithography technique, or the like.", "An insulating layer 2521 is provided in the display device 2501.The insulating layer 2521 covers the transistor 2502t.", "Note that the insulating layer 2521 has a function of planarizing unevenness caused by the pixel circuit.", "The insulating layer 2521 may have a function of suppressing impurity diffusion.", "This can prevent the reliability of the transistor 2502t or the like from being lowered by impurity diffusion.", "The light-emitting element 2550R is formed over the insulating layer 2521.A partition 2528 is provided so as to overlap with an end portion of the lower electrode of the light-emitting element 2550R.", "Note that a spacer for controlling the distance between the substrate 2510 and the substrate 2570 may be formed over the partition 2528.A scan line driver circuit 2503g(1) includes a transistor 2503t and a capacitor 2503c.", "Note that the driver circuit can be formed in the same process and over the same substrate as those of the pixel circuits.", "The wirings 2511 through which signals can be supplied are provided over the substrate 2510.The terminal 2519 is provided over the wirings 2511.The FPC 2509(1) is electrically connected to the terminal 2519.The FPC 2509(1) has a function of supplying a video signal, a clock signal, a start signal, a reset signal, or the like.", "Note that the FPC 2509(1) may be provided with a printed wiring board (PWB).", "In the display device 2501, transistors with any of a variety of structures can be used.", "FIG.", "9A illustrates an example of using bottom-gate transistors; however, the present invention is not limited to this example, and top-gate transistors may be used in the display device 2501 as illustrated in FIG.", "9B.", "In addition, there is no particular limitation on the polarity of the transistor 2502t and the transistor 2503t.", "For these transistors, n-channel and p-channel transistors may be used, or either n-channel transistors or p-channel transistors may be used, for example.", "Furthermore, there is no particular limitation on the crystallinity of a semiconductor film used for the transistors 2502t and 2503t.", "For example, an amorphous semiconductor film or a crystalline semiconductor film may be used.", "Examples of semiconductor materials include Group 13 semiconductors (e.g., a semiconductor including gallium), Group 14 semiconductors (e.g., a semiconductor including silicon), compound semiconductors (including oxide semiconductors), organic semiconductors, and the like.", "An oxide semiconductor that has an energy gap of 2 eV or more, preferably 2.5 eV or more, further preferably 3 eV or more is preferably used for one of the transistors 2502t and 2503t or both, so that the off-state current of the transistors can be reduced.", "Examples of the oxide semiconductors include an In—Ga oxide, an In-M-Zn oxide (M represents Al, gallium (Ga), yttrium (Y), zirconium (Zr), lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), tin (Sn), hafnium (Hf), or neodymium (Nd)), and the like.", "<Touch Sensor> Next, the touch sensor 2595 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.", "9C.", "FIG.", "9C corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line X3-X4 in FIG.", "8B.", "The touch sensor 2595 includes the electrodes 2591 and the electrodes 2592 provided in a staggered arrangement on the substrate 2590, an insulating layer 2593 covering the electrodes 2591 and the electrodes 2592, and the wiring 2594 that electrically connects the adjacent electrodes 2591 to each other.", "The electrodes 2591 and the electrodes 2592 are formed using a light-transmitting conductive material.", "As a light-transmitting conductive material, a conductive oxide such as indium oxide, indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, zinc oxide, or zinc oxide to which gallium is added can be used.", "Note that a film including graphene may be used as well.", "The film including graphene can be formed, for example, by reducing a film containing graphene oxide.", "As a reducing method, a method with application of heat or the like can be employed.", "The electrodes 2591 and the electrodes 2592 may be formed by, for example, depositing a light-transmitting conductive material on the substrate 2590 by a sputtering method and then removing an unnecessary portion by any of various pattern forming techniques such as photolithography.", "Examples of a material for the insulating layer 2593 are a resin such as an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin, a resin having a siloxane bond, and an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, or aluminum oxide.", "Openings reaching the electrodes 2591 are formed in the insulating layer 2593, and the wiring 2594 electrically connects the adjacent electrodes 2591.Alight-transmitting conductive material can be favorably used as the wiring 2594 because the aperture ratio of the touch panel can be increased.", "Moreover, a material with higher conductivity than the conductivities of the electrodes 2591 and 2592 can be favorably used for the wiring 2594 because electric resistance can be reduced.", "One electrode 2592 extends in one direction, and a plurality of electrodes 2592 are provided in the form of stripes.", "The wiring 2594 intersects with the electrode 2592.Adjacent electrodes 2591 are provided with one electrode 2592 provided therebetween.", "The wiring 2594 electrically connects the adjacent electrodes 2591.Note that the plurality of electrodes 2591 are not necessarily arranged in the direction orthogonal to one electrode 2592 and may be arranged to intersect with one electrode 2592 at an angle of more than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees.", "The wiring 2598 is electrically connected to any of the electrodes 2591 and 2592.Part of the wiring 2598 functions as a terminal.", "For the wiring 2598, a metal material such as aluminum, gold, platinum, silver, nickel, titanium, tungsten, chromium, molybdenum, iron, cobalt, copper, or palladium or an alloy material containing any of these metal materials can be used.", "Note that an insulating layer that covers the insulating layer 2593 and the wiring 2594 may be provided to protect the touch sensor 2595.A connection layer 2599 electrically connects the wiring 2598 to the FPC 2509(2).", "As the connection layer 2599, any of various anisotropic conductive films (ACF), anisotropic conductive pastes (ACP), or the like can be used.", "<Description 2 of Touch Panel> Next, the touch panel 2000 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.", "10A.", "FIG.", "10A corresponds to a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line X5-X6 in FIG.", "8A.", "In the touch panel 2000 illustrated in FIG.", "10A, the display device 2501 described with reference to FIG.", "9A and the touch sensor 2595 described with reference to FIG.", "9C are attached to each other.", "The touch panel 2000 illustrated in FIG.", "10A includes an adhesive layer 2597 and an anti-reflective layer 2567p in addition to the components described with reference to FIGS.", "9A and 9C.", "The adhesive layer 2597 is provided in contact with the wiring 2594.Note that the adhesive layer 2597 attaches the substrate 2590 to the substrate 2570 so that the touch sensor 2595 overlaps with the display device 2501.The adhesive layer 2597 preferably has a light-transmitting property.", "A heat curable resin or an ultraviolet curable resin can be used for the adhesive layer 2597.For example, an acrylic resin, an urethane-based resin, an epoxy-based resin, or a siloxane-based resin can be used.", "The anti-reflective layer 2567p is positioned in a region overlapping with pixels.", "As the anti-reflective layer 2567p, a circularly polarizing plate can be used, for example.", "Next, a touch panel having a structure different from that illustrated in FIG.", "10A will be described with reference to FIG.", "10B.", "FIG.", "10B is a cross-sectional view of a touch panel 2001.The touch panel 2001 illustrated in FIG.", "10B differs from the touch panel 2000 illustrated in FIG.", "10A in the position of the touch sensor 2595 relative to the display device 2501.Different parts are described in detail below, and the above description of the touch panel 2000 is referred to for the other similar parts.", "The coloring layer 2567R is positioned in a region overlapping with the light-emitting element 2550R.", "The light-emitting element 2550R illustrated in FIG.", "10B emits light to the side where the transistor 2502t is provided.", "Accordingly, part of light emitted from the light-emitting element 2550R passes through the coloring layer 2567R and is emitted to the outside of the light-emitting module 2580R as indicated by an arrow in FIG.", "10B.", "The touch sensor 2595 is provided on the substrate 2510 side of the display device 2501.The adhesive layer 2597 is provided between the substrate 2510 and the substrate 2590 and attaches the touch sensor 2595 to the display device 2501.As illustrated in FIG.", "10A or 10B, light may be emitted from the light-emitting element to one of upper and lower sides, or both, of the substrate.", "<Method for Driving Touch Panel> Next, an example of a method for driving a touch panel will be described with reference to FIGS.", "11A and 11B.", "FIG.", "11A is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a mutual capacitive touch sensor.", "FIG.", "11A illustrates a pulse voltage output circuit 2601 and a current sensing circuit 2602.Note that in FIG.", "11A, six wirings X1 to X6 represent the electrodes 2621 to which a pulse voltage is applied, and six wirings Y1 to Y6 represent the electrodes 2622 that detect changes in current.", "FIG.", "11A also illustrates capacitors 2603 that are each formed in a region where the electrodes 2621 and 2622 overlap with each other.", "Note that functional replacement between the electrodes 2621 and 2622 is possible.", "The pulse voltage output circuit 2601 is a circuit for sequentially applying a pulse voltage to the wirings X1 to X6.By application of a pulse voltage to the wirings X1 to X6, an electric field is generated between the electrodes 2621 and 2622 of the capacitor 2603.When the electric field between the electrodes is shielded, for example, a change occurs in the capacitor 2603 (mutual capacitance).", "The approach or contact of a sensing target can be sensed by utilizing this change.", "The current sensing circuit 2602 is a circuit for detecting changes in current flowing through the wirings Y1 to Y6 that are caused by the change in mutual capacitance in the capacitor 2603.No change in current value is detected in the wirings Y1 to Y6 when there is no approach or contact of a sensing target, whereas a decrease in current value is detected when mutual capacitance is decreased owing to the approach or contact of a sensing target.", "Note that an integrator circuit or the like is used for sensing of current values.", "FIG.", "11B is a timing chart showing input and output waveforms in the mutual capacitive touch sensor illustrated in FIG.", "11A.", "In FIG.", "11B, sensing of a sensing target is performed in all the rows and columns in one frame period.", "FIG.", "11B shows a period when a sensing target is not sensed (not touched) and a period when a sensing target is sensed (touched).", "Sensed current values of the wirings Y1 to Y6 are shown as the waveforms of voltage values.", "A pulse voltage is sequentially applied to the wirings X1 to X6, and the waveforms of the wirings Y1 to Y6 change in accordance with the pulse voltage.", "When there is no approach or contact of a sensing target, the waveforms of the wirings Y1 to Y6 change in accordance with changes in the voltages of the wirings X1 to X6.The current value is decreased at the point of approach or contact of a sensing target and accordingly the waveform of the voltage value changes.", "By detecting a change in mutual capacitance in this manner, the approach or contact of a sensing target can be sensed.", "<Sensor Circuit> Although FIG.", "11A illustrates a passive matrix type touch sensor in which only the capacitor 2603 is provided at the intersection of wirings as a touch sensor, an active matrix type touch sensor including a transistor and a capacitor may be used.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates an example of a sensor circuit included in an active matrix type touch sensor.", "The sensor circuit in FIG.", "12 includes the capacitor 2603 and transistors 2611, 2612, and 2613.A signal G2 is input to a gate of the transistor 2613.A voltage VRES is applied to one of a source and a drain of the transistor 2613, and one electrode of the capacitor 2603 and a gate of the transistor 2611 are electrically connected to the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 2613.One of a source and a drain of the transistor 2611 is electrically connected to one of a source and a drain of the transistor 2612, and a voltage VSS is applied to the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 2611.A signal G1 is input to a gate of the transistor 2612, and a wiring ML is electrically connected to the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 2612.The voltage VSS is applied to the other electrode of the capacitor 2603.Next, the operation of the sensor circuit in FIG.", "12 will be described.", "First, a potential for turning on the transistor 2613 is supplied as the signal G2, and a potential with respect to the voltage VRES is thus applied to the node n connected to the gate of the transistor 2611.Then, a potential for turning off the transistor 2613 is applied as the signal G2, whereby the potential of the node n is maintained.", "Then, mutual capacitance of the capacitor 2603 changes owing to the approach or contact of a sensing target such as a finger, and accordingly the potential of the node n is changed from VRES.", "In reading operation, a potential for turning on the transistor 2612 is supplied as the signal G1.A current flowing through the transistor 2611, that is, a current flowing through the wiring ML is changed in accordance with the potential of the node n. By sensing this current, the approach or contact of a sensing target can be sensed.", "In each of the transistors 2611, 2612, and 2613, an oxide semiconductor layer is preferably used as a semiconductor layer in which a channel region is formed.", "In particular, such a transistor is preferably used as the transistor 2613 so that the potential of the node n can be held for a long time and the frequency of operation of resupplying VRES to the node n (refresh operation) can be reduced.", "The structure described in this embodiment can be combined with any of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.", "Embodiment 6 In this embodiment, a display module and electronic devices including a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.", "13 and FIGS.", "14A to 14G.", "<Display Module> In a display module 8000 in FIG.", "13, a touch sensor 8004 connected to an FPC 8003, a display device 8006 connected to an FPC 8005, a frame 8009, a printed board 8010, and a battery 8011 are provided between an upper cover 8001 and a lower cover 8002.The light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention can be used for the display device 8006, for example.", "The shapes and sizes of the upper cover 8001 and the lower cover 8002 can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the sizes of the touch sensor 8004 and the display device 8006.The touch sensor 8004 can be a resistive touch sensor or a capacitive touch sensor and may be formed to overlap with the display device 8006.A counter substrate (sealing substrate) of the display device 8006 can have a touch sensor function.", "A photosensor may be provided in each pixel of the display device 8006 so that an optical touch sensor is obtained.", "The frame 8009 protects the display device 8006 and also serves as an electromagnetic shield for blocking electromagnetic waves generated by the operation of the printed board 8010.The frame 8009 may serve as a radiator plate.", "The printed board 8010 has a power supply circuit and a signal processing circuit for outputting a video signal and a clock signal.", "As a power source for supplying power to the power supply circuit, an external commercial power source or the battery 8011 provided separately may be used.", "The battery 8011 can be omitted in the case of using a commercial power source.", "The display module 8000 can be additionally provided with a member such as a polarizing plate, a retardation plate, or a prism sheet.", "<Electronic Device> FIGS.", "14A to 14G illustrate electronic devices.", "These electronic devices can include a housing 9000, a display portion 9001, a speaker 9003, operation keys 9005 (including a power switch or an operation switch), a connection terminal 9006, a sensor 9007 (a sensor having a function of measuring or sensing force, displacement, position, speed, acceleration, angular velocity, rotational frequency, distance, light, liquid, magnetism, temperature, chemical substance, sound, time, hardness, electric field, current, voltage, electric power, radiation, flow rate, humidity, gradient, oscillation, odor, or infrared ray), a microphone 9008, and the like.", "The electronic devices illustrated in FIGS.", "14A to 14G can have a variety of functions, for example, a function of displaying a variety of data (a still image, a moving image, a text image, and the like) on the display portion, a touch sensor function, a function of displaying a calendar, date, time, and the like, a function of controlling a process with a variety of software (programs), a wireless communication function, a function of being connected to a variety of computer networks with a wireless communication function, a function of transmitting and receiving a variety of data with a wireless communication function, a function of reading a program or data stored in a memory medium and displaying the program or data on the display portion, and the like.", "Note that functions that can be provided for the electronic devices illustrated in FIGS.", "14A to 14G are not limited to those described above, and the electronic devices can have a variety of functions.", "Although not illustrated in FIGS.", "14A to 14G, the electronic devices may include a plurality of display portions.", "The electronic devices may have a camera or the like and a function of taking a still image, a function of taking a moving image, a function of storing the taken image in a memory medium (an external memory medium or a memory medium incorporated in the camera), a function of displaying the taken image on the display portion, or the like.", "The electronic devices illustrated in FIGS.", "14A to 14G will be described in detail below.", "FIG.", "14A is a perspective view of a portable information terminal 9100.The display portion 9001 of the portable information terminal 9100 is flexible.", "Therefore, the display portion 9001 can be incorporated along a bent surface of a bent housing 9000.In addition, the display portion 9001 includes a touch sensor, and operation can be performed by touching the screen with a finger, a stylus, or the like.", "For example, when an icon displayed on the display portion 9001 is touched, an application can be started.", "FIG.", "14B is a perspective view of a portable information terminal 9101.The portable information terminal 9101 functions as, for example, one or more of a telephone set, a notebook, and an information browsing system.", "Specifically, the portable information terminal can be used as a smartphone.", "Note that the speaker 9003, the connection terminal 9006, the sensor 9007, and the like, which are not shown in FIG.", "14B, can be positioned in the portable information terminal 9101 as in the portable information terminal 9100 shown in FIG.", "14A.", "The portable information terminal 9101 can display characters and image information on its plurality of surfaces.", "For example, three operation buttons 9050 (also referred to as operation icons, or simply, icons) can be displayed on one surface of the display portion 9001.Furthermore, information 9051 indicated by dashed rectangles can be displayed on another surface of the display portion 9001.Examples of the information 9051 include display indicating reception of an incoming email, social networking service (SNS) message, call, and the like; the title and sender of an email and SNS message; the date; the time; remaining battery; and the reception strength of an antenna.", "Instead of the information 9051, the operation buttons 9050 or the like may be displayed on the position where the information 9051 is displayed.", "FIG.", "14C is a perspective view of a portable information terminal 9102.The portable information terminal 9102 has a function of displaying information on three or more surfaces of the display portion 9001.Here, information 9052, information 9053, and information 9054 are displayed on different surfaces.", "For example, a user of the portable information terminal 9102 can see the display (here, the information 9053) with the portable information terminal 9102 put in a breast pocket of his/her clothes.", "Specifically, a caller's phone number, name, or the like of an incoming call is displayed in a position that can be seen from above the portable information terminal 9102.Thus, the user can see the display without taking out the portable information terminal 9102 from the pocket and decide whether to answer the call.", "FIG.", "14D is a perspective view of a watch-type portable information terminal 9200.The portable information terminal 9200 is capable of executing a variety of applications such as mobile phone calls, e-mailing, viewing and editing texts, music reproduction, Internet communication, and computer games.", "The display surface of the display portion 9001 is bent, and images can be displayed on the bent display surface.", "The portable information terminal 9200 can employ near field communication that is a communication method based on an existing communication standard.", "In that case, for example, mutual communication between the portable information terminal 9200 and a headset capable of wireless communication can be performed, and thus hands-free calling is possible.", "The portable information terminal 9200 includes the connection terminal 9006, and data can be directly transmitted to and received from another information terminal via a connector.", "Power charging through the connection terminal 9006 is possible.", "Note that the charging operation may be performed by wireless power feeding without using the connection terminal 9006.FIGS.", "14E, 14F, and 14G are perspective views of a foldable portable information terminal 9201.FIG.", "14E is a perspective view illustrating the portable information terminal 9201 that is opened.", "FIG.", "14F is a perspective view illustrating the portable information terminal 9201 that is being opened or being folded.", "FIG.", "14G is a perspective view illustrating the portable information terminal 9201 that is folded.", "The portable information terminal 9201 is highly portable when folded.", "When the portable information terminal 9201 is opened, a seamless large display region is highly browsable.", "The display portion 9001 of the portable information terminal 9201 is supported by three housings 9000 joined together by hinges 9055.By folding the portable information terminal 9201 at a connection portion between two housings 9000 with the hinges 9055, the portable information terminal 9201 can be reversibly changed in shape from an opened state to a folded state.", "For example, the portable information terminal 9201 can be bent with a radius of curvature of greater than or equal to 1 mm and less than or equal to 150 mm.", "The electronic devices described in this embodiment each include the display portion for displaying some sort of data.", "Note that the light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention can also be used for an electronic device which does not have a display portion.", "The structure in which the display portion of the electronic device described in this embodiment is flexible and display can be performed on the bent display surface or the structure in which the display portion of the electronic device is foldable is described as an example; however, the structure is not limited thereto and a structure in which the display portion of the electronic device is not flexible and display is performed on a plane portion may be employed.", "The structure described in this embodiment can be combined with any of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.", "Embodiment 7 In this embodiment, examples of lighting devices in which the light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention is used will be described with reference to FIG.", "15.FIG.", "15 illustrates an example in which the light-emitting element is used for an indoor lighting device 8501.Since the light-emitting element can have a larger area, a lighting device having a large area can also be formed.", "In addition, a lighting device 8502 in which a light-emitting region has a curved surface can also be formed with the use of a housing with a curved surface.", "A light-emitting element described in this embodiment is in the form of a thin film, which allows the housing to be designed more freely.", "Therefore, the lighting device can be elaborately designed in a variety of ways.", "Furthermore, a wall of the room may be provided with a large-sized lighting device 8503.Touch sensors may be provided in the lighting devices 8501, 8502, and 8503 to control the power on/off of the lighting devices.", "Moreover, when the light-emitting element is used on the surface side of a table, a lighting device 8504 which has a function as a table can be obtained.", "When the light-emitting element is used as part of other furniture, a lighting device which has a function as the furniture can be obtained.", "In this manner, a variety of lighting devices to which the light-emitting element is applied can be obtained.", "Note that such lighting devices are also embodiments of the present invention.", "The structure described in this embodiment can be combined with any of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.", "Example 1 In this example, an example of fabricating light-emitting elements of one embodiment of the present invention and comparative light-emitting elements will be described.", "Light-emitting elements 1 to 7 were fabricated in this example.", "Note that the light-emitting elements 1, 2, 5, and 7 are comparative light-emitting elements, and the light-emitting elements 3, 4, and 6 are light-emitting elements of one embodiment of the present invention.", "The light-emitting element 1 is a host-guest light-emitting element.", "The light-emitting elements 2, 5, and 7 are light-emitting elements which utilize exciplex emission.", "The light-emitting elements 3, 4, and 6 are light-emitting elements which utilize ExSET.", "FIG.", "16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of each of the light-emitting elements 1 to 7, and Tables 4 and 5 show details of the element structure.", "In addition, structures and abbreviations of compounds used here are given below.", "TABLE 4 Reference Thickness Weight Layer numeral (nm) Material ratio Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 1 injection layer Electron- 1115 15 Bphen — transport 10 4,6mCzP2Pm — layer Light- 1113 40 4,6mCzP2Pm:Rubrene 1:0.005 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 BPAFLP — transport layer Hole- 1111 20 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 110 ITSO — Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 2 injection layer Electron- 1115 15 Bphen — transport 10 4,6mCzP2Pm — layer Light- 1113 40 4,6mCzP2Pm:PCBBiF 0.8:0.2 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 BPAFLP — transport layer Hole- 1111 20 DBT3P-II:MoOx 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 110 ITSO — Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 3 injection layer Electron- 1115 15 Bphen — transport 10 4,6mCzP2Pm — layer Light- 1113 40 4,6mCzP2Pm:PCBBiF:Rubrene 0.8:0.2:0.005 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 BPAFLP — transport layer Hole- 1111 20 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 110 ITSO — Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 4 injection layer Electron- 1115 15 Bphen — transport 10 4,6mCzP2Pm — layer Light- 1113 40 4,6mCzP2Pm:PCBBiF:Rubrene 0.8:0.2:0.01 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 BPAFLP — transport layer Hole- 1111 20 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 110 ITSO — TABLE 5 Reference Thickness Weight Layer numeral (nm) Material ratio Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 5 injection layer Electron- 1115 10 Bphen — transport 20 4mCzBPBfPm — layer Light- 1113 40 4mCzBPBfPm:PCzPCA1 0.8:0.2 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 BPAFLP — transport layer Hole- 1111 20 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 110 ITSO — Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 6 injection layer Electron- 1115 10 Bphen — transport 20 4,6mCzP2Pm — layer Light- 1113 40 4,6mCzP2Pm:PCzPCA1:Rubrene 0.8:0.2:0.01 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 BPAFLP — transport layer Hole- 1111 20 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 110 ITSO — Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 7 injection layer Electron- 1115 10 Bphen — transport 20 4,6mCzP2Pm — layer Light- 1113 40 4,6mCzP2Pm:PCzPCA1 0.8:0.2 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 BPAFLP — transport layer Hole- 1111 20 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 110 ITSO — <1-1.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 1> First, a film of indium tin oxide containing silicon oxide (abbreviation: ITSO) was formed as an electrode 1101 over a substrate 1100 by a sputtering method.", "Note that the thickness of the electrode 1101 was 110 nm, and the area of the electrode 1101 was 4 mm2 (2 mm×2 mm).", "Next, as pretreatment of evaporation of an organic compound layer, the electrode 1101 side of the substrate 1100 was washed with water, baking was performed at 200° C. for one hour, and then UV ozone treatment was performed on a surface of the electrode 1101 for 370 seconds.", "After that, the substrate 1100 was transferred into a vacuum evaporation apparatus where the pressure had been reduced to approximately 1×10−4 Pa, and was subjected to vacuum baking at 170° C. for 30 minutes in a heating chamber of the vacuum evaporation apparatus, and then the substrate 1100 was cooled down for about 30 minutes.", "Next, the substrate 1100 was fixed to a holder in the vacuum evaporation apparatus so that a side on which the electrode 1101 was provided faced downward.", "In this example, a hole-injection layer 1111, a hole-transport layer 1112, a light-emitting layer 1113, an electron-transport layer 1115, an electron-injection layer 1116, and an electrode 1102 were sequentially formed by a vacuum evaporation method.", "The fabrication method will be described in detail below.", "First, DBT3P-II and molybdenum oxide (abbreviation: MoO3) were co-evaporated as the hole-injection layer 1111 over the electrode 1101 so that the weight ratio of DBT3P-II to molybdenum oxide was 2:1.Note that the thickness of the hole-injection layer 1111 was 20 nm.", "Next, the hole-transport layer 1112 was formed over the hole-injection layer 1111.As the hole-transport layer 1112, BPAFLP was evaporated.", "Note that the thickness of the hole-transport layer 1112 was 20 nm.", "Next, the light-emitting layer 1113 was formed over the hole-transport layer 1112.As the light-emitting layer 1113, 4,6mCzP2Pm and rubrene were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4,6mCzP2Pm to rubrene was 1:0.005.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4,6mCzP2Pm is a host material and rubrene is a guest material.", "Next, 4,6mCzP2Pm and bathophenanthroline (abbreviation: Bphen) were sequentially evaporated to thicknesses of 10 nm and 15 nm, respectively, as the electron-transport layer 1115 over the light-emitting layer 1113.Then, lithium fluoride (abbreviation: LiF) was evaporated to a thickness of 1 nm as the electron-injection layer 1116 over the electron-transport layer 1115.Next, aluminum (Al) was evaporated as the electrode 1102 over the electron-injection layer 1116.Note that the thickness of the electrode 1102 was 200 nm.", "The light-emitting element fabricated over the substrate 1100 as described above was sealed by being attached to a sealing substrate 1150 in a glove box in a nitrogen atmosphere so as not to be exposed to the air.", "Specifically, after a sealant was applied to surround the light-emitting element over the substrate 1100 and the substrate 1100 was attached to the sealing substrate 1150, irradiation with ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 365 nm at 6 J/cm2 and heat treatment at 80° C. for one hour were performed.", "Through the above process, the light-emitting element 1 was fabricated.", "<1-2.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 2> The light-emitting element 2 is different from the above-described light-emitting element 1 in the structure of the light-emitting layer 1113.The other components are the same as those of the light-emitting element 1.As the light-emitting layer 1113 of the light-emitting element 2, 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCBBiF were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4,6mCzP2Pm to PCBBiF was 0.8:0.2.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4,6mCzP2Pm is a host material and PCBBiF is an assist material.", "<1-3.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 3> The light-emitting element 3 is different from the above-described light-emitting element 1 in the structure of the light-emitting layer 1113.The other components are the same as those of the light-emitting element 1.As the light-emitting layer 1113 of the light-emitting element 3, 4,6mCzP2Pm, PCBBiF, and rubrene were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4,6mCzP2Pm to PCBBiF and rubrene was 0.8:0.2:0.005.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4,6mCzP2Pm is a host material, PCBBiF is an assist material, and rubrene is a guest material.", "<1-4.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 4> The light-emitting element 4 is different from the above-described light-emitting element 1 in the structure of the light-emitting layer 1113.The other components are the same as those of the light-emitting element 1.As the light-emitting layer 1113 of the light-emitting element 4, 4,6mCzP2Pm, PCBBiF, and rubrene were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4,6mCzP2Pm to PCBBiF and rubrene was 0.8:0.2:0.01.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4,6mCzP2Pm is a host material, PCBBiF is an assist material, and rubrene is a guest material.", "Note that the concentration of the guest material differs between the light-emitting element 3 and the light-emitting element 4.<1-5.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 5> The light-emitting element 5 is different from the above-described light-emitting element 1 in the structures of the light-emitting layer 1113 and the electron-transport layer 1115.The other components are the same as those of the light-emitting element 1.As the light-emitting layer 1113 of the light-emitting element 5, 4-{3-[3′-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)]biphenyl-3-yl}benzofuro[3,2-d]pyrimidine (abbreviation: 4mCzBPBfPm) and 3-[N-(9-phenylcarbazol-3-yl)-N-phenylamino]-9-phenylcarbazole (abbreviation: PCzPCA1) were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4mCzBPBfPm to PCzPCA1 was 0.8:0.2.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4mCzBPBfPm is a host material, and PCzPCA1 is an assist material.", "As the electron-transport layer 1115 of the light-emitting element 5, 4mCzBPBfPm and Bphen were evaporated to thicknesses of 20 nm and 10 nm, respectively.", "<1-6.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 6> The light-emitting element 6 is different from the above-described light-emitting element 1 in the structures of the light-emitting layer 1113 and the electron-transport layer 1115.The other components are the same as those of the light-emitting element 1.As the light-emitting layer 1113 of the light-emitting element 6, 4,6mCzP2Pm, PCzPCA1, and rubrene were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4,6mCzP2Pm to PCzPCA1 and rubrene was 0.8:0.2:0.01.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4,6mCzP2Pm is a host material, PCzPCA1 is an assist material, and rubrene is a guest material.", "As the electron-transport layer 1115 of the light-emitting element 6, 4,6mCzP2Pm and Bphen were evaporated to thicknesses of 20 nm and 10 nm, respectively.", "<1-7.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 7> The light-emitting element 7 is different from the above-described light-emitting element 1 in the structures of the light-emitting layer 1113 and the electron-transport layer 1115.The other components are the same as those of the light-emitting element 1.As the light-emitting layer 1113 of the light-emitting element 7, 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCzPCA1 were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4,6mCzP2Pm to PCzPCA1 was 0.8:0.2.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4,6mCzP2Pm is a host material and PCzPCA1 is an assist material.", "As the electron-transport layer 1115 of the light-emitting element 7, 4,6mCzP2Pm and Bphen were evaporated to thicknesses of 20 nm and 10 nm, respectively.", "Note that in all the above evaporation steps for the light-emitting elements 1 to 7, a resistive heating method was used as an evaporation method.", "<1-8.Characteristics of Light-Emitting Elements 1 to 7> FIGS.", "17, 19, 21, 23, and 25 show luminance-current density characteristics, luminance-voltage characteristics, current efficiency-luminance characteristics, current-voltage characteristics, and external quantum efficiency-luminance characteristics, respectively, of the light-emitting elements 1 to 4.FIGS.", "18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 show luminance-current density characteristics, luminance-voltage characteristics, current efficiency-luminance characteristics, current-voltage characteristics, and external quantum efficiency-luminance characteristics, respectively, of the light-emitting elements 5 to 7.Note that the measurements of the light-emitting elements were carried out at room temperature (in an atmosphere kept at 25° C.).", "Table 6 shows element characteristics of the light-emitting elements 1 to 7 at maximum external quantum efficiencies.", "TABLE 6 External Current Current quantum Voltage density Chromaticity Luminance efficiency efficiency (V) (mA/cm2) (x, y) (cd/m2) (cd/A) (%) Light- 2.6 0.014 (0.48, 0.51) 2.1 15 4.6 emitting element 1 Light- 2.4 0.0077 (0.35, 0.58) 4.1 53 17 emitting element 2 Light- 2.5 0.039 (0.44, 0.54) 12 31 8.9 emitting element 3 Light- 2.5 0.043 (0.48, 0.51) 9.9 23 6.8 emitting element 4 Light- 2.9 0.89 (0.48, 0.51) 290 32 11 emitting element 5 Light- 3.2 0.65 (0.49, 0.50) 200 31 9.4 emitting element 6 Light- 2.8 0.20 (0.47, 0.52) 69 34 11 emitting element 7 FIG.", "27 shows the electroluminescence spectra of the light-emitting elements 1 to 4 through which current flows at a current density of 2.5 mA/cm2.FIG.", "28 shows the electroluminescence spectra of the light-emitting elements 5 to 7 through which current flows at a current density of 2.5 mA/cm2.Note that the emission spectra of a thin film of 4,6mCzP2Pm alone and a thin film of PCBBiF alone were measured and found to have peaks at wavelengths of 439 nm and 436 nm, respectively.", "Meanwhile, as shown in FIG.", "27, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 2 has a peak at a wavelength of 527 nm.", "That is, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 2 differs from the emission spectra of 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCBBiF, and corresponds to light emission which is exhibited by an exciplex formed by 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCBBiF.", "The emission spectra of a thin film of 4mCzBPBfPm alone and a thin film of PCzPCA1 alone were measured and found to have peaks at wavelengths of 440 nm and 443 nm, respectively.", "Meanwhile, as shown in FIG.", "28, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 5 has a peak at a wavelength of 567 nm.", "That is, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 5 differs from the emission spectra of 4mCzBPBfPm and PCzPCA1, and corresponds to light emission which is exhibited by an exciplex formed by 4mCzBPBfPm and PCzPCA1.As shown in FIG.", "28, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 7 has a peak at a wavelength of 558 nm.", "That is, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 7 differs from the emission spectra of 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCzPCA1, and corresponds to light emission which is exhibited by an exciplex formed by 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCzPCA1.As shown in FIGS.", "27 and 28, the light-emitting elements 1, 3, 4, and 6 show emission spectra exhibited by rubrene that is a guest material and have electroluminescence spectrum peaks at wavelengths of 557 nm, 553 nm, 559 nm, and 557 nm, respectively.", "Therefore, it is found that the light-emitting element 2 has high emission energy owing to its emission peak at a wavelength shorter than those of the light-emitting elements 3 and 4 and that the exciplex formed by 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCBBiF can be used as a host material in a light-emitting element which contains rubrene as a guest material.", "It can be said that the light-emitting elements 6 and 7 have comparable emission energy because they show emission peaks at substantially the same wavelengths; the electroluminescence spectra of the light-emitting elements 6 and 7 suggest that the exciplex formed by 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCzPCA1 can be used as a host material in a light-emitting element which contains rubrene as a guest material.", "Phosphorescence spectra of 4,6mCzP2Pm, PCBBiF, and PCzPCA1 were measured and found to have peaks on the shortest wavelength side at wavelengths of 459 nm, 509 nm, and 495 nm, respectively, and phosphorescence emission energies calculated from the peak wavelengths were 2.70 eV, 2.44 eV, and 2.51 eV, respectively.", "Note that the phosphorescence spectra were measured using the method described in Embodiment 1.Note that an exciplex has a feature of having a singlet excitation energy level and a triplet excitation energy level that are close to each other; thus, the phosphorescence spectrum of an exciplex is regarded as being the same as the fluorescence spectrum (thermally activated delayed fluorescence spectrum).", "As described in Embodiment 1, rubrene has a calculated triplet excitation energy level of 0.95 eV.", "According to the above results, the phosphorescence spectra of 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCBBiF have peaks at shorter wavelengths than the phosphorescence spectrum of the exciplex formed by these materials, and the triplet excitation energy levels of 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCBBiF are higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex formed by these materials.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of rubrene that is a guest material.", "Furthermore, the phosphorescence spectra of 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCzPCA1 have peaks at shorter wavelengths than the emission spectrum of the exciplex formed by these materials, and the triplet excitation energy levels of 4,6mCzP2Pm and PCBBiF are higher than the triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex formed by these materials.", "The triplet excitation energy level of the exciplex is higher than the triplet excitation energy level of rubrene that is a guest material.", "Therefore, 4,6mCzP2Pm, PCBBiF, and PCzPCA1 are suitable for a host material of a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIGS.", "17 to 26 and Table 6, the maximum external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting element 1 is 4.6%; the maximum external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting element 2 is 17%; the maximum external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting element 3 is 8.9%; the maximum external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting element 4 is 6.8%; the maximum external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting element 5 is 11%; the maximum external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting element 6 is 9.4%; and the maximum external quantum efficiency of the light-emitting element 7 is 11%.", "Although the light-emitting elements 2, 5, and 7 have high maximum external quantum efficiencies, a phenomenon in which efficiency drastically drops in a high-luminance region (also referred to as roll-off) is caused.", "In contrast, the light-emitting elements 3, 4, and 6 of one embodiment of the present invention have higher maximum external quantum efficiencies than the light-emitting element 1, and show suppressed roll-off unlike in the light-emitting elements 2, 5, and 7.This is an excellent advantageous effect that can be achieved only by ExSET of one embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIGS.", "17 to 26 and Table 6, a comparison between the light-emitting elements 3, 4, and 6 of one embodiment of the present invention reveals that the light-emitting element 6 exhibits high emission efficiency, especially a high maximum external quantum efficiency of 9.4%, and has excellent characteristics.", "Then, transient EL measurement was performed on the light-emitting elements 1, 6, and 7 to examine whether the light-emitting element 6 utilizes ExSET.", "FIG.", "29 shows the transient EL characteristics of the light-emitting elements 1, 6, and 7.FIG.", "30 shows the transient EL spectrum of the light-emitting element 6.<1-9.Measurement of Transient EL Spectra of Light-Emitting Elements 1, 6, and 7> A picosecond fluorescence lifetime measurement system (manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.)", "was used for the measurement.", "In this measurement, the transient EL characteristics of the light-emitting elements were measured as follows.", "A square wave pulse voltage was applied to the light-emitting element, and light which was attenuated from the falling of the voltage underwent time-resolved measurement using a streak camera.", "The measurement was performed at room temperature (25° C.).", "In FIG.", "29, the vertical axis represents emission intensity normalized to that in a state where carriers were steadily injected (when the pulse voltage is ON).", "The horizontal axis represents time elapsed after the folling of the pulse voltage.", "It is found from the transient EL characteristics shown in FIG.", "29 that the light-emitting elements 6 and 7 each have a longer lifetime than the light-emitting element 1 and exhibit delayed fluorescence based on reverse intersystem crossing.", "In FIG.", "30, prompt EL refers to a prompt component of the measured transient EL spectrum, and delayed EL refers to a delayed component.", "Note that the prompt component is an emission component during voltage application, and the delayed component is an emission component at 8 μs to 45 μs after voltage application.", "As shown in FIG.", "30, both the prompt and delayed EL spectra are roughly in accordance with the emission spectrum of rubrene that is a guest material.", "Thus, it is suggested that the energies of prompt excitons of SE (singlet excitons directly generated by recombination of injected carriers) and delayed excitons of SE generated by reverse intersystem crossing (singlet excitons generated by reverse intersystem crossing of triplet exitons) are both transferred to the SG of rubrene and contribute to light emission.", "As described above, it has been confirmed that a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention utilizes ExSET and therefore has high emission efficiency.", "The structure described above in this example can be combined with any of the structures described in the other examples and embodiments as appropriate.", "Example 2 In this example, an example of fabricating a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention and a comparative light-emitting element will be described.", "Note that light-emitting elements 8 and 9 were fabricated in this example.", "The light-emitting element 8 is a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention which utilizes ExSET, and the light-emitting element 9 is a reference light-emitting element which utilizes exciplex emission.", "FIG.", "16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of each of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9, and Table 7 shows details of the element structure.", "In addition, structures and abbreviations of compounds used here are given below.", "Except the compounds given below, compounds similar to those described in Example 1 were used.", "TABLE 7 Reference Thickness Weight Layer numeral (nm) Material ratio Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 8 injection layer Electron- 1115 15 Bphen — transport 10 4mCzBPBfPm — layer Light- 1113 30 4mCzBPBfPm:DPhAmCP:1, 0.8:0.2:0.005 emitting 6mMemFLPAPrn layer Hole- 1112 20 DPhAmCP — transport layer Hole- 1111 15 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 70 ITSO — Light- Electrode 1102 200 Al — emitting Electron- 1116 1 LiF — element 9 injection layer Electron- 1115 15 Bphen — transport 10 4mCzBPBfPm — layer Light- 1113 30 4mCzBPBfPm:DPhAmCP 0.8:0.2 emitting layer Hole- 1112 20 DPhAmCP — transport layer Hole- 1111 15 DBT3P-II:MoO3 2:1 injection layer Electrode 1101 70 ITSO — <2-1.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 8> First, a film of ITSO was formed as an electrode 1101 over a substrate 1100 by a sputtering method.", "Note that the thickness of the electrode 1101 was 70 nm, and the area of the electrode 1101 was 4 mm2 (2 mm×2 mm).", "Next, as pretreatment of evaporation of an organic compound layer, the electrode 1101 side of the substrate 1100 was washed with water, baking was performed at 200° C. for one hour, and then UV ozone treatment was performed on a surface of the electrode 1101 for 370 seconds.", "After that, the substrate 1100 was transferred into a vacuum evaporation apparatus where the pressure had been reduced to approximately 1×10−4 Pa, and was subjected to vacuum baking at 170° C. for 30 minutes in a heating chamber of the vacuum evaporation apparatus, and then the substrate 1100 was cooled down for about 30 minutes.", "Next, the substrate 1100 was fixed to a holder in the vacuum evaporation apparatus so that a side on which the electrode 1101 was provided faced downward.", "In this example, a hole-injection layer 1111, a hole-transport layer 1112, a light-emitting layer 1113, an electron-transport layer 1115, an electron-injection layer 1116, and an electrode 1102 were sequentially formed by a vacuum evaporation method.", "The fabrication method will be described in detail below.", "First, DBT3P-II and molybdenum oxide were co-evaporated as the hole-injection layer 1111 over the electrode 1101 so that the weight ratio of DBT3P-II to molybdenum oxide was 2:1.Note that the thickness of the hole-injection layer 1111 was 15 nm.", "Next, the hole-transport layer 1112 was formed over the hole-injection layer 1111.As the hole-transport layer 1112, 3,5-di(carbazol-9-yl)-N,N-diphenylaniline (abbreviation: DPhAmCP) was evaporated.", "Note that the thickness of the hole-transport layer 1112 was 20 nm.", "Next, the light-emitting layer 1113 was formed over the hole-transport layer 1112.As the light-emitting layer 1113, 4mCzBPBfPm, DPhAmCP, and 1,6mMemFLPAPm were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4mCzBPBfPm to DPhAmCP and 1,6mMemFLPAPm was 0.8:0.2:0.005.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 30 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4mCzBPBfPm is a host material, DPhAmCP is an assist material, and 1,6mMemFLPAPm is a guest material.", "Next, 4mCzBPBfPm and Bphen were sequentially evaporated to thicknesses of 10 nm and 15 nm, respectively, as the electron-transport layer 1115 over the light-emitting layer 1113.Then, LiF was evaporated to a thickness of 1 nm as the electron-injection layer 1116 over the electron-transport layer 1115.Next, Al was evaporated as the electrode 1102 over the electron-injection layer 1116.Note that the thickness of the electrode 1102 was 200 nm.", "The light-emitting element fabricated over the substrate 1100 as described above was sealed by being attached to a sealing substrate 1150 in a glove box in a nitrogen atmosphere so as not to be exposed to the air.", "Note that the sealing method is similar to that for the light-emitting element 1 described in Example 1.Through the above process, the light-emitting element 8 was fabricated.", "<2-2.Method for Fabricating Light-Emitting Element 9> The light-emitting element 9 is different from the above-described light-emitting element 8 in the structure of the light-emitting layer 1113.The other components are the same as those of the light-emitting element 8.As the light-emitting layer 1113 of the light-emitting element 9, 4mCzBPBfPm and DPhAmCP were co-evaporated so that the weight ratio of 4mCzBPBfPm to DPhAmCP was 0.8:0.2.Note that the thickness of the light-emitting layer 1113 was 40 nm.", "In the light-emitting layer 1113, 4mCzBPBfPm is a host material and DPhAmCP is an assist material.", "Note that in all the above evaporation steps for the light-emitting elements 8 and 9, a resistive heating method was used as an evaporation method.", "<2-3.Characteristics of Light-Emitting Elements 8 and 9> FIGS.", "31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 show luminance-current density characteristics, luminance-voltage characteristics, current efficiency-luminance characteristics, current-voltage characteristics, and external quantum efficiency-luminance characteristics, respectively, of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9.Note that the measurements of the light-emitting elements were carried out at room temperature (in an atmosphere kept at 25° C.).", "Table 8 shows element characteristics of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 at maximum external quantum efficiencies.", "TABLE 8 External Current Current quantum Voltage density Chromaticity Luminance efficiency efficiency (V) (mA/cm2) (x, y) (cd/m2) (cd/A) (%) Light- 2.9 0.92 (0.14, 0.17) 77 8.3 6.9 emitting element 8 Light- 3.0 1.6 (0.15, 0.14) 32 2.0 1.8 emitting element 9 FIG.", "36 shows the electroluminescence spectra of the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 through which current flows at a current density of 2.5 mA/cm2.As shown in FIG.", "36, the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 have electroluminescence spectra in a blue wavelength range.", "Note that emission spectra of a thin film of 4mCzBPBfPm used as a host material and a thin film of DPhAmCP used as an assist material in the light-emitting elements 8 and 9 were measured and found to have peaks at wavelengths of 440 nm and 375 nm, respectively.", "Meanwhile, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 9 has a peak at a wavelength of 457 nm.", "That is, the electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 9 differs from the emission spectra of 4mCzBPBfPm and DPhAmCP, and corresponds to light emission which is exhibited by an exciplex formed by 4mCzBPBfPm and DPhAmCP.", "The electroluminescence spectrum of the light-emitting element 8 has a peak at a wavelength of 465 nm and corresponds to the emission spectrum exhibited by 1,6mMemFLPAPm that is a guest material.", "No light emission exhibited by the exciplex formed by 4mCzBPBfPm and DPhAmCP is observed.", "It is found that the light-emitting element 9 has high emission energy owing to its emission peak at a wavelength shorter than that of the light-emitting element 8.Accordingly, it can be said that excitation energy of the exciplex formed in the light-emitting element 8 is efficiently transferred to the guest material.", "That is, a compound which has a condensed heterocyclic skeleton having a diazine skeleton, such as 4mCzBPBfPm, can be suitably used in a blue light-emitting element.", "In addition, a compound in which an aromatic amine skeleton is bonded to the 9-position of a carbazole skeleton, such as DPhAmCP, can be suitably used in a blue light-emitting element.", "Furthermore, an exciplex formed by the compound which has a condensed heterocyclic skeleton having a diazine skeleton, such as 4mCzBPBfPm, and the compound in which an aromatic amine skeleton is bonded to the 9-position of a carbazole skeleton, such as DPhAmCP, can be suitably used as a host material in a blue light-emitting element.", "As shown in FIGS.", "31 to 35 and Table 8, the light-emitting element 8 of one embodiment of the present invention exhibits high emission efficiency, especially a high maximum external quantum efficiency of 6.9%, as a blue light-emitting element.", "In addition, the light-emitting element 8 shows suppressed roll-off in a high-luminance region.", "This is an excellent advantageous effect that can be achieved only by ExSET of one embodiment of the present invention.", "As described above, it has been confirmed that a light-emitting element of one embodiment of the present invention utilizes ExSET and therefore has high emission efficiency.", "The structure described above in this example can be combined with any of the structures described in the other examples and embodiments as appropriate.", "This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.", "2014-175163 filed with Japan Patent Office on Aug. 29, 2014, Japanese Patent Application serial no.", "2014-240985 filed with Japan Patent Office on Nov. 28, 2014, and Japanese Patent Application serial no.", "2015-108786 filed with Japan Patent Office on May 28, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference." ] ]
Patent_15874950
[ [ "PHOTOELECTRIC CONVERSION ELEMENT, SOLAR CELL, AND COMPOUND", "Provided is a photoelectric conversion element including at least a first electrode that includes a conductive support, a photosensitive layer that contains a light absorbing agent, a hole transport layer that contains an organic hole transporting material, and a second electrode.", "At least one of the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer is provided on the conductive support to constitute the first electrode in combination with the conductive support.", "The photosensitive layer includes at least a compound having a perovskite-type crystal structure that includes a cation of an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or a cationic organic group A, a cation of a metal atom M other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table, and an anion of an anionic atom or atomic group X as the light absorbing agent.", "The hole transport layer includes at least a compound represented by the following Formula 1 as the organic hole transporting material." ], [ "1.A photoelectric conversion element comprising, at least: a first electrode that includes a conductive support; a photosensitive layer that contains a light absorbing agent; a hole transport layer that contains an organic hole transporting material; and a second electrode, at least one of the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer being provided on the conductive support to constitute the first electrode in combination with the conductive support, wherein the photosensitive layer includes at least a compound having a perovskite-type crystal structure that includes a cation of an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or a cationic organic group A, a cation of a metal atom M other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table, and an anion of an anionic atom or atomic group X as the light absorbing agent, the hole transport layer includes at least a compound represented by the following Formula 1 as the organic hole transporting material, in Formula 1, D is a group that is represented by the following Formula D-1 or D-2, L1 and L2 each independently represent a linking group, A1 and A2 each independently represent a hetero ring, a hydrocarbon ring, or a group having an acceptor property, and na represents an integer of 1 to 4, nb and nc each independently represent an integer of 0 to 5, a plurality of D's are the same as each other or different from each other when na represents an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of L1's are the same as each other or different from each other when nb represents an integer of 2 to 5, and a plurality of L2's are the same as each other or different from each other when nc represents an integer of 2 to 5, in Formula D-1, X1 and X2 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom, Z1 and Z2 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, A represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-1, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, in Formula D-2, X3 and X4 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom, Z3 and Z4 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, B represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-2, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, provided that, in Formula 1, in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-1, at least one of Z1 or Z2 is a nitrogen atom, or in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-2, at least one of Z3 or Z4 is a nitrogen atom, or nb is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 includes any one of a thiazole ring, an oxazole ring, and a selenazole ring, or nc is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L2 includes any one of the thiazole ring, the oxazole ring, and the selenazole ring.", "2.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein in Formula 1, the group, which is represented by A1 and A2 and has an acceptor property, is a group that is represented by any one of the following Formula A-1, Formula A-2, and Formula A-3, in Formula A-1, Y1 represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or NRc, and Rc represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R2 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D, in Formula A-2, R3 and R4 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and at least one of R3 or R4 represents an electron-attracting group, R′ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D, in Formula A-3, X represents a hydrocarbon ring or a hetero ring in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is capable of being substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(=NRd)—, and —C(═CReRf)—, here, Rd represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring include a substituent group as necessary, R″ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. 3.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein X1 and X2 in Formula D-1, and X3 and X4 in Formula D-2 are sulfur atoms.", "4.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein D in Formula 1 is a group that is represented by any one of the following Formulae D-3, D-4, D-5, and D-6, in Formula D-3, X6 and X7 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z9 and Z10 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R7 and R8 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n1 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n1 is 1 or 2, a plurality of Re's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R8's are the same as each other or different from each other, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, in Formula D-4, X8 and X9 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z11 and Z12 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R9 and R10 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n2 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n2 is 1 or 2, a plurality of R9's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R10's are the same as each other or different from each other, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, in Formula D-5, X10 and X11 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z13 and Z14 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Xa represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CRgRh, NRi, or SiRjRk, and Rg, Rh, Ri, Rj, and Rk each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, in Formula D-6, X12 and X13 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z15 and Z16 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Xb represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CRgRh, NRi, or SiRjRk, and Rg, Rh, Ri, Rj, and Rk each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, 5.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein in Formula 1, nb is an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 is a linking group represented by the following Formula (X), or nc is an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L2 is a linking group represented by the following Formula (X), in Formula (X), Z5 represents a nitrogen atom or CR1, and R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R11 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. 6.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 5, wherein in Formula 1, at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 and nc pieces of L2 is a linking group represented by Formula (X), and Z5 in Formula (X) is a nitrogen atom.", "7.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein in Formula 1, at least one of A1 or A2 is a hydrocarbon ring or a hetero ring which includes an electron-attracting group as a substituent group, or in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRo)—, and —C(═CRpRq)—, here, Ro represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Rp and Rq each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring.", "8.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 2, wherein in Formula 1, at least one of A1 or A2 is a group that is represented by any one of Formula A-1, Formula A-2, and Formula A-3.9.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein in Formula 1, at least one of A1 or A2 is a group that is represented by the following Formula A-4 or Formula A-5, in Formula A-4, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D, in Formula A-5, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—, here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. 10.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein the compound represented by Formula 1 is a compound represented by the following Formula 2, in Formula 2, Z5, Z6, Z7, and Z8 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRn, and Rn represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R22, R23, R24, and R25 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n4 and n5 each independently represent an integer of 0 to 4, in a case where n4 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z5's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R22's are the same as each other or different from each other, in a case where n5 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z8's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R24's are the same as each other or different from each other, A3 and A4 each independently represent a group represented by the following Formula A-4′ or A-5′, provided that, in Formula 2, at least one of Z6 or Z7 is a nitrogen atom, or n4 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z5 is a nitrogen atom, or n5 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z8 is a nitrogen atom, in Formula A-4′, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2, in Formula A-5′, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—, here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2.11.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1, wherein Z1 and Z2 in Formula D-1, or Z3 and Z4 in Formula D-2 are nitrogen atoms.", "12.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 4, wherein Z9 and Z10 in Formula D-3, Z1 1 and Z12 in Formula D-4, Z13 and Z14 in Formula D-5, or Z15 and Z16 in Formula D-6 are nitrogen atoms.", "13.The photoelectric conversion element according to claim 10, wherein Z6 and Z7 in Formula 2 are nitrogen atoms.", "14.A solar cell, comprising: the photoelectric conversion element according to claim 1.15.A compound represented by the following Formula 2A, in Formula 2A, Z5, Z6, Z7, and Z8 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRn, and Rn represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R22, R23, R24, and R25 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n4 and n5 each independently represent an integer of 0 to 4, in a case where n4 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z5's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R22's are the same as each other or different from each other, in a case where n5 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z8's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R24's are the same as each other or different from each other, A5 and A6 each independently represent a group represented by the following Formula A-5′, provided that, in Formula 2A, at least one of Z6 or Z7 is a nitrogen atom, in Formula A-5′, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—, here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2A.", "16.The compound according to claim 15, wherein in Formula 2A, Z6 and Z7 are nitrogen atoms." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In a photoelectric conversion element or a solar cell which uses a perovskite compound, constant achievement is attained in an improvement of photoelectric conversion efficiency.", "However, the photoelectric conversion element or the solar cell which uses the perovskite compound has attracted attention in recent years, and little is known about battery performance other than photoelectric conversion efficiency.", "The photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell are required to have durability capable of maintaining initial performance in a field circumstance in which the photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell are actually used in addition to high photoelectric conversion efficiency.", "However, it is known that the perovskite compound is easily damaged under a high-humidity environment or a high-humidity and heat environment.", "Actually, in a photoelectric conversion element or a solar cell which uses the perovskite compound as a light absorbing agent, photoelectric conversion efficiency greatly deteriorates under the high-humidity environment or the high-humidity and heat environment in many cases.", "In addition, a problem of a moisture resistance variation is also pointed out.", "With regard to a cause for generation of the variation in the moisture resistance, it is assumed that the perovskite compound is decomposed due to intrusion of water from a defect in an interface between the perovskite compound and the hole transporting material or moisture that is contained in the hole transporting material.", "In J.", "Mater.", "Chem.", "A, 2015, 3, p. 11940 to 11947, and Energy Environ.", "Sci., 2014, 7, p. 2981 to 2985, an A-D-A type hole transporting material that does not uses a hydrophilic additive (LiTFSI and the like) is used.", "From a result obtained through extensive study made by the present inventors, it could be understood that the moisture resistance variation can be suppressed to a certain extent in a case of using the hole transporting material, but the suppression is not sufficient.", "The reason for this is considered to be because it is difficult to suppress intrusion of water from a defect in a material interface and the like.", "The invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a photoelectric conversion element which uses a perovskite compound as a light absorbing agent in a photosensitive layer and in which a moisture resistance variation is suppressed.", "In addition, another object of the invention is to provide a solar cell including the photoelectric conversion element.", "In addition, still another object of the invention is to provide a new compound that is appropriately used in the photoelectric conversion element.", "The present inventors have obtained the following finding.", "In a photoelectric conversion element or a solar cell which uses a perovskite compound as a light absorbing agent, as a hole transporting material, in a case of using an A-D-A-type compound that is a composite of an acceptor (A) and a donor (D), and has a ring structure including two kinds of specific hetero atoms in a ring at D (donor) or a linking portion between D (donor) and A (acceptor), a moisture resistance variation is improved.", "The invention is accomplished by further repeating examinations on the basis of the finding.", "That is, according to an aspect, the above-described problem has been solved by the following means.", "[1] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a photoelectric conversion element comprising, at least: a first electrode that includes a conductive support; a photosensitive layer that contains a light absorbing agent; a hole transport layer that contains an organic hole transporting material; and a second electrode, at least one of the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer being provided on the conductive support to constitute the first electrode in combination with the conductive support.", "The photosensitive layer includes at least a compound having a perovskite-type crystal structure that includes a cation of an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or a cationic organic group A, a cation of a metal atom M other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table, and an anion of an anionic atom or atomic group X as the light absorbing agent.", "The hole transport layer includes at least a compound represented by the following Formula 1 as the organic hole transporting material.", "In Formula 1, D is a group that is represented by the following Formula D-1 or D-2, L 1 and L 2 each independently represent a linking group, A 1 and A 2 each independently represent a hetero ring, a hydrocarbon ring, or a group having an acceptor property, na represents an integer of 1 to 4, nb and nc each independently represent an integer of 0 to 5, a plurality of D's are the same as each other or different from each other when na represents an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of L 1 's are the same as each other or different from each other when nb represents an integer of 2 to 5, and a plurality of L 2 's are the same as each other or different from each other when nc represents an integer of 2 to 5.In Formula D-1, X 1 and X 2 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom, Z 1 and Z 2 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR a and R a represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, A represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-1, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , A 1 , A 2 , or D. In Formula D-2, X 3 and X 4 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom, Z 3 and Z 4 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR a and R a represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, B represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-2, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , A 1 , A 2 , or D. Provided that, in Formula 1, in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-1, at least one of Z 1 or Z 2 is a nitrogen atom, or in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-2, at least one of Z 3 or Z 4 is a nitrogen atom, or nb is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L 1 includes any one of a thiazole ring, an oxazole ring, and a selenazole ring, or nc is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L 2 includes any one of the thiazole ring, the oxazole ring, and the selenazole ring.", "[2] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [1], in Formula 1, the group, which is represented by A 1 and A 2 and has an acceptor property, may be a group that is represented by any one of the following Formula A-1, Formula A-2, and Formula A-3, in Formula A-1, Y 1 represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or NR c , and R c represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R 2 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , or D, in Formula A-2, R 3 and R 4 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and at least one of R 3 or R 4 represents an electron-attracting group, R′ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , or D, in Formula A-3, X represents a hydrocarbon ring or a hetero ring in which at least one —CH 2 — that constitutes a ring is capable of being substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NR d )—, and —C(═CR e R f )—, R d represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and R e and R f each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring include a substituent group, the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring may include a substituent group, R″ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , or D. [3] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [1] or [2], X 1 and X 2 in Formula D-1, and X 3 and X 4 in Formula D-2 may be sulfur atoms.", "[4] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [3], D in Formula 1 may be a group that is represented by any one of the following Formulae D-3, D-4, D-5, and D-6, in Formula D-3, X 6 and X 7 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z 9 and Z 10 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR a , and R a represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R 7 and R 8 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n1 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n1 is 1 or 2, a plurality of R e 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R 8 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , A 1 , A 2 , or D, in Formula D-4, X 8 and X 9 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z 11 and Z 12 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR a , and R a represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R 9 and R 10 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n2 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n2 is 1 or 2, a plurality of R 9 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R 10 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , A 1 , A 2 , or D, in Formula D-5, X 10 and X 11 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z 13 and Z 14 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR a , and R a represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, X a represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CR g R h , NR 1 , or SiR j R k , and R g , R h , R 1 , R j , and R k each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , A 1 , A 2 , or D, in Formula D-6, X 12 and X 13 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z 15 and Z 16 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR a , and R a represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, X b represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CR g R h , NR 1 , or SiR j R k , and R g , R h , R 1 , and R k each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , A 1 , A 2 , or D. [5] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [4], in Formula 1, nb may be an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L 1 may be a linking group represented by the following Formula (X), or nc may be an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L 2 may be a linking group represented by the following Formula (X), in Formula (X), Z 5 represents a nitrogen atom or CR 1 , and R 1 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R 11 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , A 1 , A 2 , or D. [6] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [5], in Formula 1, at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L 1 and nc pieces of L 2 may be a linking group represented by Formula (X), and Z 5 in Formula (X) may be a nitrogen atom.", "[7] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [6], in Formula 1, at least one of A 1 or A 2 may be a hydrocarbon ring or a hetero ring which includes an electron-attracting group as a substituent group, or in which at least one —CH 2 — that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NR o )—, and —C(═CR p R q )—, here, R o represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and R p and R q each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring.", "[8] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [2] to [7], in Formula 1, at least one of A 1 or A 2 may be a group that is represented by any one of Formula A-1, Formula A-2, and Formula A-3.", "[9] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [8], in Formula 1, at least one of A 1 or A 2 is a group that is represented by the following Formula A-4 or Formula A-5, in Formula A-4, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , or D, in Formula A-5, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NR m , and in which at least one —CH 2 — that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NR d )—, —C(═CR e R f )—, here, R m and R d each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R e and R f each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with L 1 , L 2 , or D. [10] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [1], the compound represented by Formula 1 may be a compound represented by the following Formula 2, in Formula 2, Z 5 , Z 6 , Z 7 , and Z 8 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR n , and R n represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R 22 , R 23 , R 24 , and R 25 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n 4 and n 5 each independently represent an integer of 0 to 4, in a case where n 4 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z 5 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R 22 's are the same as each other or different from each other, in a case where n 5 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z 8 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R 24 's are the same as each other or different from each other, A 3 and A 4 each independently represent a group represented by the following Formula A-4′ or A-5′, provided that, in Formula 2, at least one of Z 6 or Z 7 is a nitrogen atom, or n 4 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z 5 is a nitrogen atom, or n 5 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z 8 is a nitrogen atom, in Formula A-4′, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2, in Formula A-5′, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NR m , and in which at least one —CH 2 — that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NR d )—, —C(═CR e R f )—, here, R m and R d each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a sub stituent group, R e and R f each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2.", "[11] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [10], Z 1 and Z 2 in Formula D-1, Z 3 and Z 4 in Formula D-2, Z 6 and Z 7 in Formula (2), 4 and Z 10 in Formula D-3, Z n and Z 12 in Formula D-4, Z 13 and Z 14 in Formula D-5, or Z 15 and Z 16 in Formula D-6 may be nitrogen atoms.", "[12] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a solar cell comprising the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [11].", "[13] According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a compound represented by the following Formula 2A, In Formula 2A, Z 5 , Z 6 , Z 7 , and Z 8 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CR n , and R n represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R 22 , R 23 , R 24 , and R 25 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n 4 and n 5 each independently represents an integer of 0 to 4, in a case where n 4 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z 5 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R 22 's are the same as each other or different from each other, in a case where n 5 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z 8 's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R 24 's are the same as each other or different from each other, A 5 and A 6 each independently represent a group represented by the following Formula A-5′, provided that, in Formula 2A, at least one of Z 6 or Z 7 is a nitrogen atom, or n 4 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z 5 is a nitrogen atom, or n 5 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z 8 is a nitrogen atom, in Formula A-5′, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NR m , and in which at least one —CH 2 — that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NR d )—, —C(═CR e R f )—, here, R m and R d each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R e and R f each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2A.", "[14] In the compound according to [13], in Formula 2A, Z 6 and Z 7 may be nitrogen atoms.", "In this specification, parts of respective formulae may be expressed as a rational formula for understanding of chemical structures of compounds.", "According to this, in the respective formulae, partial structures are called (substituent) groups, ions, atoms, and the like, but in this specification, the partial structures may represent element groups or elements which constitute (substituent) groups or ions represented by the formulae in addition to the (substituent) groups, the ions, the atoms, and the like.", "In this specification, with regard to expression of compounds (including a complex and a dye), the expression is also used to indicate salts of the compounds and ions of the compounds in addition to the compounds.", "In addition, the compounds include compounds of which a partial structure is changed in a range exhibiting a target effect.", "In addition, with regard to compounds for which substitution or non-substitution is not specified, the compounds also include compounds which have an arbitrary substituent group in a range exhibiting a desired effect.", "This is also true of substituent groups, linking groups, and the like (hereinafter, referred to as “substituent groups and the like”).", "In this specification, in a case where a plurality of substituent groups and the like expressed using specific symbols or a plurality of substituent groups and the like are simultaneously defined, the respective substituent groups and the like may be identical to or different from each other unless otherwise stated.", "This is also true of definition of the number of substituent groups and the like.", "In addition, in a case of approaching each other (particularly, in a case of being close to each other), the plurality of substituent groups and the like may be bonded to each other to form a ring unless otherwise stated.", "In addition, rings, for example, alicycles, aromatic rings, and hetero rings may be additionally fused together to form a fused ring.", "In this specification, numerical ranges represented by using “to” include ranges including numerical values before and after “to” as the lower limit and the upper limit.", "According to the aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a photoelectric conversion element in which a moisture resistance variation is suppressed, and a solar cell including the photoelectric conversion element." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation Application of PCT Application No.", "PCT/JP2016/071423, filed Jul.", "21, 2016, and based upon and claiming the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Applications No.", "2015-144420, filed Jul.", "21, 2015; and No.", "2016-046252, filed Mar.", "9, 2016, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion element, a solar cell, and a compound.", "2.Description of the Related Art Photoelectric conversion elements are used in a variety of optical sensors, copiers, solar cells, and the like.", "It is expected that solar cells will be actively put into practical use as cells using non-exhaustible solar energy.", "Examples of the type of the solar cells include a silicon type, a dye sensitized type, an organic thin film, and the like.", "Among these, research and development of dye sensitized solar cells, in which an organic dye, a Ru bipyridyl complex, or the like is used as a sensitizer, are actively in progress, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency thereof reaches approximately 11%.", "Meanwhile, in recent years, there have been reported research results indicating that solar cells using a metal halide as a compound (hereinafter, also referred to as “perovskite compound” or “perovskite-type light absorbing agent”) having a perovskite-type crystal structure are capable of achieving relatively high photoelectric conversion efficiency, and the solar cells attract attention.", "For example, a solar cell using a compound having a perovskite-type crystal structure of CH3NH3PbI2Cl, and a hole transporting material is described in Science 338, 2012, p. 643 to 647.In addition, a solar cell using an A-D-A-type compound that is a composite of an acceptor (A) and a donor (D) as a hole transporting material'is described in J.", "Mater.", "Chem.", "A, 2015, 3, p. 11940 to 11947, and Energy Environ.", "Sci., 2014, 7, p. 2981 to 2985.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a photoelectric conversion element or a solar cell which uses a perovskite compound, constant achievement is attained in an improvement of photoelectric conversion efficiency.", "However, the photoelectric conversion element or the solar cell which uses the perovskite compound has attracted attention in recent years, and little is known about battery performance other than photoelectric conversion efficiency.", "The photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell are required to have durability capable of maintaining initial performance in a field circumstance in which the photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell are actually used in addition to high photoelectric conversion efficiency.", "However, it is known that the perovskite compound is easily damaged under a high-humidity environment or a high-humidity and heat environment.", "Actually, in a photoelectric conversion element or a solar cell which uses the perovskite compound as a light absorbing agent, photoelectric conversion efficiency greatly deteriorates under the high-humidity environment or the high-humidity and heat environment in many cases.", "In addition, a problem of a moisture resistance variation is also pointed out.", "With regard to a cause for generation of the variation in the moisture resistance, it is assumed that the perovskite compound is decomposed due to intrusion of water from a defect in an interface between the perovskite compound and the hole transporting material or moisture that is contained in the hole transporting material.", "In J.", "Mater.", "Chem.", "A, 2015, 3, p. 11940 to 11947, and Energy Environ.", "Sci., 2014, 7, p. 2981 to 2985, an A-D-A type hole transporting material that does not uses a hydrophilic additive (LiTFSI and the like) is used.", "From a result obtained through extensive study made by the present inventors, it could be understood that the moisture resistance variation can be suppressed to a certain extent in a case of using the hole transporting material, but the suppression is not sufficient.", "The reason for this is considered to be because it is difficult to suppress intrusion of water from a defect in a material interface and the like.", "The invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a photoelectric conversion element which uses a perovskite compound as a light absorbing agent in a photosensitive layer and in which a moisture resistance variation is suppressed.", "In addition, another object of the invention is to provide a solar cell including the photoelectric conversion element.", "In addition, still another object of the invention is to provide a new compound that is appropriately used in the photoelectric conversion element.", "The present inventors have obtained the following finding.", "In a photoelectric conversion element or a solar cell which uses a perovskite compound as a light absorbing agent, as a hole transporting material, in a case of using an A-D-A-type compound that is a composite of an acceptor (A) and a donor (D), and has a ring structure including two kinds of specific hetero atoms in a ring at D (donor) or a linking portion between D (donor) and A (acceptor), a moisture resistance variation is improved.", "The invention is accomplished by further repeating examinations on the basis of the finding.", "That is, according to an aspect, the above-described problem has been solved by the following means.", "[1] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a photoelectric conversion element comprising, at least: a first electrode that includes a conductive support; a photosensitive layer that contains a light absorbing agent; a hole transport layer that contains an organic hole transporting material; and a second electrode, at least one of the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer being provided on the conductive support to constitute the first electrode in combination with the conductive support.", "The photosensitive layer includes at least a compound having a perovskite-type crystal structure that includes a cation of an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or a cationic organic group A, a cation of a metal atom M other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table, and an anion of an anionic atom or atomic group X as the light absorbing agent.", "The hole transport layer includes at least a compound represented by the following Formula 1 as the organic hole transporting material.", "In Formula 1, D is a group that is represented by the following Formula D-1 or D-2, L1 and L2 each independently represent a linking group, A1 and A2 each independently represent a hetero ring, a hydrocarbon ring, or a group having an acceptor property, na represents an integer of 1 to 4, nb and nc each independently represent an integer of 0 to 5, a plurality of D's are the same as each other or different from each other when na represents an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of L1's are the same as each other or different from each other when nb represents an integer of 2 to 5, and a plurality of L2's are the same as each other or different from each other when nc represents an integer of 2 to 5.In Formula D-1, X1 and X2 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom, Z1 and Z2 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, A represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-1, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. In Formula D-2, X3 and X4 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom, Z3 and Z4 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, B represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-2, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. Provided that, in Formula 1, in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-1, at least one of Z1 or Z2 is a nitrogen atom, or in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-2, at least one of Z3 or Z4 is a nitrogen atom, or nb is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 includes any one of a thiazole ring, an oxazole ring, and a selenazole ring, or nc is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L2 includes any one of the thiazole ring, the oxazole ring, and the selenazole ring.", "[2] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [1], in Formula 1, the group, which is represented by A1 and A2 and has an acceptor property, may be a group that is represented by any one of the following Formula A-1, Formula A-2, and Formula A-3, in Formula A-1, Y1 represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or NRc, and Rc represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R2 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D, in Formula A-2, R3 and R4 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and at least one of R3 or R4 represents an electron-attracting group, R′ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D, in Formula A-3, X represents a hydrocarbon ring or a hetero ring in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is capable of being substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, and —C(═CReRf)—, Rd represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring include a substituent group, the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring may include a substituent group, R″ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. [3] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [1] or [2], X1 and X2 in Formula D-1, and X3 and X4 in Formula D-2 may be sulfur atoms.", "[4] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [3], D in Formula 1 may be a group that is represented by any one of the following Formulae D-3, D-4, D-5, and D-6, in Formula D-3, X6 and X7 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z9 and Z10 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R7 and R8 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n1 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n1 is 1 or 2, a plurality of Re's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R8's are the same as each other or different from each other, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, in Formula D-4, X8 and X9 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z11 and Z12 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R9 and R10 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n2 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n2 is 1 or 2, a plurality of R9's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R10's are the same as each other or different from each other, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, in Formula D-5, X10 and X11 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z13 and Z14 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Xa represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CRgRh, NR1, or SiRjRk, and Rg, Rh, R1, Rj, and Rk each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D, in Formula D-6, X12 and X13 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom, Z15 and Z16 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Xb represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CRgRh, NR1, or SiRjRk, and Rg, Rh, R1, and Rk each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. [5] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [4], in Formula 1, nb may be an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 may be a linking group represented by the following Formula (X), or nc may be an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L2 may be a linking group represented by the following Formula (X), in Formula (X), Z5 represents a nitrogen atom or CR1, and R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R11 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. [6] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [5], in Formula 1, at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 and nc pieces of L2 may be a linking group represented by Formula (X), and Z5 in Formula (X) may be a nitrogen atom.", "[7] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [6], in Formula 1, at least one of A1 or A2 may be a hydrocarbon ring or a hetero ring which includes an electron-attracting group as a substituent group, or in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRo)—, and —C(═CRpRq)—, here, Ro represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Rp and Rq each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring.", "[8] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [2] to [7], in Formula 1, at least one of A1 or A2 may be a group that is represented by any one of Formula A-1, Formula A-2, and Formula A-3.", "[9] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [8], in Formula 1, at least one of A1 or A2 is a group that is represented by the following Formula A-4 or Formula A-5, in Formula A-4, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D, in Formula A-5, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—, here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. [10] In the photoelectric conversion element according to [1], the compound represented by Formula 1 may be a compound represented by the following Formula 2, in Formula 2, Z5, Z6, Z7, and Z8 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRn, and Rn represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R22, R23, R24, and R25 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n4 and n5 each independently represent an integer of 0 to 4, in a case where n4 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z5's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R22's are the same as each other or different from each other, in a case where n5 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z8's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R24's are the same as each other or different from each other, A3 and A4 each independently represent a group represented by the following Formula A-4′ or A-5′, provided that, in Formula 2, at least one of Z6 or Z7 is a nitrogen atom, or n4 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z5 is a nitrogen atom, or n5 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z8 is a nitrogen atom, in Formula A-4′, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2, in Formula A-5′, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—, here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a sub stituent group, Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2.", "[11] In the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [10], Z1 and Z2 in Formula D-1, Z3 and Z4 in Formula D-2, Z6 and Z7 in Formula (2), 4 and Z10 in Formula D-3, Zn and Z12 in Formula D-4, Z13 and Z14 in Formula D-5, or Z15 and Z16 in Formula D-6 may be nitrogen atoms.", "[12] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a solar cell comprising the photoelectric conversion element according to any one of [1] to [11].", "[13] According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a compound represented by the following Formula 2A, In Formula 2A, Z5, Z6, Z7, and Z8 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRn, and Rn represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, R22, R23, R24, and R25 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, n4 and n5 each independently represents an integer of 0 to 4, in a case where n4 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z5's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R22's are the same as each other or different from each other, in a case where n5 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z8's are the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R24's are the same as each other or different from each other, A5 and A6 each independently represent a group represented by the following Formula A-5′, provided that, in Formula 2A, at least one of Z6 or Z7 is a nitrogen atom, or n4 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z5 is a nitrogen atom, or n5 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z8 is a nitrogen atom, in Formula A-5′, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is replaced by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—, here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hetero ring includes a substituent group as necessary, and * represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2A.", "[14] In the compound according to [13], in Formula 2A, Z6 and Z7 may be nitrogen atoms.", "In this specification, parts of respective formulae may be expressed as a rational formula for understanding of chemical structures of compounds.", "According to this, in the respective formulae, partial structures are called (substituent) groups, ions, atoms, and the like, but in this specification, the partial structures may represent element groups or elements which constitute (substituent) groups or ions represented by the formulae in addition to the (substituent) groups, the ions, the atoms, and the like.", "In this specification, with regard to expression of compounds (including a complex and a dye), the expression is also used to indicate salts of the compounds and ions of the compounds in addition to the compounds.", "In addition, the compounds include compounds of which a partial structure is changed in a range exhibiting a target effect.", "In addition, with regard to compounds for which substitution or non-substitution is not specified, the compounds also include compounds which have an arbitrary substituent group in a range exhibiting a desired effect.", "This is also true of substituent groups, linking groups, and the like (hereinafter, referred to as “substituent groups and the like”).", "In this specification, in a case where a plurality of substituent groups and the like expressed using specific symbols or a plurality of substituent groups and the like are simultaneously defined, the respective substituent groups and the like may be identical to or different from each other unless otherwise stated.", "This is also true of definition of the number of substituent groups and the like.", "In addition, in a case of approaching each other (particularly, in a case of being close to each other), the plurality of substituent groups and the like may be bonded to each other to form a ring unless otherwise stated.", "In addition, rings, for example, alicycles, aromatic rings, and hetero rings may be additionally fused together to form a fused ring.", "In this specification, numerical ranges represented by using “to” include ranges including numerical values before and after “to” as the lower limit and the upper limit.", "According to the aspects of the invention, it is possible to provide a photoelectric conversion element in which a moisture resistance variation is suppressed, and a solar cell including the photoelectric conversion element.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1A is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a preferred aspect of a photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "FIG.", "1B is an enlarged view of a cross-sectional region b in FIG.", "1A.", "FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating another preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating still another preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating still another preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "FIG.", "5 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating still another preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS <<Photoelectric Conversion Element>> A photoelectric conversion element of the invention includes at least a first electrode that includes a conductive support, a photosensitive layer that contains a light absorbing agent, a hole transport layer that contains an organic hole transporting material, and a second electrode.", "Here, at least one of the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer is provided on the conductive support to constitute the first electrode in combination with the conductive support.", "In the invention, the aspect in which the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer is provided on the conductive support includes an aspect in which the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer is provided (directly provided) to be in contact with a surface of the conductive support, and an aspect in which the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer is provided on an upper side of the surface of the conductive support through another layer.", "In the aspect in which the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer is provided on the upper side of the surface of the conductive support through another layer, as the other layer that is provided between the conductive support and the photosensitive layer or the hole transport layer, there is no particular limitation as long as the other layer does not deteriorate a battery performance of a solar cell.", "Examples of the other layer include a porous layer, a blocking layer, an electron transport layer, and the like.", "In the invention, examples of the aspect in which the photosensitive layer is provided on the upper side of the surface of the conductive support through another layer includes an aspect in which the photosensitive layer is provided on a surface of the porous layer in a thin film shape (refer to Fig.", "lA and FIG.", "1B), an aspect in which the photosensitive layer is provided on the surface of the porous layer in a thick film shape (refer to FIG.", "2), an aspect in which the photosensitive layer is provided on a surface of the blocking layer in a thin film shape or a thick film shape (refer to FIG.", "3), an aspect in which the photosensitive layer is provided on a surface of the electron transport layer in a thin film shape or a thick film shape (refer to FIG.", "4), an aspect in which the photosensitive layer is provided on a surface of the hole transport layer in a thin film shape or a thick film shape (refer to FIG.", "5), and the like.", "In the aspect illustrated in FIG.", "5, the hole transport layer is provided to be contact with the surface of the conductive support.", "The photosensitive layer may be provided in a linear shape or in a dispersed pattern, but is preferably provided in a film shape.", "In the photoelectric conversion element of the invention, a configuration other than a configuration defined in the invention is not particularly limited, and it is possible to employ a configuration that is known with respect to the photoelectric conversion element and a solar cell.", "Respective layers, which constitute the photoelectric conversion element of the invention, are designed in correspondence with the purposes thereof, and may be formed, for example, in a monolayer or multilayers.", "For example, the porous layer may be provided between the conductive support and the photosensitive layer (refer to Fig.", "lA and FIG.", "2).", "Hereinafter, description will be given of preferred aspects of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "In FIG.", "1A, FIG.", "1B, and FIG.", "2 to FIG.", "4, the same reference numeral represents the same constituent element (member).", "Furthermore, in FIG.", "1A and FIG.", "2, the size of fine particles which form a porous layer 12 is illustrated in a highlighted manner.", "These fine particles are preferably packed with each other (are vapor-deposited or in close contact with each other) in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with respect to a conductive support 11 to form a porous structure.", "In this specification, simple description of “photoelectric conversion element 10” represents photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10D unless otherwise stated.", "This is also true of a system (hereinafter, referred to as “system”) 100 that uses a solar cell and a first electrode 1.In addition, simple description of “photosensitive layer 13” represents photosensitive layers 13A to 13C unless otherwise stated.", "Similarly, description of “hole transport layer 3” represents hole transport layers 3A and 3B unless otherwise stated.", "Examples of a preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention include the photoelectric conversion element 10A illustrated in FIG.", "1A.", "A system 100A illustrated in FIG.", "1A is a system in which the photoelectric conversion element 10A is applied to a cell that allows operation means M (for example, an electric motor) to operate with an external circuit 6.The photoelectric conversion element 10A includes a first electrode 1A, a second electrode 2, and a hole transport layer 3A.", "The first electrode 1A includes a conductive support 11 including a support 11a and a transparent electrode 11b, a porous layer 12, and a photosensitive layer 13A that is provided as a perovskite-type light absorbing agent on a surface of the porous layer 12 as schematically illustrated in FIG.", "1B in which a cross-sectional region b in FIG.", "1A is enlarged.", "A blocking layer 14 is provided on the transparent electrode lib, and the porous layer 12 is formed on the blocking layer 14.As described above, in the photoelectric conversion element 10A including the porous layer 12, it is assumed that a surface area of the photosensitive layer 13A increases, and thus charge separation and charge migration efficiency are improved.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10B illustrated in FIG.", "2 schematically illustrates a preferred aspect in which the photosensitive layer 13A of the photoelectric conversion element 10A illustrated in FIG.", "1A is provided to be thick.", "In the photoelectric conversion element 10B, a hole transport layer 3B is provided to be thin.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10B is different from the photoelectric conversion element 10A illustrated in FIG.", "1A in the film thickness of the photosensitive layer 13B and the hole transport layer 3B, but the photoelectric conversion element 10B has the same configuration as that of the photoelectric conversion element 10A except for the difference.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10C illustrated in FIG.", "3 schematically illustrates another preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10C is different from the photoelectric conversion element 10B illustrated in FIG.", "2 in that the porous layer 12 is not provided, but the photoelectric conversion element 10C has the same configuration as that of the photoelectric conversion element 10B except for the difference.", "That is, in the photoelectric conversion element 10C, the photosensitive layer 13C is formed on the surface of the blocking layer 14 in a thick film shape.", "In the photoelectric conversion element 10C, the hole transport layer 3B may be provided to be thick in the same manner as in the hole transport layer 3A illustrated in FIG.", "1A.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10D illustrated in FIG.", "4 schematically illustrates still another preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10D is different from the photoelectric conversion element 10C illustrated in FIG.", "3 in that an electron transport layer 15 is provided instead of the blocking layer 14, but the photoelectric conversion element 10D has the same configuration as that of the photoelectric conversion element 10C except for the difference.", "The first electrode 1D includes the conductive support 11, and the electron transport layer 15 and the photosensitive layer 13C which are sequentially formed on the conductive support 11.The photoelectric conversion element 10D is preferable when considering that the respective layers can be formed from an organic material.", "According to this, the productivity of the photoelectric conversion element is improved, and thickness reduction or flexibilization becomes possible.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10E illustrated in FIG.", "5 schematically illustrates still another preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "A system 100E including the photoelectric conversion element 10E is a system that is applied to battery use in the same manner as in the system 100A.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10E includes a first electrode 1E, a second electrode 2, and an electron transport layer 4 that is provided between the first electrode 1E and the second electrode 2.The first electrode 1E includes the conductive support 11, and a hole transport layer 16 and the photosensitive layer 13C which are formed on the conductive support 11 in this order.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10E is preferable when considering that respective layers can be formed from an organic material in the same manner as in the photoelectric conversion element 10D.", "In the invention, a system 100 to which the photoelectric conversion element 10 is applied functions as a solar cell as follows.", "Specifically, in the photoelectric conversion element 10, light that is transmitted through the conductive support 11, or the second electrode 2 and is incident to the photosensitive layer 13 excites a light absorbing agent.", "The excited light absorbing agent includes high-energy electrons and can emit the electrons.", "The light absorbing agent, which emits high-energy electrons, becomes an oxidized substance.", "In the photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10D, electrons emitted from the light absorbing agent migrate between a plurality of the light absorbing agents and reach the conductive support 11.The electrons which have reached the conductive support 11 work in the external circuit 6, and then return to the photosensitive layer 13 through the second electrode 2 and the hole transport layer 3.The light absorbing agent is reduced by the electrons which have returned to the photosensitive layer 13.As described above, in the photoelectric conversion element 10, a cycle of excitation of the light absorbing agent and electron migration is repeated, and thus the system 100 functions as a solar cell.", "In the photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10D, a method of allowing an electron to flow from the photosensitive layer 13 to the conductive support 11 is different depending on presence or absence of the porous layer 12, a kind thereof, and the like.", "In the photoelectric conversion element 10 of the invention, electron conduction, in which electrons migrate between the light absorbing agents, occurs.", "Accordingly, in a case where the porous layer 12 is provided, the porous layer 12 can be formed from an insulating substance other than semiconductors in the related art.", "In a case where the porous layer 12 is formed from a semiconductor, electron conduction, in which electrons migrate at the inside of semiconductor fine particles of the porous layer 12 or between the semiconductor fine particles, also occurs.", "On the other hand, in a case where the porous layer 12 is formed from an insulating substance, electron conduction in the porous layer 12 does not occur.", "In a case where the porous layer 12 is formed from the insulating substance, in a case of using fine particles of an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as the fine particles of the insulating substance, a relatively high electromotive force (VOC) is obtained.", "Even in a case where the blocking layer 14 as the other layer is formed from a conductor or a semiconductor, electron conduction in the blocking layer 14 occurs.", "In addition, even in the electron transport layer 15, electron conductor occurs.", "The photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell of the invention are not limited to the preferred aspects, and configurations and the like of the respective aspects may be appropriately combined between the respective aspects in a range not departing from the gist of the invention.", "In the invention, materials and respective members which are used in the photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell can be prepared by using a typical method except for materials and members which are defined in the invention.", "For example, with regard to a perovskite sensitized solar cell, for example, reference can be made Science 338, 2012, p. 643 to 647, J.", "Am.", "Chem.", "Soc., 2009, 131(17), p. 6050 to 6051, and Science, 338, p. 643 to 647(2012).", "In addition, reference can be made to materials and respective members which are used in a dye sensitized solar cell.", "With regard to dye sensitized solar cells, for example, reference can be made to JP2001-291534A, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,927,721A, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,684,537A, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,084,365A, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,350,644A, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,463,057A, U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,525,440A, JP1995-249790A (JP-H7-249790A), JP2004-220974A, and JP2008-135197A.", "Hereinafter, description will be given of preferred aspects of main members and compounds in the photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell of the invention.", "<First Electrode 1> The first electrode 1 includes the conductive support 11, and at least one of the photosensitive layer 13 or the hole transport layer 16, and functions as an operation electrode in the photoelectric conversion element 10.According to an aspect, it is preferable that the first electrode 1 includes at least the photosensitive layer 13 between the photosensitive layer 13 and the hole transport layer 16.In the aspect, it is preferable that the first electrode 1 includes at least one of the porous layer 12, the blocking layer 14, the electron transport layer 15, or the hole transport layer 16 in addition to the conductive support 11 and the photosensitive layer 13 as illustrated in FIG.", "1A, and FIG.", "2 to FIG.", "5.It is preferable that the first electrode 1 includes at least the blocking layer 14 from the viewpoint of short-circuit prevention, and more preferably the porous layer 12 and the blocking layer 14 from the viewpoints of light absorption efficiency and short-circuit prevention.", "In addition, it is preferable that the first electrode 1 includes the electron transport layer 15 and the hole transport layer 16 which are formed from an organic material from the viewpoints of an improvement in productivity of the photoelectric conversion element, thickness reduction, and flexibilization.", "—Conductive Support 11— The conductive support 11 is not particularly limited as long as the conductive support 11 has conductivity and can support the photosensitive layer 13 and the like.", "It is preferable that the conductive support 11 has a configuration formed from a conductive material, for example, a metal, or a configuration including the support 11a formed from glass or plastic and the transparent electrode 11b formed on a surface of the support 11a as a conductive film.", "Among these, as illustrated in FIG.", "1A, and FIG.", "2 to FIG.", "4, it is more preferable that the conductive support 11 has a configuration in which a conductive metal oxide is applied to the surface of the support 11a formed from glass or plastic to form the transparent electrode 1 lb.", "Examples of the support 11a formed from plastic include a transparent polymer film described in Paragraph 0153 of JP2001-291534A.", "As a material that forms the support 11a, it is possible to use ceramic (for example, refer to JP2005-135902A) and a conductive resin (for example, refer to JP2001-160425A) in addition to glass or plastic.", "As a metal oxide, a tin oxide (TO) is preferable, and an indium-tin oxide (a tin-doped indium oxide; ITO) or a tin oxide doped with fluorine such as a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) is more preferable.", "At this time, the amount of the metal oxide applied is preferably 0.1 to 100 g per square meter of a surface area of the support 11a.", "In a case of using the conductive support 11, it is preferable that light is incident from a support 11a side.", "It is preferable that the conductive support 11 is substantially transparent.", "In the invention, “substantially transparent” represents that transmittance of light (having a wavelength of 300 to 1200 nm) is 10% or greater, preferably 50% or greater, and more preferably 80% or greater.", "The thickness of the support 11a and the conductive support 11 is not particularly limited and is set to an appropriate thickness.", "For example, the thickness is preferably 0.01 μm to 10 mm, more preferably 0.1 μm to 5 mm, and still preferably 0.3 μm to 4 mm.", "In a case of providing the transparent electrode 11b, the film thickness of the transparent electrode 11b is not particularly limited.", "For example, the film thickness is preferably 0.01 to 30 μm, more preferably 0.03 to 25 μm, and still more preferably 0.05 to 20 μm.", "The conductive support 11 or the support 11a may have a light management function on the surface.", "For example, the conductive support 11 or the support 11a may include an antireflection film formed by alternately laminating a high-refractive-index film and a low-refractive-index oxide film on the surface of the conductive support 11 or the support 11a as described in JP2003-123859A or may have a light guide function as described in JP2002-260746A.", "—Blockig Layer 14— In the invention, as in the photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10C, the blocking layer 14 is preferably provided on the surface of the transparent electrode 11b, that is, between the conductive support 11, and the porous layer 12, the photosensitive layer 13, the hole transport layer 3, or the like.", "In the photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell, for example, in a case where the photosensitive layer 13 or the hole transport layer 3, and the transparent electrode 11b and the like are electrically connected to each other, a reverse current is generated.", "The blocking layer 14 plays a role of preventing the reverse current.", "The blocking layer 14 is also referred to as a “short-circuit prevention layer”.", "The blocking layer 14 may be allowed to function as a stage that carries the light absorbing agent.", "The blocking layer 14 may be provided even in a case where the photoelectric conversion element includes the electron transport layer.", "For example, in a case of the photoelectric conversion element 10D, the blocking layer 14 may be provided between the conductive support 11 and the electron transport layer 15.The material that forms the blocking layer 14 is not particularly limited as long as the material can perform the above-described function, and it is preferable that the material is a material through which visible light is transmitted, and which has insulating properties with respect to the conductive support 11 (transparent electrode 11b ) and the like.", "Specifically, “material having insulating properties with respect to the conductive support 11 (transparent electrode 11b )” represents a compound (n-type semiconductor compound) having a conduction band energy level that is equal to or higher than a conduction band energy level of a material that forms the conductive support 11 (a metal oxide that forms the transparent electrode 11b ) and is lower than a conduction band energy level of a material that constitutes the porous layer 12 or a ground state energy level of the light absorbing agent.", "Examples of a material that forms the blocking layer 14 include silicon oxide, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, calcium carbonate, cesium carbonate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyurethane, and the like.", "In addition, the material may be a material that is typically used as a photoelectric conversion material, and examples thereof include titanium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide, niobium oxide, tungsten oxide, and the like.", "Among these, titanium oxide, tin oxide, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, and the like are preferred.", "It is preferable that the film thickness of the blocking layer 14 is 0.001 to 10 μm, more preferably 0.005 to 1 μm, and still more preferably 0.01 to 0.1 μm.", "In the invention, the film thicknesses of the respective layers can be measured by observing a cross-section of the photoelectric conversion element 10 by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the like.", "—Porous Layer 12— In the invention, as in the photoelectric conversion elements 10A and 10B, the porous layer 12 is preferably provided on the transparent electrode 11b.", "In a case where the photoelectric conversion element 10 includes the blocking layer 14, the porous layer 12 is preferably formed on the blocking layer 14.The porous layer 12 is a layer that functions as a stage that carries the photosensitive layer 13 on the surface.", "In a solar cell, so as to increase the light absorption efficiency, it is preferable to increase a surface area of at least a portion that receives light such as solar light, and it is preferable to increase the surface area of the porous layer 12 as a whole.", "It is preferable that the porous layer 12 is a fine particle layer that includes pores and is formed through deposition or close contact of fine particles of a material that forms the porous layer 12.The porous layer 12 may be a fine particle layer that is formed through deposition of two or more kinds of fine particles.", "In a case where the porous layer 12 is a fine particle layer that includes pores, it is possible to increase the amount (adsorption amount) of the carried light absorbing agent.", "It is preferable to increase the surface area of individual fine particles which constitute the porous layer 12 so as to increase the surface area of the porous layer 12.In the invention, in a state in which the fine particles are applied to the conductive support 11 and the like, it is preferable that the surface area of the fine particles which form the porous layer 12 is 10 or more times a projected area, and more preferably 100 or more times the projected area.", "The upper limit thereof is not particularly limited.", "Typically, the upper limit is approximately 5000 times the projected area.", "With regard to a particle size of the fine particles which form the porous layer 12, an average particle size, which uses a diameter when converting the projected area into a circle, is preferably 0.001 to 1 μm as primary particles.", "In a case where the porous layer 12 is formed by using a dispersion of fine particles, the average particle size of the fine particles is preferably 0.01 to 100 μm in terms of an average particle size of the dispersion.", "For the material that forms the porous layer 12, there is no particular limitation with respect to conductivity.", "The material may be an insulating substance (insulating material), a conductive material, or a semiconductor (semi-conductive material).", "As the material that forms the porous layer 12, it is possible to use, for example, chalcogenides (for example, an oxide, a sulfide, a selenide, and the like) of metals, compounds having a perovskite-type crystal structure (excluding a perovskite compound that uses a light absorbing agent), oxides of silicon (for example, silicon dioxide, and zeolite), or carbon nanotubes (including carbon nanowires, carbon nanorods, and the like).", "The chalcogenides of a metal are not particularly limited, and preferred examples thereof include respective oxides of titanium, tin, zinc, tungsten, zirconium, hafnium, strontium, indium, cerium, yttrium, lanthanum, vanadium, niobium, aluminum, and tantalum, cadmium sulfide, cadmium selenide, and the like.", "Examples of the crystal structure of the chalcogenides of metals include an anatase-type crystal structure, a brookite-type crystal structure, and a rutile-type crystal structure, and the anatase-type crystal structure and the brookite-type crystal structure are preferable.", "The compound having a perovskite-type crystal structure is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a transition metal oxide and the like.", "Examples of the transition metal oxide include strontium titanate, calcium titanate, barium titanate, zinc titanate, barium zirconate, barium stannate, zinc zirconate, strontium zirconate, strontium tantalate, potassium niobate, bismuth ferrate, barium strontium titanate, lanthanum barium titanate, calcium titanate, sodium titanate, and bismuth titanate.", "Among these, strontium titanate, calcium titanate, and the like are preferable.", "The carbon nanotubes have a shape obtained by rounding off a carbon film (graphene sheet) into a tubular shape.", "The carbon nanotubes are classified into a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) obtained by winding one graphene sheet in a cylindrical shape, a double-walled carbon nanotube (DWCNT) obtained by winding two graphene sheets in a concentric shape, and a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) obtained by winding a plurality of graphene sheets in a concentric shape.", "As the porous layer 12, any carbon nanotubes can be used without any particular limitation.", "Among these, as the material that forms the porous layer 12, an oxide of titanium, tin, zinc, zirconium, aluminum, or silicon, or a carbon nanotube is preferable, and titanium oxide or aluminum oxide is more preferable.", "The porous layer 12 may be formed from at least one kind of the chalcogenides of metals, the compound having a perovskite-type crystal structure, the oxide of silicon, or the carbon nanotube, or may be formed from a plurality of kinds thereof.", "The film thickness of the porous layer 12 is not particularly limited.", "The thickness is typically in a range of 0.05 to 100 μm, and preferably in a range of 0.1 to 100 μm.", "In a case of being used as a solar cell, the film thickness is preferably 0.1 to 50 μm, and more preferably 0.2 to 30 μm.", "—Electron Transport Layer 15— In the invention, as in the photoelectric conversion element 10D, the electron transport layer 15 is preferably provided on the surface of the transparent electrode 11b.", "The electron transport layer 15 has a function of transporting electrons, which are generated in the photosensitive layer 13, to the conductive support 11.The electron transport layer 15 is formed from an electron transporting material capable of exhibiting the above-described function.", "The electron transporting material is not particularly limited, and an organic material (organic electron transporting material) is preferable.", "Examples of the organic electron transporting material include fullerene compounds such as [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM), perylene compounds such as perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI), low-molecular-weight compounds such as tetracyano-quinodimethane (TCNQ), high-molecular-weight compounds, and the like.", "Although not particularly limited, it is preferable that the film thickness of the electron transport layer 15 is 0.001 to 10 μm, and more preferably 0.01 to 1 μm.", "—Hole Transport Layer 16— In the invention, as in the photoelectric conversion element 10E, the hole transport layer 16 may be provided on the surface of the transparent electrode 11b.", "The hole transport layer 16 is the same as the hole transport layer 3 to be described later except for a different formation position.", "—Photosensitive layer (Light Absorbing Layer) 13— The photosensitive layer 13 is preferably provided on the surface (including an inner surface of a concave portion in a case where a surface on which the photosensitive layer 13 is provided is uneven) of each of the porous layer 12 (in the photoelectric conversion elements 10A and 10B), the blocking layer 14 (in the photoelectric conversion element 10C), the electron transport layer 15 (in the photoelectric conversion element 10D), and the hole transport layer 16 (in the photoelectric conversion element 10E).", "In the invention, the photosensitive layer 13 may contain at least one kind of perovskite compound to be described later, or two or more kinds of perovskite compounds as the light absorbing agent.", "In addition, the photosensitive layer 13 may include a light absorbing agent other than the perovskite compound in combination with the perovskite compound as a light absorbing agent.", "Examples of the light absorbing agent other than the perovskite compound include a metal complex dye, and an organic dye.", "At this time, a ratio between the perovskite compound and the light absorbing agent other than the perovskite compound is not particularly limited.", "The photosensitive layer 13 may be a monolayer or a laminated layer of two or more layers.", "In a case where the photosensitive layer 13 has the laminated layer structure of two or more layers, the laminated layer structure may be a laminated layer structure obtained by laminating layers formed from light absorbing agents different from each other, or a laminated layer structure including an interlayer including a hole transporting material between a photosensitive layer and a photosensitive layer.", "The aspect in which the photosensitive layer 13 is provided on the conductive support 11 is as described above.", "The photosensitive layer 13 is preferably provided on a surface of each of the layers in order for an excited electron to flow to the conductive support 11 or the second electrode 2.At this time, the photosensitive layer 13 may be provided on the entirety or a part of the surface of each of the layers.", "The film thickness of the photosensitive layer 13 is appropriately set in correspondence with an aspect in which the photosensitive layer 13 is provided on the conductive support 11, and is not particularly limited.", "For example, the film thickness is preferably 0.001 to 100 μm, more preferably 0.01 to 10 μm, and still more preferably 0.01 to 5 μm.", "In a case where the porous layer 12 is provided, a total film thickness including the film thickness of the porous layer 12 is preferably 0.01 μm or greater, more preferably 0.05 μm or greater, still more preferably 0.1 μm or greater, and still more preferably 0.3 μm or greater.", "In addition, the total film thickness is preferably 100 μm or less, more preferably 50 or less, and still more preferably 30 μm or less.", "The total film thickness may be set to a range in which the above-described values are appropriately combined.", "Here, as illustrated in FIG.", "1A and FIG.", "1B, in a case where the photosensitive layer 13 has a thin film shape, the film thickness of the photosensitive layer 13 represents a distance between an interface with the porous layer 12, and an interface with the hole transport layer 3 to be described later along a direction that is perpendicular to the surface of the porous layer 12.In the photoelectric conversion element 10, a total film thickness of the porous layer 12, the photosensitive layer 13, and the hole transport layer 3 is not particularly limited.", "For example, the total thickness is preferably 0.01 μm or greater, more preferably 0.05 μm or greater, still more preferably 0.1 μm or greater, and still more preferably 0.5 μm or greater.", "In addition, the total film thickness is preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 50 μm or less, still more preferably 30 μm or less, and still more preferably 5 μm or less.", "The total film thickness can be set to a range in which the above-described values are appropriately combined.", "In the invention, in a case where the photosensitive layer is provided in a thick film shape (in the photosensitive layer 13B and 13C), the light absorbing agent that is included in the photosensitive layer may function as a hole transporting material.", "The amount of the perovskite compound used may be set to an amount capable of covering at least a part of a surface of the first electrode 1, and preferably an amount capable of covering the entirety of the surface.", "[Light Absorbing Agent of Photosensitive Layer] The photosensitive layer 13 contains at least one kind of perovskite compound (perovskite-type light absorbing agent) having a perovskite-type crystal structure that includes “an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or a cationic organic group A”, a metal atom M other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table”, and “an anionic atom or atomic group X” as the light absorbing agent.", "In the perovskite compound, the element of Group 1 in the periodic table or the cationic organic group A, the metal atom M, and the anionic atom or atomic group X exists as individual constituent ions of a cation (for convenience, may be referred to as “cation A”), a metal cation (for convenience, may be referred to as “cation M”), and an anion (for convenience, may be referred to as “anion X”) in the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "In the invention, the cationic organic group represents an organic group having a property of becoming a cation in the perovskite-type crystal structure, and the anionic atom or atomic group represents an atom or atomic group that has a property of becoming an anion in the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "In the perovskite compound that is used in the invention, the cation A represents a cation of an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or an organic cation that is composed of a cationic organic group A.", "The cation A is preferably an organic cation.", "The cation of an element of Group 1 in the periodic table is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include cations (Li+, Na+, K+, and Cs+) of individual elements of lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and cesium (Cs), and the cation (Cs+) of cesium is more preferable.", "The organic cation is not particularly limited as long as the organic cation is a cation of an organic group having the above-described property, but an organic cation of a cationic organic group represented by the following Formula (1) is more preferable.", "R1a—NH3+ Formula (1): In Formula (1), R1a represents a substituent group.", "R1a is not particularly limited as long as R1a is an organic group, but an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aryl group, a heteroaryl group, or a group represented by the following Formula (2) is preferable.", "Among these, the alkyl group and a group represented by the following Formula (2) are more preferable.", "In Formula (2), Xa represents NR1c, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom.", "R1b and R1c each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "*** represents bonding with a nitrogen atom in Formula (1).", "In the invention, as the organic cation of the cationic organic group A, an organic ammonium cation (R1a—NH3+) composed of an ammonium cationic organic group A obtained through bonding between R1a and NH3 in Formula (1) is preferable.", "In a case where the organic ammonium cation can employ a resonance structure, the organic cation further includes a cation having the resonance structure in addition to the organic ammonium cation.", "For example, in a case where Xa is NH (R1c is a hydrogen atom) in a group represented by Formula (2), the organic cation also includes an organic amidinium cation that is one of a resonance structure of the organic ammonium cation in addition to the organic ammonium cation of the ammonium cationic organic group obtained through bonding between the group represented by Formula (2) and NH3.Examples of the organic amidinium cation composed of the amidinium cationic organic group include a cation represented by the following Formula (Aam).", "In this specification, the cation represented by the following Formula (Aam) may be noted as “R1bC(═NH)—NH3” for convenience.", "The alkyl group as R1a in Formula (1) is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, more preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and still more preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 3 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkyl group include methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, decyl, and the like.", "The cycloalkyl group as R1a is preferably a cycloalkyl group having 3 to 8 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include cyclopropyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, and the like.", "The alkenyl group as R1a is preferably an alkenyl group having 2 to 18 carbon atoms, and more preferably an alkenyl group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkenyl group include vinyl, allyl, butenyl, hexenyl, and the like.", "The alkynyl group as R1a is preferably an alkynyl group having 2 to 18 carbon atoms, and more preferably an alkynyl group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkynyl group include ethynyl, butynyl, hexynyl, and the like.", "The aryl group as R1a is preferably an aryl group having 6 to 14 carbon atoms, and more preferably an aryl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include phenyl.", "The heteroaryl group as R1a includes a group composed of an aromatic hetero ring alone, and a group composed of a condensed hetero ring obtained through condensing of another ring, for example, an aromatic ring, an aliphatic ring, or a hetero ring with the aromatic hetero ring.", "As the ring-constituting hetero atom that constitutes the aromatic hetero ring, a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom is preferable.", "In addition, with regard to the number of ring members of the aromatic hetero ring, three-membered to eight-membered rings are preferable, and a five-membered ring or a six-membered ring is more preferable.", "Examples of the five-membered aromatic hetero ring and the condensed hetero ring including the five-membered aromatic hetero ring include respective cyclic groups of a pyrrole ring, an imidazole ring, a pyrazole ring, an oxazole ring, a thiazole ring, a triazole ring, a furan ring, a thiophene ring, a benzimidazole ring, a benzoxazole ring, a benzothiazole ring, an indoline ring, and an indazole ring.", "In addition, examples of the six-membered aromatic hetero ring and the condensed hetero ring including the six-membered aromatic hetero ring include respective cyclic groups of a pyridine ring, a pyrimidine ring, a pyrazine ring, a triazine ring, a quinoline ring, and a quinazoline ring.", "In the group represented by Formula (2), Xa represents NR1c, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom, and NR1c is preferable as Xa.", "Here, R1c represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "R1c is preferably a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aryl group, or a heteroaryl group, and more preferably a hydrogen atom.", "R1b represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and is preferably a hydrogen atom.", "Examples of the substituent group that can be employed as R1b include an amino group, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aryl group, a heteroaryl group.", "An alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aryl group, and a heteroaryl group that can be respectively employed as R1b and R1c are the same as the respective groups of R1a, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Examples of the group represented by Formula (2) include a (thio)acyl group, a (thio)carbamoyl group, an imidoyl group, and an amidino group.", "Examples of the (thio)acyl group include an acyl group and a thioacyl group.", "The acyl group is preferably an acyl group having a total of 1 to 7 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include formyl, acetyl, propionyl, hexanoyl, and the like.", "The thioacyl group is preferably a thioacyl group having a total of 1 to 7 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include thioformyl, thioacetyl, thiopropionyl, and the like.", "Examples of the (thio)carbamoyl group include a carbamoyl group and a thiocarbamoyl group (H2NC(═S)—).", "The imidoyl group is a group represented by R1b—C(═NR1c)—, and it is preferable that R1b and R1c are respectively a hydrogen atom and an alkyl group.", "More preferably, the alkyl group is the same as the alkyl group as R1a.", "Examples thereof include formimidoyl, acetoimidoyl, propionimidoyl (CH3CH2C(═NH)—), and the like.", "Among these, formimidoyl is preferable.", "The amidino group as the group represented by Formula (2) has a structure in which R1b of the imidoyl group is an amino group and R1c is a hydrogen atom.", "The entirety of the alkyl group, the cycloalkyl group, the alkenyl group, the alkynyl group, the aryl group, the heteroaryl group, and the group represented by Formula (2), which can be employed as R1a, may have a substituent group.", "The substituent group WP, which R1a may have, is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an aryl group, a heterocyclic group, an alkoxy group, an alkylthio group, an amino group, an alkylamino group, an arylamino group, an acyl group, an alkylcarbonyloxy group, an aryloxy group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, an acylamino group, a sulfonamido group, a carbamoyl group, a sulfamoyl group, a halogen atom, a cyano group, a hydroxy group, a mercapto group, and a carboxy group.", "The substituent group, which R1a may have, may be additionally substituted with a substituent group.", "In the perovskite compound that is used in the invention, the metal cation M is not particularly limited as long as the metal cation M is a cation of a metal atom other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table and is a cation of a metal atom that can employ the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "Examples of the metal atom include metal atoms such as calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), palladium (Pd), germanium (Ge), tin (Sn), lead (Pb), ytterbium (Yb), europium (Eu), indium (In), titanium (Ti), bismuth (Bi), and thallium (Tl).", "Among these, as the metal atom M, a Pb atom or a Sn atom is more preferable.", "M may be one kind of metal atom, or two or more kinds of metal atoms.", "In a case where M includes two or more kinds of metal atoms, two kinds including the Pb atom and the Sn atom are preferable.", "A ratio of the metal atoms at this time is not particularly limited.", "In the perovskite compound that is used in the invention, the anion X represents an anion of an anionic atom or atomic group X.", "Preferred examples of the anion include anions of halogen atoms, and anions of individual atomic groups of NCS−, NCO−, CH3COO−, and HCOO−.", "Among these, the anions of halogen atoms are more preferable.", "Examples of the halogen atoms include a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, an iodine atom, and the like.", "The anion X may be an anion of one kind of anionic atom or atomic group, or anions of two or more kinds of anionic atoms or atomic groups.", "hi a case where the anion X is an anion of one kind of anionic atom or atomic group, an anion of an iodine atom is preferable.", "On the other hand, in a case where the anion X includes anions of two or more kinds of anionic atoms or atomic groups, anions of two kinds of halogen atoms, particularly, an anion of a chlorine atom and an anion of an iodine atom are preferable.", "A ratio between two or more kinds of anions is not particularly limited.", "As the perovskite compound that is used in the invention, a perovskite compound, which has a perovskite-type crystal structure including the above-described constituent ions and is represented by the following Formula (I), is preferable.", "AaMmXx Formula (1): In Formula (I), A represents an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or a cationic organic group.", "M represents a metal atom other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table.", "X represents an anionic atom or atomic group.", "a represents 1 or 2, m represents 1, and a, m, and x satisfy a relationship of a+2m=x.", "In Formula (I), the element of Group 1 in the periodic table or the cationic organic group A forms the cation A of the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "Accordingly, there is no particular limitation as long as the element of Group 1 in the periodic table and the cationic organic group A are elements or groups which become the cation A and can constitute the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "The element of Group 1 in the periodic table or the cationic organic group A is the same as the element of Group 1 in the periodic table or the cationic organic group which is described in the cation A, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "The metal atom M is a metal atom that forms the metal cation M of the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "Accordingly, the metal atom M is not particularly limited as long as the metal atom M is an atom other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table, becomes the metal cation M, and constitutes the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "The metal atom M is the same as the metal atom that is described in the metal cation M, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "The anionic atom or atomic group X forms the anion X of the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "Accordingly, the anionic atom or atomic group X is not particularly limited as long as the anionic atom or atomic group X is an atom or atomic group that becomes the anion X and can constitute the perovskite-type crystal structure.", "The anionic atom or atomic group X is the same as the anionic atom or atomic group which is described in the anion X, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "The perovskite compound represented by Formula (I) is a perovskite compound represented by the following Formula (I-1) in a case where a is 1, or a perovskite compound represented by the following Formula (I-2) in a case where a is 2.AMX3 Formula (I-1): A2MX4 Formula (I-2): In Formula (I-1) and Formula (I-2), A represents an element of Group 1 in the periodic table or a cationic organic group.", "A is the same as A in Formula (I), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "M represents a metal atom other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table.", "M is the same as M in Formula (I), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "X represents an anionic atom or atomic group.", "X is the same as X in Formula (I), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "The perovskite compound that is used in the invention may be any one of the compound represented by Formula (I-1) and the compound represented by Formula (I-2), or a mixture thereof.", "Accordingly, in the invention, at least one kind of the perovskite compound may exist as the light absorbing agent, and there is no need for clear and strict distinction on that the perovskite compound is which compound by using a composition formula, a molecular formula, a crystal structure, and the like.", "Hereinafter, specific examples of the perovskite compound that can be used in the invention will be exemplified, but the invention is not limited to the specific examples.", "In the following description, the perovskite compound is classified into the compound represented by Formula (I-1) and the compound represented by Formula (I-2).", "However, even the compound exemplified as the compound represented by Formula (I-1) may be the compound represented by Formula (I-2) in accordance with synthesis conditions, or may be a mixture of the compound represented by Formula (I-1) and the compound represented by Formula (I-2).", "Similarly, even the compound exemplified as the compound represented by Formula (I-2) may be the compound represented by Formula (I-1), or may be a mixture of the compound represented by Formula (I-1) and the compound represented by Formula (I-2).", "Specific examples of the compound represented by Formula (I-1) include CH3NH3PbCl3, CH3NH3PbBr3, CH3NH3PbI3, CH3NH3PbBrI2, CH3NH3PbBr2I, CH3NH3SnBr3, CH3NH3SnI3, and CH(═NH)NH3PbI3.Specific examples of the compound represented by Formula (I-2) include (C2H5NH3)2PbI4, (CH2═CHNH3)2PbI4, (CH≡CNH3)2PbI4, (n-C3H7NH3)2PbI4, (n-C4H9NH3)2PbI4, (C10H21NH3)2PbI4, (C6H5NH3)2PbI4, (C6H5CH2CH2NH3)2PbI4, (C6H3F2NH3)2PbI4, (C6F5NH3)2PbI4, (C4H3SNH3)2P1314.Here, C4H3SNH3 in (C4H3SNH3)2PbI4 represents aminothiophene.", "The perovskite compound can be synthesized from a compound represented by the following Formula (II) and a compound represented by the following Formula (III).", "AX Formula (II): MX2 Formula (III): In Formula (II), A represents an element of Group 1 in the periodic table, or a cationic organic group.", "A is the same as A in Formula (I), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "In Formula (II), X represents an anionic atom or atomic group.", "X is the same as X in Formula (I), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "In Formula (III), M represents a metal atom other than elements of Group 1 in the periodic table.", "M is the same as M in Formula (I), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "In Formula (III), X represents an anionic atom or atomic group.", "X is the same as X in Formula (I), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Examples of a method of synthesizing the perovskite compound include methods which are described in Akihiro Kojima, Kenjiro Teshima, Yasuo Shirai, and Tsutomu Miyasaka, “Organometal Halide Perovskites as Visible-Light Sensitizers for Photovoltaic Cells”, J.", "Am.", "Chem.", "Soc., 2009, 131(17), 6050 to 6051, and the like.", "The amount of the light absorbing agent used is preferably set to an amount capable of covering at least a part of the surface of the first electrode 1, and more preferably an amount capable of covering the entirety of the surface.", "The amount of the perovskite compound contained in the photosensitive layer 13 is typically 1% to 100% by mass.", "<Hole Transport Layer 3> In a preferred aspect of the photoelectric conversion element of the invention, as in the photoelectric conversion elements 10A to 10D, the hole transport layer 3 is provided between the first electrode 1 and the second electrode 2.In the aspect, it is preferable that the hole transport layer 3 is in contact with (laminated on) the photosensitive layer 13.The hole transport layer 3 is preferably provided between the photosensitive layer 13 of the first electrode 1 and the second electrode 2.The hole transport layer 3 includes a function of supplementing electrons to an oxidized substance of the light absorbing agent, and is preferably a solid-shaped layer (solid hole transport layer).", "The hole transport layer 3 contains a compound (hereinafter, also referred to as “hole transporting material of the invention” or “compound of the invention”) represented by the following Formula 1 as an organic hole transporting material.", "In Formula 1, D is a group represented by the following Formula D-1 or D-2.L1 and L2 each independently represent a linking group.", "A1 and A2 each independently represent a hetero ring, a hydrocarbon ring, or a group having an acceptor property.", "na represents an integer of 1 to 4, nb and nc each independently represent an integer of 0 to 5, a plurality of D's may be the same as each other or different from each other when na represents an integer of 2 to 4.A plurality of L1's may be the same as each other or different from each other when nb represents an integer of 2 to 5.A plurality of L2's may be the same as each other or different from each other when nc represents an integer of 2 to 5.In Formula D-1, X1 and X2 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom.", "Z1 and Z2 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "A represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-1.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. In Formula D-2, X3 and X4 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom.", "Z3 and Z4 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "B represents a ring structure and is condensed with two five-membered rings in Formula D-2.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. Provided that, in Formula 1, in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-1, at least one of Z1 or Z2 is a nitrogen atom, or in a case where at least one D is a group represented by Formula D-2, at least one of Z3 or Z4 is a nitrogen atom, or nb is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 includes any one of a thiazole ring, an oxazole ring, and a selenazole ring, or nc is an integer of 1 to 5 and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L2 includes any one of the thiazole ring, the oxazole ring, and the selenazole ring.", "The hole transporting material of the invention, which is represented by Formula 1, has a ring structure that includes two kinds of specific hetero atoms, specifically, a nitrogen atom and one kind of hetero atom selected from a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, and a selenium atom in a single aromatic ring at a portion represented by D, or a linking portion represented L1 and/or L2 in Formula 1.Here, “single aromatic ring” represents an aromatic ring of a single ring in a case where the aromatic ring is a single ring.", "In addition, in a case where the aromatic ring has a condensed ring structure, in a state in which a structural formula is decomposed into a minimum unit ring (that is, a single ring) that constitutes the condensed ring structure, the “single aromatic ring” represents aromatic rings of one or two or more single rings which are included in a plurality of single rings as a minimum unit.", "Furthermore, in a case of decomposing a condensed ring structure, two atoms shared by two adjacent rings may be redundantly used in both of the rings.", "In addition, in a case where adjacent rings form a conjugated structure, in a case of formally decomposing the structural formula into single rings, apparently, the conjugated structure may be broken in one ring.", "However, in this case, it is regarded that two atoms are conjugated on the assumption that the two atoms are two atoms incorporated in the conjugated structure.", "An example thereof is as follows.", "The hole transporting material of the invention can exhibit high affinity with a perovskite compound (for example, affinity between a Pb atom and a sulfur atom, affinity in ionicity between alkyl ammonium and a nitrogen atom, and the like).", "According to this, in a case of using the compound of the invention as the hole transporting material, it is possible to suppress a defect in an interface between the perovskite compound and the hole transporting material, and as a result, it is assumed that the moisture resistance variation is improved.", "For example, as in the A-D-A-type compound described in Energy Environ.", "Sci., 2014, 7, p. 2981 to 2985, in a case where a nitrogen atom and a sulfur atom do not exist in a single aromatic ring and are distant from each other, affinity is obtained with respect to the perovskite compound only at one point, and thus dissociation easily occurs.", "As a result, it is difficult to obtain high affinity that is desired.", "In addition, the A-D-A-type compound described in J.", "Mater.", "Chem.", "A, 2015, 3, p. 11940 to 11947 has a rhodanine skeleton.", "However, in a ring other than the aromatic ring, even in a ring structure including a sulfur atom and a nitrogen atom in the same single ring, this ring structure is a hydrophilic structure, and thus an interface affinity effect is offset.", "As a result, it is difficult to obtain high affinity that is desired.", "Hereinafter, detailed description will be given of Formula 1.A1 and A2 each independently represent a hetero ring, a hydrocarbon ring, or a group having an acceptor property.", "Examples of the hydrocarbon ring represented by A1 and A2 include a cycloalkyl group, a cycloalkenyl group, an aryl group, and the like.", "In the cycloalkyl group as A1 and A2, the number of carbons is preferably 3 to 8.Examples of preferred specific examples of the cycloalkyl group include a cyclopropyl group, a cyclopentyl group, a cyclohexyl group, and the like.", "In the cycloalkenyl group as A1 and A2, the number of carbons is preferably 3 to 8.Examples of preferred specific examples of the cycloalkenyl group include a cyclobutenyl group, a cyclopentenyl group, a cyclohexenyl group, a cyclohexadienyl group, and the like.", "The aryl group as A1 and A2 is preferably an aryl group having 6 to 14 carbon atoms.", "Preferred specific examples of the aryl group include a phenyl group, a naphthyl group, an anthracenyl group, and the like, and phenyl is more preferable.", "Examples of the hetero ring represented by A1 and A2 include a heteroaryl group, an aliphatic heterocyclic group.", "The heteroaryl group as A1 and A2 includes a group composed of an aromatic hetero ring, and a group composed of a condensed hetero ring obtained through condensing of another ring, for example, an aromatic ring, an aliphatic ring, or a hetero ring with the aromatic hetero ring.", "As the ring-constituting hetero atom that constitutes the aromatic hetero ring, a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom is preferable.", "In addition, with regard to the number of ring members of the aromatic hetero ring, three-membered to eight-membered rings are preferable, and a five-membered ring or a six-membered ring is more preferable.", "Examples of the five-membered aromatic hetero ring and the condensed hetero ring including the five-membered aromatic hetero ring include a pyrrole ring, an imidazole ring, a pyrazole ring, an oxazole ring, a thiazole ring, a selenazole ring, a triazole ring, a furan ring, a thiophene ring, a benzimidazole ring, a benzoxazole ring, a benzothiazole ring, an indoline ring, and an indazole ring.", "In addition, examples of the six-membered aromatic hetero ring and the condensed hetero ring including the six-membered aromatic hetero ring include a pyridine ring, a pyrimidine ring, a pyrazine ring, a triazine ring, a quinoline ring, and a quinazoline ring.", "The aliphatic heterocyclic group as A1 and A2 includes a group composed of an aliphatic hetero ring alone, and a group composed of a condensed aliphatic hetero ring obtained through condensing of another ring, for example, an aliphatic ring with the aliphatic hetero ring.", "As the ring-constituting hetero atom that constitutes the aliphatic hetero ring, a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom is preferable.", "In addition, with regard to the number of ring members of the aliphatic hetero ring, three-membered to eight-membered rings are preferable, and a five-membered ring or a six-membered ring is more preferable.", "The number of carbons of the aliphatic hetero ring is preferably 1 to 24, more preferably 1 to 18, and still more preferably 1 to 12.Specific preferred examples of the aliphatic hetero ring include a pyrrolidine ring, an oxolane ring, a thiolane ring, a piperidine ring, a tetrahydrofuran ring, an oxane ring, a thiane ring, a piperazine ring, a morpholine ring, a quinuclidine ring, a pyrrolidine ring, an azetidine ring, an oxetane ring, an aziridine ring, a dioxane ring, a pentamethylene sulfide ring, y-butyrolactone, and the like.", "In the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring which are represented by A1 and A2, at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring may be substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRo)—, and —C(═CRpRq)—.", "Here, Ro represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Rp and Rq each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring.", "The substituent groups represented by Ro, Rp, and Rq are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include substituent groups which can be included in the following hydrocarbon ring or hetero ring as A1 or A2.For example, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, a heteroaryl group, a cyano group, and the like are preferable.", "According to an aspect of the invention, in the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring which are represented by A1 and/or A2, it is preferable that at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRo)—, and —C(═CRpRq)—, and it is more preferable that at least one —CH2— is substituted with —C(═O)— or —C(═S)—.", "The hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring, which are represented by A1 and A2, may include a substituent group.", "The substituent group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkenyl group, an alkynyl group, an alkoxy group, an aryloxy group, an alkylthio group, an amino group, an acyl group, an acyloxy group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, an aryloxycarbonyl group, a carbamoyl group, an acylamino group, a sulfonyl group, an aryl group, a heteroaryl group, a silyl group, a halogen atom, a group including a halogen atom, a cyano group, a nitro group, and the like.", "Among these, the alkoxycarbonyl group, the halogen atom, and the cyano group are preferable.", "The alkyl group is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, more preferably an alkyl group having 2 to 18 carbon atoms, and still more preferably an alkyl group having 4 to 18 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkyl group include methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, decyl, and the like.", "The cycloalkyl group is preferably a cycloalkyl group having 3 to 8 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include cyclopropyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, and the like.", "The alkenyl group is preferably an alkenyl group having 2 to 18 carbon atoms, and more preferably an alkenyl group having 2 to 6 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkenyl group include vinyl, allyl, butenyl, hexenyl, and the like.", "The alkynyl group is preferably an alkynyl group having 2 to 18 carbon atoms, and more preferably an alkynyl group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkynyl group include ethynyl, butynyl, hexynyl, and the like.", "The alkoxy group is preferably an alkoxy group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, more preferably an alkoxy group having 2 to 18 carbon atoms, and still more preferably an alkoxy group having 4 to 18 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkoxy group include methoxy, ethoxy, isopropyloxy, t-butyloxy, octyloxy, benzyloxy, and the like.", "The aryloxy group is preferably an aryloxy group having 6 to 14 carbon atoms, more preferably an aryloxy group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include phenoxy.", "The alkylthio group is preferably a alkylthio group having 1 to 30 carbon atoms, and more preferably an alkylthio group having 4 to 18 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the alkylthio group include methylthio, ethylthio, isopropylthio, t-butylthio, octylthio, and the like.", "The arylthio group is preferably an arylthio group having 6 to 14 carbon atoms, more preferably an arylthio group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include phenylthio.", "The amino group is preferably an amino group having 0 to 20 carbon atoms, and includes an alkylamino group, an alkenylamino group, an alkynylamino group, a cycloalkylamino group, a cycloalkenylamino group, an arylamino group, and a heterocyclic amino group.", "Examples of the amino group include amino, N,N-dimethylamino, N,N-diethylamino, N-ethylamino, N-allylamino, N-(2-propynyl)amino, N-cyclohexylamino, N-cyclohexenylamino, anilino, pyridylamino, imidazolylamino, benzimidazolylamino, thiazolylamino, benzothiazolylamino, and triazinylamino.", "The acyl group is preferably an acyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include acetyl, cyclohexylcarbonyl, and benzoyl.", "The acyloxy group is preferably an acyloxy group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include acetyloxy, cyclohexylcarbonyloxy, and benzoyloxy.", "The alkoxycarbonyl group is preferably an alkoxycarbonyl group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include methoxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, and 2-ethylhexyloxycarbonyl.", "The aryloxycarbonyl group is preferably an aryloxycarbonyl group having 6 to 20 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include phenyloxycarbonyl and naphthyloxycarbonyl.", "The carbamoyl group is preferably a carbamoyl group of alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aryl which has 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include N,N-dimethylcarbamoyl, N-cyclohexylcarbamoyl, and N-phenylcarbamoyl.", "The acylamino group is preferably an acylamino group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include acetylamino, cyclohexylcarbonylamino, and benzoylamino.", "The sulfonyl group includes alkyl or arylsulfonyl group and preferably has 1 to 20 carbon atoms.", "Examples of the sulfonyl group include methylsulfonyl, ethylsulfonyl, cyclohexylsulfonyl, and benzenesulfonyl.", "The silyl group is preferably a silyl group that has 1 to 20 carbon atoms and is substituted with alkyl, aryl, alkoxy, and aryloxy.", "Examples of the silyl group include trimethylsilyl, triethylsilyl, triisopropylsilyl, triphenylsilyl, diethylbenzylsilyl, and dimethylphenylsilyl.", "The aryl group is preferably an aryl group having 6 to 14 carbon atoms, more preferably an aryl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include phenyl and naphthyl.", "The heteroaryl group includes a group composed of an aromatic hetero ring alone, and a group composed of a condensed hetero ring obtained through condensing of another ring, for example, an aromatic ring, an aliphatic ring, or a hetero ring with the aromatic hetero ring.", "As the ring-constituting hetero atom that constitutes the aromatic hetero ring, a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom, or a sulfur atom is preferable.", "In addition, with regard to the number of ring members of the aromatic hetero ring, three-membered to eight-membered rings are preferable, and a five-membered ring or a six-membered ring is more preferable.", "Examples of the five-membered aromatic hetero ring and the condensed hetero ring including the five-membered aromatic hetero ring include respective cyclic groups of a pyrrole ring, an imidazole ring, .a pyrazole ring, an oxazole ring, a thiazole ring, a triazole ring, a furan ring, a thiophene ring, a selenophene ring, a benzimidazole ring, a benzoxazole ring, a benzothiazole ring, an indoline ring, and an indazole ring.", "In addition, examples of the six-membered aromatic hetero ring and the condensed hetero ring including the six-membered aromatic hetero ring include respective cyclic groups of a pyridine ring, a pyrimidine ring, a pyrazine ring, a triazine ring, a quinoline ring, and a quinazoline ring.", "Examples of the halogen atom include a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, and an iodine atom, and the fluorine atom is preferable.", "The substituent groups may further include a substituent group, and examples of the substituent group include the above-described substituent group.", "As an example in which the substituent group further includes a substituent group, a group including a halogen atom can be exemplified.", "As the group, a halogenated alkyl group is preferable, and a fluorinated alkyl group is more preferable.", "According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring which are represented by A1 and/or A2 include an electron-attracting group as a substituent group.", "Examples of the electron-attracting group include groups in which a op value in Hammett rule is a positive value.", "Preferred examples of the groups include a hydroxycarbonyl group (carboxylic acid), an aryloxycarbonyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a halogen atom, a group including a halogen atom, and a cyano group.", "Among these, the alkoxycarbonyl group and the cyano group are more preferable.", "Specific examples of the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring, which are represented by A1 and A2, include the following structure.", "In the following Formula, a broken line represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D in Formula 1.The groups, which are represented by A1 and A2 and have an acceptor property, represent groups including a group in which a up value in Hammett rule is a positive value, and/or a group including at least one of —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, or —C(═NRX)— which has a -M effect in a mesomeric effect.", "Here, RX represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "The substituent group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.Among these, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, a heteroaryl group, a cyano group, and the like are preferable.", "According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the groups, which are represented by A1 and A2 and have an acceptor property, are groups represented by the following Formula A-1, A-2, or A-3, and at least one of A1 or A2 is a group that is represented by the following Formulae A-1, A-2, and A-3.In addition, according to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of A1 or A2 is a group represented by the following Formula A-3, and it is more preferable that both of A1 and A2 are groups represented by the following Formula A-3.In Formula A-1, Y1 represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or NRc, and Rc represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "R2 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. In Formula A-2, R3 and R4 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, provided that at least one of R3 or R4 represents an electron-attracting group.", "R′ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. In Formula A-3, X represents a hydrocarbon ring or a hetero ring in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is capable of being substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, and —C(═CReRf)—.", "Here, Rd represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring, the hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring includes a sub stituent group.", "The hydrocarbon ring and the hetero ring may include a substituent group.", "R″ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. In Formula A-1, Rc in NRc represented by Y1 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and examples of the substituent group le include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as the hydrocarbon ring as A1 or A2.Y1 is preferably an oxygen atom.", "According to an aspect of the invention, the substituent group Rc is preferably an alkyl group, and preferred aspects of the alkyl group are the same as the alkyl groups as a substituent group that can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.The substituent group represented by R2 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.According to an aspect of the invention, the sub stituent group R2 is preferably an alkyl group or an alkoxy group.", "Preferred aspects of the alkyl group or the alkoxy group are the same as the alkyl group or the alkoxy group as a substituent group that can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.In Formula A-2, the substituent groups represented by R3 and R4 are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.Provided that, it is preferable that at least one of R3 or R4 is an electron-attracting group, and it is more preferable that both of R3 and R4 are electron-attracting groups.", "Here, examples of the electron-attracting group include a group in which a ap value in Hammett rule is a positive value, and preferred examples thereof include a hydroxycarbonyl group (carboxylic acid), an aryloxycarbonyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, a halogen atom, a group including a halogen atom, and a cyano group.", "Among these, the alkoxycarbonyl group and the cyano group are more preferable.", "The substituent group represented by R′ is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.According to an aspect of the invention, R′ is preferably a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, and more preferably the hydrogen atom.", "Preferred aspects of the alkyl group are also the same as the alkyl groups as a substituent group that can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.in Formula A-3, examples of the hydrocarbon ring represented by X include a cycloalkyl group, a cycloalkenyl group, an aryl group, and the like.", "Specific examples of the cycloalkyl group, the cycloalkenyl group, and the aryl group are the same as the specific examples in the cycloalkyl group, the cycloalkenyl group, and the aryl group as the hydrocarbon ring represented by A1 or A2.Examples of the hetero ring represented by X include a heteroaryl group, an aliphatic heterocyclic group, and the like.", "Specific examples of the heteroaryl group and the aliphatic heterocyclic group are the same as the specific examples in the heteroaryl group and the aliphatic heterocyclic group as a hetero ring represented by A1 or A2.According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the hetero ring represented by X one to six hetero atoms selected from an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, and a nitrogen atom, more preferably one to five hetero atoms, and still more preferable one to two hetero atoms.", "In the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as X, it is preferable that at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, and —C(═CReRf)—.", "Here, Rd represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring.", "The substituent groups represented by Rd, Re, and Rf are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.Among these, an alkyl group is preferable.", "According to an aspect of the invention, in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as X, it is more preferable that at least one to four pieces of CH2—, which constitute a ring, are substituted by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, and —C(═CReRf)—, and still more preferably any one selected from —C(═O)— and —C(═S)—.", "The hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as X may include a substituent group.", "The substituent group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.In a case where the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as X includes a substituent group, for example, the number of substituent groups is preferably 1 to 7, more preferably 1 to 5, and still more preferably 1 to 3.The substituent group represented by R″ is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.According to an aspect of the invention, R″ is preferably a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, and more preferably the hydrogen atom.", "Preferred aspects of the alkyl group is the same as the alkyl groups as a substituent group that can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.According to an aspect of the invention, Formula A-2 as a group, which is represented by A1 and A2 and has an acceptor property, is preferably represented by the following Formula A-4, and Formula A-3 is preferably represented by the following Formula A-5, and at least one of A1 or A2 is preferably a group represented by the following Formula A-4 or Formula A-5.In addition, according to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of A1 or A2 is a group represented by the following Formula A-5, and it is more preferable that both of A1 and A2 are groups represented by the following Formula A-5.In Formula A-4, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. In Formula A-5, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—.", "Here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Re and Rf each independently may represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or may be bonded to each other to form a ring.", "The hetero ring may include a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, or D. In Formula A-4, an electron-attracting group represented by EWG is the same as in Formula A-2.In Formula A-5, a hetero ring as X′ is preferably a three-membered to eight-membered ring, and more preferably a five-membered or six-membered ring.", "According to an aspect of the invention, the hetero ring as X′ is preferably a hetero ring including one to six hetero atoms selected from a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, and NRm, more preferably one to five hetero rings, and still more preferable one to two hetero rings.", "Here, Rm represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, and the substituent group is not particularly limited and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.In addition, according to an aspect of the invention, in the hetero ring as X′, it is more preferable that at least one to four pieces of —CH2— which constitute a ring are substituted by any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, and —C(═CReRf)—, and still more preferably any one selected from —C(═O)— and —C(═S)—.", "Here, Rd, Re, and Rf are the same as Rd, Re, and Rf described in Formula A-3, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "The hetero ring as X′ may include a substituent group.", "The substituent group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.In a case where the hetero ring as X′ includes a substituent group, the number of substituent groups is preferably 1 to 5, and more preferably 1 to 3.Preferred examples of the group represented by Formula A-5 include a structure represented by the following Formula.", "In Formulae, Y1 to Y11 each independently represent CR26R27, NR28, a sulfur atom, or an oxygen atom.", "Here, R26, R27, and R28 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "The substituent group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.According to an aspect, Y1 to Y11 are preferably sulfur atoms or oxygen atoms.", "X1 to X16 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, NR29, or CR30R31.Here, R29, R30, and R31 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "The substituent group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.In addition, among X1 to X3, X4, X5, X8 to X11, and X12 to X14, two adjacent groups may be —N═N—, —N═CR32—, —CR33=CR34—.", "Here, R32, R33, and R34 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "The substituent group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.Specific examples of the groups represented by Formula A-1 to A-5 include the following structure.", "In the following specific example, “*” represents a linking position with the remainder of the compound of the invention, “Me” represents a methyl group, “Et” represents an ethyl group, “Bu” represents a butyl group, and “Ph” represents a phenyl group.", "In Formula 1, D is represented by the following Formula D-1 or D-2.In Formula D-1, X1 and X2 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom as described above.", "According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of X1 or X2 is a sulfur atom, and it is more preferable that both of X1 and X2 are sulfur atoms.", "As described above, Z1 and Z2 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "Examples of the substituent group represented by Ra include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2, and preferred examples thereof include an alkyl group.", "According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of Z1 or Z2 is a nitrogen atom, and it is more preferable that both of Z1 and Z2 are nitrogen atoms.", "A ring structure represented by A may be a single ring or a fused ring.", "According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that A is a fused ring obtained through condensing of five or less rings, or a single ring, more preferably a fused ring obtained through condensing of three or less rings or a single ring, still more preferably a fused ring obtained through condensing of two rings or a single ring, and still more preferably a single ring.", "With regard to the ring structure represented by A, in a case of a single ring, four-membered to eight-membered aromatic ring or aromatic hetero ring is preferable, and in a case of the fused ring, a composite ring including four-membered to eight-membered aromatic ring or aromatic hetero ring is preferable.", "The ring structure represented by A is condensed with adjacent two five-membered rings in Formula D-1 to form a conjugated structure.", "The ring structure represented by A may include a substituent group, and examples of the substituent group include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.Among these, an alkyl group, an alkynyl group, an alkoxy group, an aryl group, and an amino group are preferable.", "In Formula D-2, as described above, X3 and X4 each independently represent a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or a selenium atom.", "According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of X3 or X4 is a sulfur atom, and it is more preferable that both of X3 and X4 are sulfur atoms.", "As described above, Z3 and Z4 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "The substituent group as Ra is the same as the substituent group as Ra in CRa represented by Z1 and Z2 in Formula D-1.According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that at least one of Z3 or Z4 is a nitrogen atom, and it is more preferable that both of Z3 and Z4 are nitrogen atoms.", "The ring structure represented by B is the same as A in Formula D-1, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Hereinafter, a specific example of the ring A in Formula D-1 and the ring B in Formula D-2 will be described, but the invention is not limited thereto.", "In the following specific example, “*” represents a linking position with X1, X2, Z1, and Z2 in Formula D-1, or a linking position with X3, X4, Z3, and Z4 in Formula D-2, and “Me” represents a methyl group.", "The following specific example may further include a substituent group.", "According to an aspect of the invention, D in Formula 1 is preferably a group represented by any one of the following Formulae D-3, D-4, D-5, and D-6.In Formula D-3, X6 and X7 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom.", "Z9 and Z10 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "R7 and R8 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "n1 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n1 is 1 or 2, a plurality of Re's may be the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R8's may be the same as each other or different from each other.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. In Formula D-4, X8 and X9 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom.", "Zn and Z12 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "R9 and R10 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "n2 represents an integer of 0 to 2, and in a case where n2 is 1 or 2, a plurality of R9's may be the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R1o's may the same as each other or different from each other.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. In Formula D-5, X10 and X11 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom.", "Z13 and Z14 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "Xa represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CRgRh, NRi, or SiRjRk, and Rg, Rh, Ri, Rj, and Rk each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. In Formula D-6, X12 and X13 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, or a selenium atom.", "Z15 and Z16 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRa, and Ra represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "Xb represents an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, CRgRh, NRi, or SiRjRk, and Rg, Rh, Ri, Rj, and Rk each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. In Formula D-3, X6 and X7 are the same as X1 and X2 in Formula D-1, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Z9 and Z10 are the same as Z1 and Z2 in Formula D-1, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Examples of the substituent groups represented by R7 and R8 include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2, and preferred examples thereof include an alkyl group, an alkynyl group, an alkoxy group, an aryl group, and an amino group.", "n1 is preferably 0 or 1, and more preferably 0.In Formula D-4, X8 and X9 are the same as X3 and X4 in Formula D-2, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Z11 and Z12 are the same as Z3 and Z4 in Formula D-2, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "The substituent groups represented by R9 and R10 are the same as the substituent groups represented by R7 and R8 in Formula D-3, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "n2 is preferably 0 or 1, and more preferably 0.In Formula D-5, X10 and X11 are the same as X1 and X2 in Formula D-1, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Z13 and Z14 are the same as Z1 and Z2 in Formula D-1, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Rg, Rh, Ri, Rj, and Rk in CRgRh, NRi, and SiRjRk represented by Xa each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "Here, examples of the substituent groups represented by Rg, Rh, Ri, Rj, and Rk include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2, and an alkyl group is preferable in an aspect.", "According to an aspect of the invention, Xa is preferably a sulfur atom, CRgRh, or NRi.", "In Formula D-6, X12 and X13 are the same as X3 and X4 in Formula D-2, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Z15 and Z16 are the same as Z3 and Z4 in Formula D-2, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Xb is the same as Xa in Formula D-5, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "According to an aspect of the invention, as the linking groups represented by L1 and L2 in Formula 1, for example, an alkenylene group, a cycloalkenylene group, an alkynylene group, an arylene group, and a heteroarylene group are preferable, and the alkenylene group, the arylene group, and the heteroarylene group are more preferable.", "The alkenylene group as L1 and L2 is preferably an alkenylene group having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include ethenylene, 1-propenylene, 2-butenylene, 1-butenylene, 3-methyl-2-pentenylene, hexenylene, decenylene, and the like.", "Furthermore, in alkenylene, sis-trans isomerism is not particularly limited.", "The cycloalkenylene group as L1 and L2 is preferably a cycloalkenylene group having 5 to 25 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include cyclopentenylene, cyclohexenylene, cyclohexadienylene, cyclooctenylene, cyclooctadienylene, and the like.", "Alkynylene as L1 and L2 is preferably an alkynylene having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, and examples thereof include ethynylene.", "The arylene group as L1 and L2 is preferably an arylene group having 6 to 14 carbon atoms, and specific examples thereof include a phenylene group, a naphthylene group, an anthracenylene group, and the like.", "Specific examples of the heteroarylene group as L1 and L2 include heteroarylene groups corresponding to the specific examples illustrated in the heteroaryl group as A1 or A2.In Formula 1, nb and nc each independently represent an integer of 0 to 5, and an integer of 1 to 3 is preferable.", "According to an aspect of the invention, it is preferable that nb in Formula 1 is an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 is a linking group represented by the following Formula (X), or nc is an integer of 1 to 5, and at least one linking group selected from nc pieces of L2 is a linking group represented by the following Formula (X).", "In Formula, Z5 represents a nitrogen atom or CR1, and R1 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "R11 represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with L1, L2, A1, A2, or D. In Formula (X), the substituent group R1 and the substituent group R11 are not particularly limited, and examples thereof include the substituent groups which can be included in the hydrocarbon ring or the hetero ring as A1 or A2.The substituent group R1 and the substituent group R11 are preferably alkyl groups.", "According to an aspect of the invention, at least one linking group selected from nb pieces of L1 and nc pieces of L2 is preferably a linking group represented by Formula (X), an oxazole ring, or a selenazole ring, and more preferably a linking group (that is, a thiazole ring) which is represented by Formula (X), and in which Z5 in Formula (X) is a nitrogen atom.", "As described above, in the compound of the invention which is represented by Formula 1, at least one of Z1 or Z2 in Formula D-1 is a nitrogen atom, or at least one of Z3 or Z4 in Formula D-2 is a nitrogen atom, or at least one of linking groups represented by L1 and/or L2 includes any one of a thiazole ring, an oxazole ring, and a selenazole ring.", "According to an aspect of the invention, the compound represented by Formula 1 is preferably a compound represented by the following Formula 2.In Formula 2, Z5, Z6, Z7, and Z8 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or CRn, and Rn represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "R22, R23, R24, and R25 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group.", "n4 and n5 each independently represent an integer of 0 to 4, in a case where n4 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z5's may be the same as each other or different from each other, and a plurality of R22's may be the same as each other or different from each other.", "In a case where n5 is an integer of 2 to 4, a plurality of Z8's may be the same as each other or different from each other or a plurality of R24's are the same as each other or different from each other.", "A3 and A4 each independently represent a group represented by the following Formula A-4′ or A-5′.", "Provided that, in Formula 2, at least one of Z6 or Z7 is a nitrogen atom, or n4 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z5 is a nitrogen atom, or n5 is an integer of 1 to 4 and at least one Z8 is a nitrogen atom.", "In Formula A-4′, EWG each independently represents an electron-attracting group.", "* represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2.In Formula A-5′, X′ represents a hetero ring which includes a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, or NRm, and in which at least one —CH2— that constitutes a ring is substituted with any one selected from —C(═O)—, —C(═S)—, —C(═NRd)—, —C(═CReRf)—.", "Here, Rm and Rd each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, Re and Rf each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent group, or are bonded to each other to form a ring.", "The hetero ring may include a substituent group.", "* represents a linking portion with the remainder of the compound represented by Formula 2.In Formula 2, R23, R25, Z6, and Z7 are the same as R7, R8, Z9, and Z10 in Formula D-3.It is preferable that at least one of Z6 or Z7 is a nitrogen atom, and it is more preferable that both of Z6 and Z7 are nitrogen atoms.", "A3 and A4 are the same as A1 and A2 in Formula A-4 or Formula A-5, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "Z5 and Z8 are the same as Z5 in Formula (X), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "In addition, R22 and R24 are the same as R11 in Formula (X), and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "n4 and n5 are preferably integers of 1 to 5, and more preferably integers of 1 to 3.According to an aspect of the invention, the compound represented by Formula 1 is preferably a compound that is represented by the following Formula 2A.", "In Formula 2A, Z5, Z6, Z7, Z8, R22, R23, R24, R25, n4, and n5 are the same as the groups in Formula 2, and preferred examples thereof are the same as described above.", "A5 and A6 each independently represent a group represented by Formula A-5′.", "According to an aspect of the invention, Z6 and Z7 are preferably nitrogen atoms.", "Hereinafter, specific examples of the compound represented by Formula 1 will be described, but the invention is not limited thereto.", "The compound represented by Formula 1 can be synthesized by a known method, and can be synthesized with reference to methods described in the following literatures.", "J. Org.", "Chem., 79, 7766(2014), Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 50, 1546(2007), European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 425(2007), Org.", "Lett., 2005, 7, 5253, Macromolecules, 36, 7986(2003), Chemistry of Materials, 22, 1977(2010), Angewandte Chem-International Edition, 45, 3170(2006), Tetorahedron, 68, 767(2012), Org.", "Lett., 14, 4330(2012), Tetorahedron Letters, 53, 5197(2012), Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2, 124(2014), J. Org.", "Chem., 75, 495(2010), European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 1916(2013), Journal of American Chemical Society, 134, 11064(2012), Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 1, 2795(2013), and Journal of Materials Chemistry, 22, 9173(2012).", "A hole transporting material that forms the hole transport layer 3 may include a material other than the compound represented by Formula 1.The material may be a liquid material or a solid material without any limitation.", "Examples of the hole transporting material include inorganic materials such as CuI and CuNCS, organic hole transporting materials described in Paragraphs 0209 to 0212 of JP2001-291534A, and the like.", "Preferred examples of the organic hole transporting material include conductive polymers such as polythiophene, polyaniline, polypyrrole, and polysilane, spiro compounds in which two rings share a central atom such as C or Si having a tetrahedral structure, aromatic amine compounds such as triarylamine, triphenylene compounds, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds, and liquid-crystalline cyano compounds.", "As the hole transporting material that can be included in addition to the compound represented by Formula 1, an organic hole transporting material which can be applied in a solution state and then has a solid shape is preferable, and specific examples thereof include 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis-(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamino)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (also referred to as “spiro-OMeOTAD”), poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl), 4-(diethylamino)benzaldehyde diphenylhydrazone, poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene (PEDOT), and the like.", "Although not particularly limited, the film thickness of the hole transport layer 3 is preferably 50 μm or less, more preferably 1 nm to 10 μm, still more preferably 5 nm to 5 μm, and still more preferably 10 nm to 1 μm.", "In addition, the film thickness of the hole transport layer 3 corresponds to an average distance between the second electrode 2 and the surface of the photosensitive layer 13, and can be measured by observing a cross-section of the photoelectric conversion element by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the like.", "<Second Electrode 2> The second electrode 2 functions as a positive electrode in a solar cell.", "The second electrode 2 is not particularly limited as long as the second electrode 2 has conductivity.", "Typically, the second electrode 2 can be configured to have the same configuration as that of the conductive support 11.In a case where sufficient strength is maintained, the support 11a is not necessary.", "As a structure of the second electrode 2, a structure having a high current-collection effect is preferable.", "At least one of the conductive support 11 or the second electrode 2 needs to be substantially transparent so that light reaches the photosensitive layer 13.In the solar cell of the invention, it is preferable that the conductive support 11 is transparent and solar light is incident from the support 11a side.", "In this case, it is more preferable that the second electrode 2 has a light-reflecting property.", "Examples of a material used to form the second electrode 2 include metals such as platinum (Pt), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), silver (Ag), indium (In), ruthenium (Ru), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir), osmium (Os), and aluminum (Al), the above-described conductive metal oxides, carbon materials, conductive polymers, and the like.", "The carbon materials may be conductive materials formed through bonding of carbon atoms, and examples thereof include fullerene, a carbon nanotube, graphite, graphene, and the like.", "As the second electrode 2, a thin film (including a thin film obtained through vapor deposition) of a metal or a conductive metal oxide, or a glass substrate or a plastic substrate which has the thin film is preferable.", "As the glass substrate or the plastic substrate, glass including a gold or platinum thin film or glass on which platinum is vapor-deposited is preferable.", "The film thickness of the second electrode 2 is not particularly limited, and is preferably 0.01 to 100 μm, more preferably 0.01 to 10 μm, and still more preferably 0.01 to 1 μm.", "<Other Configurations> In the invention, a spacer or a separator can also be used instead of the blocking layer 14 and the like or in combination with the blocking layer 14 and the like so as to prevent the first electrode 1 and the second electrode 2 from coming into contact with each other.", "In addition, a hole blocking layer may be provided between the second electrode 2 and the hole transport layer 3.<<Solar Cell>> The solar cell of the invention is constituted by using the photoelectric conversion element of the invention.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "1A, FIG.", "2 to FIG.", "4, the photoelectric conversion element 10 having a configuration, which is allowed to operate by the external circuit 6, can be used as the solar cell.", "As the external circuit 6 that is connected to the first electrode 1 (the conductive support 11) and the second electrode 2, a known circuit can be used without particular limitation.", "For example, the invention is applicable to individual solar cells described J.", "Am.", "Chem.", "Soc., 2009, 131(17), p. 6050 to 6051, and Science, 338, p. 643(2012).", "It is preferable that a lateral surface of the solar cell of the invention is sealed with a polymer, an adhesive, and the like so as to prevent deterioration, evaporation, and the like in constituent substances.", "<<Method of Manufacturing Photoelectric Conversion Element and Solar Cell>> The photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell of the invention can be manufactured in accordance with a known method, for example, a method described in J.", "Am.", "Chem.", "Soc., 2009, 131(17), p. 6050 to 6051, Science, 338, p. 643(2012), and the like.", "Hereinafter, the method of manufacturing the photoelectric conversion element and the solar cell of the invention will be described in brief.", "In the manufacturing method of the invention, first, at least one of the blocking layer 14, the porous layer 12, the electron transport layer 15, or the hole transport layer 16 is formed on a surface of the conductive support 11 according to the purpose.", "For example, the blocking layer 14 can be formed by a method in which a dispersion, which contains the insulating substance or a precursor compound thereof, and the like, is applied to the surface of the conductive support 11, and the dispersion is baked, a spray pyrolysis method, and the like.", "A material that forms the porous layer 12 is preferably used as fine particles, and more preferably a dispersion that contains the fine particles.", "A method of forming the porous layer 12 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a wet-type method, a dry-type method, and other methods (for example, a method described in Chemical Review, Vol.", "110, p. 6595 (published on 2010)).", "In these methods, it is preferable that the dispersion (paste) is applied to the surf ofe conductive support 11 or the surf of the blocking layer 14 and then the dispersion is baked at a temperature 100° C. to 800° C. for ten minutes to ten hours, for example, in the air.", "According to this, it is possible to bring the fine particles into close contact with each other.", "In a case where baking is performed a plurality of times, a temperature in baking except final baking (a baking temperature except for a final baking temperature) is preferably set to be lower than the temperature in the final firing (the final baking temperature).", "For example, in a case where titanium oxide paste is used, the baking temperature except for the final baking temperature can be set in a range of 50° C. to 300° C. In addition, the final baking temperature can be set in a range of 100° C. to 600° C. to be higher than the baking temperature except for the final baking temperature.", "In a case where a glass support is used as the support 11a, the baking temperature is preferably 60° C. to 500° C. The amount of a porous material applied to form the porous layer 12 is appropriately set in correspondence with the film thickness of the porous layer 12, the number of times of coating, and the like, and there is no particular limitation thereto.", "For example, the amount of the porous material applied per surface area 1 m2 of the conductive support 11 is preferably 0.5 to 500 g, and more preferably 5 to 100 g. In a case where the electron transport layer 15 or the hole transport layer 16 is provided, the layer can be formed in the same manner as in the hole transport layer 3 to be described below.", "Subsequently, the photosensitive layer 13 is provided.", "Examples of a method of providing the photosensitive layer 13 include a wet-type method and a dry-type method, and there is no particular limitation thereto.", "In the invention, the wet-type method is preferable, and for example, a method of bringing an arbitrary layer into contact with a light absorbing agent solution that contains a perovskite-type light absorbing agent is preferable.", "In the method, first, the light absorbing agent solution for forming the photosensitive layer is prepared.", "The light absorbing agent solution contains MX2 and AX which are raw materials of the perovskite compound.", "Here, A, M, and X are the same as A, M, and X in Formula (I).", "In the light absorbing agent solution, a molar ratio between MX2 and AX is appropriately adjusted in correspondence with the purpose.", "In a case of forming the perovskite compound as the light absorbing agent, the molar ratio between AX and MX2 is preferably 1:1 to 10:1.The light absorbing agent solution can be prepared by mixing MX2 and AX in a predetermined molar ratio and, preferably, by heating the resultant mixture.", "The formation liquid is typically a solution, but may be a suspension.", "Heating conditions are not particularly limited.", "A heating temperature is preferably 30° C. to 200° C., and more preferably 70° C. to 150° C. Heating time is preferably 0.5 to 100 hours, and more preferably 1 to 3 hours.", "As a solvent or a dispersion medium, the following solvent or dispersion medium can be used.", "Then, the light absorbing agent solution, which is prepared, is brought into contact with a surface of a layer (in the photoelectric conversion element 10, a layer of any one of the porous layer 12, the blocking layer 14, the electron transport layer 15, and the hole transport layer 16) on which the photosensitive layer 13 is to be formed.", "Specifically, application of the light absorbing agent solution or immersion in the light absorbing agent solution is preferable.", "A contact temperature is preferably 5° C. to 100° C., and immersion time is preferably 5 seconds to 24 hours and more preferably 20 seconds to 1 hour.", "In a case of drying the light absorbing agent solution that is applied, with regard to the drying, drying with heat is preferable, and drying is performed by heating the applied light absorbing agent solution typically at 20° C. to 300° C., and preferably at 50° C. to 170° C. In addition, the photosensitive layer can also be formed in conformity to a method of synthesizing the perovskite compound.", "In addition, another example of the method includes a method in which an AX solution that contains AX, and an MX2 solution that contains MX2 are each independently applied (including an immersion method), and are dried as necessary.", "In this method, an arbitrary solution may be applied in advance, but it is preferable that the MX2 solution is applied in advance.", "A molar ratio between AX and MX2, application conditions, and drying conditions in this method are the same as in the above-described method.", "In this method, AX or MX2 may be vapor-deposited instead of application of the AX solution and the MX2 solution.", "Still another example of the method includes a dry-type method such as a vacuum deposition by using a compound or a mixture from which a solvent of the light absorbing agent solution is removed.", "For example, a method of simultaneously or sequentially vapor-depositing AX and MX2 may be exemplified.", "According to the methods and the like, the perovskite compound is formed on the surface of the porous layer 12, the blocking layer 14, the electron transport layer 15, or the hole transport layer 16 as the photosensitive layer.", "The hole transport layer 3 is formed on the photosensitive layer 13 that is provided as described above.", "The hole transport layer 3 can be formed through application and drying of a hole transporting material solution that contains a hole transporting material.", "In the hole transporting material solution, a concentration of the hole transporting material is preferably 0.1 to 1.0 M (mol/L) when considering that application properties are excellent, and in a case of providing the porous layer 12, the hole transporting material solution easily intrudes into pores of the porous layer 12.After the hole transport layer 3 is formed, the second electrode 2 is formed, thereby manufacturing the photoelectric conversion element.", "The film thicknesses of the respective layers can be adjusted by appropriately changing the concentrations of respective dispersion liquids or solutions and the number of times of application.", "For example, in a case where the photosensitive layers 13B and 13C having a large film thickness are provided, a light absorbing agent solution may be applied and dried a plurality of times.", "The respective dispersion liquids and solutions described above may respectively contain additives such as a dispersion auxiliary agent and a surfactant as necessary.", "Examples of the solvent or dispersion medium that is used in the method of manufacturing the photoelectric conversion element include a solvent described in JP2001-291534A, but the solvent or dispersion medium is not particularly limited thereto.", "In the invention, an organic solvent is preferable, and an alcohol solvent, an amide solvent, a nitrile solvent, a hydrocarbon solvent, a lactone solvent, a halogen solvent, and a mixed solvent of two or more kinds thereof are preferable.", "As the mixed solvent, a mixed solvent of the alcohol solvent and a solvent selected from the amide solvent, the nitrile solvent, and the hydrocarbon solvent is preferable.", "Specifically, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, γ-butyrolactone, chlorobenzene, acetonitrile, N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylacetamide, and a mixed solvent thereof are preferable.", "A method of applying the solutions or dispersants which form the respective layers is not particularly limited, and it is possible to use a known application method such as spin coating, extrusion die coating, blade coating, bar coating, screen printing, stencil printing, roll coating, curtain coating, spray coating, dip coating, an inkjet printing method, and an immersion method.", "Among these, spin coating, screen printing, and the like are preferable.", "The photoelectric conversion element of the invention may be subjected to an efficiency stabilizing treatment such as annealing, light soaking, and being left as is in an oxygen atmosphere as necessary.", "The photoelectric conversion element prepared as described above can be used as a solar cell after connecting the external circuit 6 to the first electrode 1 and the second electrode 2.EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the invention will be described in detail, but the content of the invention is not limited thereto.", "<Synthesis of Hole Transporting Material> [Synthesis of Compound a1] Synthesis of Compound a1-3 12 g of dibromothiophene (a1-1) and 32 g of a1-2 were mixed in 50 mL of toluene/methanol (volume ratio: 1/1), and 274 mg of PEPSI-iPr and 35 g of K2CO3 were added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after the addition was heated to 70° C. and was stirred for 8 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subject to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer.", "The organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 10 g of a1-3.A structure of the compound a1-3 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=473.2 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a1-4 10 mL of phosphorus oxychloride was added dropwise to 20 mL of DMF that was cooled down to 0° C., and the resultant mixture was stirred for 30 minutes.", "4.5 g of a1-3 was added to the resultant stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 45° C. and was stirred for 5 hours.", "This reaction solution was added dropwise to water maintained at 30° C., and the resultant mixture was stirred for 1 hour.", "Ethyl acetate was added to the resultant stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer.", "Continuously, the concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 4 g of compound a1-4.A structure of the compound a1-4 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=501.2 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a1-5 N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) (530 mg) was added to a DMF (20 mL) solution of a1-4 (1.5 g) cooled down to 0° C., and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and was stirred for 3 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 1 g of a1-5.A structure of the compound a1-5 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=581.1 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a1-9 15 g of a1-6 and 80 mL of a1-7 were mixed with each other, and sulfuric acid (1 mL) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture was heated to 75° C. and was stirred for 8 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was filtrated, thereby obtaining 10 g of coarse a1-8.7 g of the coarse a1-8 and 30 g of bromine were mixed in 160 mL of DMF, and the resultant mixture was heated to 75° C. and was stirred for 2 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and this reaction solution was added dropwise to a saturated NaHSO3 solution, and the resultant material was stirred for 1 hour and was filtrated, thereby obtaining 11 g of a1-9.A structure of the compound a1-9 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=349.8 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a1-11 1.8 g of a1-9 and 4.1 g of a1-10 were mixed in 50 mL of tetrahydrofuran, and 2-Dicyclohexylphosphino-2′,6′-dimethoxybiphenyl (abbreviated as SPos) (1 g), palladium acetate (120 mg), and tripotassium phosphate (4.5 g) were added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 70° C., and was stirred for 6 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant cooled down mixture, and the mixture after addition was filtrated, thereby obtaining 2 g of a1-11.A structure of the compound a1-11 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=581.2 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a1-14 1.7 g of a1-12 and 3.5 g of potassium carbonate were mixed in 30 mL of DMF, and a1-13 (2.5 g) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was stirred for 5 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 1.3 g of a1-14.A structure of the compound a1-14 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=232.1 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a1-15 A tetrahydrofuran (20 mL) solution of a1-11 (870 mg) was cooled down to −78° C., and 2 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (0.6 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 1.7 g of a1-5 were mixed in toluene (80 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (220 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0 6 g of a1-15.A structure of the compound a1-15 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1577.6 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a1 0.6 g of a1-15 and 0.5 g of a1-14 were mixed in 30 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.25 g of compound al.", "A structure of the compound al was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=2004.8 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a2] Synthesis was performed in conformity to the synthesis of the compound al except that malononitrile was used instead of the compound a1-14, thereby obtaining a compound a2.A structure of the compound a2 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1674.7 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a3] Synthesis of Compound a3-1 0.96 g of benzobisthiazole (a1-8) and 1.16 g of a1-5 were mixed in 30 mL of DMF, and Pd(OAc)2 (11 mg), Cu(OAc)2 (180 mg), K2CO3(1.4 g), and PPh3 (650 mg) were added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 135° C., and was stirred in a nitrogen atmosphere for 15 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and dichloromethane were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.85 g of a3-1.A structure of the compound a3-1 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1189.4 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a3 0.6 g of a3-1 and 1.16 g of a1-14 were mixed in 30 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of piperidine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.22 g of compound a3.Identification of Compound a3 A structure of the compound a3 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1616.5 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a4] Synthesis of Compound a4-1 NBS (1.8 g) was added to a DMF (50 mL) solution of a1-3 (4.8 g) cooled down to 0° C., and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature and was stirred for 8 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture, and the mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer.", "The organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 3.6 g of a4-1.A structure of the compound a4-1 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=553.1 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a4-2 5 mL of iPrMgCl (2.0 M ether solution) was added to a diethylether (60 mL) solution of the compound a4-1 (5.5 g), and the resultant mixture was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for 18 hours, and the stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "Tetraethoxymethane (2 g) was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for 18 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and was subjected to liquid separation with saturated NH4Cl aqueous solution to concentrate an organic layer, thereby obtaining 3.2 g of a4-2.A structure of the compound a4-2 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=619.3 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a4-4 0.5 g of a4-3 and 3 g of a4-2 were mixed in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) (10 mL), and sulfuric acid (0.1 mL) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 110 ° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.7 g of a4-4.A structure of the compound a4-4 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI =1101.5 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a4-5 5 mL of phosphorus oxychloride was added dropwise to 10 mL of DMF that was cooled down to 0° C., and the resultant mixture was stirred for 30 minutes.", "0.7 g of a4-4 was added to the stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 35° C. and was stirred for 5 hours.", "This reaction solution was added dropwise to water maintained at 30° C., and the resultant mixture was stirred for 1 hour.", "Ethyl acetate was added to the stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer.", "Continuously, the concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.5 g of compound a4-5.A structure of the compound a4-5 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1157.4 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a4 0.5 g of a4-5 and 0.6 g of a1-14 were mixed in 20 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.21 g of compound a4.A structure of the compound a4 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1616.5 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a5] Synthesis of Compound a5 0.5 g of a3-1 and 0.6 g of a5-1 were mixed in 20 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.34 g of compound a5.A structure of the compound a5 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1409.4 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a6] Synthesis of Compound a6-3 A tetrahydrofuran (20 mL) solution of a6-1 (560 mg) was cooled down to −78° C., and 4 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (1.2 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant cooled down mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 1 g of a6-2 were mixed in DMF (50 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (220 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.4 g of a6-3.A structure of the compound a6-3 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=357.0 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a6-4 NBS (0.4 g) was added to a DMF (10 mL) solution of a6-3 (0.4 g) cooled down to 0° C., and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and was stirred for 3 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.4 g of a6-4.A structure of the compound a6-4 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=514.8 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a6-6 0.4 g of a6-4 and 0.5 g of a6-5 were mixed in DMF (50 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (200 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C. and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer.", "The organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.2 g of a6-6.A structure of the compound a6-6 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=740.9 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a6 0.2 g of a6-6 and 0.3 g of a1-14 were mixed in 20 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.15 g of compound a6.A structure of the compound a6 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1167.0 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a12] Synthesis of Compound a12-3 5.4 g of a12-1 and 38 g of a12-2 were mixed in 170 mL of acetic acid/methanol (volume ratio: 150/20), and the resultant mixture was cooled to 0° C., and a solution obtained by diluting bromine (6 mL) with 60 mL of acetic acid was added dropwise to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and the resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 1 hour, and this reaction solution was added dropwise to 200 mL of water.", "Ammonia water was added to the resultant solution, and a precipitated crystal was filtered, thereby obtaining 4 g of a12-3.A structure of the compound a12-3 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=223.0 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a12-4 4 g of a12-3 was put into 85% phosphoric acid aqueous solution, and the resultant mixture was cooled down to -20° C. An aqueous solution obtained by dissolving 1.2 g of sodium nitrite in 12 mL of water was added dropwise to the resultant cooled down mixture, and the mixture after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, this reaction solution was added to an aqueous solution obtained by putting CuBr (2.7 g) into 17 mL of 48% HBr aqueous solution.", "The resultant solution was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour, and then was heated to 40° C. and was stirred for 2 hours.", "The resultant stirred solution was left to cool down to room temperature, and extraction was performed with dichloromethane to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 1.2 g of a12-4.A structure of the compound a12-4 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=350.8 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a12-5 A tetrahydrofuran (30 mL) solution of a12-4 (0.6 g) was cooled down to −78° C., and 2.1 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant cooled down solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (0.8 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 2.1 g of a1-5 were mixed in DMF (80 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (230 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.2 g of a12-5.A structure of the compound a12-5 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1189.4 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a12 0.2 g of a12-5 and 0.25 g of a1-14 were mixed in 20 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.1 g of compound a12.A structure of the compound a12 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1616.5 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a14] Synthesis of Compound a14 0.5 g of a3-1 and 0.65 g of a14-1 were mixed in 20 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.29 g of compound a14.A structure of the compound a14 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI =1433.5 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a16] Synthesis of Compound a16-2 A tetrahydrofuran (30 mL) solution of a1-11 (1.2 g) was cooled down to Δ78° C., and 2.6 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (0.9 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 1.1 g of a16-1 were mixed in toluene (80 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (280 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.9 g of compound a16-2.A structure of the compound a16-2 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=909.2 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a16-4 A tetrahydrofuran (25 mL) solution of a16-2 (0.8 g) was cooled down to −78° C., and 1.2 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (0.4 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 0.5 g of compound a16-3 were mixed in toluene (30 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (170 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.5 g of a16-4.A structure of the compound a16-4 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1131.1 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a16 0.5 g of a16-4 and 0.5 g of a1-14 were mixed in 30 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.22 g of compound a16.A structure of the compound a16 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1557.2 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a17] Synthesis of Compound a17-2 10 mL of phosphorus oxychloride was added dropwise to 20 mL of DMF that was cooled down to 0° C., and the resultant mixture was stirred for 30 minutes.", "5 g of compound a17-1 was added to the resultant stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 45° C. and was stirred for 5 hours.", "This reaction solution was added dropwise to water maintained at 30° C., and the resultant mixture was stirred for 1 hour.", "Ethyl acetate was added to the resultant stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer.", "Continuously, the concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 3 g of compound a17-2 A structure of the compound a17-2 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=359.0 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a17-3 NBS (1.5 g) was added to a DMF (20 mL) solution of a17-2 (3 g) cooled down to 0° C., and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and was stirred for 3 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 2.6 g of compound a17-3.A structure of the compound a17-3 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=438.9 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a17-6 4 g of compound a17-4 and 8 g of potassium carbonate were mixed in 70 mL of DMF, and a17-5 (30 g) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was stirred for 5 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 4.5 g of compound a17-6.A structure of the compound a17-6 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=386.3 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a17-7 A tetrahydrofuran (30 mL) solution of a1-11 (0.6 g) was cooled down to −78° C., and 1.5 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (0.5 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 1.3 g of compound a17-3 were mixed in THF (50 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (250 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.3 g of compound a17-7.A structure of the compound a17-7 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1293.1 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a17 0.3 g of compound a17-7 and 0.45 g of compound a17-6 were mixed in 30 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.15 g of compound a17.A structure of the compound a17 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=2028.6 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a18] Synthesis of Compound a18-2 A tetrahydrofuran (30 mL) solution of compound a1-11 (0.6 g) was cooled down to −78° C., and 1.5 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (0.5 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 0.7 g of compound a18-1 were mixed in THF (30 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (250 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.37 g of compound a18-2.A structure of the compound a18-2 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=965.2 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a18 0.3 g of compound a18-2 and 0.23 g of compound a18-3 were mixed in 30 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.29 g of compound a18.A structure of the compound a18 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1197.2 (M+H)+ [Synthesis of Compound a19] Synthesis of Compound a19-2 1.8 g of compound al-9 and 5.2 g of compound a19-1 were mixed in 50 mL of tetrahydrofuran, and 2-Dicyclohexylphosphino-2′,6′-dimethoxybiphenyl (abbreviated as SPos) (1 g), palladium acetate (120 mg), and tripotassium phosphate (4.5 g) were added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 70° C., and was stirred for 6 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant cooled down mixture, and the mixture after addition was filtrated, thereby obtaining 2.3 g of compound a19-2.A structure of the compound a19-2 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ES I m/z=457.2 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a19-3 A tetrahydrofuran (30 mL) solution of compound a19-2 (0.9 g) was cooled down to −78° C., and 2.5 mL of nBuLi (1.6 M hexane solution) was added dropwise to the resultant solution.", "The solution after addition was stirred for 1 hour.", "Continuously, Me3SnCl (0.5 g) was added to the resultant stirred solution, and the resultant mixture was left to cool down to room temperature.", "The resultant cooled down mixture was stirred for 4 hours.", "Water and ethyl acetate were added to the resultant stirred mixture to concentrate an organic layer.", "The resultant concentrate and 1.2 g of al-5 were mixed in THF (30 mL), and Pd(PPh3)4 (280 mg) was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated to 100° C., and was stirred for 10 hours.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water and chloroform were added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "The mixture after addition was subjected to liquid separation to concentrate an organic layer, and the organic layer was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.5 g of compound a19-3.A structure of the compound a19-3 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1454.6 (M+H)+ Synthesis of Compound a19 0.4 g of compound a19-3 and 0.22 g of compound a19-4 were mixed in 30 mL of chloroform, and a minute amount of triethylamine was added to the resultant mixture.", "The mixture after addition was heated for heating reflux.", "In this state, the mixture was stirred for one night.", "The resultant stirred mixture was left to cool down to room temperature, and water was added to the resultant cooled down mixture.", "Extraction was performed with dichloromethane, and the resultant extracted material was concentrated.", "Continuously, the resultant concentrate was purified with column chromatography, thereby obtaining 0.3 g of compound a19.A structure of the compound a19 was confirmed with mass spectrometry (MS).", "MS-ESI m/z=1740.6 (M+H)+ Another compound (hole transporting material) was synthesized by combining a method conforming to the above description and a known method.", "<Hole Transporting Material> As the hole transporting material of the invention, the following compounds were used.", "[Hole Transporting Material for Comparison] As a hole transporting material for comparison, the following compounds b 1 and b2, and spiro-MeOTAD (manufactured by 1-material inc.) were used.", "The photoelectric conversion element 10A illustrated in FIG.", "1A was manufactured in the following procedure.", "In a case where the film thickness of the photosensitive layer 13 is large, this case corresponds to the photoelectric conversion element 10B illustrated in FIG.", "2.", "[Manufacturing of Photoelectric Conversion Element (Sample No.", "101)] <Preparation of Conductive Support 11> A fluorine-doped SnO2 conductive film (transparent electrode 11b, film thickness: 300 nm) was formed on a glass substrate (support 11a, thickness: 2 mm) to prepare the conductive support 11.<Preparation of Solution for Blocking Layer> 15% by mass isopropanol solution (manufactured by Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC) of titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) was diluted with 1-butanol, thereby preparing 0.02 M solution for a blocking layer.", "<Formation of Blocking Layer 14> The blocking layer 14 (film thickness: 50 nm) formed from titanium oxide was formed on the SnO2 conductive film of the conductive support 11 by using the prepared 0.02 M solution for the blocking layer at 450° C. in accordance with a spray pyrolysis method.", "<Preparation of Titanium Oxide Paste> Ethyl cellulose, lauric acid, and terpineol were added to an ethanol dispersion liquid of titanium oxide (anatase, average particle size: 20 nm), thereby preparing titanium oxide paste.", "<Formation of Porous Layer 12> The prepared titanium oxide paste was applied onto the blocking layer 14 with a screen printing method, and was baked in the air at 500° C. for 3 hours.", "Then, a baked body of the titanium oxide, which was obtained, was immersed in 40 mM TiCl4 aqueous solution, and was heated at 60° C. for 1 hour, and heating was continuously performed at 500° C. for 30 minutes, thereby forming the porous layer 12 (film thickness: 250 nm) formed from TiO2.<Formation of Photosensitive Layer 13A> A 40% methanol solution (10 g) of methyl amine, and an aqueous solution of 47% by mass of hydrogen bromide (hydrobromic acid: 15.6 g) were stirred in a flask at 0° C. for 2 hours, and were concentrated to obtain coarse CH3NH3Br.", "The coarse CH3NH3Br that was obtained was dissolved in ethanol and was recrystallized with diethylether.", "A precipitated crystal that was obtained was filtered and collected, and was dried under reduced pressure at 60° C. for 5 hours, thereby obtaining purified CH3NH3Br.", "Then, the purified CH3NH3Br and PbBr2 were stirred and mixed in a molar ration of 3:1 in DMF at 60° C. for 12 hours, and the resultant mixture was filtered with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFh) syringe filter, thereby preparing a 40% by mass light absorbing agent solution.", "The prepared light absorbing agent solution A was applied onto the porous layer 12 formed on the conductive support 11 with a spin coating method (for 60 seconds at 2000 rpm), and the applied light absorbing agent solution A was dried by using a hot plate at 100° C. for 60 minutes, thereby forming the photosensitive layer 13A (film thickness: 300 nm (including the film thickness of 250 nm of the porous layer 12)) including a perovskite compound of CH3NH3PbBr3.In this manner, the first electrode 1A was prepared.", "Furthermore, in Sample No.", "116, the photosensitive layer was formed by using a perovskite compound of CH3NH3PbI3 instead of the perovskite compound of CH3NH3PbBr3.The perovskite compound CH3NH3PbI3 was obtained in the same manner as described above except that the material CH3NH3Br was changed to CH3NH3I, and PbBr2 was changed to PM2.<Preparation of Hole Transporting Material Solution> The compound al (180 mg) as the hole transporting material was dissolved in chlorobenzene (1 mL), thereby preparing a hole transporting material solution.", "<Formation of Hole Transport Layer 3A> Then, the prepared solution for the hole transport layer was applied onto a surface of the first electrode 1A with a spin coating method and was dried, thereby forming the solid-shaped hole transport layer 3A (film thickness: 100 nm).", "<Preparation of Second Electrode 2> Gold was vapor-deposited on the hole transport layer 3A with a vapor deposition method to prepare the second electrode 2 (film thickness: 100 nm).", "In this manner, the photoelectric conversion element 10A (Sample No.", "101) was manufactured.", "Respective film thicknesses were measured through observation with a SEM according to the above-described method.", "[Manufacturing of Photoelectric Conversion Elements (Sample Nos.", "102 to 121, and c101 to c104)] Sample Nos.", "102 to 115, 118 to 121, and c101 to 103 Photoelectric conversion elements (Sample Nos.", "102 to 115) of the invention, and photoelectric conversion elements (Sample Nos.", "c101 to c103) for comparison were respectively manufactured in the same manner as in the manufacturing of the photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "101) except that hole transporting material solutions respectively containing hole transporting materials illustrated in Table 1 were used instead of the hole transporting material al in comparison to the manufacturing of the photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "101).", "Sample No.", "116 A photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "116) of the invention was manufactured in the same manner as in the manufacturing of the photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "101) except that a photosensitive layer containing the perovskite compound of CH3NH3PbI3 was used instead of the perovskite compound of CH3NH3PbBr3, and a hole transporting material solution containing a hole transporting material illustrated in the following Table 1 was used instead of the hole transporting material al in comparison to the manufacturing of the photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "101).", "Sample Nos.", "117 and c104 A photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "117) of the invention and a photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "c104) for comparison were manufactured in the same manner as in the manufacturing of the photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "101) except that hole transporting materials illustrated in the following Table 1 were respectively used instead of the hole transporting material a1, and preparation of the hole transporting material solution was changed as described below in comparison to the manufacturing of the photoelectric conversion element (Sample No.", "101).", "<Preparation of Hole Transporting Material Solution> A hole transporting material (180 mg) illustrated in the following Table 1 was dissolved in chlorobenzene (1 mL).", "37.5 μL of an acetonitrile solution obtained by dissolving lithium-bis (trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (170 mg) in acetonitrile (1 mL) and t-butyl pyridine (TBP, 17.5 μL) were additionally mixed to the chlorobenzene solution, thereby preparing a hole transporting material solution.", "<<Evaluation>> <Measurement of Initial Photoelectric Conversion Efficiency> Initial photoelectric conversion efficiency was evaluated as follows.", "Five specimens were manufactured for each of the photoelectric conversion elements of respective sample numbers.", "A battery characteristic test was performed with respect to each of the five specimens to measure initial photoelectric conversion efficiency (η1/%) (after manufacturing).", "In addition, an average value of the five specimens was set as initial photoelectric conversion efficiency (η1A/%) of the photoelectric conversion element of each sample number.", "The battery characteristic test was performed through irradiation of pseudo-solar light of 1000 W/m2 from a xenon lamp through an AM1.5 filter by using a solar simulator “WXS-85H” (manufactured by Wacom).", "Current-voltage characteristics were measured by using an I-V tester to obtain photoelectric conversion efficiency (η[%]).", "It was confirmed that the specimens function as a solar cell when considering that a current flows in any of the specimens.", "<Measurement of Photoelectric Conversion Efficiency with Passage of Time> Photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photoelectric conversion element with the passage of time was evaluated as follows.", "Five specimens of photoelectric conversion elements were manufactured for each of the sample numbers.", "Each of the five specimens of photoelectric conversion elements was maintained in a constant-temperature and constant-humidity bath under a high-humidity environment of a temperature of 40° C. and a relative humidity of 55% RH for 20 hours, and then a battery characteristic test was performed in the same manner as in <Measurement of Initial Photoelectric Conversion Efficiency> to measure photoelectric conversion efficiency (ηR/%) after the passage of time.", "In addition, an average value of the five specimens was set as photoelectric conversion efficiency (ηRA/%) of the photoelectric conversion elements of the respective sample numbers.", "<Evaluation of Moisture Resistance Variation> A moisture resistance variation of the photoelectric conversion element was evaluated as follows.", "First, with respect to the entirety of the five specimens of photoelectric conversion elements in each of the respective sample numbers, a deterioration rate of the photoelectric conversion efficiency was calculated in accordance with the following Expression (I).", "Deterioration rate (%)=100−{100×[(photoelectric conversion efficiency with the passage of time ηR)/(initial photoelectric conversion efficiency ηI)]} (I) Next, an average deterioration rate of the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the five specimens of photoelectric conversion elements in each of the sample numbers was calculated in accordance with the following Expression (II).", "Average deterioration rate (%)=100−{100×[(photoelectric conversion efficiency with the passage of time ηRA}/(initial photoelectric conversion efficiency ηIA)]} (II) The moisture resistance variation of the photoelectric conversion element was evaluated as follows.", "That is, when an average deterioration rate of the photoelectric conversion efficiency, which is calculated by Expression (II), is set as “1”, ranges, in which the greatest difference of a relative deterioration rate from the average deterioration rate among five specimens is included, are classified under the following evaluation criteria to evaluate the moisture resistance variation.", "When subtracting 1 from a value obtained by dividing the deterioration rate of each of the five specimens by the average deterioration rate, “the greatest difference of the relative deterioration rate” represents a difference of which an absolute value is the greatest.", "—Evaluation Criteria of Moisture Resistance Variation— With regard to the maximum value among the differences of the relative deterioration rate, criteria are as follows.", "A: Maximum value is in a range of ±0.16 B: Maximum value is beyond a range of ±0.16 and is in a range of ±0.19 C: Maximum value is beyond a range of ±0.19 and is in a range of ±0.23 D: Maximum value is beyond a range of ±0.23 and is in a range of ±0.27 E: Maximum value is beyond a range of ±0.27 and is in a range of ±0.31 F: Maximum value is beyond a range of ±0.31, and is in a range of ±0.35 G: Maximum value is beyond a range of ±0.35 Results are illustrated in the following Table 1.In the evaluation of the moisture resistance variation, [A], [B], [C], [D], and [E] are passing levels, [A], [B], and [C] are preferable, and [A] is more preferable.", "On the other hand, in [F] and [G], moisture resistance between elements is irregular, and the moisture resistance does not reach the passing level (required level) of the invention.", "Furthermore, with respect to specimens which were separately prepared, Au was vapor-deposited to form a film in succession to the hole transport layer, and the battery performance was measured.", "From the measurement, it was confirmed that the specimens function as a solar cell when considering that a current flow in any of the specimens.", "TABLE 1 Moisture Sample Photosensitive Hole transporting resistance No.", "layer material variation 101 Present Invention 1 CH3NH3PbBr3 a1 A 102 Present Invention 2 CH3NH3PbBr3 a2 A 103 Present Invention 3 CH3NH3PbBr3 a3 A 104 Present Invention 4 CH3NH3PbBr3 a4 D 105 Present Invention 5 CH3NH3PbBr3 a5 A 106 Present Invention 6 CH3NH3PbBr3 a6 B 107 Present Invention 7 CH3NH3PbBr3 a7 A 108 Present Invention 8 CH3NH3PbBr3 a8 B 109 Present Invention 9 CH3NH3PbBr3 a9 C 110 Present Invention 10 CH3NH3PbBr3 a10 C 111 Present Invention 11 CH3NH3PbBr3 a11 D 112 Present Invention 12 CH3NH3PbBr3 a12 A 113 Present Invention 13 CH3NH3PbBr3 a13 E 114 Present Invention 14 CH3NH3PbBr3 a14 C 115 Present Invention 15 CH3NH3PbBr3 a15 B 116 Present Invention 16 CH3NH3PbI3 a3 A 117 Present Invention 17 CH3NH3PbBr3 a3 A 118 Present Invention 18 CH3NH3PbBr3 a16 A 119 Present Invention 19 CH3NH3PbBr3 a17 A 120 Present Invention20 CH3NH3PbBr3 a18 A 121 Present Invention 21 CH3NH3PbBr3 a19 A c101 Comparative Example 1 CH3NH3PbBr3 spiro-MeOTAD G c102 Comparative Example 2 CH3NH3PbBr3 b1 F c103 Comparative Example 3 CH3NH3PbBr3 b2 F c104 Comparative Example 4 CH3NH3PbBr3 spiro-MeOTAD G As illustrated in Table 1, it could be seen that in the photoelectric conversion elements of the invention which include a compound represented by Formula 1 in the hole transport layer, it is possible to suppress the moisture resistance variation.", "EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES 1A to 1D: first electrode 11: conductive support 11a: support 11b: transparent electrode 12: porous layer 13A to 13C: photosensitive layer 14: blocking layer 2: second electrode 3A, 3B: hole transport layer 15: electron transport layer 6: external circuit (lead) 10A to 10D: photoelectric conversion element 100A to 100D: system using solar cell M: electric motor" ] ]
Patent_15874951
[ [ "VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A VEHICLE", "A vehicle control system for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle; the vehicle control system comprising a subsystem controller for initiating control of the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of different subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle.", "Evaluation means are provided for evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the extent to which each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and for providing an output to the subsystem controller that is indicative of the control mode which is most appropriate.", "This may be an evaluation means for calculating the probability that the or each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate.", "Automatic control means may be operable in an automatic response mode to select an appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output." ], [ "1.A vehicle control system for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle, the vehicle control system comprising: a subsystem controller for initiating control of one or more vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different terrain types for the vehicle, and at least one sensor that outputs at least one signal indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling, wherein the at least one signal is a signal other than a signal generated in response to a user input; a processor configured to: receive the at least one signal from the at least one sensor and to evaluate the at least one signal; determine, for each of said subsystem control modes corresponding to one or more different terrain types, the extent to which that subsystem control mode is appropriate for the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling on the basis of the at least one signal and without reliance on a user input; and automatically provide an output indicative of the subsystem control mode that is determined to be the most appropriate, wherein in an automatic response mode, the subsystem controller automatically configures each vehicle subsystem in said subsystem control mode determined to be the most appropriate in response to said output indicative of the determined subsystem control mode that is determined to be the most appropriate, and wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode when a predetermined vehicle condition is satisfied.", "2.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode when the vehicle is travelling in reverse.", "3.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode until the vehicle is determined to have travelled a predetermined distance in a forward direction after it has travelled in a reverse direction.", "4.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode when the vehicle transmission is in a park mode.", "5.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode when the vehicle is travelling below a threshold speed.", "6.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode when the vehicle is changing gear.", "7.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode when the vehicle is braking with zero throttle being applied.", "8.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subsystem controller is configured to suspend a change of subsystem control mode when active vehicle braking is taking place.", "9.A vehicle control system for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle, the vehicle control system comprising: a subsystem controller for initiating control of one or more vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different terrain types for the vehicle; and a processor configured to: receive and evaluate at least one signal indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling; determine the extent to which each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate for the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling; and provide an output indicative of the subsystem control mode that is most appropriate, wherein the processor is further configured to: evaluate a plurality of drive condition indicators to determine the probability that each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate, and wherein the output provided by the processor is indicative of the subsystem control mode with the highest probability, calculate, for each of the control modes, a difference value between the probability for the current control mode and the probability for another control mode, integrate each of the difference values with respect to time to calculate an integrated difference value for each of the other control modes, compare each of the integrated difference values with a threshold for change, and initiate a change in the selected subsystem control mode when the integrated difference value for one of the control modes exceeds the threshold for change, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values in dependence on a predetermined vehicle condition being satisfied.", "10.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values when the vehicle is travelling in reverse.", "11.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values until the vehicle is determined to have travelled a predetermined distance in a forward direction after it has travelled in a reverse direction.", "12.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values when the vehicle transmission is in a park mode.", "13.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values when the vehicle is travelling below a threshold speed.", "14.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values when the vehicle is changing gear.", "15.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values when the vehicle is braking with zero throttle being applied.", "16.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to pause integration of the difference values when active vehicle braking is taking place.", "17.The vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one vehicle subsystem includes ones or more of: an engine management system, a steering controller, a brakes controller and a suspension controller.", "18.A method of controlling at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle, the method comprising: initiating control of each of the one or more vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of different subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different terrain types for the vehicle; receiving, from at least one sensor, at least one signal indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling, wherein the at least one signal is a signal other than a signal generated in response to a user input; evaluating the at least one signal to determine, for each of said subsystem control modes corresponding to one or more different terrain types, the extent to which that subsystem control mode is appropriate for the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling on the basis of the at least one signal and without reliance on a user input; providing an output indicative of the control mode which is determined to be the most appropriate; and in an automatic response mode, automatically configuring each said vehicle subsystem in the subsystem control mode determined to be the most appropriate in response to said output indicative of the determined control mode which is determined to be the most appropriate, and suspending a change in a subsystem control mode when a predetermined vehicle condition is satisfied.", "19.The method as claimed in claim 18 wherein the predetermined vehicle condition is one or more of the following: a) the vehicle is travelling in reverse; b) the vehicle is determined to have travelled a predetermined distance in a forward direction after it has travelled in a reverse direction; c) the vehicle transmission is in a park mode; d) the vehicle is travelling below a threshold speed; e) the vehicle is changing gear; f) the vehicle is braking with zero throttle being applied; and g) active vehicle braking is taking place.", "20.A vehicle comprising the vehicle control system as claimed in claim 1." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION <EOH>It is known in vehicles to provide various different subsystems which can operate in different configurations so as to suit different driving conditions.", "By way of example, automatic transmissions can be controlled in a variety of modes (e.g.", "sport, manual, winter or economy) in which changes between gear ratios and other subsystem control parameters are modified so as to suit the conditions of the terrain or the particular taste of the driver.", "It is also known to provide air suspensions with on-road and off-road modes.", "Stability control systems can be operated at reduced activity so as to give the driver more direct control, and power steering systems can be operated in different modes to provide a varying level of assistance depending on driving conditions.", "The Applicant has recognized previously that the high level of choice for drivers poses a complicated and confusing scenario for an effective, safe and enjoyable driving experience.", "Our granted U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,349,776 describes a vehicle control system in which the driver can implement improved control over a broad range of driving conditions, and in particular over a number of different terrains which may be encountered when driving off-road.", "In response to a driver input command relating to the terrain, the vehicle control system is selected to operate in one of a number of different driving modes.", "For each driving mode, the various vehicle subsystems are operated in a manner appropriate to the corresponding terrain.", "It has now been recognized that further improvements to the vehicle control system would provide a more effective and enjoyable driving experience for a range of driving styles and driver abilities.", "It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control system which provides an improvement to systems generally of the aforementioned type." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control system for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle comprising a subsystem controller for initiating control of the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle.", "The vehicle control system further includes evaluation means for evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the extent to which each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and for providing an output indicative of the subsystem control mode which is most appropriate.", "Preferably, the output is provided to the subsystem controller and, in a preferred embodiment, the vehicle control system further includes automatic control means operable in an automatic response mode to select the most appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output.", "It is preferable for the evaluation means to determine the probability that each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and to provide an output which is indicative of the subsystem control mode with the highest probability of being appropriate.", "The evaluation means may preferably take the form of a software-implemented evaluation means in the form of a processor located within a vehicle control unit of the vehicle control system.", "The subsystem controller may be a central controller which as well as initiating control of the most appropriate of the plurality of control modes by selecting the most appropriate one, is also arranged to control the or each of the vehicle subsystems in said selected control mode.", "Alternatively the subsystem controller may initiate control of the vehicle subsystems in the selected one of the control modes via an intermediate controller which then controls the vehicle subsystems in the selected control mode.", "A different intermediate controller may be associated with each vehicle subsystem.", "The or each intermediate controller may form an integral part of the subsystem controller.", "It may be that only one of a plurality of vehicle subsystems is controlled by the subsystem controller (or the intermediate controller) in the most appropriate control mode, depending on driving conditions.", "It is preferable, although not essential, for a plurality (i.e.", "two or more) of driving condition indicators to be provided to the evaluation means.", "It will be appreciated that there may be only two subsystem control modes (e.g.", "one that is appropriate for on-road and one that is appropriate for off-road).", "In one embodiment, the or each of the driving condition indicators is derived from a signal indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling.", "Each of the different driving conditions with which the different subsystem control modes is associated may therefore be representative of or appropriate for at least one terrain type.", "For example, grass, gravel and snow may be associated with one of the subsystem control modes and mud and ruts may be associated with another of the subsystem control modes.", "Rather than relying on the driver to identify the most appropriate control mode for the vehicle subsystem or subsystems, the present invention utilizes an evaluation means for evaluating operating signals of the vehicle, such as those that are indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling, and in a preferred embodiment enables the automatic implementation of a vehicle subsystem control mode which is appropriate for the terrain condition or driving style of the driver without requiring the driver to identify or select the most appropriate mode of control.", "As there is no reliance on driver input in order for the appropriate control mode to be selected, this allows for a more composed and enjoyable driving experience, and with reduced workload on the engine.", "Alternatively, or in addition, the or each of the driving condition indicators may be derived from a signal indicative of the character of the driving style of the driver of the vehicle.", "Therefore, each of the plurality of different driving conditions with which the different subsystem control modes is associated may be representative or associated with a characteristic of driving style.", "The characteristics of driving style may range from an economy-oriented driving style to a performance-oriented driving style, including, for example, a dynamic style, a sporty style and an economical style.", "By way of example, the evaluation means may receive one or more of the following indicators to identify the current driving style of the driver: (a) a speed of rotation of the engine; (b) a speed of rotation of the electric motor means; (c) a speed of the vehicle; (d) a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle; (e) a lateral acceleration of the vehicle; (f) an accelerator pedal position; (g) a state of an accelerator pedal kick-down detector; (h) a brake pedal position; (i) a proportion of an amount of a brake torque requested by the driver that is provided by regenerative braking; (j) a speed of at least one portion of a driveline of the vehicle; (k) an amount of positive drive torque; (I) a rate of change of positive drive torque request; (m) a steering wheel angle; and (n) a rate of change of steering wheel angle.", "In a preferred embodiment, the evaluation means includes estimator means for receiving one or more input signals corresponding to a respective one of the driving condition indicators and for estimating one or more further driving condition indicators on the basis of the input signals.", "The evaluation means may further include means for calculating a combined probability value for each subsystem control mode based on individual probability values for each subsystem control mode derived from the or each of the driving condition indicators, wherein the control output signal from the evaluation means is indicative of the control mode with the highest combined probability value.", "The combined probability value (Pb) for each control mode may, in one embodiment, be calculated by the following equation: in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "Pb =( a.b.c.d .", ".", ".", "n )/(( a.b.c.d .", ".", ".", "n )+(1 −a )·(1 −b )·(1 −c )·(1 −d ) .", ".", ".", "(1 −n )) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "wherein a, b, c, d .", ".", ".", "n represent the individual probability values derived from a respective one of the driving condition indicators (the individual probability value is an indication of the probability that the control mode is appropriate, based on one of the driving condition indicators).", "Certain terrain indicators may make a control mode more or less likely when combined together, compared with basing the selection on just a single terrain indicator alone.", "It is therefore advantageous if the automatic response is based on a combined probability value dependent on a plurality of different driving condition indicators, rather than relying on a probability value for just one driving condition indicator.", "The vehicle control system may further comprise means for calculating, for each of the control modes, a difference value between the probability for the current control mode and the probability for another control mode.", "In addition, means may be provided for integrating each of the difference values with respect to time to calculate an integrated difference value for each of the other control modes.", "In a preferred embodiment a comparison means is provided for comparing each of the integrated difference values with a threshold for change.", "A further means may be provided for initiating a change in the selected subsystem control mode when the integrated difference value for one of the control modes exceeds the threshold for change.", "It is preferable for the comparison means to compare each of the integrated difference values with a plurality of thresholds for change, rather than just a single threshold.", "The means for initiating a change in the selected subsystem is then operable to initiate a change when a first one of the thresholds for change is reached.", "For example, each threshold for change may be variable in dependence on a different driving condition indicator such as the surface roughness of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling or the rolling resistance of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling.", "It is an advantage of providing a variable threshold for change, dependent on different terrain indicators, that the speed of response with which the control mode is selected can be varied according to the nature of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling.", "This ensures that less control mode changes will be implemented in certain conditions (e.g.", "on-road terrain) compared to others (e.g.", "off-road terrain).", "The or each of the driving condition indicators is preferably derived from a sensor output signal from a sensor provided on the vehicle.", "The sensor output signals may include a signal from a windscreen wiper sensor to provide an indication of the ON/OFF status of a vehicle windscreen wiper and/or to provide an indication of the duration for which a vehicle windscreen wiper has been in an ON state.", "It has not previously been suggested to use a signal derived from the windscreen wiper sensors as an indication of the driving condition for the purpose of vehicle control.", "This feature of the invention has the advantage that the windscreen wiper sensors are in place anyway on the vehicle, and so no additional hardware is required for implementation.", "The sensor output signals may also, or alternatively, include a signal from a steering system of the vehicle for controlling the steering direction of vehicle, which is indicative of the force applied to the steering system.", "The sensor output signals may also, or alternatively, include a signal from one or more of the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal of the vehicle.", "For example, the vehicle control system may be provided with means for comparing when sensor signals from the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal coincide and for providing a further driving condition indicator to the evaluation means on the basis of the comparison.", "In this way the dual-use of both the brake and accelerator pedals, which is indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is driving, can be used to influence the automatic selection of the appropriate control mode for the vehicle subsystems.", "The vehicle control system may further include switching means for enabling the driver to switch between the automatic response mode in which the automatic control means controls the vehicle subsystem or subsystems in dependence on the output automatically, and a manual response mode in which the subsystem control mode is selected by the driver manually.", "In addition, or alternatively, the vehicle control system may further include means for automatically switching to the automatic response mode from the manual mode e.g.", "in dependence on one or more of the driving condition indicators.", "The at least one vehicle subsystem may include, but is not limited to including, one or more of: an engine management system, a steering controller, a brakes controller, a suspension controller, a gearbox controller, a tire pressure controller.", "According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle comprising initiating control of the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of different subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle, evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the extent to which each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and providing an output indicative of the control mode which is most appropriate.", "Preferably, the method includes automatically selecting an appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output.", "In a preferred embodiment, the evaluating step includes evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the probability that each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate, the method further comprising providing an output indicative of the control mode with the highest probability.", "According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle having a vehicle control system of the first aspect of the invention.", "According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control system for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle comprising a subsystem controller for controlling the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a plurality of subsystem control mode, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle.", "The vehicle control system further includes evaluation means for evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the probability that each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and for providing an output indicative of the control mode with the highest probability of being appropriate; and automatic control means operable in an automatic response mode to select an appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output.", "It will be appreciated that preferred and/or optional features of the first aspect of the invention may be included within the second, third or further aspects of the invention, alone or in appropriate combination." ], [ "FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a vehicle control system for one or more vehicle subsystems.", "The vehicle control system evaluates operating parameters of the vehicle and enables the implementation of an operating mode for the or each vehicle subsystem that is suitable for the driving conditions in which the vehicle is travelling.", "The invention also relates to a method of controlling one or more vehicle subsystems.", "BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION It is known in vehicles to provide various different subsystems which can operate in different configurations so as to suit different driving conditions.", "By way of example, automatic transmissions can be controlled in a variety of modes (e.g.", "sport, manual, winter or economy) in which changes between gear ratios and other subsystem control parameters are modified so as to suit the conditions of the terrain or the particular taste of the driver.", "It is also known to provide air suspensions with on-road and off-road modes.", "Stability control systems can be operated at reduced activity so as to give the driver more direct control, and power steering systems can be operated in different modes to provide a varying level of assistance depending on driving conditions.", "The Applicant has recognized previously that the high level of choice for drivers poses a complicated and confusing scenario for an effective, safe and enjoyable driving experience.", "Our granted U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,349,776 describes a vehicle control system in which the driver can implement improved control over a broad range of driving conditions, and in particular over a number of different terrains which may be encountered when driving off-road.", "In response to a driver input command relating to the terrain, the vehicle control system is selected to operate in one of a number of different driving modes.", "For each driving mode, the various vehicle subsystems are operated in a manner appropriate to the corresponding terrain.", "It has now been recognized that further improvements to the vehicle control system would provide a more effective and enjoyable driving experience for a range of driving styles and driver abilities.", "It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control system which provides an improvement to systems generally of the aforementioned type.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control system for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle comprising a subsystem controller for initiating control of the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle.", "The vehicle control system further includes evaluation means for evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the extent to which each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and for providing an output indicative of the subsystem control mode which is most appropriate.", "Preferably, the output is provided to the subsystem controller and, in a preferred embodiment, the vehicle control system further includes automatic control means operable in an automatic response mode to select the most appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output.", "It is preferable for the evaluation means to determine the probability that each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and to provide an output which is indicative of the subsystem control mode with the highest probability of being appropriate.", "The evaluation means may preferably take the form of a software-implemented evaluation means in the form of a processor located within a vehicle control unit of the vehicle control system.", "The subsystem controller may be a central controller which as well as initiating control of the most appropriate of the plurality of control modes by selecting the most appropriate one, is also arranged to control the or each of the vehicle subsystems in said selected control mode.", "Alternatively the subsystem controller may initiate control of the vehicle subsystems in the selected one of the control modes via an intermediate controller which then controls the vehicle subsystems in the selected control mode.", "A different intermediate controller may be associated with each vehicle subsystem.", "The or each intermediate controller may form an integral part of the subsystem controller.", "It may be that only one of a plurality of vehicle subsystems is controlled by the subsystem controller (or the intermediate controller) in the most appropriate control mode, depending on driving conditions.", "It is preferable, although not essential, for a plurality (i.e.", "two or more) of driving condition indicators to be provided to the evaluation means.", "It will be appreciated that there may be only two subsystem control modes (e.g.", "one that is appropriate for on-road and one that is appropriate for off-road).", "In one embodiment, the or each of the driving condition indicators is derived from a signal indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling.", "Each of the different driving conditions with which the different subsystem control modes is associated may therefore be representative of or appropriate for at least one terrain type.", "For example, grass, gravel and snow may be associated with one of the subsystem control modes and mud and ruts may be associated with another of the subsystem control modes.", "Rather than relying on the driver to identify the most appropriate control mode for the vehicle subsystem or subsystems, the present invention utilizes an evaluation means for evaluating operating signals of the vehicle, such as those that are indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling, and in a preferred embodiment enables the automatic implementation of a vehicle subsystem control mode which is appropriate for the terrain condition or driving style of the driver without requiring the driver to identify or select the most appropriate mode of control.", "As there is no reliance on driver input in order for the appropriate control mode to be selected, this allows for a more composed and enjoyable driving experience, and with reduced workload on the engine.", "Alternatively, or in addition, the or each of the driving condition indicators may be derived from a signal indicative of the character of the driving style of the driver of the vehicle.", "Therefore, each of the plurality of different driving conditions with which the different subsystem control modes is associated may be representative or associated with a characteristic of driving style.", "The characteristics of driving style may range from an economy-oriented driving style to a performance-oriented driving style, including, for example, a dynamic style, a sporty style and an economical style.", "By way of example, the evaluation means may receive one or more of the following indicators to identify the current driving style of the driver: (a) a speed of rotation of the engine; (b) a speed of rotation of the electric motor means; (c) a speed of the vehicle; (d) a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle; (e) a lateral acceleration of the vehicle; (f) an accelerator pedal position; (g) a state of an accelerator pedal kick-down detector; (h) a brake pedal position; (i) a proportion of an amount of a brake torque requested by the driver that is provided by regenerative braking; (j) a speed of at least one portion of a driveline of the vehicle; (k) an amount of positive drive torque; (I) a rate of change of positive drive torque request; (m) a steering wheel angle; and (n) a rate of change of steering wheel angle.", "In a preferred embodiment, the evaluation means includes estimator means for receiving one or more input signals corresponding to a respective one of the driving condition indicators and for estimating one or more further driving condition indicators on the basis of the input signals.", "The evaluation means may further include means for calculating a combined probability value for each subsystem control mode based on individual probability values for each subsystem control mode derived from the or each of the driving condition indicators, wherein the control output signal from the evaluation means is indicative of the control mode with the highest combined probability value.", "The combined probability value (Pb) for each control mode may, in one embodiment, be calculated by the following equation: Pb=(a.b.c.d .", ".", ".", "n)/((a.b.c.d .", ".", ".", "n)+(1−a)·(1−b)·(1−c)·(1−d) .", ".", ".", "(1−n)) wherein a, b, c, d .", ".", ".", "n represent the individual probability values derived from a respective one of the driving condition indicators (the individual probability value is an indication of the probability that the control mode is appropriate, based on one of the driving condition indicators).", "Certain terrain indicators may make a control mode more or less likely when combined together, compared with basing the selection on just a single terrain indicator alone.", "It is therefore advantageous if the automatic response is based on a combined probability value dependent on a plurality of different driving condition indicators, rather than relying on a probability value for just one driving condition indicator.", "The vehicle control system may further comprise means for calculating, for each of the control modes, a difference value between the probability for the current control mode and the probability for another control mode.", "In addition, means may be provided for integrating each of the difference values with respect to time to calculate an integrated difference value for each of the other control modes.", "In a preferred embodiment a comparison means is provided for comparing each of the integrated difference values with a threshold for change.", "A further means may be provided for initiating a change in the selected subsystem control mode when the integrated difference value for one of the control modes exceeds the threshold for change.", "It is preferable for the comparison means to compare each of the integrated difference values with a plurality of thresholds for change, rather than just a single threshold.", "The means for initiating a change in the selected subsystem is then operable to initiate a change when a first one of the thresholds for change is reached.", "For example, each threshold for change may be variable in dependence on a different driving condition indicator such as the surface roughness of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling or the rolling resistance of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling.", "It is an advantage of providing a variable threshold for change, dependent on different terrain indicators, that the speed of response with which the control mode is selected can be varied according to the nature of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling.", "This ensures that less control mode changes will be implemented in certain conditions (e.g.", "on-road terrain) compared to others (e.g.", "off-road terrain).", "The or each of the driving condition indicators is preferably derived from a sensor output signal from a sensor provided on the vehicle.", "The sensor output signals may include a signal from a windscreen wiper sensor to provide an indication of the ON/OFF status of a vehicle windscreen wiper and/or to provide an indication of the duration for which a vehicle windscreen wiper has been in an ON state.", "It has not previously been suggested to use a signal derived from the windscreen wiper sensors as an indication of the driving condition for the purpose of vehicle control.", "This feature of the invention has the advantage that the windscreen wiper sensors are in place anyway on the vehicle, and so no additional hardware is required for implementation.", "The sensor output signals may also, or alternatively, include a signal from a steering system of the vehicle for controlling the steering direction of vehicle, which is indicative of the force applied to the steering system.", "The sensor output signals may also, or alternatively, include a signal from one or more of the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal of the vehicle.", "For example, the vehicle control system may be provided with means for comparing when sensor signals from the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal coincide and for providing a further driving condition indicator to the evaluation means on the basis of the comparison.", "In this way the dual-use of both the brake and accelerator pedals, which is indicative of the terrain in which the vehicle is driving, can be used to influence the automatic selection of the appropriate control mode for the vehicle subsystems.", "The vehicle control system may further include switching means for enabling the driver to switch between the automatic response mode in which the automatic control means controls the vehicle subsystem or subsystems in dependence on the output automatically, and a manual response mode in which the subsystem control mode is selected by the driver manually.", "In addition, or alternatively, the vehicle control system may further include means for automatically switching to the automatic response mode from the manual mode e.g.", "in dependence on one or more of the driving condition indicators.", "The at least one vehicle subsystem may include, but is not limited to including, one or more of: an engine management system, a steering controller, a brakes controller, a suspension controller, a gearbox controller, a tire pressure controller.", "According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle comprising initiating control of the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a selected one of a plurality of different subsystem control modes, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle, evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the extent to which each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and providing an output indicative of the control mode which is most appropriate.", "Preferably, the method includes automatically selecting an appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output.", "In a preferred embodiment, the evaluating step includes evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the probability that each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate, the method further comprising providing an output indicative of the control mode with the highest probability.", "According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle having a vehicle control system of the first aspect of the invention.", "According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle control system for at least one vehicle subsystem of a vehicle comprising a subsystem controller for controlling the or each of the vehicle subsystems in a plurality of subsystem control mode, each of which corresponds to one or more different driving conditions for the vehicle.", "The vehicle control system further includes evaluation means for evaluating one or more driving condition indicators to determine the probability that each of the subsystem control modes is appropriate and for providing an output indicative of the control mode with the highest probability of being appropriate; and automatic control means operable in an automatic response mode to select an appropriate one of the subsystem control modes in dependence on the output.", "It will be appreciated that preferred and/or optional features of the first aspect of the invention may be included within the second, third or further aspects of the invention, alone or in appropriate combination.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the following Figures in which: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram to illustrate a vehicle control system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, including various vehicle subsystems under the control of the vehicle control system; FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of human machine interface (HMI) elements forming part of the vehicle control system in FIG.", "1 in more detail; and FIG.", "3 is a schematic block diagram showing performance parameters associated with a vehicle control system arranged to determine a value of a driver behavior evaluation index.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS.", "1 and 2 show a vehicle control unit (VCU) 10 for a vehicle intended to be suitable for off-road use, that is for use on terrains other than regular tarmac road surfaces.", "The VCU 10 controls a plurality of vehicle subsystems 12 including, but not limited to, an engine management system 12a, a transmission system 12b, a steering system 12c, a brakes system 12d and a suspension system 12e.", "Although five subsystems are illustrated as being under the control of the VCU 10, in practice a greater number of vehicle subsystems may be included on the vehicle and may be under the control of the VCU 10.The VCU 10 includes a subsystem control module 14 which provides control signals via line 13 to each of the vehicle subsystems to initiate control of the subsystems in a manner appropriate to the driving condition, such as the terrain, in which the vehicle is travelling (referred to as the terrain condition).", "The subsystems 12 also communicate with the subsystems control module 14 via signal line 13 to feedback information on subsystem status.", "The VCU 10 receives a plurality of signals, represented generally at 16 and 17, which are received from a plurality of vehicle sensors and are representative of a variety of different parameters associated with vehicle motion and status.", "As described in further detail below, the signals 16, 17 provide, or are used to calculate, a plurality of driving condition indicators (also referred to as terrain indicators) which are indicative of the nature of the condition in which the vehicle is travelling.", "One advantageous feature of the invention is that the VCU 10 determines the most appropriate control mode for the various subsystems on the basis of the terrain indicators, and automatically controls the subsystems accordingly.", "The sensors (not shown) on the vehicle include, but are not limited to, sensors which provide continuous sensor outputs 16 to the VCU 10, including wheel speed sensors, an ambient temperature sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, tire pressure sensors, yaw sensors to detect yaw, roll and pitch of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor, a longitudinal acceleration sensor, an engine torque sensor (or engine torque estimator), a steering angle sensor, a steering wheel speed sensor, a gradient sensor (or gradient estimator), a lateral acceleration sensor on the stability control system (SCS), a brake pedal position sensor, an acceleration pedal position sensor and longitudinal, lateral, vertical motion sensors.", "In other embodiments, only a selection of the aforementioned sensors may be used.", "The VCU 10 also receives a signal from the electronic power assisted steering unit (ePAS unit) of the vehicle to indicate the steering force that is applied to the wheels (steering force applied by the driver combined with steering force applied by the ePAS system).", "The vehicle is also provided with a plurality of sensors which provide discrete sensor outputs 17 to the VCU 10, including a cruise control status signal (ON/OFF), a transfer box status signal (whether the gear ratio is set to a HI range or a LO range), a Hill Descent Control (HDC) status signal (ON/OFF), a trailer connect status signal (ON/OFF), a signal to indicate that the Stability Control System (SCS) has been activated (ON/OFF), a windscreen wiper signal (ON/OFF), air suspension status (HI/LO), and a Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) signal (ON/OFF).", "The VCU 10 includes an evaluation means in the form of an estimator module or processor 18 and a calculation and selection means in the form of a selector module or processor 20.Initially the continuous outputs 16 from the sensors are provided to the estimator module 18 whereas the discrete signals 17 are provided to the selector module 20.Within a first stage of the estimator module 18, various ones of the sensor outputs 16 are used to derive a number of terrain indicators.", "In a first stage of the estimator module 18, a vehicle speed is derived from the wheel speed sensors, wheel acceleration is derived from the wheel speed sensors, the longitudinal force on the wheels is derived from the vehicle longitudinal acceleration sensor, and the torque at which wheel slip occurs (if wheel slip occurs) is derived from the motion sensors to detect yaw, pitch and toll.", "Other calculations performed within the first stage of the estimator module 18 include the wheel inertia torque (the torque associated with accelerating or decelerating the rotating wheels), “continuity of progress” (the assessment of whether the vehicle is starting and stopping, for example as may be the case when the vehicle is travelling over rocky terrain), aerodynamic drag, yaw, and lateral vehicle acceleration.", "The estimator module 18 also includes a second stage in which the following terrain indicators are calculated: surface rolling resistance (based on the wheel inertia torque, the longitudinal force on the vehicle, aerodynamic drag, and the longitudinal force on the wheels), the steering force on the steering wheel (based on the lateral acceleration and the output from the steering wheel sensor), the wheel longitudinal slip (based on the longitudinal force on the wheels, the wheel acceleration, SCS activity and a signal indicative of whether wheel slip has occurred), lateral friction (calculated from the measured lateral acceleration and the yaw versus the predicted lateral acceleration and yaw), and corrugation detection (high frequency, low amplitude wheel height excitement indicative of a washboard type surface).", "The SCS activity signal is derived from several outputs from a Stability Control Systems (SCS) ECU (not shown), which contains the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) function, the TC (Traction Control) function, ABS and HDC algorithms, indicating DSC activity, TC activity, ABS activity, brake interventions on individual wheels, and engine torque reduction requests from the SCS ECU to the engine.", "All these indicate a slip event has occurred and the SCS ECU has taken action to control it.", "The estimator module 18 also uses the outputs from the wheel speed sensors to determine a wheel speed variation and corrugation detection signal.", "On the basis of the windscreen wiper signal (ON/OFF), the estimator module 18 also calculates how long the windscreen wipers have been in an ON state (i.e.", "a rain duration signal).", "The VCU 10 also includes a road roughness module 24 for calculating the terrain roughness based on the air suspension sensors (the ride height sensors) and the wheel accelerometers.", "A terrain indicator signal in the form of a roughness output signal 26 is output from the road roughness module 24.The estimates for the wheel longitudinal slip and the lateral friction estimation are compared with one another within the estimator module 18 as a plausibility check.", "Calculations for wheel speed variation and corrugation output, the surface rolling resistance estimation, the wheel longitudinal slip and the corrugation detection, together with the friction plausibility check, are output from the estimator module 18 and provide terrain indicator output signals 22, indicative of the nature of the terrain in which the vehicle is travelling, for further processing within the VCU 10.The terrain indicator signals 22 from the estimator module 18 are provided to the selector module 20 for determining which of a plurality of vehicle subsystem control modes is most appropriate based on the indicators of the type of terrain in which the vehicle is travelling.", "The most appropriate control mode is determined by analyzing the probability that each of the different control modes is appropriate on the basis of the terrain indicator signals 22, 26 from the estimator module 18 and the road roughness module 24.The vehicle subsystems 12 may be controlled automatically (referred to as the “automatic mode”) in response to a control output signal 30 from the selector module 20 and without the need for driver input.", "Alternatively, the vehicle subsystems 12 may be operated in response to a manual driver input (referred to as “manual mode”) via a Human Machine Interface (HMI) module (not shown in FIG.", "1).", "The subsystem controller 14 may itself control the vehicle subsystems 12a-12e directly via the signal line 13, or alternatively each subsystem may be provided with its own associated intermediate controller (not shown in FIG.", "1) for providing control of the relevant subsystem 12a-12e.", "In the latter case the subsystem controller 14 may only control the selection of the most appropriate subsystem control mode for the subsystems 12a-12e, rather than implementing the actual control steps for the subsystems.", "The or each intermediate controller may in practice form an integral part of the main subsystem controller 14.When operating in the automatic mode, the selection of the most appropriate subsystem control mode is achieved by means of a three phase process: (1) for each type of control mode, a calculation is performed of the probability that the control mode is suitable for the terrain over which the vehicle is travelling, based on the terrain indicators; (2) the integration of “positive differences” between the probability for the current control mode and the other control modes; and (3) the program request to the control module 14 when the integration value exceeds a pre-determined threshold or the current terrain control mode probability is zero.", "The specific steps for phases (1), (2) and (3) will now be described in more detail.", "In phase (1), the continuous terrain indicator signals in the form of the road surface roughness output 26 and the outputs 22 from the estimator module 18 are provided to the selector module 20.The selector module 20 also receives the discrete terrain indicators 17 directly from various sensors on the vehicle, including the transfer box status signal (whether the gear ratio is set to a HI range or a LO range), the DSC status signal, cruise control status (whether the vehicle's cruise control system is ON or OFF), and trailer connect status (whether or not a trailer is connected to the vehicle).", "Terrain indicator signals indicative of ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure are also provided to the selector module 20.The selector module 20 is provided with a probability algorithm 20a for calculating the most suitable control mode for the vehicle subsystems based on the discrete terrain indicator signals 17 received directly from the sensors and the continuous terrain indicators 22, 26 calculated by the estimator module 18 and the road surface roughness module 24, respectively.", "The control modes typically include a grass/gravel/snow control mode (GGS mode) that is suitable for when the vehicle is travelling in grass, gravel or snow terrain, a mud/ruts control mode (MR mode) which is suitable for when the vehicle is travelling in mud and ruts terrain, a rock crawl/boulder mode (RB mode) which is suitable for when the vehicle is travelling in rock or boulder terrain, a sand mode which is suitable for when the vehicle is travelling in sand terrain (or deep soft snow) and a special programs OFF mode (SP OFF mode) which is a suitable compromise mode, or general mode, for all terrain conditions and especially vehicle travel on motorways and regular roadways.", "Many other control modes are also envisaged.", "The different terrain types are grouped according to the friction of the terrain and the roughness of the terrain.", "For example, it is appropriate to group grass, gravel and snow together as terrains that provide a low friction, smooth surface and it is appropriate to group rock and boulder terrains together as high friction, very high roughness terrains.", "For each subsystem control mode, the algorithm 20a within the selector module 20 performs a probability calculation, based on the terrain indicators, to determine a probability that each of the different control modes is appropriate.", "The selector module 20 includes a tuneable data map which relates the continuous terrain indicators 22, 26 (e.g.", "vehicle speed, road roughness, steering angle) to a probability that a particular control mode is appropriate.", "Each probability value typically takes a value of between 0 and 1.So, for example, the vehicle speed calculation may return a probability of 0.7 for the RB mode if the vehicle speed is relatively slow, whereas if the vehicle speed is relatively high the probability for the RB mode will be much lower (e.g.", "0.2).", "This is because it is much less likely that a high vehicle speed is indicative that the vehicle is travelling over a rock or boulder terrain.", "In addition, for each subsystem control mode, each of the discrete terrain indicators 17 (e.g.", "trailer connection status ON/OFF, cruise control status ON/OFF) is also used to calculate an associated probability for each of the control modes, GGS, RB, Sand, MR or SP OFF.", "So, for example, if cruise control is switched on by the driver of the vehicle, the probability that the SP OFF mode is appropriate is relatively high, whereas the probability that the MR control mode is appropriate will be lower.", "For each of the different sub system control modes, a combined probability value, Pb, is calculated based on the individual probabilities for that control mode, as described above, as derived from each of the continuous or discrete terrain indicators 17, 22, 26.In the following equation, for each control mode the individual probability as determined for each terrain indicator is represented by a, b, c, d .", ".", ".", "n. The combined probability value, Pb, for each control mode is then calculated as follows: Pb=(a.b.c.d .", ".", ".", "n)/((a.b.c.d .", ".", ".", "n)+(1−a)·(1−b)·(1−c)·(1−d) .", ".", ".", "(1−n)) Any number of individual probabilities may be input to the probability algorithm 20a and any one probability value input to the probability algorithm may itself be the output of a combinational probability function.", "Once the combined probability value for each control mode has been calculated, the subsystem control program corresponding to the control mode with the highest probability is selected within the selector module 20 and an output signal 30 providing an indication of this is provided to the subsystem control module 14.The benefit of using a combined probability function based on multiple terrain indicators is that certain indicators may make a control mode (e.g.", "GGS or MR) more or less likely when combined together, compared with basing the selection on just a single terrain indicator alone.", "A further control signal 31 from the selector module 20 is provided to a control module 34.In phase (2), an integration process is implemented continually within the selector module (20) to determine whether it is necessary to change from the current control mode to one of the alternative control modes.", "The first step of the integration process is to determine whether there is a positive difference between the combined probability value for each of the alternative control modes compared with the combined probability value for the current control mode.", "By way of example, assume the current control mode is GGS with a combined probability value of 0.5.If a combined probability value for the sand control mode is 0.7, a positive difference is calculated between the two probabilities (i.e.", "a positive difference value of 0.2).", "The positive difference value is integrated with respect to time.", "If the difference remains positive and the integrated value reaches a predetermined change threshold (referred to as the change threshold), or one of a plurality of predetermined change thresholds, the selector module 20 determines that the current terrain control mode (for GGS) is to be updated to a new, alternative control mode (in this example, the sand control mode).", "A control output signal 30 is then output from the selector module 20 to the subsystem control module 14 to initiate the sand control mode for the vehicle subsystems.", "In phase (3), the probability difference is monitored and if, at any point during the integration process, the probability difference changes from a positive value to a negative value, the integration process is cancelled and reset to zero.", "Similarly, if the integrated value for one of the other alternative control modes (i.e.", "other than sand), reaches the predetermined change threshold before the probability result for the sand control mode, the integration process for the sand control mode is cancelled and reset to zero and the other alternative control mode, with a higher probability difference, is selected.", "If a high speed of response is required, one consequence may be that a high and frequent number of control mode changes are implemented.", "In some circumstances, the high number of changes may be inappropriate or excessive.", "The rate of change of the control mode is affected by two elements of the calibration process: the combined probability values of each of the control modes and the integrated positive difference threshold for change (the change threshold).", "The problem of frequent control mode changes can be countered in one of two ways.", "If the change threshold is set to a relatively large value, it will take longer for any one control mode to switch to another.", "This strategy will have an effect on all control mode selections.", "Alternatively, by ensuring there is only a small difference between the data map probability values for the different control modes, for example by setting all values to be close to 0.5, it will take longer for a change in the control mode to be implemented compared with the situation where there is a large difference.", "If desired, this strategy can be used to affect the speed of response in relation to only selected ones of the terrain indicators and control modes.", "The probability difference between the current control mode and all other control modes is monitored continually and the integrated value for each control mode is continually compared with the predetermined change threshold.", "The predetermined change threshold is calibrated offline, prior to vehicle running, and is stored in a memory of the selector module 20.It is beneficial for the predetermined change threshold to be variable with the terrain indicator for surface roughness.", "In this way the frequency with which the subsystem control mode is changed can be altered, depending on the nature of the terrain roughness in which the vehicle is travelling.", "For example, if the vehicle is travelling on-road (e.g.", "on a regular smooth road surface), where the surface roughness is low, the change threshold is set to a relatively high value so that it takes longer for the integrated difference value to reach the threshold and so the control mode is changed less frequently.", "This avoids a control mode change if, for example, a vehicle mounts a curb for a short period of time on an otherwise straightforward journey on a regular road.", "Conversely, if the vehicle is travelling off-road, where the surface roughness is high, the change threshold is set to a lower value so that the control mode is changed more frequently to accommodate the genuine changes in terrain that warrant an adjustment to the control mode.", "In a preferred embodiment, one or more additional change thresholds may also be implemented for comparison with the integrated difference value, each of which is based on a different one of the terrain indicators.", "For example, another change threshold may be set dependent on vehicle rolling resistance.", "In this case the integrated difference value is compared with both thresholds (one for surface roughness and one for rolling resistance), and when a first one of the thresholds is crossed a change to the control mode is initiated.", "If it is determined that the combined probability of the current control mode becomes zero, a control output signal 30 from the selector module 20 is sent to the control module 14 to implement one of the other control modes corresponding to that with the highest combined probability.", "Primarily, this mode of change will be implemented to handle discrete terrain indicators which are indicative that it is no longer acceptable to remain in the current control mode.", "For example, if the driver selects cruise control, the subsystem control module will automatically set the probability for the MR mode and sand mode to zero.", "This is because the GGS mode and the SP OFF mode are the only suitable modes for the vehicle subsystems if the vehicle is in a cruise control mode.", "If the RB mode is selected at the time the driver selects cruise control, the probability for the RB mode is immediately set to zero and the subsystem controller immediately selects one of the other control modes with the highest probability.", "Other indicators that may be used to apply constraints to the number of control modes that are “available” for selection include DSC ON/OF status (e.g.", "if the DSC status is turned OFF, the automatic mode of operation is not available), trailer status and transfer box status (HI/LO range).", "There are a number of circumstances in which the integration process will be paused and the current integration value is stored in memory, rather than resetting to zero, as follows: (a) when the vehicle is travelling in reverse; (b) for a predetermined distance travelling forwards after a reverse motion; (c) when the vehicle is in park mode; (d) when the vehicle is travelling below a certain speed; (e) when the vehicle is changing gear; (f) when the vehicle is braking with zero throttle being applied; and (g) when active braking is taking place.", "For example, for option (b) above, the selector module 20 may be programmed so that, if it is determined that the RB mode has the highest combined probability value, the integration process is started as soon as the vehicle starts to move forwards after a reverse motion, rather than waiting for a predetermined distance.", "The subsystem control module 14 will now be described in further detail.", "The module 14 includes three functions; a validation, fault management and check function 14a, an algorithm 14b to allow switching between automatic operation and manual operation (as described in further detail below), and an interface algorithm 14c for the (HMI) module to support the automatic response mode of operation.", "The HMI module 32 is shown in more detail in FIG.", "2.The subsystem control module 14 provides three output signals to the HMI module 32.A first output signal 35 provides a notification to the HMI module 32 of whether the automatic mode or the manual mode is active.", "If the automatic mode is active then a second output signal 36 is provided to notify the driver when the system is “optimizing” and a change in the control mode is taking place.", "A third output signal 37 may also be provided to the HMI module 32 for other purposes.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, the HMI module 32 provides an interface between the selector module 20 and the driver of the vehicle and includes a selector switch 32a, a messaging module 32b and a High Level Display Function (HLDF) module 32c.", "The HMI module 32 allows the driver of the vehicle to override the automatic mode and select the manual mode of operation, if preferred, via the selector switch 32a.", "The HLDF module 32c includes a plurality of graphical indicators (not shown) to indicate to the driver when there has been a change in the selected subsystem control mode when the system is operating in the automatic response mode (i.e.", "derived from the second output signal 36).", "Typically, for example, the HLDF module 32c may display a textual indication to the driver along the lines of “CONTROL MODE UPDATING”.", "On start-up of the vehicle, the control system is in the automatic mode and selector module 20 continually performs the probability analysis described above to deduce which of the various control modes is most appropriate.", "The selector module 20 automatically adjusts the control mode so that the mode which is most appropriate is used to control the vehicle subsystems.", "At any time the driver can deliberately override the automatic mode by switching the system into the manual mode via the selector switch 32a of the HMI module 32.The outputs from the control module 34 to the subsystem control module 14 include a transfer box setting signal 54, an air suspension setting signal 52 and further signal 50.In the sub-system control module 14 a validation check or fault detection process 14a is carried out.", "The validation and fault detection process 14a operates so as to ensure that if one of the subsystems cannot support a selected control mode, for example because of a fault, appropriate action is taken (e.g.", "in the form of a warning).", "It is a particular benefit of the invention that inputs from the brake and accelerator pedal sensors are provided to the estimator module 18 and are used as terrain indicators in the probability calculations to determine the most appropriate control mode.", "An indication from the pedal sensors that there is simultaneous use of the brake and the throttle pedal provides an indication of the nature of the terrain over which the vehicle is travelling.", "It is a further benefit of the invention that the signals output from the ePAS to indicate the steering force applied to the wheels (steering force applied by the driver combined with steering force applied by the ePAS system) are used to determine the most control mode by inputting the steering force signal to the estimator module 18.A still further novel aspect of the invention is that the status of the windscreen or headlamp wipers and the duration for which they are operational is used as a terrain indicator for input to the estimator module 18 and/or the selector module 20.The wiper signal, the steering wheel force applied signal, and the pedal position signals are all input to the VCU 10 so as to contribute to the determination of the most appropriate control mode based on the combined probability calculation within the selector module 20.Whereas in the aforementioned embodiment the VCU 10 is operable to control the vehicle subsystems 12a-12e in dependence on driving condition indicators which relate to the nature of the terrain over which the vehicle is travelling, in another embodiment the vehicle control system is arranged to control the vehicle subsystems in dependence on driving conditions indicators that are representative of the driving characteristics, or driving style, of the driver.", "One example of where this technique may be implemented is in a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV).", "Such vehicles employ an electric machine operable as an electric motor in addition to an internal combustion engine to provide traction.", "HEVs are typically equipped with a battery for storing electrical power for powering the electric machine.", "The internal combustion engine is releasably coupled to a crankshaft integrated motor/generator (CIMG) by means of a clutch mechanism.", "The CIMG is in turn coupled to an automatic transmission.", "The vehicle is operable to provide drive torque to the transmission by means of the engine alone, the CIMG alone or the engine and the CIMG in parallel.", "The transmission is connected to a driveline of the vehicle which is typically arranged to drive a pair of front wheels of the vehicle.", "The vehicle is configured to operate in either one of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode, a HEV inhibit mode and a selectable electric vehicle only (EV-only) mode.", "The VCU 10 is arranged to control the vehicle so as to switch the engine on and off when in the HEV mode, according to an energy management strategy which is modified according to driver behavior.", "In order to accomplish this the VCU 10 monitors driver behavior and determines a value of a driver behavior evaluation index responsive to the driver's behavior.", "FIG.", "3 represents a flow diagram of a process in which the VCU 10 determines a value of the driver evaluation index 100 responsive to driver behavior.", "Reference herein to a block such as a function block is to be understood to include reference to software code for performing the function or action specified in which an output is provided responsive to one or more inputs.", "The code may be in the form of a software routine or function called by a main computer program, or may be code forming part of a flow of code not being a separate routine or function.", "Reference to function block is made for ease of explanation of the manner of operation of the controller.", "A brake behavior evaluation block 102 is arranged to receive a regenerative braking torque request signal 104 and a total brake torque request signal 106 from a brake controller (not shown) that is arranged to control operation of a brake of each of four wheels of the vehicle.", "The brake controller is typically an anti-lock braking system (ABS) controller.", "The total brake torque request signal 106 is a signal responsive to an amount by which the brake pedal of the vehicle is depressed by the driver, representing the total amount of braking torque requested by the driver.", "In some embodiments the total brake torque request signal 106 is a signal responsive to an amount of a driver-initiated increase in brake pressure due to depression of the brake pedal.", "Other means for measuring a total amount of braking torque requested by the driver are also useful.", "The regenerative braking torque request signal 104 is a signal indicative of the amount of the total braking force provided by the vehicle in the form of regenerative braking.", "By regenerative braking is meant braking force in the form of negative torque that is applied to the vehicle driveline by the CIMG when it is employed as a generator.", "Other means for generating useful energy by inducing deceleration of the vehicle are also envisaged.", "The brake behavior evaluation block 102 is arranged to calculate a value of a brake evaluator gain signal (not shown) based on the regenerative and total brake torque request signals 104, 106 and to feed the value of the gain signal to a longitudinal acceleration evaluation block 108.It is to be understood that the brake behavior evaluation block 102 is configured such that the smaller the proportion of total braking torque provided by regenerative braking, the more aggressive the braking event is determined to be.", "The value of gain signal is therefore arranged to increase as the proportion of total braking torque provided by regenerative braking decreases.", "The longitudinal acceleration evaluation block 108 receives the brake evaluator gain signal from the brake behavior evaluation block 102 and the total brake torque request signal 106 from the brake controller.", "In addition it receives a longitudinal acceleration signal 110 being a signal responsive to a value of longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, a driveline speed signal 112 being a signal responsive to a speed of a portion of the driveline of the vehicle and an accelerator pedal position signal 114 responsive to a position of the accelerator pedal.", "The block 108 is arranged to output a value of a longitudinal acceleration counter increment to a driver evaluator counter function block 118, the counter increment value 118 being responsive to the brake evaluator gain signal, the total brake torque request signal 106, the longitudinal acceleration signal 110, the driveline speed signal 112 and the accelerator pedal position signal 114.It is to be understood that reference to a speed of a portion of the driveline of the vehicle may include reference to one or more of a speed of an input shaft of the transmission, a speed of an output shaft of the transmission, a speed of a drive shaft such as an auxiliary driveshaft, a front driveshaft or a rear driveshaft, a speed of one or more wheels, or any other suitable portion of the driveline.", "A lateral acceleration evaluation block 120 is also provided and is arranged to calculate a lateral acceleration counter increment value.", "The lateral acceleration evaluation block 120 is arranged to receive the driveline speed signal 112 and in addition a lateral acceleration signal 122 being a signal responsive to a value of lateral acceleration experienced by the vehicle.", "The lateral acceleration evaluation block 120 is arranged to calculate the value of the lateral acceleration counter increment value responsive to the driveline speed signal 112 and lateral acceleration signal 122.A kick-down switch evaluation block 124 is arranged to calculate a value of a kick-down increment or kick-down behavior index responsive to a kick-down switch activation signal 126.The kick-down switch activation signal 126 is a signal the value of which is responsive to whether a driver has depressed the accelerator pedal by an amount sufficient to activate a kick-down switch.", "The kick-down switch may be arranged to be activated when the accelerator pedal is fully depressed.", "In some arrangements the kick-down switch is arranged to be activated when the accelerator pedal is depressed by a smaller amount, for example by 95% or more of its full travel.", "Other arrangements are also useful.", "A vehicle speed signal 128 being a signal having a value responsive to a speed of the vehicle, a gear position selector signal 130 having a value responsive to a gear position selected by the vehicle and the accelerator pedal position signal 114 are also fed to the driver evaluator counter function block 118.The counter function block 118 is arranged to calculate a value of the driver evaluation index value 100 responsive to the values of signals and indexes input thereto.", "The value of the driver evaluation index value 100 is output to an energy management portion (not shown) of the VCU 10 in FIG.", "1.The VCU 10 is operable to control operation of the vehicle subsystems responsive to the value of the driver evaluation index value 100 via the subsystem controller 14 in the manner described previously, so that the control mode that is most appropriate for the driver evaluation index value 100 is selected for the or each of the vehicle subsystems 12a-12e.", "In this embodiment of the invention therefore, if it is determined that the driver is driving in a performance-oriented driving style, the control means is configured to increase the amount of energy stored in an energy management system of the VCU 10 to maintain the state of charge of the battery.", "In addition, or alternatively, other subsystems of the vehicle may be controlled in dependence on the driver evaluation index value, for example the air suspension system (to adjust the ride height), so as to provide a driving experience that is appropriate for the driver's characteristics.", "Further in addition or alternatively, other inputs which may be used to determine a driver evaluation index value, either individually or in combination, include a speed of rotation of the engine a speed of rotation of the electric motor, an accelerator pedal position, a state of an accelerator pedal kick-down detector, an amount of positive drive torque, a rate of change of positive drive torque request; a steering wheel angle; and a rate of change of steering wheel angle.", "The driver evaluation index value may be used to determine an appropriate driving-style related mode, such as dynamic, sporty or economical style.", "The skilled man would appreciate that the appropriate mode may be further modified by other driving condition indicators, such as: whether DSC, traction control or ABS is triggered; road roughness; rolling resistance; ambient temperature; known speed limits; or vehicle location (e.g.", "whether the vehicle is known to be off-road).", "For example, detection of a 30 mph speed limit or an ambient temperature indicating the possibility of icy conditions may inhibit a dynamic mode.", "It will be appreciated that a control system which is responsive to the driving style or characteristic of the driver may also be implemented in engine types other than HEV.", "It will be understood that the embodiments described above are given by way of example only and are not intended to limit the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.", "For example, although in the specific embodiment described it is a probability calculation that is used to determine which of the various subsystem control modes is most appropriate, it will be appreciated that other mathematical techniques may be employed to provide an indication of the likelihood of each of the subsystem control modes being appropriate for the relevant driving condition(s).", "It will also be understood that the embodiments described may be used individually or in combination." ] ]
Patent_15874953
[ [ "Moving Picture Decoding Method and Moving Picture Encoding Method", "High-quality video is provided using a small amount of coded bits.", "The moving picture decoding method performs inter-frame prediction processing.", "With the aforementioned inter-frame prediction processing, blocks with similar motion vectors from among the motion vectors in multiple blocks that have already been decoded are combined and a combined area is computed.", "A predicted vector for a target block to be decoded is computed using the motion vector of the aforementioned combined area, and a motion vector for the aforementioned target block is computed based on the aforementioned predicted vector and a difference vector which is included in a coded stream that is input.", "A predicted image is generated using the aforementioned motion vector, and a difference image which is included in the aforementioned coded stream and the aforementioned predicted image are added to generate a decoded image." ], [ "1.A moving picture decoding method comprising: a first step to receive encoded information of a target block to be decoded by an inter prediction process, the encoded information being encoded without a frequency transform process; a second step to decode prediction difference data of the target block from the encoded information without the frequency transform process; a third step to determine by which prediction mode the target block is encoded; a fourth step to generate a prediction image by the prediction mode determined by the third step, wherein if the target block is encoded by an intra prediction mode, a prediction image is generated by the intra prediction mode, wherein if the target block is encoded by a motion vector combined area mode, the prediction image is generated by using a motion vector determined so as to be in common with a motion vector of an adjacent block adjacent to the target block without adding a difference vector, based on a status of motion vectors of a plurality of adjacent blocks adjacent to the target block; and wherein a status of a motion vector of a previous frame is considered in the determination of the motion vector to be used for the generation of the prediction image in the fourth step, and a fifth step to generate a decoded image of the target block based on the prediction image generated in the fourth step and the prediction difference data decoded in the second step." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>There has been disclosed a technique for predicting images to be encoded in block units using image information in which encoding processing has been completed and encoding a predicted difference between each of the images and an original image, thereby reducing the amount of coded bits by removing redundancy of a moving picture.", "However, the result of a block search is required to be encoded as a motion vector in addition to the predicted difference, and overhead of the amount of coded bits occurs.", "H. 264/AVC (Non Patent Literature 1) has disclosed a prediction technique for each motion vector to reduce the amount of coded bits for the motion vector.", "That is, when a motion vector is encoded, a motion vector of a target block is predicted using each of encoded blocks located around the target block, and a difference (difference vector) between the predicted vector and the motion vector is variable-length encoded.", "The accuracy of prediction of each motion vector is however not sufficient.", "There is a problem that a large amount of coded bits is still necessary for motion vectors as to images complicated in motion particularly as in the case where plural moving objects exist." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/383,421, filed on Dec. 19, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/132,426, filed Jun.", "23, 2011, which is a National Phase of International Application No.", "PCT/JP2009/006438, filed Nov. 27, 2009, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.", "2008-308113, filed Dec. 3, 2008, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a moving picture decoding technique for decoding a moving picture, and a moving picture encoding technique for encoding a moving picture.", "BACKGROUND ART There has been disclosed a technique for predicting images to be encoded in block units using image information in which encoding processing has been completed and encoding a predicted difference between each of the images and an original image, thereby reducing the amount of coded bits by removing redundancy of a moving picture.", "However, the result of a block search is required to be encoded as a motion vector in addition to the predicted difference, and overhead of the amount of coded bits occurs.", "H. 264/AVC (Non Patent Literature 1) has disclosed a prediction technique for each motion vector to reduce the amount of coded bits for the motion vector.", "That is, when a motion vector is encoded, a motion vector of a target block is predicted using each of encoded blocks located around the target block, and a difference (difference vector) between the predicted vector and the motion vector is variable-length encoded.", "The accuracy of prediction of each motion vector is however not sufficient.", "There is a problem that a large amount of coded bits is still necessary for motion vectors as to images complicated in motion particularly as in the case where plural moving objects exist.", "CITATION LIST Non Patent Literature Non-Patent Literature 1: ITU-T Recommendation H.264/AVC SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem In the above technique, a large amount of coded bits is still required for each motion vector because the accuracy of prediction of the motion vector is not sufficiently high.", "The present invention has been made in view of the above problems.", "An object of the present invention is to improve a method for calculating a prediction vector to thereby reduce the amount of coded bits for each motion vector and improve compression efficiency.", "Solution to Problem In order to address the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention may be configured as described in Claims, for example.", "Advantageous Effects of Invention High-quality video can be provided with a small amount of coded bits.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of an image encoding device according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of the image encoding device according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of an image decoding device according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram of the image decoding device according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of inter prediction at H.264/AVC.", "FIG.", "6 is a conceptual explanatory diagram related to a prediction technique for motion vectors at H.264/AVC.", "FIG.", "7 is a conceptual explanatory diagram related to a prediction technique for motion vectors in embodiments 1, 2 and 3.FIG.", "8 is a conceptual explanatory diagram related to a prediction technique for motion vectors in the embodiments 1, 2 and 3.FIG.", "9 is a conceptual explanatory diagram related to a prediction technique of motion vectors in the embodiment 2.FIG.", "10 is a conceptual explanatory diagram related to the prediction technique for motion vectors in the embodiment 3.FIG.", "11 is a conceptual explanatory diagram related to a prediction technique for motion vectors in an embodiment 4.FIG.", "12 is a flowchart of an image encoding method according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "13 is a flowchart of an image decoding method according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "14 is a flowchart of the image encoding method according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "15 is a flowchart of the image decoding method according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "16 is a flowchart of the image encoding method according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "17 is a flowchart of the image decoding method according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "18 is a flowchart of the image encoding method according to the present invention.", "FIG.", "19 is a flowchart of the image decoding method according to the present invention DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "FIG.", "5 conceptually shows the operation of an inter prediction process based on H.264/AVC.", "In H.264/AVC, encoding based on block units is performed to a target frame for encoding in accordance with raster scan order.", "Upon execution of the inter prediction, a decoded image of an encoded image included in the same video (501) as the target frame (503) is assumed to be a reference frame (502).", "A block (predicted or prediction image) (505) high in correlation with a target block (504) in the target frame is searched from within the reference frame.", "At this time, a difference between coordinate values of both blocks is encoded as a motion vector (506) in addition to a prediction difference calculated as the difference between both blocks.", "On the other hand, a procedure opposite to the above may be performed upon decoding.", "The decoded prediction difference is added to the block (prediction image) (505) in the reference frame to thereby enable the acquisition of a decoded image.", "In H.264/AVC, a prediction technique for each motion vector has been introduced to reduce overhead of the amount of coded bits due to the motion vector described above.", "That is, when a motion vector is encoded, a motion vector of a target block is predicted using an encoded block located around the target block, and a difference (difference vector) between the predicted vector and the motion vector is encoded.", "Since the magnitude of the difference vector concentrates on approximately 0 at this time, it is subjected to variable length coding, so that the amount of coded bits can be reduced.", "FIG.", "6 conceptually shows a method for calculating a prediction vector.", "Encoded blocks adjacent to the left, upper and upper right sides of a target block (601) are assumed to be a block A (602), a block B (603) and a block C (604) respectively.", "Motion vectors MV in the respective blocks are assumed to be MVA, MVB and MVC respectively.", "At this time, a prediction vector is represented as a median among MVA, MVB and MVC.", "That is, the prediction vector PMV is computed like (605) using a function Median in which a median value is returned to respective components of a vector designated as an argument.", "Further, a difference vector DMV is calculated as a difference (606) between the motion vector MV of the target block and the prediction vector PMV.", "Subsequently, the difference vector DMV is variable-length encoded.", "Upon decoding, a procedure opposite to the above may be performed.", "The decoded difference vector DMV is added to a prediction vector PMV calculated by a procedure similar to the above to thereby decode a motion vector MV.", "In H.264/AV as described above, the introduction of the prediction technique into the motion vectors makes it possible to greatly reduce the amount of coded bits necessary for each motion vector.", "In the case of H.264/AVC, however, only adjacent blocks are taken into consideration when the prediction vector is computed.", "It cannot be always said that the motion of an object has been reflected.", "Therefore, particularly when plural moving objects exist in an adjacent area, the prediction accuracy of motion vectors was not enough and the motion vectors still needed to have a large amount of coded bits.", "In an aspect of the present invention, motion vectors close in value to each other, of motion vectors in an encoded area are combined to estimate the existence of a motion area and its range.", "A prediction vector is calculated based on a motion vector of the motion area that exists in the vicinity of a target area, thereby making it possible to improve the prediction accuracy for the motion vector.", "A method for calculating a prediction vector PMV, according to the present invention will be explained below.", "A procedure for calculating the prediction vector PMV is the same as on the encoding and decoding sides.", "On the encoding side, a process for computing a difference vector DMV between a motion vector MV and a prediction vector PMV and encoding it is carried out.", "On the decoding side, a process for adding the prediction vector PMV to the decoded difference DMV and thereby decoding the motion vector MV is carried out.", "EMBODIMENT 1 The embodiment 1 uses information about a combined area when a prediction vector of a target block is computed.", "That is, when the combined area exists around the target block, it is determined that the target block also includes a part of the same object as that included in the combined area.", "The prediction vector is calculated based on the motion vector of each block included in the combined area.", "Thus, since the prediction vector can be calculated based on a motion vector of a motion area that exists in the vicinity of a target area, it is possible to improve prediction accuracy for the motion vector.", "Further, the method of calculating the prediction vector is improved to reduce the amount of coded bits for the motion vector and enable an improvement in compression efficiency.", "FIG.", "7 is a diagram conceptually showing one example of a prediction vector PMV computing method according to the present embodiment.", "Consider, for example, where a block (703) including a part of an object (702) is inter-encoded within a frame (701) in which the object (702) is reflected.", "In this case, motion vectors MV close to each other of motion vectors MV (704) of encoded areas which are located on the left of the target block (703) and thereabove, are first combined.", "When, for example, a combining condition |V1-V2|<Threshold is established, two motion vectors V1 and V2 are combined and included in the same area.", "Now, |A| is assumed to be the magnitude of a vector A, and Threshold is assumed to be a constant.", "The constant Threshold may be set to a unique value in advance.", "Alternatively, values may be freely set on the encoding side and included in a coded or video stream.", "Further, the constant Threshold may be determined dynamically based on coding information about dispersed values of motion vectors MV, an average value thereof and the like, the magnitude of a combined area, etc.", "The constant Threshold may not comply with this equation in particular.", "Further, information other than the motion vectors MV, such as color information may be taken into consideration upon combining.", "Generally, since motion vectors MV of an area including a part of the same object have the property of indicating values close to each other, the presence of the object (702) and its range can be specified by acquisition of a combined area (705).", "In an aspect of the present invention, the information about the combined area (705) is utilized when a prediction vector PMV of the target block (703) is computed.", "That is, when the combined area (705) exists around the target block (703), the target block (703) is also determined to include a part of the same object as the object (702) included in the combined area (705).", "The prediction vector PMV is calculated based on motion vectors MV of blocks included in the combined area (705).", "Although irrespective of the computing method of the prediction vector PMV in particular, the prediction vector PMV may be calculated as an average value (AVE (C)) of the motion vectors MV in the combined area as in the case of, for example, an equation (706) of FIG.", "7.Alternatively, the prediction vector PMV may be computed by selecting a typical motion vector MV in the combined area, such as an intermediate value of the motion vectors MV in the combined area.", "Here, C is assumed to be a set of the motion vectors MV included in the combined area, and |C| is assumed to be the number thereof.", "A description will next be made of a case where no combined area (705) exists around the target block (703).", "When the combined area (705) does not exist around the target block (703), a prediction vector PMV is computed in accordance with a procedure shown in FIG.", "8, for example.", "Now where in a frame (801) in which an object (802) similar to that of FIG.", "7 is reflected, a block (803) away from the object (802) is inter-encoded.", "In this case, motion vectors MV (804) of encoded areas are combined by a procedure similar to FIG.", "7 to obtain a combined area (805).", "The prediction vector PMV is computed by a conventional calculation formula (807) that uses motion vectors MV of blocks around the target block (803), such as H. 264 or the like (806).", "This is however not limited to H. 264 as the conventional method.", "The configuration and operation of a moving picture encoding device according to the present embodiment will next be explained.", "FIG.", "1 shows one example of the moving picture encoding device according to the present embodiment.", "The moving picture encoding device according to the present embodiment includes an input image memory (102) which holds an input original image (101), a block divide unit (103) which divides image data inputted from the input image memory (102) into plural areas, an intra prediction unit (105) which performs intra prediction in block units, a motion vector calculation unit (104) which performs a motion vector calculation to image data inputted from the block divide unit (103), an inter prediction unit (106) which performs inter prediction in block units using motion vectors MV detected by the motion vector calculation unit (104), a mode selection unit (107) which determines a prediction encoding means (prediction method and block size), a subtraction unit (108) which generates residual data, a transform unit (109) which performs transformation to the residual data, a quantization unit (110) which quantizes the residual data inputted from the transform unit (109), a variable length coding unit (111) which performs variable length coding to the data quantized by the quantization unit (110), an inverse quantization unit (112) which inversely quantizes the residual data inputted from the quantization unit (110), an inverse transform unit (113) which inversely transforms the data inversely quantized by the inverse quantization unit (112), an addition unit (114) which generates a decoded image using the inversely transformed data, and a reference frame memory (115) which holds the decoded image therein.", "The operations of the respective component parts of the moving picture encoding device according to the present embodiment will be explained.", "The input image memory (102) retains a single image of the original image (101) as a target frame for encoding and outputs it to the block divide unit (103).", "The block divide unit (103) divides the original image (101) into plural blocks and outputs the same to the motion vector calculation unit (104), the intra prediction unit (105) and the inter prediction unit (106).", "The motion vector calculation unit (104) computes each motion vector MV of a target block using a decoded image stored in the reference frame memory (115) and outputs the same to the inter prediction unit (106).", "The intra prediction unit (105) and the inter prediction unit (106) perform an intra prediction process and an inter prediction process in block units.", "The mode selection unit (107) refers to the results of the intra prediction process and the inter prediction process and thereby selects a prediction encoding means optical to either thereof.", "Subsequently, the subtraction unit (108) generates residual data by the optimal prediction encoding means and outputs the same to the transform unit (109).", "The transform unit (109) and the quantization unit (110) perform transformation such as DCT (Discrete Cosine Transformation) and quantization processing to the input residual data respectively in block units and output the so-processed data to the variable length coding unit (111) and the inverse quantization unit (112).", "Here, they may perform processing using DST (Discrete Sine Transformation), WT (Wavelet Transformation), DFT (Discrete Fourier Transformation), KLT (Karhunen-Loeve Transformation), etc., in addition to the DCT.", "The variable length coding unit (111) performs variable length coding to residual information expressed by transform coefficients, and information necessary for decoding such as prediction direction data used when intra prediction is performed, moving vectors MV used when inter prediction is performed, etc., based on the probability of occurrence of codes like the assignment of a short code length to a code high in the frequency of its occurrence and the like to thereby generate a coded or video stream.", "The inverse quantization unit (112) and the inverse transform unit (113) perform inverse quantization and inverse transformation such as IDCT (Inverse DCT) to the post-quantization transform coefficients to obtain residual data and output the same to the addition unit (114).", "The addition unit (114) generates a decoded image and outputs the same to the reference frame memory (115).", "The reference frame memory (115) stores the generated decoded image therein.", "The inter prediction unit (106) will be explained using FIG.", "2.The inter prediction unit (106) includes a motion vector memory (201) for storing a motion vector MV of each encoded area, a prediction vector calculation unit (202) which calculates a prediction vector PMV using the motion vector MV of each encoded area, a subtraction unit (203) which calculates a difference between the motion vector MV and the prediction vector PMV to calculate a difference vector DMV, and a prediction image creation unit (204) which generates a prediction image.", "The operations of the respective component parts of the inter prediction unit (106) will be explained.", "The prediction vector calculation unit (202) calculates a prediction vector PMV of a target block based on each of the motion vectors MV of the encoded areas, stored in the motion vector memory (201).", "The subtraction unit (203) calculates a difference between the motion vector MV calculated by the motion vector calculation unit (104) and the prediction vector PMV to calculate a difference vector DMV (205).", "The prediction image creation unit (204) generates a prediction image (206) from the motion vector MV and its corresponding reference frame.", "The motion vector memory (201) stores the motion vectors MV therein.", "FIG.", "3 shows one example of a moving picture decoding device according to the present embodiment.", "The moving picture decoding device according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a variable length decoding unit (302) which performs a procedure opposite to variable length coding to the video stream (301) generated by the moving picture encoding device shown in FIG.", "1, an inverse quantization unit (303) which inversely quantizes residual data, an inverse transform unit (304) which performs inverse transformation to the data inversely-quantized by the inverse quantization unit (303), an inter prediction unit (305) which performs inter prediction, an intra prediction unit (306) which performs intra prediction, an addition unit (307) which generates a decoded image, and a reference frame memory (308) which stores the decoded image therein.", "The operations of the respective component parts of the moving picture decoding device according to the present embodiment will be explained.", "The variable length decoding unit (302) performs variable length decoding to the video stream (301) to acquire information necessary for a prediction process, such as a residual transform coefficient component, a block size, motion vectors MV, etc.", "The residual transform coefficient component and the like are transmitted to the inverse quantization unit (303), and the block size and the motion vectors MV and so on are transmitted to the inter prediction unit (305) or the intra prediction unit (306).", "The inverse quantization unit (303) and the inverse transform unit (304) perform inverse quantization and inverse transformation to the residual information respectively to decode the residual data.", "The inter prediction unit (305) and the intra prediction unit (306) perform a prediction process based on the image information inputted from the variable length decoding unit (302) and the reference frame stored in the reference frame memory (308).", "The addition unit (307) generates a decoded image based on the residual data inputted from the variable length decoding unit (302) and the prediction image data inputted from the inter prediction unit (305) or the intra prediction unit (306).", "The reference frame memory (308) stores the decoded image inputted from the addition unit (307).", "The inter prediction unit (305) will be described using FIG.", "4.The inter prediction unit (305) includes a motion vector memory (401) which stores a motion vector MV of each decoded area, a prediction vector calculation unit (402) which calculates a prediction vector PMV using the motion vector MV of each decoded area, an addition unit (403) which calculates the sum of the difference vector DMV and the prediction vector PMV to calculate a motion vector MV, and a prediction image creation unit (404) which generates a prediction image.", "The operations of the respective component parts of the inter prediction unit (305) will be explained.", "The prediction vector calculation unit (402) calculates a prediction vector PMV of a target block, based on the motion vector MV of each decoded area stored in the motion vector memory (401).", "The addition unit (403) calculates the sum of the difference vector DMV decoded by the variable length decoding unit (302) and the prediction vector PMV to decode the corresponding motion vector MV.", "The motion vector memory (401) stores the decoded motion vector MV therein.", "The prediction image creation unit (404) generates a prediction image (405) from the motion vector MV and the reference frame.", "FIG.", "12 is a diagram showing a procedure for encoding processing in the present embodiment.", "The following processes are performed to all blocks that exist within a frame, which are targeted for encoding (1201).", "That is, prediction is performed to all encoding modes (combination of a prediction method and a block size) for every target block (1202).", "Here, intra prediction (1204) or inter prediction (1220) is performed according to a prediction mode to carry out the calculation of a residual.", "Further, when the inter prediction (1220) is performed, each motion vector MV is encoded in addition to the residual (1205).", "A combining process is performed to the motion vectors MV of the encoded area (1206).", "It is determined whether a combined area exists around the target block (1207).", "If the combined area exists around the target block, a prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (1208).", "A difference between the prediction vector PMV and its corresponding motion vector MV is calculated to thereby obtain a difference vector DMV (1209).", "On the other hand, if the combined area does not exist around the target block, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1210) to thereby acquire a difference vector DMV (1211).", "Subsequently, a transform process (1212), a quantization process (1213) and a variable length coding process (1214) are performed to residual data to thereby calculate image-quality distortion and the amount of coded bits in each encoding mode.", "If the aforementioned processing is completed with respect to all the encoding modes, the encoding mode best in coding efficiency is selected based on the above result of processing (1215).", "Incidentally, for example, the RD-Optimization method for determining the optimal encoding mode from the relationship between the image-quality distortion and the amount of coded bits is used to select the encoding mode best in coding efficiency out of the plural encoding modes, thereby making it possible to perform encoding efficiently.", "For the details of the RD-Optimization method, refers to a Reference Literature 1.REFERENCE LITERATURE 1 G. Sullivan and T. Wiegand: “Rate-Distortion Optimization for Video Compression”, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, vol.", "25, no.", "6, pp.", "74-90, 1998.Subsequently, an inverse quantization process (1216) and an inverse transform process (1217) are performed to the quantized transform coefficient in the selected encoding mode to decode the residual data, thereby generating a decoded image (1218), which in turn is stored in the reference frame memory.", "If the aforementioned processing is completed with respect to all blocks, the encoding of an image of 1 frame is ended (1219).", "FIG.", "13 is a diagram showing a procedure for the decoding of 1 frame in the present embodiment.", "The following processes are first performed to all blocks in one frame (1301).", "That is, a variable length decoding process is performed to an input stream (1302).", "Then, an inverse quantization process (1303) and an inverse transform process (1304) are performed to decode residual data.", "Subsequently, an intra prediction process (1306) and an inter prediction process (1315) are performed according to a prediction mode.", "Incidentally, the decoding of each motion vector MV is performed upon execution of inter prediction.", "Here, a combining process is performed to each motion vector MV of the decoded area (1307).", "It is determined whether a combined area exists around a target block (1308).", "If the combined area exists around the target block, a prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (1309).", "The prediction vector PMV and its corresponding difference vector DMV are added to obtain a motion vector MV of the target block (1310).", "On the other hand, if the combined area does not exist around the target block, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1311) and a motion vector MV is calculated (1312).", "Then, the generation of a prediction image and a decoded image are performed using the calculated motion vector MV (1313).", "If the aforementioned processing is completed with respect to all the blocks in the frame, the decoding of an image of one frame is completed (1314).", "Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the calculation of the prediction vector PMV is performed in block units.", "Even at other than the above, however, the prediction vector may be calculated in units of objects discrete from the background of an image, for example.", "Although DCT has been taken as one example of the transformation, any of DST (Discrete Sine Transformation), WT (Wavelet Transformation), DFT (Discrete Fourier Transformation), KLT (Karhunen-Loeve Transformation), etc.", "may be adopted if it takes transform used in the elimination of an inter-pixel correlation.", "In particular, coding may be performed to a residual itself without performing transformation.", "Further, the variable length coding may not be performed.", "In the present embodiment, the prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area, but each motion vector itself may be calculated using it.", "In the present embodiment, when the combined area exists around the target block, the target block is also determined to include a part of the same object as that included in the combined area, and the corresponding prediction vector is calculated based on motion vectors of blocks included in the combined area.", "It is thus possible to improve prediction accuracy for each motion vector.", "The method of calculating the prediction vector is improved to make it possible to reduce the amount of coded bits for each motion vector and improve the efficiency of compression.", "EMBODIMENT 2 In the embodiment 1, the prediction accuracy is improved where the target block is included in its corresponding peripheral object area.", "On the other hand, in the embodiment 2, a prediction vector PMV of a target block is calculated using encoded or decoded previous frames.", "It is thus possible to improve prediction accuracy where a target block is located in the boundary of object areas, for example.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram showing one example using encoded previous frames.", "Here, the combining of motion vectors MV is performed to a frame (display time t=m) (902) preceding a target frame (display time t=n) (901) by a procedure similar to that in the embodiment 1.The frame (902) refers to a frame (display time t=k) (903) further preceding it, and a destination to move a combined area (904) in the frame (902) can be represented by a typical value F(C) (905) of a motion vector MV included in the combined area.", "Here, the typical value F(C) may be calculated by the average value of the motion vectors MV included in the combined area, a weighted average value, a median value and the like.", "Incidentally, assume k<m<n.", "Considering the values of k, m, and n at this time, a correction vector F′ (C) (906) for estimating where the combined area (904) is moved within the target frame (901) can be calculated using an equation (908), for example.", "Thus, a motion estimation area (907) on the target frame (903) corresponding to the combined area (904) in the previous frame (902) can be estimated.", "When the target block is included in the area (907), a prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (904).", "For example, the prediction vector PMV may be calculated as an average value AVE (C) of the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (904), or one vector included in the combined area (904) may be selected.", "Alternatively, the prediction vector PMV may be calculated using the conventional method such as H.264.Further, the prediction vector PMV can be computed by, for example, equations (909), (910), (911) and so on.", "Since the configurations of the moving picture encoding device and the moving picture decoding device according to the present embodiment are similar to the configurations of the moving picture encoding device and the moving picture decoding device shown in FIGS.", "1 through 4 in the embodiment 1, the description of these is omitted.", "FIG.", "14 is a diagram showing a procedure of encoding in the present embodiment.", "Only the inter prediction process (1220) shown in FIG.", "12 is described herein.", "Since other operations are taken to carry out a procedure similar to FIG.", "12, their description is omitted.", "A motion vector calculation and a difference image calculation are first conducted (1401).", "Subsequently, a combining process is performed to motion vectors MV in a previous frame (1402), whereby a typical vector (effective if calculated as an average value vector, for example, and hereinafter be described as “average vector”) of a combined area is calculated (1403).", "Then, a correction vector indicative of where a combined area in a previous frame is moved within a coding target frame is calculated based on time information on the average vector and the previous frame (1404) to thereby specify a motion estimation area.", "It is determined whether a target block is included in the motion estimation area (1405).", "If the target block is included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is computed based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (1406).", "A method for calculating the prediction vector PMV is as shown in FIG.", "9.Next, a difference between the prediction vector PMV and its corresponding motion vector MV is calculated to obtain a difference vector DMV (1407).", "On the other hand, if the target block is not included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1408) to obtain a difference vector DMV (1409).", "FIG.", "15 is a diagram showing a procedure of decoding in the present embodiment.", "Only the inter prediction process (1315) shown in FIG.", "13 is described herein.", "Since other operations are taken to conduct a procedure similar to FIG.", "13, their description is omitted.", "A combining process is performed to motion vectors MV in a previous frame (1501), and an average vector of a combined area is calculated (1502).", "Subsequently, a correction vector indicative of where a combined area in a previous frame is moved within a coding target frame is calculated based on the times of the average vector and the previous frame (1503) to specify a motion estimation area.", "It is determined whether a target block is included in the motion estimation area (1504).", "If the target block is included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (1505).", "The sum of the prediction vector PMV and a difference vector DMV is calculated to obtain a motion vector MV (1506).", "On the other hand, if the target block is not included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1507).", "A method for calculating the prediction vector PMV is as shown in FIG.", "9.Next, the sum of the prediction vector PMV and the difference vector DMV is computed to calculate a motion vector MV (1508).", "Finally, a prediction image and a decoded image are generated based on the calculated motion vectors MV (1509), whereby image decoding is carried out.", "Although the calculation of the prediction vector PMV is carried out in block units in the present embodiment, the prediction vector may be calculated in units of objects discrete from the background of an image, for example, even at other than the above.", "Further, the present embodiment and the embodiment 1 may be combined together.", "In the present embodiment, the prediction vector PMV of the target block is calculated using the encoded or decode previous frames.", "It is thus possible to improve prediction accuracy where a target block is located in the boundary of object areas, for example.", "EMBODIMENT 3 In the embodiment 2, the destination (907) to move the combined area (904) was estimated using the correction vector (906) calculated by the average vector (905) of the combined vector (904).", "On the other hand, in the embodiment 3, the motion of a combined area is modeled in mathematical expressions as shown in FIG.", "10.If this operation is performed on the encoding and decoding sides, it is then unnecessary to encode their motion parameters, thereby making it possible to prevent the amount of coded bits from increasing.", "FIG.", "10 is a diagram showing one example in which the motion of a combined area is modeled in mathematical expressions using encoded previous frames.", "From loci of combined areas at previous frames (1002), .", ".", ".", ", (1003), and (1004) of a target frame (1001), the motion thereof is modeled by a time function RMV(t).", "A motion estimation area (1006) in the target frame (1001) is estimated by calculating RMV(n).", "As the function RMV(t) for modeling the motion, a model like a linear function such as will be indicated at (1008), for example, may be utilized.", "For example, functions such as an ellipse, a quadratic curve (parabola), a Bezier curve, a clothed curve, a cycloid, reflection, pendular movement, etc.", "may be utilized.", "At this time, motion parameters like A, B, C and D of (1008), for example, are required to perform the modeling of motion, but they may be freely set on the encoding side so as to be capable of being included in a stream.", "Alternatively, they may automatically be calculated from the loci of the combined areas.", "That is, if motion vectors MV are combined with respect to the respective previous frames (1002), .", ".", ".", ", (1003), and (1004), then a coordinate string (X1, Y1), .", ".", ".", ", (Xm−1, Ym−1), and (Xm, Ym) of combined areas can be obtained.", "For this reason, if these values are substituted into the equations such as (1008), and simultaneous equations are solved, the values of parameters can be determined.", "If this operation is performed on the encoding and decoding sides, there is no need to encode these motion parameters, thus making it possible to prevent the amount of coded bits from increasing.", "Incidentally, the prediction vectors PMV in the motion estimation area (1006) calculated by the above function RMV(t) can be calculated by, for example, equations (1009), (1010), (1011) and so on.", "Since the configurations of the moving picture encoding device and the moving picture decoding device according to the present embodiment are similar to the configurations of the moving picture encoding device and the moving picture decoding device shown in FIGS.", "1 through 4 in the embodiment 1, the description of these is omitted.", "FIG.", "16 is a diagram showing a procedure of encoding in the present embodiment.", "Only the inter prediction process (1220) shown in FIG.", "12 is described herein.", "Since other operations are taken to carry out a procedure similar to FIG.", "12, their description is omitted.", "The calculation of each motion vector MV and a difference image is first carried out (1601).", "Next, the following processes are performed to all previous frames to be targeted (1602).", "That is, a combining process is performed to motion vectors MV of previous frames (1603).", "Typical coordinates of each combined area are calculated from the center of gravity of the combined area, for example (1604).", "If a coordinate string of the combined areas is obtained according to the above processing, a block close in distance to a target block or a previous block corresponding to the target block, of coordinates of combined areas detected in different frames, for example, is determined to be a block including the same object as the target block, whereby a follow-up process of the combined area is performed (1605).", "That is, the follow-up process is of a process for determining the combined area determined to include the same object as the target block for every previous frame and generating the coordinate string comprised of typical coordinates of the respective combined areas.", "Subsequently, motion modeling parameters are calculated from the coordinate string (1606).", "Using the calculated parameters, a check is made where the combined area of each previous frame is moved within a target frame, thereby specifying a motion estimation area in the target frame (1607).", "It is determined whether the target block is included in the motion estimation area (1608).", "If the target block is included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (1609).", "A difference between the prediction vector PMV and its corresponding motion vector MV is computed to calculate a difference vector DMV (1610).", "On the other hand, if the target block is not included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1611), and a difference vector DMV is calculated (1612).", "FIG.", "17 is a diagram showing a procedure of decoding in the present embodiment.", "Only the inter prediction process (1315) shown in FIG.", "13 is described herein.", "Since other operations are taken to carry out a procedure similar to FIG.", "13, their description is omitted.", "The following processes are first performed to all previous frames to be targeted (1701).", "That is, a combining process is performed to motion vectors MV of each previous frame (1702).", "Typical coordinates of each combined area are calculated from the center of gravity of the combined area, for example (1703).", "If a coordinate string of the combined areas is obtained according to the above processing, a block close in distance to a target block or a previous block corresponding to the target block, of coordinates of combined areas detected in different frames, for example, is determined to be a block including the same object, whereby a follow-up process of the combined area is performed (1704).", "Subsequently, motion modeling parameters are calculated from the coordinate string (1705).", "Using the calculated parameters, a check is made where the combined area of each previous frame is moved within a target frame, thereby specifying a motion estimation area (1706).", "It is determined whether the target block is included in the motion estimation area (1707).", "If the target block is included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the motion vectors MV included in the combined area (1708).", "The sum of the prediction vector PMV and a difference vector DMV is computed to calculate a motion vector MV (1709).", "On the other hand, if the target block is not included in the motion estimation area, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1710), and a motion vector MV is calculated (1711).", "Finally, the generation of a prediction image and a decoded image is carried out based on the calculated motion vectors MV (1712).", "Although the calculation of the prediction vector PMV is performed in block units in the present embodiment, the prediction vector may be calculated in units of objects discrete from the background of an image, for example, even at other than the above.", "Further, the present embodiment, the embodiment 1 and the embodiment 2 may be combined together.", "In the present embodiment, the motion of the combined area is modeled in mathematical equations as shown in FIG.", "10.If this operation is performed on the encoding and decoding sides, there is no need to encode motion parameters of these, thus making it possible to prevent the amount of coded bits from increasing.", "EMBODIMENT 4 In the embodiments 1 through 3, the prediction vector PMV is calculated using the entire screen of each previous frame or the motion vectors MV of the entire encoded area in the current frame.", "On the other hand, the embodiment 4 shows a method capable of obtaining advantageous effects similar to those of the embodiments 1 through 3 with a small amount of coded bits within the same frame as a target block and using only its peripheral blocks.", "Since the configurations of the moving picture encoding device and the moving picture decoding device according to the present embodiment are similar to the configurations of the moving picture encoding device and the moving picture decoding device shown in FIGS.", "1 through 4 in the embodiment 1, the description of these is omitted.", "FIG.", "11 conceptually shows one example of a prediction vector PMV calculating method by the present invention.", "Encoded blocks adjacent to the left, upper and upper right sides of a target block (1101) are assumed to be a block A (1102), a block B (1103) and a block C (1104) respectively.", "Motion vectors in the respective blocks are assumed to be MVA, MVB and MVC respectively.", "At this time, a function Cluster for calculating an inverse number of the degree capable of being combined with each peripheral vector is set to each vector MVX (MVX∈MVA, MVB, MVC).", "The Cluster (MVX) is calculated using it, and a vector at which the value of the Cluster (MVX) is brought to a minimum, is selected (1105).", "Here, the function Cluster is effective if a function for calculating the sum of absolute differences between the respective vectors MVX and their peripheral vectors is set to each vector MVX (MVX∈MVA, MVB, MVC).", "That is, assuming that encoded blocks adjacent to the left, upper and upper right sides of a block X (X∈A, B, C) (1107) are assumed to be a block X1 (1108), a block X2 (1109) and a block X3 (1110) respectively, and motion vectors in the respective blocks are assumed to be MVX1, MVX2 and MVX3 respectively, the function Cluster is expressed as designated at (1111).", "The inner product of the motion vector MVX of the block X (X∈A, B, C) (1107) and each of motion vectors MVXn of the blocks X1, X2 and X3 may be calculated based on a value divided by the product of the absolute value of the motion vector of the block X (X∈A, B, C) (1107) and the absolute value of each of the motion vectors of the blocks X1, X2 and X3 (1112).", "If, however, there is provided one for calculating similarity between the motion vectors, it may not comply with these equations in particular.", "Further, when the evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) based on the selected vector is smaller than a constant Threshold2, it is judged that an object exists around a target block, and a prediction vector PMV is calculated based on the selected vector.", "This calculation method is not restricted in particular, but it is effective if, for example, the selected vector is set to the prediction vector PMV as it is (1106).", "On the other hand, if the evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) based on the selected vector is greater than Threshold2, the object is determined not to exist around the target block, and a prediction vector PMV is calculated by a procedure similar to the conventional method such as H.264 (1106).", "The constant Threshold2 may be set to a uniform value in advance.", "Alternatively, the value may be freely set on the encoding side and included in a video stream.", "Further, the constant Threshold2 may be determined dynamically based on coding information about dispersed values of motion vectors MV and an average value thereof, the magnitude of a combined area, etc.", "The constant Threshold2 may not comply with this equation in particular.", "The present embodiment is capable of obtaining the same advantageous effect as where the motion vectors are combined with a small amount of coded bits, by using the above Cluster function.", "In the above embodiment, the block to which this function is applied is limited to the three types of blocks on the left, right and upper right sides of the target block, but the number of blocks to which this function is applied is not restricted in particular.", "Applying to four types of blocks added with a block on the upper left side, for example, provides a further improvement in prediction accuracy.", "FIG.", "18 shows a procedure of encoding in the present embodiment.", "Only the inter prediction process (1220) shown in FIG.", "12 is described herein.", "Since other operations are taken to carry out a procedure similar to FIG.", "12, their description is omitted.", "The calculation of motion vectors and a difference image is first carried out (1801).", "Subsequently, a vector at which an evaluation value Cluster (MVx) indicative of similarity among motion vectors existing around a target block and further with peripheral motion vectors becomes minimum, is selected (1802).", "The evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) and a threshold are compared with each other (1803).", "If the evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) is smaller than the threshold, the selected minimum vector is determined as a prediction vector PMV (1804), and a difference between the minimum vector and its corresponding motion vector MV is computed to calculate a difference vector DMV (1805).", "On the other hand, if the evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) is greater than the threshold, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1806), and a difference vector DMV is calculated (1807).", "FIG.", "19 shows a procedure of decoding in the present embodiment.", "Only the inter prediction process (1315) shown in FIG.", "13 is described herein.", "Since other operations are taken to carry out a procedure similar to FIG.", "13, their description is omitted.", "First, a vector is selected at which an evaluation value Cluster (MVx) indicative of similarity among motion vectors existing around a target block and further with peripheral motion vectors becomes minimum (1901).", "The evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) and a threshold are compared with each other (1902).", "If the evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) is smaller than the threshold, the selected minimum vector is determined as a prediction vector PMV (1903), and the sum of the prediction vector PMV and a difference vector DMV is calculated, thereby obtaining a motion vector MV (1904).", "On the other hand, if the evaluation value Cluster (BESTMV) is greater than the threshold, a prediction vector PMV is calculated by the conventional method such as H.264 (1905), and thereby a motion vector MV is calculated (1906).", "Finally, a prediction image and a decoded image are generated using the calculated motion vectors (1907), whereby image decoding is carried out.", "The present embodiment utilizes only the blocks lying within the same frame as the target block and at the periphery thereof.", "It is thus possible to obtain advantageous effects similar to those of the embodiments 1 through 3 with a small amount of coded bits.", "INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is effective as a moving picture decoding technique for decoding a moving picture and a moving picture encoding technique for encoding a moving picture.", "REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 101 through 115 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram of moving picture encoding device according to the present invention, 201 through 207 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram of moving picture encoding device according to the present invention, 301 through 308 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram of moving picture decoding device according to the present invention, 401 through 406 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram of moving picture decoding device according to the present invention, 501 through 505 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram of inter prediction encoding process by H.264/AVC, 601 through 606 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram related to motion vector prediction technique by H.264/AVC, 701 through 706 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram related to motion vector prediction technique by the present invention, 801 through 807 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram related to motion vector prediction technique by the present invention, 901 through 911 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram related to motion vector prediction technique by the present invention, 1001 through 1011 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram related to motion vector prediction technique by the present invention, 1101 through 1112 .", ".", ".", "explanatory diagram related to motion vector prediction technique by the present invention, 1201 through 1219 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart, 1301 through 1314 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart, 1401 through 1409 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart, 1501 through 1509 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart, 1601 through 1612 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart, 1701 through 1712 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart, 1801 through 1807 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart, and 1901 through 1907 .", ".", ".", "blocks of flowchart." ] ]
Patent_15874955
[ [ "INDUCER AND PUMP", "An inducer includes a hub and a blade which radially protrudes from the hub and is helically provided.", "The inducer has a thick portion in which a first distance and a second distance coincides with each other in a region outside a position at which a height ratio of the blade is 0.5 while the first distance is shorter than the second distance in a region inside the position at which the height ratio of the blade is 0.5, in which the height ratio is a ratio of a distance from a connection portion between the hub and a root portion of the blade with respect to a height of the blade which is a distance from the connection portion between the hub and the root portion of the blade to a tip portion of the blade in the radial direction of the blade." ], [ "1.An inducer comprising: a hub; a blade which radially protrudes from the hub and is helically provided; a wedge surface which is provided on a negative-pressure surface side of the blade so as to be inclined toward a leading edge; and a thick portion in which the first distance and the second distance coincide with each other in a region outside a position at which a height ratio of the blade is 0.5 while a first distance is shorter than a second distance in a region inside the position at which the height ratio of the blade is 0.5, wherein the height ratio of the blade is a ratio of a distance from a connection portion between the hub and a root portion of the blade with respect to a height of the blade which is a distance from the connection portion between the hub and the root portion of the blade to a tip portion of the blade in the radial direction of the blade.", "2.The inducer according to claim 1, wherein the thick portion is integrally formed with the blade.", "3.The inducer according to claim 1, wherein the thick portion is formed of an addition separated from the blade.", "4.The inducer according to claim 1, wherein a parallel surface which extends from the leading edge to be parallel to a camber line and an inclination surface which connects the parallel surface and a positive-pressure surface to each other are provided on at least the positive-pressure surface side of the root portion.", "5.The inducer according to claim 2, wherein a parallel surface which extends from the leading edge to be parallel to a camber line and an inclination surface which connects the parallel surface and a positive-pressure surface to each other are provided on at least the positive-pressure surface side of the root portion.", "6.The inducer according to claim 3, wherein a parallel surface which extends from the leading edge to be parallel to a camber line and an inclination surface which connects the parallel surface and a positive-pressure surface to each other are provided on at least the positive-pressure surface side of the root portion.", "7.A pump comprising the inducer according to claim 1.8.A pump comprising the inducer according to claim 2.9.A pump comprising the inducer according to claim 3.10.A pump comprising the inducer according to claim 4.11.A pump comprising the inducer according to claim 5.12.A pump comprising the inducer according to claim 6." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND ART <EOH>A rocket engine or the like includes a pump which pressurizes a cryogenic fluid such as liquid hydrogen or liquid oxygen.", "An inducer is provided in the pump in order to maintain suction performance.", "The inducer includes a hub which is connected to a rotary shaft and a blade which radially protrudes from the hub and is helically provided, and the inducer is disposed on a suction port of the pump and pressurizes a cryogenic fluid to prevent occurrence of cavitation (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2 below)." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation application based on PCT Patent Application No.", "PCT/JP2016/053040, filed on Feb. 2, 2016, whose priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-180708, filed on Sep. 14, 2015.The contents of both the PCT Patent Application and the Japanese Patent Applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to an inducer and a pump.", "BACKGROUND ART A rocket engine or the like includes a pump which pressurizes a cryogenic fluid such as liquid hydrogen or liquid oxygen.", "An inducer is provided in the pump in order to maintain suction performance.", "The inducer includes a hub which is connected to a rotary shaft and a blade which radially protrudes from the hub and is helically provided, and the inducer is disposed on a suction port of the pump and pressurizes a cryogenic fluid to prevent occurrence of cavitation (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).", "CITATION LIST Patent Document [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No.", "H2-33499 [Patent Document 2] PCT International Publication No.", "WO2013/108832 SUMMARY Technical Problem On the other hand, in the inducer, in order to increase cavitation performance, generally, a wedge surface which is inclined toward a leading edge is provided on a negative-pressure surface side of a blade, and a front edge is formed in a wedge shape (tapered shape).", "In the inducer, if a blade thickness of a root portion of the blade connected to a hub increases in order to increase bending strength of the blade, an angle of the wedge surface increases according to this.", "If the angle of the wedge surface increases, the cavitation performance decreases, the blade thickness increases, and a flow path width between blades is narrowed.", "Accordingly, clogging caused by the cavitation is accelerated and suction performance decreases.", "The present disclosure is made in consideration of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an inducer and a pump capable of increasing bending strength of a blade in a state where suction performance is maintained by thickening a root portion of the blade without increasing an angle of a wedge surface.", "Solution to Problem The inventor of the present disclosure has conductor extensive and intensive experiments in order to solve the above-described problems.", "As a result, the present inventor has found that it is possible to increase bending strength of a blade in a state where suction performance is maintained by changing a shape of the blade on a positive-pressure surface side without changing a shape of the blade on a negative-pressure surface side on which a wedge surface is provided and has arrived at the invention of the present disclosure.", "That is, in order to solve the above-described problems, according to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a inducer including: a hub; a blade which radially protrudes from the hub and is helically provided; a wedge surface which is provided on a negative-pressure surface side of the blade so as to be inclined toward a leading edge; and a thick portion in which a first distance and a second distance coincides with each other in a region outside a position at which a height ratio of the blade is 0.5 while the first distance is shorter than the second distance in a region inside the position at which the height ratio of the blade is 0.5, in which the height ratio of the blade is a ratio of a distance from a connection portion between the hub and a root portion of the blade with respect to a height of the blade which is a distance from the connection portion between the hub and the root portion of the blade to a tip portion of the blade in the radial direction of the blade.", "According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an inducer and a pump capable of increasing bending strength of the blade by increasing a blade thickness in the root portion of the blade in a state where cavitation performance is maintained.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a configuration view of a pump having an inducer in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a perspective view of the inducer in the embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is a view when a blade in the embodiment of the present disclosure is viewed from a positive-pressure surface side.", "FIG.", "4 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "5 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "6 is a sectional view showing a comparative example and a blade having a blade thickness increased by a method of the related art.", "FIG.", "7 is a graph showing shapes when blade thicknesses of the root portions of the blades in the comparative example are increased like A, B, and C. FIG.", "8 is a graph showing cavitation performance of the blade in the comparative example.", "FIG.", "9 is a graph showing cavitation performance of the blade in the embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "10 is a view when a blade in another embodiment of the present disclosure is viewed from a positive-pressure surface side.", "FIG.", "11 is a graph showing cavitation performance of the blade in another embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "12 is a view showing a stress distribution on a blade surface of the inducer in the embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "13 is a view showing the stress distribution of the blade surface of the inducer in the embodiment of the present disclosure when viewed from an angle different from that of FIG.", "12.DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of an inducer according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.", "FIG.", "1 is a configuration view of a pump 1 having an inducer 10 in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The pump 1 of the present embodiment is a turbo pump which pressurizes a cryogenic fluid such as liquid hydrogen or liquid oxygen and includes a centrifugal impeller 2, a turbine 3, and the inducer 10.The centrifugal impeller 2, the turbine 3, and the inducer 10 are connected to each other coaxially with respect to a rotary shaft 4.The rotary shaft 4 is rotatably supported by a pump casing 6 via a bearing 5 between the centrifugal impeller 2 and the turbine 3.In addition, the rotary shaft 4 is rotatably supported by the pump casing 6 via a bearing 7 between the inducer 10 and the centrifugal impeller 2.In addition, a reference numeral 8 indicates a stationary blade for introducing a fluid of which a pressure is increased by the inducer 10 into the centrifugal impeller 2.The inducer 10 maintains suction performance of the pump 1.The inducer 10 is disposed in a pump suction port 9 on an upstream side of the centrifugal impeller 2, pressurizes a fluid, and assists suction of the centrifugal impeller 2.The inducer 10 includes a hub 11 which is connected to the rotary shaft 4 and a blade 12 which radially protrudes from the hub 11.A tank (not shown) in which a fluid is accommodated is connected to the pump suction port 9.In the pump 1 configured as described above, if the turbine 3 is rotated by the action of a high-temperature and high-pressure gas, the centrifugal impeller 2 which is coaxial with the turbine 3 rotates, and the inducer 10 rotates.", "A fluid is introduced from the tank (not shown) to the pump suction port 9 by the rotation.", "The pump 1 pressurizes the fluid from the tank by the inducer 10, causes the fluid to flow to the centrifugal impeller 2 side, and further pressurizes the fluid by the rotation of the centrifugal impeller 2 so as to discharge the fluid.", "FIG.", "2 is a perspective view of the inducer 10 in the embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 is a view when the blade 12 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is viewed from a positive-pressure surface 13 side.", "FIG.", "4 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "5 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.", "3.In addition, the cross section taken along line I-I is a cross section in a rotation direction along a root portion 15 of the blade 12.Moreover, the cross section taken along line II-II is a cross section in a radial direction from the root portion 15 of the blade 12 to a tip portion 16.As shown in FIG.", "2, the inducer 10 includes the hub 11 which is formed in an approximately columnar shape and the blade 12 which radially protrudes from the hub 11 and is helically provided.", "In the inducer 10, a plurality of (three in the embodiment) blades 12 are provided.", "The plurality of blades 12 are integrally formed with the hub 11 and are disposed in a circumferential direction (rotation direction) of the hub 11.The plurality of blades 12 have the same dimensions and the same shapes as each other.", "In addition, the plurality of blades 12 are disposed at equally spaced intervals in the circumferential direction of the hub 11.Moreover, the number of the blades 12 of the inducer 10 is not limited to three, and for example, may be set to an appropriate number such as four according to a kind of the pump 1 or the like.", "The blade 12 includes the root portion 15 which is connected to the hub 11 and the tip portion 16 which is positioned on a side (the outside in the radial direction of the hub 11) opposite to the root portion 15.In addition, the blade 12 includes a leading edge 17 which is an upstream end and a trailing edge 18 which is a downstream end.", "In addition, the radial direction is a direction from the root portion 15 toward the tip portion 16.A wedge surface 19 which is inclined toward the leading edge 17 is provided in the blade 12.As shown in FIG.", "4, the wedge surface 19 is provided on the negative-pressure surface 14 side of the blade 12.The wedge surface 19 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to a camber line 20 which connects intermediate points between the negative-pressure surface 14 and the positive-pressure surface 13 of the blade 12 to each other.", "The wedge surface 19 includes an inclined flat surface 19a, an R surface 19b (curved surface) which connects a front edge side of the flat surface 19a and the leading edge 17 to each other, and an R surface 19c which a rear edge side of the flat surface 19a and the negative-pressure surface 14 to each other.", "On the other hand, a parallel surface 21 which extends to be parallel to the camber line 20 from the leading edge 17 and an inclination surface 22 which connects the parallel surface 21 and the positive-pressure surface 13 to each other are provided on the positive-pressure surface 13 side of the blade 12.The inclination surface 22 includes a flat surface 22a which is inclined at a predetermined angle, an R surface 22b which connects a front edge side of the flat surface 22a and the parallel surface 21 to each other, and a R surface 22c which connects a rear edge side of the flat surface 22a and the positive-pressure surface 13 to each other.", "In addition, a minute R surface is provided between the parallel surface 21 and the leading edge 17.As shown in FIG.", "3, the wedge surface 19 is provided in a range from 0° to 120° at a winding angle (an angle from the leading edge 17 to the trailing edge 18) of the blade 12.As shown in FIG.", "4, the parallel surface 21 and the inclination surface 22 are provided in the range, within which the wedge surface 19 is provided, on the side (the positive-pressure surface 13 side) opposite to the wedge surface 19.For example, preferably, a range R1 within which the parallel surface 21 and the inclination surface 22 are provided is a range from 0° to 15° or a range from 0° to 90° at the winding angle of the blade 12.In addition, preferably, a range R2 within the parallel surface 21 is provided is a range from 0° to 30° at the winding angle of the blade 12.As shown FIG.", "4, the root portion 15 of the blade 12 has a shape in which a first distance D1 between the camber line 20 and the leading edge 17 is shorter than a second distance D2 between the camber line 20 and the positive-pressure surface 13 of the blade 12 in the thickness direction of the blade 12.A reference numeral X shown in FIG.", "4 shows an outline of the blade 12 before the blade thickness increases.", "In the blade 12 of the present embodiment, the blade thickness is increased by changing the shape on the positive-pressure surface 13 side without changing the shape (particularly, the angle of the wedge surface 19) on the negative-pressure surface 14 side.", "As shown in FIGS.", "3 and 5, a thick portion 23 in which the first distance D1 is shorter than the second distance D2 is provided in at least the root portion 15 of the blade 12 on the positive-pressure surface 13 side of the blade 12.The thick portion 23 of the present embodiment is integrally formed with the blade 12.That is, the thick portion 23 is integrally formed with the blade 12 by cutting machining.", "The thick portion 23 forms at least a portion of the inclination surface 22 and the positive-pressure surface 13 shown in FIG.", "4.In addition, as shown in FIG.", "5, a distance from a connection portion between the hub 11 and the root portion 15 of the blade 12 to the tip portion 16 of the blade 12 in the radial direction of the blade 12 is a height H1 of the blade.", "Moreover, a distance from the connection portion between the hub 11 and the root portion 15 of the blade 12 in the radial direction of the blade 12 is defined as H2.If a ratio of the distance H2 from the connection portion between the hub 11 and the root portion 15 of the blade 12 with respect to the height H1 of the blade is referred to as a height ratio of the blade 12, a position at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5, that is, a position at which H2=1/2H1 is satisfied is indicated by a line by shown a reference numeral H in each of FIGS.", "3 and 5.As shown in FIGS.", "3 and 5, the thick portion 23 is positioned in a region inside the position (the line indicated by the reference numeral H in each of FIGS.", "3 and 5) at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5 in the radial direction.", "On the other hand, the thick portion 23 is not present in a region outside the position (the line indicated by the reference numeral H in each of FIGS.", "3 and 5) at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5 in the radial direction, and the first distance D1 and the second distance D2 coincide with each other in the region outside the position.", "That is, in the region outside the position at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5, the blade 12 has an outline indicate by a reference numeral X in FIG.", "4.Then, a function of the inducer 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.", "6 to 13.FIG.", "6 is a sectional view showing a comparative example and a blade 112 having a blade thickness increased by a method of the related art.", "In the blade 112 of the comparative example, the blade thickness is increased by changing the shape on a negative-pressure surface 114 side on which a wedge surface 119 is provided.", "That is, the first distance D1 between a camber line 120 which connects intermediate points between the negative-pressure surface 114 of the blade 112 and the positive-pressure surface 113 to each other and a leading edge 117 coincides with the second distance D2 between the camber line 120 and the positive-pressure surface 113 of the blade 112 in the thickness direction of the blade 112.In the method of the related art, if the blade thickness increases, the angle of the wedge surface 119 increases according to this.", "FIG.", "7 is a graph showing shapes when blade thicknesses of a root portion 115 of the blade 112 in the comparative example are increased like A, B, and C. In FIG.", "7, h indicates a blade height and t indicates a blade thickness.", "Moreover, t=0 indicates the camber line 120.FIG.", "8 is a graph showing cavitation performance of the blade 112 in the comparative example.", "In FIG.", "8, τ indicates the cavitation performance and Q/Qd indicates a flow rate ratio of the pump.", "Qd is a design flow rate of a test pump and Q is an actual flow rate during the operation of the pump.", "It is understood that as shown in FIG.", "8, for example, if comparison is performed at Q/Qd=1.0 in which the design flow rate and the actual flow rate coincide with each other, in the case where the blade thickness increases like A, B, and C using the method of the related art, it is understood that the cavitation performance deteriorates (the cavitation easily occurs) as the blade thickness increases.", "FIG.", "9 is a graph showing cavitation performance of the blade 12 in the embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "9 shows the performance of the cavitation when the blade thickness of the root portion 15 of the blade 12 is changed from D (the outline of the blade 12 indicated by the reference numeral X in FIG.", "4) to D′ (the outline of the blade 12 indicated by the solid line in FIG.", "4).", "It is understood that as shown in FIG.", "9, for example, if comparison is performed at Q/Qd=1.0 in which the design flow rate and the actual flow rate coincide with each other, in the case where the blade thickness increases from D to D′ using the method of the present disclosure, it is understood that the cavitation performance is improved (cavitation does not easily occur) as the blade thickness increases.", "Moreover, it is understood that as shown in FIG.", "4, the root portion 15 of the blade 12 is thickened by changing the shape on the positive-pressure surface 13 side of the blade 12 without changing the shape (the angle of the wedge surface 19) on the negative-pressure surface 14 side of the blade 12 on which the wedge surface 19 is provided, and thus, the cavitation performance can be improved.", "FIG.", "10 is a view when a blade 12A in another embodiment of the present disclosure is viewed from the positive-pressure surface 13 side.", "FIG.", "11 is a graph showing the cavitation performance of the blade 12A in another embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "11 shows the performance of the cavitation when the blade thickness of the root portion 15 of the blade 12A is changed from D to D′.", "As shown in FIG.", "10, the blade 12A of another embodiment is different from that of the above-described embodiment in that a portion of the thick portion 23 protrudes to the region outside the position at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5 in the radial direction.", "However, other configurations are similar to those of the above-described embodiment.", "As shown in FIG.", "11, for example, in the blade 12A of another embodiment, if comparison is performed at Q/Qd=1.0 at which the design flow rate and the actual flow rate coincide with each other, the same cavitation performance is provided before and after the blade thickness increases.", "That is, it is understood that if FIGS.", "9 and 11 are compared with each other, in order to increase the cavitation performance, it is understood that the thick portion 23 being positioned in the region inside the position at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5 is preferable.", "FIG.", "12 is a view showing a stress distribution on the blade surface of the inducer in the embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "13 is a view showing the stress distribution of the blade surface of the inducer in the embodiment of the present disclosure when viewed from an angle different from that of FIG.", "12.It is understood that as shown in FIGS.", "12 and 13, in the stress distribution on the blade surface of the inducer, it is understood that the stress in the root portion 15 of the blade 12 is high.", "In the present embodiment, it is understood that the blade thickness is thickened at least in the root portion 15 of the blade 12 and bending strength of the blade 12 is effectively improved.", "In this way, according to the above-described embodiment, the wedge surface 19 which is inclined toward the leading edge 17 is provided on the negative-pressure surface 14 side of the blade 12 of the inducer 10 having the hub 11 and the blade 12 which radially protrudes from the hub 11 and is helically provided.", "Moreover, the inducer has the thick portion 23 in which the first distance D1 and the second distance D2 coincide with each other in the region outside a position at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5 while the first distance D1 is shorter than the second distance D2 in the region inside the position at which the height ratio of the blade 12 is 0.5, in which the height ratio is the ratio of the distance H2 from the connection portion between the hub 11 and the root portion 15 of the blade 12 with respect to the height H1 of the blade which is the distance from the connection portion between the hub 11 and the root portion 15 of the blade 12 to the tip portion 16 of the blade 12 in the radial direction of the blade 12.Accordingly, it is possible to obtain the inducer 10 and the pump 1 capable of increasing the bending strength of the blade 12 by increasing the blade thickness in the root portion 15 of the blade 12 in a state where the cavitation performance is maintained.", "Hereinbefore, the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to the drawings.", "However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment.", "The shapes, the combinations, or the like of the components shown in the above-described embodiment are examples, and various modifications can be applied the present disclosure based on design requirements or the like within a scope which does not depart from the gist of the present disclosure.", "For example, in the embodiment, the configuration in which the thick portion 23 is integrally formed with the blade 12 is described.", "The present disclosure is not limited to the configuration, and the thick portion 23 may be formed of an addition separated from the blade 12.For example, as the addition, the root portion 15 of the blade 12 of the inducer 10 may be thermal-sprayed to increase the thickness, and the thick portion 23 may be formed of the addition.", "In addition, for example, as the addition, a brazing material sheet may be attached to the root portion 15 of the blade 12 of the inducer 10 to melt the brazing material sheet so as to increase the thickness, and the thick portion 23 may be formed of the addition.", "For example, in the embodiment, the configuration is described in which the parallel surface 21 which extends to be parallel to the camber line 20 from the leading edge 17 and the inclination surface 22 which connects the parallel surface 21 and the positive-pressure surface 13 to each other are provided on the positive-pressure surface 13 side of the root portion 15.However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and for example, the parallel surface 21 may not be provided and only the inclination surface may be provided between the leading edge 17 and the positive-pressure surface 13.INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain the inducer and the pump capable of increasing the bending strength of the blade by increasing the blade thickness in the root portion of the blade in the state where the cavitation performance is maintained." ] ]
Patent_15874957
[ [ "PRINTER AND METHOD FOR SELECTING PRINTING START POSITION", "In accordance with an embedment, a printer comprises a sensor configured to detect a position of a paper conveyed in a conveyance path; a first setting module configured to set a plurality of start candidate positions which are candidates of a printing start position in a paper conveyance direction based on a sensing result of the sensor; a test printing module configured to carry out a test printing for specifying the start candidate position on the paper for each start candidate position set by the first setting module; a reception module configured to receive selection of one start candidate position from the start candidate positions specified by the test printing; and a second setting module configured to set the start candidate position received by the reception module as the printing start position." ], [ "1.A printer, comprising: a sensor configured to irradiate a label paper with light and detect a quantity of light penetrating the label paper as a voltage level, the label paper being attached to a mount of labels at a predetermined interval; a candidate setting module configured to set a plurality of candidate voltage between the peak voltage and the lowest voltage obtained from the sensing result acquired by the sensor; and a test printing module configured to detect the candidate voltage set by the candidate setting module from the sensing result acquired by the sensor, set a position in the label conveyance direction on the label paper corresponding to the detected candidate voltage, determine a start candidate position on the label in the label paper conveyance direction based on the detected position, and carry out a test printing for specifying the start candidate position on the label.", "2.The printer according to claim 1, wherein the test printing module individually executes the test printing for each start candidate position corresponding to the plurality of candidate voltages.", "3.The printer according to claim 1, wherein the test printing module carries out the test printing of the plurality of the start candidate positions corresponding to the plurality of candidate voltages on the same paper.", "4.The printer according to claim 1, wherein the test printing module prints a scale indicating a size of a margin part at the margin part relating to the start candidate position as the test printing when the margin part is arranged at the periphery of the paper.", "5.The printer according to claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a light emitting element and a light receiving element.", "6.The printer according to claim 1, wherein the paper comprises a label paper in a roll shape.", "7.The printer according to claim 1, wherein the sensor irradiates the paper with light and detects a quantity of light penetrating the paper as a voltage level.", "8.The printer according to claim 7, wherein the test printing module specifies each start candidate position with a corner mark or a dot." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Conventionally, in a printer, a position of a paper conveyed in a conveyance path is detected by using a sensor such as a transmission type sensor or a reflection type sensor.", "The sensor detects a paper portion where the paper (label) which is a printed object is present and a non-paper portion according to a quantity of light.", "The printer determines a start position of printing (printing start position) in a conveyance direction of the paper based on a sensing result (output signal) of the sensor.", "A conventional printer is equipped with a function capable of manually correcting the printing start position.", "With the function, a user measures the printing start position in an exact size from an actual printing result and can carry out adjustment in such a manner that the printing start position becomes a proper position by inputting a correction value corresponding to a length of a deviation if the deviation occurs.", "However, since it is necessary to measure the printing start position in the exact size, the above-described adjustment method is complicated, and there is a problem that time is required as an operation of inputting the correction value, and checking the printing result is undesirably repeated in some cases." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of application Ser.", "No.", "15/460,511 filed on Mar.", "16, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No.", "P2016-142577, filed Jul.", "20, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printer and a method for selecting a printing start position.", "BACKGROUND Conventionally, in a printer, a position of a paper conveyed in a conveyance path is detected by using a sensor such as a transmission type sensor or a reflection type sensor.", "The sensor detects a paper portion where the paper (label) which is a printed object is present and a non-paper portion according to a quantity of light.", "The printer determines a start position of printing (printing start position) in a conveyance direction of the paper based on a sensing result (output signal) of the sensor.", "A conventional printer is equipped with a function capable of manually correcting the printing start position.", "With the function, a user measures the printing start position in an exact size from an actual printing result and can carry out adjustment in such a manner that the printing start position becomes a proper position by inputting a correction value corresponding to a length of a deviation if the deviation occurs.", "However, since it is necessary to measure the printing start position in the exact size, the above-described adjustment method is complicated, and there is a problem that time is required as an operation of inputting the correction value, and checking the printing result is undesirably repeated in some cases.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a diagram schematically illustrating schematic constitution of a printer according to an embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a control system of the printer according to the embodiment; FIG.", "3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a label paper and a waveform of an output signal of a transmission type sensor; FIG.", "4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional components relating to adjustment of a printing start position included in the printer according to the embodiment; FIG.", "5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test printing result by a test printing section according to the embodiment; FIG.", "6 is a diagram illustrating another example of the test printing result by the test printing section according to the embodiment; FIG.", "7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen displayed on a user interface section according to the embodiment; FIG.", "8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing start position adjustment processing executed by the printer according to the embodiment; FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating the other example of the test printing result by the test printing section according to the embodiment; and FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the selection screen displayed on the user interface section according to the embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In accordance with an embedment, a printer comprises a sensor, a first setting module, a test printing module, a reception module and a second setting module.", "The sensor detects a position of a paper conveyed in a conveyance path.", "The first setting module sets a plurality of start candidate positions which are candidates of a printing start position in a paper conveyance direction based on a sensing result of the sensor.", "The test printing module carries out a test printing for specifying the start candidate position on the paper for each start candidate position set by the first setting module.", "The reception module receives selection of one start candidate position from the start candidate positions specified by the test printing.", "The second setting module sets the start candidate position received by the reception module as the printing start position.", "Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printer and a method for setting a printing start position according to the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "The embodiment described later is described as an example of applying the present invention to a label printer; however, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.", "FIG.", "1 is a diagram schematically illustrating schematic constitution of a printer 10 according to an embodiment.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the printer 10 includes a paper storage section 101, a stepping motor 102, a platen roller 103, a thermal head 104 and a transmission type sensor 105.The paper storage section 101 houses a paper roller PR in a freely detachable manner.", "The paper roller PR is formed by winding a label paper PT into a roll shape.", "The label paper PT is formed by attaching a label L which is a freely peelable thermal paper to a belt-like paper (mount) at predetermined intervals.", "The paper roller PR is housed in the paper storage section 101 in a state in which a roll axis thereof faces a width direction of the printer 10.The stepping motor 102 is a drive source for rotating the platen roller 103.If the stepping motor 102 is driven under the control of a motor driver 118 (refer to FIG.", "2) described later, the platen roller 103 is driven to rotate via a gear.", "By the rotation of the platen roller 103, the paper roller PR is drawn from the paper storage section 101 as the label paper PT to be conveyed in a paper conveyance direction Y.", "The thermal head 104 is arranged to face the platen roller 103.The thermal head 104 is constituted by arranging heat generating elements with plural predetermined densities in a row.", "The thermal head 104 enables the heat generating elements to generate heat under the control of a head driver 117 (refer to FIG.", "2) described later to heat the label paper PT conveyed in a paper conveyance path to print characters or figures.", "The label paper PT (label L) to which the printing is carried out is discharged to a paper discharge port (not shown).", "The transmission type sensor 105 corresponds to a sensor of the present embodiment.", "The transmission type sensor 105 is arranged in the paper conveyance path for connecting the paper storage section 101 with the thermal head 104.The transmission type sensor 105 is constituted by a pair of a light emitting element and a light receiving element.", "The transmission type sensor 105 detects the positions of the label L and a gap part described later by detecting a quantity of light penetrating the label paper PT.", "A control system of the printer 10 is described with reference to FIG.", "2.FIG.", "2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the control system of the printer 10.As shown in FIG.", "2, the printer 10 includes a computer constitution composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113.The CPU 111 is a central processing device that collectively controls the printer 10.The ROM 112 stores various programs executed by the CPU 111 and control information.", "The RAM 113 functions as a working area of the CPU 111.The printer 10 connects a non-volatile memory 114, a keyboard controller 115, a display controller 116, and the head driver 117 to the CPU 111.The printer 10 connects a keyboard 106 to the keyboard controller 115, a display device 107 to the display controller 116, as well as the thermal head 104 to the head driver 117, respectively.", "The non-volatile memory 114 is a storage medium such as a flash memory and stores various setting information and various programs to be executed by the CPU 111.For example, the non-volatile memory 114 stores a gap voltage described later relating to positioning of a printing start position on the label paper PT (label L) as the setting information.", "The keyboard controller 115 outputs an operation signal in response to the operation on the keyboard 106 to the CPU 111.The display controller 116 displays various information on the display device 107 under the control of the CPU 111.Under the control of the CPU 111, the head driver 117 enables the thermal head 104 (heat generating element) to generate the heat.", "The printer 10 connects the motor driver 118, a sensor control circuit 119 and a communication interface (I/F) 120 to the CPU 111.The printer 10 connects the stepping motor 102 to the motor driver 118 as well as the transmission type sensor 105 to the sensor control circuit 119.The printer 10 also connects the communication interface 120 to a network N such as an LAN (Local Area Network).", "For example, the printer 10 and other printers 10 of the same type as the printer 10 are connected to the network N. The motor driver 118 drives the stepping motor 102 to rotate by outputting a drive pulse signal to the stepping motor 102 under the control of the CPU 111.The sensor control circuit 119 controls the operation of the transmission type sensor 105.Specifically, the sensor control circuit 119 operates the transmission type sensor 105 under the control of the CPU 111 to output a sensing result (output signal) of the transmission type sensor 105 to the CPU 111.Herein, FIG.", "3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the label paper PT and a waveform of the output signal of the transmission type sensor 105.As shown in FIG.", "3, the label L is attached to a mount B at a predetermined interval in the label paper PT.", "The transmission type sensor 105 irradiates the label paper PT conveyed in the paper conveyance path with the light and detects the quantity of the light penetrating the label paper PT as a voltage level.", "At this time, the quantity of the light detected by the transmission type sensor 105 is increased at a portion where the label L is not attached, in other words, in the mount B portion (hereinafter, referred to as a gap part) between the labels L. The CPU 111 detects a boundary position (hereinafter, referred to as a gap position) between the label L and the mount B based on the waveform of the output signal of the transmission type sensor 105.For example, the CPU 111 detects a voltage level of a peak position in the waveform of the output signal of the transmission type sensor 105 as a voltage level (hereinafter, referred to as a peak voltage VP) at a center position of the gap part.", "From the waveform of the output signal of the transmission type sensor 105, the CPU 111 detects a voltage level (hereinafter, referred to as a label voltage VL) of the portion to which the label L is attached.", "Herein, the label voltage VL corresponds to, for example, a voltage level of the lowest value and a voltage level of a position where the waveform becomes flat in the waveform of the output signal of the transmission type sensor 105.Based on the detected peak voltage VP (or label voltage VL), the CPU 111 detects a voltage level obtained by decreasing (increasing) the detected voltage value by a predetermined amount as a voltage level (hereinafter, referred to as a gap voltage VG) corresponding to the gap position on the label paper PT.", "It is assumed that a change amount that causes the peak voltage VP (or the label voltage VL) to decrease (or increase) is determined in advance.", "The change amount can be preset according to, for example, a voltage difference between the peak voltage VP and the label voltage VL, the type of the paper and the like.", "Further, the gap voltage VG detected as stated above is stored in the non-volatile memory 14 as the setting information.", "At the time of normal printing, the CPU 111 determines the printing start position of the label paper PT (label L) based on the gap voltage VG stored as the setting information.", "Incidentally, the conventional printer is loaded with a function capable of manually correcting the printing start position.", "With the function, a user measures the printing start position in an exact size from an actual printing result and can carry out adjustment in such a manner that the printing start position becomes a proper position by inputting a correction value corresponding to a length of a deviation if the deviation occurs.", "However, since it is necessary to measure the printing start position in the exact size, the above-described adjustment method is complicated, and there is a problem that time is required as the operation of inputting the correction value and checking the printing result is repeated in some cases.", "Thus, the printer 10 of the present embodiment includes functional components for supporting an adjustment operation of the printing start position.", "Hereinafter, functional components which are included in the printer 10 and relate to the printing start position are described.", "FIG.", "4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional components relating to adjustment of the printing start position included in the printer 10.As shown in FIG.", "4, the printer 10 includes a sensing result acquisition section 11, a candidate voltage setting section 12, a test printing section 13, a user interface section 14 and a setting sharing section 15 as functional sections.", "A part or all of those functional sections may be hardware constitution that is realized on the RAM 113 by cooperation of the CPU 111 and programs stored in the ROM 112 and the non-volatile memory 114.In addition, a part or all of those functional sections maybe hardware constitution that is realized by one or a plurality of processing circuits designed to realize each function.", "The sensing result acquisition section 11 acquires the sensing result (waveform of the output signal) of the transmission type sensor 105 by cooperating with the sensor control circuit 119.The candidate voltage setting section 12 corresponds to a first setting module of the present embodiment.", "The candidate voltage setting section 12 sets a plurality of voltage levels corresponding to a plurality of start candidate positions which are candidates of the printing start position as candidate voltages based on the sensing result acquired by the sensing result acquisition section 11.Specifically, the candidate voltage setting section 12 sets a reference voltage which is a reference of the candidate voltages based on the sensing result acquired by the sensing result acquisition section 11.The reference voltage is not particularly limited as long as it is a value between the peak voltage and the label voltage obtained from the sensing result.", "For example, the reference voltage may be a voltage level (in other words, the gap voltage at the present stage) that is obtained by decreasing (or increasing) the peak voltage (or label voltage) detected from the sensing result by a predetermined amount.", "For example, the reference voltage may be an intermediate value between the peak voltage and the label voltage detected from the sensing result.", "The reference voltage may be contained in the candidate voltages or may not be contained in the candidate voltages.", "The candidate voltage setting section 12 sets a plurality of candidate voltages by deviating the voltage value by a predetermined amount before and after the reference voltage.", "A deviation amount at the time of deviating the voltage value is not particularly limited and can use an optional value.", "For example, the deviation amount may be a certain voltage value (0.1V or the like).", "The deviation amount may be set so that the printing start position is deviated by a certain interval (0.5 mm or the like).", "Furthermore, the number of the candidate voltages set by the candidate voltage setting section 12 is not particularly limited.", "For example, it is preferable that the candidate voltages are not numerous, for example, two or three candidate voltages are set at a time before and after the reference voltage.", "The test printing section 13 corresponds to a test printing module of the present embodiment.", "The test printing section 13 carries out a test printing for specifying the printing start positions (start candidate positions) corresponding to the candidate voltages set by the candidate voltage setting section 12 on the label paper PT by cooperating with the head driver 117 and the motor driver 118.Specifically, the test printing section 13 detects the candidate voltages (voltage levels) set by the candidate voltage setting section 12 from the sensing result acquired by the sensing result acquisition section 11.The test printing section 13 sets a position in the paper conveyance direction on the label paper PT corresponding to the detected voltage level as the gap position, and determines the printing start position on the label paper PT (label L) in the paper conveyance direction based on the gap position.", "The test printing section 13 carries out the test printing for specifying the printing start position by operating the thermal head 104 if the thermal head 104 reaches the printing start position along with the conveyance of the label paper PT.", "Further, for the printing on the label L, if a margin setting for providing a margin part at the periphery of the label L is executed in advance, the test printing section 13 sets a position obtained by adding a length of the margin part in the conveyance direction to the gap position to the printing start position.", "FIG.", "5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a test printing result by the test printing section 13.A mark M1 shown on the label paper PT (label L) is used to specify the printing start position.", "A corner of the mark M1 means the printing start positions in a main scanning direction X and a sub scanning direction (paper conveyance direction Y) on the label paper PT (label L).", "In this way, the test printing section 13 carries out the test printing for specifying the printing start position corresponding to the candidate voltage on the label paper PT (label L) by using the candidate voltage set by the candidate voltage setting section 12.Thus, the user can easily confirm whether the printing start position is proper by confirming the printing start position that is test printed.", "Furthermore, a shape and a size of the mark M1 printed on the label paper PT (label L) by the test printing are not limited to the example in FIG.", "5; and the shape and the size of the mark M1 are particularly not limited as long as the mark M1 can specify the printing start position.", "For example, the mark M1 may indicate the printing start position with points (dots).", "The mark M1 may only indicate the printing start position in the paper conveyance direction Y.", "The test printing section 13 may print information other than the mark M1.For example, the test printing section 13 may print a value and the correction amount of the candidate voltage used in the test printing.", "For example, if the margin setting for providing the margin part at the periphery of the label L, the test printing section 13 may print information indicating a size (length) of a margin part A1 in the paper conveyance direction at the margin part A1 as shown in FIG.", "6.FIG.", "6 is a diagram illustrating another example of the test printing result by the test printing section 13.In FIG.", "6, an example is shown in which a scale SC indicating the size (length) of the margin part A1 in the paper conveyance direction is printed at the margin part A1 of the label paper PT (label L).", "In this way, the test printing section 13 prints the information indicating the size of the margin part A1 relating to the printing start position at the margin part A1 while specifying the printing start position on condition that the margin setting is executed.", "Thus, since the user can easily confirm whether the margin part A1 is correctly ensured, in other words, whether the printing start position on the label L is proper according to the scale SC printed at the margin part A1, the adjustment of the printing start position can be effectively executed.", "The unit of a scale line is not particularly limited, for example, may be 0.1 mm or 1 mm.", "The unit of the scale line may be set according to a conveyance quantity of the label paper PT per step of the stepping motor 102 and a resolution degree (dpi) of the thermal head 104 (heat generating element).", "By cooperating with the user interface section 14, the test printing section 13 receives a propriety instruction on the printing start position on the label paper PT.", "The test printing section 13 carries out the test printing by using the unused candidate voltage that is not used in the test printing on condition that it is instructed that the printing start position is not proper.", "The user interface section 14 corresponds to a reception module and a second setting module according to the present embodiment.", "By cooperating with the keyboard controller 115 and the display controller 116, the user interface section 14 receives an operation from the user from the keyboard 106 and displays various operation screens and information on the display device 107.For example, by cooperating with the test printing section 13, the user interface section 14 displays a selection screen for urging to select one printing start position used in the normal printing from the printing start positions specified by the test printing on the display device 107.FIG.", "7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the selection screen displayed on the user interface section 14.In the selection screen shown in FIG.", "7, it is shown that the propriety on whether the printing start position specified by the test printing is used in the normal printing can be selected by operations on a “Y” button and an “N” button.", "The user interface section 14 receives an operation of the “Y” button or the “N” button via the keyboard 106 based on the selection screen.", "If the operation on the “Y” button is received, the user interface section 14 determines that the confirmation of the printing start position is instructed.", "In this case, the user interface section 14 stores (sets) the candidate voltage used in the test printing by the test printing section 13 as the gap voltage used at the time of the normal printing in the setting information of the non-volatile memory 114.Furthermore, the information stored in the setting information is not limited to the gap voltage, and other information may be stored (set).", "For example, the user interface section 14 may store the peak voltage and the label voltage detected from the sensing result at the time of setting the candidate voltage in the setting information together with the gap voltage.", "The user interface section 14 may store paper type information indicating the paper type (label paper PT) and the gap voltage in an associated manner in the setting information.", "In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the gap voltage is stored in the setting information together with the peak voltage and the label voltage.", "If receiving the operation on the “N” button, the user interface section 14 determines that the printing start position specified by the test printing is rejected.", "In this case, the user interface section 14 outputs an instruction signal for instructing the rejection of the printing start position to the test printing section 13.The test printing section 13 carries out the test printing by using one candidate voltage that is not used in the test printing among the candidate voltages set by the candidate voltage setting section 12 if the rejection of the printing start position from the user interface section 14 is instructed.", "In this way, the test printing section 13 carries out the test printing by sequentially using the candidate voltages set by the candidate voltage setting section 12 until the confirmation of the printing start position is instructed.", "Further, the test printing section 13 notifies the user interface section 14 that the whole candidate voltages are used in a case of executing the test printing for the whole candidate voltages set by the candidate voltage setting section 12.The user interface section 14 determines that the rejection of the printing start positions for the whole candidate voltages that are set is instructed based on the notification from the test printing section 13.In this case, the user interface section 14 displays a correction value input screen through which the correction value for correcting the printing start position can be directly input on the display device 107 to receive the input of the correction value.", "The user interface section 14 stores the gap voltage corrected based on the correction value as the setting information in the non-volatile memory 114.The adjustment method using the correction value input screen is the same as that in the prior art described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted.", "Return to FIG.", "4, the setting sharing section 15 corresponds to a transmission module, the reception module and a third setting module of the present embodiment.", "The setting sharing section 15 carries out a processing for sharing the adjustment result of the printing start position among the printers 10.Specifically, the setting sharing section 15 transmits the setting information (gap voltage, peak voltage (or label voltage)) stored in the non-volatile memory 114 by the user interface section 14 to other printers 10 via the communication interface 120.The setting sharing section 15 receives the setting information transmitted from other printers 10 via the communication interface 120.The setting sharing section 15 adjusts the gap voltage contained in the received setting information according to characteristics of the transmission type sensor 105 to reflect the gap voltage after adjusted in the setting information of the non-volatile memory 114.The adjustment method of the gap voltage executed by the setting sharing section 15 is described.", "Since there is an individual difference in the transmission type sensors 105 generally in the plurality of the printers 10, even if the same label paper PT is used, the waveforms of the output signals obtained from the label paper PT are different.", "Thus, even if the gap voltage set by some printer 10 is set in other printers 10 without changes, there is a possibility that the printing start positions that are actually printed are different among the printers 10.However, even if the characteristics of the transmission type sensor 105 are different, it is known that ratios of the gap voltage to the label voltage (or peak voltage) detected from the same label paper PT are in the same level.", "Based on the ratio of the gap voltage to the label voltage (or peak voltage) detected by other printers 10, by deriving (adjusting) the gap voltage from the label voltage (or peak voltage) detected by the printer 10, it is possible to reflect the adjustment results of other printers 10 to the printer 10.For example, the label voltage and the gap voltage detected by other printers 10 are 2.0V and 4.0V.", "On the other hand, the label voltage and the gap voltage detected by the own printer 10 are 1.8V and 4.2V.", "In this case, if the gap voltage of other printers 10 is proper, by adjusting the gap voltage of 4.2V to 3.6V in the own printer 10 based on the ratio “1/2” of the gap voltage to the label voltage in other printers 10, it is possible to adjust the gap voltage to a proper value.", "In this way, the setting sharing section 15 transmits and receives the setting information (gap voltage and the like) to and from other printers 10 to adjust the gap voltage of the own printer 10 based on the received setting information.", "In this way, for example, in a case in which the plurality of the printers 10 is connected with the network N, the printing start position set by one printer 10 can be reflected in printers 10, and thus, the adjustment of the printing start position can be effectively executed.", "Further, the timing at which the setting sharing section 15 transmits the setting information to other printers 10 is not particularly limited.", "For example, at the time the user interface section 14 stores the gap voltage and the like as the setting information, the setting sharing section 15 may transmit the setting information to other printers 10.In this case, for example, the user interface section 14 may display a conformation screen for confirming whether or not the setting information is transmitted to other printers 10.The setting sharing section 15 transmits the setting information to other printers 10 on condition that the transmission of the setting information based on the confirmation screen is instructed by the user.", "The user interface section 14 may display a confirmation screen for confirming whether or not the setting information is reflected in the own printer 10 in a case in which the setting information is received from other printers 10.The setting sharing section 15 adjusts the gap voltage of the own printer 10 based on the received setting information on condition that the reflection of the setting information based on the confirmation screen is instructed by the user.", "In the present embodiment, the setting sharing section 15 transmits the gap voltage and the label voltage (or peak voltage) as the setting information; however, the present invention is not limited to that.", "For example, the ratio of the gap voltage to the label voltage (or peak voltage) may be transmitted as the setting information.", "The network constitution of the printer 10 relating to the transmission and the reception of the setting information is not particularly limited.", "For example, the whole printer 10 may be a P2P type constitution for carrying out transmission and reception of the setting information.", "The network constitution may be a master slave type constitution for transmitting the setting information to other printers 10 operating as slaves from one printer 10 operating as a master.", "The operation of the printer 10 relating to the adjustment of the printing start position is described with reference to FIG.", "8.FIG.", "8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a printing start position adjustment processing executed by the printer 10.The CPU 111 starts the present processing if receiving an instruction for starting the adjustment of the printing start position via the keyboard 106 and the like (Act S11).", "Along with the start of the present processing, since the sensing result of the transmission type sensor 105 is obtained, the CPU 111 conveys the label paper PT by a predetermined amount by cooperating with the motor driver 118.The sensing result acquisition section 11 acquires the sensing result of the label paper PT detected by the transmission type sensor 105 along with the conveyance of the label paper PT (Act S12).", "Based on the sensing result obtained in Act S12, the candidate voltage setting section 12 sets a plurality of candidate voltages (Act S13).", "The test printing section 13 carries out the test printing by using one candidate voltage set in Act S13 by cooperating with the head driver 117 and the motor driver 118 (Act S14).", "The user interface section 14 displays the selection screen for urging to select the propriety of the printing start position specified by the test printing in Act S14 on the display device 107 (Act S15).", "The user interface section 14 determines whether or not the confirmation of the printing start position is instructed based on the selection screen displayed in Act S15 (Act S16).", "If the confirmation of the printing start position is instructed (Yes in Act S16), the user interface section 14 stores the candidate voltage used in the test printing in Act S14 to store the candidate voltage as the gap voltage in the setting information (Act S17), and then proceeds to the processing in Act S21.Further, the user interface section 14 also stores the information (label voltage, peak voltage, etc.)", "other than the gap voltage in Act S17.On the other hand, if the rejection of the printing start position is instructed (No in Act S16), the test printing section 13 determines whether or not there is the candidate voltage that is not used in the test printing (Act S18).", "If there are unused candidate voltages (Yes in Act S18), the test printing section 13 returns to the processing in Act S14 to carry out the test printing by using one of the unused candidate voltages.", "In Act S18, if all the candidate voltages are used in the test printing (No in Act S18), the user interface section 14 displays the correction value input screen for receiving the direct input of the correction value (Act S19).", "The user interface section 14 stores the gap voltage and the like corrected based on the input correction value as the setting information (Act S20), and then proceeds to the processing in Act S21.Further, the test printing section 13 may carry out the test printing based on the correction value input in Act S19.In Act S21, the user interface section 14 displays a sharing confirmation screen for confirming whether or not the setting information stored in Act S17 or Act S20 is shared with other printers 10 (Act S21).", "The setting sharing section 15 determines whether or not the sharing of the setting information is instructed based on the sharing confirmation screen (Act S22).", "If the sharing of the setting information is instructed (YES in Act S22), the setting sharing section 15 transmits the setting information stored in Act S17 or Act S20 to other printers 10 (Act S23), and then terminates the present processing.", "If the non-sharing of the setting information is instructed (No in Act S22), the setting sharing section 15 immediately terminates the present processing without transmitting the setting information.", "As stated above, the printer 10 sets the plurality of the candidate voltages which are candidates of the printing start position to carry out the test printing for specifying the printing start positions (start candidate positions) corresponding to those candidate voltages on the label paper PT (label L).", "The printer 10 stores the candidate voltage corresponding to one printing start position selected by the user from the printing start positions specified by the test printing as the gap voltage in the setting information.", "In this way, the use selects one printing start position determined to be proper from the printing start positions specified by the test printing to be capable of completing the adjustment of the printing start position, and thus, it is possible to effectively carry out the adjustment of the printing start position.", "In a case in which the margin setting is executed, since the user can grasp the size of the margin part with the scale printed at the margin part, the use can easily confirm whether the printing start position is proper.", "In the present embodiment, the test printing is individually executed for each candidate voltage set by the candidate voltage setting section 12; however, the present invention is not limited to this.", "The test printing of the plurality of candidate voltages may be executed on the same label L once.", "In this case, the test printing section 13 carries out the test printing as shown FIG.", "9 by using the plurality of the candidate voltages set by in the candidate voltage setting section 12 once.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram illustrating the other example of the test printing result by the test printing section 13.In FIG.", "9, markers M21˜M25 indicate the printing start positions in the paper conveyance direction Y on the label L (label paper PT).", "The markers M21˜M25 are printed based on different candidate voltages, and thus the printing start positions are mutually different.", "The test printing section 13 prints identification numbers (1˜5) for identifying the markers in association with the marks M21˜M25.On the other hand, the user interface section 14 displays the selection screen shown in FIG.", "10 along with the test printing in FIG.", "9.FIG.", "10 is a diagram illustrating another example of the selection screen displayed on the user interface section 14.In the selection screen, that one printing start position used in the normal printing is selected by the input of the identification number from the printing start positions of the markers M21˜M25 that are test printed.", "The user of the printer 10 inputs the identification number of the marker of the printing start position that is determined to be proper from the keyboard 106 based on the selection screen.", "If receiving the input of the identification number via the keyboard 106, the user interface section 14 stores the candidate voltage used in the printing of the marker corresponding to the identification number to as the gap voltage in the setting information of the non-volatile memory 114.The printer 10 carries out printing on the label paper PT (label L) based on the gap voltage stored as the setting information in the following printing.", "If the “N” button instructing a manual adjustment is selected, the user interface section 14 displays the correction value input screen capable of directly inputting the correction value.", "In this way, since the use can select one printing start position while comparing the plurality of the printing start positions that is test printed, the convenience of the user relating to the selection of the printing start position can be further improved.", "The number of the labels L used in the test printing can be suppressed.", "While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.", "Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.", "The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention.", "For example, in the foregoing embodiment, the label printer is described as an example; however, the type of the printer is not limited to that.", "In the foregoing embodiment, a thermal printer for carrying out printing on a thermal paper with the thermal head 104 is described as an example; however, the printing method is not limited to that.", "In the foraging embodiment, based on the sensing result of the transmission type sensor 105, an example in which the printing start position on the label paper PT is adjusted is described; however, the adjustment method of the forgoing embodiment can also be applied to other types of sensors or other types of papers.", "For example, there are a paper (For example, continuous paper, tag paper, etc.)", "on which a mark (hereinafter, referred to as a mark for position detection) for position detection called a black mark or a timing mark is printed.", "In the printer which performs printing on such a paper, the mark for position detection is detected using a reflection type sensor installed in the paper conveyance path to set the printing start position in the paper conveyance direction based on the detection result.", "Even if the reflection type the sensor is used, since the adjustment operation of the printing start position occurs, the adjustment method of the above embodiment can also be applied to the printer using the reflection type sensor in the position detection.", "The waveform of the output signal of a mark part for position detection and a mark part for non-position detection detected by the reflection type sensor are opposite to the waveform of the output signal of the transmission type sensor 105 described above.", "Therefore, by inverting the top and bottom of the output signal of the reflection type sensor, the waveform of the output signal detected by the reflection type sensor can be handled in the same way as the sensing result of the transmission type sensor 105.The program executed by the printer 10 in the above embodiment is a file of an installable form or an executable form and may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a floppy® Technology disk, a CD (Compact Disc), a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an SD memory card (SD memory card), a USB memory (Universal Serial Bus memory) and the like to be provided.", "The program executed by the printer 10 in the above embodiment may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as an internet and provided by being downloaded via the network.", "While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.", "Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.", "The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15874966
[ [ "MODULAR PILOT ASSEMBLY WITH SELF-CONTAINED STRIPPER AND METHOD FOR METAL FORMING DIES", "A pilot assembly and method has a cylindrical pilot body with a tapered outer end, a grooved inner end, and a central portion with at least one inwardly curved side wall relief, as well as internally mounted reciprocating ejector pins with outer ends that protrude through holes in the outer body end to strip stock from the pilot.", "A spring has its outer end mounted in the groove in the outer body end, and an inner end attached to the inner body end in a pre-tensed condition.", "A cap screw has an enlarged head that has at least a portion thereof fit into the pilot sidewall relief, and a threaded shank that anchors the pilot in an associated die member." ], [ "1.In a multi-station progressive metal forming die having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, the improvement of a modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper, comprising: a pilot operably supported on one of said die members and having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an oppositely disposed inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and a medial portion disposed axially between said outer and inner ends, and including: a body portion having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer wall with a least one fastener relief therein, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through said outer end and into said inner end; a point portion disposed at said outer end of said pilot shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and an outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; a spring retainer portion disposed at said inner end of said pilot, having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent said outer end of said spring retainer portion; a spring member that is received onto and over said spring retainer portion of said pilot, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip and received in said spring groove, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip and positioned adjacent to said retainer groove in said spring retainer portion; at least one rigid ejector pin slidingly received and retained in said ejector pin aperture in said body portion, having an outer end that protrudes outwardly from said outer end of said body portion when urged to an extended condition to contact the stock strip and strip the same away from said pilot, and retracts toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position, and an inner end that operably engages said outer end of said spring member and is thereby biased outwardly by said spring member toward said extended condition; a retainer ring detachably received on said spring retainer portion and engaging said inner end of said spring member in a pre-tensed condition to bias said ejector pin toward said extended condition; and a mounting fastener having an enlarged head portion that is at least partially, closely received in said fastener relief in said body portion, and a shank portion anchored in said one die member to securely mount said pilot assembly on said one die member in a manner which causes said ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between said retracted and extended positions relative to said body portion of said pilot during operation of said metal forming die to ensure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from said pilot.", "2.A metal forming die as set forth in claim 1, including: a retainer groove disposed adjacent said inner end of said spring retainer portion.", "3.A metal forming die as set forth in claim 2, wherein: said retainer ring is detachably received in said retainer groove.", "4.A metal forming die as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said pilot has a one-piece construction formed from a solid bar of rigid material.", "5.A metal forming die as set forth in claim 4, wherein: said body portion of said pilot includes a plurality of said ejector pin apertures having a substantially identical configuration and arranged in a spaced apart pattern through said body portion to ensure effective stripping of the stock strip from said pilot; and including a plurality of said ejector pins having a substantially identical configuration and slidingly received and retained in said ejector pin apertures in said body portion of said pilot.", "6.A metal forming die as set forth in claim 5, wherein: said body portion of said pilot includes a plurality of said fastener reliefs having a substantially identical configuration and arranged in a spaced apart pattern around said outer wall of said body portion to facilitate mounting said pilot assembly at various locations and orientations on said one die member.", "7.A metal forming die as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said mounting fastener is a threaded screw.", "8.A metal forming die as set forth in claim 1, wherein: said body portion having a generally cylindrical shape.", "9.A modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper for multi-station progressive metal forming dies having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, comprising: a pilot configured for operable support on an associated die member, and having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an oppositely disposed inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and a medial portion disposed axially between said outer and inner ends, and including: a body portion having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a least one fastener relief therein, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through said outer end and into said inner end; a point portion disposed at said end of said pilot shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and an outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; a spring retainer portion disposed at said inner end of said pilot, having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent said outer end of said spring retainer portion; a spring member received on and over said spring retainer portion of said pilot, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip and received in said spring groove, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip and positioned adjacent to said retainer groove in said spring retainer portion; at least one rigid ejector pin slidingly received and retained in said ejector pin aperture in said body portion, having an outer end that protrudes outwardly from said outer end of said body portion when urged to an extended condition to abut the stock strip and strip the same away from said pilot, and retracts toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position, and an inner end that operably engages said outer end of said spring member and is thereby biased outwardly by said spring member toward said extended condition; a retainer ring detachably received on said spring retainer portion and engaging said inner end of said spring member in a pre-tensed condition to bias said ejector pin toward said extended condition; and a mounting fastener having an enlarged head portion that is at least partially, closely received in said fastener relief in said body portion, and a shank portion configured for anchoring in an associated die member to securely mount said pilot assembly on the associated die member in a manner which causes said ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between said retracted and extended positions relative to said body portion of said pilot during operation of the metal forming die to ensure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from said pilot.", "10.A modular pilot assembly as set forth in claim 9, including: a retainer groove disposed adjacent said inner end of said spring retainer portion.", "11.A modular pilot assembly as set forth in claim 10, wherein: said retainer ring is detachably received in said retainer groove.", "12.A modular pilot assembly as set forth in claim 9, wherein: said pilot has a one-piece construction formed from a solid bar of rigid material.", "13.A modular pilot assembly die as set forth in claim 12, wherein: said body portion of said pilot includes a plurality of said ejector pin apertures having a substantially identical configuration and arranged in a spaced apart pattern through said body portion to ensure effective stripping of the stock strip from said pilot; and including a plurality of said ejector pins having a substantially identical configuration and slidingly received and retained in said ejector pin apertures in said body portion of said pilot.", "14.A modular pilot assembly as set forth in claim 13, wherein: said body portion of said pilot includes a plurality of said fastener reliefs having a substantially identical configuration and arranged in a spaced apart pattern around said outer wall of said body portion to facilitate mounting said pilot assembly at various locations and orientations on said one die member.", "15.A modular pilot assembly as set forth in claim 9, wherein: said mounting fastener is a threaded screw.", "16.A modular pilot assembly as set forth in claim 9, wherein: said body portion and said spring retainer portion having a generally cylindrical shape.", "17.In a method for making a multi-station progressive metal forming die having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, with the improvement of at least one modular pilot with self-contained stripper for precisely locating the stock strip in the die stations, comprising: forming a body portion with an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer wall with at least one fastener relief therein, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through the outer end and into said inner end; forming a point portion on an outer end of the pilot with a portion disposed adjacent the outer end of the body portion shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and an outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; forming a spring retainer portion on an inner end of the pilot with an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent the outer end of the spring retainer portion; forming at least one rigid ejector pin with an inner end, and an outer end configured to protrude outwardly from the outer end of the body portion when urged to an extended position to contact the stock strip, and to retract toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position; inserting the ejector pin into the ejector pin aperture in the body portion of the pilot, such that the ejector pin is slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture for longitudinal reciprocation therein between the extended and retracted positions; selecting a spring member with a generally hollow interior, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip; positioning the hollow interior of the spring member onto and over the spring retainer portion of the pilot, with the outer end of the spring member received in the spring groove and abutting the inner end of the ejector pin, and the inner end of the spring member positioned adjacent to the retainer groove in the spring retainer portion; shifting the inner end of the spring member outwardly along the spring retainer portion of the pilot to compress the spring member to a pre-tensed condition, such that the outer end of the spring member operably engages the inner end of the ejector pin and biases the ejector pin to the extended position; installing a retainer ring on the spring retainer portion with the spring member in the pre-tensed condition, such that the retainer ring abuttingly engages the inner end of the spring member and retains the spring member in the pre-tensed condition on the spring retainer portion of the pilot, thereby resiliently urging the ejector pin to the normally extended position; forming a non-threaded pilot aperture in a mounting face of one of the die members with a shape to closely receive and retain the body portion of the pilot therein; forming a threaded mounting fastener aperture in the mounting face of the one die member at a location spaced laterally apart from the pilot aperture a predetermined distance; inserting the pilot into the pilot aperture in the one die member with the outer sidewall of the body portion of the pilot closely received therein, and with the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot facing and aligned with the mounting fastener aperture in the one die member, so as to accurately locate the pilot on the one die member; selecting a mounting fastener having an enlarged head portion sized for at least a portion thereof to be closely received in the fastener relief in said body portion of the pilot, and a threaded shank portion; inserting the threaded shank portion of the mounting fastener axially into the mounting fastener aperture in the mounting face of the one die member, such that at least a portion of the enlarged head portion of the mounting fastener is closely received in the fastener relief and adjacent a portion of the sidewall of the fastener relief on the body portion of the pilot; and tightening the mounting fastener in the mounting fastener aperture in the one die member, thereby abuttingly engaging at least a portion of the mounting fastener head portion securely against a portion of the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly on the one die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion of the pilot during operation of the metal forming die to ensure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from the pilot.", "18.A method as set forth in claim 17, wherein: said retainer forming step includes forming a retainer groove disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring retainer portion.", "19.A method as set forth in claim 18, wherein: said retainer ring installation step includes installing the retainer ring in the retainer groove.", "20.A method as set forth in claim 17, wherein: said mounting fastener selecting step comprises selecting a threaded screw." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention relates to metal forming dies and the like, and in particular to a modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper and associated method.", "Metal forming dies, such as stamping dies and the like, are well known in the art.", "Progressive metal forming dies are unique, very sophisticated mechanisms which have multiple stations or progressions that are aligned longitudinally, and are designed to perform a specified operation at each station in a predetermined sequence to create a finished metal part.", "Progressive stamping dies are capable of forming complex metal parts at very high speeds, so as to minimize manufacturing costs.", "Heretofore, the dies used in metal forming processes have typically been individually designed, one of a kind assemblies for a particular part, with each of the various components being handcrafted and custom mounted or fitted in an associated die set, which is in turn positioned in a stamping press.", "Not only are the punches and the other forming tools in the die set individually designed and constructed, but the other parts of the die set, such as stock lifters, guides, end caps and keepers, cam returns, pilots, etc.", "are also custom designed, and installed in the die set.", "Current die making processes require carefully machined, precision holes and recesses in the die set for mounting the individual components, such that the same are quite labor intensive, and require substantial lead time to make, test and set up in a stamping press.", "Consequently, such metal forming dies are very expensive to design, manufacture, and repair or modify.", "Pilot assemblies, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,342,214, are used for locating a work piece in successive forming stages of a machine, such as a punch press, where the work piece is progressively moved through the forming stages of the machine.", "The pilot assembly typically includes a pilot pin mounted to a movable die member of the machine for guiding entry into a previously formed hole in a work piece or in a companion die member as the die members are moved toward each other.", "FIGS.", "5-8 illustrate several well-known prior art metal forming dies and associated pilot mechanisms, which further represent the background of the present invention.", "For example, FIG.", "5 illustrates one half of a die set 100 , which includes a first die member 101 having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart work stations 102 at which various bending, forming, cut-off and/or punching operations are performed on an elongate strip of metal stock 103 .", "As best illustrated in FIG.", "6 , the prior art pilot mechanism 104 for the illustrated die set 100 includes a pierce tool punch 105 located at an upstream portion of stock strip 103 , which, in the illustrated example, forms a vertically oriented through hole 106 in the stock strip 103 at regularly spaced apart intervals along the stock strip.", "The through holes or pilot holes 106 are selectively engaged by a series of pilot pins 107 positioned on at least selected ones of the die work stations 102 , which serve to precisely locate the stock strip 103 in the work stations, and retain the same in place during the metal forming stroke of the die tools.", "After each metal forming stroke of the die tools, the pilot pins 107 are retracted out of their associated pilot holes 106 in the stock strip 103 , and the stock strip is then shifted longitudinally to the next adjacent work station 102 , until the metal part has been completely formed and cut off of the stock strip.", "When the pilot pins 107 are retracted out of the pilot holes 106 in the stock strip 103 , the stock strip tends to stick on one or more of the pilot pins, thereby requiring some type of stripper mechanism to separate them, such that the stock strip can be quickly and sequentially advanced longitudinally through the various die stations.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates another known prior art pilot assembly that includes a rectangularly shaped block or base 111 that is mounted in a blind hole pocket 112 in an associated upper die member 113 .", "The base block 111 includes a central aperture 114 in which a pilot pin 115 is retained, and two laterally offset reaction apertures 116 in which a pair of stripper assemblies are received and retained.", "A female punch tool 117 is positioned in the lower die member 122 , and closely receives the pilot pin 115 to precisely locate the stock strip 5 in the associated work station 112 .", "Each of the stripper assemblies comprises a plunger shaped rod 118 having an outer end 119 protruding outwardly from base block 111 toward the stock strip 103 , and an inner end 120 with a coil spring 121 received thereover which resiliently urges the rods 118 outwardly on opposite sides of pilot pin 15 , and serve to strip the stock strip 103 from the exterior surface of the pilot pin 115 as the pilot pin and associated upper die member 113 are raised to a diverged condition relative to the lower die member 122 .", "FIG.", "8 illustrates yet another known prior art pilot assembly, which includes an enlarged, flat mounting plate 126 which attaches to the upper surface 127 of the upper die member 113 using a pair of cap head screws 128 having threaded shanks 129 that are anchored in the upper die member 113 .", "The upper die member 113 includes a central aperture 114 in which a pilot pin 115 is received and retained, along with a pair of reaction apertures 116 disposed on opposite sides of pilot pin 115 , each of which receives and retains therein a plunger shaped rod 118 .", "The outer ends 119 of the rods 118 protrude outwardly from the lower surface of upper die member 113 , while the inner ends 120 of rods 118 have coil springs 121 received thereon which resiliently urge rods 118 outwardly, such that the outer ends 119 of rods 118 serve to strip the stock strip 5 away from the exterior surface of the pilot pin 115 , and thereby permit the stock strip 5 to be shifted longitudinally into the next adjacent work station.", "While such prior pilot assemblies have proven generally successful, they are rather expensive and time consuming to construct and install in an associated die set, such that further improvements and enhancements to the same, as well as metal forming dies generally, would be clearly advantageous, and are disclosed herein." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>One aspect of the present invention is a multi-station progressive metal forming die having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, the improvement of a modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper, comprising: a pilot operably supported on one of the die members and having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an oppositely disposed inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and a medial portion disposed axially between the outer and inner ends, and including: a generally cylindrically shaped body portion disposed at the medial portion of the pilot, having a generally closed outer end oriented toward the stock strip, a generally open inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a least one fastener relief therein having an arcuately shaped, radially inwardly curved relief sidewall that extends from the closed outer end to a generally flat arcuately shaped relief end surface facing toward the stock strip and spaced axially a predetermined distance from the open inner end, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through the closed outer end and into the open inner end; a generally tapered point portion disposed at the outer end of the pilot, having a circularly shaped innermost collar portion disposed adjacent the closed outer end of the body portion shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and a generally frusto-conically shaped outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; a generally cylindrically shaped spring retainer rod portion disposed at the inner end of the pilot, having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer sidewall of the body portion, thereby forming an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent the outer end of the spring retainer rod portion, as well as a retainer groove disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring retainer rod portion; a spring member having a generally hollow interior that is received onto and over the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip and received in the spring groove, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip and positioned adjacent to the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion; at least one rigid ejector pin slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture in the body portion, having an outer end that protrudes outwardly from the closed outer end of the body portion when urged to an extended condition to contact the stock strip and strip the same away from the pilot, and retracts toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position, and an inner end that operably engages the outer end of the spring member and is thereby biased outwardly by the spring member toward the extended condition; a retainer ring detachably received in the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion and engaging the inner end of the spring member in a pre-tensed condition to bias the ejector pin toward the extended condition; and a mounting screw having an enlarged head portion with a circular plan shape that is at least partially, closely received in the fastener relief in the body portion, an annularly shaped inner face oriented away from the stock strip and abuttingly engaging the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion, and a threaded shank portion anchored in the one die member to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly on the one die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion of the pilot during operation of the metal forming die to insure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from the pilot.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a A modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper for multi-station progressive metal forming dies having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, comprising: a pilot configured for operable support on an associated die member, and having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an oppositely disposed inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and a medial portion disposed axially between the outer and inner ends, and including: a generally cylindrically shaped body portion disposed at the medial portion of the pilot, having a generally closed outer end oriented toward the stock strip, a generally open inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a least one fastener relief therein having an arcuately shaped, radially inwardly curved relief sidewall that extends from the closed outer end to a generally flat, arcuately shaped relief end surface facing toward the stock strip and spaced axially a predetermined distance from the open inner end, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through the closed outer end and into the open inner end; a generally tapered point portion disposed at the outer end of the pilot, having a circularly shaped innermost collar portion disposed adjacent the closed outer end of the body portion, shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and a generally frusto-conically shaped outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; a generally cylindrically shaped spring retainer rod portion disposed at the inner end of the pilot, having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer sidewall of the body portion, thereby forming an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent the outer end of the spring retainer rod portion, and including a retainer groove disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring retainer rod portion; a spring member having a generally hollow interior received on and over the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip and received in the spring groove, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip and positioned adjacent to the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion; at least one rigid ejector pin slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture in the body portion, having an outer end that protrudes outwardly from the closed outer end of the body portion when urged to an extended condition to abut the stock strip and strip the same away from the pilot, and retracts toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position, and an inner end that operably engages the outer end of the spring member and is thereby biased outwardly by the spring member toward the extended condition; a retainer ring detachably received in the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion and engaging the inner end of the spring member in a pre-tensed condition to bias the ejector pin toward the extended condition; and a mounting screw having an enlarged head portion with a circular plan shape that is at least partially, closely received in the fastener relief in the body portion, an annularly shaped inner face oriented away from the stock strip and abuttingly engaging the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion, and a threaded shank portion configured for anchoring in an associated die member to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly on the associated die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion of the pilot during operation of the metal forming die to insure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from the pilot.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for making a multi-station progressive metal forming die having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, with the improvement of at least one modular pilot with self-contained stripper for precisely locating the stock strip in the die stations, comprising: forming a generally cylindrically shaped body portion on a medial portion of the pilot with a generally closed outer end oriented toward the stock strip, a generally open inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a least one fastener relief therein having an arcuately shaped, radially inwardly curved relief sidewall that extends from the closed outer end to a generally flat, arcuately shaped relief end surface facing toward the stock strip and spaced axially a predetermined distance from the open inner end, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through the closed outer end and into the open inner end; forming a generally tapered point portion on an outer end of the pilot with a circularly shaped innermost collar portion disposed adjacent the closed outer end of the body portion shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and a generally frusto-conically shaped outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; forming a generally cylindrically shaped spring retainer rod portion on an inner end of the pilot with an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer sidewall of the body portion, thereby forming an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent the outer end of the spring retainer rod portion, as well as a retainer groove disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring retainer rod portion; forming at least one rigid ejector pin with an inner end, and an outer end configured to protrude outwardly from the closed outer end of the body portion when urged to an extended position to contact the stock strip, and to retract toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position; inserting the ejector pin into the ejector pin aperture in the body portion of the pilot , such that the ejector pin is slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture for longitudinal reciprocation therein between the extended and retracted positions; selecting a spring member with a generally hollow interior, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip; positioning the hollow interior of the spring member onto and over the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, with the outer end of the spring member received in the spring groove and abutting the inner end of the ejector pin, and the inner end of the spring member positioned adjacent to the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion; shifting the inner end of the spring member outwardly along the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot to compress the spring member to a pre-tensed condition, such that the outer end of the spring member operably engages the inner end of the ejector pin and biases the ejector pin to the extended position; installing a retainer ring in the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion with the spring member in the pre-tensed condition, such that the retainer ring abuttingly engages the inner end of the spring member and retains the spring member in the pre-tensed condition on the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, thereby resiliently urging the ejector pin to the normally extended position; forming a non-threaded pilot aperture in a mounting face of one of the die members with a shape to closely receive and retain the body portion of the pilot therein; forming a threaded mounting screw aperture in the mounting face of the one die member at a location spaced laterally apart from the pilot aperture a predetermined distance; inserting the pilot into the pilot aperture in the one die member with the outer sidewall of the body portion of the pilot closely received therein, and with the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot facing and aligned with the mounting screw aperture in the one die member, so as to accurately locate the pilot on the one die member; selecting a mounting screw having an enlarged head portion with a circular plan shape sized for at least a portion thereof to be closely received in the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot, an annularly shaped inner face sized for abutting engagement with at least a portion of the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot, and a threaded shank portion; inserting the threaded shank portion of the mounting screw axially into the mounting screw aperture in the mounting face of the one die member, such that at least a portion of the enlarged head portion of the mounting screw is closely received in the fastener relief and adjacent the relief sidewall on the body portion of the pilot; and tightening the mounting screw in the mounting screw aperture in the one die member, thereby abuttingly engaging at least a portion of the inner face of the mounting screw head portion securely against the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly on the one die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion of the pilot during operation of the metal forming die to insure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from the pilot.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a pilot assembly that can be easily installed in an associated die member by simple machining a single pocket and a single tapped retainer hole therein.", "The pilot assembly has a self-contained stripper with no loose parts or pieces, is constructed from fewer components than prior art pilot devices, and positively prevents the stock strip from sticking to the pilot.", "The pilot body itself provides the precise location of the stripper assembly in an associated die pad at a location close to the stock strip.", "The stripper assembly has a modular design that can be economically manufactured, a small profile and footprint, and can be easily assembled and disassembled from an associated die member.", "Due to the design of the pilot assembly, the ejector pins can be located in close proximity to the pilot pin, so as to positively and dependably, repeatedly strip the stock strip from the pilot pin.", "The pilot assembly has a single screw mounting system for quick and easy installation in an associated die member.", "The pilot can be machined from a single piece of solid material in one setup to achieve tighter tolerances and better concentricity between the pilot body and the pilot point, as well as reduced manufacturing costs.", "The pilot assembly is efficient in use, economical to manufacture, capable of a long operating life, and particularly well adapted for the proposed use.", "These and other advantages of the invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following written specification, claims, and appended drawings." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM TO PRIORITY The present application is a continuation of and claims priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 120 to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/845,344, filed Sep. 4, 2015, entitled MODULAR POILOT ASSEMBLY WITH SELF-CONTAINED STRIPPER AND METHOD FOR METAL FORMING DIES, which claims the priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 120 to U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,138,799, issued Sep. 22, 2015, entitled MODULAR PILOT ASSEMBLY WITH SELF-CONTAINED STRIPPER AND METHOD FOR METAL FORMING DIES, which claims the priority benefit under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119 to U.S. provisional patent application No.", "61/547,785, filed Oct. 17, 2011, entitled PILOT ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR METAL FORMING DIES AND THE LIKE, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, as well as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,289,815, issued Mar.", "22, 2016, entitled MODULAR PILOT ASSEMBLY WITH SELF-CONTAINED STRIPPER AND METHOD FOR METAL FORMING DIES, which is also incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to metal forming dies and the like, and in particular to a modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper and associated method.", "Metal forming dies, such as stamping dies and the like, are well known in the art.", "Progressive metal forming dies are unique, very sophisticated mechanisms which have multiple stations or progressions that are aligned longitudinally, and are designed to perform a specified operation at each station in a predetermined sequence to create a finished metal part.", "Progressive stamping dies are capable of forming complex metal parts at very high speeds, so as to minimize manufacturing costs.", "Heretofore, the dies used in metal forming processes have typically been individually designed, one of a kind assemblies for a particular part, with each of the various components being handcrafted and custom mounted or fitted in an associated die set, which is in turn positioned in a stamping press.", "Not only are the punches and the other forming tools in the die set individually designed and constructed, but the other parts of the die set, such as stock lifters, guides, end caps and keepers, cam returns, pilots, etc.", "are also custom designed, and installed in the die set.", "Current die making processes require carefully machined, precision holes and recesses in the die set for mounting the individual components, such that the same are quite labor intensive, and require substantial lead time to make, test and set up in a stamping press.", "Consequently, such metal forming dies are very expensive to design, manufacture, and repair or modify.", "Pilot assemblies, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,342,214, are used for locating a work piece in successive forming stages of a machine, such as a punch press, where the work piece is progressively moved through the forming stages of the machine.", "The pilot assembly typically includes a pilot pin mounted to a movable die member of the machine for guiding entry into a previously formed hole in a work piece or in a companion die member as the die members are moved toward each other.", "FIGS.", "5-8 illustrate several well-known prior art metal forming dies and associated pilot mechanisms, which further represent the background of the present invention.", "For example, FIG.", "5 illustrates one half of a die set 100, which includes a first die member 101 having a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart work stations 102 at which various bending, forming, cut-off and/or punching operations are performed on an elongate strip of metal stock 103.As best illustrated in FIG.", "6, the prior art pilot mechanism 104 for the illustrated die set 100 includes a pierce tool punch 105 located at an upstream portion of stock strip 103, which, in the illustrated example, forms a vertically oriented through hole 106 in the stock strip 103 at regularly spaced apart intervals along the stock strip.", "The through holes or pilot holes 106 are selectively engaged by a series of pilot pins 107 positioned on at least selected ones of the die work stations 102, which serve to precisely locate the stock strip 103 in the work stations, and retain the same in place during the metal forming stroke of the die tools.", "After each metal forming stroke of the die tools, the pilot pins 107 are retracted out of their associated pilot holes 106 in the stock strip 103, and the stock strip is then shifted longitudinally to the next adjacent work station 102, until the metal part has been completely formed and cut off of the stock strip.", "When the pilot pins 107 are retracted out of the pilot holes 106 in the stock strip 103, the stock strip tends to stick on one or more of the pilot pins, thereby requiring some type of stripper mechanism to separate them, such that the stock strip can be quickly and sequentially advanced longitudinally through the various die stations.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates another known prior art pilot assembly that includes a rectangularly shaped block or base 111 that is mounted in a blind hole pocket 112 in an associated upper die member 113.The base block 111 includes a central aperture 114 in which a pilot pin 115 is retained, and two laterally offset reaction apertures 116 in which a pair of stripper assemblies are received and retained.", "A female punch tool 117 is positioned in the lower die member 122, and closely receives the pilot pin 115 to precisely locate the stock strip 5 in the associated work station 112.Each of the stripper assemblies comprises a plunger shaped rod 118 having an outer end 119 protruding outwardly from base block 111 toward the stock strip 103, and an inner end 120 with a coil spring 121 received thereover which resiliently urges the rods 118 outwardly on opposite sides of pilot pin 15, and serve to strip the stock strip 103 from the exterior surface of the pilot pin 115 as the pilot pin and associated upper die member 113 are raised to a diverged condition relative to the lower die member 122.FIG.", "8 illustrates yet another known prior art pilot assembly, which includes an enlarged, flat mounting plate 126 which attaches to the upper surface 127 of the upper die member 113 using a pair of cap head screws 128 having threaded shanks 129 that are anchored in the upper die member 113.The upper die member 113 includes a central aperture 114 in which a pilot pin 115 is received and retained, along with a pair of reaction apertures 116 disposed on opposite sides of pilot pin 115, each of which receives and retains therein a plunger shaped rod 118.The outer ends 119 of the rods 118 protrude outwardly from the lower surface of upper die member 113, while the inner ends 120 of rods 118 have coil springs 121 received thereon which resiliently urge rods 118 outwardly, such that the outer ends 119 of rods 118 serve to strip the stock strip 5 away from the exterior surface of the pilot pin 115, and thereby permit the stock strip 5 to be shifted longitudinally into the next adjacent work station.", "While such prior pilot assemblies have proven generally successful, they are rather expensive and time consuming to construct and install in an associated die set, such that further improvements and enhancements to the same, as well as metal forming dies generally, would be clearly advantageous, and are disclosed herein.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention is a multi-station progressive metal forming die having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, the improvement of a modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper, comprising: a pilot operably supported on one of the die members and having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an oppositely disposed inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and a medial portion disposed axially between the outer and inner ends, and including: a generally cylindrically shaped body portion disposed at the medial portion of the pilot, having a generally closed outer end oriented toward the stock strip, a generally open inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a least one fastener relief therein having an arcuately shaped, radially inwardly curved relief sidewall that extends from the closed outer end to a generally flat arcuately shaped relief end surface facing toward the stock strip and spaced axially a predetermined distance from the open inner end, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through the closed outer end and into the open inner end; a generally tapered point portion disposed at the outer end of the pilot, having a circularly shaped innermost collar portion disposed adjacent the closed outer end of the body portion shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and a generally frusto-conically shaped outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; a generally cylindrically shaped spring retainer rod portion disposed at the inner end of the pilot, having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer sidewall of the body portion, thereby forming an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent the outer end of the spring retainer rod portion, as well as a retainer groove disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring retainer rod portion; a spring member having a generally hollow interior that is received onto and over the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip and received in the spring groove, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip and positioned adjacent to the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion; at least one rigid ejector pin slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture in the body portion, having an outer end that protrudes outwardly from the closed outer end of the body portion when urged to an extended condition to contact the stock strip and strip the same away from the pilot, and retracts toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position, and an inner end that operably engages the outer end of the spring member and is thereby biased outwardly by the spring member toward the extended condition; a retainer ring detachably received in the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion and engaging the inner end of the spring member in a pre-tensed condition to bias the ejector pin toward the extended condition; and a mounting screw having an enlarged head portion with a circular plan shape that is at least partially, closely received in the fastener relief in the body portion, an annularly shaped inner face oriented away from the stock strip and abuttingly engaging the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion, and a threaded shank portion anchored in the one die member to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly on the one die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion of the pilot during operation of the metal forming die to insure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from the pilot.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a A modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper for multi-station progressive metal forming dies having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, comprising: a pilot configured for operable support on an associated die member, and having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an oppositely disposed inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and a medial portion disposed axially between the outer and inner ends, and including: a generally cylindrically shaped body portion disposed at the medial portion of the pilot, having a generally closed outer end oriented toward the stock strip, a generally open inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a least one fastener relief therein having an arcuately shaped, radially inwardly curved relief sidewall that extends from the closed outer end to a generally flat, arcuately shaped relief end surface facing toward the stock strip and spaced axially a predetermined distance from the open inner end, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through the closed outer end and into the open inner end; a generally tapered point portion disposed at the outer end of the pilot, having a circularly shaped innermost collar portion disposed adjacent the closed outer end of the body portion, shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and a generally frusto-conically shaped outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; a generally cylindrically shaped spring retainer rod portion disposed at the inner end of the pilot, having an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer sidewall of the body portion, thereby forming an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent the outer end of the spring retainer rod portion, and including a retainer groove disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring retainer rod portion; a spring member having a generally hollow interior received on and over the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip and received in the spring groove, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip and positioned adjacent to the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion; at least one rigid ejector pin slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture in the body portion, having an outer end that protrudes outwardly from the closed outer end of the body portion when urged to an extended condition to abut the stock strip and strip the same away from the pilot, and retracts toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position, and an inner end that operably engages the outer end of the spring member and is thereby biased outwardly by the spring member toward the extended condition; a retainer ring detachably received in the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion and engaging the inner end of the spring member in a pre-tensed condition to bias the ejector pin toward the extended condition; and a mounting screw having an enlarged head portion with a circular plan shape that is at least partially, closely received in the fastener relief in the body portion, an annularly shaped inner face oriented away from the stock strip and abuttingly engaging the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion, and a threaded shank portion configured for anchoring in an associated die member to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly on the associated die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion of the pilot during operation of the metal forming die to insure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from the pilot.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a method for making a multi-station progressive metal forming die having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members between which an elongate stock strip is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip, with the improvement of at least one modular pilot with self-contained stripper for precisely locating the stock strip in the die stations, comprising: forming a generally cylindrically shaped body portion on a medial portion of the pilot with a generally closed outer end oriented toward the stock strip, a generally open inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a least one fastener relief therein having an arcuately shaped, radially inwardly curved relief sidewall that extends from the closed outer end to a generally flat, arcuately shaped relief end surface facing toward the stock strip and spaced axially a predetermined distance from the open inner end, as well as at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture which opens through the closed outer end and into the open inner end; forming a generally tapered point portion on an outer end of the pilot with a circularly shaped innermost collar portion disposed adjacent the closed outer end of the body portion shaped for close reception in a pilot hole in the stock strip, and a generally frusto-conically shaped outer portion configured to engage the pilot hole in the stock strip and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station; forming a generally cylindrically shaped spring retainer rod portion on an inner end of the pilot with an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, an inner end oriented away from the stock strip, and an outer sidewall with a diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer sidewall of the body portion, thereby forming an annularly shaped spring groove adjacent the outer end of the spring retainer rod portion, as well as a retainer groove disposed adjacent the inner end of the spring retainer rod portion; forming at least one rigid ejector pin with an inner end, and an outer end configured to protrude outwardly from the closed outer end of the body portion when urged to an extended position to contact the stock strip, and to retract toward the body portion when urged to a retracted position; inserting the ejector pin into the ejector pin aperture in the body portion of the pilot , such that the ejector pin is slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture for longitudinal reciprocation therein between the extended and retracted positions; selecting a spring member with a generally hollow interior, an outer end oriented toward the stock strip, and an opposite inner end oriented away from the stock strip; positioning the hollow interior of the spring member onto and over the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, with the outer end of the spring member received in the spring groove and abutting the inner end of the ejector pin, and the inner end of the spring member positioned adjacent to the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion; shifting the inner end of the spring member outwardly along the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot to compress the spring member to a pre-tensed condition, such that the outer end of the spring member operably engages the inner end of the ejector pin and biases the ejector pin to the extended position; installing a retainer ring in the retainer groove in the spring retainer rod portion with the spring member in the pre-tensed condition, such that the retainer ring abuttingly engages the inner end of the spring member and retains the spring member in the pre-tensed condition on the spring retainer rod portion of the pilot, thereby resiliently urging the ejector pin to the normally extended position; forming a non-threaded pilot aperture in a mounting face of one of the die members with a shape to closely receive and retain the body portion of the pilot therein; forming a threaded mounting screw aperture in the mounting face of the one die member at a location spaced laterally apart from the pilot aperture a predetermined distance; inserting the pilot into the pilot aperture in the one die member with the outer sidewall of the body portion of the pilot closely received therein, and with the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot facing and aligned with the mounting screw aperture in the one die member, so as to accurately locate the pilot on the one die member; selecting a mounting screw having an enlarged head portion with a circular plan shape sized for at least a portion thereof to be closely received in the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot, an annularly shaped inner face sized for abutting engagement with at least a portion of the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot, and a threaded shank portion; inserting the threaded shank portion of the mounting screw axially into the mounting screw aperture in the mounting face of the one die member, such that at least a portion of the enlarged head portion of the mounting screw is closely received in the fastener relief and adjacent the relief sidewall on the body portion of the pilot; and tightening the mounting screw in the mounting screw aperture in the one die member, thereby abuttingly engaging at least a portion of the inner face of the mounting screw head portion securely against the relief end surface of the fastener relief in the body portion of the pilot to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly on the one die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion of the pilot during operation of the metal forming die to insure that the stock strip is consistently stripped away from the pilot.", "Yet another aspect of the present invention is a pilot assembly that can be easily installed in an associated die member by simple machining a single pocket and a single tapped retainer hole therein.", "The pilot assembly has a self-contained stripper with no loose parts or pieces, is constructed from fewer components than prior art pilot devices, and positively prevents the stock strip from sticking to the pilot.", "The pilot body itself provides the precise location of the stripper assembly in an associated die pad at a location close to the stock strip.", "The stripper assembly has a modular design that can be economically manufactured, a small profile and footprint, and can be easily assembled and disassembled from an associated die member.", "Due to the design of the pilot assembly, the ejector pins can be located in close proximity to the pilot pin, so as to positively and dependably, repeatedly strip the stock strip from the pilot pin.", "The pilot assembly has a single screw mounting system for quick and easy installation in an associated die member.", "The pilot can be machined from a single piece of solid material in one setup to achieve tighter tolerances and better concentricity between the pilot body and the pilot point, as well as reduced manufacturing costs.", "The pilot assembly is efficient in use, economical to manufacture, capable of a long operating life, and particularly well adapted for the proposed use.", "These and other advantages of the invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following written specification, claims, and appended drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of a modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper embodying the present invention, shown installed in a die set carrying a stock strip in which pilot holes have been formed.", "FIG.", "2 is an exploded perspective view of the pilot assembly shown in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3 is a perspective view of a portion of the pilot assembly in an assembled condition, taken from an outer end thereof.", "FIG.", "3A is a vertical cross-sectional view of the portion of the pilot assembly shown in FIG.", "3.FIG.", "4 is a top plan view of the pilot assembly.", "FIG.", "5 is a partially schematic perspective view of a representative, prior art die member shown in an open condition with a stock strip positioned along the various work stations of the die member.", "FIG.", "6 is a partially schematic cross-sectional view of a prior art pilot assembly.", "FIG.", "7 is a partially schematic cross-sectional view of another prior art pilot assembly.", "FIG.", "8 is a partially schematic cross-sectional view of yet another prior art pilot assembly.", "FIG.", "9 is a cross-sectional view of the pilot assembly embodying the present invention, shown installed in a die set.", "FIG.", "10 is a perspective view of a pilot portion of the pilot assembly, taken from an inner end thereof.", "FIG.", "11 is a perspective view of the pilot, taken from an outer end thereof.", "FIG.", "12 is a plan view of the inner end of the pilot.", "FIG.", "13 is a plan view of the outer end of the pilot.", "FIG.", "14 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the pilot.", "FIG.", "15 is a top plan view of an ejector pin portion of the pilot assembly.", "FIG.", "16 is a side elevational view of the ejector pin.", "FIG.", "17 is a bottom plan view of the ejector pin.", "FIG.", "18 is a top plan view of a mounting screw portion of the pilot assembly.", "FIG.", "19 is a side elevational view of the mounting screw.", "FIG.", "20 is a bottom plan view of the mounting screw.", "FIG.", "21 is a top plan view of a lock washer portion of the pilot assembly.", "FIG.", "22 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the lock washer.", "FIG.", "23 is a bottom plan view of the lock washer.", "FIG.", "24 is a side elevational view of the pilot shown mounted in a die member, wherein the outer end of the pilot is partially inserted into the pilot aperture of an associated stock strip.", "FIG.", "25 is a side elevational view of the pilot shown mounted in a die member, wherein the outer end of the pilot is fully inserted into the pilot aperture in the stock strip.", "FIG.", "26 is a side elevational view of the pilot assembly shown mounted in a die member, wherein the pilot and upper die member have been diverged from the stock strip and the lower die member.", "FIG.", "27 is a plan view of an upper pressure pad portion of the die oriented with the normally lower mounting face oriented upwardly for illustration purposes, that has been machined for installation of the pilot assembly therein.", "FIG.", "28 is a perspective, cross-sectional view of the die member of FIG.", "27, taken along the line XXVIII-XXVIII.", "FIG.", "29 is an exploded, perspective view of the pilot assembly prior to installation into the normally lower mounting face of the machined upper die pressure pad of FIGS.", "27 and 28.FIG.", "30 is an exploded, perspective view of the pilot installed in the normally lower mounting face of the upper pressure pad die member of FIGS.", "27-29, with the mounting screw and lock washer shown uninstalled.", "FIG.", "31 is a perspective view of the pilot assembly shown completely installed in the normally lower mounting face of the upper pressure pad die member of FIGS.", "27-30.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,” “left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in FIGS.", "1, 2 and 3A.", "However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative orientations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary.", "It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims.", "Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.", "The reference numeral 1 (FIGS.", "1-4) generally designates a modular pilot assembly with self-contained stripper embodying the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the pilot assembly 1 is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with a multi-station progressive metal forming die 2 having at least two mutually converging and diverging die members 3 and 4 between which an elongate stock strip 5 is shifted longitudinally to form parts from the stock strip.", "The pilot assembly 1 includes a pilot 10 configured for operable support on one of the two die members 3, 4 having an outer end 11 oriented toward the stock strip 5, an oppositely disposed inner end 12 oriented away from the stock strip 5, and a medial portion 13 disposed axially between the outer and inner ends 11, 12.A generally cylindrically shaped body portion 15 is disposed at the medial portion 13 of pilot 10, and has a generally closed outer end 16 oriented toward the stock strip 5, a generally open inner end 17 oriented away from the stock strip 5, and an outer sidewall 18 with at least one fastener relief 19 that has an arcuately shaped, radially inwardly curved relief sidewall 20 that extends from the closed outer end 16 to a generally flat, arcuately shaped relief end surface 21 facing toward the stock strip 5 and spaced axially a predetermined distance from the open inner end 17.The body portion 15 also has at least one axially extending ejector pin aperture 22 which opens through the closed outer end 16 and into the open inner end 17.The pilot 10 also has a generally tapered point portion 24 at the outer end 11 of the pilot 10, having a circularly shaped innermost collar portion 25 disposed adjacent the closed outer end 16 of body portion 15 that is shaped for close reception in a pilot hole 6 in the stock strip 5, and a generally frusto-conically shaped outer portion or nose 26 configured to engage the pilot hole 6 in the stock strip 5 and guide the same to a predetermined position in an associated die forming station 12 of metal forming die 2.Pilot 10 also has a cylindrically shaped spring retainer rod portion 28 disposed at the inner end 12 of the pilot 10, having an outer end 29 oriented toward the stock strip 5, an inner end 30 oriented away from the stock strip 5, and an outer sidewall 31 with a diameter that is less than the diameter of the outer sidewall 18 of the body portion 15, thereby forming an annularly shaped spring groove 32 (FIGS.", "1 and 3A) adjacent the outer end 29 of spring retainer rod portion 28, as well as a retainer groove 33 positioned adjacent the inner end 30 of the spring retainer rod portion.", "Pilot assembly 1 also includes a spring member 35 having a generally hollow interior 36 received on and over the spring retainer rod portion 28 of the pilot 10, an outer end 37 oriented toward stock strip 5 and received in the spring groove 32, and an opposite inner end 38 oriented away from the stock strip 5 and positioned adjacent to the retainer groove 33 in the spring retainer rod portion 28, when in at least a partially assembled condition.", "The pilot assembly 1 also includes at least one rigid ejector pin 42 slidingly received and retained in the ejector pin aperture 22 in the body portion 15 of the pilot 10, and having an outer end 43 that protrudes outwardly from the closed outer end 16 of body portion 15 when urged to an extended condition, as shown in FIGS.", "3 and 3A, to abut the stock strip 5 and strip the same from the pilot 10, and retracts toward the body portion 15 when urged to a retracted position, as shown in FIG.", "25, and an inner end 44 that operably engages the outer end 37 of spring member 38 and is thereby biased outwardly by the spring member 35 toward the extended condition.", "The pilot assembly 1 also includes a retainer ring 47 detachably received in the retainer groove 33 in the spring retainer rod portion 28 and engaging the inner end 38 of the spring member 35 in a pre-tensed condition to bias the ejector pin 42 toward the extended condition.", "The pilot assembly also includes a mounting screw 50 having an enlarged head portion 51 with a circular plan shape that is at least partially, closely received in the fastener relief 19 in the body portion 15 of the pilot 10, an annularly shaped inner face 52 oriented away from the stock strip 5 and abuttingly engaging the relief end surface 21 of the fastener relief 19 in the body portion 15 of pilot 10, and a threaded shank portion 53 configured for anchoring in an associated die member 3, 4 to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly 1 on the associated die member in a manner which causes the ejector pin 42 to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion 15 of the pilot 10 during operation of the metal forming die to ensure that the stock strip 5 is consistently and fully stripped away from the pilot 10.The term “die member,” as used herein, refers to any portion of a metal forming die or die set, including, but not limited to, an upper die member or die shoe, a lower die member, and all other die components, whether stationary or reciprocating, including a reciprocating pressure pad, or the like.", "In the illustrated examples, the pilot assembly 1 is shown mounted in a reciprocating upper die pad 3 located above a lower stationary die shoe 4.However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, pilot assembly 1 can be mounted in other types of die members and/or components in a variety of different positions and orientations, as necessary to precisely locate the stock strip 5 in the various workstations 102 of a metal forming die 100.The illustrated pilot 10 (FIGS.", "10-14) has a one-piece construction formed from a solid bar of rigid material, such as metal or the like.", "In the illustrated pilot 10, the point portion 24 of pilot 10 is located concentric with body portion 15 and spring retainer rod portion 28.Furthermore, the body portion 15 of the pilot 10 includes a plurality of fastener reliefs 19 having a substantially identical configuration and arranged in a circumferentially spaced apart pattern around the outer sidewall 18 of the body portion 15 of pilot 10 to facilitate mounting the pilot assembly 1 at various locations and orientations on one or more of the die members 3, 4.As best illustrated in FIG.", "4, the illustrated body portion 15 of pilot 10 includes three fastener reliefs 19, two of which are disposed generally diametrically opposite one another, and the third of which is oriented at an angle of approximately 30°-40° from the fastener relief in which the mounting screw 50 is received in the illustration of FIG.", "4.Since the illustrated pilot 10 (FIGS.", "10-14) has a one-piece construction formed from a solid bar of rigid material, such as metal or the like, preferably, all machining operations on the solid bar of rigid material are made during a single machine set-up, so as to achieve greater accuracy and consistency of the pilot 10, as well as reduced manufacturing costs.", "The body portion 15 of the illustrated pilot 10 has a plurality of ejector pin apertures 22 having a substantially identical configuration and arranged in a circumferentially spaced apart, mutually parallel, axially extending pattern through the body portion 15 to ensure effective and consistent stripping of the stock strip 5 from the pilot 10.As best shown in FIGS.", "4, 12 and 13, the illustrated pilot 10 includes four ejector pin apertures 22 which are spaced opposite from one another on the closed outer end 16 of pilot body portion 15, and are radially positioned close to the collar portion 25 of pilot 10, so as to improve the stripping action of the same.", "The illustrated pilot 10 also includes four substantially identical ejector pins 42 which are slidingly received and retained for reciprocation in the ejector pin apertures 22 of body portion 15.As best illustrated in FIGS.", "15-17, the outer ends 43 of ejector pins 42 have a size and shape similar to the elongate body portions of ejector pins 42, each with a flat circular plan configuration best suited for abuttingly engaging the strip stock 5, while the inner ends 44 of ejector pins 42 are enlarged relative to the size of the elongate body portions of ejector pins 42, and define cylindrically shaped, enlarged heads, each with a generally circular, flat inner face which facilitates engagement with the outer end 37 of spring member 35.With reference to FIGS.", "4 and 14, the body portion 15 of the illustrated pilot 10 includes a threaded blind installation aperture 65 which extends axially into the closed outer end 16 of the body portion 15 of pilot 10 at a location spaced radially outwardly from and circumferentially inbetween the ejector pin apertures 22.A puller tool 66, shown schematically in FIG.", "31, is configured for threaded engagement in the blind installation aperture 65 in pilot body portion 15 to facilitate removal of the assembled pilot 10 from the associated die member 3, 4, as discussed in greater detail below.", "Installation aperture 65 is disposed generally opposite the three fastener reliefs 19 in pilot 1, as best shown in FIG.", "4.The illustrated spring member 35 comprises a conventional closed coil spring, which may have partially flattened ground ends 37, 38 to more securely abut the inner ends 44 of ejector pins 42, as well as the retainer ring 47 mounted in the retainer groove 33 at the inner end 30 of spring retainer rod portion 28.The illustrated retainer ring 47 comprises a conventional snap ring that is securely, yet detachably received and retained in retainer ring groove 33.With reference to FIGS.", "18-20, the illustrated mounting screw 50 comprises a conventional socket head cap screw having a tool engaging socket 68 in the outer face 54 of the head portion 51 of mounting screw 50, opposite inner face 52, and the threaded shank portion 53 includes a self-locking nylon patch 69, which prevents mounting screw 50 from inadvertently loosening from its tightened condition in the die member 3, 4.In the illustrated example, a lock washer 71 (FIGS.", "21-23) is positioned over the threaded shank portion 53 of mounting screw 50, and further ensures that the mounting screw 50 will not become inadvertently loosened during operation of the metal forming die.", "The illustrated lock washer 71 is a conventional split, high-collar washer having a generally annular plan configuration with an outer face 72 abuttingly engaging the inner face 52 of the head portion 51 of mounting screw 50, and an inner face 73 engaging the relief end surface 21 of the fastener relief 19 on pilot body portion 15.Mounting screw 50 constitutes a single mounting screw system, configured for at least partial reception in and engagement with any one of the three fastener reliefs 19 in the body portion 15 of pilot 10, which provides the sole support for mounting the body portion 15 of pilot 10 in the die member 3,4, with a compact profile and footprint that facilitates ease of die design, operation and maintenance.", "The single mounting screw attachment of pilot 10 to die member 3 also provides quick and easy installation and removal.", "As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, pilot assembly 1 can be used either with or without lock washer 71.Pilot 10 is assembled by inserting four ejector pins 42 into the associated ejector pin holes 44 in the body portion 15 of pilot 10 with the enlarged circular outer ends or heads 44 oriented away from the stock strip 5.The spring member 35 is then inserted over the spring retainer rod portion of pilot 10, and into the spring groove 32, such that the outer end 37 of the spring member 35 abuts the inner ends 44 of the ejector pins 42.Spring member 35 is then compressed to a pre-tensed state, which permits insertion of the retainer ring 47 into the retainer ring groove 33 at the inner end 30 of spring retainer rod portion 28, which contains the compressed spring member 35, and completes the assembly, such that spring member 35 biases each of the ejector pins 42 outwardly through the apertures 22 in the closed end 16 of body portion 15 to a normally fully extended position.", "The threaded outer end of installation tool 66 is threadedly engaged in the threaded aperture 65 in pilot body portion 15 and serves to guide the pilot 10 into pilot hole 80 in the correct orientation, as discussed in greater detail below.", "With reference to FIGS.", "27-31, the assembled pilot assembly 1 is quickly and easily installed in the illustrated upper die pad 3 in the following manner.", "The upper die pad 3 shown in FIGS.", "27-31 is illustrated with the normally lower mounting face 8 oriented upwardly in a non-running condition, so as to better visualize the various pilot mounting apertures.", "However, as is apparent to those skilled in the art, pilot 10 is typically mounted in the lower mounting face of an upper pressure pad, or similar die component, and runs or operates in the orientation shown in FIGS.", "1, 9 and 24-26.Initially, a non-threaded pilot aperture 80 is formed in the lower or mounting face 8, of the upper die member 3 using simple machining techniques and no special tooling, and is shaped to closely receive and retain the body portion 15 of the pilot 10 therein.", "The illustrated pilot aperture 80 has a stepped construction, with a larger diameter aperture 81 disposed closest to the stock strip 5 and lower die mounting surface 8, and a smaller diameter aperture 82 disposed furthest away from the stock strip 5 and lower die mounting surface 8, with an annular lip or collar 83 formed therebetween.", "The outer sidewall 18 of the body portion 15 of pilot 10 fits closely within the larger aperture 81 of the pilot hole 80, and the inner end 17 of the body portion 15 of pilot 10 engages collar 83 to axially locate pilot 10 within pilot hole 80.The spring retainer rod portion 28 of pilot 10, along with spring member 35 and retainer ring 47, are positioned in the smaller aperture 82 of the pilot hole 80.A single threaded mounting screw aperture 85 is formed in the lower or mounting face 8 of die member 3 at a location spaced laterally apart from the pilot hole 80 a predetermined distance, and is shaped to closely receive therein the shank portion 53 of mounting screw 50 and the lock washer 71.It is noteworthy that screw aperture 85 can be located at several different positions on the mounting face 8 of die member 3 to avoid interference with other die components mounted thereon, so long as it can be aligned with one of the three fastener reliefs 19 in the body portion 15 of pilot 10, as shown in FIGS.", "3, 3A and 29-31.A pocket 86 having a generally U-shaped plan configuration extends between and connects the threaded screw hole 85 and the larger pilot aperture 80 along the lower mounting face 8 of the upper pressure pad 3, and is sized to receive a portion of mounting screw 50 therein.", "As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, assembled pilot 10 can also be installed in an upper pressure pad or other die component machined as outlined below, with the pressure pad 3 and/or die member oriented in the run condition shown in FIGS.", "1 and 19.The assembled pilot 10 is aligned with and inserted into the pilot hole 80 in die member 3 in the manner illustrated in FIGS.", "29-31.The body portion 15 of pilot 10 is rotated in pilot hole 80, so that one of three fastener reliefs 19 in the body portion 15 of pilot 10 is laterally aligned with the threaded screw aperture 85 in the mounting face 8 of die member 3, as shown in FIG.", "30.Mounting screw 50, with lock washer 31 installed on the shank portion 53 of mounting screw 50, is then inserted into the threaded retainer aperture 85 in upper die pad member 3, as shown in FIGS.", "30 and 31.The tightening of mounting screw 50 in the mounting screw aperture 85 in the die member 3 abuttingly engages at least a portion of the inner face 73 of the lock washer 71 on mounting screw 50 securely against the relief end surface 21 of the aligned fastener relief 19 in the body portion 15 of pilot 10, as shown in FIG.", "31, to securely, yet detachably mount the pilot assembly 1 on the die member 3 in a manner which causes the ejector pins 42 to automatically reciprocate between the retracted and extended positions relative to the body portion 15 of the pilot 10 during operation of the metal forming die to ensure that the stock strip 5 is consistently and fully stripped away from the pilot 10.As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, under special and/or abnormal conditions, multiple mounting screws 50 may be used to secure pilot 10 in die member 3.Essentially, the full cylindrical portions of the body portion 15 of pilot 10, when closely received in the pilot hole 80 of die pressure pad 3, precisely locate and support the pilot 10 in the die workstation 102, and the single mounting screw 50 securely, yet detachably retains the pilot assembly 1 in pilot hole 80.The pilot 10 and related pilot assembly 1 may be readily removed from die member 3 by simply reversing the sequence of the installation steps described above.", "In the illustrated example, a puller tool 66 (FIG.", "31) is provided to facilitate safe removal and handling of the pilot 10.More specifically, puller tool 66 has a threaded outer end 66a that is threadedly engaged in the threaded aperture 65 in pilot body portion 15, and a weighted sliding handle 66b which is manually shifted outwardly along the rod shaped body of puller tool 66 to impact an enlarged head 66c, thereby imparting sufficient outwardly directed forces to easily extract pilot 10 from the pilot hole 80 in die member 3.Alternatively, pilot 10 can be removed from die member 3 by tapping it out of pilot hole 80 with a punch and hammer applied from the outer end of pilot 10.FIGS.", "24-26 illustrate the operation of the pilot assembly 1, wherein FIG.", "24 illustrates the upper die member 3 with pilot 10 mounted therein converging against the stock strip 5 that is supported on the upper surface 9 of the lower die member 4.In this position, the ejector pins 42 are fully extended, and just start to abut against the upper surface of the stock strip 5.The outer portion 26 of the point portion 24 of pilot 10 is received through the most closely aligned one of the pilot holes 6 in stock strip 5 and into the female pilot portion 90 in the bottom or lower die member 4, but the collar portion of pilot 10 is not.", "Next, the upper die member 3 converges or closes completely against the stock strip 5 and lower die member 4 supporting the same in the manner illustrated in FIG.", "25, such that the abutting contact between the outer ends 43 of the ejector pins 42 and the upper surface of the stock strip 5 overcomes the biasing force of pre-tensed spring member 35 on ejector pins 42, further compresses spring member 35, and shifts or retracts the ejector pins 42 back toward the interior of the body portion 15 of pilot 10.As shown in FIG.", "25, the collar portion 25 of the point portion 24 of pilot 10 is now fully received in the female pilot portion 90 of bottom die member 4.The metal forming operation at the associated die work station 12 is then completed with the pilot assembly 1 in the position shown in FIG.", "25, such that the stock strip 5 is precisely located and securely held in place during formation and further processing of stock strip 5.As the upper die member 3 diverges or moves away from the stock strip 5 and lower die member 4, the resilient forces generated by spring member 35 urge the ejector pins 42 back outwardly toward the stock strip 5 and separate or strip the stock strip 5 from the pilot, even when it sticks on the outer surfaces of the nose portion of the pilot 10, such that the stock strip 5 can then be quickly shifted longitudinally to the next work station 12 for further processing.", "It is also possible to mount pilot assembly 1 in an associated die member by forming a blind hole pocket in the die member, instead of the through hole mounting aperture 80, as best shown in FIGS.", "27-31.The assembled pilot 10 is inserted into the blind hole pocket and retained therein using a single fastener in the manner disclosed in detail in Applicant's related U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/545,226, filed Jul.", "10, 2012, entitled MODULAR PILOT ASSEMBLY WITH SELF-CONTAINED STRIPPER AND METHOD FOR METAL FORMING DIES, which is incorporated herein by reference.", "With this alternate mounting arrangement, the retainer groove 33 on pilot 10 and retainer ring 47 can be eliminated by using the blind bottom surface of the pocket to retain an inner end of the spring member 35, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.", "As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, pilot assembly 1 can be provided in a wide variety of sizes to accommodate many different metal forming die applications.", "The all-in-one, modular construction of pilot assembly 1 not only provides a self-contained stock stripper that uses only one spring, but can be quickly and easily installed directly in a die member using simple machining techniques, and a single mounting screw.", "Pilot assembly 1 has an uncomplicated construction with relatively few components and is therefore quite durable and economical to manufacture.", "The single mounting screw attachment of the pilot assembly to an associated die member provides quick and easy installation and removal.", "Pilot assembly 1 has a self-contained stripper which positively separates the stock strip from the pilot during operation of the metal forming die, and provides a very compact, low profile shape that can be used at various locations and orientations on the various die members.", "The installation of the pilot assembly 1 can be achieved with simple machining, so as to reduce installation time and cost.", "In the foregoing description, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the concepts disclosed herein.", "Such modifications are to be considered as included in the following claims, unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise." ] ]
Patent_15874971
[ [ "VEHICLE CHARGING SYSTEM", "A system includes a slidable bar, a connecting bar attached to the slidable bar, and a charging device carried by the connecting bar and movable with the slidable bar.", "The charging device may be automatically aligned to a receiving device of an electrified vehicle using motion of the electrified vehicle to move the charging device." ], [ "1.A method, comprising: automatically aligning a charging device of a charging system relative to a receiving device of an electrified vehicle using motion of the electrified vehicle to move the charging device.", "2.The method as recited as recited in claim 1, comprising wirelessly charging a battery of the electrified vehicle in response to aligning the charging device relative to the receiving device.", "3.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the charging device includes a transmitting coil and the receiving device includes a receiving coil for wirelessly transmitting electrical energy between the charging device and the receiving device.", "4.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein a visual target guides the electrified vehicle into proper orientation relative to an alignment system of the charging system.", "5.The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the visual target is positioned in a direct line of sight in front of a driver side of the electrified vehicle.", "6.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein automatically aligning the charging device includes allowing the electrified vehicle to be driven longitudinally forward until a wheel of the electrified vehicle abuts a wheel stop of the charging system.", "7.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein automatically aligning the charging device includes engaging wheel guides of the charging system along inner surfaces of wheels of the electrified vehicle as the electrified vehicle is moved in a direction toward the charging system.", "8.The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the wheel guides are curved to travel along the inner surface of the wheels.", "9.The method as recited in claim 7, comprising moving a slidable bar in a lateral direction as the wheel guides engage the inner surfaces of the wheels to position the charging device over top of the receiving device.", "10.The method as recited in claim 9, comprising a connecting bar that extends from the slidable bar and carries the charging device.", "11.The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the charging device is fixed relative to the connecting bar and is positioned on an opposite end of the connecting bar from the slidable bar.", "12.The method as recited in claim 9, wherein movement of the slidable bar moves the charging device between a first position in which a transmission coil of the charging device is offset from a receiving coil of the receiving device and a second position in which the transmitting coil is aligned with the receiving coil such that power may be wirelessly transferred from the transmitting coil to the receiving coil." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Generally, electrified vehicles differ from conventional motor vehicles in that they are selectively driven using one or more battery powered electric machines.", "Conventional motor vehicles, by contrast, rely exclusively on an internal combustion engine to drive the vehicle.", "Electrified vehicles may use electric machines instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engine.", "The electric machines are typically powered by high voltage batteries.", "One barrier to adopting a more widespread use of electrified vehicles is the lack of supporting infrastructure for charging the high voltage batteries of the vehicles.", "Wireless charging systems are known that utilize electromagnetic fields to transfer energy between two objects.", "However, these systems require precise locating of a transmitting coil relative to a receiving coil that is mounted to the vehicle to ensure maximum power transfer between the coils." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>A system according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a slidable bar, a connecting bar attached to the slidable bar and a charging device carried by the connecting bar and movable with the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing system, the slidable bar is movable relative to at least one slide rail.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing systems, the at least one slide rail is mounted to a wheel plate assembly.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the wheel plate assembly includes a first wheel plate, a second wheel plate and a base that connects between the first wheel plate and the second wheel plate.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, at least one wheel guide is mounted to the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the at least one wheel guide includes a first wheel guide mounted to a first side of the slidable bar and a second wheel guide mounted to a second side of the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the at least one wheel guide is curved in a direction toward the connecting bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, at least one wheel stop is mounted to the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the charging device includes a coil pad that houses a transmitting coil.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, a visual target is positioned in front of the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the charging device is movable in unison with the slidable bar to a position relative to a receiving device mounted to an electrified vehicle.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the charging device is movable between a first position in which a transmitting coil of the charging device is offset from a receiving coil of the receiving device and a second position in which the transmitting coil is aligned with the receiving coil.", "A vehicle charging system according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a charging device and an alignment system that includes at least one wheel guide that engages a wheel of an electrified vehicle to position the charging device relative to a receiving device of the electrified vehicle.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing vehicle charging system, the alignment system includes a first wheel guide that engages a first wheel of the electrified vehicle and a second wheel guide that engages a second wheel of the electrified vehicle.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the at least one wheel guide is curved to travel along an inner surface of the wheel.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the alignment system includes a slidable bar and a connecting bar that extends from the slidable bar and carries the charging device.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the at least one wheel guide includes a first wheel guide mounted to a first side of the slidable bar and a second wheel guide mounted to a second side of the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the alignment system is pivotable about a locking pivot.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the charging device is movable between a first position in which a transmitting coil of the charging device is offset from a receiving coil of the receiving device and a second position in which the transmitting coil is aligned with the receiving coil.", "A method according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, automatically aligning a charging device of a charging system relative to a receiving device of an electrified vehicle using motion of the electrified vehicle to move the charging device.", "The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination.", "Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.", "The various features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.", "The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/189,090, which was filed on Feb. 25, 2014.TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to a charging system, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to an electrified vehicle charging system that includes an automatic alignment system.", "BACKGROUND Generally, electrified vehicles differ from conventional motor vehicles in that they are selectively driven using one or more battery powered electric machines.", "Conventional motor vehicles, by contrast, rely exclusively on an internal combustion engine to drive the vehicle.", "Electrified vehicles may use electric machines instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engine.", "The electric machines are typically powered by high voltage batteries.", "One barrier to adopting a more widespread use of electrified vehicles is the lack of supporting infrastructure for charging the high voltage batteries of the vehicles.", "Wireless charging systems are known that utilize electromagnetic fields to transfer energy between two objects.", "However, these systems require precise locating of a transmitting coil relative to a receiving coil that is mounted to the vehicle to ensure maximum power transfer between the coils.", "SUMMARY A system according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a slidable bar, a connecting bar attached to the slidable bar and a charging device carried by the connecting bar and movable with the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing system, the slidable bar is movable relative to at least one slide rail.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing systems, the at least one slide rail is mounted to a wheel plate assembly.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the wheel plate assembly includes a first wheel plate, a second wheel plate and a base that connects between the first wheel plate and the second wheel plate.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, at least one wheel guide is mounted to the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the at least one wheel guide includes a first wheel guide mounted to a first side of the slidable bar and a second wheel guide mounted to a second side of the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the at least one wheel guide is curved in a direction toward the connecting bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, at least one wheel stop is mounted to the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the charging device includes a coil pad that houses a transmitting coil.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, a visual target is positioned in front of the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the charging device is movable in unison with the slidable bar to a position relative to a receiving device mounted to an electrified vehicle.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing systems, the charging device is movable between a first position in which a transmitting coil of the charging device is offset from a receiving coil of the receiving device and a second position in which the transmitting coil is aligned with the receiving coil.", "A vehicle charging system according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a charging device and an alignment system that includes at least one wheel guide that engages a wheel of an electrified vehicle to position the charging device relative to a receiving device of the electrified vehicle.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing vehicle charging system, the alignment system includes a first wheel guide that engages a first wheel of the electrified vehicle and a second wheel guide that engages a second wheel of the electrified vehicle.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the at least one wheel guide is curved to travel along an inner surface of the wheel.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the alignment system includes a slidable bar and a connecting bar that extends from the slidable bar and carries the charging device.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the at least one wheel guide includes a first wheel guide mounted to a first side of the slidable bar and a second wheel guide mounted to a second side of the slidable bar.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the alignment system is pivotable about a locking pivot.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing vehicle charging systems, the charging device is movable between a first position in which a transmitting coil of the charging device is offset from a receiving coil of the receiving device and a second position in which the transmitting coil is aligned with the receiving coil.", "A method according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, automatically aligning a charging device of a charging system relative to a receiving device of an electrified vehicle using motion of the electrified vehicle to move the charging device.", "The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination.", "Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.", "The various features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.", "The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 schematically illustrates a powertrain of an electrified vehicle.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a parking space equipped with a vehicle charging system.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a perspective view of a vehicle charging system.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a top view of a vehicle charging system.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B schematically illustrate a vehicle charging method according to one non-limiting embodiment of this disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION This disclosure relates to a charging system for wirelessly charging a battery of an electrified vehicle.", "The charging system includes an alignment system that is adapted to engage the electrified vehicle to accurately position a charging device in a charging position relative to the electrified vehicle.", "Once the charging device is properly positioned relative to a receiving coil mounted to the electrified vehicle, electrical energy is transferred from the charging device to the receiving coil.", "This electrical energy can subsequently be converted to electricity that is used to power and recharge the battery of the electrified vehicle.", "These and other features are discussed in greater detail herein.", "FIG.", "1 schematically illustrates a powertrain 10 of an electrified vehicle 12.It should be understood that the concepts described herein are not limited to HEV's and could extend to other electrified vehicles, including but not limited to PHEV's.", "In one embodiment, the powertrain 10 is a power split system that employs a first drive system that includes a combination of an engine 14 and a generator 16 (i.e., a first electric machine) and a second drive system that includes at least a motor 36 (i.e., a second electric machine), the generator 16 and a battery 50.For example, the motor 36, the generator 16 and the battery 50 may make up an electric drive system 25 of the powertrain 10.The first and second drive systems generate torque to drive one or more sets of vehicle drive wheels 30 of the electrified vehicle 12.The engine 14, such as an internal combustion engine, and the generator 16 may be connected through a power transfer unit 18.In one non-limiting embodiment, the power transfer unit 18 is a planetary gear set.", "Of course, other types of power transfer units, including other gear sets and transmissions, may be used to connect the engine 14 to the generator 16.The power transfer unit 18 may include a ring gear 20, a sun gear 22 and a carrier assembly 24.The generator 16 is driven by the power transfer unit 18 when acting as a generator to convert kinetic energy to electrical energy.", "The generator 16 can alternatively function as a motor to convert electrical energy into kinetic energy, thereby outputting torque to a shaft 26 connected to the carrier assembly 24 of the power transfer unit 18.Because the generator 16 is operatively connected to the engine 14, the speed of the engine 14 can be controlled by the generator 16.The ring gear 20 of the power transfer unit 18 may be connected to a shaft 28 that is connected to vehicle drive wheels 30 through a second power transfer unit 32.The second power transfer unit 32 may include a gear set having a plurality of gears 34A, 34B, 34C, 34D, 34E, and 34F.", "Other power transfer units may also be suitable.", "The gears 34A-34F transfer torque from the engine 14 to a differential 38 to provide traction to the vehicle drive wheels 30.The differential 38 may include a plurality of gears that enable the transfer of torque to the vehicle drive wheels 30.The second power transfer unit 32 is mechanically coupled to an axle 40 through the differential 38 to distribute torque to the vehicle drive wheels 30.The motor 36 can also be employed to drive the vehicle drive wheels 30 by outputting torque to a shaft 46 that is also connected to the second power transfer unit 32.In one embodiment, the motor 36 and the generator 16 are part of a regenerative braking system in which both the motor 36 and the generator 16 can be employed as motors to output torque.", "For example, the motor 36 and the generator 16 can each output electrical power to a high voltage bus 48 and the battery 50.The battery 50 may be a high voltage battery that is capable of outputting electrical power to operate the motor 36 and the generator 16.Other types of energy storage devices and/or output devices can also be incorporated for use by the electrified vehicle 12.In a non-limiting PHEV embodiment of the electrified vehicle 12, the battery 50 may be recharged or partially recharged using a charging adapter 45 that is connected to a charging station powered by an external power source, such as an electrical grid, a solar panel, or the like.", "The motor 36, the generator 16, the power transfer unit 18, and the power transfer unit 32 may generally be referred to as a transaxle 42, or transmission, of the electrified vehicle 12.Thus, when a driver selects a particular shift position, the transaxle 42 is appropriately controlled to provide the corresponding gear for advancing the electrified vehicle 12 by providing traction to the vehicle drive wheels 30.The powertrain 10 may additionally include a control system 44 for monitoring and/or controlling various aspects of the electrified vehicle 12.For example, the control system 44 may communicate with the electric drive system 25, the power transfer units 18, 32 or other components to monitor and/or control the electrified vehicle 12.The control system 44 includes electronics and/or software to perform the necessary control functions for operating the electrified vehicle 12.In one embodiment, the control system 44 is a combination vehicle system controller and powertrain control module (VSC/PCM).", "Although it is shown as a single hardware device, the control system 44 may include multiple controllers in the form of multiple hardware devices, or multiple software controllers within one or more hardware devices.", "A controller area network (CAN) 52 allows the control system 44 to communicate with the transaxle 42.For example, the control system 44 may receive signals from the transaxle 42 to indicate whether a transition between shift positions is occurring.", "The control system 44 could also communicate with a battery control module of the battery 50, or other control devices.", "Additionally, the electric drive system 25 may include one or more controllers 54, such as an inverter system controller (ISC).", "The controller 54 is configured to control specific components within the transaxle 42, such as the generator 16 and/or the motor 36, such as for supporting bidirectional power flow.", "In one embodiment, the controller 54 is an inverter system controller combined with a variable voltage converter (ISC/VVC).", "In one non-limiting embodiment, the electrified vehicle 12 has two basic operating modes.", "The electrified vehicle 12 may operate in an Electric Vehicle (EV) mode where the motor 36 is used (generally without assistance from the engine 14) for vehicle propulsion, thereby depleting the battery 50 state of charge up to its maximum allowable discharging rate under certain driving patterns/cycles.", "The EV mode is an example of a charge depleting mode of operation for the electrified vehicle 12.During EV mode, the state of charge of the battery 50 may increase in some circumstances, for example due to a period of regenerative braking.", "The engine 14 is generally not permitted to operate under a default EV mode but could be operated as necessary based on a vehicle system state or as permitted by the operator.", "The electrified vehicle 12 may additionally be operated in a Hybrid (HEV) mode in which the engine 14 and the motor 36 are both used for vehicle propulsion.", "The HEV mode is an example of a charge sustaining mode of operation for the electrified vehicle 12.During the HEV mode, the electrified vehicle 12 may reduce the motor 36 propulsion usage in order to maintain the state of charge of the battery 50 at a constant or approximately constant level by increasing the engine 14 propulsion usage.", "The electrified vehicle 12 may be operated in other operating modes in addition to the EV and HEV modes.", "It may be desirable to wirelessly charge the battery 50 of the electrified vehicle 12.Exemplary charging systems for achieving this purpose are described in greater detail below.", "FIG.", "2 schematically illustrates a parking space 56.The parking space 56 may be located in a parking lot, a garage, a driveway or at any other surface where a vehicle 99 is parked.", "The vehicle 99 could be any type of electrified vehicle, including but not limited to the electrified vehicle 12 of FIG.", "1.The parking space 56 is equipped with a charging system 58 that is adapted to wirelessly charge a battery 50 of the vehicle 99.In one embodiment, the charging system 58 includes an alignment system 60 for accurately positioning a charging device 62 relative to the vehicle 99.As is discussed in greater detail below, the alignment system 60 may automatically move the charging device 62 in a lateral direction L1 in order to position the charging device 62 relative to a receiving device 65 that is mounted to the vehicle 99.As known, proper alignment of the charging device 62 relative to the receiving device 65 is necessary to wirelessly transmit electromagnetic energy between the devices.", "The electrical energy that is wirelessly transferred to the receiving device 65 of the vehicle 99 may be converted into electricity for powering and/or charging the battery 50.FIGS.", "3 and 4 illustrate an exemplary charging system 58 for wirelessly charging a high voltage battery of an electrified vehicle.", "The charging system 58 may include a visual target 64, an alignment system 60 and a charging device 62.In one embodiment, the visual target 64 is separated from the alignment system 60 and may be positioned laterally in front of the alignment system 60 (i.e., forward of the alignment system 60 in a direction away from a parked vehicle).", "The visual target 64 may extend to a height H (see FIG.", "3) that is tall enough to be visible by a vehicle driver.", "In one non-limiting embodiment, the visual target 64 is positioned directly in front of a driver seat of the electrified vehicle (see also FIG.", "5A).", "This positioning substantially reduces any parallax error that may arise as the vehicle is parked.", "As discussed below with respect to FIGS.", "5A and 5B, the vehicle driver may utilize the visual target 64 to properly orient the electrified vehicle relative to the charging system 58.The alignment system 60 may include a slidable bar 66, a connecting bar 68, one or more wheel guides 70, and a wheel plate assembly 72.The slidable bar 66 is movable in lateral directions L1 (i.e., to the left or to the right) relative to one or more slide rails 74.Two slide rails are illustrated in FIG.", "4; however, the alignment system 60 could employ any number of slide rails 74.The slide rails 74 are stationary and may be mounted to the wheel plate assembly 72, which acts as a base of the charging system 58.In one embodiment, the slide rails 74 include ball bearing arrangements such that the slidable bar 66 glides smoothly in the lateral directions L1 within the slide rails 74.The slidable bar 66 may additionally be equipped with one or more wheel stops 76 (see FIG.", "4).", "The wheel stops 76 represent obstacles that are positioned to stop the forward motion (in longitudinal direction L2) of a parking vehicle.", "In one non-limiting embodiment, the wheel stops 76 are triangular shaped and extend to a height above the slidable bar 66 (see, for example, FIG.", "5A).", "However, the wheel stops 76 could include any size or shape and could be positioned at any location of the slidable bar 66 to inhibit the forward motion of a vehicle.", "The connecting bar 68 may be attached to the slidable bar 66 and carries the charging device 62 at an end opposite from the slidable bar 66.Accordingly, movement of the slidable bar 66 also moves the connecting bar 68 and the charging device 62.In other words, the charging device 62 moves in unison with the slidable bar 66.In one embodiment, the connecting bar 68 is transverse to the slidable bar 66.In still another embodiment, the connecting bar 68 is perpendicular to the slidable bar 66.The wheel guides 70 are mounted to the slidable bar 66 and extend in the same direction from the slidable bar 66 as the connecting bar 68.The wheel guides 70 may be curved in a direction toward the connecting bar 68.In other words, in one exemplary implementation, the wheel guides 70 are curved bars.", "In one non-limiting embodiment, a first wheel guide 70A is mounted at a first side 78 of the slidable bar 66 and a second wheel guide 70B is mounted at a second side 80 of the slidable bar 66.The first and second wheel guides 70A, 70B may engage opposing wheels of a vehicle.", "For example, as the vehicle wheels contact and move relative to the wheel guides 70A, 70B, the slidable bar 66 slides relative to the slide rails 74 to force the wheel guides 70A, 70B into alignment with the wheels.", "Therefore, the alignment system 60 can automatically locate the charging device 62 at a charging position relative to the vehicle in response to engaging the wheels of the vehicle with the wheel guides 70A, 70B.", "In other words, via the wheel guides 70A, 70B of the alignment system 60, the charging system 58 is automatically self-located at a precise location relative to the vehicle in order to charge a battery of the vehicle.", "The wheel guides 70A, 70B may be spaced by a distance D1 and the charging device 62 may be positioned at a distance D2 from the slidable bar 66 (see FIG.", "4).", "The distances D1, D2 can be set during installation of the charging system 58 to accommodate a specific vehicle having specific wheel-to-wheel dimensions and a specifically located receiving device (such that includes a receiving coil).", "This particular arrangement may be suitable for home use of the charging system 58.Alternatively, the charging system 58 can be adapted to provide automatic positioning of the distances D1, D2.Automatic positioning may be particularly suited for use in parking lots where different vehicles are charged using the charging system 58.For example, the charging system 58 could include a communication system 55 (see FIG.", "4), such as a Wi-Fi system, cellular system or the like, that can communicate with a vehicle to obtain vehicle data (wheel-to-wheel dimensions, etc.)", "and automatically set the distances D1, D2 as necessary to accommodate that particular vehicle.", "The wheel plate assembly 72 of the alignment system 60 may include a first wheel plate 82 and a second wheel plate 84.A base 86 may extend between the first wheel plate 82 and the second wheel plate 84 (see FIG.", "4).", "In one embodiment, the slide rails 74 are mounted to the base 86.Each of the first wheel plate 82, the second wheel plate 84 and the base 86 are in direct contact with a surface S of a parking space, in one embodiment.", "As a vehicle approaches the charging system 58, the vehicle wheels may ride onto the first wheel plate 82 and the second wheel plate 84.The charging system 58 is not be pushed away from the approaching vehicle even though it may contact portions of the vehicle because the vehicle wheels ride on top of the first wheel plate 82 and the second wheel plate 84 to hold its positioning.", "Therefore, the energy created by movement of the oncoming vehicle is used to align the wheel guides 70A, 70B relative to the vehicle wheels.", "In this way, the charging system 58 may be installed and used without the need to hard mount the system to the surface S, thereby reducing installation costs and increasing reusability.", "The alignment system 60 may additionally include a locking pivot 88 (see FIG.", "4).", "In one non-limiting embodiment, the charging system 58 is pivotable about the locking pivot 88 to change a rotational positioning a of the charging system 58 relative to the surface S. The locking pivot 88 may be selectively released to rotate the charging system 58.For example, the charging system 58 may need rotated relative to an oncoming vehicle in order to better align the charging system 58 relative to the vehicle.", "In one non-limiting device, the charging device 62 is an inductive charging device.", "Other types of wireless charging systems are also contemplated as within the scope of this disclosure.", "The charging device 62 may include a coil pad 98 that houses a transmitting coil 95.The charging device 62 could additionally include other components necessary to wirelessly transmit energy to a nearby device, such as a receiving device that is mounted to the vehicle that requires charging.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B schematically illustrate a vehicle charging method that may employ the charging system 58 described above (see FIGS.", "3 and 4) to automatically align a charging device 62 relative to a receiving device 65 of a vehicle 99 to wirelessly charge a battery 50 of the vehicle 99.Although the battery 50 is shown connected to the receiving device 65 in this embodiment, it should be understood that other components could be positioned therebetween for converting the electrical energy received by the receiving device 65 into electricity that can be used to power and/or recharge the battery 50.Referring first to FIG.", "5A, the exemplary vehicle charging method begins when the electrified vehicle 99 enters a parking space 56 that is equipped with the charging system 58.As the vehicle 99 enters the parking space 56, the vehicle driver may utilize the visual target 64 to guide the vehicle 99 into a proper orientation relative to the alignment system 60 of the charging system 58.In one non-limiting embodiment, the visual target 64 is positioned in a direct line of sight LOS in front of a driver side 92 of the vehicle 99.This positioning may reduce the onset of parallax error that may otherwise occur as the vehicle enters the parking space 56.The vehicle 99 may be driven longitudinally forward until the vehicle wheels 94 abut the wheel stops 76 of the charging system 58, indicating that the vehicle 99 has reached a proper longitudinal positioning relative to the charging system 58.Referring now to FIG.", "5B, as the vehicle 99 is moved longitudinally forward in a direction toward the visual target 64, the wheel guides 70 of the alignment system 60 may engage the vehicle wheels 94.The wheel guides 70 may glide or otherwise travel along an inner surface 96 of the vehicle wheels 94 as the vehicle 99 continues to approach the visual target 64.As the wheel guides 70 engage the vehicle wheels 94, the slidable bar 66 of the alignment system 60 may move in the lateral directions L1 (left or right) to position the charging device 62 at a charging position relative to the vehicle 99.In other words, in one non-limiting embodiment, the charging device 62 is automatically aligned relative to the receiving device 65 using the motion of the vehicle 99 to move the charging device 62 (via the slidable bar 66).", "In one non-limiting embodiment, movement of the slidable bar 66 moves the connecting bar 68 and the attached charging device 62 between a first position X in which a transmitting coil 95 of the charging device 62 is offset from a receiving coil 90 of the receiving device 65 of the vehicle 99, and a second position X′ (shown in phantom lines) in which the transmitting coil 95 is aligned with the receiving coil 90 such that power may be wirelessly transferred from the transmitting coil 95 to the receiving coil 90.For example, proper alignment may be achieved when the receiving coil 90 is located directly above the transmitting coil 95.Once properly aligned, an electromagnetic field is produced between the transmitting coil 95 and the receiving coil 90 such that electrical energy may be transferred to the receiving device 65.The electrical energy may subsequently be used to charge the battery 50.The charging system and method described herein provide precise locating of a charging device both laterally and longitudinally relative to a vehicle in a hands-free manner The proposed alignment system uses a single moving part and includes no electronics, is robust, and provides repeatable results.", "Although the different non-limiting embodiments are illustrated as having specific components or steps, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those particular combinations.", "It is possible to use some of the components or features from any of the non-limiting embodiments in combination with features or components from any of the other non-limiting embodiments.", "It should be understood that like reference numerals identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several drawings.", "It should be understood that although a particular component arrangement is disclosed and illustrated in these exemplary embodiments, other arrangements could also benefit from the teachings of this disclosure.", "The foregoing description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.", "A worker of ordinary skill in the art would understand that certain modifications could come within the scope of this disclosure.", "For these reasons, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15874976
[ [ "THERMAL MANAGEMENT OF SELECTOR", "A non-volatile memory device that limits the temperature excursion of a selector during operation to enhance the cycling life of the non-volatile memory device.", "A selector, in line with a memory element, may be degraded with repeated temperature excursions as current passes through a stack during the read/write process.", "The selector changes from an amorphous state to become crystalline thus reducing the life of a memory device.", "The memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, a stack—including a memory element, a selector, and a spacer—disposed between the word line and bit line, and one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and bit line.", "By surrounding the selector with a high thermal conductive heat-sink material, heat is directed away from the selector helping maintain the selector's amorphous state longer." ], [ "1.A memory device, comprising: a word line; a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line; and a stack disposed between the word line and the bit line, wherein the stack comprises: a memory element; a selector having a plurality of sides, wherein the selector comprises alternating layers of selector elements and heat sinks; and a spacer layer disposed between the memory element and the selector.", "2.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the selector further comprises an insulating layer surrounding the alternating layers of selector elements and heat sinks.", "3.The memory device of claim 2, wherein the stack further comprises: electrode contacts; and barriers.", "4.The memory device of claim 3, wherein the stack comprises: a first barrier of the barriers disposed on the bit line; a first electrode contact of the electrode contacts disposed on the first barrier; the selector disposed on the first electrode contact; a second electrode contact of the electrode contacts disposed on the selector; and a second barrier of the barriers disposed on the second electrode contact.", "5.The memory device of claim 4, where the stack further comprises: the spacer layer disposed on the second barrier; a third electrode contact of the electrode contacts disposed on the spacer layer; the memory element disposed on the third electrode contact; and a fourth electrode contact of the electrode contacts disposed on the memory element.", "6.The memory device of claim 5, wherein the word line is disposed on the fourth electrode contact.", "7.The memory device of claim 6, further comprising an insulating layer surrounding the stack.", "8.The memory device of claim 7, wherein the heat sinks comprise: a first electromigration barrier; a heat sink element disposed on the first electromigration barrier; and a second electromigration barrier disposed on the heat sink element.", "9.The memory device of claim 8, wherein the first electromigration barrier and the second electromigration barrier include at least one of cobalt and nickel.", "10.The memory device of claim 9, wherein the memory element is phase change memory.", "11.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the stack comprises: a first barrier disposed on the bit line; a first electrode contact disposed on the first barrier; the selector disposed on the first electrode contact; a second electrode contact disposed on the selector; and a second barrier disposed on the second electrode contact.", "12.The memory device of claim 11, where the stack further comprises: the spacer layer disposed on the second barrier; a third electrode contact disposed on the spacer layer; the memory element disposed on the third electrode contact; and a fourth electrode contact disposed on the memory element.", "13.The memory device of claim 12, wherein the word line is disposed on the fourth electrode contact.", "14.The memory device of claim 1, further comprising an insulating layer surrounding the stack.", "15.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the heat sinks comprise: a first electromigration barrier; a heat sink element disposed on the first electromigration barrier; and a second electromigration barrier disposed on the heat sink element.", "16.The memory device of claim 15, wherein the first electromigration barrier and the second electromigration barrier include at least one of cobalt and nickel.", "17.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the selector is selected from the group consisting of an ovonic threshold switch, a doped-chalcogenide alloy, thin film Si, an ovonic threshold switch thin film selector, an ovonic memory switch, a metal/metal-oxide switch, a field effector transistor, a bipolar junction transistor, and a diode.", "18.The memory device of claim 1, wherein the memory element is phase change memory.", "19.A memory device, comprising: a word line; a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line; and a stack disposed between the word line and the bit line, wherein the stack comprises: a selector element; and means to direct heat away from the selector.", "20.The memory device of claim 19, further comprising means to prevent electromigration." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE <EOH>The present disclosure generally relates to a non-volatile memory device that limits the temperature excursion of a selector during operation to enhance the cycling life of the non-volatile memory device.", "A selector, in line with a memory element, may be degraded with repeated temperature excursions as current passes through a stack during the read/write process.", "The selector changes from an amorphous state to become crystalline thus reducing the life of a non-volatile memory device.", "The memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, a stack—including a memory element, a selector, and a spacer—disposed between the word line and bit line, and one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "By surrounding the selector with a high thermal conductive heat-sink material, heat is directed away from the selector helping maintain the selector's amorphous state longer.", "In one embodiment, a non-volatile memory device is disclosed.", "The non-volatile memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, and a stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "The stack includes a memory element, a selector, and a spacer layer disposed between the memory element and the selector.", "The non-volatile memory device further includes one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "In another embodiment, a non-volatile memory device is disclosed.", "The non-volatile memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, and a stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "The stack includes a memory element, a selector, and a spacer layer disposed between the memory element and the selector.", "The selector includes one or more sub-selector layers and one or more heat-sink layers disposed between the one or more sub-selector layers.", "The non-volatile memory device further includes one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "In another embodiment, a memory array is disclosed.", "The memory array includes a first word line, a first bit line disposed perpendicular to the first word line, a second word line parallel to the first word line, a first stack disposed between the first word line and the first bit line.", "The first stack includes a first memory element, a first selector, and a first spacer layer disposed between the first memory element and the first selector.", "The memory array further includes a first insulating layer surrounding an outer surface of the first stack disposed between the first word line and the first bit line and a second stack disposed between the second word line and the first bit line.", "The second stack includes a second memory element, a second selector, and a second spacer layer disposed between the second memory element and the second selector.", "The memory array further includes a second insulating layer surrounding an outer surface of the second stack disposed between the second word line and the first bit line." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/221,407, filed Jul.", "27, 2016, which is herein incorporated by reference.", "BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Field of the Disclosure Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a selector structure for non-volatile memory.", "Description of the Related Art The heart of a computer is a magnetic recording device which typically may include a rotating magnetic media or a solid state media device.", "A number of different memory technologies exist today for storing information for use in a computing system.", "These different memory technologies may, in general, be split into two major categories: volatile memory and non-volatile memory.", "Volatile memory may generally refer to types of computer memory that requires power to retain stored data.", "Non-volatile memory, on the other hand, may generally refer to types of computer memory that do not require power in order to retain stored data.", "Examples of non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and flash memory, such as NOR and NAND flash, etc.", "Resistive variable memory includes memory cells that can store data on the resistance state of a storage element and thus can be programmed to store data by carrying the resistance level of the storage element.", "The stored data may be programmed to one of two data states, 1 or 0, depending on whether the memory cell is programmed to a resistance above or below a particular level.", "Resistive variable memory cells can include a selector device or switch coupled in series with the storage element.", "The selector is built with a single phase, generally amorphous, with two distinct regions of operation associated to different resistivities.", "As current passes thru the selector, the selector gets heated according to the power dissipated, I2R.", "Over time, repeated temperature excursions causes degradation such as crystallization, elemental or multi-element segregation, or material change of the selector and degradation of the non-volatile memory device.", "Thus, what is needed is an improved selector in a non-volatile memory device.", "SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to a non-volatile memory device that limits the temperature excursion of a selector during operation to enhance the cycling life of the non-volatile memory device.", "A selector, in line with a memory element, may be degraded with repeated temperature excursions as current passes through a stack during the read/write process.", "The selector changes from an amorphous state to become crystalline thus reducing the life of a non-volatile memory device.", "The memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, a stack—including a memory element, a selector, and a spacer—disposed between the word line and bit line, and one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "By surrounding the selector with a high thermal conductive heat-sink material, heat is directed away from the selector helping maintain the selector's amorphous state longer.", "In one embodiment, a non-volatile memory device is disclosed.", "The non-volatile memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, and a stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "The stack includes a memory element, a selector, and a spacer layer disposed between the memory element and the selector.", "The non-volatile memory device further includes one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "In another embodiment, a non-volatile memory device is disclosed.", "The non-volatile memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, and a stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "The stack includes a memory element, a selector, and a spacer layer disposed between the memory element and the selector.", "The selector includes one or more sub-selector layers and one or more heat-sink layers disposed between the one or more sub-selector layers.", "The non-volatile memory device further includes one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "In another embodiment, a memory array is disclosed.", "The memory array includes a first word line, a first bit line disposed perpendicular to the first word line, a second word line parallel to the first word line, a first stack disposed between the first word line and the first bit line.", "The first stack includes a first memory element, a first selector, and a first spacer layer disposed between the first memory element and the first selector.", "The memory array further includes a first insulating layer surrounding an outer surface of the first stack disposed between the first word line and the first bit line and a second stack disposed between the second word line and the first bit line.", "The second stack includes a second memory element, a second selector, and a second spacer layer disposed between the second memory element and the second selector.", "The memory array further includes a second insulating layer surrounding an outer surface of the second stack disposed between the second word line and the first bit line.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings.", "It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.", "FIG.", "1A is a schematic illustration of a cross-section of a memory device according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "1B and FIG.", "1C are a schematic illustration of a selector according to one embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic illustration of a memory device according to another embodiment.", "FIGS.", "3A-3B are schematic illustrations of a memory device according to yet another embodiment.", "FIGS.", "4A-4B are schematic illustrations of a memory array according to one embodiment.", "To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures.", "It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following, reference is made to embodiments of the disclosure.", "However, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to specific described embodiments.", "Instead, any combination of the following features and elements, whether related to different embodiments or not, is contemplated to implement and practice the disclosure.", "Furthermore, although embodiments of the disclosure may achieve advantages over other possible solutions and/or over the prior art, whether or not a particular advantage is achieved by a given embodiment is not limiting of the disclosure.", "Thus, the following aspects, features, embodiments and advantages are merely illustrative and are not considered elements or limitations of the appended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s).", "Likewise, reference to “the disclosure” shall not be construed as a generalization of any inventive subject matter disclosed herein and shall not be considered to be an element or limitation of the appended claims except where explicitly recited in a claim(s).", "The present disclosure relates to a non-volatile memory device that limits the temperature excursion of a selector during operation to enhance the cycling life of the non-volatile memory device.", "A selector, in line with a memory element, may comprise degraded with repeated temperature excursions as current passes through a stack during the read/write process.", "The selector changes from an amorphous state to become crystalline thus reducing the life of a non-volatile memory device.", "The memory device includes a word line, a bit line disposed perpendicular to the word line, a stack—including a memory element, a selector, and a spacer—disposed between the word line and bit line, and one or more insulating layers surrounding an outer surface of the stack disposed between the word line and the bit line.", "By surrounding the selector with a high thermal conductive heat-sink material, heat is directed away from the selector helping maintain the selector's amorphous state longer.", "FIG.", "1A is a schematic illustration of a cross-section of a memory device 100 according to one embodiment.", "The memory device 100 has a word line 102, a bit line 104, a stack 120, and an insulating layer 116.The word line 102 is disposed in a different plane from the bit line 104 and extends perpendicular to the bit line 104.The stack 120 is disposed between word line 102 and the bit line 104.The word line 102 and the bit line 104 may comprise a material selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and tungsten (W).", "The word line 102 and the bit line 104 provide for electric current to reach the stack 120 during the reading, writing, or erasing processes.", "The stack 120 may include a memory element 106, a spacer 108, a selector 110, and electrode contacts 112a-d.", "In one embodiment, the electrode contact 112a is between the word line 102 and the memory element 106, the electrode contact 112b is between the memory element 106 and the spacer 108, the electrode 112c is between the spacer 108 and the selector 110, and the electrode 112d is between the selector 110 and the bit line 104.In another embodiment, the stack 120 may also include a barrier 114a-b.", "The barrier 114a is disposed between the spacer 108 and the electrode 112c and the barrier 114b is disposed between the electrode 112d and the bit line 104.The barriers 114a-b prevent unwanted atom motion via electromigration within the stack 120.In another embodiment, the electrode 112d is disposed between the word line 102 and selector 110, the electrode 112c is disposed between the selector 110 and the spacer 108, the electrode 112b is disposed between the spacer 108 and the memory element 106, and the contact 112a is disposed between the memory element 106 and the bit line 104.The stack 120 may also include the barrier 114b—disposed between the word line 102 and the electrode 112d—and the barrier 114a disposed between the contact 112c and the spacer 108.The barrier 114a-b is an electro-migration barrier and electrical conductor and may include for example, the material cobalt.", "The memory element 106 may comprise a phase change memory (PCM)—including chalcogenide alloys such as Germanium-Antimony-Tellurium (GST) material, resistive random access memory (RRAM), magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), or other temperature-generating memory elements.", "The spacer 108, separating the memory element 106 from the selector 110, may include materials that are an electrical conductor and thermal insulator.", "The spacer 108 may be one or more the following: titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), titanium silicon nitride (TiSiN), titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN), TeGeSb, Cobalt (Co), Nickel (Ni), and Copper (Cu).", "The electrode contacts 112a-d may comprise a material selected from the group consisting of Ti, Ta, W, Al, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, B, C, carbon intermixed with other elements, conductive nitrides, and/or combinations thereof.", "The selector 110 may comprise a diode or switch and may be selected from the group consisting of an ovonic threshold switch (OTS), a doped-chalcogenide alloys, a thin-film Si, an OTS thin-film selector, an ovonic memory switch (OMS), and a metal/metal-oxide switch.", "However, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a particular type of selector device and may also include a field effect transistor (FET), a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), or a diode.", "In one embodiment, the memory device 100 may be fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD).", "FIG.", "1B and FIG.", "1C are schematic illustrations of the selector 110 according to one embodiment.", "The selector 110 may include alternating layers of one or more selector elements 126 and heat-sink layers 118.In one embodiment, the selector 110 includes five layers of selector elements 126 and five layers of heat-sink layers 118.In one embodiment, the heat-sink layers 118 are electrically conducting that transfers the heat away from the selector elements 126 towards the thermal insulating layer 116.The insulating layer 116 may surround the alternating layers of selector elements 126 and heat-sink layers 118.Although five pairs of alternating layers of selector elements 126 and heat-sink layers 118 is shown, more or less layers may be included and the number of selector element layers may be different from the number of heat-sink layers.", "The alternating layers of selector elements 126 and heat-sink layers 118 advantageously maximizes the surface area in contact with the heat-sink layers 118 thereby reducing the temperature of the stack 120.As illustrated in FIG.", "1C, in one embodiment the one or more heat-sink layers 118 may include a heat-sink element 124 between a first electromigration barrier 122a and a second electromigration barrier 122b.", "In one embodiment, the heat-sink element 124 may comprise copper (Cu) and the electromigration barriers 122a, 122b may include at least one of the following: cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), or other alloys.", "The insulating layer 116 may comprise a thermal insulator and electrical insulator and may include a material selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), aluminum nitride (AlN), mixed oxides and nitrides, among others.", "In one embodiment, the insulating layer 116 is disposed adjacent to the stack 120.In another embodiment, the insulating layer 116 is surrounding an outer surface of the stack 120.The insulating layer 116 may be disposed between the word line 102 and the bit line 104.In another embodiment, the insulating layer 116 surrounds the stack 120 on one or more sides.", "In yet another embodiment, the insulating layer 116 surrounds the selector 110 on one or more sides.", "In one embodiment, the insulating layer 116 may provide a heat sink or thermal dissipation region which can reduce the thermal crosstalk between adjacent memory stacks 120.Thermal crosstalk can result in reduced data reliability or data errors as heat is transferred from one memory stack to an adjacent memory stack thereby increasing the temperature of a particular adjacent cell and unintentionally altering the programmed resistance of that adjacent memory element.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic illustration of a memory device 200 according to another embodiment.", "The memory device 200 includes a word line 202, a bit line 204, a stack 220, and a first insulating layer 216, and a second insulating layer 228.The word line 202 is disposed perpendicular to the bit line 204, but in a different plane than the bit line 204.The stack 220 is disposed between word line 202 and the bit line 204.The word line 202 and the bit line 204 may comprise a material selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and tungsten (W).", "The stack 220 may include a memory element 206, a spacer 208, a selector 210, and electrode contacts 212a-d.", "In one embodiment, the stack 220 may also include a barrier 214a-b.", "The stack 220 may be substantially similar to the stack 120 of FIG.", "1A.", "In another embodiment, the first insulating layer 216 surrounds the second insulating layer 228.The second insulating layer 228 may comprise a thermal insulator and electrical insulator and may include a material selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), aluminum nitride (AlN), mixed oxides and nitrides, among others.", "The first insulating layer 216 may comprise a thermal conductor and electrical insulator and may include a material selected from the group of silicon, beryllium oxide, diamond, silicate, diamond-like carbon and others.", "In one embodiment, the second insulating layer 228 is disposed adjacent to the stack 220.In another embodiment, the second insulating layer 228 is surrounding the stack 220.The first insulating layer 216 and the second insulating layer 228 may be disposed between the word line 202 and the bit line 204.In yet another embodiment, the second insulating layer 228 surrounds the selector 210 on one or more sides.", "In one embodiment, the second insulating layer 216 is thinner than the first insulating layer 216.The first insulating layer 216 may comprise a thermal conductor and electrical insulator to provide a heat sink or thermal dissipation region which can reduce the thermal crosstalk between adjacent memory stacks 220.Additionally, by reducing the thermal energy around the selector 210 providing for the selector 210 to maintain an amorphous state longer, the second insulating layer 228 and the first insulating layer 216 extend the life of the memory device 200.FIGS.", "3A and 3B are schematic illustrations of a memory device 300 according to another embodiment.", "The memory device 300 includes a word line 302, a bit line 304, a stack 320, and a first insulating layer 316, a second insulating layer 328, and a dissipation layer 330.The word line 302 is disposed perpendicular to the bit line 304 but in a different plane therefrom.", "The stack 320 is disposed between word line 302 and the bit line 304.The word line 302 and the bit line 304 may comprise a material selected from the group consisting of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and tungsten (W).", "The stack 320 may include a memory element 306, a spacer 208, a selector 310, and electrode contacts 312a-d.", "In one embodiment, the stack 320 may also include a barrier 314a-b.", "The stack 320 may be substantially similar to the stack 120 of FIG.", "1A.", "In one embodiment, the first insulating layer 316 surrounds the second insulating layer 328 and the dissipation layer 330.The first insulating layer 316, the second insulating layer 328, and the dissipation layer 330 may be disposed between the word line 302 and the bit line 304.The first insulating layer 316 and the second insulating layer 328 may be a thermal insulator and electrical insulator and may include a material selected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), aluminum nitride (AlN), mixed oxides and nitrides, among others.", "The dissipation layer 330 may comprise an electrical insulator and heat-sink and may include a material selected from the group of silicon, beryllium oxide, diamond, silicate, and others.", "The insulating layers may be amorphous or crystalline or may consist of one set of layers which are amorphous and another set which are crystalline.", "In one embodiment one or more of the layers may contain a low thermal conductivity chalcogenide.", "In one embodiment, the second insulating layer 328 is disposed adjacent to the memory element 306.In another embodiment, the second insulating layer 328 is surrounding the memory element 306, the first electrode 312a, and the second electrode 312b.", "The dissipation layer 330 may surround the selector 310 on one or more sides.", "In one embodiment, the first insulating layer 316 is thinner than the second insulating layer 328.In another embodiment, the first insulating layer 316 is thinner than the dissipation layer 330.The second insulating layer 328 may be adjacent to the dissipation layer 330 and substantially the same width as the dissipation layer 330.In one embodiment, the second insulating layer 328 may be disposed between the word line 302 and the dissipation layer 330.In one embodiment, the second insulating layer 328 may include alternating layers of dissimilar material as seen in FIG.", "3B.", "The alternating layers of dissimilar material may advantageously increase the thermal resistance of the second insulating layer 328.The second insulating layer 328 may include alternating layers of a first layer 332 and a second layer 334.In one embodiment, the insulating layer may include four pairs of alternating layers of a first layer 332 and a second layer 334.It can be imagined that any number of pairs of a first layer 332 and a second layer 334 may be used.", "The first layer 332 and the second layer 334 may include the group materials consisting of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), aluminum nitride (AlN), mixed oxides and nitrides, among others.", "The dissipation layer 330 may be a thermal conductor and electrical insulator to provide a heat sink or thermal dissipation region which can reduce the thermal crosstalk between adjacent memory stacks 320.In one embodiment, the memory device 300 may be fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD).", "In another embodiment, the dissipation layer 330 may be deposited using ALD or CVD then treated with ions using directional RIE before deposition of the insulating layer.", "Additionally, the combination of the dissipation layer 330 and the first insulating layer 316 and second insulating layer 328 reduces the thermal energy around the selector 310 providing for the selector 310 to maintain an amorphous state longer, thereby extending the life of the memory device 200.Furthermore, the combination of the first insulating layer 316, the second insulating layer 328, and the dissipation layer 330 provide for a faster memory element 306.Memory elements, such as phase change cells, require a large amount of power during the reading and writing processes.", "The dissipation layer 330 draws heat away from the selector 310 and towards the memory element 306 while the first insulating layer 316 and the second insulating layer 328 maintain heat around the memory element 306.The combination of the three layers, the dissipation layer 330, the first insulating layer 316, and the second insulating layer 328, thus providing for the least of amount of heat required during the read and write processes thereby increasing the efficiency of the memory device 300.The width of the various layers making up the stack may differ from one another.", "For instance the width of the layers making up the memory cell may be larger or smaller than the width of the layers making up the selector.", "In addition, within the memory cell or the selector the width of the layers may vary.", "The wall angle of the layers may be different from 90 degrees relative to the plane of the layers.", "FIG.", "4A illustrates a memory array 400, according to one embodiment.", "The memory array 400 is comprised of a plurality of bottom interconnect lines, a plurality of top interconnect lines disposed perpendicular to the top interconnect lines, and a plurality of stacks disposed in between the plurality of bottom interconnect lines and the plurality of top interconnect lines.", "According to one example, the memory array 400, as seen in FIG.", "4B, includes a first word line 402, a first bit line 404 disposed perpendicular to the first word line 402, a second word line 422 disposed parallel to the first word line 402, a first stack 420.Although not shown, it can be understood that the first stack 420 has a similar disposition to stack 120 of FIG.", "1.The first stack 420 is disposed between the first word line 402 and the first bit line 404.The first stack 420 includes a first memory element, a first selector, a first spacer layer disposed between the first memory element and the first selector, one or more electrode contacts, and one or more barrier layers.", "The memory device also includes a first insulating layer surrounding an outer surface of the first stack 420 disposed between the first word line 402 and the first bit line 404.The insulating layer may be substantially similar to the insulating layer 116 of FIG.", "1.A second stack 424 is disposed between the second word line 422 and the first bit line 404.The second stack 424 includes a second memory element, a second selector, a second spacer layer disposed between the second memory element and the second selector, one or more electrode contacts, and one or more barrier layers.", "The memory device also includes a second insulating layer surrounding an outer surface of the second stack 424 disposed between the second word line 422 and the first bit line 404.A possible alternative exists where the second insulating layer is different from the first insulating layer.", "It can be imagined that the second insulating layer may be substantially similar to the insulating layers 216, 228 of FIG.", "2.It can be imagined that the memory array 400 may contain a plurality of stacks with one or more insulating layers and one or more dissipation layers.", "In one embodiment, one or more stacks may share a word line and have individual bit lines.", "In another embodiment one or more stacks may share a bit line and have individual word lines.", "The memory cells disclosed above includes one or more insulating layer that provide a heat sink or thermal dissipation region to reduce the thermal crosstalk between adjacent memory stacks.", "Thermal crosstalk can result in reduced data reliability or data errors as heat is transferred from one memory stack to an adjacent memory stack thereby increasing the temperature of a particular adjacent cell and unintentionally altering the programmed resistance of adjacent memory devices.", "Additionally, the present disclosure reduces the thermal energy around the selector providing for the selector to maintain an amorphous state longer, thereby extending the life of the memory device.", "Furthermore, the present disclosure advantageously maintains the energy surrounding the memory element required during the read and write processes thereby increasing the efficiency of the memory device.", "While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow." ] ]
Patent_15874977
[ [ "Wireless Charging of Mobile Devices in Vehicles", "Methods, systems, and products describe a car, truck, or other vehicle that charges a battery in a mobile device.", "The vehicle wirelessly inductively charges the battery based on historical usage." ], [ "1.A method, comprising: establishing, by a vehicle, a wireless communication with a mobile device; retrieving, by the vehicle, data representing a historical consumption of a battery power associated with a battery powering the mobile device; determining, by the vehicle, a charging strategy for the battery based on the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power; receiving, by a battery charger operating in the vehicle, electrical power; and inductively coupling, by the battery charger operating in the vehicle, the electrical power to charge the battery powering the mobile device according to the charging strategy based on the data representing the historical consumption.", "2.The method of claim 1, further comprising predicting future consumption of the battery power from the battery powering the mobile device.", "3.The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the battery powering the mobile device is fully charged.", "4.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a number of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.", "5.The method of claim 4, further comprising determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.", "6.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a duration of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.", "The method of claim 6, further comprising determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.", "8.An apparatus, comprising: a processor; and a memory device, the memory device storing code, the code when executed causing the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: establishing a wireless communication between a transceiver and a mobile device; retrieving data from the mobile device, the data representing a historical consumption of a battery power associated with a battery powering the mobile device; determining a charging strategy for the battery based on the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power; receiving electrical power; and inductively coupling a battery charger to charge the battery powering the mobile device according to the charging strategy based on the data representing the historical consumption.", "9.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise predicting future consumption of the battery power from the battery.", "10.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise inductively coupling a primary coil to a secondary coil.", "11.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a number of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.", "12.The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.", "13.The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a duration of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.", "14.The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time.", "15.A memory device storing code which when executed causes a processor to perform operations, the operations comprising: establishing wireless communication between a vehicle and a mobile device; wirelessly receiving data representing a historical consumption of a battery power from a battery powering the mobile device; determining a charging strategy for the battery based on the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power; receiving electrical power; and inductively coupling a battery charger in the vehicle to charge the battery powering the mobile device according to the charging strategy based on the data representing the historical consumption.", "16.The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise predicting a future consumption of the battery power from the battery.", "17.The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise determining a start time associated with the inductive coupling.", "18.The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise determining a stop time associated with the inductive coupling.", "19.The memory device of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a duration of calls per unit of time as the data representing the historical consumption of the battery power.", "20.The memory device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise determining the charging strategy based on the number of calls per unit of time." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Mobile devices have batteries.", "Cell phones, laptop computers, and tablets are all available with a rechargeable battery.", "When the battery is drained, the battery is recharged for continued use." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>The features, aspects, and advantages of the exemplary embodiments are better understood when the following Detailed Description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIGS.", "1-2 are simplified schematics illustrating an operating environment in which exemplary embodiments may be implemented; FIGS.", "3-9 are graphs illustrating a calendric pattern, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "10 is a schematic illustrating predictions of future usage and consumption, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "11 is a schematic illustrating a charging strategy, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "12-13 are more detailed block diagrams that further illustrate the operating environments, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "14-15 are schematics further illustrating the charging strategy, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "16 is a schematic illustrating a start time for charging, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "17 is a schematic illustrating calendar interfacing, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "18-19 are schematics illustrating charging of multiple mobile devices, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "20 is a block diagram illustrating a prioritization scheme, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "21-22 are flowcharts illustrating a method or algorithm for charging a battery, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "23 is another flowchart further illustrating the method or algorithm for charging the battery, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "24 is another flowchart further illustrating the method or algorithm for charging the battery, according to exemplary embodiments; and FIGS.", "25-26 are schematics illustrating processor-controlled devices, according to still more exemplary embodiments.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/175,195 filed Jun.", "7, 2016 and since issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "______, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/592,577 filed Aug. 23, 2012 and since issued as U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,385,557, with both applications incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.", "BACKGROUND Mobile devices have batteries.", "Cell phones, laptop computers, and tablets are all available with a rechargeable battery.", "When the battery is drained, the battery is recharged for continued use.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS The features, aspects, and advantages of the exemplary embodiments are better understood when the following Detailed Description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIGS.", "1-2 are simplified schematics illustrating an operating environment in which exemplary embodiments may be implemented; FIGS.", "3-9 are graphs illustrating a calendric pattern, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "10 is a schematic illustrating predictions of future usage and consumption, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "11 is a schematic illustrating a charging strategy, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "12-13 are more detailed block diagrams that further illustrate the operating environments, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "14-15 are schematics further illustrating the charging strategy, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "16 is a schematic illustrating a start time for charging, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "17 is a schematic illustrating calendar interfacing, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "18-19 are schematics illustrating charging of multiple mobile devices, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "20 is a block diagram illustrating a prioritization scheme, according to exemplary embodiments; FIGS.", "21-22 are flowcharts illustrating a method or algorithm for charging a battery, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "23 is another flowchart further illustrating the method or algorithm for charging the battery, according to exemplary embodiments; FIG.", "24 is another flowchart further illustrating the method or algorithm for charging the battery, according to exemplary embodiments; and FIGS.", "25-26 are schematics illustrating processor-controlled devices, according to still more exemplary embodiments.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "The exemplary embodiments may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.", "These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the exemplary embodiments to those of ordinary skill in the art.", "Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof.", "Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure).", "Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes illustrating the exemplary embodiments.", "The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software.", "Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular named manufacturer.", "As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise.", "It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.", "It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present.", "Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein may include wirelessly connected or coupled.", "As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.", "may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.", "For example, a first device could be termed a second device, and, similarly, a second device could be termed a first device without departing from the teachings of the disclosure.", "FIGS.", "1-2 are simplified schematics illustrating an environment in which exemplary embodiments may be implemented.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a battery charger 10 and a mobile device 12.The mobile device 12 is illustrated as a smart phone 14, but the mobile device 12 may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or any other processor-controlled device (as later paragraphs will explain).", "Regardless, the mobile device 12 has a battery 16.When usage of the mobile device 12 depletes the battery 16, the battery 16 must be recharged.", "The battery 16 may be wiredly charged.", "That is, a physical charging cord 18 may connect between the battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12.As most readers understand, the battery charger 10 receives electrical power 20 (such as from the electric grid) and sends at least some of the electrical power 20 to the mobile device 12 via the charging cord 18.The battery charger 10 and/or the mobile device 12 may condition the electrical power 20 (such as AC/DC transformation and/or rectification), and the mobile device 12 transfers the electrical power 20 to the battery 16.The electrical power 20 recharges the battery 16 for continued use of the mobile device 12.FIG.", "2 illustrates wireless charging.", "Here the electrical power 20 is wirelessly transferred from the battery charger 10 to the mobile device 12.The battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12 inductively couple to transfer the electrical power 20.FIG.", "2 illustrates the battery charger as a pad 22 that inductively charges the battery 16 in the mobile device 12.The mobile device 12 is merely laid on the pad 22, and the electrical power 20 is inductively transferred from the pad 22 to the mobile device 12.That is, although the mobile device 12 merely lays on the pad 22, the battery 16 is wirelessly charged for continued use.", "Wireless, inductive charging is known, so a more detailed explanation is unnecessary.", "As both FIGS.", "1 and 2 illustrate, though, exemplary embodiments may retrieve much information to ensure the battery 16 is adequately charged.", "When the battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12 establish communication, for example, battery parameters 24 may be sent.", "The mobile device 12, for example, may sent the type of the battery 16, such as the battery's chemical composition, manufacturer, and/or model.", "Device parameters 26 may also be retrieved, such as the make, model, and serial number of the mobile device 12.The condition of the battery 12 may also be exchanged.", "A current level 28 of charge of the battery 16, for example, may be sent from the mobile device 12.The current level 28 of charge describes a current condition or state of the battery 16, such as an amount of electrical power stored in or available from the battery 16.The current level 28 of charge may be determined from a load test, but any method, measurement, or apparatus may be used.", "A calendric pattern 30 may also be exchanged.", "Whether wired or wireless charging is used, the calendric pattern 30 may be used when charging the battery 16.The calendric pattern 30 describes patterns of monthly, weekly, and/or daily usage of the mobile device 12.The calendric pattern 30, for example, describes dates and times that the mobile device 12 is typically used.", "The calendric pattern 30 may be stored in the mobile device 12, and the calendric pattern 30 may be retrieved when the battery 16 needs charging.", "Rules 32 may also be established.", "One or more objectives may be logically expressed as the rules 32 to ensure the battery 16 is always charged for usage of the mobile device 12.One such rule 32, for example, is minimum energy consumption of the battery charger 10.The battery charger 10 can consume substantial electrical energy, especially when multiple mobile devices are charged (as later paragraphs will explain).", "Smart management of the battery charger 10 may thus reduce energy consumption and costs.", "A charging strategy 34 is thus developed.", "Once the long-term usage of the mobile device 12 is known, the battery 16 may be smartly charged (such as to consume no more energy than minimally required).", "The battery charger 10 and/or the mobile device 12 develop the charging strategy 34, based on the calendric pattern 30, the battery parameters 24, and/or the device parameters 26.The battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12 may then cooperate to charge the battery 16, according to the charging strategy 34.That is, exemplary embodiments may constantly monitor a current time 36 of day, the condition of the battery 16, the calendric pattern 30, and rules 32.The charging strategy 34 may thus charge the battery 16 to satisfy the upcoming calendric pattern 30 while enforcing or adhering to the rules 32.FIGS.", "3-9 are graphs further illustrating the calendric pattern 30, according to exemplary embodiments.", "FIGS.", "3-9 illustrate how habitual usage of the mobile device 12 may be discerned and exploited to intelligently charge the battery (illustrated as reference numeral 16 in FIGS.", "1-2).", "Daily, weekly, and even monthly calendric usage of the mobile device 12 may be monitored to learn how and when the mobile device 12 is habitually used.", "Indeed, exemplary embodiments may continue monitoring calendric usage for even longer periods of time (such as several months or even years) to discern the recurring calendric pattern 30.The calendric pattern 30 may then be used to predict future usage of the mobile device 12.That is, using previous or past habitual usage, exemplary embodiments may predict how the mobile device 12 will be used in the future.", "Exemplary embodiments may then intelligently develop the charging strategy 34 to ensure the battery 16 is always charged to satisfy the calendric pattern 30.FIG.", "3, for example, illustrates a graphical plot of one day's call usage 40 of the mobile device 12.That is, exemplary embodiments monitor how, and when, the mobile device 12 is used to make and receive calls (e.g., telephony and/or VoIP).", "As FIG.", "3 illustrates, the mobile device 12 has no call usage 40 from midnight to 7 AM.", "That is, no calls are sent or received during early morning hours.", "At 7 AM, though, the call usage 40 dramatically increases, indicating heavy usage in the hour between 7 AM and 8 AM.", "Starting at 8 AM, though, call usage 40 is less throughout the remaining morning hours and afternoon hours.", "At 5 PM, call usage 40 again increases until 6 PM.", "After 8 PM, call usage falls to zero (0).", "Any measure of the call usage 40 may be used.", "Calls per hour, or duration per hour, may be tracked.", "As the mobile device 12 sends and receives calls, exemplary embodiments may track the number of calls per unit of time (such as per hour).", "However, exemplary embodiments may additionally or alternatively track a duration of calls each hour, again whether made/sent or received.", "That is, exemplary embodiments may time a duration of each call that is sent from, or received by, the mobile device 12.The various durations of the calls may then be summed on an hourly basis.", "A total duration of calls per hour may then be tracked to determine hourly call usage 40 of the mobile device 12.However call usage 40 is tracked, exemplary embodiments may discern daily times that calls are sent from, or received by, the mobile device 12.However the call usage 40 is tracked, the battery 16 should be charged to satisfy this call usage 40.Because the mobile device 12 experiences heavy call usage between 7 AM and 8 AM, the battery (illustrated as reference numeral 16 in FIGS.", "1-2) should have a sufficient charge to ensure operation during these hours.", "Likewise, the battery 16 should have sufficient charge for the heavy call usage seen between 5 PM and 6 PM.", "If the battery 16 lacks sufficient charge, the mobile device 12 may not be able to complete the calls.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates long-term trends in the call usage 40.As the call usage 40 is collected for days, weeks, and even months, data can be analyzed for habitual usage.", "That is, the call usage 40 may be monitored to determine days and times that calls are routinely, even habitually, made.", "As FIG.", "4 illustrates, for example, the call usage 40 is normally high on weekdays between 7-8 AM and between 5-6 PM.", "These hours may reflect commuting times in which many calls are made while driving or riding.", "No calls, however, are normally made during late night time hours, presumably when the user is sleeping.", "Calls are routinely made during work hours, but the usage is lower than commuting times.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates concomitant power consumption 42.As the mobile device 12 is used throughout the day, electrical power is consumed from the battery 16.Exemplary embodiments may thus monitor the power consumption 42 from the battery 16 during any and all usage of the mobile device 12.That is, as the mobile device 12 is used for calls, exemplary embodiments may measure and track the power consumption 42 from the battery 16.Over time, then, exemplary embodiments determine the average power consumed from the battery 16 during the habitual call usage 40.FIG.", "5 thus illustrates a three-dimensional graphical plot of this habitual power consumption 42 on an hourly basis.", "FIGS.", "6-7 illustrate electronic messaging.", "As the mobile device 12 sends and receives electronic messages (e.g., emails and text messages) throughout the day, exemplary embodiments may track electronic message usage 44.FIG.", "5 thus illustrates one day's electronic message usage 44 of the mobile device 12.The number of electronic messages per hour, for example, is one indicator of the message usage 44.Exemplary embodiments may log the date and time each message is sent and/or received.", "Exemplary embodiments may also sum the number of electronic messages that are sent from the mobile device 12, and/or received at the mobile device 12, during each hour of the day.", "The number of electronic messages per hour may thus be an adequate indicator of how and when the mobile device 12 is used.", "Likewise, long-term electronic messaging is monitored.", "As the message usage 44 is collected for days, weeks, and months, the message usage 44 may determine days and times that messages are typically sent and/or received.", "FIG.", "7 thus illustrates another three-dimensional graphical plot of the long-term hourly power consumption 42 from the battery 16 during electronic messaging.", "The charging strategy 34 may thus be developed to ensure the battery 16 always has sufficient charge to ensure habitual use is available.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates application usage 46.As the mobile device 12 is used to play games, watch videos, or surf the Internet, exemplary embodiments may monitor which software application is being used (or running) and times of that use.", "As earlier paragraphs explained, the application usage 46 may be tracked on an hourly basis and then long-term trends may be determined.", "For example, from midnight to 7 AM the mobile device 12 has no usage of software applications.", "At 7 AM, though, a single application predominates (perhaps related to the heavy call usage).", "At 8 AM, multiple applications are seen throughout the day, but at 5 PM the single application again predominates.", "After 6 PM a few applications have nearly constant usage (perhaps indicating video content is being watched).", "After 10 PM, application usage falls to zero (0).", "FIG.", "9 thus illustrates the concomitant power consumption 42.As the software applications are used throughout the day, electrical power is consumed from the battery 16.Exemplary embodiments may thus monitor the power consumption 42 from the battery 16 during any and all application usage.", "That is, as any software application is called, invoked, or used, exemplary embodiments may measure and track the consumption of electrical power from the battery 16.FIG.", "8 thus illustrates another three-dimensional graphical plot of the long-term hourly power consumption 42 from the battery 16 during application usage.", "The charging strategy 34 may thus be developed to ensure the battery 16 always has sufficient charge to ensure the mobile device 12 is available for this habitual use.", "FIGS.", "3-9 thus provide visual comparisons of usage requirements.", "FIGS.", "3-4 illustrate daily, habitual heavy call usage 40 between 7 AM and 8 AM, which begins to concomitantly drain significant electrical power from the battery (as FIG.", "5 illustrates).", "Calls are also heavier between 5 PM and 6 PM, reflecting significant power consumption 42 during afternoon commutes.", "Electronic messaging predominates during the day, so the battery 16 experiences a lesser but constant power consumption 42 (as FIGS.", "6-7 illustrate).", "At 7:30 PM, though, power consumption 42 spikes (as FIGS.", "8-9 illustrate), perhaps indicating both messaging and video viewing during evening hours.", "After 10 PM the battery 16 experiences a steady but small drain, reflecting little or no usage during sleeping hours.", "The illustrations of FIGS.", "3-9 may be repeated on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.", "As previous paragraphs explained, exemplary embodiments may track usage over many days to learn how and when the mobile device 12 is habitually used.", "If memory permits, calendric usage may be monitored for even longer periods of time (such as months or even years) to discern the recurring calendric pattern 30.This historical log of usage may thus be used to determine the calendric pattern 30 that describes dates and times of recurring or repeating usage of the mobile device 12.As the mobile device 12 is used over days and weeks, specific dates and times of usage may be monitored, along with the concomitant power consumption 42 on a daily, and even hourly, basis.", "The calendric pattern 30, for example, may describe not only habitual days and times of usage, but also the accompanying consumption of power from the battery 16.FIG.", "10 is a schematic illustrating predictions of future usage and consumption, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Once the calendric pattern 30 is observed, future usage may be predicted.", "Because the calendric pattern 30 describes habitual usage of the mobile device 12, a predictor 50 may use the calendric pattern 30 to predict how the mobile device will be used in the future.", "For example, because the calendric pattern 30 reveals daily, heavy call usage weekday mornings and evenings, the predictor 50 may assume similar power consumption 42 during future weekday mornings and evenings.", "For any hour of any day, the calendric pattern 30 may be used to predict future usage of the mobile device 12 and future power consumption from the battery 16.FIG.", "11 is another schematic illustrating the charging strategy 34, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Because future usage can be predicted from the calendric pattern 30, exemplary embodiments may then determine future needs from the battery 16.That is, exemplary embodiments may predict how much electrical power will be required from the battery 16, on an hourly basis, to satisfy predicted future usage.", "Again, because habitual usage and the concomitant power consumption (illustrated as reference numeral 42 in FIGS.", "3-9) is known, exemplary embodiments may also predict how much electrical power will be consumed from the battery 16, based on the calendric pattern 30.The battery 16 must thus have a sufficient charge to ensure operation according to the habitual calendric pattern 30.The charging strategy 34 may thus be developed to ensure the battery 16 is sufficiently charged for the predicted usage.", "The charging strategy 34, however, may consider the one or more rules 32.A trivial rule always ensures the battery 16 has a full charge.", "If the battery 16 is constantly charged, though, energy and money may be wasted.", "Charging the battery 16 costs money, so the charging strategy 34 may have the rules 32 to reduce, or even minimize energy consumption 60, reduce a utility cost 62, and/or to maximize a battery life 64.The battery charger 10, for example, may be instructed to ensure the battery 16 is charged no more than necessary to meet the calendric pattern 30, in order to conserve energy and costs.", "For example, if a seventy percent (70%) daily charge is adequate to satisfy the calendric pattern 30, then energy and money are wasted by fully charging (e.g., 100%) the battery 16.Moreover, utility rates may very during the day, with rates typically lowest during night time hours.", "The rules 32 may thus require a minimum cost of recharging while still satisfying the calendric pattern 30.The charging strategy 34 may thus develop an hourly, or by minute, charging current 66 and voltage 68 that satisfies the calendric pattern 30, but that minimizes cost.", "The charging strategy 34 may thus query for, retrieve, and compare utility rates during different times of day.", "The charging strategy 34 may even decline charging during times of high utility rates and, instead, prioritize charging during times of lower rates (such as nighttime hours).", "The life 64 of the battery 16 may also be considered.", "As the battery 16 is charged and discharged, the life 64 of the battery 16 may be reduced.", "The life 64 may be influenced by a number of charging cycles, ambient temperature, and even levels of discharge and recharge.", "The charging strategy 34 may thus query for and retrieve performance characteristics 70 associated with the battery 16.The charging strategy 34 may thus implement a rule 32 that satisfies the calendric pattern 30 but that also best preserves the life 64 of the battery 16.FIGS.", "12-13 are more detailed block diagrams that further illustrate the operating environment, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Here the battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12 may establish communication over a communications network 80 to exchange information.", "The battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12, for example, may communicate using a physical connection (such as the physical charging cord 18 illustrated in FIG.", "1).", "The battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12, however, may additionally or alternatively wirelessly communicate using wireless interfaces 82 and 84.The wireless interfaces 82 and 84 may be one or more transmitters and/or receivers (“transceivers”), but exemplary embodiments may use any means of wireless transmission and/or reception of signals.", "However communication is established, the calendric pattern 30 is retrieved and used to determined the charging strategy 34 for the battery 16.A power supply 86 receives the electrical power 20, and the charger 10 transfers the electric power 20 to the mobile device 12.The calendric pattern 30 may be locally stored in the mobile device 12.As FIG.", "12 illustrates, the mobile device 12 has a processor 90 (e.g., “μP”), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other component that executes a device-side charging application 92 stored in a memory 94.The device-side charging application 92 is a set of programming, code, or instructions that cause the processor 90 to retrieve the calendric pattern 30 from the memory 94.The device-side charging application 92 may then analyze the calendric pattern 30 to determine the charging strategy 34 for the battery 16.The device-side charging application 92 may then cause the processor 90 to send the calendric pattern 30 and/or the charging strategy 34 to the battery charger 10.When the battery charger 10 receives the charging strategy 34, the battery charger 10 transfers the electrical power 20 to the mobile device 12, according to the charging strategy 34.The calendric pattern 30, however, may also be stored in the charger 10.When the charger 10 and the mobile device 12 establish communication, the charger 10 may query for and retrieve the calendric pattern 30.That is, once the charger 10 identifies the mobile device 12, the charger 10 may query a local or remote database for the corresponding calendric pattern 30.The charger 10 may have a processor 100 (e.g., “μP”), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other component that executes a charger-side charging application 102 stored in a memory 104.The charger-side charging application 102 is a set of programming, code, or instructions that cause the processor 100 to retrieve the calendric pattern 30 associated with the mobile device 12.The charger-side charging application 102 and/or the device-side charging application 92 may then cooperate and analyze the calendric pattern 30 to determine the charging strategy 34 for the battery 16.The charger-side charging application 102 may then cause the processor 100 to transfer the electrical power 20 to the mobile device 12, according to the charging strategy 34.Exemplary embodiments may be applied regardless of networking environment.", "The communications network 80 may utilize any portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and any signaling standard (such as any of the I.E.E.E.", "802 family of standards, GSM/CDMA/TDMA or any cellular standard, and/or the ISM band).", "The communications network 80, for example, may utilize near field, BLUETOOTH®, or WI-FI® communications to establish or convey communications.", "The communications network 80 may also utilize a radio-frequency domain and/or an Internet Protocol (IP) domain.", "The communications network 80, however, may also include a distributed computing network, such as the Internet (sometimes alternatively known as the “World Wide Web”), an intranet, a local-area network (LAN), and/or a wide-area network (WAN).", "The communications network 80 may also physical components, such as the physical charging cord 18.Indeed, exemplary embodiments may be applied to any wireless/wireline communications network, regardless of physical componentry, physical configuration, or communications standard(s).", "FIG.", "13 further illustrates inductive charging of the battery the battery charger 10.As those of ordinary skill in the art understand, the battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12 may inductively couple to inductively charge the battery 16.A user merely lays the mobile device 12 on or near the charger 10, and the battery 16 is wirelessly charged using electromagnetic induction.", "As FIG.", "13 illustrates, the battery charger 10 may be configured as the pad 22.The pad 22 includes at least one primary coil 110.The power supply 86 provides the electrical power 20 (e.g., voltage and current) to the primary coil 110.When the electrical power 20 exhibits alternating current (e.g., sinusoidal) characteristics, some of the electrical power 20 propagates from the primary coil 110 as an electromagnetic field.", "If the mobile device 12 has a secondary coil 112, the electromagnetic field induces electrical voltage in the secondary coil 112.The mobile device 12 may thus use this induced electrical voltage to recharge the battery 16.The electrical power 20 provided by the power supply 86 may thus be used to inductively charge the battery 16 in the mobile device 12.Because inductive coupling and inductive charging are well-known, this disclosure will not dwell on the known aspects.", "Radio-frequency devices may be also used.", "When the mobile device 12 is placed on or near the pad 22, radio-frequency devices may be used to sense or determine the proximity or presence of the mobile device 12.The mobile device 12, for example, may have an RFID (radio-frequency identification device) that activates in the presence of the pad 22.When the mobile device 12 is detected, the battery charger 10 queries the mobile device 12 to obtain its calendric pattern 30.The use of RFID with battery chargers is known, so no further explanation is needed.", "FIGS.", "14-15 are schematics further illustrating the charging strategy 34, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Whether the battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12 establish wired or wireless communication, information is exchanged.", "As previous paragraphs explained, the calendric pattern 30 may be sent from the mobile device 12 to the battery charger 10.The calendric pattern 30 describes dates and/or times of repeated use.", "The calendric pattern 30, in other words, may describe dates and times of consistent, average, or even habitual usage.", "Exemplary embodiments may then predict future usage, based on the calendric pattern 30.Other information may be exchanged.", "As FIG.", "14 illustrates, when the battery charger 10 and the mobile device 12 establish communication, the battery parameters 24 may be retrieved and exchanged.", "The charger 10 and/or the mobile device 12, for example, may retrieve the type of the battery 16, such as the battery's chemical composition, manufacturer, and/or model.", "The battery parameters 24 may also include the current level 28 of charge that describes a current condition or state of the battery 16.The device parameters 26 may also be retrieved, such as the make, model, and serial number of the mobile device 12.The rules 32 may also be retrieved that logically describe objectives or mandates for charging the battery 16 in the mobile device 12.Exemplary embodiments determine the charging strategy 34.Once information is obtained, the charging strategy 34 may be developed.", "For example, exemplary embodiments may determine a minimum level 120 of charge of the battery 16 that is sufficient for the calendric pattern 30.If the calendric pattern 30 indicates that only sixty percent (60%) of a full charge level is needed for a typical day's usage, then a full charge is unnecessary.", "Indeed, any level of charge above 60% may merely waste energy and money.", "So exemplary embodiments may determine the minimum level 120 of charge of the battery 16 that is sufficient for the typical daily, weekly, or monthly usage of the mobile device 12.FIG.", "15 illustrates charging requirements, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Once the minimum level 120 of charge of the battery 16 is determined (based on calendric usage), the current condition or state of the battery 16 is compared to the minimum level 120 of charge.", "If the current level 28 of charge of the battery 16 equals or exceeds the minimum level 120 of charge, then the battery 16 has sufficient charge for calendric usage.", "When, however, the current level 28 of charge of the battery 16 is less than the minimum level 120 of charge, then the battery 16 exhibits a charge deficit 122.The battery 16, in other words, must be charged in order to complete the calendric usage observed or predicted from the calendric pattern 30.Exemplary embodiments may thus determine a charging requirement 124 of the battery 16.When the battery 16 has an insufficient charge, the battery 16 must be charged.", "The calculated charge deficit 122 thus represents a minimum amount of the electrical power 20 (supplied by the battery charger 10) that must be added to the battery 16 in order to conduct the calendric usage predicted from the calendric pattern 30.The charging requirement 124 may thus be any combination of the charging current 66 and the voltage 68 that charges the battery 16 to the minimum level 120 of charge.", "Charge time 126, however, may also be a factor in the charging requirement 124.As those of ordinary skill in the art understand, the battery 16 may be quickly or slowly charged, based on many factors.", "If the power supply (illustrated as reference numeral 86 in FIGS.", "12-13) in the battery charger 10 can only provide a small amount of the electrical power 20, then the battery 16 in the mobile device 12 may be slowly charged.", "When, however, the battery charger 10 can provide higher voltages and/or currents, then charging times may be quick.", "Also, circuitry losses reduce the electrical power 20 available to charge the battery 16.Inductive charging, for example, produces inefficiencies between the primary and secondary coils (illustrated as reference numerals 110 and 112 in FIG.", "13).", "The battery 16 itself may have performance or charging limitations, such that only certain ranges of currents and/or voltages may be used.", "So, exemplary embodiments determine the optimum or preferred charging current 66 and voltage 68 over the charge time 36.The charging requirement 124 may thus exhibit those voltage, current, and time parameters that best charge the battery 16 to the minimum level 120 of charge.", "The charge time 126 may thus represent the time (in seconds, minutes, or hours) that will be required to charge the battery 16 from the current level 28 of charge to the minimum level 120 of charge, given the charging current 66 and voltage 68.FIG.", "16 is a schematic illustrating a start time 130 for charging, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Once the charging requirements 124 are determined, the mobile device 12 and/or the battery charger 10 know the charging current 66, the charging voltage 68, and the charging time 126 that is required to charge the battery 16 to the minimum level 120 of charge.", "Exemplary embodiments may then again consult the calendric pattern 30 to determine when to start charging the battery 16.Because the required charging time 126 to charge the battery 16 (to the minimum level 120 of charge) is now known, the start time 130 for charging may be chosen to not conflict with the calendric pattern 30.That is, any charging should be completed and stopped in time for the typical usage observed from the calendric pattern 30.More examples help explain the start time 130 for charging.", "Suppose again that the mobile device 12 exhibits heavy, daily calendric usage from 7 AM to 8 AM.", "If the battery 16 requires two hours of the charge time 126, then exemplary embodiments start and complete the charging before 7 AM.", "That is, the battery charger 10 may automatically start charging the battery 16 no later than 5 AM, in order to complete the two-hour charge by 7 AM.", "Exemplary embodiments may thus determine the latest start time 130 for charging by subtracting the charge time 126 from any dates and times of calendric usage observed from the calendric pattern 30.The battery charger 10 may thus continually or periodically compare a current date and time 132 to the start time 130 for charging.", "When the current date and time 132 equals or matches the start time 130 for charging, the battery charger 10 may be instructed to automatically begin supplying the electrical power 20 to the mobile device 12.The battery charger 10 and/or the mobile device 12 automatically stops the charging no later than a beginning of any calendric usage observed from the calendric pattern 30 (such as the 7 AM heavy usage, explained above).", "FIG.", "17 is a schematic illustrating calendar interfacing, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Here the calendric pattern 30 may also reflect one or more calendar events 140 in an electronic calendar 142.As FIG.", "17 illustrates, the mobile device 12 may store and/or execute the electronic calendar 142, thus allowing the mobile device 12 to track a user's appointments, schedules, and other entries.", "The electronic calendar 142 may be any calendaring application (such as MICROSOFT® OUTLOOK® or GOOGLE® Calendar).", "As the charging strategy 34 is developed, exemplary embodiments may retrieve one or more calendar events 140 stored by the electronic calendar 142.Exemplary embodiments may thus develop the charging strategy 34 to ensure the battery 16 is adequately charged in time for the calendar event 140.Suppose, for example, the user has scheduled a video call for Tuesday, October 3rd at 4 PM.", "Exemplary embodiments may thus ensure the battery 16 has enough charge to complete the video call, based on the calendric pattern 30 associated with previous video calls.", "That is, the calendric pattern 30 may be searched or queried for a previous video call and an average power consumption observed during these previous video calls.", "The charging strategy 34 may then be determined to ensure the battery 16 has sufficient charge to complete the calendared video call.", "The calendar event 140 may thus describe some device activity or usage (e.g., call, electronic message, or a software application) of the mobile device that is scheduled for a future time.", "Exemplary embodiments retrieve the calendar event 140 and query the calendric pattern 30 for the scheduled usage.", "Previous matching usages, and the power consumed from the battery 16 during each matching usage, are retrieved from the calendric pattern 30.When multiple usages are retrieved, exemplary embodiments may sort or filter for the usages most similar in time.", "Multiple, matching entries for power consumed may be averaged.", "Exemplary embodiments may thus know the likely power consumed from the battery 16 during the scheduled calendar event 140.Similarly, when an upcoming calendar event 140 specifies, invokes, or calls a software application, exemplary embodiments may query the calendric pattern 30 for the software application.", "Previous matching uses of the software application are retrieved, along with the corresponding power consumed from the battery 16 during each matching usage.", "If multiple usages are retrieved, the software usage or usages most similar in time may be selected, and their corresponding multiple, matching entries for power consumed may be averaged.", "Again, then exemplary embodiments may predict the likely power consumed from the battery 16 during the calendar event 140.Moreover, the calendric pattern 30 reveals other recurring uses.", "Recall that, in previous examples, the mobile device 12 is already known to make many calls starting at 5 PM (from the calendric pattern 30 as illustrated in FIGS.", "3-5).", "So, by 4 PM, the battery 16 in the mobile device 12 may need sufficient charge to ensure operation during both the calendar event 140 (e.g., the scheduled video call) and the heavy call usage (illustrated as reference numeral 40 in FIGS.", "3-5) starting at 5 PM.", "The calendric pattern 30 may also reflect holidays and vacations.", "Because the calendric pattern 30 may also reflect the calendar events 140 in the electronic calendar 142, the calendric pattern 30 may obtain entries for holidays and vacations.", "The calendric pattern 30 may thus reflect unique usage patterns on holidays and scheduled vacations.", "If a particular day or event is associated with a holiday date, exemplary embodiments may query for and retrieve the calendric pattern 30 for a previous holiday (such as the previous calendar year's usage on the same holiday).", "If a calendar event 140 is associated with a location, exemplary embodiments may query for and retrieve the calendric pattern 30 associated with the same location or destination.", "If a vacation regularly occurs at the same time of year (such as Christmas or spring break), exemplary embodiments may query for and retrieve the calendric pattern 30 associated with a previous time of year.", "The calendric pattern 30 may thus reflect holidays and vacations associated with a user.", "So the charging strategy 34 is implemented to ensure sufficient charge in the battery 16.Exemplary embodiments may ensure an adequate charge for predicted calendric usage (from the calendric pattern 30).", "Exemplary embodiments, however, may also look ahead and ensure adequate charge for scheduled activities in the user's electronic calendar 142.The battery charger 10 and/or the mobile device 12 may thus monitor the current time 132 of day, the condition of the battery 16, the calendric pattern 30, the rules 32, and scheduled events 140 in the electronic calendar 142.The charging strategy 34 may thus charge the battery 16 to satisfy both the upcoming calendric pattern 30 and calendar events 140 while enforcing or adhering to the rules 32.FIGS.", "18-19 are schematics illustrating charging of multiple mobile devices 12, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Here the battery charger 10 is again illustrated as the pad 22, and FIG.", "18 illustrates the pad 22 having multiple primary coils 110.Because the pad 22 has multiple primary coils 110, the pad 22 may charge multiple mobile devices 12.FIG.", "19 thus illustrates multiple mobile devices 12 placed atop the pad 22.Each primary coil 110 may thus charge a different mobile device 12.So, the more primary coils 110, the more mobile devices 12 that may be charged by the pad 22.Each primary coil 110 may be separately controlled, such that each mobile device 12 may be differently charged, according to its own unique calendric pattern 30.Pads with multiple primary coils are known, though, so a greater explanation of the multiple primary coils 110 is not needed.", "Here, though, each mobile device 12 may exchange its associated calendric pattern 30.Each mobile device 12 likely has different patterns of usage, so the pad 22 may determine a different charging strategy 34 for each mobile device 12.A smart phone and a tablet computer, for example, likely have different calendric patterns 34.Moreover, different users may charge their mobile devices 12 on the pad 22, and each different user's mobile device 12 has a different calendric pattern 30.So exemplary embodiments cause each mobile device 12 to sent its calendric pattern 30 to the pad 22.Each mobile device 12 may also send on or more of its upcoming calendar events (illustrated as reference numeral 140 in FIG.", "17) and any of the rules (illustrated as reference numeral 32 in FIG.", "17) for charging each respective mobile device 12.As the above paragraphs explained, exemplary embodiments monitor the current date and time 132, the condition of the battery 16, the calendric pattern 30, the rules 32, and the scheduled calendar events 140 associated with each mobile device 12.A unique charging strategy 34 may thus be developed for each battery 16 in each mobile device 12.Each charging strategy 34 attempts to satisfy predicted usage from the calendric pattern 30 and/or any upcoming calendar events 140, while still enforcing or adhering to each device's unique set of the rules 32.Exemplary embodiments implement each charging strategy 34 to ensure each battery 16 is adequately charged in time to satisfy each calendric pattern 30 and any upcoming calendar events 140.The pad 22 may thus electrically drive each primary coil 110 to its associated charging strategy 34.Each individual primary coil 110, in other words, may propagate a different electromagnetic field, according to the charging strategy 34 associated with the mobile device 12 coupled atop the primary coil 110.Electrical power 20 is thus uniquely transferred to each mobile device 12, according to its associated calendric pattern 30, battery condition, and/or calendar events 140.FIG.", "20 is a block diagram illustrating a prioritization scheme 140, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Even though multiple devices 12 may be laid atop the pad 22, not all the devices 12 need be inductively charged.", "That is, for many reasons, one of the batteries 16 may get preference or priority over another battery 16.Suppose, for example, that a mobile phone 142 has a morning call scheduled in twenty (20) minutes.", "Exemplary embodiments may thus determine that the mobile phone 142 requires significant electrical power 20 (e.g., a high current and/or voltage) to ensure an adequate charge in twenty (20) minutes.", "Indeed, exemplary embodiments may even determine that charging of the other mobile devices 12 on the pad 22 must be, or can be, deferred.", "If a tablet computer 144 has calendric usage only during evening hours, charging of the tablet computer 144 can be delayed to conserve costs and to prioritize the mobile phone 142.The battery charger 10 itself may have constraints.", "The power supply 86 in the pad 22, for example, may have power limitations, such that significant electrical power 20 cannot be simultaneously provided to multiple mobile devices 12.So exemplary embodiments may halt or defer charging of other mobile devices and, instead, dedicate electrical power to the primary coil 110 associated with a prioritized mobile device 12.As yet another example, the battery charger 10 may trickle charge one or more mobile devices 12, while providing a full charge to other devices.", "Because each primary coil 110 may transfer a different electrical power, logical constraints may be implemented to ensure safe operation.", "The battery charger 10, for example, may retrieve a maximum cumulative total current and/or voltage that is drawn from the power supply 86.If a summed total of current or voltage drawn by all the primary coils 110 equals or exceeds a maximum threshold, charging by one or more primary coils 110 may be halted to prevent an overload condition.", "Each individual primary coil 110, likewise, may have its own maximum threshold, thus ensuring no one primary coil 110 overloads.", "Different primary coils 110 may have different thresholds, depending on circuitry features and location within the pad 22.Temperature sensors may also monitor temperatures associated with each primary coil 110 to further ensure safe operation.", "Exemplary embodiments may thus include the prioritization scheme 140.As the above paragraph explained, one or more mobile devices 12 may have charging priority, based on the current state of the battery 16, calendric patterns 30, and/or upcoming calendar events 140.However, some mobile devices 12 may simply have priority over other devices.", "A doctor's mobile device, for example, may have priority over a tablet computer.", "A work phone may have priority over a personal phone.", "The prioritization scheme 140, then, may be established for the multiple mobile devices 12 placed on the pad 22.As the pad 22 establishes communication with each mobile device 12, the pad 22 uniquely identifies each mobile device 12 (such as by serial number, make/model, or other identification number).", "Each mobile device 12 may also transmit its prioritization scheme 140, or the pad 22 may query for the prioritization scheme 140 associated with each identified mobile device 12.Regardless, the various charging strategies 34 may include different prioritizations.", "FIGS.", "21-22 are flowcharts illustrating a method or algorithm for charging the battery 16, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Communication is established between the mobile device 12 and the battery charger 10 (Block 200).", "The calendric pattern 30 is retrieved (Block 202) and future usage may be predicted (Block 204).", "The charging strategy 34 is determined based on the calendric pattern 30 (Block 206).", "The minimum level 120 of charge of the battery 16, that is sufficient for the calendric pattern 30, is determined (Block 208).", "The current level 28 of charge of the battery 16 is retrieved (Block 210) and compared to the minimum level 120 of charge of the battery 16 (Block 212).", "When the current level 28 of charge equals or exceeds the minimum level 120 of charge (Block 214, then the battery 16 has sufficient charge to satisfy the calendric pattern 30 (Block 216), so perhaps no further action need be taken.", "The flowchart continues with FIG.", "22.When, however, the current level 28 of charge is less than the minimum level 120 of charge (illustrated as Block 214 in FIG.", "21), the charge deficit 122 is determined (Block 218).", "A difference between the minimum level 120 of charge and the current level 28 of charge may define the charging requirement 124 of the battery 16 (Block 220).", "The charge time 36 to charge the battery 16 from the current level 28 of charge to the minimum level 120 of charge is determined (Block 222).", "The start time 130 for charging the battery 16 is determined (Block 224).", "The start time 130 is compared to the current date and time 132 (Block 226).", "When the current date and time 132 matches the start time 130, the battery 16 is charged according to the charging strategy 34 (Block 228).", "FIG.", "23 is another flowchart further illustrating the method or algorithm for charging the battery 16, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Communication is established between the mobile device 12 and the battery charger 10 (Block 250).", "The calendric pattern 30 is retrieved (Block 252) and future usage may be predicted (Block 254).", "A recurring time of daily use of the mobile device is determined based on the calendric pattern 30 (Block 256).", "The electrical power 20 is received from the battery charger 10 (Block 258), and the battery 16 is charged with at least a portion of the electrical power 20 (Block 260).", "The recurring time of daily use is compared to the current date and time 132 (Block 262).", "The battery 16 is charged until the current date and time 132 matches the recurring time of daily use.", "However, when the current date and time 132 matches the recurring time of daily use, charging is stopped (Block 264).", "FIG.", "24 is another flowchart further illustrating the method or algorithm for charging the battery 16, according to exemplary embodiments.", "Communication is established between the mobile device 12 and the battery charger 10 (Block 280).", "The calendric pattern 30 is retrieved (Block 282) and future usage may be predicted (Block 284).", "The calendar event 140 is retrieved from the electronic calendar (Block 286).", "The charging strategy 34 is determined based on the calendric pattern 30 and the calendar event 140 (Block 288).", "The battery 16 is charged (Block 290) and the current date and time 132 is compared to the calendar event 140 (Block 292).", "When the current date and time 132 matches a date and time associated with the calendar event 140, charging is stopped (Block 294).", "FIG.", "25 is a schematic illustrating still more exemplary embodiments.", "FIG.", "25 is a generic block diagram illustrating the device-side charging application 92 and/or the charger-side charging application 102 operating within a processor-controlled device 300.The device-side charging application 92 and/or the charger-side charging application 102 may be stored in a memory subsystem of the processor-controlled device 300.One or more processors communicate with the memory subsystem and execute the device-side charging application 92 and/or the charger-side charging application 102.Because the processor-controlled device 300 illustrated in FIG.", "25 is well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, no detailed explanation is needed.", "FIG.", "26 depicts still more operating environments for additional aspects of the exemplary embodiments.", "FIG.", "26 illustrates the device-side charging application 92 and/or the charger-side charging application 102 operating within various other processor-controlled devices 300.FIG.", "26, for example, illustrates that either application may entirely or partially operate within a set-top box (“STB”) (302), a personal/digital video recorder (PVR/DVR) 304, personal digital assistant (PDA) 306, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device 308, an interactive television 310, a smart phone 312, a pager 314, the mobile phone 142, or any computer system, communications device, or processor-controlled device utilizing a processor (such as processors 90 and 10 illustrated in FIG.", "12) and/or a digital signal processor (DP/DSP) 318.The device 300 may also include watches, radios, vehicle electronics, clocks, printers, gateways, mobile/implantable medical devices, and other apparatuses and systems.", "Because the architecture and operating principles of the various devices 300 are well known, the hardware and software componentry of the various devices 300 are not further shown and described.", "Exemplary embodiments may be physically embodied on or in a computer-readable storage medium.", "This computer-readable medium may include CD-ROM, DVD, tape, cassette, floppy disk, memory card, USB, and large-capacity disks.", "This computer-readable medium, or media, could be distributed to end-subscribers, licensees, and assignees.", "A computer program product comprises processor-executable instructions for charging batteries, as the above paragraphs explained.", "While the exemplary embodiments have been described with respect to various features, aspects, and embodiments, those skilled and unskilled in the art will recognize the exemplary embodiments are not so limited.", "Other variations, modifications, and alternative embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments." ] ]
Patent_15874979
[ [ "ORDER PICKER MATERIALS HANDLING VEHICLE WITH IMPROVED DOWNWARD VISIBILITY WHEN DRIVING ELEVATED", "A materials handling vehicle including a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly supported on the power unit.", "The mast assembly includes four or more telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement relative to the mast assembly and includes a front wall defining a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly.", "The laterally spaced rails have a height that is generally equal to the height of the front wall.", "A dash is located adjacent to the operator compartment." ], [ "1.A materials handling vehicle comprising: a power unit supported on wheels; a mast assembly supported on the power unit, the mast assembly including four or more telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails; an operator compartment supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement relative to the mast assembly; a front wall defining a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly; the laterally spaced rails having a height generally equal to a height of the front wall; and a dash located adjacent the operator compartment.", "2.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 1, including at least one control device associated with the dash for operation by an operator positioned standing on the operator compartment.", "3.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 1, further comprising a load tray positioned forward of the dash.", "4.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 1, wherein the laterally spaced rails have a collapsed height of no more than about 1200 mm relative to a floor surface supporting the wheels of the vehicle.", "5.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 1, wherein the dash includes a transparent window located directly over the mast assembly.", "6.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 1, wherein the telescoping sections comprise at least first, second, third and fourth weldments, the first weldment comprises a weldment fixed to the power unit, and the second, third and fourth weldments comprise movable weldments.", "7.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 6, further comprising: at least one first ram and cylinder assembly coupled to the second weldment; first lift structure associated with the first, second and third weldments such that the at least one first ram and cylinder assembly and the first lift structure effect movement of the second and third weldments relative to the first weldment; at least one second ram and cylinder assembly coupled between the third and fourth weldments; and second lift structure associated with the third weldment, the fourth weldment and the operator compartment such that the at least one second ram and cylinder assembly and the second lift structure effect movement of the fourth weldment and the operator compartment relative to the third weldment.", "8.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 7, wherein: the first lift structure comprising at least one lift pulley supported on the second weldment and at least one lift chain coupled to the first and third weldments; and the second lift structure comprising at least one lift pulley supported on the fourth weldment and at least one lift chain coupled to the third weldment and the operator compartment.", "9.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 2, wherein the control device comprises a right-hand control and a left-hand control located over the mast between outer lateral edges of the mast.", "10.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 1, wherein the dash is located extending in a forward direction from the operator compartment toward the mast assembly, and including a substantially horizontal support surface for packages.", "11.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 10, wherein the horizontal support surface extends, in both lateral and front-to-rear directions, the full extent of the lateral and front-to-rear dimensions of the mast assembly.", "12.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 10, including a load tray positioned forward of the dash.", "13.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 10, including at least one control device associated with the dash for operation by the operator when the operator is positioned standing facing in the forward direction on the operator compartment.", "14.The materials handling vehicle as set out in claim 13, wherein the at least one control device is located forward of the front wall." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Known materials handling vehicles include a power unit, a mast assembly and an operator compartment.", "The mast assembly may include a plurality of mast weldments, wherein a first mast weldment may be fixed to the power unit and one or more weldments may be supported for telescoping movement relative to the other weldments.", "The operator compartment in a stock picker materials handling vehicle may be supported for vertical movement on the mast assembly for positioning an operator to retrieve items from shelves at elevated locations." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a materials handling vehicle is provided comprising a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly is supported on the power unit.", "The mast assembly includes plural telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement, and a dash is located forward of the operator compartment and includes a substantially horizontal support surface for packages.", "A transparent window defines a portion of the horizontal support surface and provides the operator with a view of a floor surface when the operator compartment is in an elevated position such that the operator does not need to move his head outside the perimeter of the vehicle when looking down.", "At least one control device may be associated with the dash for operation by an operator positioned standing on the operator compartment.", "An uppermost end of the mast assembly may be located no higher than the horizontal support surface when the mast assembly is in a lowered position.", "The control device may be centered between the pairs of laterally spaced rails of the telescoping sections of the mast assembly.", "A load tray may be positioned forward of the dash.", "A front wall may define a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly and the dash may extend forward of the front wall.", "The transparent window may be located directly over the mast assembly.", "The transparent window may include a pair of transparent panels extending forward from either side of the control device.", "The transparent window may extend between first and second control devices.", "In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a materials handling vehicle is provided comprising a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly supported on the power unit.", "The mast assembly includes plural telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement relative to the mast assembly, and a dash is located adjacent the operator compartment.", "At least one control device is associated with the dash for operation by an operator positioned standing on the operator compartment, and the at least one control device is positioned generally between the pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "A load tray may be positioned forward of the dash.", "The dash may define a horizontal support surface including a transparent window extending on either side of the control device between the operator compartment and the load tray.", "A front wall may be provided defining a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly, and the laterally spaced rails may have a height no greater than a height of the front wall.", "An auxiliary load carrying member may be positioned rearward of the operator compartment.", "The auxiliary load carrying member may comprise forks.", "The auxiliary load carrying member may comprise an auxiliary lift operable to move the forks vertically.", "The auxiliary load carrying member may comprise a storage rack with vertically arranged storage shelves.", "In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a materials handling vehicle is provided comprising a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly supported on the power unit.", "The mast assembly includes four or more telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement relative to the mast assembly and includes a front wall defining a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly.", "The laterally spaced rails have a height that is generally equal to the height of the front wall.", "A dash is located adjacent to the operator compartment.", "At least one control device may be associated with the dash for operation by an operator positioned standing on the operator compartment.", "A load tray may be positioned forward of the dash.", "The laterally spaced rails may have a collapsed height of no more than about 1200 mm relative to a floor surface supporting the wheels of the vehicle.", "The dash may include a transparent window located directly over the mast assembly.", "The telescoping sections may comprise at least first, second, third and fourth weldments, the first weldment may comprise a weldment fixed to the power unit, and the second, third and fourth weldments may comprise movable weldments.", "The materials handling vehicle may further comprise at least one first ram and cylinder assembly coupled to the second weldment and first lift structure associated with the first, second and third weldments such that the at least one first ram and cylinder assembly and the first lift structure effect movement of the second and third weldments relative to the first weldment.", "The vehicle may still further comprise at least one second ram and cylinder assembly coupled between the third and fourth weldments and second lift structure associated with the third weldment, the fourth weldment and the operator compartment such that the at least one second ram and cylinder assembly and the second lift structure effect movement of the fourth weldment and the operator compartment relative to the third weldment.", "The first lift structure may comprise at least one lift pulley supported on the second weldment and at least one lift chain coupled to the first and third weldments.", "The second lift structure may comprise at least one lift pulley supported on the fourth weldment and at least one lift chain coupled to the third weldment and the operator compartment.", "The control device may comprise a right-hand control and a left-hand control located over the mast between outer lateral edges of the mast.", "The dash may be located extending in a forward direction from the operator compartment toward the mast assembly, and may include a substantially horizontal support surface for packages.", "The horizontal support surface may extend, in both lateral and front-to-rear directions, the full extent of the lateral and front-to-rear dimensions of the mast assembly.", "A load tray may be provided positioned forward of the dash.", "At least one control device may be associated with the dash for operation by the operator when the operator is positioned standing facing in the forward direction on the operator compartment.", "The at least one control device may be located forward of the front wall." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/935,528, filed Nov. 9, 2015 and entitled “ORDER PICKER MATERIALS HANDLING VEHICLE WITH IMPROVED DOWNWARD VISIBILITY WHEN DRIVING ELEVATED,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a materials handling vehicle and, more particularly, to a materials handling vehicle having an operator compartment supported on a mast assembly including plural telescoping sections.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Known materials handling vehicles include a power unit, a mast assembly and an operator compartment.", "The mast assembly may include a plurality of mast weldments, wherein a first mast weldment may be fixed to the power unit and one or more weldments may be supported for telescoping movement relative to the other weldments.", "The operator compartment in a stock picker materials handling vehicle may be supported for vertical movement on the mast assembly for positioning an operator to retrieve items from shelves at elevated locations.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a materials handling vehicle is provided comprising a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly is supported on the power unit.", "The mast assembly includes plural telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement, and a dash is located forward of the operator compartment and includes a substantially horizontal support surface for packages.", "A transparent window defines a portion of the horizontal support surface and provides the operator with a view of a floor surface when the operator compartment is in an elevated position such that the operator does not need to move his head outside the perimeter of the vehicle when looking down.", "At least one control device may be associated with the dash for operation by an operator positioned standing on the operator compartment.", "An uppermost end of the mast assembly may be located no higher than the horizontal support surface when the mast assembly is in a lowered position.", "The control device may be centered between the pairs of laterally spaced rails of the telescoping sections of the mast assembly.", "A load tray may be positioned forward of the dash.", "A front wall may define a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly and the dash may extend forward of the front wall.", "The transparent window may be located directly over the mast assembly.", "The transparent window may include a pair of transparent panels extending forward from either side of the control device.", "The transparent window may extend between first and second control devices.", "In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a materials handling vehicle is provided comprising a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly supported on the power unit.", "The mast assembly includes plural telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement relative to the mast assembly, and a dash is located adjacent the operator compartment.", "At least one control device is associated with the dash for operation by an operator positioned standing on the operator compartment, and the at least one control device is positioned generally between the pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "A load tray may be positioned forward of the dash.", "The dash may define a horizontal support surface including a transparent window extending on either side of the control device between the operator compartment and the load tray.", "A front wall may be provided defining a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly, and the laterally spaced rails may have a height no greater than a height of the front wall.", "An auxiliary load carrying member may be positioned rearward of the operator compartment.", "The auxiliary load carrying member may comprise forks.", "The auxiliary load carrying member may comprise an auxiliary lift operable to move the forks vertically.", "The auxiliary load carrying member may comprise a storage rack with vertically arranged storage shelves.", "In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, a materials handling vehicle is provided comprising a power unit supported on wheels, and a mast assembly supported on the power unit.", "The mast assembly includes four or more telescoping sections defined by pairs of laterally spaced rails.", "An operator compartment is supported on the mast assembly for vertical movement relative to the mast assembly and includes a front wall defining a side of the operator compartment adjacent to the mast assembly.", "The laterally spaced rails have a height that is generally equal to the height of the front wall.", "A dash is located adjacent to the operator compartment.", "At least one control device may be associated with the dash for operation by an operator positioned standing on the operator compartment.", "A load tray may be positioned forward of the dash.", "The laterally spaced rails may have a collapsed height of no more than about 1200 mm relative to a floor surface supporting the wheels of the vehicle.", "The dash may include a transparent window located directly over the mast assembly.", "The telescoping sections may comprise at least first, second, third and fourth weldments, the first weldment may comprise a weldment fixed to the power unit, and the second, third and fourth weldments may comprise movable weldments.", "The materials handling vehicle may further comprise at least one first ram and cylinder assembly coupled to the second weldment and first lift structure associated with the first, second and third weldments such that the at least one first ram and cylinder assembly and the first lift structure effect movement of the second and third weldments relative to the first weldment.", "The vehicle may still further comprise at least one second ram and cylinder assembly coupled between the third and fourth weldments and second lift structure associated with the third weldment, the fourth weldment and the operator compartment such that the at least one second ram and cylinder assembly and the second lift structure effect movement of the fourth weldment and the operator compartment relative to the third weldment.", "The first lift structure may comprise at least one lift pulley supported on the second weldment and at least one lift chain coupled to the first and third weldments.", "The second lift structure may comprise at least one lift pulley supported on the fourth weldment and at least one lift chain coupled to the third weldment and the operator compartment.", "The control device may comprise a right-hand control and a left-hand control located over the mast between outer lateral edges of the mast.", "The dash may be located extending in a forward direction from the operator compartment toward the mast assembly, and may include a substantially horizontal support surface for packages.", "The horizontal support surface may extend, in both lateral and front-to-rear directions, the full extent of the lateral and front-to-rear dimensions of the mast assembly.", "A load tray may be provided positioned forward of the dash.", "At least one control device may be associated with the dash for operation by the operator when the operator is positioned standing facing in the forward direction on the operator compartment.", "The at least one control device may be located forward of the front wall.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the present invention, it is believed that the present invention will be better understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying Drawing Figures, in which like reference numerals identify like elements, and wherein: FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of a materials handling vehicle having an operator compartment in an elevated position; FIG.", "2A is a perspective view of a mast assembly for the materials handling vehicle; FIG.", "2B is a rear to front elevation view of the mast assembly for the materials handling vehicle; FIG.", "2C is a perspective view of a first weldment, a second weldment and a third weldment of the mast assembly for the materials handling vehicle; FIG.", "2D is a perspective view of the third weldment and a fourth weldment of the mast assembly for the materials handling vehicle; FIG.", "3A is a perspective view of telescoping mast weldments for the materials handling vehicle; FIG.", "3B is a perspective view of an operator compartment carriage and an operator compartment; FIG.", "4 is a further perspective view of a materials handling vehicle having an operator compartment in an elevated position; FIG.", "5 is a side elevation view of the materials handling vehicle with operator compartment in a lowered position and with an operator compartment side wall partially cut away to expose the mast assembly; FIG.", "6A is a perspective view of a control console for the materials handling vehicle; FIG.", "6B is a perspective view of an upper end of the mast with the operator compartment in a lowered position and with a dash of the control console removed; FIG.", "6C is a perspective view of a control console for a material handling vehicle constructed in accordance with an alternative embodiment including a left-hand steering wheel and a right-hand traction control; FIG.", "7 is a side elevation view of an alternative configuration of a materials handling vehicle and illustrating an operator compartment in a lowered position; FIG.", "8 is a perspective view of a further alternative configuration of a materials handling vehicle; and FIG.", "9 is a rear to front elevation view of an alternative mast structure comprising a six stage mast assembly for the materials handling vehicle.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, specific preferred embodiments in which the invention may be practiced.", "It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.", "Reference is now made to FIG.", "1, which illustrates a materials handling vehicle and more particularly an order picker vehicle 10, also referred to as a stock picker vehicle, and typically characterized by a compartment for moving an operator to selected elevated positions such as for picking items or containers from warehouse shelves.", "The vehicle 10 includes a battery powered power unit 12, a mast assembly 20, and an operator compartment 30 located on an opposite side of the mast assembly 20 from the power unit 12.The operator compartment 30 may also include an overhead guard 31.In one embodiment, a pair of forks 38 can extend outward from a rear edge of the operator compartment 30.The forks 38 may be welded to the operator compartment 30, hooked onto the operator compartment 30, or supported to an auxiliary mast 38A for vertical movement relative to the operator compartment 30, as depicted in FIG.", "1.Other article carrying or storage configurations than forks 38 can be provided for supporting and/or storing articles at the rear of the vehicle 10, as is described further below.", "The power unit 12 includes a frame 14 having straddle legs 14A, 14B supporting rear wheel assemblies 16.A front wheel assembly 18 is located under the power unit 12 and may comprise a powered and steered wheel, see FIG.", "2B.", "The front wheel assembly 18 and rear wheel assemblies 16 enable the vehicle 10 to move across a floor surface.", "Referring to FIGS.", "1-4, the mast assembly 20 is supported on the power unit 12, connected to the frame 14, and includes plural telescoping sections forming, in the illustrated embodiment, a four stage mast comprising first, second, third and fourth weldments 22, 24, 26, 28.The first weldment 22 comprises a laterally outermost weldment, defining a mast weldment that is fixed to the power unit 12, and the second, third and fourth weldments 24, 24, 26 comprise movable weldments located successively inward from the first weldment 22.The first weldment 22 includes a pair of laterally spaced apart vertical first rails 22A, 22B, see FIG.", "3A.", "The vertical first rails 22A, 22B are connected by an upper lateral cross brace 22C, and are rigidly fixed to the frame 14 such that the first weldment 22 does not move relative to the frame 14.The second weldment 24 comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart vertical second rails 24A, 24B, see FIG.", "3A.", "The vertical second rails 24A, 24B are connected by a lower lateral brace 24C1 and an upper lateral brace 24C2, see FIGS.", "2A and 2B.", "The vertical second rails 24A, 24B are at least partially located within and are vertically movable within channels defined by the vertical first rails 22A, 22B of the first weldment 22, i.e., the second weldment 24 is capable of vertical movement relative to the first weldment 22.The third weldment 26 comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart vertical third rails 26A, 26B, see FIG.", "3A.", "The vertical third rails 26A, 26B are connected by a lower lateral brace 26C1 and an upper lateral brace 26C2, see FIGS.", "2A and 2B.", "The vertical third rails 26A, 26B are at least partially located within and are vertically movable within channels defined by the vertical second rails 24A, 24B of the second weldment 24, i.e., the third weldment 26 is capable of vertical movement relative to the second weldment 24.The fourth weldment 28 comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart vertical fourth rails 28A, 28B.", "The vertical fourth rails 28A, 28B are connected by a lower lateral brace 28C1 and an upper lateral brace 28C2.The vertical fourth rails 28A, 28B are at least partially located within and are vertically movable within channels defined by the vertical third rails 26A, 26B of the third weldment 24, i.e., the fourth weldment 28 is capable of vertical movement relative to the third weldment 26.The operator compartment 30 comprises an operator support structure 32 and an operator compartment carriage 33 upon which the operator support structure 32 is supported, see FIG.", "3B.", "The operator support structure 32 comprises a vertical front wall 30A rigidly connected to a horizontal operator platform 30B defining a floorboard on which an operator can stand, see FIG.", "1.The operator compartment carriage 33 comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart vertical carriage rails 33A, 33B.", "The vertical carriage rails 33A, 33B are connected by a lower front lateral brace 33C1a, a lower rear lateral brace 33C1b and an upper lateral brace 33C2.The vertical carriage rails 33A, 33B include rollers 29 which are located within and are vertically movable within channels defined by the vertical fourth rails 28A, 28B of the fourth weldment 28.Referring to FIGS.", "1 and 3B, the front wall 30A of the operator support structure 32 includes laterally spaced vertical front wall rails 30A1, 30A2 that are generally laterally aligned with the first vertical rails 22A, 22B of the first weldment 22, see FIG.", "6B.", "The vertical front wall rails 30A1, 30A2 are connected by a lower cross brace 30C1, a middle cross brace 30C2 and an upper cross brace 30C3.A front wall flat panel 330A is coupled to the braces 30C1, 30C2 and 30C3, see FIG.", "1.A pair of parallel vertical support plates 35A, 35B extend between and are connected to the lower and middle cross braces 30C1, 30C2.A lateral bar 37 extends between upper ends of the support plates 35A, 35B.", "Opposing ends of the lateral bar 37 extend through the support plates 35A, 35B and define hooks 37A that rest in notches 39 (only one shown in FIG.", "3B) formed in upper edges of the vertical carriage rails 33A, 33B.", "The operator support structure 32 is secured to the operator compartment carriage 33 by screws (not shown) connecting the lower rear lateral brace 33C1b of the operator compartment carriage 33 to the lower cross brace 30C1 of the front wall 30A.", "Referring to FIGS.", "1, 2A and 2B, the mast assembly 20 further comprises a first pair of lift ram/cylinder assemblies 40, 42 provided for effecting movement of the second and third weldments 24, 26 relative to the first weldment 22.Bottom portions of cylinders 40A, 42A of the first pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 40, 42 in the illustrated embodiment are coupled to the frame 14.Rams 40B, 42B are housed within the cylinders 40A, 42A and extend from the cylinders 40A, 42A under the control of pressurized hydraulic fluid, and are fixed to the upper lateral cross brace 24C2 of the second weldment 24.The first pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 40, 42 are axially located forward of the first vertical rails 22A, 22B and the second vertical rails 24A, 24B, and the upper lateral cross brace 24C2 is configured as a U-shaped brace extending forward of the second vertical rails 24A, 24B and vertically aligned with the rams 40B, 42B for connection to the rams 40A, 42B.", "Referring to FIG.", "2C, the mast assembly 20 further comprises a first pair of first and second lift pulleys 44, 46 supported by respective pulley brackets 46A, 46B to the upper end of the second weldment 24 extending downward from the upper lateral cross brace 24C2.The first and second lift pulleys 44, 46 are located forward of the first, second and third weldments 22, 24, 26, and the first and second pulleys 44, 46 are positioned generally directly over the first pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 40, 42.A first pair of lift chains 48 extend about the respective lift pulleys 44, 46.The lift chains 48 include first ends 48A affixed in stationary relation to the first weldment 22, and may be connected to the first pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 40, 42, and the lift chains 48 include second ends 48B connected to the third vertical rails 26A, 26B adjacent to the lower end of the third weldment 26, see FIG.", "2C.", "The first pair of lift chains 48 and the first pair of lift pulleys 44, 46 operate in combination with the first pair of lift ram/cylinders 40, 42 to effect movement of the second and third weldments 24, 26.Specifically, when the rams 40B, 42B of the first pair of lift ram/cylinders 40, 42 are extended, the rams 40B, 42B lift the second weldment 24 relative to the first weldment 22, and the pulleys 44, 46 which are affixed to the second weldment 24 apply upward forces on the chains 48 causing the third weldment 26 to move vertically relative to the first and second weldments 22, 24.More specifically, while the rams 40B, 42B are being extended, the third weldment 26 moves vertically two units relative to the fixed first weldment 22 while the second weldment 24 moves vertically one unit relative to the fixed first weldment 22.Referring to FIGS.", "1, 2A and 2B, the mast assembly 20 further comprises a second pair of lift ram/cylinder assemblies 50, 52 provided for effecting movement of the fourth weldment 28 and the operator compartment 30 relative to the third weldment 26.Bottom portions of cylinders 50A, 52A of the second pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 50, 52 in the illustrated embodiment are coupled to the lower lateral cross brace 26C1 of the third weldment 26.Rams 50B, 52B are housed within the cylinders 50A, 52A and extend from the cylinders 50A, 52A under the control of pressurized hydraulic fluid, and are fixed to the upper lateral cross brace 28C2 of the fourth weldment 28.The second pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 50, 52 are axially located forward of the third vertical rails 26A, 26B and the fourth vertical rails 28A, 28B, and are located axially rearward of the first pair of lift ram/cylinder assemblies 40, 42, see FIG.", "2A.", "The upper lateral cross brace 28C2 is configured as a U-shaped brace extending forward of the fourth vertical rails 28A, 28B and vertically aligned with the rams 50B, 52B of the second pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 50, 52.Referring to FIG.", "2D, the mast assembly 20 further comprises a second pair of first and second lift pulleys 54, 56 supported by respective pulley brackets 54a, 56a extending downward from the upper lateral cross brace 28C2 of the fourth weldment 28.The second pair of first and second lift pulleys 54, 56 are located forward of the first, second and third weldments 22, 24, 26, and the first and second pulleys 54, 56 are positioned generally directly over the second pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 50, 52.A second pair of lift chains 58 extend about the respective lift pulleys 54, 56.The lift chains 58 include first ends 58A affixed in stationary relation to the third weldment 26, and may be connected to the second pair of ram/cylinder assemblies 50, 52 and the lift chains 58 include second ends 58B connected to lower portions of the vertical carriage rails 33A, 33B of the operator compartment carriage 33.The second pair of lift chains 58 and the second pair of lift pulleys 54, 56 operate in combination with the second pair of lift ram/cylinders 50, 52 to effect movement of the fourth weldment 28 and the operator compartment 30 relative to the third weldment 26.Specifically, when the rams 50B, 52B of the second pair of lift ram/cylinders 50, 52 are extended, the rams 50B, 52B lift the fourth weldment 28 relative to the third weldment 26, and the pulleys 54, 56 which are affixed to the fourth weldment 28 apply upward forces on the chains 58 causing the operator compartment 30 to move vertically relative to the third and fourth weldments 26, 28 of the mast assembly 20 via the chains 58 applying upward lifting forces to the vertical carriage rails 33A, 33B of the operator compartment carriage 33.More specifically, while the rams 50B, 52B are being extended, the operator compartment 30 moves vertically two units relative to the third weldment 26 while the fourth weldment 28 moves vertically one unit relative to the third weldment 26.In the illustrated embodiment, the described four stage mast assembly may be operated to elevate the operator compartment, i.e., an upper surface 300B of the horizontal operator platform 30B, to a maximum height of about 3000 mm relative to the floor surface, i.e., relative to a contact between the floor surface and lower surfaces of wheels of the vehicle wheel assemblies 16, 18.Further, in accordance with an aspect of the invention, the mast assembly 20 has a collapsed height that is no greater than, and is generally equal to, the height of the front wall 30A of the operator compartment when the mast assembly 20 is in a lowered position.", "In a particular illustrated embodiment, in a collapsed configuration of the mast assembly 20, the upper ends of the laterally spaced rails of the mast weldments 22, 24, 26, 28 have a height, HM, of no more than about 1200 mm relative to the floor surface, see FIG.", "5.Further, when the mast assembly 20 is in the collapsed configuration of that particular illustrated embodiment, the floorboard of the operator platform 30B has a height, HF, that is about 200 mm.", "Hence, as is described in greater detail below, none of the rails of the mast weldments 22, 24, 26, 28 are in the field of view of the operator when the mast assembly 20 is collapsed and the vehicle 10 is being operated, i.e., the mast assembly rails 22A, 22B, 24A, 24B, 26A, 26B, 28A, 28B do not extend upwardly so as to obstruct an operator's field of view looking in a forward direction, e.g., in the direction opposite to the forks 40.The maximum elevated height for the operator compartment and the height of the collapsed mast assembly 20 may vary from the heights noted above and used in the illustrated embodiments.", "For example, the maximum elevated height may fall within a range of from about 1200 mm to about 3000 mm, depending on the number of mast rail sections.", "In addition, the collapsed height of the mast assembly 20 may fall within a range of from about 1000 mm to about 1500 mm and preferably has a height of 1200 mm, and the height of the operator platform 30B, in the collapsed configuration, may fall within a range of from about 100 mm to about 350 mm and preferably has a height of 200 mm.", "Referring to FIG.", "6A, an operator console 60 is located on a forward side of the operator compartment 30 adjacent an upper edge and extending forward of the front wall 30A.", "The operator console 60 includes a dash 62 and at least one control device 64 positioned on the dash 62 in the FIG.", "6A embodiment.", "The control device 64 is located at a rear section 60A of the operator console 60, and is laterally positioned centrally between the pairs of laterally spaced rails 22A, 22B, 24A, 24B, 26A, 26B, 28A, 28B for operation by an operator standing on the operator platform 30B, see also FIG.", "6B.", "The control device 64 comprises a steering handle 64A and a shaft 64B about which the steering handle 64A rotates.", "A control device bracket 65 extends forward from the upper cross brace 30C3 of the front wall 30A to a location underneath the dash 62 and supports a lower end of the shaft 64B of the control device 64.The shaft 64B extends upward from a location between the pairs of laterally spaced rails 22A, 22B, 24A, 24B, 26A, 26B, 28A, 28B.", "The dash 62 can include a central region 62A extending forward of the control device 64, toward the power unit 12, and forming an upper recessed area defining a cavity for a display 66 facing rearward toward the operator.", "The dash 62 further defines a horizontal support surface 62B located directly over the mast assembly 20 for supporting items during a picking process, e.g.", "for supporting packages and other items.", "The horizontal support surface 62B defined by the dash 62 can generally extend, in both the lateral and front-to-rear directions, the full extent of the lateral and front-to-rear dimensions of the mast assembly 20.The horizontal support surface 62B provides an unobstructed surface for resting items during a picking process, located at a convenient height for an operator to lift or maneuver items to or from the surface 62B.", "In particular, in a lowered or collapsed position of the mast assembly 20, the mast assembly 20 is no higher than the horizontal support surface 62B, and thus does not extend through or above the horizontal support surface 62B to obstruct the horizontal support surface 62B.", "Further, because the mast assembly 20 is limited in height, i.e., has a collapsed height, HM, no greater than 1200 mm in the preferred embodiment, the horizontal support surface 62B can be located at a height close to the upper end of the front wall 30A, such that an elevation of the support surface 62B may be at a convenient height for an operator to move items to the support surface 62B during a picking process.", "For example, the support surface 62B may be located at a height, HS, less than an elbow height, HE, of an average-sized operator when operating the vehicle 10, to facilitate placement of items on the support surface 62B, see FIG.", "7.In addition, the operator compart 30 may include side rails 67 which are no higher than the horizontal support surface 62B.", "Referring to FIGS.", "4 and 6A, it may be noted that the operator compartment 30 can further include side walls 68A, 68B extending forward of the front wall 30A, and positioned adjacent outer sides of the vertical first rails 22A, 22B when the mast assembly 20 is collapsed.", "Load tray 70 is supported to the operator compartment 30 forward of the dash 62 and can be formed integrally with and supported by the side walls 68A, 68B or supported separately to the forward side of the dash 62.The load tray 70 extends over the power unit 12, forward of the mast assembly 20, and provides a further support structure continuous with and at generally the same height as the support surface 62B defined by the dash 62 for supporting items during a picking process.", "The load tray 70 can be formed with a grid or mesh support surface so as to not obstruct an operator's view forward of the dash 62.The control device 64 may be operated by the operator standing on the operator platform 30B to control the speed and steering direction of the vehicle 10, as well as operator platform lift and lower, horn operation and braking.", "In addition, on embodiments of the vehicle 10 that include the forks 38 supported to the auxiliary mast 38A, the control device 64 can control lift and lower of the forks 38.Referring to FIG.", "6A, the dash 62 includes a transparent window 72 defining a portion of the horizontal support surface 62B enabling the operator to look down during operation of the vehicle 10.In the illustrated embodiment, the transparent window 72 comprises first and second window panels 72A, 72B defined by panels of transparent material located in lateral regions of the dash 62, extending forward from either side of the control device 64.As part of the horizontal support surface 62B, the transparent window 72 is located directly over the mast assembly 20 and provides a view through a substantial portion, i.e., a majority, of an outer third of the dash 62 on either side of the recess 62A in the dash 62.The window panels 72A, 72B are formed as substantially flat lateral regions, facilitating an operator easily sliding a box or other flat item onto the window panels 72A, 72B as support surfaces.", "As an alternative to the separate window panels 72A, 72B, it is contemplated that the dash 62 may be configured without the recess 62A, and the transparent window 72 may span the area depicted by the window panels 72A, 72B and the area between the panels 72A, 72B as a continuous window.", "The window 72 enables an operator to maintain his head within the perimeter of the operator compartment 30 during operation of the vehicle 10, and to look downward through the window 72 to view a greater portion of the area close to the power unit 12 and adjacent aisle structure.", "For example, the window 72 can provide the operator a line-of-sight, LS, at downward viewing angle, θ, of up to about 80 degrees relative to a horizontal plane HP when standing in a normal upright operating position, depicted by reference ON in see FIG.", "1.Further, the operator can lean forward toward the window 72 to view at a steeper angle in order to see the power unit 12 and its relationship to aisle structure.", "Hence, the operator compartment 30 can be fully elevated, e.g., positioning the operator platform 30B to about 3000 mm above the floor, and the operator can look down through the window 72 to better determine the location of the power unit 12 relative to adjacent aisle structure to avoid impacts during movement of the vehicle 10.It should be noted that the control device 64 may comprise other configurations than illustrated herein.", "For example, the control device 64 may be configured with plural control units (also referred to herein as control devices) such as a left-hand steering wheel 164A positioned on the dash 62, and a right-hand traction control 164B, both positioned for two-handed operation of the vehicle 10, see FIG.", "6C.", "In a configuration with left-hand and right-hand control units 164A and 164B, the transparent window 72 can extend centrally on the dash 62 between the control units.", "The window 72 comprises a single piece window in this illustrated embodiment.", "The window 72 may be formed from glass or a clear polymeric material.", "The left-hand and right-hand control units 164A and 164B can be located forward of the front wall 30A over the mast 20 and laterally between outer lateral edges of the mast 20, as defined by the vertical first rails 22A, 22B of the first weldment 22.Further alternative configurations and/or placement of the control device 64 or control devices 164A, 164B may be provided.", "For example, all control functions for the vehicle 10 may be controlled from a control device (not shown) mounted to an upper part of the auxiliary mast 38A.", "Additionally, some or all functions of the vehicle 10 could be controlled from control devices located on both sides of the operator compartment 30, such as may be provided by the control device 64 or control devices 164A, 164B located on the dash 62 and a control device or control devices (not shown), having similar functions to control device 64 or control devices 164A, 164B, located on an upper part of the auxiliary mast 38A to provide dual controls for the vehicle 10.Referring to FIGS.", "7 and 8, an alternative configuration of the order picker vehicle is shown, identified as vehicle 110, in which the vehicle 110 is configured without forks on the rearward side of the vehicle 110 and may be used for picking smaller items.", "In all other respects with regard, for example, to the power unit 12, mast 20, and operator compartment 30, the vehicle 110 can be the same as the previously described vehicle 10, and corresponding elements are labeled with the same reference numerals as for vehicle 10.As previously mentioned, the vehicle 110 does not include a fork structure such that the area behind the operator compartment can either be without a storage structure, as depicted in FIG.", "7, or can be selectively provided with a storage structure that may be mounted to the rear of the operator compartment 30, as depicted in FIG.", "8.As shown in FIG.", "7, the operator compartment 30 may include a rear wall 30C and further can be configured without an overhead guard.", "Hence, the configuration of FIG.", "6A eliminates overhead guard posts in the area of the dash 62 and can provide an operator with a fully unobstructed area forward of the dash 62 for the operator to move packages or other items onto the dash 62.As shown in FIG.", "8, a storage rack 74 is supported to the rear of the operator compartment 30 for vertical movement with the operator compartment 30.The storage rack 74 includes a plurality of vertically arranged shelves 76 that can be used to support bins 78, such as plastic totes, for holding small items.", "Various other storage structures may be mounted to the rear of the operator compartment 30 including, for example, a foldable storage rack (not shown).", "It should be understood that although a particular configuration of the mast assembly 20 comprising four mast weldments 22, 24, 26, 28 is described herein, variations of the described mast structure may be provided to implement aspects of the invention.", "In an alternative configuration, an order picker vehicle 10 configured with a five or six stage mast assembly, i.e., comprising a fixed mast weldment and four or five movable mast weldments, may operate in accordance with aspects of the invention described herein.", "For example, a six stage mast assembly may be provided to elevate the operator compartment 30 to a height of about 4500 mm.", "It should be understood that in accordance with the aspects of the invention discussed above, all stages of the mast structure are no higher than the height of the horizontal support surface 62B of the operator compartment 30 and that the alternative mast structure(s) can provide the additional lift height while the collapsed height of the mast structure may fall within a range of from about 1000 mm to about 1500 mm and preferably has a height of 1200 mm.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates an alternative mast structure comprising a six stage mast assembly 120, where elements corresponding to elements in FIGS.", "1-3A are labeled with the same reference numerals increased by 100.The components of the first four stages of the six stage mast assembly 120 are the same as the stages described above for the four stage mast assembly 20.In particular, the mast assembly 120 includes a first weldment 122; a second weldment 124 actuated for vertical movement relative the first weldment 122 by first ram/cylinder assemblies 140, 142; a third weldment 126 actuated for vertical movement relative the second weldment 124 during actuation of the first ram/cylinder assemblies 140, 142 via a chain connection (not shown), as described above with reference to the mast assembly 20; a fourth weldment 128 actuated for vertical movement relative the third weldment 126 by second ram/cylinder assemblies 150, 152; a fifth weldment 180 actuated for vertical movement relative the fourth weldment 128 during actuation of the second ram/cylinder assemblies 150, 152 via a chain connection (not shown), as described above with reference to the mast assembly 20; and a sixth weldment 182 actuated for vertical movement relative to the fifth weldment 180 by a third ram/cylinder assembly 184.In addition, an operator compartment carriage (not shown) supporting an operator support structure (not shown) similar to the operator compartment carriage 33 and the operator support structure 32 described above for the vehicle 10 can be actuated for vertical movement relative the sixth weldment 182 via a chain connection (not shown), as described above with reference to the mast assembly 20.While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.", "It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention." ] ]
Patent_15874981
[ [ "TYPING AND IMAGING OF BIOLOGICAL AND NON-BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS USING QUANTITATIVE ULTRASOUND", "An ultrasonic material-evaluation or classification method using spectral and envelope-statistics variables from backscattered ultrasound echo signals using an adaptive-bandwidth and combined with global variables.", "This classification method can be applied to any organ or tissue among biological materials and any non-biological material that produces backscattered signals as a result of microscopic internal in homogeneities such as a crystalline structure." ], [ "1.A method of classifying material, including biological and non-biological material comprising: scanning the material with ultrasound pulses, acquiring backscattered echo signals from the material being classified, generating QUS classifying data based on normalized spectral content obtained from the echo signals and optionally based on global variables associated with the material being classified, adapting a bandwidth over which the normalized spectral content is obtained to provide the QUS classifying data where the bandwidth used is based on signal-to-noise ratio defined as the difference between a peak amplitude of the spectral content and a noise level included in the echo signals.", "2.The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the detection of the noise level and identifying a frequency for the spectral content that is at least 10 dB above the noise level, said identified frequency being used to adapt the bandwidth.", "3.The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein data useful for classifying biological and non-biological material is included only in a noise-free portion of the adapted bandwidth.", "4.The method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the noise-free portion of the adapted band-width is larger for the backscattered echo signals obtained from signals that originate closer to the surface of the material being classified and the noise-free portion of the adapted bandwidth is smaller for weaker backscattered echo signals originating deeper into the material being classified.", "5.The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the generation of QUS classifying data includes estimating scatterer properties such as effective scatter size and acoustic concentration based on spectral-parameter values.", "6.The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the generation of QUS classifying data further comprising generating additional parameter values of envelope statistics of said backscattered echo signals by using defined statistical models.", "7.The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising inputting said spectral parameter values, said scatterer properties, and said envelope statistics variable values into a classifier.", "8.The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising assigning a classifier-score value to each of a plurality of variable values, wherein each of said classifier-score values for each variable-value combination indicates a relative likelihood of a specific material property.", "9.The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said statistical variables are generated using a Nakagami distribution model.", "10.The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said statistical variables are generated using a homodyne-k distribution model.", "11.The method in accordance with claim 4 wherein the signals that originate deeper into the material being classified are more attenuated and weaker than the signals that originate closer to the surface of the material being classified.", "12.The method in accordance with claim 11 wherein the weaker signal is an echo signal.", "13.A method of classifying material comprising: performing an ultrasound scan of the material and receiving RF signal data, acquiring ultrasound, pulse-echo and backscattered RF signals from the material being evaluated, adapting a bandwidth over which spectral variable values are determined, wherein the bandwidth used is based on a signal to noise ratio defined as the difference between a peak amplitude of a spectral value and a noise level included in the pulse echo signals; determining spectral-variable values from the RF signals; extracting estimates of scatterer properties from said spectral-variable values; extracting additional variable values of envelope statistics of the RF signal data based on defined statistical models; applying the spectral variable values, the scatterer-property estimate values and the envelope-statistics variable values to a classifier; assigning a classifier-score value to each of a plurality of variable values, wherein each classifier-score value for each variable value combination indicates the relative likelihood of a given material property; outputting said assigned classifier score values for the material.", "14.The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the method for classification is for non-biological material.", "15.The method in accordance with claim 13 wherein the method for classification is for biological material.", "16.The method in accordance with claim 13 further comprising applying a global variable to the classifier." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The improvements described herein generalize the definition of QUS by adding: (1) estimates based on variables of the statistics of the envelope of linearly amplified, radio-frequency ultrasound echo signals backscattered from biological or non-biological materials to (2) estimates based on variables of normalized power spectra of linearly amplified, radio-frequency ultrasound echo signals in previously described QUS methods such as those shown in the '342 patent, and optionally (3) one or more global variables such as clinical data, e.g., antigen level or patient age, when typing tissue or such as material properties, e.g., acoustic attenuation or mass density, when typing non-biological material.", "The improvements also generalize the application of the covered QUS methods to any and all materials in which pulse-echo ultrasound produces echo signals within the material and where such echo signals result from spatial variations in the acoustical impedance of the material on a scale of fractions to multiples of the incident acoustical-pulse wavelength.", "Although specific clinical examples are cited herein to illustrate applications of the described method, the method is applicable to a very broad range of material-typing and imaging applications in addition to the cited clinical, tissue-typing and imaging applications.", "Examples of potential non-biological material-typing and imaging applications include, but are not limited to, assessment of composite quality, fiber density in fiber-reinforced plastics, crystalline-material properties, particle size and concentration in liquid suspensions, etc.", "An example of a potential non-clinical, biological-material typing and imaging includes, but is not limited to, beef-quality grading.", "Examples of potential clinical applications include, but are not limited to, distinguishing among healing, non-healing and infected wounds; distinguishing between ischemic and non-ischemic myocardium; distinguishing among progressing, static, and regressing lesions; distinguishing between lesions that are responsive to treatment and those that are unresponsive to treatment; etc.", "Furthermore, in clinical applications, the method may be able to grade conditions such as, for example, the degree of treatment response, severity of ischemia, extent of infection, rate of healing, depth of burns, pressure or friction-ulcer status, progression of disease; etc.", "For example, two salient, representative clinical applications are detection and imaging of cancer in the prostate gland or of metastases in lymph nodes.", "Reliable detection of primary-cancer foci in the prostate or metastatic foci in lymph nodes is critical for staging the disease and planning its treatment.", "The described method of cancer detection analyzes raw ultrasound echo-signal data in two- or three-dimensions (2D or 3D) in combination with global clinical variables such as serum PSA (prostate-specific antigen) values in the case of prostate cancer or primary-tumor type in the case of lymph-node metastases to generate 3D images that depict cancerous foci in the prostate or lymph nodes and thereby that reliably detect, characterize, and localize metastatic regions.", "A reliable method using spectrum-analysis-based QUS to characterize and type biological tissue is described in the '342 patent and is incorporated herein by reference.", "The '342 patent describes a method that combines spectrum-analysis-based QUS variables (i.e., the slope, intercept, mid-band variables of the so-called normalized power spectrum and also the effective scatterer size and so-called acoustic concentration estimates that are derived from the spectral variables and known ultrasound-system properties) with global clinical data.", "The improvements described herein additionally combine variable values of the envelope statistics of ultrasound echo signals derived from the tissue of interest with the spectrum-analysis-based variable values and global variables described in the '342 patent, and/or described herein." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is generalized to add estimates derived from the statistics of envelope detected echo-signal data, to estimates based on variables of the normalized power spectra of echo signals generated by pulse-echo ultrasound in 2D or 3D, combined with the values of global variables of the biological or non-biological material to characterize said biological or non-biological material based on its properties at microscopic levels on a scale that ranges from a fraction to a small multiple of the wavelength of the incident ultrasound pulse.", "Variables of the normalized power spectrum are computed from acquired, linearly amplified, radio-frequency echo signals backscattered from the material being evaluated.", "Variables also are derived by computing variables of the statistics of the envelope of the backscattered signals.", "The statistics of the envelope of the echo signal are modeled using distributions such as, but not limited to, Nakagami and homodyned-K distributions.", "A significant improvement in the accuracy of the QUS results generated by the initial invention is achieved by a unique method of adapting the bandwidth over which spectral content is computed to provide the QUS results.", "The bandwidth used is based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which is defined as the difference between the spectral peak amplitude and the noise level.", "The noise level is approximately constant and depends on the instruments used and other, e.g.", "ambient, sources of unwanted signals, etc.", "More specifically, as described below, a higher SNR allows data to be analyzed over a larger bandwidth while a lower SNR limits data analysis to a smaller bandwidth.", "This feature ensures that data analysis is limited to the signal derived from the tissue or non-biological material of interest, i.e., only utilizes information useful for characterizing tissue or non-biological material while eliminating information corrupted by noise.", "The application of adaptive-bandwidth methods is beneficial in the typical situation in which attenuation causes the SNR to decrease as ultrasound echo signals are obtained from greater depths in the tissue or non-biological material of interest.", "(Attenuation is due to scattering and absorption of ultrasound.", "Scattering is caused by microscopic variations, or inhomogeneities, in acoustic impedance.)", "The combined set of spectral and statistics-based variables, computed using an adaptive-bandwidth approach, increases the accuracy of the QUS parameter estimates of the described improvements to the '342 patent.", "Once computation of QUS estimates derived from the spectra over the appropriate bandwidth and from statistics-based variables is complete, the estimate values can be combined further with one or more global variables associated with the material being evaluated for the purpose of classifying, grading, or otherwise characterizing the material using linear or non-linear classification methods such as, but not limited to, linear-discriminant methods, artificial neural networks, nearest-neighbor algorithms, and support-vector machines.", "Subsequently, color-coded QUS-based images can be constructed from either QUS values or from classification values derived from them on a pixel-by-pixel basis to produce 2D depictions or on a voxel-by-voxel basis to produce 3D depictions to visualize, for example, an entire lymph node or a volume of a fiber-reinforced plastic.", "The invention employs in part an ultrasound apparatus for performing material classification as disclosed in the '342 patent which is incorporated herein by reference.", "Such an apparatus includes a so-called pulse-echo ultrasound scanner for acquiring original, so-called radio-frequency or “RF” echo signals, backscattered by the material being tested, such as biological tissue or non-biological material, such as fiber-reinforced plastic.", "Analog RF echo signals are presented to a digitizer that converts the RF signals to digital signals, representing a plurality of spatial points in a scanned plane.", "A digital processor operatively computes so-called normalized power spectra and adaptive bandwidth from the digital signals provided by the digitizer and extracts spectral variables that characterize the original RF signals.", "Concurrently, the processor computes the envelope of the RF signals and, from the computed envelope, it computes the associated statistics of the envelope.", "An input device is also included for providing the values of global variables to the processor.", "Alternatively, global variable values may be computed directly from the ultrasound data, e.g., specimen shape factors, specimen volume, etc.", "A classifier that is responsive to at least a portion of the set of spectral variables, at least a portion of the set of envelope statistics, and at least a portion of the set of global variables, is employed to assign a material-classification score to the spatial points of the plane or volume covered by the ultrasound scan.", "A display may be provided for displaying the assigned classification scores in a color- or gray-scale encoded manner in a 2D or 3D image, but a display is not required to practice the invention described herein." ], [ "PRIORITY AND RELATED APPLICATION This application is a Continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/624,769, filed Feb. 18, 2015, entitled “TYPING AND IMAGING OF BIOLOGICAL AND NON-BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS USING QUANTITATIVE ULTRASOUND,” and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,238,342 ('342 patent) is related to this application, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improved typing and imaging of biological and non-biological materials by combining quantitative-ultrasound (QUS) estimates based on the statistics of the envelope of echo signals generated using pulse-echo ultrasound with QUS estimates based on the normalized power spectra of echo signals generated using pulse-echo ultrasound and global variables associated with the material of interest.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The improvements described herein generalize the definition of QUS by adding: (1) estimates based on variables of the statistics of the envelope of linearly amplified, radio-frequency ultrasound echo signals backscattered from biological or non-biological materials to (2) estimates based on variables of normalized power spectra of linearly amplified, radio-frequency ultrasound echo signals in previously described QUS methods such as those shown in the '342 patent, and optionally (3) one or more global variables such as clinical data, e.g., antigen level or patient age, when typing tissue or such as material properties, e.g., acoustic attenuation or mass density, when typing non-biological material.", "The improvements also generalize the application of the covered QUS methods to any and all materials in which pulse-echo ultrasound produces echo signals within the material and where such echo signals result from spatial variations in the acoustical impedance of the material on a scale of fractions to multiples of the incident acoustical-pulse wavelength.", "Although specific clinical examples are cited herein to illustrate applications of the described method, the method is applicable to a very broad range of material-typing and imaging applications in addition to the cited clinical, tissue-typing and imaging applications.", "Examples of potential non-biological material-typing and imaging applications include, but are not limited to, assessment of composite quality, fiber density in fiber-reinforced plastics, crystalline-material properties, particle size and concentration in liquid suspensions, etc.", "An example of a potential non-clinical, biological-material typing and imaging includes, but is not limited to, beef-quality grading.", "Examples of potential clinical applications include, but are not limited to, distinguishing among healing, non-healing and infected wounds; distinguishing between ischemic and non-ischemic myocardium; distinguishing among progressing, static, and regressing lesions; distinguishing between lesions that are responsive to treatment and those that are unresponsive to treatment; etc.", "Furthermore, in clinical applications, the method may be able to grade conditions such as, for example, the degree of treatment response, severity of ischemia, extent of infection, rate of healing, depth of burns, pressure or friction-ulcer status, progression of disease; etc.", "For example, two salient, representative clinical applications are detection and imaging of cancer in the prostate gland or of metastases in lymph nodes.", "Reliable detection of primary-cancer foci in the prostate or metastatic foci in lymph nodes is critical for staging the disease and planning its treatment.", "The described method of cancer detection analyzes raw ultrasound echo-signal data in two- or three-dimensions (2D or 3D) in combination with global clinical variables such as serum PSA (prostate-specific antigen) values in the case of prostate cancer or primary-tumor type in the case of lymph-node metastases to generate 3D images that depict cancerous foci in the prostate or lymph nodes and thereby that reliably detect, characterize, and localize metastatic regions.", "A reliable method using spectrum-analysis-based QUS to characterize and type biological tissue is described in the '342 patent and is incorporated herein by reference.", "The '342 patent describes a method that combines spectrum-analysis-based QUS variables (i.e., the slope, intercept, mid-band variables of the so-called normalized power spectrum and also the effective scatterer size and so-called acoustic concentration estimates that are derived from the spectral variables and known ultrasound-system properties) with global clinical data.", "The improvements described herein additionally combine variable values of the envelope statistics of ultrasound echo signals derived from the tissue of interest with the spectrum-analysis-based variable values and global variables described in the '342 patent, and/or described herein.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is generalized to add estimates derived from the statistics of envelope detected echo-signal data, to estimates based on variables of the normalized power spectra of echo signals generated by pulse-echo ultrasound in 2D or 3D, combined with the values of global variables of the biological or non-biological material to characterize said biological or non-biological material based on its properties at microscopic levels on a scale that ranges from a fraction to a small multiple of the wavelength of the incident ultrasound pulse.", "Variables of the normalized power spectrum are computed from acquired, linearly amplified, radio-frequency echo signals backscattered from the material being evaluated.", "Variables also are derived by computing variables of the statistics of the envelope of the backscattered signals.", "The statistics of the envelope of the echo signal are modeled using distributions such as, but not limited to, Nakagami and homodyned-K distributions.", "A significant improvement in the accuracy of the QUS results generated by the initial invention is achieved by a unique method of adapting the bandwidth over which spectral content is computed to provide the QUS results.", "The bandwidth used is based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which is defined as the difference between the spectral peak amplitude and the noise level.", "The noise level is approximately constant and depends on the instruments used and other, e.g.", "ambient, sources of unwanted signals, etc.", "More specifically, as described below, a higher SNR allows data to be analyzed over a larger bandwidth while a lower SNR limits data analysis to a smaller bandwidth.", "This feature ensures that data analysis is limited to the signal derived from the tissue or non-biological material of interest, i.e., only utilizes information useful for characterizing tissue or non-biological material while eliminating information corrupted by noise.", "The application of adaptive-bandwidth methods is beneficial in the typical situation in which attenuation causes the SNR to decrease as ultrasound echo signals are obtained from greater depths in the tissue or non-biological material of interest.", "(Attenuation is due to scattering and absorption of ultrasound.", "Scattering is caused by microscopic variations, or inhomogeneities, in acoustic impedance.)", "The combined set of spectral and statistics-based variables, computed using an adaptive-bandwidth approach, increases the accuracy of the QUS parameter estimates of the described improvements to the '342 patent.", "Once computation of QUS estimates derived from the spectra over the appropriate bandwidth and from statistics-based variables is complete, the estimate values can be combined further with one or more global variables associated with the material being evaluated for the purpose of classifying, grading, or otherwise characterizing the material using linear or non-linear classification methods such as, but not limited to, linear-discriminant methods, artificial neural networks, nearest-neighbor algorithms, and support-vector machines.", "Subsequently, color-coded QUS-based images can be constructed from either QUS values or from classification values derived from them on a pixel-by-pixel basis to produce 2D depictions or on a voxel-by-voxel basis to produce 3D depictions to visualize, for example, an entire lymph node or a volume of a fiber-reinforced plastic.", "The invention employs in part an ultrasound apparatus for performing material classification as disclosed in the '342 patent which is incorporated herein by reference.", "Such an apparatus includes a so-called pulse-echo ultrasound scanner for acquiring original, so-called radio-frequency or “RF” echo signals, backscattered by the material being tested, such as biological tissue or non-biological material, such as fiber-reinforced plastic.", "Analog RF echo signals are presented to a digitizer that converts the RF signals to digital signals, representing a plurality of spatial points in a scanned plane.", "A digital processor operatively computes so-called normalized power spectra and adaptive bandwidth from the digital signals provided by the digitizer and extracts spectral variables that characterize the original RF signals.", "Concurrently, the processor computes the envelope of the RF signals and, from the computed envelope, it computes the associated statistics of the envelope.", "An input device is also included for providing the values of global variables to the processor.", "Alternatively, global variable values may be computed directly from the ultrasound data, e.g., specimen shape factors, specimen volume, etc.", "A classifier that is responsive to at least a portion of the set of spectral variables, at least a portion of the set of envelope statistics, and at least a portion of the set of global variables, is employed to assign a material-classification score to the spatial points of the plane or volume covered by the ultrasound scan.", "A display may be provided for displaying the assigned classification scores in a color- or gray-scale encoded manner in a 2D or 3D image, but a display is not required to practice the invention described herein.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The patent or application filed contains at least one drawing executed in color.", "Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawings) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.", "Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures showing illustrative embodiments of the invention, in which: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system formed in accordance with the present invention; FIG.", "2 is a flow chart depicting the process of training a classifier and optionally generating a derivative thereof, such as a look-up table, for performing tissue classification in accordance with the present invention; FIG.", "3 is a flow chart depicting the process of generating images using computed spectral estimates, statistical estimates, global-variable values, and a classifier or a derivative thereof, such as a look-up table, to distinguish the material being evaluated into a number of classifications, such as most-likely tissue type or levels of suspicion of cancer.", "FIGS.", "4a and 4b show an example of analysis regions applied at different depths to data in which the SNR and bandwidth are less in FIG.", "4b than in FIG.", "4a; FIG.", "5 provides a graph showing a principle approach of the present invention; FIGS.", "6a and 6b provide a graph showing an example of a reference spectrum, an un-normalized signal spectrum in FIG.", "6a, and a difference, i.e.", "normalized, signal spectrum in FIG.", "6b from the shallow region of interest depicted in FIG.", "4a; FIGS.", "7a and 7b provide a graph showing an example of a spectrum from the deeper region of interest shown in FIG.", "4b; and FIGS.", "8a and 8b provide graphs showing an example of ROC results for adaptive bandwidth (black curves) versus conventional bandwidth methods (blue curves) and indicating superior classification performance when the adaptive-bandwidth method is applied.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG.", "1 is a general block diagram of system hardware that could be used in conjunction with the present invention.", "The general system hardware includes an ultrasonic transducer probe 102 operatively coupled to an ultrasound scanner 106.The signals from the scanner 106 are converted from an analog RF signal to a digital signal by a digitizer 108 operating under the control of a processor 110.In an exemplary embodiment, the digitizer 108 operates at a 50 MHz sampling rate to acquire, for example, 2500, 8-bit samples of echo-signal data in a frequency band extending from 3.5 to 8.0 MHz along each of 318 scan lines in a 112-degree scanning sector.", "A small set of these sample points represents a pixel in an ultrasound image.", "This results in a sector with a radius of about 3.6 cm.", "The digital samples are stored in a computer memory under the control of processor 110.The processor 110 may be included in a desktop computer or workstation interfaced with the scanner 106 or may be integral to the scanner 106.A high-speed processor is required for real-time imaging.", "In a laboratory setting, the digitizer 108 can take the form of digital sampling oscilloscope.", "However, for commercially produced clinical or material-testing scanners, the digitizer 108 will generally be integrated into the scanner 106 or will be integrated with a subsystem along with processor 110.Optionally, the digitizer 108 and associated interface circuitry to a conventional ultrasound scanner 106 can be provided on a computer interface card for a conventional desktop computer system or workstation in which the processor 110 resides.", "The system of FIG.", "1 also includes an input device 114 for manually entering data into the system 100.The input device may take the form of a keyboard, touch screen, or digital pointing device, such as a computer mouse, used in conjunction with a display device 116.The display device 116 can be a standard computer monitor or printer.", "A critically important element of the present invention is a classifier 118.The classifier 118, which may be implemented as a look-up table, trained neural network, nearest neighbor model, support-vector machine, and the like, is developed or trained using conclusive material-property data variables (e.g., histological data from biopsy results or known reinforced-plastic material properties) with matching RF-signal spectral-variable values, envelope-signal statistics-variable values, and global-variable values 110.FIG.", "2 is a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps used to develop and train the classifier 118.Preferably, the classifier 118 takes the form of a “trained” non-linear classifier, such as a support-vector machine, but other linear and non-linear classifiers also can be employed.", "In order to develop a “trained” non-linear classifier 118, training data are required.", "These training data must include a sufficiently large number of independent records to provide adequate statistical stability; each record includes spectral- and statistical-variable values computed from the RF echo-signal data (steps 300, 305 and 307), global-variable values, for instance known reinforced-plastic material properties (such as mass density) or clinical data (such as patients' age, ethnicity, prior medical history, or, in the case of prostate-cancer detection, PSA level) (step 310) and corresponding “gold-standard” data (step 315), for instance, the clinical “gold standard” histologically established tissue properties (such as biopsy results) for each record.", "The set of spectral-parameter values and envelope-statistics-parameter values are matched with gold-standard data (such as histological determinations of the actual tissue in the biopsy sample or independently measured actual fiber content in a reinforced-plastic).", "The classifier is trained in step 320 and the trained-classifier algorithm is implemented in step 325.Various algorithms for classifiers are known and will not be further described herein.", "After the RF backscatter data are acquired (step 300), digital signal analysis is performed on the acquired data to compute the set of QUS estimates consisting of spectral and envelope-statistics variable values representing the data (steps 305 and 307).", "In the '342 patent, spectral variables that have been found to be of interest in cancer diagnostics include the slope, intercept and mid-band values of a linear regression approximation to the normalized power spectrum of the backscattered radiofrequency (RF) echo signals.", "Scatter-property estimates, such as the effective scatterer size and so-called acoustic concentration derived from the spectral variables and known ultrasound-system properties, also have proven to be of value in classifying tissue.", "These estimates are computed from the echo signals in a user-specified analysis region of interest (ROI).", "Four additional variables have been shown to improve classification; these are derived by fitting envelope-amplitude distribution models to the envelope statistics of the backscattered envelope signals statistics based on the Nakagami and homodyned-K statistical models (step 307).", "The four new QUS variables associated with these two models are a, Q, k and p. However, other statistical models and associated variables can be used.", "The method is not limited to these statistical models.", "To compute the variables for training the classifier, a user-specified ROI is applied to the acquired RF data to select a set of samples of the RF signals that spatially corresponds to the region from which the gold-standard determination is made, for instance the tissue region exactly matching the tissue sampled by the biopsy procedure or the portion of the reinforced plastic that will be exposed for fiber-density determination.", "The calculation of the spectral variables from RF echo-signal data defined in the '342 patent has been widely publicized and is a technique that is well known in the art of ultrasound diagnostics.", "The statistics of envelope-detected echo signals are quantified using Nakagami and homodyned-K or other applicable statistical models.", "For instance, envelope-statistics variables, a, and Q, are obtained by fitting a Nakagami probability density function to that of the envelope of RF data within the ROI, while the variables, k and p, are obtained by fitting the homodyned-K probability density function to that of the envelope of RF data within the ROI.", "Tissue classification using spectral and derived variables, envelope statistics from ultrasound echo signals combined with global-variable values is an approach that can be generalized for application to any organ or tissue and also to a wide variety of non-biological materials.", "In clinical applications, the approach can be used to monitor therapy or disease progression, and can be applied to diffuse disease, healing processes, etc., and is not limited to cancer applications.", "Examples of analysis using the present invention in clinical applications are provided below.", "FIG.", "3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary clinical application of the present invention.", "Global variables such as clinical data or non-biological data are input to the system (step 610) by a person using the input device 114.RF echo-signal data are acquired and digitized (step 600).", "Spectral-variables and scatterer-property values along with variables of the envelope statistics comprising the full set of QUS-variable values are extracted and computed (steps 605 and 612).", "The selected global-variable and QUS-variable values are applied as input variables to the classifier 118, then normalized to the input range of the classifier 118 on a pixel by pixel basis, such that each pixel of the sampled ultrasonic scan is assigned a classifier-score value (step 615).", "For real-time operation, the classifier 118 can take the form of a look-up table whose values are derived from a trained linear or non-linear classifier.", "Alternatively, if the processor 110 is sufficiently powerful, the classifier 118 may omit the look-up table and the classifier-score value can be assigned for each pixel by applying the input variable values to the optimal classifier and computing classifier-score values directly using the trained classifier.", "In step 620, the property-type likelihood value for each location (pixel or voxel) in the 2D or 3D ROI is generated using the trained-classifier algorithm or look-up table.", "In step 625, a display is generated that can be color or gray scale-encoded, property-type likelihood result.", "The display can be a 2D plane or a 3D volume for the ROI, or as any other useful output.", "Although evaluating the classifier scores over a broad range of values is important to account for a possibly large number of variables involved in the process, the display need not show each individual classifier-score value as a unique display variable.", "The range of classifier-score values can be grouped into a plurality of ranges that correspond to most-likely material categories, for example, most-likely tissue types, a number of levels of suspicion (LOS) for cancer in a clinical application or similar categories for non-biological material.", "Each of the LOS ranges is assigned a unique image characteristic, such as a color or grey scale value, for pixels within that range for displaying the results (step 625).", "Although the present invention has been partially described in connection with lymph nodes, the present techniques are generally applicable to any region of a body where ultrasound backscattered echo signals can be obtained and also are applicable to non-clinical applications, e.g., those involving research with experimental animals, and to evaluations of non-biological materials.", "Each specific material type requires its own classifier 118 appropriately trained using a suitable database of global-variable values, QUS variable values (spectral and envelope statistical), and gold-standard results for the target application.", "In clinical applications, in addition to classifying tissue in accordance with a level of suspicion or likelihood for cancer, various other tissue types or changes in tissue characteristics can be evaluated with the present invention.", "For example, changes in tissue in response to therapy, disease progression, injury severity, injury healing, and the like can be assessed.", "In practice, a clinical device will have a menu of applications to select from as part of the initial instrument set up.", "In non-clinical biological applications, for example those involving experimental animals, various other tissue types or changes in tissue characteristics can be evaluated with the present invention.", "For example, as in clinical applications, changes in tissue in response to therapy, disease progression, injury severity, injury healing, and the like can be assessed quantitatively by assessing classifier-score values.", "In practice, a device for non-clinical, biological use will have a menu of applications to select from as part of the initial instrument set up.", "In non-biological, materials-evaluation applications, in addition to classifying material properties, changes in material characteristics can be evaluated with the present invention.", "For example, changes in composite integrity or alterations in crystalline structure over time may be sensed and depicted quantitatively.", "In practice, a device for non-biological, material-evaluation use will have a menu of applications to select from as part of the initial instrument set up.", "The use of the present invention is demonstrated in the following examples.", "Example 1 In this example, 110 axillary lymph nodes dissected from breast-cancer patients were analyzed.", "Of these nodes, 17 were cancerous and 93 non-cancerous.", "Analysis results for the 110 axillary lymph nodes are presented in Table 1 with scan volume being the global variable for this example.", "TABLE 1 Variables ROC AUC Spectral variables 0.706 +/ 0.070 Spectral variables + 0.725 +/− 0.070 scan volume Spectral variables + 0.877 +/− 0.048 scan volume + envelope statistics In this example, using only QUS-variable values derived from spectrum analysis resulted in an ROC AUC value of 0.706+/0.070.ROC AUC values provide a measure of classifier performance in which an AUC value of 0.5 indicates entirely random classification and an AUC value of 1.0 indicates perfect, error-free classification.", "Adding the global variable of scan volume to the analysis improved the performance to an ROC AUC value of 0.725+/−0.070.Finally, adding envelope statistics to the analysis further improved the performance to an ROC AUC value of 0.877+/−0.048.A comparison of ROC AUC values for spectral variables to the corresponding AUC values for spectral variables with envelope statistics and a global variable value shows a significant improvement in identification of cancerous nodes.", "Example 2 In another example, 289 dissected lymph nodes of mixed primary-cancer types were analyzed.", "Of these nodes, 43 were histologically proven to be positive and 246 were proven to be negative for cancer.", "The mixed nodes included 110 breast-cancer nodes with 17 proven to be positive and 93 proven to be negative plus 179 colorectal-cancer nodes with 26 proven to be positive and 153 proven to be negative for cancer.", "Table 2a shows results obtained with a non-linear classifier—a support-vector machine (SVM)—while Table 2b shows results for a linear classifier—linear discriminant analysis (LDA).", "The variables investigated include a QUS variable derived from spectrum analysis, a QUS variable derived from envelope statistics and two distinct global variables: primary cancer type and scan volume (proportional to lymph-node volume).", "The non-linear analysis (Table 2a) shows that adding global variables significantly improves classifier performance over the spectral variable alone.", "Similarly, adding the envelope-statistics further improves the performance.", "Table 2b shows the same improvement trend when global and envelope-statistics variables are added.", "Finally, comparing Tables 2a and 2b demonstrates how non-linear classification methods can perform better than linear methods.", "TABLE 2a SVM-based Classification Variables ROC AUC Spectral variables 0.66 +/− 0.04 Spectral variables + 0.71 +/− 0.04 primary cancer type Spectral variables + 0.79 +/− 0.03 primary cancer type + scan volume Spectral variables + 0.87 +/− 0.02 primary cancer type + scan volume + envelope statistics variables TABLE 2b Linear-discriminant-based Classification Variables ROC AUC Spectral variables 0.70 +/− 0.04 Spectral variables + 0.68 +/− 0.04 primary cancer type Spectral variables + 0.78 +/− 0.03 primary cancer type + scan volume Spectral variables + 0.78 +/− 0.03 primary cancer type + scan volume + envelope statistics variables Example 3-Non-Biological Material To demonstrate how the invention can be used to type non-biological materials, radio-frequency ultrasound data was collected from two phantoms (PA and PB) using a single-element transducer operating at 10 MHz.", "The data were processed to yield two QUS-variable estimates associated with the backscattered spectrum (i.e., spectral intercept and spectral slope) and two additional QUS variables associated with the Nakagami envelope statistics model.", "In both cases, correction was made for the different attenuation of the two phantoms.", "The optional global variable was not used for this example.", "Table 3 summarizes the ability of these variables to distinguish between PA and PB.", "TABLE 3 Variables ROC AUC QUS Spectrum 0.75 QUS Spectrum + Envelope 0.95 The results demonstrate that the envelope variables significantly increase classification performance over spectral variables alone.", "In order to improve QUS-parameter estimation, the frequency band over which the models are fit may be varied for each ROI based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the ROI.", "An algorithm is used to apply wider bandwidths to ROIs with higher SNR values.", "In the present invention, the overall frequency band to be considered is determined and then the portion of the overall band that is from relevant backscatter signal is determined.", "A noise plateau (NP, in dB) is defined as the average magnitude of the power spectrum in a specified frequency band outside the band comprising the relevant backscatter signal.", "A critical element necessary for improved classification performance is the use of an adaptive bandwidth based on the SNR of each ROI, rather than a fixed bandwidth used in prior art.", "The reason for using an adaptive bandwidth is to obtain the best possible estimate, using a larger bandwidth when a better SNR exists, because it increases the precision of the QUS estimates, and using a smaller bandwidth when a poorer SNR exists, in order to reject noisy data, which will also increase the precision of the QUS estimates.", "The refinement of the adaptive-bandwidth settings based on the signals SNR improves results.", "For example, implementation of automated SNR-detection algorithms may improve overall classification performance.", "Using an adaptive bandwidth, rather than using a fixed bandwidth provides superior classification performance compared to classification performance obtained using the conventional fixed bandwidth.", "The adaptive-bandwidth method optimizes the bandwidth for the available signal no matter what causes the variation in backscatter-signal and related spectral amplitude.", "Attenuation is an example as one cause for signal reduction; however several factors affect signal and spectral amplitudes such as scatterer size, scatterer concentration, scatterer mechanical properties compared to those of their surroundings, beam diffraction and focusing effects, and reflections in intervening tissue, etc.", "The signal amplitude can go down if scattering weakens for example, because scatterers become smaller, their concentration decreases, or they become more like their surroundings.", "Except for attenuation in a uniform material, signal and spectral amplitudes may increase with depth, amplitude does not necessarily always decrease with depth.", "Signal amplitude can increase, for example, if scatterer size increases or scatterer concentration increases, etc.", "The energy in an ultrasound echo signal spans a range of frequencies with a bell-shaped distribution of signal power vs. frequency.", "Noise however, is also always present to some degree in echo signals and typically has an approximately flat distribution of power vs. frequency.", "Therefore the overall distribution of power vs. frequency is level from the noise alone at high and low frequencies and a bell-shaped curve in the middle over the frequency range where the echo-signal amplitude exceeds the noise amplitude.", "If the echo signal decreases in amplitude, the signal-spectrum curve drops into the noise spectrum, essentially without changing shape.", "Therefore, the width of the signal part of the spectrum decreases as it sinks into the noise.", "Such sinking occurs with depth into the target, e.g., tissue, because of attenuation, for example.", "(As previously mentioned depth-dependent attenuation is one example of a cause for signal and spectral amplitude reduction with depth.", "The adaptive-bandwidth method optimizes the bandwidth for the available signal no matter what causes variations in backscattered-signal and spectral amplitudes.)", "Also, because of the frequency dependence of attenuation in most materials, e.g., tissue, the high-frequency portion of the bell-shaped curve decreases faster with depth into the target than the lower-frequency part.", "So the bell-shaped curve effectively shifts toward lower frequencies as it sinks because of attenuation.", "For example, attenuation causes high frequencies to fall off faster with depth than low frequencies, so that a shift in the spectral peak toward lower frequencies occurs.", "For the adaptive-bandwidth method, this means that the bandwidth contracts more rapidly with depth at high frequencies than at low frequencies, i.e., the maximal usable frequency in the signal spectrum decreases more rapidly with depth than the minimal frequency increases.", "Therefore, bandwidth does not “shrink” symmetrically as attenuation of the signal increases with depth into the target material.", "Attenuation is frequency dependent and the dependence depends on the type of material.", "In tissue, for example, attenuation is approximately a linear function of frequency.", "So, if the frequency is doubled, then the signal losses due to attenuation are doubled and signal amplitude is halved.", "In pure water, for example, attenuation is lower than in tissue, but it increases approximately as the square of the frequency.", "So when the frequency is doubled, the signal losses due to attenuation are quadrupled.", "Therefore the adaptive-bandwidth method of the present invention decreases the high-frequency limit on the usable band more rapidly than it increases the low-frequency limit as signals come from deeper in the target material.", "In effect, the spectrum gets pushed down into the noise and also pushed to the “left,” toward lower frequencies, as attenuation decreases the backscattered-signal amplitude with depth.", "Adapting the bandwidth used for QUS computations are performed takes into account these bandwidth-altering effects and assures that QUS results are derived from signal spectra—not from noise.", "Maximal improvements over the prior art, including improvements in sensitivity (SEN) and specificity (SPE), occur when using the present invention (statistics parameters+global variables+spectrum-derived features).", "Sensitivity is the fraction of actually positive cases that are correctly identified as positive cases.", "Specificity is the fraction of actually negative cases that are correctly identified as negative cases.", "Example 4 FIGS.", "4a and 4b show an example of results derived from data acquired in a study of prostate-gland characterization and prostate-cancer detection undertaken collaboratively with Exact Imaging, Inc.", "FIG.", "4a shows an ROI, red rectangle 450, that is closer to the surface and suffers less attenuation than is suffered by the deeper ROI, red rectangle 455, in FIG.", "4b.", "FIG.", "5 shows a principle approach of the present invention.", "Because of attenuation, the spectral amplitude, or spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the power spectrum derived from stronger signals originating from tissues closer to the surface 510 is larger than the SNR of the power spectrum derived from signals originating from deeper tissue regions 520.The SNR is defined as the difference between the spectral peak amplitude at ˜22 MHz in FIG.", "5 and the noise level.", "The noise level is approximately constant and depends on the instrument and other ambient sources of unwanted signals.", "Information that is useful for characterizing tissues or non-biological materials is contained only in the noise-free portion of the spectrum.", "The noise-free frequency range of the spectrum defines its useful bandwidth.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "5, the useful bandwidth is larger for the spectrum derived from the signals that originate closer to the sample surface than for the spectrum derived from the deeper signals.", "The spectral content within the bandwidth contains the tissue-property-relevant information.", "To optimize the bandwidth (i.e.", "to utilize the largest noise-free bandwidth) for each individual spectrum, the present invention provides an adaptive-bandwidth method.", "The method consists of first detecting the noise level and then detecting the spectral frequency that occurs at 10 dB above the noise level.", "(The 10 dB margin is used as an example in the present invention.", "Different applications and different shapes in the noise spectra may call for different margins.", "A very flat noise spectrum might allow a smaller margin, for example.", "A need to maximize bandwidth also might call for a smaller margin.", "A very irregularly shaped noise spectrum or one that varies in time may call for a larger margin.", "The margin can be set to give the best (widest) practical bandwidth in any given application; based on what provides the best results in the particular application in which the frequency margin is applied.)", "The conventional method defines a fixed bandwidth in which the signal spectra are analyzed.", "To guarantee noise-free spectra with conventional methods, a fixed bandwidth is determined by the spectrum with the lowest SNR.", "If the frequency boundaries are too large, for example 10 MHz to 32 MHz in FIG.", "5, the noise will be included in the spectral analysis for signals with smaller SNR, 520.However, if the frequency boundaries are too small, the valuable information in signals with a large SNR will be lost.", "FIGS.", "6a and 6b show an example of a reference spectrum 610, signal spectrum 620, and difference spectrum 630.The sample spectrum was obtained from the ROI, 450 in FIG.", "4a.", "In the present example, NP is the average spectral amplitude in the frequency range from 10 to 12 MHz.", "The bandwidth and frequency boundaries (i.e.", "the low and high cutoff frequencies) were then estimated at NP+10 dB.", "A minimal bandwidth for use in classification may be defined; when this minimum is reached, QUS processing does not occur because QUS estimates would be considered to be unreliable at such narrow bandwidth.", "In the present example, ROIs with a bandwidth of less than 15 MHz are precluded from QUS processing.", "Estimation of parameters, such as spectral slope, i.e.", "the slope of a linear-regression line fit to the normalized power spectrum, is performed over the bandwidth in which the signal spectrum exceeds the noise spectrum by a specified amount, e.g., by 10 dB in the present examples.", "Spectral content outside the noise-free bandwidth is derived only from instrument and ambient noise and does not contain information about the sample, such as tissue.", "Using the largest possible noise-free bandwidth yields the most-reliable and most-stable QUS estimates.", "Conventional methods for estimating the bandwidth typically employ a fixed frequency range that corresponds to the two (low- and high-frequency) −6 dB (i.e., 6 dB below the maximal spectral amplitude) points of the reference spectrum.", "FIG.", "6a illustrates the conventional method of estimating the bandwidth between −6 dB points on the reference spectrum, with the gray dotted lines 640, 645, 660, 665.For comparison, the blue dotted lines of FIG.", "6a, 670, 675, 680, illustrate the new adaptive-bandwidth method.", "In a noise region, e.g., between 10 and 12 MHz, the noise level is determined.", "Then the two, low- and high-frequency, +10 dB (above noise) points on the sample spectrum determine the “adapted” bandwidth of the sample spectrum.", "The example illustrates how the bandwidth is improved (made wider) for a strong signal when using the adaptive-bandwidth settings.", "(The possibility exists that the amplitudes of the noise spectra at the high-frequency and low-frequency edges of the signal spectrum are different.", "So, even if the same margin (e.g., 10 dB) is used at high and low frequencies, the margins at high and low frequencies can be based on different noise-spectrum amplitudes.)", "FIGS.", "7a and 7b show spectra for signals from a deeper tissue area.", "The sample spectrum was computed for the deeper ROI 455 of FIG.", "4b.", "FIGS.", "7a and 7b show reference spectrum 710, signal spectrum 720 and difference spectrum 730.The amplitude of the reference spectrum as well as sample signal and spectrum are decreased for signals derived from the deeper ROI.", "Also the bandwidth of the sample signal is significantly reduced.", "FIG.", "7b illustrates the conventional method of estimating the bandwidth between −6 dB points on the reference spectrum, with the gray dotted lines 740, 760, and 765.For comparison, the blue dotted lines of FIG.", "7b, 770, 775, 780 and 785 illustrate the new adaptive-bandwidth method.", "Using the conventional method will include noise frequencies in the normalized power spectrum, red dotted line 750.This will cause erroneous QUS-parameter estimation.", "Using the adaptive-bandwidth method yields a narrower bandwidth for the spectrum of signals from the deeper ROI; however, the normalized power spectrum in that bandwidth is not corrupted by contributions from noise, green dotted line 775.In the noise-free portion of the normalized power spectrum, the normalized power spectrum shows a linear behavior with a positive slope.", "If the slope were estimated over the conventional bandwidth, the computed slope value would be much lower because of corruption of the spectrum by noise outside the noise-free bandwidth.", "In the present examples, the spectral slope is referenced as a sample QUS parameter; however, several QUS parameters and scatterer properties can be estimated from the spectrum, and stable, reliable estimate values are best obtained using the broadest possible noise-free bandwidth, which is what the adaptive-bandwidth method of the present invention accomplishes.", "As illustrated by the relative-operating characteristics (ROC) results shown in FIGS.", "8a and 8b for a prostate-cancer detection example, the adaptive-bandwidth method provides markedly superior performance to the conventional bandwidth method as shown by their ROC area-under-the-curve (AUC) values for prostate-cancer detection, by QUS.", "An AUC value of 1.0 indicates perfect classification and an AUC value of 0.5 indicates entirely random classification.", "FIGS.", "8a and 8b show ROC results for adaptive-bandwidth vs. conventional bandwidth methods when applied to detection of prostate cancer.", "FIG.", "8a shows ROC values for adaptive-bandwidth, black line 820, and the conventional bandwidth method, blue line 810, for PSA combined with QUS estimates of effective scatter size (ESS) and effective acoustic concentration (EAC).", "The AUC for the adaptive band-width method is 0.8 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.75:0.86) and is significantly greater than the AUC of 0.72 (CI: 0.64:0.80) for the conventional-bandwidth method.", "FIG.", "8b shows the results for PSA combined with midband fit (Mf), Intercept (I0) and spectral slope (SS), wherein black line 820 represents the adaptive-bandwidth method and blue line 810 represents the conventional bandwidth method.", "The AUC for the adaptive-bandwidth method is 0.79 (CI: 0.72:0.87) and for the conventional bandwidth method is 0.73 (CI: 0.69:0.77).", "At the operating point with a specificity of 0.63 for a classifier trained based on PSA, ESC and ESS, the adaptive-bandwidth method achieved a 0.13 higher sensitivity compared to the conventional bandwidth method (as seen in FIGS.", "8a and 8b).", "Table 4, below, provides a summary of ROC analysis providing AUC for classifier trained with PSA, ESC, and ESS, (FIG.", "8a) and trained with PSA, IO, Mf, and SS (See FIG.", "8b) comparing the adaptive-bandwidth method with the conventional method.", "(SEN=Sensitivity, SPE=specificity and CI=confidence interval).", "TABLE 4 AUC Adaptive QUS Bandwidth SEN at 63% AUC conventional SEN at 70% Parameter (CI) SPE Bandwidth (CI) SPE FIG.", "7a PSA, ESC, ESS 0.80 (0.75; 0.86) 0.85 0.72 (0.64; 0.8) 0.8 FIG.", "7b PSA, I0, Mf, SS 0.79 (0.72; 0.87) 0.72 0.73 (0.69; 0.77) 0.62 Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the modifications and variations that can be made without departing from the scope and the spirit of the present invention.", "Such modifications and variations are envisioned to be within the scope of the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15874991
[ [ "CLEANING DEVICE WITH SINGLE TANK RECYCLING SYSTEM", "A cleaning device may include a solution tank configured to store cleaning solution.", "The device delivers the cleaning solution from a pump discharge of the cleaning device to a flow meter.", "The device initiates a priming mode by opening a first valve associated with a bypass line of the device, closing a second valve associated with a cleaning head of the cleaning device, and delivering the cleaning solution from a discharge of the flow meter to the inlet of the solution tank through the bypass line.", "When the device is primed, it initiates cleaning by closing the first valve associated with the bypass line, opening the second valve associated with the cleaning head, and delivering the cleaning solution to the cleaning head." ], [ "1.A cleaning device comprising: a solution tank configured to store cleaning solution; a pump positioned to receive cleaning solution from the solution tank; a cleaning head positioned to receive cleaning solution from the pump; a bypass line configured to divert the cleaning solution received from the pump away from the cleaning head and toward the solution tank; a pump controller; and a flow meter configured to measure a flow rate of cleaning solution flowing through the device; wherein the pump controller is configured to: cause the cleaning solution to be diverted to the bypass line and away from the cleaning head until the flow rate exceeds or equals a threshold value for a period of time, and after the flow rate equals or exceeds the threshold value for the period of time, cause the cleaning solution is delivered to the cleaning head instead of the bypass line.", "2.The cleaning device of claim 1, further comprising one or more of the following: a pre-filter in fluid communication with an inlet of the solution tank, wherein the pre-filter is configured to filter cleaning solution that enters the solution tank; and a tank filter located in fluid communication with an outlet of the solution tank, wherein the tank filter is configured to filter cleaning solution that exits the solution tank.", "3.The cleaning device of claim 1, further comprising a squeegee, wherein the squeegee is configured to suction used cleaning solution dispensed through the cleaning head and pass the used cleaning solution to the solution tank via a fluid delivery path.", "4.The cleaning device of claim 3, wherein the fluid delivery path connects to an inlet of the solution tank, wherein the inlet is in proximity to a pre-filter configured to filter the used cleaning solution.", "5.The cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the pump controller is configured to: in response to the flow rate being less than a minimum threshold value, increase a pump voltage; in response to the flow rate exceeding a maximum threshold value, decrease the pump voltage; and in response to the flow rate not being less than the minimum threshold value and not exceeding the maximum threshold value, not change the pump voltage.", "6.The cleaning device of claim 1, further comprising an ultraviolet light source that is configured to sterilize the cleaning solution.", "7.The cleaning device of claim 6, wherein the ultraviolet light source is located along a fluid delivery path between a discharge of the pump and an intake of the bypass line.", "8.The cleaning device of claim 1, further comprising: a first valve configured to control flow of the cleaning solution to the cleaning head in response to actuation by the pump controller; and a second value configured to control flow of the cleaning solution to the bypass line in response to actuation by the pump controller.", "9.The cleaning device of claim 1, further comprising a three-way valve having: an inlet that is fluidly connected to the flow meter; a first outlet that is fluidly connected to an inlet of the bypass line; and a second outlet that is fluidly connected to the cleaning head; wherein the three-way valve is configured to selectively control flow of the cleaning solution to the cleaning head or to the bypass line in response to actuation by the pump controller.", "10.A method of cleaning a surface, the method comprising: by a cleaning device having a solution tank, a pump in fluid communication with the solution tank, a cleaning head in fluid communication with the pump, and a bypass line in fluid communication with the pump and the solution tank: initiating a priming mode by: operating the pump to draw cleaning solution from the solution tank, and directing the cleaning solution from the pump to the solution tank through the bypass line until the cleaning device is primed; and determining whether the cleaning device is primed by: measuring a flow rate associated with the cleaning solution, determining whether the flow rate has equaled or exceeded a threshold value for a period of time, and determining that the cleaning device is primed if the flow rate has equaled or exceeded a threshold value for a period of time, and determining that the cleaning device is not primed if the flow rate does not equal or exceed the threshold value for the period of time; continuing the priming mode by continuing to deliver the cleaning solution to the solution tank through the bypass line until the cleaning device is determined to be primed; and in response to determining that the cleaning device is primed, initiating cleaning by delivering the cleaning solution to the cleaning head instead of the bypass line.", "11.The method of claim 10 further comprising, before initiating the priming mode, determining that the cleaning device is not primed by: determining that a system status variable is false; and determining one or more of the following: that a lower float switch in the solution tank transitioned from not floating to floating, or that operator input indicates that the cleaning device is not primed.", "12.The method of claim 10, further comprising, during the cleaning: measuring, by the flow meter, a flow rate associated with the cleaning solution; and in response to determining that the flow rate exceeds a maximum threshold value, decreasing, by a pump controller, a pump voltage associated with the pump.", "13.The method of claim 10, further comprising, during the cleaning: measuring, by the flow meter, a flow rate associated with the cleaning solution; and in response to determining that the flow rate is less than a minimum threshold value, increasing, by a pump controller, a pump voltage associated with the pump.", "14.The method of claim 10, further comprising, during the cleaning: measuring, by the flow meter, a flow rate associated with the cleaning solution; and in response to determining that the flow rate is less than a minimum threshold value, and delivering the cleaning solution through the bypass line to the solution tank instead of to the cleaning head.", "15.The method of claim 10, further comprising sanitizing the cleaning fluid by drawing the cleaning fluid through an ultraviolet light source.", "16.The method of claim 10, further comprising: dispensing the cleaning solution through the cleaning head; cleaning, by the cleaning head, a surface using the cleaning solution to produce used cleaning solution; and suctioning the used cleaning solution by an absorbent instrument of the cleaning device to the solution tank.", "17.The method of claim 10, wherein continuing the priming mode by continuing to deliver the cleaning solution to the solution tank through the bypass line until the cleaning device is determined to be prime comprises: retaining a first valve that is fluidly connected to the bypass line in an open position; and retaining a second valve that is fluidly connected to the cleaning head in an closed position.", "18.The method of claim 11, wherein initiating cleaning by delivering the cleaning solution to the bypass line comprises: closing the first valve; and opening the second valve.", "19.The method of claim 10, wherein continuing the priming mode by continuing to deliver the cleaning solution to the solution tank through the bypass line until the cleaning device is determined to be prime comprises operating a three-way valve so that: a first outlet of the three-way valve that is fluidly connected to the bypass line is in an open position; and a second outlet of the three-way valve that is fluidly connected to the cleaning head is in an closed position.", "20.The method of claim 19, wherein initiating cleaning by delivering the cleaning solution to the bypass line comprises: closing the first outlet of the three-way valve; and opening the second outlet of the three-way valve." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Cleaning devices that use solution to clean floors or other surfaces typically do not reuse and recycle cleaning solution.", "Usually, cleaning solution that is applied to a surface is returned, along with any soil or other debris, to a recovery tank of the cleaning device that is used to store dirty cleaning solution.", "When all of the clean cleaning solution has been used, the cleaning device must generally be taken to a maintenance area so that the dirty solution can be drained and the cleaning device can be refilled with new cleaning solution.", "Some cleaning devices utilize a recycling system to filter soils from the cleaning solution to extend the runtime of the cleaning device between empty and refill cycles.", "Often, recycling systems of cleaning devices include two tanks, a cleaning solution tank and a dirty solution recovery tank.", "The recovered dirty solution is usually cleaned and deposited into the dirty solution recovery tank.", "From there, it is often filtered or otherwise sanitized, and then added to the clean solution tank for further use." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>This disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, methodologies or protocols described, as these may vary.", "The terminology used in this description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope.", "As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "All publications mentioned in this document are incorporated by reference.", "All sizes recited in this document are by way of example only, and the invention is not limited to structures having the specific sizes or dimensions recited below.", "Nothing in this document is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described in this document are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.", "As used herein, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” In an embodiment, a cleaning device may include a solution tank configured to store cleaning solution.", "The solution tank may include an inlet and an outlet.", "The cleaning device may include at least one discharge line filter in fluid communication with the solution tank and a pump having a pump intake and a pump discharge.", "The pump may be configured to direct cleaning solution from the solution tank outlet through the at least one discharge line filter.", "The cleaning device may include a cleaning head in fluid communication with the pump discharge and a bypass line in fluid communication with the pump discharge and the inlet.", "The bypass line may be configured to divert cleaning solution received from the pump discharge away from the cleaning head and toward the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, a method of cleaning a surface may include drawing cleaning solution through a tank filter in fluid communication with an outlet of a solution tank, drawing the cleaning solution through one or more discharge line filters to a pump intake and delivering the cleaning solution from a pump discharge to a flow meter.", "The method may include, in response to a cleaning device not being primed, initiating priming mode by opening a first valve associated with the bypass line, closing a second valve associated with the cleaning head, and delivering the cleaning solution from a discharge of the flow meter to an inlet of the solution tank through a bypass line.", "The method may include, in response to the cleaning device being primed, initiating cleaning by closing a first valve associated with the bypass line, opening a second valve associated with a cleaning head, and delivering the cleaning solution to the cleaning head." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY This patent document claims priority to, and is a continuation of, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/707,415, filed May 8, 2015, which in turn is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/085,166 (now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,208,617), filed Apr.", "12, 2011.The disclosures of each priority application are fully incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND Cleaning devices that use solution to clean floors or other surfaces typically do not reuse and recycle cleaning solution.", "Usually, cleaning solution that is applied to a surface is returned, along with any soil or other debris, to a recovery tank of the cleaning device that is used to store dirty cleaning solution.", "When all of the clean cleaning solution has been used, the cleaning device must generally be taken to a maintenance area so that the dirty solution can be drained and the cleaning device can be refilled with new cleaning solution.", "Some cleaning devices utilize a recycling system to filter soils from the cleaning solution to extend the runtime of the cleaning device between empty and refill cycles.", "Often, recycling systems of cleaning devices include two tanks, a cleaning solution tank and a dirty solution recovery tank.", "The recovered dirty solution is usually cleaned and deposited into the dirty solution recovery tank.", "From there, it is often filtered or otherwise sanitized, and then added to the clean solution tank for further use.", "SUMMARY This disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, methodologies or protocols described, as these may vary.", "The terminology used in this description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope.", "As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.", "All publications mentioned in this document are incorporated by reference.", "All sizes recited in this document are by way of example only, and the invention is not limited to structures having the specific sizes or dimensions recited below.", "Nothing in this document is to be construed as an admission that the embodiments described in this document are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention.", "As used herein, the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” In an embodiment, a cleaning device may include a solution tank configured to store cleaning solution.", "The solution tank may include an inlet and an outlet.", "The cleaning device may include at least one discharge line filter in fluid communication with the solution tank and a pump having a pump intake and a pump discharge.", "The pump may be configured to direct cleaning solution from the solution tank outlet through the at least one discharge line filter.", "The cleaning device may include a cleaning head in fluid communication with the pump discharge and a bypass line in fluid communication with the pump discharge and the inlet.", "The bypass line may be configured to divert cleaning solution received from the pump discharge away from the cleaning head and toward the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, a method of cleaning a surface may include drawing cleaning solution through a tank filter in fluid communication with an outlet of a solution tank, drawing the cleaning solution through one or more discharge line filters to a pump intake and delivering the cleaning solution from a pump discharge to a flow meter.", "The method may include, in response to a cleaning device not being primed, initiating priming mode by opening a first valve associated with the bypass line, closing a second valve associated with the cleaning head, and delivering the cleaning solution from a discharge of the flow meter to an inlet of the solution tank through a bypass line.", "The method may include, in response to the cleaning device being primed, initiating cleaning by closing a first valve associated with the bypass line, opening a second valve associated with a cleaning head, and delivering the cleaning solution to the cleaning head.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates an exemplary cleaning device according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates an exemplary method of operating a cleaning device according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates an exemplary method of operating a cleaning device in priming mode according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an exemplary cleaning device according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "4A illustrates an exemplary method of operating a cleaning device according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "4B illustrates an exemplary method of operating a cleaning device in priming mode according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an exemplary cleaning device according to an embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.", "1 illustrates an exemplary cleaning device according to an embodiment.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device may be an autonomous mobile device that can automatically navigate and clean surfaces, such as floors.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device may be a robotic device.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device may be configured to clean large surfaces.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "1, a cleaning device 100 may include one or more of a solution tank 105, a pre-filter 110, a tank filter 115, a first discharge line filter 120, a second discharge line filter 125, a pump 130, a flow meter 135, a cleaning head 140, a squeegee 145 and a motor 185.In an embodiment, a solution tank 105 may be a single tank, and it may store cleaning solution.", "Cleaning solution may be a liquid used to clean one or more surfaces, such as water, a chemical solution, a combination of water and one or more chemical solutions and/or the like.", "A solution tank 105 may have one or more inlets through which cleaning solution enters the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, a solution tank 105 may have one or more outlets through which cleaning solution exits the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, a solution tank 105 may include one or more float switches to detect a level of cleaning solution present in the solution tank.", "For example, a solution tank 105 may include an upper float switch 180 and a lower float switch 190.In an embodiment, a tank filter 115 may be located within a solution tank 105 in proximity to and/or in fluid communication with an outlet of the solution tank.", "In an embodiment the tank filter 115 may be a sump filter formed from 100 mesh (or another size) stainless steel wire.", "The tank filter 115 may filter solution as it is drawn from within the solution tank 105 to an outlet of the solution tank.", "For example, the tank filter 115 may filter dirt or other debris from the solution as it exits the solution tank 105.The first discharge line filter 120 and the second discharge line filter 125 may each be any suitable filter, such as a cartridge filter.", "In an embodiment, the first discharge line filter 120 and/or the second discharge line filter 125 may be located outside of the solution tank 105 so that they filter fluid that has been discharged from an outlet of the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, a solution tank 105 may be in fluid communication with the first discharge line filter 120 and/or the second discharge line filter 125.For example, a solution tank 105 may be connected to a first discharge line filter 120 and/or the second discharge line filter 125 by one or more fluid lines and/or a tee fitting.", "In an embodiment, the first discharge line filter 120 and the second discharge line filter 125 may be fluidly connected in parallel, as illustrated by FIG.", "1.In another embodiment, a first discharge line filter 120 and a second discharge line filter 125 may be fluidly connected in series.", "In an embodiment, the first discharge line filter 120 and/or the second discharge line filter 125 may be a pleated filter, a wound cotton filter and/or the like.", "In an embodiment, the first discharge line filter 120 and/or the second discharge line filter 125 may be approximately ten inches long.", "The first discharge line filter 120 and/or the second discharge line filter 125 may be formed from pleated cellulose, polyester and/or polypropylene and may have one or more plastic ends and a core.", "In an embodiment, the first discharge line filter 120 and/or the second discharge line filter 125 may filter dirt or other debris from received cleaning solution that is discharged from the solution tank 105.In an embodiment, typically when the first discharge line filter 120 and the second discharge line filter 125 are connected in parallel, the first discharge line filter and the second discharge line filter may each be of substantially the same filter size.", "Alternatively, such as when the first discharge line filter 120 and the second discharge line filter 125 are connected in series, the filters may have different filter sizes.", "In an embodiment, filter size of a filter may refer to the size of the largest particles that can be filtered by the filter.", "For example, a filter having a filter size of 1 micron can filter particles having a size of 1 micron or larger.", "In an embodiment, the first discharge line filter 120 may be a 10 micron filter so that it filters large particles in the cleaning solution.", "The second discharge line filter 125 may be a 1 micron filter so that it filters fine particles that remain in the cleaning solution.", "In an embodiment, the first discharge line filter 120 and the second discharge line filter 125 may have equal filter sizes.", "For example, the first discharge line filter and the second discharge line filter may both be 10 micron filters.", "Additional and/or alternate sized filters may be used within the scope of this disclosure.", "In an embodiment, a first discharge line filter 120 and/or a second discharge line filter 125 may include an inlet and an outlet.", "Cleaning solution may be drawn from an outlet of a solution tank 105 to an inlet of a first discharge line filter 120 and/or a second discharge line filter 125.Cleaning solution may be drawn through a first discharge line filter 120 and/or a second discharge line filter 125 through an inlet of the respective filter and out of the first discharge line filter and/or a second discharge line through an outlet of the respective filter.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device may have a single discharge line filter as illustrated by FIG.", "5.An inlet of the discharge line filter 500 may be fluidly connected to an outlet of a solution tank 105, and an outlet of the discharge line filter may be fluidly connected to a pump intake.", "Cleaning fluid may be drawn from the solution tank 105 through the discharge line filter 500 to the pump 130.In an embodiment, cleaning solution may flow from an outlet of the first discharge line filter 120 or a second discharge line filter 125 to a pump 130.In an embodiment, cleaning solution may flow from an outlet of the first discharge line filter 120 or a second discharge line filter 125 to a pump 130 via a tee fitting 150.In an embodiment, a pump 130 may have a pump intake through which the pump may draw cleaning solution.", "In an embodiment, a pump 130 may have a pump outtake through which the pump may deliver cleaning solution.", "In an embodiment, cleaning solution may be delivered from the pump 130 through a flow meter 135.In an embodiment, the flow meter 135 may communicate the flow rate of the cleaning solution to a pump controller 195.In an embodiment, a pump controller 195 may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software.", "For example, a pump controller 195 may be a computing device, such as a CPU or other type of processor.", "In an embodiment, a pump controller 195 may be located within the cleaning device.", "In an alternate embodiment, a pump controller may be located remotely from the cleaning device, and may communicate with the cleaning device wirelessly.", "In an embodiment, a pump controller 195 may be in communication with the pump 130, the upper float switch 180, the lower float switch 190, the flow meter 135, the first valve 155 and/or the second valve 170.In an embodiment, the pump controller may adjust the pump voltage based on the flow rate that is received from the flow meter 135.In an embodiment, the pump controller 195 may use pulse-width modulation to adjust the pump voltage to maintain constant flow.", "For example, if the flow rate exceeds a threshold value, the pump controller 195 may reduce the pump voltage.", "In an embodiment, if the flow rate does not exceed a threshold value, the pump controller 195 may increase the pump voltage.", "In an embodiment, a first valve 155 may control flow of cleaning solution to the cleaning head 140.In an embodiment, a first valve may be a solenoid valve or other type of valve.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning head may include one or more scrubbers, brushes, nozzles, vacuums and/or the like.", "In an embodiment, the first valve 155 may be located between the pump 130 and the cleaning head 140.In an embodiment, cleaning solution may be delivered from the first valve 155 to the cleaning head 140 where it may be used by the cleaning device 100 to clean a surface.", "In an embodiment, the used cleaning solution may be vacuumed or otherwise suctioned into the cleaning device through a squeegee 145, a sponge or other absorbent instrument.", "The used cleaning solution may pass through the pre-filter 110 before being added to the cleaning solution in the solution tank 105.In an embodiment, the pre-filter 110 may filter cleaning solution that enters the solution tank 105 via an inlet.", "In an embodiment, the pre-filter 110 may be inside the solution tank 105 in proximity to an inlet of the solution tank.", "The pre-filter 110 may be connected to the solution tank 105 and may surround or otherwise cover at least a portion of the inlet.", "In an embodiment, a pre-filter 110 may be formed from passivated stainless steel mesh.", "The mesh may be formed from plain weave stainless wire.", "In an embodiment, the wire may be approximately 0.022 inches thick.", "In an embodiment, a pre-filter 110 may be cylindrically shaped with an opening on a top portion to capture debris.", "In an embodiment, the diameter of the opening may be approximately 3.875 inches.", "In an embodiment, one or more openings between wires of the filter may have a diameter of approximately 0.060 inches.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning device may include a bypass line 160.The bypass line 160 may have an intake through which cleaning solution may be delivered to the bypass line.", "In an embodiment, a bypass line 160 may have a discharge through which cleaning solution may exit the bypass line.", "The bypass line 160 may fluidly connect an inlet of the solution tank 105 and the downstream end of the flow meter 135.In an embodiment, a tee fitting 165 may be located downstream from the flow meter 135 and upstream from the first valve 155.In an embodiment, a bypass line 160 may connect the tee fitting 165 and the solution tank 105 to divert cleaning fluid toward the solution tank and away from the cleaning head 140.In an embodiment, a bypass line 160 may connect the tee fitting 165 and the solution tank 105 via a second valve 170.The second valve 170 may be associated with the cleaning head 140.In an embodiment, the second valve 170 may be located upstream from the cleaning head 140, but downstream from the flow meter 135.In an embodiment, a second valve 170 may be a solenoid valve or other type of valve.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning device may operate in a priming mode.", "In priming mode, the first valve 155 may be closed, and the second valve 170 may be open.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device 100 may be configured to automatically operate in priming mode when the cleaning device is powered on.", "Cleaning solution may circulate in a loop between the pump 130 and the solution tank 105 until the flow rate of the cleaning solution reaches a desired flow rate for a period of time.", "In an embodiment, when the flow rate reaches a desired flow rate for a period of time, the second valve 170 may be closed, and the first valve 155 may be opened so the cleaning solution is delivered to the cleaning head 140.In an embodiment, a three-way valve may be used in place of a first valve 155 and a second valve 170.A three-way valve may have one inlet and two outlets.", "The inlet of the three-way valve may be fluidly connected to the flow meter 135 such that fluid may flow from the flow meter to an inlet of the three-way valve.", "A first outlet of the three-way valve may be fluidly connected to an inlet of the bypass line 160.A second outlet of the three-way valve may be fluidly connected to the cleaning head 140.The first outlet and/or the second outlet of the three-way valve may be configured to be opened and/or closed.", "FIG.", "2A illustrates an exemplary method of operating the cleaning device illustrated in FIG.", "1 according to an embodiment.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "2A, the pump may draw 200 cleaning solution through a tank filter to an outlet of a solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may be drawn 202 from the outlet through the first discharge line filter or the second discharge line filter.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning solution may be drawn 204 to the pump.", "The pump may deliver 206 the cleaning fluid through a flow meter.", "The flow meter may measure 208 the flow rate of the cleaning solution.", "The flow meter may communicate 210 the flow rate to a pump controller.", "The pump controller may compare 212 the received flow rate with one or more threshold values.", "For example, the pump controller may compare 212 the received flow rate with a minimum threshold value and a maximum threshold value.", "If the received flow rate exceeds the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may decrease 214 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate is less than the minimum threshold value, the pump controller may increase 216 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate equals the minimum threshold value and/or the maximum threshold value, or is between the minimum threshold value and the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may not change 218 the pump voltage.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning solution may be delivered 220 from the flow meter through the first valve to the cleaning head.", "The cleaning head may use the cleaning solution to clean 222 a surface.", "The used cleaning solution may be suctioned 224 into the cleaning device via a squeegee.", "The used cleaning solution may be delivered 226 to the solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may enter the solution tank through an inlet, and may pass 228 through a pre-filter.", "FIG.", "2B illustrates an exemplary method of operating the cleaning device illustrated in FIG.", "1 in priming mode according to an embodiment.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "2B, the pump may draw 230 cleaning solution through a tank filter to an outlet of a solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may be drawn 232 from the outlet through the first discharge line filter or the second discharge line filter.", "The cleaning solution may be drawn 234 through the first discharge line filter or the second discharge line filter to the pump.", "The pump may deliver 236 the cleaning fluid through a flow meter.", "The flow meter may measure 238 the flow rate of the cleaning solution.", "The flow meter may communicate 240 the flow rate to a pump controller.", "The pump controller may compare 242 the received flow rate with one or more threshold values.", "For example, the pump controller may compare 242 the received flow rate with a minimum threshold value and a maximum threshold value.", "If the received flow rate exceeds the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may decrease 244 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate is less than the minimum threshold value, the pump controller may increase 246 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate equals the minimum threshold value and/or the maximum threshold value, or is between the minimum threshold value and the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may not change 248 the pump voltage.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device may operate in priming mode.", "While operating in priming mode, cleaning solution may be recycled through the cleaning device for a period of time.", "At the completion of the period of time, the cleaning device is primed.", "Operating in priming mode may help the cleaning device generate a consistent flow rate before it begins cleaning a surface.", "In an embodiment, priming mode may be initiated based on one or more of a system status variable, a state of the lower float switch (190 in FIG.", "1) and operator input.", "In an embodiment, a system status variable may be set to a first status, such as true, ‘one’, or another status when the cleaning device may be considered primed.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device status may be set to “primed” when the flow rate of the cleaning solution equals or exceeds a threshold value for a period of time.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device may be primed when the lower float switch is fully engaged.", "In an embodiment, a cleaning device may be primed when the lower float switch is fully engaged for a period of time.", "Conversely, a system status variable may be set to a second status, such as false, ‘zero’, or another status when the cleaning device is not primed.", "For example, a system status variable may be set to zero when the cleaning device is powered off.", "In an embodiment, a system status variable may be set to a second status when the lower float switch is not engaged and/or when the cleaning device is powered on.", "In an embodiment, a priming sequence may be initiated when the system status variable is set to false, and the lower float switch transitions from not floating to floating.", "In an embodiment, a priming sequence may be initiated when the system status variable is set to false and an operator presses a button, flips a switch or otherwise engages a trigger of the cleaning device to initiate the priming mode.", "In an embodiment, an operator may initiate priming mode if it has been previously interrupted or disabled.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning device may determine 250 whether it is primed.", "If it is not, the cleaning device may operate in priming mode.", "In priming mode, the first valve (135 in FIG.", "1) may be closed and the second valve (170 in FIG.", "1) may be open.", "The pump may deliver 252 cleaning solution from the flow meter through a second valve to a bypass line.", "The cleaning solution may be delivered 254 through the bypass line to the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, the solution may not pass 256 through a filter before it is added 258 to the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, this process may continue until the cleaning device is primed.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning device may be primed if the flow rate of the cleaning solution equals or exceeds a threshold value for a period of time.", "For example, the cleaning device may be primed if the flow rate has exceeded 0.50 gallons per minute for at least 15 seconds.", "In an embodiment, if the cleaning device is primed, the system status variable may be set 260 to a first status and the pump controller may open 262 the first valve and close 264 the second valve.", "Cleaning solution may be delivered 266 from the flow meter to through the first valve to the cleaning head.", "The cleaning head may use the cleaning solution to clean 268 a surface.", "The used cleaning solution may be suctioned 270 into the cleaning device via a squeegee.", "The used cleaning solution may be delivered 272 to the solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may enter the solution tank through an inlet, and may pass 274 through a pre-filter.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an exemplary cleaning device according to an embodiment.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "3, the first discharge line filter 120 and the second discharge line filter 125 may be in series.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning solution may be drawn from an outlet of the first discharge line filter 120 to an inlet of the second discharge line filter 125.This filtering process may be used on surfaces that should be thoroughly cleaned, such as hospital floors, schools and/or the like.", "In an embodiment, an ultraviolet light source 175 may be located between the pump 130 and the flow meter 135.In an embodiment, an ultraviolet light source 175 may be any suitable ultraviolet light source.", "The ultraviolet light source 175 may be in fluid communication with the pump 130 and the flow meter 135.Cleaning solution may be delivered to the ultraviolet light source 175 from the pump 130.The ultraviolet light source 175 may further sanitize the cleaning solution.", "The cleaning solution may be delivered to the flow meter 135 from the ultraviolet light 175 source.", "FIG.", "4A illustrates an exemplary method of operating the cleaning device illustrated in FIG.", "3 according to an embodiment.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "4A, the pump may draw cleaning solution through a tank filter to an outlet of a solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may be drawn 400 from the outlet through the first discharge line filter.", "The cleaning solution may be drawn 404 through the second discharge line filter to the pump.", "The pump may deliver 406 the cleaning fluid through an ultraviolet light source.", "The cleaning fluid may be delivered 408 from the ultraviolet light source through a flow meter.", "The flow meter may measure 410 the flow rate of the cleaning solution.", "The flow meter may communicate 412 the flow rate to a pump controller.", "The pump controller may compare 414 the received flow rate with one or more threshold values.", "For example, the pump controller may compare 414 the received flow rate with a minimum threshold value and a maximum threshold value.", "If the received flow rate exceeds the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may decrease 416 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate is less than the minimum threshold value, the pump controller may increase 418 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate equals the minimum threshold value and/or the maximum threshold value, or is between the minimum threshold value and the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may not change 420 the pump voltage.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning solution may be delivered 422 from the flow meter through the first valve to the cleaning head.", "The cleaning head may use the cleaning solution to clean 424 a surface.", "The used cleaning solution may be suctioned 426 into the cleaning device via a squeegee.", "The used cleaning solution may be delivered 428 to the solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may enter the solution tank through an inlet, and may pass 430 through a pre-filter.", "FIG.", "4B illustrates an exemplary method of operating the cleaning device illustrated in FIG.", "3 in priming mode according to an embodiment.", "As illustrated by FIG.", "4A, a pump may draw 432 cleaning solution through a tank filter to an outlet of a solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may be drawn 434 from the outlet through the first discharge line filter.", "The cleaning solution may be drawn 436 through the second discharge line filter to the pump.", "The pump may deliver 440 the cleaning fluid through an ultraviolet light source.", "The cleaning fluid may be delivered 442 from the ultraviolet light source through a flow meter.", "The flow meter may measure 444 the flow rate of the cleaning solution.", "The flow meter may communicate 446 the flow rate to a pump controller.", "The pump controller may compare 448 the received flow rate to one or more threshold values.", "For example, the pump controller may compare 448 the received flow rate to a minimum threshold value and a maximum threshold value.", "If the received flow rate exceeds the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may decrease 450 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate is less than the minimum threshold value, the pump controller may increase 452 the pump voltage.", "If the received flow rate equals the minimum threshold value and/or the maximum threshold value, or is between the minimum threshold value and the maximum threshold value, the pump controller may not change 454 the pump voltage.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning device may determine 456 whether it is primed.", "If it is not, the cleaning device may operate in priming mode.", "In priming mode, the first valve may be closed and the second valve may be open.", "The pump may deliver 458 cleaning solution from the flow meter through a second valve to a bypass line.", "The cleaning solution may be delivered 460 through the bypass line to the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, the solution may not pass 462 through a filter before it is added 464 to the solution tank.", "In an embodiment, this process may continue until the cleaning device is primed.", "In an embodiment, the cleaning device may be primed if the flow rate of the cleaning solution equals or exceeds a threshold value for a period of time.", "For example, the cleaning device may be primed if the flow rate has exceeded 0.50 gallons per minute for at least 15 seconds.", "In an embodiment, if the cleaning device is primed, the system status variable may be set 466 to a first status and the pump controller may open 468 the first valve and close 470 the second valve.", "Cleaning solution may be delivered 472 from the flow meter to through the first valve to the cleaning head.", "The cleaning head may use the cleaning solution to clean 474 a surface.", "The used cleaning solution may be suctioned 476 into the cleaning device via a squeegee.", "The used cleaning solution may be delivered 478 to the solution tank.", "The cleaning solution may enter the solution tank through an inlet, and may pass 480 through a pre-filter.", "It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications.", "Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15874992
[ [ "MODULAR HYBRID TRANSMISSION WITH TORQUE CONVERTER BAFFLE", "An assembly includes a front module housing an electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch, a transmission aft of the front module, a torque converter axially between the front module and the transmission, and a baffle radially between the torque converter and the transmission." ], [ "1.A hybrid electric vehicle, comprising: a transmission assembly including: an electric machine; a torque converter including a housing; and a baffle positioned radially outward of the housing and including a first sidewall nested about a rear wall of the housing and a second sidewall nested about a front wall of the housing.", "2.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the baffle is nested about a bottom center position of the housing of the torque converter.", "3.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, comprising a transmission housing positioned radially outward of the torque converter, and the baffle divides a space between the transmission housing and the housing of the torque converter into a dry side and a wet side.", "4.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 3, wherein the transmission housing houses a transmission gearbox.", "5.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the first sidewall and the second sidewall extend transversely from a floor of the baffle.", "6.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 5, wherein the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the floor establish a cavity configured to accommodate a portion of the torque converter.", "7.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the electric machine and a disconnect clutch are part of a front module of the transmission assembly.", "8.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 7, wherein the torque converter is positioned axially between the front module and a transmission gearbox of the transmission assembly.", "9.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the baffle is positioned radially between the housing of the torque converter and a transmission housing.", "10.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the first sidewall and the second sidewall of the baffle are curved.", "11.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the first sidewall and the second sidewall each include non-planar portions that bow in a direction away from one another.", "12.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein a floor of the baffle nests about a bottom wall of the housing of the torque converter.", "13.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the baffle is made of a plastic material.", "14.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the baffle is mounted to at least one of a front module housing and the housing of the torque converter.", "15.The hybrid electric vehicle as recited in claim 1, wherein the transmission assembly is a modular hybrid transmission assembly." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV's) employ both an internal combustion engine and an electric machine that can be used either individually or in combination to propel the vehicle.", "A variety of different powertrains may be utilized by HEV's.", "One type of powertrain is referred to as a parallel configuration in which the engine is connected to the electric machine by a disconnect clutch and the electric machine drives a torque converter input of a transmission.", "The transmission has an output connected to a differential that is coupled to the drive wheels of the vehicle.", "It may be desirable to position some components of the powertrain, such as the disconnect clutch, within a wet environment of the transmission.", "However, it can be difficult to drain lubricant from the disconnect clutch back to the transmission.", "Accordingly, additional advancements in this field of technology are desired." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An assembly according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a front module housing an electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch, a transmission aft of the front module, a torque converter axially between the front module and the transmission, and a baffle radially between the torque converter and the transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing assembly, the baffle is radially between a torque converter housing of the torque converter and a transmission housing of the transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing assemblies, the baffle divides a space between a bottom center position of a torque converter housing and a transmission housing into a wet side and a dry side.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the front module, the torque converter and the transmission are part of a modular hybrid transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the baffle includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall that extend from a floor.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the floor is a curved floor and at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a non-planar portion.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a mounting plate configured to mount the baffle to one of the front module and the transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, a scraper extends between the first sidewall and the second sidewall and a scraper window is disposed underneath the scraper.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the baffle is nested about a bottom center position of a housing of the torque converter.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, a corner is at an interface between the front module and the transmission, the corner configured to define a lubricant passageway between the baffle and the transmission.", "A hybrid electric vehicle according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a modular hybrid transmission assembly including a torque converter and a baffle that at least partially surrounds the torque converter.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicle, the baffle nests about a bottom center position of a housing of the torque converter.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicles, a housing is positioned radially outward of the torque converter.", "The baffle divides a space between the housing and the torque converter into a dry side and a wet side.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicles, the baffle includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall that extend from a floor.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicles, the first sidewall, the second sidewall and the floor establish a cavity configured to accommodate a portion of the torque converter.", "The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination.", "Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.", "The various features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.", "The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/138,562, which was filed on Dec. 23, 2013.TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to a hybrid electric vehicle, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a baffle for a modular hybrid transmission.", "BACKGROUND Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV's) employ both an internal combustion engine and an electric machine that can be used either individually or in combination to propel the vehicle.", "A variety of different powertrains may be utilized by HEV's.", "One type of powertrain is referred to as a parallel configuration in which the engine is connected to the electric machine by a disconnect clutch and the electric machine drives a torque converter input of a transmission.", "The transmission has an output connected to a differential that is coupled to the drive wheels of the vehicle.", "It may be desirable to position some components of the powertrain, such as the disconnect clutch, within a wet environment of the transmission.", "However, it can be difficult to drain lubricant from the disconnect clutch back to the transmission.", "Accordingly, additional advancements in this field of technology are desired.", "SUMMARY An assembly according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a front module housing an electric machine and an engine disconnect clutch, a transmission aft of the front module, a torque converter axially between the front module and the transmission, and a baffle radially between the torque converter and the transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing assembly, the baffle is radially between a torque converter housing of the torque converter and a transmission housing of the transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing assemblies, the baffle divides a space between a bottom center position of a torque converter housing and a transmission housing into a wet side and a dry side.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the front module, the torque converter and the transmission are part of a modular hybrid transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the baffle includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall that extend from a floor.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the floor is a curved floor and at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a non-planar portion.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall includes a mounting plate configured to mount the baffle to one of the front module and the transmission.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, a scraper extends between the first sidewall and the second sidewall and a scraper window is disposed underneath the scraper.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, the baffle is nested about a bottom center position of a housing of the torque converter.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing assemblies, a corner is at an interface between the front module and the transmission, the corner configured to define a lubricant passageway between the baffle and the transmission.", "A hybrid electric vehicle according to another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a modular hybrid transmission assembly including a torque converter and a baffle that at least partially surrounds the torque converter.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicle, the baffle nests about a bottom center position of a housing of the torque converter.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of either of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicles, a housing is positioned radially outward of the torque converter.", "The baffle divides a space between the housing and the torque converter into a dry side and a wet side.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicles, the baffle includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall that extend from a floor.", "In a further non-limiting embodiment of any of the foregoing hybrid electric vehicles, the first sidewall, the second sidewall and the floor establish a cavity configured to accommodate a portion of the torque converter.", "The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination.", "Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible.", "The various features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.", "The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 schematically illustrates a powertrain of a hybrid electric vehicle.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a modular hybrid transmission assembly.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an isometric view of a modular hybrid transmission assembly.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates another view of a modular hybrid transmission assembly.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate a baffle of a modular hybrid transmission assembly according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate a baffle of a modular hybrid transmission assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION This disclosure relates to a modular hybrid transmission assembly for use in hybrid electric vehicles.", "The modular hybrid transmission assembly includes a front module that houses an electric machine and a disconnect clutch.", "A torque converter is positioned axially between the front module and a transmission gearbox.", "A baffle is positioned radially between the torque converter and a housing in order to divide a cavity therebetween into a wet side and a dry side.", "Lubricant may be drained from the front module along the wet side of the baffle in order to avoid interfering with the operation of the torque converter.", "These and other features are discussed in greater detail herein.", "FIG.", "1 schematically illustrates a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) 10.Although illustrated as a HEV, the present disclosure may be applicable to other types of electrified vehicles.", "In addition, although a specific component relationship is illustrated in FIG.", "1, this illustration is not intended to limit this disclosure.", "In other words, it should be readily understood that the placement and orientation of the various components of the HEV 10 could vary within the scope of this disclosure.", "The exemplary HEV 10 includes a powertrain 12.The powertrain 12 includes an engine 14 and a transmission 16 that is driven by the engine 14.In one embodiment, the transmission 16 is a modular hybrid transmission (MHT).", "The transmission 16 can include an electric machine 18 powered by a battery 20, a torque converter 22 and a multiple-step ratio automatic transmission, or gearbox 24.In one embodiment, the electric machine 18 is configured as an electric motor.", "The electric machine 18 could alternatively be configured as a generator or a combined motor/generator within the scope of this disclosure.", "The engine 14 and the electric machine 18 may both be employed as available drive sources for the HEV 10.The engine 14 generally represents a power source that may include an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline, diesel, or natural gas powered engine, or a fuel cell.", "The engine 14 generates power and corresponding torque that is supplied to the electric machine 18 when an engine disconnect clutch 26 that is disposed between the engine 14 and the electric machine 18 is at least partially engaged.", "The electric machine 18 may be implemented by any one of a plurality of types of electric machines.", "By way of one non-limiting embodiment, the electric machine 18 could be a permanent magnet synchronous motor.", "Power electronics 28 are configured to condition direct current (DC) power provided by the battery 20 to the requirements of the electric machine 18, as is discussed more particularly below.", "For example, the power electronics 28 may provide three-phase alternating current (AC) to the electric machine 18.When the engine disconnect clutch 26 is at least partially engaged, power flow from the engine 14 to the electric machine 18 or from the electric machine 18 to the engine 14 is possible.", "For example, the engine disconnect clutch 26 may be engaged and the electric machine 18 may operate as a generator to convert rotational energy provided by a crankshaft 30 and an electric machine shaft 32 into electrical energy to be stored in the battery 20.The engine disconnect clutch 26 can also be disengaged to isolate the engine 14 from the remainder of the powertrain 12 such that the electric machine 18 can act as the sole power source for propelling the HEV 10.The electric machine shaft 32 may extend through the electric machine 18.The electric machine 18 is continuously drivably connected to the electric machine shaft 32, whereas the engine 14 is drivably connected to the electric machine shaft 32 only when the engine disconnect clutch 26 is at least partially engaged.", "The electric machine 18 is connected to the torque converter 22 via the electric machine shaft 32.The torque converter 22 is therefore connected to the engine 14 when the engine disconnect clutch 26 is at least partially engaged.", "The torque converter 22 includes an impeller fixed to the electric machine shaft 32 and a turbine fixed to a transmission input shaft 34.The torque converter 22 thus provides a hydraulic coupling between the electric machine shaft 32 and the transmission input shaft 34.The torque converter 22 transmits power from the impeller to the turbine when the impeller rotates faster than the turbine.", "The magnitude of the turbine torque and impeller torque generally depend upon the relative speeds.", "When the ratio of impeller speed to turbine speed is sufficiently high, the turbine torque is a multiple of the impeller torque.", "A torque converter bypass clutch 36 may also be provided.", "When engaged, the torque converter bypass clutch 36 frictionally or mechanically couples the impeller and the turbine of the torque converter 22 to enable a more efficient power transfer.", "The torque converter bypass clutch 36 may be operated as a launch clutch to provide smooth vehicle launch.", "Alternatively, or in combination, a launch clutch similar to the engine disconnect clutch 26 may be provided between the electric machine 18 and the transmission gearbox 24 for applications that do not include a torque converter 22 or a torque converter bypass clutch 36.In some embodiments, the engine disconnect clutch 26 is generally referred to as an upstream clutch and the torque converter bypass clutch 36 (which may be a launch clutch) is generally referred to as a downstream clutch.", "The transmission gearbox 24 may include gear sets (not shown) that are selectively operated using different gear ratios by selective engagement of friction elements such as clutches and brakes (not shown) to establish the desired multiple discrete or step drive ratios.", "The friction elements are controllable through a shift schedule that connects and disconnects certain elements of the gear sets to control the ratio between a transmission output shaft 38 and the transmission input shaft 34.The transmission gearbox 24 may be automatically shifted from one ratio to another based on various vehicle and ambient operating conditions by an associated controller, such as a powertrain control unit (PCU) 40.The transmission gearbox 24 then provides powertrain output torque to the transmission output shaft 38.It should be understood that the hydraulically controlled transmission gearbox 24 used with a torque converter 22 is but one non-limiting embodiment of a gearbox or transmission arrangement and that any multiple ratio gearbox that accepts input torque(s) from an engine and/or a motor and then provides torque to an output shaft at the different ratios is acceptable for use with the embodiments of this disclosure.", "For example, the transmission gearbox 24 may be implemented by an automated mechanical (or manual) transmission (AMT) that includes one or more servo motors to translate/rotate shift forks along a shift rail to select a desired gear ratio.", "As generally understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, an AMT may be used in applications with higher torque requirements, for example.", "The transmission output shaft 38 may be connected to a differential 42.The differential 42 drives a pair of wheels 44 via respective axles 46 that are connected to the differential 42.In one embodiment, the differential 42 transmits approximately equal torque to each wheel 44 while permitting slight speed differences such as when the vehicle turns a corner.", "Different types of differentials or similar devices may be used to distribute torque from the powertrain 12 to one or more wheels 44.In some applications, torque distribution may vary depending on the particular operating mode or condition, for example.", "The powertrain 12 may additionally include an associated powertrain control unit (PCU) 40.While schematically illustrated as a single controller, the PCU 40 may be part of a larger control system and may be controlled by various other controllers throughout the HEV 10, such as a vehicle system controller (VSC).", "It should therefore be understood that the PCU 40 and one or more other controllers can collectively be referred to as a “controller” that controls various actuators in response to signals from various sensors to control functions such as starting/stopping engine 14, operating the electric machine 18 to provide wheel torque or charge the battery 20, select or schedule transmission shifts, etc.", "The PCU 40 may include a microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) in communication with various types of computer readable storage devices or media.", "Computer readable storage devices or media may include volatile and nonvolatile storage in read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), and keep-alive memory (KAM), for example.", "KAM is a persistent or non-volatile memory that may be used to store various operating variables while the CPU is powered down.", "Computer-readable storage devices or media may be implemented using any of a number of known memory devices such as PROMs (programmable read-only memory), EPROMs (electrically PROM), EEPROMs (electrically erasable PROM), flash memory, or any other electric, magnetic, optical, or combination memory devices capable of storing data, some of which represent executable instructions, used by the controller in controlling the engine or vehicle.", "The PCU 40 may also communicate with various engine/vehicle sensors and actuators via an input/output (I/O) interface that may be implemented as a single integrated interface that provides various raw data or signal conditioning, processing, and/or conversion, short-circuit protection, and the like.", "Alternatively, one or more dedicated hardware or firmware chips may be used to condition and process particular signals before being supplied to the CPU.", "As schematically illustrated in FIG.", "1, the PCU 40 may communicate signals to and/or from the engine 14, the engine disconnect clutch 26, the electric machine 18, the torque converter bypass clutch 36, the transmission gearbox 24, and the power electronics 28.Although not explicitly illustrated, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize various functions or components that may be controlled by the PCU 40 within each of the subsystems identified above.", "Representative examples of parameters, systems, and/or components that may be directly or indirectly actuated using control logic executed by the controller include fuel injection timing, rate, and duration, throttle valve position, spark plug ignition timing (for spark-ignition engines), intake/exhaust valve timing and duration, front-end accessory drive (FEAD) components such as an alternator, air conditioning compressor, battery charging, regenerative braking, M/G operation, clutch pressures for engine disconnect clutch 26, torque converter bypass clutch 36, and transmission gearbox 24, and the like.", "Sensors communicating input through the I/O interface may be used to indicate turbocharger boost pressure, crankshaft position (PIP), engine rotational speed (RPM), wheel speeds (WS1, WS2), vehicle speed (VSS), coolant temperature (ECT), intake manifold pressure (MAP), accelerator pedal position (PPS), ignition switch position (IGN), throttle valve position (TP), air temperature (TMP), exhaust gas oxygen (EGO) or other exhaust gas component concentration or presence, intake air flow (MAF), transmission gear, ratio, or mode, transmission oil temperature (TOT), transmission turbine speed (TS), torque converter bypass clutch 36 status (TCC), deceleration or shift mode, for example.", "Of course, the control logic may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware in one or more controllers depending upon the particular application.", "When implemented in software, the control logic may be provided in one or more computer-readable storage devices or media having stored data representing code or instructions executed by a computer to control the vehicle or its subsystems.", "The computer-readable storage devices or media may include one or more of a number of known physical devices which utilize electric, magnetic, and/or optical storage to keep executable instructions and associated calibration information, operating variables, and the like.", "An accelerator pedal 48 may be used by the driver of the HEV 10 to provide a demanded torque, power, or drive command to propel the HEV 10.In general, depressing and releasing the pedal 48 generates an accelerator pedal position signal that may be interpreted by the PCU 40 as a demand for increased power or decreased power, respectively.", "Based at least upon input from the pedal 48, the PCU 40 commands torque from the engine 14 and/or the electric machine 18.The PCU 40 also controls the timing of gear shifts within the transmission gearbox 24, as well as engagement or disengagement of the engine disconnect clutch 26 and the torque converter bypass clutch 36.Like the engine disconnect clutch 26, the torque converter bypass clutch 36 can be modulated across a range between the engaged and disengaged positions.", "This produces a variable slip in the torque converter 22 in addition to the variable slip produced by the hydrodynamic coupling between the impeller and the turbine.", "Alternatively, the torque converter bypass clutch 36 may be operated as locked or open without using a modulated operating mode depending on the particular application.", "To drive the HEV 10 with the engine 14, the engine disconnect clutch 26 is at least partially engaged to transfer at least a portion of the engine torque through the engine disconnect clutch 26 to the electric machine 18, and then from the electric machine 18 through the torque converter 22 and the transmission gearbox 24.The electric machine 18 may assist the engine 14 by providing additional power to turn the electric machine shaft 32.This operation mode may be referred to as a “hybrid mode” or an “electric assist mode.” To drive the HEV 10 using the electric machine 18 as the sole power source, the power flow remains the same except the engine disconnect clutch 26 isolates the engine 14 from the remainder of the powertrain 12.Combustion in the engine 14 may be disabled or otherwise turned OFF during this time to conserve fuel.", "The battery 20 transmits stored electrical energy through wiring 50 to the power electronics 28, which may include an inverter, for example.", "The power electronics 28 convert DC voltage from the battery 20 into AC voltage to be used by the electric machine 18.The PCU 40 commands the power electronics 28 to convert voltage from the battery 20 to an AC voltage provided to the electric machine 18 to provide positive or negative torque to the electric machine shaft 32.This operation mode may be referred to as an “electric only” or “EV” operation mode.", "In any mode of operation, the electric machine 18 may act as a motor and provide a driving force for the powertrain 12.Alternatively, the electric machine 18 could act as a generator and convert kinetic energy from the HEV 10 into electric energy to be stored in the battery 20.The electric machine 18 may act as a generator while the engine 14 is providing propulsion power for the HEV 10, for example.", "The electric machine 18 may additionally act as a generator during times of regenerative braking in which rotational energy from spinning the wheels 44 is transferred back through the transmission gearbox 24 and is converted into electrical energy for storage in the battery 20.It should be understood that highly schematic depiction of FIG.", "1 is merely exemplary and is not intended to be limiting on this disclosure.", "Other configurations are additionally or alternatively contemplated that utilize selective engagement of both an engine and a motor to transmit through the transmission.", "For example, the electric machine 18 may be offset from the crankshaft 30 or an additional motor may be provided to start the engine 14.Other configurations are contemplated without departing from the scope of this disclosure.", "FIGS.", "2 and 3 illustrate a modular hybrid transmission assembly 116 that may be employed within an electrified vehicle, such as the HEV 10 of FIG.", "1.In this disclosure, like reference numbers designate like elements where appropriate and reference numerals with the addition of 100 or multiples thereof designate modified elements that are understood to incorporate the same features and benefits of the corresponding original elements.", "The modular hybrid transmission assembly 116 includes a front module 52, a transmission gearbox 24 aft of the front module 52, and a torque converter axially between the front module 52 and the transmission gearbox 24.The front module 52 includes a housing 54 that substantially encloses an electric machine 18 and an engine disconnect clutch 26 (see FIG.", "2).", "A transmission housing 60 (see FIG.", "2, removed in FIG.", "3 for clarity) substantially encloses the transmission gearbox 24 and at least partially encloses the torque converter 22.As shown in FIG.", "2, the torque converter 22 may be partially housed by both the housing 54 and the transmission housing 60.In one embodiment, the housing 54 of the front module 52 includes a mating flange 56 that mates with a corresponding mating flange 58 of the transmission housing 60.The mating flanges 56, 58 may mate along parallel, abutting faces, in one embodiment.", "A baffle 68 may be positioned radially between the torque converter 22 and the transmission housing 60.The torque converter 22 includes a housing 70.In one embodiment, the baffle 68 is radially between the transmission housing 60 and the housing 70 of the torque converter 22.The housing 70 defines a periphery 72 that extends about a longitudinal axis 74 of the modular hybrid transmission assembly 116.The periphery 72 has a bottom center position 76 that coincides with the six o'clock position of the housing 70.In one embodiment, the baffle 68 is generally nested about the bottom center position 76 of the housing 70 of the torque converter 22.In other words, the baffle 68 does not enclose the entire periphery 72 of the housing 70 of the torque converter 22.In a first embodiment, the baffle 68 is mounted to the housing 54 of the front module 52 in order to divide the cavity 78 into the dry side 80 and the wet side 82 (see FIG.", "2).", "In another embodiment, the baffle 68 is mounted to the transmission housing 60 (see FIG.", "4).", "In yet another embodiment, the baffle 68 may be mounted to both the front module housing 54 and the transmission housing 60.The baffle 68 divides a cavity 78 that extends between the transmission housing 60 and the housing 70 of the torque converter 22 between a dry side 80 and a wet side 82.The cavity 78 may also extend into the front module 52 as shown in FIG.", "2.By dividing the cavity 78 in this manner, the engine disconnect clutch 26 may operate in a wet environment on the wet side 82 while maintaining the torque converter 22 out of the wet environment on the dry side 80.For example, lubricant L may be used to lubricate and cool one or more components (e.g., the engine disconnect clutch 26, electric machine rotor, electric machine stator, etc.)", "housed in the front module 52.The lubricant L may be sourced from the transmission gearbox 24.By virtue of gravity, after it has done its work, this lubricant L may eventually accumulate in the cavity 78.The accumulated lubricant L needs to drain back to the transmission gearbox 24.The baffle 68 establishes lubrication passageways 90 on the wet side 82 of the cavity 68 for draining the lubricant L. As best shown in FIG.", "2, the lubricant L is communicated from the front module 52 downstream toward the transmission gearbox 24 on the wet side 82 of the baffle 68 and radially outward of the torque converter 22.Once around the torque converter 22, the lubricant L may pass through a drain back window 84 that leads into a sump 86 of the transmission gearbox 24.The lubricant L is thereby returned to the transmission gearbox 24 for reuse.", "Incorporation of the baffle 68 keeps the torque converter 22 from paddling through lubricant L as it drains back from the front module 52.Referring now to FIGS.", "3 and 4, one or more corners 92 may be established at the interface between the front module housing 54 and the transmission housing 60.The corners 92 define the lubrication passageways 90 for draining the lubricant L around the baffle 68.The lubrication passageways 90 extend radially between the baffle 68 and the housings 54, 60.In this embodiment, the lubrication passageways 90 are generally triangular shaped.", "However, other shapes and sizes are contemplated as within the scope of this disclosure.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate additional features of the baffle 68 illustrated in FIGS.", "2, 3 and 4.In one non-limiting embodiment, the baffle 68 includes a floor 94 and sidewalls 96, 98 that extend transversely from the floor 94.The floor 94 and the sidewalls 96, 98 may be curved such that the baffle 68 defines a bathtub-like shape.", "In addition, one or both of the sidewalls 96, 98 may include a non-planar portion 100.In one embodiment, non-planar portions 100 of the sidewalls 96, 98 bow in a direction away from one another.", "Together, the floor 94 and sidewalls 96, 98 establish a cavity 102 for accommodating the bottom portion of the torque converter 22.In this way, the baffle 68 nests about the torque converter 22 (see FIGS.", "2 and 3).", "For example, as best shown in FIG.", "2, the sidewall 96 nests about a rear wall RW of the torque converter housing 70, the sidewall 98 nests about a front wall FW of the torque converter housing 70, and the floor 94 nests about a bottom wall BW of the torque converter housing 70.At least one of the sidewalls 96, 98 may include one or more mounting plates 104.The mounting plates 104 may be used to mount the baffle 68 to the modular hybrid transmission assembly 116, such as with one or more fasteners.", "In one embodiment, the baffle 68 is made of a plastic material.", "One non-limiting example of a suitable plastic material is nylon.", "However, other materials are also contemplated as within the scope of this disclosure.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate another exemplary baffle 168 that may be used within the modular hybrid transmission assembly 116 described above or some other transmission.", "FIG.", "6A is an isometric view of the baffle 168, while FIG.", "6B is a view looking fore to aft into the modular hybrid transmission assembly 116 (i.e., in a direction from the engine 14 toward the torque converter 22 as those components are shown in FIG.", "1).", "In some operating conditions, a relatively small amount of lubricant L may accumulate on the dry side 80 notwithstanding the use of the baffle 168.For example, this lubricant L may accumulate within a cavity 202 of the baffle 168.It may be desirable to remove the lubricant L from the cavity 202.To that end, the baffle 168 may include a scraper feature 165.The scraper 165 extends between a first sidewall 196 and a second sidewall 198 of the baffle 168.The first and second sidewalls 196, 198 extend from a floor 194 of the baffle 168.In one embodiment, the scraper 165 is positioned at a trailing edge 167 of the baffle 168.However, the exact positioning of the scraper 165 could vary.", "A scraper window 169 extends through the floor 194 underneath the scraper 165.Referring to FIG.", "6B, as the torque converter housing 70 rotates about the longitudinal axis 74 in the direction R, lubricant L that has accumulated in the cavity 202 may be pumped toward the scraper window 169 by virtue of circumferential force created by the rotating the housing 70.The lubricant L communicated through the scraper window 169 is deflected by the scraper 165 (which when mounted is tangential to the housing 70) into a lubricant passageway 190 of the modular hybrid transmission assembly 116 for drainage back to the transmission gearbox (not shown in FIGS.", "6A, 6B).", "Although the different non-limiting embodiments are illustrated as having specific components or steps, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those particular combinations.", "It is possible to use some of the components or features from any of the non-limiting embodiments in combination with features or components from any of the other non-limiting embodiments.", "It should be understood that like reference numerals identify corresponding or similar elements throughout the several drawings.", "It should be understood that although a particular component arrangement is disclosed and illustrated in these exemplary embodiments, other arrangements could also benefit from the teachings of this disclosure.", "The foregoing description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.", "A worker of ordinary skill in the art would understand that certain modifications could come within the scope of this disclosure.", "For these reasons, the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15874994
[ [ "MEDICAL INSTRUMENT", "A medical instrument of the present invention includes a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument.", "The hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and an antibacterial agent, and a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°.", "Provided that a silver content per unit area in the hydrophilic processed portion is P, and a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is Q, P and Q satisfy the relationships of Formula (1) and Formula (2) shown below.", "Accordingly, the medical instrument has excellent antifogging properties and antibacterial properties and excellently retains the antibacterial properties.", "6.0≤P/Q Formula (1) 15.05≤Q Formula (2) The unit of P is ng/cm2, and the unit of Q is ng/cm2." ], [ "1.A medical instrument comprising: a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, wherein the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and an antibacterial agent, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, provided that a silver content per unit area in the hydrophilic processed portion is P and a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is Q, P and Q satisfy relationships of Formula (1) and Formula (2), 6.0≤P/Q Formula (1) 15.0≤Q Formula (2) a unit of P is ng/cm2, a unit of Q is ng/cm2, and the extraction test is a test in which a 1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010 is used as an extractant; a temperature of the extractant is controlled within a range of 35±1° C.; the extractant is brought into contact with the hydrophilic processed portion for 1 hour; the silver ion amount extracted into the extractant is measured; and the obtained value is divided by a contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant, thereby obtaining the silver ion amount Q per unit area.", "2.The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein Q satisfies a relationship of Formula (3), 15.0≤Q≤25.0 Formula (3) 3.The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the antibacterial agent includes a first antibacterial agent containing silver and a second antibacterial agent containing silver different from the first antibacterial agent.", "4.The medical instrument according to claim 3, wherein the first antibacterial agent contains silver and one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate, and the second antibacterial agent contains silver and a support formed of zeolite.", "5.A medical instrument comprising: a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, wherein the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and at least one kind of antibacterial agent, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, the antibacterial agent contains silver, a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is 15 to 50 ng/cm2, in the extraction test, a 1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010 is used as an extractant; a temperature of the extractant is controlled within a range of 35±1° C.; the extractant is brought into contact with the hydrophilic processed portion for 1 hour; the silver ion amount extracted into the extractant is measured; and the obtained value is divided by a contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant, thereby obtaining the silver ion amount per unit area, a unit of the silver ion amount is ng, a unit of the contact area is cm2, and a unit of the silver ion amount per unit area is ng/cm2.6.The medical instrument according to claim 5, wherein the antibacterial agent is a silver-supporting support containing a support and silver supported on the support.", "7.A medical instrument comprising: a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, wherein the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer, an antibacterial agent containing silver, and a porous support which can adsorb silver ions, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, provided that an average particle diameter of the antibacterial agent is Da, an average particle diameter of the porous support is Db, and an average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is T, Da, Db, and T satisfy relationships shown below, T/Da>3.0 Formula (4) T/Db≤3.0 Formula (5) a unit of Da, Db, and T is μm.", "8.The medical instrument according to claim 7, wherein silver is supported on the porous support.", "9.The medical instrument according to claim 7, wherein Da and Db satisfy a relationship shown below, Db/Da≤3.5 Formula (6) 10.The medical instrument according to claim 7, wherein a content of the porous support with respect to a total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 0.5% by mass.", "11.The medical instrument according to claim 7, wherein the antibacterial agent contains silver and one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate, and the porous support contains silver and a support formed of zeolite.", "12.The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein a surface roughness Ra of the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is 2 to 15 μm.", "13.The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic processed portion contains lubricant particles having an average particle diameter of 6 to 10 μm.", "14.The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein an average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is 1 to 10 μm.", "15.The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein a content of the antibacterial agent with respect to a total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is 0.001% to 5% by mass.", "16.The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the antibacterial agent contains at least one kind of particles selected from the group consisting of ceramic particles supporting silver and silver particles.", "17.The medical instrument according to claim 1 that is a radiographic imaging device.", "18.The medical instrument according to claim 17, wherein in the radiographic imaging device, the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on at least a surface that comes into contact with a subject at the time of imaging.", "19.The medical instrument according to claim 17, wherein the radiographic imaging device is a portable radiographic imaging device, and the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on at least a surface on a side irradiated with radiation in a housing of the portable radiographic imaging device.", "20.The medical instrument according to claim 19, wherein the hydrophilic processed portion is further provided in a rear surface portion of the housing and/or a lateral surface portion of the housing.", "21.The medical instrument according to claim 19, wherein the portable radiographic imaging device as the radiographic imaging device has a housing body in the form of a cylinder having at least one open end, and the housing body constitutes the housing by closing the one open end with a cap member.", "22.The medical instrument according to claim 19, wherein in the portable radiographic imaging device as the radiographic imaging device, at least a portion of the rear surface portion of the housing and at least a portion of the lateral surface portion of the housing are integrally formed.", "23.The medical instrument according to claim 17, wherein the radiographic imaging device is a mammography device, and the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject within a surface of a face guard portion.", "24.The medical instrument according to claim 23, wherein in the mammography device, the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject within a surface of a breast support or on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject within a surface of a breast compression plate.", "25.The medical instrument according to claim 1 that is a medical mask.", "26.The medical instrument according to claim 1 that is a medical goggle.", "27.The medical instrument according to claim 1 that is a transparent sterile medical bag." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In view of sterilization, by the technique described in JP2012-132703A, the surface of medical instruments exhibits low wettability with respect to a disinfectant solution.", "That is, because the disinfectant solution is repelled, it is not easy for the disinfectant solution to stay for a period of time on the outer surface of medical instruments, and as a result, the sterilization effect is highly unlikely to be sufficiently exerted on bacteria.", "Furthermore, in order for the photocatalyst described in JP2012-123297A or JP2002-113053A to exhibit a sterilizing performance, hydrophilicity, or antifogging properties, the photocatalyst must be irradiated with light.", "Therefore, the device is not suitable for being used in various medical environments including a dark place.", "In recent years, in order to enable medical devices to be more frequently used, the medical devices have been required to exhibit an antibacterial action within a shorter period of time.", "Furthermore, the medical devices have been required to be able to retain the antibacterial action for a longer period of time.", "That is, there is a demand for medical instruments which exhibit the antibacterial action within a short period of time and can retain the antibacterial properties for a long time.", "However, as a result of examining the substrate with an antibacterial layer described in JP1997-131389A (JP-H09-131389A) and JP2002-337277A, the inventors of the present invention have found that the substrate does not sufficiently satisfy the aforementioned demand and needs to be further improved.", "The present invention is for solving the aforementioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a medical instrument which has excellent antifogging properties and antibacterial properties and excellently retains the antibacterial properties.", "In order to achieve the aforementioned object, a medical instrument of a first aspect of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, in which the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and an antibacterial agent, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, and provided that a silver content per unit area in the hydrophilic processed portion is P and a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is Q, P and Q satisfy relationships of Formula (1) and Formula (2).", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "6.0≤ P/Q Formula (1) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "15.0≤ Q Formula (2) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "Herein, a unit of P is ng/cm 2 , and a unit of Q is ng/cm 2 .", "The extraction test is a test in which a 1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010 is used as an extractant; a temperature of the extractant is controlled within a range of 35±1° C.; the extractant is brought into contact with the hydrophilic processed portion for 1 hour; the silver ion amount extracted into the extractant is measured; and the obtained value is divided by a contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant, thereby obtaining the silver ion amount Q per unit area.", "Herein, Q preferably satisfies a relationship of Formula (3).", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "15.0≤ Q≤ 25.0  Formula (3) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "The antibacterial agent preferably includes a first antibacterial agent containing silver and a second antibacterial agent containing silver different from the first antibacterial agent.", "The first antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate, and the second antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and a support formed of zeolite.", "A medical instrument of a second aspect of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, in which the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and at least one kind of antibacterial agent, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, the antibacterial agent contains silver, and a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is 15 to 50 ng/cm 2 .", "In the extraction test, a 1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010 is used as an extractant; a temperature of the extractant is controlled within a range of 35±1° C.; the extractant is brought into contact with the hydrophilic processed portion for 1 hour; the silver ion amount extracted into the extractant is measured; and the obtained value is divided by a contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant, thereby obtaining the silver ion amount per unit area.", "A unit of the silver ion amount is ng, a unit of the contact area is cm 2 , and a unit of the silver ion amount per unit area is ng/cm 2 .", "Herein, the antibacterial agent is preferably a silver-supporting support containing a support and a silver supported on the support.", "A medical instrument of a third aspect of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, in which the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer, an antibacterial agent containing silver, and a porous support which can adsorb silver ions, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, and provided that an average particle diameter of the antibacterial agent is Da, an average particle diameter of the porous support is Db, and an average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is T, Da, Db, and T satisfy relationships shown below.", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "T/Da> 3.0  Formula (4) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "T/Db≤ 3.0  Formula (5) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "A unit of Da, Db, and T is μm.", "It is preferable that silver is supported on the porous support.", "Da and Db preferably satisfy a relationship shown below.", "in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"lead\"?", "Db/Da≤ 3.5  Formula (6) in-line-formulae description=\"In-line Formulae\" end=\"tail\"?", "A content of the porous support with respect to a total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably equal to or smaller than 0.5% by mass.", "The antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate, and the porous support preferably contains silver and a support formed of zeolite.", "The medical instruments of the first to third aspects preferably satisfy the following conditions.", "A surface roughness Ra of the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is 2 to 15 μm.", "The hydrophilic processed portion contains lubricant particles having an average particle diameter of 6 to 10 μm.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is 1 to 10 μm.", "A content of the antibacterial agent with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is 0.001% to 5% by mass.", "The antibacterial agent contains at least one kind of particles selected from the group consisting of ceramic particles supporting silver and silver particles.", "The medical instruments of the first to third aspects are preferably a radiographic imaging device.", "In the radiographic imaging device, the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface that comes into contact with a subject at the time of imaging.", "The radiographic imaging device is preferably a portable radiographic imaging device, and the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface on a side irradiated with radiation in a housing of the portable radiographic imaging device.", "The hydrophilic processed portion is preferably further provided in a rear surface portion of the housing and/or a lateral surface portion of the housing.", "The portable radiographic imaging device as the radiographic imaging device preferably has a housing body in the form of a cylinder having at least one open end, and the housing body preferably constitutes the housing by closing the one open end with a cap member.", "In the portable radiographic imaging device as the radiographic imaging device, at least a portion of the rear surface portion of the housing and at least a portion of the lateral surface portion of the housing are preferably integrally formed.", "The radiographic imaging device is preferably a mammography device, and the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject at the time of imaging within a surface of a face guard portion.", "In the mammography device, the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject within a surface of a breast support or on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject within a surface of a breast compression plate.", "The medical instrument is preferably a medical mask.", "The medical instrument is preferably a medical goggle.", "The medical instrument is preferably a transparent sterile medical bag.", "According to the present invention, a hydrophilic processed portion having excellent antifogging properties and antibacterial properties is provided on the surface of a medical instrument.", "Therefore, the present invention can provide a medical instrument in which the fogging of the surface of the instrument can be prevented or inhibited and the bacterial multiplication can be prevented or inhibited." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No.", "PCT/JP2016/062378 filed on Apr.", "19, 2016, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No.", "2015-143630 filed on Jul.", "21, 2015.Each of the above applications is hereby expressly incorporated by reference, in its entirety, into the present application.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical instrument including a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of a surface of the instrument.", "2.Description of the Related Art Many of medical instruments used in the medical field continuously come into contact with a plurality of patients.", "In a case where the body fluid of the patients and the like adhere to these medical instruments and are insufficiently cleaned or washed, a pathogenic viral infection and the like may be transmitted between the patients or between the patient and a radiographer.", "In order to prevent such infection, the surface of the medical instruments is sterilized using a disinfectant solution such as an aqueous ethanol solution or an aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution, regularly or whenever the instruments are used for a new patient in a case where there is a high risk of infection.", "For example, in a case where a radiographic imaging device, especially, a portable radiographic imaging device is used in an operating room, an emergency room, or the like, blood or vomit containing infectious viruses or bacteria, body fluid, sebum, and the like adhere to the device in some cases.", "Furthermore, in a mammography device, lipstick or sebum from a patient adheres to a face guard portion, or oozing breast milk, blood resulting from hemorrhage at the time of biopsy (mammotome biopsy), or sebum adheres to a breast support or a breast compression plate.", "These types of contaminants from patients are not easily wiped off.", "Particularly, in some cases, because the contaminants stick to the surface of the device, it takes time to wipe the contaminants off.", "As solutions to these problems, the following techniques are suggested.", "For example, JP2012-132703A discloses a technique of mounting a buffer material, which has undergone waterproofing processing, on an outer surface of a medical instrument.", "This technique has an advantage of hindering the adherence of contaminants.", "Furthermore, JP2012-123297A suggests a method of coating a medical instrument with a photocatalyst (for example, TiO2) that shows a bactericidal action.", "In addition, from the viewpoint of a countermeasure for infection, JP1997-131389A (JP-H09-131389A) or JP2002-337277A suggests a technique for reducing the bacterial multiplication or the risk of the infection of diseases by providing an antibacterial layer on the surface of various medical instruments including a radiographic imaging device.", "JP1997-131389A (JP-H09-131389A) discloses a slow-release antibacterial material formed of a silver-based antibacterial agent in which a silver complex is supported on a silica gel support, silica gel, and an organic binder.", "JP2002-337277A discloses a front panel formed of a scratch-resistant film, which includes an antibacterial agent formed of a silver-containing phosphate double salt, and a substrate.", "In some cases, due to humidity, dew condensation occurs on the surface of the medical instruments used in the medical field, the display screen of the instruments becomes foggy, and the visibility deteriorates.", "For example, some of the cassettes used in radiographic imaging devices include an LED display portion, which is for checking the position of a panel by the light emitted from a light emitting portion or for preventing the mounting of a wrong panel by the difference of color of the emitted light, or a display portion showing a battery level.", "In a case where the display portion is foggy, the visibility of light decreases, and the workflow deteriorates.", "As a solution to the problem relating to antifogging properties, JP2002-113053A suggests a method in which in a plastic hood, that is, in an incubator hood made of plastic, at least a portion of the inner surface of the hood is coated with a photocatalyst such that antifogging properties and antibacterial properties are imparted, and that the dew condensation and the multiplication of fungi and bacteria are prevented from occurring on the inner surface of the plastic hood.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of sterilization, by the technique described in JP2012-132703A, the surface of medical instruments exhibits low wettability with respect to a disinfectant solution.", "That is, because the disinfectant solution is repelled, it is not easy for the disinfectant solution to stay for a period of time on the outer surface of medical instruments, and as a result, the sterilization effect is highly unlikely to be sufficiently exerted on bacteria.", "Furthermore, in order for the photocatalyst described in JP2012-123297A or JP2002-113053A to exhibit a sterilizing performance, hydrophilicity, or antifogging properties, the photocatalyst must be irradiated with light.", "Therefore, the device is not suitable for being used in various medical environments including a dark place.", "In recent years, in order to enable medical devices to be more frequently used, the medical devices have been required to exhibit an antibacterial action within a shorter period of time.", "Furthermore, the medical devices have been required to be able to retain the antibacterial action for a longer period of time.", "That is, there is a demand for medical instruments which exhibit the antibacterial action within a short period of time and can retain the antibacterial properties for a long time.", "However, as a result of examining the substrate with an antibacterial layer described in JP1997-131389A (JP-H09-131389A) and JP2002-337277A, the inventors of the present invention have found that the substrate does not sufficiently satisfy the aforementioned demand and needs to be further improved.", "The present invention is for solving the aforementioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a medical instrument which has excellent antifogging properties and antibacterial properties and excellently retains the antibacterial properties.", "In order to achieve the aforementioned object, a medical instrument of a first aspect of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, in which the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and an antibacterial agent, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, and provided that a silver content per unit area in the hydrophilic processed portion is P and a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is Q, P and Q satisfy relationships of Formula (1) and Formula (2).", "6.0≤P/Q Formula (1) 15.0≤Q Formula (2) Herein, a unit of P is ng/cm2, and a unit of Q is ng/cm2.The extraction test is a test in which a 1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010 is used as an extractant; a temperature of the extractant is controlled within a range of 35±1° C.; the extractant is brought into contact with the hydrophilic processed portion for 1 hour; the silver ion amount extracted into the extractant is measured; and the obtained value is divided by a contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant, thereby obtaining the silver ion amount Q per unit area.", "Herein, Q preferably satisfies a relationship of Formula (3).", "15.0≤Q≤25.0 Formula (3) The antibacterial agent preferably includes a first antibacterial agent containing silver and a second antibacterial agent containing silver different from the first antibacterial agent.", "The first antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate, and the second antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and a support formed of zeolite.", "A medical instrument of a second aspect of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, in which the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and at least one kind of antibacterial agent, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, the antibacterial agent contains silver, and a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is 15 to 50 ng/cm2.In the extraction test, a 1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010 is used as an extractant; a temperature of the extractant is controlled within a range of 35±1° C.; the extractant is brought into contact with the hydrophilic processed portion for 1 hour; the silver ion amount extracted into the extractant is measured; and the obtained value is divided by a contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant, thereby obtaining the silver ion amount per unit area.", "A unit of the silver ion amount is ng, a unit of the contact area is cm2, and a unit of the silver ion amount per unit area is ng/cm2.Herein, the antibacterial agent is preferably a silver-supporting support containing a support and a silver supported on the support.", "A medical instrument of a third aspect of the present invention comprises a hydrophilic processed portion on at least a portion of an outer surface of the instrument, in which the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer, an antibacterial agent containing silver, and a porous support which can adsorb silver ions, a water contact angle of a surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°, and provided that an average particle diameter of the antibacterial agent is Da, an average particle diameter of the porous support is Db, and an average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is T, Da, Db, and T satisfy relationships shown below.", "T/Da>3.0 Formula (4) T/Db≤3.0 Formula (5) A unit of Da, Db, and T is μm.", "It is preferable that silver is supported on the porous support.", "Da and Db preferably satisfy a relationship shown below.", "Db/Da≤3.5 Formula (6) A content of the porous support with respect to a total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably equal to or smaller than 0.5% by mass.", "The antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate, and the porous support preferably contains silver and a support formed of zeolite.", "The medical instruments of the first to third aspects preferably satisfy the following conditions.", "A surface roughness Ra of the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is 2 to 15 μm.", "The hydrophilic processed portion contains lubricant particles having an average particle diameter of 6 to 10 μm.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is 1 to 10 μm.", "A content of the antibacterial agent with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is 0.001% to 5% by mass.", "The antibacterial agent contains at least one kind of particles selected from the group consisting of ceramic particles supporting silver and silver particles.", "The medical instruments of the first to third aspects are preferably a radiographic imaging device.", "In the radiographic imaging device, the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface that comes into contact with a subject at the time of imaging.", "The radiographic imaging device is preferably a portable radiographic imaging device, and the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface on a side irradiated with radiation in a housing of the portable radiographic imaging device.", "The hydrophilic processed portion is preferably further provided in a rear surface portion of the housing and/or a lateral surface portion of the housing.", "The portable radiographic imaging device as the radiographic imaging device preferably has a housing body in the form of a cylinder having at least one open end, and the housing body preferably constitutes the housing by closing the one open end with a cap member.", "In the portable radiographic imaging device as the radiographic imaging device, at least a portion of the rear surface portion of the housing and at least a portion of the lateral surface portion of the housing are preferably integrally formed.", "The radiographic imaging device is preferably a mammography device, and the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject at the time of imaging within a surface of a face guard portion.", "In the mammography device, the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably provided on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject within a surface of a breast support or on at least a surface coming into contact with a subject within a surface of a breast compression plate.", "The medical instrument is preferably a medical mask.", "The medical instrument is preferably a medical goggle.", "The medical instrument is preferably a transparent sterile medical bag.", "According to the present invention, a hydrophilic processed portion having excellent antifogging properties and antibacterial properties is provided on the surface of a medical instrument.", "Therefore, the present invention can provide a medical instrument in which the fogging of the surface of the instrument can be prevented or inhibited and the bacterial multiplication can be prevented or inhibited.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 a perspective cross-sectional view showing a portion of a portable radiographic imaging device as a radiographic imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the portable radiographic imaging device shown in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3A is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view in which an end portion of the portable radiographic imaging device shown in FIG.", "2 is enlarged, and FIG.", "3B is a perspective view schematically showing the entirety of the portable radiographic imaging device shown in FIG.", "1 from a rear surface side.", "FIG.", "4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B are schematic cross-sectional views of an example of a hydrophilic processed sheet used for providing a hydrophilic processed portion on a surface of the portable radiographic imaging device shown in FIG.", "1.FIGS.", "6A, 6B, and 6C are schematic cross-sectional views of an example of a base with a hydrophilic processed antibacterial film that is provided directly on the surface of the portable radiographic imaging device shown in FIG.", "1.FIG.", "7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "9A and 9B are views for illustrating a mechanism by which the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention exhibits antibacterial properties.", "FIG.", "10 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a portable radiographic imaging device as a radiographic imaging device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a schematic perspective view showing main portions of a mammography device as a radiographic imaging device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "12 is a schematic perspective view showing main portions of a radiographic imaging device for upright radiography as a radiographic imaging device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "13 is a perspective view of a medical mask according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "14 is a perspective view of a medical goggle according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "15 is a perspective view of a transparent sterile medical bag according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a medical instrument according to the present invention will be specifically described based on suitable embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.", "In the present specification, a range of numerical values described using “to” means a range including the numerical values listed before and after “to” as a lower limit and an upper limit respectively.", "Embodiment 1 FIG.", "1 is a perspective cross-sectional view showing a portion of a portable radiographic imaging device 10 (so-called electronic cassette) according to Embodiment 1.The portable radiographic imaging device 10 is a type of radiographic imaging device.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the portable radiographic imaging device 10.In the portable radiographic imaging device 10, on the inside of a housing 18, from an irradiation surface 19 side irradiated with radiation Ray, a radiation detector 12, which detects the radiation Ray transmitted through a patient not shown in the drawing, and a control board 13 which will be described later are provided in this order.", "Within the irradiation surface 19, a region in which a radiograph is imaged by the radiation detector 12 is an imaging region 19A.", "The radiation detector 12 is constituted with a thin film transistor (TFT) active matrix board (hereinafter, referred to as a TFT board) 20 and a scintillator 21 formed of gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS), cesium iodide (CsI), or the like and is bonded to the surface of the TFT board 20.In order to prevent the generated light from leaking to the outside, the TFT board 20 may have a light screen element 22, which blocks the generated light, on a surface that is on the side opposite to the surface to which the scintillator 21 is bonded.", "In the radiation detector 12, the radiated radiation Ray such as an X-ray is converted into light by the scintillator 21.The generated light comes into sensor portions provided in the TFT board 20.The sensor portions receive the light generated from the scintillator 21 and accumulate a charge.", "Each of the sensor portions is provided with a TFT switch.", "In a case where the TFT switch is turned ON, according to the amount of charge accumulated in the sensor portion, an electric signal (image signal) showing a radiograph flows in a signal line.", "One end of the radiation detector 12 in a signal wiring direction is provided with a plurality of connectors 23 for wire connection in a line, and the other end of the radiation detector 12 in a scanning wiring direction is provided with a plurality of connectors 24 in a line.", "The connectors 23 are connected to signal wiring, and the connectors 24 are connected to scanning wiring.", "The control board 13 includes a scan signal control circuit 25 and a signal detection circuit 26.The scan signal control circuit 25 is provided with a connector 27, and the connector 27 is electrically connected to one end of a flexible cable 28.The other end of the flexible cable 28 is electrically connected to the connectors 24.By this constitution, the scan signal control circuit 25 can output control signals to each scanning wiring for turning the TFT switch ON/OFF.", "The signal detection circuit 26 is provided with a plurality of connectors 29, and the connectors 29 are electrically connected to one end of a flexible cable 30.The other end of the flexible cable 30 is electrically connected to the connectors 23.The signal detection circuit 26 has a built-in amplification circuit, which is for amplifying the input electric signals, for each signal wiring.", "By this constitution, the signal detection circuit 26 detects the electric signal input from each signal wiring by amplifying the electric signal through the amplification circuit.", "In this way, the signal detection circuit 26 detects the amount of charge accumulated in each of the sensor portions as the information on the respective pixels constituting an image.", "The housing 18 has the built-in control board 13 which is in the form of a rectangular flat plate and performs various types of control such as the control of the imaging operation of the radiation detector 12 or the control of the communication with external devices as if overlapping the radiation detector 12 as shown in FIG.", "2.In the housing 18, as shown in FIG.", "3A, a front panel 31, which is disposed on a front surface side irradiated with the radiation Ray, in other words, on the side coming into contact with a subject, and a back panel 32 which is disposed on a side opposite to the subject are provided in a state of facing each other.", "The front panel 31 is constituted with a top panel 33 and a holding portion 34 that holds the top panel 33.A surface of the top panel 33 on the back panel 32 side is provided with the radiation detector 12.At both ends of FIG.", "2 in a horizontal direction, the holding portion 34 curves toward the back panel 32 side so as to form a portion of the lateral surface portion.", "Furthermore, at both ends of FIG.", "3A in a horizontal direction, the back panel 32 curves toward the front panel 31 side so as to form an inclined portion 38 as a portion of the lateral surface portion.", "That is, the rear surface portion of the housing 18 and the inclined portion 38 as a portion of the lateral surface portion are integrally formed.", "Herein, it is not necessary for the rear surface portion, but only a portion of the lateral surface portion, to be integrally formed.", "The entirety of the lateral surface portion and the rear surface portion may be integrally formed.", "At this time, the number of seams of the housing can be reduced, and hence wiping properties are improved.", "Herein, the lateral surface portion includes a portion of the holding portion 34 curving toward the back panel 32 side and the inclined portion 38 of the back panel 32.The rear surface portion refers to a portion of the back panel 32 that does not curve toward the front panel 31 side, that is, a portion of the back panel 32 excluding the inclined portion 38.As shown in FIG.", "3B, the back panel 32 includes, in the inclined portion, an LED lamp 35 which makes it possible to prevent the mounting of a wrong panel in a case where a plurality of panels are used and to easily check the center position of a panel at the time of imaging.", "Furthermore, the rear surface portion of the back panel 32 is provided with a counting display portion 36 displaying the total number of sheets of images captured or a battery level display portion 37.The LED lamp 35 is disposed at the central portion of the inclined portion 38 of each side forming the back panel 32.In the present embodiment, the top panel 33 is formed of carbon.", "Accordingly, it is possible to secure hardness while inhibiting the absorption of the radiation Ray.", "The holding portion 34 and the back panel 32 are formed of an ABS resin.", "Within the top panel 33, a region in which a radiograph is imaged by the radiation detector 12 is the imaging region 19A.", "In the aforementioned constitution, at least the irradiation surface 19, which comes into contact with a subject (not shown in the drawing) such as a patient at the time of imaging, the LED lamp 35, the counting display portion 36, and the battery level display portion 37 are provided with the hydrophilic processed portion.", "In addition, it goes without saying that a portion which can come into contact with a radiographer, for example, the entirety of the outer surface may be provided with the hydrophilic processed portion.", "In the present invention, in a case where the portable radiographic imaging device (electronic cassette) 10 is inserted under a subject such as a patient, the hydrophilic processed portion provided on the irradiation surface 19 and the like becomes a surface that comes into contact with the subject.", "Therefore, in order to make the hydrophilic processed portion slide easily, a dot shape or a mesh shape may be formed thereon in advance.", "Furthermore, for example, it is preferable to perform a hydrophilic treatment on the surface of the front panel 31 on the irradiation surface 19 side such that the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on the irradiation surface 19.In addition, it is preferable to perform a hydrophilic treatment on the outer surface of the LED lamp 35, the counting display portion 36, and the battery level display portion 37 of the back panel 32 on the side opposite to the irradiation surface 19 (on the side opposite to a subject) such that the hydrophilic processed portion is provided thereon.", "Furthermore, it is preferable to perform a waterproofing treatment on the outer surface of the back panel 32, particularly, on the portion indicated by the reference A on both sides of the back panel 32.That is, it is preferable to perform a waterproofing treatment on a portion A of the outer surface from the seam between the back panel 32 and the holding portion 34 of the front panel 31 constituting a portion of the lateral surface portion of the housing 18 to the region of the end of the back panel 32 constituting the rear surface portion of the housing 18, such that a waterproofing-processed portion is provided in the portion A.", "In a case where the waterproofing-processed portion is provided on the outer surface (the portion A on both sides) of the back panel 32, the portable radiographic imaging device (electronic cassette) 10 can be easily inserted under the subject such as a patient.", "In a case where a radiographic imaging device has a structure in which corners of the electronic cassette incline (curve) similarly to the holding portion 34 of the housing 18 of the portable radiographic imaging device (electronic cassette) 10 shown in FIG.", "2, a contaminant may drip, and hence the periphery of the electronic cassette may be contaminated.", "However, in the present invention, the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on the surface of the front panel 31 on the irradiation surface 19 side, and a waterproofing-processed portion is provided on the outer surface (the portion A on both sides) of the back panel 32.Therefore, the front panel 31 exhibits excellent wettability, a contaminant can be prevented from dripping from the holding portion 34 of the front panel 31, and the diffusion of the contaminant can be prevented.", "In addition, in a case where embossing processing is performed on a central portion B of the outer surface of the back panel 32 constituting the rear surface portion of the housing 18 such that the central portion B has an embossed structure, the electronic cassette 10 can be easily inserted under a subject such as a patient.", "(Substrate) In the present embodiment, the members provided with the hydrophilic processed portion, that is, the top panel 33 is formed of carbon, and the holding portion 34 and the back panel 32 are formed of an ABS resin.", "However, the type of material forming such members is not particularly limited as long as the members play the role of supporting the hydrophilic processed portion.", "For example, it is possible to use a metal, glass, ceramics, plastic (resin), and the like.", "Among these, in view of handleability, plastic is preferable.", "In other words, a resin substrate is preferable.", "The shape of the substrate is not particularly limited, and it is possible to use substrates having a plate shape, a film shape, a sheet shape, a tube shape, a fiber shape, or a particle shape.", "Furthermore, the surface of the substrate may be flat, concave, or convex.", "The hydrophilic processed portion contains at least a hydrophilic polymer and an antibacterial agent.", "Hereinafter, the materials contained in the hydrophilic processed portion will be specifically described.", "(Hydrophilic Polymer) The hydrophilic polymer is a polymer having a hydrophilic group.", "The type of the hydrophilic group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a polyoxyalkylene group (for example, a polyoxyethylene group, a polyoxypropylene group, or a polyoxyalkylene group in which an oxyetylene group and an oxypropylene group are bonded to each other in the form of a block copolymer or a random copolymer), an amino group, a carboxyl group, an alkali metal salt of a carboxyl group, a hydroxyl group, an alkoxy group, an amide group, a carbamoyl group, a sulfonamide group, a sulfamoyl group, a sulfonic acid group, an alkali metal salt of a sulfonic acid group, and the like.", "The structure of a main chain of the hydrophilic polymer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include polyurethane, a poly(meth)acrylic acid ester, polystyrene, polyester, polyamide, polyimide, polyurea, and the like.", "Conceptually, the poly(meth)acrylic acid ester includes both of a polyacrylic acid ester and a polymethacrylic acid ester.", "As one of the suitable aspects of the hydrophilic polymer, a polymer can be exemplified which is obtained by polymerizing a monomer having the aforementioned hydrophilic group.", "The monomer having a hydrophilic group means a compound having the aforementioned hydrophilic group and a polymerizable group.", "The definition of the hydrophilic group is as described above.", "The number of hydrophilic groups in the monomer having a hydrophilic group is not particularly limited.", "In view of making the hydrophilic processed portion exhibit stronger hydrophilicity, the number of the hydrophilic groups is preferably equal to or greater than 2, more preferably 2 to 6, and even more preferably 2 or 3.The type of the polymerizable group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a radically polymerizable group, a cationically polymerizable group, an anionically polymerizable group, and the like.", "Examples of the radically polymerizable group include a (meth)acryloyl group, an acrylamide group, a vinyl group, a styryl group, an allyl group, and the like.", "Examples of the cationically polymerizable group include a vinyl ether group, an oxiranyl group, an oxetanyl group, and the like.", "Among these, a (meth)acryloyl group is preferable.", "Conceptually, the (meth)acryloyl group includes both of an acryloyl group and a methacryloyl group.", "The number of polymerizable groups in the monomer having a hydrophilic group is not particularly limited.", "In view of further improving the mechanical strength of the obtained hydrophilic processed portion, the number of polymerizable groups is preferably equal to or greater than 2, more preferably 2 to 6, and even more preferably 2 or 3.As one of the suitable aspects of the monomer having a hydrophilic group, a compound represented by Formula (A) can be exemplified.", "(R14-nCL1-L2-R2)n Formula (A) In Formula (A), R1 represents a substituent.", "The type of the substituent is not particularly limited.", "Examples of the substituent include known substituents such as a hydrocarbon group (for example, an alkyl group or an aryl group) which may have a heteroatom, the aforementioned hydrophilic group, and the like.", "R2 represents a polymerizable group.", "The definition of the polymerizable group is as described above.", "L1 represents a single bond or a divalent linking group.", "The type of the divalent linking group is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include —O—, —CO—, —NH—, —CO—NH—, —COO—, —O—COO—, an alkylene group, an arylene group, a heteroaryl group, and a combination of these.", "L2 represents a polyoxyalkylene group.", "The polyoxyalkylene group means a group represented by Formula (B).", "*—(OR3)m—* Formula (B) In Formula (B), R3 represents an alkylene group (for example, an ethylene group or a propylene group).", "m represents an integer of equal to or greater than 2.m is preferably 2 to 10, and more preferably 2 to 6.", "* represents a binding position.", "n represents an integer of 1 to 4.In order to obtain a hydrophilic polymer, the aforementioned monomer having a hydrophilic group may be used in combination with other monomers.", "That is, a hydrophilic polymer may be used which is obtained by copolymerizing the monomer having a hydrophilic group and other monomers (monomers other than the monomer having a hydrophilic group).", "The type of other monomers is not particularly limited, and known monomers can be appropriately used as long as they have a polymerizable group.", "The definition of the polymerizable group is as described above.", "Among the monomers, in view of further improving the mechanical strength of the hydrophilic processed portion, a polyfunctional monomer having two or more polymerizable groups is preferable.", "The polyfunctional monomer acts as a so-called cross-linking agent.", "The number of polymerizable groups contained in the polyfunctional monomer is not particularly limited.", "In view of further improving the mechanical strength of the hydrophilic processed portion and in view of handleability, the number of polymerizable groups is preferably 2 to 10 and more preferably 2 to 6.Examples of the polyfunctional monomer include trimethylolpropane triacrylate, tetramethylolmethane tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate, and pentaerythritol tetraacrylate.", "A mixing ratio (mass of hydrophilic monomer/mass of other monomers) of the hydrophilic monomer to other monomers (particularly, polyfunctional monomers) is not particularly limited.", "In view of making it easy to control the hydrophilicity of the hydrophilic processed portion, the mixing ratio is preferably 0.01 to 10 and more preferably 0.1 to 10.It is preferable that the hydrophilic processed portion contains the aforementioned hydrophilic polymer as a main component.", "Herein, the main component refers to a hydrophilic polymer of which the content is equal to or greater than 50% by mass with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion.", "The content of the hydrophilic polymer is preferably equal to or greater than 70% by mass, and more preferably equal to or greater than 90% by mass.", "(Antibacterial Agent) Hereinafter, the antibacterial agent contained in the hydrophilic processed portion will be specifically described.", "The hydrophilic processed portion contains at least a first antibacterial agent containing silver (hereinafter, simply referred to as “first antibacterial agent” as well) and a second antibacterial agent containing silver (hereinafter, simply referred to as “second antibacterial agent” as well) different from the first antibacterial agent.", "That is, the hydrophilic processed portion contains at least two kinds of antibacterial agents containing silver (hereinafter, simply referred to as “silver-based antibacterial agents” as well).", "In the present embodiment, the hydrophilic processed portion may only contain at least one kind of silver as an antibacterial agent.", "The type of the first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent is not particularly limited as long as the antibacterial agents contain silver (silver atoms).", "Furthermore, the form of silver is not particularly limited, and for example, the silver is contained in the antibacterial agent in the form of metallic silver, a silver ion, a silver salt (including a silver complex), and the like.", "In the present specification, a silver complex included in the scope of a silver salt.", "Examples of the silver salt include silver acetate, silver acetylacetonate, silver azide, silver acetylide, silver arsenate, silver benzoate, silver hydrogen fluoride, silver bromate, silver bromide, silver carbonate, silver chloride, silver chlorate, silver chromate, silver citrate, silver cyanate, silver cyanide, silver (cis,cis-1,5-cyclooctadiene)-1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoroacetylacetonate, silver diethyldithiocarbamate, silver(I) fluoride, silver(II) fluoride, silver 7,7-dimethyl-1,1,1,2,2,3,3-heptafluoro-4,6-octanedioate, silver hexafluoroantimonate, silver hexafluoroarsenate, silver hexafluorophosphate, silver iodate, silver iodide, silver isothiocyanate, potassium silver cyanide, silver lactate, silver molybdate, silver nitrate, silver nitrite, silver(I) oxide, silver(II) oxide, silver oxalate, silver perchlorate, silver perfluorobutyrate, silver perfluoropropionate, silver permanganate, silver perrhenate, silver phosphate, silver picrate monohydrate, silver propionate, silver selenate, silver selenide, silver selenite, silver sulfadiazine, silver sulfate, silver sulfide, silver sulfite, silver telluride, silver tetrafluoroborate, silver tetraiodocuriumate, silver tetratungstate, silver thiocyanate, silver p-toluenesulfonate, silver trifluoromethanesulfonate, silver trifluoroacetate, silver vanadate, and the like.", "An example of the silver complex include a histidine-silver complex, a methionine-silver complex, a cysteine-silver complex, an aspartic acid-silver complex, a pyrrolidone carboxylic acid-silver complex, an oxotetrahydrofuran carboxylic acid-silver complex, an imidazole-silver complex, or the like.", "Examples of the first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent include organic antibacterial agents such as the aforementioned silver salts and inorganic antibacterial agents containing supports which will be described later, but the type of the antibacterial agents is not particularly limited.", "Among the above antibacterial agents, in view of exhibiting an antibacterial action within a short period of time and/or being able to maintain the antibacterial agent properties for a long time (hereinafter, simply described as “in view of further improving the effects of the present invention” as well), the first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent are preferably a silver-supporting support containing a support and silver supported on the support.", "The type of the support is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include calcium zinc phosphate, calcium phosphate, zirconium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, calcium silicate, activated carbon, activated alumina, silica gel, zeolite, hydroxyapatite, titanium phosphate, potassium titanate, hydrous bismuth oxide, hydrous zirconium oxide, hydrotalcite, and the like.", "Examples of zeolite include natural zeolite such as chabazite, mordenite, erionite, and clinoptilolite, and synthetic zeolite such as type A zeolite, type X zeolite, and type Y zeolite.", "The average particle diameter of the aforementioned silver-supporting support is not particularly limited.", "In view of further improving the effects of the present invention, the average particle diameter is preferably 0.1 to 10 μm, and more preferably 0.1 to 2 μm.", "The average particle diameter is a value obtained by measuring diameters of at least 10 random silver-supporting supports by using a microscope and calculating an arithmetic mean thereof.", "As described above, silver may be contained in the antibacterial agent in any form such as a silver ion, metallic silver, and a silver salt.", "As a suitable aspect of the second antibacterial agent, a silver-supporting support is preferable in which a porous substance (for example, zeolite, zirconium phosphate, aluminum phosphate, or calcium silicate) is used as a support.", "Furthermore, as the most suitable aspect of the first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, the first antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate, and the second antibacterial agent preferably contains silver and a support formed of zeolite.", "In other words, the first antibacterial agent is a silver-supporting catalyst containing one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate and silver supported on the support, and the second antibacterial agent is a silver-supporting catalyst containing a support formed of zeolite and silver supported on the support.", "The content of silver in the first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent is not particularly limited.", "For example, in a case of the aforementioned silver-supporting support, the content of silver with respect to the total mass of the silver-supporting support is preferably 0.1% to 30% by mass, and more preferably 0.3% to 10% by mass.", "The total content of the first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent in the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, it is preferable that the hydrophilic processed portion contains the first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent such that the content of silver with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion becomes 0.0001% to 1% by mass (preferably 0.001% to 0.1% by mass).", "The amount of silver in the hydrophilic processed portion means the total amount of silver in the first antibacterial agent and silver in the second antibacterial agent.", "The content of the first antibacterial agent (or the second antibacterial agent) in the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the mechanical strength of the hydrophilic processed portion and further improving the effects of the present invention, the content of the first antibacterial agent with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably 0.001% to 10% by mass, more preferably 0.01% to 5% by mass, and even more preferably 0.01% to 1% by mass.", "In the present invention, the antibacterial agent may not be exposed on the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion.", "The hydrophilic processed portion may contain other components in addition to the hydrophilic polymer and the antibacterial agent described above.", "For example, the hydrophilic processed portion may contain a lubricant.", "In a case where the lubricant is contained in the hydrophilic processed portion, concavities and convexities can be formed on the outermost layer.", "The average particle diameter of the lubricant is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.5 μm to 30 μm, more preferably 0.5 μm to 20 μm, and even more preferably 6 μm to 10 μm.", "The average particle diameter of the lubricant is obtained by measuring the particle diameters (diameters) of 100 random particles by using a microscope (for example, a scanning electron microscope) and calculating an arithmetic mean thereof.", "In a case where the shape of the lubricant is not a perfect circle, the major axis thereof is measured as the diameter.", "The material of the lubricant is not particularly limited.", "Examples of the material include an inorganic compound (for example, a metal) and a resin, and among these, a resin is preferable.", "In a case where a resin is used, the amount of the radiation Ray absorbed is reduced.", "Therefore, a problem in that an artifact is superposed on a captured image or a problem in that the amount of radiation reaching the radiation detector 12 in the portable radiographic imaging device 10 is attenuated does not easily occur.", "As a result, it is possible to reduce the exposure dose for a patient as a subject.", "(Characteristics of Hydrophilic Processed Portion) The water contact angle of the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°.", "In view of further improving the antifogging properties and the removability of contaminants, the water contact angle is preferably equal to or smaller than 21°, and more preferably equal to or smaller than 15°.", "The lower limit thereof is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of the characteristics of materials used, the lower limit of the water contact angle is equal to or greater than 5° in many cases.", "In a case where the water contact angle is greater than 30°, sufficient antibacterial properties or antifogging properties are not obtained, and the removability of contaminants becomes poor.", "In the present specification, the water contact angle is measured based on a sessile drop method of JIS R 3257:1999.For measuring the water contact angle, LSE-ME1 (software 2win mini) manufactured by NiCK Corporation is used.", "More specifically, at room temperature (20° C.), 2 μl of droplets of pure water are dropped onto the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion which is kept horizontal, and a contact angle at a point in time when 20 seconds has elapsed from the dropping is measured.", "The surface of the hydrophilic processed portion suitably has minute concavities and convexities.", "In a case where the surface has the minute concavities and convexities, the contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and a subject can be reduced, and consequently, the amount of the contaminant derived from sebum and the like adhering to the hydrophilic processed portion can be reduced.", "Furthermore, the contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the contaminant can be reduced, and a void can be easily formed between the contaminant and the surface of the hydrophilized portion.", "Therefore, water or the like easily permeates the void, and as a result, the removability of the contaminant is improved.", "In a case where the hydrophilic processed portion has the concavities and convexities particularly in a portion which comes into contact with a subject, the contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the skin of the subject such as a patient is reduced.", "Accordingly, the hydrophilic processed portion feels less sticky, and thus the discomfort the patient experiences at the time of imaging can be reduced.", "The surface roughness Ra of the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 μm to 20 μm, more preferably 2 μm to 15 μm, and even more preferably 3 μm to 6 μm.", "The surface roughness Ra is measured based on the method specified in JIS-B0601:2001.Specifically, by using a stylus scanning-type surface roughness tester, the surface roughness of 5 random sites on the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is measured, and the average thereof is taken as the surface roughness Ra.", "It is also possible to measure the surface roughness Ra in the same manner as the stylus scanning-type method by using a laser microscope (for example, VK-X200 manufactured by KEYENCE CORPORATION) equipped with a “roughness meter mode”.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "In view of the removability of contaminants and the antibacterial properties, the average thickness is preferably 0.5 μm to 20 μm, and more preferably 1 μm to 10 μm.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is measured by a method in which a sample piece is embedded in a resin, a cross section thereof is obtained by cutting with a microtome, and the obtained cross section is observed with a scanning electron microscope.", "The thicknesses at 10 random points in the hydrophilic processed portion are measured, and an arithmetic mean thereof is calculated.", "(Substrate with Hydrophilic Processed Portion) FIG.", "4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion of the present embodiment.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 40 has a substrate 42 and a hydrophilic processed portion 44 disposed on the substrate 42.The hydrophilic processed portion 44 may be disposed on at least a portion of the substrate 42.", "(Characteristics of Substrate with Hydrophilic Processed Portion) Regarding the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion including the aforementioned substrate, the substrate constituting the portable radiographic imaging device 10, and a hydrophilic processed portion disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate, provided that a silver content per unit area in the hydrophilic processed portion is P (ng/cm2) and a silver ion amount per unit area measured by an extraction test described below is Q (ng/cm2), P and Q satisfy relationships shown in Formula (1) and Formula (2) described below.", "6.0≤P/Q Formula (1) 15.0≤Q Formula (2) Hereinafter, first, the method for measuring P and Q will be specifically described.", "The silver content P (ng/cm2) per unit area in the hydrophilic processed portion is a value obtained by dividing the amount of silver (ng) contained in the hydrophilic processed portion by the area (cm2) of the main surface of the hydrophilic processed portion.", "In FIG.", "4, the area of the main surface of the hydrophilic processed portion means the area of a main surface 44a on the side opposite to the substrate 42 of the hydrophilic processed portion 44.The higher the value of the silver content P, the greater the amount of silver contained in the hydrophilic processed portion.", "The magnitude of the silver content P is not particularly limited as long as the relationship shown in Formula (1) is satisfied.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, the silver content P is preferably equal to or greater than 90 ng/cm2, and more preferably equal to or greater than 120 ng/cm2.The upper limit thereof is not particularly limited.", "However, from the viewpoint of preventing the discoloration or embrittlement of the film, the upper limit of the silver content P is preferably equal to or smaller than 10,000 ng/cm2, and more preferably equal to or smaller than 1,000 ng/cm2.The silver content P is measured by a method in which the amount of silver in a hydrophilic processed portion is measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (contrAA 700 manufactured by Analytik Jena AG) by using a hydrophilic processed portion adjusted to have a predetermined size (area), and the silver content P is determined by dividing the obtained amount of silver by the aforementioned area.", "More specifically, all the silver contained in the hydrophilic processed portion is eluted, and the aforementioned atomic absorption spectrometry is performed using the obtained solution.", "Then, from a calibration curve plotted in advance, the amount of silver is determined and divided by the area of the hydrophilic processed portion, thereby obtaining the silver content P. As a method for eluting all the silver contained in the hydrophilic processed portion, a wet carbonization treatment is used which is generally known as a pre-treatment in inorganic analysis.", "Hereinafter, a method of an extraction test will be specifically described.", "In the extraction test, a 1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010 is used as an extractant, and the temperature of the extractant is controlled within a range of 35±1° C. The extractant (amount: 9 mL) is brought into contact for 1 hour with the hydrophilic processed portion (area of the hydrophilic processed portion: 4 cm2 (2 cm×2 cm)) in a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion.", "As a method for bringing the hydrophilic processed portion into contact with the extractant, a method of immersing the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion in the extractant is performed.", "Then, after 1 hour, the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion is recovered from the extractant, and the silver ion amount (ng) extracted into the extractant is measured.", "The silver ion amount in the extractant is measured using atomic absorption spectrometry (device name: contrAA 700 manufactured by Analytik Jena AG) and determined from a calibration curve that is plotted in advance.", "At the time of measuring the silver ion amount, if necessary, it is preferable to add nitric acid (about 1 mL) to the extractant so as to improve the stability of measurement.", "Thereafter, by dividing the obtained silver ion amount by a contact area (4 cm2) between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant, the silver ion amount Q per unit area (ng/cm2) is calculated.", "The contact area between the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant means an area in which the hydrophilic processed portion and the extractant contact each other in a case where the hydrophilic processed portion is brought into contact with the extractant.", "For example, in FIG.", "4, the contact area means the area of the main surface 44a that is on the side opposite to the substrate 42 side of the hydrophilic processed portion 44.The silver ion amount Q obtained in this way shows a degree of elution (extraction) of silver ions from the hydrophilic processed portion, and satisfies the relationship of Formula (2).", "Formula (2) means that Q is equal to or greater than 15.0 ng/cm2.15.0≤Q Formula (2) Particularly, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, it is preferable that Q satisfies a relationship of Formula (3).", "15.0≤Q≤25.0 Formula (3) Furthermore, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, Q is preferably 17.0 to 24.0 ng/cm2, and more preferably 19.0 to 21.0 ng/cm2.In a case where the silver ion amount Q is less than 15.0 ng/cm2, the antibacterial properties exhibited within a short period of time become poor.", "The silver content P and the silver ion amount Q described above satisfy the relationship of Formula (1).", "Formula (1) means that P/Q is equal to or greater than 6.0.P/Q is a value obtained by dividing P by Q.", "6.0≤P/Q Formula (1) Particularly, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, P/Q is preferably equal to or greater than 7.0, and more preferably equal to or greater than 10.0.The upper limit thereof is not particularly limited.", "However, because the antibacterial property-lasting effect is saturated, the upper limit of P/Q is preferably equal to or smaller than 20.0, and more preferably equal to or smaller than 15.0.In a case where P/Q is less than 6, predetermined antibacterial properties cannot be exhibited over a long time.", "The portable radiographic imaging device in which the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion is disposed on the outer surface of the device has antibacterial properties that are exhibited within a short period of time and retained over a long time.", "Particularly, in a case where the hydrophilic processed portion contains two kinds of silver-based antibacterial agents, the device has antibacterial properties retained over a long time.", "As a result of repeating a thorough study, the inventors of the invention of the present application obtained knowledge that in a case where two kinds of silver-based antibacterial agents are used by being mixed together, additivity is not established in the eluted Ag ion amount, but in a case where the above formulae are satisfied, excellent antibacterial properties can be retained over a long time.", "(Method for Preparing Hydrophilic Processed Portion) The method for preparing the aforementioned hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited, and known methods can be adopted.", "Examples of the method include a method of forming a hydrophilic processed portion through coating by using a composition containing the hydrophilic polymer and the antibacterial agent described above, a method of bonding a separately prepared polymer film containing a hydrophilic polymer and an antibacterial agent to a predetermined position, and the like.", "Among these methods, in view of making it easier to adjust the thickness and surface asperity of the hydrophilic processed portion, the aforementioned method (coating method) is preferable in which a predetermined position is coated with a composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion (hereinafter, simply referred to as “composition” as well) containing a monomer having a hydrophilic group and an antibacterial agent so as to form a coating film, and the coating film is subjected to a curing treatment.", "The composition contains the monomer having a hydrophilic group and the antibacterial agent described above.", "Furthermore, the composition may contain other components (other monomers described above, a lubricant, and a solvent (water or an organic solvent)).", "The composition may also contain a polymerization initiator.", "In a case where the composition contains a polymerization initiator, polymerization more efficiently proceeds in the coating film, and thus a hydrophilic processed portion having excellent mechanical strength is formed.", "The type of the polymerization initiator is not particularly limited, and an optimal type is selected according to the method of the curing treatment.", "For example, a thermal polymerization initiator or a photopolymerization initiator is selected.", "More specifically, examples of the polymerization initiator include aromatic ketones such as benzophenone and phenylphosphine oxide, α-hydroxyalkylphenone-based compounds (BASF IRGACURE 184, 127, 2959, DAROCUR 1173, and the like), phenylphosphine oxide-based compounds (MAPO: BASF LUCIRIN TPO and BAPO: BASF IRGACURE 819), and the like.", "The content of the polymerization initiator contained in the composition is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1 to 15 parts by mass and more preferably 1 to 6 parts by mass, with respect to the total mass (100 parts by mass) of the monomer having a hydrophilic group and other monomers.", "The coating method of the composition is not particularly limited, and known methods can be adopted.", "Furthermore, the method of the curing treatment is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a heating treatment or a light irradiation treatment.", "The portable radiographic imaging device 10 according to the present embodiment is basically constituted as above.", "Hereinafter, a method will be described which is for forming the hydrophilic processed portion that is provided in at least a portion of the outer surface of the portable radiographic imaging device 10, that is, a predetermined site such as at least the irradiation surface 19, the LED lamp 35, the counting display portion 36, and the battery level display portion 37.The portable radiographic imaging device 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with the hydrophilic processed portion at a predetermined site within the outer surface of the device.", "The method for providing the hydrophilic processed portion at a predetermined site within the outer surface is not particularly limited, and the hydrophilic processed portion may be provided by any method.", "For example, the hydrophilic processed portion may be provided by bonding a hydrophilic processed sheet having a hydrophilic processed portion to at least a portion of a predetermined site within the outer surface, that is, to all of the predetermined site or a portion of the predetermined site within the outer surface.", "Alternatively, the hydrophilic processed portion may be provided by forming a hydrophilic processed antibacterial film having a hydrophilic portion in at least a portion of a predetermined site of the outer surface, that is, in all of the predetermined site or a portion of the predetermined site within the outer surface.", "(Hydrophilic Processed Sheet) Next, the hydrophilic processed sheet will be described which is used for providing a hydrophilic processed portion at a predetermined site within the outer surface of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "5A, a hydrophilic processed sheet 50 of the present invention has a main sheet 52, a hydrophilic processed portion 54 which is formed on one lateral surface of the main sheet 52, a pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 which is formed on the other surface of the main sheet 52 that is on the side opposite to one lateral surface, and a release sheet 58 which is laminated on a surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 that is on the side opposite to the main sheet 52.The hydrophilic processed sheet of the present invention is not limited to an aspect in which the hydrophilic processed portion 54 is formed on the entirety of one outer surface of the main sheet 52 as in the hydrophilic processed sheet 50 shown in FIG.", "5A.", "The hydrophilic processed sheet of the present invention may be formed on a portion of one outer surface of the main sheet 52 as in a hydrophilic processed sheet 51 shown in FIG.", "5B.", "The hydrophilic processed sheets 50 and 51 of the present invention are used for forming a laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52 on the outer surface of the aforementioned portable radiographic imaging device 10 of the present invention.", "In the examples shown in FIGS.", "5A and 5B, the hydrophilic processed sheets 50 and 51 have the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56.Therefore, by peeling the release sheet 58 from the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 and bonding the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 to a predetermined site within the inner surface of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 that will become a surface for forming a hydrophilic processed portion, the laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52 can be bonded to the surface for forming a hydrophilic processed portion by the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56, and the hydrophilic processed portion 54 can be provided by being mounted on a predetermined site within the outer surface of the portable radiographic imaging device 10.In the examples shown in FIGS.", "5A and 5B, the hydrophilic processed sheets 50 and 51 have the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 in addition to the laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52.However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the hydrophilic processed sheets 50 and 51 may be constituted only with the laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52.In a case where the hydrophilic processed sheets 50 and 51 are constituted only with the laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52, by additionally forming an adhesive layer or the like by means of coating the surface for forming a hydrophilic processed portion or the surface of the main sheet 52 with an adhesive or the like, and bonding the laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52 to the surface for forming a hydrophilic processed portion, the hydrophilic processed portion 54 can be formed.", "Herein, because the hydrophilic processed portion 54 is the same as the aforementioned hydrophilic processed portion, the description thereof will not be repeated.", "The main sheet 52 supports the hydrophilic processed portion 54 formed on the entirety or a partial region of one outer surface thereof.", "Although the hydrophilic processed portion 54 may be formed on the entirety or a portion of one outer surface of the main sheet 52, it is preferable that the hydrophilic processed portion 54 is formed on the entirety of one outer surface of the main sheet 52.The main sheet 52 is not particularly limited as long as it can support the hydrophilic processed portion 54, and any material may be used.", "As the main sheet 52, a known sheet can be used.", "For example, it is possible to use a polyethylene terephthalate film (PET), a polybutylene terephthalate film (PBT), a polyimide film, a triacetyl cellulose film, and the like.", "As PET, for example, it is possible to use LUMIRROR U34 manufactured by TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC, COSMOSHINE A4300 manufactured by Toyobo Co., Ltd, O3916W manufactured by TEIJIN LIMITED, and the like.", "Furthermore, an easily adhesive layer may be provided on the surface thereof.", "The thickness of the main sheet 52 is not particularly limited, and those having a thickness of 10 μm to 200 μm can be preferably used.", "In a case where the main sheet 52 is to be bonded to a resistive film-type touch panel, the main sheet 52 needs to conform to a flexible surface, and hence the thickness of the main sheet 52 is 10 μm to 100 μm and preferably 10 μm to 50 μm.", "In a case of a capacitance-type touch panel, in view of ease of bonding, it is possible to preferably use a main sheet 52 having a thickness of 50 μm to 100 μm.", "The pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 is used for bonding the laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52 to the surface for forming a hydrophilic processed portion at a predetermined site within the outer surface of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 described above.", "The pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 is not particularly limited as long as it enables the laminate of the hydrophilic processed portion 54 and the main sheet 52 to be bonded to the surface for forming a hydrophilic processed portion, and may be formed using a known pressure sensitive adhesive.", "The pressure sensitive adhesive usable in the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a (meth)acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive, a rubber-based pressure sensitive adhesive, a silicone-based pressure sensitive adhesive, a urethane-based pressure sensitive adhesive, a polyester-based pressure sensitive adhesive, and the like.", "In a case where the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is used for the surface of a touch panel, considering the facts that the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is repeatedly bonded and peeled and needs to be bonded while preventing air bubbles from entering, it is also possible to preferably use a self-adhesive pressure sensitive adhesive.", "Herein, the (meth)acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive refers to an acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive and/or a methacrylic pressure sensitive adhesive.", "As the (meth)acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive, it is possible to use a (meth)acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive used in a pressure sensitive sheet which will be described later.", "The method for forming the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a coating method, a printing method, a bonding method, and the like.", "Among these, it is possible to preferably use a method of installing the pressure sensitive adhesive layer by coating and a method of forming the pressure sensitive adhesive layer by bonding a pressure sensitive sheet, and the method of forming the pressure sensitive adhesive layer by bonding a pressure sensitive sheet is more preferable.", "The thickness of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 μm to 30 μm.", "In a case where the thickness of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is equal to or greater than 1 μm, the film can be stably formed by co-extrusion.", "In a case where the thickness is equal to or smaller than 30 μm, the material costs are reduced.", "At this time, for enhancing the adhesion, it is preferable to increase the thickness of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer in consideration of the viscosity thereof, because a contact area between the pressure sensitive adhesive layer and an object coated with the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is easily increased by increasing the thickness of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer.", "The thickness of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is preferably 2 μm to 20 μm, and more preferably 3 μm to 15 μm.", "The adhesion of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 is not particularly limited, and is preferably within a range of 2 cN/25 mm to 20 cN/25 mm for use.", "In a case where the adhesion is equal to or greater than 2 cN/25 mm, when the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is used by being bonded to the surface of a touch panel or the like, the pressure sensitive adhesive layer is not easily detached.", "In a case where the adhesion is equal to or smaller than 20 cN/25 mm, the film can be smoothly peeled at the time of peeling.", "The release sheet 58 remains bonded to the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56 until the hydrophilic processed sheet 50 is used so as to protect the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56.The release sheet 58 is not particularly limited as long as it can protect the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 56, and a known release sheet 58 can be used.", "For example, it is possible to use a release agent such as a silicone-based compound, a long-chain alkyl-based compound, or polyvinyl alcohol-carbamate.", "The thickness of the release sheet 58 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 μm to 30 μm.", "In a case where the thickness of the release sheet is equal to or greater than 1 μm, the film can be stably formed by co-extrusion.", "In a case where the thickness is equal to or smaller than 30 μm, the material costs are reduced.", "The thickness of the release sheet is preferably 2 μm to 20 μm, and more preferably 3 μm to 15 μm.", "(Hydrophilic Processed Antibacterial Film) Next, the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film will be described which is formed directly at a predetermined site within the outer surface of the portable radiographic imaging device such that a hydrophilic processed portion is provided at a predetermined site within the outer surface of the portable radiographic imaging device of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "6A, 6B, and 6C show a base with a hydrophilic processed antibacterial film (hereinafter, simply referred to as base with an antibacterial film) in which a hydrophilic processed antibacterial film is formed directly on a base constituting a predetermined site of the housing of the portable radiographic imaging device.", "First, a base with an antibacterial film 60 shown in FIG.", "6A has a substrate 62 and a hydrophilic portion 64 which is formed on one lateral surface (upper surface in the example shown in the drawing) of the substrate 62.The hydrophilic portion 64 constitutes a hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 of the present invention.", "The hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 of the present invention is not limited to what is shown in FIG.", "6A that is constituted with the hydrophilic portion 64 formed on the entirety of one outer surface of the substrate 62.Similarly to a substrate with an antibacterial film 60A shown in FIG.", "6B, the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 may be formed on the entirety of one outer surface of the substrate 62 so as to include the hydrophilic portion 64 formed on a portion of one outer surface of the substrate 62.Alternatively, similarly to a substrate with an antibacterial film 60B shown in FIG.", "6C, the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 may be constituted with the hydrophilic portion 64 formed on a portion of one outer surface of the substrate 62.The substrate 62 in the substrates with an antibacterial film 60, 60A, and 60B shown in FIGS.", "6A, 6B, and 6C is a member constituting the surface for forming a hydrophilic processed portion of a predetermined site of the portable radiographic imaging device 10.For example, in the portable radiographic imaging device 10 shown in FIGS.", "1 to 3, the substrate 62 corresponds to at least the irradiation surface 19, the LED lamp 35, the counting display portion 36, and the battery level display portion 37.The hydrophilic portion 64 of the substrates with an antibacterial film 60, 60A, and 60B shown in FIGS.", "6A, 6B, and 6C is disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate 62.Specifically, the hydrophilic portion 64 may be disposed on the entirety of one surface of the substrate 62 similarly to the substrate with an antibacterial film 60 shown in FIG.", "6A, or may be disposed only on a portion of the surface of the substrate 62 similarly to the substrates with an antibacterial film 60A and 60B shown in FIGS.", "6A and 6C.", "Furthermore, the substrate 62 may constitute the entirety of the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 similarly to the substrates with an antibacterial film 60 and 60B shown in FIGS.", "6A and 6C, or may constitute only a portion of the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 similarly to the substrate with an antibacterial film 60A shown in FIG.", "6B.", "Examples of the hydrophilic portion 64 include the hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention, specifically, the hydrophilic processed portion forming a predetermined site constituting at least a portion of the outer surface of the aforementioned portable radiographic imaging device 10, such as a hydrophilic portion having exactly the same constitution as the hydrophilic processed portion 54 of the hydrophilic processed sheets 50 and 51 shown in FIGS.", "5A and 5B.", "That is, because the hydrophilic portion of the present invention has exactly the same constitution as the hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention described above, the description of the hydrophilic portion will not be repeated.", "The hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 of the substrates with an antibacterial film 60, 60A, and 60B shown in FIGS.", "6A, 6B, and 6C is a film which is disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate 62 and shows an antibacterial action.", "At least a portion of the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 is hydrophilic.", "That is, at least a portion of the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 is constituted with the hydrophilic portion 64.Specifically, the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 may be disposed on the entirety of one surface of the substrate 62 similarly to the substrates with an antibacterial film 60 and 60A shown in FIGS.", "6A and 6B, or may be disposed only on a portion of the surface of the substrate 62 similarly to the substrate with an antibacterial film 60B shown in FIG.", "6C.", "Furthermore, the entirety of the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 may be constituted with the hydrophilic portion 64 similarly to the substrates with an antibacterial film 60 and 60B shown in FIGS.", "6A and 6C.", "Alternatively, only a portion of the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 66 may be constituted with the hydrophilic portion 64 similarly to the substrate with an antibacterial film 60A shown in FIG.", "6B.", "The hydrophilic processed antibacterial film contains an antibacterial agent contained in the aforementioned hydrophilic processed portion.", "The antibacterial agent and the antibacterial agent containing silver (silver-based antibacterial agent) used herein are the same as the antibacterial agent and the silver-based antibacterial agent described above.", "Therefore, the description thereof will not be repeated.", "In the present embodiment, the content of the antibacterial agent or the silver-based antibacterial agent in the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film is not particularly limited as in the case of the hydrophilic processed portion.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of the present embodiment, the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film preferably contains the antibacterial agent or the silver-based antibacterial agent such that the content of the antibacterial agent (or silver) with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed antibacterial film becomes 0.001 to 20 wt % (preferably 0.001 to 5 wt %).", "The portable radiographic imaging device 10 according to the present embodiment is basically constituted as above.", "Next, the operation and effect thereof will be described.", "In order to obtain a radiograph of a subject, first, at least the irradiation surface 19 of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 and suitably the entirety of the outer surface of the housing 18 is cleaned.", "That is, the housing 18 is wiped with a wiper containing a disinfectant solution.", "As the disinfectant solution, an aqueous ethanol solution or an aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution is preferably used.", "As described above, the outer surface of the housing 18 of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 is provided with a hydrophilic processed portion.", "Furthermore, in the hydrophilic processed portion, a water contact angle is equal to or smaller than 30° even in a dark place not irradiated with light.", "Therefore, even in a case where the portable radiographic imaging device 10 is stored in a dark place, the outer surface of the housing 18 exhibits sufficient antifogging properties and hydrophilicity.", "Due to the hydrophilicity, the outer surface of the housing 18 is sufficiently wetted with the disinfectant solution.", "In other words, the disinfectant solution sufficiently wets and spreads over the outer surface of the housing 18.Accordingly, even in a case where bacteria remain on the outer surface of the housing 18 at this point in time, the disinfectant solution comes into contact with the bacteria for a long period of time.", "Furthermore, because the hydrophilic processed portion on the outer surface of the housing 18 contains an antibacterial agent as described above, the antibacterial agent acts on the bacteria.", "Consequently, a bactericidal ability can be further improved compared to the related art, and the bacterial multiplication can be inhibited.", "Due to the sufficient antifogging properties, it is possible to prevent the outer surface of the LED lamp 35, the counting display portion 36, and the battery level display portion 37 from becoming foggy and to prevent the deterioration of the visibility.", "That is, even in a case where the portable radiographic imaging device 10 is stored in a dark place, the device can be sterilized immediately after being taken out of the dark place.", "Furthermore, because the hydrophilic processed portion contains the antibacterial agent as described above, the portable radiographic imaging device in which the substrate with the hydrophilic processed portion is disposed on the outer surface of the device has antibacterial properties that are exhibited within a short time and last over a long time.", "In addition, due to the sufficient antifogging properties of the hydrophilic processed portion, in the portable radiographic imaging device in which the substrate with the hydrophilic processed portion is disposed on the outer surface of the device, it is possible to prevent a wrong panel from being mounted and to easily check the center position of a panel at the time of imaging.", "Furthermore, the battery level or the number of sheets of images captured can be easily checked without a mistake.", "In a state where the irradiation surface 19 of the housing 18 of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 cleaned as above is coming into contact with a subject, a physician or a radiological technician (radiographer) irradiates an imaging site of the subject with the radiation Ray from a radiation source.", "The radiation Ray is transmitted through the imaging site of the subject, passes through the irradiation surface 19 of the portable radiographic imaging device 10, and reaches the scintillator 21 of the radiation detector 12.The scintillator 21 emits fluorescence (visible light) in an amount according to the transmission amount of the radiation Ray.", "Meanwhile, in the sensor portions provided in the TFT board 20, a charge in an amount according to the amount (emission amount) of the fluorescence is generated and accumulated.", "The information on the charge is read out by the control portion, and as a result, a radiograph of the imaging site of the subject is obtained.", "The portable radiographic imaging device 10 is used in an operating room, an emergency room, and the like in some cases.", "In these cases, the blood or body fluid of a patient (subject) is likely to adhere to the housing 18.In order to remove this type of contaminant, a method of washing the housing 18 with running water is considered.", "However, in a case where such a method is used, a battery mounting portion or a connector connecting portion may be wetted with water, and thus the device may break down.", "Therefore, after imaging ends, the housing 18 is wiped with a wiper containing a disinfectant solution such as an aqueous ethanol solution or an aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution.", "In this case, because the outer surface of the housing 18 is also provided with the hydrophilic processed portion as described above, the disinfectant solution wets and spreads on the outer surface of the housing 18, and the outer surface is sufficiently wetted with the disinfectant solution.", "Accordingly, in a case where a contaminant adheres to the housing 18, water or the disinfectant solution goes in between the hydrophilic processed portion and the contaminant.", "As a result, the contaminant is easily detached from the housing 18.That is, the contaminant can be easily removed.", "Furthermore, because the disinfectant solution stays on the outer surface of the housing 18 for a long time, even though the bacteria from the contaminant remain on the outer surface, the disinfectant solution comes into contact with the bacteria for a long time.", "In addition, because the hydrophilic processed portion on the outer surface of the housing 18 contains an antibacterial agent, the antibacterial agent acts on the bacteria.", "Accordingly, a bactericidal ability can be further improved compared to the related art, and the bacterial multiplication can be inhibited.", "As described above, in a case where the outer surface of the housing 18 is provided with the hydrophilic processed portion, it is possible to remove the contaminant from the portable radiographic imaging device, which has a difficulty of being cleaned with running water in the related art, and to easily perform sterilization with an improved bactericidal ability in a case where sterilization is performed using a disinfectant solution.", "Furthermore, because the hydrophilic processed portion on the outer surface of the housing 18 contains the antibacterial agent, it is possible to inhibit the bacteria from multiplying after the device is sterilized with the disinfectant solution.", "Accordingly, even though the contaminant remains on the device, the bacterial multiplication can be inhibited by the action of the antibacterial agent.", "According to the present embodiment, the housing 18 of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 can be easily cleaned after imaging.", "Furthermore, because the hydrophilic processed portion on the outer surface of the housing 18 contains an antibacterial agent, it is possible to obtain advantages that bacterial multiplication is inhibited, and the housing 18 remains clean for a long time.", "Embodiment 2 The hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 1 contains at least the first antibacterial agent containing silver and the second antibacterial agent containing silver which is different from the first antibacterial agent.", "A hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 2 is not particularly limited as long as it contains at least one kind of silver as an antibacterial agent.", "That is, Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 have the same constitution and the same operation, except that different antibacterial agents are used.", "(Antibacterial Agent) In Embodiment 2, the type of an antibacterial agent containing silver (hereinafter, referred to as a silver-based antibacterial agent as well) is not particularly limited, as long as the antibacterial agent contains silver (silver atoms).", "The aspect of silver used in Embodiment 2 and specific examples thereof are the same as in Embodiment 1.Examples of the silver-based antibacterial agent include organic antibacterial agents such as a silver salt (silver complex) and inorganic antibacterial agents containing a support, but the type of the antibacterial agent is not particularly limited.", "Among the silver-based antibacterial agents, in view of further improving the light fastness of the hydrophilic processed portion and/or in view of further improving the antibacterial properties (hereinafter, simply described as “in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 2 as well”), a silver-supporting support containing a support and silver supported on the support is preferable.", "The type of the support used in Embodiment 2 is the same as in Embodiment 1.However, in view of further improving the effects of the Embodiment 2, ceramics are preferable as the support.", "The average particle diameter of the silver-supporting support used in Embodiment 2 is the same as in Embodiment 1.The content of silver in the silver-based antibacterial agent is not particularly limited.", "For example, in a case of the aforementioned silver-supporting support, the content of silver with respect to the total mass of the silver-supporting support is preferably 0.1% to 10% by mass, and more preferably 0.3% to 5% by mass.", "The content of the silver-based antibacterial agent in the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 2, it is preferable that the hydrophilic processed portion contains the silver-based antibacterial agent such that the content of silver with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion becomes 0.001% to 20% by mass (preferably 0.001% to 5% by mass).", "In a case where an organic antibacterial agent is used as the silver-based antibacterial agent, the content of the antibacterial agent is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the mechanical strength of the hydrophilic processed portion and further improving the effects of Embodiment 2, the content of the antibacterial agent is preferably 1% to 4% by mass with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion.", "In a case where an inorganic antibacterial agent is used as the silver-based antibacterial agent, the content of the antibacterial agent is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the mechanical strength of the hydrophilic processed portion and further improving the effects of Embodiment 2, the content of the antibacterial agent with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably 0.001% to 10% by mass, and more preferably 0.01% to 5% by mass.", "(Characteristics of Hydrophilic Processed Portion) The water contact angle of the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion is equal to or smaller than 30°.", "In view of further improving the antifogging properties and the removability of contaminants, the water contact angle is preferably equal to or smaller than 21°, and more preferably equal to or smaller than 15°.", "The lower limit thereof is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of the characteristics of materials used, the lower limit of the water contact angle is equal to or greater than 5° in many cases.", "In a case where the water contact angle is greater than 30°, sufficient antibacterial properties or antifogging properties are not obtained, and the removability of contaminants becomes poor.", "In the present specification, the water contact angle is measured based on a sessile drop method of JIS R 3257:1999.For measuring the water contact angle, LSE-ME1 (software 2win mini) manufactured by NiCK Corporation is used.", "More specifically, at room temperature (20° C.), 2 μl of droplets of pure water are dropped onto the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion which is kept horizontal, and a contact angle at a point in time when 20 seconds has elapsed from the dropping is measured.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of the removability of contaminants and the antibacterial properties, the average thickness is preferably 0.5 μm to 20 μm, and more preferably 1 μm to 10 μm.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion is measured by a method in which a sample piece is embedded in a resin, a cross section thereof is obtained by cutting with a microtome, and the obtained cross section is observed with a scanning electron microscope.", "The thicknesses at 10 random points in the hydrophilic processed portion are measured, and an arithmetic mean thereof is calculated.", "(Method for Preparing Hydrophilic Processed Portion) The method for preparing the hydrophilic processed portion containing the aforementioned antibacterial agent is the same as in Embodiment 1.", "(Substrate with Hydrophilic Processed Portion) FIG.", "7 shows a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 2.A substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 70 has a substrate 72 and a hydrophilic processed portion 74 disposed on the substrate 72.The portable radiographic imaging device of the present embodiment has the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 70 on the outer surface of the device.", "The hydrophilic processed portion 74 may be disposed on at least a portion of the surface of the substrate 72.", "(Characteristics of Substrate with Hydrophilic Processed Portion) In the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 70 containing the aforementioned antibacterial agent, a silver ion amount per unit area that is measured by an extraction test which will be described later is 15 to 50 ng/cm2.In view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 2, the silver ion amount is preferably 15 to 40 ng/cm2, and more preferably 15 to 30 ng/cm2.In a case where the silver ion amount is less than 15 ng/cm2, the antibacterial properties become poor.", "In a case where the silver ion amount is greater than 50 ng/cm2, the light fastness becomes poor.", "That is, the base with a hydrophilic processed portion (portable radiographic imaging device) has excellent light fastness and antibacterial properties exhibited within a short time.", "The method of the extraction test used in Embodiment 2 is the same as in Embodiment 1.The hydrophilic processed portion containing the aforementioned antibacterial agent has sufficient antifogging properties and excellent antibacterial properties showing an antibacterial action within a short time.", "Furthermore, the hydrophilic processed portion has the effect of light fastness by which the hydrophilic processed portion is not discolored even being exposed to external light for a long time.", "Due to the sufficient antifogging properties of the hydrophilic processed portion, in the portable radiographic imaging device in which the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion is disposed on the outer surface of the device, it is possible to prevent a wrong panel from being mounted and to easily check the center position of a panel at the time of imaging.", "Furthermore, it is possible to easily check the battery level or the number of sheets of images captured without a mistake.", "In addition, the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 2 has effects that makes it possible to obtain sufficient antifogging properties, sufficient visibility, sufficient light fastness, and antibacterial properties exhibited within a short time.", "The substrate 72 and the hydrophilic processed portion 74 of the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 70 constitute the main sheet 52 and the hydrophilic processed portion 54 of the hydrophilic processed sheet 50 according to Embodiment 1 and the substrate 62 and constitute the hydrophilic portion 64 of the base with a hydrophilic processed antibacterial film (base with an antibacterial film) 60, respectively.", "Third Embodiment FIG.", "8 shows a substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to a third embodiment.", "A substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 80 has a substrate 82 and a hydrophilic processed portion 84 disposed on the substrate 82.The portable radiographic imaging device 10 of the present embodiment has the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 80 on at least a portion of the outer surface of the device.", "The hydrophilic processed portion 84 contains an antibacterial agent 86 containing silver 88 and a porous support 90 which can adsorb silver ions.", "In Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, the hydrophilic processed portion contains a hydrophilic polymer and an antibacterial agent.", "However, the hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 3 contains a hydrophilic polymer, an antibacterial agent containing silver, and a porous support which can adsorb silver ions.", "In the substrate including the hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 3, an average particle diameter Da (μm) of the antibacterial agent, an average particle diameter Db (μm) of the porous support, and an average thickness T (μm) of hydrophilic processed portion satisfy the relationships of Formula (4) and Formula (5).", "T/Da>3.0 Formula (4) T/Db≤3.0 Formula (5) As shown in FIG.", "8, the antibacterial agent 86 satisfying the condition of Formula (4) is buried in the hydrophilic processed portion 84 in many cases, and the porous support 90 satisfying the condition of Formula (5) is easily exposed on the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion 84.Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 3 have the same constitution and the same operation, except that different hydrophilic processed portions are adopted.", "Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be specifically described.", "(Hydrophilic Polymer) The hydrophilic polymer is the same as in Embodiment 1.", "(Antibacterial Agent Containing Silver) The type of the antibacterial agent containing silver (hereinafter, referred to as a silver-based antibacterial agent as well) is not particularly limited as long as the antibacterial agent contains silver (silver atoms).", "The aspect of silver used in Embodiment 3 and specific examples thereof are the same as Embodiment 1.Examples of the silver-based antibacterial agent include organic antibacterial agents such as a silver salt and inorganic antibacterial agents containing a support, but the type thereof is not particularly limited.", "Among these, in view of exhibiting antibacterial properties within a shorter time and/or in view of being able to retain antibacterial properties for a longer period of time (hereinafter, simply described as “in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3” as well), the antibacterial agent is preferably a silver-supporting support containing a support and silver supported on the support.", "The type of the support used in Embodiment 3 is the same as in Embodiment 1.The average particle diameter of the antibacterial agent (preferably the aforementioned silver-supporting support) is not particularly limited as long as the condition of Formula (4) is satisfied.", "In view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the average particle diameter is preferably 0.1 to 10 μm, more preferably equal to or greater than 0.1 μm and less than 2.0 μm, and even more preferably 0.3 to 1.0 μm.", "Herein, by using a laser diffraction/scattering-type particle size distribution measurement apparatus manufactured by HORIBA, Ltd, a 50% by volume cumulative diameter (D50) is measured three times, and the average of the values obtained by the measurement performed three times is used as the aforementioned average particle diameter.", "In Embodiment 3, as one of the suitable aspects of the silver-based antibacterial agent, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, an antibacterial agent can be exemplified which contains silver and at least one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate.", "In other words, the antibacterial agent is preferably a silver-supporting catalyst containing one support selected from the group consisting of calcium zinc phosphate and calcium phosphate and silver supported on the support.", "(Porous Support which can Adsorb Silver Ions) The porous support which can adsorb silver ions refers to a support having a number of pores that can adsorb silver ions.", "The porous support is not particularly limited regarding the diameter or shape of pores, the volume of pores, the density of pores, the specific surface area, and the like.", "Specifically, it is possible to arbitrarily use an inorganic porous support such as activated carbon, zeolite, activated carbon fiber, silica gel, activated clay, alumina, or diatom earth or an organic polymer porous support such as pulp, fiber, paper, cloth, non-woven cloth, wood, or wood powder.", "Examples of zeolite include natural zeolite such as chabazite, mordenite, erionite, and clinoptilolite, and synthetic zeolite such as type A zeolite, type X zeolite, and type Y zeolite.", "The porous support may support silver.", "That is, a silver-supporting porous substance (corresponding to a so-called antibacterial agent) containing a porous support and silver supported on the porous support may be used.", "In a case where silver is supported on the porous support (that is, in a case of the silver-supporting porous substance), the type of the porous support supporting silver is different from the type of the aforementioned antibacterial agent.", "As described above, the hydrophilic processed portion includes one kind of porous support (porous substance) selected from the group consisting of a porous support which can adsorb silver ions and a porous support which supports silver and can adsorb silver ions.", "The silver supported on the porous support may be contained in any form such as a silver ion, metallic silver, and a silver salt.", "Particularly, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the hydrophilic processed portion preferably includes a porous support supporting silver.", "In other words, the hydrophilic processed portion preferably includes a silver-supporting porous substance containing silver and a porous support.", "Examples of the porous support preferably include zeolite.", "That is, the porous support is preferably a silver-supporting catalyst containing a support formed of zeolite and silver supported on the support.", "The average particle diameter of the porous support which can adsorb silver ions is not particularly limited as long as the condition of Formula (5) described above is satisfied.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of the present invention, the particle diameter of the porous support is preferably 0.1 to 20 μm, more preferably 1.0 to 10 μm, and even more preferably 2.0 to 5.0 μm.", "Herein, by using a laser diffraction/scattering-type particle size distribution measurement apparatus manufactured by HORIBA, Ltd, a 50% by volume cumulative diameter (D50) is measured three times, and the average of the values obtained by the measurement performed three times is used as the aforementioned average particle diameter.", "(Characteristics of Hydrophilic Processed Portion and Method for Preparing Hydrophilic Processed Portion) The characteristics of the hydrophilic processed portion containing the antibacterial agent and the porous support described above and the method for preparing the hydrophilic processed portion are the same as in Embodiment 1.", "(Characteristics of Substrate with Hydrophilic Processed Portion) As described above and as shown in FIG.", "8, in the substrate (portable radiographic imaging device) including the hydrophilic processed portion having the aforementioned antibacterial agent, the average particle diameter Da (μm) of the antibacterial agent, the average particle diameter Db (μm) of the porous support, and the average thickness T (μm) of the hydrophilic processed portion satisfy the relationships of Formula (4) and Formula (5).", "T/Da>3.0 Formula (4) T/Db≤3.0 Formula (5) The substrate with the hydrophilic processed portion has antibacterial properties which are exhibited within a short time and last over a long period of time (long time).", "Formula (4) means that a ratio (T/Da) between the average thickness T of the hydrophilic processed portion and the average particle diameter Da of the antibacterial agent is higher than 3.0.Particularly, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the ratio (T/Da) is preferably equal to or higher than 3.1, and more preferably equal to or higher than 3.2.The upper limit thereof is not particularly limited, but is generally equal to or lower than 10 in many cases.", "In view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the upper limit of the ratio (T/Da) is preferably equal to or lower than 6.0.In a case where the relationship of Formula (4) is satisfied, the antibacterial agent can be easily buried in the hydrophilic processed portion, and hence an excess of silver ions can be inhibited from being eluted from the hydrophilic processed portion.", "Formula (5) means that a ratio (T/Db) between the average thickness T of the hydrophilic processed portion and the average particle diameter Db of the porous support is equal to or lower than 3.0.Particularly, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the ratio (T/Db) is preferably equal to or lower than 2.5, and more preferably equal to or lower than 2.0.The lower limit thereof is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the flatness of the hydrophilic processed portion, the lower limit of the ratio (T/Db) is preferably equal to or higher than 1.0.In a case where the relationship of Formula (5) is satisfied, the porous support more easily protrudes from the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion, and hence silver ions are easily adsorbed onto the support.", "The relationship between the average particle diameter Da of the antibacterial agent and the average particle diameter Db of the porous support is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, a ratio (Db/Da) between the average particle diameter Da and the average particle diameter Db is preferably equal to or lower than 4.5, and it is preferable that the ratio (Db/Da) satisfies the relationship of Formula (6) shown below.", "Db/Da≤3.5 Formula (6) The lower limit of Db/Da is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the lower limit of Db/Da is preferably equal to or higher than 1.0, and more preferably equal to or higher than 2.0.The content of silver in the antibacterial agent is not particularly limited.", "For example, in a case where the antibacterial agent is a silver-supporting support, the content of silver with respect to the total mass of the silver-supporting support is preferably 0.1% to 30% by mass, and more preferably 0.3% to 10% by mass.", "In a case where silver is supported on the porous support, the amount of silver supported is not particularly limited.", "However, the amount of silver supported is preferably 0.1% to 30% by mass and more preferably 0.3% to 10% by mass with respect to the total mass of silver and the porous support.", "The total content of the antibacterial agent and the porous support in the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, it is preferable that the hydrophilic processed portion contains the antibacterial agent and the porous support such that the content of silver with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion becomes 0.0001% to 1% by mass and preferably becomes 0.001% to 0.1% by mass.", "The amount of silver in the hydrophilic processed portion means the total amount of the silver in the antibacterial agent and the silver supported on the porous support.", "The content of the antibacterial agent in the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the mechanical strength of the hydrophilic processed portion and further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the content of the antibacterial agent with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably 0.001% to 10% by mass, more preferably 0.01% to 5% by mass, even more preferably 0.01% to 2.5% by mass, and particularly preferably greater than 1.0% by mass and equal to or smaller than 2.5% by mass.", "The content of the porous support in the hydrophilic processed portion is not particularly limited.", "However, in view of further improving the effects of Embodiment 3, the content of the porous support with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion is preferably equal to or smaller than 10% by mass, more preferably equal to or smaller than 5% by mass, even more preferably equal to or smaller than 0.8% by mass, and particularly preferably equal to or smaller than 0.5% by mass.", "The lower limit thereof is not particularly limited, but is preferably equal to or greater than 0.001% by mass and more preferably equal to or greater than 0.01% by mass.", "Next, with reference to FIGS.", "9A and 9B, a mechanism will be described by which the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 80 according to Embodiment 3 exhibits antibacterial properties.", "First, as shown in FIG.", "9A, the silver 88 in the antibacterial agent 86 is ionized, and silver ions 92 are eluted from the hydrophilic processed portion 84 and act on the bacteria and the like on the hydrophilic processed portion 84.At this time, some of the eluted silver ions 92 are adsorbed onto the surface of the porous support 90 without acting on the bacteria.", "In a case where the silver ions 92 are continuously eluted from the antibacterial agent 86, the amount of silver in the antibacterial agent 86 is reduced, and hence the amount of the silver eluted is reduced.", "Then, the silver ions 92 adsorbed onto the porous support 90 start to be eluted to the outside as shown in FIG.", "9B such that the equilibrium relationship of silver ions is maintained, and in this way, the antibacterial properties are retained.", "That is, in a case where the porous support 90 is included in the hydrophilic processed portion 84, the silver ions 92 eluted from the antibacterial agent 86 can be temporarily held, and the silver ions 92 can be eluted again after the passage of a predetermined time (after the amount of silver ions eluted from the antibacterial agent 86 is reduced).", "Accordingly, the antibacterial properties can be maintained over a longer period of time than in a case where the porous support 90 is not included in the hydrophilic processed portion 84.The substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion according to Embodiment 3 (portable radiographic imaging device) has excellent antifogging properties and antibacterial properties which are exhibited within a short time and retained over a long period of time (long time).", "The substrate 82 and the hydrophilic processed portion 84 of the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion 80 constitute the main sheet 52 and the hydrophilic processed portion 54 of the hydrophilic processed sheet 50 according to Embodiment 1 and constitute the substrate 62 and the hydrophilic portion 64 of the base with a hydrophilic processed antibacterial film (base with antibacterial film) 60 respectively.", "Embodiment 4 FIG.", "10 is a schematic perspective view showing the entirety of a portable radiographic imaging device (electronic cassette-type imaging device) 100 according to Embodiment 4.The portable radiographic imaging device 100 is constituted with a housing 102 and a radiation detector 104 accommodated in the housing.", "The radiation detector 104 includes a scintillator, sensor portions, and the like not shown in the drawing.", "Furthermore, the radiation detector 104 is provided with a charge amplifier IC, a communication portion (none of these are shown in the drawing), and the like.", "The housing 102 includes a body member 106 of which both ends in the longitudinal direction are open ends and a first cap member 108 and a second cap member 110 that close the open ends.", "The body member 106 has a cavity on the inside thereof and is in the form of a so-called cylinder.", "All of the body member 106, the first cap member 108, and the second cap member 110 may be constituted with a resin material that can transmit radiation.", "The first cap member 108 is provided with a battery mounting portion 112 and a connector connecting portion 114.From a battery (not shown in the drawing) mounted on the battery mounting portion 112, a driving current is supplied, and through a connector (not shown in the drawing) mounted on the connector connecting portion 114, wire communication is performed between the portable radiographic imaging device 100 and external instruments.", "It goes without saying that wireless communication may be performed instead of the wire communication.", "Furthermore, as shown in FIG.", "10, the first cap member 108 may be provided with a display portion 118 or the like.", "The display portion 118 is constituted with an LED lamp or the like, and is used for displaying the driving state and the like of the portable radiographic imaging device 100.One end face of the body member 106, the first cap member 108, and the second cap member 110 constituting the housing 102 forms an irradiation surface 116 irradiated with radiation and comes into contact with a subject (not shown in the drawing) as a patient.", "At least the portion of the body member 106, the first cap member 108, and the second cap member 110 that comes into contact with the subject (that is, the surface irradiated with radiation) and the top of the display portion 118 are provided with a hydrophilic processed portion similarly to the aforementioned portable radiographic imaging device 10 according to Embodiment 1.The hydrophilic processed portion may be provided not only in the portion of the body member 106, the first cap member 108, and the second cap member 110 that comes into contact with the subject but also on the entirety of the outer surface that can come into contact with a radiographer.", "In this case, because the open ends of the body member 106 accommodating the radiation detector 104 on the inside thereof are closed by the first cap member 108 and the second cap member 110, the housing 102 in the form of a so-called monocoque is formed, and the portable radiographic imaging device 100 is constituted.", "The body member 106 only needs to be able to accommodate the radiation detector 104 on the inside thereof, and both ends thereof do not have to be open ends.", "For example, only one end thereof may be an open end, and the open end may be closed by a cap member.", "In the portable radiographic imaging device 100, the same effect as in the portable radiographic imaging device 10 according to Embodiment 1 is obtained.", "Herein, in a case where a portion coming into contact with a subject is very far away from an external instrument-connecting portion such as the connector connecting portion 114, for example, in the case of a radiographic imaging device in which the external instrument-connecting portion is not to be wetted with water even though the portion coming into contact with a subject is washed with water, the portion coming into contact with a subject may be washed with flowing water.", "In this case, due to the presence of the hydrophilic processed portion, water also permeates the space between a contaminant and the outer surface of the device.", "Accordingly, it is possible to easily remove the contaminant and to inhibit the multiplication of bacteria.", "Furthermore, because the outer surface of the display portion 118 has antifogging properties, excellent visibility is also obtained.", "Therefore, it is possible to accurately ascertain the driving state of the portable radiographic imaging device 100 and the like.", "In the portable radiographic imaging device 100 shown in FIG.", "10, the second cap member 110 can be mounted on the body member 106 through fitting, adhesion, or welding.", "In a case where a structure is adopted in which the first cap member 108 is detachably mounted through adhesion or welding, the portion other than the first cap member 108 can be immersed in a washing solution.", "At this time, it is preferable to cap the battery mounting portion 112 and the connector connecting portion 114 with an elastomer so as to prevent these portions from being accidentally wetted with water, although the elastomer is not shown in the drawing.", "Furthermore, it is preferable to make the first cap member 108 by using an O-ring or the like in advance, although the O-ring is not shown in the drawing.", "Even in this case, because the housing 102 is also provided with the hydrophilic processed portion, it is possible to easily remove the contaminant and to inhibit the multiplication of bacteria.", "In the present embodiment, the first cap member 108 may be provided with a detachable handle or a storage handle, although such a handle is not shown in the drawing.", "Furthermore, a self-pressure sensitive adhesive sheet may be bonded to the housing 102 having a monocoque structure similarly to the portable radiographic imaging device 100 shown in FIG.", "10, because such a sheet is easily bonded to the housing 102.Embodiment 5 (Mammography Device) The radiographic imaging device of the present invention may be a mammography device 120 shown in FIG.", "11.In this case, similarly to the portable radiographic imaging device 10 according to Embodiment 1, a hydrophilic processed portion, which contains an antibacterial agent and has undergone antibacterial processing, can be suitably provided in a face guard 122, a breast support 124, or a breast compression plate 126 that is a portion coming into contact with a subject.", "Furthermore, the hydrophilic processed portion having undergone antibacterial processing can also be suitably provided in a display portion 128 showing the driving state and the like of the mammography device 120.The lipstick or sebum of a patient adheres to the face guard 122 in some cases.", "Moreover, oozing breast milk, blood resulting from bleeding at the time of biopsy (mammotome biopsy), or sebum adheres to the breast support 124 and the breast compression plate 126 in some cases.", "In a case where the hydrophilic processed portion is provided in the face guard 122, the breast support 124, and the breast compression plate 126, it is possible to remove the lipstick, breast milk, blood, and sebum simply by wiping, and to improve the bactericidal ability compared to the related art because the hydrophilic processed portion exhibits excellent wettability with respect to the disinfectant solution at the time of sterilization.", "In addition, in a case where the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on the surface of the display portion 128, even though the indoor humidity is high, the antifogging properties of the display portion 128 can be maintained.", "Furthermore, in a case where the hydrophilic processed portion having undergone antibacterial processing is provided, it is possible to inhibit the multiplication of bacteria remaining after wiping or to kill the bacteria.", "It is also possible to suitably use a method of providing minute concavities and convexities on the surface of the substrate of the hydrophilic processed portion and a method of adding a lubricant to the hydrophilic processed portion.", "Embodiment 6 (Radiographic Imaging Device for Upright Radiography) The radiographic imaging device of the present invention may be a radiographic diagnostic device 130 for upright radiography shown in FIG.", "12.In this case, similarly to the portable radiographic imaging device 10 according to Embodiment 1, an imaging board 132 coming into contact with a subject at the time of imaging or grips 134 and 136 a subject grips at the time of imaging are suitably provided with a hydrophilic processed portion which contains an antibacterial agent and has undergone antibacterial processing.", "Furthermore, the hydrophilic processed portion having undergone antibacterial processing can be suitably provided in other portions including an operation panel portion 138 touched by a radiographer.", "In addition, in a case where a hydrophilic processed portion also having excellent antifogging properties is provided on the surface of the operation panel portion 138, the visibility of the operation panel portion 138 can be maintained even though the indoor humidity is increased.", "(CR Cassette) The outer surface of a CR cassette, which accommodates an imaging plate used for computed radiography (CR) at the time of imaging, can be suitably provided with the same hydrophilic processed portion as in Embodiment 1, that is, the hydrophilic processed portion containing an antibacterial agent and having undergone antibacterial processing.", "In this case, similarly to the portable radiographic imaging device according to Embodiment 1, the surface of the imaging surface coming into contact with a subject or the entirety of the outer surface of the CR cassette that can be touched by a radiographer is suitably provided with such a hydrophilic processed portion.", "(Grid) In addition, the surface of a grid, which is used for removing scattering radiation and improving contrast at the time of imaging performed using a portable radiographic imaging device or a CR cassette, is suitably provided with the same hydrophilic processed portion as in Embodiment 1, that is, the hydrophilic processed portion containing an antibacterial agent and having undergone antibacterial processing.", "The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned examples, and the outer surface of a radiographic imaging device which needs antifogging properties and comes into contact with a subject and to which an infectious contaminant can adhere can be provided with the same hydrophilic processed portion as in Embodiment 1, that is, the hydrophilic processed portion containing an antibacterial agent and having undergone antibacterial processing.", "Embodiment 7 (Medical Mask) The medical instrument of the present invention may be a medical mask 140 shown in FIG.", "13.The medical mask 140 is a transparent mask formed of plastic.", "The hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention is provided on the inner surface 142 of the mask.", "It is suitable for the hydrophilic processed portion to be provided for the mouth of patients or healthcare professionals.", "In a case where the hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention having antibacterial properties and antifogging properties is provided on the inner surface of the mask, it is possible to check the mouth without taking off the mask.", "Furthermore, the mask is not easily contaminated with lipstick or the like, and even in a case where the mask is stained with lipstick or the like, the lipstick stain can be removed simply by wiping.", "In addition, the mask exhibits excellent wettability with respect to a disinfectant solution at the time of sterilization, the bactericidal ability can be further improved compared to the related art.", "Embodiment 8 (Medical Goggle) The medical instrument of the present invention may be a medical goggle 150 shown in FIG.", "14.In a case where the hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention having antibacterial properties or antifogging properties is provided on an outer surface 152 of the medical goggle, excellent visibility can be secured even in a cold environment.", "Furthermore, in a case where the hydrophilic processed portion is provided on the inner surface of the medical goggle, the goggle is not easily contaminated with sweat or sebum, and even though the goggle is contaminated with sweat or sebum, the sweat or sebum can be removed simply by wiping.", "In addition, the goggle exhibits excellent wettability with respect to a disinfectant solution at the time of sterilization, and the bactericidal ability can be further improved compared to the related art.", "Embodiment 9 (Transparent Sterile Medical Bag) The medical instrument of the present invention may be a transparent sterile medical bag 160 shown in FIG.", "15.In a case where an instrument such as a tablet PC 164 or the like that is unsterilizable is brought into an operating room, sometimes the PC is used in a state of being packed in a bag.", "However, in this case, the inside of the bag becomes foggy, and sometimes the visibility deteriorates.", "At this time, in a case where the hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention having undergone antibacterial processing is provided on an inner surface 162 of the sterile bag, the antifogging properties can be maintained.", "The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned examples, and the same hydrophilic processed portion as in Embodiment 1, that is, the hydrophilic processed portion containing an antibacterial agent and having undergone antibacterial processing can be provided at sites which need antifogging properties and come into contact with a subject and to which infectious contaminants can adhere, for example, the inner surface of a showcase for food, the inner surface of food packaging bag, the inner wall of a bathroom, and the like.", "In a case where the hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention having excellent antifogging properties or antibacterial properties is provided on the inner surface of a showcase for food or a food packaging bag, the food disposed in the showcase for food or in the food packaging bag can be easily seen, and the food does not get spoiled due to the water droplets that adhere to the inside of the showcase or the food packaging bag and fall onto the food.", "EXAMPLES Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 (Preparation of Curable Composition) By mixing the following components together, a curable composition was prepared.", "Hydrophilic monomer: Miramer M4004 (manufactured 76 parts by mass by Toyo Chemicals Co., Ltd.) Cross-linking agent: A-DPH (manufactured by 21 parts by mass SHIN-NAKAMURA CHEMICAL CO., LTD.) Polymerization initiator: IRGACURE (manufactured 3 parts by mass by BASF SE) Solvent component (1): methyl alcohol 15 parts by mass Solvent component (2): propylene glycol 35 parts by mass monomethyl ether (Preparation of Antibacterial Agent) (First Antibacterial Agent: Antibacterial Agent Containing Silver Supported on Calcium Zinc Phosphate) By reacting calcium hydroxide with zinc oxide and phosphoric acid, a phosphate was obtained.", "Silver nitrate was added to the phosphate, and the mixture was washed, filtered, dried, and ground, thereby obtaining a first antibacterial agent (silver-supporting support).", "The average particle diameter of the obtained first antibacterial agent was 1 μm, and the silver ion content in the antibacterial agent was equivalent to 3% by mass.", "(Second Antibacterial Agent: Antibacterial Agent Containing Silver Supported on Zeolite) Zeolite was brought into contact with an aqueous silver nitrate solution, such that ion-exchangeable ions in the zeolite were substituted with silver ions, thereby obtaining a second antibacterial agent.", "The average particle diameter of the obtained second antibacterial agent was 1.51 μm, and the silver ion content in the antibacterial agent was equivalent to 0.5% by mass.", "Examples and Comparative Examples The first antibacterial agent and the second antibacterial agent were added to and mixed with the curable composition prepared as above, according to the ratio (part by mass) shown in Table 1 with respect to 100 parts by mass of the total solid contents in the composition, thereby preparing a curable composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion.", "<Various Evaluations> (1) Antibacterial Properties A polycarbonate sheet CARBOGLASS (CFR110C manufactured by ASAHI GLASS CO., LTD) was coated with the obtained curable composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion.", "The composition was dried for 30 minutes at 60° C., and then the monomer was cured by UV irradiation.", "In this way, a hydrophilic processed portion was formed, and an evaluation sample (substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion) was prepared.", "By using the obtained evaluation samples of the examples and the comparative examples, the following evaluation was performed.", "The results are summarized in Table 1.", "(Measurement of Silver Content P) The evaluation samples prepared in the examples and the comparative examples were cut such that the hydrophilic processed portion had a size (area) of 25 cm2.Then, the obtained samples were subjected to a wet carbonization treatment, and the silver content (ng) was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (contrAA 700 manufactured by Analytik Jena AG) with using a calibration curve plotted in advance.", "The obtained value was divided by the area of the hydrophilic processed portion, thereby determining the silver content P (ng/cm2).", "(Measurement of Silver Ion Amount Q) The evaluation samples prepared in the examples and the comparative examples were cut such that the hydrophilic processed portion had a size (area) of 4 cm2.The cut evaluation samples were immersed in 9 ml of a bacterial liquid (1/500 normal nutrient broth medium specified in JIS Z 2801:2010) for 1 hour at 35° C. Then, 1 ml of nitric acid was added to the bacterial liquid, and the silver ion amount was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (contrAA 700 manufactured by Analytik Jena AG) by using a calibration curve plotted in advance.", "The obtained value was divided by the area of the hydrophilic processed portion, thereby determining the silver ion amount Q (ng/cm2).", "(Evaluation of initial antibacterial properties) For evaluating the antibacterial properties, based on the evaluation method described in JIS Z 2801:2010, a test was performed by changing the contact time with the bacterial liquid to 1 hour from 24 hours.", "The bacterial count (bacteria/cm2) was measured after each test, and the initial antibacterial properties were evaluated according to the standards shown below.", "As bacterial species, E. coli was used.", "In order to check the validity of the test, a polycarbonate sheet (CARBOGLASS CFR110C manufactured by ASAHI GLASS CO., LTD.) not provided with a hydrophilic processed portion was also evaluated.", "As a result, it was confirmed that the bacterial count (bacteria/cm2) after an hour of contact was equal to or greater than 6.2×102 (bacteria/cm2).", "For practical use, “A” or “B” is preferable.", "“A”: the bacterial count is less than 1/cm2.“B”: the bacterial count is equal to or greater than 1/cm2 and less than 10/cm2.“C”: the bacterial count is equal to or greater than 10/cm2.", "(Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties after Durability Test) In order to evaluate whether the evaluation sample prepared according to the aforementioned procedure retains antibacterial properties over a long time, the following durability test was performed.", "Generally, in a case where contaminants adhere to the hydrophilic processed portion disposed on the surface of a member, the hydrophilic processed portion is wiped with a damp cloth in many cases.", "At this time, the elution of silver into water occurs and becomes the main cause of the deterioration of antibacterial properties.", "Accordingly, in a case where excellent antibacterial properties are exhibited even after the following abrasion test, it is understood that the antibacterial properties can be retained over a long period of time even after the hydrophilic processed portion is used.", "During the durability test, the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion of the evaluation sample (substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion) prepared according to the aforementioned procedure was rubbed 36,000 times with a damp cloth under a load of 500 g. Then, the test for evaluating antibacterial properties was performed by the method described above, and the antibacterial properties were evaluated according to the following standards.", "As bacterial species, E. coli was used.", "As the damp cloth, a polyester cloth (trade name: ANTICON) immersed in pure water was used.", "For practical use, “A” or “B” is preferable.", "“A”: the bacterial count was less than 1/cm2.“B”: the bacterial count was equal to or greater than 1/cm2 and less than 10/cm2.“C”: the bacterial count was equal to or greater than 10/cm2.“Silver content rate (wt %)” in Table 1 means the content (% by mass) of silver contained in the hydrophilic processed portion with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion.", "(2) Antifogging Properties The outer surface of the counting display portion 36 and the battery level display portion 37 of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 shown in FIG.", "3 was coated with the obtained curable composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion, followed by curing (ultraviolet irradiation treatment), thereby providing a hydrophilic processed portion containing an antibacterial agent and having undergone antibacterial processing.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion was about 2 μm.", "The water contact angle of the hydrophilic processed portion provided on the portable radiographic imaging device obtained in the examples and the comparative examples was measured by the aforementioned method.", "(Evaluation of Antifogging Properties) For evaluating antifogging properties, the portable radiographic imaging devices 10 obtained in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 were kept in an environment with a temperature of 35° C. and a humidity of 95% for 1 hour, and the visibility of the hydrophilic processed portion of each of the portable radiographic imaging devices 10 was subjected to sensory evaluation by being visually observed by five researchers.", "In the sensory evaluation of visibility, in a case where the moisture occurring on the surface of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 was scattered, and no fogging was observed within the hydrophilic processed portion, the device was graded A.", "In a case where although slight fogging was observed, the visibility of the numbers or the like displayed on the counting display portion 36 and the battery level display portion 37 were not affected at all, the device was graded B.", "In a case where although mild fogging was observed, the visibility of the numbers or the like displayed on the counting display portion 36 and the battery level display portion 37 were not affected, and the numbers or the like could be sufficiently read, the device was graded C. In a case where fogging occurred, and it was difficult to read the numbers or the like displayed on the counting display portion 36 and the battery level display portion 37, the device was graded D. In a case where dew condensation was observed in addition to fogging, the visibility was extremely poor, and the numbers or the like displayed on the counting display portion 36 and the battery level display portion 37 could not be read, the device was graded E. The results are summarized in Table 1.TABLE 1 Hydrophilic processed portion Evaluation Content of first Content of second Silver Water Evaluation Evaluation Evaluation of antibacterial antibacterial Silver content Silver ion content contact of of initial antibacterial agent agent P amount Q rate angle antifogging antibacterial properties after (part by mass) (part by mass) (ng/cm2) (ng/cm2) P/Q (wt %) (°) properties properties durability test Comparative 0.5 0.5 70 12.3 5.7 0.018 10 A B C Example 1 Example 1 1.0 0.5 130 15.7 8.3 0.033 10 A A B Example 2 1.5 0.5 190 18.6 10.2 0.048 10 A A A Example 3 2.0 0.5 250 21.1 11.8 0.063 10 A A A Example 4 2.5 0.5 310 23.7 13.1 0.078 10 A A A Comparative 1.0 0.05 121 24 5.0 0.030 10 A A C Example 2 Example 5 1.0 0.15 123 20 6.2 0.031 10 A A B Comparative 0.5 0 60 14.1 4.3 0.015 10 A B C Example 3 As shown in Table 1, it was confirmed that the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention has excellent antifogging properties and excellent antibacterial properties that are exhibited within a short time and last over a long time.", "Particularly, it was confirmed that in a case where P/Q is equal to or higher than 10 as shown in Examples 2 to 4, better effects can be obtained.", "In contrast, in Comparative Examples 1 to 3 not satisfying predetermined conditions, the effects of exhibiting excellent antifogging properties were obtained, but regarding the antibacterial properties that last over a long time, excellent effects were not obtained.", "The above results clearly show the effects of Embodiment 1 of the present invention.", "Examples 6 to 10 and Comparative Examples 4 to 6 (Preparation of Antibacterial Agent) A silver ceramic particle dispersion liquid (manufactured by Fuji Chemical Industries, Ltd., average particle diameter: 0.8 μm) was added to and mixed with cured compositions prepared by the same method as in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 described above according to the ratio shown in “Mass of antibacterial agent” in Table 2, thereby preparing curable compositions for forming a hydrophilic processed portion.", "<Evaluation> (1) Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties and Light Fastness A polycarbonate sheet (CARBOGLASS CFR110C manufactured by ASAHI GLASS CO., LTD.) was coated with the obtained curable composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion such that a hydrophilic processed portion having a thickness shown in Table 2 was obtained.", "The composition was dried for 30 minutes at 60° C., and the monomer was cured by UV irradiation.", "In this way, a hydrophilic processed portion was formed, and an evaluation sample (substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion) was prepared.", "In Comparative Example 6, a mass ratio between the hydrophilic monomer and a cross-linking agent was controlled such that a predetermined water contact angle was obtained.", "(Method for Evaluating Antibacterial Properties) For evaluating the antibacterial properties, based on the evaluation method described in JIS Z 2801:2010, a test was performed by changing the contact time with the bacterial liquid to 1 hour from 24 hours.", "The bacterial count (bacteria/cm2) was measured after each test, and the antibacterial properties were evaluated according to the standards shown below.", "As bacterial species, E. coli was used.", "For practical use, “A” or “B” is preferable.", "The results are shown in Table 2.“A”: the bacterial count was less than 5/cm2.“B”: the bacterial count was equal to or greater than 5/cm2 and less than 10/cm2.“C”: the bacterial count was equal to or greater than 10/cm2.", "(Light Fastness Test) By using a xenon weatherometer (manufactured by Suga Test Instruments Co., Ltd.), the evaluation sample was irradiated for 10 hours at a power of 60 W/m2, and then the discoloration of the hydrophilic processed portion in the sample was visually evaluated from the viewpoints shown below.", "For practical use, “A” is preferable.", "The results are shown in Table 2.“A”: no discoloration occurred.", "“B”: discoloration occurred.", "By using the evaluation sample obtained in each of the examples and the comparative examples, the aforementioned extraction test was performed.", "Furthermore, the water contact angle of the hydrophilic processed portion in the evaluation sample obtained in each of the examples and the comparative examples was measured by the aforementioned method.", "The results are shown in Table 2.In Table 2, “Mass of antibacterial agent (% by mass)” means the content of the antibacterial agent (% by mass) with respect to the mass of the components of the cured substance (total mass of solid contents in the cured composition) in the hydrophilic processed portion.", "In Table 2, the column of “Ag ion amount” means the silver ion amount per unit area measured by the extraction test.", "(2) Evaluation of Antifogging Properties The outer surface of the counting display portion 36 and the battery level display portion 37 of the portable radiographic imaging device 10 was coated with the obtained curable composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion, followed by curing (ultraviolet irradiation treatment), thereby providing a hydrophilic processed portion containing an antibacterial agent and having undergone antibacterial processing.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion was about 2 μM.", "The water contact angle of the hydrophilic processed portion provided on the outer surface of the portable radiographic imaging device obtained in the examples and the comparative examples was measured by the aforementioned method.", "The evaluation method of the antifogging properties was the same as the evaluation method used in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 described above.", "The results are summarized in Table 2.TABLE 2 Hydrophilic processed portion Mass of Evaluation antibacterial Film Water agent thickness Ag ion amount Antibacterial Light Antifogging contact angle (% by mass) (μm) (ng/cm2) properties fastness properties (°) Example 6 0.5 4.0 15.8 A A B 25 Example 7 0.7 4.0 19.1 A A B 20 Example 8 1.0 4.0 23.2 A A B 22 Example 9 1.5 4.0 25.0 A A B 23 Example 10 2.0 5.0 40.0 A A B 25 Comparative 0.5 2.0 6.3 C A B 23 Example 4 Comparative 3.0 5.0 63.2 A B B 21 Example 5 Comparative 1.5 4.0 20.2 B A C 50 Example 6 As shown in Table 2, the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention had excellent antifogging properties, excellent antibacterial properties that were exhibited within a short time, and excellent light fastness.", "In contrast, in Comparative Example 4 in which the silver ion amount was smaller than a predetermined range, excellent antibacterial properties were not obtained.", "In Comparative Example 5 in which the silver ion amount was greater than a predetermined range, the light fastness was poor.", "In Comparative Example 6 in which the water contact angle was larger than a predetermined range, excellent antifogging properties were not obtained, and the antibacterial properties were poor.", "The above results clearly show the effects of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.", "Examples 11 to 28 and Comparative Examples 7 and 8 (Preparation of Antibacterial Agent) Synthesis Example 1: Antibacterial Agent Containing Silver Supported on Calcium Zinc Phosphate By reacting calcium hydroxide with zinc oxide and phosphoric acid, a phosphate was obtained.", "Silver nitrate was added to the phosphate, and the mixture was washed, filtered, dried, and ground, thereby obtaining an antibacterial agent A.", "The average particle diameter of the obtained antibacterial agent A was 0.9 μm, and the silver ion content in the antibacterial agent A with respect to the total mass of the antibacterial agent was equivalent to 3% by mass.", "Synthesis Example 2: Antibacterial Agent Containing Silver Supported on Calcium Zinc Phosphate An antibacterial agent B was obtained according to the same procedure as in Synthesis Example 1, except that grinding was performed such that the average particle diameter became 0.5 μm after the grinding.", "The silver ion content in the antibacterial agent B with respect to the total mass of the antibacterial agent was equivalent to 1% by mass.", "Synthesis Example 3: Porous Support Supporting Silver Zeolite was brought into contact with an aqueous silver nitrate solution such that ion-exchangeable ions in the zeolite were substituted with silver ions, thereby obtaining a porous support A supporting silver.", "The average particle diameter of the porous support A was 2.0 μm, and the silver ion content in the support with respect to the total mass of the porous support was equivalent to 0.5% by mass.", "Examples and Comparative Examples The components synthesized in Synthesis Examples 1 to 3 or zeolite was added to and mixed with the curable composition prepared by the same method as in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 described above according to the ratio (% by mass (wt %)) shown in Table 3, thereby preparing curable compositions for forming a hydrophilic processed portion.", "The ratio (% by mass) means the content of each component with respect to the total mass of the hydrophilic processed portion to be formed.", "<Evaluation> (1) Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties A polycarbonate sheet (CARBOGLASS CFR110C manufactured by ASAHI GLASS CO., LTD.) was coated with the obtained curable composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion.", "The composition was dried for 30 minutes at 60° C., and then the monomer was cured by UV irradiation.", "In this way, a hydrophilic processed portion was formed, and an evaluation sample (substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion) was prepared.", "The amount of the curable composition used for coating was adjusted such that the thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion (average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion) became the thickness shown in Table 3.", "(Evaluation of Initial Antibacterial Properties: Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties Exhibited within Short Time) For evaluating the antibacterial properties (initial antibacterial properties), based on the evaluation method described in JIS Z 2801:2010, a test was performed by changing the contact time with the bacterial liquid to 1 hour from 24 hours.", "The bacterial count (bacteria/cm2) was measured after each test, and the initial antibacterial properties were evaluated according to the standards shown below.", "As bacterial species, E. coli was used.", "In order to check the validity of the test, a polycarbonate sheet (CARBOGLASS CFR110C manufactured by ASAHI GLASS CO., LTD.) not provided with a hydrophilic processed portion was also evaluated.", "As a result, it was confirmed that the bacterial count (bacteria/cm2) after an hour of contact was equal to or greater than 6.2×102 (bacteria/cm2).", "For practical use, “A” or “B” is preferable.", "“A”: the bacterial count is less than 1/cm2.“B”: the bacterial count is equal to or greater than 1/cm2 and less than 10/cm2.“C”: the bacterial count is equal to or greater than 10/cm2.", "(Evaluation of Antibacterial Properties after Durability Test) In order to evaluate whether the evaluation sample prepared according to the aforementioned procedure has antibacterial properties that last over a long period of time, the following durability test was performed.", "Generally, in a case where contaminants adhere to the hydrophilic processed portion disposed on the surface of a member, the hydrophilic processed portion is wiped with a damp cloth in many cases.", "At this time, the elution of silver into water occurs and becomes the main cause of the deterioration of antibacterial properties.", "Accordingly, in a case where excellent antibacterial properties are exhibited even after the following abrasion test, it is understood that the antibacterial properties can be retained over a long period of time even after the hydrophilic processed portion is used.", "During the durability test, the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion of the evaluation sample (substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion) prepared according to the aforementioned procedure was rubbed 36,000 times with a damp cloth under a load of 500 g. Then, the test for evaluating antibacterial properties was performed by the method described above, and the antibacterial properties were evaluated according to the following standards.", "As bacterial species, E. coli was used.", "As the damp cloth, a polyester cloth (trade name: ANTICON) immersed in pure water was used.", "For practical use, “A” or “B” is preferable.", "“A”: the bacterial count was less than 1/cm2.“B” the bacterial count was equal to or greater than 1/cm2 and less than 10/cm2.“C”: the bacterial count was equal to or greater than 10/cm2.“Zeolite” described in the column of “Porous support” in Table 3 means zeolite used in Synthesis Example 3 and does not support silver.", "The water contact angle of the surface of the hydrophilic processed portion obtained in each of the examples was equal to or smaller than 40°.", "Furthermore, the hydrophilic processed portion obtained in each of the examples included a porous support positioned such that a portion thereof protruded from the surface (flat surface) of the hydrophilic processed portion.", "In addition, in Table 3, the average particle diameter is a value obtained by measuring 50% by volume cumulative diameter (D50) three times by using a laser diffraction/scattering-type particle size distribution measurement apparatus manufactured by HORIBA, Ltd, and calculating the average of the values obtained by the measurement performed three times.", "(2) Evaluation of Antifogging Properties The outer surface of the counting display portion 36 and the battery level display portion 37 in the portable radiographic imaging device 10 was coated with the obtained curable composition for forming a hydrophilic processed portion, followed by curing (ultraviolet irradiation treatment), thereby providing a hydrophilic processed portion containing an antibacterial agent and having undergone antibacterial processing.", "The average thickness of the hydrophilic processed portion was about 2 μm.", "The water contact angle of the hydrophilic processed portion provided in the portable radiographic imaging devices obtained in the examples and the comparative examples was measured by the aforementioned method.", "The evaluation method of the antifogging properties was the same as the evaluation method used in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 described above.", "The results are summarized in Table 3.TABLE 3 Content with respect Average to total mass of thickness T Antibacterial agent Porous support hydrophilic processed of Average Average portion hydrophilic particle particle diameter Antibacterial Porous processed diameter Db agent support portion Type Da (μm) Type (μm) (wt %) (wt %) (μm) Example 11 Antibacterial 0.9 Porous support A 2.0 1 0.5 3 Example 12 agent A 1.5 0.5 3 Example 13 2 0.5 3 Example 14 2.5 0.5 3 Example 15 1.5 0.5 4 Example 16 1.5 0.5 6 Comparative 1.5 0.5 8 Example 8 Comparative Antibacterial 0.9 — — 0.5 0 3 Example 7 agent A Example 17 Antibacterial 0.9 Porous support A 2.0 1.5 0.01 3 Example 18 agent A 1.5 0.04 3 Example 19 1.5 0.2 3 Example 20 1.5 0.8 3 Example 21 1.5 1 3 Example 22 Antibacterial 0.5 Porous support A 2.0 1 0.5 3 Example 23 agent B 1.5 0.5 3 Example 24 2 0.5 3 Example 25 2.5 0.5 3 Example 26 Antibacterial 0.9 Zeolite 2.0 1 0.5 3 Example 27 agent A 1.5 0.5 3 Example 28 2 0.5 3 Evaluation Water contact Evaluation of Evaluation of initial Evaluation of angle antifogging antibacterial antibacterial properties T/Da T/Db Db/Da (°) properties properties after durability test Example 11 3.3 1.5 2.2 10 A A B Example 12 3.3 1.5 10 A A A Example 13 3.3 1.5 10 A A A Example 14 3.3 1.5 10 A A A Example 15 4.4 2 10 A A A Example 16 6.7 3 10 A A B Comparative 8.9 4 10 A A C Example 8 Comparative 3.3 — — 10 A B C Example 7 Example 17 3.3 1.5 2.2 10 A A A Example 18 3.3 1.5 10 A A A Example 19 3.3 1.5 10 A A A Example 20 3.3 1.5 10 A B B Example 21 3.3 1.5 10 A B B Example 22 6.0 1.5 4.0 10 A B B Example 23 6.0 1.5 10 A B B Example 24 6.0 1.5 10 A B B Example 25 6.0 1.5 10 A B B Example 26 3.3 1.5 2.2 10 A B B Example 27 3.3 1.5 10 A B B Example 28 3.3 1.5 10 A B B As shown in Table 3, it was confirmed that the hydrophilic processed portion in the substrate with a hydrophilic processed portion of the present invention has sufficient antifogging properties, exhibits antibacterial properties within a short time, and can retain the antibacterial properties over a long period of time.", "Particularly, from the comparison between Example 11 and Example 12, it was confirmed that in a case where the content of the antibacterial agent is greater than 1.0% by mass, the result of the evaluation of antibacterial properties after the durability test becomes better.", "From the comparison between Example 15 and Example 16, it was confirmed that in a case where the ratio (T/Da) is equal to or lower than 6.0, the result of the evaluation of antibacterial properties after the durability test becomes better.", "From the comparison between Example 19 and Example 20, it was confirmed that in a case where the content of the porous support is equal to or smaller than 0.5% by mass, the results of the evaluation of initial antibacterial properties and the evaluation of antibacterial properties after the durability test become better.", "From the comparison between Example 12 and Example 23, it was confirmed that in a case where the ratio (Db/Da) is equal to or lower than 3.5, the results of the evaluation of initial antibacterial properties and the evaluation of antibacterial properties after the durability test become better.", "From the comparison between Example 12 and Example 27, it was confirmed that in a case where silver is supported on the porous support, the results of the evaluation of initial antibacterial properties and the evaluation of antibacterial properties after the durability test become better.", "It was confirmed that Comparative Examples 7 and 8 in which the antifogging properties fall into a predetermined range have antifogging properties.", "However, regarding the evaluation of antibacterial properties, in a case where the porous support was not used as in Comparative Example 7, or in a case where the relationship of Formula (5) was not satisfied as in Comparative Example 8, excellent effects were not obtained.", "The above results clearly show the effects of Embodiment 3 of the present invention.", "EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES 10: portable radiographic imaging device 12: radiation detector 13: control board 18: housing 19: irradiation surface 19A: imaging surface 20: TFT board 21: scintillator 22: light screen element 23: connector 24: connector 25: scan signal control circuit 26: signal detection circuit 27: connector 28: flexible cable 29: connector 30: flexible cable 31: front panel 32: back panel 33: top panel 34: holding portion 35: LED lamp 36: counting display portion 37: battery level display portion 38: inclined portion 40: substrate with hydrophilic processed portion 42: substrate 44: hydrophilic processed portion 50: hydrophilic processed sheet 52: main sheet 54: hydrophilic processed portion 56: pressure sensitive adhesive layer 58: release sheet 60, 60A, 60B: base with (hydrophilic processed) antibacterial film 62: base 64: hydrophilic portion 66: hydrophilic processed antibacterial film 70: substrate with hydrophilic processed portion 72: substrate 74: hydrophilic processed portion 80: substrate with hydrophilic processed portion 82: substrate 84: hydrophilic processed portion 86: antibacterial agent 88: silver 90: porous support which can adsorb silver ions 92: silver ion 100: portable radiographic imaging device (electronic cassette-type imaging device) 102: housing 104: radiation detector 106: body member 108: first cap member 112: battery mounting portion 114: connector connecting portion 116: irradiation surface 118: display portion 120: mammography device 122: face guard 124: breast support 126: breast compression plate 128: display portion 130: radiographic diagnostic device 132: imaging board 134, 136: grip 138: operation panel portion 140: medical mask 142: inner surface of mask 150: medical goggle 152: outer surface of goggle 160: transparent sterile medical bag 162: inner surface of sterile bag 164: tablet PC" ] ]
Patent_15875001
[ [ "LIGHTING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES", "A lighting device for vehicles with an elongated light guide comprising an end face for the coupling-in of light, into which a light beam radiated from a light source can be coupled-in.", "The lighting device further comprises elements for the coupling-out of light for the deflection of the coupled-in light beam in the direction of a front skin surface of the elongated light guide, on which the light beam can be coupled-out for the generation of a given light function, such that the front skin surface of the elongated light guide is connected to a rear skin surface by means of a curved dispersion surface.", "At least one light directing element is arranged between a row of light sources and the light guide so that the light of the light sources arranged in a row can be coupled into the rear skin surface or the curved dispersion surface of the light guide." ], [ "1.A lighting device for vehicles comprising: an elongated light guide including: an end face for the coupling-in of light, into which a light beam radiated from a light source can be coupled-in, and elements for the coupling-out of light for the deflection of the coupled-in light beam in the direction of a front skin surface of the elongated light guide, on which the light beam can be coupled-out for the generation of a given light function, a curved dispersion surface connecting the front skin surface of the elongated light guide to a rear skin surface of the elongated light guide, and at least one light directing element located between a row of light sources and the light guide so that light from the light sources arranged in a row can be coupled into the rear skin surface of the light guide, and wherein the at least one light directing element is embodied as a cuboidal light guide element extending between the row of light sources and the elongated light guide.", "2.The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light sources assigned to the elongated light directing element can be sequentially switched on or off for the creation of an illumination which is locally changeable in the longitudinal direction of the light guide.", "3.The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein a second light beam coupled into a surface for the coupling-in of light of the light guide element facing the light sources can be deflected in direction of the light guide by means of total reflection on the lateral surfaces of the light guide element.", "4.The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light directing element is segmented in the longitudinal direction.", "5.The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light directing element is continuous in the longitudinal direction.", "6.The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the light directing element has open slots or closed slots on the side facing the row of light sources.", "7.The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein on both sides of a median plane of the light guide, there are light directing elements arranged, each of which has a row of light sources assigned on a surface for the coupling-in of light facing away from the light guide and each of which has, on the side for the coupling out of light facng the light guide, a surface for the coupling-out of light following the contour of the curved dispersion surface of the light guide.", "8.The lighting device according to claim 1, wherein an intermediate lens is positioned and located between the light guide element and the elongated light guide.", "9.The lighting device according to claim 8, wherein the intermediate lens is cuboidal.", "10.The lighting device according to claim 8, wherein the intermediate lens abuts the light guide element." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>It is therefore the task of the present invention to further develop a lighting device so that an elongated light guide can be employed in a simple and compact manner for use in a light function in which the lighting of the light guide changes locally in the longitudinal direction of the same while maintaining a continuous appearance of the light guide.", "To solve this problem the invention in connection with the preamble of patent claim 1 is characterized in that between a row of light sources and the light guide, a light directing element is arranged so that light from the light sources arranged in a row can be coupled into the rear skin surface or the curved dispersion surface of the light guide.", "The particular advantage of the invention is that by means of an elongated light directing element being assigned to an elongated light guide, additional light which can be used for a locally variable lighting of the light guide can be supplied to the elongated light guide in a simple manner.", "By this means, a wandering light function resp.", "a wiping direction indicator function can be created, in which the elongated light guide is lit by and by, resp.", "sequentially from one end face to the opposite end face.", "The second light beam deflected by the elongated light directing element is supplied in a directed manner to a curved dispersion surface of the elongated light guide, by which it is deflected so that it exits at the front skin surface of the light guide.", "According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the elongated light directing element runs parallel to the light guide so that the second light beam hits exclusively the curved dispersion surface of the elongated light guide.", "Advantageously, this ensures a defined coupling-in of light from one longitudinal side into the light guide.", "According to an embodiment of the invention, the light guide has a trumpet-shaped and symmetrical embodiment, wherein identically formed, curved dispersion surfaces are provided on opposite sides.", "Advantageously, this allows particularly a dispersion running vertical to the longitudinal mean plane of the light guide.", "According to a further development of the invention, the light sources assigned to the light directing element can be switched on and/or off sequentially, so that a locally variable lighting of the light guide is ensured in the longitudinal direction of the same.", "By this means, the light sources arranged in a row can be switched on one after the other, preferably from an inside of the vehicle toward the outside of the vehicle, until the light guide is lit over its entire length, to create a “wiping direction indicator function”.", "Then the light source arranged on the end face of the light guide is switched on, so that the illuminance of the light guide increases instantly over its entire length.", "If necessary, the light sources assigned to the light directing element can then be switched off simultaneously.", "Should the light function be a direction indicator function, the light source assigned to the light guide is switched off after a given time interval and the process can start again.", "Should the light function be e.g.", "a tail light, the corresponding light sources remain in the activated condition until the light function is switched off.", "According to a further development of the invention, the light directing element is embodied so that the second light beam coupled-in via the curved dispersion surface has the same dispersion as a first light beam, which is coupled into the light guide on the end face and which is deflected via elements for the coupling-out of light of the same in the direction of the front skin surface.", "Advantageously, the first light beam and the second light beam have therefore the same dispersion effect, particularly across the longitudinal mean plane of the light guide.", "According to a further development of the invention, the light directing element is embodied as a reflector having reflector surfaces extending into the vicinity of the dispersion surface.", "If necessary, the reflector can comprise additional inner reflector surfaces to ensure an improved light output for the coupling-in of the same into the light guide.", "According to a further variant of the invention, the light directing element is embodied as a light guide element being arranged as a solid body between the rows of light sources and the light guide.", "The second light beam being coupled into the light guide element is deflected by means of total reflection on the lateral surfaces of the light guide element toward the light guide.", "Preferably, the light guide element has a jaw-shaped embodiment, wherein the second light beam is essentially radiated into an end region of the two jaws of the light guide element in the direction of the dispersion surface.", "These aspects are merely illustrative of the innumerable aspects associated with the present invention and should not be deemed as limiting in any manner.", "These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the referenced drawings." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE This application claims priority to U.S. Utility application Ser.", "No.", "15/441,309, filed Feb. 24, 2017, which claims priority to U.S. Utility application Ser.", "No.", "14/261,282, filed Apr.", "24, 2014, which claims priority to and the benefit of German Patent Application No.", "10 2013 104174.4 filed Apr.", "25, 2013.The entire disclosures of U.S. Utility application Ser.", "No.", "15/441,309, U.S. Utility application Ser.", "No.", "14/261,282, and German Patent Application No.", "10 2013 104174.4 are hereby incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a lighting device for vehicles with an elongated light guide having a end face for the coupling-in of light, into which a light beam radiated from a light source can be coupled-in, and comprising elements for the coupling-out of light for the deflection of the coupled-in light beam in the direction of a front skin surface of the elongated light guide, on which the light beam can be coupled-out for the generation of a given light function, that the front skin surface of the elongated light guide is connected to a rear skin surface by means of a curved dispersion surface.", "From DE 10 2008 038 668 A1, a lighting device for vehicles is known, which comprises an elongated light guide.", "On a rear skin surface, this light guide has elements for the coupling-out of light, by means of which light coupled into the light guide and guided by it is deflected in the direction of a front skin surface and coupled-out of it for the creation of a given light function.", "The coupling-in of light is achieved by means of a light source arranged on the end face of the elongated light guide.", "Therefore, the lighting device allows a line-shaped coupling-out of light, which can for example be used for a direction indicator function.", "Usually, the light function is accomplished by switching on the light source on the end face, which results in an instant light effect over the entire length of the light guide.", "There are endeavors to relax the legal requirements relating to the light functions so that the light guide can provide a sequential light radiation in the shape of a wandering light function or a running light function.", "By this means, the light function of a “wiping” direction indicator can for example be created.", "This wandering light function can for example be effected by means of the sequential switching-on of light sources arranged in rows, each of which has a separate light guide element arranged in front.", "If the elongated light guide was segmented or divided into in separate segments, each of which with a light source assigned to it, the light guide would, however, loose the character of a continuous appearance with a homogeneous illumination.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore the task of the present invention to further develop a lighting device so that an elongated light guide can be employed in a simple and compact manner for use in a light function in which the lighting of the light guide changes locally in the longitudinal direction of the same while maintaining a continuous appearance of the light guide.", "To solve this problem the invention in connection with the preamble of patent claim 1 is characterized in that between a row of light sources and the light guide, a light directing element is arranged so that light from the light sources arranged in a row can be coupled into the rear skin surface or the curved dispersion surface of the light guide.", "The particular advantage of the invention is that by means of an elongated light directing element being assigned to an elongated light guide, additional light which can be used for a locally variable lighting of the light guide can be supplied to the elongated light guide in a simple manner.", "By this means, a wandering light function resp.", "a wiping direction indicator function can be created, in which the elongated light guide is lit by and by, resp.", "sequentially from one end face to the opposite end face.", "The second light beam deflected by the elongated light directing element is supplied in a directed manner to a curved dispersion surface of the elongated light guide, by which it is deflected so that it exits at the front skin surface of the light guide.", "According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the elongated light directing element runs parallel to the light guide so that the second light beam hits exclusively the curved dispersion surface of the elongated light guide.", "Advantageously, this ensures a defined coupling-in of light from one longitudinal side into the light guide.", "According to an embodiment of the invention, the light guide has a trumpet-shaped and symmetrical embodiment, wherein identically formed, curved dispersion surfaces are provided on opposite sides.", "Advantageously, this allows particularly a dispersion running vertical to the longitudinal mean plane of the light guide.", "According to a further development of the invention, the light sources assigned to the light directing element can be switched on and/or off sequentially, so that a locally variable lighting of the light guide is ensured in the longitudinal direction of the same.", "By this means, the light sources arranged in a row can be switched on one after the other, preferably from an inside of the vehicle toward the outside of the vehicle, until the light guide is lit over its entire length, to create a “wiping direction indicator function”.", "Then the light source arranged on the end face of the light guide is switched on, so that the illuminance of the light guide increases instantly over its entire length.", "If necessary, the light sources assigned to the light directing element can then be switched off simultaneously.", "Should the light function be a direction indicator function, the light source assigned to the light guide is switched off after a given time interval and the process can start again.", "Should the light function be e.g.", "a tail light, the corresponding light sources remain in the activated condition until the light function is switched off.", "According to a further development of the invention, the light directing element is embodied so that the second light beam coupled-in via the curved dispersion surface has the same dispersion as a first light beam, which is coupled into the light guide on the end face and which is deflected via elements for the coupling-out of light of the same in the direction of the front skin surface.", "Advantageously, the first light beam and the second light beam have therefore the same dispersion effect, particularly across the longitudinal mean plane of the light guide.", "According to a further development of the invention, the light directing element is embodied as a reflector having reflector surfaces extending into the vicinity of the dispersion surface.", "If necessary, the reflector can comprise additional inner reflector surfaces to ensure an improved light output for the coupling-in of the same into the light guide.", "According to a further variant of the invention, the light directing element is embodied as a light guide element being arranged as a solid body between the rows of light sources and the light guide.", "The second light beam being coupled into the light guide element is deflected by means of total reflection on the lateral surfaces of the light guide element toward the light guide.", "Preferably, the light guide element has a jaw-shaped embodiment, wherein the second light beam is essentially radiated into an end region of the two jaws of the light guide element in the direction of the dispersion surface.", "These aspects are merely illustrative of the innumerable aspects associated with the present invention and should not be deemed as limiting in any manner.", "These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the referenced drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is now made more particularly to the drawings, which illustrate the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention and wherein similar reference characters indicate the same parts throughout the views.", "FIG.", "1: a schematic lateral view of a lighting device according to a first embodiment of the invention with a light guide element embodied as a reflector, FIG.", "2: a schematic lateral view of a lighting device according to FIG.", "1 with an alternative light source arrangement according to a second embodiment, FIG.", "3: a perspective representation of the lighting device according to FIG.", "2 without representation of a light guide, FIG.", "4: a perspective representation of the lighting device according to FIG.", "2 with the light guide shown, FIG.", "5: a lateral view of a lighting device according to a third embodiment with a light directing element embodied as a light guide element, FIG.", "6: a schematic representation of the switching process of the additional light sources arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the light guide, FIG.", "7: a lateral view of the lighting device according to a further embodiment with an intermediate lens, FIG.", "8: a top view of the embodiment according to FIG.", "7, FIG.", "9: a top view of an embodiment with a light directing element which is continuous in the longitudinal direction, FIG.", "10: a top view of a light directing element having slots, FIG.", "11: a top view of a light directing element having closed slots, FIG.", "12: a lateral view of a light directing element with directed surface for the coupling-out of light.", "FIG.", "13: a lateral view of the light directing element with prism-shaped surface for the coupling-out of light.", "FIG.", "14: a lateral view of the light directing element with pillow-shaped optic elements on the surface for the coupling-out of light, FIG.", "15: a lateral view of the light directing element with an etched surface for the coupling-out of light, FIG.", "16: a lateral view of a light directing element with a coupling-in optics according to a first embodiment, FIG.", "17: a lateral view of a light directing element with a coupling-in optics according to a second embodiment, FIG.", "18: a lateral view of a light directing element with a coupling-in optics according to a third embodiment, FIG.", "19: a lateral view of a light directing element with a coupling-in optics according to a fourth embodiment, and FIG.", "20: a lateral view of a lighting device with two light directing elements.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.", "However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.", "For example, the invention is not limited in scope to the particular type of industry application depicted in the figures.", "In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.", "A lighting device for vehicles is arranged in a tail or front region of a vehicle.", "The lighting device can be used for the creation of a light function, in which the light can be changeably radiated with regard to place and/or time.", "According to a first embodiment following FIG.", "1, the lighting device has an elongated light guide 1 to the rear of which, with regard to the main radiation direction H, a light directing element embodied as a reflector 2 is assigned.", "The reflector 2, like the light guide 1, has an elongated embodiment and extends preferably in a horizontal direction in parallel to the same.", "A row of light sources 3 is arranged spaced relative to one another in the longitudinal direction of the reflector 2 on a back of the reflector 2 facing away from the light guide 1.The cross section of the light guide 1 is trumpet-shaped and has a rear skin surface 4, a front skin surface 5, as well as a curved dispersion surface 6, 6′ connecting the rear skin surface 4 with the front skin surface 5.The reflector 2 is symmetrically arranged relative to a longitudinal mean plane M of the light guide 1, wherein the identically shaped dispersion surfaces 6, 6′ facing one another connect the narrow rear skin surface 4 having a plane embodiment with the front skin surface 5 having a cylindrical embodiment.", "On an end face of the light guide 1 which is not represented, a light source is arranged, which radiates a first light beam L1 into the light guide, which is coupled-in at a end face of the light guide 1 and is directed onto the skin surfaces 4, 5, 6, 6′ of the light guide 1 in the longitudinal direction E of the same.", "The rear skin surface 4 has prism-shaped optic elements as elements for the coupling-out of light 7, by means of which the light beams L1 hitting them are deflected in the direction of the front skin surface 5.These light beams L1 are then coupled-out on the front skin surface 5 for the creation of the light function.", "The embodiment of the reflector 2 is preferably symmetrical relative to the longitudinal mean plane M and has outer reflector surfaces 2′ and inner reflector surfaces 2″.", "The opposing outer reflector surfaces 2′ extend into a region in the vicinity of the curved dispersion surface 6 resp.", "6′, so that light beams L2 radiated from the light sources 3 are coupled into the curved dispersion surfaces 6, 6′ in the light guide 1.The inner reflector surface 2″ extends in a region close to the longitudinal mean plane M so that light beams L2′ (partial light beams) are reflected in direction of the outer reflector surface 2′.", "The inner reflector surfaces 2″ preferably converge in the longitudinal mean plane M, so that no light L2 radiated from the light sources 3 can directly hit the rear skin surface 4 and/ or the curved dispersion surfaces 6, 6′.", "The light beams L2 exclusively hit the curved dispersion surfaces 6, 6′ once they have been deflected once or several times on the outer reflector surface 2′.", "Once the light beam L2 has entered the light guide 1, it is deflected by means of the curved dispersion surface 6, 6′ so that it is coupled out on the front skin surface 5 in the main radiation direction H. Herein, the dispersion of the second light beam L2 preferably has the same dispersion as the first light beam L1.The light dispersion, particularly in the vertical direction, is therefore identical.", "The reflector surfaces 2′, 2″ can have a smooth surface or an optical structure.", "The optical structure can for example be embodied as pillow optics or striped optic elements.", "Alternatively, the optical structure can also be achieved by means of erosion or etching or lasering.", "The reflector 2 can be fastened in a carrier element or a bezel of the lighting device in which the light guide 1 is held.", "According to the first embodiment corresponding to FIG.", "1 the light sources 3 are embodied as LED light sources being arranged on a common rigid carrier plate 8.According to a second embodiment of the invention corresponding to FIGS.", "2 to 4, and in contrast to the first embodiment, a row of lateral-LED-light sources 3′ can be assigned to the reflector 2.In contrast to the first embodiment, these are not arranged on a printed circuit board running vertical to the longitudinal mean plane M, but on a printed circuit board 8′ running parallel to the longitudinal mean plane M, resp.", "parallel to the main radiation direction H. Identical components resp.", "identical component functions of the exemplary embodiments are marked with identical reference signs.", "According to a represented alternative embodiment, the light sources can also be embodied as OLED light sources, in which the light beam L2 is not radiated in a punctiform manner, as described in the above embodiments, but from a lighting panel.", "According to a further embodiment of the invention according to FIG.", "5, the light directing element can be embodied as a light guide element 12 extending as a solid body between the row of light sources 3′ and the light guide 1.The light guide element 12 has a jaw-shaped cross-section and has two light guide legs 12′, 12″ extending on both sides of the longitudinal mean plane M. The front ends of the light guide legs 12′, 12″ extend into a region in the vicinity of the curved dispersion surface 6, 6′.", "The two light guide legs 12′, 12″ each have outer lateral surfaces 13 and inner lateral surfaces 14, on which the coupled-in light beam L2 can be fully reflected.", "In a free end region of the light guide legs 12′, 12″ the light beams L2 are coupled-out on the inner lateral surfaces 14, so that they can enter the light guide 1 through the curved dispersion surfaces 6, 6′.", "Subsequently a deflection, already described above, occurs inside the light guide 1, so that they are coupled-out on the front skin surface 5 in the main radiation direction H in an identical manner.", "To switch the lighting device on, the light sources 3, 3′ are sequentially switched on by means of a control device which is not represented, starting preferably from an innermost side of the vehicle toward an outermost side of the vehicle.", "By this means, light L2 is, by and by, coupled into the light guide 1 in the longitudinal direction E by means of the light directing element 2, 12 and radiated from its front skin surface 5.This results in a wandering light function resp.", "a light strip which is extended by and by along the longitudinal direction E of the light guide 1.A wiping effect is created, which can for example be used when a direction indicator function, a tail light function or a daytime running light function is switched on.", "FIG.", "6 gives a schematic representation of the light radiated from the light guide 1 in the longitudinal direction E against the switching points.", "At the beginning SLC-8468920-1 of the switching process, a light source 3, 3′ preferably facing the vehicle inside is switched on at the point in time t0, so that a light radiation L2 is effected in the longitudinal direction E across a first partial section E1 of the light guide 1.At the end of a time interval Δt, the neighboring light source 3, 3′ is switched on in addition, so that an illumination of the light guide 1 across a partial section E2 being larger than the partial section E1 is effected.", "Subsequently, further light sources 3, 3′ are switched on sequentially in addition at time intervals of Δt, until the light guide 1 is lit across its entire extension.", "The light guide 1 then radiates the light L2 provided by the light directing element 2, 12 across its entire length.", "The process of switching on the light sources 3, 3′ is thus completed.", "Subsequently, the first light beam L1 of the light source situated on the front-side surface for the coupling-in of light of the light guide 1 can be radiated via the front skin surface 5 in addition by switching it on, so that an increase in illuminance is created across the entire length of the light guide 1.Either the light sources 3, 3′ assigned to the light directing elements 2, 12 can remain switched on or they are switched off so that the light guide 1 is illuminated exclusively by the first light beam L1.For the creation of the direction indicator function, the light sources 3, 3′ assigned to the light directing element 2, 12 as well as the light sources assigned to the light guide 1 are switched off simultaneously after the lapse of a given time interval, so that after a given pause, the described switching process can start again.", "The switching on of the lighting device therefore effects the creation of a light strip extending in the longitudinal direction, the light strip being determined by the extension of the light guide 1.The light guide 1 and the light directing element 2, 12 may have a straight or a curved shape.", "The light sources 3, 3′ have main axes A, which run in the main radiation direction H resp.", "vertically to the longitudinal direction E of the light guide 1 resp.", "the light directing element 2, 12.The light sources 6, 6′ are preferably arranged at identical distances.", "The light source assigned to the light guide 1 being arranged on the end face for the coupling-in of light of the same has a main axis running vertical to the main radiation direction H resp.", "in the direction of the longitudinal direction E of the light guide 1, if the light guide 1 has a straight shape.", "If the light guide 1 has a curved shape, the main axis of this light source is preferably arranged in the direction of a normal of the surface for the coupling-in of light at the end face of the light guide 1.According to a further embodiment of the invention according to the FIGS.", "7 and 8, a light directing element arranged between the row of light sources 6 and the light guide 1 can be embodied as an essentially cuboidal light guide element 22 and followed by an intermediate lens 22′ arranged in the same main radiation direction H. The light guide element 22 is segmented and has narrow sides 23, 23′ facing away from each other.", "Parallel to the longitudinal mean plane M of the light guide 1, the light guide element 22 is limited by opposing flat sides 24, 24′.", "On a front side facing the light guide 1, the light guide elements 22 are each monolithically connected with the continuous intermediate lens 22′ in the longitudinal direction E. The intermediate lens 22′ has a contour 25 following the course of the light guide 1, on which the light L2 is coupled-out in the direction of the rear skin surface 4 of the light guide 1.In this execution of the invention, the light beam L2 is exclusively coupled-in on the rear skin surface 4 of the light guide 1.The rear skin surface 4 has preferably a prism-shaped structure as coupling-out elements, which on one hand allows a deflection of the light L1 coupled-in in the longitudinal direction E of the light guide 1 toward the front skin surface 5, and on the other hand allows an entrance of the second light beam L2.According to a further embodiment of the invention according to FIG.", "9, a light guide element 26 can be embodied continuously in the longitudinal direction E. Optionally, the intermediate lens 22′ can be omitted.", "According to a further embodiment of the invention according to FIG.", "10, a light guide element 27 can have slots 28 having a depth t1 being smaller than a depth t2 of the monolithically embodied light element 27.The slots 28 extend from a side on which the light is coupled-in of the light directing element 27 in the direction of a side for the coupling-out of light of the same without it being reached.", "The light guide segments 27′ separated in this manner are each assigned to a light source 3.According to a further embodiment of the invention according to FIG.", "11, a light guide element 29 can be provided, which has closed slots 30 in contrast to the light guide elements 27 according to FIG.", "10.On a side for the coupling-out of light facing the light guide 1, a light guide element 31 can have a directed optic structure 32, for example a Fresnel structure.", "Alternatively, a light guide element 33 can also have a prism-shaped structure 34 on the side for the coupling-out of light.", "Alternatively, a light guide element 35 can also have an optical structure provided with pillow-optics elements 36 on the side for the coupling-out of light.", "Alternatively, a light guide element 37 can also have an etched or lacquered structure 38 on the side for the coupling-out of light.", "According to a variant of the invention, a light guide element 39 can have a concave depression 40 on a side for the coupling-in of light.", "According to a further alternative according to FIG.", "17, a light guide element 41 can be embodied tapered in the direction of the side for the coupling-in of light, wherein a depression 42 is assigned to the LED light source 3.Depending on the installation space, the LED light source 3 can also be arranged at an angle, for example 45 degrees, relative to a longitudinal direction of a light guide element 43.To this end, the light guide element 43 has a lateral depression 44 on the side for the coupling-in of light.", "According to a further embodiment of the invention according to FIG.", "19, the light source 3 can also be arranged at a right angle relative to the longitudinal direction of a light guide element 45.The light guide element 45 has a deflecting nose 46 comprising a refection surface 47, on which the light L2 coupled-in via a depression 48 is deflected in the longitudinal direction of the light guide element 45.According to a further embodiment of the invention according to FIG.", "20, plate-shaped light guide elements 46, 46′ are arranged on both sides of the mean plane M of the light guide 1, each of which has a row of light sources 3 assigned on a side for the coupling-in of light.", "The light guide elements 46, 46′ each have a curved surface for the coupling-out of the light 47, 47′ on the side for the coupling-out of light, following the contour of the curved dispersion surface 6, 6′ of the light guide.", "Preferably, there is a constant distance b between the contour of the surface for the coupling-out of light 47, 47′ on one hand and the curved dispersion surface 6, 6′ on the other hand.", "LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 1 Light guide 2, 2′, 2″ reflector external, internal 3, 3′ Light source 4 Rear skin surface 5 Front skin surface 6, 6′ Curved dispersion surface 7 Elements for the coupling-out of light 8, 8′ Carrier plate 9 10 11 12, 12′, 12″ Light guide legs 13 Outer lateral surfaces 14 Inner lateral surfaces 22, 22′ Light guide element/intermediate lens 23, 23′ Narrow sides 24, 24′ Flat sides 25 Contour 26 Light guide element 27 Light guide element 28 Slots 29 Light guide element 30 Slot 31 Light guide element A Axis H Main radiation direction M Longitudinal mean plane E Longitudinal direction L1, L2 Light beam" ] ]
Patent_15875008
[ [ "SERPIN FUSION POLYPEPTIDES AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF", "This invention relates to molecules, particularly polypeptides, more particularly fusion proteins that include a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin and second polypeptide comprising of at least one the following: an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide; a cytokine targeting polypeptide or a sequence derived from a cytokine targeting polypeptide; a WAP domain containing polypeptide or a sequence derived from a WAP containing polypeptide; and an albumin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serum albumin polypeptide.", "This invention also relates to methods of using such molecules in a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic indications, as well as methods of producing such molecules." ], [ "1.-53.", "(canceled) 54.An isolated fusion protein for inhibiting serine proteases having at least one human alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide having an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 32, and SEQ ID NO: 33, wherein the AAT polypeptide is operably linked to an immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide having an amino acid sequence that is at least 98% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.55.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the AAT polypeptide and the immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide are operably linked via a hinge region, a linker region, or both a hinge region and linker region.", "56.The isolated fusion protein of claim 55, wherein the peptide sequence comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 43, SEQ ID NO: 44, SEQ ID NO: 45, or SEQ ID NO: 46.57.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the human AAT polypeptide comprises of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 operably linked to an immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.58.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the human AAT polypeptide comprises of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 operably linked to an immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.59.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the human AAT polypeptide comprises of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 32 operably linked to an immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.60.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the human AAT polypeptide comprises of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33 operably linked to an immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.61.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the fusion protein further comprises a WAP domain-containing polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 9-13.62.The isolated fusion protein of claim 57, wherein the fusion protein further comprises a SLPI polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9 or SEQ ID NO: 10.63.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide is modified to enhance FcRn binding.", "64.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide comprising at least one of the following mutations: Met252Tyr, Ser254Thr, Thr256Glu, Met428Leu or Asn434Ser.", "65.The isolated fusion protein of claim 54, wherein the immunoglobulin Fc polypeptide comprises at least one mutation at a position selected from the group consisting of: Met252, Ser254, Thr256, Met428, and Asn434.66.A method of treating or alleviating a symptom of a disease or disorder associated with aberrant serine protease expression or activity in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising administering a fusion protein according to claim 54.67.The method of claim 17, wherein the subject is a human.", "68.A method of treating or alleviating inflammation or a symptom of an inflammatory disease or disorder while reducing the risk of infection, in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising administering a fusion protein according to claim 54.69.The method of claim 68, wherein the disease or disorder is selected from the following: emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), allergic asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancers of the lung, ischemia-reperfusion injury, ischemia/reperfusion injury following cardiac transplantation, myocardial infarction, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, type I and/or type II diabetes, pneumonia, sepsis, graft versus host disease (GVHD), wound healing, Systemic lupus erythematosus, and Multiple sclerosis.", "70.The method of claim 68, wherein the subject is a human.", "71.A method of reducing the risk of infection in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising administering a fusion protein according to claim 54.72.The method of claim 71, wherein the subject is a human.", "73.The method of claim 71, wherein the infection is selected from bacterial infections, fungal infections, or viral infections." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Aberrant serine protease activity or an imbalance of protease-to-protease inhibitor can lead to protease-mediated tissue destruction and inflammatory responses.", "Accordingly, there exists a need for therapeutics and therapies that target aberrant serine protease activity and/or imbalance of protease-to-protease inhibitor.", "Furthermore, enhanced therapeutic effects may be gained through the attenuation of aberrant cytokine signaling and serine protease activity.", "In addition, serpin proteins have demonstrated anti-infective activities while targeting inflammatory cytokines has been shown to increase the risk of infection.", "The fusion proteins of this invention have the potential to dampen inflammatory cytokine activity and limit the risk of infection." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptide (Polypeptide 1) and second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2).", "Additionally, the fusion proteins described herein include a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptide (Polypeptide 1), a second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2), and a third polypeptide (Polypeptide 3).", "As used interchangeably herein, the terms “fusion protein” and “fusion polypeptide” refer to a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence derived from a serpin polypeptide operably linked to at least a second polypeptide or an amino acid sequence derived from at least a second polypeptide.", "The individualized elements of the fusion protein can be linked in any of a variety of ways, including for example, direct attachment, the use of an intermediate or a spacer peptide, the use of a linker region, the use of a hinge region or the use of both a linker and a hinge region.", "In some embodiments, the linker region may fall within the sequence of the hinge region, or alternatively, the hinge region may fall within the sequence of the linker region.", "Preferably, the linker region is a peptide sequence.", "For example, the linker peptide includes anywhere from zero to 40 amino acids, e.g., from zero to 35 amino acids, from zero to 30 amino acids, from zero to 25 amino acids, or from zero to 20 amino acids.", "Preferably, the hinge region is a peptide sequence.", "For example, the hinge peptide includes anywhere from zero to 75 amino acids, e.g., from zero to 70 amino acids, from zero to 65 amino acids or from zero to 62 amino acids.", "In embodiments where the fusion protein includes both a linker region and hinge region, preferably each of the linker region and the hinge region is a peptide sequence.", "In these embodiments, the hinge peptide and the linker peptide together include anywhere from zero to 90 amino acids, e.g., from zero to 85 amino acids or from zero to 82 amino acids.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the second polypeptide can be linked through an intermediate binding protein.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-based portion and second polypeptide portion of the fusion protein may be non-covalently linked.", "In some embodiments, fusion proteins according to the invention can have one of the following formulae, in an N-terminus to C-terminus direction or in a C-terminus to N-terminus direction: Polypeptide 1 (a) -hinge m -Polypeptide 2 (b) Polypeptide 1 (a) -linker n -Polypeptide 2 (b) Polypeptide 1 (a) -linker n -hinge m -Polypeptide 2 (b) Polypeptide 1 (a) -hinge m -linker n -Polypeptide 2 (b) Polypeptide 1 (a) -Polypeptide 2 (b) -Polypeptide 3 (c) Polypeptide 1 (a) -hinge m -Polypeptide 2 (b) -hinge m -Polypeptide 3 (c) Polypeptide 1 (a) -linker n -Polypeptide 2 (b) -linker n -Polypeptide 3 (c) Polypeptide 1 (a) -hinge m -linker n -Polypeptide 2 (b) -hinge m -linker n -Polypeptide 3 (c) Polypeptide 1 (a) -linker n -hinge m -Polypeptide 2 (b) -linker n -hinge m -Polypeptide 3 (c) where n is an integer from zero to 20, where m is an integer from 1 to 62 and where a, b, and c integers of at least 1.These embodiments include the above formulations and any variation or combination thereof.", "For example, the order of polypeptides in the formulae also includes Polypeptide 3 (c) -Polypeptide 1 (a) -Polypeptide 2 (b) , Polypeptide 2 (b) -Polypeptide 3 (c) -Polypeptide 1 (a) , or any variation or combination thereof.", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes a serpin polypeptide.", "Serpins are a group of proteins with similar structures that were first identified as a set of proteins able to inhibit proteases.", "Serpin proteins suitable for use in the fusion proteins provided herein include, by way of non-limiting example, alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), antitrypsin-related protein (SERPINA2), alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (SERPINA3), kallistatin (SERPINA4), monocyte neutrophil elastase inhibitor (SERPINB1), PI-6 (SERPINB6), antithrombin (SERPINC1), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (SERPINE1), alpha 2-antiplasmin (SERPINF2), complement 1-inhibitor (SERPING1), and neuroserpin (SERPINI1).", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes an alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT.", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes a portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes at least the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence: GTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNK SEQ ID NO: 1).", "In a preferred embodiment, the AAT polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT is or is derived from a human AAT polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the fusion protein includes a full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 2) 1 EDPQGDAAQK TDTSHHDQDH PTFNKITPNL AEFAFSLYRQ LAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATA 61 FAMLSLGTKA DTHDEILEGL NFNLTEIPEA QIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQL QLTTGNGLFL 121 SEGLKLVDKF LEDVKKLYHS EAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDY VEKGTQGKIV DLVKELDRDT 181 VFALVNYIFF KGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHV DQVTTVKVPM MKRLGMFNIQ HCKKLSSWVL 241 LMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKL QHLENELTHD IITKFLENED RRSASLHLPK LSITGTYDLK 301 SVLGQLGITK VFSNGADLSG VTEEAPLKLS KAVHKAVLTI DEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSI 361 PPEVKFNKPF VFLMIEQNTK SPLFMGKVVN PTQK In some embodiments, the fusion protein includes a human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments, the AAT polypeptide sequence is, or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is derived from, one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the fusion proteins contain one or more mutations.", "For example, the fusion protein contains at least one mutation at a methionine (Met) residue in the serpin portion of the fusion protein.", "In these Met mutations, the Met residue can be substituted with any amino acid.", "For example, the Met residue can be substituted with an amino acid with a hydrophobic side chain, such as, for example, leucine (Leu, L).", "Without wishing to be bound by theory, the Met mutation(s) prevent oxidation and subsequent inactivation of the inhibitory activity of the fusion proteins of the invention.", "In some embodiments, the Met residue can be substituted with a charged residue, such as, for example, glutamate (Glu, E).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 358 of an AAT polypeptide.", "For example, the Met mutation is Met358Leu (M358L).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 351 of an AAT polypeptide.", "For example, the Met mutation is Met351Glu (M351E).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 351 and at position 358 of an AAT polypeptide, for example, the Met mutation is Met351Glu (M351E) and Met358Leu (M358L).", "For example, the reactive site loop of this variant of the fusion AAT polypeptide has the following sequence: GTEAAGAEFLEAIPLSIPPEVKFNK (SEQ ID NO: 32).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 351 and at position 358 of an AAT polypeptide, for example, the Met mutation is Met351Leu (M351L) and Met358Leu (M358L).", "For example, the reactive site loop of this variant of the fusion AAT polypeptide has the following sequence: GTEAAGALFLEAIPLSIPPEVKFNK (SEQ ID NO: 33).", "In some embodiments, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is an Fc polypeptide or derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-Fc fusion proteins.” The serpin-Fc fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin and an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes a single serpin polypeptide.", "In other embodiments, the serpin-Fc fusion proteins includes more than one serpin polypeptide, and these embodiments are collectively referred to herein as “serpin (a′) -Fc fusion protein,” wherein (a′) is an integer of at least 2.In some embodiments, each serpin polypeptides in a serpin (a′) -Fc fusion protein includes the same amino acid sequence.", "In other embodiments, each serpin polypeptide in a serpin (a′) -Fc fusion protein includes serpin polypeptides with distinct amino acid sequences.", "The serpin polypeptides of serpin (a′) -Fc fusion proteins can be located at any position within the fusion protein.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes the AAT polypeptide sequence is or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is derived from one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein is a human Fc polypeptide, for example, a human IgG Fc polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG Fc polypeptide sequence.", "For example, in some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgM Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgM Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 3) 1 APELLGGPSV FLFPPKPKDT LMISRTPEVT CVVVDVSHED PEVKFNWYVD GVEVHNAKTK 61 PREEQYNSTY RVVSVLTVLH QDWLNGKEYK CKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAK GQPREPQVYT 121 LPPSRDELTK NQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVE WESNGQPENN YKTTPPVLDS DGSFFLYSKL 181 TVDKSRWQQG NVFSCSVMHE ALHNHYTQKS LSLSPGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide is mutated or modified to enhance FcRn binding.", "In these embodiments the mutated or modified Fc polypeptide includes the following mutations: Met252Tyr, Ser254Thr, Thr256Glu (M252Y, S256T, T256E) or Met428Leu and Asn434Ser (M428L, N434S) using the Kabat numbering system.", "In some embodiments the Fc polypeptide portion is mutated or otherwise modified so as to disrupt Fc-mediated dimerization.", "In these embodiments, the fusion protein is monomeric in nature.", "In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 4) 1 APPVAGPSVF LFPPKPKDTL MISRTPEVTC VVVDVSHEDP EVQFNWYVDG VEVHNAKTKP 61 REEQFNSTFR VVSVLTVVHQ DWLNGKEYKC KVSNKGLPAP IEKTISKTKG QPREPQVYTL 121 PPSREEMTKN QVSLTCLVKG FYPSDIAVEW ESNGQPENNY KTTPPMLDSD GSFFLYSKLT 181 VDKSRWQQGN VFSCSVMHEA LHNHYTQKSL SLSPGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 5) 1 APELLGGPSV FLFPPKPKDT LMISRTPEVT CVVVDVSHED PEVQFKWYVD GVEVHNAKTK 61 PREEQYNSTF RVVSVLTVLH QDWLNGKEYK CKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKTK GQPREPQVYT 121 LPPSREEMTK NQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVE WESSGQPENN YNTTPPMLDS DGSFFLYSKL 181 TVDKSRWQQG NIFSCSVMHE ALHNRFTQKS LSLSPGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 6) 1 APEFLGGPSV FLFPPKPKDT LMISRTPEVT CVVVDVSQED PEVQFNWYVD GVEVHNAKTK 61 PREEQFNSTY RVVSVLTVLH QDWLNGKEYK CKVSNKGLPS SIEKTISKAK GQPREPQVYT 121 LPPSQEEMTK NQVSLTCLVK GFYPDIAVEW ESNGQPENNY KTTPPVLDSD GSFFLYSRLT 181 VDKSRWQEGN VFSCSVMHEA LHNHYTQKSL SLSLGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgM Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 7) 1 IAELPPKVSV FVPPRDGFFG NPRKSKLICQ ATGFSPRQIQ VSWLREGKQV GSGVTTDQVQ 61 AEAKESGPTT YKVTSTLTIK ESDWLGQSMF TCRVDHRGLT FQQNASSMCV PDQDTAIRVF 121 AIPPSFASIF LTKSTKLTCL VTDLTTYDSV TISWTRQNGE AVKTHTNISE SHPNATFSAV 181 GEASICEDDW NSGERFTCTV THTDLPSPLK QTISRPKG In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgM Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7.In some embodiments of the fusion proteins provided herein, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is a cytokine targeting polypeptide or derived from a cytokine targeting polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins.” The serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptide and a cytokine targeting polypeptide, or derivation thereof.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes a single serpin polypeptide.", "In other embodiments, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes more than one serpin polypeptide, and these embodiments are collectively referred to herein as “serpin (a′) -cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins,” wherein (a′) is an integer of at least 2.In some embodiments, each serpin polypeptide in a serpin (a′) -cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes the same amino acid sequence.", "In other embodiments, each serpin polypeptide of a serpin (a) -cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes serpin polypeptides with distinct amino acid sequences.", "In some embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein is a cytokine receptor or derived from a cytokine receptor.", "In a preferred embodiment, the cytokine targeting polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from the cytokine receptor is or is derived from a human cytokine receptor sequence.", "In other embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide is an antibody or an antibody fragment, for example an anti-cytokine antibody or anti-cytokine antibody fragment.", "In a preferred embodiment, the cytokine targeting polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from the antibody or antibody fragment is derived from a chimeric, humanized, or fully human antibody sequence.", "The term antibody fragment includes single chain, Fab fragment, a F(ab′) 2 fragment, a scFv, a scAb, a dAb, a single domain heavy chain antibody, and a single domain light chain antibody.", "In other embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide binds a cytokine receptor and prevents binding of a cytokine to the receptor.", "In other embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide is an antibody or an antibody fragment, for example an anti-cytokine receptor antibody or anti-cytokine receptor antibody fragment.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion proteins includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes or is derived from at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes an AAT polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide that is or is derived from one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.The serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein can incorporate a portion of the serpin-Fc fusion protein.", "For example, an antibody contains an Fc polypeptide.", "Therefore, in some embodiments where the cytokine targeting polypeptide is a cytokine-targeting antibody, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein will incorporate a portion of the serpin-Fc fusion protein.", "Furthermore, most receptor fusion proteins that are of therapeutic utility are Fc fusion proteins.", "Thus, in some embodiments, wherein the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein is a serpin-cytokine receptor fusion protein, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein may incorporate an Fc polypeptide in addition to the serpin portion and the cytokine receptor portion.", "In some embodiments, where the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence includes or is derived from the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.In some embodiments where the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence has at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identity to any one of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are operably linked via a linker region, for example, a glycine-serine linker or glycine-serine based linker.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are operably linked via a hinge region.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are operably linked via a linker region and a hinge region.", "In other embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are directly attached.", "In some embodiments of the fusion proteins provided herein, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is a whey acidic protein (WAP) domain containing polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain containing polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-WAP domain fusion proteins.” The serpin-WAP domain fusion proteins include at least a serpin polypeptide or at least an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, a WAP domain-containing polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes a single serpin polypeptide.", "In other embodiments, the serpin-WAP targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes more than one serpin polypeptide.", "These embodiments are collectively referred to herein as “serpin (a′) -WAP domain fusion proteins,” wherein (a′) is an integer of at least 2.In some embodiments, serpin polypeptides of the serpin (a′) -WAP domain fusion protein includes the same amino acid sequence.", "In other embodiments, the serpin polypeptides of the serpin (a′) -cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein, includes serpin polypeptides with distinct amino acid sequences.", "These serpin-WAP domain fusion proteins include a WAP domain containing polypeptide or polypeptide sequence that is or is derived from a WAP domain containing polypeptide.", "The WAP domain is an evolutionarily conserved sequence motif of 50 amino acids containing eight cysteines found in a characteristic 4-disulfide core arrangement (also called a four-disulfide core motif).", "The WAP domain sequence motif is a functional motif characterized by serine protease inhibition activity in a number of proteins.", "WAP domain-containing polypeptides suitable for use in the fusion proteins provided herein include, by way of non-limiting example, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), Elafin, and Eppin.", "In some embodiments, the WAP domain-containing polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes a secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from SLPI.", "These embodiments are referred to herein as “serpin-SLPI-derived fusion proteins.” In some embodiments, the SLPI polypeptide sequence comprises a portion of the SLPI protein, such as for example, the WAP2 domain or a sub-portion thereof.", "In a preferred embodiment, the SLPI polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from SLPI is or is derived from a human SLPI polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion proteins of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a full-length human SLPI polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 8) 1 MKSSGLFPFL VLLALGTLAP WAVEGSGKSF KAGVCPPKKS AQCLRYKKPE CQSDWQCPGK 61 KRCCPDTCGI KCLDPVDTPN PTRRKPGKCP VTYGQCLMLN PPNFCEMDGQ CKRDLKCCMG 121 MCGKSCVSPV KA In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a portion of the full-length human SLPI polypeptide sequence, where the portion has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 9) 1 SGKSFKAGVC PPKKSAQCLR YKKPECQSDW QCPGKKRCCP DTCGIKCLDP VDTPNPTRRK 61 PGKCPVTYGQ CLMLNPPNFC EMDGQCKRDL KCCMGMCGKS CVSPVKA In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes the WAP2 domain of the full-length human SLPI polypeptide sequence, where the WAP2 domain has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 10) 1 TRRKPGKCPV TYGQCLMLNP PNFCEMDGQC KRDLKCCMGM CGKSCVSPVK A In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion proteins of the invention, the SLPI polypeptide sequence or the amino acid sequence derived from an SLPI polypeptide is or is derived from, one or more of the human SLPI polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "CAA28187.1, NP_003055.1, EAW75869.1, P03973.2, AAH20708.1, CAB64235.1, CAA28188.1, AAD19661.1, and/or BAG35125.1.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion proteins of the invention, the SLPI polypeptide sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is modified at a Methoine (Met) residue.", "In these Met mutations, the Met residue can be substituted with any amino acid.", "For example, the Met residue can be substituted with an amino acid with a hydrophobic side chain, such as, for example, leucine (Leu, L) or valine (Val, V).", "Without wishing to be bound by theory, the Met mutation(s) prevent oxidation and subsequent inactivation of the inhibitory activity of the fusion proteins of the invention.", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 98 of an SLPI polypeptide.", "For example, the modified SLPI polypeptide sequence of the serpin-SLPI includes mutations M98L or M98V in SEQ ID NO: 8.In other embodiments, the WAP domain-containing polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes an elafin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from elafin.", "These embodiments are referred to herein as “serpin-elafin fusion proteins.", "In some embodiments, the elafin polypeptide sequence includes a portion of the elafin protein, such as for example, the WAP domain or a sub-portion thereof.", "In a preferred embodiment, the elafin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from elafin is or is derived from a human elafin polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a full-length human elafin polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 11) 1 MRASSFLIVV VFLIAGTLVL EAAVTGVPVK GQDTVKGRVP FNGQDPVKGQ VSVKGQDKVK 61 AQEPVKGPVS TKPGSCPIIL IRCAMLNPPN RCLKDTDCPG IKKCCEGSCG MACFVPQ In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a human elafin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11.In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a portion of the full-length human elafin polypeptide sequence, where the portion has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 12) 1 AVTGVPVKGQ DTVKGRVPFN GQDPVKGQVS VKGQDKVKAQ EPVKGPVSTK PGSCPIILIR 61 CAMLNPPNRC LKDTDCPGIK KCCEGSCGMA CFVPQ In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a human elafin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12.In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes the WAP domain of the full-length human elafin polypeptide sequence, where the WAP domain has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 13) 1 VSTKPGSCPI ILIRCAMLNP PNRCLKDTDC PGIKKCCEGS CGMACFVPQ In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a human elafin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13.In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the elafin polypeptide sequence or the amino acid sequence derived from an elafin polypeptide is derived from one or more of the human elafin polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "P19957.3, NP_002629.1, BAA02441.1, EAW75814.1, EAW75813.1, Q8IUB2.1, and/or NP_542181.1.In other embodiments, the WAP domain-containing polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes an Eppin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from Eppin.", "These embodiments are referred to herein as “serpin (a′) -Eppin fusion proteins.", "In some embodiments, the Eppin polypeptide sequence of the serpin-Eppin fusion protein includes a portion of the Eppin protein, such as for example, the WAP domain or a sub-portion thereof.", "In a preferred embodiment, the Eppin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from Eppin is or is derived from a human Eppin polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments of the serpin-Eppin fusion proteins, the Eppin polypeptide sequence or amino acid sequence derived from an Eppin polypeptide is or is derived from one or more of the human Eppin polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "095925.1, NP_065131.1, AAH44829.2, AAH53369.1, AAG00548.1, AAG00547.1, and/or AAG00546.1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes the AAT polypeptide sequence is, or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is derived from, one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein can also include an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-Fc-WAP domain fusion proteins.” In these embodiments, no particular order is to be construed by this terminology.", "For example, the order of the fusion protein can be serpin-Fc-WAP domain, serpin-WAP domain-Fc, or any variation combination thereof.", "The serpin-Fc-WAP domain fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, WAP domain-containing polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide, and an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence can have the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3-7.In other embodiments, where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence can have at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs.", "3-7.In some embodiments, the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein can also include an albumin polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-albumin-WAP domain fusion proteins.” In these embodiments, no particular order is to be construed by this terminology.", "For example, the order of the fusion protein can be serpin-albumin-WAP domain, serpin-WAP domain-albumin, or any variation combination thereof.", "The serpin-albumin-WAP domain fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, WAP domain-containing polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide, and an albumin polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "In some embodiments where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence includes the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14-15, described herein.", "In other embodiments, where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence has at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identity to the any one of the amino acid sequences having SEQ ID NO: 14 or 15.In some embodiments, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is an albumin polypeptide or is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin (a′) -albumin fusion proteins.” The serpin-albumin fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin and an albumin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "In addition this invention relates to serpin albumin binding polypeptide fusion proteins, wherein the albumin is operably linked to the serpin via an intermediate binding molecule.", "Herein, the serpin is non-covalently or covalently bound to human serum albumin.", "In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein is a human serum albumin (HSA) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence derived from HSA.", "In some embodiments, the fusion protein includes a HSA polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 14) DAHKSEVAHRFKDLGEENFKALVLIAFAQYLQQCPFEDHVKLVNEVTEFA KTCVADESAENCDKSLHTLFGDKLCTVATLRETYGEMADCCAKQEPERNE CFLQHKDDNPNLPRLVRPEVDVMCTAFHDNEETFLKKYLYEIARRHPYFY APELLFFAKRYKAAFTECCQAADKAACLLPKLDELRDEGKASSAKQRLKC ASLQKFGERAFKAWAVARLSQRFPKAEFAEVSKLVTDLTKVHTECCHGDL LECADDRADLAKYICENQDSISSKLKECCEKPLLEKSHCIAEVENDEMPA DLPSLAADFVESKDVCKNYAEAKDVFLGMFLYEYARRHPDYSVVLLLRLA KTYETTLEKCCAAADPHECYAKVFDEFKPLVEEPQNLIKQNCELFEQLGE YKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLGKVGSKCCKHPEAKRMPCAE DYLSVVLNQLCVLHEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESLVNRRPCFSALEVDETYVPK EFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKKQTALVELVKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDD FAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVAASQAALGL In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes a human serum albumin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14.In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein fusion protein includes a domain 3 of human serum albumin polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 15) EEPQNLIKQNCELFEQLGEYKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLG KVGSKCCKHPEAKRMPCAEDYLSVVLNQLCVLHEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESL VNRRPCFSALEVDETYVPKEFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKKQTALVE LVKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDDFAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVA In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes a human serum albumin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the fusion protein is linked to the human serum albumin via an intermediate albumin binding polypeptide.", "The albumin binding polypeptide can be an antibody or an antibody fragment or derived from an antibody or antibody fragment.", "In a preferred embodiment, the albumin binding polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from the antibody or antibody fragment is derived from a chimeric, humanized, or fully human antibody sequence.", "The term antibody fragment includes single chain, Fab fragment, a F(ab′)2 fragment, a scFv, a scAb, a dAb, a single domain heavy chain antibody, and a single domain light chain antibody.", "In addition, the albumin binding polypeptide can be an albumin binding peptide.", "Another embodiment of the invention is a serpin albumin binding polypeptide fusion, wherein the albumin binding polypeptide is domain 3 of Streptococcal protein G or a sequence derived from domain 3 of Streptococcal protein G. In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin (a′) -albumin fusion proteins includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion proteins includes at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion proteins includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion proteins includes the AAT polypeptide sequence or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is or is derived from one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the fusion proteins are modified to increase or otherwise inhibit proteolytic cleavage, for example, by mutating one or more proteolytic cleavage sites.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins are modified to alter or otherwise modulate an Fc effector function of the fusion protein, while simultaneously retaining binding and inhibitory function as compared to an unaltered fusion protein.", "Fc effector functions include, by way of non-limiting examples, Fc receptor binding, prevention of proinflammatory mediator release upon binding to the Fc receptor, phagocytosis, modified antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), modified complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), modified glycosylation at Asn297 residue (EU index of Kabat numbering, Kabat et al 1991 Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest ) of the Fc polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins are mutated or otherwise modified to influence Fc receptor binding.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is modified to enhance FcRn binding.", "Examples of Fc polypeptide mutations that enhance binding to FcRn are Met252Tyr, Ser254Thr, Thr256Glu (M252Y, S256T, T256E) (Kabat numbering, Dall'Acqua et al 2006, J. Biol Chem Vol 281(33) 23514-23524), or Met428Leu and Asn434Ser (M428L, N434S) (Zalevsky et al 2010 Nature Biotech , Vol.", "28(2) 157-159).", "(EU index of Kabat et al 1991 Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest ).", "In some embodiments the Fc polypeptide portion is mutated or otherwise modified so as to disrupt Fc-mediated dimerization (Ying et al 2012 J. Biol Chem 287(23): 19399-19408).", "In these embodiments, the fusion protein is monomeric in nature.", "The fusion proteins and variants thereof provided herein exhibit inhibitory activity, for example by inhibiting a serine protease such as human neutrophil elastase (NE), a chemotrypsin-fold serine protease that is secreted by neutrophils during an inflammatory response.", "The fusion proteins provided herein completely or partially reduce or otherwise modulate serine protease expression or activity upon binding to, or otherwise interacting with, a serine protease, e.g., a human serine protease.", "The reduction or modulation of a biological function of a serine protease is complete or partial upon interaction between the fusion proteins and the human serine protease protein, polypeptide and/or peptide.", "The fusion proteins are considered to completely inhibit serine protease expression or activity when the level of serine protease expression or activity in the presence of the fusion protein is decreased by at least 95%, e.g., by 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% as compared to the level of serine protease expression or activity in the absence of interaction, e.g., binding, with a fusion protein described herein.", "The fusion proteins are considered to partially inhibit serine protease expression or activity when the level of serine protease expression or activity in the presence of the fusion protein is decreased by less than 95%, e.g., 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75%, 80%, 85% or 90% as compared to the level of serine protease expression or activity in the absence of interaction, e.g., binding, with a fusion protein described herein.", "The fusion proteins described herein are useful in a variety of therapeutic, diagnostic and prophylactic indications.", "For example, the fusion proteins are useful in treating a variety of diseases and disorders in a subject.", "In some embodiments, the serpin fusion proteins, including, fusion proteins described herein, are useful in treating, alleviating a symptom of, ameliorating and/or delaying the progression of a disease or disorder in a subject suffering from or identified as being at risk for a disease or disorder selected from alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), allergic asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancers of the lung, ischemia-reperfusion injury, including, e.g., ischemia/reperfusion injury following cardiac transplantation, myocardial infarction, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, type I and/or type II diabetes, bacterial infections, fungal infections, viral infections, pneumonia, sepsis, graft versus host disease (GVHD), wound healing, Systemic lupus erythematosis, and Multiple sclerosis.", "Pharmaceutical compositions according to the invention include a fusion protein of the invention, including modified fusion proteins and other variants, along with a suitable carrier.", "These pharmaceutical compositions can be included in kits, such as, for example, diagnostic kits." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/536,976, filed Jun.", "28, 2012, which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/502,055, filed Jun.", "28, 2011; U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/570,394, filed Dec. 14, 2011; and U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/577,204, filed Dec. 19, 2011; and U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/638,168, filed Apr.", "25, 2012.The contents of each of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF SEQUENCE LISTING The contents of the text file named “INHI002C02US_SeqList.txt”, which was created on Feb. 6, 2015 and is 149 KB in size, are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to molecules, particularly polypeptides, more particularly fusion proteins that include a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptides and a second polypeptide.", "Additionally, the invention relates to fusion proteins that include a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from serpin polypeptides, a second polypeptide, and a third polypeptide.", "Specifically, this invention relates to fusion proteins that include at least one serpin polypeptide and a second polypeptide or fusion proteins that include at least one serpin polypeptide, a second polypeptide, and a third polypeptide, where the second and third polypeptides of the fusion proteins of the invention can be at least one the following: an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide; a cytokine targeting polypeptide or a sequence derived from a cytokine targeting polypeptide; a WAP domain containing polypeptide or a sequence derived from a WAP containing polypeptide; or an albumin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serum albumin polypeptide.", "This invention also relates to methods of using such molecules in a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic indications, as well as methods of producing such molecules.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Aberrant serine protease activity or an imbalance of protease-to-protease inhibitor can lead to protease-mediated tissue destruction and inflammatory responses.", "Accordingly, there exists a need for therapeutics and therapies that target aberrant serine protease activity and/or imbalance of protease-to-protease inhibitor.", "Furthermore, enhanced therapeutic effects may be gained through the attenuation of aberrant cytokine signaling and serine protease activity.", "In addition, serpin proteins have demonstrated anti-infective activities while targeting inflammatory cytokines has been shown to increase the risk of infection.", "The fusion proteins of this invention have the potential to dampen inflammatory cytokine activity and limit the risk of infection.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptide (Polypeptide 1) and second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2).", "Additionally, the fusion proteins described herein include a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptide (Polypeptide 1), a second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2), and a third polypeptide (Polypeptide 3).", "As used interchangeably herein, the terms “fusion protein” and “fusion polypeptide” refer to a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence derived from a serpin polypeptide operably linked to at least a second polypeptide or an amino acid sequence derived from at least a second polypeptide.", "The individualized elements of the fusion protein can be linked in any of a variety of ways, including for example, direct attachment, the use of an intermediate or a spacer peptide, the use of a linker region, the use of a hinge region or the use of both a linker and a hinge region.", "In some embodiments, the linker region may fall within the sequence of the hinge region, or alternatively, the hinge region may fall within the sequence of the linker region.", "Preferably, the linker region is a peptide sequence.", "For example, the linker peptide includes anywhere from zero to 40 amino acids, e.g., from zero to 35 amino acids, from zero to 30 amino acids, from zero to 25 amino acids, or from zero to 20 amino acids.", "Preferably, the hinge region is a peptide sequence.", "For example, the hinge peptide includes anywhere from zero to 75 amino acids, e.g., from zero to 70 amino acids, from zero to 65 amino acids or from zero to 62 amino acids.", "In embodiments where the fusion protein includes both a linker region and hinge region, preferably each of the linker region and the hinge region is a peptide sequence.", "In these embodiments, the hinge peptide and the linker peptide together include anywhere from zero to 90 amino acids, e.g., from zero to 85 amino acids or from zero to 82 amino acids.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the second polypeptide can be linked through an intermediate binding protein.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-based portion and second polypeptide portion of the fusion protein may be non-covalently linked.", "In some embodiments, fusion proteins according to the invention can have one of the following formulae, in an N-terminus to C-terminus direction or in a C-terminus to N-terminus direction: Polypeptide 1(a)-hingem-Polypeptide 2(b) Polypeptide 1(a)-linkern-Polypeptide 2(b) Polypeptide 1(a)-linkern-hingem-Polypeptide 2(b) Polypeptide 1(a)-hingem-linkern-Polypeptide 2(b) Polypeptide 1(a)-Polypeptide 2(b)-Polypeptide 3(c) Polypeptide 1(a)-hingem-Polypeptide 2(b)-hingem-Polypeptide 3(c) Polypeptide 1(a)-linkern-Polypeptide 2(b)-linkern-Polypeptide 3(c) Polypeptide 1(a)-hingem-linkern-Polypeptide 2(b)-hingem-linkern-Polypeptide 3(c) Polypeptide 1(a)-linkern-hingem-Polypeptide 2(b)-linkern-hingem-Polypeptide 3(c) where n is an integer from zero to 20, where m is an integer from 1 to 62 and where a, b, and c integers of at least 1.These embodiments include the above formulations and any variation or combination thereof.", "For example, the order of polypeptides in the formulae also includes Polypeptide 3(c)-Polypeptide 1(a)-Polypeptide 2(b), Polypeptide 2(b)-Polypeptide 3(c)-Polypeptide 1(a), or any variation or combination thereof.", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes a serpin polypeptide.", "Serpins are a group of proteins with similar structures that were first identified as a set of proteins able to inhibit proteases.", "Serpin proteins suitable for use in the fusion proteins provided herein include, by way of non-limiting example, alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), antitrypsin-related protein (SERPINA2), alpha 1-antichymotrypsin (SERPINA3), kallistatin (SERPINA4), monocyte neutrophil elastase inhibitor (SERPINB1), PI-6 (SERPINB6), antithrombin (SERPINC1), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (SERPINE1), alpha 2-antiplasmin (SERPINF2), complement 1-inhibitor (SERPING1), and neuroserpin (SERPINI1).", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes an alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT.", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes a portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the Polypeptide 1 sequence includes at least the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence: GTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNK SEQ ID NO: 1).", "In a preferred embodiment, the AAT polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT is or is derived from a human AAT polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the fusion protein includes a full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 2) 1 EDPQGDAAQK TDTSHHDQDH PTFNKITPNL AEFAFSLYRQ LAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATA 61 FAMLSLGTKA DTHDEILEGL NFNLTEIPEA QIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQL QLTTGNGLFL 121 SEGLKLVDKF LEDVKKLYHS EAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDY VEKGTQGKIV DLVKELDRDT 181 VFALVNYIFF KGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHV DQVTTVKVPM MKRLGMFNIQ HCKKLSSWVL 241 LMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKL QHLENELTHD IITKFLENED RRSASLHLPK LSITGTYDLK 301 SVLGQLGITK VFSNGADLSG VTEEAPLKLS KAVHKAVLTI DEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSI 361 PPEVKFNKPF VFLMIEQNTK SPLFMGKVVN PTQK In some embodiments, the fusion protein includes a human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments, the AAT polypeptide sequence is, or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is derived from, one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the fusion proteins contain one or more mutations.", "For example, the fusion protein contains at least one mutation at a methionine (Met) residue in the serpin portion of the fusion protein.", "In these Met mutations, the Met residue can be substituted with any amino acid.", "For example, the Met residue can be substituted with an amino acid with a hydrophobic side chain, such as, for example, leucine (Leu, L).", "Without wishing to be bound by theory, the Met mutation(s) prevent oxidation and subsequent inactivation of the inhibitory activity of the fusion proteins of the invention.", "In some embodiments, the Met residue can be substituted with a charged residue, such as, for example, glutamate (Glu, E).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 358 of an AAT polypeptide.", "For example, the Met mutation is Met358Leu (M358L).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 351 of an AAT polypeptide.", "For example, the Met mutation is Met351Glu (M351E).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 351 and at position 358 of an AAT polypeptide, for example, the Met mutation is Met351Glu (M351E) and Met358Leu (M358L).", "For example, the reactive site loop of this variant of the fusion AAT polypeptide has the following sequence: GTEAAGAEFLEAIPLSIPPEVKFNK (SEQ ID NO: 32).", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 351 and at position 358 of an AAT polypeptide, for example, the Met mutation is Met351Leu (M351L) and Met358Leu (M358L).", "For example, the reactive site loop of this variant of the fusion AAT polypeptide has the following sequence: GTEAAGALFLEAIPLSIPPEVKFNK (SEQ ID NO: 33).", "In some embodiments, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is an Fc polypeptide or derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-Fc fusion proteins.” The serpin-Fc fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin and an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes a single serpin polypeptide.", "In other embodiments, the serpin-Fc fusion proteins includes more than one serpin polypeptide, and these embodiments are collectively referred to herein as “serpin(a′)-Fc fusion protein,” wherein (a′) is an integer of at least 2.In some embodiments, each serpin polypeptides in a serpin(a′)-Fc fusion protein includes the same amino acid sequence.", "In other embodiments, each serpin polypeptide in a serpin(a′)-Fc fusion protein includes serpin polypeptides with distinct amino acid sequences.", "The serpin polypeptides of serpin(a′)-Fc fusion proteins can be located at any position within the fusion protein.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-Fc fusion protein includes the AAT polypeptide sequence is or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is derived from one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein is a human Fc polypeptide, for example, a human IgG Fc polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG Fc polypeptide sequence.", "For example, in some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is a human IgM Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a human IgM Fc polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 3) 1 APELLGGPSV FLFPPKPKDT LMISRTPEVT CVVVDVSHED PEVKFNWYVD GVEVHNAKTK 61 PREEQYNSTY RVVSVLTVLH QDWLNGKEYK CKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAK GQPREPQVYT 121 LPPSRDELTK NQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVE WESNGQPENN YKTTPPVLDS DGSFFLYSKL 181 TVDKSRWQQG NVFSCSVMHE ALHNHYTQKS LSLSPGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG1 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide is mutated or modified to enhance FcRn binding.", "In these embodiments the mutated or modified Fc polypeptide includes the following mutations: Met252Tyr, Ser254Thr, Thr256Glu (M252Y, S256T, T256E) or Met428Leu and Asn434Ser (M428L, N434S) using the Kabat numbering system.", "In some embodiments the Fc polypeptide portion is mutated or otherwise modified so as to disrupt Fc-mediated dimerization.", "In these embodiments, the fusion protein is monomeric in nature.", "In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 4) 1 APPVAGPSVF LFPPKPKDTL MISRTPEVTC VVVDVSHEDP EVQFNWYVDG VEVHNAKTKP 61 REEQFNSTFR VVSVLTVVHQ DWLNGKEYKC KVSNKGLPAP IEKTISKTKG QPREPQVYTL 121 PPSREEMTKN QVSLTCLVKG FYPSDIAVEW ESNGQPENNY KTTPPMLDSD GSFFLYSKLT 181 VDKSRWQQGN VFSCSVMHEA LHNHYTQKSL SLSPGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG2 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 5) 1 APELLGGPSV FLFPPKPKDT LMISRTPEVT CVVVDVSHED PEVQFKWYVD GVEVHNAKTK 61 PREEQYNSTF RVVSVLTVLH QDWLNGKEYK CKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKTK GQPREPQVYT 121 LPPSREEMTK NQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVE WESSGQPENN YNTTPPMLDS DGSFFLYSKL 181 TVDKSRWQQG NIFSCSVMHE ALHNRFTQKS LSLSPGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG3 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 6) 1 APEFLGGPSV FLFPPKPKDT LMISRTPEVT CVVVDVSQED PEVQFNWYVD GVEVHNAKTK 61 PREEQFNSTY RVVSVLTVLH QDWLNGKEYK CKVSNKGLPS SIEKTISKAK GQPREPQVYT 121 LPPSQEEMTK NQVSLTCLVK GFYPDIAVEW ESNGQPENNY KTTPPVLDSD GSFFLYSRLT 181 VDKSRWQEGN VFSCSVMHEA LHNHYTQKSL SLSLGK In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgG4 Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgM Fc polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 7) 1 IAELPPKVSV FVPPRDGFFG NPRKSKLICQ ATGFSPRQIQ VSWLREGKQV GSGVTTDQVQ 61 AEAKESGPTT YKVTSTLTIK ESDWLGQSMF TCRVDHRGLT FQQNASSMCV PDQDTAIRVF 121 AIPPSFASIF LTKSTKLTCL VTDLTTYDSV TISWTRQNGE AVKTHTNISE SHPNATFSAV 181 GEASICEDDW NSGERFTCTV THTDLPSPLK QTISRPKG In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an Fc polypeptide, the Fc polypeptide of the fusion protein includes a human IgM Fc polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 7.In some embodiments of the fusion proteins provided herein, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is a cytokine targeting polypeptide or derived from a cytokine targeting polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins.” The serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptide and a cytokine targeting polypeptide, or derivation thereof.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes a single serpin polypeptide.", "In other embodiments, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes more than one serpin polypeptide, and these embodiments are collectively referred to herein as “serpin(a′)-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins,” wherein (a′) is an integer of at least 2.In some embodiments, each serpin polypeptide in a serpin(a′)-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes the same amino acid sequence.", "In other embodiments, each serpin polypeptide of a serpin(a)-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes serpin polypeptides with distinct amino acid sequences.", "In some embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein is a cytokine receptor or derived from a cytokine receptor.", "In a preferred embodiment, the cytokine targeting polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from the cytokine receptor is or is derived from a human cytokine receptor sequence.", "In other embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide is an antibody or an antibody fragment, for example an anti-cytokine antibody or anti-cytokine antibody fragment.", "In a preferred embodiment, the cytokine targeting polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from the antibody or antibody fragment is derived from a chimeric, humanized, or fully human antibody sequence.", "The term antibody fragment includes single chain, Fab fragment, a F(ab′)2 fragment, a scFv, a scAb, a dAb, a single domain heavy chain antibody, and a single domain light chain antibody.", "In other embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide binds a cytokine receptor and prevents binding of a cytokine to the receptor.", "In other embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide is an antibody or an antibody fragment, for example an anti-cytokine receptor antibody or anti-cytokine receptor antibody fragment.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion proteins includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes or is derived from at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes an AAT polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide that is or is derived from one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.The serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein can incorporate a portion of the serpin-Fc fusion protein.", "For example, an antibody contains an Fc polypeptide.", "Therefore, in some embodiments where the cytokine targeting polypeptide is a cytokine-targeting antibody, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein will incorporate a portion of the serpin-Fc fusion protein.", "Furthermore, most receptor fusion proteins that are of therapeutic utility are Fc fusion proteins.", "Thus, in some embodiments, wherein the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein is a serpin-cytokine receptor fusion protein, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein may incorporate an Fc polypeptide in addition to the serpin portion and the cytokine receptor portion.", "In some embodiments, where the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence includes or is derived from the amino acid sequence of any one of SEQ ID NO: 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.In some embodiments where the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence has at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identity to any one of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are operably linked via a linker region, for example, a glycine-serine linker or glycine-serine based linker.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are operably linked via a hinge region.", "In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are operably linked via a linker region and a hinge region.", "In other embodiments, the serpin polypeptide and the cytokine targeting polypeptide are directly attached.", "In some embodiments of the fusion proteins provided herein, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is a whey acidic protein (WAP) domain containing polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain containing polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-WAP domain fusion proteins.” The serpin-WAP domain fusion proteins include at least a serpin polypeptide or at least an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, a WAP domain-containing polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes a single serpin polypeptide.", "In other embodiments, the serpin-WAP targeting polypeptide fusion protein includes more than one serpin polypeptide.", "These embodiments are collectively referred to herein as “serpin(a′)-WAP domain fusion proteins,” wherein (a′) is an integer of at least 2.In some embodiments, serpin polypeptides of the serpin(a′)-WAP domain fusion protein includes the same amino acid sequence.", "In other embodiments, the serpin polypeptides of the serpin(a′)-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion protein, includes serpin polypeptides with distinct amino acid sequences.", "These serpin-WAP domain fusion proteins include a WAP domain containing polypeptide or polypeptide sequence that is or is derived from a WAP domain containing polypeptide.", "The WAP domain is an evolutionarily conserved sequence motif of 50 amino acids containing eight cysteines found in a characteristic 4-disulfide core arrangement (also called a four-disulfide core motif).", "The WAP domain sequence motif is a functional motif characterized by serine protease inhibition activity in a number of proteins.", "WAP domain-containing polypeptides suitable for use in the fusion proteins provided herein include, by way of non-limiting example, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), Elafin, and Eppin.", "In some embodiments, the WAP domain-containing polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes a secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from SLPI.", "These embodiments are referred to herein as “serpin-SLPI-derived fusion proteins.” In some embodiments, the SLPI polypeptide sequence comprises a portion of the SLPI protein, such as for example, the WAP2 domain or a sub-portion thereof.", "In a preferred embodiment, the SLPI polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from SLPI is or is derived from a human SLPI polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion proteins of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a full-length human SLPI polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 8) 1 MKSSGLFPFL VLLALGTLAP WAVEGSGKSF KAGVCPPKKS AQCLRYKKPE CQSDWQCPGK 61 KRCCPDTCGI KCLDPVDTPN PTRRKPGKCP VTYGQCLMLN PPNFCEMDGQ CKRDLKCCMG 121 MCGKSCVSPV KA In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a portion of the full-length human SLPI polypeptide sequence, where the portion has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 9) 1 SGKSFKAGVC PPKKSAQCLR YKKPECQSDW QCPGKKRCCP DTCGIKCLDP VDTPNPTRRK 61 PGKCPVTYGQ CLMLNPPNFC EMDGQCKRDL KCCMGMCGKS CVSPVKA In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes the WAP2 domain of the full-length human SLPI polypeptide sequence, where the WAP2 domain has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 10) 1 TRRKPGKCPV TYGQCLMLNP PNFCEMDGQC KRDLKCCMGM CGKSCVSPVK A In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion protein of the invention, the SLPI sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion proteins of the invention, the SLPI polypeptide sequence or the amino acid sequence derived from an SLPI polypeptide is or is derived from, one or more of the human SLPI polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "CAA28187.1, NP_003055.1, EAW75869.1, P03973.2, AAH20708.1, CAB64235.1, CAA28188.1, AAD19661.1, and/or BAG35125.1.In some embodiments of the serpin-SLPI fusion proteins of the invention, the SLPI polypeptide sequence or a SLPI-derived sequence of the fusion protein includes a human SLPI polypeptide sequence that is modified at a Methoine (Met) residue.", "In these Met mutations, the Met residue can be substituted with any amino acid.", "For example, the Met residue can be substituted with an amino acid with a hydrophobic side chain, such as, for example, leucine (Leu, L) or valine (Val, V).", "Without wishing to be bound by theory, the Met mutation(s) prevent oxidation and subsequent inactivation of the inhibitory activity of the fusion proteins of the invention.", "In some embodiments, the Met mutation is at position 98 of an SLPI polypeptide.", "For example, the modified SLPI polypeptide sequence of the serpin-SLPI includes mutations M98L or M98V in SEQ ID NO: 8.In other embodiments, the WAP domain-containing polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes an elafin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from elafin.", "These embodiments are referred to herein as “serpin-elafin fusion proteins.", "In some embodiments, the elafin polypeptide sequence includes a portion of the elafin protein, such as for example, the WAP domain or a sub-portion thereof.", "In a preferred embodiment, the elafin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from elafin is or is derived from a human elafin polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a full-length human elafin polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 11) 1 MRASSFLIVV VFLIAGTLVL EAAVTGVPVK GQDTVKGRVP FNGQDPVKGQ VSVKGQDKVK 61 AQEPVKGPVS TKPGSCPIIL IRCAMLNPPN RCLKDTDCPG IKKCCEGSCG MACFVPQ In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a human elafin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11.In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a portion of the full-length human elafin polypeptide sequence, where the portion has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 12) 1 AVTGVPVKGQ DTVKGRVPFN GQDPVKGQVS VKGQDKVKAQ EPVKGPVSTK PGSCPIILIR 61 CAMLNPPNRC LKDTDCPGIK KCCEGSCGMA CFVPQ In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a human elafin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12.In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes the WAP domain of the full-length human elafin polypeptide sequence, where the WAP domain has the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 13) 1 VSTKPGSCPI ILIRCAMLNP PNRCLKDTDC PGIKKCCEGS CGMACFVPQ In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the fusion protein includes a human elafin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13.In some embodiments of the serpin-elafin fusion proteins, the elafin polypeptide sequence or the amino acid sequence derived from an elafin polypeptide is derived from one or more of the human elafin polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "P19957.3, NP_002629.1, BAA02441.1, EAW75814.1, EAW75813.1, Q8IUB2.1, and/or NP_542181.1.In other embodiments, the WAP domain-containing polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes an Eppin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from Eppin.", "These embodiments are referred to herein as “serpin(a′)-Eppin fusion proteins.", "In some embodiments, the Eppin polypeptide sequence of the serpin-Eppin fusion protein includes a portion of the Eppin protein, such as for example, the WAP domain or a sub-portion thereof.", "In a preferred embodiment, the Eppin polypeptide sequence or an amino acid sequence that is derived from Eppin is or is derived from a human Eppin polypeptide sequence.", "In some embodiments of the serpin-Eppin fusion proteins, the Eppin polypeptide sequence or amino acid sequence derived from an Eppin polypeptide is or is derived from one or more of the human Eppin polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "095925.1, NP_065131.1, AAH44829.2, AAH53369.1, AAG00548.1, AAG00547.1, and/or AAG00546.1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes the AAT polypeptide sequence is, or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is derived from, one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein can also include an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-Fc-WAP domain fusion proteins.” In these embodiments, no particular order is to be construed by this terminology.", "For example, the order of the fusion protein can be serpin-Fc-WAP domain, serpin-WAP domain-Fc, or any variation combination thereof.", "The serpin-Fc-WAP domain fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, WAP domain-containing polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide, and an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence can have the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 3-7.In other embodiments, where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an Fc polypeptide sequence, the Fc polypeptide sequence can have at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NOs.", "3-7.In some embodiments, the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein can also include an albumin polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin-albumin-WAP domain fusion proteins.” In these embodiments, no particular order is to be construed by this terminology.", "For example, the order of the fusion protein can be serpin-albumin-WAP domain, serpin-WAP domain-albumin, or any variation combination thereof.", "The serpin-albumin-WAP domain fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, WAP domain-containing polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide, and an albumin polypeptide, or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "In some embodiments where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence includes the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14-15, described herein.", "In other embodiments, where the serpin-WAP domain fusion protein includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence has at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identity to the any one of the amino acid sequences having SEQ ID NO: 14 or 15.In some embodiments, the second polypeptide (Polypeptide 2) of the serpin fusion protein is an albumin polypeptide or is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "These embodiments are referred to collectively herein as “serpin(a′)-albumin fusion proteins.” The serpin-albumin fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin and an albumin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an albumin polypeptide.", "In addition this invention relates to serpin albumin binding polypeptide fusion proteins, wherein the albumin is operably linked to the serpin via an intermediate binding molecule.", "Herein, the serpin is non-covalently or covalently bound to human serum albumin.", "In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein is a human serum albumin (HSA) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence derived from HSA.", "In some embodiments, the fusion protein includes a HSA polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 14) DAHKSEVAHRFKDLGEENFKALVLIAFAQYLQQCPFEDHVKLVNEVTEFA KTCVADESAENCDKSLHTLFGDKLCTVATLRETYGEMADCCAKQEPERNE CFLQHKDDNPNLPRLVRPEVDVMCTAFHDNEETFLKKYLYEIARRHPYFY APELLFFAKRYKAAFTECCQAADKAACLLPKLDELRDEGKASSAKQRLKC ASLQKFGERAFKAWAVARLSQRFPKAEFAEVSKLVTDLTKVHTECCHGDL LECADDRADLAKYICENQDSISSKLKECCEKPLLEKSHCIAEVENDEMPA DLPSLAADFVESKDVCKNYAEAKDVFLGMFLYEYARRHPDYSVVLLLRLA KTYETTLEKCCAAADPHECYAKVFDEFKPLVEEPQNLIKQNCELFEQLGE YKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLGKVGSKCCKHPEAKRMPCAE DYLSVVLNQLCVLHEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESLVNRRPCFSALEVDETYVPK EFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKKQTALVELVKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDD FAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVAASQAALGL In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes a human serum albumin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14.In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein fusion protein includes a domain 3 of human serum albumin polypeptide sequence having the following amino acid sequence: (SEQ ID NO: 15) EEPQNLIKQNCELFEQLGEYKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLG KVGSKCCKHPEAKRMPCAEDYLSVVLNQLCVLHEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESL VNRRPCFSALEVDETYVPKEFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKKQTALVE LVKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDDFAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVA In embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the albumin polypeptide sequence of the fusion protein includes a human serum albumin polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15.In some embodiments where the fusion protein of the invention includes an albumin polypeptide sequence, the fusion protein is linked to the human serum albumin via an intermediate albumin binding polypeptide.", "The albumin binding polypeptide can be an antibody or an antibody fragment or derived from an antibody or antibody fragment.", "In a preferred embodiment, the albumin binding polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from the antibody or antibody fragment is derived from a chimeric, humanized, or fully human antibody sequence.", "The term antibody fragment includes single chain, Fab fragment, a F(ab′)2 fragment, a scFv, a scAb, a dAb, a single domain heavy chain antibody, and a single domain light chain antibody.", "In addition, the albumin binding polypeptide can be an albumin binding peptide.", "Another embodiment of the invention is a serpin albumin binding polypeptide fusion, wherein the albumin binding polypeptide is domain 3 of Streptococcal protein G or a sequence derived from domain 3 of Streptococcal protein G. In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin(a′)-albumin fusion proteins includes at least the amino acid sequence of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of a variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein.", "In some embodiments, the variant of the reactive site loop portion of the AAT protein includes at least the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:32 or SEQ ID NO:33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion proteins includes at least the full-length human AAT polypeptide sequence having amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.In some embodiments the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion proteins includes human AAT polypeptide sequence that is at least 50%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 32 or 33.In some embodiments, the serpin polypeptide of the serpin-albumin fusion proteins includes the AAT polypeptide sequence or the amino acid sequence derived from an AAT polypeptide is or is derived from one or more of the human AAT polypeptide sequences shown in GenBank Accession Nos.", "AAB59495.1, CAJ15161.1, P01009.3, AAB59375.1, AAA51546.1, CAA25838.1, NP_001002235.1, CAA34982.1, NP_001002236.1, NP_000286.3, NP_001121179.1, NP_001121178.1, NP_001121177.1, NP_001121176.16, NP_001121175.1, NP_001121174.1, NP_001121172.1, and/or AAA51547.1.In some embodiments, the fusion proteins are modified to increase or otherwise inhibit proteolytic cleavage, for example, by mutating one or more proteolytic cleavage sites.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins are modified to alter or otherwise modulate an Fc effector function of the fusion protein, while simultaneously retaining binding and inhibitory function as compared to an unaltered fusion protein.", "Fc effector functions include, by way of non-limiting examples, Fc receptor binding, prevention of proinflammatory mediator release upon binding to the Fc receptor, phagocytosis, modified antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), modified complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), modified glycosylation at Asn297 residue (EU index of Kabat numbering, Kabat et al 1991 Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest) of the Fc polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins are mutated or otherwise modified to influence Fc receptor binding.", "In some embodiments, the Fc polypeptide is modified to enhance FcRn binding.", "Examples of Fc polypeptide mutations that enhance binding to FcRn are Met252Tyr, Ser254Thr, Thr256Glu (M252Y, S256T, T256E) (Kabat numbering, Dall'Acqua et al 2006, J. Biol Chem Vol 281(33) 23514-23524), or Met428Leu and Asn434Ser (M428L, N434S) (Zalevsky et al 2010 Nature Biotech, Vol.", "28(2) 157-159).", "(EU index of Kabat et al 1991 Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest).", "In some embodiments the Fc polypeptide portion is mutated or otherwise modified so as to disrupt Fc-mediated dimerization (Ying et al 2012 J. Biol Chem 287(23): 19399-19408).", "In these embodiments, the fusion protein is monomeric in nature.", "The fusion proteins and variants thereof provided herein exhibit inhibitory activity, for example by inhibiting a serine protease such as human neutrophil elastase (NE), a chemotrypsin-fold serine protease that is secreted by neutrophils during an inflammatory response.", "The fusion proteins provided herein completely or partially reduce or otherwise modulate serine protease expression or activity upon binding to, or otherwise interacting with, a serine protease, e.g., a human serine protease.", "The reduction or modulation of a biological function of a serine protease is complete or partial upon interaction between the fusion proteins and the human serine protease protein, polypeptide and/or peptide.", "The fusion proteins are considered to completely inhibit serine protease expression or activity when the level of serine protease expression or activity in the presence of the fusion protein is decreased by at least 95%, e.g., by 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% or 100% as compared to the level of serine protease expression or activity in the absence of interaction, e.g., binding, with a fusion protein described herein.", "The fusion proteins are considered to partially inhibit serine protease expression or activity when the level of serine protease expression or activity in the presence of the fusion protein is decreased by less than 95%, e.g., 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 75%, 80%, 85% or 90% as compared to the level of serine protease expression or activity in the absence of interaction, e.g., binding, with a fusion protein described herein.", "The fusion proteins described herein are useful in a variety of therapeutic, diagnostic and prophylactic indications.", "For example, the fusion proteins are useful in treating a variety of diseases and disorders in a subject.", "In some embodiments, the serpin fusion proteins, including, fusion proteins described herein, are useful in treating, alleviating a symptom of, ameliorating and/or delaying the progression of a disease or disorder in a subject suffering from or identified as being at risk for a disease or disorder selected from alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), allergic asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancers of the lung, ischemia-reperfusion injury, including, e.g., ischemia/reperfusion injury following cardiac transplantation, myocardial infarction, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, type I and/or type II diabetes, bacterial infections, fungal infections, viral infections, pneumonia, sepsis, graft versus host disease (GVHD), wound healing, Systemic lupus erythematosis, and Multiple sclerosis.", "Pharmaceutical compositions according to the invention include a fusion protein of the invention, including modified fusion proteins and other variants, along with a suitable carrier.", "These pharmaceutical compositions can be included in kits, such as, for example, diagnostic kits.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1A is a schematic representation of some embodiments of serpin-Fc fusion proteins according to the invention.", "The serpin can be located at any position within the fusion protein.", "Serpin-Fc fusion protein incorporating more than one serpin polypeptide are also represented.", "FIG.", "1B is a photograph of a SDS-PAGE gel showing serum derived AAT (lane 1), AAT-Fc1 (lane 2, human IgG1 Fc), and AAT-EL-Fc1 (lane 3, Met351Glu, Met358Leu mutations within AAT, human IgG1 Fc).", "FIG.", "1C is a graph showing the inhibition of neutrophil elastase activity by AAT-Fc fusion proteins.", "FIG.", "1D is a photograph of a SDS-PAGE gel showing tetravalent AAT-Fc-AAT, having two AAT polypeptides per Fc polypeptide.", "FIG.", "1E is a graph showing the inhibition of neutrophil elastase activity by a tetravalent AAT-Fc-AAT fusion protein.", "FIG.", "1F is a graphing demonstrating the effect of low pH elution from protein A resin, wherein the NE inhibiting capacity of the AAT-Fc fusion protein eluted at low pH is drastically reduced.", "FIG.", "1G is a graph showing that the double mutant, AAT-EL-Fc (Met351Glu, Met358Leu mutations) is resistant to H2O2 inactivation (conc.", "), compared to wild type AAT and the single mutant AAT-EM-Fc (Met351Glu).", "FIG.", "1H is a graph depicting the serum clearance rates of serum derived AAT (sdAAT) compared to AAT-Fc in rats dosed with 10 mg/kg protein (3 rats/test protein).", "The half-life of AAT-Fc is substantially longer than that of sdAAT.", "FIG.", "2A is a schematic representation of some embodiments of the serpin-cytokine targeting fusion proteins of the invention.", "The serpin can be fused to either the heavy chain, the light chain, or both of an antibody.", "Serpin-cytokine receptor fusion proteins are also depicted.", "FIG.", "2B is a photograph of a SDS-PAGE gel showing the D2E7 antibody (lane 1), and the D2E7 antibody with-AAT fused to heavy chain (lane 2).", "FIG.", "2C is a graph showing the inhibition of neutrophil elastase activity by a D2E7 antibody fused to AAT.", "Serum derived AAT is shown as a positive control, whereas the D2E7 antibody alone is shown as a negative control for NE inhibition.", "FIG.", "3A is a schematic representation of some embodiments of the serpin-Fc-WAP fusion proteins.", "FIG.", "3B is a photograph of a SDS-PAGE gel showing AAT-Fc-ELAFIN (lane 1) and AAT-Fc-SLPI (lane 2).", "FIG.", "3C is a graph showing the inhibition of neutrophil elastase activity by an AAT-Fc-ELAFIN fusion protein and an AAT-Fc-SLPI fusion protein.", "An AAT-Fc fusion protein and serum derived AAT are included for comparison.", "FIG.", "4A is a schematic representation of some embodiments of the AAT-HSA fusion proteins.", "FIG.", "4B is a photograph of a SDS-PAGE gel showing an AAT-HSA fusion.", "FIG.", "4C is a graph showing the inhibition of neutrophil elastase activity by an AAT-HSA compared to serum derived AAT.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Human neutrophil elastase (NE) is a chymotrypsin-fold serine protease, secreted by neutrophils during inflammation.", "Aberrant activity of NE results in a progressive degradation of elastin tissues and the slow destruction of the alveolar structures of the lungs leading to emphysema and lung fibrosis (Lungarella et al 2008 Int.", "J. Biochem Cell Biol 40:1287).", "Often, misguided NE activity is due to an imbalance of the protease with its natural inhibitor, alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT).", "This imbalance can result from enhanced neutrophil infiltration into the lungs, as observed in the lungs of smokers and patients with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).", "Conversely, a deficiency of AAT, usually as a result of a point mutation that causes ATT to aggregate and accumulate in the liver, leaves the lungs exposed to unchecked NE activity.", "Individuals with AAT deficiencies are at increased the risk of emphysema, COPD, liver disease, and numerous other conditions.", "AAT deficiency affects approximately 100,000 Americans (according to estimates from the Alpha-1 Foundation), and many of the afflicted people die in their 30's and 40's.", "There are currently only a few FDA-approved drugs for treatment of ATT deficiency (Prolastin®, Aralast™, Zemaira®, Glassia™).", "Each drug is the natural AAT derived from pooled human plasma, which appears to be insufficient to meet the anticipated clinical demand.", "Furthermore, these products have short serum half-lives (T1/2 of approximately 5 days) and require high dose (60 mg/kg body weight) weekly infusions.", "The current market for these drugs is estimated at approximately $400 million.", "The market for AAT-like drugs is likely substantially larger, based on the estimation that as many as 95% of individuals with AAT-deficiencies go undiagnosed, and the fact that these drugs have the potential to be effective therapies for pathologies characterized by enhanced NE activity in individuals that are not AAT-deficient (e.g., cystic fibrosis (CF), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), smoking-induced emphysema and/or COPD).", "AAT has been suggested to have broad spectrum anti-inflammatory activity (Tilg et al 1993 J Exp it 178:1629-1636, Libert et al 1996 Immunol 157:5126-5129, Pott et al, Journal of Leukocyte Biology 85 2009, Janciauskiene et al 2007J.", "Biol Chem 282(12): 8573-8582, Nita et al 2007 Int J Biochem Cell Biol 39:1165-1176).", "Recently, evidence has mounted that AAT may be useful in treating numerous human pathologies, outside of the commonly suggested inflammatory pulmonary conditions.", "Human AAT has shown to protect mice from clinical and histopathological signs of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), suggesting it could be a potential treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (Subramanian et al 2011 Metab Brain Dis 26:107-113): Serum AAT has shown activity in rodent models of Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) (Tawara et al 2011 Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 109: 564-569, Marcondes et al 2011 Blood Nov. 3; 118(18):5031-9), which has led to a human clinical trial using AAT to treat individuals with Steroid Non-responsive Acute GVHD (NCT01523821).", "Additionally, AAT has been effective in animal models of type I and type II diabetes, dampening inflammation, protecting islet cells from apoptosis and enabling durable islet cell allograft (Zhang et al 2007 Diabetes 56:1316-1323, Lewis et al 2005 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:12153-12158, Lewis et al 2008 Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:16236-16241, Kalis et al 2010 Islets 2:185-189).", "Currently, there are numerous early human clinical trials of type I diabetes using serum derived AAT products (NCT01183468, NCT01319331, NCT01304537).", "The current serum-derived AAT products undergo extensive purification and testing to ensure the removal of pathogenic viruses, however, the risk of transmission of infectious agents cannot be completely eliminated.", "Moreover, serum is limited, which limits the production capacity of serum derived AAT.", "Attempts to address the concerns of serum derived products and production issues have been aimed at the expression of recombinant AAT.", "However, after 20 years of work, the generation of a therapeutically viable recombinant AAT has yet to reach the market (Karnaukhova et al 2006 Amino Acids 30: 317).", "Like the plasma-derived products, recombinant versions of AAT suffer from short serum half-lives, low production yields, and poor lung distribution.", "The fusion proteins of the present invention have enhanced functionalities compared to the unmodified AAT molecule.", "The fusion of an AAT polypeptide with a second polypeptide that interacts with the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), serves to increase the serum half-life, providing a much needed dosing benefit for patients.", "These FcRn interacting polypeptides of the fusion protein include immunoglobulin (Ig) Fc polypeptides derived from human IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, or IgM, and derivatives of human albumin.", "In some embodiments, the fusion protein incorporates mutations with the AAT portion that render the molecule more resistant to inactivation by oxidation.", "For example Met351Glu, Met358Leu (AAT-EL-Fc), demonstrates resistance inactivation by H2O2 oxidation (FIG.", "1G).", "While AAT is a natural anti-inflammatory protein, some embodiments of the invention provide enhanced inflammation dampening capacity through the fusion of an AAT polypeptide and a cytokine targeting polypeptide.", "The coupling of dual anti-inflammatory functionalities from AAT and a second polypeptide, will provide more a potent therapeutic protein than either polypeptide on their own.", "Additionally, the coupling the anti-infective activity of AAT will mitigate the infection risk of most cytokine targeting biologics.", "Some embodiments provide for more potent anti-inflammatory and anti-infective proteins through the fusion an AAT-polypeptide and WAP domain contain polypeptide.", "The fusion proteins of the present invention are expected to be a great therapeutic utility and be superior to the current serum derived AAT products.", "To extend the half-life of recombinant AAT, recombinant DNA technology was used to create a AAT gene fusion with the Fc domain of human IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgM, or HSA, such that the expected protein product would be AAT followed by an Fc domain ((AAT-Fc (IgG1), AAT-Fc (IgG2), AAT-Fc (IgG3), AAT-Fc (IgG4), AAT-Fc (IgM)) or AAT followed by HSA.", "While it was known that fusion of Fc domains of HSA to some proteins, protein domains or peptides could extend their half-lives (see e.g., Jazayeri et al.", "BioDrugs 22, 11-26, Huang et al.", "(2009) Curr Opin Biotechnol 20, 692-699, Kontermann et al.", "(2009) BioDrugs 23, 93-109, Schmidt et al.", "(2009) Curr Opin Drug Discov Devel 12, 284-295), it was unknown if an Fc domain or HSA fused to AAT would allow for proper folding and maintenance of NE inhibitory activity, or could extend the half-life of recombinant AAT.", "The fusion proteins of the present invention are shown to be potent inhibitors of NE, have extended serum half lives, and in some embodiments resistant to oxidation.", "In other embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein have distinct properties by the incorporation of other functional polypeptides, including cytokine targeting polypeptides, and WAP domain containing polypeptides.", "The fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin and a second polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, for example, the invention provides a serpin polypeptide fused to human IgG1-Fc, IgG2-Fc, IgG3-Fc, IgG4-Fc, IgM-Fc, or HSA derivatives.", "The serpin-fusion described herein are expected to be useful in treating a variety of indications, including, by way of non-limiting example, alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), allergic asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancers of the lung, ischemia-reperfusion injury, including, e.g., ischemia/reperfusion injury following cardiac transplantation, myocardial infarction, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, type I and/or type II diabetes, bacterial infections, fungal infections, viral infections, pneumonia, sepsis, graft versus host disease (GVHD), wound healing, Systemic lupus erythematosis, and Multiple sclerosis.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least an alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT and second polypeptide.", "For example, the invention provides alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) fused to human IgG1-Fc, IgG2-Fc, IgG3-Fc, IgG4-Fc, IgM-Fc, or HSA derivatives.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin polypeptide and a cytokine targeting polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a cytokine targeting polypeptide.", "For example, the invention provides serpin polypeptide or a sequence derived from a serpin polypeptide fused to a human cytokine receptor or derivative thereof.", "Another embodiment of the invention provides serpin polypeptide or a sequence derived from a serpin polypeptide fused to a cytokine targeting antibody, e.g., an anti-cytokine antibody, or a sequence derived from of a cytokine targeting antibody, e.g., an anti-cytokine antibody, or sequence derived from a fragment of cytokine targeting antibody, e.g., a fragment of an anti-cytokine antibody.", "For example, the invention provides a serpin polypeptide or a sequence derived from a serpin polypeptide fused to a cytokine targeting polypeptide in which the cytokine targeting polypeptide binds any of the following human cytokines: TNFα, IgE, IL-12, IL-23, IL-6, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-17, IL-13, IL-4, IL-10, IL-2, IL-18, IL-27, or IL-32.For example, in some embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide targets TNFα and includes any of the following TNFα-targeting polypeptide or sequences derived from the following TNFα-targeting polypeptides: Remicade®, Humira®, Simponi®, Cimiza®, Enbrel® or ATN-103 and ATN-192.For example, in some embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide targets IgE and includes any of the following IgE-targeting polypeptide or sequences derived from the following IgE-targeting polypeptides: Xolair or FcεRI.", "For example, in some embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide targets the shared p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23 and includes the Stelara® polypeptide or sequences derived from the Stelara® polypeptide.", "For example Stelara® the cytokine targeting polypeptide targets IL-13 and includes the CDP7766 polypeptide or sequences derived from the CDP7766 polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least a alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT and a cytokine targeting polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a cytokine targeting polypeptide.", "For example, the invention provides alpha-1-antitrypsin inhibitor (AAT) fused a cytokine targeting polypeptide in which the cytokine targeting polypeptide binds any of the following human cytokines: TNFα, IgE, IL-6, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-12, IL-17, IL-13, IL-23, IL-4, IL-10, IL-2, IL-18, IL-27, or IL-32.In some embodiments the cytokine targeting polypeptide binds a cytokine receptor and prevents binding of the cytokine.", "For example, the present invention includes a serpin fused to a cytokine receptor targeting antibody.", "For example, the invention provides alpha-1-antitrypsin inhibitor (AAT) fused a cytokine targeting polypeptide in which the cytokine targeting polypeptide binds the receptor of any of the following human cytokines: TNFα, IgE, IL-6, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-12, IL-17, IL-13, IL-23, the p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23, IL-4, IL-10, IL-2, IL-18, IL-27, or IL-32.For example, in some embodiments, the cytokine targeting polypeptide targets the IL-6 receptor and includes the Actemra® polypeptide (as described in patent publication EP0628639), or the ALX-0061 polypeptide (as described in WO2010/115998), or sequences derived from the Actemra® polypeptide, or ALX-0061 polypeptide.", "For example, Actemra® the cytokine targeting polypeptide targets the IL-6 receptor and includes the tocilizumab polypeptide or sequences derived from the tocilizumab polypeptide.", "The targeting of inflammatory cytokines and immune-stimulating agents by protein therapeutics has demonstrated clinical success in numerous inflammatory conditions.", "The most common proteins used as cytokine targeting agents are the soluble cytokine receptors and monoclonal antibodies and fragments thereof.", "A significant drawback with targeting cytokines is the increased risk of infection in these patients, as evidenced by the TNFα targeting biologics, Remicade®, Humira®, Simponi®, Cimiza®, and Enbrel®, and the IL-12/23 p40 targeting antibody, Stelara®.", "This is likely to be a common problem of targeting inflammatory cytokines leading to immune suppression in patients.", "AAT and other serpin proteins are interesting in that they demonstrate both anti-infective and anti-inflammatory activities.", "Thus, the serpin-cytokine targeting polypeptide fusion proteins of this invention can dampen aberrant cytokine activities while alleviating the risk of infections.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, a WAP domain-containing polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide, and an Fc polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from an Fc polypeptide.", "For example, the invention provides a serpin polypeptide, a WAP domain-containing polypeptide and human IgG1-Fc, IgG2-Fc, IgG3-Fc, IgG4-Fc or IgM-Fc derivatives operably linked together in any functional combination.", "In some embodiments, the WAP domain containing protein is human SLPI or derived from human SLPI.", "In other embodiments, the WAP domain containing protein is human ELAFIN or derived from human ELAFIN.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least an alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT and a SLPI polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from SLPI.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least an AAT polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT and an ELAFIN polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from Elafin.", "SPLI and Elafin are WAP domain containing proteins that display serine protease inhibitory activity.", "Both of these proteins are anti-inflammatory in function.", "In addition these proteins possess broad anti-infective capacities toward numerous strains of bacteria, viruses, and fungi.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin and a human serum albumin (HSA) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a HSA polypeptide.", "Further embodiments of invention include serpin-albumin binding polypeptide fusion proteins, wherein the albumin binding polypeptide is responsible for the association of the serpin and HSA.", "Thereby the invention includes both covalent and non-covalent linkages of the serpin polypeptide and the HSA polypeptide or sequences derived from the serpin polypeptide or a HSA polypeptide.", "For example, the invention provides a serpin polypeptide fused to human HSA, or HSA derivatives, or HSA binding peptide or polypeptides.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least an alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT and a HSA polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a HSA polypeptide.", "For example, the invention provides alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) fused to HSA or a fragment derived from HSA, or an albumin binding polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include a serpin polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a serpin, a HSA polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a HSA polypeptide, and a WAP domain-containing polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a WAP domain-containing polypeptide.", "In some embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least an alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT and a HSA polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a HSA polypeptide, and a SLPI polypeptide or amino acid sequence derived from SLPI.", "In other embodiments, the fusion proteins described herein include at least an alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from AAT and a HSA polypeptide or an amino acid sequence that is derived from a HSA polypeptide, and an Elafin polypeptide or amino acid sequence derived from Elafin.", "The fusion proteins of the present invention can be readily produced in mammalian cell expression systems.", "For example Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK) 293 cells, COS cells, PER.C6®, NS0 cells, SP2/0, YB2/0 can readily be used for the expression of the serpin fusion proteins described herein.", "Importantly, mammalian cell expression systems produce proteins that are generally more optimal for therapeutic use.", "In contrast to bacterial, insect, or yeast-based expression systems, mammalian cell expression systems yield proteins with glycosylation patterns that are similar or the same as those found in natural human proteins.", "Proper gylcosylation of a protein can greatly influence serum stability, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, protein folding, and functionality.", "Therefore, the ability to produce therapeutic proteins in mammalian expression systems has distinct advantages over other systems.", "Furthermore, most of the mammalian cell expression systems (e.g., CHO, NS0, PER.C6® cells) can be readily scaled in commercial manufacturing facilities to produce therapeutic proteins to meet clinical demands.", "The fusion proteins described herein have enhanced functionalities over the natural form of AAT and can be produced in mammalian expression systems for clinical and commercial supply.", "Some embodiments of the invention include a purification system that enables the isolation of serpin fusion proteins that retain their ability to inhibit NE.", "Importantly, the purification process of the present invention can be readily incorporated into today's commercial mammalian cell-based manufacturing processes.", "Unless otherwise defined, scientific and technical terms used in connection with the present invention shall have the meanings that are commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.", "Further, unless otherwise required by context, singular terms shall include pluralities and plural terms shall include the singular.", "Generally, nomenclatures utilized in connection with, and techniques of, cell and tissue culture, molecular biology, and protein and oligo- or polynucleotide chemistry and hybridization described herein are those well known and commonly used in the art.", "Standard techniques are used for recombinant DNA, oligonucleotide synthesis, and tissue culture and transformation (e.g., electroporation, lipofection).", "Enzymatic reactions and purification techniques are performed according to manufacturer's specifications or as commonly accomplished in the art or as described herein.", "The foregoing techniques and procedures are generally performed according to conventional methods well known in the art and as described in various general and more specific references that are cited and discussed throughout the present specification.", "See e.g., Sambrook et al.", "Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2d ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. (1989)).", "The nomenclatures utilized in connection with, and the laboratory procedures and techniques of, analytical chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry, and medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry described herein are those well-known and commonly used in the art.", "Standard techniques are used for chemical syntheses, chemical analyses, pharmaceutical preparation, formulation, and delivery, and treatment of patients.", "The term patient includes human and veterinary subjects.", "It will be appreciated that administration of therapeutic entities in accordance with the invention will be administered with suitable carriers, buffers, excipients, and other agents that are incorporated into formulations to provide improved transfer, delivery, tolerance, and the like.", "A multitude of appropriate formulations can be found in the formulary known to all pharmaceutical chemists: Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences (15th ed, Mack Publishing Company, Easton, Pa. (1975)), particularly Chapter 87 by Blaug, Seymour, therein.", "These formulations include, for example, powders, pastes, ointments, jellies, waxes, oils, lipids, lipid (cationic or anionic) containing vesicles (such as Lipofectin™), DNA conjugates, anhydrous absorption pastes, oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions, emulsions carbowax (polyethylene glycols of various molecular weights), semi-solid gels, and semi-solid mixtures containing carbowax.", "Any of the foregoing mixtures may be appropriate in treatments and therapies in accordance with the present invention, provided that the active ingredient in the formulation is not inactivated by the formulation and the formulation is physiologically compatible and tolerable with the route of administration.", "See also Baldrick P. “Pharmaceutical excipient development: the need for preclinical guidance.” Regul.", "Toxicol Pharmacol.", "32(2):210-8 (2000), Wang W. “Lyophilization and development of solid protein pharmaceuticals.” Int.", "J. Pharm.", "203(1-2):1-60 (2000), Charman W N “Lipids, lipophilic drugs, and oral drug delivery-some emerging concepts.” J Pharm Sci.", "89(8):967-78 (2000), Powell et al.", "“Compendium of excipients for parenteral formulations” PDA J Pharm Sci Technol.", "52:238-311 (1998) and the citations therein for additional information related to formulations, excipients and carriers well known to pharmaceutical chemists.", "Therapeutic formulations of the invention, which include a fusion protein of the invention, are used to treat or alleviate a symptom associated with a disease or disorder associated with aberrant serine protease activity in a subject.", "The present invention also provides methods of treating or alleviating a symptom associated with a disease or disorder associated with aberrant serine protease activity in a subject.", "A therapeutic regimen is carried out by identifying a subject, e.g., a human patient suffering from (or at risk of developing) a disease or disorder associated with aberrant serine protease activity, using standard methods, including any of a variety of clinical and/or laboratory procedures.", "The term patient includes human and veterinary subjects.", "The term subject includes humans and other mammals.", "Efficaciousness of treatment is determined in association with any known method for diagnosing or treating the particular disease or disorder associated with aberrant serine protease activity.", "Alleviation of one or more symptoms of the disease or disorder associated with aberrant serine protease activity indicates that the fusion protein confers a clinical benefit.", "Methods for the screening of fusion proteins that possess the desired specificity include, but are not limited to, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), enzymatic assays, flow cytometry, and other immunologically mediated techniques known within the art.", "The fusion proteins described herein may be used in methods known within the art relating to the localization and/or quantitation of a target such as a serine protease, e.g., for use in measuring levels of these targets within appropriate physiological samples, for use in diagnostic methods, for use in imaging the protein, and the like).", "The terms “physiological sample” and “biological sample,” used interchangeably, herein are intended to include tissues, cells and biological fluids isolated from a subject, as well as tissues, cells and fluids present within a subject.", "Included within the usage of the terms “physiological sample” and “biological sample”, therefore, is blood and a fraction or component of blood including blood serum, blood plasma, or lymph.", "In a given embodiment, fusion proteins specific for a given target, or derivative, fragment, analog or homolog thereof, that contain the target-binding domain, are utilized as pharmacologically active compounds (referred to hereinafter as “Therapeutics”).", "A fusion protein of the invention can be used to isolate a particular target using standard techniques, such as immunoaffinity, chromatography or immunoprecipitation.", "Detection can be facilitated by coupling (i.e., physically linking) the fusion protein to a detectable substance.", "Examples of detectable substances include various enzymes, prosthetic groups, fluorescent materials, luminescent materials, bioluminescent materials, and radioactive materials.", "Examples of suitable enzymes include horseradish peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, β-galactosidase, or acetylcholinesterase; examples of suitable prosthetic group complexes include streptavidin/biotin and avidin/biotin; examples of suitable fluorescent materials include umbelliferone, fluorescein, fluorescein isothiocyanate, rhodamine, dichlorotriazinylamine fluorescein, dansyl chloride or phycoerythrin; an example of a luminescent material includes luminol; examples of bioluminescent materials include luciferase, luciferin, and aequorin, and examples of suitable radioactive material include 125I, 131I, 35S or 3H.", "A therapeutically effective amount of a fusion protein of the invention relates generally to the amount needed to achieve a therapeutic objective.", "As noted above, this may be a binding interaction between the fusion protein and its target that, in certain cases, interferes with the functioning of the target.", "The amount required to be administered will furthermore depend on the binding affinity of the fusion protein for its specific target, and will also depend on the rate at which an administered fusion protein is depleted from the free volume other subject to which it is administered.", "Common ranges for therapeutically effective dosing of an fusion protein or fragment thereof invention may be, by way of nonlimiting example, from about 0.1 mg/kg body weight to about 250 mg/kg body weight.", "Common dosing frequencies may range, for example, from twice daily to once a month.", "Where fusion protein fragments are used, the smallest inhibitory fragment that specifically binds to the target is preferred.", "For example, peptide molecules can be designed that retain the ability to bind the target.", "Such peptides can be synthesized chemically and/or produced by recombinant DNA technology.", "(See, e.g., Marasco et al., Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA, 90: 7889-7893 (1993)).", "The formulation can also contain more than one active compound as necessary for the particular indication being treated, preferably those with complementary activities that do not adversely affect each other.", "Alternatively, or in addition, the composition can comprise an agent that enhances its function, such as, for example, a cytotoxic agent, cytokine, chemotherapeutic agent, growth-inhibitory agent, an anti-inflammatory agent or anti-infective agent.", "Such molecules are suitably present in combination in amounts that are effective for the purpose intended.", "The active ingredients can also be entrapped in microcapsules prepared, for example, by coacervation techniques or by interfacial polymerization, for example, hydroxymethylcellulose or gelatin-microcapsules and poly-(methylmethacrylate) microcapsules, respectively, in colloidal drug delivery systems (for example, liposomes, albumin microspheres, microemulsions, nano-particles, and nanocapsules) or in macroemulsions.", "The formulations to be used for in vivo administration must be sterile.", "This is readily accomplished by filtration through sterile filtration membranes.", "Sustained-release preparations can be prepared.", "Suitable examples of sustained-release preparations include semipermeable matrices of solid hydrophobic polymers containing the fusion protein, which matrices are in the form of shaped articles, e.g., films, or microcapsules.", "Examples of sustained-release matrices include polyesters, hydrogels (for example, poly(2-hydroxyethyl-methacrylate), or poly(vinylalcohol)), polylactides (U.S. Pat.", "No.", "3,773,919), copolymers of L-glutamic acid and y ethyl-L-glutamate, non-degradable ethylene-vinyl acetate, degradable lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymers such as the LUPRON DEPOT™ (injectable microspheres composed of lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer and leuprolide acetate), and poly-D-(−)-3-hydroxybutyric acid.", "While polymers such as ethylene-vinyl acetate and lactic acid-glycolic acid enable release of molecules for over 100 days, certain hydrogels release proteins for shorter time periods.", "Pharmaceutical Compositions The fusion proteins of the invention (also referred to herein as “active compounds”), and derivatives, fragments, analogs and homologs thereof, can be incorporated into pharmaceutical compositions suitable for administration.", "Such compositions typically comprise the fusion protein and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "As used herein, the term “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” is intended to include any and all solvents, dispersion media, coatings, antibacterial and antifungal agents, isotonic and absorption delaying agents, and the like, compatible with pharmaceutical administration.", "Suitable carriers are described in the most recent edition of Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, a standard reference text in the field, which is incorporated herein by reference.", "Preferred examples of such carriers or diluents include, but are not limited to, water, saline, ringer's solutions, dextrose solution, and 5% human serum albumin.", "Liposomes and non-aqueous vehicles such as fixed oils may also be used.", "The use of such media and agents for pharmaceutically active substances is well known in the art.", "Except insofar as any conventional media or agent is incompatible with the active compound, use thereof in the compositions is contemplated.", "Supplementary active compounds can also be incorporated into the compositions.", "A pharmaceutical composition of the invention is formulated to be compatible with its intended route of administration.", "Examples of routes of administration include parenteral, e.g., intravenous, intradermal, subcutaneous, oral (e.g., inhalation), transdermal (i.e., topical), transmucosal, and rectal administration.", "Solutions or suspensions used for parenteral, intradermal, or subcutaneous application can include the following components: a sterile diluent such as water for injection, saline solution, fixed oils, polyethylene glycols, glycerine, propylene glycol or other synthetic solvents; antibacterial agents such as benzyl alcohol or methyl parabens; antioxidants such as ascorbic acid or sodium bisulfite; chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA); buffers such as acetates, citrates or phosphates, and agents for the adjustment of tonicity such as sodium chloride or dextrose.", "The pH can be adjusted with acids or bases, such as hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide.", "The parenteral preparation can be enclosed in ampoules, disposable syringes or multiple dose vials made of glass or plastic.", "Pharmaceutical compositions suitable for injectable use include sterile aqueous solutions (where water soluble) or dispersions and sterile powders for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable solutions or dispersion.", "For intravenous administration, suitable carriers include physiological saline, bacteriostatic water, Cremophor EL′ (BASF, Parsippany, N.J.) or phosphate buffered saline (PBS).", "In all cases, the composition must be sterile and should be fluid to the extent that easy syringeability exists.", "It must be stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage and must be preserved against the contaminating action of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.", "The carrier can be a solvent or dispersion medium containing, for example, water, ethanol, polyol (for example, glycerol, propylene glycol, and liquid polyethylene glycol, and the like), and suitable mixtures thereof.", "The proper fluidity can be maintained, for example, by the use of a coating such as lecithin, by the maintenance of the required particle size in the case of dispersion and by the use of surfactants.", "Prevention of the action of microorganisms can be achieved by various antibacterial and antifungal agents, for example, parabens, chlorobutanol, phenol, ascorbic acid, thimerosal, and the like.", "In many cases, it will be preferable to include isotonic agents, for example, sugars, polyalcohols such as mannitol, sorbitol, sodium chloride in the composition.", "Prolonged absorption of the injectable compositions can be brought about by including in the composition an agent which delays absorption, for example, aluminum monostearate and gelatin.", "Sterile injectable solutions can be prepared by incorporating the active compound in the required amount in an appropriate solvent with one or a combination of ingredients enumerated above, as required, followed by filtered sterilization.", "Generally, dispersions are prepared by incorporating the active compound into a sterile vehicle that contains a basic dispersion medium and the required other ingredients from those enumerated above.", "In the case of sterile powders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions, methods of preparation are vacuum drying and freeze-drying that yields a powder of the active ingredient plus any additional desired ingredient from a previously sterile-filtered solution thereof.", "Oral compositions generally include an inert diluent or an edible carrier.", "They can be enclosed in gelatin capsules or compressed into tablets.", "For the purpose of oral therapeutic administration, the active compound can be incorporated with excipients and used in the form of tablets, troches, or capsules.", "Oral compositions can also be prepared using a fluid carrier for use as a mouthwash, wherein the compound in the fluid carrier is applied orally and swished and expectorated or swallowed.", "Pharmaceutically compatible binding agents, and/or adjuvant materials can be included as part of the composition.", "The tablets, pills, capsules, troches and the like can contain any of the following ingredients, or compounds of a similar nature: a binder such as microcrystalline cellulose, gum tragacanth or gelatin; an excipient such as starch or lactose, a disintegrating agent such as alginic acid, Primogel, or corn starch; a lubricant such as magnesium stearate or Sterotes; a glidant such as colloidal silicon dioxide; a sweetening agent such as sucrose or saccharin; or a flavoring agent such as peppermint, methyl salicylate, or orange flavoring.", "For administration by inhalation, the compounds are delivered in the form of an aerosol spray from pressured container or dispenser which contains a suitable propellant, e.g., a gas such as carbon dioxide, or a nebulizer.", "Systemic administration can also be by transmucosal or transdermal means.", "For transmucosal or transdermal administration, penetrants appropriate to the barrier to be permeated are used in the formulation.", "Such penetrants are generally known in the art, and include, for example, for transmucosal administration, detergents, bile salts, and fusidic acid derivatives.", "Transmucosal administration can be accomplished through the use of nasal sprays or suppositories.", "For transdermal administration, the active compounds are formulated into ointments, salves, gels, or creams as generally known in the art.", "The compounds can also be prepared in the form of suppositories (e.g., with conventional suppository bases such as cocoa butter and other glycerides) or retention enemas for rectal delivery.", "In one embodiment, the active compounds are prepared with carriers that will protect the compound against rapid elimination from the body, such as a controlled release formulation, including implants and microencapsulated delivery systems.", "Biodegradable, biocompatible polymers can be used, such as ethylene vinyl acetate, polyanhydrides, polyglycolic acid, collagen, polyorthoesters, and polylactic acid.", "Methods for preparation of such formulations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.", "The materials can also be obtained commercially from Alza Corporation and Nova Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Liposomal suspensions can also be used as pharmaceutically acceptable carriers.", "These can be prepared according to methods known to those skilled in the art, for example, as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,522,811.It is especially advantageous to formulate oral or parenteral compositions in dosage unit form for ease of administration and uniformity of dosage.", "Dosage unit form as used herein refers to physically discrete units suited as unitary dosages for the subject to be treated; each unit containing a predetermined quantity of active compound calculated to produce the desired therapeutic effect in association with the required pharmaceutical carrier.", "The specification for the dosage unit forms of the invention are dictated by and directly dependent on the unique characteristics of the active compound and the particular therapeutic effect to be achieved, and the limitations inherent in the art of compounding such an active compound for the treatment of individuals.", "The pharmaceutical compositions can be included in a container, pack, or dispenser together with instructions for administration.", "The invention will be further described in the following examples, which do not limit the scope of the invention described in the claims.", "EXAMPLES Example 1: AAT-Fc Fusion Proteins and Variants Exemplary, but non-limiting examples of AAT-Fc fusion proteins according to the invention include the following sequences.", "While these examples include a hinge sequence and/or a linker sequence, fusion proteins of the invention can be made using any hinge sequence and/or a linker sequence suitable in length and/or flexibility.", "Alternatively fusion proteins can be made without using a hinge and/or a linker sequence.", "For example, the polypeptide components can be directly attached.", "An exemplary AAT-Fc fusion protein is the AAT-hFc1 (human IgG1 Fc) described herein.", "As shown below, AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), and the IgG-Fc polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 3).", "AAT-hFc1 (human IgG1 Fc) (SEQ ID NO: 16) EDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQLQLTIGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLK SVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQKEPKSCD KTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLIVISRTPEVTCVVVDVSRED PEVKFNWYVDGVEVENAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYK CKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVK GFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQG NVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK An exemplary AAT-Fc fusion protein is the AAT-hFc2 (human IgG2 Fc), described herein.", "As shown below, AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 44), and the IgG-Fc polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 4).", "AAT-hFc2 (human IgG2 Fc) (SEQ ID NO: 17) EDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLK SVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQKERKCCV ECPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSREDPEVQF NWYVDGVEVRNAKTKPREEQFNSTFRVVSVLTVVHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSN KGLPAPIEKTISKTKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNOVSLTCLVKGFYPS DIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPMLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSC SVMEEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK An exemplary AAT-Fc fusion protein is the AAT-MM-EL-hFc1 (human IgG1 Fc, Met351Glu/Met358Leu), described herein.", "As shown below, AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 34), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), the IgG-Fc polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 3), and the Met351Glu mutation is boxed, and the Met358Leu mutation is shaded in grey.", "AAT-MM-EL-hFc1 (human IgG1 Fc, Met351Glu/ Met358Leu) (SEQ ID NO: 18) QKEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCV VVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVENAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQ DWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTK NQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSK LTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK An exemplary AAT-Fc fusion protein is the AAT-MM-EL-hFc2 (human IgG2 Fc, Met351Glu/Met358Leu), described herein.", "As shown below, AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 34), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 44), the IgG-Fc polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 4), the Met351Glu mutation is boxed, and the Met358Leu mutation is shaded in grey.", "AAT-MM-EL-hFc2(human IgG2 Fc, Met351G1u/ Met358Leu) (SEQ ID NO: 19) QKERKCCVECPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDV SHEDPEVQFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQFNSTFRVVSVLTVVHQDWLN GKEYKCKVSNKGLPAPIEKTISKTKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVS LTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPMLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVD KSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK An exemplary AAT-Fc fusion protein is the AAT-MM-LL-hFc1 (human IgG1 Fc, Met351Leu/Met358Leu), described herein.", "As shown below, AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 35), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), the IgG-Fc polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 3), the Met351Leu mutation is shaded in black, and the Met358Leu mutation is shaded in grey.", "AAT-MM-LL-hFc1(human IgG1 Fc, Met351Leu/ Met358Leu) (SEQ ID NO: 36) QKEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCV VVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQ DWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTK NQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSK LTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK An exemplary AAT-Fc fusion protein is the AAT-MM:LL-hFc2 (human IgG2 Fc, Met351Leu/Met358Leu), described herein.", "As shown below, AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 35), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 44) the IgG-Fc polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 4), the Met351Leu mutation is shaded in black, and the Met358Leu mutation is shaded in grey.", "AAT-MM:LL-hFc2(human IgG2 Fc, Met351Leu/ Met358Leu) (SEQ ID NO: 20) QKERKCCVECPPCPAPPVAGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDV SHEDPEVQFNWYVDGVEVRHNAKTKPREEQFNSTFRVVSVLTVVHQDWL NGKEYKCKVSNKGLPAPIEKTISKTKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQV SLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPMLDSDGSFFLYSKLTV DKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGK An exemplary AAT-Fc fusion protein is the AAT-hFc1-AAT (human IgG1), described herein.", "As shown below, AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), the ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), and the IgG-Fc polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 3).", "AAT-hFc1-AAT (human IgG1) (SEQ ID NO: 21) EDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLK SVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQKEPKSCD KTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDP EVKFNWYVDGVEVHNAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKC KVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKG FYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGN VFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGKASTGSEDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQD HPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNIFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTK ADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELLRTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLF LSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKI VDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVP MMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTH DIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLS GVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKP FVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQK These exemplary AAT-Fc fusion proteins were made using the following techniques.", "The gene encoding human AAT was PCR amplified from human liver cDNA (Zyagen).", "Specific point mutations within the gene encoding AAT or the Fc region were generated by overlapping PCR.", "The AAT encoding gene was cloned in frame with a gene encoding the hinge region, followed by a CH2 domain, and a CH3 domain of human IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, or IgM into a mammalian expression vector, containing a mammalian secretion signal sequence up stream of the AAT gene insertion site.", "These expression vectors were transfected into mammalian cells (specifically HEK293 or CHO cells) and grown for several days in 8% CO2 at 37° C. The recombinant AAT-Fc fusion proteins were purified from the expression cell supernatant by protein A chromatography.", "Importantly, a near neutral pH buffer was used (Gentle Ag/Ab Elution Buffer, Thermo Scientific) to elute the AAT-Fc fusion protein from the protein A resin.", "The AAT-Fc fusion protein can not be eluted from protein A resin using a standard low pH elution, as the ability of AAT to inhibit NE is compromised following low pH treatment, likely due to a low pH mediated oligomerization of AAT.", "FIG.", "1F shows the effects of low pH elution on the ability of AAT to inhibit neutrophil elastase.", "AAT-Fc fusion protein can be purified either by protein A and a near neutral pH elution buffer, by CaptureSelect® Alpha-1 Antitrypsin affinity matrix (BAC BV).", "The purified AAT-Fc fusion proteins were tested for activity by determining their ability to inhibit neutrophil elastase (NE).", "FIGS.", "1B and 1D show a reducing SDS-PAGE gel of purified serum derived AAT (sdAAT) and AAT-Fc fusion proteins (FIG.", "1B—lane 1: sdAAT, lane 2: AAT-Fc (SEQ ID NO: 16), lane 3: AAT-EL-Fc (SEQ ID NO: 18), FIG.", "1D AAT-Fc-AAT (SEQ ID NO: 20).", "The proteins were visualized by staining with coomassie blue.", "To monitor human Neutrophil Elastase (NE) activity a fluorescent microplate assay was used.", "Inhibitory activity was measured by a concomitant decrease in the residual NE activity using the following assay.", "This assay buffer is composed of 100 mM Tris pH 7.4, 500 mM NaCl, and 0.0005% Triton X-100.Human NE is used at a final concentration of 5 nM (but can also be used from 1-20 nM).", "The fluorescent peptide substrate AAVP-AMC is used at a final concentration of 100 μM in the assay.", "The Gemini EM plate reader from Molecular Devices is used to read the assay kinetics using excitation and emission wavelengths of 370 nm and 440 nm respectively, and a cutoff of 420 nm.", "The assay is read for 10 min at room temperature scanning every 5 to 10 seconds.", "The Vmax per second corresponds to the residual NE activity, which is plotted for each concentration of inhibitor.", "The intercept with the x-axis indicates the concentration of inhibitor needed to fully inactivate the starting concentration of NE in the assay.", "Human serum derived AAT (sdAAT) was used as a positive control in these assays.", "The AAT-Fc fusion proteins display potent NE inhibitory activity as shown in FIG.", "1C.", "The fusion wherein there are two AAT polypeptides fused to single Fc polypeptide (AAT-Fc-AAT) displays enhanced potency over both sdAAT and the AAT-Fc fusion protein comprising a single AAT polypeptide (FIG.", "1E).", "These findings presented here demonstrate for the first time the AAT can be fused to an Fc region and maintain its ability to inhibit NE.", "Of particular interest, the AAT-Fc-AAT fusion protein was found to be a more potent NE inhibitor.", "FIG.", "1F demonstrates the resistance of the AAT-EL-Fc (M351E, M358L) fusion protein to inactivation by oxidation.", "AAT fusion proteins, AAT-Fc (wt), AAT-EL-Fc (M351E, M358L), and AAT-EM-Fc (M351E), were treated with 33 mM H2O2 and compared to untreated fusion proteins in the NE inhibition assays.", "The inhibition of NE by AAT-EL-Fc was not comprised by oxidation, converse to the other proteins tested.", "Furthermore, AAT-Fc fusion protein displayed a longer serum half-life in rats compared to serum derived AAT (FIG.", "1H).", "In these studies 3 rats per each test protein were injected I.V.", "with 10 mg/kg of sdAAT or AAT-Fc.", "Serum sample were taken at various time points over a 48 period.", "The serum ATT concentration was using an ELISA.", "These findings demonstrate that the fusion proteins of the invention have improved pharmacokinetic properties and are a superior therapeutic format over serum derived AAT, for treating numerous human inflammatory conditions and infectious diseases.", "Example 2: AAT-TNFα Targeting Molecule Fusion Proteins The studies presented herein describe several, non-limiting examples of recombinant AAT derivatives comprising human AAT fused to an anti-TNFα antibody or a derivative of a TNFα receptor.", "These examples are provided below to further illustrate different features of the present invention.", "The examples also illustrate useful methodology for practicing the invention.", "These examples do not and are not intended to limit the claimed invention.", "The fusion proteins below include cytokine targeting polypeptide sequences that are from or are derived from (i) the anti-TNFα antibody D2E7 (also known as Adalimumab or Humira®), or (ii) the extracellular domain of Type 2 TNFα Receptor (TNFR2-ECD).", "The AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined, the antibody constant regions (CH1-hinge-CH2-CH3, or CL) are italicized, and D2E7-VH, D2E7-VK, and TNFR2-ECD are denoted in bold text.", "While these examples include a hinge sequence and/or a linker sequence, fusion proteins of the invention can be made using any hinge sequence and/or a linker sequence suitable in length and/or flexibility.", "Alternatively fusion proteins can be made without using a hinge and/or a linker sequence.", "An exemplary AAT-TNFα fusion protein is D2E7-Light Chain-AAT (G3S)2 Linker, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), D2E7-VK is denoted in bold text (SEQ ID NO: 37), the (G3S)2 linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 46), and the antibody constant regions are italicized (SEQ ID NO: 38) D2E7-Light Chain-AAT (G3S)2 Linker (SEQ ID NO: 22) DIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCRASQGIRNYLAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYA ASTLQSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQPEDVATYYCQRYNRAPYTFGQ GTKVEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWKV DNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQG LSSPVTKSFNRGECGGGSGGGSEDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITP NLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNIFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILE GLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELLRTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLKLVD KFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDR DTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFN IQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLEN EDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLK LSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQN TKSPLFMGKVVNPTQK An exemplary AAT-TNFα fusion protein is D2E7-Light Chain-AAT ASTGS Linker, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), D2E7-VK is denoted in bold text (SEQ ID NO: 37), the ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), and the antibody constant regions is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 38) D2E7-Light Chain-AAT ASTGS Linker (SEQ ID NO: 23) DIQMTQSPSSLSASVGDRVTITCRASQGIRNYLAWYQQKPGKAPKLLIYA ASTLQSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDFTLTISSLQPEDVATYYCQRYNRAPYTFGQ GTKVEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWKV DNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQG LSSPVTKSFNRGECASTGSEDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLA EFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNIFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLN FNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELLRTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFL EDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTV FALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQH CKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDR RSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSK AVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKS PLFMGKVVNPTQK An exemplary AAT-TNFα fusion protein is D2E7-Heavy Chain-AAT (G3S)2 Linker, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), D2E7-VH is denoted in bold text (SEQ ID NO: 39), the (G3S)2 linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 46), and the antibody constant regions is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 40) D2E7-Heavy Chain-AAT (G3S)2 Linker (SEQ ID NO: 24) EVQLVESGGGLVQPGRSLRLSCAASGFTFDDYAMHWVRQAPGKGLEWVSA ITWNSGHIDYADSVEGRFTISRDNAKNSLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAKVS YLSTASSLDYWGQGTLVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLV KDYFREPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTPSSSLGTQT YICNVNHKPSNTKVDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKP KDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVENAKTKPREEQYN STYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQV YTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVL DSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGKG GGSGGGSEDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAH QSNSTNIFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIH EGFQELLRTLNQPDSQLQLTIGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAF TVNFGDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGK WERPFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMK YLGNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSI TGTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEK GTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQ K An exemplary AAT-TNFα fusion protein is D2E7-Heavy Chain-AAT ASTGS Linker, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), D2E7-VH is denoted in bold text (SEQ ID NO: 39), the ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), and the antibody constant regions is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 40) D2E7-Heavy Chain-AAT ASTGS Linker (SEQ ID NO: 25) EVQLVESGGGLVQPGRSLRLSCAASGFTFDDYAMHWVRQAPGKGLEWVSA ITWNSGHIDYADSVEGRFTISRDNAENSLYLQMNSLRAEDTAVYYCAKVS YLSTASSLDYWGQGTLVTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLV KDYFREPVTVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQ TYICNVNHKPSNTKVDKKVEPKSCDKTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPK PKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDPEVKFNWYVDGVEVENAKTKPREEQY NSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKCKVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREP QVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPP VLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPG KASTGSEDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQ SNSTNIFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHE GFQELLRTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFT VNFGDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKW ERPFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKY LGNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSIT GTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKG TEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQK An exemplary AAT-TNFα fusion protein is TNFR2-ECD-Fc1-AAT(G3S)2 Linker, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), TNFR2-ECD is denoted in bold text (SEQ ID NO: 41), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), the (G3S)2 linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 46), and the antibody constant regions is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 42) TNFR2 -ECD-Fc1-AAT (G3S)2 Linker (SEQ ID NO: 26) LPAQVAFTPYAPEPGSTCRLREYYDQTAQMCCSKCSPGQHAKVFCTKTSD TVCDSCEDSTYTQLWNWVPECLSCGSRCSSDQVETQACTREQNRICTCRP GWYCALSKQEGCRLCAPLRKCRPGFGVARPGTETSDVVCKPCAPGTFSNT TSSTDICRPHQICNVVAIPGNASMDAVCTSTSPTRSMAPGAVHLPQPVST RSQHTQPTPEPSTAPSTSFLLPMGPSPPAEGSTGDEPKSCDKTHTCPPCP APELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSREDPQVKFNWYVD GVQVHNAKTKPREQQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQNWLDGKEYKCKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVE WESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMRE ALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGKGGGSGGGSEDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNK ITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNIFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDE ILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELLRTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLK LVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKE LDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLG MFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKF LENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEA PLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMI EQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQK An exemplary AAT-TNFα fusion protein is TNFR2-ECD-Fc1-AAT ASTGS Linker, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), TNFR2-ECD is denoted in bold text (SEQ ID NO: 41), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), the ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), and the antibody constant regions is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 42) TNFR2-ECD-Fc1-AAT ASTGS Linker (SEQ ID NO: 27) LPAQVAFTPYAPEPGSTCRLREYYDQTAQMCCSKCSPGQHAKVFCTKTSD TVCDSCEDSTYTQLWNWVPECLSCGSRCSSDQVETQACTREQNRICTCRP GWYCALSKQEGCRLCAPLRKCRPGFGVARPGTETSDVVCKPCAPGTFSNT TSSTDICRPHQICNVVAIPGNASMDAVCTSTSPTRSMAPGAVHLPQPVST RSQHTQPTPEPSTAPSTSFLLPMGPSPPAEGSTGDEPKSCDKTHTCPPCP APELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSREDPQVKFNWYVD GVQVHNAKTKPREQQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQNWLDGKEYKCKVSNKALPA PIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSREEMTKNQVSLTCLVKGFYPSDIAVE WESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGNVFSCSVMRE ALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGKASTGSEDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITP NLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNIFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILE GLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELLRTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLKLVD KFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDR DTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFN IQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLEN EDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLK LSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQN TKSPLFMGKVVNPTQK These exemplary AAT-TNFα targeting molecule fusion proteins were made using the following techniques.", "The genes encoding the variable heavy (VH) and variable kappa (VK) regions of the anti-TNFα antibody, D2E7, were generated by gene synthesis.", "The D2E7-VH gene was cloned in frame with a gene encoding a human IgG1 antibody heavy chain constant region, consisting of a CH1 domain, a hinge domain, a CH2 domain, and a CH3 domain, into a mammalian expression vector, containing a mammalian secretion signal sequence up stream of the VH domain insertion site (D2E7-HC).", "The D2E7-VK gene was cloned in frame with a human antibody kappa light chain constant (CL) domain, into a mammalian expression vector, containing a mammalian secretion signal sequence up stream of the VK domain insertion site (D2E7-LC).", "The AAT encoding gene and the adjacent 5′ linker sequence were cloned in frame into the 3′ end of either, the CH3 domain of the D2E7 heavy chain gene (D2E7-HC-AAT), or the CL domain of the D2E7 light chain gene (D2E7-LC-AAT) coding sequences in the above described mammalian expression vectors.", "The extracellular domain of the TNFα Receptor 2 (TNFR2-ECD) was generated by gene synthesis and cloned in frame with a gene encoding the hinge region, followed by a CH2 domain and a CH3 domain of human IgG1 (hFc1) into a mammalian expression, containing a mammalian secretion signal sequence up stream of the TNFR2-ECD insertion site.", "The AAT encoding gene and the adjacent 5′ linker sequence were cloned in frame into the 3′ end of the gene encoding TNFR2-ECD-hFc1 into a mammalian expression vector (TNFR2-ECD-hFc1-AAT).", "The D2E7-HC-AAT expression vector was co-transfected with either the D2E7-LC or the D2E7-LC-AAT expression vector into mammalian cells (specifically HEK293 or CHO cells) to generate the D2E7 antibody with AAT fused to the C-terminus of the heavy chain or to the C-terminus of both the heavy chain and light chain, respectively.", "The D2E7-LC-AAT was co-transfected with the D2E7-HC expression vector into mammalian cells to generate the D2E7 antibody with AAT fused to the C-terminus of the light chain.", "The TNFR2-hFc1-AAT expression vector was transfected into mammalian cells.", "Transfected cells were grown for several days in 8% CO2 at 37° C. The recombinant AAT-TNFα targeting fusion proteins were purified from the expression cell supernatant by protein A chromatography.", "A near neutral pH buffer was used (Gentle Ag/Ab Elution Buffer, Thermo Scientific) to elute the AAT-TNFα targeting fusion proteins from the protein A resin.", "FIG.", "2B shows an SDS-PAGE gel of the D2E7 antibody alone (lane 1) and variant wherein AAT is fused to the heavy chain of D2E7 (lane 2).", "The proteins were visualized by staining with coomassie blue.", "The purified AAT-TNFα targeting molecule fusion proteins were tested for activity by determining their ability to inhibit neutrophil elastase.", "Human serum derived AAT (sdAAT) was used as a positive control in these assays.", "NE inhibitory assay were conducted as described above.", "FIG.", "2C demonstrates relative to sdAAT, the AAT-TNFα targeting molecule fusion protein shows similar inhibition of neutrophil elastase, indicating that the inhibitory capacity of AAT has not been compromised by its fusion to an antibody.", "Example 3 AAT-Fc-SLPI and AAT-Fc-Elafin The studies presented herein describe several, non-limiting examples of recombinant AAT derivatives comprising human AAT fused a WAP domain containing protein.", "These examples are provided below to further illustrate different features of the present invention.", "The examples also illustrate useful methodology for practicing the invention.", "The AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined, the Fc portion is italicized, and the WAP domain containing polypeptide is in bold font.", "While these examples include a hinge sequence and/or a linker sequence, fusion proteins of the invention can be made using any hinge sequence and/or a linker sequence suitable in length and/or flexibility.", "Alternatively fusion proteins can be made without using a hinge and/or a linker sequence.", "For example, the polypeptide components can be directly attached.", "An exemplary AAT-Fc-SLPI fusion protein is AAT-hFc1-SLPI (human IgG1 Fc), described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), the ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), the Fc portion is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 3), and the WAP domain containing polypeptide is in bold font (SEQ ID NO: 9) AAT-hFc1-SLPI (human IgG1 Fc) (SEQ ID NO: 28) EDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQLQLTIGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLK SVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQKEPKSCD KTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSREDP EVKFNWYVDGVEVENAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKC KVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKG FYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGN VFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGKASTGSSGKSFKAGVCPPKKSAQCL RYKKPECQSDWQCPGKKRCCPDTCGIKCLDPVDTPNPTRRKPGKCPVTYG QCLMLNPPNFCEMDGQCKRDLKCCMGMCGKSCVSPVKA An exemplary AAT-Fc-Elafin fusion protein is AAT-hFc1-Elafin (human IgG1 Fc), described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), the hinge region is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 43), the ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), the Fc portion is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 3), and the WAP domain containing polypeptide is in bold font (SEQ ID NO: 12) AAT-hFc1-Elafin (human IgG1 Fc) (SEQ ID NO: 29) EDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQLQLTIGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLK SVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQKEPKSCD KTHTCPPCPAPELLGGPSVFLFPPKPKDTLMISRTPEVTCVVVDVSHEDP EVKFNWYVDGVEVENAKTKPREEQYNSTYRVVSVLTVLHQDWLNGKEYKC KVSNKALPAPIEKTISKAKGQPREPQVYTLPPSRDELTKNQVSLTCLVKG FYPSDIAVEWESNGQPENNYKTTPPVLDSDGSFFLYSKLTVDKSRWQQGN VFSCSVMHEALHNHYTQKSLSLSPGKASTGSAVTGVPVKGQDTVKGRVPF NGQDPVKGQVSVKGQDKVKAQEPVKGPVSTKPGSCPIILIRCAMLNPPNR CLKDTDCPGIKKCCEGSCGMACFVPQ The genes encoding the SLPI and Elafin were PCR amplified from human spleen cDNA (Zyagen).", "These genes were cloned into the mammalian expression vectors of example 1, wherein the SLPI or Elafin gene was inserted in frame with the AAT-Fc gene.", "These expression vectors were transfected into mammalian cells (specifically HEK293 or CHO cells) and grown for several days in 8% CO2 at 37° C. The recombinant AAT-Fc-WAP domain fusion proteins were purified from the expression cell supernatant by protein A chromatography.", "A near neutral pH buffer was used (Gentle Ag/Ab Elution Buffer, Thermo Scientific) to elute the AAT-Fc-WAP domain fusion protein from the protein A resin.", "FIG.", "3B shows an SDS-PAGE gel of the AAT-Fc-WAP fusion proteins (lane 1 AAT-Fc-Elafin, lane 2 AAT-Fc-SLPI).", "The proteins were visualized by staining with coomassie blue.", "The purified AAT-Fc-WAP domain fusion proteins were tested for activity by determining their ability to inhibit neutrophil elastase.", "NE inhibitory assays were conducted as described above.", "Human serum derived AAT (sdAAT) and the AAT-Fc fusion protein were used as a positive control in these assays.", "Relative to sdAAT, the AAT-Fc-WAP targeting molecule fusion proteins display enhanced potency of NE inhibition of neutrophil elastase (FIG.", "3C).", "Example 4 AAT-Albumin The studies presented herein describe several, non-limiting examples of recombinant AAT derivatives comprising human AAT fused an albumin polypeptide.", "These examples are provided below to further illustrate different features of the present invention.", "The examples also illustrate useful methodology for practicing the invention.", "These examples do not and are not intended to limit the claimed invention.", "The AAT portion is underlined and the albumin portion is italicized.", "For example, the polypeptide components can be directly attached.", "An exemplary AAT-Albumin fusion protein is AAT-HSA, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), the ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), and the albumin polypeptide is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 14) AAT-HSA (SEQ ID NO: 30) EDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTN IFFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQE LLRTLNQPDSQLQLTTGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNF GDTEEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWER PFEVKDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYL GNATAIFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSIT GTYDLKSVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEK GTEAAGAMFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPT QKASTGSDAHKSEVAHRFKDLGEENFKALVLIAFAQYLQQCPFEDHVKL VNEVTEFAKTCVADESAENCDKSLHTLFGDKLCTVATLRETYGEMADCC AKQEPERNECFLQHKDDNPNLPRLVRPEVDVMCTAFHDNEETFLKKYLY EIARRHPYFYAPELLFFAKRYKAAFTECCQAADKAACLLPKLDELRDEG KASSAKQRLKCASLQKFGERAFKAWAVARLSQRFPKAEFAEVSKLVTDL TKVHTECCHGDLLECADDRADLAKYICENQDSISSKLKECCEKPLLEKS HCIAEVENDEMPADLPSLAADFVESKDVCKNYAEAKDVFLGMFLYEYAR RHPDYSVVLLLRLAKTYETTLEKCCAAADPHECYAKVFDEFKPLVEEPQ NLIKQNCELFEQLGEYKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLGKVG SKCCKHPEAKRMPCAEDYLSVVLNQLCVLHEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESLVN RRPCFSALEVDETYVPKEFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKKQTALVEL VKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDDFAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVAASQA ALGL An exemplary AAT-Albumin fusion protein is AAT-HSA Domain 3, described herein.", "As shown below, the AAT polypeptide portion of the fusion protein is underlined (SEQ ID NO: 2), ASTGS linker is shown in normal text (SEQ ID NO: 45), and the albumin polypeptide is italicized (SEQ ID NO: 15) AAT-HSA Domain 3 (SEQ ID NO: 31) EDPQGDAAQKTDTSHHDQDHPTFNKITPNLAEFAFSLYRQLAHQSNSTNI FFSPVSIATAFAMLSLGTKADTHDEILEGLNFNLTEIPEAQIHEGFQELL RTLNQPDSQLQLTIGNGLFLSEGLKLVDKFLEDVKKLYHSEAFTVNFGDT EEAKKQINDYVEKGTQGKIVDLVKELDRDTVFALVNYIFFKGKWERPFEV KDTEEEDFHVDQVTTVKVPMMKRLGMFNIQHCKKLSSWVLLMKYLGNATA IFFLPDEGKLQHLENELTHDIITKFLENEDRRSASLHLPKLSITGTYDLK SVLGQLGITKVFSNGADLSGVTEEAPLKLSKAVHKAVLTIDEKGTEAAGA MFLEAIPMSIPPEVKFNKPFVFLMIEQNTKSPLFMGKVVNPTQKASTGSE EPQNLIKQNCELFEQLGEYKFQNALLVRYTKKVPQVSTPTLVEVSRNLGK VGSKCCKHPEAKRMPCAEDYLSVVLNQLCVLEEKTPVSDRVTKCCTESLV NRRPCFSALEVDETYVPKEFNAETFTFHADICTLSEKERQIKKQTALVEL VKHKPKATKEQLKAVMDDFAAFVEKCCKADDKETCFAEEGKKLVA The gene encoding human serum albumin (HSA) was PCR amplified from human liver cDNA (Zyagen).", "A mammalian expression vector was generated, wherein gene encoding HSA or the domain 3 of HSA, was cloned in frame to the 3′ end of the AAT encoding gene, containing a mammalian secretion signal sequence up stream of AAT.", "These expression vectors were transfected into mammalian cells (specifically HEK293 or CHO cells) and grown for several days in 8% CO2 at 37° C. The recombinant AAT-HSA fusion proteins were purified from the expression cell supernatant using the CaptureSelect® Alpha-1 Antitrypsin affinity matrix (BAC BV), wherein the binding buffer consisted of 20 mM Tris, 150 mM NaCl, pH 7.4 and the elution buffer consisted of 20 mM Tris, 2M MgCl2 pH 7.4.FIG.", "4B shows an SDS-PAGE gel of the AAT-HSA fusion protein The proteins were visualized by staining with coomassie blue.", "The purified AAT-HSA fusion proteins were tested for activity by determining their ability to inhibit neutrophil elastase.", "NE inhibitory assays were conducted as described above.", "Human serum derived AAT (sdAAT) was used as a positive control in these assays.", "Relative to sdAAT, the AAT-HS fusion protein displays similar potency of NE inhibition, demonstrating that the fusion to albumin does not dampen the capacity of AAT to inhibit NE (FIG.", "4C.)", "OTHER EMBODIMENTS While the invention has been described in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims.", "Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15875010
[ [ "High Resolution and High Sensitivity Optically Activated Motion Detection Device Using Multiple Color Light Sources", "An optical computer mouse senses movement by detecting the variations in intensity of reflected primary colors from a surface over which the mouse is moved.", "The surface is illuminated by a plurality of colors of light.", "An image sensor is formed from an array of photodiodes covered with a color filter array that matches the primary colors of the lights and is used to detect intensity of reflected light of the primary colors from the surface on which the optical computer mouse rests.", "Variations in the intensity of at least one of the primary colors of reflected light are used to determine movement by the computer mouse.", "Both the intensity of the individual lights and sensitivity of the array of photo diodes are controlled by a controller." ], [ "1.A device for motion detection, comprising: a) an image sensor formed of separate photodetectors, each photodetector being configured to sense a different color or wavelength-band of light and generate a response thereto in the form of data representing different sub-images of a moving target wherein each sub-image is extracted from an image of a target being simultaneously illuminated by a plurality of separate light rays of different colors or wavelength-bands and variable intensities, wherein each of said sub-images includes a color or wavelength-band that is different from the others; b) said plurality of light sources configured to simultaneously illuminate a moving object with light rays of different colors or wavelength-bands and intensities; and c) a control circuit to control an intensity of light emitted by said plurality of light sources, wherein said control circuit is configured to adjust said light intensities in response to said data generated by at least one sub-image of said image sensor, whereby lighting conditions are changed to adjust a sensitivity to motion of said object.", "2.A method of adjusting sensitivity of a motion detection device, comprising: a) providing a device comprising an image sensor and a plurality of light sources having different colors or wavelength-bands and independently controllable intensities and configured to provide simultaneous illumination and wherein said image sensor captures a plurality of images when said device is moved over a surface, wherein each of said images is formed of a plurality of sub-images each in one of said colors or wavelength-bands provided by said plurality of light sources configured to provide said simultaneous illumination; b) capturing an image, using said image sensor, said image comprising a plurality of shadows wherein each shadow is formed by one of said plurality of light sources illuminating surface imperfections or morphological features of a surface over which said device is in relative motion; c) adjusting intensity of said plurality of shadows by adjusting intensities of each of said plurality of light sources to obtain optimal sub-images in each said wavelength; and then d) determining motion of said device relative to said surface by comparing location and intensity of said shadows in a sequence of successive images.", "3.A system for illumination, comprising: a) a light source within which a plurality of lights is configured to simultaneously emit different colors or wavelength-bands of light with varying output power; b) an image sensor sensitive to each of said different colors or wavelength-bands of light and configured to extract single-wavelength sub-images; and c) a control circuit; wherein said control circuit is configured to receive feedback from said image sensor and vary output power of each color or wavelength-band of said plurality of lights in response to said feedback while said lights are illuminating an object, to allow said sensor to use said sub-images to detect variations in characteristics of said object and wherein a spectral energy density of said plurality of lights is recorded by an embedded program in said control circuit and used for controlling intensity and other optical characteristics of each of said plurality of lights in an independent manner.", "4.The system of claim 3 wherein said light source can be represented by a unique primary color index.", "5.The device of claim 1 wherein said wavelength band is a band within a tri-color gamut.", "6.The device of claim 1 wherein said image sensor is sensitive to wavelengths within said wavelength band.", "7.The method of claim 2 wherein said wavelength band is a band within a tri-color gamut.", "8.The method of claim 2 wherein said image sensor is sensitive to said wavelength band.", "9.The system of claim 3 wherein said wavelength band is a band within a tri-color gamut.", "10.The system of claim 3 wherein said image sensor is sensitive to said wavelength band." ], [ "<SOH> 2.BACKGROUND <EOH>Today various kinds of electronic systems such as industrial computers, work stations, desktop computers, laptop computers, cell phones etc.", "rely on a decades old device, an optical mouse, to sense the movement of the operator's hand (or finger, or something of equivalent function), and translate that movement into instruction(s) or motion vector(s) of the cursor(s) in the display of the electronic system.", "Inside each optical mouse lies an image sensor to capture series of images and compare them at a high frame rate.", "There are several factors affecting the performance of the image sensor, e.g.", "photodiode size (i.e.", "pixel size), resolution (e.g.", "pixels/inch), frame rate, lens quality, the intensity or incident angle of the illuminating light, etc.", "In the optical mouse industry, resolution is defined by the number of pixels that the image sensor and lens can view per inch while the mouse is being moved.", "If the resolution is high, then the operator would require less mouse movement to get accurate motion vector data, and this in turn will relax the requirement for higher frame rate, which eventually lowers the power consumption of the optical mouse.", "Today most of the mice run at frame rate of thousands per second, and at a resolution of 700-800 pixels per inch.", "Gaming mice have a higher resolution (e.g.", "thousands of pixels per inch) as compared to that of normal mice for a smoother and more accurate operation.", "The above specifications are satisfactory for most household users where the desktop surface is a wood plate, but when the optical mouse is facing a very smooth surface (e.g.", "a glossy plate), it becomes clumsy, slow, and often leads to unstable results.", "Therefore, a lot of power is wasted due to many of calculations, which only provide erroneous results.", "FIG.", "1 shows a conventional optical mouse 102 having a select button 101 and an USB cable 105 to connect to a computer.", "A monochromatic light source 103 is mounted in the cavity 106 .", "By reflection, light from light source 103 impinging onto the targeted desktop surface 107 is captured by the image sensor 104 .", "FIG.", "2 shows an exemplary case of how a particle on a surface under an optical computer mouse is seen by the image sensor 104 .", "The particle surface is largely represented by pixels 201 , 204 , 205 , etc.", "The particle edge is largely represented by pixel 202 .", "It is to be noted that the difference in pixel values (i.e.", "the gray level) between pixel 201 and pixel 205 is usually smaller than that of pixels 202 and 203 .", "Thus, for the best result of pattern recognition, it is desired to recognize the boundary, sharp tip, etc.", "by optical means.", "In order to reach this goal, a previous effort resorted to lighting techniques to make the object (i.e.", "surface textures, particles) stand out more from the background.", "The theory is the following: In materials science, the roughness of a surface is often denoted by an Ra value (specifically, roughness Ra is quantified by the arithmetic average of the vertical deviations (i.e.", "yi) of a real surface from its ideal form, which is expressed mathematically as R a = 1 n  ∑ 1 n   y i  .", "Surface roughness has fundamental influence on microscopic images in that it forms microscopic shadows for the tiny objects that stand “extruded” out of the targeted surface plane.", "When there are distinctive shadows in the image, it is easier for the image sensor to see the objects.", "FIG.", "3A shows an image taken by a conventional optical mouse that is illuminated by a tilted light (e.g.", "approximately 45 degree to the targeted object surface).", "The shadow of the particle is represented as Pixel P 1 , P 2 , and P 3 .", "Pixel P 4 represents the top surface of the object.", "Note that the contrast between P 1 , the shadow, and P 5 , the pixel representing the background, is usually larger than that of top surface of the object, P 4 .", "In fact, to the best performance of these types of optical mice, P 4 is preferred to have as little variation as possible.", "In order to reach the goal of having the highest contrast for shadow and the lowest one for the object top surface.", "A second light source can be a diffused light beam that shines on the pixel plane P 4 .", "Since this light beam is preferred to be a diffused one; it is intended to form a “flat” image of the object surface and not used for pattern recognition and background; therefore, the variation in pixel values in the respective areas is very little.", "As the above cases illustrate, today's optical mouse uses monochromatic light as a conventional mean to illuminate object, and this technique has lasted for decades.", "As a consequence seeing a color image has not been a requirement for the conventional optical mouse.", "Instead, it is the capability of seeing the shadows or textures in the image that is the most important to the performance of the conventional optical mouse.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2009/0160772 A1 (DePue et al.)", "is directed to an optical mouse with diffused optics, wherein an optical diffuser is conFIGured to diffuse light from the light source that illuminates the tracking surface.", "Despite that this works well in ordinary situations, in the extreme occasions when the surface of the targeted object is very smooth (i.e.", "Ra is too low), the approach fails in that there just are no or too few shadows available for the optical mouse to see at all.", "There are some special designs to drastically increase the brightness of the particles or textures on object surface by enhancing the light intensity by laser light source.", "There are other approaches that use dark field image to make the background looked dimmed, and there are approaches that use a special angle of incident light to shine on the object surface in hopes that the PSNR is enhanced (PSNR stands for the peak signal to noise ratio).", "This is not only associated with the surface roughness Ra, but also the spectral response of the object surface.", "In conventional optical mouse device, the ratio of the intensity of the light beam coming from the targeted objects to that of the background light can be interpreted as the signal to noise ratio of the picture.", "Alternatively, the mouse industry use a similar meaning factor called the SQUAL, which denotes the surface quality.", "SQUAL counts the number of features indentified by an image frame.", "If the signal level is increased caused by increasing the light intensity, or the background signal is suppressed by some diffusion mean to a flat level with less undulation, then the PSNR is increased.", "So, many of the conventional optical mice endeavor to increase the PSNR by, for example, adjusting the tilting angle of incident light timely, or using multiple light beams, etc.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,439,954 B2 (Theytaz et al.)", "is directed to a multi-light source computer pointing device.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,392,632 (Lee) is directed toward an optical cursor controlling device comprising an integrated camera.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2005/0024336 (Xie et al.)", "is directed to the use of a Lambertian surface in a computer mouse to form a spectral reflection, which provides an enhanced contrast to the image for purposes of navigation.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2005/0024623 (Xie et al.)", "is directed to the use of a Lambertian surface and a narrow bandwidth of light in a computer mouse to form a narrow bandwidth spectral reflection.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,825,945 (Stolis et al.)", "is directed to a check imaging device using a Lambertian surface to project a highly uniform and diffused beam to an imaging site.", "FIG.", "3B demonstrates the drawback in the conventional art, when an optical computer mouse views the contour of an object on a desktop surface.", "When the targeted desktop surface has a very low surface roughness value, or is made of a glossy material, the number of pixels representing the shadows or a unique point is rarified (i.e.", "P 6 A and P 6 B); wherein the total number has been decreased from three to two pixels, comparing FIG.", "3B to FIG.", "3A .", "Also note that the contrast of the gray level among P6A and P6B (i.e.", "the shadow), P7 (the background scene), and P8 (the object body) has been decreased drastically.", "These effects often lead to the erroneous result of motion detection where the gray level denotes the energy density that a pixel receives from light impingement, which can be monochromatic or multi-colored, depending on the sensitivity of the respective pixel)." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a high speed, high resolution, sensitive, and low power optical mouse comprising a set of multiple color lighting sources; It is further an objective of the present disclosure to adjust the light sources of the optical mouse in accordance with colorimetry, wherein a digital image is dissected into several subimages in which each subimage is constituted by elements of one of the primary colors.", "It is also an objective of the present disclosure to use at least three different colored lights wherein each of the colored lights is a primary colors.", "It is also further an object of the present disclosure to use an optoelectronic sensor, for instance an image sensor in which a CFA (color filter array) formed over the individual pixel diodes matches the color of the light sources of the optical mouse.", "It is still further an objective of the present disclosure to be able to control the intensity of each colored light independent of the other lights.", "In the present disclosure, multiple color lights are used, wherein the spectral energy density of the lights have been recorded, or acknowledged by a program embedded in the light control circuitry of the optical mouse.", "When the sources of light shine on an object surface, the control circuitry adjusts the intensity of each of the respective sources independent of each other, as well as the characteristic of the light sources (e.g.", "power density).", "The most unique and important part of the disclosed optical mouse is that the control algorithm adopts colorimetry; the term colorimetry as is disclosed by this disclosure has at least the following meaning.", "(1) Spectrally different stimuli combine, mathematically or physically, to yield new stimuli that can be used by different devices (e.g.", "LED, color filter, computer program, optical mouse, electronic displaying device, etc.).", "(2) Three primary stimuli form the basis of stimuli in color space, which can be red, blue, and green; other stimuli may be YMC, YUV, etc.", "(3) A complete set of all allowable stimuli forms a color gamut.", "(4) Colorimetry has to do with the accurate expression of color.", "It is not a conceptual term.", "Data generated per colorimetry teaches the engineer how to manipulate the colors for different color rendering devices.", "(5) The transformation process from one set of primary stimuli to another is done by the following: [ D E F ] = [ D A = 1 , B = 0 , C = 0 D A = 0 , B = 1 , C = 0 D A = 0 , B = 0 , C = 1 E A = 1 , B = 0 , C = 0 E A = 0 , B = 1 , C = 0 E A = 0 , B = 0 , C = 1 F A = 1 , B = 0 , C = 0 F A = 0 , B = 1 , C = 0 F A = 0 , B = 0 , C = 1 ] × [ A B C ] EQ   ( 1 ) For example, the typical primary stimuli [ A B C ] used by today's color CMOS image sensor is R (red), G (green), and B (blue).", "By transformation, RGB can be transformed in to YUV, Lab, etc.", "The primary stimuli system used for H.264 video streaming file, adopted by an iPhone (manufactured by Apple, Inc.) and better for motion detection use, is YUV.", "Thus, it is a common process for today's color image sensors that, prior to doing motion detection, a transformation from the stimuli as received into a different one takes place.", "Associated technology in this field is often referred as color management.", "As can be noticed easily, color management is done based on colorimetry, which has to do with the accurate expressing of colors.", "Based on colorimetry, the controlling circuitry of the present disclosure knows that when one primary color in the captured image changes its power intensity, the spectral performance of the other primary colors as seen by the image sensor do not change.", "Thus, the disclosed optical mouse only has to adjust the power density of the light source associated with one primary color at one time, which will not change the result of the other primary colors.", "Therefore, the method is robust and comprehensive in enhancing the resolution and sensitivity of the optical mouse on all kinds of surfaces.", "Transforming one stimuli system to another is practiced by many of the digital cameras where certain stimuli system can be more sensitive than others in specific applications (e.g.", "video format YUV 4:2:2 is more sensitive to brightness, video format YMC is more addressable to yellow color, etc).", "It should be noted that under the optical mouse, the small cavity being faced by the image sensor is literally a dark room, various kinds of optical effects such as light absorption, transmission, Lambertian diffusion, florescence, scintillating, etc.", "may happen.", "These effects may not be easily observed in the daylight environment, but when that dark room is placed on a carpet, granite, wood, nylon, etc, they may become the source of artifacts not addressable by the conventional optical mouse.", "In optical science, three primary colors suffice to represent the whole color gamut.", "Using more primary colors than three is acceptable, but for the clarity of explanation, the present disclosure uses only three primary colors in the embodiments.", "This means that the present disclosure is able to adjust the apparent color of the object in a continuous mode.", "Mathematically, there is always a middle gray value between two gray level values, thus the color tone can be adjusted continuously.", "The second advantage is that the apparent color of the object can be adjusted by the illuminating light sources over a wide range (i.e.", "the entire color gamut), and this allows the disclosed optical mouse to work almost on any kind of surface, so long as that surface can reflect the incident light by a satisfactory amount.", "The process associated with colored light control is very simple, rapid, power economical, and efficient in directing motion, since it does not have to worry about picture quality.", "What the control circuitry cares for is not PSNR (peak signal to noise ratio), but instead, the dynamic range of a subimage and the effectiveness of pattern recognition.", "A subimage is a view of an object only populated with one of the prime colors used in the computer mouse of the present disclosure.", "In the case of three prime colors there will be three subimages, one for each color.", "An enhanced dynamic range of the subimages allows for the disclosed optical mouse to find patterns at high sensitivity and high resolution, and in turn makes the disclosed device outpace the conventional monochrome optical mouse by higher sensitivity and resolution.", "Likewise, when an illumination system is set in a way that is favorable to pattern recognition (e.g.", "less smearing effect on the contour), the overall performance of the motion detection device is enhanced.", "The most prominent feature of the disclosed optical mouse lies in the collaboration between its image sensor and the controlling circuitry, which uses the data provided by the image sensor to adjust the lighting condition of the multiple light sources, where the disclosed color management methods (i.e.", "the embodiments of the present disclosure) are derived based on colorimetry, which are intended to address the complicated problems that arise from the fundamental physics (e.g.", "diffusion, absorption, florescent, etc.)", "without knowing, for example, how a granite desktop surface interacts with an LED light.", "With this key feature, the disclosed optical mouse is able to capture the delicate change on the object surface (i.e.", "color) without resorting to surface roughness or edges of the objects.", "The present disclosure outpaces the state of the art in which there has not created any effective mean to adjust the illuminating condition judiciously, and rapidly.", "The human eye can perceive millions of colors, and the objects surrounding us are often rendering a mixture of multiple colors (e.g.", "the color of a desktop plate made of poplar is a mixture of red and yellow colors).", "Without a clear rule as how the multi color lights are to be adjusted, those approaches using multiple color may find little application in the real market.", "For example, the color of a desktop surface can be a poplar, mahogany, etc., represent different combination of red and yellow color, and in this case when illuminated by the daylight, or a D65 CIE standard light source, the poplar surface would have little color ingredient in blue.", "Whenever facing such a situation, existing technology that claims to use multi-color light in an optical mouse fail in that they cannot point in any direction to enhance the resolution and sensitivity of the optical mouse by the multiple light sources." ], [ "This is a divisional application of U.S. Ser.", "No.", "13/834,085, filed on Mar.", "15, 2013, which claims benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application 61/611,116, filed on Mar.", "15, 2012, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety and assigned to a common assignee.", "Related Patent Application This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/482,086, filed on May 29, 2012, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "1.TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a motion detection device, and in particular to an optically activated cursor maneuvering device that moves on a two dimensional plane, e.g.", "a mouse pad or desktop surface, and maneuvers the cursors in either two dimensional or three dimensional displaying devices.", "2.BACKGROUND Today various kinds of electronic systems such as industrial computers, work stations, desktop computers, laptop computers, cell phones etc.", "rely on a decades old device, an optical mouse, to sense the movement of the operator's hand (or finger, or something of equivalent function), and translate that movement into instruction(s) or motion vector(s) of the cursor(s) in the display of the electronic system.", "Inside each optical mouse lies an image sensor to capture series of images and compare them at a high frame rate.", "There are several factors affecting the performance of the image sensor, e.g.", "photodiode size (i.e.", "pixel size), resolution (e.g.", "pixels/inch), frame rate, lens quality, the intensity or incident angle of the illuminating light, etc.", "In the optical mouse industry, resolution is defined by the number of pixels that the image sensor and lens can view per inch while the mouse is being moved.", "If the resolution is high, then the operator would require less mouse movement to get accurate motion vector data, and this in turn will relax the requirement for higher frame rate, which eventually lowers the power consumption of the optical mouse.", "Today most of the mice run at frame rate of thousands per second, and at a resolution of 700-800 pixels per inch.", "Gaming mice have a higher resolution (e.g.", "thousands of pixels per inch) as compared to that of normal mice for a smoother and more accurate operation.", "The above specifications are satisfactory for most household users where the desktop surface is a wood plate, but when the optical mouse is facing a very smooth surface (e.g.", "a glossy plate), it becomes clumsy, slow, and often leads to unstable results.", "Therefore, a lot of power is wasted due to many of calculations, which only provide erroneous results.", "FIG.", "1 shows a conventional optical mouse 102 having a select button 101 and an USB cable 105 to connect to a computer.", "A monochromatic light source 103 is mounted in the cavity 106.By reflection, light from light source 103 impinging onto the targeted desktop surface 107 is captured by the image sensor 104.FIG.", "2 shows an exemplary case of how a particle on a surface under an optical computer mouse is seen by the image sensor 104.The particle surface is largely represented by pixels 201, 204, 205, etc.", "The particle edge is largely represented by pixel 202.It is to be noted that the difference in pixel values (i.e.", "the gray level) between pixel 201 and pixel 205 is usually smaller than that of pixels 202 and 203.Thus, for the best result of pattern recognition, it is desired to recognize the boundary, sharp tip, etc.", "by optical means.", "In order to reach this goal, a previous effort resorted to lighting techniques to make the object (i.e.", "surface textures, particles) stand out more from the background.", "The theory is the following: In materials science, the roughness of a surface is often denoted by an Ra value (specifically, roughness Ra is quantified by the arithmetic average of the vertical deviations (i.e.", "yi) of a real surface from its ideal form, which is expressed mathematically as R a = 1 n  ∑ 1 n   y i  .", "Surface roughness has fundamental influence on microscopic images in that it forms microscopic shadows for the tiny objects that stand “extruded” out of the targeted surface plane.", "When there are distinctive shadows in the image, it is easier for the image sensor to see the objects.", "FIG.", "3A shows an image taken by a conventional optical mouse that is illuminated by a tilted light (e.g.", "approximately 45 degree to the targeted object surface).", "The shadow of the particle is represented as Pixel P1, P2, and P3.Pixel P4 represents the top surface of the object.", "Note that the contrast between P1, the shadow, and P5, the pixel representing the background, is usually larger than that of top surface of the object, P4.In fact, to the best performance of these types of optical mice, P4 is preferred to have as little variation as possible.", "In order to reach the goal of having the highest contrast for shadow and the lowest one for the object top surface.", "A second light source can be a diffused light beam that shines on the pixel plane P4.Since this light beam is preferred to be a diffused one; it is intended to form a “flat” image of the object surface and not used for pattern recognition and background; therefore, the variation in pixel values in the respective areas is very little.", "As the above cases illustrate, today's optical mouse uses monochromatic light as a conventional mean to illuminate object, and this technique has lasted for decades.", "As a consequence seeing a color image has not been a requirement for the conventional optical mouse.", "Instead, it is the capability of seeing the shadows or textures in the image that is the most important to the performance of the conventional optical mouse.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2009/0160772 A1 (DePue et al.)", "is directed to an optical mouse with diffused optics, wherein an optical diffuser is conFIGured to diffuse light from the light source that illuminates the tracking surface.", "Despite that this works well in ordinary situations, in the extreme occasions when the surface of the targeted object is very smooth (i.e.", "Ra is too low), the approach fails in that there just are no or too few shadows available for the optical mouse to see at all.", "There are some special designs to drastically increase the brightness of the particles or textures on object surface by enhancing the light intensity by laser light source.", "There are other approaches that use dark field image to make the background looked dimmed, and there are approaches that use a special angle of incident light to shine on the object surface in hopes that the PSNR is enhanced (PSNR stands for the peak signal to noise ratio).", "This is not only associated with the surface roughness Ra, but also the spectral response of the object surface.", "In conventional optical mouse device, the ratio of the intensity of the light beam coming from the targeted objects to that of the background light can be interpreted as the signal to noise ratio of the picture.", "Alternatively, the mouse industry use a similar meaning factor called the SQUAL, which denotes the surface quality.", "SQUAL counts the number of features indentified by an image frame.", "If the signal level is increased caused by increasing the light intensity, or the background signal is suppressed by some diffusion mean to a flat level with less undulation, then the PSNR is increased.", "So, many of the conventional optical mice endeavor to increase the PSNR by, for example, adjusting the tilting angle of incident light timely, or using multiple light beams, etc.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,439,954 B2 (Theytaz et al.)", "is directed to a multi-light source computer pointing device.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,392,632 (Lee) is directed toward an optical cursor controlling device comprising an integrated camera.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2005/0024336 (Xie et al.)", "is directed to the use of a Lambertian surface in a computer mouse to form a spectral reflection, which provides an enhanced contrast to the image for purposes of navigation.", "U.S. Patent Application No.", "2005/0024623 (Xie et al.)", "is directed to the use of a Lambertian surface and a narrow bandwidth of light in a computer mouse to form a narrow bandwidth spectral reflection.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,825,945 (Stolis et al.)", "is directed to a check imaging device using a Lambertian surface to project a highly uniform and diffused beam to an imaging site.", "FIG.", "3B demonstrates the drawback in the conventional art, when an optical computer mouse views the contour of an object on a desktop surface.", "When the targeted desktop surface has a very low surface roughness value, or is made of a glossy material, the number of pixels representing the shadows or a unique point is rarified (i.e.", "P6A and P6B); wherein the total number has been decreased from three to two pixels, comparing FIG.", "3B to FIG.", "3A.", "Also note that the contrast of the gray level among P6A and P6B (i.e.", "the shadow), P7 (the background scene), and P8 (the object body) has been decreased drastically.", "These effects often lead to the erroneous result of motion detection where the gray level denotes the energy density that a pixel receives from light impingement, which can be monochromatic or multi-colored, depending on the sensitivity of the respective pixel).", "SUMMARY It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a high speed, high resolution, sensitive, and low power optical mouse comprising a set of multiple color lighting sources; It is further an objective of the present disclosure to adjust the light sources of the optical mouse in accordance with colorimetry, wherein a digital image is dissected into several subimages in which each subimage is constituted by elements of one of the primary colors.", "It is also an objective of the present disclosure to use at least three different colored lights wherein each of the colored lights is a primary colors.", "It is also further an object of the present disclosure to use an optoelectronic sensor, for instance an image sensor in which a CFA (color filter array) formed over the individual pixel diodes matches the color of the light sources of the optical mouse.", "It is still further an objective of the present disclosure to be able to control the intensity of each colored light independent of the other lights.", "In the present disclosure, multiple color lights are used, wherein the spectral energy density of the lights have been recorded, or acknowledged by a program embedded in the light control circuitry of the optical mouse.", "When the sources of light shine on an object surface, the control circuitry adjusts the intensity of each of the respective sources independent of each other, as well as the characteristic of the light sources (e.g.", "power density).", "The most unique and important part of the disclosed optical mouse is that the control algorithm adopts colorimetry; the term colorimetry as is disclosed by this disclosure has at least the following meaning.", "(1) Spectrally different stimuli combine, mathematically or physically, to yield new stimuli that can be used by different devices (e.g.", "LED, color filter, computer program, optical mouse, electronic displaying device, etc.).", "(2) Three primary stimuli form the basis of stimuli in color space, which can be red, blue, and green; other stimuli may be YMC, YUV, etc.", "(3) A complete set of all allowable stimuli forms a color gamut.", "(4) Colorimetry has to do with the accurate expression of color.", "It is not a conceptual term.", "Data generated per colorimetry teaches the engineer how to manipulate the colors for different color rendering devices.", "(5) The transformation process from one set of primary stimuli to another is done by the following: [ D E F ] = [ D A = 1 , B = 0 , C = 0 D A = 0 , B = 1 , C = 0 D A = 0 , B = 0 , C = 1 E A = 1 , B = 0 , C = 0 E A = 0 , B = 1 , C = 0 E A = 0 , B = 0 , C = 1 F A = 1 , B = 0 , C = 0 F A = 0 , B = 1 , C = 0 F A = 0 , B = 0 , C = 1 ] × [ A B C ] EQ   ( 1 ) For example, the typical primary stimuli [ A B C ] used by today's color CMOS image sensor is R (red), G (green), and B (blue).", "By transformation, RGB can be transformed in to YUV, Lab, etc.", "The primary stimuli system used for H.264 video streaming file, adopted by an iPhone (manufactured by Apple, Inc.) and better for motion detection use, is YUV.", "Thus, it is a common process for today's color image sensors that, prior to doing motion detection, a transformation from the stimuli as received into a different one takes place.", "Associated technology in this field is often referred as color management.", "As can be noticed easily, color management is done based on colorimetry, which has to do with the accurate expressing of colors.", "Based on colorimetry, the controlling circuitry of the present disclosure knows that when one primary color in the captured image changes its power intensity, the spectral performance of the other primary colors as seen by the image sensor do not change.", "Thus, the disclosed optical mouse only has to adjust the power density of the light source associated with one primary color at one time, which will not change the result of the other primary colors.", "Therefore, the method is robust and comprehensive in enhancing the resolution and sensitivity of the optical mouse on all kinds of surfaces.", "Transforming one stimuli system to another is practiced by many of the digital cameras where certain stimuli system can be more sensitive than others in specific applications (e.g.", "video format YUV 4:2:2 is more sensitive to brightness, video format YMC is more addressable to yellow color, etc).", "It should be noted that under the optical mouse, the small cavity being faced by the image sensor is literally a dark room, various kinds of optical effects such as light absorption, transmission, Lambertian diffusion, florescence, scintillating, etc.", "may happen.", "These effects may not be easily observed in the daylight environment, but when that dark room is placed on a carpet, granite, wood, nylon, etc, they may become the source of artifacts not addressable by the conventional optical mouse.", "In optical science, three primary colors suffice to represent the whole color gamut.", "Using more primary colors than three is acceptable, but for the clarity of explanation, the present disclosure uses only three primary colors in the embodiments.", "This means that the present disclosure is able to adjust the apparent color of the object in a continuous mode.", "Mathematically, there is always a middle gray value between two gray level values, thus the color tone can be adjusted continuously.", "The second advantage is that the apparent color of the object can be adjusted by the illuminating light sources over a wide range (i.e.", "the entire color gamut), and this allows the disclosed optical mouse to work almost on any kind of surface, so long as that surface can reflect the incident light by a satisfactory amount.", "The process associated with colored light control is very simple, rapid, power economical, and efficient in directing motion, since it does not have to worry about picture quality.", "What the control circuitry cares for is not PSNR (peak signal to noise ratio), but instead, the dynamic range of a subimage and the effectiveness of pattern recognition.", "A subimage is a view of an object only populated with one of the prime colors used in the computer mouse of the present disclosure.", "In the case of three prime colors there will be three subimages, one for each color.", "An enhanced dynamic range of the subimages allows for the disclosed optical mouse to find patterns at high sensitivity and high resolution, and in turn makes the disclosed device outpace the conventional monochrome optical mouse by higher sensitivity and resolution.", "Likewise, when an illumination system is set in a way that is favorable to pattern recognition (e.g.", "less smearing effect on the contour), the overall performance of the motion detection device is enhanced.", "The most prominent feature of the disclosed optical mouse lies in the collaboration between its image sensor and the controlling circuitry, which uses the data provided by the image sensor to adjust the lighting condition of the multiple light sources, where the disclosed color management methods (i.e.", "the embodiments of the present disclosure) are derived based on colorimetry, which are intended to address the complicated problems that arise from the fundamental physics (e.g.", "diffusion, absorption, florescent, etc.)", "without knowing, for example, how a granite desktop surface interacts with an LED light.", "With this key feature, the disclosed optical mouse is able to capture the delicate change on the object surface (i.e.", "color) without resorting to surface roughness or edges of the objects.", "The present disclosure outpaces the state of the art in which there has not created any effective mean to adjust the illuminating condition judiciously, and rapidly.", "The human eye can perceive millions of colors, and the objects surrounding us are often rendering a mixture of multiple colors (e.g.", "the color of a desktop plate made of poplar is a mixture of red and yellow colors).", "Without a clear rule as how the multi color lights are to be adjusted, those approaches using multiple color may find little application in the real market.", "For example, the color of a desktop surface can be a poplar, mahogany, etc., represent different combination of red and yellow color, and in this case when illuminated by the daylight, or a D65 CIE standard light source, the poplar surface would have little color ingredient in blue.", "Whenever facing such a situation, existing technology that claims to use multi-color light in an optical mouse fail in that they cannot point in any direction to enhance the resolution and sensitivity of the optical mouse by the multiple light sources.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1 is a diagram of a conventional optical computer mouse using one light source; FIG.", "2 depicts an exemplary pixel map of an object seen by the conventional the optical computer mouse; FIG.", "3A depicts an exemplary pixel map of an object seen by the conventional optical computer; FIG.", "3B depicts an exemplary pixel map of an object surface with low surface roughness and shadows with reduced grey levels; FIG.", "4A is a diagram of the optical computer mouse (motion detection device) of the present disclosure using multiple light sources; FIG.", "4B is the circuit schematic of the optical computer device (motion detection device) of the present disclosure, which is activated by multiple light sources; FIG.", "5 is an exemplary pixel map of an object activated by multiple light sources and seen by the optical computer mouse (motion detection device) of the present disclosure; FIGS.", "6 A, B, C, and D depict an exemplary process of dissecting a main pixel image into multiple subimages; FIGS.", "7A, B, C, and D show shadowing resulting from the multiple light sources of the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "8 depicts an exemplary array of photodiodes whose color sensitivity has been assigned specifically to red, blue, and green light; FIGS.", "9A, B, C, and D depict an exemplary case of an object having strong spectral response to red and blue light but no response to green light; FIG.", "10 shows the spatial arrangement of the lens and color image sensor.", "and depicts a unique phenomenon of multiple shadows; FIG.", "11 shows the pixel images of the shadows formed by different color light sources as they appear in different subimages: FIG.", "12 shows how the relative position between a targeted object and the image sensor changes over two different locations over two different times; FIG.", "13 shows resultant images taken by the color image sensor at two different times: FIG.", "14 depicts the geographical relationship among multiple light sources, a color image sensor and the targeted object on a surface plane; FIG.", "15 depicts an exemplary exhibit of how the gray level of each color sensitive photodiode varies when the optical mouse of the present disclosure moves over a multi-colored desktop surface; FIG.", "16 depicts an envisioned image frame of a wood surface with annular rings captured at time t3; FIG.", "17 depicts an envisioned image frame of a wood surface with annular rings captured at time t4; FIG.", "18 shows the method and controlling circuitry and the illumination condition of multiple color light sources of the present disclosure: FIG.", "19 shows the switching condition for the light sources of the present disclosure; FIG.", "20 shows a circuit diagram of a photodiode of a pixel that is capable of controlling dynamic range and resolution on individual pixel base; and FIG.", "21 shows the color gamut used by the disclosed optical mouse.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In FIG.", "4A is shown an optical electronic device, for example an optical mouse, 402 of the present disclosure, which can be connected by an information carrier 406 to a computer either by wireless means or physical means using a USB cable or equivalent.", "The optical mouse further comprises a cavity 408 containing a plurality of colored light sources 403, 404, and 405 and an optoelectronic sensor (an image sensor) 407.It should be noted that there should be three light sources as the optimal condition, but more or less light sources can be used (e.g.", "a white light LED can emit red, green, and blue light beams from a single diode covered by several kinds of dyes).", "A first light source 403, a second light source 404, and a third light source 405 impinge light onto a targeted desktop surface 409, wherein each light is of a different color.", "When the light reflected from the targeted desktop surface arrives at the optoelectronic sensor, for example a color image sensor 407, it forms an exemplary image as shown in FIG.", "5, which shows a full color picture constituted by three kinds of pixels, red, blue, and green.", "In FIG.", "4B is shown the circuit diagram of the disclosed optical mouse.", "A digital image sensor 407 captures an image at a predetermined frame rate.", "The captured image is dissected into several subimages, e.g.", "a red subimage, a blue subimage, and a green subimage.", "The subimages can be either sent to the memory 414 for storage, or to the image processor 413 for motion detection use.", "The pattern recognition process is done in the image processor 413 at high speed.", "The I/O controller communicates with the computer to which the optical mouse is attached through the I/O controller 415.An example of separating the captured image, FIG.", "6A, into subimages is shown in FIGS.", "6B, 6C and 6D, each of which represents a scene captured by a special color scheme, the color red FIG.", "6B, the color green FIG.", "6D, or the color blue FIG.", "6C.", "When combined together, the “patched” pixel array represents the complete image FIG.", "6A of the object, but for motion detection use, this combining process usually is not necessary.", "When performing motion detection tasks, image processor 413 compares a series of subimages in one color scheme.", "The image processor 413 does not compare one subimage FIG.", "6B to another that has a different color scheme FIG.", "6C, unless there is any special purpose not addressed by the present disclosure.", "The disclosed optical cursor maneuvering device may resemble the form factors and geometrical characteristics of the conventional optical mouse (i.e.", "case, camera, cavity, and light source, etc), but as FIG.", "4A shows, there is a cavity 408, that contains a plurality of colored light sources 403, 404, and 405 formed from, for example, LED (light emitting diode) devices each of which emits a light with a wavelength span different from that of the others LED devices.", "Inside the cavity 408 is mounted an image sensor 407 that is able to detect color images, the cavity 408 can be formed into different shapes, e.g.", "square, rectangular, circular, oval, or an irregular one.", "The plurality of light sources are preferred to be positioned at a maximum separation in the cavity 408, and the image sensor 407 is preferred to be positioned on the base of the cavity 408 amongst the plurality of colored lights 403, 404, and 405 in such a way as to allow the image sensor 407 to capture the image of the object illuminated by all light sources as evenly as possible.", "It should be noted that although the plurality of light sources is preferably LED devices, there are other light sources (e.g.", "laser device, etc) that can be used.", "It should also to be noted that the image sensor 407 is preferably, but not limited to, a CMOS imaging sensor capable of capturing color images and dissecting the images captured into multiple subimages, each of which is characterized by a primary color, e.g.", "red, blue, or green.", "Note also that the primary color is not limited to red, blue, and green.", "For example, the primary color set can be yellow, magenta, and cyan, or other colors as well.", "The lighting condition of the light sources 403, 404, 405 is controlled by a light control circuit 412, which adjusts the output power of the light sources based on the feedback from the image processor 413 in a timely fashion.", "FIG.", "8 shows how the photodiodes of image sensor are designated to different primary colors.", "This is often referred by people familiar with the art as the Bayer structure.", "There are other ways of designating the color sensitivity of each photodiode, and each may have its own purpose (e.g.", "Honeycomb type color filter array, etc.).", "For the clarity of explanation in our disclosure, the Bayer structure is used.", "Other ways of adjusting the color sensitivity of photodiode is applicable to this disclosure since the same method to adjust the lighting condition can be used.", "In concurrent digital image sensor industry, the task of assigning the photodiode to different color is mostly done by placing a color filter array (CFA) over the image sensor.", "There are other alternative ways of designating the color sensing capability to the photodiodes (e.g.", "using ion implantation or even band gap engineering to adjust the internal quantum efficiency of the photodiode, etc.", "), but using CFA is by far the most popular mean in today's digital image sensor industry.", "The typical method of assigning the primary colors (i.e.", "Red, Green, and Blue) to the pixel frame is referred as the Bayer structure.", "According to Bayer structure, within any area composing of four photodiodes as a rectangle (or square), two photodiodes are to be assigned to green light, one photodiode to the red light, and one photodiode to the blue light.", "There are many alternative ways to arrange the photodiodes.", "FIG.", "9A shows an exemplary situation that the present disclosed optical mouse sees an object in purple color.", "In this case, the red subimage (FIG.", "9B) and blue subimage (FIG.", "9C) have higher signal values (i.e.", "the grey level of the respective photodiode) than the green subimage (FIG.", "9D) does.", "Referring back to FIG.", "4B, for saving power, the light control circuit 412 of the optical mouse may reduce or even turn off the green light source 405 for the object in purple color.", "The image processor 413 will acknowledge this, and not pick the green subimage (FIG.", "9D) for motion detection use.", "It should be noted that FIG.", "9A only presents the pixel array.", "The intensity of color light impinging on the each pixel may vary, and they are represented by the grey level of R1 through R6, B1 through B4, as is shown in FIGS.", "9B and 9C.", "For best pattern recognition result, it is desired to have the largest difference among R1 and R6, or among B1 and B4.The ability to pick out an image that is only associated with a specific spectral performance of the targeted surface (e.g.", "reflectance, florescent, etc.)", "is an advantage over existing technology since existing technology only uses monochromatic light.", "When performing pattern recognition task, the optical mouse of the present disclosure may compare the red subimages or the blue subimages, or both but is usually not necessary.", "While the optical mouse is moving on the desktop, the gray level of the red subimage (FIG.", "9B) and that of the blue subimage (FIG.", "9C) may change due to the spectral response such as the reflectivity to one color of light of the desktop surface, which varies from place to place.", "If the gray level of the red image goes too low, then the controlling circuitry will increase the intensity of the red light, and, according the physics of light, such an act as only increasing the intensity of red light will not lead to any change, or just a negligible amount of change on the blue subimages.", "Thus, while the disclosed optical mouse is moving, the controller circuit can quickly adjust the power sent to the red light source.", "As for the blue subimage, it can be left unused, or be investigated as a backup reference, which at certain times is required by the image processor.", "The same process can be done on the blue light source leaving the red light source as the backup.", "Therefore, the disclosed optical mouse may come to an optimized setting for the output power of the respective light sources based on the spectral performance (e.g.", "reflectance, florescent, etc.)", "of the desktop surface, and this optimized setting can be changed at high speed.", "As another example, whenever facing a desktop surface that has a “piebald” or an assorted structure characteristic, the disclosed optical mouse can accommodate itself to a few preset values, depending on where the optical mouse is placed, and the knowledge of how to fine tune the illuminating condition in an efficient and rapid manner.", "The following explains how the light source control circuit 412 recognizes/adjust the intensity of light, and explains how the signals in primary colors are measured.", "In optical physics, Equations EQ.", "2 through EQ.", "5 can be used to calculate the spectral power density of the light detected by an image sensor, wherein: X = k λ  ∑ S λ  R λ  x λ _  Δλ ( EQ   2 ) Y = k λ  ∑ S λ  R λ  y λ _  Δλ ( EQ   3 ) Z = k λ  ∑ S λ  R λ  z λ _  Δλ ( EQ   4 ) k = 100 ∑ S λ  y λ _  Δλ ( EQ   5 ) X, Y, and Z are color index values (the stimuli) representing the energy density of photons in the resultant spectrum received by the image sensor; S is the intensity of light emitted by the light sources; R is the reflectance of light by the object being viewed by the image sensor; λ is the wavelength of the color light; and x, y, z are the sensitivities of the image sensor at a specific wavelength λ.", "In a CMOS image sensor, x, y, z are often related to the color filter design (e.g.", "Bayer color filter).", "As EQ 2 through 5 shows, the color index X, Y, and Z, are irrelevant to each other when they are integrated over different ranges of λ.", "Putting it succinctly, when the present disclosed color optical mouse uses multiple lights with different wavelength spans, the resultant value of X, Y, and Z values are independent to each other.", "The benefit of such an independence is important since if one increases the intensity of one light source, only one parameter among X, Y, and Z will change.", "Thus, the disclosed optical mouse is able to dissect an image into three subimages per the primary color system used i.e., red, green, and blue image, or whatever primary colors that are chosen to be used.", "EQ.2 through EQ.5 also denotes that based on the same physics, there can be other ways to adjust the sensitivity of the present disclosed device than adjusting the power output of respective light sources.", "For example, in the optoelectronic industry, the LED devices that emit light in different color may use essentially the same kind of diode covered with different types of dyes to get different apparent colors.", "Thus, adjustment of the relative intensity of the respective light beams can be accomplished by manipulating the chemical ingredients within the dye.", "Such a method is in compliance with the general rule taught by EQ 2 through EQ5.As another example, the color sensitivity of the respective pixels in a typical CMOS image sensor is influenced by the generic nature of the color filter materials (e.g.", "CFA), which are essentially chemical materials that only allow the light beams in specific wavelengths to pass through.", "By adjusting the generic nature of the respective color filter material, the sensitivity of the presently disclosed device can also be adjusted.", "The present disclosure teaches a general method to adjust the sensitivity of a cursor maneuvering device using light beams in different colors or wavelengths.", "There are additional methods that can be derived based on the same design rule provided by the present disclosure.", "There are other ways to adjust the sensitivity of a photodiode.", "For example, in conventional art there is a technique called variable sensitivity photo detector (VSPD).", "This technique combines two pixel arrays whose data are stored in the inverted manner based on two very similar image frames like two pictures taken by an optical mouse within a small time interval, like ns (nanoseconds), and while the mouse is moving; combining two tone-inverted images that would cancel out most of the chunk body of the object and only leave the edges of the object observable in the resultant image.", "This technique has been used previously to perform edge detection tasks.", "What VSPD uses is a monochrome image, which does not exploit the rich information that is provided by means of colored light.", "Nevertheless, various means provided by previous technology for enhancing the capability of an optical mouse in edge detections, or pattern recognitions, such as VSPD, mask filters, etc., can be adopted by the present disclosure as an affiliating method to further enhance the fundamental performance in performing high sensitivity and high resolution motion detection task using multiple color lights.", "Most color filters uses Bayer color filter array.", "A Bayer CFA is composed of a large number of micron-scaled color filters placed in grids in front of the photodiodes in mosaic manner.", "Each unit grid is assigned as red, blue, and green color, but not limited by these colors.", "There are other methods of assignment such as magenta, cyan, and yellow.", "The present disclosure document uses RGB as an example.", "As explained prior, in a Bayer CFA, each unit cell is positioned in the grid and surrounded by four other cells, but the frequency distribution of each of the colored lights should have the least amount of overlap (so there is a minimum of color mixing as possible).", "Attributed to the generic characteristics of the color filter material, a photodiode designated to red color is only sensitive to red colored light, and it is effectively not sensitive to green and blue light.", "A CMOS image sensor can easily reach a capacity of mega pixels.", "When an optical mouse adopts a high capacity color image sensor and a CFA, its resolution and sensitivity is greatly enhanced as compared to that of conventional optical mouse.", "The collaboration between multiple colored light sources and the color image sensor, as shown in EQ.", "2 through EQ.", "5, offers an advantage that have not been attained previously.", "FIG.", "21 shows an exemplary color gamut used by the disclosed optical mouse.", "The color gamut is formed by a spectral energy locus of wave lengths of light ranging from 420 nm (nanometers) to 520 nm to 700 nm.", "A line between 420 nm and 700 nm forms a purple line boundary 2105, and the colors blue 2106, green 2104 and red 2103 are located in the gamut region near 420 nm, 520 nm and 700 nm, respectively.", "On the color gamut there are shown three triangular shaped color regions, each representing a different color models, NTSC (National Television System Committee) 2109, RGB (Red, Green, Blue) 2108 and CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black)) 2107.Within each the color gamut is a point of equal energy 2101 that lies within the triangular shape color regions of the three different color model regions.", "According to FIG.", "21, the three primary colors, red 2103, green 2104 and blue 2106, are sufficient to represent any point in the color gamut.", "This means that the disclosed optical mouse is able to adjust the apparent color of the object to any color tone it desires in a continuous mode, and where continuous mode means there is always a middle pixel value between two pixel values.", "In practice, the disclosed optical mouse would choose a color tone setting, red, blue, and green, as RBG 2108 shows for a specific subimage such that the subimage gives the widest dynamic range or the highest contrast between object and background.", "For example, for a poplar surface, the disclosed optical mouse may try to increase the intensity of red light or yellow light, or both, so that the dynamic range of the red subimage can be enhanced.", "The blue subimage of the disclosed optical mouse may suspend the blue image processing work since the reflectance of the poplar surface to blue light is low.", "This actually makes the combined image frame of the red, green and blue subimages unbalanced to white color.", "A white color balanced illumination is produced when red, green and blue light is in equal weight, as point 2101 of FIG.", "21 shows.", "However, such an unbalanced image provides unprecedented advantages for motion detection use.", "In the present disclosure, the unbalanced illumination system can be adjusted in a timely fashion, so that the disclosed optical mouse also provides another advantage for its high adaptability to environment.", "This is mainly attributed to the fact that the apparent color of the targeted object can be adjusted by the light sources in a wide range (i.e.", "theoretically, the entire color gamut).", "The wide range of apparent color tone allows the disclosed optical mouse to work on any kind of surface, so long as that surface can reflect the incident light by a sufficient amount.", "More specifically, FIG.", "21 is a general description of the color gamut based on CIE1931, other color gamut may have similar effect as described by the present disclosure.", "In FIG.", "21, the horizontal axis is x, the vertical axis is y.", "The relationship among x, y, and z (z is not shown in FIG.", "21) is the following.", "x = X X + Y + Z ( EQ   6 ) y = Y X + Y + Z ( EQ   7 ) z = 1 - x - y ( EQ   8 ) Where: X, Y, and Z are the tri-stimulus values of a color represented by the amounts (i.e.", "intensities) of three primary colors (e.g.", "R, G, B).", "It should be noted that although the present disclosure is directed to cursor maneuvering, there are other utilities and functions (e.g.", "motion detection, program activation, etc.)", "that can be derived from the disclosure herein described that can be adopted by the electronic devices such as cell phones, stationary electronic devices such as desktop computers, etc.", "Embodiment 1 FIGS.", "7A, B, C and D shows a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As FIG.", "7A shows, the bottom view of an disclosed optical mouse comprises a cavity 718, inside the cavity 718 lies a color image sensor 717 and three light sources, a first light source 714, a second light source 715, and a third light source 716.The mouse buttons 719 can be placed anywhere on the mouse case 720 that is convenient to the operator.", "FIG.", "7A shows that at least three color light sources are preferred to be used, which are in different primary colors.", "In a special arrangement, FIG.", "7C shows a first light source 714, which emits a red light, FIG.", "7D shows a second light source 715, which emits a blue light, and FIG.", "7B shows a third light source 716, which emits green light.", "The light beam 724 of each of the light sources 714, 715 and 716 cast a shadow 704, 705 and 706 of a surface variation 708 onto the desktop surface 707.The shadows formed on the surface of the desktop 70 are from the colored lights shining at, or across the surface variation 708 comprising an imperfection, defect or a surface particle on the surface of the desktop FIG.", "10 shows the spatial arrangement of the lens 1022 and color image sensor 1023, which corresponds to item 717 in FIG.", "7.In this preferred embodiment, the color image sensor 1023 is positioned at a vertical distance of a few mm from the targeted desktop surface 1007.The distance 1008 from the targeted object plane surface 1007 to the lens 1022 is typically a few mm to tens of mm.", "The three light sources 714, 715, and 716, shown in FIG.", "7A, are also positioned at a distance of few mm away from the targeted desktop surface 1007 (707 in FIGS.", "7B, 7C and 7D).", "Referring back to FIG.", "7A, the three light sources 714, 715 and 716 are preferred to be positioned close to the perimeter of the cavity 718, so that an incident angle between the light beam 724 and the targeted desktop surface 707 of approximately 45 degrees is formed.", "The three light sources enclose an area having about the same area as that of the cavity 718, and the color image sensor 717 is positioned close to the geometrical center the enclosed area.", "The benefit of this arrangement is that shadows can easily be taken advantage of.", "Almost all surfaces have obtrusive objects lying on them if a magnifying lens is used to see the microscopic world.", "Obtrusive objects can be dust particles, perturbations, variations or defects in a surface.", "For example, in FIGS.", "7B, 7C and &D there is an object 708 lying obtrusively on the targeted desktop surface 707 that produces shadows 704, 705 and 706 that is attributed to the arrangement of the three light sources 714, 715 and 716, respectively.", "In fact, shadows and bright spots are interplaying roles in the image.", "At certain angles, the obtruded object 708 reflect light beams in an intensity that is substantially higher than that of the neighborhood.", "Together, the shadows and bright spots form an image in high dynamic range.", "For simplicity, the following discussion uses shadows to explain how this embodiment works, and the same physics should apply to the bright spots (not shown in FIG.", "7).", "It should be noted that the spatial arrangement of three light sources of present disclosure allows for any object to form at least one shadow, or one bright spot, on the targeted desktop surface as shown in FIG.", "10, wherein an obtrusive object1006 projects three bar shaped shadows 1003, 1004, and 1005 on the desktop surface 1007, spaced at approximately 0 degrees, 120 degrees, and 240 degrees, respectively, as a result of the location of the colored lights.", "Attributed to the spatial arrangement of the multiple light sources, an object on the targeted plane surface 1006 will form multiple numbers of shadows 1003, 1004 and 1005, each of which is associated with one light source but not the other light sources.", "This phenomenon occurs with all objects on the targeted desktop surface 1007, which becomes more obvious when the surface roughness of the desktop surface 1007 is increased.", "As previously mentioned, the three color light sources are in different colors 714, 715, and 716 and the image sensor 717 (1023) is color sensible.", "Hence, what is captured by the color image sensor 1023 in FIG.", "10 can be represented by FIG.", "11; a full color image that can be dissected into three subimages, 1108, which is formed by red pixels, 1109, which is formed by blue pixels, and 1110, which is formed by green pixels.", "In each mono-color pixel plane, the object body 1006 shown in FIG.", "10 is represented by a group of pixels which is labeled 1121, for example.", "There are three shadows 1111, 1112, and 1113 positioned around the perimeter of the pixels representing the targeted object 1121.It should be noted that in each subimage 1108, 1109 and 1110, there is only one shadow, and each shadow is denoted by a specific color determined by the light source creating the shadow.", "FIG.", "12 shows the relative motion of the disclosed optical mouse over a desktop.", "A point of interest (e.g.", "an object that can be used by the mouse for motion detection) is that object, which changes position on the image of the image sensor 717 (1023) while the disclosed mouse moves.", "For example, at time t1, point X is positioned on the right of the color image sensor 1201; after mouse movement, point X is positioned to the left of the color image sensor 1201.The image seen by the color image sensor 1201 is shown in FIG.", "13.At time t1, a full colored image 1308A is dissected into to three subimages1302 A, 1304A, and 1306A, and the color tone of the respective subimages is, red, blue, and green.", "The pixels representing point X, the targeted object, is denoted as item 1301A.", "When time slips to t2, the image taken at time t2 1308B shows, the pixels representing the targeted object 1301B has been shifted to the right in the subimage 1302B.", "In this situation, shadow 1303A and shadow 1303B serve the best source for pattern recognition because they form the highest image contrast with the pixels representing the targeted object 1301A and 1301B.", "However, there are occasions that the shadows are not available.", "As subimage 1304B shows, the shadow 1305A formerly seen in subimage 1304A disappeared.", "In this case, the shadow may have moved out of the view of image sensor, but there can be other reasons such as surface morphology change.", "Thus, relying on one monochromatic source to track motion always faces exceptional situations, as most computer mouse users have experienced.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "13, subimages 1302B and 1306B can be used whenever subimage 1304B is not available for pattern recognition use, wherein the shadow 1307A in subimage 1306A is also visible at time t2 in subimage 1306B.", "Most importantly, subimages 1302B, 1304B, and 1306B do not interfere with each other in that their images are formed by different color light sources, and the respective pixels are not sensitive to the colors that are not in their sensible wavelength span.", "As a reiteration of one the most important advantages acquired by this embodiment, the disclosed device uses multiple light sources, each in different color, as shown in FIG.", "14, which depicts the geographical relationship among multiple light sources 1401, 1402, and 1405, color image sensor 1406, and the targeted object surface plane 1403.Light sources 1401, 1402, and 1405 shine light on the focal point of image sensor 1404.The light from each light source is separated by angles α, β, and γ on the targeted object surface plane 1403, where each angle is approximately 120°.", "The angle of inclination of the light from the three light sources is approximately θ1=θ2=θ3=45°.", "Thus, the light sources are preferred to be positioned at a lateral distance of approximately a few mm away from the focal point of image sensor 1404, and further it is preferred that these light sources are positioned as far apart from one another as possible.", "However there are other criteria that could change the value of the inclination of the light beam, the ergonomic design of the optical mouse of the present disclosure Embodiment 2 The second embodiment deals with a situation deemed by the state of the art as the most challenging, a very smooth, or a glossy desktop surface.", "FIG.", "15 shows an exemplary case where the disclosed optical mouse 402 (detailed previously with respect to FIG.", "4) is placed on a very flat surface 1509, such as a wood board painted with a glossy coating such as lacquer.", "The glossy coating is highly transparent, very flat, and can reflect a lot of light to the image sensor 407, known as smearing, at a certain incident angle, which makes the image processing tasks of the conventional optical mouse stampeded.", "The flat surface 1509 made of lacquer does not provide the surface roughness condition wanted by embodiment 1, but the spectral data of the wood surface acquired by the subimages still can serve as sufficient data sources for motion detection.", "FIG.", "15 shows an example where a poplar wood board 1509 has annular rings 1512 with dark stripes that are brown in color.", "The rest of the area between the annular rings 1513 is yellowish in color, mixed with some red ingredient therein.", "While the disclosed optical mouse is moved along the wood surface, the intensity of the red light reflected from targeted desktop surface 1509 to the color image sensor 407 undulates accordingly.", "This phenomenon happens on both the red and green pixels.", "Basic optical physics teaches that yellow light can be acquired by mixing red light and green light.", "Therefore, while the intensity of red color light undulates, the green color light does as well.", "What needs to be noticed is that the blue color does not change throughout the entire mouse moving action as the resultant data shows in FIG.", "15.While the mouse is moving on the targeted desktop surface 1509 and the intensity of three light sources 403, 404, and 405 are kept constant, the intensity of the red light as perceived by the image sensor 407 varies from a maximum to a minimum value from time t1 through t5.The same situation happens on the green reflected light, which varies between a maximum and a minimum in the interval between t1 and t5.The blue light, on the other hand, maintains at a constant level very close to the minimum.", "FIGS.", "16 and 17 show a portion of the pixel array of the image sensor 407 at time t3 and then at time t4 and the optical mouse of the present disclosure is moved along the surface of the wood1509.At time t3, a stripe of brown annular rings is formed on a first column of pixels1601 (R1-G5-R5-G13-R8-G20); and the yellowish structure between the brown annular rings is formed on a second column 1602 (G1-61-G9-65-G17-69).", "The situation is reversed at time t4 shown in FIG.", "17 where the first column1702 (R1-G5-R5-G13-R8-G20) now is designated to the yellowish structure of wood surface between the brown annular rings, and the second column1701 (G1-B1-G9-B5-G17-69) now is related to the stripe of a brown annular ring.", "Thus, in a series of subimages of red and green colors, it is seen that the objects are moving, which cannot be done with the conventional art.", "In the conventional art, a monochromatic light source and a monochromatic image sensor is used.", "Thus, in conventional optical mouse, a lumped image sensor would detect the combined intensity of red and green light, which would make the signal level of the conventional art not undulate and in particular with independence between colors.", "As a consequence, the task of pattern recognition is stampeded.", "This embodiment of the present disclosure dissects a captured color image into multiple mono-colored subimages.", "By doing so, the sensitivity and resolution of the disclosed optical mouse surpasses the capability of conventional art.", "Embodiment 3 This embodiment deals with a method of controlling illumination with multiple colored light sources with the necessary circuitry.", "By dimming one light, or enhancing the other, the disclosed circuit not only saves the energy, but also enhances the sensitivity and resolution for motion detection use.", "We again start with the illustration of basic physics.", "It is known that R+G+B=W, where R is red light, G is green light, B is blue light and W is white light.", "For the optical mouse of the present disclosure, seeking white balance among R, G, and B color is not necessary; however, it is important that at least one subimage of a primary color present a response that varies between a minimum and a maximum as the computer mouse is moved over a surface.", "In FIG.", "15 is shown the response to three primary colors, red, green and Blue, where there is a response variation in the red and green primary colors detected by the image sensor 407.Because the color of the surface over which the optical mouse is placed is not of a color containing a blue content, the blue response detected by the image sensor 407 is a constant and at or close to the minimum level for blue reflected light intensity.", "As previously discussed, the surface over which the optical mouse is moved is a highly reflective surface created over a poplar wood board.", "The wood board has annular rings that are brown in color with a yellowish color in between.", "Thus the image sensor sees variation in the red and green light intensity since it is red and green light that produces yellow and blue is not a component of the colors of the poplar board.", "FIG.", "18 shows a light control circuit 1811 of the present disclosure.", "The light control circuit 1811 controls the intensity of each light source in accordance with an input from the digital signal processor 1810, where the digital signal processor receive data from image sensor 1816.An exemplary controlling method is shown in the light control algorithm 1815.Note that there are cases in the commercial market that the DSP 1810, the light control circuit 1811, the I/O control circuitry 1812, and the image sensor 1816 are merged as a single chip.", "There are also other applications that modify these functional blocks partly, but the essential purpose is the same, adjusting lighting condition based on colorimetry.", "In FIG.", "18, a table of data 1807 sampled from the color image sensor is shown.", "Each column represents a series of data monitored by the DSP (digital signal processor) 1810 for illumination control in a period of image capturing over the time period t1 through t5, as shown in FIG.", "15.This is an exemplary table where the disclosed device faces a situation similar to that of FIG.", "15.Thus, at t3, when the mouse sees the brown stripes of annular ring, the red pixels R1, R2, R5, and R6, get high signal.", "At this time, green pixels G1, G5, G6 and G9, have the respective signal output as H, L, L and H where H=High, close to Maximum; L=Low, close to Minimum.", "When time slips to t4, the mouse has moved to a new position which is full of yellowish structure, the red pixels change their level to L, L, and L; whereas those of the green ones change to L, H, H and L, respectively.", "The blue pixels don't change their pixel signal levels between time t3 and t4 because there is little or no blue content in the poplar wood that makes the table top and the blue levels are always close to Minimum.", "The light control circuit 1811 can check the variation of the red, blue, and green signals in a timely manner.", "To assure the result is useful to multiple images, the DSP 1810 monitors the signal level of multiple red pixels instead of one red pixel, and it also monitors the blue pixels and green pixels in the same fashion.", "Therefore, table 1807 contains the variation of light intensity acquired from subimages at t1 through t5.In this embodiment, an exemplary algorithm 1815 (detailed below) is used by the mouse of the present disclosure to check the variation of signal levels for red, blue, and green light at a time set by the optical mouse.", "Algorithm if (Δt > tIcp)×[(|ΔR| > 0)+(|ΔG| > 0)+(|ΔB| > 0)]→ color _ change _ enabled Color_change_enabled If(ΔR = 0)×(ΔB ≠ 0)×(ΔG ≠ 0) then [Red_light → Red_light − −] If(ΔB = 0)×(ΔR ≠ 0)×(ΔG ≠ 0) then [Blue_light → Blue_light − −] If(ΔG = 0)×(ΔB ≠ 0)×(ΔR ≠ 0) then [Green_light → Green_light − −] Return end_if Where: |ΔR|: The absolute value of the change of the intensity of red light.", "|ΔG|: The absolute value of the change of the intensity of green light |ΔB|: The absolute value of the change of the intensity of blue light Δt: time elapsed since last color comparing process ended tlcp: time interval between two color adjusting proceses color_change_enabled: entering a procedure called Color_change_enabled x: Logic AND +: Logic OR ( ) Process in parentheses takes higher priority (to get result) than the X and + do Red_light→Red_light−−: Red light dimmed by one unit (e.g.", "mW); associated parameters (i.e.", "current, voltage, etc.)", "are stored as the parameter Red_light Blue_light→Blue_light−−: Blue light dimmed by one unit (e.g.", "mW); associated parameters (i.e.", "current, voltage, etc.)", "are stored in the parameter Blue_light Green_light→Green_light−−: Green light dimmed by one unit (e.g.", "mW); associated parameters (i.e.", "current, voltage, etc.)", "are stored in the parameter Green_light The symbol “−−” can be changed to “++” in different algorithm to increase the intensity of the light.", "Before or after the evaluation for variation of signal levels, the illumination condition is fixed.", "For example, if at the moment of evaluation, the disclosed mouse finds out that one of the signals do not change, for example the signals of blue pixels, or ΔB=0; where ΔB denotes the variation of blue signal, then the control circuit 1811 will dim the blue light gradually.", "This is done by the switches S1, S2, and S3, whose action in the time interval between t1 and t5 is depicted in FIG.", "19.As FIG.", "19 shows, the switch S1 for blue light, gradually closes, by moving from H to L in steps, when time slips from t3 to t4.But the other two switches do not change their respective signal values.", "This algorithm is very sure that when it changes the illuminating condition for one color light source i.e.", "blue light, the result for the other two kinds of pixels, red and green, do not change, (or change by a negligible amount when the CFA of primary colors have overlapping spectra, which is attributed to its knowledge in basic optical physics.", "It is very important to know that, according to basic physics of light, R+G+B=W, and for achieving the best result for the optical mouse of the present disclosure, the white image is not desired because in such situation it only raises signal level for all pixels.", "Thus, the disclosed optical mouse seeks a means to adjust at least one color of light to its lowest possible signal level.", "The algorithm 1815 is designed for such a purpose.", "Of course, when the image is not as clear, the disclosed optical mouse may increase the intensity of light, just like most other approaches do.", "What differentiates the present disclosure from the existing state of the art is that, determined by the knowledge in colorimetry, wherein the intensity of all light sources is not increased concurrently, which has not previously been disclosed.", "Embodiment 4 This embodiment demonstrates a microelectronic device whose functionality resembles the essential concept of embodiment 3, which adjusts the energy density impinged on the photodiodes for motion detection use.", "What differentiates embodiment 4 from embodiment 3 is that in addition to dimming one light, or enhancing the other, embodiment 4 adjusts by enhancing or reducing the sensitivity of the respective photodiodes (red, green, and blue) to enhance the dynamic range.", "Today most of the digital image sensors are designed in a way where all photodiodes in a same pixel array are storing charges in a same time interval.", "thus, their dynamic range is not adjustable.", "This embodiment uses different time intervals that vary for each individual photodiode; it allows each pixel to adjust its dynamic range based on the illumination condition.", "Referring to FIG.", "20, this is an exemplary case where the photodiodes and image processing circuitry are placed in a single chip.", "There is a photodiode 2001 that collects the charges generated by a photo-generation effect.", "As the influx of light energy hν 2011 continues impinging photons on photodiode 2001, a steady rate of charge is taken out of photodiode 2001.The charge then passes through inverter 2003 to generate an output signal with a specific voltage span.", "This output signal then reaches the delay circuitry 2004, and is temporarily stored as voltage V2 at the embedded capacitor Cst.", "Delay circuitry 2004 bears an timing interval, which can be designed by a counter, that will disconnect capacitor Cst from photodiode 2001 when the delay time meets a specific value.", "When the delay circuitry is opened, disconnected, the charges in the inverter 2003 will be directed to the second input node (denoted by the plus sign) of the differential amplifier 2005, to establish a voltage value V1 thereon.", "Through the differential amplifier 2005, the two signals V1 and V2 are compared, and the result is passed to the second differential amplifier 2007 as the representative of the illumination condition experienced by the photodiode 2001.According to CFA allocation, the photodiode 2001 will be receptive to only one primary color, red, green, or blue.", "After the comparison result is stored in capacitor Cm 2008, the system may proceed with the image capturing process throughout the entire photodiode array, a first image frame is formed.", "Repeating the same process as stated above, the second image frame is formed.", "When the second image frame is captured, the charge stored in Cm is compared to the respective pixel data in the first image frame, where the result denotes the variation of illumination.", "When the variation of illumination condition exceeds a predetermined value, comparator 2009, when enabled 2012, sends out a flag signal 2010.The flag signal 2010 will be referred by the disclosed mouse system as a sign of motion of the targeted object, and it will also be used by light control circuitry to adjust the lighting condition.", "In the mean time, the saturation detection circuitry 2006, when enabled 2012, monitors the output signal level of photodiode 2001.If the signal level of photodiode 2001 has not reached the saturation level, or the difference of illumination condition between consecutive image frames is still negligible, the reset switch 2002 will not turn on, which allows the charge collection process of photodiode 2001 to continue without interruption.", "By capturing images throughout an extended period of time as a result of no interruption caused by fixed time interval signals, photodiode 2001 enhances its sensitivity, dynamic range, and resolution.", "As FIG.", "21 shows, which is attributed to color physics, the disclosed device is able to adjust the illumination condition of multiple light sources and the sensitivity of photodiode concurrently.", "Specifically, this is accomplished by the work of the light control circuit work based on signal V1, V2, (FIG.", "20) and the flag signal 2010.It should be noted that the image quality of the combined image frame of all primary colors is not a critical concern to this embodiment.", "For motion detection use, it is sufficient to have a few pixels with high dynamic range, resolution, and sensitivity while the quality of image does not necessarily please the perception of the human eye.", "While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15875020
[ [ "Structural Attachment Sealing System", "In various representative aspects, the present invention relates generally to a system and apparatus for sealing a structural attachment to a flat or shingle roof.", "More specifically, the invention relates to providing the system for sealing structural attachments for solar panel mounts for rail guides.", "The invention utilizes an adhesive sealant to create a permanent watertight seal at any surface penetration.", "The system may be used for any structural attachment, fastener, mount, or other penetration that requires sealing.", "Typical building applications include roof penetrations and wall penetrations for cases such as roof vents, structural attachment, conduit or pipe penetrations, or electrical mounts to name a few" ], [ "1.An apparatus for sealing structural attachments to a structure comprising: a. a mount comprising: i. a base that conforms to the shape of the surface of the structure, the base comprising an internal cavity; ii.", "a port hole coupled to the internal cavity; iii.", "a vent coupled to the internal cavity; and iv.", "a means to secure the mount to the structure through the internal cavity.", "2.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mount further comprises a guide comprising a pair of members extending from opposing sides of the base forming an aperture that is configured to secure a solar panel mounting rail guide to the mount.", "3.The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the pair of members further comprise ridges on the respective surfaces of the members.", "4.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the port hole is configured to receive a liquid from a liquid delivery apparatus.", "5.The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the vent is configured to expel the liquid through the vent when the liquid delivery apparatus fills the internal cavity with the liquid.", "6.The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the liquid is a sealant material.", "7.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the base further comprises an opening configured to receive a bolt for securing the mount to the structure.", "8.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mount further comprises a pair of members extending from opposing sides of the base forming an aperture that is configured to support a conduit within the members of the mount.", "9.The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the pair of members each comprise an opening at respective top ends of each member.", "10.The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the mount further comprises a bolt for coupled to the members through the respective openings of the top ends.", "11.A method of securing structural attachments to a structure comprising the steps of: a. securing a mount to the structure, the mount comprising: i. a base further comprising an internal cavity; ii.", "a port hole coupled to the internal cavity; iii.", "a vent coupled to the internal cavity; and iv.", "a means to secure the mount to the structure through the internal cavity such that the base conforms to the shape of the surface of the structure; b. injecting a liquid into the port hole of the mount until the liquid fills the internal cavity.", "12.The method of claim 11 wherein the liquid comprises a sealant.", "13.The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of inserting the liquid into the hole prior to the step of placing the mount over the hole.", "14.The method of claim 11 wherein the step of securing the mount to the structure comprises the steps of: a. boring a hole into the structure; and b. inserting a bolt through the base and into the hole.", "15.The method of claim 14 wherein the step of securing the mount to the structure further comprises the step of tightening the bolt until the mount is secured to the structure." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the following illustrative figures.", "In the following figures, like reference numbers refer to similar elements and steps throughout the figures.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary attachment mount.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a rear perspective view of the attachment mount of FIG.", "1 .", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the front perspective view of FIG.", "1 .", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a top view of a standard shingle roof.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an exploded view of the attachment mount secured to the roof of FIG.", "4 .", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a perspective view of a standard sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole on the attachment mount.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the attachment mount of FIG.", "1 in the form of a standoff-type attachment.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the standoff-type attachment mount being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4 .", "FIG.", "9 illustrates a cross-sectional perspective view of the standoff-type attachment mount.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant to a port hole in the standoff-type attachment mount.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates an exploded view of a mount with the standoff-type attachment mount.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary tile-hook attachment mount.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the rear of the tile-hook attachment mount.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "15 illustrates an exploded front perspective view of the flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "16 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "17 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the flush mount attachment being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4 .", "FIG.", "18 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole on the flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "19 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary universal base mount.", "FIG.", "20 illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of the universal base mount.", "FIG.", "21 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the universal base mount being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4 .", "FIG.", "22 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole on the universal base mount.", "FIG.", "23 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary conduit mount.", "FIG.", "24 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the conduit mount.", "FIG.", "25 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the conduit mount.", "FIG.", "26 illustrates a front perspective exploded view of the conduit mount being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4 .", "FIG.", "27 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole of the conduit mount.", "FIG.", "28 illustrates a perspective view of the conduit mount with a conduit being assembled to the roof of FIG.", "4 .", "FIG.", "29 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary conduit riser.", "FIG.", "30 illustrates a front perspective view of the conduit riser with the conduit.", "FIG.", "31 illustrates a front perspective cross-sectional view of the conduit riser with the conduit.", "FIG.", "32 illustrates a top view of the roof of FIG.", "4 with an opening for the conduit.", "FIG.", "33 illustrates a front perspective exploded view of the conduit riser secured to the roof of FIG.", "32 .", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to providing a system and apparatus for sealing a structural attachment.", "More specifically, the invention relates to providing the system for sealing structural attachments for solar panel mounts for rail guides.", "The system utilizes an adhesive sealant to create a permanent watertight seal at any surface penetration.", "The system may be used for any structural attachment, fastener, mount, or other penetration that requires sealing.", "Typical building applications include roof penetrations and wall penetrations for cases such as roof vents, structural attachment, conduit or pipe penetrations, or electrical mounts to name a few.", "The system allows the user to fasten or place any attachment over the penetration point.", "Sealant is then injected under pressure using, by way of example, a sealant dispenser gun, into an enclosed cavity around the penetration.", "The force from the sealant dispenser gun increases the pressure inside the enclosed cavity and forces all the air out through a vent hole.", "This ensures that the sealant completely fills all the voids and removes the air inside the enclosed cavity around the penetration.", "Variations of the preferred embodiment are also provided.", "The system creates a permanent airtight and watertight seal that does more than just shed water around the attachment.", "The system also eliminates the need for standard flashing and assemblies, which may reduce installation costs.", "The system also eliminates the need to break the manufacturer's seal on the leading edge of roof shingles and eliminates the risk of removing nails on upper courses of shingles, which creates additional penetrations in the roof thereby making the structure more vulnerable to leaks.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the following illustrative figures.", "In the following figures, like reference numbers refer to similar elements and steps throughout the figures.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary attachment mount.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a rear perspective view of the attachment mount of FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the front perspective view of FIG.", "1.FIG.", "4 illustrates a top view of a standard shingle roof.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an exploded view of the attachment mount secured to the roof of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "6 illustrates a perspective view of a standard sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole on the attachment mount.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the attachment mount of FIG.", "1 in the form of a standoff-type attachment.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the standoff-type attachment mount being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "9 illustrates a cross-sectional perspective view of the standoff-type attachment mount.", "FIG.", "10 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant to a port hole in the standoff-type attachment mount.", "FIG.", "11 illustrates an exploded view of a mount with the standoff-type attachment mount.", "FIG.", "12 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary tile-hook attachment mount.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the rear of the tile-hook attachment mount.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "15 illustrates an exploded front perspective view of the flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "16 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "17 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the flush mount attachment being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "18 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole on the flush mount attachment.", "FIG.", "19 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary universal base mount.", "FIG.", "20 illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of the universal base mount.", "FIG.", "21 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the universal base mount being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "22 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole on the universal base mount.", "FIG.", "23 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary conduit mount.", "FIG.", "24 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the conduit mount.", "FIG.", "25 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the conduit mount.", "FIG.", "26 illustrates a front perspective exploded view of the conduit mount being secured to the roof of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "27 illustrates a perspective view of the sealant gun applying sealant into a port hole of the conduit mount.", "FIG.", "28 illustrates a perspective view of the conduit mount with a conduit being assembled to the roof of FIG.", "4.FIG.", "29 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary conduit riser.", "FIG.", "30 illustrates a front perspective view of the conduit riser with the conduit.", "FIG.", "31 illustrates a front perspective cross-sectional view of the conduit riser with the conduit.", "FIG.", "32 illustrates a top view of the roof of FIG.", "4 with an opening for the conduit.", "FIG.", "33 illustrates a front perspective exploded view of the conduit riser secured to the roof of FIG.", "32.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following description, and for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are provided to thoroughly understand the various aspects of the invention.", "It will be understood, however, by those skilled in the relevant arts, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.", "In other instances, known structures and devices are shown or discussed.", "More generally in order to avoid obscuring the invention.", "In many cases, a description of the operation is sufficient to enable one to implement the various forms of the invention, particularly when the operation is to be implemented in software.", "It should be noted that there are many different and alternative configurations, devices and technologies to which the disclosed embodiments may be applied.", "The full scope of the invention is not limited to the example(s) that are described below.", "An exemplary embodiment of an attachment for sealing structural attachments for solar panel mounts for rail guides is shown in FIG.", "1 in the form of a flush-type mount 100.FIG.", "1 illustrates the front side of the flush-type mount 100 includes a lower portion 120 that includes a base 110 that is typically mounted and conforms to a top surface of a structure such as a roof 200 shown in FIG.", "4.Throughout this description, the term “roof” can also mean “structure.” The base 110 is rounded in this embodiment, but as with other alternate exemplary embodiments shown below, the shape of the base 110 can be any suitable form.", "The lower portion 120 includes an opening 125 for receiving a bolt 130.The bolt 130 typically comprises a nut 131 for tightening the bolt 130 to secure the flush-type mount 100 to the roof 200 by penetrating a shaft 135 into an opening 210 on the roof 200.The lower portion 120 tapers upward and forms a generally U-shaped guide 140 that comprises a pair of members 141 and 142 extending from opposing sides of the lower portion 120, which in turn forms an aperture 160.Each of the members 141 and 142 on the guide 140 also includes a ridged surface 150.The aperture 160 is configured to receive a bolt that in turn is used to secure a mounting rail (not shown) to the ridged surface 150, which provides friction to assist the connection.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates the rear side of the flush-type mount 100.The lower portion 120 includes a port 170 and a vent 180.It is understood that the port 170 and the vent 180 can be located anywhere on the lower portion 120.FIG.", "3, which illustrates a cross-sectional view of the flush mount 100, shows that the port hole 170 and the vent 180 provide access to a cavity 127.The cavity 127 provides a reservoir for sealant 175 that is injected into the port 170 by way, for example, of a sealant gun 300 as shown in FIG.", "6.An optional seal 115 is provided along the perimeter of the base 110, and the bottom of the cavity 127 typically should cover the entire surface area within the base 110 and the optional seal 115.The vent 180 enables excess air inside the cavity 127 to be released as sealant 175 is injected into the cavity 127 so that the sealant 175 can cover the full surface area along the base 110 and seal the flush-type mount 100 to the surface of the roof 200 to prevent any liquid from leaking into the roof 200 where the flush-type mount 100 is secured.", "FIGS.", "4-6 illustrate the steps of installing the flush-type mount 100 to the roof 200.FIG.", "4 shows a top view of the roof 200.The first step in installing the system is to bore a pilot hole 210, typically with a drill, into a roof shingle on the roof 200 and fill it with sealant 175.FIG.", "5 shows an exploded view of the flush-type mount 100 being installed.", "The next step is to place the mount 100 over the pilot hole 210 and secure the mount 100 by inserting the bolt 130 into the opening 125 and tightening it by rotating the nut 131 until the shaft 135 is fully inserted into the pilot hole 210.Once secured, as shown in FIG.", "6, the sealant gun 300 is used to inject sealant 175 into the port hole 170.The cavity 127 is filled with sealant 175 until the sealant 175 begins to escape out of the vent 180 on the mount 100.When the sealant 175 begins to escape, it provides visual notice that the cavity 127 has been filled with sealant 175, thereby sealing the mount 100 to the roof 200.This form of securing and sealing attachment mounts is also provided in various alternate embodiments.", "One exemplary embodiment is a standoff-type attachment/mount 400 as shown in FIG.", "7.The standoff-type 400 includes a base 410 and a pair of openings 425 (shown in FIG.", "8) on opposite sides of the base 410 for bolts 430 to secure the standoff-type mount 400 to the roof 200.Each bolt 430 also has a shaft 435 extending downward and a threaded portion 437 on the shaft 435.The standoff-type mount 400 includes a support 440 with a port hole 470 and outer threads 442 that are used to receive an attachment 500 as shown in FIG.", "11.The support 440 and base 410 form a hollow cavity 427 that is accessible by the port hole 470.An optional thread patch 450 is also included that assists in restricting the movement of the attachment 500 when it is rotated onto the support 440.FIGS.", "8-11 illustrate the steps of installing the standoff-type mount 400 to the roof 200.Like with the flush-type mount 100, the first step in installing the system is to bore pilot holes 210, typically with a drill, into a roof shingle on the roof 200 and fill it with sealant 175.FIG.", "8 shows an exploded view of the standoff-type mount 400 being installed.", "The next step is to place the mount 400 over the pilot holes 210 and secure the mount 400 by inserting the bolts 430 into the openings 425 and tightening each bolt 430 by rotating the nut 431 until the shaft 435 is fully inserted into the pilot hole 210.FIG.", "9 illustrates further details of the standoff-type mount 400.An optional sealing lip 455 that surrounds the inner surface of the cavity 427 is shown.", "Once secured, as shown in FIG.", "10, the sealant gun 300 is used to inject sealant 175 into the port hole 470.In this embodiment, the port hole 470 can act both as a port hole 470 and a vent.", "The cavity 427 is filled with sealant 175 until the sealant 175 begins to escape out of the port hole 470 on the mount 400.When the sealant 175 begins to escape, it provides visual notice that the cavity 427 has been filled with sealant 175, thereby sealing the mount 400 to the roof 200.As shown in FIG.", "11, once the mount 400 has been sealed to the roof 200, the attachment 500 can be coupled to the support 440, typically by rotating it along the threaded portion 437 until it is fully tightened.", "Another exemplary embodiment is a tile-hook attachment/mount 600 as shown in FIGS.", "12 and 13.The tile-hook mount 600 includes a base 610 and a pair of openings 625 (shown in FIG.", "13) on opposite sides of the base 610 for bolts 630 to secure the tile-hook mount 600 to the roof 200.Each bolt 630 also has a shaft 635 extending downward and a threaded portion 637 on the shaft 635.The tile-hook mount 600 includes an attachment mount 620 that extends from the base 610 in a general L-shape.", "The end of the attachment mount 620 forms an apparatus similar to that shown in the flush-type mount 100 with a generally U-shaped guide 640 that comprises a pair of members 641 and 642 extending from opposing sides of the lower portion of the attachment mount 620, which in turn forms an aperture 660.Each of the members 641 and 642 on the guide 640 also include a ridged surface 650.The aperture 660 is configured to receive a bolt that in turn is used to secure a mounting rail (not shown) to the ridged surface 650, which provides friction to assist the connection.", "The base 610 also includes a port hole 670.As shown in FIG.", "13, the base 610 comprises a hollow cavity 627 that is accessible by the port hole 670.Once secured, as shown in FIG.", "13, the steps of use are similar to the previously discussed mounts.", "Pilot holes 210 are bored, typically with a drill, into the roof 200 and the holes 210 are filled with sealant 175.The sealant gun 300 is used to inject sealant 175 into the port hole 670.In this embodiment, the port hole 670 can act both as a port hole 670 and a vent.", "The cavity 627 is filled with sealant 175 until the sealant 175 begins to escape out of the port hole 670 from the base 610 on the mount 600.When the sealant 175 begins to escape, it provides visual notice that the cavity 627 has been filled with sealant 175, thereby sealing the mount 600 to the roof 200.Another exemplary embodiment is a universal flush mount 700 as shown in FIGS.", "14-16.The universal flush mount 700 includes a base 710 and an opening 725 (shown in FIG.", "16) in the middle of the mount 700 for a hanger bolt 730 that is used to secure the universal flush mount 700 to the roof 200.The hanger bolt 730 also has a shaft 735 extending downward and a threaded portion 737 on the shaft 735.The universal flush mount 700 includes an optional seal 715 that extends around the perimeter of the base 710.A washer 760 may be coupled between the top end of the hanger bolt 730 and the top surface of the base 710 to provide a tighter seal.", "The base 710 also includes a port hole 770 on its top surface.", "As shown in FIG.", "16, the base 710 comprises a hollow cavity 727 that is accessible by the port hole 770 and a vent 780 that are both typically on the top surface of the base 710.The port hole 770 is typically larger than the vent 780, although the port hole 770—like the other port holes as discussed herein, should be capable of fitting a sealant injection device like the sealant gun 300 as shown herein.", "As shown in FIG.", "17, a pilot hole 210 is drilled into the roof 200 and the hole 210 is filled with sealant 175.The hanger bolt 730 is then inserted through the opening 725 and is tightened until the mount 700 is secured to the roof 200.Once secured, as shown in FIG.", "18, the steps of use are similar to the previously discussed mounts.", "The sealant gun 300 is used to inject sealant 175 into the port hole 770.The cavity 727 is then filled with sealant 175 until the sealant 175 begins to escape through the port hole 780 from the base 710.When the sealant 175 begins to escape, it provides visual notice that the cavity 727 has been filled with sealant 175, thereby sealing the mount 700 to the roof 200.Another exemplary embodiment is a universal base mount 800 as shown in FIGS.", "19 and 20.The universal base mount 800 includes a base 810 and an opening 825 (shown in FIG.", "20) in the middle of the mount 800 for a bolt 830 that is used to secure the universal base mount 800 to the roof 200.The bolt 830 also has a shaft 835 extending downward and a threaded portion 837 on the shaft 835.The universal base mount 800 also includes a plurality of internally threaded apertures 890 that are used to secure a mount (not shown) to the universal base mount 800.The mount 800 also includes an optional seal 815 that extends around the perimeter of a cavity 827 within the base 810.A washer 860 may be coupled between the top end of the bolt 830 and the top surface of the base 810 to provide a tighter seal.", "The base 810 also includes a port hole 870 on its top surface.", "As shown in FIG.", "20, the base 810 comprises the hollow cavity 827 that is accessible by the port hole 870 and a vent 880 that are both typically on the top surface of the base 810.The port hole 870 is typically larger than the vent 880, although the port hole 870—like the other port holes as discussed herein, should be capable of fitting a sealant injection device like the sealant gun 300 as shown herein and are typically positioned on opposite sides of the base 810.As shown in FIG.", "21, a pilot hole 210 is bored, typically with a drill, into the roof 200 and the hole 210 is filled with sealant 175.The bolt 830 is then inserted through the opening 825 and is tightened until the mount 800 is secured to the roof 200.Once secured, as shown in FIG.", "22, the steps of use are similar to the previously discussed mounts.", "The sealant gun 300 is used to inject sealant 175 into the port hole 870.The cavity 827 is then filled with sealant 175 until the sealant 175 begins to escape through the port hole 880 from the base 810.When the sealant 175 begins to escape, it provides visual notice that the cavity 827 has been filled with sealant 175, thereby sealing the mount 800 to the roof 200.Another exemplary embodiment is a conduit mount 900 as shown in FIGS.", "23-25.The conduit mount 900 typically supports a conduit 1000, which can be of any suitable shape such as a cylindrical pipe as shown in FIG.", "28.As shown in FIG.", "23, the conduit mount 900 includes a base 910 and an opening 925 (shown in FIG.", "24) in the middle of the mount 900 for receiving a bolt 930 that is used to secure the conduit mount 900 to the roof 200.The bolt 930 also has a shaft 935 extending downward and a threaded portion 937 on the shaft 935.The base 910 typically tapers upward and forms a generally U-shaped guide that comprises a pair of members 945 and 946 extending from opposing sides of the base 910, which in turn forms an opening 920 configured to receive the conduit 1000.Each of the members 945 and 946 also includes a threaded aperture 940 and 941 respectively.", "The apertures 945 and 946 are configured to receive a securing bolt 950 that is threaded 955.The base 910 also includes a port hole 970 on its outer surface.", "As shown in FIG.", "25, the base 910 comprises the hollow cavity 927 that is accessible by the port hole 970 and a vent 980 that are both typically on the outer surface of the base 910.The port hole 970 is typically larger than the vent 980, although the port hole 970—like the other port holes as discussed herein, should be capable of fitting a sealant injection device like the sealant gun 300 as shown herein and are typically positioned on opposite sides of the base 910.As shown in FIG.", "26, the bolt 930 is inserted through the opening 925 and is tightened until the mount 900 is secured to the roof 200.Once secured, as shown in FIGS.", "27 and 28, the steps of use are similar to the previously discussed mounts.", "The sealant gun 300 is used to inject sealant 175 into the port hole 970.The cavity 927 is then filled with sealant 175 until the sealant 175 begins to escape through the port hole 980 from the base 910.When the sealant 175 begins to escape, it provides visual notice that the cavity 927 has been filled with sealant 175, thereby sealing the mount 900 to the roof 200.Once the conduit mount 900 is secured to the roof 200, the conduit 1000 can be inserted through the opening 920 and secured to the mount 900 by using the second bolt 950 and tightening it through the apertures 940 and 941 using the threaded portion 955 of the second bolt 950.Another exemplary embodiment is a conduit riser attachment 1100 as shown in FIGS.", "29-31.The conduit riser 1100 typically fits over a conduit that rises through the roof 200 through a conduit hole 240 as shown in FIG.", "33.The conduit riser 1100 includes a base 1110, that extends upward to a top end with a conduit gasket 1120 on the top end that surrounds an opening 1115 that is configured to receive a conduit 1200 as shown in FIG.", "30.The base 1110 also includes a port hole 1170 on its outer surface.", "As shown in FIGS.", "29-31, the base 1110 comprises the hollow cavity 1125 for holding sealant 175 and is accessible by the port hole 1170 and a vent 1180 that are both typically on the outer surface of the base 1110.The port hole 1170 is typically larger than the vent 1180, although the port hole 1170—like the other port holes as discussed herein, should be capable of fitting a sealant injection device like the sealant gun 300 as shown herein and are typically positioned on opposite sides of the base 1110.As shown in FIG.", "32, the conduit hole 240 is bored into the roof 200.The conduit 1200 is then attached to a rafter in an attic (not shown) below the roof 200.The conduit riser 1100 is then placed over the conduit 1200 as shown in FIG.", "33 until fully seated on the roof 200.The sealant gun 300 is used to inject sealant 175 into the port hole 1170.The cavity 1127 is then filled with sealant 175 until the sealant 175 begins to escape through the port hole 1180 from the base 1110.When the sealant 175 begins to escape, it provides visual notice that the cavity 1127 has been filled with sealant 175, thereby sealing the conduit riser 1100 to the roof 200.Once the conduit riser 1100 is secured to the roof 200, the process is complete." ] ]
Patent_15875021
[ [ "METHOD FOR MULTIPLEXED NUCLEIC ACID PATCH POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION", "The invention encompasses a method for amplifying at least two different nucleic acid sequences.", "In particular, the method encompasses a multiplexed nucleic acid patch polymerase chain reaction." ], [ "1.A method of amplifying at least two different nucleic acid sequences, the method comprising: a) creating known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by: i) annealing an upstream primer and a downstream primer to the at least two nucleic acid sequences to be amplified; ii) amplifying the at least two nucleic acid sequences to create at least one amplicon; and iii) removing the upstream primer and the downstream primer from the at least one amplicon of step ii) after amplifying; b) circularizing the at least one amplicon by ligating an adapter nucleic acid sequence to the known 5′ and 3′ ends of the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences; c) annealing an upstream nucleic acid patch and a downstream nucleic acid patch to each nucleic acid sequence of known 5′ and 3′ ends from step (a), wherein the upstream nucleic acid patch and the downstream nucleic acid patch form a bridge between the known 5′ and 3′ ends and the adapter nucleic acid sequence; and d) amplifying the nucleic acid sequences of step (c).", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein each nucleic acid sequence is encoded by genomic DNA.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the ends of the at least two nucleic acid sequences are created by type IIS restriction enzyme digestion.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the upstream primer and the downstream primer of step (a) comprise uracil instead of thymine.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the upstream primer and downstream primer are removed from each amplicon of step (b) in part by the addition of uracil DNA glycosylase.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein the at least two nucleic acid sequences are bisulfite treated DNA.", "7.The method of claim 1, further comprising sequencing the products of step (d).", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the adapter nucleic acid sequences include a sample specific DNA barcode.", "9.A method of sequencing at least two different nucleic acid sequences, the method comprising: a) defining the 5′ and 3′ ends of the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences of double stranded genomic DNA by: i) denaturing the double stranded genomic DNA; and ii) annealing an upstream nucleic acid guide sequence and a downstream nucleic acid guide sequence to the at least two nucleic acid sequences of the genomic DNA, wherein the upstream nucleic acid guide sequence and the downstream nucleic acid guide sequence include a Type II restriction endonuclease recognition sequence, which allows a Type II restriction endonuclease to cleave the genomic DNA at known sites; b) circularizing the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by ligating an adapter nucleic acid sequence to the known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences; c) digesting the unselected genomic DNA with exonuclease III and exonuclease VII; and d) sequencing the known nucleic acid sequence.", "10.The method of claim 9, wherein the adapter nucleic acid sequence includes a tag.", "11.The method of claim 10, wherein the tag is detectable by a single molecular analysis sequencer.", "12.The method of claim 9, wherein the adapter includes a sample specific DNA barcode.", "13.The method of claim 9, wherein the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences are methylated.", "14.The method of claim 13, wherein the methylation is detected by a single molecular analysis sequencer.", "15.A method of sequencing at least two different nucleic acid sequences, the method comprising: a) creating known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by: i) annealing an upstream primer and a downstream primer to the at least two different nucleic acid sequences to be amplified; ii) amplifying the at least two different nucleic acid sequences to create at least one amplicon, wherein the at least one amplicon has a known target loci; and iii) removing the upstream primer and the downstream primer from the at least one amplicon of step ii); b) annealing an upstream nucleic acid patch and a downstream nucleic acid patch to the at least one amplicon in step iii), wherein the upstream nucleic acid patch and the downstream nucleic acid patch are hairpin loop adapters; c) annealing an upstream universal sequencing primer to the upstream hairpin patch and a downstream universal sequencing primer to the downstream hairpin patch; and d) sequencing the at least one amplicon using a single molecular analysis sequencer.", "16.The method of claim 15, wherein the upstream nucleic acid patch and downstream nucleic acid patch include a sample specific DNA barcode.", "17.The method of claim 15, wherein the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences are methylated.", "18.The method of claim 17, wherein the methylation is detected by a single molecular analysis sequencer." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>As the genes involved in various aspects of human physiology are elucidated, there are increasingly more candidate genes associated with disease.", "The application of this knowledge both in the clinic and to clinical research can be very powerful as the field moves toward personalized medicine.", "Examples of success include the sequencing of candidate disease loci in targeted populations, such as Ashkenazi Jews (Weinstein 2007), the sequencing of variants in drug metabolism genes to adjust dosage (Marsh and McLeod 2006), and the identification of genetic defects in cancer that make tumors more responsive to certain treatments (Marsh and McLeod 2006).", "However, the sequencing of many candidate genes across many individual samples necessitates the development of new technology to lower the cost and increase the throughput of medical re-sequencing to make clinical application more feasible.", "The cost of sequencing is declining rapidly due to second generation sequencing technologies that perform a large number of sequencing reactions in parallel while using a small amount of reagent per reaction (Metzker 2005).", "These technologies integrate cloning and amplification into the sequencing protocol, which is essential for achieving the greater than 100-fold cost savings over traditional methods.", "However, this integration results in a loss of flexibility—it is not yet feasible to sequence a subset of the human genome in a large number of samples for the same cost as sequencing the complete genome of a single individual.", "This is a limitation, because sequencing the complete genome of a large numbers of individuals is still cost prohibitive, and the whole genome sequence of only a few individuals does not provide enough statistical power to make correlations between genotype and phenotype.", "The promise of personalized medicine based on genome analysis still glows on the horizon, but the significance behind observed variability is dim without an affordable technology to drive the necessary depth of patient sampling.", "Current methods for analyzing sequence variation in a subset of the human genome rely on PCR to amplify the targeted sequences (Greenman et al.", "2007; Sjoblom et al.", "2006; Wood et al.", "2007).", "Efforts to multiplex PCR have been hampered by the dramatic increase in the amplification of mispriming events as more primer pairs are used (Fan et al.", "2006).", "In addition, large numbers of primer pairs often result in inter-primer interactions that prevent amplification (Han et al.", "2006).", "Therefore, separate PCRs for each region of interest are performed, a costly approach when hundreds of individual PCRs must be performed for each sample (Greenman et al.", "2007; Sjoblom et al.", "2006; Wood et al.", "2007).", "Furthermore, this strategy requires a large amount of starting DNA to supply enough template for all of the individual PCR reactions.", "This can be a problem as DNA is often a limiting factor when working with clinical samples.", "It is important to choose the appropriate strategy for sample tracking to fully harness the throughput of second generation sequencing technologies.", "The sequencing capacities of these platforms are large enough that multiple samples can be sequenced with a single instrument run.", "To do this, one can use a separate compartment for each sample, but this only allows for a small number of samples, and there is a reduction in the total amount of sequence generated per run.", "Recently, Parameswaran et al.", "(Parameswaran et al.", "2007) demonstrated the power of using DNA barcodes to label samples so that they can be pooled and sequenced together on the 454/Roche GS20 Sequencer.", "They were able to utilize the full capacity of the instrument and still determine from which sample each read originated.", "To realize the full power of second generation sequencing technologies, a multiplexing strategy should be compatible with DNA barcoding to track samples.", "Therefore, there remains a need in the art for a multiplexed PCR method that simultaneously amplifies many targeted regions from a small amount of nucleic acid.", "The PCR method should also be compatible with next generation high throughput sequencing technologies where numerous samples can be processed in a single run.", "The PCR method should be specific and sensitive enough for identifying SNPs and mutations in individual samples." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>One aspect of the present invention encompasses a method of amplifying at least two different nucleic acid sequences.", "Generally, speaking the method comprises the following step: a) creating known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by: i) annealing an upstream primer and a downstream primer to the at least two nucleic acid sequences to be amplified; ii) amplifying the at least two nucleic acid sequences to create amplicons; and iii) removing the upstream primer and downstream primer from the amplicons of step ii) after amplifying; b) circularizing the amplicons by ligating an adapter nucleic acid sequence to the known 5′ and 3′ ends of the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences; c) annealing an upstream nucleic acid patch and a downstream nucleic acid patch to each nucleic acid sequence of known 5′ and 3′ ends from step (a), wherein the upstream nucleic acid patch and the downstream nucleic acid patch form a bridge between the known 5′ and 3′ ends and the adapter nucleic acid sequence; and d) amplifying the nucleic acid sequences of step (c).", "Another aspect of the present invention encompasses a method of sequencing at least two different nucleic acid sequences of double stranded genomic.", "The method typically comprises the following steps: a) defining the 5′ and 3′ ends of the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences of double stranded genomic DNA by: i) denaturing the double stranded genomic DNA; ii) annealing an upstream nucleic acid guide sequence and a downstream nucleic acid guide sequence to the at least two nucleic acid sequences of the genomic DNA, wherein the upstream nucleic acid guide sequence and the downstream nucleic acid guide sequence include a Type II restriction endonuclease recognition sequence, which allows a Type II restriction endonuclease to cleave the genomic DNA at known sites; b) circularizing the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by ligating an adapter nucleic acid sequence to the known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences; c) digesting the unselected genomic DNA with exonuclease III and exonuclease VII; and d) sequencing the known nucleic acid sequence.", "An additional aspect of the invention encompasses a method of sequencing at least two different nucleic acid sequences.", "The method typically comprises the following steps: a) creating known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by: i) annealing an upstream primer and a downstream primer to the at least two nucleic acid sequences to be amplified; ii) amplifying the at least two nucleic acid sequences to create amplicons, wherein the amplicons have known target loci; and iii) removing the upstream primer and the downstream primer from the amplicons of step ii); b) annealing an upstream nucleic acid patch and a downstream nucleic acid patch to each amplicon in step iii), wherein the upstream nucleic acid patch and downstream nucleic acid patch are hairpin loop adapters; c) annealing an upstream universal sequencing primer to the upstream hairpin patch and a downstream universal sequencing primer to the downstream hairpin patch; and d) sequencing the amplicon a single molecular analysis sequencer.", "Other aspects and iterations of the invention are described more thoroughly below." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/599,056, filed Jan. 16, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/556,590, filed Jul.", "24, 2012, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,936,912, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/555,627, filed Sep. 8, 2009, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,586,310, which claims the priority of U.S. provisional application No.", "61/094,660, filed Sep. 5, 2008, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.", "GOVERNMENTAL RIGHTS This invention was made with government support under 5P50HG003170-0 awarded by the National Institutes of Health.", "The government has certain rights in the invention.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention encompasses a method for a amplifying at least two different nucleic acid sequences.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As the genes involved in various aspects of human physiology are elucidated, there are increasingly more candidate genes associated with disease.", "The application of this knowledge both in the clinic and to clinical research can be very powerful as the field moves toward personalized medicine.", "Examples of success include the sequencing of candidate disease loci in targeted populations, such as Ashkenazi Jews (Weinstein 2007), the sequencing of variants in drug metabolism genes to adjust dosage (Marsh and McLeod 2006), and the identification of genetic defects in cancer that make tumors more responsive to certain treatments (Marsh and McLeod 2006).", "However, the sequencing of many candidate genes across many individual samples necessitates the development of new technology to lower the cost and increase the throughput of medical re-sequencing to make clinical application more feasible.", "The cost of sequencing is declining rapidly due to second generation sequencing technologies that perform a large number of sequencing reactions in parallel while using a small amount of reagent per reaction (Metzker 2005).", "These technologies integrate cloning and amplification into the sequencing protocol, which is essential for achieving the greater than 100-fold cost savings over traditional methods.", "However, this integration results in a loss of flexibility—it is not yet feasible to sequence a subset of the human genome in a large number of samples for the same cost as sequencing the complete genome of a single individual.", "This is a limitation, because sequencing the complete genome of a large numbers of individuals is still cost prohibitive, and the whole genome sequence of only a few individuals does not provide enough statistical power to make correlations between genotype and phenotype.", "The promise of personalized medicine based on genome analysis still glows on the horizon, but the significance behind observed variability is dim without an affordable technology to drive the necessary depth of patient sampling.", "Current methods for analyzing sequence variation in a subset of the human genome rely on PCR to amplify the targeted sequences (Greenman et al.", "2007; Sjoblom et al.", "2006; Wood et al.", "2007).", "Efforts to multiplex PCR have been hampered by the dramatic increase in the amplification of mispriming events as more primer pairs are used (Fan et al.", "2006).", "In addition, large numbers of primer pairs often result in inter-primer interactions that prevent amplification (Han et al.", "2006).", "Therefore, separate PCRs for each region of interest are performed, a costly approach when hundreds of individual PCRs must be performed for each sample (Greenman et al.", "2007; Sjoblom et al.", "2006; Wood et al.", "2007).", "Furthermore, this strategy requires a large amount of starting DNA to supply enough template for all of the individual PCR reactions.", "This can be a problem as DNA is often a limiting factor when working with clinical samples.", "It is important to choose the appropriate strategy for sample tracking to fully harness the throughput of second generation sequencing technologies.", "The sequencing capacities of these platforms are large enough that multiple samples can be sequenced with a single instrument run.", "To do this, one can use a separate compartment for each sample, but this only allows for a small number of samples, and there is a reduction in the total amount of sequence generated per run.", "Recently, Parameswaran et al.", "(Parameswaran et al.", "2007) demonstrated the power of using DNA barcodes to label samples so that they can be pooled and sequenced together on the 454/Roche GS20 Sequencer.", "They were able to utilize the full capacity of the instrument and still determine from which sample each read originated.", "To realize the full power of second generation sequencing technologies, a multiplexing strategy should be compatible with DNA barcoding to track samples.", "Therefore, there remains a need in the art for a multiplexed PCR method that simultaneously amplifies many targeted regions from a small amount of nucleic acid.", "The PCR method should also be compatible with next generation high throughput sequencing technologies where numerous samples can be processed in a single run.", "The PCR method should be specific and sensitive enough for identifying SNPs and mutations in individual samples.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention encompasses a method of amplifying at least two different nucleic acid sequences.", "Generally, speaking the method comprises the following step: a) creating known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by: i) annealing an upstream primer and a downstream primer to the at least two nucleic acid sequences to be amplified; ii) amplifying the at least two nucleic acid sequences to create amplicons; and iii) removing the upstream primer and downstream primer from the amplicons of step ii) after amplifying; b) circularizing the amplicons by ligating an adapter nucleic acid sequence to the known 5′ and 3′ ends of the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences; c) annealing an upstream nucleic acid patch and a downstream nucleic acid patch to each nucleic acid sequence of known 5′ and 3′ ends from step (a), wherein the upstream nucleic acid patch and the downstream nucleic acid patch form a bridge between the known 5′ and 3′ ends and the adapter nucleic acid sequence; and d) amplifying the nucleic acid sequences of step (c).", "Another aspect of the present invention encompasses a method of sequencing at least two different nucleic acid sequences of double stranded genomic.", "The method typically comprises the following steps: a) defining the 5′ and 3′ ends of the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences of double stranded genomic DNA by: i) denaturing the double stranded genomic DNA; ii) annealing an upstream nucleic acid guide sequence and a downstream nucleic acid guide sequence to the at least two nucleic acid sequences of the genomic DNA, wherein the upstream nucleic acid guide sequence and the downstream nucleic acid guide sequence include a Type II restriction endonuclease recognition sequence, which allows a Type II restriction endonuclease to cleave the genomic DNA at known sites; b) circularizing the at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by ligating an adapter nucleic acid sequence to the known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences; c) digesting the unselected genomic DNA with exonuclease III and exonuclease VII; and d) sequencing the known nucleic acid sequence.", "An additional aspect of the invention encompasses a method of sequencing at least two different nucleic acid sequences.", "The method typically comprises the following steps: a) creating known 5′ and 3′ ends of at least two linear nucleic acid sequences by: i) annealing an upstream primer and a downstream primer to the at least two nucleic acid sequences to be amplified; ii) amplifying the at least two nucleic acid sequences to create amplicons, wherein the amplicons have known target loci; and iii) removing the upstream primer and the downstream primer from the amplicons of step ii); b) annealing an upstream nucleic acid patch and a downstream nucleic acid patch to each amplicon in step iii), wherein the upstream nucleic acid patch and downstream nucleic acid patch are hairpin loop adapters; c) annealing an upstream universal sequencing primer to the upstream hairpin patch and a downstream universal sequencing primer to the downstream hairpin patch; and d) sequencing the amplicon a single molecular analysis sequencer.", "Other aspects and iterations of the invention are described more thoroughly below.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The application file contains at least one photograph executed in color.", "Copies of this patent application publication with color photographs will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.", "FIG.", "1A, FIG.", "1B, FIG.", "1C, and FIG.", "1D depict a schematic of nucleic acid patch PCR.", "(FIG.", "1A) A PCR reaction containing primers pairs for all targets is performed on genomic DNA.", "The primers contain uracil substituted for thymine.", "The primers are then cleaved from the amplicons by the addition of heat-labile Uracil DNA Glycosylase, Endonuclease VIII, and single strand specific Exonuclease I.", "(FIG.", "1B) The ends of the target regions are now internal to the PCR primers (nested).", "(FIG.", "1C) Nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides are annealed to the target amplicons and serve as a patch between the correct amplicons and universal primers.", "The universal primers are then ligated to the amplicons.", "The universal primer on the 3′ end of the amplicon is modified with a 3 carbon spacer that protects the selected amplicon from the final exonuclease reaction that degrades nonspecific products.", "(FIG.", "1D) The selected amplicons are then amplified together simultaneously by PCR with universal primers.", "FIG.", "2 depicts a schematic of Sample Specific Barcode PCR.", "Sample-specific DNA barcodes are incorporated into the primers that are used for the final universal PCR.", "The 5′ end of the universal primer (white) is tailed with the sequences for the Roche/454 FLX Machine (grey) and sample-specific DNA sequences (black).", "When sequencing from either 454A or 454B, the first few bases indicate from which sample the read originated.", "FIG.", "3A, FIG.", "3B, and FIG.", "3C show the quantification of the abundance and reproducibility of nucleic acid patch PCR per exon in each sample.", "(FIG.", "3A) Uniform Exon Abundance.", "Graph of the number of reads obtained for each targeted exon from the colon cancer sample and adjacent normal tissue.", "The 90 exons for which at least 1 read was obtained are ordered by abundance in the normal sample on the x-axis.", "The median number of reads per exon is 145.Seventy-six percent of all exons fell within 5 fold coverage of this median.", "All exons are within 3 log 10 of each other.", "(FIG.", "3B) Correlation of number of reads across samples.", "Each exon is depicted as a point on the graph, where the x-axis is the number of reads in the normal sample and the y-axis is the number of reads in the colon cancer sample.", "The correlation was high (R2 of 93%), indicating high reproducibility across samples.", "(FIG.", "3C) Fold difference in abundance across samples.", "We computed the fold change of abundance per exon between the two samples.", "85% (77/90) of exons displayed a 2 fold or less difference in abundance between samples.", "100% of exons displayed a 3 fold or less difference in abundance between samples.", "Dotted line indicates 3 fold change.", "FIG.", "4 depicts a schematic of bisulfite nucleic acid patch PCR with ends defined by AluI digest.", "Genomic DNA is digested with AluI restriction enzyme.", "Nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides are then annealed to the target amplicons and serve as a patch between the correct amplicons and universal primers.", "The universal primers are then ligated to the amplicons.", "The universal primer on the 3′ end of the amplicon is modified with a 3 carbon spacer that protects the selected amplicon from the final exonuclease reaction that degrades nonspecific products.", "The reactions are then treated with sodium bisulfite to convert unmethylated cytosines to uracil.", "The selected amplicons are then amplified together simultaneously by PCR with universal primers.", "FIG.", "5 shows an image of the agarose gel electrophoresis of the final Universal PCR products of bisulfite nucleic acid patch PCR with ends defined by AluI digest.", "Each reaction was performed using decreasing quantities of starting human genomic DNA, as labeled in the figure.", "The expected smear of products is seen in the lanes that contained 900, 675, 450, 225, 112, 70, 50, and 20 ng of genomic DNA.", "The first lane contains Low Molecular Weight Ladder (NEB), with band sizes denoted on the left.", "FIG.", "6 depicts the sequencing results of bisulfite nucleic acid patch PCR with ends defined by AluI digest.", "The Y axis on the graph represents the number of reads obtained for each promoter.", "The promoters are order by length (bp) on the X axis.", "FIG.", "7A, FIG.", "7B, FIG.", "7C, FIG.", "7D, FIG.", "7E, FIG.", "7F, and FIG.", "7G depict a schematic of multiplexed bisulfite PCR.", "(FIG.", "7A) Genomic DNA.", "(FIG.", "7B) Restriction digest.", "(FIG.", "7C) Anneal patch oligos and universal primers specifically to the ends of desired fragments.", "(FIG.", "7D) Ligate universal primers (U1 & U2) to targeted fragments.", "(FIG.", "7E) Degrade unselected DNA with exonucleases.", "Targeted loci are protected from exonuclease by 3-prime modification on U2.(FIG.", "7F) Treat with sodium bisulfite to convert unmethylated cytosine to uracil, leaving methylated cytosine intact.", "(FIG.", "7G) PCR all loci simultaneously with universal primers tailed with sample-specific-DNA barcodes and sequencing machine primers (454A & 454B).", "Pool PCR products from all samples together for sequencing.", "FIG.", "8 depicts a photograph of an agarose gel showing that multiplexed bisulfite PCR works from small quantities of human genomic DNA.", "Image of the final universal PCR products by 3% Metaphor agarose gel electrophoresis.", "Each reaction was performed on a different amount of starting human genomic DNA, as labeled at the top of the figure.", "The expected smear of products is seen in the lanes that contained between 900 ng and 20 ng DNA.", "The gel image demonstrates that the reaction generates the expected products when as little as 20 ng of genomic DNA is used.", "A faint smear is visible in the lane that started with 1.6 ng in images taken at higher exposure.", "FIG.", "9A and FIG.", "9B depict two graphs showing the bisulfite method performance.", "(FIG.", "9A) Number of sequencing reads per promoter for all 94 targeted promoters, order by length in base-pairs (bp) on the x-axis.", "Longer promoter amplicons yield fewer sequencing reads (length bias), but 87 amplicons (93%) have coverage within 10 fold of the median coverage (444 reads).", "The abundance of each promoter ranged from 10 to 5114 reads.", "(FIG.", "9B) Histogram of the pair-wise squared correlation coefficients for the number of reads per promoter for all 48 samples.", "The mean correlation coefficient is 0.91, indicating that the number of reads per promoter is highly reproducible across patient samples.", "FIG.", "10 depicts an illustration of methylation at the H19 imprinted locus.", "Data from four patients who were germline heterozygous for a SNP (rs2251375) in this locus.", "The sequencing reads are aligned as rows in each panel.", "Each base in the read is color coded to indicate the sequence, yellow indicates a methylated cytosine, blue indicates all other bases.", "The position of the SNP is indicated by the red and white column, where a red base indicates reads from the G allele, and a white base indicates reads from the T allele.", "The percent of reads for each patient that are from the G allele is listed below the patient identifier for each sample.", "As expected for an imprinted locus, methylation is observed on one allele in both the tumor (left panels) and adjacent normal tissue (right panels) for each patient.", "Both alleles and both methylated and unmethylated molecules were amplified and sequenced efficiently from this locus in all samples.", "FIG.", "11A, FIG.", "11B, FIG.", "11C, and FIG.", "11D depict an illustration of four promoters that exhibit tumor specific methylation.", "Sequencing reads from all patients for each type of tissue are grouped together in panels; breast tumors, adjacent normal breast tissues, colon tumors, and adjacent normal colon tissues.", "The sequencing reads are aligned as rows in each panel, and grouped by patient.", "Each base in the read is color coded to indicate the sequence, yellow indicates a methylated cytosine and blue indicates all other bases.", "FIG.", "11A ICAM5 promoters exhibit colon and breast tumor specific methylation.", "FIG.", "11B LAMA1 promoters exhibit colon and breast tumor specific methylation.", "FIG.", "11C KCNQ5 promoters exhibit colon tumor specific methylation.", "FIG.", "11D CLSTN2 promoters exhibit colon tumor specific methylation.", "FIG.", "12 depicts an illustration of allelic tumor specific methylation.", "Data from six patients who are germline heterozygous for a SNP (rs2854744) in IGFBP3 promoter.", "The sequencing reads are aligned as rows in each panel.", "Each base in the read is color coded to indicate the sequence, yellow indicates a methylated cytosine and blue indicates all other bases.", "The position of the SNP is indicated by the red and white column, where red indicates reads from the A allele, and the C allele is indicated by yellow, if methylated, or white, if unmethylated and converted to a T. Patient ‘Breast 8’ is unmethylated on both alleles in both the tumor (left column) and normal tissue (right column).", "Patients ‘Breast 4’ and ‘Colon 6’ display tumor-specific methylation on only one allele, and the methylated allele differs between them.", "Patients ‘Colon 7’ and ‘Colon 12’ display tumor specific methylation on both alleles.", "Patient ‘Colon 12’ displays different patterns of methylation on each allele in the tumor.", "FIG.", "13 depicts a schematic of nucleic acid patch PCR with ends defined by oligo-directed FokI digestion.", "FokI-directing DNA oligonucleotides anneal upstream and downstream of target nucleic acid sequence in genomic DNA.", "These oligonucleotides contain a FokI restriction endonuclease recognition sequence, which directs FokI digestion of genomic DNA, defining the ends of the PCR template.", "Nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides are then annealed to the target amplicons and serve as a patch between the correct amplicons and universal primers.", "The universal primers are then ligated to the amplicons.", "The universal primer on the 3′ end of the amplicon is modified with a 3 carbon spacer that protects the selected amplicon from the final exonuclease reaction that degrades nonspecific products.", "The selected amplicons are then amplified together simultaneously by PCR with universal primers.", "FIG.", "14 shows an image of the agarose gel electrophoresis of the final Universal PCR products of nucleic acid patch PCR with ends defined by oligo-directed FokI digestion.", "The first lane contains Low Molecular Weight Ladder (NEB), with band sizes denoted on the left.", "The second lane contains the full reaction and a smear of products in the expected size range is achieved.", "The remaining lanes are each missing a component of the reaction, demonstrating that all components of the reactions (except Tween) are required to obtain the expected products.", "FIG.", "15A, FIG.", "15B, FIG.", "15C, FIG.", "15D, FIG.", "15E, FIG.", "15F, and FIG.", "15G depict schematic illustrations of various embodiments of the invention.", "FIG.", "15A depicts a multiplex PCR reaction.", "FIG.", "15B depicts an embodiment where the amplified targets from the PCR reaction in FIG.", "15A may be trimmed so the ends of the target regions become internal to the PCR primer sequences.", "FIG.", "15C depicts a restriction enzyme reaction creating nucleic acid sequences with defined ends.", "FIG.", "15D depicts an embodiment where oligonucleotides are used to direct Type IIs restriction enzymes to cut at specific sites in the nucleic acid template.", "This is facilitated by upstream and downstream oligonucleotides that anneal upstream and downstream of the target nucleic acid sequences and serve as a guide for digestion by the type IIs restriction endonuclease enzyme.", "FIG.", "15E depicts single strand specific exonuclease enzyme digestion of nucleic acid templates protected by locus-specific oligonucleotides to define ends of the nucleic acid template.", "This is facilitated by upstream and downstream oligonucleotides that anneal upstream and downstream of the target nucleic acid sequences and serve as protection against digestion by the single strand specific exonuclease enzymes.", "FIG.", "15F depicts the ligation of universal primer sequences to nucleic acid sequences.", "This is facilitated by upstream and downstream nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides that anneal upstream and downstream of the target nucleic acid sequences and serve as a patch between the desired sequence and upstream and downstream universal primers to be ligated.", "FIG.", "15G depicts PCR amplification for 454 sequencing.", "The primers for the PCR amplification may be complementary to the upstream and downstream universal primer nucleotide sequences (black segments of the primers).", "Additionally, the PCR primers may be coupled to nucleic acid sequence barcodes (white segments of the primers).", "The barcodes may be internal to the primer sequence.", "FIG.", "16 depicts a schematic of producing a circularized nucleic acid sequence for analysis of the methylations sites by a single molecular analysis sequencer.", "Genomic DNA is denatured.", "Nucleic acid guide sequences are then annealed to the target amplicons.", "A Type II restriction enzyme is used to create known 5′ and 3′ ends of the DNA.", "The selected amplicon is circularized by ligating the known 5′ and 3′ ends of the DNA to an adapter sequences.", "The unselected genomic DNA is then digested with exonuclease III and exonuclease VII.", "The selected circularized amplicons are then sequenced.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION PCR amplifies specific nucleic acid sequences through a series of manipulations including denaturation, annealing of oligonucleotide primer pairs, and extension of the primers with DNA polymerase.", "These steps can be repeated many times, potentially resulting in large amplification of the number of copies of the original target sequence.", "Multiplex PCR is a variant of PCR that enables the simultaneous amplification of many targets of interest in one reaction by using more than one pair of primers.", "However, current multiplex PCR methods are hampered by the amplification of mispriming events and inter-primer interactions that prevent amplification, as more primer pairs are used.", "The present invention provides a method of multiplex PCR that affords a high level of specificity.", "The method also allows for parallel sequencing of multiple PCR amplification samples in a single sequencing run.", "Additionally, the invention provides uses for the method.", "Each is described in more detail below.", "I. Nucleic Acid Patch PCR Method Generally speaking, the method comprises defining the ends of at least two nucleic acid sequences, annealing upstream and downstream nucleic acid patches or guide sequences to each nucleic acid sequence, annealing an upstream and a downstream universal primer to each patch or guide sequence, and subsequently ligating the universal primers to each nucleic acid sequence.", "The resulting modified nucleic acid sequences may be amplified using primer sequences wherein each primer comprises a nucleic acid sequence adapter specific for the sample, and a nucleic acid sequence to prime the sequencing reaction.", "(a) Nucleic Acid Template A method of the invention may be used to amplify nucleic acid sequences.", "Usually, the nucleic acid sequences may be found in a nucleic acid template.", "A nucleic acid template may be from any sample that contains nucleic acid molecules.", "The nucleic acid template may be from humans, animals, plants, microorganisms or viruses.", "In preferred embodiments, the nucleic acid template is from a human sample.", "The sample may be fresh, from archeological or forensic samples, or from preserved samples such as paraffin-embedded tissue.", "The sample may be a solid tissue or a physiological fluid, such as blood, serum, plasma, saliva, ocular lens fluid, cerebral spinal fluid, sweat, urine, milk, ascites fluid, lymphatic fluid, mucous, synovial fluid, peritoneal fluid, or amniotic fluid.", "Nucleic acid templates may be prepared from the sample using methods well known to those of skill in the art (see, e.g., Sambrook et al.", "(1989) “Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual,” 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor).", "Alternatively, the sample containing the nucleic acid template may be used directly.", "The nucleic acid template may be DNA, RNA, a complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence that is synthesized from a mature messenger RNA, or double stranded genomic DNA.", "If the nucleic acid template is RNA, the RNA may be reverse transcribed to DNA using methods well known to persons skilled in the art.", "In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid template is DNA.", "In some embodiments, the nucleic acid template is double stranded genomic DNA.", "In some embodiments, suitable quantities of nucleic acid template for the invention may be 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.1, 0.05, 0.01, 0.005, 0.001 μg or less.", "In preferred embodiments, suitable quantities of nucleic acid template for the invention may be 1000, 900, 675, 450, 225, 112, 70, 50, 20, 1.6, 0.8, 0.4 ng or less.", "In some embodiments, the nucleic acid template may be treated to prepare the template for specific applications of the invention.", "In one embodiment, the nucleic acid template may be treated with bisulfite to determine the pattern of methylation.", "Nucleic acid templates may be treated with bisulfite using methods well known to those of skill in the art, and may be performed using commercially available reagents, following manufacturer's protocols, such as by using the EZ DNA Methylation-GOLD KIT (Zymo Research), the IMPRINT DNA Modification Kit (Sigma), or the like.", "(b) Creation of Nucleic Acid Sequences with Defined Ends The invention encompasses methods for the creation of nucleic acid sequences with defined ends.", "As used herein, the phrase “defined ends” refers to a nucleic acid sequence where both the 5′ and 3′ end of the sequence is known.", "Generally speaking, at least three, four, five, six, seven, or more than seven bases of the sequence are known.", "Non-limiting examples of methods for creating defined ends may include amplification (such as multiplex amplification), restriction endonuclease digestion, single strand specific exonuclease degradation, or triplex formation and cleavage.", "These methods are described in more detail below.", "i. Multiplex Amplification from a Nucleic Acid Sample Creating defined ends by multiplex amplification may consist of a PCR reaction using primer pairs for desired targets on the nucleic acid template.", "An exemplary example of a multiplex PCR reaction is depicted in FIG.", "15A.", "Components of the multiplex PCR amplification reaction may include the nucleic acid sequence to be amplified (template; see Section (I)(a) above), one or more primer pairs for delineating the target nucleic acid sequence on the template to be amplified (described below), one or more nucleotide polymerase (described below), deoxynucleotides, and salts and buffers essential for optimal activity of the polymerases in the reaction.", "A. Primers In a method for creating defined ends, the oligonucleotide PCR primers may be typically synthesized using the four naturally occurring deoxynucleotides dATP, dTTP, dCTP, and dGTP.", "In some embodiments of this invention, oligonucleotide primers may also incorporate natural or synthetic deoxynucleotide analogs not normally present in DNA.", "Incorporation of nucleotide analogs, depicted as “x” in the diagram above, allows for the oligonucleotide primers to be selectively removed (see Section (b) below) after amplification of the target nucleic acid.", "In some embodiments of the invention, a primer may be used such that, at one or more positions of the primer, one or more of the four deoxyribonucleotides in the primer may be replaced with one or more nucleotide analogs.", "Primers with nucleotide analogs located throughout the primer may also be used.", "In one preferred embodiment, primers may have one of the deoxynucleotides replaced with a nucleotide analog.", "In another preferred embodiment, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100% of either dATP, dTTP, dCTP, or dGTP in the primers may be replaced with a nucleotide analog.", "In yet another preferred embodiment, the nucleotide analog may be at the 3′-terminus of the primer.", "In some embodiments, the primer may comprise uracil as opposed to thymine.", "PCR primers may be designed using standard primer design computer software techniques known to individuals skilled in the art.", "The variables considered during PCR primer design may include primer length, GC pair content, melting temperature, and size of the target nucleic acid amplified by the primer pair.", "Generally speaking, primers should not form hairpin structures or self- or hetero-primer pairs, but in some embodiments a primer forming a hairpin structure may be used.", "In a preferred embodiment, primers may comprise a sequence of 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, or more bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "In another preferred embodiment, the primer melting temperature may be 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, or 75° C. In a preferred embodiment, the primer melting temperature may be 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, or 67° C. In one embodiment, the melting temperature of each primer of the primer pair may be the same.", "In another embodiment, the melting temperature of each primer of the primer pair may be different for each primer.", "In yet another embodiment, the difference in melting temperatures between each primer of the primer pair may be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9° C., or more.", "In another preferred embodiment, the maximum difference in melting temperature between primer pairs may be 5° C. In a preferred embodiment, the GC content of primer may be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80%.", "In yet another preferred embodiment the primer pair may be designed to amplify nucleic acid target products that may be 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, or more base pairs in length.", "B. Nucleotide Polymerases In one embodiment of a method for creating defined ends, the nucleotide polymerase may be a DNA polymerase.", "In another embodiment, the nucleotide polymerase may be a thermostable polymerase.", "In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide polymerase may be a thermostable DNA polymerase.", "A thermostable polymerase is an enzyme that is relatively stable to heat and eliminates the need to add enzyme prior to each PCR cycle.", "Non-limiting examples of thermostable polymerases may include polymerases isolated from the thermophilic bacteria Thermus aquaticus (Taq polymerase), Thermus thermophilus (Tth polymerase), Thermococcus litoralis (Tli or VENT polymerase), Pyrococcus furiosus (Pfu or DEEPVENT polymerase), Pyrococcus woosii (Pwo polymerase) and other Pyrococcus species, Bacillus stearothermophilus (Bst polymerase), Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (Sac polymerase), Thermoplasma acidophilum (Tac polymerase), Thermus rubber (Tru polymerase), Thermus brockianus (DYNAZYME polymerase) Thermotoga neapolitana (Tne polymerase), Thermotoga maritime (Tma) and other species of the Thermotoga genus (Tsp polymerase), and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum (Mth polymerase).", "The PCR reaction may contain more than one thermostable polymerase enzyme with complementary properties leading to more efficient amplification of target sequences.", "For example, a nucleotide polymerase with high processivity (the ability to copy large nucleotide segments) may be complemented with another nucleotide polymerase with proofreading capabilities (the ability to correct mistakes during elongation of target nucleic acid sequence), thus creating a PCR reaction that can copy a long target sequence with high fidelity.", "The thermostable polymerase may be used in its wild type form.", "Alternatively, the polymerase may be modified to contain a fragment of the enzyme or to contain a mutation that provides beneficial properties to facilitate the PCR reaction.", "In one embodiment, the thermostable polymerase may be Taq polymerase.", "Many variants of Taq polymerase with enhanced properties are known and include AMPLITAQ, AMPLITAQ Stoffel fragment, SUPERTAQ, SUPERTAQ PLUS, LA TAQ, LAPRO TAQ, and EX TAQ In a preferred embodiment, the thermostable polymerase used in the multiplex amplification reaction of the invention is the AMPLITAQ Stoffel fragment.", "C. PCR Reaction Conditions Buffer conditions for PCR reactions are known to those of ordinary skill in the art.", "PCR buffers may generally contain about 10-50 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.3, up to about 70 mM KCl, about 1.5 mM or higher MgCl2, to about 50-200 μM each of dATP, dCTP, dGTP, and dTTP, gelatin or BSA to about 100 μg/ml, and/or non-ionic detergents such as TWEEN-20 or Nonidet P-40 or TRITON X-100 at about 0.05-0.10% v/v.", "In some embodiments, betaine may be added to the PCR reactions at about 0.25 to about 1 M. An example of a detailed description of buffer conditions may be found in Example 2.In some embodiments, the multiplex PCR reaction may contain 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, or more primer pairs.", "Not all primer pairs will amplify targets with the same efficiency.", "In some embodiments, PCR primer pairs with similar amplification efficiency may be pooled in separate multiplex PCR reactions to have better representation of all targets.", "These PCR reactions may be combined after amplification.", "In other embodiments, PCR amplification may be performed at a uniform temperature (isothermal PCR).", "Examples of isothermal PCR methods may include the ramification amplifying method and the helicase-dependent amplification method.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, PCR amplification may be by thermal cycling between a high temperature to melt the nucleic acid strands, a lower temperature to anneal the primers to the target nucleic acid, and an intermediate temperature compatible with the nucleic acid polymerase to elongate the nucleic acid sequence.", "In one embodiment, the melting temperatures may be about 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 95, or 100° C. In a preferred embodiment, the melting temperature may be about 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, or 98° C. In another embodiment, the annealing temperatures may be 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75° C., or more.", "In a preferred embodiment, the annealing temperature may be 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 70, 71, or 72° C. In yet another embodiment, the elongation temperature may be 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80° C., or more.", "In a preferred embodiment, the elongation temperature may be 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 80° C., or more.", "In certain embodiments, the PCR reaction may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 5 to about 60 seconds.", "In a preferred embodiment, the PCR reaction may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 30 seconds.", "In some embodiments, the PCR reaction may be incubated at the annealing temperature for about 5 to about 60 seconds.", "In a preferred embodiment, the PCR reaction may be incubated at the annealing temperature for about 30 seconds.", "In some embodiments, the PCR reaction may be incubated at the elongation temperature for about 1 to about 10 minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the PCR reaction may be incubated at the elongation temperature for about 6 minutes.", "In some embodiments, the PCR reaction is pre-incubated at the melting temperature for about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 minutes before cycling between the melting, annealing and elongation temperatures.", "In a preferred embodiment, the PCR reaction may be pre-incubated at the melting temperature for about 2 minutes.", "In several embodiments, the PCR reactions may be cycled between the melting, annealing and elongation temperatures 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 or more times.", "In a preferred embodiment, the PCR reactions may be cycled between the melting, annealing and elongation temperatures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or more times.", "D. Trimming Amplicons In some embodiments of the invention, the amplified targets from the PCR reaction described above may be trimmed so the ends of the target regions become internal to the PCR primer sequences as depicted in FIG.", "15B.", "The extent of the trimming may generally be defined by synthetic nucleotide analogs incorporated into the primer pairs as described above.", "Treatments that specifically remove synthetic nucleotide analogs have been devised and are well known to those skilled in the art.", "In certain embodiments, oligonucleotides containing 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BdUR) or 5-bromodeoxycytidine (BrdC) may be used as the primers of the invention.", "Primers containing BdUR may be degraded upon exposure to light.", "In other embodiments, the deoxyinosine may be incorporated into primers of the invention.", "Primers containing deoxyinosine may be degraded using Endonuclease V, an enzyme that recognizes and cleaves the sugar phosphate backbone at the deoxyinosine residue.", "In other embodiments, the base of the synthetic nucleotide is first specifically removed, leaving an apurinic or apyrimidinic site (AP site) and an intact sugar-phosphate backbone.", "The sugar-phosphate backbone is then cleaved at the AP site, generating a nick in the target, which dictates the nucleic acid sequence to be removed by exonuclease enzymes.", "In preferred embodiments of the invention, the base of the synthetic nucleotide analog is removed with a DNA glycosylase enzyme.", "DNA glycosylases are a family of enzymes that can remove the base of some nucleotide analogs.", "Some examples of nucleotide analogs that may be incorporated into primers and that are substrates for glycosylase enzymes may include deoxyuridine, deoxy-7-methylguanosine, deoxy-5,6-dihydroxythymidine, deoxy-3-methyladenosine, deoxyinosine, 5-methyl-deoxycytidine, O-6-methyl-deoxyguanosine, 5-iodo-deoxyuridine, 8-oxy-deoxyguanine, and 1,N6-ethenoadenine.", "Glycosylase enzymes that remove bases from nucleotide analogs incorporated into target nucleic acid sequences may include uracil DNA glycosylase, 7-methylguanine-DNA glycosylase, 5,6-dihydroxythymidine glycosylase, 3-methyladenine glycosylase, hypoxanthine DNA N-glycosylases, 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase, and alkylpurine-DNA-N-glycosylase.", "In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide analog may be deoxyuridine.", "In another preferred embodiment, the DNA glycosylase enzyme may be uracil DNA glycosylase.", "In some embodiments, treatments that cleave AP sites may include, but are not limited to, heat, alkaline hydrolysis, tripeptides such as Lys-Trp-Lys and Lys-Tyr-Lys, AP endonucleases such as endonuclease III, endonuclease IV, endonuclease VI, endonuclease VIII, phage T4 UV endonuclease, and the like.", "In a preferred embodiment, the treatment is endonuclease VIII.", "After removing primers from amplified target nucleic acid sequences, the resulting single strand overhanging nucleic acid sequence at the 3′ termini may be removed using an enzyme with a 3′ to 5′ single stranded exonuclease activity as depicted in the diagram above.", "Commonly used 3′ to 5′ exonucleases that remove single stranded nucleic acids may include exonuclease I and exonuclease VII.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the exonuclease is exonuclease I.", "After trimming the ends of the amplified target nucleic acids, other manipulations that prepare the reactions for subsequent steps may be performed.", "For example, removal of unincorporated nucleotides might be required.", "In some embodiments, this may be accomplished by physical means such as precipitation, filtration, and chromatography.", "In other embodiments, the unincorporated nucleotides may be diluted to a concentration where they would not interfere in later steps.", "In preferred embodiments, the unincorporated nucleotides may be removed using enzymes such as apyrase, an ATP diphosphohydrolase that catalyses the removal of the gamma phosphate from ATP and the beta phosphate from ADP.", "ii.", "Restriction Endonuclease Enzymes In another embodiment, restriction endonuclease enzymes may be used to create nucleic acid sequences with defined ends.", "Suitable restriction endonuclease enzymes may include type I, type II, type III, or type IV restriction endonuclease enzymes.", "Generally speaking, the restriction enzyme used should have recognition sites that flank, and not bisect, the desired nucleic acid sequence.", "In some embodiments, the restriction endonuclease enzymes may be type I restriction endonuclease enzymes.", "Non-limiting examples of Type I restriction endonuclease enzymes may include CfrI, Eco377I, EcoAI, EcoDXXI, EcoKI, Eco124I, KpnAI, and StySPI.", "In other embodiments, the restriction endonuclease enzymes may be type II restriction endonuclease enzymes.", "Type II restriction endonuclease enzymes suitable for the methods of the invention may be a restriction endonuclease enzyme of type IIB, type IIE, type IIF, type IIG, type IIM, type IIS, or type IIT.", "In certain embodiments, Type III restriction endonuclease enzymes may be suitable for the methods of the invention.", "Non-limiting examples of Type III restriction endonuclease enzymes are known in the art.", "In alternative embodiments, the restriction endonuclease enzymes may be Type IIS restriction endonuclease enzymes.", "Non-limiting examples of Type IIS restriction endonuclease enzymes may include FokI, HgaI, EciI, BceAI, BbvI, BtgZI, BsmFI, BpmI, and BsgI.", "Other restriction endonuclease enzymes are known in the art.", "For instance, additional non-limiting examples may be found at http://rebase.neb.com/cgi-bin/azlist?re1, http://rebase.neb.com/cgi-bin/azlist?re2, http://rebase.neb.com/cgi-bin/azlist?re3, or http://rebase.neb.com/cgi-bin/azlist?re4.The restriction endonuclease enzyme cut sites may be used to define the ends of nucleic acid templates.", "An exemplary example of a restriction enzyme reaction creating nucleic acid sequences with defined ends is depicted in FIG.", "15C.", "Components of the restriction enzyme reaction may include the nucleic acid sequence to be digested (template; see Section (I)(a) above), one or more restriction endonucleases, and salts and buffers essential for optimal activity of the enzymes in the reaction.", "The restriction enzyme reaction may be prepared using methods well known to those of skill in the art (see, e.g., Sambrook et al.", "(1989) “Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual,” 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor).", "In some embodiments, oligonucleotides may be used to direct Type IIs restriction enzymes to cut at specific sites in the nucleic acid template.", "As depicted in FIG.", "15D, this is facilitated by upstream and downstream oligonucleotides that anneal upstream and downstream of the target nucleic acid sequences and serve as a guide for digestion by the type IIs restriction endonuclease enzyme.", "Thus, components of the restriction enzyme reaction may include the nucleic acid sequence to be digested (template; see Section (I)(a) above), one or more restriction endonucleases, the oligonucleotides directing the restriction endonuclease cut sites (described below), and salts and buffers essential for optimal activity of the enzymes in the reaction.", "A. Oligonucleotides Directing Type IIs Restriction Endonuclease Enzymes The upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may be designed using primer length, GC pair content, and melting temperature criteria as described in Section (I)(b)(i)(A) above.", "In some preferred embodiments, the 5′ ends of the upstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may be complementary to a portion of the desired nucleic acid sequence (e.g.", "the segment parallel to the genomic DNA in the diagram above), and may be concatenated at the 3′ end of the oligonucleotides to double-stranded nucleotide sequences encoding type IIs restriction enzymes.", "In other preferred embodiments, the 3′ ends of the downstream restriction-enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may be complementary to a portion of the desired nucleic acid sequences (e.g., the segment parallel to the genomic DNA in the diagram above), and may be concatenated at the 5′ end of the oligonucleotides to double-stranded nucleotide sequences encoding type IIs restriction enzymes.", "B. Annealing and Digestion Reaction Conditions Annealing of the restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides to the nucleic acid templates may generally be performed before addition of the restriction enzyme for digestion.", "In addition to the nucleic acid template, annealing reactions may generally contain about 1 pM to about 500 nM of each restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotide, and about 0.01 to about 0.9% TWEEN 80.An example of a detailed description of buffer conditions may be found in Example 8.In some embodiments, annealing of the restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may be performed by melting the nucleic acid strands at a high temperature, followed by a lower temperature suitable for annealing the restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides to target nucleic acid sequences.", "In one embodiment, the melting temperatures may be about 85, about 86, about 87, about 88, about 89, about 90, about 95, or about 100° C. In a preferred embodiment, the melting temperature may be about 90, about 91, about 92, about 93, about 94, about 95, about 96, about 97, or about 98° C. In another embodiment, the annealing temperatures may be about 10, about 15, about 20, about 25, about 30, about 35, about 40, about 45, about 50, about 55° C. or more.", "In a preferred embodiment, the annealing temperatures may be about 25, about 26, about 27, about 28, about 29, about 30, about 31, about 32, about 33, about 34, about 35, about 36, about 37, about 38, about 39, about 40, about 41, about 42, about 43, about 44, about 45, about 46, about 47, about 48, about 49, about 50, about 51, or about 52° C. In other embodiments, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 5 to about 30 minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 10, about 11, about 12, about 13, about 14, about 15, about 16, about 17, about 18, about 19, about 20, about 21, about 22, about 23, about 24, or about 25 minutes.", "In some embodiments, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the annealing temperature for about 1 to about 10 minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 1, about 2, about 3, about 4, about 5, about 6, about 7, about 8, about 9, about 10, about 11, about 12, about 13, about 14, or about 15 minutes.", "After annealing the restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides to the template, the type IIs restriction enzyme may be added, and the restriction enzyme reaction may be prepared using methods well known to those of skill in the art (see, e.g., Sambrook et al.", "(1989) “Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual,” 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor).", "iii.", "Single Strand Specific Exonuclease Degradation Single strand specific exonuclease enzyme digestion of nucleic acid templates protected by locus-specific oligonucleotides may be used to define ends of the nucleic acid template.", "As depicted in FIG.", "15E, this is facilitated by upstream and downstream oligonucleotides that anneal upstream and downstream of the target nucleic acid sequences and serve as protection against digestion by the single strand specific exonuclease enzymes.", "Thus, components of the exonuclease reaction may include the nucleic acid sequence to be digested (template; see Section (I)(a) above), one or more single strand specific exonuclease enzymes (described below), the oligonucleotides protecting the nucleic acid template (described below), and salts and buffers essential for optimal activity of the exonucleases in the reaction.", "Non-limiting examples of single strand specific exonuclease enzymes suitable for the methods of the invention may be exonuclease VII, exonuclease I, RecJ exonuclease, or TERMINATOR 5′-Phosphate-Dependent Exonuclease (Epicentre Biotechnologies).", "The upstream and downstream oligonucleotides may be designed using primer length, GC pair content, and melting temperature criteria as described in Section (I)(b)(i)(A) above.", "Annealing of the protecting oligonucleotides to the nucleic acid templates may generally be performed before addition of the exonuclease enzymes.", "In addition to the nucleic acid template, annealing reactions may generally contain about 1 pM to about 500 nM of each oligonucleotide.", "In some embodiments, annealing of the oligonucleotides may be performed by melting the nucleic acid strands at a high temperature, followed by a lower temperature suitable for annealing the protecting oligonucleotides to target loci.", "In one embodiment, the melting temperatures may be about 85, about 86, about 87, about 88, about 89, about 90, about 95, or about 100° C. In a preferred embodiment, the melting temperature may be about 90, about 91, about 92, about 93, about 94, about 95, about 96, about 97, or about 98° C. In another embodiment, the annealing temperatures may be about 10, about 15, about 20, about 25, about 30, about 35, about 40, about 45, about 50, about 55° C. or more.", "In a preferred embodiment, the annealing temperatures may be about 25, about 26, about 27, about 28, about 29, about 30, about 31, about 32, about 33, about 34, about 35, about 36, about 37, about 38, about 39, about 40, about 41, about 42, about 43, about 44, about 45, about 46, about 47, about 48, about 49, about 50, about 51, or about 52° C. In some embodiments, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 5 to about 30 minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 10, about 11, about 12, about 13, about 14, about 15, about 16, about 17, about 18, about 19, about 20, about 21, about 22, about 23, about 24, about 25 minutes.", "In some embodiments, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the annealing temperature for about 1 to about 10 minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the annealing reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 1, about 2, about 3, about 4, about 5, about 6, about 7, about 8, about 9, about 10, about 11, about 12, about 13, about 14, or about 15 minutes.", "After annealing of the protecting oligonucleotides, the exonuclease enzymes may be added for digestion.", "iv.", "Triplex Formation and Cleavage by Endonucleases The ability of some nucleic acid recombination proteins to direct the formation of triplex nucleic acid structures may be used to create defined ends of a nucleic acid sequence.", "Triplex DNA structures are induced at specific loci by incubating nucleic acid templates with locus-specific oligonucleotides that have been coated with the recombination protein.", "The triplex structure then produces a single stranded region of nucleic acid available for cleavage by single strand specific endonucleases.", "Thus, components of the restriction enzyme reaction may include the nucleic acid sequence to be digested (template; see Section (I)(a) above), one or more recombination proteins, the recombination protein-coated locus-specific oligonucleotides, the endonuclease proteins, and salts and buffers for optimal activity of the enzymes.", "Non-limiting examples of recombination proteins may include RecA of Escherichia coli, or any homologous recombination protein capable of inducing formation of triplex DNA structure.", "Non-limiting examples of single strand specific endonucleases may include S1 and BAL1 endonucleases.", "(c) Nucleic Acid Patch PCR One aspect of the invention is the ligation of universal primer sequences to nucleic acid sequences.", "As depicted in FIG.", "15F, this is facilitated by upstream and downstream nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides that anneal upstream and downstream of the target nucleic acid sequences and serve as a patch between the desired sequence and upstream and downstream universal primers to be ligated.", "Thus, nucleic acid patch ligation reactions contain the target sequences, the upstream and downstream universal primers to be ligated, the upstream and downstream nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides to guide the specific ligation of the universal primers, and the enzymes and other components needed for the ligation reaction.", "In preferred embodiments, target sequences may be nucleic acid sequences with defined ends as described above.", "i.", "Universal Primers The upstream and downstream universal primers may be designed using primer length, GC pair content and melting temperature criteria as described in Section (I)(a) above.", "In some embodiments, the downstream universal primer may be modified to facilitate further steps of the invention.", "In a specific embodiment, the downstream universal primer may be modified with a 5′ phosphate group to enable ligation of the downstream universal primer to the amplicon.", "In other specific embodiments, the 3′ end of the downstream universal primer may be modified for protection against exonuclease digestion.", "Modifications at the 3′ end may be introduced at the time of synthesis or after synthesis through chemical means well know to those of skill in the art.", "Modifications may be 3′ terminal or slightly internal to the 3′ end.", "Some examples of modifications that make nucleic acid sequences exonuclease resistant include, but are not limited to, locked nucleic acids (LNA's), 3′-linked amino groups, 3′ phosphorylation, the use of a 3′-terminal cap (e.g., 3′-aminopropyl modification or by using a 3′-3′ terminal linkage), phosphorothioate modifications, the use of attachment chemistry or linker modification such as Digoxigenin NHS Ester, Cholesteryl-TEG, biotinylation, thiol modifications, or addition of various fluorescent dyes and spacers such as C3 spacer.", "In a preferred embodiment, the downstream universal primer is protected from exonuclease digestion by a C3 spacer.", "ii.", "Nucleic Acid Patch Primers or Guide Oligonucleotides In some embodiments, an upstream nucleic acid patch or guide oligonucleotide and a downstream nucleic acid patch or guide oligonucleotide may be designed for each amplicon.", "In some preferred embodiments, the 5′ ends of the upstream nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides or guide oligonucleotide may be complementary to sequences in the amplicons, and may be concatenated to upstream nucleotide sequences or guide oligonucleotide complementary to the upstream universal primer sequence on the 3′ end.", "In other preferred embodiments, the 3′ ends of the downstream nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides or guide oligonucleotide may be complementary to downstream sequences in the amplicons, and may be concatenated to nucleotide sequences complementary to the downstream universal primer sequence on the 5′ end.", "iii.", "Ligation of Universal Primers In some embodiments, the universal primers may be ligated to nucleic acid sequences.", "In a process similar to a PCR amplification reaction, multiple cycles of heating and cooling may be used to melt the target nucleic acid sequence, anneal the nucleic acid patch and universal primers, and ligate the universal primers to target nucleic acid sequences.", "In some embodiments of the invention, the universal primers of the invention may be ligated to the target nucleic acids using a DNA ligase.", "The ligase may be thermostable.", "In preferred embodiments, the ligase is a thermostable DNA ligase.", "A thermostable DNA ligase is an enzyme that is relatively stable to heat and eliminates the need to add enzyme prior to each ligation cycle.", "Non-limiting examples of thermostable DNA ligases may include AMPLIGASE Thermostable DNA Ligase, Taq DNA Ligase from Thermus aquaticus, Tfi DNA ligase from Thermus filiformis, Tth DNA ligase from Thermus thermophilus, Thermo DNA ligase, Pfu DNA ligase from Pyrococcus furiosus, and thermostable DNA ligase from Aquifex pyrophilus.", "The thermostable polymerase may be used in its wild type form, modified to contain a fragment of the enzyme, or to contain a mutation that provides beneficial properties to facilitate the ligation reaction.", "In a preferred embodiment, the thermostable ligase is AMPLIGASE.", "iv.", "Ligation Reaction Conditions Ligation reactions may generally contain about 1 pM to about 500 nM of each nucleic acid patch oligo, about 1 pM to about 500 nM of each universal primer, about 3, about 4, about 5, about 6, about 7, or about 8 units of AMPLIGASE, and 1× AMPLIGASE Reaction Buffer.", "An example of a detailed description of buffer conditions may be found in Example 2.In some embodiments, ligation reactions may be performed by thermal cycling between a high temperature to melt the nucleic acid strands, a sequence of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 lower temperatures to anneal the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides to the target nucleic acid, and a temperature compatible with the ligase to ligate the nucleic acid sequence.", "In a preferred embodiment, ligation reactions may be performed by thermal cycling between a high temperature to melt the nucleic acid strands, a first lower temperature to anneal the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides to the target nucleic acid, a second lower temperature to anneal the universal primers to the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides, and a temperature compatible with the ligase to ligate the nucleic acid sequence.", "In one embodiment, the melting temperatures may be about 85, about 86, about 87, about 88, about 89, about 90, about 95, or about 100° C. In a preferred embodiment, the melting temperature may be about 90, about 91, about 92, about 93, about 94, about 95, about 96, about 97, or about 98° C. In another embodiment, the Nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide annealing temperatures may be about 30, about 35, about 40, about 45, about 50, about 55, about 60, about 65, about 70, about 75° C. or more.", "In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide annealing temperatures may be about 45, about 46, about 47, about 48, about 49, about 50, about 51, about 52, about 53, about 54, about 55, about 56, about 57, about 58, about 59, about 60, about 61, about 62, about 63, about 64, about 65, about 66, about 67, about 68, about 69, about 70, about 71, or about 72° C. In another embodiment, the ligation temperature may be about 30, about 35, about 40, about 45, about 50, about 55, about 60, about 65, about 70, about 75, about 80° C., or more.", "In a preferred embodiment, the ligation temperature may be about 55, about 56, about 57, about 58, about 59, about 60, about 61, about 62, about 63, about 64, about 65, about 66, about 67, about 68, about 69, about 70° C., or more.", "In some embodiments, the ligation reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 5 to about 60 seconds.", "In a preferred embodiment, the ligation reactions may be incubated at the melting temperature for about 30 seconds.", "In some embodiments, the ligation reactions may be incubated at the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide annealing temperature for about 1, about 2, about 3, about 4, about 5, about 6, about 7, about 8, about 9, about 10 or more minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the reactions may be incubated at the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide annealing temperature for about 2 minutes.", "In some embodiments, the ligation reactions may be incubated at the universal primer annealing temperature for about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the ligation reactions may be incubated at the universal primer annealing temperature for about 1 minute.", "In some embodiments, the ligation reactions may be incubated at the ligation temperature for about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes.", "In a preferred embodiment, the ligation reactions may be incubated at the ligation temperature for about 1 minute.", "In some embodiments, the reactions may be pre-incubated at the melting temperature for about 5, about 6, about 7, about 8, about 9, about 10, about 15, about 20, or about 25 minutes before cycling between the melting, annealing and ligation temperatures.", "In a preferred embodiment, the ligation reactions may be pre-incubated at the melting temperature for about 15 minutes.", "In some embodiments, the ligation reactions may be cycled between the melting, annealing and ligation temperatures about 10, about 50, about 100, about 150, about 200 or more times.", "In a preferred embodiment, the ligation reactions may be cycled between the melting, annealing and elongation temperatures about 100 times.", "(d) Degrade Mispriming Products and Genomic DNA In some embodiments, exonucleases may be added to the ligation reaction at the completion of the reaction to degrade mispriming products of the multiplex PCR reaction or genomic DNA.", "In preferred embodiments, exonucleases may be 3′ to 5′ exonucleases.", "Exonucleases may be single stranded or double stranded exonucleases.", "Non-limiting examples of exonucleases suitable for this step of the reaction may include exonuclease I, exonuclease III and mung bean nuclease.", "One or more exonucleases may be added.", "In a preferred embodiment, the exonucleases may be exonuclease I and III.", "(e) Sample-Specific Barcode PCR and Sequencing of Nucleic Acid Patch Amplicons In some aspects of the invention, nucleic acid samples may be sequenced.", "In some embodiments, the nucleic acids sequenced may be the amplicons prepared in Sections (I)(a), (I)(b), and (I)(c) above.", "Sequencing techniques suitable for the invention may be high throughput.", "High throughput sequencing techniques may include techniques based on chain termination, pyrosequencing (sequence by synthesis), or sequencing by ligation and are well known to those of skill in the art.", "In some embodiments, high throughput sequencing techniques like true single molecule sequencing (tSMS) may not require amplification of target nucleotide sequences.", "In preferred embodiments, sequencing may be performed using high throughput sequencing techniques that involve in vitro clonal amplification of the target nucleotide sequence.", "Non-limiting examples of high throughput sequencing techniques that involve amplification may include solid-phase PCR in polyacrylamide gels, emulsion PCR, rolling-circle amplification, bridge PCR, BEAMing (beads, emulsions, amplification, and magnetics)-based cloning on beads, massively parallel signature sequencing (MPSS) to generate clonal bead arrays.", "In a preferred embodiment, the amplicons may be sequenced using PCR techniques as exemplified by 454 SEQUENCING.", "The PCR amplification for 454 sequencing may be as depicted in FIG.", "15G.", "In some embodiments, the PCR may use primers complementary to the universal primer sequences described in Section (I)(c)(i) above, and depicted as black segments in the diagram.", "In other embodiments, the PCR primers may be coupled to nucleic acid sequences for sequencing (grey segments of the primers in diagram above).", "In a preferred embodiment, the primers for the final universal PCR may be tailed to 454 sequencing primers A and B (454 Life Sciences, Branford, Conn.).", "In other embodiments, the primers for the PCR amplification may be complementary to the upstream and downstream universal primer nucleotide sequences ligated in FIG.", "15G (black segments of the primers).", "In an embodiment, the PCR primers may comprise an adapter.", "In further embodiments, the adapter may comprise a nuclei acid sequence barcode or DNA barcode.", "In additional embodiments, the PCR primers may be coupled to nucleic acid sequence barcodes (white segments of the primers in FIG.", "15G).", "In some embodiments, the nucleic acid barcode may be about 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more bases.", "In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid barcode may be about 6 bases.", "The barcodes may be at the 5′ end, the 3′ end or, as exemplified in FIG.", "15G, internal to the primer sequence.", "In some embodiments, nucleic acid sequences amplified in the PCR reactions of more than one sample may be pooled for parallel sequencing of nucleic acids prepared in multiple samples.", "In some embodiments, about 2, about 3, about 4, about 5, about 10, about 15, about 20, about 30, about 40, about 50, about 60, about 70, about 80, about 90, about 100, about 1000 or more samples may be pooled for sequencing.", "(f) Specific Embodiments In a specific embodiment, restriction endonuclease enzymes may be used to create nucleic acid sequences with defined ends.", "Suitable restriction endonuclease enzymes may be as described in Section (I)(b)(ii).", "In a specific embodiment, the restriction endonuclease enzyme may be Type II restriction endonuclease enzymes.", "In another specific embodiment, the restriction endonuclease enzyme may be Type IIS restriction endonuclease enzymes.", "In a specific embodiment, oligonucleotides may be used to direct Type IIS restriction enzymes to cut at specific sites in the nucleic acid template.", "This is facilitated by upstream and downstream oligonucleotides that anneal upstream and downstream of the target nucleic acid sequences and serve as a guide for digestion by the Type IIS restriction endonuclease enzyme.", "Thus, components of the restriction enzyme reaction may include the nucleic acid sequence to be digested (template; see section I(a) above), one or more restriction endonucleases, the oligonucleotides directing the restriction endonuclease cut sites, and salts and buffers essential for optimal activity of the enzymes in the reaction.", "The upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may be designed using primer length, GC pair content, and melting temperature criteria as described in Section (I)(b)(i)(A) above.", "In a specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may each form a hairpin structure.", "Specifically, the 5′ ends of the upstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may be complementary to a portion of the desired nucleic acid sequence (e.g.", "the segment parallel to the genomic DNA in FIG.", "13), and may form a hairpin structure at the 3′ end of the oligonucleotides to generate a double-stranded nucleotide sequence recognized by Type IIS restriction enzymes.", "Further, the 3′ ends of the downstream restriction-enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may be complementary to a portion of the desired nucleic acid sequences (e.g., the segment parallel to the genomic DNA in the diagram above), and may form a hairpin structure at the 5′ end of the oligonucleotides to generate a double-stranded nucleotide sequence recognized Type IIS restriction enzymes.", "The upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise a sequence of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, or more bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "In a specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise a sequence of 10 or more bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "In another specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise a sequence of 15 or more bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "In still another specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise a sequence of 20 or more bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "In still yet another specific embodiment the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise a sequence of 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "In an exemplary embodiment the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise a sequence of 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "It is not necessary that the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides comprise the same amount of bases complementary to a portion of a template.", "The upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, or more bases.", "In a specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise 20 or more bases.", "In another specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise 25 or more bases.", "In still another specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise 30 or more bases.", "In still yet another specific embodiment, the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides may comprise 35 or more bases.", "It is not necessary that the upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides comprise the same amount of bases.", "The annealing and digestion reaction conditions may be as described in Section (I)(b)(ii)(B) and the rest of the method may be as described in Sections (I)(c)-(e).", "The specific embodiments described above may be used in a method of detecting short tandem repeats (STRs).", "As used herein, a STR consists of a unit of about two to about 13 nucleotides repeated up to hundreds of times in a row on the DNA.", "The method of detecting STRs may be used to measure the number of repeating units and/or measure the length of the STR.", "According to the specific embodiment described above, upstream and downstream restriction enzyme-directing oligonucleotides anneal to regions on the DNA immediately adjacent to the STR and the methodology disclosed herein may be used to detect the number of repeating units in the STR and/or the length of the STR.", "Such a method may be useful in the field of forensic science.", "By immediately adjacent is meant that the oligonucleotides anneal to the base directly next to the STR or about 1 or up to 20 bases upstream and downstream from the STR.", "For example, the oligonucleotides may anneal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 bases upstream and downstream from the STR.", "In a specific embodiment, the oligonucleotides may anneal 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 bases upstream and downstream from the STR.", "The upstream oligonucleotide does not have to be the same distance from the STR as the downstream oligonucleotide.", "II.", "Methods of Use A further aspect of the invention provides uses for the amplification method detailed herein.", "In some embodiments, a method described herein may be used to detect and discover single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or mutations.", "In other embodiments, a method described herein may be used to detect pathogen DNA in a high background of host DNA, detect rare DNA to allow for multiplexed or genome-wide amplification of biomarkers in peripheral samples, or amplify targets from degraded samples to allow for multiplexed or genome-wide amplification.", "In a specific embodiment, a method described herein may be used to detect rare tumor DNA to allow for multiplexed or genome-wide amplification of biomarkers in peripheral samples such as blood or stool.", "In yet other embodiments, a PCR method described herein may be used to detect DNA methylation.", "Other applications that rely heavily on PCR may benefit from higher levels of multiplexing, such as the amplification of all exons or all conserved regions, or the engineered assembly of many DNA fragments simultaneously in synthetic biology experiments, or the analysis of short tandem repeats.", "In still other embodiments, the PCR method described herein may be used to detect DNA methylation, detect and/or sequence tumor DNA derived from peripheral samples (blood, stool), amplify all exons in a particular template, or amplify all conserved regions in a particular template.", "A skilled researcher in the art will appreciate that other methods of use for a method detailed herein may be possible or desirable, and that the methods of use detailed herein are not to be construed as limiting.", "The following examples are included to demonstrate preferred embodiments of the invention.", "It should be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the techniques disclosed in the examples that follow represent techniques discovered by the inventors to function well in the practice of the invention.", "Those of skill in the art should, however, in light of the present disclosure, appreciate that many changes can be made in the specific embodiments that are disclosed and still obtain a like or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, therefore all matter set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.", "EXAMPLES The following examples illustrate various iterations of the invention.", "Example 1: Nucleic Acid Patch PCR Design Mispriming events plague standard multiplex PCR reactions as the number of primer pairs increases.", "Nucleic acid patch PCR was designed to significantly decrease mispriming events, as nucleic acid patch PCR requires four oligonucleotide hybridizations per locus.", "This results in a more specific amplification than standard multiplex PCR, which requires only two hybridizations per locus.", "FIG.", "1A, FIG.", "1B, FIG.", "1C, and FIG.", "1D present a schematic of the concept of nucleic acid patch PCR.", "In the first round of oligonucleotide hybridization, a PCR reaction containing DNA primer pairs for all targets is performed on genomic DNA (FIG.", "1A).", "These DNA primers contain uracil substituted for thymine to facilitate the next step of the process.", "The PCR is performed for a low number of cycles and serves to define the ends of the target regions.", "To prepare for the second round of oligonucleotide hybridization, the PCR product generated above is first trimmed to produce a nucleic acid fragment with ends internal to the PCR primer sequences (FIG.", "1B).", "This is accomplished by removing the uracil-containing primers, and trimming the resulting DNA overhangs on the PCR product by an enzyme mix containing uracil DNA glycosylase.", "Next, a second round of oligonucleotide hybridization is performed.", "Nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides are annealed to the target amplicons and serve as a patch between the correct amplicons and universal primers (FIG.", "1C).", "In the third oligonucleotide hybridization, the universal primers are annealed to the nucleic acid patch primers, and then ligated to the amplicons in a reaction containing a thermostable ligase followed by exonucleases I and III.", "This reaction provides two levels of selection in addition to the oligonucleotide hybridization.", "First, the thermostable ligase used is sensitive to mismatched bases near the ligation junction (Barany 1991), and second, the exonucleases in the reaction provide an added level of selectively by degrading mispriming products and the genomic DNA.", "The selected amplicons are protected from the exonuclease in the final reaction by a 3′ modification with a 3-carbon spacer on the universal primer.", "The selected amplicons are then amplified together simultaneously by PCR with the universal primers (FIG.", "1D) for the final round of selection.", "The target selection protocol is an addition-only reaction and can be performed in a single tube per sample, making it amenable to automation.", "To pool and sequence multiple samples, nucleic acid patch PCR is first performed separately for each sample (1 tube per sample).", "Sample-specific DNA barcodes are then incorporated into the primers used for the final universal PCR by tailing the 5′ end with sample-specific DNA sequences and 454 sequencing primers (FIG.", "2).", "Thus, the first few bases indicate from which sample each read originated.", "Example 2: Nucleic Acid Patch PCR and Sequencing of Candidate Genes in Colon Cancer To demonstrate the multiplexed selection and amplification of exons by nucleic acid patch PCR described in Example 1, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and mutations were analyzed in six nucleotide sequences encoding cancer related proteins: tumor protein p53 (TP53); adenomatous polyposis coli (APC); mutL homolog 1, colon cancer, nonpolyposis type 2 (MLH1); retinoblastoma 1 (RB1); breast cancer 1, early onset protein (BRCA1); and von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (VHL) (Marsh and Zori 2002).", "These targets are located across 4 chromosomes, vary in length from 74 bp to 438 bp, and total 21.6 kbp.", "Oligonucleotide design, conditions of PCR reactions, sequencing, and sequence analysis are described below.", "Oligonucleotide Design Human exon sequence plus 150 bp flanking sequence from the March 2006 assembly was downloaded from the UCSC Genome Browser (www.genome.ucsc.edu).", "The reference sequences (Refseq) representing the six colon cancer related nucleic acids were: NM_000038 (APC), NM_000546 (TP53), NM_000249 (MLH1), NM_000321 (RB1), NM_007304 (BRCA1), and NM_000551 (VHL).", "The convention that exon numbering for each gene begins with zero was maintained throughout the analysis.", "Primer3 software (http://frodo.wi.mit.edu/) was then used to select primer pairs flanking the exon.", "The design was constrained to PCR products between 50-500 bp, primer length 20-36 bp, primer melting temperature (Tm=61-67°) C., where the maximum difference in Tm between primer pairs was 5° C., and the GC content of the primer had to be between 10-80%.", "Four thousand possible primer pairs were generated per exon.", "Those primer pairs that ended with a T as the 3′ base were then selected.", "Oligonucleotide sequences of the PCR primers are listed in TABLE A.", "All PCR primer oligonucleotides were synthesized by Sigma-Genosys.", "A nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide was then designed by extending into the sequence from the PCR primer until the Tm of the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide was 62-67° C. The selected oligonucleotides were then aligned against themselves using BLASTN software from the Washington University BLAST Archives WUBLAST (http://blast.wustl.edu) to approximate cross reactivity.", "For each exon, the oligonucleotide sets with the fewest blastn matches to the entire set were chosen.", "The PCR primer sequence was substituted with a deoxyuridine in place of every deoxythymidine.", "The nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides were then concatenated with the complement universal primer sequences to result in the appropriate patch sequence.", "Sequences of the nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides are listed in TABLE B.", "All nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides were synthesized by Sigma-Genosys.", "Two Universal Primer oligonucleotides were synthesized for the ligation reaction, including the Universal Primer 2, which has a 5′ Phosphate and a 3-carbon spacer on the 3′ end.", "The Universal Primer oligonucleotide sequences were then tailed at the 5′ end with the sample-specific DNA barcodes and 454 Life Sciences A or B oligonucleotide sequence to result in the Final Universal Primer oligonucleotides for normal samples and colon cancer samples.", "The Universal Primer oligonucleotides for ligation and the Final Universal primer oligonucleotide sequences for normal and colon cancer samples are listed in TABLE C. TABLE A Multiplex PCR SEQ ID.", "NO.", "Oligo Name Sequence 1 000038_00_PCRleft TCTTAAGAGTTTTGTTTCCTTTACCCCU 2 000038_01_PCRleft CGTGCTTTGAGAGTGATCTGAATTU 3 000038_02_PCRleft TTGTGGTTAAAATGTAAACCTAATATTTCACU 4 000038_03_PCRleft GGTAGAGAAGTTTGCAATAACAACTGAU 5 000038_04_PCRleft AAATAATTTTCTCATGCACCATGACU 6 000038_05_PCRleft TTAAATGAGAATGATTTGACATAACCCU 7 000038_06_PCRleft AAAAAGCCTTGGGCTAAGAAAGCCU 8 000038_07_PCRleft AATGGTCATACTTTTATGATGTATTTAATTGTTU 9 000038_08_PCRleft GCTTTTGGATATTAAAGTCGTAATTTTGTTU 10 000038_09_PCRleft ATTTGTTGATCCACTAAAATTCCGU 11 000038_10_PCRleft TGATTGTCTTTTTCCTCTTGCCCTU 12 000038_11_PCRleft AAAGCTTGGCTTCAAGTTGTCTTTU 13 000038_12_PCRleft AAAGTGATAGGATTACAGGCGTGAGU 14 000038_13_PCRleft GAAGTTAATGAGAGACAAATTCCAACTCU 15 000249_00_PCRleft CCGTTGAGCATCTAGACGTTTCCU 16 000249_01_PCRleft CCTGTAAGACAAAGGAAAAACACGTTAAU 17 000249_02_PCRleft TGGATTAAATCAAGAAAATGGGAAU 18 000249_03_PCRleft CAGCAGTTCAGATAACCTTTCCCTTU 19 000249_04_PCRleft TGTTGATATGATTTTCTCTTTTCCCCTU 20 000249_05_PCRleft TGGATTCACTATCTTAAGACCTCGCTTU 21 000249_06_PCRleft GGGCTCTGACATCTAGTGTGTGTTU 22 000249_07_PCRleft TCCTTGTGTCTTCTGCTGTTTGTTU 23 000249_08_PCRleft GAGGACCTCAAATGGACCAAGTCU 24 000249_09_PCRleft GGTGATTTCATGACTTTGTGTGAATGU 25 000249_10_PCRleft ATCTTCTGGCCACCACATACACCAU 26 000249_11_PCRleft GCTCCATTTGGGGACCTGTATATCU 27 000249_12_PCRleft GCTCTGTAGAACCAGCACAGAGAAGTU 28 000249_13_PCRleft AGGCTTCTTTGCTTACTTGGTGTCU 29 000249_14_PCRleft TCTCATCCATGTTTCAGGGATTACU 30 000249_15_PCRleft TTGCTCCTTCATGTTCTTGCTTCTU 31 000249_16_PCRleft ATCAAGTAACGTGGTCACCCAGAGU 32 000249_17_PCRleft CAGCAATATTCAGCAGTCCCATTU 33 000249_18_PCRleft ATCAGCCAGGACACCAGTGTATGTU 34 000321_00_PCRleft GAAGTGACGTTTTCCCGCGGU 35 000321_01_PCRleft GATCTTAAAGTATTTAATAATGTTCTTTTTCACAGU 36 000321_02_PCRleft CCATCAGAAGGATGTGTTACAAATATACAGU 37 000321_03_PCRleft AATTCCTTCCAAAGGATATAGTAGTGATTU 38 000321_04_PCRleft TCTTAAAAGAAGATAAATAAAGCATGAGAAAACU 39 000321_05_PCRleft GCACAAAAAGAAACACCCAAAAGAU 40 000321_06_PCRleft CATGCTGATAGTGATTGTTGAATGAAU 41 000321_07_PCRleft GGATGTACAATTGTTCTTATCTAATTTACCACTU 42 000321_08_PCRleft CATGGGGGATTGACACCTCTAACU 43 000321_09_PCRleft AAAATTCTTTAATGAAATCTGTGCCTCU 44 000321_10_PCRleft TTATATGATTTTATGAGACAACAGAAGCATU 45 000321_11_PCRleft AACCACAGTCTTATTTGAGGGAATGU 46 000321_12_PCRleft CGACATTGATTTCTGTTTTTACCTCCU 47 000321_14_PCRleft TGAGCCAAGATTGTGCCATU 48 000321_15_PCRleft AATTATCTGTTTCAGGAAGAAGAACGAU 49 000321_16_PCRleft TGGTTTAACCTTTCTACTGTTTTCTTTGTCU 50 000321_17_PCRleft TTCATTCTGACTTTTAAATTGCCACU 51 000321_18_PCRleft TCTGGGTGTACAACCTTGAAGTGTAU 52 000321_19_PCRleft TCTGGGGGAAAGAAAAGAGTGGU 53 000321_20_PCRleft AAAGAAATAACTCTGTAGATTAAACCTTTCTTTU 54 000321_21_PCRleft TTTCCTTTATAATATGTGCTTCTTACCAGU 55 000321_22_PCRleft TCTTCATGCAGAGACTGAAAACAAAU 56 000321_23_PCRleft TTTGGTATTCCTAATAGTTCAGAATGATGU 57 000321_24_PCRleft CTTTGCCTGATTTTTGACACACCU 58 000321_25_PCRleft AATAGCATAAAGTAAGTCATCGAAAGCAU 59 000321_26_PCRleft TGTCAAATACTAGAATGAAGACCACTGCU 60 000546_00_PCRleft GTCTCAGACACTGGCATGGTGU 61 000546_01_PCRleft CATTTTCAGACCTATGGAAACTGTGAGU 62 000546_02_PCRleft ACAACGTTCTGGTAAGGACAAGGGU 63 000546_03_PCRleft AGGTGCTTACGCATGTTTGTTTCTU 64 000546_04_PCRleft AGTCACAGCACATGACGGAGGTU 65 000546_05_PCRleft TGAGCTGAGATCACGCCACU 66 000546_06_PCRleft CTCCAGAAAGGACAAGGGTGGU 67 000546_07_PCRleft TATCACCTTTCCTTGCCTCTTTCCU 68 000546_08_PCRleft TACTTACTTCTCCCCCTCCTCTGTU 69 000546_09_PCRleft CACCATCTTGATTTGAATTCCCGU 70 000551_00_PCRleft CGAGCGCGTTCCATCCTCU 71 000551_01_PCRleft CCCAAAGTGCTGGGATTACAGGU 72 000551_02_PCRleft AAGCCTCTTGTTCGTTCCTTGTACU 73 007304_00_PCRleft GGTTTGTATTATTCTAAAACCTTCCAAATCTU 74 007304_01_PCRleft TTATTGAGCCTCATTTATTTTCTTTTTCU 75 007304_02_PCRleft GCTCTTAAGGGCAGTTGTGAGATTAU 76 007304_03_PCRleft TGCTGAGTGTGTTTCTCAAACAATTU 77 007304_04_PCRleft TCACAGGTAACCTTAATGCATTGTCTU 78 007304_05_PCRleft TCTTCAGGAGGAAAAGCACAGAACU 79 007304_06_PCRleft TTAACTAGCATTGTACCTGCCACAGU 80 007304_07_PCRleft AAAGGAGAGAGCAGCTTTCACTAACU 81 007304_08_PCRleft TGACAATTCAGTTTTTGAGTACCTTGTU 82 007304_09_PCRleft CCAAAGCAAGGAATTTAATCATTTTGU 83 007304_10_PCRleft ATTTTCTTGGTGCCATTTATCGTTU 84 007304_11_PCRleft TCACTATCAGAACAAAGCAGTAAAGTAGATU 85 007304_12_PCRleft TGATCTCTCTGACATGAGCTGTTTCAU 86 007304_13_PCRleft TGTGTAAATTAAACTTCTCCCATTCCTU 87 007304_14_PCRleft GTAGAACGTGCAGGATTGCTACAU 88 007304_15_PCRleft AAATCCAGATTGATCTTGGGAGTGU 89 007304_16_PCRleft AGCCTTATTAAAGGGCTGTGGCTTU 90 007304_17_PCRleft CTAGGATTACAGGGGTGAGCCACU 91 007304_18_PCRleft ATTTTCCTTCTCTCCATTCCCCTGU 92 007304_19_PCRleft CCTTCATCCGGAGAGTGTAGGGU 93 007304_20_PCRleft TCCTACTTTGACACTTTGAATGCTCTU 94 007304_21_PCRleft TTGACACTAATCTCTGCTTGTGTTCTCU 95 000038_00_PCRright AAUGGAUAAACUACAATUAAAAGUCACAGUCU 96 000038_01_PCRright CACCCAAAUCGAGAGAAGCUGUACU 97 000038_02_PCRright CACAAGGCAAUGUTUACUAUAUGAAGAAAAGU 98 000038_03_PCRright AAAGUTUCAAAUAAGTUGUACUGCCAAGU 99 000038_04_PCRright TUCGCUGUTTUAUCACTUAGAAACAAGU 100 000038_05_PCRright UACCCACAAACAAGAAAGGCAAUTU 101 000038_06_PCRright GACAGCACATUGGUACUGAAUGCTU 102 000038_07_PCRright CCCAAAAUGCUGGGATUACAGGU 103 000038_08_PCRright UTUCUGUTUAAAAAUTUCACAUTUGCTU 104 000038_09_PCRright CAGAGGAAGCAGCUGAUAACAGAAGU 105 000038_10_PCRright GCGAAUGUGAAGCACAGGUTTUUAU 106 000038_11_PCRright GGCUGAAGUGGGAGGATUGCU 107 000038_12_PCRright UGAAUAAUACACAGGUAAGAAATUAGGAAAUCU 108 000038_13_PCRright GCTUAAAACUTUCAUGATUAUAUAAAACATUGCU 109 000249_00_PCRright GCAUGCGCUGUACAUGCCUCU 110 000249_01_PCRright GCCUAGUTUCCAGAACAGAGAAAGGU 111 000249_02_PCRright GGAGGAUAUTTUACACAUTUCTUGAAUCUTU 112 000249_03_PCRright CACUGGUGTUGAGACAGGATUACUCU 113 000249_04_PCRright GCTUCAACAAUTUACUCUCCCAUGU 114 000249_05_PCRright UCUCAGAGACCCACUCCCAGAU 115 000249_06_PCRright GGCUGAGACUGAAACAUCAUAACCTU 116 000249_07_PCRright CAAAUCUGAAGCAUAAAACAAGCCU 117 000249_08_PCRright UTUCCAUGGUCCCAUAAAATUCCCU 118 000249_09_PCRright CUGUAAGAAGGGACAGAACAUCCTU 119 000249_10_PCRright AAUAACAGGCAAAAAUCUGGGCUCU 120 000249_11_PCRright GCUGUACUTTUCCCAAAAGGCCAU 121 000249_12_PCRright AAACCTUGGCAGTUGAGGCCCUAU 122 000249_13_PCRright GGAUTUGAAACCACAUGUGUCUGACU 123 000249_14_PCRright GAAAUTUCAGAAGUGAAAAGGAUCUAAACU 124 000249_15_PCRright ACCCCAAGTUAUCUGCCCACCU 125 000249_16_PCRright AAAGGGUGGUCAUTUGCCCUTU 126 000249_17_PCRright TUGUAUGAGGUCCUGUCCUAGUCCU 127 000249_18_PCRright UCGGAAUACAGAGAAAGAAGAACACAU 128 000321_00_PCRright ACGGCGGCUCUGCUCGCU 129 000321_01_PCRright TUCAAUTTUUGUAUAGUGAUTUGAAGTUGTU 130 000321_02_PCRright TUGAGAGGAAAAUCCAGAATUCGTU 131 000321_03_PCRright UGAGCUAACATUAAAAGGGACAAGUCU 132 000321_04_PCRright UCUACACAGGACTUAAAUCUAUGGGCTU 133 000321_05_PCRright GCAGAGAAUGAGGGAGGAGUACATU 134 000321_06_PCRright AUCAUCCUGUCAGCCTUAGAACCAU 135 000321_07_PCRright AAAAACAUGCUCAUAACAAAAGAAGUAAAU 136 000321_08_PCRright GACAATUAUCCUCCCUCCACAGUCU 137 000321_09_PCRright CCUAUAUCUAAAGCAAAUCAAUCAAAUAUACCAU 138 000321_10_PCRright UGAAUACAUAAAGAAACGUGAACAAAUCU 139 000321_11_PCRright UCAAGUTUCUTUGCCAAGAUATUACAAUAAAUAAU 140 000321_12_PCRright CGAACUGGAAAGAUGCUGCUTTUAAU 141 000321_14_PCRright AGCGCACGCCAAUAAAGACAU 142 000321_15_PCRright GCATUCCTUCUCCTUAACCUCACACU 143 000321_16_PCRright AGAUGTUAAGAAACACCUCUCACUAACAAU 144 000321_17_PCRright UGCAGUTUGAAUGGUCAACAUAACAU 145 000321_18_PCRright AACAUGAUTUGAACCCAGUCAGCCU 146 000321_19_PCRright GAGGAGAGAAGGUGAAGUGCTUGAU 147 000321_20_PCRright UGAATUACCUAUGTUAUGTUAUGGAUAUGGAUTUAU 148 000321_21_PCRright AAGGGCTUCGAGGAAUGUGAGGUAU 149 000321_22_PCRright UCAAAAUAAUCCCCCUCUCATUCUTU 150 000321_23_PCRright UAUGCAAUAUGCCUGGAUGAGGUGU 151 000321_24_PCRright AACTUGGCAUGAAAGAAATUGGUAU 152 000321_25_PCRright AAACAAACCUGCCAACUGAAGAAAU 153 000321_26_PCRright UGUGAGAGACAAUGAAUCCAGAGGU 154 000546_00_PCRright ACAGGUCUCUGCUAGGGGGCU 155 000546_01_PCRright GACAGCAUCAAAUCAUCCATUGCU 156 000546_02_PCRright UCCCAAAGTUCCAAACAAAAGAAAU 157 000546_03_PCRright GCAAAUTUCCTUCCACUCGGAU 158 000546_04_PCRright CUCCUCCCAGAGACCCCAGTU 159 000546_05_PCRright GGUCAGAGGCAAGCAGAGGCU 160 000546_06_PCRright GAAUCUGAGGCAUAACUGCACCCU 161 000546_07_PCRright AGCUACAACCAGGAGCCATUGUCTU 162 000546_08_PCRright CAACCUAGGAAGGCAGGGGAGU 163 000546_09_PCRright CGGGACAAAGCAAAUGGAAGU 164 000551_00_PCRright CTUCAGACCGUGCUAUCGUCCCU 165 000551_01_PCRright AAAGATUGGAUAACGUGCCUGACAU 166 000551_02_PCRright GAAACUAAGGAAGGAACCAGUCCUGU 167 007304_00_PCRright CCCAAATUAAUACACUCTUGUGCUGACU 168 007304_01_PCRright UGGAGCCACAUAACACATUCAAACU 169 007304_02_PCRright TUCUACUTTUUCCUACUGUGGTUGCTU 170 007304_03_PCRright AGCACTUGAGUGUCATUCTUGGGAU 171 007304_04_PCRright GGCUAAGGCAGGAGGACUGCTU 172 007304_05_PCRright UCACCAUAGGGCUCAUAAAATUCACU 173 007304_06_PCRright GGAAAAUACCAGCTUCAUAGACAAAGGU 174 007304_07_PCRright AACUCUGCCAAGAGAUTTUGUGGGU 175 007304_08_PCRright GCUGUAAUGAGCUGGCAUGAGUAUTU 176 007304_09_PCRright TUGUGCCATUAATUCAAAGAGAUGAU 177 007304_10_PCRright AAGGCUCCAUAATUACCCAUGUGCU 178 007304_11_PCRright CCACAGCAUCUTUACATUGAUGUTUCU 179 007304_12_PCRright UGUTUGTUCCAAUACAGCAGAUGAAAU 180 007304_13_PCRright UGTUGTUAAGUCTUAGUCATUAGGGAGAUACAU 181 007304_14_PCRright CAAAGUGCUGCGATUACAGGCAU 182 007304_15_PCRright GGUGUAAAAAUGCAATUCUGAGGUGTU 183 007304_16_PCRright UTUGUGCATUGTUAAGGAAAGUGGU 184 007304_17_PCRright GGUGGGGUGAGAUTTUUGUCAACTU 185 007304_18_PCRright UCCACUAUGUAAGACAAAGGCUGGU 186 007304_19_PCRright GAGGCUACAGUAGGGGCAUCCAU 187 007304_20_PCRright CAAAAGGACCCCAUAUAGCACAGGU 188 007304_21_PCRright GGGGUCCUGUGGCUCUGUACCU TABLE B Nested Patch SEQ ID.", "NO.", "Oligo Name Sequence 189 000038_00_PP L TTAGTGGCTGCTTGTTTTTAAAGAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 190 000038_00_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGATACCTTCATATTAGATGCCTCAGT 191 000038_01_PP L TTTCTTGACATTTAAGTATGCTGAGAAAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 192 000038_01_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGGATCTACACACCTAAAGATGACA 193 000038_02_PP L GCTTTAAGCAGTCTAAAATATTCTTAATGTTATATTATTTTAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 194 000038_02_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATACCTCTCTTTCTCAAGTTCTTCTAAATATC 195 000038_03_PP L AAGACTGCAGAAGAGCAATACTTACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 196 000038_03_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATACTTACATTTTCAGTTAAAGGAAGACTATCT 197 000038_04_PP L CCAATAAAGAAAATGAATAAGCAAATACGTCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 198 000038_04_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAACTTACCTGTGCTCGTTTTTCCAT 199 000038_05_PP L TACTATGGCTACCACTTAAAAGCTCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 200 000038_05_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAACTAACCTCTGCTTCTGTTGCTTG 201 000038_06_PP L ACATCAGTACATGCAAAAATGGTGTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 202 000038_06_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACTGGAAATATGCATTCAGGACTAAGA 203 000038_07_PP L ACTCCAAATGAAGTGTCTGTATGATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 204 000038_07_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTGAGCCACTGCACCTGG 205 000038_08_PP L CACCTGTGGGCCAAATGAGTTTAGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 206 000038_08_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGAAACATGCACTACGATGTACACT 207 000038_09_PP L GCAGGGATCACTAATATAACCCTAATTCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 208 000038_09_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGGTGGCCTTATATCCTAATTCATC 209 000038_10_PP L TGGCCTGTAGTCCCCCTAATTTAAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 210 000038_10_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACAGTCATTGTTTAATGAGGAGAGTGA 211 000038_11_PP L GCCTGTAAATTAAATACAGAATAGAGGATCATTAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 212 000038_11_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGAACCCTGGAGGCAGAGG 213 000038_12_PP L GAAATTCTGGCTAGCCGTGGTGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 214 000038_12_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACATGGCTAAAAGAAGGCAGCAAAAA 215 000038_13_PP L AGTAAGAAACAGAATATGGGTCATCTAATTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 216 000038_13_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATACAATTAGGTCTTTTTGAGAGTATGAATTC 217 000249_00_PP L TGGCGCCAGAAGAGCCAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 218 000249_00_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCCCGGGCAAAGAGGC 219 000249_01_PP L CTCCAAATACAAACAATAGTGCCTCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 220 000249_01_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACCTGACTCTTCCATGAAGCGC 221 000249_02_PP L ATGTTACTCATTTTTCCAAATCTCTTTGAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 222 000249_02_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAGCTTACCTCACCTCGAAAGCC 223 000249_03_PP L TCACCCACTGTCACCTCACCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 224 000249_03_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGAGACCTAGGCAAAAAATACATTTCAG 225 000249_04_PP L ATCCAGTAGAGAGATAGATACTAATCCCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 226 000249_04_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAACCATTCTTACCGTGATCTGGGTC 227 000249_05_PP L AAATAAAACCCAAGATGTCCTGGCAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 228 000249_05_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATTTGGACTGTACCTGCCAACAACT 229 000249_06_PP L CAAAAGAGTAAGAAAAGAGTTGCCAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 230 000249_06_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATCTCCACCAGCAAACTATTAAAAATC 231 000249_07_PP L CAGCTACTGTCTCTCCTTGCTGATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 232 000249_07_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTGTATTTGACTAAAGCAAACTCTTAACA 233 000249_08_PP L TTTGTGAAATGAGGGCCCCGAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 234 000249_08_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTGGGTGTTTCCTGTGAGTGGAT 235 000249_09_PP L GGGGTGAGGTCACAGGTGTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 236 000249_09_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATTGCCAGTGGTGTATGGGATTCA 237 000249_10_PP L AGGGGGAGAAAAAGCCCACATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 238 000249_10_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACACGTCTGGCCGGGC 239 000249_11_PP L AGTGGAGAGACTCAGAATAAGAAGTATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 240 000249_11_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAACCTGGGGTTGCTGGAAGTAGG 241 000249_12_PP L GTTGCATTTTGGAGGAGCAAGCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 242 000249_12_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCATCCCAGGCAGGCC 243 000249_13_PP L AAGCACCAGGCACCAGAACTAGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 244 000249_13_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACCAAAGCCTGTGCCCTCC 245 000249_14_PP L AACCAGTTGGGACAAAATGGGAGAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 246 000249_14_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATACCGATAACCTGAGAACACCAAAA 247 000249_15_PP L CGGTGCTGGCTCCTAGGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 248 000249_15_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACAGCCTCCCAAAGTGCTGG 249 000249_16_PP L GCCTTGTGCTCCTATCTGCCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 250 000249_16_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACCCTCCAGCACACATGCATG 251 000249_17_PP L TGTGATACTTTAGGCGTTAAAACTGTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 252 000249_17_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGGGGTGCCAGTGTGCATC 253 000249_18_PP L GCCTCCCTGTTTGCATCCCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 254 000249_18_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACCCACAGTGCATAAATAACCATATTT 255 000321_00_PP L AACTGAGCGCCGCGTCCAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 256 000321_00_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACACCTGACGAGAGGCAGGTC 257 000321_01_PP L TGTTTCAATAGTTTGCACATAACACTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 258 000321_01_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATTTAAAATGAGAAAAAAAAATTTCAAAACGTTTTAAG 259 000321_02_PP L TTTCTTATTCAGCATACAAAATAAATGTTTGTAATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 260 000321_02_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATCCTTTTATGGCAGAGGCTTATATT 261 000321_03_PP L TTCAATTCAAAAGATTATCAGCTCTACATCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 262 000321_03_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAAGAATTAATACTTACTAACTTTACTAAATGTGTTAAATAATT 263 000321_04_PP L TTTTTAACATTTTTTCGTAATTTAGAAGTCATAGTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 264 000321_04_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAATTTATGAAGTAGCCTGCTATAATCGA 265 000321_05_PP L TGTATCACTGAAAGAAAGTTTTCCAGATATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 266 000321_05_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAACTCAATAAAAATTGGGGAATTTAGTCC 267 000321_06_PP L CGCAGGGTAGAGTATATCCATAAATTTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 268 000321_06_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTTTGGTACCCACTAGACATTCAAT 269 000321_07_PP L ATGGGTATAACAGCTGTTTCTGTAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 270 000321_07_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATTGTTAGGGAGAACTTACATCTAAATCT 271 000321_08_PP L CTTGACTCTTGAACAATGCAGGGTAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 272 000321_08_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACAAAACATTAATATTTTATTAAATTTCCTTTCAGATTACC 273 000321_09_PP L CATGTCATTACATCTCTCAGCACACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 274 000321_09_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTGCAATACCTGTCTATAGAATCAGT 275 000321_10_PP L TGCTTTATGCATCAAAAAAGCAGTATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 276 000321_10_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGAAACACTATAAAGCCATGAATAACAAAATT 277 000321_11_PP L CACTGCCTCCCACTTGTCTCTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 278 000321_11_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTTTCATATATGGCTTACGTTAAAATAGGA 279 000321_12_PP L TTTTGGATTCACTGTGCAGTTCTTTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 280 000321_12_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATTATTACTCTATAGTACCACGAATTACAATGA 281 000321_14_PP L TTGCCAGGCTGGGGTGAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 282 000321_14_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATGAAAAATGTTGTCATTCAGAAGTTTGC 283 000321_15_PP L ACTAAAAGTAAAAAATTTACCTAAAATTTTGAATGGATAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 284 000321_15_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATCCCTCTCCCCCGACCA 285 000321_16_PP L TGAGCTAGGTATTTTTTTGGAAGTTATTATCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 286 000321_16_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAATTTGTTAGCCATATGCACATGAA 287 000321_17_PP L AGTACTATGAATTTTAGGCACAATTGACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 288 000321_17_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATATTTTGCTTACATATCTGCTGCAG 289 000321_18_PP L CAAGTTGGCTAAGAATCACAGATTATACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 290 000321_18_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAGTTTCAGAGTCCATGCTCTTGAAA 291 000321_19_PP L GTAGCATTTTAACAGAAACCTCTTTTCTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 292 000321_19_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATTTCTTACTTGGTCCAAATGCCTGT 293 000321_20_PP L AATACCATTTTCTTTCTTTTAGCCTCAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 294 000321_20_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACAAAAAAACTTACTATGGAAAATTACCTACCT 295 000321_21_PP L ACCTTTAGATTTTCTTTTCTAATAGTTTATAATACTTTTTGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 296 000321_21_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGGTGACAAGGTAGGGGGC 297 000321_22_PP L CCTGGTGGAAGCATACTGCAAAATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 298 000321_22_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAACTACTTCCCTAAAGAGAAAACACAC 299 000321_23_PP L ACAATTTTGCAGAGATGAGCATAAATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 300 000321_23_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATTGAATAACTGCATTTGGAAATTCAAATTAT 301 000321_24_PP L CATAGTTAGCAACCTCAAGTTATAGTTTGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 302 000321_24_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAAGCCAGGAGCAGTGCTGA 303 000321_25_PP L TGGAAAACTCAAATTTCCAGTAACTATGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 304 000321_25_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATATACATTCTTTTATATAACGAAAAGACTTCTTGC 305 000321_26_PP L GCGCTCAGGACCTTGCAAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 306 000321_26_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTACACAGTGTCCACCAAGGTC 307 000546_00_PP L GGAACCCCCTCCCCCAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 308 000546_00_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGGGGTTGGGGTGGGG 309 000546_01_PP L CCTGCCCTTCCAATGGATCCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 310 000546_01_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGGGACGGCAAGGGGG 311 000546_02_PP L CCAGGTCCCCAGCCCAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 312 000546_02_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCAGGGGGATACGGCCA 313 000546_03_PP L CAACTGGAAGACGGCAGCAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 314 000546_03_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAAGATGCTGAGGAGGGGCC 315 000546_04_PP L GGGGCAGCGCCTCACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 316 000546_04_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCAAACCAGACCTCAGGCG 317 000546_05_PP L GCCCAGGCTGGAGTGCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 318 000546_05_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGGGGCACAGCAGGCC 319 000546_06_PP L ACCAGGCTCCATCTACTCCCAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 320 000546_06_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGGTCTCCTCCACCGCTTC 321 000546_07_PP L GGTGTTGTTGGGCAGTGCTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 322 000546_07_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGAGGCATCACTGCCCCC 323 000546_08_PP L GCCCACGGATCTGCAGCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 324 000546_08_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAGGGCCAGGAAGGGGC 325 000546_09_PP L GGGCCTAAGGCTGGGACAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 326 000546_09_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACCTGGGTGCTTCTGACGC 327 000551_00_PP L TCTTCGCGCGCGCTCGGTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 328 000551_00_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTGGGTCGGGCCTAAG 329 000551_01_PP L GGCACGGTGGCCCACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 330 000551_01_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACAGGCAAAAATTGAGAACTGGGCTT 331 000551_02_PP L CTCAGTGGCAGACTAGGGTCTCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 332 000551_02_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATCTAGATCAAGACTCATCAGTACCA 333 007304_00_PP L ATGACAACTTCATTTTATCATTTTAAAATAAAGTAAATTTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 334 007304_00_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATACCAGATGGGACACTCTAAGATTT 335 007304_01_PP L CTAGCAGGGTAGGGGGGGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 336 007304_01_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATACTTGCAAAATATGTGGTCACACT 337 007304_02_PP L TCAAAAGGCAAATAGCCATGAAAAGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 338 007304_02_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACCAACCTAGCATCATTACCAAATTATATAC 339 007304_03_PP L TACTTTCTTGTAGGCTCCTGAAATTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 340 007304_03_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATTCAACACTTACACTCCAAACCTG 341 007304_04_PP L CCCTATGTATGCTCTTTGTTGTGTTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 342 007304_04_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGACTAGCCTGGGCCACAGAG 343 007304_05_PP L AAGAACAGTCAAGCAATTGTTGGCCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 344 007304_05_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATCCCAAAGCTGCCTACCACAAATA 345 007304_06_PP L AGATATTCAACTAGAAATATTTACTGAGCATCTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 346 007304_06_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATCTCTTTGACTCACCTGCAATAAGT 347 007304_07_PP L GATTACAGAAAGCTGACCAATCTTATTTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 348 007304_07_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATGTAAAGGTCCCAAATGGTCTTCAG 349 007304_08_PP L TCACAAGCAGCTGAAAATATACAAAAATGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 350 007304_08_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTGCCACATGGCTCCACATG 351 007304_09_PP L AGGACTGGATTTACTTTCATGTCACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 352 007304_09_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTCAGCAAACCTAAGAATGTGGGAT 353 007304_10_PP L TTGCATGGTATCCCTCTGCTTCAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 354 007304_10_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGAGCAAGGATCATAAAATGTTGGAG 355 007304_11_PP L ACTGCTTTAAATGGAATGAGAAAACAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 356 007304_11_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGATACCTTTCCACTCCTGGTTCTTTAT 357 007304_12_PP L GCTGGGCAGCCAAAGCATAAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 358 007304_12_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATTACCTAGATCTTGCCTTGGCAAG 359 007304_13_PP L CAGGTAAGGGGTTCCCTCTGAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 360 007304_13_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAATGGATACACTCACAAATTCTTCTGG 361 007304_14_PP L ATTCCACCATGGCATATGTTTACCTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 362 007304_14_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCGCCACCGTGCCTC 363 007304_15_PP L AGAAGCTAAAGAGCCTCAGTTTTTTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 364 007304_15_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAAAGGGAGGAGGGGAGAAATAGTAT 365 007304_16_PP L CAGAGGAGAGGTCCTTCCCTCTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 366 007304_16_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCATTGATGGAAGGAAGCAAATACA 367 007304_17_PP L CATTCAGGCCAGGCGCGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 368 007304_17_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGAGGGAGGGAGCTTTACCTTTCTG 369 007304_18_PP L TGGAAGAAGAGAGGAAGAGAGAGGGGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 370 007304_18_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGCTGGAACTCTGGGGTTCTCC 371 007304_19_PP L GCATACTTAACCCAGGCCCTCTGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 372 007304_19_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAAGGGACTGACAGGTGCCAG 373 007304_20_PP L CCTGGATCCCCAGGAAGGAGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 374 007304_20_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAACATGCAGGCACCTTACCATG 375 007304_21_PP L CATCTGCCCAATTGCTGGAGACGATCGGAAGAGCGTCGTGTAGGGAAAGAGTGT 376 007304_21_PP R CAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGAGTGGCTGGCTGCAGTCAG TABLE C SEQ ID.", "NO.", "Oligo Name Sequence 377 Upstream Universal Primer For Ligation ACACTCTTTCCCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATC 378 Downstream Universal Primer For 5′Phosphate TCGTATGCCGTCTTCTGCTTG 3′ Ligation 379 Final Universal PCR Barcode Forward GCCTCCCTCGCGCCATCAGCTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATC Primer for Normal Sample 380 Final Universal PCR Barcode Reverse GCCTTGCCAGCCCGCTCAGCAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGA Primer for Normal Sample 381 Final Universal PCR Barcode Forward GCCTCCCTCGCGCCATCAGGTCACACTACACGACGCTCTTCCGATC Primer for Colon Cancer Sample 382 Final Universal PCR Barcode Reverse GCCTTGCCAGCCCGCTCAGCAGTCACAAGCAGAAGACGGCATACGA Primer for Colon Cancer Sample Nucleic Acid Patch PCR Genomic DNA from a moderately differentiated colon adenocarcinoma primary tumor and adjacent normal tissue from an 81-year-old male (Biochain catalog #D8235090-PP-10) was used as template for the first PCR.", "Targets were amplified in a reaction containing 1 μg human genomic DNA, 50 nM each of 94 Forward PCR primers, 50 nM each of 94 Reverse PCR primers, 5 units of AMPLITAQ Polymerase Stoffel Fragment (Applied Biosystems), 200 μM each dNTP, 2 mM MgCl2, 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.4 and 50 mM KCl in a total volume of 10 μl.", "This reaction was incubated at 94° C. for 2 min followed by (94° C. for 30 sec, 56° C. for 30 sec, 72° C. for 6 minutes)×10 cycles, and then held at 4° C. To prepare for the next round of oligonucleotide hybridization, the uracil-containing primers from the first reaction were cleaved from the amplicons by the addition of 1 unit heat labile Uracil-DNA Glycosylase (USB), 10 units of Endonuclease VIII (NEB), and 10 units of Exonulcease I (USB).", "This mix was incubated at 37° C. for 2 hours followed by heat inactivation at 95° C. for 20 minutes, and held at 4° C. To remove the unincorporated nucleotide from the mix, 0.05 U Apyrase (NEB) was added to the reaction and incubated at 30° C. for 30 minutes.", "Nucleic acid patch-driven ligation of the universal primers to correct amplicons is performed by addition of more reactants to the initial tube to result in the following final concentrations: 20 nM each nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide, 40 nM Universal Primer 1, 40 nM Universal Primer 2 with 5′ phosphate and 3′ three carbon spacer, 5 U AMPLIGASE (Epicentre), and 1×AMPLIGASE Reaction Buffer (Epicentre) in a total volume of 25 μl.", "This reaction was incubated at 95° C. for 15 min followed by (94° C. for 30 sec, 65° C. for 2 min, 55° C. for 1 min, 60° C. for 5 minutes) for 100 cycles, and held at 4° C. Incorrect products, template genomic DNA and excess primer were degraded by the addition of 10 U Exonuclease I (USB) and 200 U Exonuclease III (Epicentre).", "This mix was incubated at 37° C. for 2 hours followed by heat inactivation at 95° C. for 20 minutes, and held at 4° C. Each selection reaction was purified using a QIAQUICK Spin Column (Qiagen) and the final elution was performed with 30 μl elution buffer (EB).", "For the final PCR using the universal primers, reagents were added to the elution to result in these final concentrations in 50 μl: 0.5 μM each Tailed Universal Primer (see below), 10 U Platinum Taq Polymerase (Invitrogen) 0.5 mM each dNTP, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.5 M Betaine to improve the amplification of GC-rich sequences, 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.4 and 50 mM KCl.", "This reaction was incubated at 93° C. for 2 min followed by (93° C. for 30 sec, 60° C. for 6 minutes) for 27 cycles, and held at 4° C. The universal PCR used the Final Universal PCR primers tailed with 454 Life Sciences A or B oligonucleotide at the 5′ end, followed by a sample-specific 6 bp sequence and ending at the 3′ end with the same universal primer sequence ligated to the amplicons in the nucleic acid patch PCR procedure.", "The PCR product smear between the expected sizes was confirmed by running on a 3% Metaphor Agarose gel (Lonza).", "The reactions were then purified on a QIAQUICK Spin Column (Qiagen).", "The eluted DNA was quantified on a NANODROP spectrophotometer (ThermoFisher Scientific Inc.), and the same quantity of DNA was pooled together from the two separate samples.", "This pooled sample was sequenced using the 454 sequencing system on the 454 Life Sciences/Roche FLX machine.", "Sequence Analysis To determine which sequences matched the intended targets, the reads were aligned against a database of reference target sequences for each target using the BLASTN software at the Washington University in St. Louis BLAST archives (http://blast.wustl.edu).", "The number of reads that matched significantly to each exon was determined (p<0.02).", "The first six bases of sequence from each read, the sample specific DNA barcode, was used to determine whether the sequence came from the tumor sample or the normal sample.", "The number of reads that did not match targeted sequence was determined, and those sequences were aligned to a database of nucleic acid patch oligonucleotide sequence to identify what fraction was due to primer artifacts.", "For each exon, CLUSTALW was used to generate a multiple sequence alignment of all of the reads against the reference sequence (Larkin, Blackshields, Brown, Chenna, McGettigan, McWilliam, Valentin, Wallace, Wilm, Lopez et al.", "2007).", "The majority of the differences from the reference sequence were insertion or deletion mutations (indels) adjacent to stretches of identical nucleotides (homopolymers), which is a known error-prone feature for 454 sequencing (Ronaghi, Uhlen, and Nyren 1998).", "To filter these out, all the positions that did not match the reference sequence but were in greater than 30% of the reads were examined.", "Results Oligonucleotides were designed for 94 of the 96 exons from the six nucleotide sequences encoding colon-cancer related proteins.", "Attempts to design oligonucleotides to two of the 96 exons failed; the last exon of APC failed because of length (˜6000 bp) and an exon in RB1 failed due to the presence of Alu repeat elements surrounding the exon.", "55,068 sequencing reads were obtained.", "At least one read from each sample was mapped to 90 of the 94 exons (95.7%).", "The 4 exons that failed to amplify were due to imperfect primer/patch design.", "Two of the loci could not be amplified in separate individual PCR reactions, indicating PCR primer failure.", "The other 2 loci failed because their patch oligonucleotides bound to multiple locations in the genome.", "This problem could be avoided by more careful primer design.", "Ninety percent of all reads (49553 reads) mapped to one of the targeted exons.", "Thus, a 125,000-fold enrichment was achieved with nucleic acid patch PCR from genomic DNA (90% specificity×total possible fold enrichment).", "When selecting a fraction of the genome this small, the total possible enrichment is 138,888 fold (3×109 bp genome/21.6 kbp targeted).", "Of the remaining 10% of reads that did not match the targeted regions, most (85%) appear to be due to concatamers of nucleic acid patch oligonucleotides that contain Alu elements.", "It is likely that designing oligonucleotides that do not overlap repetitive genomic elements could reduce this background.", "These results demonstrate that nucleic acid patch PCR can be performed on multiple samples in parallel, which can then be labeled with sample-specific DNA barcodes and sequenced as a pool.", "The choice of targets and target boundaries is flexible, and a wide range of sizes can be amplified simultaneously (here, 74 bp to 438 bp).", "Nucleic acid patch PCR is robust and sensitive, as this method was able to amplify 90 of the 94 targeted exons.", "Example 3: Uniformity of Nucleic Acid Patch PCR Per Exon in Each Sample Ideally for any multiplexed PCR method, all targeted regions would be uniformly amplified within each reaction by all primer pairs, and across samples from different templates.", "To analyze the uniformity of amplification of the 90 regions generated by nucleic acid patch PCR in Example 2, the number of reads obtained for each targeted was graphed (FIG.", "3A, FIG.", "3B, and FIG.", "3C).", "The number of sequencing reads obtained for each exon is also presented numerically in TABLE D. Sequence coverage ranged over 2-3 logs (base 10), with 75% (68/90) of exons having between 10 and 500 reads in both samples (50 fold abundance range).", "The median number of reads per exon was 145.Seventy-six percent of all exons fell within 5-fold coverage of this median (29-725 reads).", "There were no parameters found that explain the non-uniformity.", "Exon non-uniformity did not correlate with the gene, the size of the amplicon, nor the GC content of the oligonucleotides.", "TABLE D Reads Per Exon in Tumor and Normal Samples Number of Reads Number of Reads RefSeq_Exon Number in Normal Sample in Tumor Sample NM_000551_1 1 2 NM_000321_22 3 8 NM_000546_5 4 12 NM_007304_0 7 3 NM_007304_2 7 8 NM_000546_3 10 5 NM_000546_9 10 15 NM_000321_16 13 9 NM_007304_4 15 24 NM_000038_8 16 31 NM_000321_20 16 26 NM_000249_8 17 17 NM_000321_9 28 30 NM_000321_26 32 14 NM_000321_17 33 38 NM_007304_10 33 33 NM_000321_14 38 98 NM_000321_24 42 65 NM_000321_1 44 129 NM_000038_2 47 55 NM_000551_2 47 113 NM_000321_7 48 17 NM_000038_7 56 59 NM_000321_2 60 83 NM_000249_17 63 43 NM_000546_8 63 59 NM_007304_21 66 115 NM_000038_11 68 34 NM_000321_4 72 65 NM_000321_5 75 89 NM_000321_6 79 100 NM_000321_10 80 65 NM_000038_12 83 75 NM_000321_18 87 98 NM_007304_7 88 58 NM_007304_9 95 98 NM_007304_14 96 87 NM_007304_16 105 118 NM_000546_0 108 85 NM_000249_1 111 150 NM_000038_13 121 70 NM_007304_8 124 114 NM_000321_11 129 97 NM_000038_5 133 71 NM_000249_12 143 91 NM_000546_1 148 92 NM_007304_15 149 109 NM_000249_7 154 149 NM_007304_20 159 178 NM_007304_19 160 134 NM_007304_13 162 160 NM_007304_11 165 74 NM_000249_10 200 136 NM_000321_3 222 243 NM_000249_0 235 146 NM_007304_17 247 227 NM_000321_15 253 265 NM_000249_15 267 145 NM_000546_6 283 151 NM_007304_12 286 270 NM_000249_2 288 249 NM_000249_9 292 225 NM_000038_4 314 227 NM_000321_19 317 464 NM_000038_3 332 284 NM_000249_13 353 199 NM_000038_9 356 316 NM_000321_25 386 301 NM_000546_7 396 200 NM_000546_4 415 206 NM_000321_21 416 373 NM_007304_5 464 358 NM_000249_18 498 340 NM_000038_10 524 338 NM_007304_18 532 373 NM_000038_0 549 273 NM_000249_6 587 470 NM_000249_3 648 433 NM_000249_4 660 574 NM_000321_12 670 434 NM_000038_1 713 320 NM_007304_3 940 833 NM_000249_14 942 483 NM_000249_16 948 471 NM_007304_6 975 779 NM_000038_6 1170 780 NM_000321_23 1198 967 NM_000321_8 1283 697 NM_007304_1 1932 1605 NM_000249_5 2813 1665 To test the reproducibility of the nucleic acid patch PCR method, the number of reads per exon from the tumor and normal samples were correlated.", "The correlation was high (R2 of 93%), indicating high reproducibility (FIG.", "4A).", "In fact, 85% (77/90) of exons displayed at most a 2 fold difference in abundance between samples, and all exons were within 3 fold relative abundance between samples (FIG.", "4B).", "These results demonstrate that even though the abundance of PCR products varies between exons, the abundance of each exon is highly reproducible across different reactions and samples.", "Example 4: SNP and Mutation Discovery and Validation The variants from the reference sequence identified by nucleic acid patch PCR and 454 FLX sequencing in Example 2 were validated by performing individual PCR reactions for each variant locus, cloning the amplicons into E. coli, and sequencing 12 clones for each variant.", "Sequence variants were then analyzed for novelty and whether they affected the translation product of that nucleotide sequence.", "Methods The PCR for each locus in each sample was performed in a total volume of 50 μl.", "The reaction contained 1×PCR buffer lacking MgCl2 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.), 10 units Platinum Taq Polymerase (Invitrogen Carlsbad, Calif.), 0.5 mM each dNTP, 0.5 M Betaine, 0.5 μM Forward Primer, 0.5 μM Reverse Primer, and 100 ng genomic DNA from either the colon tumor or the adjacent normal tissue (Biochain catalog # D8235090-PP-10).", "This reaction was incubated at 93° C. for 2 minutes, followed by (93° C. for 30 sec, 55° C. for 6 minutes)×30 cycles, and held at 4° C. One fifth of the PCR reaction was verified by electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel.", "The PCR products were ligated into the pGEM-T Easy Vector using Rapid Ligation Buffer according to the manufacturer's instructions (Promega, Madison, Wis.), transformed into GC10 Competent Cells (Gene Choice) and grown overnight on LB-agar (Luria-Broth) plates containing standard concentrations of carbenicillin, X-gal and IPTG.", "After overnight growth, at least 12 colonies were picked from the plates and added to 50 μl colony PCR reactions containing 1×PCR Reaction Buffer (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.", "), 2 units Jumpstart Taq Polymerase (Sigma), 0.2 mM each dNTP, 0.5 μM M13 Forward Primer (5′ CGCCAGGGTTTTCCCAGTCACGAC 3′)(SEQ ID NO:383), 0.5 μM M13 Reverse Primer (5′ TCACACAGGAAA CAGCTATGAC 3′)(SEQ ID NO:384), and 0.01% TWEEN.", "The reaction was incubated at 94° C. for 10 minutes, followed by (94° C. for 1 min 30 sec, 55° C. for 1 min, 72° C. for 1 minute)×35 cycles, and held at 4° C. These reactions were then treated with 10 μl Exo-SAP to degrade the remaining primers and nucleotides by adding 0.2 units Exonuclease I (USB, Cleveland, Ohio) and 0.2 units Shrimp Alkaline Phosphatase (SAP) (Promega, Madison, Wis.) in 1×SAP buffer (Promega, Madison, Wis.), incubating at 37° C. for 30 min, then by 80° C. for 30 min.", "The Sanger sequencing/cycle sequencing reactions were 20 ul and contained 1.5 μl Exo-SAP Treated colony PCR, 1 μl Big Dye Terminator v3.1 RR-100 Mix (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.), 2 mM MgCl2, and 0.16 μM M13 Forward Primer.", "They were incubated at 96° C. for 1 min, followed by (96° C. for 10 sec, 50° C. for 5 sec, 60° C. for 4 minutes)×24 cycles, and held at 4° C. The reactions were ethanol precipitated with sodium acetate and submitted to the Washington University Genome Sequencing Center to load on the ABI 3730 (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.).", "Trace files were analyzed using the Phred software (Ewing and Green 1998; Ewing, Hillier, Wendl and Green 1998), and the resulting sequencing reads were aligned to the reference sequence using the BLAST software on the UCSC Genome Browser (Kent 2002; Kent, Sugnet, Furey, Roskin, Pringle, Zahler, and Haussler 2002).", "Sequence variants for each exon were identified, and the UCSC Genome browser was used to determine the presence of these variants in the NCBI database of SNPs (dbSNP, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/SNP/index.html), and whether they disrupted a codon.", "To determine if the tumor specific mutation identified in this analysis had been previously reported, the Catalog of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (www.sanger.ac.uk/genetics/CGP/cosmic/) was searched.", "Results Seven variants from the reference sequence were identified (TABLE E).", "The SNPs and mutations identified by nucleic acid patch PCR and 454 FLX sequencing were validated by performing individual PCR reactions from the original patient samples, cloning the amplicons, and sequencing at least 8 clones per locus using standard Sanger sequencing.", "Five of these variants were already in the NCBI database of SNPs (dbSNP; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/SNP/).", "The individual sequenced was germline homozygous at three of these SNPs (rs17883323, rs185587, rs3020646) and was germline heterozygous at two other SNPs in the database, rs2229992 and rs351771.The A allele of the SNP rs2229992 was in 54% of reads from the tumor sample and 54% of reads from normal sample.", "The C allele of the SNP rs351771 was in 48% of reads from the tumor sample and 47% of reads from normal sample.", "The ability to detect both alleles of these known polymorphisms at near equal frequency indicates that nucleic acid patch PCR provides high allele sensitivity that is reproducible across samples.", "SNP in an intron of APC that was not yet in dbSNP (rs62626346) was also discovered.", "The sequenced individual was heterozygous in both the tumor and normal samples at this intronic position.", "A novel germline SNP was discovered in the sequenced individual in one of the most extensively surveyed genes, APC.", "This illustrates that medical resequencing of well-characterized candidate genes will yield more insight into genetic variation in individuals.", "TABLE E Mutation and SNPs discovered.", "Bold mutation is tumor specific.", "Fraction of Reads with Variant Colon Adjacent Exon Reference Amino Acid Adenocarcinoma Normal Protein Ref Seq ID number Location* Base Variant Change Tissue Tissue APC NM_000038 10 rs2229992 T C none 143/301 48% 222/468 47% APC NM_000038 12 rs351771 G A none 37/68 54% 43/79 54% APC NM_000038 12 chr5: 112192485 C T Arg-> 23/68 33% 3/80 4% STOP APC NM_000038 13 rs62626346† T C intronic 17/29 59% 27/50 54% TP53 NM_000546 1 rs17883323 G T intronic 41/41 100% 50/50 100% RB1 NM_000321 11 rs185587 G T intronic 79/79 100% 102/102 100% RB1 NM_000321 24 rs3020646 C T intronic 24/24 100% 18/18 100% *Location is according to the March 2006 human genome assembly from the UCSC Genome Browser †Novel germline SNP A tumor-specific nonsense mutation was also discovered.", "It is a C to T substitution in the APC gene at chr5:112192485 that results in a codon for arginine changing to a stop codon.", "This is likely a significant mutation in this individual's colon tumor because it is a nonsense mutation in a gene that is already known to cause colon cancer.", "This mutation was in 33% of reads from the tumor sample.", "This mutation is adjacent to a heterozygous SNP, and we discovered that 62% of the SNP A allele reads had the nonsense mutation, and 0% of the SNP G allele reads had the nonsense mutation.", "This indicates that the nonsense mutation occurred on the A allele during the clonal expansion of the tumor.", "This mutation was previously observed in an ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinoma and is Mutation ID #19040 in the Catalog of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (http://www.sanger.ac.uk/genetics/CGP/cosmic/).", "In summary, this method has the allele sensitivity necessary for variant discovery in personal genome sequencing since both alleles of heterozygous SNPs were identified at near-even frequencies.", "Indeed, the utility of nucleic acid patch PCR is best illustrated by the fact that a novel, cancer-specific mutation was discovered in this pilot study.", "Example 5: SNP Sensitivity Analysis To determine the sensitivity of the nucleic acid patch PCR method coupled with 454 sequencing, each exon analyzed in examples 2 to 5 was individually amplified by PCR from the same colon cancer and adjacent normal tissue samples as used above.", "Direct Sanger sequencing was then performed.", "The sequences obtained were then compared to sequences generated using nucleic acid patch PCR and 454 sequencing.", "The PCR for each locus in each sample was performed in a total volume of 50 ul.", "The reaction contained 1×PCR Buffer —MgCl2 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.), 5 units Platinum Taq Polymerase (Invitrogen Carlsbad, Calif.), 0.5 mM each dNTP, 0.5 M Betaine, 0.5 μM Locus Specific Forward Primer, 0.5 μM Locus Specific Reverse Primer, and 20 ng genomic DNA from the adjacent normal tissue (Biochain catalog # D8235090-PP-10).", "This reaction was incubated at 93° C. for 2 min, followed by (93° C. for 30 sec, 55° C. for 6 minutes)×30 cycles, and held at 4° C. One fifth of the PCR reaction was verified by electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel.", "These reactions were then treated with 10 μl Exo-SAP to degrade the remaining primers and nucleotides by adding 0.2 units Exonuclease I (USB, Cleveland, Ohio) and 0.2 units Shrimp Alkaline Phosphatase (SAP) (Promega, Madison, Wis.) in 1×SAP buffer (Promega, Madison, Wis.), incubating at 37° C. for 30 min, then by 80° C. for 30 min.", "The Sanger sequencing/cycle sequencing reactions were 20 μl and contained 1.5 μl EXOSAP-treated individual exon PCR, 1 μl Big Dye Terminator v3.1 RR-100 Mix (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.), 2 mM MgCl2, and 0.16 μM Forward or Reverse PCR Primer.", "They were incubated at 96° C. for 1 min, followed by (96° C. for 10 sec, 50° C. for 5 sec, 60° C. for 4 minutes)×24 cycles, and held at 4° C. 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M., Barber, T., Ptak, J. et al.", "2007.The genomic landscapes of human breast and colorectal cancers.", "Science (New York, N.Y. 318: 1108-1113.Example 6: Bisulfite Nucleic Acid Patch PCR Proof of Concept In this example, various features of the method of the invention are demonstrated including: 1.Creating nucleic acid template with defined ends using AluI restriction digest.", "2.Treatment with sodium bisulfite to detect DNA methylation by sequencing.", "3.Using small quantities of DNA.", "The method is depicted in FIG.", "4.Template Preparation Genomic DNA from breast and colon cancer and adjacent normal tissue was digested with the AluI restriction endonuclease in 10 ul total volume reaction containing genomic DNA, 10 U AluI enzyme (NEB), and 1×NEBUFFER 2 (NEB).", "This reaction was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour, followed by heat inactivation of the enzyme at 65° C. for 20 min, and held at 4° C. until the subsequent step.", "To demonstrate the efficacy of this method with small quantities of DNA, multiple reactions were performed using decreasing quantities of genomic DNA including 900, 675, 450, 250, 225, 112, 70, 50, 20, 1.6, 0.8, and 0.4 ng genomic DNA.", "A control reaction lacking genomic DNA was also prepared.", "Nucleic Acid Patch Ligation Nucleic acid patch oligos were designed as described in Example 2 but were designed to anneal adjacent to the AluI restriction enzyme site upstream and downstream of promoters of a select 94 gene in the human genome.", "These loci were selected because they are the promoters of genes frequently mutated in cancer.", "Nucleic acid patch driven ligation of the universal primers to selected fragments was performed by addition of more reactants to the initial tube to result in the following final concentrations: 2 nM each nucleic acid patch oligo, 200 nM Universal Primer 1, 200 nM Universal Primer 2 with 5′ phosphate and 3′ three carbon spacer, 5 U AMPLIGASE (Epicentre), and 1×AMPLIGASE Reaction Buffer (Epicentre) in a total volume of 25 ul.", "This reaction was incubated at 95° C. for 15 minutes followed by (94° C. for 30 sec, 65° C. for 8 minutes) for 100 cycles, and held at 4° C. Incorrect products, template genomic DNA and excess primer were degraded as described in Example 2.In brief, 10 U Exonuclease I (USB) and 200 U Exonuclease III (Epicentre) were added to the reaction.", "This mix was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour followed by heat inactivation at 95° C. for 20 minutes, and held at 4° C. Sodium Bisulfite Treatment The reactions were then treated with sodium bisulfite to convert unmethylated cytosines to uracil.", "This was achieved by using the EZ DNA Methylation Gold Bisulfite Treatment Kit (Zymo Research) following the manufacture's instructions.", "Since the sample volume after the exonuclease treatment was 27 ul, the CT Conversion Reagent from the kit was made by adding 830 ul dH2O instead of 900 ul dH2O.", "The DNA was eluted from the column in the final step with 10 ul M-Elution buffer.", "PCR Amplification The universal primers were then used to PCR amplify the selected bisulfite converted loci from each sample.", "For the PCR, reagents were added to the last 10 ul column elution to result in these final concentrations in 50 ul: 0.5 uM each tailed Universal Primer, 10 U Platinum Taq Polymerase (Invitrogen), 0.5 mM each dNTP, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.5M Betaine, 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.4 and 50 mM KCl.", "This reaction was incubated at 93° C. for 2 minutes followed by (93° C. for 30 sec, 57° C. for 6 minutes) for 29 cycles, and held at 4° C. As described in Example 2, the universal PCR used primers tailed with 454 Life Sciences A or B oligo at the 5′ end, followed by a sample specific DNA sequence and ending at the 3′ end with the nucleic acid patch universal primer sequence.", "The PCR product smear between the expected sizes was confirmed by running on a 3% Metaphor Agarose gel (Lonza).", "The reactions were then purified on a QIAQUICK Spin Column (Qiagen).", "An aliquot of the reactions was analyzed by gel electrophoresis on an agarose gel (Lonza).", "The eluted DNA of the reactions using 250 ng of genomic DNA was quantified on the NANODROP (www.nanodrop.com) and the same quantity of DNA was pooled together from each of the separate samples.", "This pooled sample was submitted for sequencing on the 454 Life Sciences/Roche FLX machine.", "Sequence and data analysis were as described in Example 2.Results Highly multiplexed bisulfite PCR was successful even when small quantities of genomic DNA were used (FIG.", "5).", "The expected smear of products is seen in the lane that contained 900 ng DNA, and the reaction generates the expected products even when as little as 20 ng of genomic DNA is used.", "Using less than 20 ng of genomic DNA might also have been successful, but the sensitivity of the imaging was not sufficient to reliably detect it.", "Sequence analysis of the reactions performed using 250 ng of human tumor genomic DNA demonstrated that 100% of the targeted regions were successfully amplified and sequenced.", "All of the 94 targeted promoters were sequenced at least once (FIG.", "6).", "The method was also very specific, with 90% of all reads matching the targeted promoters.", "In summary, digesting genomic DNA with AluI successfully defined the ends of nucleic acid templates even when a very small quantity of genomic DNA treated with sodium bisulfite was used.", "Example 7: Bisulfite Nucleic Acid Patch PCR and Tumor Analysis Inappropriate CpG DNA methylation has been found in most types of cancers.1 Genes that participate in numerous pathways involved in malignancy can acquire aberrant promoter methylation.2 Tumor suppressor genes frequently exhibit promoter hypermethylation, an epimutation that is associated with inappropriate gene silencing.2 A recent study has found that several key tumor suppressor genes exhibit promoter hypermethylation more often than genetic disruption, suggesting this mechanism is an important driver of tumorigenesis.3 Oncogenes can exhibit hypomethylation of their promoters which is associated with inappropriate expression4.More complicated mis-regulation of a gene can also be caused by aberrant methylation; a recent report found that hypermethylation of a p53 binding site blocked binding of the repressor, resulting in overexpression of the survivin oncogene5.The identification of gene promoters that are aberrantly methylated during tumor development is valuable because it can provide insights into pathways that are commonly disrupted during tumorigenesis that can serve as drug targets6, 7.Analysis of promoter methylation can also classify distinct subtypes of cancers that may have differential clinical characteristics in order to personalize treatment8, 9.Finally, loci that are hypermethylated in tumors are often detected in peripheral samples (e.g.", "blood or stool) and may serve as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers10.Many techniques have been developed to detect DNA methylation including methods based on microarrays11, quantitative PCR12, mass-spectrometry13 and DNA sequencing14.The method that is the most direct and has the highest resolution involves treatment of genomic DNA with sodium bisulfite (which converts unmethylated cytosines to uracil, while leaving methylated cytosines intact) followed by sequencing of single molecules.", "Not only does this method determine the methylation state at each CpG position across a single molecule, but it also detects sequence variants.", "This cis information makes it possible to distinguish allele specific methylation14, and is also valuable for quantifying densely methylated molecules in a background of unmethylated or sparsely methylated molecules.", "The recent introduction of second-generation DNA sequencing technologies has significantly reduced the cost required to sequence DNA.", "This has led to several new approaches for studying aberrant methylation using bisulfite PCR and sequencing.", "Methods for genome-wide surveys of methylation in a small number of samples have been developed including whole genome bisulfite sequencing15, bisulfite sequencing large fractions of restriction digested genomic DNA16, padlock probe based strategies17, 18 and array-based hybridization capture19.In contrast, methods for the detailed study of a few loci across many samples have been described that involve amplifying each locus individually, labeling with sample-specific barcodes and performing ultra-deep bisulfite sequencing29-22.These methods are limited to a small number of loci because the amplification of each locus separately is laborious and requires a significant amount of patient DNA per locus queried.", "There is still a need for a method that enables the intermediate experiment to be performed.", "That is, the targeted multiplexed bisulfite PCR and sequencing of an intermediate number of loci (100-1000) across a large number of samples.", "In cancer research this experiment is crucial since the discoveries made in genome wide profiling of a few samples need to be validated and followed-up across large numbers of patient samples.", "We sought to develop a method to perform highly multiplexed bisulfite sequencing across many patient samples simultaneously.", "Bisulfite treatment significantly reduces the complexity of DNA sequence by converting most Cs to Ts.", "It also results in molecules from the same locus having different sequences depending on their methylation state.", "Therefore we perform the oligo hybridization and ligation based selection of the targeted loci before bisulfite treatment.", "The selection is highly sensitive and specific and only one pair of oligos per locus is needed, even when selecting CpG rich loci.", "The PCR amplification of selected loci is performed after bisulfite.", "Therefore the universal primers used to amplify all loci simultaneously had to be designed to exclude C's, so that they would remain unchanged through bisulfite conversion.", "Since the major application of this method is likely to be in clinical specimens, we optimized the method so that it didn't require large quantities of starting genomic DNA and was compatible with the DNA degradation inherit in sodium bisulfite treatment.", "We designed the method to be easy to implement in any lab with standard molecular biology techniques and reagents.", "We also tested that it would scale up well to process many patient samples in 96-well format.", "We integrated sample-specific DNA barcodes into the multiplexed amplification so that many patient samples can be pooled and sequenced simultaneously on second-generation sequencing machines.", "Here we present a proof-of-principle experiment in which we amplified promoter regions from 94 targeted loci simultaneously and sequenced these loci across 48 samples including colon and breast tumor and adjacent normal tissue samples.", "In this experiment, we characterized the promoter methylation of genes that are known to be frequently mutated in cancer.", "We identified several novel loci that undergo frequent tumor-specific promoter methylation, and we observed allele-specific methylation patterns that occur during tumor development.", "We demonstrated that this method utilizes the power of next-generation sequencing to study DNA methylation at many loci across many patient samples.", "Results Overview of Bisulfite Patch PCR Bisulfite Patch PCR begins with a restriction digest of human genomic DNA to define the ends of the fragments that will be selected (FIG.", "7A and FIG.", "7B).", "Targeted loci are then selected from the genomic restriction fragments by annealing patch oligos to the ends of the targeted genomic fragments.", "These oligos serve as a patch between the correct fragments and universal primers (U1 & U2) (FIG.", "7C).", "The universal primers are then ligated to the genomic fragments using a thermostable ligase (FIG.", "7D).", "Unselected genomic DNA is then degraded with exonucleases to gain additional selectively (FIG.", "7E).", "Selected fragments are protected from degradation by a 3′ modification on the universal primer U2 (FIG.", "7E).", "Next, the selected fragments are treated with sodium bisulfite to convert unmethylated cytosines to uracil, leaving methylated bases intact (FIG.", "7F).", "The universal primers do not contain cytosine bases so that the sequence remains unchanged through the bisulfite conversion.", "The bisulfite treated selected fragments are then all amplified together simultaneously by PCR with the universal primers (U1 & U2′) (FIG.", "7G).", "Sample-specific DNA barcodes are incorporated into the universal primers by tailing the 5′ end with a DNA sequence that is specific to each sample and the sequencing platform primers (454 sequencing primers) (FIG.", "7G).", "The final PCR amplicons from each of the samples can be pooled together for sequencing because the first few bases of each sequencing read will identify the sample from which that sequence originated.", "Highly Multiplexed Bisulfite Sequencing of CAN Gene Promoters in Colon and Breast Cancer To test the performance of Bisulfite Patch PCR we analyzed the promoter methylation of 94 genes that are frequently mutated in breast and colon cancers (‘CAN genes’)24.We designed the patch oligos to select AluI restriction digest fragments containing at least three CpG positions within 700 bp upstream of the transcription start site.", "We chose 42 colon CAN gene promoters, 44 breast CAN gene promoters, 4 gene promoters that were identified as both colon and breast CAN genes, and 4 controls.", "The four controls include an imprinted locus, a housekeeping gene promoter, and 2 neutral loci that accumulate methylation with mitotic cell division25.These targeted promoter regions ranged in length from 125 bp to 581 bp and totaled 25.4 Kbp.", "To determine the amount of genomic DNA required for the Bisulfite Patch PCR, we performed gel electrophoresis of the PCR products generated with different amounts of starting DNA.", "We observed DNA within the expected size range from reactions that started with as much as 1 microgram and as little as 20 nanograms (ng) of human genomic DNA (FIG.", "8).", "We performed Bisulfite Patch PCR on 250 ng of genomic DNA from each of 48 samples in parallel in a 96-well plate.", "The genomic DNA was isolated from a panel of 12 colon tumors, 12 matched adjacent normal colon tissues, 12 breast tumors and 12 matched adjacent normal breast tissues (TABLE F).", "We incorporated a 5-bp sample-specific DNA barcode in the final PCR, pooled the amplicons from all of the samples, and sequenced the pool using the Roche/454 FLX sequencer.", "We obtained 97,115 reads and aligned these to the in silico bisulfite treated reference sequences of our targeted loci.", "We successfully amplified all 94 (100%) of the targeted loci, indicating that the method is highly sensitive.", "Ninety percent (87,458 reads) of all reads mapped to one of the targeted promoters, demonstrating that the method is highly specific.", "These results demonstrate the Bisulfite Patch PCR enables highly multiplexed bisulfite sequencing.", "TABLE F Tumor Lot or DNA Patient Number Tissue Normal Age Sex Pathological Diagnosis Barcode Number A811018 Breast T 34 F invasive ductal carcinoma GAGAC 1 Breast N GACAT 1 A704203 Breast T 36 F invasive ductal carcinoma GTCGT 2 Breast N CAGAT 2 A810202 Breast T 41 F invasive ductal carcinoma AGAGC 3 Breast N AGCAT 3 A811022 Breast T 46 F invasive ductal carcinoma GTGTA 4 Breast N GTCAC 4 A810219 Breast T 47 F invasive ductal carcinoma ATAGA 5 Breast N ATATC 5 A811019 Breast T 47 F invasive ductal carcinoma GACGA 6 Breast N GCAGA 6 A810210 Breast T 48 F invasive ductal carcinoma ACGAT 7 Breast N ACTAG 7 A810220 Breast T 48 F invasive ductal carcinoma ATCAG 8 Breast N ATCGC 8 A811021 Breast T 50 F invasive ductal carcinoma GCTGT 9 Breast N GTGAG 9 A810208 Breast T 55 F invasive ductal carcinoma AGCGA 10 Breast N ACAGT 10 A810213 Breast T 58 F invasive ductal carcinoma, ACTGC 11 Poorly Differentiated Breast N ACTCT 11 A811020 Breast T 77 F invasive ductal carcinoma GCACG 12 Breast N GCTAC 12 B108099 Colon T 37 M Adenocarcinoma, mucinous CTCAT 1 Colon N CTCGA 1 A811012 Colon T 40 M Adenocarcinoma, Ulcer TATAC 2 Colon N TATGT 2 B105050 Colon T 52 F Adenocarcinoma, Moderately CGTGT 3 Differentiated Colon N CTAGC 3 B105051 Colon T 56 F Adenocarcinoma, Ulcer, CTACT 4 Moderately Differentiated Colon N CTGAC 4 A709116 Colon T 57 M Adenocarcinoma, Moderately CGAGA 5 Differentiated Colon N CGCAG 5 A709121 Colon T 57 M Adenocarcinoma, Moderately CGCGC 6 Differentiated Colon N CGTAC 6 A811013 Colon T 62 F Adenocarcinoma TGCAC 7 Colon N TGCGT 7 A811015 Colon T 65 M Adenocarcinoma TGTCG 8 Colon N TCAGC 8 A811010 Colon T 71 F Adenocarcinoma, Ulcer TACAG 9 Colon N TACGC 9 A811016 Colon T 75 M Adenocarcinoma TCGAC 10 Colon N TCGTG 10 A811014 Colon T 79 M Adenocarcinoma, Ulcer TGTAT 11 Colon N TGTGA 11 A704198 Colon T 81 M Adenocarcinoma, Moderately CATAG 12 Differentiated Colon N CATGC 12 Coverage of Promoters and Reproducibility To analyze the uniformity of the sequence coverage, we graphed the number of reads obtained for each targeted promoter versus the length of the targeted region.", "(FIG.", "9A; TABLE G).", "The abundance of each promoter ranged from 10 to 5114 reads.", "We calculated that 93% of promoters have coverage within 10 fold of the median coverage (444 reads).", "There is a strong inverse correlation between amplicon length and the number of reads (linear regression R2=0.42).", "This correlation indicates that longer amplicons are less abundant in the reaction.", "If we had restricted our design to a maximum target length of 300 bp, then 92% (57/62) of those promoters would have coverage within 5 fold of the median coverage (1051 reads).", "These calculations indicate that approximately half of the difference in abundance of the loci is attributable to length bias.", "While length bias can occur in multiplex PCR, in previous versions of this universal PCR used in nested patch PCR we did not observe a correlation between amplification efficiency and length23.Since the main difference between these methods is the sodium bisulfite treatment, we suspect that longer loci were more likely to be damaged during bisulfite conversion26, and thus are less abundant in the reaction.", "To test if bisulfite patch PCR reproducibly amplifies selected loci, we calculated the number of reads per locus in each of the 48 samples that were prepared in parallel.", "We then calculated the correlation coefficient, r, for the number of reads per locus between all possible pairs of samples.", "The histogram of r values obtained for the pair-wise correlations between all 48 samples is depicted in FIG.", "9B.", "The mean r value is 0.91, indicating that the number of reads per locus is highly reproducible across patient samples.", "This indicates that the abundance of each locus in the reaction is not stochastic, but represents something intrinsic to the locus, including the length, as discussed above.", "TABLE G Number CAN Length of CGs Gene # of of Amplicon per Type Gene Accession Reads (bp) Amplicon Methylated BT BN CT CN Breast DPYD NM_000110 1207 214 6 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast XDH NM_000379 313 276 3 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast CYP1A1 NM_000499 478 259 23 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 Breast DPAGT1 NM_001382 278 182 7 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/10 Breast CLCN3 NM_001829 2405 163 15 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast MYH9 NM_002473 167 368 31 N (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast PRPF4B NM_003913 997 225 10 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast TIMELESS NM_003920 12 308 17 N (0%)0/4 (0%)0/2 (0%)0/2 (0%)0/2 Breast LRRFIP1 NM_004735 464 165 14 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast NUP214 NM_005085 1963 201 12 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast TLN1 NM_006289 282 297 22 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast ABCB8 NM_007188 2390 179 8 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast ZNF646 NM_014699 2451 202 7 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast PDCD11 NM_014976 891 246 17 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast MAPKBP1 NM_014994 221 382 26 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast C14orf100 NM_016475 556 287 34 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast NOTCH1 NM_017617 81 282 34 N (0%)0/9 (0%)0/10 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/7 Breast SULF2 NM_018837 2094 211 21 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast KIAA0999 NM_025164 682 252 13 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast PLEKHA8 NM_032639 71 334 40 N (0%)0/9 (0%)0/10 (0%)0/7 (0%)0/9 Breast FLJ40869 NM_182625 385 245 31 N (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast TMEM123 NM_052932 329 383 11 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast KIAA0427 NM_014772 450 220 15 N (8%)1/12 (8%)1/12 (17%)2/12 (8%)1/12 Breast VEPH1 NM_024621 1563 210 5 N (8%)1/12 (8%)1/12 (8%)1/12 (0%)0/12 Breast SLC8A3 NM_182932 70 304 9 N (0%)0/10 (0%)0/8 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/10 Breast RGL1 NM_015149 10 581 60 N (0%)0/2 (0%)0/3 (0%)0/3 (0%)0/2 Colon ERCC6 NM_000124 1784 171 15 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon NF1 NM_000267 293 198 19 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon PTEN NM_000314 111 412 20 N (0%)0/11 (0%)0/9 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/9 Colon GALNS NM_000512 1005 242 26 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon GUCY1A2 NM_000855 37 313 15 N (0%)0/6 (17%)1/6 (0%)0/4 (0%)0/7 Colon UQCRC2 NM_003366 610 163 10 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon MCM3AP NM_003906 105 488 20 N (0%)0/8 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/8 (0%)0/11 Colon EPHB6 NM_004445 1842 172 13 N (0%)0/11 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon KRAS NM_004985 18 415 53 N (0%)0/3 (0%)0/5 (0%)0/4 (0%)0/3 Colon ZNF262 NM_005095 359 302 21 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon SMAD4 NM_005359 634 217 21 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon SFRS6 NM_006275 402 338 35 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon SMTN NM_006932 145 397 34 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/10 Colon KIAA0556 NM_015202 281 353 38 N (0%)0/11 (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon ADARB2 NM_018702 26 374 7 N (0%)0/2 (17%)1/6 (0%)0/6 (0%)0/5 Colon FBXW7 NM_033632 1097 204 24 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon DTNB NM_183361 2195 189 19 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon RET NM_020975 58 412 46 N (0%)0/6 (0%)0/8 (0%)0/6 (0%)0/8 Colon KIAA0367 NM_015225 170 235 18 N (8%)1/12 (0%)0/11 (8%)1/12 (0%)0/10 Colon SH3TC1 NM_018986 2876 157 10 N (8%)1/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Colon TIAM1 NM_003253 354 283 40 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (8%)1/12 (0%)0/12 Colon C13orf7 NM_024546 351 269 10 N (0%)0/11 (8%)1/12 (17%)2/12 (0%)0/12 Control HSP NM_007355 155 381 21 N (0%)0/11 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/10 (0%)0/11 Dual TP53 NM_000546 1132 154 6 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Dual PIK3CA NM_006218 989 270 15 N (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 (0%)0/12 Breast TECTA NM_005422 168 393 7 Y (100%)11/11 (100%)11/11 (100%)12/12 (91%)10/11 Breast KIAA0467 NM_015284 332 267 6 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (92%)11/12 (100%)12/12 Breast RP1L1 NM_178857 416 221 7 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 Breast LOC340156 NM_001012418 1481 175 3 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (83%)10/12 (100%)12/12 Breast DBN1 NM_004395 3750 165 3 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (92%)11/12 Breast CENTG1 NM_014770 3613 190 3 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (92%)11/12 (100%)12/12 Breast KIAA1946 NM_177454 1667 212 5 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 Breast CMYA1 NM_194293 127 173 4 Y (100%)11/11 (89%)8/9 (83%)10/12 (70%)7/10 Breast AEGP NM_206920 902 221 6 Y (83%)10/12 (100%)12/12 (83%)10/12 (100%)12/12 Breast TAF1 NM_004606 2315 153 12 Y (58%)7/12 (67%)8/12 (25%)3/12 (25%)3/12 Breast RPGRIP1 NM_020366 48 562 7 Y (88%)7/8 (100%)7/7 (100%)9/9 (43%)3/7 Breast SLC9A10 NM_183061 2096 195 3 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (33%)4/12 (75%)9/12 Breast COL19A1 NM_001858 3069 168 4 Y (58%)7/12 (58%)7/12 (33%)4/12 (8%)1/12 Breast ABP1 NM_001091 200 207 5 Y (36%)4/11 (67%)8/12 (64%)7/11 (58%)7/12 Breast CSPP1 NM_024790 476 330 3 Y (17%)2/12 (42%)5/12 (25%)3/12 (67%)8/12 Breast NCB5OR NM_016230 282 434 6 Y (42%)5/12 (17%)2/12 (50%)6/12 (18%)2/11 Colon ITGAE NM_002208 348 349 9 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 Colon TGM3 NM_003245 178 418 5 Y (100%)10/10 (100%)12/12 (100%)11/11 (100%)10/10 Colon DSCAML1 NM_020693 2052 205 7 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 Colon TNN NM_022093 2659 161 3 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 Colon ACSL5 NM_016234 1280 235 5 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (83%)10/12 (92%)11/12 Colon SEC8L1 NM_021807 221 345 4 Y (82%)9/11 (100%)10/10 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 Colon PCDHA9 NM_014005 1761 247 4 Y (83%)10/12 (92%)11/12 (83%)10/12 (100%)12/12 Colon C1QR1 NM_012072 1646 172 8 Y (100%)12/12 (83%)10/12 (67%)8/12 (50%)6/12 Colon STAB1 NM_015136 46 511 16 Y (86%)6/7 (100%)9/9 (70%)7/10 (50%)4/8 Colon HAPLN1 NM_001884 108 371 11 Y (91%)10/11 (83%)5/6 (30%)3/10 (55%)6/11 Colon BCL9 NM_004326 266 256 5 Y (67%)8/12 (64%)7/11 (0%)0/12 (25%)3/12 Colon SCN3B NM_018400 98 382 11 Y (27%)3/11 (13%)1/8 (0%)0/11 (10%)1/10 Colon GPR158 NM_020752 125 315 37 Y (8%)1/12 (11%)1/9 (27%)3/11 (0%)0/9 Colon HIST1H1B NM_005322 962 208 3 Y (25%)3/12 (17%)2/12 (25%)3/12 (8%)1/12 Colon NUP210 NM_024923 68 419 24 Y (0%)0/8 (25%)2/8 (11%)1/9 (20%)2/10 Control NKX2-5 NM_004387 1980 184 10 Y (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 (92%)11/12 Control SOX10 NM_006941_1 1170 213 22 Y (100%)12/12 (67%)8/12 (100%)12/12 (100%)12/12 Control H19 AK311497 1614 177 9 Y (58%)7/12 (83%)10/12 (75%)9/12 (92%)11/12 Breast ICAM5 NM_003259 1717 178 11 Y (33%)4/12 (8%)1/12 (58%)7/12 (0%)0/12 Breast PPM1E NM_014906 2932 170 10 Y (25%)3/12 (0%)0/12 (42%)5/12 (0%)0/12 Colon IGFBP3 NM_000598 791 276 25 Y (67%)8/12 (8%)1/12 (75%)9/12 (25%)3/12 Colon UHRF2 NM_152896 800 185 10 Y (58%)7/12 (8%)1/12 (50%)6/12 (8%)1/12 Colon KCNQ5 NM_019842 181 273 21 Y (0%)0/10 (0%)0/12 (92%)11/12 (33%)4/12 Colon CLSTN2 NM_022131 80 304 35 Y (0%)0/8 (10%)1/10 (56%)5/9 (0%)0/10 Colon APC NM_000038 42 395 16 Y (29%)2/7 (0%)0/3 (0%)0/8 (0%)0/6 Dual LAMA1 NM_005559 438 169 14 Y (50%)6/12 (8%)1/12 (67%)8/12 (17%)2/12 Dual SORL1 NM_003105 5114 125 3 Y (33%)4/12 (92%)11/12 (0%)0/12 (42%)5/12 Allele Sensitivity at Imprinted Locus We next sought to determine if methylated and unmethylated molecules from the same locus are amplified with similar efficiencies.", "This is requisite if the method is to be used to make quantitative measurements of promoter methylation.", "The imprinted region from the H19 locus (AK311497), which was included as a control, allows the direct comparison of the amplification efficiency of methylated and unmethylated alleles.", "We identified nine patients in our panel who were heterozygous for a SNP (rs2251375) in the H19 locus.", "We used this SNP to identify allele-specific methylation and to quantify the number of sequencing reads obtained for each allele.", "Allele specific methylation was observed, and both alleles were amplified with nearly equal efficiencies (FIG.", "10).", "Imprinting methylation was observed on either allele in different individuals, consistent with the parent-of-origin determining which allele is methylated, and both alleles were represented at similar frequencies—on average 42% of the sequencing reads corresponded to the ‘G’ allele, 58% to the ‘T’ allele.", "Thus, our method amplifies methylated and unmethylated molecules from the same locus with nearly equal efficiency, which is crucial for quantifying heterogeneous methylation within tumors.", "CAN Gene Promoter Methylation We next examined the methylation patterns found at the targeted CAN gene promoters to determine if they exhibited tumor specific methylation.", "Since these genes were previously shown to be frequently mutated in colon and breast tumors24, we hypothesized that the promoters of these genes might also be frequently hyper- or hypomethylated in these cancers.", "(TABLE H, Detailed in TABLE G).", "Approximately half, (51/94), of all the promoters were unmethylated in all tissue types that we tested, including, the negative control promoter of the housekeeping gene HSP90AB1 (NM_007355).", "Approximately one third, (34/94), of all promoters were methylated in both cancer and normal tissue including all 3 (100%) of the positive control gene promoters, the H19 imprinted promoter (AK311497) and two neutral loci that accumulated DNA methylation with mitotic division (NM_006941 Exon 2, and NM_004387 3′ UTR)25.The remaining nine promoters exhibited tumor-specific aberrant methylation.", "TABLE H Colon Breast Dual CAN CAN CAN genes genes genes Controls Total Unmethylated 22 26 2 1 51 Methylated In Tumor and 15 16 0 3 34 Normal Tissues Tumor Specific 2 2 2 0 6 Methylation: Breast & Colon Tumor Specific 2 0 0 0 2 Methylation: Colon Tumor Specific 1 0 0 0 1 Methylation: Breast Total 42 44 4 4 94 Tumor Specific Promoter Methylation Of the nine promoters that exhibited tumor specific methylation, 5 were promoters from colon CAN genes, 2 were promoters from breast CAN genes, and 2 were promoters from genes that were frequently mutated in both colon and breast cancer (‘dual CAN genes’) (TABLE H, Detailed in TABLE G).", "Five promoters exhibited tumor-specific hypermethylation in both breast and colon tumors (IGFBP3, UHRF2, LAMA1, ICAM5, PPM1E).", "One promoter (SORL1) exhibited tumor-specific hypomethylation in both types of cancer.", "The methylation patterns of ICAM5 and LAMA1 are depicted in FIG.", "11A and FIG.", "11B, respectively.", "Tumor specific promoter methylation of ICAM53 and IGFBP327 was recently reported in different cohorts of breast and colon cancers.", "The other three loci are novel observations of aberrant tumor methylation.", "The frequent hypermethylation of these five loci in both types of tumors indicates that common molecular defects are shared between colon and breast cancer.", "The molecular defect could be an error in both types of tumors that directs methylation to these loci or it could suggest that the inactivation of these genes is a key step in tumorigenesis in both tissues.", "These five loci that are hypermethylated in both breast and colon cancer are methylated in 25% to 75% of tumors (TABLE I).", "Loci that exhibit frequent tumor-specific methylation are often useful as clinical biomarkers.", "A valuable biomarker would occur frequently in patients' tumors and would be easily distinguished from normal samples.", "We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of these loci across our samples.", "The presence of aberrant methylation at two or more of these five methylated markers is found in 9 out of 12 breast tumors (75%), 11 out of 12 colon tumors (92%), 1 of 12 normal breast (8%) and 1 of 12 normal colon (8%).", "These strong classifiers of cancer vs. normal samples are good candidates for follow-up studies to evaluate their potential as biomarkers for stratifying disease subtypes or as diagnostic biomarkers that can be detected in peripheral specimens.", "The frequency of aberrant methylation at these loci approaches the significance of even the most common genetic mutations such as APC or TP53 mutations, which are reported to occur in 40-80% of tumors28.This supports the previously proposed hypothesis that epigenetic defects at CAN genes may be more frequent than genetic mutations3.Three of the CAN gene promoters show tumor specific methylation in only one type of cancer.", "Colon tumor specific methylation was found in the promoters of KCNQ5 (NM_019842) and CLSTN2 (NM_022131), and those methylation patterns are depicted in FIG.", "11C and FIG.", "11D, respectively.", "Breast tumor specific methylation was found in the promoter of APC (NM_000038).", "The frequency of these aberrant events in each tumor type is cataloged in TABLE I and suggests that these loci may represent frequent tumor-specific epimutations which merit follow up investigation in a larger cohort of tumors, adjacent normal and cancer-free patient's tissue.", "TABLE I Promoters Exhibiting Tumor Specific Methylation Methylated Methylated Methylated Methylated Gene Accession # Breast Tumor Breast Normal Colon Tumor Colon Normal IGFBP3 NM_000598 8/12 (67%) 1/12 (8%) 9/12 (75%) 3/12 (25%) UHRF2 NM_152896 7/12 (58%) 1/12 (8%) 6/12 (50%) 1/12 (8%) LAMA1 NM_005559 6/12 (50%) 1/12 (8%) 8/12 (67%) 2/12 (17%) ICAM5 NM_003259 4/12 (33%) 1/12 (8%) 7/12 (58%) 0/12 (0%) PPM1E NM_014906 3/12 (25%) 0/12 (0%) 5/12 (42%) 0/12 (0%) KCNQ5* NM_019842 0/10 (0%) 0/12 (0%) 11/12 (92%) 4/12 (33%) CLSTN2* NM_022131 0/8 (0%) 1/10 (10%) 5/9 (56%) 0/10 (0%) APC* NM_000038 2/7 (29%) 0/3 (0%) 0/8 (0%) 0/6 (0%) SORL1** NM_003105 4/12 (33%) 11/12 (92%) 0/12 (0%) 5/12 (42%) Gene promoters exhibiting tumor specific hyper-methylation in both breast and colon tumors are not indicated by * or **.", "*Gene promoters exhibiting tumor specific hyper-methylation in one tumor type.", "**Gene promoters exhibiting tumor specific hypo-methylation in both breast and colon tumors.", "Allelic Tumor Methylation The single molecule resolution of bisulfite sequencing allows us to simultaneously assess methylation status and identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).", "As seen in FIG.", "12, we can distinguish whether tumor specific methylation is occurring on one allele or on both alleles in individuals that are heterozygous for the SNP (rs2854744) in IGFBP3 (NM_000598).", "Although some aberrant promoter methylation events are known to always occur on both alleles, such as MLH1 promoter methylation29, we found examples in which aberrant methylation was observed on only one allele: Breast Cancer Patient 4 acquired tumor-specific methylation primarily on the A allele, while Colon Cancer Patient 6 acquired tumor-specific methylation primarily on the C allele (FIG.", "12).", "However, other patients acquired aberrant methylation on both alleles during tumorigenesis, such as Breast Cancer Patient 6 and Colon Cancer Patient 7 (FIG.", "12).", "If associated with silencing, this bi-allelic methylation would indicate that both copies of the gene are inactive.", "Some patients exhibit different allelic methylation patterns between their tumor and adjacent normal tissue: Colon Cancer Patient 12 has methylation on their A allele across all CpGs in both the tumor and the adjacent normal tissue, but as the tumor formed the C allele acquired methylation, specifically in the region of the promoter most distal from the SNP.", "This suggests that the accumulation of methylation on each allele can occur in different regions of the locus and can occur at different times in tumor development.", "This type of allelic analysis is useful for resolving intra-tumor heterogeneity of DNA methylation, identifying heterozygous and homozygous epimutations, and understanding the accumulation of aberrant DNA methylation in different tumors.", "Discussion We have developed a method to perform highly multiplexed bisulfite sequencing of many loci across many patient samples simultaneously.", "This method is highly sensitive and specific and integrates sample specific DNA barcodes into the library construction so that many samples can be pooled to fully utilize the power of next-generation sequencing.", "Many methods are being developed to perform genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation in individual samples.", "Bisulfite Patch PCR provides an efficient workflow to utilize second-generation sequencing to follow up and validate aberrant methylation at many loci across large numbers of samples.", "In this proof-of-principle experiment, we applied this method to characterize the promoter methylation of genes that are frequently mutated in cancer.", "From the 94 gene promoters that we analyzed we found that approximately 10% showed tumor specific DNA methylation in breast or colon cancer when compared to adjacent normal tissue.", "Our data support the previously proposed hypothesis that a relatively small set of genes that are important for tumorigenesis are disrupted in multiple ways in cancers, including frequent epigenetic defects3.We found five loci that can be used to classify tumor and normal samples with high sensitivity (9/12 breast tumors, 11/12 colon tumors) and high specificity (1/12 adjacent normal breast tissues, 1/12 adjacent normal colon tissues).", "In some samples we observed very low-frequency methylation of these loci in the adjacent normal tissue that may represent a field defect surrounding the tumor, or it may be a part of normal variation between individuals.", "Follow-up studies that include larger cohorts, cancer-free control patients and peripheral samples from patients with cancer will help determine if these new molecular defects can be useful biomarkers in the clinic.", "We also utilized SNPs in the sequencing data to observe allele-specific methylation patterns that provide insights into the accumulation of aberrant DNA methylation during tumor development.", "This method would be valuable for comparing the allelic accumulation of methylation across tumors with different stages and grades to understand the timing of aberrant methylation.", "The method presented here fills a gap in the arsenal of tools for the characterization of aberrant DNA methylation.", "It provides the high resolution of bisulfite sequencing with the throughput of sampling many loci across many samples.", "This enables an experimental scale that promises to be useful in the effort to understand cancer.", "Methods Design of Patch Oligonucleotides Human promoter sequence between the transcription start site (TSS) and 700 bp upstream of the TSS was downloaded from the March 2006 assembly on the UCSC Genome Browser (www.genome.ucsc.edu) for the RefSeq genes listed in SEQ ID NOs 582-675.These sequences were then scanned for AluI restriction enzyme recognition sequences, and AluI restriction fragments that were between 125 bp and 600 bp in length and containing at least 3CpG positions were selected.", "A patch oligo was then designed by sequentially including base pairs from the AluI restriction site into the fragment sequence until the Tm of the patch oligo was between 62° C. and 67° C. Any fragment whose patch oligos contained repetitive elements according to the repeat masker track on the UCSC Genome Browser (www.genome.ucsc.edu) were excluded.", "The patch oligos were then appended with the complement universal primer sequences to result in the appropriate patch sequence.", "Patch oligonucleotides were synthesized by SigmaGenosys (http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/Brands/Sigma_Genosys.html).", "Ninety-four pairs of patch oligos were ordered in a 96-well plate.", "The patch oligos for two loci were duplicated on the plate so that when equimolar portions were pooled from each well these two loci were twice as concentrated in the pool.", "This was used to measure how the concentration of patch oligos affected amplification efficiency during protocol development.", "Two universal primer sequences were synthesized by IDT (www.idtdna.com), including U2, which has a 5′ phosphate and a 3 carbon spacer on the 3′ end.", "Oligonucleotide sequences are listed in TABLE J.", "TABLE J Patch Oligonucleotide Sequences Naming: Refseq Accession Number of Locus, L (left) or R (right) side Sequence (universal sequence and AluI restricition site SEQ ID NO: Oligo Name in capitals) 385 NM_000110 L taggtgggcggggtttgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 386 NM_015149 L gcaccggcgcggAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 387 NM_015284 L ttgcccacctggagagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 388 NM_182625 L ggggagaggtctggggaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 389 NM_000379 L attctcagagtcactgctaatagAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 390 NM_177454 L gcatcaccgccatcattgcttAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 391 NM_004735 L cctcaggccacgctgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 392 NM_194293 L ggggaaacagagggggagaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 393 NM_183061 L gggacagtggatttctgacaaagAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 394 NM_024621 L ctttttttcgttatttgctgggaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 395 NM_001829 L cagcgtccgggagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 396 NM_004395 L ccattctcagcccctacccAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 397 NM_001012418 L tgtcaatactctcggatttacaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 398 NM_003913 L aatgcttaaccatctcgctagacAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 399 NM_001858 L ggtaattggctttttaacggttgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 400 NM_016230 L cactgggaattgtgtactgatgcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 401 NM_032639 L tctagtccctattcttgttccaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 402 NM_001091 L gaaggacttggctgggagaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 403 NM_007188 L ccgactggccctccaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 404 NM_024790 L gaaagtcagtgccaaaacagcaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 405 NM_178857 L ggaggcccgaaagaagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 406 NM_005085 L ttagatgtaggttggctattggtAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 407 NM_017617 L cgggcggggagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 408 NM_006289 L gtgcccgaggcctacAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 409 NM_206920 L aggactcaaccagtccagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 410 NM_004606 L cgtaaattatacaggcattcccgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 411 NM_014976 L cctcttttcttctgtatgtccatAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 412 NM_052932 L tgctcagaactctgaagtgacatAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 413 NM_025164 L cttgaggccacaaatgcaggaatAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 414 NM_001382 L cacaactcagttcccggaaacaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 415 NM_005422 L ctggatttcctaattttcactacAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 416 NM_003920 L gttttatttgggaggaagtaaagAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 417 NM_014770 L tacgatgtaaccctttttcaggcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 418 NM_020366 L tagaactactatgtaaacttgggAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 419 NM_182932 L ttgtgagagacgcttgggtgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 420 NM_016475 L ggtcctagtcccgagcgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 421 NM_014994 L ggcccgagggaccgtAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 422 NM_000499 L cagagcccgggcgactAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 423 NM_014699 L cgggaactttcccttccttcctAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 424 NM_014906 L ctaccctcacgtggttaagagtgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 425 NM_014772 L tgtgctaatggcagatgaaaaggAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 426 NM_003259 L ctggctgagatgccatgataataAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 427 NM_018837 L gccgcgacccgcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 428 NM_002473 L tcggggcgcggagAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 429 NM_005095 L caagtctctttgctgccagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 430 NM_004326 L aaaggaaaaagcaaagtcccattAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 431 NM_022093 L ccacacgccaacagtacaagAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 432 NM_183361 L ccccgtgaactccgcaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 433 NM_024923 L ctcagccagagagccccaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 434 NM_015136 L cagcccatgctcagccAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 435 NM_022131 L ctccactccgactctcggaaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 436 NM_006218 L ttctacgagcagcaggcgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 437 NM_018986 L ccgcagccggttgatcattAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 438 NM_033632 L cacgggacgaggcagaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 439 NM_001884 L acaatgatgatagtggcacataaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 440 NM_000038 L gaattaaaaatagttaccagaaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 441 NM_014005 L cttctgtccttgattactgcaggAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 442 NM_005322 L caagtaacacaggcacaggacAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 443 NM_019842 L ctggcaggggctttgcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 444 NM_021807 L attgatgaagaaaagacagtataAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 445 NM_000598 L cattcgtgtgtacctcgtggAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 446 NM_004445 L ctaaaacagtggggctcctactcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 447 NM_015225 L ccgggggaggcactcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 448 NM_152896 L caccgcgctcaacaggaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 449 NM_018702 L acaatgacacaaaaggaagagaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 450 NM_020752 L gaggaaagccagtttaaagaggcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 451 NM_000314 L ggctcgtttgccctaaaaatgaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 452 NM_016234 L caggggggccctggAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 453 NM_020975 L caggaggcggggaagAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 454 NM_000124 L gcgagcagggcgagaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 455 NM_000855 L cccatcctgctggagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 456 NM_020693 L tgtcttcacctacccacccctatAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 457 NM_018400 L attagccactccctagtcctagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 458 NM_024546 L cacgtttcaatttttttcaaaacAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 459 NM_003366 L ggctacatagaatataaaaacttAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 460 NM_015202 L cgcacccgggcatcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 461 NM_000512 L aggaggccttcgccgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 462 NM_002208 L cacagaacacgccgttgacAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 463 NM_000267 L ctggcgctgggctcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 464 NM_005559 L gattccgagaaactatgtgcccAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 465 NM_005359 L caaggagcgcgggagAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 466 NM_003245 L ccacccctctcaactcacaaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 467 NM_012072 L ggggctaggaactcgaggaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 468 NM_006275 L tctttcttggagccctggcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 469 NM_003253 L agggagcccctaacaaagcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 470 NM_003906 L gggcgctgccacgaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 471 NM_006932 L ccctttctcgcgtcagtgtttaAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 472 NM_004985 L CTGACCGGTCTCCACAGAGAAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 473 NM_007355 L ccgaaaaagagcggaggcAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 474 AK311497 L gattcccatccagttgaccgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 475 NM_004387 L CCCCCGAGAGTCAGGGAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 476 NM_006941_1 L CTCCTTCTTGACCTTGCCCAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 477 NM_005559 L gattccgagaaactatgtgcccAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 478 NM_006218 L ttctacgagcagcaggcgAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACACC 479 NM_003105 L ACAGCAAAAACTACCCTTGATCAAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACAC C 480 NM_000546 L GGTGGAAAATTCTGCAAGCCAGAGATCACCAACTACCCACACACAC C 481 NM_000110 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTaggcaggcggggc 482 NM_015149 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtttggccctccctctcg 483 NM_015284 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtaccttgtgccgggcc 484 NM_182625 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcggcggtgttcatgg 485 NM_000379 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtcagggcatgaagagttcttgg 486 NM_177454 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTggtagaccctcacagcgtc 487 NM_004735 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTccacccgcagggg 488 NM_194293 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcctttatcttgctggctagtg 489 NM_183061 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtcaggcccatcatctcttactt 490 NM_024621 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtcattaacacttccctctccct 491 NM_001829 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcacgtcagtcactcacgca 492 NM_004395 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtcagccccatgcttagcac 493 NM_001012418 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgttgccttcttagtcagatggg 494 NM_003913 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcttcagtcaatgctagaaatgg 495 NM_001858 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgggagtaatgcctttcaggttt 496 NM_016230 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgttccttagccttggtgctga 497 NM_032639 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgccggtcgcaggc 498 NM_001091 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgacagatggaccagggcag 499 NM_007188 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgtgattggaggatatgttgtca 500 NM_024790 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtaggaacagtgtaagagcctgg 501 NM_178857 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcccaccctgttccagttgt 502 NM_005085 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcgggctgagtagtggc 503 NM_017617 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgagccgcgcgtcc 504 NM_006289 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtggggtagaaggcggag 505 NM_206920 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcccacctgcccgg 506 NM_004606 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgctcgagtcacgtggctta 507 NM_014976 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTagaaaaaacgaggggcgcaag 508 NM_052932 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcgacagatttgttgcttaaatt 509 NM_025164 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTggcggtgggaaccttc 510 NM_001382 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtaaagggcccgtacctctcc 511 NM_005422 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtgccagagtaaacagaacacca 512 NM_003920 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTggaccggtccccg 513 NM_014770 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTaggtccgaggtgcaatcctaaa 514 NM_020366 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgtaagagatcccagaggacact 515 NM_182932 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTccaggcagcaggcg 516 NM_016475 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcgggaccgtactcgt 517 NM_014994 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTatggtggcacgatcggc 518 NM_000499 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTccatcctggggcgc 519 NM_014699 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtgagcatggcctttttgtcctc 520 NM_014906 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcagcccacgctgccta 521 NM_014772 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgccaagacagcccagtctag 522 NM_003259 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTggcaggagtgagcgac 523 NM_018837 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTggagggagccaaatgttcc 524 NM_002473 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcggctcctcgccg 525 NM_005095 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtctgagatcccacgggtcc 526 NM_004326 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTagttgctgctgcactggtg 527 NM_022093 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcttctgacttccctcctccttc 528 NM_183361 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTggctccatccaggcttct 529 NM_024923 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgagggagaaggcttgggg 530 NM_015136 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcacccccacaggaaccc 531 NM_022131 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcgccggcagcagc 532 NM_006218 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgaggaggggcagagcc 533 NM_018986 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTggacggagcaggcag 534 NM_033632 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtggttggggccccg 535 NM_001884 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTctgtgcccagaccttgtaaag 536 NM_000038 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcttctctctccgcttccc 537 NM_014005 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTatgcttgagattcttttcctga 538 NM_005322 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtttcataagaatccattgggct 539 NM_019842 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtcgaattctaaatccggacctg 540 NM_021807 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtttttcagtttccttgctttta 541 NM_000598 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcgagactcgcccggg 542 NM_004445 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcctgcctgggctcg 543 NM_015225 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgctgcaaccatggacagc 544 NM_152896 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgagggggcgggtg 545 NM_018702 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcgccctgctcagaaagaca 546 NM_020752 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgctgctgctgctgc 547 NM_000314 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgagatgggtgcgttgagc 548 NM_016234 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcctgccttggtctctgaa 549 NM_020975 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcagtgcgggacgcg 550 NM_000124 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcaaccatagacaccgccc 551 NM_000855 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcgggtcggactgaggg 552 NM_020693 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcccttccaacccctc 553 NM_018400 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTctttcaggcaatgatgtcatct 554 NM_024546 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcaagattcctgcgaatgtgta 555 NM_003366 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTccgtgaaacaggggcct 556 NM_015202 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTccacttactgagcccgc 557 NM_000512 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgtgtgcggatggggc 558 NM_002208 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtccagcccagggtcctc 559 NM_000267 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTagagattgagagcgcggct 560 NM_005559 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtggcctctgggtccc 561 NM_005359 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTttcctttctcccggctgc 562 NM_003245 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtggggagaagggggcag 563 NM_012072 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTctgccgggtccctgg 564 NM_006275 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTcgggaggcgggct 565 NM_003253 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTccgattgggccgcc 566 NM_003906 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTatgttctgctacaagtctaaga 567 NM_006932 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcccgtccagccg 568 NM_004985 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTATCGATGCGTTCCGCG 569 NM_007355 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTactgcgtgccccaagtc 570 AK311497 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgcgggtccctggg 571 NM_004387 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTAAGACACCAGGCTGCAGGAT 572 NM_006941_1 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTTCCTGCGCGCTGC 573 NM_005559 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTtggcctctgggtccc 574 NM_006218 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTgaggaggggcagagcc 575 NM_003105 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTCCTAGAACGCAACCAACAAGA 576 NM_000546 R CTACCCCACCTTCCTCATTCTCTCTGGACAGTCGCCATGACAA Universal Primers 577 U1 GGT GTG TGT GGG TAG TTG GTG AT 578 U2 /5Phos/AGA GAA TGA GGA AGG TGG GGT AG/3SpC3/ 579 U2′ CTA CCC CAC CTT CCT CAT TCT CT 580 454A: Sample GCC TCC CTC GCG CCA TCA G (5 bp barcode) GGT GTG TGT GGG Specific Barcode: TAG TTG GTG AT U1 581 454B: Sample GCC TTG CCA GCC CGC TCA G (5 bp barcode) CTA CCC CAC CTT Specific Barcode: CCT CAT TCT CT U2′ Bisulfite Patch PCR Genomic DNA from cancer and adjacent normal tissue was obtained from Biochain (www.biochain.com) for both breast (catalog number D8235086) and colon (catalog number 8235090).", "Patient information and lot numbers are listed in TABLE F. Each patient sample was aliquoted into a well of a 96-well plate and digested with the AluI restriction endonuclease in 10 ul total volume reaction containing 250 ng DNA, 10 units(U) AluI enzyme (NEB), and 1×NEBUFFER 2 (NEB).", "This reaction was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour, followed by heat inactivation of the enzyme at 65° C. for 20 min, and held at 4° C. until the subsequent step.", "Patch driven ligation of the universal primers to selected fragments was performed by addition of more reactants to the initial tube to result in the following final concentrations: 2 nM each Patch oligo, 200 nM U1 primer, 200 nM U2 primer (contains 5′ phosphate and 3′ three carbon spacer), 5 U AMPLIGASE (Epicentre), and 1×AMPLIGASE Reaction Buffer (Epicentre) in a total volume of 25 ul.", "This reaction was incubated at 95° C. for 15 minutes followed by (94° C. for 30 sec, 65° C. for 8 minutes) for 100 cycles, and held at 4° C. Incorrect products, template genomic DNA and excess primer were degraded by the direct addition of 10 U Exonuclease I (USB) and 200 U Exonuclease III (Epicentre) to the reaction.", "This mix was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour followed by heat inactivation at 95° C. for 20 minutes, and held at 4° C. The reactions were then treated with sodium bisulfite to convert unmethylated cytosines to uracil.", "This was achieved by using the EZ DNA Methylation Gold Bisulfite Treatment Kit (Zymo Research) following the manufacturer's instructions, with one exception.", "Since the sample volume after the exonuclease treatment is 27 ul, the CT Conversion Reagent from the kit is made by adding 830 ul dH2O instead of 900 ul dH2O.", "The DNA is eluted from the columns in the final step with 10 ul M-Elution buffer.", "The universal primers are then used to PCR amplify the selected bisulfite converted loci from each sample.", "A different pair of universal primers is used to PCR amplify each sample, and they are distinguished by a five base-pair sample-specific DNA barcode that resides between the universal primer sequence and the 454 machine specific sequence (TABLE J).", "There are 1,024 possible 5 bp DNA sequences, and we selected 48 sample-specific barcodes, one for each sample, that did not contain homopolymers and had the least sequence similarity to each other (The barcodes used for each patient are listed in TABLE F).", "For the PCR we added reagents to the last 10 ul column elution to result in these final concentrations in 50 ul: 0.5 uM each Barcoded U1, 0.5 uM each Barcoded U2′, 10 U Platinum Taq Polymerase (Invitrogen), 0.5 mM each dNTP, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.5M Betaine, 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.4 and 50 mM KCl.", "This reaction was incubated at 93° C. for 2 minutes followed by (93° C. for 30 sec, 57° C. for 6 minutes) for 35 cycles, and held at 4° C. The PCR product smear between the expected sizes was confirmed by running 20 ul of the PCR product from each sample on a 3% Metaphor Agarose gel (Lonza).", "We then pooled 5 ul from each sample into a single tube and purified this pool on a QIAQUICK Spin Column (Qiagen).", "The eluted DNA was quantified on the NANODROP (www.nanodrop.com) as well as on a plate reader (BioTek Synergy HT) using PICOGREEN (Invitrogen) following the manufacturer's instructions.", "This pooled sample was then prepared and sequenced on the 454 Life Sciences/Roche FLX machine following the manufacturer's instructions.", "Sequencing Data Analysis We obtained 97,115 sequencing reads.", "To determine which sequences matched our targets, we aligned the reads against a database of reference sequences for each target using WU-BLASTN (http://blast.wustl.edu).", "Since the sequences are sodium bisulfite treated, we substituted a T in place of C in the genomic sequence at non-CpG positions in the reference sequences.", "We then determined how many reads matched significantly to each promoter (BLAST smallest sum probability (P)<0.001), and put all reads from each promoter in a separate file.", "We computed the correlation between the number of reads and the amplicon length for each promoter using linear regression.", "We identified which sample each read came from by matching the first five bases of the read to the list of sample-specific barcode and corresponding patients.", "To determine the reproducibility of the method, we computed number of reads for each locus in each sample, and calculated the squared correlation coefficient (R2) between two samples for all possible pairs of samples.", "The mean of these correlation coefficients represents the average correlation between the number of reads per locus across samples.", "For each promoter, we used CLUSTALW to generate a multiple sequence alignment of all of the reads and the reference sequence (Larkin et al.", "2007).", "We identified germline SNPs in the sequences by looking for variants in the reads and comparing these to known SNPs reported on the UCSC Genome Browser (www.genome.ucsc.edu).", "To visualize these multiple sequence alignments we create one matrix per promoter where the first column identifies the sample from which the read originated (1-48), and the remaining columns are coded for the base in the read, where C's are replaced with 8, the two alleles at SNP positions are replaced with 5 and 12, and the remaining bases are converted to 0.This matrix was then visualized as an image using the MATLAB software package (The Mathworks).", "The matrix was sorted by sample type (the first column) and further calculations regarding the amount of methylation per read and per sample were computed using MATLAB (The MathWorks Inc.).", "To quantify the sensitivity and specificity of each locus exhibiting tumor-specific methylation we used a threshold to classify a locus as methylated or unmethylated in each sample.", "We queried many CpGs for each locus with the bisulfite sequencing.", "We used this information to find the optimal classifier of DNA methylation to distinguish tumor and normal samples.", "We search across all possible values for two parameters: % of CpGs per molecule and % of reads per sample.", "We found that the optimal classifier between tumor and normal was to classify a sample as ‘methylated’ if more than 20% of CpG positions per molecule were methylated in more than 35% of molecules.", "The fraction of samples that were classified as methylated is listed in TABLE I for each locus.", "REFERENCES FOR EXAMPLE 7 1.Lyko, F. & Brown, R. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors and the development of epigenetic cancer therapies.", "J Natl Cancer Inst 97, 1498-1506 (2005).", "2.Baylin, S. B., Herman, J. G., Graff, J. R., Vertino, P. M. & Issa, J. P. Alterations in DNA methylation: a fundamental aspect of neoplasia.", "Adv Cancer Res 72, 141-196 (1998).", "3.Chan, T. A. et al.", "Convergence of mutation and epigenetic alterations identifies common genes in cancer that predict for poor prognosis.", "PLoS medicine 5, e114 (2008).", "4.Jun, H. J. et al.", "Epigenetic regulation of c-ROS receptor tyrosine kinase expression in malignant gliomas.", "Cancer research 69, 2180-2184 (2009).", "5.Nabilsi, N. H., Broaddus, R. R. & Loose, D. S. DNA methylation inhibits p53-mediated survivin repression.", "Oncogene 28, 2046-2050 (2009).", "6.Klarmann, G. J., Decker, A.", "& Farrar, W. L. Epigenetic gene silencing in the Wnt pathway in breast cancer.", "Epigenetics 3, 59-63 (2008).", "7.Suzuki, H. et al.", "Frequent epigenetic inactivation of Wnt antagonist genes in breast cancer.", "Br J Cancer 98, 1147-1156 (2008).", "8.Esteller, M. et al.", "Inactivation of the DNA-repair gene MGMT and the clinical response of gliomas to alkylating agents.", "The New England journal of medicine 343, 1350-1354 (2000).", "9.Widschwendter, M. et al.", "Association of breast cancer DNA methylation profiles with hormone receptor status and response to tamoxifen.", "Cancer research 64, 3807-3813 (2004).", "10.Laird, P. W. Cancer epigenetics.", "Hum Mol Genet 14 Spec No 1, R65-76 (2005).", "11.Ushijima, T. Detection and interpretation of altered methylation patterns in cancer cells.", "Nat Rev Cancer 5, 223-231 (2005).", "12.Eads, C. A. et al.", "MethyLight: a high-throughput assay to measure DNA methylation.", "Nucleic acids research 28, E32 (2000).", "13.Ehrich, M. et al.", "Quantitative high-throughput analysis of DNA methylation patterns by base-specific cleavage and mass spectrometry.", "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102, 15785-15790 (2005).", "14.Frommer, M. et al.", "A genomic sequencing protocol that yields a positive display of 5-methylcytosine residues in individual DNA strands.", "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 89, 1827-1831 (1992).", "15.Cokus, S. J. et al.", "Shotgun bisulphite sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome reveals DNA methylation patterning.", "Nature 452, 215-219 (2008).", "16.Meissner, A. et al.", "Genome-scale DNA methylation maps of pluripotent and differentiated cells.", "Nature 454, 766-770 (2008).", "17.Ball, M. P. et al.", "Targeted and genome-scale strategies reveal gene-body methylation signatures in human cells.", "Nature biotechnology 27, 361-368 (2009).", "18.Deng, J. et al.", "Targeted bisulfite sequencing reveals changes in DNA methylation associated with nuclear reprogramming.", "Nature biotechnology 27, 353-360 (2009).", "19.Hodges, E. et al.", "High definition profiling of mammalian DNA methylation by array capture and single molecule bisulfite sequencing.", "Genome research (2009).", "20.Korshunova, Y. et al.", "Massively parallel bisulphite pyrosequencing reveals the molecular complexity of breast cancer-associated cytosine-methylation patterns obtained from tissue and serum DNA.", "Genome research 18, 19-29 (2008).", "21.Taylor, K. H. et al.", "Ultradeep bisulfite sequencing analysis of DNA methylation patterns in multiple gene promoters by 454 sequencing.", "Cancer research 67, 8511-8518 (2007).", "22.Varley, K. E., Mutch, D. G., Edmonston, T. B., Goodfellow, P. J.", "& Mitra, R. D. Intra-tumor heterogeneity of MLH1 promoter methylation revealed by deep single molecule bisulfite sequencing.", "Nucleic acids research (2009).", "23.Varley, K. E. & Mitra, R. D. Nested Patch PCR enables highly multiplexed mutation discovery in candidate genes.", "Genome research 18, 1844-1850 (2008).", "24.Wood, L. D. et al.", "The genomic landscapes of human breast and colorectal cancers.", "Science 318, 1108-1113 (2007).", "25.Kim, J. Y., Tavare, S. & Shibata, D. Human hair genealogies and stem cell latency.", "BMC biology 4, 2 (2006).", "26.Munson, K., Clark, J., Lamparska-Kupsik, K. & Smith, S. S. Recovery of bisulfite-converted genomic sequences in the methylation-sensitive QPCR.", "Nucleic acids research 35, 2893-2903 (2007).", "27.Tomii, K. et al.", "Aberrant promoter methylation of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 gene in human cancers.", "International journal of cancer 120, 566-573 (2007).", "28.Sjoblom, T. et al.", "The consensus coding sequences of human breast and colorectal cancers.", "Science (New York, N.Y. 314, 268-274 (2006).", "29.Veigl, M. L. et al.", "Biallelic inactivation of hMLH1 by epigenetic gene silencing, a novel mechanism causing human MSI cancers.", "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 95, 8698-8702 (1998).", "30.Comprehensive genomic characterization defines human glioblastoma genes and core pathways.", "Nature 455, 1061-1068 (2008).", "Example 8: Nucleic Acid Patch PCR with Ends Defined by Oligonucleotide-Directed FokI Digestion This example details creating defined ends of a nucleic acid sequence by using oligonucleotide-directed digestion on nucleic acid templates.", "The method is depicted in FIG.", "13.Template Preparation FokI-directing DNA oligonucleotides were designed to anneal upstream and downstream of each of 96 targeted exons in the human genome.", "These loci were selected because they are genes implicated in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.", "The oligos contained the recognition sequence of the FokI restriction endonuclease.", "Human genomic DNA from the blood of healthy individuals (Promega) was incubated with FokI-directing oligonucleotides in a reaction containing appropriate buffer for the FokI enzyme, NEBUFFER3 (NEB) and a final concentration of 0.1% TWEEN80 (Sigma) in a total volume of 9 ul.", "This mixture was denatured at 98° C. for 15 minutes and held at 37° C. for 5 minutes.", "FokI enzyme (NEB) was then added to the reaction so that there was 4 U of enzyme in a 10 ul reaction.", "The reaction was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour, followed by heat inactivation of the enzyme at 65° C. for 20 min, and held at 4° C. until the subsequent step.", "Control reactions lacking TWEEN80, FokI-directing oligonucleotides, FokI enzyme, or genomic DNA were also performed.", "Nucleic Acid Patch Ligation Nucleic acid patch oligos were designed as described in Example 2 but were designed to anneal adjacent to the FokI-digested cut sites upstream and downstream of a targeted 96 exons in the human genome.", "Nucleic Acid Patch driven ligation of the universal primers to selected fragments was performed essentially as in Example 2.Briefly, the following reactants were added to the FokI digest to result in the following final concentrations: 2 nM each Nucleic Acid Patch oligo, 200 nM Universal Primer 1, 200 nM Universal Primer 2 with 5′ phosphate and 3′ three carbon spacer, 5 U AMPLIGASE (Epicentre), and 1×AMPLIGASE Reaction Buffer (Epicentre) in a total volume of 25 ul.", "This reaction was incubated at 95° C. for 15 minutes followed by (94° C. for 30 sec, 65° C. for 8 minutes) for 100 cycles, and held at 4° C. Incorrect products, template genomic DNA and excess primer were degraded by the direct addition of 10 U Exonuclease I (USB) and 200 U Exonuclease III (Epicentre) to the reaction.", "This mix was incubated at 37° C. for 1 hour followed by heat inactivation at 95° C. for 20 minutes and then held at 4° C. PCR Amplification The universal primers were then used to PCR amplify the selected loci from each sample.", "For the PCR, reagents were added to the reactions to result in these final concentrations in 50 ul: 0.5 uM each Universal Primer, 10 U Platinum Taq Polymerase (Invitrogen), 0.5 mM each dNTP, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.5M Betaine, 20 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.4 and 50 mM KCl.", "This reaction was incubated at 93° C. for 2 minutes followed by (93° C. for 30 sec, 57° C. for 6 minutes) for 35 cycles, and held at 4° C. An aliquot of the reactions was analyzed by gel electrophoresis on a 2% agarose gel (Lonza).", "Results Defining template ends using oligo-directed FokI digestion was successful (FIG.", "14).", "A smear of PCR products of the expected sizes was detected on the agarose gel." ] ]
Patent_15875027
[ [ "DATA LINK LAYER-BASED COMMUNICATION METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM", "A method includes: a first network device generates a data link layer-based autonomic control plane (L2 ACP) packet, wherein the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; encapsulates, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the frame at the data link layer comprises a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device; and sends, according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device, wherein the second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device." ], [ "1.A data link layer-based communication method, wherein the communication method is applied to an autonomic network, and the method comprises: generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane (L2 ACP) packet, wherein the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the frame at the data link layer comprises a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device; and sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device, wherein the second network device is a different autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the frame at the data link layer is a frame formatted according to an Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "3.The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating the data link layer-based autonomic control plane (L2 ACP) packet comprises: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet in response to determining that a neighbor list of the first network device comprises a match item for a device identifier of a target device that the first network device will communicate with, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device comprises a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device; the encapsulating the L2 ACP packet comprises: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the sending the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device comprises: sending, by the first network device according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "4.The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating the data link layer-based autonomic control plane (L2 ACP) packet comprises: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet in response to determining that a neighbor list does not comprise a match item for a device identifier of a target device that the first network device will communicate with, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet; the encapsulating the L2 ACP packet comprises: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device comprises: sending, by the first network device according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "5.The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating the L2 ACP packet comprises: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet prior to the first network device broadcasting a control message in an ACP, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet; the encapsulating the L2 ACP packet comprises: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device comprises: sending, by the first network device according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "6.The method according to claim 4, wherein the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further comprises a packet ID that uniquely indicates the L2 ACP packet.", "7.The method according to claim 4, wherein the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further comprises timing information, and the timing information instructs a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet in response to a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeding preset duration.", "8.A network device, wherein the network device serves as a first network device, and the first network device operates in an autonomic network and comprises: a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions; one or more hardware processors in communication with the memory storage, wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: generate a data link layer-based autonomic control plane (L2 ACP) packet, wherein the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; and encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the frame at the data link layer comprises a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device; and a transmitter coupled with the one or more hardware processors, wherein the transmitter is configured to send, to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer, wherein the second network device is a different autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "9.The first network device according to claim 8, wherein the frame at the data link layer is a frame formatted according to an Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "10.The first network device according to claim 8, wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: generate the L2 ACP packet in response to determining that a neighbor list of the first network device comprises a match item for a device identifier of a target device that the first network device will communicate with, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device comprises a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device; and encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and wherein the transmitter is configured to send, according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "11.The first network device according to claim 8, wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: generate the L2 ACP packet in response to determining that a neighbor list does not comprise a match item for a device identifier of a target device that the first network device will communicate with, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet; and the encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and wherein the transmitter is configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "12.The first network device according to claim 8, wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: generate the L2 ACP packet prior to the first network device broadcasting a control message in an ACP, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet; and encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, wherein the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and wherein the transmitter is configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "13.The first network device according to claim 11, wherein the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further comprises a packet ID that uniquely indicates the L2 ACP packet.", "14.A network device, wherein the network device serves as a second network device, the second network device operates in an autonomic network, and the second network device comprises: a receiver configured to receive a data link layer-based autonomic control plane (L2 ACP) packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device, wherein the L2 ACP packet comprises a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer comprises a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network; a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions; and one or more hardware processors in communication with the memory storage, wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: process, by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, the L2 ACP packet.", "15.The second network device according to claim 14, wherein the frame at the data link layer is a frame that formatted according to an Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "16.The second network device according to claim 14, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of a target device; and wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: determine that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parse the L2 ACP packet.", "17.The second network device according to claim 14, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: determine whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier; if the device identifier of the second network device is determined to match the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, and buffer the L2 ACP packet; and if the device identifier of the second network device is determined not to match the destination device identifier, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "18.The second network device according to claim 14, wherein a packet header of the L2 ACP packet comprises a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: determine that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "19.The second network device according to claim 17, wherein the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further comprises a packet ID uniquely indicating the L2 ACP packet; and the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to: in response to determining that not buffering the packet ID, process the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "20.The second network device according to claim 17, wherein the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further comprises timing information, and the timing information instructs a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet in response to a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeding preset duration; and wherein the one or more hardware processors execute the instructions to clear the L2 ACP packet in response to determining that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>An autonomic network (AN) is a network that can support self-management such as network self-configuration, network self-protection, network self-healing, and network self-optimization, and can improve a network automation degree.", "A key technology in the autonomic network is establishment of an autonomic control plane (ACP).", "The autonomic control plane ACP is a control plane in the autonomic network, and an upper-layer autonomic functional entity may use the ACP plane to transmit control signaling.", "An implementation for establishing an ACP based on IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) is proposed in a current technology.", "However, in the current technology, a network device needs to support IPv6 to establish the ACP.", "Consequently, compatibility of the autonomic network is poor." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Embodiments of the application provide a data link layer-based communication method, device, and system.", "An autonomic network is established based on a data link layer, so as to resolve a problem in the prior art that an implementation of the autonomic network needs to depend on IPv6.This has better network compatibility.", "According to a first aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the method includes: generating, by a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device; encapsulating, by the network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device; sending, by the network device based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a registrar device, where the registrar device is a device that is in an autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate; receiving, by the network device, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device, where the domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message; and establishing, by the network device, an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation of the first aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations of the first aspect, in a third implementation of the first aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation of the first aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation of the first aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a second aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the method includes: receiving, by a registrar device from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device, and the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device; when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocating, by the registrar device, a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sending the domain certificate to the network device; and establishing, by the registrar device, an autonomic control plane ACP with the network device according to the domain certificate.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first implementation of the second aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the second aspect or the first implementation of the second aspect, in a second implementation of the second aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a third implementation of the second aspect, the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device, and the method further includes: establishing, by the registrar device, a neighbor list of the registrar device according to the AD message, where the neighbor list includes the device identifier of the network device and the data link layer address of the network device.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a fourth implementation of the second aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device; and the step that when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocating, by the registrar device, a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sending the domain certificate to the network device includes: when determining that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, determining, by the registrar device, that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and sending, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the UDI, where the whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic network.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a fifth implementation of the second aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification S-UDI of the network device; and the step that when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocating, by the registrar device, a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sending the domain certificate to the network device includes: when determining, by using a verification server, that a digital device certificate corresponding to the S-UDI is valid, determining, by the registrar device, that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and sending, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the digital device certificate.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a sixth implementation of the second aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a seventh implementation of the second aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "According to a third aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the communication method is applied to an autonomic network, and the method includes: generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet, where the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device; and sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device, where the second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "With reference to the third aspect, in a first implementation of the third aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the third aspect or the first implementation of the third aspect, in a second implementation of the third aspect, the generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and determines that a neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device; the encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes: sending, by the first network device according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "With reference to the third aspect or the first implementation of the third aspect, in a third implementation of the third aspect, the generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and determines that the neighbor list does not include a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet; the encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes: sending, by the first network device according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the third aspect or the first implementation of the third aspect, in a fourth implementation of the third aspect, the generating, by a first network device, an L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to broadcast a control message in the ACP, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet; the encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes: sending, by the first network device according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the third aspect, in a fifth implementation of the third aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the third aspect, in a sixth implementation of the third aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in a seventh implementation of the third aspect, each device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device; and the generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network by using an IP session, where the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address, and the destination IP address is an IP address of the target device.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in an eighth implementation of the third aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in a ninth implementation of the third aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in a tenth implementation of the third aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a fourth aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the communication method is applied to an autonomic network, and the method includes: receiving, by a second network device, an L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device, where the L2 ACP packet includes a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network; and processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first implementation of the fourth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementation of the fourth aspect, in a second implementation of the fourth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: determining, by the second network device, that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parsing the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the first implementation of the fourth aspect, in a third implementation of the fourth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parsing the L2 ACP packet, and buffering the L2 ACP packet; or when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, buffering the L2 ACP packet, and forwarding, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the first implementation of the fourth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the fourth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: determining, by the second network device, that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parsing the L2 ACP packet, buffering the L2 ACP packet, and forwarding, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the fourth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the fourth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: when the second network device determines that the second network device does not buffer the packet ID, processing the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the fourth aspect, in a sixth implementation of the fourth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration; and the method further includes: clearing the L2 ACP packet when the second network device determines that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in a seventh implementation of the fourth aspect, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device, and the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, forwarding, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the second network device according to the destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet; or parsing the L2 ACP packet when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet and an IP address of the second network device matches the destination IP address of the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in an eighth implementation of the fourth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in a ninth implementation of the fourth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in a tenth implementation of the fourth aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a fifth aspect, a network device is provided, where the network device is applied to an autonomic network, and the network device includes: a generation module, configured to generate, by the network device, an adjacency discovery AD message, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device; an encapsulation module, configured to encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message generated by the generation module, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device; a sending module, configured to send, to a registrar device based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message that is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer and that is determined by the encapsulation module, where the registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate; a receiving module, configured to receive a domain certificate sent by the registrar device, where the domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message; and an establishment module, configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device according to the domain certificate received by the receiving module.", "With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fifth aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the fifth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the fifth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fifth aspect, in a third implementation of the fifth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the fifth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fifth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the fifth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the fifth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fifth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the fifth aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a sixth aspect, a registrar device is provided, where the registrar device is applied to an autonomic network, the registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate, and the registrar device includes: a receiving module, configured to receive, from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device, and the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device; a sending module, configured to: when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocate a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message received by the receiving module, and send the domain certificate to the network device; and an ACP establishment module, configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the network device according to the domain certificate sent by the sending module.", "With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first implementation of the sixth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the sixth aspect or the first implementation of the sixth aspect, in a second implementation of the sixth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a third implementation of the sixth aspect, the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device, and the registrar device further includes: a neighbor list establishment module, configured to establish a neighbor list of the registrar device according to the AD message, where the neighbor list includes the device identifier of the network device and the data link layer address of the network device.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the sixth aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device; and the sending module is specifically configured to: when determining that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and send, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the UDI, where the whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic network.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the sixth aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification S-UDI of the network device; and the sending module is specifically configured to: when determining, by using a verification server, that a digital device certificate corresponding to the S-UDI is valid, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and send, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the digital device certificate.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a sixth implementation of the sixth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a seventh implementation of the sixth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "According to a seventh aspect, a network device is provided, where the network device serves as a first network device, the first network device is applied to an autonomic network, and the first network device includes: a generation module, configured to generate a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet, where the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; an encapsulation module, configured to encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet generated by the generation module, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device; and a sending module, configured to send, to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated by the encapsulation module based on the frame at the data link layer, where the second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first implementation of the seventh aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the seventh aspect or the first implementation of the seventh aspect, in a second implementation of the seventh aspect, the generation module is specifically configured to: generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the generation module determines that a neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device; the encapsulation module is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the sending module is specifically configured to send, according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect or the first implementation of the seventh aspect, in a third implementation of the seventh aspect, the generation module is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the generation module determines that the neighbor list does not include a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet; the encapsulation module is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending module is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect or the first implementation of the seventh aspect, in a fourth implementation of the seventh aspect, the generation module is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to broadcast a control message in the ACP, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet; the encapsulation module is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending module is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the seventh aspect, in a fifth implementation of the seventh aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the seventh aspect, in a sixth implementation of the seventh aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in a seventh implementation of the seventh aspect, each device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device; and the generation module is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network by using an IP session, where the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address, and the destination IP address is an IP address of the target device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in an eighth implementation of the seventh aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in a ninth implementation of the seventh aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in a tenth implementation of the seventh aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to an eighth aspect, a network device is provided, where the network device serves as a second network device, the second network device is applied to an autonomic network, and the second network device includes: a receiving module, configured to receive an L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device, where the L2 ACP packet includes a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network; and a processing module, configured to process, by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, the L2 ACP packet received by the receiving module.", "With reference to the eighth aspect, in a first implementation of the eighth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementation of the eighth aspect, in a second implementation of the eighth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the processing module is specifically configured to: determine that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parse the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the eighth aspect or the first implementation of the eighth aspect, in a third implementation of the eighth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, and buffer the L2 ACP packet; or the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the eighth aspect or the first implementation of the eighth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the eighth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing module is specifically configured to: determine that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the eighth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the eighth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet; and the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the processing module does not buffer the packet ID, process the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the eighth aspect, in a sixth implementation of the eighth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration; and the second network device further includes: a buffer clearing module, configured to clear the L2 ACP packet when determining that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in a seventh implementation of the eighth aspect, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device, and the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address; and the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, forward the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the second network device according to the destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet; or parse the L2 ACP packet when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet and that an IP address of the second network device matches the destination IP address of the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in an eighth implementation of the eighth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in a ninth implementation of the eighth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in a tenth implementation of the eighth aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a ninth aspect, a data link layer-based system is provided, where the system includes the network device according to the fifth aspect and the registrar device according to the sixth aspect.", "According to a tenth aspect, a data link layer-based system is provided, where the system includes the network device according to the seventh aspect and the network device according to the eighth aspect.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, in the embodiments of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in the embodiments of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/CN2015/084772, filed on Jul.", "22, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the application relate to the communications field, and more specifically, to a data link layer-based communication method, device, and system.", "BACKGROUND An autonomic network (AN) is a network that can support self-management such as network self-configuration, network self-protection, network self-healing, and network self-optimization, and can improve a network automation degree.", "A key technology in the autonomic network is establishment of an autonomic control plane (ACP).", "The autonomic control plane ACP is a control plane in the autonomic network, and an upper-layer autonomic functional entity may use the ACP plane to transmit control signaling.", "An implementation for establishing an ACP based on IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) is proposed in a current technology.", "However, in the current technology, a network device needs to support IPv6 to establish the ACP.", "Consequently, compatibility of the autonomic network is poor.", "SUMMARY Embodiments of the application provide a data link layer-based communication method, device, and system.", "An autonomic network is established based on a data link layer, so as to resolve a problem in the prior art that an implementation of the autonomic network needs to depend on IPv6.This has better network compatibility.", "According to a first aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the method includes: generating, by a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device; encapsulating, by the network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device; sending, by the network device based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a registrar device, where the registrar device is a device that is in an autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate; receiving, by the network device, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device, where the domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message; and establishing, by the network device, an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation of the first aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations of the first aspect, in a third implementation of the first aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation of the first aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the first aspect and the foregoing implementations of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation of the first aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a second aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the method includes: receiving, by a registrar device from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device, and the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device; when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocating, by the registrar device, a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sending the domain certificate to the network device; and establishing, by the registrar device, an autonomic control plane ACP with the network device according to the domain certificate.", "With reference to the second aspect, in a first implementation of the second aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the second aspect or the first implementation of the second aspect, in a second implementation of the second aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a third implementation of the second aspect, the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device, and the method further includes: establishing, by the registrar device, a neighbor list of the registrar device according to the AD message, where the neighbor list includes the device identifier of the network device and the data link layer address of the network device.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a fourth implementation of the second aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device; and the step that when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocating, by the registrar device, a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sending the domain certificate to the network device includes: when determining that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, determining, by the registrar device, that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and sending, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the UDI, where the whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic network.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a fifth implementation of the second aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification S-UDI of the network device; and the step that when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocating, by the registrar device, a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sending the domain certificate to the network device includes: when determining, by using a verification server, that a digital device certificate corresponding to the S-UDI is valid, determining, by the registrar device, that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and sending, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the digital device certificate.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a sixth implementation of the second aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the second aspect and the foregoing implementations of the second aspect, in a seventh implementation of the second aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "According to a third aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the communication method is applied to an autonomic network, and the method includes: generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet, where the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device; and sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device, where the second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "With reference to the third aspect, in a first implementation of the third aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the third aspect or the first implementation of the third aspect, in a second implementation of the third aspect, the generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and determines that a neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device; the encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes: sending, by the first network device according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "With reference to the third aspect or the first implementation of the third aspect, in a third implementation of the third aspect, the generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and determines that the neighbor list does not include a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet; the encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes: sending, by the first network device according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the third aspect or the first implementation of the third aspect, in a fourth implementation of the third aspect, the generating, by a first network device, an L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to broadcast a control message in the ACP, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet; the encapsulating, by the first network device based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes: encapsulating, by the first network device based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending, by the first network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes: sending, by the first network device according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the third aspect, in a fifth implementation of the third aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the third aspect, in a sixth implementation of the third aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in a seventh implementation of the third aspect, each device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device; and the generating, by a first network device, a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes: generating, by the first network device, the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network by using an IP session, where the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address, and the destination IP address is an IP address of the target device.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in an eighth implementation of the third aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in a ninth implementation of the third aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the third aspect and the foregoing implementations of the third aspect, in a tenth implementation of the third aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a fourth aspect, a data link layer-based communication method is provided, where the communication method is applied to an autonomic network, and the method includes: receiving, by a second network device, an L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device, where the L2 ACP packet includes a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network; and processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect, in a first implementation of the fourth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementation of the fourth aspect, in a second implementation of the fourth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: determining, by the second network device, that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parsing the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the first implementation of the fourth aspect, in a third implementation of the fourth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parsing the L2 ACP packet, and buffering the L2 ACP packet; or when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, buffering the L2 ACP packet, and forwarding, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the fourth aspect or the first implementation of the fourth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the fourth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: determining, by the second network device, that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parsing the L2 ACP packet, buffering the L2 ACP packet, and forwarding, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the fourth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the fourth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: when the second network device determines that the second network device does not buffer the packet ID, processing the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the fourth aspect, in a sixth implementation of the fourth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration; and the method further includes: clearing the L2 ACP packet when the second network device determines that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in a seventh implementation of the fourth aspect, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device, and the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address; and the processing, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, forwarding, by the second network device, the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the second network device according to the destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet; or parsing the L2 ACP packet when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet and an IP address of the second network device matches the destination IP address of the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in an eighth implementation of the fourth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in a ninth implementation of the fourth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the fourth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fourth aspect, in a tenth implementation of the fourth aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a fifth aspect, a network device is provided, where the network device is applied to an autonomic network, and the network device includes: a generation module, configured to generate, by the network device, an adjacency discovery AD message, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device; an encapsulation module, configured to encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message generated by the generation module, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device; a sending module, configured to send, to a registrar device based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message that is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer and that is determined by the encapsulation module, where the registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate; a receiving module, configured to receive a domain certificate sent by the registrar device, where the domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message; and an establishment module, configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device according to the domain certificate received by the receiving module.", "With reference to the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation of the fifth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the fifth aspect or the first possible implementation of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the fifth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the fifth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fifth aspect, in a third implementation of the fifth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the fifth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fifth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the fifth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the fifth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the fifth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the fifth aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a sixth aspect, a registrar device is provided, where the registrar device is applied to an autonomic network, the registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate, and the registrar device includes: a receiving module, configured to receive, from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device, and the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device; a sending module, configured to: when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocate a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message received by the receiving module, and send the domain certificate to the network device; and an ACP establishment module, configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the network device according to the domain certificate sent by the sending module.", "With reference to the sixth aspect, in a first implementation of the sixth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the sixth aspect or the first implementation of the sixth aspect, in a second implementation of the sixth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a third implementation of the sixth aspect, the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device, and the registrar device further includes: a neighbor list establishment module, configured to establish a neighbor list of the registrar device according to the AD message, where the neighbor list includes the device identifier of the network device and the data link layer address of the network device.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the sixth aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device; and the sending module is specifically configured to: when determining that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and send, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the UDI, where the whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic network.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the sixth aspect, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification S-UDI of the network device; and the sending module is specifically configured to: when determining, by using a verification server, that a digital device certificate corresponding to the S-UDI is valid, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and send, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the digital device certificate.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a sixth implementation of the sixth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the sixth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the sixth aspect, in a seventh implementation of the sixth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "According to a seventh aspect, a network device is provided, where the network device serves as a first network device, the first network device is applied to an autonomic network, and the first network device includes: a generation module, configured to generate a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet, where the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; an encapsulation module, configured to encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet generated by the generation module, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device; and a sending module, configured to send, to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated by the encapsulation module based on the frame at the data link layer, where the second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect, in a first implementation of the seventh aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the seventh aspect or the first implementation of the seventh aspect, in a second implementation of the seventh aspect, the generation module is specifically configured to: generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the generation module determines that a neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device; the encapsulation module is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the sending module is specifically configured to send, according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect or the first implementation of the seventh aspect, in a third implementation of the seventh aspect, the generation module is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the generation module determines that the neighbor list does not include a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet; the encapsulation module is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending module is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect or the first implementation of the seventh aspect, in a fourth implementation of the seventh aspect, the generation module is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to broadcast a control message in the ACP, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet; the encapsulation module is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the sending module is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the seventh aspect, in a fifth implementation of the seventh aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the seventh aspect, in a sixth implementation of the seventh aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in a seventh implementation of the seventh aspect, each device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device; and the generation module is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network by using an IP session, where the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address, and the destination IP address is an IP address of the target device.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in an eighth implementation of the seventh aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in a ninth implementation of the seventh aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the seventh aspect and the foregoing implementations of the seventh aspect, in a tenth implementation of the seventh aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to an eighth aspect, a network device is provided, where the network device serves as a second network device, the second network device is applied to an autonomic network, and the second network device includes: a receiving module, configured to receive an L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device, where the L2 ACP packet includes a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network; and a processing module, configured to process, by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, the L2 ACP packet received by the receiving module.", "With reference to the eighth aspect, in a first implementation of the eighth aspect, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementation of the eighth aspect, in a second implementation of the eighth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device; and the processing module is specifically configured to: determine that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parse the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the eighth aspect or the first implementation of the eighth aspect, in a third implementation of the eighth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, and buffer the L2 ACP packet; or the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the eighth aspect or the first implementation of the eighth aspect, in a fourth implementation of the eighth aspect, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address; and the processing module is specifically configured to: determine that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "With reference to the third or the fourth implementation of the eighth aspect, in a fifth implementation of the eighth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet; and the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the processing module does not buffer the packet ID, process the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "With reference to any one of the third to the fifth implementations of the eighth aspect, in a sixth implementation of the eighth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information, and the timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration; and the second network device further includes: a buffer clearing module, configured to clear the L2 ACP packet when determining that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in a seventh implementation of the eighth aspect, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device, and the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address; and the processing module is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, forward the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the second network device according to the destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet; or parse the L2 ACP packet when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet and that an IP address of the second network device matches the destination IP address of the L2 ACP packet.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in an eighth implementation of the eighth aspect, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in a ninth implementation of the eighth aspect, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "With reference to the eighth aspect and the foregoing implementations of the eighth aspect, in a tenth implementation of the eighth aspect, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "According to a ninth aspect, a data link layer-based system is provided, where the system includes the network device according to the fifth aspect and the registrar device according to the sixth aspect.", "According to a tenth aspect, a data link layer-based system is provided, where the system includes the network device according to the seventh aspect and the network device according to the eighth aspect.", "Based on the foregoing technical solutions, in the embodiments of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in the embodiments of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments or the prior art.", "Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the application, and a person of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from these accompanying drawings without creative efforts.", "FIG.", "1 shows a schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "2 shows a schematic diagram of a data link layer-based communication method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "3 shows another schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "4 shows still another schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "5 shows yet another schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "6 shows a schematic block diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "7 shows a schematic block diagram of a registrar device according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "8 shows a schematic block diagram of another network device according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "9 shows a schematic block diagram of still another network device according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "10 shows a schematic block diagram of a data link layer-based system according to an embodiment of the application; FIG.", "11 shows a schematic block diagram of a data link layer-based system according to another embodiment of the application; FIG.", "12 shows a schematic block diagram of a network device according to another embodiment of the application; FIG.", "13 shows a schematic block diagram of a registrar device according to another embodiment of the application; FIG.", "14 shows a schematic block diagram of another network device according to another embodiment of the application; and FIG.", "15 shows a schematic block diagram of still another network device according to another embodiment of the application.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following clearly and describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the application.", "Apparently, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the application.", "All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the application.", "It should be understood that, the technical solutions in the application may be applied to various communications systems, for example, a fixed network communications system such as an access network system, an aggregation network system, a backbone network system, or a dedicated network system.", "The technical solutions in the application may be applied to a mobile communications system such as a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Global System for Mobile Communications (Global System of Mobile communication, “GSM” for short), a general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, “GPRS” for short), or a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.", "This is not limited in the embodiments of the application.", "It should be further understood that, a device involved in the embodiments of the application may be a network device such as a router, a switch, or user equipment.", "The user equipment may also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal, or the like.", "The user equipment may access the Internet or a corporate network by using a wired network.", "The user equipment may also communicate with one or more core networks by using a radio access network (RAN).", "For example, the user equipment may be a mobile phone (or referred to as a “cell” phone) or a computer having a mobile terminal, or may be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer built-in, or vehicle-mounted mobile apparatus that exchanges voice and/or data with the radio access network.", "It should be understood that, to support an autonomic feature, an existing ACP technical solution needs to first support IPv6.Because construction of an ACP depends on an implementation of IPv6, network compatibility is poor, and network deployment is difficult.", "This causes management troubles.", "It should be understood that, in the prior art, an ACP is established based on a network layer (or referred to as an L3 layer).", "However, in the application, an ACP is established based on a data link layer (or referred to as an L2 layer).", "In comparison with the prior art, this implements that establishment of an ACP may be imperceptive of the IP protocol, that is, establishment of an ACP does not depend on whether a network device supports the IPv4 protocol or the IPv6 protocol.", "In addition, a network device that supports IPv4 and a network device that supports IPv6 may jointly form an autonomic network, so that network compatibility is improved, and deployment difficulties are reduced.", "It should be understood that, all devices involved in the embodiments of the application are autonomic devices, that is, the devices support an autonomic feature.", "The devices have respective unique device identifiers (UDI) or device certificates (DevID Certificate).", "That the devices support an autonomic feature means that the devices have a function of automatically establishing an ACP or automatically joining an ACP.", "It should be further understood that, a registrar device involved in the embodiments of the application is a device that can allocate a domain certificate to a device (including the registrar device) in an autonomic domain.", "For example, the registrar device has a connection and may communicate with a digital certificate authentication management authority.", "That is, the registrar device can allocate a domain certificate to all devices in the autonomic domain by using the digital certificate authentication management authority.", "Specifically, for example, the registrar device determines, according to a device identifier of a device, whether the device is allowed to join the autonomic domain, and allocates a domain certificate to the device according to the device identifier of the device if determining that the device is allowed to join the autonomic domain, and vice versa.", "Specifically, the device identifier of the device may be a unique device identifier UDI or may be a device certificate.", "This is not limited in the embodiments of the application.", "It should be understood that, the registrar device first allocates a domain certificate to the registrar device.", "FIG.", "1 shows a schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method 100 according to an embodiment of the application.", "For example, the method may be executed by a network device in an autonomic network.", "The method 100 includes the following steps.", "S110.The network device generates an adjacency discovery AD message, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device.", "S120.The network device encapsulates, based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device.", "It should be understood that, the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer may be a broadcast data link layer address or a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the network device.", "S130.The network device sends, based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a registrar device, where the registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate.", "S140.The network device receives a domain certificate sent by the registrar device, where the domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message.", "S150.The network device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "In this embodiment of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "In this embodiment of the application, optionally, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control (MAC) address.", "In all the following examples, an example in which the data link layer address is a MAC address is used for description.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery (AD) message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, after the AD message is generated, the AD message is encapsulated directly based on the frame at the data link layer instead of being encapsulated based on an IP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, the AD message is directly encapsulated in the frame at the data link layer, and is not encapsulated based on the IP packet any longer.", "Therefore, the AD message in this embodiment of the application may be imperceptive of the IP protocol or an IP address, so that an implementation of an autonomic control plane ACP may not depend on the IP protocol such as IPv6 or IPv4.Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, an ACP is implemented based on a data link layer.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and also reduces difficulties in autonomic network deployment.", "It should be further understood that, the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address or a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the network device.", "The neighboring device may be the registrar device or a proxy device.", "The registrar device may be a neighboring device or a non-neighboring device of the network device.", "This is not limited in this embodiment of the application.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the neighboring device of the network device includes the registrar device.", "The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC address of the registrar device or a MAC broadcast address.", "S130 in which the network device sends, based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a registrar device, where the registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate includes: the network device directly sends, according to the destination MAC address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the registrar device.", "That is, the AD message is sent from the network device to the registrar device without being forwarded by an intermediate device.", "This case may also be referred to as transmitting the AD message from the network device to the registrar device in a neighbor unicast manner.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the registrar device is not a neighboring device of the network device.", "The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC broadcast address.", "S130 in which the network device sends, based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a registrar device, where the registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate includes: the network device sends, based on the destination data link layer address by using a proxy device that has a domain certificate allocated by the registrar device, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the registrar device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate.", "Specifically, FIG.", "2 is used as an example for description.", "For example, the network device is a device 5 in FIG.", "2, and the registrar device is a device 1 in FIG.", "2.In this case, the device 5 sends an AD message to an intermediate device 2.When determining that the network device does not have a domain certificate, the intermediate device 2 applies to the registrar device for a domain certificate of the device 5.The intermediate device 2 further receives the domain certificate allocated by the registrar device to the device 5, and sends the domain certificate of the device 5 to the device 5.The intermediate device 2 is a network device that already has a domain certificate allocated by the registrar device.", "A network device that already has a domain certificate may be referred to as a proxy device.", "In S150, the network device establishes the autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device.", "Specifically, the network device and the registrar device perform mutual authentication based on the domain certificate of the network device and a domain certificate of the registrar device (the registrar device first allocates a domain certificate to the registrar device), and establish a security connection at the data link layer, for example, establish a MACsec channel.", "This process may be referred to as establishing the autonomic control plane ACP between the network device and the registrar device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the L2 ACP packet in this embodiment of the application is used to indicate a packet, based on the data link layer, that is transmitted in the ACP.", "It should be understood that, that the AD message is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer means that the data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the AD message.", "The type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a message carried in the data load field is the L2 ACP packet.", "It may be considered that the L2 ACP packet includes the AD message.", "Specifically, for example, the type value of the type field of the frame at the data link layer is 0x88e7.Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Specifically, the packet header of the AD message includes the flag bit field used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Specifically, Table 1 shows a format of the AD message according to this embodiment of the application: TABLE 1 Packet header Packet content It may be learned from Table 1 that, the AD message provided in this embodiment of the application includes the packet header and the packet content.", "The packet content includes information such as the device identifier (such as a UDI) or the domain certificate of the network device.", "It should be understood that, after the domain certificate is allocated to the network device, the AD message of the network device may carry the domain certificate of the network device.", "The packet header of the AD message may be specifically shown in Table 2: TABLE 2 Version Flag bit Protocol Data packet length As shown in Table 2, the packet header of the AD message includes the version field, the flag bit field, the protocol field, and the data packet length field.", "A value of the version field indicates a version of a protocol corresponding to the AD message, for example, the version field has four bits in total.", "The flag bit field has four bits, for example, a value of the flag bit field is 0000 and is used to indicate that the AD message is the AD message.", "A value of the protocol field is used to indicate a protocol of content carried in the data load field of the frame at the data link layer, and the protocol field has eight bits in total.", "For example, a value of a protocol field corresponding to the IP protocol may be used.", "The data packet length field has 16 bits in total, and a value of the data packet length field is used to indicate a length of the entire data packet.", "A format of the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 3: TABLE 3 Destination MAC address Source MAC address Type Packet header Packet content It may be learned from Table 3 that, the format of the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer includes a frame header of the frame at the data link layer, the packet header, and the packet content.", "The packet header and the packet content are shown in the foregoing Table 1 and Table 2.The frame header of the frame at the data link layer includes the destination MAC address, the source MAC address, and the type field.", "The destination MAC address may be a MAC broadcast address or a MAC address of a neighboring device of the network device, and the source MAC address is a MAC address of the network device.", "A type value of the type field indicates that the data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the type field may apply for a value of 0x88e7.It should be understood that, Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 are merely examples instead of limitations.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, the AD message may also be referred to as the L2 ACP packet.", "All devices at the data link layer can identify the AD message, that is, the AD message can be effectively transmitted and received at the data link layer.", "For example, after receiving, from the network device, the AD message encapsulated based on the data link layer, the registrar device parses the frame at the data link layer to obtain the AD message, so as to obtain information such as the device identifier (such as a UDI) or the MAC address of the network device that is carried in the AD message.", "In S140, the network device receives the domain certificate sent by the registrar device.", "The domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message.", "Specifically, the registrar device determines, according to the device identifier, whether the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and if determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocates the domain certificate according to the device identifier, and sends the domain certificate to the network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier (UDI) or a secure unique device identification (SUDI).", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device.", "That the network device receives a domain certificate sent by the registrar device according to the device identifier includes: the network device receives the domain certificate sent by the registrar device according to the UDI of the network device, where the domain certificate is configured by the registrar device for the network device when the registrar device determines that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, and the whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "Specifically, for example, when the device identifier is a UDI, the registrar device determines, according to the whitelist, whether the network device is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "The whitelist records a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "When the registrar device finds, in the whitelist, the match item for the UDI of the network device, the registrar device allocates the domain certificate to the network device based on the UDI of the network device by using, for example, a digital certificate authentication management authority.", "If the registrar network device cannot find, in the whitelist, the match item for the UDI of the network device, the registrar device determines that the network device is not allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "It should be understood that, the whitelist may be configured for the registrar device manually, or may be imported to the registrar device in another manner.", "This is not limited in this embodiment of the application.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification SUDI of the network device.", "That the network device receives a domain certificate sent by the registrar device according to the device identifier includes: the network device receives the domain certificate sent by the registrar device according to the SUDI, where the domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier when the registrar device determines that a digital device certificate corresponding to the SUDI is valid and determines, according to a verification result of a verification server, that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "Specifically, for example, when the device identifier is a secure unique device identification SUDI, the network device sends, to the registrar device, the digital device certificate corresponding to the SUDI.", "The registrar device allocates the domain certificate to the network device according to the SUDI when verifying that the digital device certificate is valid and determining, according to the verification result of the verification server, that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "For ease of description and understanding, in the following examples, an example in which the device identifier is a UDI is used for description.", "It should be understood that, after an autonomic feature of a device in the autonomic network is enabled, the device periodically (for example, every 10 s) sends an AD message, to determine a neighboring device of the device.", "The AD message includes a UDI of the autonomic device.", "Optionally, if the autonomic device has a domain certificate, the AD message may carry the domain certificate of the autonomic device.", "Each device constructs a neighbor list of the device according to a received AD message.", "It should be understood that, when a device A receives an AD message, and determines that a destination MAC address (such as a MAC broadcast address) carried in the AD message matches a MAC address of the device, the device may know that a source sending device of the AD message is a neighboring device of the device, and update a neighbor list of the device with a UDI and a source MAC address carried in the AD message.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the method 100 further includes the following steps.", "S160.The network device receives, from a neighboring device of the network device, an AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer, where the AD message includes a device identifier and a MAC address of the neighbor node.", "It should be understood that, a format of the AD message that is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer and is from the neighboring device of the network device is also shown in the foregoing Table 3.S170.The network device establishes a neighbor list of the network device according to the AD message, where the neighbor list includes the device identifier of the neighboring device and the data link layer address of the neighboring device.", "Specifically, in addition to the device identifier of the neighboring device and the data link layer address (the MAC address) of the neighboring device, the neighbor list may further include security authentication information of the neighboring device.", "Specifically, the neighbor list is shown in Table 4: TABLE 4 UDI MAC address Security authentication information (Trust information) Security authentication verification information (Validity of the trust) As shown in Table 4, a neighbor list of a device includes a UDI, a MAC address, security information, and authentication information of a neighboring device.", "The security authentication information (Trust information) may include security authentication type information, an authentication time, and other information, for example, the certificate chain, and if available.", "The security authentication verification information (Validity of the trust) is used to indicate whether the neighboring device is authenticated by the registrar device, that is, whether a domain certificate is allocated to the neighboring device.", "Specifically, FIG.", "2 shows a schematic diagram of an autonomic network, and 11 autonomic devices are given as an example.", "It is assumed that the device 1 is the registrar device, devices 2, 3, and 4 are neighboring devices of the device 1, devices 5 and 6 are neighboring devices of the device 2, devices 7 and 8 are neighboring devices of the device 6, the device 7 is also a neighboring device of the device 5, devices 9 and 10 are neighboring devices of the device 3, and a device 11 is a neighboring device of the device 4.For example, the device 2 sends an AD message that includes a UDI of the device 2 to the registrar device (which is corresponding to a case in which the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device in this embodiment of the application).", "If the registrar device finds, in a whitelist, a match item for the UDI of the device 2, the registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device 2.Then, the registrar device and the device 2 perform mutual authentication based on respective domain certificates, and establish a security connection, that is, an ACP is established between the device 1 and the device 2.In the foregoing example, the registrar device allocates the domain certificate to the device 2, and establishes the security connection to the device 2, that is, the device 2 is authenticated.", "In this case, the device 2 may serve as a proxy (Proxy) point or an authentication point to forward an AD message of a neighboring device of the device 2 to the registrar device, so that the registrar device performs authentication on the neighboring device of the device 2.Specifically, for example, if the neighboring device 5 of the device 2 has not obtained a domain certificate, after the device 2 receives an AD message sent by the device 5, the device 2 detects, after parsing the AD message, that the device 5 does not have the domain certificate.", "Based on this, the device 2 may determine that the device 5 has not been authenticated, and triggers a procedure for forwarding the AD message of the device 5.Because the device 2 has established the security connection to the registrar device, the device 2 has known a UDI of the registrar device.", "Therefore, the device 2 may forward the AD message of the device 5 to the registrar device based on the UDI of the registrar device.", "A subsequent process in which the registrar device performs authentication on the device 5 and allocates a domain certificate is similar to the procedure for allocating the domain certificate to the device 2, and details are not described herein again.", "It should be understood that, after allocating the domain certificate to the device 5, the registrar device forwards the domain certificate to the device 5 by using the device 2.It should be noted that, in this embodiment, before the domain certificate is allocated to the device 5, the AD message of the device 5 does not have the domain certificate.", "In this case, in a neighbor list established by the device 2 according to the AD message of the device 5, an item of validity of the trust corresponding to the device 5 has not been authenticated.", "An AD message subsequently sent by the device 5 after the device 5 obtains the domain certificate carries the domain certificate.", "It should be understood that, when determining that an item of validity of the trust of a neighboring device of a proxy (Proxy) point or an authentication point that is authenticated by the registrar device, the proxy point or the authentication point forwards an AD message of the neighboring device to the registrar device, so that the registrar device performs authentication on the neighboring device.", "It should be further understood that, in the example shown in FIG.", "2, similar to the process of performing authentication on the device 2 and the device 5, AD messages of other autonomic devices shown in FIG.", "2 are all transmitted to the registrar device for authentication.", "It is assumed that the registrar device allocates a domain certificate to all the devices shown in FIG.", "2, that is, security connections are established among all the devices shown in FIG.", "2, that is, an autonomic control plane ACP is established among the 11 devices.", "It should be understood that, for ease of understanding and description, the foregoing uses FIG.", "2 as an example to describe a process of establishing an ACP between devices.", "FIG.", "2 is merely an example instead of a limitation.", "In this embodiment of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "In the foregoing, the data link layer-based communication method provided in the embodiments of the application is described from a perspective of a transmit end device of an AD message with reference to FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "2.In the following, the data link layer-based communication method provided in the embodiments of the application is described from a perspective of a receive end device of an AD message.", "FIG.", "3 shows a schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method 200 according to an embodiment of the application.", "For example, the method may be executed by a registrar device that is in an autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate.", "The method 200 includes the following steps.", "S210.The registrar device receives, from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device, and the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device.", "It should be understood that, that the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device means that the destination data link layer address is the data link layer address of the registrar device, or that the destination data link layer address is a broadcast data link layer address.", "It should be understood that, it may be considered that the broadcast data link layer address matches any fixed data link layer address.", "S220.When determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, the registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sends the domain certificate to the network device.", "S230.The registrar device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the network device according to the domain certificate.", "Specifically, the network device and the registrar device perform mutual authentication based on the domain certificate of the network device and a domain certificate of the registrar device (the registrar device first allocates a domain certificate to the registrar device), and establish a security connection at the data link layer, for example, establish a MACsec channel.", "This process may be referred to as establishing the autonomic control plane ACP between the network device and the registrar device.", "In this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery AD message of a device is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message is sent, based on a data link layer address, to a registrar device that is in an autonomic network and that allocates a domain certificate.", "The registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device according to the AD message.", "The device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device based on the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery (AD) message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, after the AD message is generated, the AD message is encapsulated directly based on the frame at the data link layer instead of being encapsulated based on an IP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, the AD message is directly encapsulated in the frame at the data link layer, and is not encapsulated based on the IP packet any longer.", "Therefore, the AD message in this embodiment of the application may be imperceptive of the IP protocol or an IP address, so that an implementation of an autonomic control plane ACP may not depend on the IP protocol such as IPv6 or IPv4.Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, an ACP is implemented based on a data link layer.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and also reduces difficulties in autonomic network deployment.", "In this embodiment of the application, optionally, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control (MAC) address.", "In all the following examples, an example in which the data link layer address is a MAC address is used for description.", "It should be further understood that, the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address or a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the network device.", "The registrar device may be a neighboring device or a non-neighboring device of the network device.", "This is not limited in this embodiment of the application.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the neighboring device of the network device includes the registrar device.", "The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC address of the registrar device or a MAC broadcast address.", "Specifically, the network device directly sends, according to the destination MAC address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the registrar device.", "That is, the AD message is sent from the network device to the registrar device by using one hop without being forwarded by an intermediate device.", "This case may also be referred to as transmitting the AD message from the network device to the registrar device in a neighbor unicast manner.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the registrar device is not a neighboring device of the network device.", "The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC broadcast address.", "S210 in which the registrar device receives, from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer includes: the registrar device receives the adjacency discovery AD message of the network device by using a proxy device that has a domain certificate allocated by the registrar device.", "Specifically, as a schematic diagram of an autonomic network shown in FIG.", "2, it is assumed that a device 1 is the registrar device, devices 2, 3, and 4 are neighboring devices of the device 1, devices 5 and 6 are neighboring devices of the device 2, devices 7 and 8 are neighboring devices of the device 6, the device 7 is also a neighboring device of the device 5, devices 9 and 10 are neighboring devices of the device 3, and a device 11 is a neighboring device of the device 4.For example, the device 2 sends an AD message that includes a UDI of the device 2 to the registrar device (which is corresponding to a case in which the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device in this embodiment of the application).", "If the registrar device finds, in a whitelist, a match item for the UDI of the device 2, the registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device 2.Then, the registrar device and the device 2 perform mutual authentication based on respective domain certificates, and establish a security connection, that is, an ACP is established between the device 1 and the device 2.In the foregoing example, the registrar device allocates the domain certificate to the device 2, and establishes the security connection to the device 2, that is, the device 2 is authenticated.", "In this case, the device 2 may serve as a proxy (Proxy) point or an authentication point to forward an AD message of a neighboring device of the device 2 to the registrar device, so that the registrar device performs authentication on the neighboring device of the device 2.Specifically, for example, if the neighboring device 5 of the device 2 has not obtained a domain certificate, after the device 2 receives an AD message sent by the device 5, the device 2 detects, after parsing the AD message, that the device 5 does not have the domain certificate.", "Based on this, the device 2 may determine that the device 5 has not been authenticated, and triggers a procedure for forwarding the AD message of the device 5.Because the device 2 has established the security connection to the registrar device, the device 2 has known a UDI of the registrar device.", "Therefore, the device 2 may forward the AD message of the device 5 to the registrar device based on the UDI of the registrar device.", "A subsequent process in which the registrar device performs authentication on the device 5 and allocates a domain certificate is similar to the procedure for allocating the domain certificate to the device 2, and details are not described herein again.", "It should be understood that, after allocating the domain certificate to the device 5, the registrar device forwards the domain certificate to the device 5 by using the device 2.It should be noted that, in this embodiment, before the domain certificate is allocated to the device 5, the AD message of the device 5 does not have the domain certificate.", "In this case, in a neighbor list established by the device 2 according to the AD message of the device 5, an item of validity of the trust corresponding to the device 5 has not been authenticated.", "An AD message subsequently sent by the device 5 after the device 5 obtains the domain certificate carries the domain certificate.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the L2 ACP packet in this embodiment of the application is used to indicate a packet, based on the data link layer, that is transmitted in the ACP.", "It should be understood that, that the AD message is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer means that the data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the AD message.", "The type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a message carried in the data load field is the L2 ACP packet.", "It may be considered that the L2 ACP packet includes the AD message.", "Specifically, for example, the type value of the type field of the frame at the data link layer is 0x88e7.Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Specifically, the packet header of the AD message includes the flag bit field used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "A format of the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 3.For specific descriptions, refer to the foregoing descriptions.", "For brevity, details are not described herein again.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device, and the method 200 further includes the following step: S240.The registrar device establishes a neighbor list of the registrar device according to the AD message, where the neighbor list includes the device identifier of the network device and the data link layer address of the network device.", "Specifically, the neighbor list established by the registrar device according to the AD message is shown in Table 4.For details, refer to the foregoing descriptions.", "In S220, when determining that the neighboring device is allowed to join the autonomic domain, the registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the neighboring device according to the device identifier, and sends the domain certificate to the network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier (UDI) or a secure unique device identification (SUDI).", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device.", "S220 in which when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, the registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sends the domain certificate to the network device includes the following step: S221.When determining that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, the registrar device determines that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and sends, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the UDI, where the whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic network.", "Specifically, for example, when the device identifier is a UDI, the registrar device determines, according to the whitelist, whether the network device is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "The whitelist records a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "When the registrar device finds, in the whitelist, the match item for the UDI of the network device, the registrar device allocates the domain certificate to the network device based on the UDI of the network device by using, for example, a digital certificate authentication management authority.", "If the registrar network device cannot find, in the whitelist, the match item for the UDI of the network device, the registrar device determines that the network device is not allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification S-UDI of the network device.", "S220 in which when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, the registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message, and sends the domain certificate to the network device includes the following step: S222.When determining, by using a verification server, that a digital device certificate corresponding to the S-UDI is valid, the registrar device determines that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and sends, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the digital device certificate.", "Specifically, for example, when the device identifier is a secure unique device identification SUDI, the network device sends, to the registrar device, a digital device certificate corresponding to the SUDI.", "The registrar device allocates the domain certificate to the network device according to the SUDI when verifying that the digital device certificate is valid and determining, according to a verification result of the verification server, that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic domain.", "In this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery AD message of a device is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message is sent, based on a data link layer address, to a registrar device that is in an autonomic network and that allocates a domain certificate.", "The registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device according to the AD message.", "The device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device based on the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "It should be understood that, after an ACP is established between autonomic devices, an upper-layer autonomic functional entity may use the ACP plane to transmit a control message.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "FIG.", "4 shows a schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method 300 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The communication method is applied to an autonomic network.", "An autonomic control plane ACP of the autonomic network is established based on a data link layer.", "The method 300 includes the following steps.", "S310.A first network device generates a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet, where the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network.", "Specifically, the first network device receives a communication task from an upper-layer autonomic functional entity.", "For example, the communication task instructs the first network device to send a control message to a target device in the ACP, or instructs the first network device to broadcast a control message in the ACP.", "The first network device generates the L2 ACP packet according to the communication task.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "S320.The first network device encapsulates, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device.", "It should be understood that, the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device or a broadcast data link layer address.", "S330.The first network device sends, according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device, where the second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a network device may not need to maintain a routing table.", "It should be understood that, the autonomic control plane ACP in this embodiment of the application is established based on the data link layer.", "For a specific establishment process, refer to the foregoing descriptions in the method 100 and the method 200.Details are not described herein again.", "It should be further understood that, in this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at an L2, and is not encapsulated based on an IP packet at a network layer any longer.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet may be transmitted by using a forwarding table resource (such as a MAC forwarding table) at the data link layer without depending on the IP protocol at the network layer or an IP routing table.", "It should be further understood that, in this embodiment of the application, a MAC forwarding table resource at the L2 may be a neighbor list that each device has.", "For example, a neighbor list of a device A includes a device identifier and a MAC address of a neighboring device of the device A.", "Therefore, when the device A needs to send an L2 ACP packet, the device A determines a destination MAC address of the L2 ACP packet based on the MAC address of the neighboring device (one or more) included in the neighbor list, so as to send the L2 ACP packet to a corresponding neighboring device.", "Alternatively, the device A sets a destination MAC address of the L2 ACP packet to a MAC broadcast address, and then sends the MAC packet by using an interface between the device A and the neighboring device.", "It should be understood that, it is considered that the MAC broadcast address matches any MAC address.", "Therefore, all neighboring devices of the device A can receive the L2 ACP packet.", "In conclusion, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, signaling is transmitted in the ACP without depending on the IP protocol or an IP routing table, and the IP protocol or an IP address may not be perceived.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control (MAC) address.", "In all the following examples, an example in which the data link layer address is a MAC address is used for description.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, for example, the type value of the type field of the frame at the data link layer is 0x88e7.Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Specifically, Table 5 provides an example of a format of the L2 ACP packet according to this embodiment of the application.", "TABLE 5 Packet header Packet content It may be learned from Table 5 that, the L2 ACP packet includes the packet header and the packet content.", "For example, the packet content of the L2 ACP packet includes a control message indicated in the communication task delivered from the upper-layer autonomic functional entity.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "The packet header of the L2 ACP packet may be specifically shown in Table 6: TABLE 6 Version Flag bit Protocol Data packet length Source UDI Destination UDI Specifically, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes the version field, the flag bit field, the protocol field, the data packet length field, the source UDI, and the destination UDI.", "The source UDI is a UDI of the first network device, and the destination UDI is a UDI of the target device or a broadcast UDI.", "It should be understood that, when the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, the destination UDI in the L2 ACP packet may be empty.", "A value of the version field indicates a version of a protocol corresponding to the L2 ACP packet, for example, the version field has four bits in total.", "The flag bit field has four bits and is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet or a non-neighbor unicast packet or a broadcast packet, for example, a value of the flag bit field is 0001.A value of the protocol field is used to indicate a protocol of content carried in the data load field of the frame at the data link layer, and the protocol field has eight bits in total.", "For example, a value of a protocol field corresponding to the IP protocol may be used.", "The data packet length field has 16 bits in total, and a value of the data packet length field is used to indicate a length of the entire data packet.", "A format of the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7: TABLE 7 Destination MAC address Source MAC address Type Packet header Packet content It may be learned from Table 7 that, a frame header of the frame at the data link layer includes the destination MAC address, the source MAC address, and the type field.", "The destination MAC address may be a MAC broadcast address or a MAC address of the target device, and the source MAC address is a MAC address of the first network device.", "A type value of the type field indicates that the data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the type field may apply for a value of 0x88e7.It should be understood that, after receiving the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the data link layer, a device at the data link layer can identify, by using the type value of the L2 ACP packet, that the L2 ACP packet is a packet transmitted in the ACP.", "It should be understood that, Table 5, Table 6, and Table 7 are merely examples of the L2 ACP packet instead of limitations.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, all devices at the data link layer can identify the L2 ACP packet, that is, the L2 ACP packet can be effectively transmitted and received at the data link layer.", "For example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer and that is sent by a device 5, a device 2 performs decoding based on the frame at the data link layer, to obtain the L2 ACP packet, and further processes the L2 ACP packet, for example, parses a control message in the L2 ACP packet, or forwards the L2 ACP packet without processing the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, S310 in which a first network device generates a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S311.The first network device generates the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and determines that a neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device.", "Specifically, for example, the first network device receives a communication task from an upper-layer autonomic functional entity.", "The communication task instructs the first network device to send a control message to the target device in the ACP.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "It should be understood that, the first network device may obtain a device identifier and a MAC address of the target device from the upper-layer autonomic functional entity.", "It should be understood that, that the neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device means that the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier the same as the device identifier of the target device.", "It should be further understood that, when the device identifier of the target device is a broadcast device identifier, it may also be considered that the neighbor list of the first network device includes the match item for the device identifier of the target device.", "If the neighbor list of the first network device does not include a device identifier the same as the device identifier of the target device, and the device identifier of the target device is not a broadcast device identifier either, it is considered that the neighbor list of the first network device does not include the match item for the device identifier of the target device.", "S320 in which the first network device encapsulates, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S321.The first network device encapsulates, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device.", "S330 in which the first network device sends, according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes the following step: S331.The first network device sends, according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "Specifically, if determining that the neighbor list includes a match item for a UDI of the target device, the first network device determines that a destination device of the L2 ACP packet is a neighboring device of the first network device, and generates the L2 ACP packet.", "The packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field used to indicate neighbor unicast.", "Specifically, FIG.", "2 is still used as an example.", "For example, a transmission task 1 delivered from an upper-layer autonomic functional entity is transmitting target signaling from the device 5 to the device 2 (which is a neighboring device of the device 5).", "The transmission task 1 carries a UDI of the device 5.The device 5 determines an L2 ACP packet according to the transmission task 1, and encapsulates, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet.", "The L2 ACP packet includes the target signaling and a destination UDI, and the destination UDI is a UDI of the device 2.The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC address of the device 2, and a flag bit field in a packet header of the L2 ACP packet is used to indicate neighbor unicast.", "Specifically, in this embodiment of the application, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5, and the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 6.The destination UDI is the UDI of the target device.", "A value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, that is, used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet not to forward, to another device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer.", "For example, the value of the flag bit field is 0001.A format of the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7.The destination MAC address is the MAC address of the target device.", "In this embodiment of the application, when it is determined that a target device is a neighboring device of a first network device, an L2 ACP packet is generated, and the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet.", "Then, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, the solution provided in this embodiment of the application may be applied to a network in which some devices are configured as IPv6 and some devices are configured as IPv4.In addition, in this embodiment of the application, a network device can transmit an L2 ACP packet without maintaining a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, S310 in which the first network device generates a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S312.The first network device generates the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and determines that the neighbor list does not include a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet.", "S320 in which the first network device encapsulates, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S322.The first network device encapsulates, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "S330 in which the first network device sends, according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes the following step: S332.The first network device sends, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "Specifically, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5, and the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 6.The destination UDI is the UDI of the target device.", "A value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet, that is, used to instruct to continue to forward, when a device identifier of a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet does not match the destination device identifier, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the receiving device, and parse but not forward the L2 ACP packet when a device identifier of a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet matches the destination device identifier.", "For example, the value of the flag bit field is 0002.A format of the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7.The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC broadcast address.", "Specifically, FIG.", "2 is used as an example.", "For example, a transmission task delivered from an upper-layer network functional entity is transmitting signaling from a device 7 to the device 2 (which is not a neighboring device of the device 7).", "In this case, the device 7 separately sends the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the device 5 and a device 6.The L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7.The packet content includes signaling content that needs to be transmitted in actual.", "The source UDI is a UDI of the device 7, the destination UDI is the UDI of the device 2, and the flag bit is an identifier used to indicate that the packet is a non-neighbor unicast message.", "Correspondingly, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 5 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring device 2 of the device 5 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match the UDI of the device 5.Similarly, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 6 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to neighboring devices 2 and 8 of the device 6 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match a UDI of the device 6.After receiving the L2 ACP packet, the device 2 determines, by means of parsing, that the packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and then parses content of the L2 ACP packet if detecting that the destination UDI matches the UDI of the device 2.When a destination UDI specified in an upper-layer transmission requirement described in this embodiment of the application is not in a neighbor list of a device, a method for transmitting signaling between devices may be referred to as sending in a flood manner.", "In this embodiment of the application, when it is determined that a target device is not a neighboring device of a first network device, an L2 ACP packet is generated, and the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet.", "Then, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, the solution provided in this embodiment of the application may be applied to a network in which some devices are configured as IPv6 and some devices are configured as IPv4.In addition, in this embodiment of the application, a network device can transmit an L2 ACP packet without maintaining a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 8: TABLE 8 Version Flag bit Protocol Data packet length Packet ID Timing information Source UDI Destination UDI Specifically, the packet ID is a unique character string on a generation device of the L2 ACP packet.", "The packet ID is used by a receiving device to detect whether the receiving device has received a same packet.", "Specifically, for example, in the foregoing example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 6 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring devices 2 and 8 of the device 6 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match the UDI of the device 6.In this case, the device 2 repeatedly receives, from the neighboring devices 5 and 6 of the device 2, the L2 ACP packet from the device 7.If the L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, the device 2 can be prevented from repeatedly processing a same L2 ACP packet.", "For example, when the device 2 first receives the L2 ACP packet sent by the neighboring device 5, the device 2 buffers the L2 ACP packet after parsing the L2 ACP packet, and also stores the packet ID of the L2 ACP packet.", "When receiving the L2 ACP packet, from the device 7, sent by the device 6, the device 2 parses the L2 ACP packet, and can perform a discard operation on the L2 ACP packet if detecting that the device 2 has received the L2 ACP packet.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, so that repeated signaling forwarding can be avoided.", "It should be understood that, descriptions of the version field, the flag bit field, the protocol field, the data packet length field, the source UDI, and the destination UDI in Table 8 are consistent with the descriptions in the foregoing Table 6, and details are not described herein again.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct the receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "Specifically, as shown in Table 8, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet has a timing information field.", "A value of the timing information field is used to instruct the receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration.", "Specifically, for example, the timing information is a timer.", "A specific time value may be preconfigured according to a service requirement or a specific case.", "For example, the device 5 receives the L2 ACP packet from the device 7, and buffers the L2 ACP packet.", "After buffering duration exceeds a threshold, the device 5 may consider that the L2 ACP packet has been transmitted to a device corresponding to the destination UDI, that is, transmission of the L2 ACP packet ends, and the device 5 may delete the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, the timing information may be a time stamp.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet includes the timing information, so that a device can clear, in a timely manner, an L2 ACP packet that has been transmitted, and the device can be prevented from buffering a useless L2 ACP packet for a long time.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, S310 in which the first network device generates an L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S313.The first network device generates the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to broadcast a control message in the ACP, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet.", "S320 in which the first network device encapsulates, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S323.The first network device encapsulates, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "S330 in which the first network device sends, according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device includes the following step: S333.The first network device sends, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "Specifically, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5, and the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 6.A value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, that is, used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to parse the L2 ACP packet, and forward the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the receiving device.", "For example, the value of the flag bit field is 0003.Specifically, for example, the first network device receives a communication task from an upper-layer autonomic functional entity.", "The communication task instructs the first network device to broadcast a control message in the ACP.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "FIG.", "2 is still used as an example.", "For example, a task delivered from the upper-layer network functional entity is broadcasting an L2 ACP packet from the device 6.The L2 ACP packet generated by the device 6 is shown in Table 5 and Table 6.A value of a flag bit field of a packet header of the L2 ACP packet is used to indicate a broadcast packet.", "The L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer.", "The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC broadcast address.", "A neighboring device of the device 6 receives the L2 ACP packet, determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and continues to forward the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring devices 2, 7, and 8 of the device 6.Similarly, the devices 2, 7, and 8 continue to forward the L2 ACP packet to neighboring devices of the devices 2, 7, and 8.It should be understood that, when the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, the destination UDI in the packet header may be a broadcast UDI, or the destination UDI is empty.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is generated when a control message needs to be broadcast.", "The L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet.", "Then, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to the second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, in this embodiment of the application, a network device can transmit an L2 ACP packet without maintaining a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 8.Specifically, the packet ID is a unique character string on a generation device of the L2 ACP packet.", "The packet ID is used by a receiving device to detect whether the receiving device has received a same packet.", "Specifically, for example, in the foregoing example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 6 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring devices 2 and 8 of the device 6 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match the UDI of the device 6.In this case, the device 2 repeatedly receives, from the neighboring devices 5 and 6 of the device 2, the L2 ACP packet from the device 7.If the L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, the device 2 can be prevented from repeatedly processing a same L2 ACP packet.", "For example, when the device 2 first receives the L2 ACP packet sent by the neighboring device 5, the device 2 buffers the L2 ACP packet after parsing the L2 ACP packet, and also stores the packet ID of the L2 ACP packet.", "When receiving the L2 ACP packet, from the device 7, sent by the device 6, the device 2 parses the L2 ACP packet, and can perform a discard operation on the L2 ACP packet if detecting that the device 2 has received the L2 ACP packet.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, so that repeated signaling forwarding can be avoided.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct the receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "Specifically, as shown in Table 8, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet has a timing information field.", "A value of the timing information field is used to instruct the receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration.", "Specifically, for example, the timing information is a timer.", "A specific time value may be preconfigured according to a service requirement or a specific case.", "For example, the device 5 receives the L2 ACP packet from the device 7, and buffers the L2 ACP packet.", "After buffering duration exceeds a threshold, the device 5 may consider that the L2 ACP packet has been transmitted to a device corresponding to the destination UDI, that is, transmission of the L2 ACP packet ends, and the device 5 may delete the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, the timing information may be a time stamp.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet includes the timing information, so that a device can clear, in a timely manner, an L2 ACP packet that has been transmitted, and the device can be prevented from buffering a useless L2 ACP packet for a long time.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, all devices at the data link layer can identify the L2 ACP packet, that is, the L2 ACP packet can be effectively transmitted and received at the data link layer.", "For example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer and that is sent by the device 5, the device 2 performs decoding based on the frame at the data link layer, to obtain the L2 ACP packet, matches the destination UDI in the L2 ACP packet and the UDI of the device 2, and after matching is successful, obtains, by means of parsing, target signaling in the L2 ACP packet.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, both a packet format of the L2 ACP packet and a frame format of the frame, at the data link layer, used for encapsulating the L2 ACP packet are publicly known to a receive/transmit end device at the data link layer, that is, all the devices at the data link layer can identify the L2 ACP packet.", "In this embodiment of the application, an L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "Further, in this embodiment of the application, an L2 ACP packet is transmitted between network devices based on a device identifier (such as a UDI) of a target device and neighbor lists of the network devices instead of depending on a loopback address, so that the network devices do not need to maintain a routing table.", "Each network device has a UDI and a neighbor list of the network device, and transmits signaling by directly using a ready-made resource, so that maintenance costs can be reduced.", "In addition, in this embodiment of the application, both an autonomic network and packet transmission in the autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol, so that it is not necessarily required that all network devices support IPv6 or IPv4.This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and also reduces difficulties in autonomic network deployment.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, each network device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device.", "S310 in which a first network device generates a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S314.The first network device generates the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the ACP by using an IP session, where the L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address, and the destination IP address is an IP address of the target device.", "Specifically, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5 and Table 6.A value of a protocol field in the packet header of the L2 ACP packet may use a value of a protocol field in an IP packet.", "Specifically, for example, some upper-layer services such as a Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) strictly requires that signaling is transmitted based on IP or TCP/UDP.", "In this embodiment of the application, each autonomic device in the ACP supports a non-repeated self-configured loopback (Loopback) address, and each autonomic device in the ACP supports mapping of a UDI and an IP (including mapping of a UDI and an IP of each autonomic device and mapping of a UDI and an IP of a peer device).", "Specifically, for example, if a transmission requirement of an upper-layer autonomic agent (Agent) specifies that an IP session needs to be established, a related serving device (such as AAA) needs to send an IP address of a server of the serving device and a UDI of the serving device to a customer device.", "This phase is referred to as self-service discovery or service advertisement.", "After receiving a message sent by the serving device, the customer device binds the IP address, the UDI, and a related service, and initiates an IP session to the server by using a self-configured IPv6 ULA loopback address or IPv4 loopback address.", "After receiving a related packet, a UDI layer of the server binds an IP and a UDI of the customer device.", "Subsequently, in ACP communication between the server and a client, after encapsulating an IP packet, the server/client searches for a mapping table of the IP and the UDI, and forwards the IP packet in the ACP plane based on the UDI.", "In the scenario involved in this embodiment of the application, although it appears that an IP session is initiated, in the ACP plane, between upper-layer device applications, forwarding based on IP is not provided in the ACP plane, and a network device does not need to maintain a related routing table.", "Therefore, the ACP provided in this embodiment of the application can provide an IP-based communication capability, so that better compatibility can be provided for the upper-layer applications, and the upper-layer applications use an L2-layer-based ACP without perceiving a forwarding manner as much as possible.", "In this embodiment of the application, an L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "Further, in this embodiment of the application, an L2 ACP packet is transmitted between network devices based on a device identifier (such as a UDI) of a target device and neighbor lists of the network devices instead of depending on a loopback address, so that the network devices do not need to maintain a routing table.", "Each network device has a UDI and a neighbor list of the network device, and transmits signaling by directly using a ready-made resource, so that maintenance costs can be reduced.", "In addition, in this embodiment of the application, both an autonomic network and packet transmission in the autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol, so that it is not necessarily required that all network devices support IPv6 or IPv4.This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and also reduces difficulties in autonomic network deployment.", "FIG.", "5 shows a schematic flowchart of a data link layer-based communication method 400 according to an embodiment of the application.", "An autonomic control plane ACP of the autonomic network is established based on a data link layer, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has a neighbor list, and the neighbor list includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of each autonomic device.", "The method 400 includes the following steps.", "S410.A second network device receives an L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device, where the L2 ACP packet includes a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network.", "It should be understood that, that the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device means that the destination data link layer address is the data link layer address of the second network device, or that the destination data link layer address is a broadcast data link layer address.", "It should be understood that, it may be considered that the broadcast data link layer address matches any fixed data link layer address.", "S420.The second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet.", "It should be understood that, when the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, or the destination device identifier is a broadcast device identifier, it may be considered that the destination device identifier matches the device identifier of the second network device.", "When the destination device identifier is not the device identifier of the second network device, and the destination device identifier is not a broadcast device identifier, the destination device identifier does not match the device identifier of the second network device.", "An L2 ACP packet in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a network device may not need to maintain a routing table.", "It should be understood that, the autonomic control plane ACP in this embodiment of the application is established based on the data link layer.", "For a specific establishment process, refer to the foregoing descriptions in the method 100 and the method 200.Details are not described herein again.", "It should be further understood that, in this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at an L2, and is not encapsulated based on an IP packet at a network layer any longer.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet may be transmitted by using a forwarding table resource (such as a MAC forwarding table) at the data link layer without depending on the IP protocol at the network layer or an IP routing table.", "It should be further understood that, in this embodiment of the application, a MAC forwarding table resource at the L2 may be a neighbor list that each device has.", "For example, a neighbor list of a device A includes a device identifier and a MAC address of a neighboring device of the device A.", "Therefore, when the device A needs to send an L2 ACP packet, the device A determines a destination MAC address of the L2 ACP packet based on the MAC address of the neighboring device (one or more) included in the neighbor list, so as to send the L2 ACP packet to a corresponding neighboring device.", "Alternatively, the device A sets a destination MAC address of the L2 ACP packet to a MAC broadcast address, and then sends the MAC packet by using an interface between the device A and the neighboring device.", "It should be understood that, it is considered that the MAC broadcast address matches any MAC address.", "Therefore, all neighboring devices of the device A can receive the L2 ACP packet.", "In conclusion, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, signaling is transmitted in the ACP without depending on the IP protocol or an IP routing table, and the IP protocol or an IP address may not be perceived.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control (MAC) address.", "In all the following examples, an example in which the data link layer address is a MAC address is used for description.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, for example, the type value of the type field of the frame at the data link layer is 0x88e7.Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Specifically, the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 6, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7.For specific descriptions, refer to the foregoing related content.", "Details are not described herein again.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, all devices at the data link layer can identify the L2 ACP packet, that is, the L2 ACP packet can be effectively transmitted and received at the data link layer.", "For example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer and that is sent by a device 5, a device 2 performs decoding based on the frame at the data link layer, to obtain the L2 ACP packet, and further processes the L2 ACP packet, for example, parses a control message in the L2 ACP packet, or forwards the L2 ACP packet without processing the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device.", "S420 in which the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S421.The second network device determines that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parses the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the L2 ACP packet is parsed to obtain packet content such as a control message in the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet does not forward the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the receiving device.", "Specifically, in this embodiment of the application, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5, and the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 6.The destination UDI is a UDI of the target device.", "A value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, that is, used to instruct the receiving device of the L2 ACP packet not to forward, to another device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer.", "For example, the value of the flag bit field is 0001.A format of the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7.The destination MAC address is a MAC address of the target device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "S420 in which the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S422.When determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, the second network device parses the L2 ACP packet, and buffers the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the L2 ACP packet is parsed to obtain packet content such as a control message in the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "S423.When determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, the second network device buffers the L2 ACP packet, and forwards, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "Specifically, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5, and the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 6.The destination UDI is a UDI of the target device.", "A value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet, that is, used to instruct to continue to forward, when a device identifier of a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet does not match the destination device identifier, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the receiving device, and parse but not forward the L2 ACP packet when a device identifier of a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet matches the destination device identifier.", "For example, the value of the flag bit field is 0002.A format of the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7.The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC broadcast address.", "Specifically, FIG.", "2 is used as an example.", "For example, a transmission task delivered from an upper-layer network functional entity is transmitting signaling from a device 7 to the device 2 (which is not a neighboring device of the device 7).", "In this case, the device 7 separately sends the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the device 5 and a device 6.The L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is shown in Table 7.The packet content includes signaling content that needs to be transmitted in actual.", "The source UDI is a UDI of the device 7, the destination UDI is a UDI of the device 2, and the flag bit is an identifier used to indicate that the packet is a non-neighbor unicast message.", "Correspondingly, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 5 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring device 2 of the device 5 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match a UDI of the device 5.Similarly, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 6 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to neighboring devices 2 and 8 of the device 6 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match a UDI of the device 6.After receiving the L2 ACP packet, the device 2 determines, by means of parsing, that the packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and then parses content of the L2 ACP packet if detecting that the destination UDI matches the UDI of the device 2.When a destination UDI specified in an upper-layer transmission requirement described in this embodiment of the application is not in a neighbor list of a device, a method for transmitting signaling between devices may be referred to as sending in a flood manner.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, the solution provided in this embodiment of the application may be applied to a network in which some devices are configured as IPv6 and some devices are configured as IPv4.In addition, in this embodiment of the application, a network device can transmit an L2 ACP packet without maintaining a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet.", "S420 in which the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S425.When determining that the second network device does not buffer the packet ID, the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "Specifically, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 8.Specifically, the packet ID is a unique character string on a source device.", "The packet ID is used by a receiving device to detect whether the receiving device has received a same packet.", "Specifically, for example, if a device receives an L2 ACP packet, and determines that the device does not buffer a packet ID of the L2 ACP packet, that is, the device receives the L2 ACP packet for the first time, the device parses packet content and buffers the packet ID, and then forwards the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device.", "If a device receives an L2 ACP packet, and determines that the device has buffered a packet ID of the L2 ACP packet, the device considers that the L2 ACP packet is not received for the first time, and may discard the packet.", "Similar to the second case, after a device receives an L2 ACP packet, the device may delete the L2 ACP packet after a time indicated by a time stamp is expired.", "Specifically, for example, in the foregoing example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 6 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring devices 2 and 8 of the device 6 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match the UDI of the device 6.In this case, the device 2 repeatedly receives, from the neighboring devices 5 and 6 of the device 2, the L2 ACP packet from the device 7.If the L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, the device 2 can be prevented from repeatedly processing a same L2 ACP packet.", "For example, when the device 2 first receives the L2 ACP packet sent by the neighboring device 5, the device 2 buffers the L2 ACP packet after parsing the L2 ACP packet, and also stores the packet ID of the L2 ACP packet.", "When receiving the L2 ACP packet, from the device 7, sent by the device 6, the device 2 parses the L2 ACP packet, and can perform a discard operation on the L2 ACP packet if detecting that the device 2 has received the L2 ACP packet.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, before it is verified whether the device identifier in the L2 ACP packet matches the device identifier of the second network device, it is first verified, according to the packet ID, whether the second network device has received the L2 ACP packet (that is, it is detected whether the second network device has buffered the packet ID).", "If it is determined that the L2 ACP packet is not received before, subsequent determining of a device identifier is performed.", "If it is determined that the L2 ACP packet is received before, the L2 ACP packet may be discarded.", "The L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, so that repeated signaling forwarding can be avoided.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct the receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "The method 400 further includes the following step: S430.The second network device clears the L2 ACP packet when determining that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "Specifically, for example, the timing information is a timer.", "A specific time value may be preconfigured according to a service requirement or a specific case.", "For example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet from the device 7, the device 5 starts to time according to the time stamp.", "After a timing time exceeds a threshold, the device 5 may consider that the L2 ACP packet has been transmitted to a device corresponding to the destination UDI, that is, transmission of the L2 ACP packet ends, and the device 5 may delete the L2 ACP packet.", "The timing information may also be specifically a time stamp.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet includes the timing information, so that a device can clear, in a timely manner, an L2 ACP packet that has been transmitted, and the device can be prevented from buffering a useless L2 ACP packet for a long time.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "S420 in which the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S424.When determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, the second network device parses the L2 ACP packet, buffers the L2 ACP packet, and forwards, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "Specifically, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5, and the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 6.A value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, that is, used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to parse the L2 ACP packet, and forward the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the receiving device.", "For example, the value of the flag bit field is 0003.It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet may be a broadcast device identifier.", "In this case, after receiving the L2 ACP packet, any network device in the autonomic network determines that a device identifier of the network device matches the destination device identifier.", "It should be further understood that, when the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, the L2 ACP packet may not include the destination device identifier.", "If determining, according to a flag bit of the L2 ACP packet, that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, the network device parses and forwards the L2 ACP packet without determining whether device identifiers are matched.", "Specifically, FIG.", "2 is still used as an example.", "For example, a task delivered from an upper-layer network functional entity is broadcasting an L2 ACP packet from the device 6.The L2 ACP packet generated by the device 6 is shown in Table 5 and Table 6.A value of a flag bit field of a packet header of the L2 ACP packet is used to indicate a broadcast packet.", "The L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer.", "The destination MAC address of the frame at the data link layer is a MAC broadcast address.", "A neighboring device of the device 6 receives the L2 ACP packet, determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and continues to forward the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring devices 2, 7, and 8 of the device 6.Similarly, the devices 2, 7, and 8 continue to forward the L2 ACP packet to neighboring devices of the devices 2, 7, and 8.Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet.", "S420 in which the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S425.When determining that the second network device does not buffer the packet ID, the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "Specifically, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 8.Specifically, the packet ID is a unique character string on a source device.", "The packet ID is used by a receiving device to detect whether the receiving device has received a same packet.", "Specifically, for example, if a device receives an L2 ACP packet, and determines that the device does not buffer a packet ID of the L2 ACP packet, that is, the device receives the L2 ACP packet for the first time, the device parses packet content and buffers the packet ID, and then forwards the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device.", "If a device receives an L2 ACP packet, and determines that the device has buffered a packet ID of the L2 ACP packet, the device considers that the L2 ACP packet is not received for the first time, and may discard the packet.", "Similar to the second case, after a device receives an L2 ACP packet, the device may delete the L2 ACP packet after a time indicated by a time stamp is expired.", "Specifically, for example, in the foregoing example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet sent by the device 7, the device 6 determines, by means of parsing, that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast message, and forwards the L2 ACP packet to the neighboring devices 2 and 8 of the device 6 if detecting that the destination UDI does not match the UDI of the device 6.In this case, the device 2 repeatedly receives, from the neighboring devices 5 and 6 of the device 2, the L2 ACP packet from the device 7.If the L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, the device 2 can be prevented from repeatedly processing a same L2 ACP packet.", "For example, when the device 2 first receives the L2 ACP packet sent by the neighboring device 5, the device 2 buffers the L2 ACP packet after parsing the L2 ACP packet, and also stores the packet ID of the L2 ACP packet.", "When receiving the L2 ACP packet, from the device 7, sent by the device 6, the device 2 parses the L2 ACP packet, and can perform a discard operation on the L2 ACP packet if detecting that the device 2 has received the L2 ACP packet.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, before verifying whether the device identifier in the L2 ACP packet matches the device identifier of the second network device, the second network device first verifies, according to the packet ID, whether the second network device has received the L2 ACP packet (that is, detects whether the second network device has buffered the packet ID).", "If determining that the L2 ACP packet is not received before, the second network device performs subsequent determining of a device identifier.", "If determining that the L2 ACP packet is received before, the second network device may discard the L2 ACP packet.", "The L2 ACP packet includes the packet ID, so that repeated signaling forwarding can be avoided.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct the receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "The method 400 further includes the following step: S430.The second network device clears the L2 ACP packet when determining that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "Specifically, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 8: Specifically, for example, the timing information is a timer.", "A specific time value may be preconfigured according to a service requirement or a specific case.", "For example, after receiving the L2 ACP packet from the device 7, the device 5 starts to time according to the time stamp.", "After a timing time exceeds a threshold, the device 5 may consider that the L2 ACP packet has been transmitted to a device corresponding to the destination UDI, that is, transmission of the L2 ACP packet ends, and the device 5 may delete the L2 ACP packet.", "The timing information may also be specifically a time stamp.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet includes the timing information, so that a device can clear, in a timely manner, an L2 ACP packet that has been transmitted, and the device can be prevented from buffering a useless L2 ACP packet for a long time.", "In this embodiment of the application, an L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "Further, in this embodiment of the application, an L2 ACP packet is transmitted between network devices based on a device identifier (such as a UDI) of a target device and neighbor lists of the network devices instead of depending on a loopback address, so that the network devices do not need to maintain a routing table.", "Each network device has a UDI and a neighbor list of the network device, and transmits signaling by directly using a ready-made resource, so that maintenance costs can be reduced.", "In addition, in this embodiment of the application, both an autonomic network and packet transmission in the autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol, so that it is not necessarily required that all network devices support IPv6 or IPv4.This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and also reduces difficulties in autonomic network deployment.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, each network device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device.", "The L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address.", "S420 in which the second network device processes the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet includes the following step: S426.When determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, the second network device forwards the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the second network device according to the destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "S427.The second network device parses the L2 ACP packet when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet and that an IP address of the second network device matches the destination IP address of the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, a format of the L2 ACP packet is shown in Table 5 and Table 6.A value of a protocol field in the packet header of the L2 ACP packet may use a value of a protocol field in an IP packet.", "Specifically, for example, some upper-layer services such as a Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) strictly requires that signaling is transmitted based on IP or TCP/UDP.", "In this embodiment of the application, each autonomic device in the ACP supports a non-repeated self-configured loopback (Loopback) address, and each autonomic device in the ACP supports mapping of a UDI and an IP (including mapping of a UDI and an IP of each autonomic device and mapping of a UDI and an IP of a peer device).", "Specifically, for example, if a transmission requirement of an upper-layer autonomic agent (Agent) specifies that an IP session needs to be established, a related serving device (such as AAA) needs to send an IP address of a server of the serving device and a UDI of the serving device to a customer device.", "This phase is referred to as self-service discovery or service advertisement.", "After receiving a message sent by the serving device, the customer device binds the IP address, the UDI, and a related service, and initiates an IP session to the server by using a self-configured IPv6 ULA loopback address or IPv4 loopback address.", "After receiving a related packet, a UDI layer of the server binds an IP and a UDI of the customer device.", "Subsequently, in ACP communication between the server and a client, after encapsulating an IP packet, the server/client searches for a mapping table of the IP and the UDI, and forwards the IP packet in the ACP plane based on the UDI.", "In the scenario involved in this embodiment of the application, although it appears that an IP session is initiated, in the ACP plane, between upper-layer device applications, forwarding based on IP is not provided in the ACP plane, and a network device does not need to maintain a related routing table.", "Therefore, the ACP provided in this embodiment of the application can provide an IP-based communication capability, so that better compatibility can be provided for the upper-layer applications, and the upper-layer applications use an L2-layer-based ACP without perceiving a forwarding manner as much as possible.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, a packet format of the L2 ACP packet is publicly known to a receive/transmit end device at the data link layer, that is, all devices at the data link layer can identify the L2 ACP packet.", "In this embodiment of the application, signaling is transmitted in an ACP by using a UDI and a neighbor list of a device without depending on a loopback address, so that each device does not need to maintain a routing table.", "Each device has a UDI and a neighbor list of the device, and transmits signaling by directly using a ready-made resource, so that maintenance costs can be reduced.", "In addition, the ACP in this embodiment of the application may be imperceptive of the IP protocol, so that it is not required that all network devices support IPv6 or IPv4, to establish a unified ACP.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and also reduces difficulties in autonomic network deployment.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, signaling is transmitted in the ACP based on a UDI of a device, so that a problem in the prior art that the device needs to additionally maintain a routing table is avoided, and deployment costs can be reduced.", "In addition, in this embodiment of the application, signaling transmission in the ACP may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "For example, even though an entire network does not support IPv6, signaling may also be transmitted in the ACP.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can also reduce difficulties in network deployment.", "In addition, the solution provided in this embodiment of the application may be applied to a network in which some devices are configured as IPv6 and some devices are configured as IPv4.Optionally, in the embodiments of the application, the AD message (denoted as a packet 1) involved in the method 100 and the method 200 and the L2 ACP packet (denoted as a packet 2) involved in the method 300 and the method 400 may be encapsulated based on a same frame format at a data link layer.", "For example, a value of a type field of a frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the packet 1 and a value of a type field of a frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the packet 2 may be the same.", "It should be understood that, the value of the type field of the frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the packet 1 and the value of the type field of the frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the packet 2 may be different.", "For example, when the type of the frame used for encapsulating the packet 1 and the type of the frame used for encapsulating the packet 2 are assigned with a same value, the packet 1 and the packet 2 are distinguished by using different values assigned to flag bits in packet headers.", "For example, both the type of the frame for the packet 1 and the type of the frame for the packet 2 are 88e7.However, a flag bit in a packet header of the packet 1 is 0000 and is used to indicate that the frame at the data link layer carries an adjacency discovery AD message.", "A flag bit in a packet header of the packet 2 is 0001 and is used to indicate that the frame at the data link layer carries an ACP packet (that is, a packet used for transmitting signaling in an ACP).", "More specifically, for example, the packet 2 is classified into a neighbor unicast packet, a non-neighbor unicast packet, and a broadcast packet.", "Different values may be assigned to flag bits of the three different transmission types of packets 2 to distinguish the different transmission types of packets 2.For example, when the flag bit in the packet header of the packet 2 is 0001, it indicates that the frame at the data link layer carries the neighbor unicast packet.", "When the flag bit in the packet header of the packet 2 is 0002, it indicates that the frame at the data link layer carries the non-neighbor unicast packet.", "When the flag bit in the packet header of the packet 2 is 0003, it indicates that the frame at the data link layer carries the broadcast packet.", "For example, when the type of the frame for the packet 1 and the type of the frame for the packet 2 are assigned with different values.", "The types of the frames may be used to distinguish the packet 1 and the packet 2.For example, the type of the frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the packet 1 is assigned with 88e7, and the type that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the packet 2 is assigned with 88e8.More specifically, for example, the packet 2 is classified into a neighbor unicast packet, a non-neighbor unicast packet, and a broadcast packet.", "Types of frames for the three transmission types of packets 2 may be assigned with different values, so as to distinguish different transmission types of packets 2.For example, a type of a frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the neighbor unicast packet is assigned with 88e8, a type of a frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the non-neighbor unicast packet is assigned with 88e9, and a type of a frame that is at the data link layer and is used for encapsulating the broadcast packet is assigned with 88e6.It should be understood that, the types of the frames for the three transmission types of packets 2 may be assigned with a same value, and the flag bit is used to distinguish the three transmission types of packets 2.This is not limited in the embodiments of the application.", "FIG.", "6 shows a network device 500 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The network device is applied to an autonomic network, and the network device 500 includes: a generation module 510, an encapsulation module 520, a sending module 530, a receiving module 540, and an establishment module 550.The generation module 510 is configured to generate, by the network device, an adjacency discovery AD message.", "The AD message includes a device identifier of the network device.", "The encapsulation module 520 is configured to encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message generated by the generation module.", "The frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device.", "It should be understood that, the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer may be a broadcast data link layer address or a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the network device.", "The sending module 530 is configured to send, to a registrar Registrar device based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message that is encapsulated by the encapsulation module based on the frame at the data link layer.", "The registrar device is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate.", "The receiving module 540 is configured to receive a domain certificate sent by the registrar device.", "The domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message.", "The establishment module 550 is configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device according to the domain certificate received by the receiving module.", "In this embodiment of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "It should be understood that, the network device 500 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a network device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the network device 500 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "In this embodiment of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "FIG.", "7 shows a registrar device 600 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The registrar device 600 is applied to an autonomic network, the registrar device 600 is a device that is in the autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate, and the registrar device 600 includes: a receiving module 610, a sending module 620, and an ACP establishment module 630.The receiving module 610 is configured to receive, from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message includes a device identifier of the network device, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device, and the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device.", "It should be understood that, that the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device means that the destination data link layer address is the data link layer address of the registrar device, or that the destination data link layer address is a broadcast data link layer address.", "It should be understood that, it may be considered that the broadcast data link layer address matches any fixed data link layer address.", "The sending module 620 is configured to: when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocate a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message received by the receiving module, and send the domain certificate to the network device.", "The ACP establishment module 630 is configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the network device according to the domain certificate sent by the sending module.", "In this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery AD message of a device is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message is sent, based on a data link layer address, to a registrar device that is in an autonomic network and that allocates a domain certificate.", "The registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device according to the AD message.", "The device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device based on the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the network device is a neighboring device of the registrar device, and the registrar device further includes: a neighbor list establishment module 640, configured to establish a neighbor list of the registrar device according to the AD message, where the neighbor list includes the device identifier of the network device and the data link layer address of the network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device.", "The sending module 620 is specifically configured to: when determining that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and send, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the UDI.", "The whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic network.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification S-UDI of the network device.", "The sending module 620 is specifically configured to: when determining, by using a verification server, that a digital device certificate corresponding to the S-UDI is valid, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and send, to the network device, the domain certificate allocated according to the digital device certificate.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "It should be understood that, the registrar device 600 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a registrar device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the registrar device 600 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "In this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery AD message of a device is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message is sent, based on a data link layer address, to a registrar device that is in an autonomic network and that allocates a domain certificate.", "The registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device according to the AD message.", "The device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device based on the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "FIG.", "8 shows a network device 700 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The network device serves as a first network device, and the first network device is applied to an autonomic network.", "The network device 700 includes: a generation module 710, an encapsulation module 720, and a sending module 730.The generation module 710 is configured to generate a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "The first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network.", "The encapsulation module 720 is configured to encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet generated by the generation module.", "The frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device.", "It should be understood that, the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device or a broadcast data link layer address.", "The sending module 730 is configured to send, to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated by the encapsulation module based on the frame at the data link layer.", "The second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a network device may not need to maintain a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the generation module 710 is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the generation module 710 determines that a neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device.", "A packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device.", "It should be understood that, that the neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device means that the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier the same as the device identifier of the target device.", "It should be further understood that, when the device identifier of the target device is a broadcast device identifier, it may also be considered that the neighbor list of the first network device includes the match item for the device identifier of the target device.", "If the neighbor list of the first network device does not include a device identifier the same as the device identifier of the target device, and the device identifier of the target device is not a broadcast device identifier either, it is considered that the neighbor list of the first network device does not include the match item for the device identifier of the target device.", "The encapsulation module 720 is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device.", "The sending module 730 is specifically configured to send, according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the generation module 710 is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the generation module 710 determines that the neighbor list does not include a match item for a device identifier of the target device.", "A packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet.", "The encapsulation module 720 is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The sending module 730 is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the generation module 710 is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to broadcast a control message in the ACP.", "A packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "The encapsulation module 720 is specifically configured to encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The sending module 730 is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device.", "The generation module 710 is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the ACP by using an IP session.", "The L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address, and the destination IP address is an IP address of the target device.", "It should be understood that, the network device 700 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a first network device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the network device 700 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "An L2 ACP packet sent in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a device can implement communication based on the ACP without maintaining a routing table.", "FIG.", "9 shows a network device 800 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The network device 800 serves as a second network device, and the second network device is applied to an autonomic network.", "The network device 800 includes: a receiving module 810 and a processing module 820.The receiving module 810 is configured to receive an L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device.", "The L2 ACP packet includes a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network.", "It should be understood that, that the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device means that the destination data link layer address is the data link layer address of the second network device, or that the destination data link layer address is a broadcast data link layer address.", "It should be understood that, it may be considered that the broadcast data link layer address matches any fixed data link layer address.", "The processing module 820 is configured to process, by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, the L2 ACP packet received by the receiving module.", "It should be understood that, when the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, or the destination device identifier is a broadcast device identifier, it may be considered that the destination device identifier matches the device identifier of the second network device.", "When the destination device identifier is not the device identifier of the second network device, and the destination device identifier is not a broadcast device identifier, the destination device identifier does not match the device identifier of the second network device.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, the autonomic control plane ACP of the autonomic network is established based on the data link layer.", "For a specific method, refer to the method 100 and the method 200.Details are not described herein again.", "An L2 ACP packet in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a device can implement communication based on the ACP without maintaining a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device.", "The processing module 820 is specifically configured to: determine that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parse the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the processing module 820 is specifically configured to parse the L2 ACP packet to obtain packet content such as a control message in the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The processing module 820 is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, and buffer the L2 ACP packet.", "Specifically, the L2 ACP packet is parsed to obtain packet content such as a control message in the L2 ACP packet.", "The processing module 820 is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The processing module 820 is specifically configured to: determine that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "It should be understood that, in this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, and the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet may be a broadcast device identifier.", "In this case, after receiving the L2 ACP packet, any network device in the autonomic network determines that a device identifier of the network device matches the destination device identifier.", "It should be further understood that, when the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, the L2 ACP packet may not include the destination device identifier.", "If determining, according to a flag bit of the L2 ACP packet, that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet, the network device parses and forwards the L2 ACP packet without determining whether device identifiers are matched.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet.", "The processing module 820 is specifically configured to: when determining that the processing module 820 does not buffer the packet ID, process the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "The network device 800 further includes: a buffer clearing module 830, configured to clear the L2 ACP packet when determining that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device.", "The L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address.", "The processing module 820 is specifically configured to: when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet, forward the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the second network device according to the destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "The processing module 820 is specifically configured to parse the L2 ACP packet when the second network device determines that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet and that an IP address of the second network device matches the destination IP address of the L2 ACP packet.", "It should be understood that, the network device 800 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a second network device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and the foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the network device 800 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "An L2 ACP packet sent in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a device can implement communication based on the ACP without maintaining a routing table.", "FIG.", "10 shows a schematic block diagram of an autonomic network based system 900 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The system 900 includes the network device 500 and the registrar device 600 provided in the embodiments of the application.", "In this embodiment of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "FIG.", "11 shows a schematic block diagram of an autonomic network based system 1000 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The system 1000 includes the network device 700 and the network device 800 provided in the embodiments of the application.", "An L2 ACP packet sent in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a device can implement communication based on the ACP without maintaining a routing table.", "FIG.", "12 shows a schematic block diagram of a network device 1100 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The network device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120, a bus system 1130, a receiver 1140, and a transmitter 1150.The processor 1110, the memory 1120, the receiver 1140, and the transmitter 1150 are connected by using the bus system 1130.The memory 1120 is configured to store an instruction.", "The processor 1110 is configured to: generate an adjacency discovery AD message, where the AD message includes a device identifier of the network device; and encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device.", "The transmitter 1150 is configured to send, based on the destination data link layer address, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a registrar device, where the registrar device is a device that is in an autonomic network and that supports allocation of a domain certificate.", "The receiver 1140 is configured to receive a domain certificate by the registrar device, where the domain certificate is allocated by the registrar device to the network device according to the device identifier of the network device in the AD message.", "The processor 1110 is further configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "In this embodiment of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "It should be understood that, the network device 1100 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a network device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and may be corresponding to the network device 500 in an embodiment of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the network device 1100 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "In this embodiment of the application, an AD message is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, the AD message encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a registrar device based on a destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, a domain certificate sent by the registrar device is received, and an autonomic control plane ACP is established with the registrar device according to the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "FIG.", "13 shows a schematic block diagram of a registrar device 1200 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The registrar device 1200 is applied to an autonomic network.", "The registrar device 1200 includes a processor 1210, a memory 1220, a bus system 1230, a receiver 1240, and a transmitter 1250.The processor 1210, the memory 1220, the receiver 1240, and the transmitter 1250 are connected by using the bus system 1230.The memory 1220 is configured to store an instruction.", "The receiver 1240 is configured to receive, from a network device, an adjacency discovery AD message encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message includes a device identifier of the network device, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the network device, and the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the registrar device.", "The processor 1210 is configured to: when determining that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, allocate a domain certificate to the network device according to the device identifier included in the AD message.", "The transmitter 1250 is configured to send the domain certificate to the network device.", "The processor 1210 is further configured to establish an autonomic control plane ACP with the network device according to the domain certificate.", "In this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery AD message of a device is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message is sent, based on a data link layer address, to a registrar device that is in an autonomic network and that allocates a domain certificate.", "The registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device according to the AD message.", "The device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device based on the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field indicates that the L2 ACP packet is the AD message.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the network device is a neighboring device of the second network device.", "The processor 1210 is further configured to establish a neighbor list of the second network device according to the AD message.", "The neighbor list includes the device identifier of the network device and the data link layer address of the network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a unique device identifier UDI of the network device.", "The processor 1210 is further configured to: when determining that a whitelist has a match item for the UDI of the network device, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and allocate the domain certificate according to the UDI.", "The whitelist includes a UDI of a device that is allowed to join the autonomic network.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier of the network device is a secure unique device identification S-UDI of the network device.", "The processor 1210 is further configured to: when determining, by using a verification server, that a digital device certificate corresponding to the S-UDI is valid, determine that the network device is allowed to join the autonomic network, and allocate the domain certificate according to the digital device certificate.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the AD message further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "It should be understood that, the registrar device 1200 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a registrar device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and may be corresponding to the registrar device 600 in an embodiment of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the registrar device 1200 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "In this embodiment of the application, an adjacency discovery AD message of a device is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The AD message is sent, based on a data link layer address, to a registrar device that is in an autonomic network and that allocates a domain certificate.", "The registrar device allocates a domain certificate to the device according to the AD message.", "The device establishes an autonomic control plane ACP with the registrar device based on the domain certificate.", "Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, establishment of an ACP may not depend on the IP protocol, that is, communication based on an autonomic network may be imperceptive of the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art, and can effectively reduce obstacles to autonomic network deployment.", "FIG.", "14 shows a schematic block diagram of a network device 1300 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The network device 1300 is applied to an autonomic network.", "The network device 1300 serves as a first network device.", "The network device 1300 includes a processor 1310, a memory 1330, a bus system 1330, a receiver 1340, and a transmitter 1350.The processor 1310, the memory 1330, the receiver 1340, and the transmitter 1350 are connected by using the bus system 1330.The memory 1330 is configured to store an instruction.", "The processor 1310 is configured to: generate a data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet, where the first network device is an autonomic device in the autonomic network; and encapsulate, based on a frame at a data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, and the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device.", "The transmitter 1350 is configured to send, according to the destination data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a second network device.", "The second network device is also an autonomic device in the autonomic network, and the second network device is a neighboring device of the first network device.", "In this embodiment of the application, the L2 ACP packet is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer, and the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer is sent to a second network device according to the destination data link layer address.", "In this embodiment of the application, a packet may be transmitted in an ACP without depending on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a network device may not need to maintain a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the processor 1310 is specifically configured to: generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the processor 1310 determines that a neighbor list of the first network device includes a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet, and the neighbor list of the first network device includes a device identifier and a data link layer address of a neighboring device of the first network device; and encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device.", "The transmitter 1350 is specifically configured to send, according to the data link layer address of the target device, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the target device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the processor 1310 is specifically configured to: generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the autonomic network and the processor 1310 determines that the neighbor list does not include a match item for a device identifier of the target device, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet; and encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The transmitter 1350 is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the processor 1310 is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to broadcast a control message in the ACP, where a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet; and encapsulate, based on the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet, where the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The transmitter 1350 is specifically configured to send, according to the broadcast data link layer address, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to the second network device.", "Specifically, the control message may be control signaling that implements a control function and/or a management function.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely indicate the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device.", "The processor 1310 is specifically configured to generate the L2 ACP packet when the first network device needs to communicate with a target device in the ACP by using an IP session.", "The L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address, and the destination IP address is an IP address of the target device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "It should be understood that, the network device 1300 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a first network device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and may be corresponding to the network device 700 in an embodiment of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the network device 1300 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "An L2 ACP packet sent in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a device can implement communication based on the ACP without maintaining a routing table.", "FIG.", "15 shows a schematic block diagram of a network device 1400 according to an embodiment of the application.", "The network device 1400 is applied to an autonomic network.", "The network device 1400 serves as a second network device.", "The network device 1400 includes a processor 1410, a memory 1420, a bus system 1440, a receiver 1440, and a transmitter 1450.The processor 1410, the memory 1420, the receiver 1440, and the transmitter 1450 are connected by using the bus system 1440.The memory 1420 is configured to store an instruction.", "The receiver 1440 is configured to receive an L2 ACP packet that is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer and that is sent by a first network device.", "The L2 ACP packet includes a destination device identifier, the frame at the data link layer includes a source data link layer address and a destination data link layer address, the source data link layer address is a data link layer address of the first network device, the destination data link layer address matches a data link layer address of the second network device, and both the second network device and the first network device are autonomic devices in the autonomic network.", "The processor 1410 is configured to process the L2 ACP packet by determining whether a device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet.", "An L2 ACP packet sent in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a network device may not need to maintain a routing table.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the frame at the data link layer is a frame that conforms to a definition in the Ethernet protocol, and a type value of a type field of the frame at the data link layer indicates that a data load field of the frame at the data link layer carries the data link layer-based autonomic control plane L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a neighbor unicast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a data link layer address of the target device.", "The processor 1410 is specifically configured to: determine that the destination device identifier is the device identifier of the second network device, and parse the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a non-neighbor unicast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The processor 1410 is specifically configured to: when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, and buffer the L2 ACP packet; and when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, a packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a flag bit field, and a value of the flag bit field is used to indicate that the L2 ACP packet is a broadcast packet.", "The destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer is a broadcast data link layer address.", "The processor 1410 is specifically configured to: determine that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier, parse the L2 ACP packet, buffer the L2 ACP packet, and forward, according to the destination data link layer address of the frame at the data link layer, the L2 ACP packet encapsulated based on the frame at the data link layer to a neighboring device of the second network device.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a packet ID used to uniquely identify the L2 ACP packet.", "The processor 1410 is specifically configured to: when determining that the processor 1410 does not buffer the packet ID, process the L2 ACP packet by determining whether the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination device identifier.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes timing information.", "The timing information is used to instruct a receiving device of the L2 ACP packet to clear the L2 ACP packet when a time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds preset duration.", "The processor 1410 is further configured to clear the L2 ACP packet when determining that the time for buffering the L2 ACP packet exceeds the preset duration indicated by the timing information.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, each autonomic device in the autonomic network has an IP address, and each autonomic device has a mapping relationship between a device identifier of each autonomic device and the IP address of each autonomic device.", "The L2 ACP packet further includes a destination IP address.", "The processor 1410 is specifically configured to: forward the L2 ACP packet to a neighboring device of the second network device according to the destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet when determining that the device identifier of the second network device does not match the destination device identifier in the L2 ACP packet; and parse the L2 ACP packet when determining that the device identifier of the second network device matches the destination data link layer of the L2 ACP packet and an IP address of the second network device matches the destination IP address of the L2 ACP packet.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the packet header of the L2 ACP packet further includes a version field, a protocol field, and a data packet length field.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the data link layer address is a Media Access Control MAC address.", "Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the device identifier is a unique device identifier UDI or a secure unique device identification SUDI.", "It should be understood that, the network device 1400 according to this embodiment of the application may be corresponding to a second network device in a data link layer-based communication method in an embodiment of the application, and may be corresponding to the network device 800 in an embodiment of the application.", "The foregoing and other operations and/or functions of the modules of the network device 1400 are separately used to implement corresponding procedures of methods in FIG.", "1 to FIG.", "5.For brevity, details are not described herein.", "An L2 ACP packet sent in this embodiment of the application is encapsulated based on a frame at a data link layer.", "The L2 ACP packet may be transmitted in an ACP based on a destination data link layer address of the L2 ACP packet.", "That is, in this embodiment of the application, communication based on the ACP may not depend on the IP protocol.", "This has better network compatibility in comparison with the prior art.", "In addition, unlike the prior art, in this embodiment of the application, a device can implement communication based on the ACP without maintaining a routing table.", "It should be further understood that the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, and various numerical numbers involved in this specification are distinguished merely for ease of description, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the application.", "The term “and/or” in this specification describes only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist.", "For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists.", "In addition, the character “/” in this specification generally indicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects.", "It should be understood that sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean execution sequences in various embodiments of the application.", "The execution sequences of the processes should be determined according to functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation processes of the embodiments of the application.", "A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, the units and algorithm steps in the examples described with reference to the embodiments disclosed in this specification may be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware.", "Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on particular applications and design constraint conditions of the technical solutions.", "A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but it should not be considered that the implementation goes beyond the scope of the application.", "It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, for the purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed working process of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, reference may be made to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described.", "In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners.", "For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely an example.", "For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation.", "For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed.", "In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces, indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units, or electrical connections, mechanical connections, or connections in other forms.", "The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on multiple network units.", "Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.", "In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.", "When the functions are implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.", "Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the application essentially, or the part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technical solutions may be implemented in a form of a software product.", "The software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the application.", "The foregoing storage medium includes: any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.", "The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of the application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of the application.", "Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the application shall fall within the protection scope of the application.", "Therefore, the protection scope of the application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims." ] ]
Patent_15875028
[ [ "HARMONIC GENERATION AND PHASE SENSITIVE AMPLIFICATION USING A BRAGG REFLECTION WAVEGUIDE", "Methods and systems enable amplifying optical signals using a Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity to generate an optical pump by injection locking.", "The BRW may also be used for parametric amplification of optical signals using the optical pump.", "Feedback phase-power control may be performed to maximize output power." ], [ "1.A method for amplifying optical signals, comprising: receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using binary phase shift keying or differential phase shift keying; transmitting the optical signal through a first Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW, wherein within the first BRW: an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, wherein the optical pump does not include the data modulated; and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission; isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW using a first bandpass filter; combining the optical pump isolated with the optical signal, wherein a phase adjustment is applied to the optical signal to create a combined signal and the optical signal has a second optical power in the combined signal; and transmitting the combined signal through a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity, wherein the second optical power of the optical signal is increased.", "2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: isolating the optical signal having the second optical power increased using a second bandpass filter; and measuring the second optical power output by the second bandpass filter.", "3.The method of claim 2, further comprising: using the second optical power measured to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the second optical power.", "4.An optical amplifier, comprising: a first stage to generate a combined signal, the first stage further comprising: a first Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using binary phase shift keying or differential phase shift keying, wherein the optical signal is transmitted through the first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW, and wherein within the first BRW: an optical pump at a pump frequency for the optical signal is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, wherein the optical pump does not include the data modulated; and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission; a first bandpass filter for isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW; a phase delay control applied to the optical signal along a separate optical path from the first BRW; an optical coupler to combine the optical pump isolated with the optical signal output from the phase delay control to generate the combined signal, wherein the optical signal has a second optical power in the combined signal; and a second stage further comprising: a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the combined signal, wherein the second optical power of the optical signal is increased in the second BRW.", "5.The optical amplifier of claim 4, wherein the second stage further comprises: a second bandpass filter for isolating the optical signal generated by the second BRW; and a photodetector to measure the second optical power output by the second bandpass filter.", "6.The optical amplifier of claim 5, further comprising: a feedback control loop using the second optical power measured to control the phase delay control to maximize the second optical power.", "7.A method for amplifying optical signals, comprising: receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using non-uniform quadrature phase shift keying or non-uniform differential quadrature phase shift keying; transmitting the optical signal through a first Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW, wherein within the first BRW: an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal; and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission; isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW using a first bandpass filter; applying a phase adjustment to the optical signal received, wherein the optical signal has a second optical power; combining the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal after phase adjustment to create an in-phase combined signal; transmitting the in-phase combined signal through a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity to increase an in-phase portion of the second optical power; combining the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal after phase adjustment and a phase shift to create a quadrature-phase combined signal; and transmitting the quadrature-phase combined signal through a third BRW having second order optical nonlinearity to increase a quadrature-phase portion of the second optical power.", "8.The method of claim 7, further comprising: isolating an in-phase amplified signal generated by the second BRW using a second bandpass filter; isolating a quadrature-phase amplified signal generated by the third BRW using a third bandpass filter; combining the in-phase amplified signal and the quadrature phase amplified signal to generate an amplified optical signal having a third optical power; and measuring the third optical power from the amplified optical signal.", "9.The method of claim 8, further comprising: using the third optical power measured to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the third optical power.", "10.The method of claim 7, wherein the non-uniform quadrature phase shift keying comprises quadrature phase shift keying and binary phase shift keying, and wherein the non-uniform differential quadrature phase shift keying comprises differential quadrature phase shift keying and differential phase shift keying.", "11.An optical amplifier, comprising: a first stage comprising: a first Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using non-uniform quadrature phase shift keying or non-uniform differential quadrature phase shift keying, wherein the optical signal is transmitted through the first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the BRW, and wherein within the first BRW: an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal; and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission; a first bandpass filter for isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW; and a phase delay control applied to the optical signal along a separate optical path from the first BRW, wherein the optical signal has a second optical power; a second stage further comprising: a first optical coupler to combine the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal output from the phase delay control to generate an in-phase combined signal; a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the in-phase combined signal, wherein an in-phase portion of the second optical power is increased in the second BRW; a second optical coupler to combine the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal output from the phase delay control and subject to a phase shift to generate an quadrature-phase combined signal; and a third BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the quadrature-phase combined signal, wherein a quadrature-phase portion of the second optical power is increased in the third BRW.", "12.The optical amplifier of claim 11, further comprising: a second bandpass filter for isolating an in-phase amplified signal generated by the second BRW; a third bandpass filter for isolating a quadrature-phase amplified signal generated by the third BRW; a second optical coupler to combine the in-phase amplified signal and the quadrature phase amplified signal to generate an amplified optical signal having a third optical power; and a photodetector to measure the third optical power.", "13.The optical amplifier of claim 12, further comprising: a feedback control loop using the third optical power measured to control the phase delay control to maximize the third optical power.", "14.The optical amplifier of claim 11, wherein the non-uniform quadrature phase shift keying comprises quadrature phase shift keying and binary phase shift keying, and wherein the non-uniform differential quadrature phase shift keying comprises differential quadrature phase shift keying and differential phase shift keying." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In one aspect, a disclosed first method is for amplifying optical signals.", "The first method may include receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal including a carrier frequency and having a first optical power.", "The first method may include transmitting the optical signal through a Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the BRW.", "Within the BRW in the first method, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a second optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "In the first method, the optical pump and the optical signal may be phase locked to each other.", "Within the BRW in the first method, the first optical power of the optical signal is increased by optical parametric amplification.", "The first method may further include outputting, from the BRW, the optical signal having the first optical power increased.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first method, the optical signal may be a modulated laser beam at the carrier frequency.", "In the first method, the optical pump may be at least partially reflected internally at the BRW.", "In another aspect, a disclosed first optical amplifier, includes a BRW including electrodes mounted to the BRW to enable current injection.", "In the first optical amplifier, the BRW is enabled to receive an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal including a carrier frequency and having a first optical power, and transmit the optical signal through the BRW while an electrical current is injected into the BRW using the electrodes.", "Within the BRW in the first optical amplifier, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, a second optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission, and the first optical power of the optical signal is increased by optical parametric amplification.", "In the first optical amplifier, the optical pump and the optical signal are phase locked to each other.", "In the first optical amplifier, the BRW is enabled to output, from the BRW, the optical signal having the first optical power increased.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first optical amplifier, the optical signal may be a modulated laser beam at the carrier frequency.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first optical amplifier, the optical pump may be at least partially reflected internally at the BRW.", "In another aspect, a disclosed second method is for amplifying optical signals.", "The second method may include receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using BPSK or DPSK, and transmitting the optical signal through a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the second method, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, where the optical pump does not include the data modulated, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "The second method includes isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW using a first bandpass filter, and combining the optical pump isolated with the optical signal.", "In the second method, a phase adjustment is applied to the optical signal to create a combined signal and the optical signal has a second optical power in the combined signal.", "The second method may include transmitting the combined signal through a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity, while the second optical power of the optical signal is increased.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second method may further include isolating the optical signal having the second optical power increased using a second bandpass filter, and measuring the second optical power generated by the second bandpass filter.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second method may include using the second optical power measured to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the second optical power.", "In a further aspect, a disclosed second optical amplifier includes a first stage and a second stage.", "In the second optical amplifier, the first stage includes a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using BPSK or DPSK.", "In the second optical amplifier, the optical signal is transmitted through the first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the second optical amplifier, an optical pump at a pump frequency for the optical signal is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "In the second optical amplifier, the optical pump does not include the data modulated.", "In the second optical amplifier, the first stage further includes a first bandpass filter for isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW, a phase delay control applied to the optical signal along a separate optical path from the first BRW, an optical coupler to combine the optical pump isolated with the optical signal output from the phase delay control to generate the combined signal, such that the optical signal has a second optical power in the combined signal.", "In the second stage, the second optical amplifier includes a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the combined signal.", "In the second optical amplifier, the second optical power of the optical signal is increased in the second BRW.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second optical amplifier, the second stage may include a second bandpass filter for isolating the optical signal generated by the second BRW, and a photodetector to measure the second optical power generated by the second bandpass filter.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second optical amplifier may include a feedback control loop using the second optical power measured to control the phase delay control to maximize the second optical power.", "In yet another aspect, a disclosed third method is for amplifying optical signals.", "The third method may include receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using non-uniform QPSK or non-uniform DQPSK, and transmitting the optical signal through a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the third method, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "The third method may include isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW using a first bandpass filter, applying a phase adjustment to the optical signal received, where the optical signal has a second optical power, and combining the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal after phase adjustment to create an in-phase combined signal.", "The third method may further include transmitting the in-phase combined signal through a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity to increase an in-phase portion of the second optical power, combining the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal after phase adjustment and a phase shift to create a quadrature-phase combined signal, and transmitting the quadrature-phase combined signal through a third BRW having second order optical nonlinearity to increase a quadrature-phase portion of the second optical power.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the third method may further include isolating an in-phase amplified signal generated by the second BRW using a second bandpass filter, isolating a quadrature-phase amplified signal generated by the third BRW using a third bandpass filter, combining the in-phase amplified signal and the quadrature phase amplified signal to generate an amplified optical signal having a third optical power, and measuring the third optical power from the amplified optical signal.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the third method may further include using the third optical power measured to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the third optical power.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the third method, the non-uniform QPSK may include QPSK and BPSK, while the non-uniform DQPSK may include DQPSK and DPSK.", "In yet a further aspect, a disclosed third optical amplifier includes a first stage and a second stage.", "In the third optical amplifier, the first stage includes a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using non-uniform QPSK or non-uniform DQPSK.", "In the first stage of the third optical amplifier, the optical signal may be transmitted through the first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the third optical amplifier, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "The first stage of the third optical amplifier may further include a first bandpass filter for isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW, and a phase delay control applied to the optical signal along a separate optical path from the first BRW, where the optical signal has a second optical power.", "The second stage of the third optical amplifier may include a first optical coupler to combine the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal output from the phase delay control to generate an in-phase combined signal, a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the in-phase combined signal, while an in-phase portion of the second optical power is increased in the second BRW, a second optical coupler to combine the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal output from the phase delay control and subject to a phase shift to generate an quadrature-phase combined signal, and a third BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the quadrature-phase combined signal.", "In the second stage of the third amplifier, a quadrature-phase portion of the second optical power is increased in the third BRW In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second optical amplifier, the second stage may include a second bandpass filter for isolating an in-phase amplified signal generated by the second BRW, a third bandpass filter for isolating a quadrature-phase amplified signal generated by the third BRW, a second optical coupler to combine the in-phase amplified signal and the quadrature phase amplified signal to generate an amplified optical signal having a third optical power, and a photodetector to measure the third optical power.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second optical amplifier may further include a feedback control loop using the third optical power measured to control the phase delay control to maximize the third optical power.", "In the second optical amplifier, the non-uniform QPSK may include QPSK and BPSK, while the non-uniform DQPSK may include DQPSK and DPSK.", "Additional disclosed aspects for phase-sensitive optical amplification using a BRW include an optical communication system and an optical transport network, as described herein." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/863,170 filed Sep. 23, 2015, the contents of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.", "BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure relates generally to optical communication networks and, more particularly, to harmonic generation and phase sensitive amplification using a Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW).", "Description of the Related Art Telecommunication, cable television and data communication systems use optical networks to rapidly convey large amounts of information between remote points.", "In an optical network, information is conveyed in the form of optical signals through optical fibers.", "Optical fibers may comprise thin strands of glass capable of communicating the signals over long distances.", "Optical networks often employ modulation schemes to convey information in the optical signals over the optical fibers.", "Such modulation schemes may include phase-shift keying (PSK), frequency-shift keying (FSK), amplitude-shift keying (ASK), and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM).", "In PSK, the information carried by the optical signal may be conveyed by modulating the phase of a reference signal, also known as a carrier wave.", "The information may be conveyed by modulating the phase of the signal itself using differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) or binary phase shift keying (BPSK).", "In QAM, the information carried by the optical signal may be conveyed by modulating both the amplitude and phase of the carrier wave.", "PSK may be considered a subset of QAM, wherein the amplitude of the carrier waves is maintained as a constant.", "PSK and QAM signals may be represented using a complex plane with real and imaginary axes on a constellation diagram.", "The points on the constellation diagram representing symbols carrying information may be positioned with uniform angular spacing around the origin of the diagram.", "The number of symbols to be modulated using PSK and QAM may be increased and thus increase the information that can be carried.", "The number of signals may be given in multiples of two.", "As additional symbols are added, they may be arranged in uniform fashion around the origin.", "PSK signals may include such an arrangement in a circle on the constellation diagram, meaning that PSK signals have constant power for all symbols.", "QAM signals may have the same angular arrangement as that of PSK signals, but include different amplitude arrangements.", "QAM signals may have their symbols arranged around multiple circles, meaning that the QAM signals include different power for different symbols.", "This arrangement may decrease the risk of noise as the symbols are separated by as much distance as possible.", "A number of symbols “m” may thus be used and denoted “m-PSK” or “m-QAM.” Examples of PSK and QAM with a different number of symbols can include binary PSK (BPSK or 2-PSK) using two phases at 0° and 180° (or 0 and π) on the constellation diagram; or quadrature PSK (QPSK, 4-PSK, or 4-QAM) using four phases at 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° (or 0, π/2, π, and 3 π/2).", "Phases in such signals may be offset.", "Each of 2-PSK and 4-PSK signals may be arranged on the constellation diagram.", "M-PSK signals may further be polarized using techniques such as dual-polarization QPSK (DP-QPSK), wherein separate m-PSK signals are multiplexed by orthogonally polarizing the signals.", "M-QAM signals may also be polarized using techniques such as dual-polarization 16-QAM (DP-16-QAM), wherein separate m-QAM signals are multiplexed by orthogonally polarizing the signals.", "Optical networks may also include various optical elements, such as amplifiers, dispersion compensators, multiplexer/demultiplexer filters, wavelength selective switches, optical switches, couplers, etc.", "to perform various operations within the network.", "In particular, optical networks may include optical amplifiers for amplifying optical signals to enable a greater reach of the optical signal.", "SUMMARY In one aspect, a disclosed first method is for amplifying optical signals.", "The first method may include receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal including a carrier frequency and having a first optical power.", "The first method may include transmitting the optical signal through a Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the BRW.", "Within the BRW in the first method, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a second optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "In the first method, the optical pump and the optical signal may be phase locked to each other.", "Within the BRW in the first method, the first optical power of the optical signal is increased by optical parametric amplification.", "The first method may further include outputting, from the BRW, the optical signal having the first optical power increased.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first method, the optical signal may be a modulated laser beam at the carrier frequency.", "In the first method, the optical pump may be at least partially reflected internally at the BRW.", "In another aspect, a disclosed first optical amplifier, includes a BRW including electrodes mounted to the BRW to enable current injection.", "In the first optical amplifier, the BRW is enabled to receive an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal including a carrier frequency and having a first optical power, and transmit the optical signal through the BRW while an electrical current is injected into the BRW using the electrodes.", "Within the BRW in the first optical amplifier, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, a second optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission, and the first optical power of the optical signal is increased by optical parametric amplification.", "In the first optical amplifier, the optical pump and the optical signal are phase locked to each other.", "In the first optical amplifier, the BRW is enabled to output, from the BRW, the optical signal having the first optical power increased.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first optical amplifier, the optical signal may be a modulated laser beam at the carrier frequency.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the first optical amplifier, the optical pump may be at least partially reflected internally at the BRW.", "In another aspect, a disclosed second method is for amplifying optical signals.", "The second method may include receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using BPSK or DPSK, and transmitting the optical signal through a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the second method, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, where the optical pump does not include the data modulated, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "The second method includes isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW using a first bandpass filter, and combining the optical pump isolated with the optical signal.", "In the second method, a phase adjustment is applied to the optical signal to create a combined signal and the optical signal has a second optical power in the combined signal.", "The second method may include transmitting the combined signal through a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity, while the second optical power of the optical signal is increased.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second method may further include isolating the optical signal having the second optical power increased using a second bandpass filter, and measuring the second optical power generated by the second bandpass filter.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second method may include using the second optical power measured to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the second optical power.", "In a further aspect, a disclosed second optical amplifier includes a first stage and a second stage.", "In the second optical amplifier, the first stage includes a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using BPSK or DPSK.", "In the second optical amplifier, the optical signal is transmitted through the first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the second optical amplifier, an optical pump at a pump frequency for the optical signal is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "In the second optical amplifier, the optical pump does not include the data modulated.", "In the second optical amplifier, the first stage further includes a first bandpass filter for isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW, a phase delay control applied to the optical signal along a separate optical path from the first BRW, an optical coupler to combine the optical pump isolated with the optical signal output from the phase delay control to generate the combined signal, such that the optical signal has a second optical power in the combined signal.", "In the second stage, the second optical amplifier includes a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the combined signal.", "In the second optical amplifier, the second optical power of the optical signal is increased in the second BRW.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second optical amplifier, the second stage may include a second bandpass filter for isolating the optical signal generated by the second BRW, and a photodetector to measure the second optical power generated by the second bandpass filter.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second optical amplifier may include a feedback control loop using the second optical power measured to control the phase delay control to maximize the second optical power.", "In yet another aspect, a disclosed third method is for amplifying optical signals.", "The third method may include receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using non-uniform QPSK or non-uniform DQPSK, and transmitting the optical signal through a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the third method, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "The third method may include isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW using a first bandpass filter, applying a phase adjustment to the optical signal received, where the optical signal has a second optical power, and combining the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal after phase adjustment to create an in-phase combined signal.", "The third method may further include transmitting the in-phase combined signal through a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity to increase an in-phase portion of the second optical power, combining the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal after phase adjustment and a phase shift to create a quadrature-phase combined signal, and transmitting the quadrature-phase combined signal through a third BRW having second order optical nonlinearity to increase a quadrature-phase portion of the second optical power.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the third method may further include isolating an in-phase amplified signal generated by the second BRW using a second bandpass filter, isolating a quadrature-phase amplified signal generated by the third BRW using a third bandpass filter, combining the in-phase amplified signal and the quadrature phase amplified signal to generate an amplified optical signal having a third optical power, and measuring the third optical power from the amplified optical signal.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the third method may further include using the third optical power measured to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the third optical power.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the third method, the non-uniform QPSK may include QPSK and BPSK, while the non-uniform DQPSK may include DQPSK and DPSK.", "In yet a further aspect, a disclosed third optical amplifier includes a first stage and a second stage.", "In the third optical amplifier, the first stage includes a first BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using non-uniform QPSK or non-uniform DQPSK.", "In the first stage of the third optical amplifier, the optical signal may be transmitted through the first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the BRW.", "Within the first BRW in the third optical amplifier, an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from second harmonic generation from the optical signal, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injected and stimulated emission.", "The first stage of the third optical amplifier may further include a first bandpass filter for isolating the optical pump generated by the first BRW, and a phase delay control applied to the optical signal along a separate optical path from the first BRW, where the optical signal has a second optical power.", "The second stage of the third optical amplifier may include a first optical coupler to combine the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal output from the phase delay control to generate an in-phase combined signal, a second BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the in-phase combined signal, while an in-phase portion of the second optical power is increased in the second BRW, a second optical coupler to combine the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter with the optical signal output from the phase delay control and subject to a phase shift to generate an quadrature-phase combined signal, and a third BRW having second order optical nonlinearity for receiving the quadrature-phase combined signal.", "In the second stage of the third amplifier, a quadrature-phase portion of the second optical power is increased in the third BRW In any of the disclosed embodiments of the second optical amplifier, the second stage may include a second bandpass filter for isolating an in-phase amplified signal generated by the second BRW, a third bandpass filter for isolating a quadrature-phase amplified signal generated by the third BRW, a second optical coupler to combine the in-phase amplified signal and the quadrature phase amplified signal to generate an amplified optical signal having a third optical power, and a photodetector to measure the third optical power.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the second optical amplifier may further include a feedback control loop using the third optical power measured to control the phase delay control to maximize the third optical power.", "In the second optical amplifier, the non-uniform QPSK may include QPSK and BPSK, while the non-uniform DQPSK may include DQPSK and DPSK.", "Additional disclosed aspects for phase-sensitive optical amplification using a BRW include an optical communication system and an optical transport network, as described herein.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of an optical network; FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of an optical amplifier using a BRW; FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of an optical amplifier using two BRWs; FIG.", "4 is a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of an optical amplifier using three BRWs; FIG.", "5 is a flow diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of a method for BRW phase-sensitive optical amplification; FIG.", "6 is a flow diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of a method for BRW phase-sensitive optical amplification; and FIGS.", "7A and 7B are a flow diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of a method for BRW phase-sensitive optical amplification.", "DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENT(S) In the following description, details are set forth by way of example to facilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter.", "It should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possible embodiments.", "Throughout this disclosure, a hyphenated form of a reference numeral refers to a specific instance of an element and the un-hyphenated form of the reference numeral refers to the element generically or collectively.", "Thus, as an example (not shown in the drawings), device “12-1” refers to an instance of a device class, which may be referred to collectively as devices “12” and any one of which may be referred to generically as a device “12”.", "In the figures and the description, like numerals are intended to represent like elements.", "Referring now to the drawings, FIG.", "1 illustrates an example embodiment of optical network 101, which may represent an optical communication system.", "Optical network 101 may include one or more optical fibers 106 to transport one or more optical signals communicated by components of optical network 101.The network elements of optical network 101, coupled together by fibers 106, may comprise one or more transmitters 102, one or more multiplexers (MUX) 104, one or more optical amplifiers 108, one or more optical add/drop multiplexers (OADM) 110, one or more demultiplexers (DEMUX) 105, and one or more receivers 112.Optical network 101 may comprise a point-to-point optical network with terminal nodes, a ring optical network, a mesh optical network, or any other suitable optical network or combination of optical networks.", "Optical network 101 may be used in a short-haul metropolitan network, a long-haul inter-city network, or any other suitable network or combination of networks.", "The capacity of optical network 101 may include, for example, 100 Gbit/s, 400 Gbit/s, or 1 Tbit/s.", "Optical fibers 106 comprise thin strands of glass capable of communicating the signals over long distances with very low loss.", "Optical fibers 106 may comprise a suitable type of fiber selected from a variety of different fibers for optical transmission.", "Optical fibers 106 may include any suitable type of fiber, such as a Single-Mode Fiber (SMF), Enhanced Large Effective Area Fiber (E-LEAF), or TrueWave® Reduced Slope (TW-RS) fiber.", "Optical network 101 may include devices to transmit optical signals over optical fibers 106.Information may be transmitted and received through optical network 101 by modulation of one or more wavelengths of light to encode the information on the wavelength.", "In optical networking, a wavelength of light may also be referred to as a channel that is included in an optical signal (also referred to herein as a “wavelength channel”).", "Each channel may carry a certain amount of information through optical network 101.To increase the information capacity and transport capabilities of optical network 101, multiple signals transmitted at multiple channels may be combined into a single wideband optical signal.", "The process of communicating information at multiple channels is referred to in optics as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).", "Coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) refers to the multiplexing of wavelengths that are widely spaced having low number of channels, usually greater than 20 nm and less than sixteen wavelengths, and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) refers to the multiplexing of wavelengths that are closely spaced having large number of channels, usually less than 0.8 nm spacing and greater than forty wavelengths, into a fiber.", "WDM or other multi-wavelength multiplexing transmission techniques are employed in optical networks to increase the aggregate bandwidth per optical fiber.", "Without WDM, the bandwidth in optical networks may be limited to the bit-rate of solely one wavelength.", "With more bandwidth, optical networks are capable of transmitting greater amounts of information.", "Optical network 101 may transmit disparate channels using WDM or some other suitable multi-channel multiplexing technique, and to amplify the multi-channel signal.", "Optical network 101 may include one or more optical transmitters (Tx) 102 to transmit optical signals through optical network 101 in specific wavelengths or channels.", "Transmitters 102 may comprise a system, apparatus or device to convert an electrical signal into an optical signal and transmit the optical signal.", "For example, transmitters 102 may each comprise a laser and a modulator to receive electrical signals and modulate the information contained in the electrical signals onto a beam of light produced by the laser at a particular wavelength, and transmit the beam for carrying the signal throughout optical network 101.Multiplexer 104 may be coupled to transmitters 102 and may be a system, apparatus or device to combine the signals transmitted by transmitters 102, e.g., at respective individual wavelengths, into a WDM signal.", "Optical amplifiers 108 may amplify the multi-channeled signals within optical network 101.Optical amplifiers 108 may be positioned before or after certain lengths of fiber 106.Optical amplifiers 108 may comprise a system, apparatus, or device to amplify optical signals.", "For example, optical amplifiers 108 may comprise an optical repeater that amplifies the optical signal.", "This amplification may be performed with opto-electrical or electro-optical conversion.", "In some embodiments, optical amplifiers 108 may comprise an optical fiber doped with a rare-earth element to form a doped fiber amplification element.", "When a signal passes through the fiber, external energy may be applied in the form of an optical pump (or simply ‘pump’) to excite the atoms of the doped portion of the optical fiber, which increases the intensity of the optical signal.", "As an example, optical amplifiers 108 may comprise an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA).", "OADMs 110 may be coupled to optical network 101 via fibers 106.OADMs 110 comprise an add/drop module, which may include a system, apparatus or device to add or drop optical signals (i.e., at individual wavelengths) from fibers 106.After passing through an OADM 110, an optical signal may travel along fibers 106 directly to a destination, or the signal may be passed through one or more additional OADMs 110 and optical amplifiers 108 before reaching a destination.", "In certain embodiments of optical network 101, OADM 110 may represent a reconfigurable OADM (ROADM) that is capable of adding or dropping individual or multiple wavelengths of a WDM signal.", "The individual or multiple wavelengths may be added or dropped in the optical domain, for example, using a wavelength selective switch (WSS) (not shown) that may be included in a ROADM.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, optical network 101 may also include one or more demultiplexers 105 at one or more destinations of network 101.Demultiplexer 105 may comprise a system apparatus or device that acts as a demultiplexer by splitting a single composite WDM signal into individual channels at respective wavelengths.", "For example, optical network 101 may transmit and carry a forty (40) channel DWDM signal.", "Demultiplexer 105 may divide the single, forty channel DWDM signal into forty separate signals according to the forty different channels.", "In FIG.", "1, optical network 101 may also include receivers 112 coupled to demultiplexer 105.Each receiver 112 may receive optical signals transmitted at a particular wavelength or channel, and may process the optical signals to obtain (e.g., demodulate) the information (i.e., data) that the optical signals contain.", "Accordingly, network 101 may include at least one receiver 112 for every channel of the network.", "Optical networks, such as optical network 101 in FIG.", "1, may employ modulation techniques to convey information in the optical signals over the optical fibers.", "Such modulation schemes may include phase-shift keying (PSK), frequency-shift keying (FSK), amplitude-shift keying (ASK), and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), among other examples of modulation techniques.", "In PSK, the information carried by the optical signal may be conveyed by modulating the phase of a reference signal, also known as a carrier wave, or simply, a carrier.", "The information may be conveyed by modulating the phase of the signal itself using two-level or binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), four-level or quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), multi-level phase-shift keying (M-PSK) and differential phase-shift keying (DPSK).", "In QAM, the information carried by the optical signal may be conveyed by modulating both the amplitude and phase of the carrier wave.", "PSK may be considered a subset of QAM, wherein the amplitude of the carrier waves is maintained as a constant.", "Additionally, polarization division multiplexing (PDM) technology may enable achieving a greater bit rate for information transmission.", "PDM transmission comprises modulating information onto various polarization components of an optical signal associated with a channel.", "The polarization of an optical signal may refer to the direction of the oscillations of the optical signal.", "The term “polarization” may generally refer to the path traced out by the tip of the electric field vector at a point in space, which is perpendicular to the propagation direction of the optical signal.", "In an optical network, such as optical network 101 in FIG.", "1, it is typical to refer to a management plane, a control plane, and a transport plane (sometimes called the physical layer).", "A central management host (not shown) may reside in the management plane and may configure and supervise the components of the control plane.", "The management plane includes ultimate control over all transport plane and control plane entities (e.g., network elements).", "As an example, the management plane may consist of a central processing center (e.g., the central management host), including one or more processing resources, data storage components, etc.", "The management plane may be in electrical communication with the elements of the control plane and may also be in electrical communication with one or more network elements of the transport plane.", "The management plane may perform management functions for an overall system and provide coordination between network elements, the control plane, and the transport plane.", "As examples, the management plane may include an element management system (EMS) which handles one or more network elements from the perspective of the elements, a network management system (NMS) which handles many devices from the perspective of the network, and an operational support system (OSS) which handles network-wide operations.", "Modifications, additions or omissions may be made to optical network 101 without departing from the scope of the disclosure.", "For example, optical network 101 may include more or fewer elements than those depicted in FIG.", "1.Also, as mentioned above, although depicted as a point-to-point network, optical network 101 may comprise any suitable network topology for transmitting optical signals such as a ring, a mesh, or a hierarchical network topology.", "As discussed above, optical amplifiers 108 are used to increase optical power of optical signals in an optical network.", "In particular, a Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW), which has second order nonlinearity, may be used for parametric amplification of an optical signal.", "An optical pump (also referred to simply as ‘pump’ herein) for parametric amplification may be generated within the BRW by inducing lasing at a pump frequency using current injection.", "However, when phase sensitive amplification (PSA) by a parametric process is desired, typically an external seed laser is used that is phase locked to the carrier phase of the optical signal.", "As will be described in further detail, methods and systems are disclosed herein for a phase-sensitive optical amplifier (PSA) that enables generation of a seed for an optical pump, as well as parametric amplification, using a BRW.", "The lasing optical frequency of a BRW can be controlled using various methods.", "For example, non-stoichiometric aluminum gallium arsenide AlxGa1-xAs has been used for Bragg reflector layers in a BRW.", "By applying band gap engineering, the stoichiometric value for x may be used to design a particular laser frequency in a BRW.", "In this manner, a BRW having a gain peak near a second harmonic of a carrier frequency of an optical signal may be engineered, such that a pump frequency is very close to the second harmonic frequency, which is double the carrier frequency (or a second harmonic wavelength at half the carrier wavelength).", "Thus, the pump frequency will become locked to the second harmonic frequency.", "Then, the amplitude of the pump at the pump frequency will grow due to current injection and stimulated emission.", "Further aspects of BRW design, such as a desired longitudinal mode may be used to achieve a particular laser frequency.", "Additionally, injection current may be applied to tune the laser frequency as well as a phase matching condition in the BRW.", "Accordingly, the lasing frequency of an optical pump generated using a BRW may be engineered and controlled to be close to a second harmonic of the optical signal to be amplified by phase-sensitive amplification.", "When the optical signal has a carrier tone, such as an unmodulated carrier wave or modulated with data using on-off-keying, then the second harmonic of the carrier tone will serve as a seed for injection locking of the pump within the BRW.", "A ‘seed’ for injection locking refers to a photon donated for injection locking and the seed can result in stimulated emission at the same optical frequency.", "Even when the second harmonic generation (SHG) is inefficient and produces a very weak seed in terms of optical power, the seed can serve for injection locking nonetheless.", "Once injection locking begins, the optical pump and the optical signal will be inherently phase locked to each other within the BRW.", "The optical pump will then begin to perform phase-sensitive amplification of the optical signal within the BRW.", "When the optical signal does not have a carrier tone, such as with BPSK or DPSK modulation, the SHG process within the BRW will remove the modulated data and the SHG will be a very monochromatic carrier tone which can serve for injection locking of the optical pump within the BRW.", "When the optical signal is modulated using QPSK or DQPSK, a residual carrier may be generated in the optical signal by controlling the amplitude and bias of a QPSK or DQPSK modulator at the transmitter.", "As a result, the SHG will also have a residual carrier tone for injection locking of the optical pump within the BRW.", "Alternatively, a non-uniform modulation scheme may be used to generate the residual carrier, which may not appear with solely QPSK modulation.", "In one exemplary embodiment, QPSK can be used such that 90% of symbols have 0 or 180 degree phase modulation and 10% of symbols have 90 or 270 degree phase modulation, which may generate the residual carrier.", "It will be understood that other non-uniform modulation schemes may be used with QPSK or DQPSK modulation.", "In another exemplary embodiment, a certain number of the symbols in the optical signal may be modulated using BPSK, such as 90% QPSK and 10% BPSK, which will also create the residual carrier tone in the SHG of the optical signal.", "Once generated, the residual carrier tone will promote injection locking of the pump within the BRW.", "Referring now to FIG.", "2, selected elements of an example embodiment of a BRW amplifier 200 to provide optical phase-sensitive amplification for an optical signal 210 having a carrier tone are depicted.", "As shown, BRW amplifier includes BRW 202, which may represent selected elements of an embodiment of amplifier 108 (see FIG.", "1).", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic illustration and is not drawn to scale.", "In FIG.", "2, BRW 202 is shown in a side view as 202-1 and a facet view as 202-2.Within BRW 202, Bragg reflectors 204 are shown as various material layers, which may be engineered for different applications and lasing frequencies, as described above.", "Additionally, electrodes 206 are applied to a top and bottom surface of BRW 202 to enable current injection, shown as electrodes 206-1 and 206-2.Furthermore, front facet 214-1 and rear facet 214-2 are coated with a partial reflective layer that may be transmissive for optical signal 210, but yet reflective for pump 208, such that pump 208 is internally reflected within BRW 202.In facet view 202-2 of BRW 202, ridge waveguide 220 and optical channel 222 where light passes through and is subject to non-linear interactions are shown.", "In operation of BRW 202 with optical signal 210 having a carrier tone, as optical signal 210 is introduced, some photons in optical signal 210 are converted to photons of pump 208 by SHG and serve as a seed for injection locking.", "Then, the intensity (optical power) of injection locked pump 208 increases by current injection and stimulated emission.", "As the intensity of pump 208 increases, photons of pump 208 result in parametric amplification of optical signal 211 within BRW, and result in amplified optical signal 212 being output by BRW 212.Also shown in FIG.", "2 are spectra 230 and 232.Spectra 230 shows how optical signal 210 results in seeding of pump 208 by SHG.", "Spectra 232 shows parametric amplification of amplified output signal 212 by pump 208.Referring now to FIG.", "3, selected elements of an example embodiment of a BRW amplifier 300 to provide optical phase-sensitive amplification for an optical signal 310 being modulated with DPSK or BPSK.", "As shown, BRW amplifier 300 includes two BRWs 302-1 and 302-2, and may represent selected elements of an embodiment of amplifier 108 (see FIG.", "1).", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic illustration and is not drawn to scale.", "BRW amplifier 300 may include a first stage for generation of a combined signal 320, and a second stage for generation of amplified optical signal 312.In BRW amplifier 300, optical signal 310 is split at beam splitter 301.A first portion of optical signal 310 is directed to BRW 302-1, where pump 208 is generated using injection locking, as described above.", "At bandpass filter (BPF) 308-1, the optical signal 310 may be filtered out to generate optical pump 322, which comprises pump 208 isolated from other light frequencies.", "Meanwhile, a second portion of optical signal 310 is directed to phase delay 306, which applies a variable phase delay under control of feedback phase-power control 318, as described below, to output phase-locked optical signal 324, since the optical power of amplified optical signal 312 depends on the phase relation between optical pump 322 and optical signal 310 in the optical parametric amplification performed by BRW amplifier 300.Then, phase-locked optical signal 324 is combined with optical pump 322 at optical coupler 304 to generate a combined signal 320, of which phase-locked optical signal 324 is phase locked to optical pump 322.Then, combined signal 320 is directed to a second BRW 302-2.At BRW 302-2 parametric amplification of phase-locked optical signal 324 in combined signal 320 occurs, and so, the optical power of optical signal 310 is increased to generate amplified optical signal 312, after filtering at BPF 308-2 to remove optical pump 322.At optical tap 314, a portion of amplified optical signal 312 may be captured and sent to photodetector 316, which may be a photodiode.", "Photodetector 316 may output an electrical signal that is indicative of the optical power of amplified optical signal 312 to feedback phase-power control 318, which may then regulate the output power, for example to a maximum output power, by sending a control signal to phase delay 306 to adjust the phase of optical signal 310 accordingly.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4, selected elements of an example embodiment of a BRW amplifier 400 to provide optical phase-sensitive amplification for an optical signal 410 being modulated with QPSK-based modulation, such as non-uniform QPSK or non-uniform DQPSK discussed previously.", "As shown, BRW amplifier 400 includes three BRWs 302-1, 302-2 and 302-3, and may represent selected elements of an embodiment of amplifier 108 (see FIG.", "1).", "FIG.", "4 is a schematic illustration and is not drawn to scale.", "BRW amplifier 400 may include a first stage for generation of an in-phase combined signal 420-1 and a quadrature-phase combined signal 420-2, and a second stage for generation of amplified optical signal 412.In the first stage of BRW amplifier 400, optical signal 410 is split at beam splitter 401-1.A first portion of optical signal 410 is directed to BRW 302-1, where pump 208 is generated using injection locking, as described above.", "At bandpass filter (BPF) 308-1, the optical signal 410 may be filtered out to generate optical pump 418, which includes pump 208 isolated from other light frequencies.", "Meanwhile, a second portion of optical signal 410 is directed to phase delay 306, which applies a variable phase delay under control of feedback phase-power control 318, as described above in FIG.", "2, to generate phase-locked optical signal 419.Optical pump 418 is then split by beam splitter 401-2, while phase-locked optical signal 419 is split by beam splitter 401-3.At optical coupler 404-1, optical pump 418 is combined with phase-locked optical signal 419 to generate in-phase combined signal 420-1.At optical coupler 404-2, optical pump 418 is combined with phase-locked optical signal 419 that is subject to phase shift 406 (π/2) to generate quadrature-phase combined signal 420-2.In the second stage of BRW amplifier 400, in-phase combined signal 420-1 is directed to BRW 302-2 and BPF 308-2 to generate an in-phase portion of optical signal 410 having increased optical power, while quadrature-phase combined signal 420-2 is directed to BRW 302-3 and BPF 308-3 to generate a quadrature-phase portion of optical signal 410 having increased optical power.", "At optical coupler 404-3, the in-phase and quadrature-phase portions are combined to generate amplified optical signal 412.At optical tap 314, a portion of amplified optical signal 412 may be captured and sent to photodetector 316, which may be a photodiode.", "Photodetector 316 may output an electrical signal that is indicative of the optical power of amplified optical signal 412 to feedback phase-power control 318, which may then regulate the output power, for example to a maximum output power, by sending a control signal to phase delay 306 to adjust the phase of optical signal 410 to provide phase-locked optical signal 419.Referring now to FIG.", "5, a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of method 500 for BRW phase-sensitive amplification, as described herein, is depicted in flowchart form.", "Method 500 may be performed using BRW amplifier 200 in FIG.", "2.It is noted that certain operations described in method 500 may be optional or may be rearranged in different embodiments.", "Method 500 may begin, at step 502, by receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal including a carrier frequency and having a first optical power.", "At step 504, the optical signal is transmitted through a BRW while an electrical current is injected into the BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the BRW, such that an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from SHG from the optical signal, a second optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injection and stimulated emission, where the optical pump and the optical signal are phase locked to each other within the BRW, and the first optical power of the optical signal is increased by optical parametric amplification.", "At step 506, the optical signal having the first optical power increased is output from the BRW.", "Referring now to FIG.", "6, a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of method 600 for BRW phase-sensitive amplification, as described herein, is depicted in flowchart form.", "Method 600 may be performed using BRW amplifier 300 in FIG.", "3.It is noted that certain operations described in method 600 may be optional or may be rearranged in different embodiments.", "Method 600 may begin at step 602 by receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using BPSK or DPSK.", "At step 604, the optical signal is transmitted through a first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW, such that an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from SHG from the optical signal, where the optical pump does not include the data modulated, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injection and stimulated emission.", "At step 606, the optical pump is isolated using a first bandpass filter.", "At step 608, the optical pump is combined with the optical signal, after a phase adjustment is applied to the optical signal, to create a combined signal, the optical signal having a second optical power in the combined signal.", "At step 610, the combined signal is transmitted through a second BRW, while the second optical power of the optical signal is increased.", "At step 612, the optical signal having the second optical power increased is isolated using a second bandpass filter.", "At step 614, the second optical power generated by the second bandpass filter is measured.", "At step 616, the second optical power is used to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the second optical power.", "Referring now to FIGS.", "7A and 7B, a block diagram of selected elements of an embodiment of methods 700 and 701 for BRW phase-sensitive amplification, as described herein, is depicted in flowchart form.", "Methods 700, 701 may be performed using BRW amplifier 400 in FIG.", "4.It is noted that certain operations described in methods 700, 701 may be optional or may be rearranged in different embodiments.", "In FIG.", "7A, method 700 may begin at step 702 by receiving an optical signal for amplification, the optical signal being modulated with data using non-uniform QPSK or non-uniform DQPSK.", "In particular embodiments, the non-uniform QPSK may use 90% QPSK and 10% BPSK.", "At step 704, the optical signal is transmitted through a first BRW while an electrical current is injected into the first BRW to enable optical gain of a pump frequency within the first BRW such that an optical pump at the pump frequency is injection locked by seed from SHG from the optical signal, and a first optical power of the optical pump is increased by the electrical current injection and stimulated emission.", "At step 706, the optical pump may be isolated using a first bandpass filter.", "At step 708, a phase adjustment is applied to the optical signal, the optical signal having a second optical power.", "At step 710, the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter is combined with the optical signal, after phase adjustment to create an in-phase combined signal.", "At step 712, the in-phase combined signal is transmitted through a second BRW to increase an in-phase portion of the second optical power.", "At step 714, the optical pump output by the first bandpass filter is combined with the optical signal, after phase adjustment and a phase shift, to create a quadrature-phase combined signal.", "At step 716, the quadrature-phase combined signal is transmitted through a third BRW to increase a quadrature-phase portion of the second optical power.", "After step 716, method 700 may proceed with method 701 in FIG.", "7B.", "In FIG.", "7B, method 701 may begin at step 718 by isolating an in-phase amplified signal generated by the second BRW using a second bandpass filter.", "At step 720, a quadrature-phase amplified signal generated by the third BRW is isolated using a third bandpass filter.", "At step 722, the in-phase amplified signal and the quadrature phase amplified signal are combined to generate an amplified optical signal having a third optical power.", "At step 724, the third optical power is used to perform feedback control of the phase adjustment to maximize the third optical power.", "As disclosed herein, methods and systems enable amplifying optical signals using a Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) having second order optical nonlinearity to generate an optical pump by injection locking.", "The BRW may also be used for parametric amplification of optical signals using the optical pump.", "Feedback phase-power control may be performed to maximize output power.", "The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description." ] ]
Patent_15875050
[ [ "MULTIPLE-LAYER SPACERS FOR FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTORS", "Structures for spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor and methods for forming spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor.", "A first spacer is located adjacent to a vertical sidewall of a gate electrode, a second spacer located between the first spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode, and a third spacer located between the second spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode.", "The first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the second spacer.", "The first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the third spacer.", "The third spacer has a lower dielectric constant than the second spacer." ], [ "1.A method comprising: forming a first spacer comprised of silicon oxycarbonitride adjacent to a vertical sidewall of a gate electrode by a first atomic layer deposition process, the first atomic layer deposition process including: adsorbing silicon on a surface of the gate electrode; adsorbing oxygen on the surface of the gate electrode; and after the oxygen is adsorbed on the surface of the gate electrode, adsorbing carbon and nitrogen on the surface of the gate electrode.", "2.The method of claim 1 wherein the silicon is adsorbed on the surface of the gate electrode before the oxygen is adsorbed on the surface of the gate electrode.", "3.The method of claim 1 wherein the atomic layer deposition process is repeated to form the first spacer with a thickness.", "4.The method of claim 1 further comprising: forming a second spacer comprised of silicon oxycarbonitride adjacent to the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode by a second atomic layer deposition process performed with different processing conditions than the first atomic layer deposition process.", "5.The method of claim 4 wherein the first spacer has a lower atomic percentage of oxygen than the first spacer.", "6.The method of claim 5 wherein the second spacer has a lower atomic percentage of carbon than the first spacer.", "7.The method of claim 4 wherein the second spacer has a lower carbon content than the first spacer.", "8.The method of claim 4 wherein the first spacer is formed on the surface of the gate electrode before the second spacer is formed on the surface of the gate electrode.", "9.The method of claim 4 wherein the first spacer and the second spacer are formed on the surface of the gate electrode in situ in a single deposition tool.", "10.The method of claim 4 further comprising: forming a third spacer comprised of silicon oxycarbonitride adjacent to the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode by a third atomic layer deposition process performed with different processing conditions than the first atomic layer deposition process and different processing conditions than the second atomic layer deposition process.", "11.The method of claim 10 wherein the first spacer has a lower atomic percentage of oxygen than the second spacer, and the first spacer has a lower atomic percentage of oxygen than the third spacer.", "12.The method of claim 11 wherein the second spacer is arranged between the first spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode; and the third spacer is arranged between the second spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode.", "13.The method of claim 10 wherein the first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the second spacer, the first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the third spacer, and the third spacer has a lower dielectric constant than the second spacer.", "14.The method of claim 1 wherein the carbon and nitrogen are simultaneously adsorbed on the surface of the gate electrode." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present invention relates to semiconductor device fabrication and integrated circuits and, more specifically, to structures for spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistors and methods for forming spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor.", "Device structures for a field-effect transistor include a source, a drain, a channel situated between the source and drain, and a gate structure including a gate electrode and a gate dielectric separating the gate electrode from the channel.", "A gate voltage applied to the gate electrode is used to provide switching that selectively connects the source and drain to each another through the channel.", "The channel of a planar field-effect transistor is located beneath the top surface of the substrate on which the gate structure is supported.", "A fin-type field-effect transistor (FinFET) is a type of field-effect transistor that is capable of being more densely packed in an integrated circuit than planar field-effect transistors.", "A FinFET may include a semiconductor fin, an gate electrode that overlaps a channel in the semiconductor fin, and heavily-doped source/drain regions formed in sections of the semiconductor fin peripheral to the gate structure.", "The channel of a FinFET is effectively elevated above the top surface of the substrate so that the gate structure can wrap about multiple sides of the channel.", "The wrapped-arrangement between the gate electrode and fin improves control of the channel and reduces the leakage current when the FinFET is in its ‘off’ state.", "This, in turn, enables the use of lower threshold voltages and results in better performance and power.", "Spacers may be formed adjacent to the sidewalls of the gate electrode with properties intended to boost device performance.", "A bi-layer spacer that includes an inner spacer proximate to the sidewalls and an outer spacer separated from the sidewalls by the inner spacer.", "The inner spacer may be selected to have a lower dielectric constant than the outer spacer, which tends to boost circuit speed but also tends to reduce its robustness.", "The outer spacer may be selected to resist processes that can cause spacer erosion and to thereby protect the inner spacer against erosion.", "For example, the etch rate of the outer spacer may be several times lower than the etch rate of the inner spacer when exposed to, for example, dilute hydrofluoric acid.", "If the protection afforded by the outer spacer fails, the inner spacer can erode and lead to the formation of avoid that links the gate electrode and the source/drain region normally separated from the gate electrode by the bi-layer spacer.", "Improved structures for spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor and methods for forming spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor are needed." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>In an embodiment of the invention, a structure includes a gate electrode having a vertical sidewall, a first spacer adjacent to the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode, a second spacer located between the first spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode, and a third spacer located between the second spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode.", "The first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the second spacer.", "The first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the third spacer.", "The third spacer has a lower dielectric constant than the second spacer.", "In an embodiment of the invention, a method includes forming a first spacer comprised of silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN) on a gate electrode by an atomic layer deposition process.", "The atomic layer deposition process includes adsorbing silicon on a surface of the gate electrode, adsorbing oxygen on the surface of the gate electrode, and, adsorbing carbon and nitrogen on the surface of the gate electrode after the oxygen is adsorbed on the surface of the gate electrode." ], [ "BACKGROUND The present invention relates to semiconductor device fabrication and integrated circuits and, more specifically, to structures for spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistors and methods for forming spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor.", "Device structures for a field-effect transistor include a source, a drain, a channel situated between the source and drain, and a gate structure including a gate electrode and a gate dielectric separating the gate electrode from the channel.", "A gate voltage applied to the gate electrode is used to provide switching that selectively connects the source and drain to each another through the channel.", "The channel of a planar field-effect transistor is located beneath the top surface of the substrate on which the gate structure is supported.", "A fin-type field-effect transistor (FinFET) is a type of field-effect transistor that is capable of being more densely packed in an integrated circuit than planar field-effect transistors.", "A FinFET may include a semiconductor fin, an gate electrode that overlaps a channel in the semiconductor fin, and heavily-doped source/drain regions formed in sections of the semiconductor fin peripheral to the gate structure.", "The channel of a FinFET is effectively elevated above the top surface of the substrate so that the gate structure can wrap about multiple sides of the channel.", "The wrapped-arrangement between the gate electrode and fin improves control of the channel and reduces the leakage current when the FinFET is in its ‘off’ state.", "This, in turn, enables the use of lower threshold voltages and results in better performance and power.", "Spacers may be formed adjacent to the sidewalls of the gate electrode with properties intended to boost device performance.", "A bi-layer spacer that includes an inner spacer proximate to the sidewalls and an outer spacer separated from the sidewalls by the inner spacer.", "The inner spacer may be selected to have a lower dielectric constant than the outer spacer, which tends to boost circuit speed but also tends to reduce its robustness.", "The outer spacer may be selected to resist processes that can cause spacer erosion and to thereby protect the inner spacer against erosion.", "For example, the etch rate of the outer spacer may be several times lower than the etch rate of the inner spacer when exposed to, for example, dilute hydrofluoric acid.", "If the protection afforded by the outer spacer fails, the inner spacer can erode and lead to the formation of avoid that links the gate electrode and the source/drain region normally separated from the gate electrode by the bi-layer spacer.", "Improved structures for spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor and methods for forming spacers in a device structure for a field-effect transistor are needed.", "SUMMARY In an embodiment of the invention, a structure includes a gate electrode having a vertical sidewall, a first spacer adjacent to the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode, a second spacer located between the first spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode, and a third spacer located between the second spacer and the vertical sidewall of the gate electrode.", "The first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the second spacer.", "The first spacer has a higher dielectric constant than the third spacer.", "The third spacer has a lower dielectric constant than the second spacer.", "In an embodiment of the invention, a method includes forming a first spacer comprised of silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN) on a gate electrode by an atomic layer deposition process.", "The atomic layer deposition process includes adsorbing silicon on a surface of the gate electrode, adsorbing oxygen on the surface of the gate electrode, and, adsorbing carbon and nitrogen on the surface of the gate electrode after the oxygen is adsorbed on the surface of the gate electrode.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the embodiments of the invention.", "FIG.", "1 is a cross-sectional view of a device structure at an initial stage of a processing method in accordance with embodiments of the invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional view of the device structure of FIG.", "1 at a subsequent stage of the processing method.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference to FIG.", "1 and in accordance with embodiments of the invention, a fin 10 is formed on a substrate 12.The fin 10 may be formed from the semiconductor material of the substrate 12 by photolithography and etching processes, such as a sidewall imaging transfer (SIT) process that promotes dense packing.", "The substrate 12 may be a bulk substrate or a device layer of a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate.", "The fin 10 may be used to fabricate a fin-type field-effect transistor (FinFET).", "A gate electrode 14 projects vertically from a plane at the top surface of the fin 10 and overlaps with the fin 10.The gate electrode 14 overlaps a central region of the fin 10 and a gate dielectric 17 is disposed between the gate electrode 14 and the fin 10.The gate electrode 14 may be a dummy gate electrode composed of a semiconductor material, such as polysilicon deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the gate dielectric 17 may be composed of a dielectric material, such as silicon dioxide (SiO2), deposited by CVD.", "Alternatively, the gate electrode 14 may be a functional gate electrode composed of a metal, such as aluminum or tungsten, deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD) or CVD, and may further include a work function metal layer for adjusting the threshold voltage.", "The gate dielectric 17 of the functional gate structure may be comprised of an electrically-insulating material, such as a high-k dielectric material such as hafnium oxide or hafnium oxynitride, silicon dioxide, silicon oxynitride, or layered combinations of these dielectric materials, deposited by CVD or ALD.", "In a replacement metal gate process, a dummy gate electrode may be removed and replaced by a functional gate electrode and gate dielectric following spacer formation as subsequently described.", "In an alternative embodiment, the gate electrode 14 and the substrate 12 may be processed to form a planar field-effect transistor instead of a FinFET.", "The gate electrode 14 of the planar field-effect transistor may be formed on and project from the top surface of the substrate 12, which will coincide in location with the top surface 11 in FIG.", "1, instead of in conjunction with the fin 10.The gate electrode 14 is separated from the top surface of the substrate 12 by the gate dielectric 17.Conformal layers 16, 18, 20 are serially deposited that cover the vertical sidewalls 15 and top surface of the gate electrode 14 and the top surface 11 of the fin 10.The conformal layers 16, 18, 20 may be formed by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process in which the deposition of each atomic layer of spacer material, or a fraction thereof, is controlled by alternating and sequential introduction of appropriate gas phase reactants that react in a self-limiting manner to incrementally form or build the conformal layers 16, 18, 20.The conformal layers 16, 18, 20 conform to the non-planar topography arising from the gate electrode 14 and the deposited films have a thickness that is constant regardless of the feature geometry of the underlying gate electrode 14 and fin 10.The inner conformal layer 16 is deposited before the center conformal layer 18 and the outer conformal layer 20, and the central conformal layer 18 is deposited before the outer conformal layer 20.Each of the conformal layers 16, 18, 20 may be composed of a thin film of silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN) in which the composition is engineered (i.e., tailored) to provide a specific value for the material dielectric constant (i.e., permittivity or k).", "With reference to FIG.", "2 in which like reference numerals refer to like features in FIG.", "1 and at a subsequent fabrication stage, the conformal layers 16, 18, 20 may be shaped with an anisotropic etching process, such as reactive ion etching (RIE), that preferentially removes the dielectric material from horizontal surfaces, such as the top surface 11 of the fin 10 and the top surface of the gate electrode 14.The etch chemistry for the etching process removes the conformal layers 16, 18, 20 selective to the materials constituting the fin 10 and gate electrode 14.As used herein, the term “selective” in reference to a material removal process (e.g., etching) denotes that, with an appropriate etchant choice, the material removal rate (i.e., etch rate) for the targeted material is greater than the removal rate for at least another material exposed to the material removal process.", "The sections of the conformal layers 16, 18, 20 remaining on the vertical sidewalls of the gate electrode 14 respectively define spacers 22, 24, 26.With continued reference to FIGS.", "1 and 2, the conformal layers 16, 18, 20 from which the spacers 22, 24, 26 are formed may be deposited by ALD using different deposition process conditions in order to provide targeted properties, such as dielectric constant, thickness, and etch resistance.", "In an embodiment, the center spacer 24 formed from conformal layer 18 may have a larger thickness than either the inner spacer 22 formed from conformal layer 16 or the outer spacer 26 formed from conformal layer 20.The conformal layer 16 used to form the inner spacer 22 may be formed by ALD using a multiple-step sequence in which the gas phase reactants are cyclically introduced in a specific order and with specific deposition conditions.", "The ALD deposition is performed in a reaction chamber that is coupled with gas sources providing the gas phase reactants, a purge gas source of an inert gas (e.g., Argon (Ar) or Nitrogen (N2)), and a vacuum source.", "Prior to initiating the cyclic deposition process, the reaction chamber may be initially evacuated and/or purged, and the substrate 12 may be heated to a given process temperature, such as a temperature in a range of 550° C. to 680° C. In an initial step of the cyclic process, the gas phase reactant introduced into the ALD reaction chamber is a silicon-containing precursor, such as the inorganic compound hexachlorodisilane (Si2Cl6).", "The silicon-containing precursor is flowed for a given flow time and at a given flow rate, and permitted to adsorb on the exterior surface of the gate electrode 14.In embodiments, the flow rate may 100 sccm to 500 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 100 mTorr to 500 mTorr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 30 seconds.", "The amount of silicon that adsorbs on the exterior surface of the gate electrode 14 is dependent, among other deposition conditions, upon the flow rate and flow time as parameters.", "The adsorbed layer may range in thickness from about 0.1 nm to about 0.3 nm.", "The reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the silicon-containing precursor from the reaction chamber in anticipation of the next step of the cyclic process.", "In a subsequent step of the cyclic process, the gas phase reactant that is introduced into the ALD reaction chamber is a precursor containing nitrogen (N) and carbon (C).", "The nitrogen- and carbon-containing precursor is flowed for a given flow time and at a given flow rate, and permitted to adsorb on the exterior surface of the gate electrode 14 and combine with the adsorbed silicon and oxygen.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 300 sccm to 800 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 100 mTorr to 500 mTorr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 30 seconds.", "The amount of carbon and nitrogen that adsorbs on the exterior surface of the gate electrode 14 is dependent, among other deposition conditions, upon the flow rate and flow time as parameters.", "The adsorbed layer may range in thickness from about 0.1 nm to about 0.3 nm.", "The reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the nitrogen- and carbon-containing precursor from the reaction chamber.", "In a subsequent step of the cyclic process, the gas phase reactant that is introduced into the ALD reaction chamber is an oxygen-containing precursor, such as oxygen (O2).", "The oxygen-containing precursor is flowed for a given flow time and at a given flow rate, and permitted to adsorb on the exterior surface of the gate electrode 14 and combine with the adsorbed silicon.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 3.0 slm to 6.0 slm, the chamber pressure may be 1 Torr to 10 Torr, and the flow time may be 8 seconds to 40 seconds.", "The amount of oxygen that adsorbs on the exterior surface of the gate electrode 14 is dependent, among other deposition conditions, upon the flow rate and flow time as parameters.", "The adsorbed layer may range in thickness from about 0.1 nm to about 0.3 nm.", "The reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the oxygen-containing precursor from the reaction chamber.", "The cyclic process of sequentially introducing the different precursors is repeated to increase of the thickness of the conformal layer and to eventually deposit the conformal layer 16 with a given final thickness.", "For example, the final thickness of the conformal layer 16 (and spacer 22) may range from 0.5 nm to 5 nm.", "In embodiments, the SiOCN material comprising the conformal layer 16 may have a silicon content of 30 atomic percent to 35 atomic percent, an oxygen content of 38 atomic percent to 62 atomic percent, a carbon content of 1 atomic percent to 18 atomic percent, and a nitrogen content of 10 atomic percent to 16 atomic percent.", "After the conformal layer 16 is formed, the conformal layer 18 used to form the center spacer 24 may be formed using a multiple-step sequence in which the gas phase reactants are cyclically introduced in a specific order and with specific deposition conditions.", "Prior to initiating the cyclic deposition process, the reaction chamber may be initially evacuated and/or purged, and the substrate 12 may be heated to a given temperature, such as a temperature in a range of 550° C. to 680° C. In an initial step of the cyclic process, the gas phase reactant introduced into the ALD reaction chamber is the silicon-containing precursor, such as the inorganic compound hexachlorodisilane (Si2Cl6).", "The silicon-containing precursor is flowed for a given flow time and at a given flow rate, and permitted to adsorb on the exterior surface of the conformal layer 16 on the gate electrode 14.In embodiments, the flow rate may be 100 sccm to 400 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 100 mTorr to 1000 mTorr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 30 seconds.", "The amount of silicon that adsorbs on the exterior surface of the conformal layer 16 on the gate electrode 14 is dependent, among other deposition conditions, upon the flow rate and flow time as parameters.", "The adsorbed layer may range in thickness from about 0.1 nm to about 0.3 nm.", "The reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the silicon-containing precursor from the reaction chamber in anticipation of the next step of the cyclic process.", "In a subsequent step of the cyclic process, the gas phase reactant that is introduced into the ALD reaction chamber is an oxygen-containing precursor, such as oxygen (O2).", "The oxygen-containing precursor is flowed for a given flow time and at a given flow rate, and permitted to adsorb on the exterior surface of the conformal layer 16 on the gate electrode 14 and combine with the adsorbed silicon.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 3000 sccm to 6000 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 1 Torr to 10 Torr, and the flow time may be 5 seconds to 40 seconds.", "The amount of adsorbed oxygen is dependent, among other deposition conditions, upon the flow rate and flow time as parameters.", "The adsorbed layer may range in thickness from about 0.1 nm to about 0.3 nm.", "The reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the oxygen-containing precursor from the reaction chamber.", "In a subsequent step of the cyclic process, the gas phase reactant that is introduced into the ALD reaction chamber is a precursor containing nitrogen (N) and carbon (C).", "The nitrogen- and carbon-containing precursor is flowed for a given flow time and at a given flow rate, and permitted to adsorb on the exterior surface of the conformal layer 16 on the gate electrode 14 and combine with the adsorbed silicon and oxygen.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 300 sccm to 800 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 100 mTorr to 2000 mTorr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 40 seconds.", "The amount of adsorbed carbon and nitrogen is dependent, among other deposition conditions, upon the flow rate and flow time as parameters.", "The adsorbed layer may range in thickness from about 0.1 nm to about 0.3 nm.", "The reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the nitrogen- and carbon-containing precursor from the reaction chamber.", "The cyclic process of sequentially introducing the different precursors is repeated to increase of the thickness of the conformal layer and to eventually deposit the conformal layer 18 with a given final thickness.", "For example, the final thickness of the conformal layer 18 (and spacer 24) may range from 7 nm to 12 nm.", "In embodiments, the SiOCN material comprising the conformal layer 18 may have a silicon content of 31 atomic percent to 34 atomic percent, an oxygen content of 44 atomic percent to 50 atomic percent, a carbon content of 1 atomic percent to 8 atomic percent, and a nitrogen content of 10 atomic percent to 14 atomic percent.", "The carbon content of the conformal layer 18 and spacer 24 may be increased in comparison with the carbon content of the conventional conformal layer and spacer, while the dielectric constant of the conformal layer 18 and spacer 24 may be comparable to or less than the dielectric constant of the conventional conformal layer and spacer.", "The dielectric constant of conformal layer 18 and spacer 24 is less than the dielectric constant of conformal layer 16 and spacer 22.However, the conformal layer 16 has an lower etch rate than conformal layer 18 when exposed to an etchant, such as a solution containing hydrofluoric acid or ammonia, or during a chemical oxide removal process.", "Flowing the oxygen-containing precursor into the ALD reaction chamber before the nitrogen- and carbon-containing precursor and with control over the deposition conditions may be used to promote the generation of oxygen-to-silicon bonds with preference to the formation of carbon-to-silicon bonds and nitrogen-to-silicon bonds.", "In particular, the conformal layer 18 includes a higher percentage of oxygen in its composition than the conformal layer 16, which may be accomplished by lengthening the flow time for an equal flow rate.", "For example, the flow time at the same flow rate used to form the conformal layer 18 may be a factor of two (2) greater than the flow time used to form the conformal layer 16.In an embodiment, the conformal layer 16 and spacer 22 may have a lower atomic percentage of oxygen than the conformal layer 18 and spacer 24.In an embodiment, the conformal layer 16 and spacer 22 may have a higher atomic percentage of carbon than the conformal layer 18 and spacer 24.In an embodiment, both of the conditions on carbon content and oxygen content may exist.", "After the conformal layers 16 and 18 are formed, the conformal layer 20 used to form the outer spacer 26 may be formed using a multiple-step sequence in which the gas phase reactants are cyclically introduced in a specific order and with specific deposition conditions.", "Prior to initiating the cyclic deposition process, the reaction chamber may be initially evacuated and/or purged, and the substrate 12 may be heated to a given temperature, such as a temperature in a range of 550° C. to 680° C. In an initial step of the cyclic process, the silicon-containing precursor is initially introduced into the ALD reaction chamber as a gas phase reactant.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 100 sccm to 400 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 500 mTorr to 2000 mTorr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 20 seconds.", "After the adsorbed layer is formed, the reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the silicon-containing precursor from the reaction chamber in anticipation of the next step of the cyclic process.", "In a subsequent step of the cyclic process, a carbon-containing precursor is introduced into the ALD reaction chamber as a gas phase reactant.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 500 sccm to 5000 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 5 Torr to 40 Torr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 120 seconds.", "After the adsorbed layer is formed, the reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the carbon-containing precursor from the reaction chamber in anticipation of the next step of the cyclic process.", "In a subsequent step of the cyclic process, the oxygen-containing precursor is introduced into the ALD reaction chamber as a gas phase reactant.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 4000 sccm to 6000 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 5 Torr to 10 Torr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 20 seconds.", "After the adsorbed layer is formed, the reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the oxygen-containing precursor from the reaction chamber in anticipation of the next step of the cyclic process.", "In a subsequent step of the cyclic process, a nitrogen-containing precursor is introduced into the ALD reaction chamber as a gas phase reactant.", "In embodiments, the flow rate may be 4000 sccm to 5000 sccm, the chamber pressure may be 5 Torr to 10 Torr, and the flow time may be 10 seconds to 20 seconds.", "After the adsorbed layer is formed, the reaction chamber is evacuated using the vacuum source and purged by a flow of the purge gas to clear the nitrogen-containing precursor from the reaction chamber in anticipation of the next step of the cyclic process.", "The cyclic process of sequentially introducing the different precursors is repeated to increase the thickness of the conformal layer and to eventually deposit the conformal layer 20 with a given final thickness.", "For example, the final thickness of the conformal layer 20 (and spacer 26) may range from 1.0 nm to 4 nm.", "In embodiments, the SiOCN material comprising the conformal layer 20 may have a silicon content of 36 atomic percent to 40 atomic percent, an oxygen content of 29 atomic percent to 33 atomic percent, a carbon content of 8 atomic percent to 10 atomic percent, and a nitrogen content of 23 atomic percent to 26 atomic percent.", "The dielectric constant of conformal layer 20 is greater than the dielectric constant of conformal layer 16 and the dielectric constant of conformal layer 18.In an embodiment, two or more of the conformal layers 16, 18, 20 may be deposited in situ inside of a single ALD deposition tool with variations in the process conditions used to tailor the film properties (e.g., composition).", "The wafer may be loaded onto a boat and placed inside the ALD reaction chamber.", "The temperature is ramped up to the targeted process temperature, and the conformal layers 16, 18, 20 are serially deposited with different process conditions.", "The temperature is ramped downward, and the boat is removed from the ALD reaction chamber.", "This process flow may vary from conventional processes in which multiple tools are required to deposit the different conformal layers due to extreme differences in composition that are needed.", "With reference to Tables 1 and 2, the following example illustrates the properties and composition of SiOCN forming the spacers 22, 24 formed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment in comparison with the properties and composition of a conventional inner spacer formed of SiOCN and that would be replaced by the combination of the exemplary inner spacer 22 and exemplary center spacer 24.The cyclic ALD process forming the conventional inner spacer introduced a carbon-containing precursor before the oxygen-containing precursor and a separate nitrogen-containing precursor after the oxygen-containing precursor.", "The growth conditions for the spacers are given in Table 1.TABLE 1 Layers Conventional Center Inner Spacer Inner Spacer Spacer Items Sequence Elements Parameters Si->C->O->N Si->C/N->O Si->O->C/N Temper- ° C. 600 630 630 ature Thickness nm 9.0 1.0 9.0 Si Time (s) 12 12 12 Flow (sccm) 100 200 200 Pressure 1000 1000 1000 (mTorr) O Time (s) 14 17 24 Flow (slm) 5 3 5 Pressure (Torr) 9 9 9 C or C/N Time (s) 18/30 15 12 Flow (sccm) 5000/500 500 500 Pressure (Torr) 35/7 7 7 N Time (s) 18 Flow (slm) 4.5 Pressure (Torr) 7 The dielectric constant of the spacers of Table 1 was measured by Hg-Probe measurement.", "The measured dielectric contacts are tabulated in Table 2.TABLE 2 Dielectric Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Silicon Constant (At.", "%) (At.", "%) (At.", "%) (At.", "%) Conventional 4.6 1.9 18.9 41.4 37.8 Inner Spacer Inner Spacer 4.5 14 13 41 32 Center 4.3 8.3 12.8 46.2 32.7 Spacer With reference to Table 3, the robustness of the spacers in Tables 1 and 2 was measured for exposure to different etchants commonly used in cleaning processes associated with the formation of a FinFET and under equivalent conditions.", "For a given exposure time, the removed spacer thickness was determined and used to calculate an etch rate.", "TABLE 3 Etch Rate in dilute Etch Rate during Etch Rate in Hydrofluoric Acid Chemical Oxide Ammonia (Angstroms Removal (Angstroms (Angstroms per minute) per minute) per minute) Conventional 21.9 15.5 17.9 Inner Spacer Inner Spacer 2.5 5.1 7.9 Center 10.7 10.3 15.5 Spacer The methods as described above are used in the fabrication of integrated circuit chips.", "The resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (e.g., as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in a packaged form.", "In the latter case, the chip is mounted in a single chip package (e.g., a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package (e.g., a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections).", "In any case, the chip may be integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either an intermediate product or an end product.", "References herein to terms such as “vertical”, “horizontal”, etc.", "are made by way of example, and not by way of limitation, to establish a frame of reference.", "The term “horizontal” as used herein is defined as a plane parallel to a conventional plane of a semiconductor substrate, regardless of its actual three-dimensional spatial orientation.", "The terms “vertical” and “normal” refers to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal, as just defined.", "The term “lateral” refers to a direction within the horizontal plane.", "Terms such as “above” and “below” are used to indicate positioning of elements or structures relative to each other as opposed to relative elevation.", "A feature may be “connected” or “coupled” to or with another element may be directly connected or coupled to the other element or, instead, one or more intervening elements may be present.", "A feature may be “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element if intervening elements are absent.", "A feature may be “indirectly connected” or “indirectly coupled” to another element if at least one intervening element is present.", "The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed.", "Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.", "The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein." ] ]
Patent_15875055
[ [ "DYNAMIC BATCH MANAGEMENT OF SHARED BUFFERS FOR VIRTUAL MACHINES", "Methods, systems, and computer program products for providing dynamic batch management of shared packet buffers are disclosed.", "A virtualized computer system may include a hypervisor with access to memory and executed by a processor to maintain a pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a network device, adjust a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool of host memory, receive an indication of an incoming network packet stored in the pool of host memory by the network device, and provide the incoming network packet to a guest.", "In an example, the hypervisor uses the pool of host memory to perform batch processing of the incoming network packets and dynamically adjusts the size of the pool during the processing by adding or removing memory buffers in response to an event, condition, request, etc." ], [ "1.A computer-implemented method, comprising: maintaining, by a hypervisor executed by a processor, a plurality of virtual machine guests and a pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a physical network device, the plurality of incoming network packets comprising incoming network packets associated with one or more virtual machine guests of the plurality of virtual machine guests, and the pool of host memory being accessible to the physical network device and at least one of the one or more virtual machines guests of the plurality of virtual machines; adjusting, by the hypervisor, a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool of host memory in association with providing respective incoming network packets to the one or more virtual machine guests, the memory buffers being adjusted in view of the one or more virtual machine guests, wherein, after the adjusting, the number of memory buffers includes a newly added memory buffer that is not yet mapped to a virtual machine; receiving, by the hypervisor, an indication that the incoming network packets associated with the one or more virtual machine guests are stored in the pool of host memory; providing, by the hypervisor, respective incoming network packets to the one or more virtual machine guests; deferring mapping of the newly added memory buffer to one of the plurality of virtual machine guests until the one of the plurality of virtual machines guests attempts to access the newly added memory buffer.", "2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing, by the hypervisor, the physical network device with access to store the incoming network packets in the pool of host memory.", "3.The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing, by the physical network device, the incoming network packets in the pool of host memory.", "4.The method of claim 1, further comprising: notifying, by the physical network device, the hypervisor that the incoming network packets are stored in the pool of host memory.", "5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing, by the hypervisor, each of the one or more virtual machine guests with direct access to the pool of host memory.", "6.The method of claim 5, wherein the hypervisor provides at least one of the one or more virtual machine guests with direct access to the pool of host memory in response to a corresponding virtual machine guest performing an operation involving a memory buffer in the pool of host memory.", "7.The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the hypervisor, that available memory in the pool of host memory is below a threshold.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises: adding, by the hypervisor, one or more additional memory buffers to the pool of host memory in view of allocating at least one additional virtual machine guest.", "9.The method of claim 8, further comprising: initializing, by the hypervisor, the one or more additional memory buffers added to the pool of host memory for processing the respective incoming network packets.", "10.The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the hypervisor, that one or more memory buffers in the pool of host memory are to be reassigned for a different use.", "11.The method of claim 10, further comprising: initializing, by the hypervisor, the one or more memory buffers to be reassigned.", "12.The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises: removing, by the hypervisor, one or more memory buffers from the pool of host memory in view of deallocating at least one virtual machine guest.", "13.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: maintaining, by the hypervisor, a second pool of host memory comprising a second set of one or more memory buffers to store incoming network packets for one or more other virtual machine guests.", "14.The method of claim 1, wherein the hypervisor adjusts the number of memory buffers in response to detecting an event.", "15.The method of claim 1, wherein the hypervisor adjusts the number of memory buffers in response to detecting a memory condition.", "16.The method of claim 1, wherein the hypervisor uses the pool of host memory to perform batch processing of the incoming network packets to provide respective incoming network packets to the one or more virtual machine guests.", "17.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions recorded thereon, that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, comprising: maintaining, by a hypervisor executed by the processor, a pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a physical network device, the plurality of incoming network packets comprising incoming network packets associated with different virtual machine guests, and the pool of host memory being accessible to the physical network device and the virtual machine guests; adjusting, by the hypervisor, a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool of host memory; receiving, by the hypervisor, an indication that the incoming network packets associated with the virtual machine guests are stored in the pool of host memory; providing, by the hypervisor, incoming network packets to the virtual machine guests; and deferring mapping of a newly added memory buffer of the number of memory buffers to one of the plurality of virtual machine guests until the one of the plurality of virtual machines guests attempts to access the newly added memory buffer.", "18.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the adjusting comprises: adding, by the hypervisor, one or more additional memory buffers to the pool of host memory in view of a newly allocated virtual machine guest.", "19.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the adjusting comprises: removing, by the hypervisor, one or more memory buffers from the pool of host memory in response to deallocating at least one of the virtual machine guests.", "20.A computer system, comprising: a memory; a processor coupled to the memory; and a hypervisor hosted by the computer system, having access to the memory and use of the processor to: maintain a pool of the memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a physical network device, the plurality of incoming network packets comprising incoming network packets associated with a plurality of virtual machine guests, and the pool of the memory being accessible to the physical network device and the plurality of virtual machine guests; adjust a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of the memory to resize the pool in association with providing respective incoming network packets to the plurality of virtual machine guests, wherein, after adjustment, the number of memory buffers includes a newly added memory buffer that is not yet mapped to a virtual machine; receive an indication that the incoming network packets associated with the plurality of virtual machine guests are stored in the pool of host memory; provide the respective incoming network packets to the plurality of virtual machine guests; and defer mapping of the newly added memory buffer of the number of memory buffers to one of the plurality of virtual machine guests until the one of the plurality of virtual machines guests attempts to access the newly added memory buffer.", "21.A computer-implemented method, comprising: maintaining, by a hypervisor executed by a processor, a plurality of virtual machine guests and a pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a physical network device, the plurality of incoming network packets comprising incoming network packets associated with one or more virtual machine guests of the plurality of virtual machine guests, and the pool of host memory being accessible to the physical network device and at least one of the one or more virtual machines guests of the plurality of virtual machines; with the hypervisor, in response to determining that the pool of host memory is greater in size than a threshold value, reducing a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory; receiving, by the hypervisor, an indication that the incoming network packets associated with the one or more virtual machine guests are stored in the pool of host memory; providing, by the hypervisor, respective incoming network packets to the one or more virtual machine guests.", "22.The method of claim 21, further comprising, reallocating a removed memory buffer of the number of memory buffers.", "23.The method of claim 21, further comprising, adding a new memory buffer to the number of memory buffers in response to determining that the size of the pool of memory is below a threshold.", "24.The method of claim 23, further comprising, deferring mapping of the newly added memory buffer to one of the plurality of virtual machine guests until the one of the plurality of virtual machines guests attempts to access the newly added memory buffer.", "25.A computer-implemented method, comprising: maintaining, by a hypervisor executed by a processor, a pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a physical network device, the plurality of incoming network packets comprising incoming network packets associated with one or more virtual machine guests, the pool of host memory being accessible to the physical network device and at least one of the one or more virtual machines guests; adjusting, by the hypervisor, a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool of host memory, wherein, after the adjusting, the number of memory buffers includes a newly added memory buffer that is not yet mapped to a virtual machine; deferring mapping of the newly added memory buffer to one of the plurality of virtual machine guests until the one of the plurality of virtual machines guests attempts to access the newly added memory buffer." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Packet processing generally refers to the analysis, modification, and transfer of network packets performed by various computer systems and devices of a communications network.", "One type of network packet batch processing is TCP Segmentation Offload (TSO).", "In TSO, network packets sharing the same TCP header information are batched together to streamline network packet processing.", "Another type of network packet batch processing provides batching of network packets from arbitrary TCP flows.", "For example, network packets that do not share the same TCP header information may be batched together to reduce CPU overhead of TCP/IP processing on fast networks.", "In general, the unpredictable nature of network traffic generally results suboptimal batch processing of network packets at various times.", "Accordingly, improved methods of network packet batch management that are more responsive to changes in network traffic can provide more consistent and better overall performance." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, and can be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various examples provided herein.", "In the drawings, like reference numbers may indicate identical or functionally similar elements.", "The drawing in which an element first appears is generally indicated by the left-most digit in the corresponding reference number.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer system hosting one or more virtual machines.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of dynamic batch management of shared packet buffers in a virtualized computer system.", "FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of dynamic adjustment of shared packet buffers in a virtualized computer system.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "PRIORITY INFORMATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/174,637 filed Jun.", "6, 2016, and entitled “Dynamic Batch Management for Shared Buffers for Virtual Machines, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/472,584, filed Aug. 29, 2014, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD Examples of the present disclosure generally relate to computer networking, and more specifically, relate to dynamic batch management of shared packet buffers in computer systems.", "BACKGROUND Packet processing generally refers to the analysis, modification, and transfer of network packets performed by various computer systems and devices of a communications network.", "One type of network packet batch processing is TCP Segmentation Offload (TSO).", "In TSO, network packets sharing the same TCP header information are batched together to streamline network packet processing.", "Another type of network packet batch processing provides batching of network packets from arbitrary TCP flows.", "For example, network packets that do not share the same TCP header information may be batched together to reduce CPU overhead of TCP/IP processing on fast networks.", "In general, the unpredictable nature of network traffic generally results suboptimal batch processing of network packets at various times.", "Accordingly, improved methods of network packet batch management that are more responsive to changes in network traffic can provide more consistent and better overall performance.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, and can be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various examples provided herein.", "In the drawings, like reference numbers may indicate identical or functionally similar elements.", "The drawing in which an element first appears is generally indicated by the left-most digit in the corresponding reference number.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer system hosting one or more virtual machines.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of dynamic batch management of shared packet buffers in a virtualized computer system.", "FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of dynamic adjustment of shared packet buffers in a virtualized computer system.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and computer program products for providing dynamic batch management of shared packet buffers in computer systems.", "In an example, a memory management module of a hypervisor maintains an area of host memory to store incoming network packets from a network device.", "The pool of host memory maintained by the memory management module is accessible to at least one network device and at least one guest.", "Further, the memory management module uses the pool of host memory to perform batch processing of incoming network packets received from one or more network devices.", "In an example, the memory management module adjusts a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool of host memory.", "For example, the memory management module may resize a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets one or more times after an initial set of memory buffers has been allocated to the pool.", "In one example, the memory management module detects that a number of available memory buffers in the pool of host memory is below a threshold.", "In response, the memory management module may increase the size of the pool of host memory by adding additional memory buffers to the pool.", "The memory management module may initialize the additional memory buffers before allocation to the pool of host memory to prevent sharing of private host data.", "In an example, the memory management module detects that a number of available memory buffers in the pool of host memory is above a threshold.", "In response, the memory management module may decrease the size of the pool of host memory by removing memory buffers allocated to the pool.", "The memory management module then may return the memory buffers removed from the pool to a host machine or may use the removed memory buffers for another purpose.", "In an example, the memory management module receives an indication that one or more incoming network packets have been stored in the pool of host memory by a network device.", "For example, the memory management module may receive a notification from the network device or may detect that incoming packets have been stored in the pool of host memory.", "In one example, the memory management module provides incoming network packets stored in the pool of host memory to a guest.", "For example, the memory management module may provide the guest with one or more memory addresses or memory address ranges of memory buffers holding incoming network packets for the guest.", "Accordingly, the memory management module provides dynamic memory management of a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets.", "Such dynamic memory management allows flexible reallocation of memory resources during operation of a computer system based on changes in performance.", "Further, such dynamic memory management is performed automatically during operation of a computer system without manual intervention by an administrator.", "Various illustrations of the present disclosure will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various examples described herein.", "In the drawings, like reference numbers may indicate identical or functionally similar elements.", "The drawing in which an element first appears is generally indicated by the left-most digit in the corresponding reference number.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a physical computer system, referred to herein as a host machine 100 that hosts one or more virtual machines (VMs) (e.g., VM1 140a, VM2 140b and VM N 140n).", "Host machine 100 may be a rackmount server, a workstation, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a game console, a mobile phone, a palm-sized computing device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc.", "Host machine 100 includes host hardware 105, which includes multiple processors 120, 122, multiple devices 124, 126, host memory 128, multiple network interfaces 130, 132, 134, and other hardware components.", "Host memory 128 may include volatile memory devices (e.g., random access memory (RAM)), non-volatile memory devices (e.g., flash memory), and/or other types of memory devices.", "Host hardware 105 also may be coupled to external storage 190 via a direct connection or a local network.", "Host machine 100 may be a single machine or multiple host machines arranged in a cluster.", "In an example, each processor 120, 122 may be a processor core of a microprocessor, central processing unit (CPU), or the like.", "Some processors may be different processing cores of a processing device that consists of a single integrated circuit.", "Some processors may be components of a multi-chip module (e.g., in which separate microprocessor dies are included in a single package).", "Additionally, processors may have distinct dies and packaging, and be connected via circuitry such as discrete circuitry and/or a circuit board.", "A “processing device” generally refers to any combination of one or more integrated circuits and/or packages that include one or more processors (e.g., one or more processor cores).", "Therefore, the term processing device encompasses a single core CPU, a multi-core CPU and a massively multi-core system that includes many interconnected integrated circuits, each of which may include multiple processor cores.", "In one example, processors 120, 122 are processor cores of the same integrated circuit and share a socket.", "Processors that share a socket may communicate with one another more efficiently than processors that do not share a socket.", "Each of the devices 124, 126 may be a physical device that is internal or external to host machine 100.Examples of internal devices include a graphics card, hardware RAID controller, secondary storage (e.g., hard disk drive, magnetic or optical storage based disks, tapes or hard drives), universal serial bus (USB) devices, internal input/output (I/O) devices, etc.", "Examples of external devices include a keyboard, mouse, speaker, external hard drive (e.g., external storage 190), external I/O devices, etc.", "Devices 124, 126 communicate with host machine 100 (e.g., notify host machine 100 of events) by generating device interrupts.", "Host machine 100 includes multiple network interfaces 130, 132, 134 that connect to host machine 100 to one or more networks.", "A network generally refers to any computer or telecommunications data path that allows the exchange of data between computer systems.", "Networks may include but are not limited to wired networks, wireless networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN)), fibre channel communication, or any combination thereof.", "Each network interface 130, 132, 134 allows host machine 100 to send and receive data via one or more networks.", "Each network interface 130, 132, 134 may include one or more processors and one or more memory devices, which may be part of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) of a network interface.", "The processors may perform operations on data within a respective network interface, for example, by preparing packets for transmission over a network, receiving packets from a network, etc.", "The memory devices may include read-only memory and/or random access memory for storing instructions to be executed, referenced, or otherwise used by the processors.", "Further, each network interface generally has a unique media access control (MAC) address used in switching and in other networking processing.", "Host machine 100 includes a hypervisor 160 (also known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM)).", "In one example (as shown), hypervisor 160 is a component of a host operating system 110.Alternatively, hypervisor 160 may run on top of a host OS 110, or may run directly on host hardware 105 without the use of a host OS 110.Hypervisor 160 manages system resources, including access to host memory 128, devices 124, 126, network interfaces 130, 132, 134, secondary storage, and so on.", "Hypervisor 160, though usually implemented in software, may emulate and export a bare machine interface (host hardware 105) to higher-level software.", "Such higher-level software may comprise a standard or real-time operating system (OS), may be a highly stripped down operating environment with limited operating system functionality, may not include traditional OS facilities, etc.", "Hypervisor 160 presents to other software (i.e., “guest” software) the abstraction of one or more virtual machines (VMs) (e.g., VM 1 140a, VM 2 140b, VM N 140n), which may provide the same or different abstractions to various guest software (e.g., guest operating system, guest applications).", "Host machine 100 hosts any number of virtual machines (VMs) (e.g., a single VM, one hundred VMs, etc.).", "A virtual machine (e.g., VM 1 140a, VM 2 140b, VM N 140n) is a combination of guest software that uses an underlying emulation of host machine 100 (e.g., as provided by hypervisor 160).", "Guest software (e.g., guest 146a, 146b, 146n) may include a guest operating system, guest applications, guest memory, guest device drivers, etc.", "Virtual machines 140a, 140b, 140n can be, for example, hardware emulation, full virtualization, para-virtualization, and operating system-level virtualization virtual machines.", "Virtual machines 140a, 140b, 140n may have the same or different guest operating systems, such as Linux®, Solaris®, Microsoft® Windows®, etc.", "In an example, “containers” may be utilized in addition or as an alternative to virtual machines.", "A container (not shown) generally refers to an isolated slice or set of operating system resources.", "For example, a container may provide a set of namespace-isolated computer system resources that are neither accessible nor visible to application processes running outside of the container.", "Containers may exist on the same host machine 100 as virtual machines and also may be managed by a hypervisor 160.Further, examples presented herein with respect to virtualized computing systems may also be applied to containers.", "Thus, a “guest” generally may refer to any virtualized tenant managed by a hypervisor 160, which includes but is not limited to virtual machines and containers.", "Guest memory (not shown) generally describes memory allocated to and available for use by a guest 146a, 146b, 146n.", "In an example, guest memory may be memory presented to a guest OS by hypervisor 160.In one example, guest memory is mapped to and provided using corresponding memory from a host machine 100 (e.g., host memory 128).", "For example, a page (or other unit) of guest memory may be mapped to and provided using a corresponding page (or other unit) of host memory 128.Each virtual machine 146a, 146b, 146n may include multiple virtual processors (e.g., virtual processors 142a and 144a, 142b and 144b, 142n and 144n).", "Each virtual processor of a respective virtual machine executes on a specific processor 120, 122 of host machine 100.Hypervisor 160 may control which virtual processors run on which hardware processors 120, 122.For example, one virtual processor may run on a physical processor 120, and a second virtual processor may run on a different physical processor 122 (or vice versa).", "Each virtual machine (VM 1 140a, VM2 140b .", ".", ".", "VM N 140n) may include multiple virtual network interfaces (e.g., virtual network interface 1 148a .", ".", ".", "virtual network interface N 148x, virtual interface 1 148b .", ".", ".", "virtual network interface N 148y, virtual network interface 1 148n .", ".", ".", "virtual network interface N 148z).", "A virtual network interface generally refers to an emulation of a physical networking interface provided for a virtual machine.", "Each network interface (e.g., network interface 1 130, network interface 2 132, network interface N 134) can be used to provide underlying network communication for one or more virtual network interfaces.", "Hypervisor 160 includes a network manager 170a.", "Host OS 110 also may include a network manager 170b (e.g., additionally or alternatively).", "In an example, a network manager 170a, 170b manages interaction between virtual network interfaces (e.g., virtual network interface 1 148a) and physical network interfaces (e.g., network interface 1 130).", "In one example, a network manager 170a, 170b creates and maintains network interface mappings between network interfaces, such as between a virtual and a physical network interface.", "In an example, a network manager 170a, 170b receives and processes inbound and outbound network packets.", "For example, a network manager 170a, 170b may receive inbound network packets from one or more network interfaces (e.g., network interface 1 130 .", ".", ".", "network interface N 134) that are to be delivered to one or more virtual machines (e.g., VM1 140a .", ".", ".", "VM N 140n).", "A network manager 170a, 170b also may receive outbound network packets from one or more virtual machines (e.g., VM1 140a .", ".", ".", "VM N 140n) that are to be sent over a network by one or more network interfaces (e.g., network interface 1 130 .", ".", ".", "network interface N 134).", "In an example, a network manager 170a, 170b also examines network packets, updates network packets, and forwards network packets to appropriate physical and virtual network interfaces.", "The term “network packet” generally refers to a data packet or other formatted data unit that is transferrable over a packet-switched network (e.g., IP packets).", "Hypervisor 160 also includes a memory manager 180 and memory mappings 182.In an example, memory manager 180 tracks and manages associations between guest memory (not shown) and host memory 128 using memory mappings 182.For example, memory manager 180 may maintain a table, list or other data structure that associates an address of guest memory (e.g., a guest address) with an address of corresponding host memory 128 (e.g., a host address).", "A “guest address” generally may refer to either a virtual or physical guest memory address.", "In addition, a “host address” generally may refer to either a virtual or physical host memory address.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of dynamic batch management of shared packet buffers in a virtualized computer system.", "The method 200 may be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.", "), software (such as instructions run on a general purpose computer system, dedicated machine, or processing device), firmware, or a combination thereof.", "Method 200 begins at block 202 when memory manager 180 maintains a pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a network device.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 allocates and maintains a pool of host memory to store incoming network packets received by a network device.", "For example, memory manager 180 may allocate a pool of host memory comprising a plurality of memory buffers to perform batch processing of incoming network packets received by a network device (e.g., network interface 1 130) for one or more guests (e.g., virtual machines and/or containers).", "In an example, memory manager 180 provides a network device with access to a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets for guests.", "For example, memory manager 180 may associate or map the network device to the pool of host memory to allow the network device to write data in the pool of host memory.", "In one example, the network device stores incoming network packets that it receives in the pool of host memory and also notifies memory manager 180 about available incoming network packets stored in the pool.", "In an example, memory manager 180 provides one or more guests with access to the pool of host memory.", "For example, memory manager 180 may associate or map each of one or more guests to the pool of host memory to allow each guest to access incoming network packets stored in the pool.", "In one example, memory manager 180 provides guests with read access to memory buffers in the pool of host memory.", "At block 204, memory manager 180 adjusts a number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool of host memory.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 resizes an existing pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets received by a network device for one or more guests.", "For example, memory manager 180 may increase the size of the pool of host memory by adding one or more additional memory buffers to pool.", "Memory manager 180 also may decrease the size of the pool of host memory by removing one or more memory buffers allocated to the pool.", "In one example, memory manager 180 resizes the pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets one or more times after initial allocation of the pool of host memory.", "In an example, memory manager 180 adjusts a number of memory buffers associated with a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets in response to an event, condition, or request.", "For example, memory manager 180 may perform an action, detect an event, or receive notification of an event (such as the addition or removal of one or more guests).", "In one example, memory manager 180 resizes the pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets by increasing or decreasing a number of memory buffers associated with the pool.", "For example, memory manager 180 may increase the size of the memory pool when one or more guests are created or may decrease the size of memory pool when one or more guests are removed.", "In an example, memory manager 180 adjusts the number of memory buffers associated with a pool of host memory based on a condition.", "In one example, memory manager 180 adds one or more memory buffers to the pool of host memory when detecting that available or free memory buffers in the pool is below a threshold.", "Memory manager 180 also may remove one or more memory buffers from the pool of host memory in response to detecting that available or free memory buffers in the pool is above a threshold.", "In an example, memory manager 180 adds additional memory buffers to the pool of host memory by mapping (e.g., associating) the additional memory buffers to one or more guests.", "Memory manager also may remove memory buffers from the pool of host memory by unmapping (e.g., disassociating) memory buffers in the pool from guests.", "In an example, memory manager 180 detects or receives notification that one more memory buffers in the pool of host memory are to be reassigned for a different use.", "For example, memory manager 180 may detect or receive notification of a low memory condition involving host machine 100 or a guest.", "In response, memory manager 180 then may reduce the size of the pool of host memory by removing one or more memory buffers from the pool so that the freed memory buffers may be reallocated for a different purpose.", "For example, memory manager 180 may return memory buffers removed from the pool of host memory to a host machine 100 or reallocate the memory buffers for another use.", "At block 206, memory manager 180 receives an indication of an incoming network packet stored in the pool of host memory by the network device.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 detects that an incoming network packet has been stored in the pool of host memory by a network device.", "A network device also may notify memory manager 180 that one or more incoming network packets are available in the pool of host memory.", "At block 208, memory manager 180 provides the incoming network packet to the guest.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 notifies a guest that an incoming network packet is available for the guest in the pool of host memory.", "For example, memory manager 180 may provide a guest with one or more memory addresses or ranges of memory addresses associated with memory buffers in the pool of host memory where incoming network packets for the guest are stored.", "In an example, a single memory buffer may store one or more incoming network packets for a guest.", "In addition, memory manager 180 may provide one or more of the same memory buffers to different guests having access to the pool memory to allow each guest to receive the same network packets where appropriate.", "In one example, memory manager 180 receives a notification from a guest indicating that the guest is finished using one or more memory buffers provided to the guest by memory manager 180.FIG.", "3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of dynamic adjustment of shared packet buffers in a virtualized computer system.", "The method 300 may be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.", "), software (such as instructions run on a general purpose computer system, dedicated machine, or processing device), firmware, or a combination thereof.", "Method 300 begins at block 302 when memory manager 180 maintains the pool of host memory to store a plurality of incoming network packets received by a network device.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 maintains a pool of host memory to store incoming network packets from a network device that are to be received by one or more guests (e.g., virtual machines and/or containers).", "For example, memory manager 180 may allocate and use the pool of host memory to perform batch processing of incoming network packets for a group of one or more guests having access to the pool.", "In an example, memory manager 180 maintains multiple pools of host memory that are each used to perform batch processing of incoming network packets for different groups of guests.", "For example, one pool of host memory may be used to perform batch processing of incoming network packets for a first set of one or more guests while another pool of host memory may be used to perform a similar function for a second set of one or more different guests.", "In one example, each pool of host memory maintained by memory manager 180 is associated with one or more different network devices, and each network device is associated with a single pool of host memory.", "At block 304, memory manager 180 provides the network device with access to store the incoming network packets in the pool of host memory.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 provides one or more network devices with access to a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets for one or more guests.", "In one example, memory manager 180 provides a network device with one or more memory addresses or memory address ranges for memory buffers in the pool of host memory where the network device can store incoming network packets that are to be received by one or more guests.", "At block 306, memory manager 180 provides the guest with access to the pool of host memory.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 provides one or more guests with access to the pool of host memory by mapping memory buffers in the pool to each guest.", "In one example, memory manager 180 maps the memory buffers to each guest to allow guests to share the pool of host memory and to receive incoming network packets stored in the pool.", "In an example, memory manager 180 initializes memory buffers in the pool of host memory before providing the memory buffers to a guest.", "In one example, memory manager 180 deletes or overwrites data in memory buffers to ensure that memory buffers provided to a guest do not include private host data.", "At block 308, memory manager 180 adjusts the number of memory buffers associated with the pool of host memory to resize the pool.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 increases the size of a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets by adding one or more memory buffers to the pool.", "For example, memory manager 180 may increase the size of the pool in response to detecting that an amount of available memory in the pool is below a threshold.", "In an example, memory manager 180 adds additional memory buffers to the pool of host and maps the addition memory buffers to each of one or more guests having access to the pool.", "In one example, mapping of additional memory buffers to a guest is deferred until the hypervisor 160 detects that a guest attempts to access one or more of the additional memory buffers.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 decreases the size of a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets by removing one or more memory buffers from the pool.", "For example, memory manager 180 may decrease the size of the pool in response to detecting that available memory buffers in the pool are above a threshold.", "In an example, memory manager 180 unmaps unused memory buffers from the pool of host memory.", "Unused memory buffers generally refer to memory buffers that are not in use by a guest or other process.", "In one example, memory manager 180 unmaps unused memory buffers from each guest having access to the pool of host memory.", "At block 310, memory manager 180 initializes the memory buffers involved in the adjustment to resize the pool of host memory.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 initializes memory buffers added to or removed from a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets.", "For example, memory manager 180 may initialize the added memory buffers to prevent guests from accessing private host data.", "Similarly, memory manager may initialize removed memory buffers to prevent inadvertent disclosure of private guest data.", "In one example, memory manager 180 initializes memory buffers by writing over or deleting data stored in the memory buffers.", "In some examples, memory manager 180 also may fill the memory buffers with data, such as zeros, ones, random data, or any other data.", "In an example, memory manager 180 initializes additional memory buffers prior to associating the memory buffers with a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets.", "In one example, memory manager initializes the additional memory buffers prior to mapping or providing the additional memory buffers to a guest.", "In one example, memory manager 180 initializes unused memory buffers that are to be removed from a pool of host memory used to perform batch processing of network packets.", "For example, memory manager 180 may initialize the memory buffers prior to unmapping the memory buffers from the pool of host memory to prevent sharing of any residual guest data that remains in the memory buffers.", "At block 312, memory manager 180 receives an indication of an incoming network packet stored in the pool of host memory.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 detects that incoming network packets provided by a network device are available in the pool of host memory.", "In one example, a network device notifies memory manager 180 that incoming network packets are available for guests in the pool of host memory.", "At block 314, memory manager 180 provides the incoming network packet to the guest.", "In an example, memory manager 180 of hypervisor 160 provides a guest with incoming network packets by sending the guest one or more memory addresses or memory address ranges for memory buffers holding incoming network packets for the guest.", "In one example, memory manager 180 provides one or more of the same memory buffer addresses to different guests that are to receive the same network packets.", "In some examples, memory manager 180 receives a guest notification indicating that the guest has finished use of one or more memory buffers provided to the guest by memory manager 180.FIG.", "4 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a computer system 400 within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.", "The computer system 400 may correspond, for example, to host machine 100 of FIG.", "1.In examples of the present disclosure, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet.", "The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.", "The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.", "Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.", "The example computer system 400 includes a processing device 402, a main memory 404 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.", "), a static memory 406 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.", "), and a secondary memory 416 (e.g., a data storage device), which communicate with each other via a bus 408.The processing device 402 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like.", "The processing device may include multiple processors.", "The processing device 402 may include a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets.", "The processing device 402 also may be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like.", "The computer system 400 may further include a network interface device 422.The computer system 400 also may include a video display unit 410 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 414 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device 420 (e.g., a speaker).", "The secondary memory 416 may include a machine-readable storage medium (or more specifically a computer-readable storage medium) 424 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions 454 embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein (e.g., memory manager 425).", "The instructions 454 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 404 and/or within the processing device 402 during execution thereof by the computer system 400 (the main memory 404 and the processing device 402 constituting machine-readable storage media).", "While the computer-readable storage medium 424 is shown as an example to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions.", "The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the operations or methodologies of the present disclosure.", "The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.", "The computer system 400 additionally may include a network manager module (not shown) for implementing the functionalities of a memory manager 425 (e.g., memory manager 180).", "The modules, components and other features described herein (for example, in relation to FIG.", "1) can be implemented as discrete hardware components or integrated in the functionality of hardware components such as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs or similar devices.", "In addition, the modules can be implemented as firmware or functional circuitry within hardware devices.", "Further, the modules can be implemented in any combination of hardware devices and software components, or only in software.", "In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth.", "It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure, that the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.", "In some instances, well-known structures and devices have been shown in block diagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure.", "Some portions of the detailed description have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory.", "An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result.", "The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities.", "Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated.", "It has proven convenient at times, for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.", "It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities.", "Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “receiving”, “updating”, “determining”, “storing”, “processing”, “executing”, “modifying”, “creating”, “detecting,” “copying,” or the like, refer to the actions and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.", "Certain examples of the present disclosure also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein.", "This apparatus may be constructed for the intended purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer.", "Such a computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions.", "It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.", "Many other examples and implementations will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description.", "The scope of the disclosure should therefore be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled." ] ]
Patent_15875056
[ [ "Actuating Catheter Luer Devices", "A luer for a catheter is disclosed.", "The luer has a proximal luer housing having a proximal opening, a distal luer housing having a stem and a distal opening and a threaded element disposed on an external surface of the luer.", "The proximal housing and the distal housing define a fluid channel, and the proximal housing is slidably attached to the distal housing so that in a closed configuration the proximal opening is fluidly sealed by the stem, and in an open configuration the fluid channel is in fluid communication with the proximal opening.", "The luer can be formed integral to a catheter hub." ], [ "1-20.", "(canceled) 21.A method of delivering fluid to a patient, the method comprising: placing a catheter at a target site of the patient, the catheter comprising: an elongate shaft; at least one lumen; at least one luer, the at least one luer comprising: a proximal housing comprising a proximal opening; a distal housing comprising a stem and a distal opening, the proximal housing being slidably attached to the distal housing; a threaded element disposed on an external surface of the proximal housing; and a fluid channel; attaching a fluid source to the threaded element; sliding the proximal housing away from the distal housing; and delivering fluid to the patient.", "22.The method of claim 21, wherein the stem further comprises a stem lumen.", "23.The method of claim 22, wherein the stem lumen is fluidly sealed by a first elastomeric valve.", "24.The method of claim 23, wherein the elastomeric valve is a duckbill valve.", "25.The method of claim 23, wherein the stem lumen is fluidly sealed by a second elastomeric valve.", "26.The method of claim 25, wherein the first elastomeric valve is disposed on the proximal end of the stem lumen and the second elastomeric valve is disposed on the distal end of the stem lumen.", "27.The method of claim 22, wherein a duckbill valve is disposed distal of the stem lumen and configured to divert fluid away from the stem lumen.", "28.The method of claim 22, wherein the stem lumen is configured to accept a medical guide wire or stylet.", "29.The method of claim 21, wherein the stem is substantially centered within the fluid channel.", "30.The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the distal housing and the proximal housing comprises a translucent material." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Medical devices such as catheters are commonly used by medical professionals for establishing fluid access with a target area within the human body.", "Common types of catheters include dialysis catheter peripherally inserted central catheters, midline catheters, central venous catheters and drainage catheters.", "The type of catheter used on a particular patient is typically based on a number of factors, including the procedure being performed and the area within the human body that needs to be accessed.", "One common feature of these types of conventional catheters is that they often have a proximal end configuration that includes a hub, and extension tube, a luer, and a clamp surrounding the extension tube for closing-off fluid access to the catheter lumen between procedures.", "Closing fluid access to the catheter lumen while the catheter is not in use is an important safety precaution for minimizing risk of air embolism, exsanguination and contamination.", "A conventional dialysis catheter is shown in FIG.", "14 .", "The main body of the catheter 300 features an elongate shaft 312 having a proximal end 314 and a distal end 316 .", "The elongate shaft 312 is typically a dual lumen shaft that terminates at the distal end 316 in a step tip (as shown) or split tip configuration.", "The hub 318 provides a transition and bifurcation point for each of the catheter lumens to split off individually into separated tubing at the proximal end 314 of the device.", "In addition, the hub 318 often doubles as an anchor point for the catheter, often including one or more attachment elements such as a suture wing for anchoring the device to the body of the patient.", "Each separated lumen branches out into a respective extension tube 324 , 326 .", "The arterial lumen branches out to a first extension tube 324 , which is surrounded by a clamp 328 .", "The proximal end of the arterial lumen extension tube 324 terminates in a luer 320 .", "Likewise, the venous lumen branches out to a second extension tube 326 , which is surrounded by a clamp 330 .", "The proximal end of the venous lumen extension tube 326 also terminates in a luer 322 .", "The clamps 328 , 330 can be closed to seal off the extension tube 324 , 326 lumens.", "Problems may arise with the use of extension tubes and clamps to seal off fluid access.", "For instance, frequent opening and closing of the clamps can start to weaken the extension tube, which may ultimately require an extension tube repair, or replacement of the entire catheter.", "Further, clamps surrounding the extension tube are limited to clamping the extension tube, and do not typically extend to more proximal points on the device, such as the luer.", "So even when the clamp is closed, the parts of the extension tube lumen and luer interior that are proximal of the clamp remain exposed to fluid and air communication, giving rise to potential contamination.", "It would be desirable to reduce the proximal end weight and bulk of the catheter, while reducing production costs associated with manufacturing the catheter.", "Still further, it would be desirable to fluidly seal lumens on the device at point more proximal than conventional extension tube and clamp configurations.", "In addition, it would be desirable to close off proximal end fluid access to lumens, without requiring a separate accessory component such as an end cap or other accessory device." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>According to certain embodiments, the invention is a luer for a catheter.", "The luer has a proximal luer housing having a proximal opening, a distal luer housing having a stem and a distal opening, and a threaded element disposed on an external surface of the luer.", "The proximal housing and the distal housing define a fluid channel, and the proximal housing is slidably attached to the distal housing so that in a closed configuration the proximal opening is fluidly sealed by the stem, and in an open configuration the fluid channel is in fluid communication with the proximal opening.", "According to another embodiment, the invention is a catheter having an elongate flexible shaft having a first lumen, and a hub having a first luer.", "The first luer has a first proximal luer housing comprising a first proximal opening, a first distal luer housing having a first stem and a first distal opening, and a first threaded element disposed on an external surface of the first luer.", "The first proximal housing and the first distal housing define a first fluid channel, the first proximal housing is slidably attached to the first distal housing so that in a closed configuration the first proximal opening is fluidly sealed by the first stem, and in an open configuration the first proximal opening is in fluid communication with the first fluid channel and the first lumen.", "The first distal luer housing is formed integral to the hub." ], [ "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to medical devices for establishing fluid access to a target site within a human body.", "More specifically, the invention relates to catheters with actuating luers, and integrated luer and hub designs.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Medical devices such as catheters are commonly used by medical professionals for establishing fluid access with a target area within the human body.", "Common types of catheters include dialysis catheter peripherally inserted central catheters, midline catheters, central venous catheters and drainage catheters.", "The type of catheter used on a particular patient is typically based on a number of factors, including the procedure being performed and the area within the human body that needs to be accessed.", "One common feature of these types of conventional catheters is that they often have a proximal end configuration that includes a hub, and extension tube, a luer, and a clamp surrounding the extension tube for closing-off fluid access to the catheter lumen between procedures.", "Closing fluid access to the catheter lumen while the catheter is not in use is an important safety precaution for minimizing risk of air embolism, exsanguination and contamination.", "A conventional dialysis catheter is shown in FIG.", "14.The main body of the catheter 300 features an elongate shaft 312 having a proximal end 314 and a distal end 316.The elongate shaft 312 is typically a dual lumen shaft that terminates at the distal end 316 in a step tip (as shown) or split tip configuration.", "The hub 318 provides a transition and bifurcation point for each of the catheter lumens to split off individually into separated tubing at the proximal end 314 of the device.", "In addition, the hub 318 often doubles as an anchor point for the catheter, often including one or more attachment elements such as a suture wing for anchoring the device to the body of the patient.", "Each separated lumen branches out into a respective extension tube 324, 326.The arterial lumen branches out to a first extension tube 324, which is surrounded by a clamp 328.The proximal end of the arterial lumen extension tube 324 terminates in a luer 320.Likewise, the venous lumen branches out to a second extension tube 326, which is surrounded by a clamp 330.The proximal end of the venous lumen extension tube 326 also terminates in a luer 322.The clamps 328, 330 can be closed to seal off the extension tube 324, 326 lumens.", "Problems may arise with the use of extension tubes and clamps to seal off fluid access.", "For instance, frequent opening and closing of the clamps can start to weaken the extension tube, which may ultimately require an extension tube repair, or replacement of the entire catheter.", "Further, clamps surrounding the extension tube are limited to clamping the extension tube, and do not typically extend to more proximal points on the device, such as the luer.", "So even when the clamp is closed, the parts of the extension tube lumen and luer interior that are proximal of the clamp remain exposed to fluid and air communication, giving rise to potential contamination.", "It would be desirable to reduce the proximal end weight and bulk of the catheter, while reducing production costs associated with manufacturing the catheter.", "Still further, it would be desirable to fluidly seal lumens on the device at point more proximal than conventional extension tube and clamp configurations.", "In addition, it would be desirable to close off proximal end fluid access to lumens, without requiring a separate accessory component such as an end cap or other accessory device.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to certain embodiments, the invention is a luer for a catheter.", "The luer has a proximal luer housing having a proximal opening, a distal luer housing having a stem and a distal opening, and a threaded element disposed on an external surface of the luer.", "The proximal housing and the distal housing define a fluid channel, and the proximal housing is slidably attached to the distal housing so that in a closed configuration the proximal opening is fluidly sealed by the stem, and in an open configuration the fluid channel is in fluid communication with the proximal opening.", "According to another embodiment, the invention is a catheter having an elongate flexible shaft having a first lumen, and a hub having a first luer.", "The first luer has a first proximal luer housing comprising a first proximal opening, a first distal luer housing having a first stem and a first distal opening, and a first threaded element disposed on an external surface of the first luer.", "The first proximal housing and the first distal housing define a first fluid channel, the first proximal housing is slidably attached to the first distal housing so that in a closed configuration the first proximal opening is fluidly sealed by the first stem, and in an open configuration the first proximal opening is in fluid communication with the first fluid channel and the first lumen.", "The first distal luer housing is formed integral to the hub.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing purposes and features, as well as other purposes and features, will become apparent with reference to the description and accompanying figures below, which are included to provide an understanding of the invention and constitute a part of the specification, in which like numerals represent like elements, and in which: FIG.", "1 is a side view of a dialysis catheter according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "2 is a side view of a luer in closed position according to are exemplary embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "3 is side view of the luer shown in FIG.", "2 in open position; FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional side view of the luer shown in FIG.", "2 in closed position; FIG.", "5 is a cross-sectional side view of the luer shown in FIG.", "2 in open position; FIG.", "6 is a cross-sectional view of the luer shown in FIG.", "2 along cross section 6-6 shown in FIG.", "5; FIG.", "7 is a cross-sectional side view of a luer with an offset stem in open position according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "8 is a cross-sectional view of the luer shown in FIG.", "7 along cross section 8-8; FIG.", "9 is a side view of a luer with a guide wire opening in a lower housing and in closed position according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "10 is a cross-sectional side view of the luer shown in FIG.", "9; FIG.", "11 is a side view of a luer with a twisting mechanism according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "12 is a cutaway view of the valve mechanism inside of the luer shown in FIG.", "11 in open position; FIG.", "13 is a cutaway view of the valve mechanism inside of the luer shown in FIG.", "11 in closed position; and FIG.", "14 is a side view of a prior art dialysis catheter.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention can be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description, the examples included therein, and to the Figures and their following description.", "The drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict selected preferred embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.", "The detailed description illustrates by way of example, not by way of limitation, the principles of the invention.", "The skilled artisan will readily appreciate that the devices and methods described herein are merely examples and that variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.", "It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.", "Referring now in detail to the drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like parts or elements throughout the several views, in various embodiments, presented herein are improved catheter luer and hub devices.", "A first exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the dialysis catheter of FIG.", "1 The dialysis catheter 10 has a flexible elongate shaft 12 that extends from a proximal end 14 to a distal end 16.The elongate shaft 12 has an arterial lumen 21 for removing blood from the body and a venous lumen 23 for returning blood to the body during a dialysis treatment.", "The distal end 16 of the shaft 12 terminates in a step tip configuration offsetting the distal openings of each lumen 21, 23.The step tip configuration is known in a common configuration for minimizing blood recirculation rates during treatment.", "The proximal end of the lumens 21, 23 continue through the hub 18, where they bifurcate and extend into fluid communication with a respective luer 20, 22.Each luer can be coded with a label and/or color to indicate whether it is the luer for the arterial lumen or the venous lumen.", "The luers 20, 22 are integrally formed with the catheter hub 18.The shaft 12 can be made of a medical grade polymer, such as a medical grade urethane.", "The shaft may also include a thromboresistant admixture, such as those polymer and fluoropolymer admixtures disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,784,402 and U.S. Patent Pub.", "No.", "2014/0276470, both to Lareau et al., and both of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "The luers 20, 22 can be integrally formed with or attached to the hub 18 by a number of methods known in the art.", "For instance, the hub 18 and luers 20, 22 can be attached utilizing a chemical bond, such as cyclohexanone, or an adhesive bond, such as a UV curable adhesive.", "Injection molding and/or overmolding techniques can also be used to mold the hub 18 and luers 20, 22 as integral components.", "The hub and luers can also be manufactured using anti-thrombogenic additives as part of an admixture polymer.", "It will be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art that if desired, the luers described herein can also be utilized with extension tubes and will maintain certain advantages described herein for a clampless catheter.", "Chemical bonds, adhesive bonds and over-molding techniques described above can be utilized along with techniques known in the art for attaching the luers described herein to extension tubes.", "With reference to FIGS.", "2 and 3, a luer 20 is shown in closed and open positions respectively according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.", "The luer 20 includes a proximal housing 24 and a distal housing 26 that are slidably connected to each other in a mating configuration.", "The distal housing may include an element such as a barb 28 for facilitating attachment to a hub or an extension tube.", "The proximal housing 24 has a threaded element 32 so that the device can be attached to tubing connections such as tubing connections for dialysis machine or syringes for flushing the device.", "The slidable connection between the proximal housing 24 and the distal housing 26 allows medical practitioners to easily slide or “pop” the luer 20 from a closed configuration (shown in FIG.", "2) to an open configuration (shown in FIG.", "3), using a simple grasping, pulling or pushing motion with one hand.", "A cross-sectional view of the luer 20 in closed and open positions respectively is shown in FIGS.", "4 and 5.The distal housing 26 includes a stem 30 having a stem lumen 31.The stem lumen 31 is fluidly sealed by a pair of elastomeric duckbill valves 36, 38.The valves 36, 38 are biased shut so that they remain closed when subjected to the positive and negative pressure fluctuations of a dialysis procedure, as well as internal body pressure fluctuations.", "Upon the insertion of a guide wire or a stylet into the stem lumen 31, the valves are configured to open, providing compatibility for wire accessories as needed.", "In the open position, the proximal opening 46 is in fluid communication with the interior 40 of the proximal housing 24 and the interior 42 of the distal housing 26.A supporting member 44 supports the stem 30, and has openings 43 (as shown in FIG.", "6) to allow for fluid communication between the proximal housing 24 interior 40 and the distal housing 26 interior 42.Thus, when in the open configuration, fluid can traverse the interior of the luer housings from the distal opening 48 of the distal housing 26 to the proximal opening 46 of the proximal housing 24.In the closed configuration, fluid cannot traverse to the proximal opening 46 since it is fluidly sealed by the stem 30 protruding through the proximal opening 46.The elastomeric valves 36, 38 can be other types of valves, such as slit valves.", "A duckbill valve 38 positioned at the distal end of the stem lumen 31 may be especially advantageous since it diverts fluid away from the stem lumen 31 and towards the openings 43.Since fluid communication through the luer can be easily established via slidable actuation by the user, there is no need for extension tubes and clamps, resulting in less proximal end weight, less materials, streamlined manufacturing and a cost savings.", "Further, patient safety outcomes are improved due to the minimization of extension tube fatigue.", "In certain embodiments, the luer can be curved up and away from the hub so that when the hub is secured flat to the skin of the patient's body, the luer connection is more easily accessible to the medical provider.", "Further, the luer and/or hub can be made from a polymer having translucent properties so that the medical provider can properly verify flashback and fluid flow through the proximal ends of the device lumens.", "A cross-sectional view of a luer 120 according to an alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG.", "7.The luer 120 has a proximal housing 124 and a distal housing 126 that are connected in a slidable mating relationship to each other.", "The distal housing 126 can have a barb 128 as described in previous embodiments.", "As shown with additional reference to FIG.", "8, the distal housing 126 also includes a stem 130 that is offset from the center of the luer, allowing fluid to flow through a more central opening 143 as it passes through the interior 140 of the luer 120 between the proximal opening 146 and the distal opening 148.The stem 130 can be supported by a bulked-up to the distal housing 126, further configured to form the stem lumen 131.The offset stem lumen 131 can have a pair of elastomeric valves 136, 138 to fluidly seal the stem lumen 131, while allowing for the traversal of a guide wire or stylet as described in previous embodiments.", "The top of the stem 130 can also feature angled walls for diverting fluid towards the interior 140 of the luer 120.An alternative embodiment of the invention with a modified stem and guide wire access structure is shown in closed configuration in FIGS.", "9 and 10.The luer 160 features a stem 162 that does not contain any fluid lumens.", "The bottom of the stem 164 is geometrically shaped to divert fluid away from the stem, similar to the valve structure shown in the embodiment of FIGS.", "4 and 5.A port 166 is provided to allow for the introduction of a guide wire or stylet.", "The port 166 can be fluidly sealed by a self-sealing elastomeric member, such as a gasket.", "Luers according to certain embodiments of the invention can include a system similar to a tuohy borst valve for closing and opening fluid access through the luer.", "In the embodiment shown in FIGS.", "11-13, a luer 220 includes a proximal housing 224, a distal housing 226 and a barb 228 on the distal housing 226.A tubing threaded element 232 is formed on the luer 220 for attaching external device tubing, such as tubing for a dialysis machine.", "The luer 220 also includes an actuation threaded element 252 and an actuation collar 250 loaded over the threaded element 252.The actuation collar 250 is configured to raise actuation members 270 in the open position as shown in FIG.", "12, and to lower actuation members 270 in the dosed position as shown in FIG.", "13.The interior of the luer 220 includes an elastomeric insert 260 that has an open lumen 266 in a relaxed configuration.", "As the actuation collar 250 is twisted towards a closed position the bottom 272 of the actuation members 270 will push the elastomeric insert 260 along funnel shaped walls 280, closing the lumen wails 262, 264 so that the lumen 266 completely blocks off fluid communication.", "To reestablish fluid communication, the actuation collar 250 can be twisted towards an open position, allowing the elastomeric insert 260 to expand and move back up the funnel shaped wags 280, allowing the lumen 266 to expand." ] ]
Patent_15875057
[ [ "BATTERY-ELECTRIC AND INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE ASSIST HYBRID PROPULSION AND IMPLEMENT DRIVE WORK SYSTEMS", "Provided is a lawn maintenance vehicle including a frame having a first axle and a second axle mounted to the frame.", "A first drive wheel and a second drive wheel are mounted to the first and second axle.", "An energy storage device and an electric motor having a motor shaft are mounted to the frame.", "The electric motor is in electrical communication with the energy storage device and the energy storage device provides electrical power to the electric motor.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a traction drive.", "The traction drive is operably connected to the motor shaft, and the traction drive is operably connected to the first and second axles.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle includes an implement mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle can also include an internal combustion engine operably connected to the electric motor." ], [ "1.A lawn maintenance vehicle comprising: a frame; a first axle and a second axle mounted to said frame; a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel mounted to said first axle and said second axle; an energy storage device mounted to said frame; an electric motor mounted to said frame, said electric motor includes a motor shaft, said electric motor is in electrical communication with said energy storage device and said energy storage device provides electrical power to said electric motor; a traction drive mounted to said frame, said traction drive is operably connected to said motor shaft, and said traction drive is operably connected to said first and second axles; and an implement, said implement is mounted to said frame.", "2.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1, further comprising: a first belt, said first belt transfers mechanical power from said motor shaft to said traction drive, said traction drive rotates said first drive wheel and said second drive wheel; and a second belt, said second belt transfers mechanical power from said motor shaft to said implement.", "3.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1, wherein said electric motor recharges said energy storage device when said lawn maintenance vehicle is decelerating or descending slopes.", "4.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1, wherein said electric motor comprises a brushed direct current (DC) motor.", "5.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1, wherein said traction drive is variable speed and propels said lawn maintenance vehicle in the forward and reverse travel directions.", "6.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a belt tensioning mechanism to engage said traction drive.", "7.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a clutch to engage said traction drive.", "8.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 1, wherein said implement is selected from the group consisting of a spindle driven cutting deck, a snow blower, a rotary broom, and a power assist material collection mechanism.", "9.A lawn maintenance vehicle comprising: a frame; a first axle and a second axle mounted to said frame; a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel mounted to said first axle and said second axle; an energy storage device mounted to said frame; an electric motor mounted to said frame, said electric motor includes a motor shaft, said electric motor is in electrical communication with said energy storage device and said energy storage device provides electrical power to said electric motor; a traction drive mounted to said frame, said traction drive is operably connected to said motor shaft, and said traction drive is operably connected to said first and second axles; an implement, said implement is mounted to said frame; and an internal combustion engine, said internal combustion engine is operably connected to said electric motor.", "10.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 9, wherein said electric motor recharges said energy storage device when said lawn maintenance vehicle is decelerating or descending slopes.", "11.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 9, further comprising a power circuit, said power circuit comprises: a circuit breaker in electrical communication with said electric motor, a key switch in electrical communication with said electric motor; and an electrical path between said electric motor, said key switch, said circuit breaker, and said energy storage device, wherein said power circuit is devoid of a controller.", "12.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 9, further comprising: a traction drive shaft rotatably connected to said traction drive; a first pulley mounted to said motor shaft, said first pulley is a V-pulley; a second pulley mounted to said traction drive shaft, said second pulley is a V-pulley; and a first belt, said first belt engaging said first pulley and said second pulley to operably connect said motor shaft to said traction drive, wherein said first axle and said second axle connect said first and second drive wheels to said traction drive, wherein said traction drive rotates said first drive wheel and said second drive wheel.", "13.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 12, further comprising an engagement device mounted proximally to said first belt at a location between said first pulley and said second pulley, wherein said engagement device regulates the amount of mechanical power transferred from said first pulley to said second pulley.", "14.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 9, further comprising: an implement shaft rotatably connected to said implement; a third pulley mounted to said motor shaft, said third pulley is a V-pulley; a fourth pulley mounted to said implement shaft, said fourth pulley is a V-pulley; and a second belt engaging said third pulley and said fourth pulley to operably connect said motor shaft to said implement shaft, said second belt transfers mechanical power from said third pulley to said fourth pulley.", "15.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 9, further comprising: an engine shaft rotatably mounted to said internal combustion engine; a fifth pulley mounted to said motor shaft, wherein said fifth pulley is a V-pulley; a sixth pulley mounted to said engine shaft, wherein said sixth pulley is a V-pulley; and a third belt engaging said fifth pulley and said sixth pulley to operably connect and transfer mechanical power between said motor shaft and said engine shaft, wherein said electric motor operates as a starting motor for said internal combustion engine.", "16.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 15, wherein said internal combustion engine provides supplemental mechanical power to said motor shaft, thereby allowing said electric motor to operate at maximum efficiency.", "17.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 15, wherein said electric motor acts as an electric generator to provide a voltage output to an electric receptacle on said lawn maintenance vehicle.", "18.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 15, wherein said internal combustion engine transfers excess mechanical power to said motor shaft to recharge said energy storage device.", "19.The lawn maintenance vehicle of claim 15, wherein an engine clutch is mounted proximally to the third belt between said fifth pulley and said sixth pulley." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some example aspects of the disclosure.", "This summary is not an extensive overview.", "Moreover, this summary is not intended to identify critical elements of the disclosure nor delineate the scope of the disclosure.", "The sole purpose of the summary is to present some concepts in simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.", "According to one aspect, the subject application involves a lawn maintenance vehicle including a frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes a first axle and a second axle mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel mounted to the first axle and the second axle.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an energy storage device mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes an electric motor mounted to the frame.", "The electric motor includes a motor shaft.", "The electric motor is in electrical communication with the energy storage device and the energy storage device provides electrical power to the electric motor.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a traction drive mounted to the frame.", "The traction drive is operably connected to the motor shaft, and the traction drive is operably connected to the first and second axles.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an implement.", "The implement is mounted to the frame.", "According to another aspect, the subject application involves a lawn maintenance vehicle including a frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes a first axle and a second axle mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel mounted to the first axle and the second axle.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an energy storage device mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes an electric motor mounted to the frame.", "The electric motor includes a motor shaft.", "The electric motor is in electrical communication with the energy storage device and the energy storage device provides electrical power to the electric motor.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a traction drive mounted to the frame.", "The traction drive is operably connected to the motor shaft, and the traction drive is operably connected to the first and second axles.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an implement.", "The implement is mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes an internal combustion engine operably connected to the electric motor." ], [ "This application is a divisional application of application Ser.", "No.", "14/216,494, filed Mar.", "17, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/800,842, filed Mar.", "15, 2013, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND 1.Field of the Disclosure This application relates generally to lawn maintenance vehicles, and more specifically to a lawn maintenance vehicle including an electric motor powering a traction drive device and an implement.", "2.Description of Related Art Currently available lawn maintenance vehicles (e.g., garden tractors or riding mowers) are generally provided with combinations of 1) electric traction and implement drive powered by stored energy devices with multiple electric motors, 2) electric traction drives and mechanical implement drives powered by internal combustion engines coupled to generators/alternators, and 3) mechanical traction drive and electrical implement drives powered by internal combustion engines coupled to generators/alternators (sometimes with batteries).", "The above configurations typically require expensive traction and implement drive motors and speed/power controllers.", "The motors are variable speed which means that they are operated for periods of time at non-optimal efficiencies.", "Motors sometime directly drive the implement and/or traction drives, which require that they be robust enough to accommodate the shock and strength requirements.", "The motor controllers consume energy that could be used to extend the operating time/range of the machines.", "Furthermore, wiring, switching contactors, and connections tend to be complex and expensive.", "Internal combustion engines coupled to generators/alternators are also relatively expensive, especially when they are of the higher efficiency ranges.", "They also tend to be heavy (adding to the overall machine mass) which negatively affects energy consumption.", "Accordingly, improvements to electric lawn maintenance vehicles are desired.", "SUMMARY The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some example aspects of the disclosure.", "This summary is not an extensive overview.", "Moreover, this summary is not intended to identify critical elements of the disclosure nor delineate the scope of the disclosure.", "The sole purpose of the summary is to present some concepts in simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.", "According to one aspect, the subject application involves a lawn maintenance vehicle including a frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes a first axle and a second axle mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel mounted to the first axle and the second axle.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an energy storage device mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes an electric motor mounted to the frame.", "The electric motor includes a motor shaft.", "The electric motor is in electrical communication with the energy storage device and the energy storage device provides electrical power to the electric motor.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a traction drive mounted to the frame.", "The traction drive is operably connected to the motor shaft, and the traction drive is operably connected to the first and second axles.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an implement.", "The implement is mounted to the frame.", "According to another aspect, the subject application involves a lawn maintenance vehicle including a frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes a first axle and a second axle mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a first drive wheel and a second drive wheel mounted to the first axle and the second axle.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an energy storage device mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes an electric motor mounted to the frame.", "The electric motor includes a motor shaft.", "The electric motor is in electrical communication with the energy storage device and the energy storage device provides electrical power to the electric motor.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle further includes a traction drive mounted to the frame.", "The traction drive is operably connected to the motor shaft, and the traction drive is operably connected to the first and second axles.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle still further includes an implement.", "The implement is mounted to the frame.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle also includes an internal combustion engine operably connected to the electric motor.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure relates upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of a lawn maintenance vehicle in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 is a partially-exploded perspective view of some components of the lawn maintenance vehicle of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3 is a detail view of a first axle from the example lawn maintenance vehicle of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "4 is a perspective view of the lawn maintenance vehicle of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "5 is a partially-exploded view of some components, similar to FIG.", "2; FIG.", "6 is a schematic view of a power circuit of the lawn maintenance vehicle of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "7 is a schematic view similar to FIG.", "6, including an internal combustion engine; and FIG.", "8 is a schematic bottom view taken along line 8-8 of FIG.", "7.DETAILED DESCRIPTION Example embodiments that incorporate one or more aspects of the present disclosure are described and illustrated in the drawings.", "These illustrated examples are not intended to be a limitation on the present disclosure.", "For example, one or more aspects of the present disclosure can be utilized in other embodiments and even other types of devices.", "Moreover, certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present disclosure.", "Still further, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are employed for designating the same elements.", "FIG.", "1 shows a perspective view of an example lawn maintenance vehicle 20 according to at least one aspect of the present disclosure.", "While the shown example lawn maintenance vehicle 20 is a riding mower, and the remainder of the disclosure is primarily directed to a riding mower, it is to be understood that any number of lawn maintenance vehicles are contemplated by the present disclosure.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle 20 includes a frame 24 which can serve as a platform from which to mount typical components of a lawn maintenance vehicle 20.While only the front portion of the frame 24 can be seen in FIG.", "1, the frame 24 can extend toward the rear of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 for substantially the entire length of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20.FIG.", "2 shows a perspective view of selected components of one example lawn maintenance vehicle 20 with many of the exterior components and the frame 24 removed for clarity.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle 20 includes a first axle 26 and a second axle 28 mounted to the frame 24 (not shown in FIG.", "2).", "FIG.", "3 shows one example of the first axle 26 mounted to the frame 24.In this example, the first axle 26 passes through a traction drive 30 configured to be secured to the frame 24 using threaded fasteners 34.A bracket 36 may also be used to mount the traction drive 30 to the frame 24.The example of FIG.", "3 is not meant to be limiting, and any suitable structure or method of mounting the first axle 26 and the second axle 28 to the frame 24 are acceptable.", "As shown in FIGS.", "1 and 4, the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 also includes a first drive wheel 38 and a second drive wheel 40.The first drive wheel 38 can be mounted to the first axle 26 while the second drive wheel 40 can be mounted to the second axle 28.In the shown examples, the first drive wheel 38 and the second drive wheel 40 can be the two rear wheels of a riding lawn mower.", "However, the first drive wheel 38 and the second drive wheel 40 can also be the two front wheels of a four-wheeled lawn maintenance vehicle 20 or two wheels of any other configuration of wheeled lawn maintenance vehicles 20.Turning to FIG.", "4, the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 includes an energy storage device 44 mounted to the frame 24.In the shown example, the energy storage device 44 includes a set of four batteries electrically connected in series by conductors 46.While the examples shown in several of the figures and the remainder of the disclosure describe the energy storage device 44 as one or more batteries, it is to be understood that the energy storage device 44 can include any number of suitable energy storage devices including batteries, capacitors, or fuel cells or combinations of these devices in any combination of types, sizes, and capacities.", "In one example, the energy storage device 44 can include one or more batteries of the following types: flooded lead-acid, absorbed glass matt, metal-hydride, or lithium ion.", "Furthermore, the energy storage device 44 can be mounted to the frame 24 in any suitable configuration.", "In the shown example, batteries are secured to a rack 48 that is mounted to the frame 24.The lawn maintenance vehicle 20 includes an electric motor 50 which is mounted to the frame 24.In the example shown in FIG.", "2, the electric motor 50 is mounted with threaded fasteners 34 to a portion of the frame 24, however, any suitable mounting configuration can be used.", "Turning to FIG.", "5, a side view of selected components of one example lawn maintenance vehicle 20 is shown with many of the exterior components and the frame 24 removed for clarity, similar to FIG.", "2.The electric motor 50 includes a motor shaft 54.The electric motor 50 is in electrical communication with the energy storage device 44 such that the energy storage device 44 provides electrical power (e.g., current) to the electric motor 50.The described electrical communication can be conduction of electrical power through a circuit, which is not specifically shown in FIG.", "5, but is shown schematically in later figures and is discussed below.", "Persons having ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that an electrical circuit composed of electrically conductive material can be connected to the electric motor 50 and run between each of the components of the energy storage device 44 and back to the electric motor 50 to provide the electrical communication.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle 20 includes the traction drive 30 mounted to the frame 24.A traction drive shaft 58 is rotatably connected to the traction drive 30 which can serve as an input for mechanical power to the traction drive 30.Various mechanisms can serve as a traction drive 30 for the lawn maintenance vehicle 20, including, but not limited to, a continuously variable transmission, a mechanical, multi-speed transmission with a fixed number of gear ratios, a hydrostatic drive, etc.", "Regardless of the type of traction drive 30, the traction drive 30 can include at least one forward gear, a neutral position, and one reverse gear.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the traction drive 30 is operably connected to the first axle 26 and the second axle 28.This operable connection enables mechanical power input at the traction drive shaft 58 to be transferred through the traction drive 30 and output to the first axle 26 and the second axle 28.The speed and direction of the rotation of the input and the output can be altered within the traction drive 30.For example, the traction drive shaft 58 acting as an input can rotate about a substantially vertical axis while the first axle 26 and the second axle 28 acting as outputs can rotate about a substantially horizontal axis.", "Furthermore, the traction drive 30 can alter the output rotation speed and the output rotation direction of the first and second axles 26, 28 given an input of constant rotation speed and one rotation direction.", "As such, the traction drive 30 is variable speed and can propel the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 in the forward and reverse travel directions.", "In another example, the traction drive 30 can include a differential gear apparatus in addition to the structure described above.", "Returning to FIG.", "5, the traction drive 30 is operably connected to the motor shaft 54 in order to transmit the mechanical power produced by the electric motor 50.Any suitable operable connection between the motor shaft 54 and the traction drive 30 can be used.", "In one example, a first pulley 60 is mounted to the motor shaft 54, and the first pulley 60 is a V-pulley.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "5, a first belt 64, which can be a V-belt, can engage the first pulley 60 on the motor shaft 54 and engage a variator 66 or a multi-speed transmission located between the electric motor 50 and the traction drive 30.A traction drive belt 74 can then engage a different portion of the variator 66 and also engage a second pulley 68 mounted on the traction drive shaft 58.The variator 66 can be controlled by an operator of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 to limit the amount of mechanical power transferred from the electric motor 50 to the traction drive 30.Additionally, the variator 66 can provide an infinite speed range output to the traction drive belt 74 from a constant speed input from the first belt 64.In this described arrangement with a variator 66 located between the electric motor 50 and the traction drive 30, the traction drive 30 is operably connected to the motor shaft 54 by the first belt 64, the variator 66, and the traction drive belt 74.In another example, the first belt 64 can operably connect the traction drive 30 to the motor shaft 54 in a more direct way.", "In this example, a second pulley 68 is mounted to the traction drive shaft 58, and the second pulley 68 is also a V-pulley.", "The first belt 64 engages the first pulley 60 and the second pulley 68 to operably connect the motor shaft 54 to the traction drive 30 through the traction drive shaft 58.As previously discussed, the traction drive 30 is operably connected to the first axle 26 and the second axle 28.Because the first axle 26 and the second axle 28 connect the first drive wheel 38 and the second drive wheel 40 to the traction drive 30, mechanical power produced by the electric motor 50 is transferred to the traction drive 30 which rotates the first drive wheel 38 and the second drive wheel 40.In this example, having the first belt 64 engage the first pulley 60 of the motor shaft 54 and the second pulley 68 of the traction drive shaft 58 without having an intermediate variator 66 or multi-speed transmission, the traction drive 30 is typically a mechanical multi-speed transmission.", "Additionally, other structures can interact with the first belt 64 or the traction drive belt 74 as one of these belts transmits mechanical power to the traction drive 30.In one example, an engagement device, such as a belt tensioning mechanism 76 is mounted proximally to the belt at a location between the first pulley 60 and the second pulley 68.By engaging the belt, the belt tensioning mechanism 76 regulates the amount of mechanical power transferred from the first pulley 60 to the second pulley 68.In one example, the belt tensioning mechanism 76 can engage either the first belt 64 or the traction drive belt 74 in the space between the electric motor 50 and the traction drive 30.As shown in FIGS.", "2 and 5, the belt tensioning mechanism 76 can be an engagement pulley 78 that is rotated about a non-central axis that alters the path of the belt.", "The belt tensioning mechanism 76 can extend the travel path of the belt, thereby increasing the tension in the belt.", "Increasing the tension through movement of the belt tensioning mechanism 76 can serve as an engagement of the traction drive 30.In one example, when the belt tensioning mechanism 76 engages the belt and increases the tension in the belt, mechanical power is transferred through the belt to the traction drive 30 which is then engaged.", "Alternatively, when the belt tensioning mechanism 76 disengages the belt and decreases the tension in the belt, little or no mechanical power is transferred through the belt to the traction drive 30 which is then effectively disengaged.", "It is to be understood that an infinite range of positions of the belt tensioning mechanism 76 can vary the amount of mechanical power transferred to the traction drive 30 between full transmission of power and no transmission of power.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle 20 also includes an implement mounted to the frame 24.While the figures and the remainder of the disclosure describe a spindle driven cutting deck 80 for a riding lawn mower, it is to be understood that any number of implements such as a snow blower, a rotary broom, a power assist material collection mechanism, etc.", "may be considered an implement.", "As shown in FIG.", "5, a third pulley 84 is mounted to the motor shaft 54, and a second belt 86 engages the third pulley 84 which can be a V-pulley.", "Returning to FIG.", "2, the second belt 86 can engage the third pulley 84 on the motor shaft 54 and take a serpentine path to engage a guide pulley 88 mounted to the implement, two spindle pulleys 90, 94, and another guide pulley 96 before returning to engage the third pulley 84.Through the serpentine path of engagement with the spindle pulleys 90, 94, the second belt 86 transfers mechanical power from the motor shaft 54 to the implement.", "In the shown example, the two spindle pulleys 90, 94 are mounted to shafts 98 which, in turn, support mower blades 100.The described serpentine path of the second belt 86 and spindle driven cutting deck 80 are merely one example of structure for transfer of mechanical power to an implement and are not meant to be limiting.", "Any suitable belt path and number and position of pulleys and mower blades 100 are considered.", "As previously discussed, the second belt 86 can also be used to transfer mechanical power from the motor shaft 54 to any number of other types of implements.", "By using belt-driven spindles for the cutting deck 80 in lieu of electric motors with speed controllers for each spindle associated with a mower blade 100, the system becomes more robust at a lower cost with higher efficiencies.", "Additionally, the speed of the spindle for different mower blade sizes can be controlled by the pulley size mounted to the spindle, without relying upon expensive motors and controllers that must be configured for each mower blade size and speed/power requirement.", "Turning to FIG.", "6, a schematic representation of some of the lawn maintenance vehicle components is shown.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle 20 can include a power circuit 104 which includes conductors 106 capable of passing electrical impulses to and from the various components of the power circuit 104.The power circuit 104 also includes a circuit breaker 108 and a key switch 110 in electrical communication with the electric motor 50.The conductors 106 can form an electrical path between the electric motor 50, the key switch 110, the circuit breaker 108, and the energy storage device 44.As can be appreciated, an operator can activate the key switch 110 to complete an electrical path about the power circuit 104, enabling the electric motor 50 to draw power from the energy storage device 44.The electric motor 50 can then be a single source of power for the traction drive 30 and the implement.", "In one example, the electric motor 50 can be a brushed direct current (DC) motor.", "If a brushed DC motor is used, certain efficiencies can be realized.", "For example, a brushed DC motor does not require a speed/power controller for proper operation.", "As such the power circuit 104 is devoid of a controller, thereby reducing component cost, design considerations, and assembly time.", "Another efficiency that can be realized by using a brushed DC motor is the ability to fine-tune the electric motor 50 to a relatively small band of output power.", "Without the necessity of the speed/power controller, the brushed DC motor can operate like a self-governing internal combustion engine.", "As the loads from the traction drive 30 and/or the implement become larger, the brushed DC motor will simply draw more power from the energy storage device 44 to continuously produce output within the relatively small band of output power.", "In other words, if the implement is cutting long, wet grass, forcing the electric motor 50 to operate under a relatively large load, the brushed DC motor will simply draw more current from the energy storage device 44 to maintain speed.", "In this configuration, the brushed DC motor will be operating at peak efficiency for all or nearly all of its operating time.", "The electric motor 50 is designed to operate at constant speed—either “ON” or “OFF”, without the need for speed and/or power control.", "In other examples, the electric motor 50 can be a brushless DC motor or an AC motor.", "While not shown in FIG.", "6, the brushless DC motor and the AC motor would require a speed controller and/or a power controller to account for variable speeds.", "It is to be understood that the use of a single brushed DC motor to operate the implement and the traction drive 30 can minimize other motor issues as well.", "For example, as other types of motors approach their maximum load, they tend to lose efficiency and heat up.", "The operator may have no indication of the overheating, and the motor can even shut itself off due to the high temperatures.", "However, use of the brushed DC motor enables the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 to continue cutting grass without experiencing motor overheating conditions.", "The benefits can be more pronounced if each of the mower blades 100 were powered by its own individual motor.", "In one example, under relatively heavy load, one or more of the mower blades 100 can heat up and operate less efficiently.", "The mower blade may even experience “stall” wherein the mower blade is not rotating fast enough to properly cut the grass.", "In this event, the operator is likely unaware of this condition until making the next pass.", "However, presented with the heavy loading scenario, the brushed DC motor will simply draw more reserve power (current) from the energy storage device 44 and stay in its peak operating range even under high demand.", "The arrangement shown in FIG.", "6 also enables the electric motor 50 to recharge the energy storage device 44 when the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 is decelerating or descending slopes.", "For example, while the electric motor 50 is drawing a reduced current load due to the lack of need to power the traction drive 30, the operable connection between the traction drive 30 and the electric motor 50 (e.g.", "the first belt 64) turns the motor shaft 54, enabling the electric motor 50 to generate a current that is delivered to the energy storage device 44 where it is used to re-charge the energy storage device 44.In one example, the key switch 110 can be a double-acting, dual-pole solenoid.", "Turning the key switch 110 to one side activates the solenoid to send current to the electric motor 50 and turn over (start) the electric motor 50.Activating the key switch 110 in the opposite direction can activate the opposite pole located in series with a resistor.", "This portion of the circuit can brake the load to stop the electric motor 50 in a set time based upon the value of the resistor.", "Turning to FIG.", "7, another embodiment of an example lawn maintenance vehicle 20 is shown schematically.", "The lawn maintenance vehicle 20 includes an internal combustion engine 114 which is operably connected to the electric motor 50.The addition of the internal combustion engine 114 can be offered as a kit for field installation, or installed during initial manufacturing.", "In one example, the internal combustion engine 114 can be placed at the front of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 as shown in FIG.", "1 by arrow 116.Returning to FIG.", "7, the internal combustion engine 114 includes an engine shaft 118 rotatably mounted to the internal combustion engine 114 such that operation of the internal combustion engine 114 rotates the engine shaft 118.A fifth pulley 120, which can be a V-pulley, is mounted to the motor shaft 54.Similarly, a sixth pulley 124, which can be a V-pulley, is mounted to the engine shaft 118.A third belt 126 engages the fifth pulley 120 and the sixth pulley 124 to operably connect and transfer mechanical power between the motor shaft 54 and the engine shaft 118.In one example, the electric motor 50 can serve as the starting device for the internal combustion engine 114 thereby saving the expense, complexity and weight of an engine starting system.", "As shown in FIG.", "7, the components on the left side of line 128 form the basis for an electric powered lawn maintenance vehicle 20, while the addition of the components on the right side of line 128 to those on the left side of the line 128 create a hybrid lawn maintenance vehicle 20.Turning to FIG.", "8, in one example, an engine clutch is mounted proximally to the third belt 126 between the fifth pulley 120 and the sixth pulley 124.In one example, manual engagement of the third belt 126 is accomplished by using an engine clutch such as a tensioning idler 130.The tensioning idler 130 can be selectively controlled by the operator to increase and decrease belt tension as desired.", "Motion of the tensioning idler 130 in the direction of arrow 134 is indicated in FIG.", "8.In this example, the belt tension is zero until the tensioning idler 130 is moved manually by cables, linkages or other devices so as to engage the third belt 126, increase the length of its travel path, and thereby increase belt tension and to engage the engine.", "In this example, engaging the engine refers to creating enough tension in the third belt 126 so that the third belt 126 engages the fifth pulley 120 and the sixth pulley 124 to transfer mechanical power between the motor shaft 54 and the engine shaft 118.In another example, engagement of the third belt 126 can be performed by an engine clutch such as electromagnetic clutches.", "In this example, an electro-mechanical clutch is installed onto the internal combustion engine 114, and a spring-loaded idler maintains tension in the third belt 126.The engine clutch engages the internal combustion engine 114 when low power current is applied to the engine clutch.", "In a further example, engagement of the third belt 126 can be performed via pneumatic or vacuum engagement clutches and a pulley installed onto the internal combustion engine 114.In this example, tension is zero until the belt idler is moved by pneumatic-or-vacuum devices so as to increase tension in the third belt 126 and thereby engage the engine.", "In some instances the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 can use the internal combustion engine 114 in conjunction with the electric components to create a hybrid device for several different purposes.", "Firstly, the hybrid mode can be used in order to extend the range and/or operating time of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20.In this instance, the internal combustion engine 114 can be operated in conjunction with the electric motor 50 to develop additional power to supplement the electric motor mechanical power delivered to the traction drive 30 and/or the implement.", "In effect, the electric motor 50 and the internal combustion engine 114 can run in series to power the traction drive 30 and the implement.", "In one example, the internal combustion engine provides supplemental mechanical power to the motor shaft 54.This provision of power to the motor shaft 54 allows the electric motor 50 to operate at maximum efficiency.", "For example, under excessive loads, the electric motor 50 may operate at lower efficiency for any number of reasons.", "In this event, the internal combustion engine 114 can be selectively engaged to transfer mechanical power through the third belt 126 to the motor shaft 54 such that the electric motor 50 can operate at substantially maximum efficiency while drawing less current from the energy storage device 44.Secondly, in the case of the energy storage device 44 having discharged batteries, the electric motor 50 can be directly driven by the internal combustion engine 114 to operate the traction drive 30 and the implement.", "In one example, the internal combustion engine 114 can directly drive the electric motor 50 by the operable connection between the third belt 126, the motor shaft 54 and the engine shaft 118.In this instance, the electric motor 50 is not drawing current from the energy storage device 44, and the internal combustion engine 114 can individually power the machine.", "In this instance, the energy storage device 44 (e.g., the batteries) can remain connected to the motor, and the internal combustion engine 114 transfers excess mechanical power to the motor shaft 54 to recharge the energy storage device 44.As the internal combustion engine 114 turns the motor shaft 54, thus operating the electric motor 50, current developed at the electric motor 50 is transferred back to the energy storage device 44 through conductors 106.Thirdly, the hybrid version of lawn maintenance vehicle 20 can be used as a stand-alone power supply.", "As an example, the electric motor 50 can be used as a generator powered by the internal combustion engine 114, and both AC and DC electrical power can be made available to the operator.", "In one example, the electric motor 50 acts as an electric generator to provide a voltage output to an electric receptacle 136 (best seen schematically in FIG.", "7) on said mower.", "As a brief summary, while the internal combustion engine 114 is in operation, it can operate with the electric portion of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20 to operate in one of three ways: 1) there could be a key switch 110 position to disconnect the batteries from the electric motor 50 (internal combustion engine 114 only power), 2) the electric motor 50 remains connected to the batteries so as to provide supplemental power (the case whereby the implement load slows the engine below a particular, predetermined speed) (internal combustion engine 114 and electric motor 50 power), or 3) the electric motor 50 remains connected to the batteries so as to provide generation to recharge the energy storage device 44, and/or to provide power to an external source (the electric motor 50 becomes a generator as the energy in the energy storage device 44 is depleted).", "It is to be understood that control of several variables and design aspects can be implemented to improve the efficiency of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20.For example, V-belt design and V-pulley design can be optimized to improve mechanical power transfer between various components of the lawn maintenance vehicle 20.Additionally, various aspects of the lawn maintenance vehicle tires, wheel bearings, wheel camber, wheel toe, cutting deck 80 configuration, mower blade design, etc.", "can be improved for an overall gain in efficiency in order to optimize the performance of the electric-powered lawn maintenance vehicle 20.The described combination of components can provide many advantages.", "The battery-electric lawn maintenance vehicle can provide a single electric motor for traction and implement drives.", "The described lawn maintenance vehicle can include an electric motor which operates at a constant speed (either “on” or “off”) with no speed and/or power controllers necessary which can enable the electric motor to operate at peak efficiency within the peak performance range.", "The described lawn maintenance vehicle can be a relatively low-cost product to operate and manufacture due to the system simplicity and the system efficiency.", "Furthermore, the work system efficiencies can be optimized due to less weight by having fewer components (e.g., no controllers, less wiring), by having a lighter weight (lower capacity) battery system, and by having reduced power consumption due to having no losses from controller or heat management (e.g., cooling fans).", "Additional benefits can include battery re-generation when the lawn maintenance vehicle is decelerating and is descending slopes and easy conversion to a hybrid lawn maintenance vehicle by adding an internal combustion engine.", "The addition of the internal combustion engine can be offered as a kit for field installation, or installed during initial manufacturing.", "Also, the lawn maintenance vehicle implement and traction drive systems can be powered: 1) solely by the electric motor; 2) solely by the internal combustion engine; or 3) by both the electric motor and the internal combustion engine.", "Further, the described lawn maintenance vehicle can power a variety of implements without costly electrical interfaces and speed/power controllers, such as snow blowers, rotary brooms, and power assist material collection.", "The described lawn maintenance vehicle can accommodate a variety of stored energy device types, sizes and capacities, such as batteries, capacitors, fuel cells.", "Additionally, the hybrid version of the lawn maintenance vehicle can be used as a stand-alone power supply.", "Accordingly, the electric motor can be used as a generator powered by the internal combustion engine to provide both AC and DC electrical power to the operator.", "While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments described above, it is evident that many alternatives, combinations, modifications and variations are apparent to those skilled in the art.", "Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of this invention, as set forth above are intended to be illustrative only, and not in a limiting sense.", "Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.", "Combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon studying the above description and are intended to be embraced therein.", "Therefore, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims, and all devices, processes, and methods that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein.", "Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim." ] ]
Patent_15875058
[ [ "IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS", "In a first image formation mode, an image is formed with a first development contrast C1 and a specific dot pattern is formed with a second development contrast C2, which is lower than the first development contrast C1; in a second image formation mode, an image is formed with a third development contrast C3 and a specific dot pattern is formed with a fourth development contrast C4, which is lower than the third development contrast C3; and when ΔC1 (=C2/C1) denotes a ratio between the second development contrast C2 and the first development contrast C1, and ΔC2 (=C4/C3) denotes a ratio between the fourth development contrast C4 and the third development contrast C3, ΔC2<ΔC1 is satisfied." ], [ "1.-27.", "(canceled) 28.An image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member that supplies a developer to the image bearing member and develops the electrostatic image; and processing portion that processes image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed on recording material, wherein the image forming apparatus executes: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1 in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a first developer volume level M1 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a second developer volume level M2, which is lower than the first developer volume level M1, in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a third developer volume level M3 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a fourth developer volume level M4, which is lower than the third developer volume level M3, and when ΔM1 (=M2/M1) denotes a ratio between the second developer volume level M2 and the first developer volume level M1, and ΔM2 (=M4/M3) denotes a ratio between the fourth developer volume level M4 and the third developer volume level M3, ΔM2<ΔM1 is satisfied.", "29.An image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member that supplies a developer to the image bearing member and develops the electrostatic image; and processing portion that processes image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed on recording material, wherein the image forming apparatus executes: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a first developer volume level M1 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a second developer volume level M2, which is lower than the first developer volume level M1, in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a third developer volume level M3 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a fourth developer volume level M4, which is lower than the third developer volume level M3, and when ΔM1 (=|M2−M1|) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the second developer volume level M2 and the first developer volume level M1, and ΔM2 (=|M4−M3|) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the fourth developer volume level M4 and the third developer volume level M3, ΔM2<ΔM1 is satisfied.", "30.The image forming apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising a control unit that executes the first image formation mode and the second image formation mode.", "31.An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a developer bearing member that supplies a developer to the image bearing member and develops the electrostatic image; and processing portion that processes image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed on recording material, wherein the image forming apparatus executes: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, wherein, in switching from the first image formation mode and to the second image formation mode, density of the specific dot pattern is increased at a rate that is lower than another rate of density increase of a dot pattern of the image other than the specific dot pattern.", "32.The image forming apparatus according to claim 31, further comprising an exposing apparatus that forms the electrostatic image on the image bearing member by exposing the image bearing member, wherein on the image bearing member, in switching from the first image formation mode to the second image formation mode, density of the specific dot pattern to be developed is lowered by adjusting exposure of an electrostatic image corresponding to the specific dot pattern by the exposing apparatus.", "33.The image forming apparatus according to claim 32, wherein in switching from the first image formation mode to the second image formation mode, exposure of the electrostatic image corresponding to the specific dot pattern is adjusted so that a potential of a portion of the image bearing member corresponding to the specific dot pattern in a case where density of the specific dot pattern is increased at the rate and density of the dot pattern is increased at the another rate becomes lower than when the density of both the specific dot pattern and the dot pattern are increased at the another rate.", "34.The image forming apparatus according to claim 33, wherein, in the second image formation mode, a difference between a potential of a portion corresponding to the specific dot pattern in a case where density of the specific dot pattern is increased at the rate and density of the dot pattern of the image is increased at the another rate, and a potential of the developer bearing member is smaller than a difference between (i) a potential of a portion corresponding to the specific dot pattern in a case where density of both the specific dot pattern and the dot pattern of the image are increased at the another rate, and (ii) the potential of the developer bearing member.", "35.The image forming apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the image information includes normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein, in the second image formation mode, the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so that the ΔM2<ΔM1 is satisfied.", "36.The image forming apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the image information includes normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein, in switching from the first image formation mode to the second image formation mode, the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so that a developer volume level of the specific dot pattern is increased at a rate that is lower than another rate of a developer volume level increase of a dot of the image other than the specific dot pattern.", "37.The image forming apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising an exposing apparatus that forms the electrostatic image on the image bearing member by exposing based on the image information, the image information including normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so as to control an exposure amount of the exposing apparatus.", "38.The image forming apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the image information includes normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein, in the second image formation mode, the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so that the ΔM2<ΔM1 is satisfied.", "39.The image forming apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the image information includes normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein, in switching from the first image formation mode to the second image formation mode, the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so that a developer volume level of the specific dot pattern is increased at a rate that is lower than another rate of a developer volume level increase of a dot of the image other than the specific dot pattern.", "40.The image forming apparatus according to claim 29, further comprising an exposing apparatus that forms the electrostatic image on the image bearing member by exposing based on the image information, the image information including normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so as to control an exposure amount of the exposing apparatus.", "41.The image forming apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the image information includes normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so that density of the specific dot pattern is increased at the rate that is lower than the another rate of density increase of a dot of the image other than the specific dot pattern.", "42.The image forming apparatus according to claim 31, further comprising an exposing apparatus that forms the electrostatic image on the image bearing member by exposing based on the image information, the image information including normal image information and additional image information corresponding to the specific pattern, wherein the processing portion adds the additional information to the normal image information so as to control an exposure amount of the exposing apparatus." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>However, when the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "2013-210489 is adopted with respect to the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "H10-076735 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "2001-103282, increased density of an image may cause a dot pattern applied to a sheet of paper to become visible.", "Specifically, in an image forming apparatus which forms a visually-unidentifiable dot pattern for identifying a manufacturer or the like on a sheet of paper, when increasing image density by adjusting a peripheral velocity ratio between a photosensitive drum and a developing roller, density of the dot pattern also increases.", "In this case, there is a risk that a favorable image can no longer be obtained because the increased density causes the dot pattern applied to the sheet of paper to become visually identifiable by a user.", "In consideration thereof, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique which enables a favorable image to be obtained even when changing a peripheral velocity ratio between an image bearing member and a developer bearing member during image formation.", "In order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 ; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 2 , which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 , in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a first development contrast C 1 and forms the specific dot pattern with a second development contrast C 2 , which is lower than the first development contrast C 1 , in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a third development contrast C 3 and forms the specific dot pattern with a fourth development contrast C 4 , which is lower than the third development contrast C 3 , and when ΔC 1 (=C 2 /C 1 ) denotes a ratio between the second development contrast C 2 and the first development contrast C 1 , and ΔC 2 (=C 4 /C 3 ) denotes a ratio between the fourth development contrast C 4 and the third development contrast C 3 , ΔC 2 <ΔC 1 is satisfied.", "In order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 ; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 2 , which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 , in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a first development contrast C 1 and forms the specific dot pattern with a second development contrast C 2 which is lower than the first development contrast C 1 , in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a third development contrast C 3 and forms the specific dot pattern with a fourth development contrast C 4 which is lower than the third development contrast C 3 , and when ΔC 1 (=|C 2 −C 1 |) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the second development contrast C 2 and the first development contrast C 1 , and ΔC 2 (=|C 4 −C 3 |) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the fourth development contrast C 4 and the third development contrast C 3 , ΔC 2 <ΔC 1 is satisfied.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 ; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 2 , which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 , and the image forming apparatus sets spacing between two adjacent dots among a plurality of dots forming the specific dot pattern in the second image formation mode wider than spacing between the two dots in the first image formation mode.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 ; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 2 , which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 , in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a first developer volume level M 1 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a second developer volume level M 2 , which is lower than the first developer volume level M 1 , in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a third developer volume level M 3 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a fourth developer volume level M 4 , which is lower than the third developer volume level M 3 , and when ΔM 1 (=M 2 /M 1 ) denotes a ratio between the second developer volume level M 2 and the first developer volume level M 1 , and ΔM 2 (=M 4 /M 3 ) denotes a ratio between the fourth developer volume level M 4 and the third developer volume level M 3 , ΔM 2 <ΔM 1 is satisfied.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 ; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 2 , which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 , in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a first developer volume level M 1 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a second developer volume level M 2 , which is lower than the first developer volume level M 1 , in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a third developer volume level M 3 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a fourth developer volume level M 4 , which is lower than the third developer volume level M 3 , and when ΔM 1 (=|M 2 −M 1 |) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the second developer volume level M 2 and the first developer volume level M 1 , and ΔM 2 (=|M 4 −M 3 |) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the fourth developer volume level M 4 and the third developer volume level M 3 , ΔM 2 <ΔM 1 is satisfied.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: an image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a developer bearing member for supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 ; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 2 , which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV 1 , wherein, compared to the first image formation mode, in the second image formation mode, density of the specific dot pattern is increased at a rate lower than an another rate at which density of a dot pattern of the image other than the specific dot pattern is increased.", "The present invention enables a favorable image to be obtained even when forming an image by setting a higher peripheral velocity ratio than a prescribed peripheral velocity ratio.", "Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings." ], [ "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic technique.", "Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as laser beam printers, an in-line color system is known in which a plurality of image forming stations are arranged in parallel in a movement direction of an intermediate transfer belt.", "With an image forming apparatus adopting the in-line color system, first, an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface of a photosensitive drum in the plurality of image forming stations.", "The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is developed by a developing apparatus as a toner image.", "In addition, toner images of respective colors formed at the plurality of image forming stations are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt so as to overlap with each other.", "Furthermore, the toner images of the respective colors primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt are secondarily transferred onto a sheet such as a sheet of paper.", "Subsequently, as the sheet onto which the toner images have been secondarily transferred is subjected to heat and pressure by a fixing apparatus, the toner images are fixed to the sheet.", "In this manner, an image is formed on the sheet.", "In this case, density of the image formed on the sheet is desirably consistent with density desired by a user.", "In addition, a tinge of the image formed on the sheet is also desirably consistent with a tinge desired by the user.", "In consideration thereof, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "2013-210489, a color gamut of an image is enlarged and an upper limit value of density of the image is increased by causing a peripheral velocity difference between a photosensitive drum and a developing roller to vary.", "In addition, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "2013-210489 suppresses toner scattering, image thinning, and the like which are caused when the peripheral velocity difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller is increased.", "Specifically, instead of increasing the peripheral velocity difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller by increasing a peripheral velocity of the developing roller, the peripheral velocity difference between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller is increased by reducing a peripheral velocity of the photosensitive drum.", "Accordingly, toner scattering, image thinning, and the like are suppressed.", "In addition, recently, the widespread use of image forming apparatuses capable of printing images with high image quality in a stable manner has given rise to a new problem in that paper currency, securities, and the like can be easily printed using a full-color image forming apparatus.", "In order to solve this problem, with a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "H10-076735, a regular dot pattern indicating a machine number of an image forming apparatus is applied to a sheet of paper when printing an image.", "Accordingly, when, for instance, printed matter resembling paper currency is discovered, a machine number can be deduced from the dot pattern applied to the paper currency and an image forming apparatus used to print the printed matter can be identified.", "Furthermore, with a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "2001-103282, density in a vicinity of a portion where a dot pattern indicating information related to an image forming apparatus is added on a sheet is detected and the dot pattern is changed in accordance with the density in the vicinity of the portion.", "Specifically, when the vicinity of the portion where the dot pattern is added has high density, the dot pattern is made recognizable by reducing spacing among dots constituting the dot pattern.", "On the other hand, when the vicinity of the portion where the dot pattern is added has low density, the dot pattern is made less visible by increasing the spacing among the dots constituting the dot pattern.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, when the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "2013-210489 is adopted with respect to the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "H10-076735 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.", "2001-103282, increased density of an image may cause a dot pattern applied to a sheet of paper to become visible.", "Specifically, in an image forming apparatus which forms a visually-unidentifiable dot pattern for identifying a manufacturer or the like on a sheet of paper, when increasing image density by adjusting a peripheral velocity ratio between a photosensitive drum and a developing roller, density of the dot pattern also increases.", "In this case, there is a risk that a favorable image can no longer be obtained because the increased density causes the dot pattern applied to the sheet of paper to become visually identifiable by a user.", "In consideration thereof, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique which enables a favorable image to be obtained even when changing a peripheral velocity ratio between an image bearing member and a developer bearing member during image formation.", "In order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a first development contrast C1 and forms the specific dot pattern with a second development contrast C2, which is lower than the first development contrast C1, in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a third development contrast C3 and forms the specific dot pattern with a fourth development contrast C4, which is lower than the third development contrast C3, and when ΔC1 (=C2/C1) denotes a ratio between the second development contrast C2 and the first development contrast C1, and ΔC2 (=C4/C3) denotes a ratio between the fourth development contrast C4 and the third development contrast C3, ΔC2<ΔC1 is satisfied.", "In order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a first development contrast C1 and forms the specific dot pattern with a second development contrast C2 which is lower than the first development contrast C1, in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image with a third development contrast C3 and forms the specific dot pattern with a fourth development contrast C4 which is lower than the third development contrast C3, and when ΔC1 (=|C2−C1|) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the second development contrast C2 and the first development contrast C1, and ΔC2 (=|C4−C3|) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the fourth development contrast C4 and the third development contrast C3, ΔC2<ΔC1 is satisfied.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, and the image forming apparatus sets spacing between two adjacent dots among a plurality of dots forming the specific dot pattern in the second image formation mode wider than spacing between the two dots in the first image formation mode.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a first developer volume level M1 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a second developer volume level M2, which is lower than the first developer volume level M1, in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a third developer volume level M3 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a fourth developer volume level M4, which is lower than the third developer volume level M3, and when ΔM1 (=M2/M1) denotes a ratio between the second developer volume level M2 and the first developer volume level M1, and ΔM2 (=M4/M3) denotes a ratio between the fourth developer volume level M4 and the third developer volume level M3, ΔM2<ΔM1 is satisfied.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotatable image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a rotatable developer bearing member supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, in the first image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a first developer volume level M1 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a second developer volume level M2, which is lower than the first developer volume level M1, in the second image formation mode, the image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the image has a third developer volume level M3 and forms the specific dot pattern by supplying the developer to the image bearing member so that a region corresponding to the specific dot pattern has a fourth developer volume level M4, which is lower than the third developer volume level M3, and when ΔM1 (=|M2−M1|) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the second developer volume level M2 and the first developer volume level M1, and ΔM2 (=|M4−M3|) denotes an absolute value of a difference between the fourth developer volume level M4 and the third developer volume level M3, ΔM2<ΔM1 is satisfied.", "In addition, in order to achieve the object described above, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus, comprising: an image bearing member on which an electrostatic image is formed; a developer bearing member for supplying a developer to the image bearing member and developing the electrostatic image; and processing portion for processing image information so as to add a specific dot pattern to an image to be formed, wherein the image forming apparatus is capable of executing: a first image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vd of the developer bearing member and a peripheral velocity Vdr of the image bearing member to a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1; and a second image formation mode in which an image is formed based on the image information by setting the peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr to a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2, which is higher than the first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1, wherein, compared to the first image formation mode, in the second image formation mode, density of the specific dot pattern is increased at a rate lower than an another rate at which density of a dot pattern of the image other than the specific dot pattern is increased.", "The present invention enables a favorable image to be obtained even when forming an image by setting a higher peripheral velocity ratio than a prescribed peripheral velocity ratio.", "Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG.", "2 is a schematic sectional view of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment; FIG.", "3 is a schematic sectional view of a fixing apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG.", "4 is a diagram showing a flow of processes executed by an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG.", "5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a toner amount laid on a sheet of paper and density of an image according to the first embodiment; FIGS.", "6A and 6B are diagrams showing a relationship between potential of a photosensitive drum and a toner amount laid on a recording material; FIG.", "7 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern in a normal image formation mode; FIG.", "8 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern in a wide-color gamut image formation mode; FIG.", "9 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern in a normal image formation mode; FIG.", "10 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern in a wide-color gamut image formation mode; FIG.", "11 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern in a normal image formation mode; and FIG.", "12 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern in a wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Modes for carrying out the present invention are illustratively explained in detail below on the basis of embodiment with reference to the drawings.", "However, dimensions, materials, and shapes of components described in the embodiments, relative arrangement of the components, and the like should be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of an apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions.", "That is, the dimensions, the materials, the shapes, and the relative arrangement are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the embodiments.", "First Embodiment <Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 200> The present embodiment enables execution of a normal image formation mode in which an image is formed with normal density and a wide-color gamut image formation mode in which a color gamut of an image is enlarged by changing a peripheral velocity ratio Vd/Vdr between a peripheral velocity Vdr of a photosensitive drum 201 and a peripheral velocity Vd of a developing roller 302.The respective image formation modes differ from each other in the peripheral velocity ratio between the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member and the developing roller 302 as a developer bearing member.", "In this case, the peripheral velocity ratio between the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302 is expressed as peripheral velocity ratio=peripheral velocity of developing roller 302÷peripheral velocity of photosensitive drum 201×100(%).", "In a portion where the photosensitive drum and the developing roller are in contact with each other, when the photosensitive drum and the developing roller rotate in a same direction as depicted, the peripheral velocity ratio is as follows.", "When the photosensitive drum is rotating at 200 mm/sec and the developing roller at 200 mm/sec, the peripheral velocity ratio is 100%.", "On the other hand, when the photosensitive drum and the developing roller rotate in different directions in the contact portion, the peripheral velocity ratio is −100%.", "In the normal image formation mode, toner as a developer adhered to the developing roller 302 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 201 by an action of a development contrast between a potential of an electrostatic latent image as an electrostatic image formed on the photosensitive drum 201 and a potential of the developing roller 302.Accordingly, the electrostatic latent image as an electrostatic image formed on the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member is developed as a toner image.", "On the other hand, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, by increasing the peripheral velocity ratio between the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302, a toner supply amount per unit area from the developing roller 302 to the photosensitive drum 201 is increased.", "Accordingly, due to the action of the development contrast between the potential of an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member and the potential of the developing roller, a maximum amount of toner adherable to the developing roller 302 is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 201.Hereinafter, a process cartridge 208 and the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment.", "The image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is an in-line system full-color laser printer adopting an intermediate transfer system.", "The image forming apparatus 200 is capable of forming a full-color image on a recording material P (for example, recording paper) as a recording medium in accordance with image information.", "The image information is input to a CPU 20 provided inside the image forming apparatus 200 from an image reading apparatus (not shown) which is connected to the image forming apparatus 200 or from a host device (not shown) such as a personal computer which is connected to the image forming apparatus 200 so as to be capable of communication.", "In addition, as a plurality of image forming portions, the image forming apparatus 200 includes first, second, third, and fourth image forming portions S (SY, SM, SC, and SK) for forming images of the respective colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).", "In this case, the image forming portion S includes the process cartridge 208 and primary transfer rollers 212 (212Y to 212K) which are arranged so as to oppose the photosensitive drum 201 via an intermediate transfer belt 205.In the present embodiment, the first to fourth image forming portions SY to SK are arranged in a single row in a direction intersecting both vertical and horizontal directions.", "Moreover, in the present embodiment, configurations and operations of the first to fourth image forming portions SY to SK are substantially the same with the exception of differences in colors of images formed.", "Therefore, unless the image forming portions must be distinguished from one another, the suffixes Y, M, C, and K will be omitted and the image forming portions will be collectively described.", "However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration and, alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which black (K) has a larger shape and the image forming portion thereof is also larger than the other image forming portions.", "In addition, a configuration including a fifth image forming portion using white toner or transparent toner is also valid.", "As a plurality of image bearing members, the image forming apparatus 200 includes four photosensitive drums 201 which are drum-shaped electrophotographic photoreceptors arranged parallel to each other in a direction intersecting the vertical direction.", "The photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member is rotationally driven in a direction of an arrow A (clockwise) in FIG.", "1 by a driving force of a motor (refer to FIG.", "2).", "In addition, a charging roller 202 as charging means configured to uniformly charge a surface of the photosensitive drum 201 and a scanner unit 203 configured to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 201 by irradiating a laser based on image information are arranged in a periphery of the photosensitive drum 201.In addition, a developing unit 204 configured to develop an electrostatic image as a toner image and a cleaning blade 206 configured to remove toner as a developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 after the toner image is transferred are arranged in the periphery of the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member.", "Furthermore, a preliminary exposure LED 216 configured to eliminate a potential on the photosensitive drum 201 is arranged in the periphery of the photosensitive drum 201.In addition, the intermediate transfer belt 205 for transferring a toner image on the photosensitive drum 201 to a recording material P as a recording medium is arranged so as to oppose the four photosensitive drums 201.The photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member, the charging roller 202, the developing unit 204, and the cleaning blade 206 are integrally configured as the process cartridge 208.The process cartridge 208 is configured to be attachable and detachable to and from an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus 200.In addition, in the present embodiment, all of the process cartridges 208 for the respective colors have a same shape, and toners as developers of the respective colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) are housed in the process cartridges 208.Furthermore, as the toners as developers in the present embodiment, toners having negative-charging characteristics are used.", "While the present embodiment is described using a process cartridge in which a photosensitive drum and a developing unit are integrally configured, this configuration is not restrictive.", "A configuration may be adopted in which a photosensitive unit including a photosensitive drum and a developing unit including a developer bearing member are respectively configured to be separately attachable and detachable to and from an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus.", "In a similar manner, while the toners according to the present embodiment are one-component developers, two-component developers or magnetic toners may be used depending on the configuration.", "The intermediate transfer belt 205 formed by an endless belt is in contact with all of the photosensitive drums 201 and moves in a direction of an arrow B (counterclockwise) in FIG.", "1.In addition, the intermediate transfer belt 205 is stretched over a driver roller 209, a secondary transfer opposing roller 210, and a driven roller 211.Four primary transfer rollers 212 are arranged parallel to each other on a side of an inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 205 so as to oppose each photosensitive drum 201.Furthermore, a bias having an opposite polarity (in the present embodiment, a positive polarity) to a normal charging polarity of the toners is applied to the primary transfer rollers 212 from a primary transfer bias power supply (not shown).", "Accordingly, a toner image on the photosensitive drum 201 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 205.In addition, a secondary transfer roller 213 is arranged at a position opposing the secondary transfer opposing roller 210 on a side of an outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 205.Furthermore, a bias having an opposite polarity to the normal charging polarity of the toners is applied to the secondary transfer roller 213 from a secondary transfer bias power supply (not shown).", "Accordingly, a toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 205 is transferred onto the recording material P as a recording medium.", "<Configuration of Process Cartridge 208> Next, an overall configuration of the process cartridge 208 to be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.", "2.FIG.", "2 is a schematic sectional view of the process cartridge 208 according to the first embodiment.", "Specifically, FIG.", "2 is a schematic sectional view of the process cartridge 208 as viewed from an axial direction of a center of rotation of the photosensitive drum 201.Moreover, in the present embodiment, configurations and operations of the process cartridges 208 of the respective colors are the same with the exception of types (colors) of toners housed therein.", "Obviously, a configuration and operations of each process cartridge can be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration.", "The process cartridge 208 includes a photoreceptor unit 301 including the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member and the like and the developing unit 204 including the developing roller 302 as a developer bearing member and the like.", "The photoreceptor unit 301 includes a cleaning frame body 303 which supports various elements in the photoreceptor unit 301.The photosensitive drum 201 is rotatably attached to the cleaning frame body 303 via a bearing member (not shown).", "In addition, the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow A (clockwise) in FIG.", "2 in accordance with an image forming operation as a driving force of a motor (refer to FIG.", "2) is transferred to the photoreceptor unit 301.As the photosensitive drum 201 configured to perform a central role of an image forming process, an organic photoreceptor is used in which an outer circumferential surface of an aluminum cylinder is sequentially coated with an undercoat layer, a carrier generation layer, and a carrier transfer layer which are functional membranes.", "In addition, the cleaning blade 206 and the charging roller 202 are arranged in the photoreceptor unit 301 so as to come into contact with a circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 201.Furthermore, untransferred toner removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 by the cleaning blade 206 is housed in the cleaning frame body 303.The charging roller 202 which is charging means is driven so as to follow the photosensitive drum 201 when a roller portion made of conductive rubber is brought into pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 201.Prescribed DC voltage is applied to a core of the charging roller 202 and, accordingly, a uniform dark-part potential (Vd) is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 201.In addition, as described earlier, the scanner unit 203 as an exposing apparatus exposes the photosensitive drum 201 with laser light which is emitted in correspondence with image data.", "Subsequently, as charges on the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 are eliminated by a carrier from the carrier generation layer, the potential of the surface of the exposed photosensitive drum 201 drops.", "As a result, on the surface of the photosensitive drum 201, a portion exposed by the laser assumes a prescribed light-part potential (V1) and an unexposed portion not exposed by the laser assumes a prescribed dark-part potential (Vd).", "Accordingly, an electrostatic latent image as an electrostatic image is formed on the photosensitive drum 201.The developing unit 204 includes the developing roller 302 as a developer bearing member (which rotates in a direction of an arrow D), a developing blade 308, and a toner supplying roller 304 (which rotates in a direction of an arrow E).", "In addition, the developing unit 204 includes a toner housing chamber 306 which houses the toner as a developer.", "The toner as a developer is stirred inside the toner housing chamber 306 by an action (a rotation in a direction of an arrow G) of a stirring member 307.In addition, in the present embodiment, a prescribed DC bias is applied to the developing roller 302 as a developer bearing member.", "Toner adheres to a light-part potential portion of the photosensitive drum 201 due to a potential difference between the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302 in a developing portion where the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302 come into contact with each other.", "Accordingly, an electrostatic latent image as an electrostatic image on the photosensitive drum 201 is visualized.", "<Configuration of Fixing Apparatus> FIG.", "3 is a schematic sectional view of a fixing apparatus 400 according to the first embodiment.", "The fixing apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment is a fixing apparatus adopting a pressure roller drive system and includes a heating member 410, a cylindrical film 430 which comes into sliding contact with the heating member 410, and a pressure roller 440 which forms a fixing nip portion N with the heating member 410 via the film 430.In addition, the recording material P as a recording medium is sandwiched and conveyed in the fixing nip portion N and, at the same time, heated by heat from the heating member 410.Accordingly, an unfixed image formed on the recording material P as a recording medium is fixed by heating to the recording material P. In a state of being held by a heating member supporter 420, the heating member 410 is in pressure contact with a prescribed pressing force with the pressure roller 440 which is a pressing member via the cylindrical film 430 as a flexible member.", "In addition, the pressure roller 440 is rotationally driven in a direction of an arrow H in FIG.", "3 by a rotational driving portion 480.As the pressure roller 440 rotates and slidingly moves against an outer circumferential surface of the film 430, the film 430 rotates in a direction of an arrow I in FIG.", "3.Specifically, the film 430 rotates in the direction of the arrow I around the heating member supporter 420 holding the heating member 410.In addition, the heating member 410 is electrically heated by a heating member driving circuit 470 as power is supplied to the heating member 410 from a commercial power supply.", "Furthermore, the heating member 410 is controlled to a prescribed temperature adjusted for printing.", "In this state, the recording material P bearing an unfixed toner image T is sandwiched and conveyed in a direction of an arrow F in the fixing nip portion N. Furthermore, as heat from the heating member 410 is applied to the recording material P via the film 430, the unfixed toner image T is fixed to the recording material P. Subsequently, the recording material P having passed the fixing nip portion N is separated in a curving manner from a surface of the film 430 and then discharged.", "Moreover, in the fixing apparatus 400 according to the present embodiment, a reference of paper passage of the recording material P is set to a central portion in a longitudinal direction (a direction perpendicular to the direction of the arrow F of the recording material P) of each member.", "As the cylindrical film 430, for example, a thin film cylinder with a thickness of around 30 μm to 100 μm and which uses a polyimide or SUS as a base layer is used.", "In addition, releasability from the toner is maintained by coating the base layer with PFA, PTFA and the like via a primer layer.", "Furthermore, a slide grease (not shown) is applied between an inner circumferential surface of the film 430 and the heating member supporter 420 and, accordingly, slidability between the film 430 and the heating member supporter 420 is maintained.", "The pressure roller 440 is a rotating body in which, for example, an elastic layer such as silicone rubber is formed on a core.", "In addition, in the present embodiment, a releasing layer with a thickness of around 10 to 100 μm and which is made of FEP, PFA, or the like is provided on the base layer via a primer layer.", "Accordingly, releasability from the toner is maintained.", "In addition, the heating member supporter 420 is formed of a highly heat-resistant resin such as PPS, PAI, PI, PEEK, and liquid crystal polymer having a heat insulating property, high heat resistance, and rigidity or a composite material of the resin and ceramics, metal, glass, or the like.", "In this case, PPS stands for polyphenylene sulfide, PAI stands for polyamide-imide, PI stands for polyimide, and PEEK stands for polyether ether ketone.", "Furthermore, the rotational driving portion 480 includes a motor 481 which rotationally drives the pressure roller 440, a control portion (CPU) 482 which controls rotation of the motor 481, and the like.", "As the motor 481, for example, a DC motor or a stepping motor can be used.", "<Explanation of Traceable Pattern> In the present embodiment, a dot pattern invisible to the naked eye is formed on the recording material P on which an image is formed.", "Accordingly, a machine number of an image forming apparatus which is a manufacturer can be deduced from the applied dot pattern.", "Therefore, an image forming apparatus which is a manufacturer having printed paper currency can be identified.", "This system is generally referred to as a traceable pattern system.", "A traceable pattern is normally formed using yellow toner which has low visibility.", "In addition, a traceable pattern indicates various pieces of information on an output device such as a name of a manufacturer, a model name, a machine number, and an output status during output of an image to the recording material P. Moreover, in the present embodiment, a dot pattern formed by a plurality of dots is used as a traceable pattern.", "Positions where the dot pattern is added onto an image are obtained by means such as converting, based on a certain rule, information to be superimposed.", "Various rules are conceivable for conversion into positional information.", "For example, in a conceivable case, a machine number or a model name of a printer main body is expressed by a binary sequence and “1” and “0” are respectively expressed by a presence or an absence of a dot pattern.", "However, methods are not particularly limited in the present embodiment.", "In addition, in the present embodiment, an image formed on the recording material P by the image forming apparatus 200 is a digital image formed by a plurality of dots.", "Furthermore, a traceable pattern is read using a dedicated reading apparatus.", "An appropriate process of converting a dot pattern into information is performed in reverse to a process of converting information to be superimposed into the dot pattern.", "Accordingly, the machine number or the model name of the printer main body having output printed matter can be identified.", "Moreover, in the present embodiment, a toner volume level of a traceable pattern is set to 60% or lower of a toner volume level of portions other than the traceable pattern (portions corresponding to “other than the dot pattern”).", "In other words, the toner volume level of a traceable pattern is 60% or lower of the toner volume level of portions where a normal image is formed.", "In addition, in the present embodiment, a size of dots constituting a traceable pattern changes depending on laser output.", "Specifically, the scanner unit 203 irradiates the photosensitive drum 201 with a laser in accordance with image information converted by a printer driver.", "Furthermore, the size of dots constituting a traceable pattern is determined in accordance with output of the laser.", "FIG.", "4 is a diagram showing a flow of processes executed by the image forming apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, a traceable pattern is generated by an additional information generating process which is independent of a normal image information processing process.", "The traceable pattern is independent of the normal image information processing process in order to prevent the traceable pattern from being intentionally modified by a user.", "In addition, information on the traceable pattern is added to normal image information by an additional information superimposing process which is performed after the normal image information processing process is finished.", "In this manner, the traceable pattern is output for each image forming apparatus 200 without being effected by normal image processing processes.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, image information input from an image input terminal is first converted by a color converting process from RGB (red, green, and blue) information into CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) information.", "Next, the CMYK information is corrected by various correcting processes.", "For example, since a color expressed in RGB and a color expressed in CMYK do not necessarily match each other, the color expressed in CMYK is corrected so as to approach the color expressed in RGB as much as possible.", "In addition, in a pseudo gradation processing process, dithering is performed so as to smooth shading of an image formed on the recording material P as a recording medium.", "Furthermore, in the additional information superimposing process, additional information generated by the additional information generating process is added to image information.", "In the present embodiment, in the additional information generating process, information on a traceable pattern for identifying an image forming apparatus having printed special paper currency and the like is generated.", "Subsequently, image information to which the additional information has been added is output from an image output terminal.", "<Normal Image Formation Mode and Wide-Color Gamut Image Formation Mode> In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 200 is capable of executing a wide-color gamut image formation mode in which a color gamut of an image is enlarged in order to form an image with better image quality.", "In the wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode, by varying a peripheral velocity ratio (a ratio of peripheral velocities) between the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302, a toner supply amount conveyed from the developing roller 302 to the photosensitive drum 201 can be increased.", "The peripheral velocity ratio (the ratio of peripheral velocities) between the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302 can be changed by increasing the peripheral velocity of the developing roller 302 or by reducing the peripheral velocity of the photosensitive drum 201.In the present embodiment, on the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member, a dark-part potential which refers to a potential of a portion not exposed by a laser is set to −500 [V] and a light-part potential which refers to a potential of a portion exposed by the laser is set to −100 [V].", "In addition, in the present embodiment, the light-part potential is acquired by measuring a surface of the photosensitive drum 201 with a potentiometer when forming an image pattern (for example, a solid black image) which causes an image to be formed over the entire recording material P. Furthermore, by setting a developing potential of the developing roller to −350 [V], a difference between the light-part potential of the photosensitive drum 201 and the potential of the developing roller 302 and a difference between the dark-part potential of the photosensitive drum 201 and the potential of the developing roller 302 are respectively set to Δ250 [V].", "Hereinafter, the difference between the light-part potential of the photosensitive drum 201 and the potential of the developing roller 302 and the difference between the dark-part potential of the photosensitive drum 201 and the potential of the developing roller 302 will be referred to as a development contrast.", "In addition, with respect to toner to adhere to the developing roller 302 as a developer bearing member, in the present embodiment, a toner amount per unit area (hereafter, denoted by M/S) is set to 3.0×10−3 [kg/m2].", "Furthermore an electrified charge amount of the toner per unit area (hereafter, denoted by Q/S) is set to −0.15×10−3 [C/m2].", "In the present embodiment, the toner supply amount was confirmed by setting the peripheral velocity of the photosensitive drum 201 to 0.2 [m/s] (constant) and varying the peripheral velocity of the developing roller 302 relative to the photosensitive drum 201.Moreover, a peripheral velocity ratio of 100% is assumed to represent a case where the peripheral velocities of the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302 are the same and a peripheral velocity ratio of 140% is assumed to represent a case where the peripheral velocity of the developing roller 302 is 1.4 times the peripheral velocity of the photosensitive drum 201.In addition, since a tinge of an image and density of the image are strongly related to each other, the present embodiment will be described with a focus on image density.", "In the present embodiment, the ratio between the peripheral velocity of the photosensitive drum 201 and the peripheral velocity of the developing roller 302 is increased by increasing the peripheral velocity of the developing roller 302 relative to the peripheral velocity of the photosensitive drum 201.A toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member is eventually fixed onto the recording material P. FIG.", "5 is a diagram showing a relationship between an amount of toner forming an image and density of the image according to the first embodiment.", "Moreover, since there is no difference among experiment results of the YMC toners, the experiment results will be described using the cyan toner.", "In the case of a peripheral velocity ratio of 120%, density of 1.45 (Macbeth RD-918) generally required in office documents was obtained and a toner volume level on the recording material P was 3.6×10−3 kg/m2.When the peripheral velocity ratio was subsequently increased to 200%, density of 1.72 was obtained and the toner volume level on the recording material P was 6.0×10−3 kg/m2.In consideration thereof, in the normal image formation mode as a first image formation mode intended for office applications and the like, the peripheral velocity ratio is set to 120% as a first peripheral velocity ratio ΔV1 so that an image density of 1.45 is attained.", "In addition, in the present embodiment, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode, the peripheral velocity ratio is set to 200% as a second peripheral velocity ratio ΔV2 so that an image density of 1.7 or higher is attained.", "As a result, when changing the peripheral velocity ratio from 120% to 200%, a ΔE target enlargement amount of 10 or larger was secured for red.", "In this case, “a ΔE target enlargement amount of 10 or larger” means that a value of coordinates in the L*a*b* color system increased by 10 or more.", "Moreover, red is created by mixing Y and M toners at a ratio of 1:1.The colors were measured using i1pro manufactured by X-Rite, Incorporated.", "Measurements were conducted under conditions of a black backing, a D50 light source, and a 2-degree visual field.", "In addition, GF-C081 manufactured by Canon Inc. was used as paper for sampling.", "Furthermore, the fixing apparatus 400 was configured to convey the recording material P to a nip portion of the film 430 and the pressure roller 440 after a lapse of 10 seconds from a temperature of an outlet of the nip portion of the film 430 and the pressure roller 440 reaching 180° C. <Formation of Traceable Pattern> Conventionally, when confirming a state of a traceable pattern, while the traceable pattern is invisible in the normal image formation mode, there is a risk that the traceable pattern may become visible in the wide-color gamut image formation mode due to increased density of the traceable pattern.", "In this case, a criterion of a traceable pattern being “invisible” or “visible” is whether or not the traceable pattern affects an original image (an image excluding the traceable pattern) as seen by the naked eye.", "For example, a traceable pattern is “invisible” if the traceable pattern cannot be identified by the naked eye even when the traceable pattern can be identified through a magnifying glass.", "In the wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode, since a larger amount of toner is supplied to dots forming the traceable pattern, density of the traceable pattern is increased.", "In addition, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode, since a larger amount of toner is supplied to dots forming the traceable pattern, dots forming the traceable pattern become larger than those in the normal image formation mode.", "Accordingly, there is a risk that a traceable pattern may become visible in the wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode.", "In consideration thereof, in the present embodiment, when forming an image on the recording material P in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, an amount of laser light is adjusted so that a light-part potential of a portion corresponding to a dot constituting a traceable pattern on the surface of the photosensitive drum 201 equals −400 [V].", "In other words, exposure of a portion corresponding to a traceable pattern on the photosensitive drum 201 causes a potential of the portion to become lower than a potential of portions other than that corresponding to the traceable pattern by 260 V. In this case, a light-part potential refers to a potential of a portion exposed by the scanner unit 203 as an exposing apparatus on the photosensitive drum 201.In the present embodiment, when toner adheres to the light part, an electrostatic latent image as an electrostatic image formed on the photosensitive drum 201 is developed as a toner image.", "For example, the image forming apparatus 200 may be provided with a storage portion 500 which stores information on the image forming apparatus 200.The storage portion 500 is, for example, a storage medium such as a hard disk drive or a memory.", "In addition, the storage portion 500 may store, in advance, exposure of a traceable pattern in the normal image formation mode as a first image formation mode and exposure of a traceable pattern in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "In this case, a control portion 600 provided in the image forming apparatus 200 executes a program stored in the storage portion 500 to adjust exposure of a traceable pattern to the set exposure in the normal image formation mode and the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "The control portion 600 adds, to image information, additional information (corresponding to first information) regarding exposure of a traceable pattern in the normal image formation mode or additional information (corresponding to second information) regarding exposure of a traceable pattern in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "In addition, based on the image information to which the additional information has been added, the control portion 600 controls exposure by the scanner unit 203 as an exposing apparatus and forms an image on the recording material P. FIG.", "6A is a diagram showing potentials on the photosensitive drum 201 of an image portion and a traceable pattern portion in both the normal image formation mode and the wide-color gamut image formation mode according to the first embodiment.", "The contrast (development contrast) in the drawing refers to a difference between a developing potential and a light-part potential, and an amount in which toner adheres onto the photosensitive drum is determined in proportion to a magnitude of the contrast.", "Since toner on the photosensitive drum is transferred as-is onto the recording material, a toner volume level on the recording material is also determined in proportion to the contrast.", "FIG.", "6B is a diagram showing toner amounts laid onto the recording material under the respective conditions shown in FIG.", "6A.", "By comparing FIG.", "6B with FIG.", "6A, it is shown that the toner volume level on the recording material is determined based on a magnitude of the contrast.", "The following table compiles a potential of each portion and a toner volume level on a recording material under respective conditions.", "Wide-color gamut image formation Normal image formation mode mode Traceable pattern Traceable pattern Image portion portion Image portion portion D roller peripheral 120% 200% velocity ratio Dark-part potential −500 V −500 V −750 V −750 V Developing −350 V −350 V −580 V −580 V potential Light-part potential −100 V −250 V −180 V −440 V Contrast 250 V 100 V 400 V 140 V Toner volume 0.36 mg/m2 0.15 mg/m2 0.60 mg/m2 0.22 mg/m2 level (on recording material) Let C1 (a first development contrast C1) denote a contrast of the image portion in the normal image formation mode and C2 (a second development contrast C2) denote a contrast of the traceable pattern portion in the normal image formation mode.", "In a similar manner, let C3 (a third development contrast C3) denote a contrast of the image portion in the wide-color gamut image formation mode and C4 (a fourth development contrast C4) denote a contrast of the traceable pattern portion in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "By reducing the contrast of the traceable pattern portion in comparison to the image portion in the normal image formation mode, a toner volume level of the traceable pattern portion is lowered than that of the image portion to make the traceable pattern less visible to the naked eye.", "In a similar manner, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, the contrast of the traceable pattern portion is smaller than that in the image portion and a toner volume level of the traceable pattern portion is lower.", "As a result, even in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, the traceable pattern cannot be identified by the naked eye.", "Furthermore, when contrast ratios between the image portion and the traceable pattern portion in the respective modes are denoted by ΔC1=C2/C1 and ΔC2=C4/C3, ΔC1=C2/C1=100V/250V=2/5 and ΔC2=C4/C3=140V/400V=7/20 are satisfied, which in turn satisfy a relationship expressed as ΔC2<ΔC1.Since a toner volume level increases in the wide-color gamut image formation mode and a volume level in a traceable pattern portion increases when a contrast ratio remains similar to that in the normal image formation mode, the settings described above are adopted in order to prevent an occurrence of a state where the traceable pattern becomes identifiable to the naked eye.", "By reducing the contrast ratio in the wide-color gamut image formation mode in comparison to the normal image formation mode, a toner volume level of the traceable pattern portion is suppressed to maintain a state where the traceable pattern is invisible to the naked eye.", "Moreover, ΔC1 and ΔC2 can be used as “absolute difference values” instead of “ratios”.", "For example, it can be expressed that ΔC1=|C2−C1| and ΔC2=|C4−C3|.", "In this case, the relationship expressed as ΔC2<ΔC1 is also satisfied.", "Due to this effect, in the present embodiment, while a toner volume level in the image portion in the wide-color gamut image formation mode is 0.60 mg/m2 which represents an increase of 0.24 mg/m2 from the normal image formation mode, a toner volume level in the traceable pattern portion is 0.22 mg/m2 which represents an increase of only 0.07 mg/m2 from the normal image formation mode.", "Therefore, compared to the normal image formation mode, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, the toner volume level in the traceable pattern portion (specific dot pattern), that is density of the traceable pattern portion is increased at a rate (0.15 mg/m2 to 0.22 mg/m2) lower than an another rate (0.36 mg/m2 to 0.60 mg/m2) at which the toner volume level of the image portion (a dot pattern of the image other than the specific dot pattern), that is, density of the image portion is increased.", "Compared to the toner volume level of the image portion, that is the density of the image portion to be developed, the toner volume level in the traceable pattern portion, that is, the density of the traceable pattern portion to be developed is lowered by adjusting exposure of an electrostatic image corresponding to the traceable pattern portion by the exposing apparatus.", "According to adjustment of the exposure amount of the present embodiment in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, a potential of a portion, corresponding to the traceable pattern portion on the photosensitive drum 201 in a case where the toner volume level (density) of the traceable pattern portion is increased at 0.07 mg/m2 (the rate) and the toner volume level (density) of the image portion is increased at 0.24 mg/m2 (the another rate), becomes lower than that in a case where the toner volume level (density) of both the traceable pattern portion and the image portion are increased at 0.24 mg/m2 (the another rate).", "Thus, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, a difference between (A) a potential of a portion corresponding to the traceable pattern portion in a case where the toner volume level (density) of the traceable pattern portion is increased at 0.07 mg/m2 (the rate) and the toner volume level (density) of the image portion is increased at 0.24 mg/m2 (the another rate) and (B) a potential of the developing roller 302 is smaller than a difference between (i) a potential of a portion corresponding to the traceable pattern portion in a case where the toner volume level (density) of both the traceable pattern portion and the image portion are increased at 0.24 mg/m2 (the another rate) and (ii) the potential of the developing roller 302.Let M1 (a first developer volume level M1) denote a toner volume level in an image portion (a region corresponding to an image) in the normal image formation mode and M2 (a second developer volume level M2) denote a toner volume level in a traceable pattern portion (a region corresponding to a dot pattern) in the normal image formation mode.", "In a similar manner, let M3 (a third developer volume level M3) denote a toner volume level in an image portion in the wide-color gamut image formation mode and M4 (a fourth developer volume level M4) denote a toner volume level in a traceable pattern portion in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "When ratios of toner volume levels between the image portion and the traceable pattern portion in the respective modes are denoted by ΔM1=M2/M1 and ΔM2=M4/M3, ΔM1=M2/M1=0.15 mg/m2/0.36 mg/m2=5/12 and ΔM2=M4/M3=0.22 mg/m2/0.60 mg/m2=11/30 are satisfied, which in turn satisfy a relationship expressed as ΔM2<ΔM1.Moreover, ΔM1 and ΔM2 can also be used as “absolute difference values” instead of “ratios”.", "For example, it can be expressed that ΔM1=|M2−M1| and ΔM2=|M4−M3|.", "In this case, the relationship expressed as ΔM2<ΔM1 is also satisfied.", "Moreover, since it is difficult to actually measure a toner volume level in a traceable pattern portion, a measurement of the toner volume levels described herein are substituted by measuring a toner amount when forming a solid image on a recording material under same contrast conditions as a traceable pattern portion.", "Normally, when measuring a toner volume level on a recording material, toner is laid onto the recording material under measurement conditions (type of recording material, conditions of respective potentials, and the like) and, without fixing the toner, the toner is collected in an unfixed state and a mass thereof is measured.", "At the same time, an area of a range onto which the toner had been laid is measured and the “toner volume level” in the table described earlier is calculated based on the measured mass and area of the toner.", "For example, when measuring a toner volume level of an image portion in the normal image formation mode, first, toner is laid onto an appropriate recording material (for example, a sheet of Image Coat Gloss 158 manufactured by Canon Inc.) under same conditions as the image portion (D roller peripheral velocity ratio: 120%, dark-part potential: −500 V, developing potential: −350 V, light-part potential: −100 V, and contrast: 250V).", "An area on which toner is to be laid is set in advance to, for example, a rectangle of 20 mm×50==1000 mm2.By collecting the toner laid onto this range and measuring a mass thereof, the toner volume level (in this case, 0.36 mg/m2) in the table described earlier is calculated.", "A similar measurement method is used for a toner volume level in the wide-color gamut image formation mode with the exception of changing the D roller peripheral velocity ratio, conditions of respective potentials, and the like to those corresponding to the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "Incidentally, since a traceable pattern portion is usually surrounded by an image portion and finely divided on a recording material, a toner volume level of only the toner volume level cannot be measured by a normal print operation.", "In consideration thereof, when measuring a toner volume level of a traceable pattern (in this case, the normal image formation mode will continue to be described as an example), the toner volume level of the traceable pattern will be substituted by laying toner onto an appropriate recording material (for example, a sheet of Image Coat Gloss 158 manufactured by Canon Inc.) under same conditions as the traceable pattern portion (D roller peripheral velocity ratio: 120%, dark-part potential: −500 V, developing potential: −350 V, light-part potential: −250 V, and contrast: 100 V) and then measuring a mass of the toner.", "A measurement of a toner volume level of a traceable pattern portion in the wide-color gamut image formation mode is performed using a similar method by changing the D roller peripheral velocity ratio, conditions of respective potentials, and the like to those corresponding to the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "As described above, in the present embodiment, even in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, a toner volume level on a recording material can be suppressed and a traceable pattern can be prevented from becoming visible by adjusting a contrast on a photosensitive drum.", "In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which the two modes of a normal image formation mode as a first image formation mode and a wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode are executed.", "However, modes are not necessarily limited to the above.", "For example, the image forming apparatus 200 may have two wide-color gamut image formation modes, namely, a first wide-color gamut image formation mode (density: 1.7 or higher, peripheral velocity ratio: 200%) and a second wide-color gamut image formation mode (density: 1.9 or higher, peripheral velocity ratio: 300%).", "In this case, an amount of laser light which irradiates a portion corresponding to a traceable pattern on the photosensitive drum 201 may be respectively set in the first wide-color gamut image formation mode and the second wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "Accordingly, in both the first wide-color gamut image formation mode and the second wide-color gamut image formation mode, by adjusting exposure of the portion corresponding to the traceable pattern (by setting a density of the traceable pattern to or below a prescribed density), the traceable pattern can be prevented from becoming visible.", "As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode, density of a traceable pattern is set lower than the density of the traceable pattern in a case where density of an entire image including the traceable pattern is increased in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "Accordingly, a traceable pattern is prevented from becoming visible to a user in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "Second Embodiment Parts of the present embodiment which have same functions as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference characters and a description thereof will be omitted.", "In the present embodiment, unlike in the first embodiment, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, visualization of a traceable pattern is suppressed by increasing spacing between two adjacent dots among a plurality of dots forming the traceable pattern.", "In this case, a traceable pattern is normally formed by a plurality of dots.", "In addition, in the present embodiment, separate traceable patterns are respectively set in the normal image formation mode and the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "In the present embodiment, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode in which density of an image formed on the recording material P is high (a toner volume level is high), spacing between dots forming a traceable pattern is set wider than in the normal image formation mode.", "In other words, in the present embodiment, shapes of the traceable pattern are changed between the wide-color gamut image formation mode and the normal image formation mode.", "On the other hand, in the normal image formation mode in which density of an image formed on the recording material P is not high, spacing between dots forming a traceable pattern is not widened.", "In the present embodiment, a traceable pattern formed on the recording material P can be read using a dedicated reading apparatus.", "In addition, in order to make the traceable pattern easily readable by the reading apparatus, in the normal image formation mode, spacing between the dots forming the traceable pattern is set to an appropriate spacing.", "In the present embodiment, in the normal image formation mode, spacing between dots forming a traceable pattern is set narrower than in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "Specifically, for example, the storage portion 500 stores, in advance, a traceable pattern in the normal image formation and a traceable pattern in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "As described above, it is assumed that, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, spacing between dots forming a traceable pattern is set wider than in the normal image formation mode.", "In this case, the control portion 600 provided in the image forming apparatus 200 executes a program stored in the storage portion 500 to form a traceable pattern set in advance on the recording material P in the normal image formation mode and in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "The control portion 600 adds, to image information, additional information on a traceable pattern in the normal image formation mode as a first image formation mode, or additional information on a traceable pattern in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "In addition, based on image information to which the additional information has been added, the control portion 600 controls operations of the image forming apparatus 200 so that the traceable pattern is formed and an image is formed on the recording material P. Moreover, the control portion 600 is, for example, a processing unit such as a CPU and is capable of controlling operations of devices inside the image forming apparatus 200 by executing a program stored in the storage portion 500.FIG.", "7 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern A formed in the normal image formation mode as a first image formation mode.", "In addition, FIG.", "8 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern B formed in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "For example, let us assume that the traceable pattern formed on the recording material P in the normal image formation mode is the traceable pattern A (refer to FIG.", "7).", "In the normal image formation mode as a first image formation mode, the traceable pattern A is formed on the recording material P on which an image is formed.", "In this case, the traceable pattern A formed on the recording material P is invisible.", "However, when forming the traceable pattern A in the wide-color gamut image formation mode as a second image formation mode, there is a risk that a part of the traceable pattern A may become visible due to an increase of a toner amount per unit area of the traceable pattern A.", "In the wide-color gamut image formation mode, since a larger amount of toner is laid on the traceable pattern A than in the normal image formation mode, there is a risk that the toner may even spread to blank portions between dots forming the traceable pattern A.", "In this case, as the blanks between the dots forming the traceable pattern A become filled, as shown in FIG.", "8, a plurality of separate dots may merge into one large dot.", "As a result, there is a risk that the traceable pattern A may become visible.", "FIG.", "9 is a diagram showing the traceable pattern B in the normal image formation mode as a first image formation mode.", "In addition, FIG.", "10 is a diagram showing the traceable pattern B in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "In the present embodiment, in the first wide-color gamut image formation mode (density: 1.7 or higher, peripheral velocity ratio: 200%), spacing between dots forming the traceable pattern B is widened as shown in FIG.", "9.In the present embodiment, by widening the spacing between dots forming the traceable pattern B, a plurality of dots forming the traceable pattern B are prevented from merging into one large dot.", "As a result, in the first wide-color gamut image formation mode, even when toner is laid in an amount larger than usual on the dots forming the traceable pattern B, since the dots are sufficiently separated from each other, situations where the traceable pattern B becomes visible can be reduced.", "For the dots to fulfill their roles as a traceable pattern, independency of the dots constituting the traceable pattern must be secured.", "When the dots constituting a traceable pattern are identifiable, the dots have “independency”.", "On the other hand, in a case where adjacent dots are connected to each other and the dots are not identifiable, the dots do not have “independency”.", "Therefore, in the present embodiment, a dot on which toner is laid is at least not formed adjacent to a dot constituting a traceable pattern.", "Generally, a traceable pattern is formed in a size of around 3×3 dots (a square with 3 dots on a side) to 5×5 dots (a square with 5 dots on aside).", "Since authentication performance declines when using a large traceable pattern, a size of a traceable pattern is set to a certain size.", "In consideration thereof, in the present embodiment, when enlarging the spacing between dots in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, an appropriate size of a traceable pattern is around 10×10 dots (a square with 10 dots on a side).", "In addition, FIG.", "11 is a diagram showing a traceable pattern C in the normal image formation mode.", "Furthermore, FIG.", "12 is a diagram showing the traceable pattern C in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "In the present embodiment, in the second wide-color gamut image formation mode (density: 1.9 or higher, peripheral velocity ratio: 300%), the traceable pattern C is formed on the recording material P. Spacing between dots forming the traceable pattern C is set wider than the dots forming the traceable pattern B.", "Therefore, although a toner amount per unit area in the second wide-color gamut image formation mode is larger than a toner amount per unit area in the first wide-color gamut image formation mode, even in the second wide-color gamut image formation mode, the traceable pattern C can be prevented from becoming visible.", "As described above, in to the present embodiment, in the wide-color gamut image formation mode, spacing between dots forming a traceable pattern is set wider than in a case where density of an entire image including the traceable pattern is increased by the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "Accordingly, a traceable pattern is prevented from becoming visible to a user in the wide-color gamut image formation mode.", "Moreover, in the respective embodiments, a color gamut and/or density of an image need not necessarily be changed in accordance with a peripheral velocity ratio between the photosensitive drum 201 and the developing roller 302.For example, a color gamut and/or density of an image may be changed by changing exposure by the scanner unit 203 with respect to the photosensitive drum 201.In addition, in the first embodiment, the exposure by the scanner unit 203 with respect to the photosensitive drum 201 need not necessarily be stored in advance in a storage medium.", "For example, density of a traceable pattern may be adjusted by correcting the exposure by the scanner unit 203 with respect to the photosensitive drum 201 as an image bearing member.", "Furthermore, in the second embodiment, spacing between dots forming a traceable pattern need not necessarily be stored in advance in a storage medium.", "For example, the spacing between dots forming a traceable pattern may be widened by correcting the spacing between the dots forming the traceable pattern.", "In addition, while the traceable pattern A, the traceable pattern B, and the traceable pattern C are used as traceable patterns in the second embodiment, traceable patterns are not limited thereto.", "Instead of being limited to the traceable patterns A to C, traceable patterns may be used without particular limitation as long as a similar effect can be obtained.", "While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments.", "The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.", "This application claims the benefits of Japanese Patent Application No.", "2016-057714, filed on Mar.", "22, 2016, and Japanese Patent Application No.", "2017-019608, filed on Feb. 6, 2017, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety." ] ]
Patent_15875059
[ [ "MAGNETIC RESONANCE GUIDANCE OF A SHAFT TO A TARGET ZONE", "A medical apparatus (1100) comprising a magnetic resonance imaging system and an interventional device (300) comprising a shaft (302, 1014, 1120).", "The medical apparatus further comprises a toroidal magnetic resonance fiducial marker (306, 600, 800, 900, 1000, 1122) attached to the shaft.", "The shaft passes through a center point (610, 810, 908, 1006) of the fiducial marker.", "The medical apparatus further comprises machine executable instructions (1150, 1152, 1154, 1156, 1158) for execution by a processor.", "The instructions cause the processor to acquire (100, 200) magnetic resonance data, to reconstruct (102, 202) a magnetic resonance image (1142), and to receive (104, 204) the selection of a target volume (1118, 1144, 1168).", "The instructions further cause the processor to repeatedly: acquire (106, 206) magnetic resonance location data (1146) from the fiducial marker and render (108, 212) a view (1148, 1162) indicating the position of the shaft relative to the target zone." ], [ "1.A medical interventional device comprising: a shaft having a proximal end that is configured to be inserted into a patient; and a magnetic resonance fiducial marker; wherein the shaft passes through a center point of the fiducial marker wherein the fiducial marker comprises: a toroidal signal volume, and a coil that is wrapped around the toroidal signal volume; wherein, when the toroidal signal volume is exposed to magnetic resonance signals, an electromagnetic field is generated about the toroidal signal volume that causes the coil to generate a signal comprising a local minimum between two local maximums, corresponding to a location of the center point of the fiducial marker.", "2.The device of claim 1, wherein the fiducial marker includes one or more features that guide the shaft to the center point of the fiducial marker.", "3.The device of claim 1, wherein the shaft is hollow to allow entry of a secondary device through the shaft.", "4.The device of claim 1, wherein the fiducial marker is detachable from the shaft while the proximal end is inserted in the patient.", "5.The device of claim 1, wherein the shaft comprises one of: a needle, a linear ablation probe, a cryoprobe, a laser ablation probe, a biopsy needle, a hollow needle, a microwave probe, and a guide wire delivery system.", "6.The device of claim 1, comprising multiple coils wrapped around the toroidal signal volume, each coil of the multiple coils generating a different signal dependent upon the coil's position on the toroidal signal volume.", "7.The device of claim 1, wherein the signal that the coil generates also identifies an orientation of the toroidal signal volume.", "8.The device of claim 1, further comprising a capacitor that is coupled to the coil so that the signal generated by the coil is a resonant signal.", "9.The device of claim 1, wherein the shaft includes a hub that is configured to be situated within the toroidal signal volume.", "10.The device of claim 1, comprising a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker having a second center point through which the shaft passes, wherein the second fiducial marker generates a second signal indicative of a location of the second center point.", "11.The device of claim 10, wherein the second fiducial marker is configured to be attached to the patient at a point of entry of the shaft into the patient.", "12.A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a program that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to: acquire a signal generated by a magnetic resonance fiducial marker when the fiducial marker is exposed to magnetic resonance signals, wherein the signal is characteristic of a current generated by a coil that is wrapped around a toroidal signal volume, including a local minimum between two local maximums; determine, from the signal, a location of a center of the toroidal signal volume; render a view of a shaft that is situated at the center of the toroidal signal volume on a display that includes a view of a target zone of a patient exposed to the magnetic resonance signals.", "13.The medium of claim 12, wherein the program causes the processor to determine, from the signal, an orientation of the toroidal signal volume, and wherein the view of the shaft is dependent upon the orientation.", "14.The medium of claim 12, wherein the program causes the process to repeatedly acquire the signal, determine the location of the center of the toroidal signal volume, and render the view of the shaft at the center of the toroidal signal volume.", "15.The medium of claim 12, wherein the program causes the processor to: acquire a second signal generated by a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker, wherein the shaft is situated at the center of the second fiducial marker; and determine, from the second signal, a location of the center of the second fiducial marker; wherein the view of the shaft is dependent upon the location of the center of the second fiducial marker.", "16.The medium of claim 15, wherein the second fiducial marker is situated on a surface of the patient, at an entry point of the shaft into the patient.", "17.The medium of claim 15, wherein the second signal is characteristic of a current generated by a second coil that is wrapped around the second toroidal signal volume.", "18.The medium of claim 17, wherein the second fiducial marker includes a capacitor coupled to the second coil, and the second signal is a resonant signal.", "19.The medium of claim 12, wherein the fiducial marker includes a capacitor coupled to the coil, and the signal is a resonant signal.", "20.The medium of claim 12, wherein the program causes the processor to acquire a plurality of signals from a plurality of coils wrapped around the toroidal signal volume, and determine a plurality of locations of each coil of the plurality of coils; wherein the view of the shaft is dependent upon the locations of the plurality of coils." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The availability of interactive real-time MRI and MR-conditional instruments has lead to an increasing use of MR-guidance especially in transcutaneous procedures performed with needles or linear ablation probes.", "Besides the lack of ionizing radiation MR-guidance offers a number of advantages for such procedures, the most important one being the soft tissue contrast and full tomographic capability of MR, if compared with CT or US.", "State-of-the-art clinical MR-guided percutaneous interventions use pre-operative 3D MR images to plan the device path, then stereotactic device guides to align the device with the target and to guide its insertion, which is mostly performed outside the MR bore.", "Finally, MR is used to confirm that the device has reached the target.", "Because stereotactic procedures are prone to registration errors due to patient motion and needle bending, and because they involve a complicated workflow (patient movement into and out of bore), advanced centers are now practicing so-called free-hand procedures, in which the device is advanced without any physical stereotactic device guide under real-time image guidance inside the MR.", "This is facilitated by dedicated MR sequences that visualize the target lesion and the device with high conspicuity and by the availability of open MR systems In Coutts et. at.", "“Integrated and Interactive Position Tracking and Imaging of Interventional Tools and Internal Devices Using Small Fiducial Receiver Coils,” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, vol.", "40, 1998, pages 908-913, a method of tracking the position of a rigid device within a magnetic resonance scanner is disclosed.", "The position tracking is performed by means of two or three small magnetic resonance receiver coils attached to individual receiver channels." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The invention provides for a medical apparatus, a computer program product, and a magnetic resonance fiducial marker in the independent claims.", "Embodiments are given in the dependent claims.", "Some embodiments of the invention may be particularly advantageous, because alignment of the imaging slices with needle and/or target lesion may be performed automatically.", "Manual adjustment of slices is current practice, but requires that the interventionist communicates the requested slice adjustments to the MR operator outside the MR room, which is not trivial and requires an experienced and well attuned team.", "Means to support, automate, and improve the workflow of such free-hand interventions are mandatory to foster a wide-spread use.", "The toroidal shape of the fiducial markers of embodiments of the invention allows measurement of the position and/or orientation of the needle axis with only one or two markers but without blocking the needle axis as would be the case for point-like markers.", "Hence, embodiments of the invention may be compatible with any needle-type device and, additionally, secondary devices can be introduced, e.g.", "a stylet or biopsy device into a hollow needle.", "Using individual light markers as the device guide reduces its size and vastly increases the mechanical flexibility of wiring, which is essential to allow for uncompromised maneuverability and minute haptic feedback as required when advancing the device into the patient.", "The device guide does not require additional attention (holding/steering/aligning etc.)", "by the physician and the needle-type devices can be manipulated as usual.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an interventional device with reduced weight and/or an interventional device which is more easily controlled with a single hand.", "Current interventional devices may have a relatively large size.", "The size is caused by the necessity to incorporate at least three markers with sufficient mutual distance to measure the position and orientation of the device with sufficient accuracy.", "This is important to achieve proper alignment of the imaging slice with the device.", "Even small angular errors can otherwise lead to a displacement between needle and slice inside the patient.", "Target lesions can be located as deeply as 20 cm inside the patient.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "A large size of the device is disadvantageous especially when several needles and catheters are applied in one patient close to each other as for HDR brachytherapy.", "Embodiments of the invention may reduce the number of wires to the inverventional device with respect to current interventional devices.", "Current devices which rely on the use of multiple fiducialmarkers may have clumsy wiring.", "The use of several markers in the device results in a heavy and in-flexible connection cable with about 1.5 cm diameter and respectively large and heavy cable traps to avoid dangerous shield currents.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an interventional device where the fiducial marker is attached to the shaft or needle of the interventional device.", "With some current devices, the size and weight of the device and its wiring and the relative in-flexibility of the wiring have lead to concerns to rigidly attach the needle to the guide itself as initially intended.", "Instead, a bar with a V-shaped groove is used to which the interventionist aligns the needle with his second hand.", "However, tests have shown that handling of needle and guidance tool with two hands is uncomfortable and for some users even totally unfeasible.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for improved maneuverability and haptics of the interventional device.", "Free-hand needle interventions depend on a minute haptic feedback which is required when advancing the needle into the patient.", "The interventionist must be able to “feel” the crossing of internal interfaces.", "The size of the device, the weight and in-flexibility of the relatively thick cable, and the need to use two hands to maneuver needle and tool vastly hampers maneuverability and haptics.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may reduce the likelihood that a fiducial marker is out of the field of view, or imaging region, of a magnetic resonance imaging system.", "In some current implementations, guidance tools of relatively large size are attached/positioned proximally to and about aligned with the needle, such that the overall length of the assembly from needle tip to the most proximal marker is in the order of 30 cm.", "The lesion may be as deep as 15 cm inside the patient.", "During entry of the needle into the skin, all active tracking markers as well as the lesion should be in the imaging volume of the MR scanner, which is typically a sphere of less than 45 cm diameter.", "The patient must be very carefully positioned to achieve this, and even if so, the interesting objects are lying at the edge of the imaging sphere with associated low SNR and geometric distortions.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an improved orientation independence of the fiducial marker.", "Current active markers receive signal from a water-filled bead contained in a solenoid coil.", "If the solenoid is aligned with B0, the SNR of the signal drops vastly, because the transverse components of the B1-sensitivity of the solenoid are very small.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an intuitive viewing plane control.", "Surprisingly, some interventionists have difficulties to cope with the fact, that they have full 6D control of the scan planes, since the planes stay “rigidly attached” to the tool.", "This type of control requires that the operator keeps the tool in a defined position and orientation.", "This is very different from the previous situation, where only the needle was held and maneuvered, and the operator at the console was in control of the scan planes.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "The invention may provide for a light-weight and small device guide is that is equipped with a single toroid-shaped active marker.", "It may be used in combination with a similarly shaped marker positioned near or adhering to the skin at the device entry point.", "The marker with toroidal shape is crossed centrally by the needle-type device to be guided such that the center of gravity of its signal distribution lies on the needle axis.", "This allows localizing the respective point on the needle axis with a single marker channel and irrespective of the orientation of the guide with respect to B0.Using only a single such marker at the device guide reduces its size and vastly increases the flexibility of wiring.", "The scan planes for image guidance are defined to contain the two points defined by the two markers, i.e., the position of the needle hub and of the skin entry point.", "Two nearly perpendicular planes are used for guidance as before, e.g.", "one para-coronal slice and one para-transverse slice in a liver intervention.", "The para-coronal slice is defined as to contain both marker positions and the FH axis.", "The para-transverse is defined to contain the AP axis if the needle is mainly advanced in RL direction and vice versa.", "The set-up may consist of a light-weight and small guide marker and a skin marker.", "Both markers have a central opening to let the needle pass.", "Both markers may be equipped with a plug that can be plugged into a socket at the surface coil.", "This minimizes cable length and workflow.", "Note, that the toroidal shape of the signal volume allows measuring the needle axis with only two markers but without blocking the needle axis as would be the case for two point-like markers.", "Hence, all needle-type devices can be guided accurately and, in addition, secondary devices can be introduced any time during the procedure with the guide still in use, e.g.", "a stylet or biopsy device into a hollow needle or guidewires as necessary for Seldinger introduction techniques.", "A possible workflow for using embodiments of the invention may be: 1.Interventionist defines and marks skin entry point, either with the conventional “finger-pointing method” or by moving the skin marker across the skin.", "Finally, the entry point is marked by a pen, prepared for insertion (disinfection, local anesthesia, actually may have been performed earlier) and the skin marker is attached to the prepared entry site.", "Note, that using the skin markers together with the known coordinates of the e.g.", "target tumor already allows appropriate real-time imaging along the estimated needle path in e.g.", "one para-transversal and one para-coronal image slice and thus provides optimal guidance during this interactive planning step.", "2.Needle tip is put onto the entry point.", "3.Needle shaft is aligned with the planned trajectory by moving the needle hub.", "This can be achieved in two ways: a) The MR system tracks the position of the markers and either displays the resulting trajectory as a line on pre-operative images (navigational display).", "b) Para-coronal and/or para-transversal real-time slices are acquired defined as described above.", "When arrived at the correct trajectory, the needle should aim to the target lesion, which can be confirmed by either the navigational display or the real-time slice(s).", "4.Needle is advanced into the body with continuous image control.", "This allows to see and adjust for needle deviations, needle bending, physiological motion.", "In an alternate workflow the entry point of the needle is defined virtually using a software package and active needle guidance is used to position the needle at the correct entry point and trajectory.", "For this workflow both markers are placed on the needle, and the entry point may not have to be marked physically.", "In one embodiment, the receive coils can be shaped as simple circular coils around the toroidal signal volume.", "This simpler coil set-up is allowable, if it is excluded by the type of intervention, that the circular axis is aligned with B0, which would result in a low signal.", "In the liver interventions performed in a 1 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging system this is the case, and the simpler coil set-up can be used.", "In one embodiment, the skin marker is equipped with such a circular receive coil and lacks an own toroidal signal volume.", "Instead, the skin is used as signal source.", "In one embodiment, the marker preferably equipped with such a simple circular coil is a disposable device.", "In one embodiment, the coil of the skin marker is not wired to an MR receiver, but made resonant with a capacitor and its signal is detected via inductive coupling to the surface coil.", "Active decoupling and a difference measurement may be used to reduce global background signal.", "The alignment of the marker centers with the needle axis can be based on a sterile approach using single-use small adhesive patches a little bit larger in size than the markers.", "The patches will be attached to the markers parallel to the marker plane from both sides so: a.)", "They fully encapsulate the marker and thus render the assembly sterile b.)", "The adhesive faces touch each other at the bore region of the markers c.) Needle-type devices can be poked through the markers center where the adhesive patches touch each other and the markers thus stay aligned with the needle axis but can be slid along the needle to avoid the FOV problem or to move them to a more favorable position (examples: move marker or marker wiring to different position in case of space limitations occurring during the intervention).", "d.) Patches can be removed and markers and needle-type device can be separated while the needle-type device is still inserted.", "In one embodiment the circular skin marker features a gap such as to remove the marker easily sideways after complete insertion of the guided device and reuse the active skin marker for consecutive workflow steps.", "In one embodiment a multitude of markers with distinct coding (e.g.", "via shape, signal .", ".", ". )", "is available during the procedure.", "This allows to identify different inserted devices via their transcutaneous port position.", "In conjunction with the stored device orientation during insertion, (real-time) imaging planes can be easily recalled/adjusted to the respective device.", "In one embodiment, both markers are on the needle instead of 1 on the needle and one on the skin to provide a 1-hand 1-movement workflow where it is no longer required to manually place the skin marker as a separate workflow step.", "In one embodiment, a plastic spacer prevents that two markers come too close together to ensure accuracy of the imaged trajectory is maintained.", "In one embodiment, the needle insertion depth is calculated from the marker that moves with the needle hub and marker that is held in position by the skin and the known location of the markers with respect to the needle.", "Assuming a measurement precision of about 1 mm for the needle coordinates at the position of the two markers, the expected alignment error of the imaging planes will typically be small compared to the width of the image artifact caused by the needle.", "Only in a situation when the two markers have to be moved very close together, the tip of a long needle may be missed in the images.", "The following two embodiments are proposed to correct this possible misalignment: 1.The described active tracking method using the two markers is combined with a passive tracking method employing detection of the needle pointing direction via image analysis 2.A software tool is used to store a history of needle coordinates during needle progression and to guess the best image plane orientation.", "Alternatively or additionally, the target (e.g.", "tumor) coordinates which had been determined before the start of the intervention (as mentioned under “workflow” above) can be used as a third marker point when the needle tip approaches the target.", "Embodiments of the invention may have the following advantages: The guide marker (magnetic resonance fiducial marker) is small, light-weight, and equipped with minimal wiring.", "The marker is centrally attached to the needle.", "As a consequence, the interventionist has nearly as fine haptic feedback and freedom to maneuver as with a bare needle.", "The “Out-of-FOV-problem” is reduced/solved because the length of the device reduces to the length of the needle.", "For very long needles, the guide marker may even be allowed to slide on the needle shaft, bringing it nearer to the isocenter.", "The marker orientation problem is solved because there are always two zones within the toroid where the Biot-Savart-field of the toroidal coil is transverse.", "In these zones, there is maximum signal.", "There is no marker orientation in which the signal vanishes.", "The problem of unintuitive scan plane control is solved, since the operator is back to the used way of mainly maneuvering the needle itself with only one hand.", "The second hand is free to assist in this or for other purposes.", "The large distance between the guide marker and the skin marker during the targeting phase and the phase of initial needle insertion results in a high targeting accuracy.", "The large signal volume of the toroidal markers compared to beed-like markers potentially results in a higher accuracy of position measurement.", "The markers may be implemented as single-use devices, enabling to generate device-based revenues.", "The invention can be applied to all MR-guided transcutaneous interventions performed with linear-shaped devices.", "A ‘computer-readable storage medium’ as used herein encompasses any tangible storage medium which may store instructions which are executable by a processor of a computing device.", "The computer-readable storage medium may be referred to as a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium.", "The computer-readable storage medium may also be referred to as a tangible computer readable medium.", "In some embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium may also be able to store data which is able to be accessed by the processor of the computing device.", "Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to: a floppy disk, a magnetic hard disk drive, a solid state hard disk, flash memory, a USB thumb drive, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and the register file of the processor.", "Examples of optical disks include Compact Disks (CD) and Digital Versatile Disks (DVD), for example CD-ROM, CD-RW, CD-R, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, or DVD-R disks.", "The term computer readable-storage medium also refers to various types of recording media capable of being accessed by the computer device via a network or communication link.", "For example a data may be retrieved over a modem, over the internet, or over a local area network.", "References to a computer-readable storage medium should be interpreted as possibly being multiple computer-readable storage mediums.", "Various executable components of a program or programs may be stored in different locations.", "The computer-readable storage medium may for instance be multiple computer-readable storage medium within the same computer system.", "The computer-readable storage medium may also be computer-readable storage medium distributed amongst multiple computer systems or computing devices.", "‘Computer memory’ or ‘memory’ is an example of a computer-readable storage medium.", "Computer memory is any memory which is directly accessible to a processor.", "Examples of computer memory include, but are not limited to: RAM memory, registers, and register files.", "References to ‘computer memory’ or ‘memory’ should be interpreted as possibly being multiple memories.", "The memory may for instance be multiple memories within the same computer system.", "The memory may also be multiple memories distributed amongst multiple computer systems or computing devices.", "‘Computer storage’ or ‘storage’ is an example of a computer-readable storage medium.", "Computer storage is any non-volatile computer-readable storage medium.", "Examples of computer storage include, but are not limited to: a hard disk drive, a USB thumb drive, a floppy drive, a smart card, a DVD, a CD-ROM, and a solid state hard drive.", "In some embodiments computer storage may also be computer memory or vice versa.", "References to ‘computer storage’ or ‘storage’ should be interpreted as possibly being multiple storage.", "The storage may for instance be multiple storage devices within the same computer system or computing device.", "The storage may also be multiple storages distributed amongst multiple computer systems or computing devices.", "A ‘processor’ as used herein encompasses an electronic component which is able to execute a program or machine executable instruction.", "References to the computing device comprising “a processor” should be interpreted as possibly containing more than one processor or processing core.", "The processor may for instance be a multi-core processor.", "A processor may also refer to a collection of processors within a single computer system or distributed amongst multiple computer systems.", "The term computing device should also be interpreted to possibly refer to a collection or network of computing devices each comprising a processor or processors.", "Many programs have their instructions performed by multiple processors that may be within the same computing device or which may even be distributed across multiple computing devices.", "A ‘user interface’ as used herein is an interface which allows a user or operator to interact with a computer or computer system.", "A ‘user interface’ may also be referred to as a ‘human interface device.’ A user interface may provide information or data to the operator and/or receive information or data from the operator.", "A user interface may enable input from an operator to be received by the computer and may provide output to the user from the computer.", "In other words, the user interface may allow an operator to control or manipulate a computer and the interface may allow the computer indicate the effects of the operator's control or manipulation.", "The display of data or information on a display or a graphical user interface is an example of providing information to an operator.", "The receiving of data through a keyboard, mouse, trackball, touchpad, pointing stick, graphics tablet, joystick, gamepad, webcam, headset, gear sticks, steering wheel, pedals, wired glove, dance pad, remote control, and accelerometer are all examples of user interface components which enable the receiving of information or data from an operator.", "A ‘hardware interface’ as used herein encompasses a interface which enables the processor of a computer system to interact with and/or control an external computing device and/or apparatus.", "A hardware interface may allow a processor to send control signals or instructions to an external computing device and/or apparatus.", "A hardware interface may also enable a processor to exchange data with an external computing device and/or apparatus.", "Examples of a hardware interface include, but are not limited to: a universal serial bus, IEEE 1394 port, parallel port, IEEE 1284 port, serial port, RS-232 port, IEEE-488 port, Bluetooth connection, Wireless local area network connection, TCP/IP connection, Ethernet connection, control voltage interface, MIDI interface, analog input interface, and digital input interface.", "A ‘display’ or ‘display device’ as used herein encompasses an output device or a user interface adapted for displaying images or data.", "A display may output visual, audio, and or tactile data.", "Examples of a display include, but are not limited to: a computer monitor, a television screen, a touch screen, tactile electronic display, Braille screen, Cathode ray tube (CRT), Storage tube, Bistable display, Electronic paper, Vector display, Flat panel display, Vacuum fluorescent display (VF), Light-emitting diode (LED) displays, Electroluminescent display (ELD), Plasma display panels (PDP), Liquid crystal display (LCD), Organic light-emitting diode displays (OLED), a projector, and Head-mounted display.", "Magnetic Resonance (MR) data is defined herein as being the recorded measurements of radio frequency signals emitted by atomic spins by the antenna of a Magnetic resonance apparatus during a magnetic resonance imaging scan.", "A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) image is defined herein as being the reconstructed two or three dimensional visualization of anatomic data contained within the magnetic resonance imaging data.", "This visualization can be performed using a computer.", "The invention provides for a medical apparatus comprising a magnetic resonance imaging system for acquiring magnetic resonance data from a subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises an interventional device comprising a shaft.", "The shaft is adapted for being inserted into the subject.", "For instance the shaft may be a needle or other long narrow structure which is able to be inserted into the subject.", "In some embodiments the shaft may be able to pierce the skin or surface of a subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a first magnetic resonance fiducial marker attached to the shaft.", "In some embodiments the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is removable.", "For instance the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be able to slide along the shaft and be removed from an end of the shaft.", "The first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is toroidal.", "A toroid is a shape which is formed by rotating a two-dimensional shape about an axis.", "For instance if a circle is rotated about the axis the toroid is a torus.", "Squares, rectangles, ovals or other shapes may also be rotated about the axis.", "By saying that the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is toroidal it is also common to say that the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is substantially toroidal or a component of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is toroidal.", "In some embodiments a container which is toroidally-shaped is used to form the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In other embodiments a circular or washer-shaped section of circuit board or Teflon is used to form the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The shaft passes through a centre point of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The centre point may have a hole or other structure which is used for guiding the shaft through the centre point.", "In other embodiments the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker may comprise paper or a thin layer of plastic which can be pierced by the shaft and the centre point is marked on the paper or the thin plastic.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a processor for controlling the medical apparatus.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a memory storing machine executable instructions for execution by the processor.", "Execution of the instructions causes the processor to acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "This may be achieved by the processor controlling the magnetic resonance imaging system and sending appropriate instructions which cause it to acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to reconstruct the magnetic resonance data into a magnetic resonance image.", "This may be achieved using a software module for reconstructing the magnetic resonance data into a magnetic resonance image.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to receive the selection of a target volume within the magnetic resonance image.", "The selection of the target volume can be performed manually.", "For instance a target volume may be identified using a graphical user interface which selects a region or a portion of the magnetic resonance image as the target volume.", "In yet other embodiments the selection of the target volume may be performed automatically by an image segmentation module.", "Various models and methods known in the art may be used to identify the location of anatomical structures.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to repeatedly acquire magnetic resonance location data from the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker using the magnetic resonance imaging system.", "This may be achieved in several different ways depending upon how the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is constructed.", "For instance various gradient fields may be used to spatially encode magnetically polarizable material within a vessel of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In this case a coil wrapped around the toroidal structure may be used to acquire the magnetic resonance location data.", "In yet other embodiments the toroidal structure of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be located in a normal magnetic resonance image.", "The magnetic resonance location data is descriptive of the location of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly render a view indicating the position of the shaft relative to the target zone on a display device.", "The view is determined using at least the location data and the location of the target volume.", "This embodiment is particularly advantageous because the toroidal shape of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker allows its position and/or orientation to be determined.", "This greatly reduces the number of magnetic resonance fiducial markers necessary to identify the location of the shaft of the interventional device.", "This for instance allows a reduction in the weight of the interventional device and also its size which makes it easier to fit within an imaging zone of the magnetic resonance imaging system.", "It may also be more convenient and ergonomic for a physician or other medical professional to use the interventional device.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to repeatedly re-acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly reconstruct the magnetic resonance image using the re-acquired magnetic resonance data.", "The view comprises the magnetic resonance image.", "In this embodiment the magnetic resonance data is repeatedly re-acquired and used to display an updated or fresh magnetic resonance image.", "This may be advantageous because the subject may have internal or external motion which is in motion during the use of the interventional device.", "This may provide for a more accurate use of the interventional device.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly re-determine the location of the target zone using the magnetic resonance data.", "For instance an image segmentation module may be used to identify the location of the target zone automatically in some embodiments.", "This may be advantageous because the subject may have internal and/or external motion which causes the location of the target zone to change as a function of time.", "In another embodiment the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a magnetic resonance receive coil surrounding a toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume.", "This embodiment is advantageous because the magnetic resonance receive coil can pick up the magnetic resonance signal from the toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume and be used to accurately locate the position and/or orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a resonant coil and capacitor.", "In some embodiments, the resonant coil may be toroidally shaped or circularly shaped.", "By toroidally-shaped the resonant coil and capacitor may be formed on a substrate, circuit board, or piece of Teflon which is toroidal or substantially toroidal in shape.", "It may also be used to indicate that the coil is toroidal or substantially toroidal in shape.", "This embodiment may be advantageous because it can be used to form a compact magnetic resonance fiducial marker which has its position and/or orientation identified.", "In another embodiment the apparatus further comprises a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted for guiding the shaft through a second centre point of the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The first centre point is through the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker and the second centre point is the centre point of the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The location data is further descriptive of the location of the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This embodiment is particularly advantageous because it is easier to identify the location of the centre point of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker than to identify both its centre point and its orientation.", "By simply identifying the location of the first and second centre points the orientation of the shaft of the interventional device is determined.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidal magnetic resonance receive coil.", "In this embodiment it is not necessary for the receive coil to surround a magnetic resonance signal volume.", "This may be the case if the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is placed on the skin or a surface of the subject.", "The subject may then function as the signal volume for the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidal magnetic resonance receive coil surrounding a second toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume.", "This embodiment may be advantageous because the magnetic resonance receive coil is able to receive magnetic resonance signals from the second signal volume which allows the determination of the location of its centre point and/or its orientation.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidally-shaped resonant coil and capacitor.", "This embodiment has the same advantages as for the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker that was formed using a toroidally-shaped resonant coil and capacitor.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted to be attached to the surface of the subject.", "This may be particularly beneficial because the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be used to identify an entry point of the shaft into the subject.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted to be attached to an entry point of the shaft.", "In another embodiment the apparatus further comprises a spacer to separate the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker and the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This embodiment may be advantageous because it may allow for more accurate identification of the orientation of the shaft.", "For instance as the first and second centre points become closer to each other the margin of error used to calculate the orientation of the shaft becomes larger.", "By placing a spacer between the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker and the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker the error in the calculated location of the shaft can be kept below a predetermined threshold.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to locate the first centre point and the second centre point using the magnetic resonance location data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to calculate a shaft position and orientation using at least the located first centre point and the located second centre point.", "The location data comprises the shaft position and/or orientation.", "This embodiment is particularly advantageous because the location of two points of the shaft allow its position and its orientation in space to be determined.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to determine an orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker using the magnetic resonance location data.", "For instance the location of the first centre point may be determined.", "Execution of the instructions further cause the processor to calculate a shaft position using at least the located first centre point and the orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The toroidal shape allows the orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker to be determined in space.", "As was mentioned previously this may be very advantageous because it allows the identification of the location and/or orientation of the shaft with a single magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the view is two-dimensional.", "By this it is meant that the view is a representation of a two-dimensional slice of the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to receive a selection of a shaft entry point in the magnetic resonance data.", "The shaft entry point may be identified in several different ways.", "For instance if it is present the shaft entry point may be identified using the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker if it is attached to a surface or skin of the subject.", "The shaft entry point may also be identified in a magnetic resonance image by a physician or operator using a human interface device such as a mouse.", "Receiving the selection of the shaft entry point may also be achieved by using image segmentation or recognition to identify the location of where the shaft enters the subject.", "The shaft entry point is descriptive of the location where the shaft enters the subject.", "The view is determined at least using the shaft entry point.", "This embodiment is advantageous because once the shaft has been inserted into the subject the shaft entry point does not change.", "The subject may move but the shaft entry point relative to the anatomy of the subject remains constant until the shaft is removed from the subject.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to receive viewing plane offset and angulation commands.", "Typically the magnetic resonance data is acquired for a three-dimensional volume.", "During the procedure using the interventional device physicians or other healthcare professionals typically prefer to have a two-dimensional slice of the data which they see.", "By issuing plane offset and/or angulation commands the physician or healthcare professional can adjust and select which plane they would like to see during the performing of the procedure.", "Execution of the instructions further cause the processor to adjust the view using the viewing plane offset and angulation commands.", "This embodiment may be particularly advantageous because the view may be selected in some embodiments automatically by identifying the location of the shaft entry point and/or the target zone.", "The viewing plane offset and angulation commands can be given relative to the location of the target volume and/or the shaft entry point.", "This allows for the adjusting and optimal display of data during the procedure.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to display a projection of the shaft onto the view.", "This may be extremely advantageous because the shaft may be out of the plane of the view.", "By projecting the shaft onto the view the physician or other healthcare professional is given additional information useful for guiding the shaft to the target zone.", "In another embodiment color coding of the shaft is used to visualize which parts of the shaft are in front of, inside of, and/or behind the image plane.", "This is particularly useful as it provides additional information and allows a physician to better guide the shaft to the target zone.", "For instance a false color map could be used to indicate how far out of the plane a particular portion of the shaft is.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance image is rendered as a three-dimensional image.", "This may be a three-dimensional image rendered on a two-dimensional display or the three-dimensional image may be rendered in three dimensions using a three-dimensional display or glasses which show the three-dimensional image to the physician or other healthcare professional.", "In another embodiment the medical device further comprises a surface coil for receiving the magnetic resonance data.", "This may be particularly advantageous because the surface coil may be placed surrounding the location where the shaft enters the subject's body.", "The surface coil then surrounds a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker as it is placed on the surface of the subject.", "For certain embodiments, particularly when the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidally-shaped resonance coil and capacitor, the surface coil may be used to easily identify the location of the magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a needle.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a linear ablation probe.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a cryoprobe.", "A cryoprobe supplies cryogenic fluid or cools a vicinity of the probe tip to cryogenic temperatures to cool tissues to the point of ablation.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a laser ablation probe.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a biopsy needle.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a hollow needle.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a microwave probe.", "The microwave probe is adapted for delivering microwave energy to tissue in the vicinity of the tip of the shaft.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a guide wire delivery system.", "The guide wire may for instance be delivered using a hollow needle or other structure.", "The guide wire may then be used to deliver another interventional apparatus to the target zone.", "In another aspect the invention provides for a computer program product comprising machine executable instructions for execution by a processor of a medical apparatus.", "For instance the computer program product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium.", "The medical apparatus comprises a magnetic resonance imaging system for acquiring magnetic resonance data from a subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises an interventional device comprising a shaft.", "The shaft is adapted for being inserted into the subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a first magnetic resonance fiducial marker attached to the shaft.", "The first magnetic resonance location marker is toroidal.", "The shaft passes through a first centre point of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "Execution of the instructions causes the processor to acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to reconstruct the magnetic resonance data into a magnetic resonance image.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to receive the selection of a target volume within the subject.", "Execution of the instructions further cause the processor to repeatedly acquire magnetic resonance location data from the first magnetic resonance location marker using the magnetic resonance imaging system.", "The magnetic resonance location data is descriptive of the location of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly render a view indicating the position of the shaft relative to the target zone on a display device.", "The view is determined using at least the location data and the location of the target volume.", "In another aspect the invention also provides for a method and a computer-implemented method for performing the aforementioned computer program product.", "In another aspect the invention provides for a magnetic resonance fiducial marker adapted to attach to a shaft.", "The first magnetic resonance location marker is toroidal.", "The shaft is adapted to pass through a centre point of the magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This embodiment is advantageous because the toroidal magnetic resonance location marker may be used to identify both the location and orientation of the shaft using a single magnetic resonance location marker.", "The orientation or location of the shaft is also very easily identified using two magnetic resonance location markers.", "For instance the shaft may simply be able to be slid into a slot or hole at the centre point.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a central support for guiding the shaft.", "The central support is adapted to be detached from the magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This is particularly advantageous because this may allow the magnetic resonance fiducial marker to be removed without removing the shaft from a subject.", "For instance if a physician needs to insert a large number of shafts into a subject it may not be advantageous to leave the magnetic resonance fiducial marker in place.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted to be passed over a hub attached to a distal end of the shaft.", "This may be advantageous because the magnetic resonance fiducial marker can be removed without having to remove the shaft.", "The magnetic resonance fiducial markers are adapted to be removed from the shaft over the hub as distal end leaving the shaft inserted in the subject.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker has a subject surface adapted for being attached to a subject with an adhesive.", "This is advantageous because the magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be used to identify an entry point of where the shaft enters into the subject.", "In another embodiment the subject surface is sterile.", "For instance the magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be delivered in a sterile enclosure or package.", "The magnetic resonance fiducial marker may then be placed onto a sterile surface of the subject.", "This has the advantage of reducing the possibility of infection.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroid.", "The toroid comprises a slot adapted for passing the shaft through the toroid.", "In some embodiments it may not be possible to pass the magnetic resonance fiducial marker over a hub.", "There for instance could be a slot in the toroidal structure.", "If there are coil structures on the toroid, then the coil structures could be adapted such that the removal of the shaft would rip apart or break a section of the coil and allow it to be removed.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidal magnetic resonance receive coil optionally surrounding a toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume.", "The advantages of this embodiment have been previously discussed.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidally-shaped resonant coil and capacitor.", "The advantages of this embodiment have also been previously discussed." ], [ "The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/007,990 filed Sep. 27, 2013, which is the U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 371 of International Application No.", "PCT/IB2012/051661, filed Apr.", "4, 2012, which claims the benefit of EP Application Serial No.", "11161457.4 filed Apr.", "7, 2011.These applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to magnetic resonance imaging, in particular to the use of magnetic resonance to guide a shaft to a target zone within a subject.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The availability of interactive real-time MRI and MR-conditional instruments has lead to an increasing use of MR-guidance especially in transcutaneous procedures performed with needles or linear ablation probes.", "Besides the lack of ionizing radiation MR-guidance offers a number of advantages for such procedures, the most important one being the soft tissue contrast and full tomographic capability of MR, if compared with CT or US.", "State-of-the-art clinical MR-guided percutaneous interventions use pre-operative 3D MR images to plan the device path, then stereotactic device guides to align the device with the target and to guide its insertion, which is mostly performed outside the MR bore.", "Finally, MR is used to confirm that the device has reached the target.", "Because stereotactic procedures are prone to registration errors due to patient motion and needle bending, and because they involve a complicated workflow (patient movement into and out of bore), advanced centers are now practicing so-called free-hand procedures, in which the device is advanced without any physical stereotactic device guide under real-time image guidance inside the MR.", "This is facilitated by dedicated MR sequences that visualize the target lesion and the device with high conspicuity and by the availability of open MR systems In Coutts et. at.", "“Integrated and Interactive Position Tracking and Imaging of Interventional Tools and Internal Devices Using Small Fiducial Receiver Coils,” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, vol.", "40, 1998, pages 908-913, a method of tracking the position of a rigid device within a magnetic resonance scanner is disclosed.", "The position tracking is performed by means of two or three small magnetic resonance receiver coils attached to individual receiver channels.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides for a medical apparatus, a computer program product, and a magnetic resonance fiducial marker in the independent claims.", "Embodiments are given in the dependent claims.", "Some embodiments of the invention may be particularly advantageous, because alignment of the imaging slices with needle and/or target lesion may be performed automatically.", "Manual adjustment of slices is current practice, but requires that the interventionist communicates the requested slice adjustments to the MR operator outside the MR room, which is not trivial and requires an experienced and well attuned team.", "Means to support, automate, and improve the workflow of such free-hand interventions are mandatory to foster a wide-spread use.", "The toroidal shape of the fiducial markers of embodiments of the invention allows measurement of the position and/or orientation of the needle axis with only one or two markers but without blocking the needle axis as would be the case for point-like markers.", "Hence, embodiments of the invention may be compatible with any needle-type device and, additionally, secondary devices can be introduced, e.g.", "a stylet or biopsy device into a hollow needle.", "Using individual light markers as the device guide reduces its size and vastly increases the mechanical flexibility of wiring, which is essential to allow for uncompromised maneuverability and minute haptic feedback as required when advancing the device into the patient.", "The device guide does not require additional attention (holding/steering/aligning etc.)", "by the physician and the needle-type devices can be manipulated as usual.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an interventional device with reduced weight and/or an interventional device which is more easily controlled with a single hand.", "Current interventional devices may have a relatively large size.", "The size is caused by the necessity to incorporate at least three markers with sufficient mutual distance to measure the position and orientation of the device with sufficient accuracy.", "This is important to achieve proper alignment of the imaging slice with the device.", "Even small angular errors can otherwise lead to a displacement between needle and slice inside the patient.", "Target lesions can be located as deeply as 20 cm inside the patient.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "A large size of the device is disadvantageous especially when several needles and catheters are applied in one patient close to each other as for HDR brachytherapy.", "Embodiments of the invention may reduce the number of wires to the inverventional device with respect to current interventional devices.", "Current devices which rely on the use of multiple fiducialmarkers may have clumsy wiring.", "The use of several markers in the device results in a heavy and in-flexible connection cable with about 1.5 cm diameter and respectively large and heavy cable traps to avoid dangerous shield currents.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an interventional device where the fiducial marker is attached to the shaft or needle of the interventional device.", "With some current devices, the size and weight of the device and its wiring and the relative in-flexibility of the wiring have lead to concerns to rigidly attach the needle to the guide itself as initially intended.", "Instead, a bar with a V-shaped groove is used to which the interventionist aligns the needle with his second hand.", "However, tests have shown that handling of needle and guidance tool with two hands is uncomfortable and for some users even totally unfeasible.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for improved maneuverability and haptics of the interventional device.", "Free-hand needle interventions depend on a minute haptic feedback which is required when advancing the needle into the patient.", "The interventionist must be able to “feel” the crossing of internal interfaces.", "The size of the device, the weight and in-flexibility of the relatively thick cable, and the need to use two hands to maneuver needle and tool vastly hampers maneuverability and haptics.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may reduce the likelihood that a fiducial marker is out of the field of view, or imaging region, of a magnetic resonance imaging system.", "In some current implementations, guidance tools of relatively large size are attached/positioned proximally to and about aligned with the needle, such that the overall length of the assembly from needle tip to the most proximal marker is in the order of 30 cm.", "The lesion may be as deep as 15 cm inside the patient.", "During entry of the needle into the skin, all active tracking markers as well as the lesion should be in the imaging volume of the MR scanner, which is typically a sphere of less than 45 cm diameter.", "The patient must be very carefully positioned to achieve this, and even if so, the interesting objects are lying at the edge of the imaging sphere with associated low SNR and geometric distortions.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an improved orientation independence of the fiducial marker.", "Current active markers receive signal from a water-filled bead contained in a solenoid coil.", "If the solenoid is aligned with B0, the SNR of the signal drops vastly, because the transverse components of the B1-sensitivity of the solenoid are very small.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide for an intuitive viewing plane control.", "Surprisingly, some interventionists have difficulties to cope with the fact, that they have full 6D control of the scan planes, since the planes stay “rigidly attached” to the tool.", "This type of control requires that the operator keeps the tool in a defined position and orientation.", "This is very different from the previous situation, where only the needle was held and maneuvered, and the operator at the console was in control of the scan planes.", "Embodiments of the invention may provide a means of overcoming this limitation.", "The invention may provide for a light-weight and small device guide is that is equipped with a single toroid-shaped active marker.", "It may be used in combination with a similarly shaped marker positioned near or adhering to the skin at the device entry point.", "The marker with toroidal shape is crossed centrally by the needle-type device to be guided such that the center of gravity of its signal distribution lies on the needle axis.", "This allows localizing the respective point on the needle axis with a single marker channel and irrespective of the orientation of the guide with respect to B0.Using only a single such marker at the device guide reduces its size and vastly increases the flexibility of wiring.", "The scan planes for image guidance are defined to contain the two points defined by the two markers, i.e., the position of the needle hub and of the skin entry point.", "Two nearly perpendicular planes are used for guidance as before, e.g.", "one para-coronal slice and one para-transverse slice in a liver intervention.", "The para-coronal slice is defined as to contain both marker positions and the FH axis.", "The para-transverse is defined to contain the AP axis if the needle is mainly advanced in RL direction and vice versa.", "The set-up may consist of a light-weight and small guide marker and a skin marker.", "Both markers have a central opening to let the needle pass.", "Both markers may be equipped with a plug that can be plugged into a socket at the surface coil.", "This minimizes cable length and workflow.", "Note, that the toroidal shape of the signal volume allows measuring the needle axis with only two markers but without blocking the needle axis as would be the case for two point-like markers.", "Hence, all needle-type devices can be guided accurately and, in addition, secondary devices can be introduced any time during the procedure with the guide still in use, e.g.", "a stylet or biopsy device into a hollow needle or guidewires as necessary for Seldinger introduction techniques.", "A possible workflow for using embodiments of the invention may be: 1.Interventionist defines and marks skin entry point, either with the conventional “finger-pointing method” or by moving the skin marker across the skin.", "Finally, the entry point is marked by a pen, prepared for insertion (disinfection, local anesthesia, actually may have been performed earlier) and the skin marker is attached to the prepared entry site.", "Note, that using the skin markers together with the known coordinates of the e.g.", "target tumor already allows appropriate real-time imaging along the estimated needle path in e.g.", "one para-transversal and one para-coronal image slice and thus provides optimal guidance during this interactive planning step.", "2.Needle tip is put onto the entry point.", "3.Needle shaft is aligned with the planned trajectory by moving the needle hub.", "This can be achieved in two ways: a) The MR system tracks the position of the markers and either displays the resulting trajectory as a line on pre-operative images (navigational display).", "b) Para-coronal and/or para-transversal real-time slices are acquired defined as described above.", "When arrived at the correct trajectory, the needle should aim to the target lesion, which can be confirmed by either the navigational display or the real-time slice(s).", "4.Needle is advanced into the body with continuous image control.", "This allows to see and adjust for needle deviations, needle bending, physiological motion.", "In an alternate workflow the entry point of the needle is defined virtually using a software package and active needle guidance is used to position the needle at the correct entry point and trajectory.", "For this workflow both markers are placed on the needle, and the entry point may not have to be marked physically.", "In one embodiment, the receive coils can be shaped as simple circular coils around the toroidal signal volume.", "This simpler coil set-up is allowable, if it is excluded by the type of intervention, that the circular axis is aligned with B0, which would result in a low signal.", "In the liver interventions performed in a 1 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging system this is the case, and the simpler coil set-up can be used.", "In one embodiment, the skin marker is equipped with such a circular receive coil and lacks an own toroidal signal volume.", "Instead, the skin is used as signal source.", "In one embodiment, the marker preferably equipped with such a simple circular coil is a disposable device.", "In one embodiment, the coil of the skin marker is not wired to an MR receiver, but made resonant with a capacitor and its signal is detected via inductive coupling to the surface coil.", "Active decoupling and a difference measurement may be used to reduce global background signal.", "The alignment of the marker centers with the needle axis can be based on a sterile approach using single-use small adhesive patches a little bit larger in size than the markers.", "The patches will be attached to the markers parallel to the marker plane from both sides so: a.)", "They fully encapsulate the marker and thus render the assembly sterile b.)", "The adhesive faces touch each other at the bore region of the markers c.) Needle-type devices can be poked through the markers center where the adhesive patches touch each other and the markers thus stay aligned with the needle axis but can be slid along the needle to avoid the FOV problem or to move them to a more favorable position (examples: move marker or marker wiring to different position in case of space limitations occurring during the intervention).", "d.) Patches can be removed and markers and needle-type device can be separated while the needle-type device is still inserted.", "In one embodiment the circular skin marker features a gap such as to remove the marker easily sideways after complete insertion of the guided device and reuse the active skin marker for consecutive workflow steps.", "In one embodiment a multitude of markers with distinct coding (e.g.", "via shape, signal .", ".", ". )", "is available during the procedure.", "This allows to identify different inserted devices via their transcutaneous port position.", "In conjunction with the stored device orientation during insertion, (real-time) imaging planes can be easily recalled/adjusted to the respective device.", "In one embodiment, both markers are on the needle instead of 1 on the needle and one on the skin to provide a 1-hand 1-movement workflow where it is no longer required to manually place the skin marker as a separate workflow step.", "In one embodiment, a plastic spacer prevents that two markers come too close together to ensure accuracy of the imaged trajectory is maintained.", "In one embodiment, the needle insertion depth is calculated from the marker that moves with the needle hub and marker that is held in position by the skin and the known location of the markers with respect to the needle.", "Assuming a measurement precision of about 1 mm for the needle coordinates at the position of the two markers, the expected alignment error of the imaging planes will typically be small compared to the width of the image artifact caused by the needle.", "Only in a situation when the two markers have to be moved very close together, the tip of a long needle may be missed in the images.", "The following two embodiments are proposed to correct this possible misalignment: 1.The described active tracking method using the two markers is combined with a passive tracking method employing detection of the needle pointing direction via image analysis 2.A software tool is used to store a history of needle coordinates during needle progression and to guess the best image plane orientation.", "Alternatively or additionally, the target (e.g.", "tumor) coordinates which had been determined before the start of the intervention (as mentioned under “workflow” above) can be used as a third marker point when the needle tip approaches the target.", "Embodiments of the invention may have the following advantages: The guide marker (magnetic resonance fiducial marker) is small, light-weight, and equipped with minimal wiring.", "The marker is centrally attached to the needle.", "As a consequence, the interventionist has nearly as fine haptic feedback and freedom to maneuver as with a bare needle.", "The “Out-of-FOV-problem” is reduced/solved because the length of the device reduces to the length of the needle.", "For very long needles, the guide marker may even be allowed to slide on the needle shaft, bringing it nearer to the isocenter.", "The marker orientation problem is solved because there are always two zones within the toroid where the Biot-Savart-field of the toroidal coil is transverse.", "In these zones, there is maximum signal.", "There is no marker orientation in which the signal vanishes.", "The problem of unintuitive scan plane control is solved, since the operator is back to the used way of mainly maneuvering the needle itself with only one hand.", "The second hand is free to assist in this or for other purposes.", "The large distance between the guide marker and the skin marker during the targeting phase and the phase of initial needle insertion results in a high targeting accuracy.", "The large signal volume of the toroidal markers compared to beed-like markers potentially results in a higher accuracy of position measurement.", "The markers may be implemented as single-use devices, enabling to generate device-based revenues.", "The invention can be applied to all MR-guided transcutaneous interventions performed with linear-shaped devices.", "A ‘computer-readable storage medium’ as used herein encompasses any tangible storage medium which may store instructions which are executable by a processor of a computing device.", "The computer-readable storage medium may be referred to as a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium.", "The computer-readable storage medium may also be referred to as a tangible computer readable medium.", "In some embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium may also be able to store data which is able to be accessed by the processor of the computing device.", "Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to: a floppy disk, a magnetic hard disk drive, a solid state hard disk, flash memory, a USB thumb drive, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and the register file of the processor.", "Examples of optical disks include Compact Disks (CD) and Digital Versatile Disks (DVD), for example CD-ROM, CD-RW, CD-R, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, or DVD-R disks.", "The term computer readable-storage medium also refers to various types of recording media capable of being accessed by the computer device via a network or communication link.", "For example a data may be retrieved over a modem, over the internet, or over a local area network.", "References to a computer-readable storage medium should be interpreted as possibly being multiple computer-readable storage mediums.", "Various executable components of a program or programs may be stored in different locations.", "The computer-readable storage medium may for instance be multiple computer-readable storage medium within the same computer system.", "The computer-readable storage medium may also be computer-readable storage medium distributed amongst multiple computer systems or computing devices.", "‘Computer memory’ or ‘memory’ is an example of a computer-readable storage medium.", "Computer memory is any memory which is directly accessible to a processor.", "Examples of computer memory include, but are not limited to: RAM memory, registers, and register files.", "References to ‘computer memory’ or ‘memory’ should be interpreted as possibly being multiple memories.", "The memory may for instance be multiple memories within the same computer system.", "The memory may also be multiple memories distributed amongst multiple computer systems or computing devices.", "‘Computer storage’ or ‘storage’ is an example of a computer-readable storage medium.", "Computer storage is any non-volatile computer-readable storage medium.", "Examples of computer storage include, but are not limited to: a hard disk drive, a USB thumb drive, a floppy drive, a smart card, a DVD, a CD-ROM, and a solid state hard drive.", "In some embodiments computer storage may also be computer memory or vice versa.", "References to ‘computer storage’ or ‘storage’ should be interpreted as possibly being multiple storage.", "The storage may for instance be multiple storage devices within the same computer system or computing device.", "The storage may also be multiple storages distributed amongst multiple computer systems or computing devices.", "A ‘processor’ as used herein encompasses an electronic component which is able to execute a program or machine executable instruction.", "References to the computing device comprising “a processor” should be interpreted as possibly containing more than one processor or processing core.", "The processor may for instance be a multi-core processor.", "A processor may also refer to a collection of processors within a single computer system or distributed amongst multiple computer systems.", "The term computing device should also be interpreted to possibly refer to a collection or network of computing devices each comprising a processor or processors.", "Many programs have their instructions performed by multiple processors that may be within the same computing device or which may even be distributed across multiple computing devices.", "A ‘user interface’ as used herein is an interface which allows a user or operator to interact with a computer or computer system.", "A ‘user interface’ may also be referred to as a ‘human interface device.’ A user interface may provide information or data to the operator and/or receive information or data from the operator.", "A user interface may enable input from an operator to be received by the computer and may provide output to the user from the computer.", "In other words, the user interface may allow an operator to control or manipulate a computer and the interface may allow the computer indicate the effects of the operator's control or manipulation.", "The display of data or information on a display or a graphical user interface is an example of providing information to an operator.", "The receiving of data through a keyboard, mouse, trackball, touchpad, pointing stick, graphics tablet, joystick, gamepad, webcam, headset, gear sticks, steering wheel, pedals, wired glove, dance pad, remote control, and accelerometer are all examples of user interface components which enable the receiving of information or data from an operator.", "A ‘hardware interface’ as used herein encompasses a interface which enables the processor of a computer system to interact with and/or control an external computing device and/or apparatus.", "A hardware interface may allow a processor to send control signals or instructions to an external computing device and/or apparatus.", "A hardware interface may also enable a processor to exchange data with an external computing device and/or apparatus.", "Examples of a hardware interface include, but are not limited to: a universal serial bus, IEEE 1394 port, parallel port, IEEE 1284 port, serial port, RS-232 port, IEEE-488 port, Bluetooth connection, Wireless local area network connection, TCP/IP connection, Ethernet connection, control voltage interface, MIDI interface, analog input interface, and digital input interface.", "A ‘display’ or ‘display device’ as used herein encompasses an output device or a user interface adapted for displaying images or data.", "A display may output visual, audio, and or tactile data.", "Examples of a display include, but are not limited to: a computer monitor, a television screen, a touch screen, tactile electronic display, Braille screen, Cathode ray tube (CRT), Storage tube, Bistable display, Electronic paper, Vector display, Flat panel display, Vacuum fluorescent display (VF), Light-emitting diode (LED) displays, Electroluminescent display (ELD), Plasma display panels (PDP), Liquid crystal display (LCD), Organic light-emitting diode displays (OLED), a projector, and Head-mounted display.", "Magnetic Resonance (MR) data is defined herein as being the recorded measurements of radio frequency signals emitted by atomic spins by the antenna of a Magnetic resonance apparatus during a magnetic resonance imaging scan.", "A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) image is defined herein as being the reconstructed two or three dimensional visualization of anatomic data contained within the magnetic resonance imaging data.", "This visualization can be performed using a computer.", "The invention provides for a medical apparatus comprising a magnetic resonance imaging system for acquiring magnetic resonance data from a subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises an interventional device comprising a shaft.", "The shaft is adapted for being inserted into the subject.", "For instance the shaft may be a needle or other long narrow structure which is able to be inserted into the subject.", "In some embodiments the shaft may be able to pierce the skin or surface of a subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a first magnetic resonance fiducial marker attached to the shaft.", "In some embodiments the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is removable.", "For instance the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be able to slide along the shaft and be removed from an end of the shaft.", "The first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is toroidal.", "A toroid is a shape which is formed by rotating a two-dimensional shape about an axis.", "For instance if a circle is rotated about the axis the toroid is a torus.", "Squares, rectangles, ovals or other shapes may also be rotated about the axis.", "By saying that the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is toroidal it is also common to say that the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is substantially toroidal or a component of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is toroidal.", "In some embodiments a container which is toroidally-shaped is used to form the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In other embodiments a circular or washer-shaped section of circuit board or Teflon is used to form the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The shaft passes through a centre point of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The centre point may have a hole or other structure which is used for guiding the shaft through the centre point.", "In other embodiments the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker may comprise paper or a thin layer of plastic which can be pierced by the shaft and the centre point is marked on the paper or the thin plastic.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a processor for controlling the medical apparatus.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a memory storing machine executable instructions for execution by the processor.", "Execution of the instructions causes the processor to acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "This may be achieved by the processor controlling the magnetic resonance imaging system and sending appropriate instructions which cause it to acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to reconstruct the magnetic resonance data into a magnetic resonance image.", "This may be achieved using a software module for reconstructing the magnetic resonance data into a magnetic resonance image.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to receive the selection of a target volume within the magnetic resonance image.", "The selection of the target volume can be performed manually.", "For instance a target volume may be identified using a graphical user interface which selects a region or a portion of the magnetic resonance image as the target volume.", "In yet other embodiments the selection of the target volume may be performed automatically by an image segmentation module.", "Various models and methods known in the art may be used to identify the location of anatomical structures.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to repeatedly acquire magnetic resonance location data from the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker using the magnetic resonance imaging system.", "This may be achieved in several different ways depending upon how the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker is constructed.", "For instance various gradient fields may be used to spatially encode magnetically polarizable material within a vessel of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In this case a coil wrapped around the toroidal structure may be used to acquire the magnetic resonance location data.", "In yet other embodiments the toroidal structure of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be located in a normal magnetic resonance image.", "The magnetic resonance location data is descriptive of the location of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly render a view indicating the position of the shaft relative to the target zone on a display device.", "The view is determined using at least the location data and the location of the target volume.", "This embodiment is particularly advantageous because the toroidal shape of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker allows its position and/or orientation to be determined.", "This greatly reduces the number of magnetic resonance fiducial markers necessary to identify the location of the shaft of the interventional device.", "This for instance allows a reduction in the weight of the interventional device and also its size which makes it easier to fit within an imaging zone of the magnetic resonance imaging system.", "It may also be more convenient and ergonomic for a physician or other medical professional to use the interventional device.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to repeatedly re-acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly reconstruct the magnetic resonance image using the re-acquired magnetic resonance data.", "The view comprises the magnetic resonance image.", "In this embodiment the magnetic resonance data is repeatedly re-acquired and used to display an updated or fresh magnetic resonance image.", "This may be advantageous because the subject may have internal or external motion which is in motion during the use of the interventional device.", "This may provide for a more accurate use of the interventional device.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly re-determine the location of the target zone using the magnetic resonance data.", "For instance an image segmentation module may be used to identify the location of the target zone automatically in some embodiments.", "This may be advantageous because the subject may have internal and/or external motion which causes the location of the target zone to change as a function of time.", "In another embodiment the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a magnetic resonance receive coil surrounding a toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume.", "This embodiment is advantageous because the magnetic resonance receive coil can pick up the magnetic resonance signal from the toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume and be used to accurately locate the position and/or orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a resonant coil and capacitor.", "In some embodiments, the resonant coil may be toroidally shaped or circularly shaped.", "By toroidally-shaped the resonant coil and capacitor may be formed on a substrate, circuit board, or piece of Teflon which is toroidal or substantially toroidal in shape.", "It may also be used to indicate that the coil is toroidal or substantially toroidal in shape.", "This embodiment may be advantageous because it can be used to form a compact magnetic resonance fiducial marker which has its position and/or orientation identified.", "In another embodiment the apparatus further comprises a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted for guiding the shaft through a second centre point of the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The first centre point is through the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker and the second centre point is the centre point of the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The location data is further descriptive of the location of the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This embodiment is particularly advantageous because it is easier to identify the location of the centre point of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker than to identify both its centre point and its orientation.", "By simply identifying the location of the first and second centre points the orientation of the shaft of the interventional device is determined.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidal magnetic resonance receive coil.", "In this embodiment it is not necessary for the receive coil to surround a magnetic resonance signal volume.", "This may be the case if the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is placed on the skin or a surface of the subject.", "The subject may then function as the signal volume for the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidal magnetic resonance receive coil surrounding a second toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume.", "This embodiment may be advantageous because the magnetic resonance receive coil is able to receive magnetic resonance signals from the second signal volume which allows the determination of the location of its centre point and/or its orientation.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidally-shaped resonant coil and capacitor.", "This embodiment has the same advantages as for the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker that was formed using a toroidally-shaped resonant coil and capacitor.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted to be attached to the surface of the subject.", "This may be particularly beneficial because the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be used to identify an entry point of the shaft into the subject.", "In another embodiment the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted to be attached to an entry point of the shaft.", "In another embodiment the apparatus further comprises a spacer to separate the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker and the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This embodiment may be advantageous because it may allow for more accurate identification of the orientation of the shaft.", "For instance as the first and second centre points become closer to each other the margin of error used to calculate the orientation of the shaft becomes larger.", "By placing a spacer between the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker and the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker the error in the calculated location of the shaft can be kept below a predetermined threshold.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to locate the first centre point and the second centre point using the magnetic resonance location data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to calculate a shaft position and orientation using at least the located first centre point and the located second centre point.", "The location data comprises the shaft position and/or orientation.", "This embodiment is particularly advantageous because the location of two points of the shaft allow its position and its orientation in space to be determined.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to determine an orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker using the magnetic resonance location data.", "For instance the location of the first centre point may be determined.", "Execution of the instructions further cause the processor to calculate a shaft position using at least the located first centre point and the orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The toroidal shape allows the orientation of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker to be determined in space.", "As was mentioned previously this may be very advantageous because it allows the identification of the location and/or orientation of the shaft with a single magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the view is two-dimensional.", "By this it is meant that the view is a representation of a two-dimensional slice of the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to receive a selection of a shaft entry point in the magnetic resonance data.", "The shaft entry point may be identified in several different ways.", "For instance if it is present the shaft entry point may be identified using the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker if it is attached to a surface or skin of the subject.", "The shaft entry point may also be identified in a magnetic resonance image by a physician or operator using a human interface device such as a mouse.", "Receiving the selection of the shaft entry point may also be achieved by using image segmentation or recognition to identify the location of where the shaft enters the subject.", "The shaft entry point is descriptive of the location where the shaft enters the subject.", "The view is determined at least using the shaft entry point.", "This embodiment is advantageous because once the shaft has been inserted into the subject the shaft entry point does not change.", "The subject may move but the shaft entry point relative to the anatomy of the subject remains constant until the shaft is removed from the subject.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to receive viewing plane offset and angulation commands.", "Typically the magnetic resonance data is acquired for a three-dimensional volume.", "During the procedure using the interventional device physicians or other healthcare professionals typically prefer to have a two-dimensional slice of the data which they see.", "By issuing plane offset and/or angulation commands the physician or healthcare professional can adjust and select which plane they would like to see during the performing of the procedure.", "Execution of the instructions further cause the processor to adjust the view using the viewing plane offset and angulation commands.", "This embodiment may be particularly advantageous because the view may be selected in some embodiments automatically by identifying the location of the shaft entry point and/or the target zone.", "The viewing plane offset and angulation commands can be given relative to the location of the target volume and/or the shaft entry point.", "This allows for the adjusting and optimal display of data during the procedure.", "In another embodiment execution of the instructions further cause the processor to display a projection of the shaft onto the view.", "This may be extremely advantageous because the shaft may be out of the plane of the view.", "By projecting the shaft onto the view the physician or other healthcare professional is given additional information useful for guiding the shaft to the target zone.", "In another embodiment color coding of the shaft is used to visualize which parts of the shaft are in front of, inside of, and/or behind the image plane.", "This is particularly useful as it provides additional information and allows a physician to better guide the shaft to the target zone.", "For instance a false color map could be used to indicate how far out of the plane a particular portion of the shaft is.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance image is rendered as a three-dimensional image.", "This may be a three-dimensional image rendered on a two-dimensional display or the three-dimensional image may be rendered in three dimensions using a three-dimensional display or glasses which show the three-dimensional image to the physician or other healthcare professional.", "In another embodiment the medical device further comprises a surface coil for receiving the magnetic resonance data.", "This may be particularly advantageous because the surface coil may be placed surrounding the location where the shaft enters the subject's body.", "The surface coil then surrounds a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker as it is placed on the surface of the subject.", "For certain embodiments, particularly when the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidally-shaped resonance coil and capacitor, the surface coil may be used to easily identify the location of the magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a needle.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a linear ablation probe.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a cryoprobe.", "A cryoprobe supplies cryogenic fluid or cools a vicinity of the probe tip to cryogenic temperatures to cool tissues to the point of ablation.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a laser ablation probe.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a biopsy needle.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a hollow needle.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a microwave probe.", "The microwave probe is adapted for delivering microwave energy to tissue in the vicinity of the tip of the shaft.", "In another embodiment the interventional device is a guide wire delivery system.", "The guide wire may for instance be delivered using a hollow needle or other structure.", "The guide wire may then be used to deliver another interventional apparatus to the target zone.", "In another aspect the invention provides for a computer program product comprising machine executable instructions for execution by a processor of a medical apparatus.", "For instance the computer program product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium.", "The medical apparatus comprises a magnetic resonance imaging system for acquiring magnetic resonance data from a subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises an interventional device comprising a shaft.", "The shaft is adapted for being inserted into the subject.", "The medical apparatus further comprises a first magnetic resonance fiducial marker attached to the shaft.", "The first magnetic resonance location marker is toroidal.", "The shaft passes through a first centre point of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "Execution of the instructions causes the processor to acquire the magnetic resonance data.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to reconstruct the magnetic resonance data into a magnetic resonance image.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to receive the selection of a target volume within the subject.", "Execution of the instructions further cause the processor to repeatedly acquire magnetic resonance location data from the first magnetic resonance location marker using the magnetic resonance imaging system.", "The magnetic resonance location data is descriptive of the location of the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "Execution of the instructions further causes the processor to repeatedly render a view indicating the position of the shaft relative to the target zone on a display device.", "The view is determined using at least the location data and the location of the target volume.", "In another aspect the invention also provides for a method and a computer-implemented method for performing the aforementioned computer program product.", "In another aspect the invention provides for a magnetic resonance fiducial marker adapted to attach to a shaft.", "The first magnetic resonance location marker is toroidal.", "The shaft is adapted to pass through a centre point of the magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This embodiment is advantageous because the toroidal magnetic resonance location marker may be used to identify both the location and orientation of the shaft using a single magnetic resonance location marker.", "The orientation or location of the shaft is also very easily identified using two magnetic resonance location markers.", "For instance the shaft may simply be able to be slid into a slot or hole at the centre point.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a central support for guiding the shaft.", "The central support is adapted to be detached from the magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "This is particularly advantageous because this may allow the magnetic resonance fiducial marker to be removed without removing the shaft from a subject.", "For instance if a physician needs to insert a large number of shafts into a subject it may not be advantageous to leave the magnetic resonance fiducial marker in place.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker is adapted to be passed over a hub attached to a distal end of the shaft.", "This may be advantageous because the magnetic resonance fiducial marker can be removed without having to remove the shaft.", "The magnetic resonance fiducial markers are adapted to be removed from the shaft over the hub as distal end leaving the shaft inserted in the subject.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker has a subject surface adapted for being attached to a subject with an adhesive.", "This is advantageous because the magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be used to identify an entry point of where the shaft enters into the subject.", "In another embodiment the subject surface is sterile.", "For instance the magnetic resonance fiducial marker may be delivered in a sterile enclosure or package.", "The magnetic resonance fiducial marker may then be placed onto a sterile surface of the subject.", "This has the advantage of reducing the possibility of infection.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroid.", "The toroid comprises a slot adapted for passing the shaft through the toroid.", "In some embodiments it may not be possible to pass the magnetic resonance fiducial marker over a hub.", "There for instance could be a slot in the toroidal structure.", "If there are coil structures on the toroid, then the coil structures could be adapted such that the removal of the shaft would rip apart or break a section of the coil and allow it to be removed.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidal magnetic resonance receive coil optionally surrounding a toroidal magnetic resonance signal volume.", "The advantages of this embodiment have been previously discussed.", "In another embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker comprises a toroidally-shaped resonant coil and capacitor.", "The advantages of this embodiment have also been previously discussed.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following preferred embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the drawings in which: FIG.", "1 shows a flow diagram which illustrates a method according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "2 shows a flow diagram which illustrates a method according to a further embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "3 illustrates an interventional device according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "4 shows the interventional device of FIG.", "3 in conjunction with a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker; FIG.", "5 illustrates a method identifying the location of the center point of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker in one spatial dimension; FIG.", "6 illustrates two magnetic resonance fiducial markers according to embodiments of the invention; FIG.", "7 illustrates a magnetic resonance fiducial marker according to a further embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "8 shows a top view of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker according to a further embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "9 shows a top and a sectional side view of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker according to a further embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "10 shows a sectional side view of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker according to a further embodiment of the invention; and FIG.", "11 illustrates a medical apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Like numbered elements in these figures are either equivalent elements or perform the same function.", "Elements which have been discussed previously will not necessarily be discussed in later figures if the function is equivalent.", "FIG.", "1 shows a flow diagram which illustrates a method according to an embodiment of the invention.", "In step 100 magnetic resonance data is acquired.", "In step 102 the magnetic resonance image is reconstructed using the magnetic resonance data.", "In step 104 the selection of a target volume in the subject is received.", "This for instance may be performed manually and the selection may be received from a graphical user interface.", "In other embodiments the target volume is identified in the magnetic resonance image automatically using a segmentation module.", "Next in step 106 magnetic resonance location data is acquired from the first magnetic resonance location marker.", "In step 108 a view is rendered on a display device.", "The view indicates the location of the shaft relative to the target volume.", "In some embodiments the magnetic resonance image is also displayed on the view.", "Steps 106 and 108 are repeated during a procedure using an interventional device.", "FIG.", "2 shows a flow diagram which illustrates a method according to a further embodiment of the invention.", "In step 200 magnetic resonance data is acquired.", "In step 202 the magnetic resonance image is reconstructed using the magnetic resonance data.", "In step 204 the selection of a target volume in the magnetic resonance image is received.", "In step 206 magnetic resonance location data is acquired from the first magnetic resonance location marker.", "Next in step 208 the magnetic resonance data is re-acquired.", "In step 210 the magnetic resonance image is reconstructed using the re-acquired magnetic resonance data.", "In step 212 a view is rendered on the display device.", "The view indicates the location of the shaft relative to the target volume and the magnetic resonance image is displayed as a part of the view.", "Steps 206, 208, 210, and 212 are repeated during a procedure using the interventional device comprising a shaft.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an interventional device 300 according to an embodiment of the invention.", "The interventional device 300 comprises a shaft 302 or needle attached to a hub 304.Mounted on the shaft 302 is a first magnetic resonance fiducial marker 306.The first magnetic resonance fiducial marker 306 comprises a toroidal signal volume 308.There is a coil 310 wrapped around the toroidal signal volume 308.Connected to the coil 310 is a wire 312.The wire may be used for instance to connect to a pre-amplifier or other radio frequency component.", "FIG.", "4 shows the interventional device 300 of FIG.", "3 in conjunction with a second magnetic resonance fiducial marker 406.In FIG.", "3 a side view of the interventional device 300 was shown.", "In this FIG.", "the interventional device 300 is tipped at an angle.", "It can be seen that the hub 304 is able to pass through the centre of the toroidal first magnetic resonance fiducial marker 306.This allows for free passage or insertion of a secondary device.", "It also allows the first magnetic resonance fiducial marker 306 to be removed without removing the shaft 302 from a subject.", "The second magnetic resonance fiducial marker 406 could for instance be stuck with an adhesive to the surface of a subject.", "The shaft 302 would then be inserted into a centre point of the second magnetic resonance fiducial marker 406.The second magnetic resonance fiducial marker 406 has a toroidal signal volume 408.There is a coil surrounding the toroidal signal volume 408.A wire 412 is also connected to the coil 410 for the same reasons as the wire 312 is connected to the coil 310.FIG.", "5 shows an example of how to identify the location of the magnetic resonance fiducial marker 504 using one-dimensional gradient techniques.", "In the plot 500 is frequency or alternatively is the spatial location.", "A gradient may be applied in a particular direction and a magnetic resonance signal can be measured using the magnetic resonance fiducial marker.", "The y-axis is labeled 502 and is the signal magnitude.", "506 is a curve plotting the signal as a function of location or as a frequency.", "As a single gradient field is used the frequency is equivalent to the location.", "It can be seen that the signal has a dip at point 508.This the location of the centre point of the magnetic resonance fiducial marker 504.FIG.", "6 shows two examples of magnetic resonance fiducial markers 600, 602.In the example shown in FIG.", "600 there is a signal volume 604 surrounded by a coil 606.In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "602 there are eight solenoid coils which are wired in series 608.FIG.", "7 illustrates a magnetic resonance fiducial marker 600.Again there is a signal volume 604 surrounded by a coil 606.The magnetic resonance fiducial marker 600 has a centre point 610 for guiding a shaft.", "In this embodiment the magnetic resonance fiducial marker 600 is connected directly to a pre-amplifier board 700.The pre-amplifier board has a connection to a power supply board 702 and also a connection 704 for connecting to a radio frequency receiver via a radio frequency cable.", "FIG.", "8 shows a top view of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker 800 according to an embodiment of the invention.", "The magnetic resonance fiducial marker 800 comprises a signal volume 802 surrounded by a coil 804.There is a central support 806 which has a slot or perforation 808 and a hole 810.The hole 810 is adapted for guiding a shaft.", "The slot 808 is through both the signal volume 802 and the central support 806.In the central support 806 there is a break area 812 which can be broken when a shaft is inserted in the hole 810.When the shaft is forced against the break area the shaft can then be moved down the slot 808.Likewise a shaft can be used to apply force to the break area of a coil 814.In this way a shaft can be removed from the magnetic resonance fiducial marker 800 without removing it from a subject.", "FIG.", "9 shows a top view 900 and a side view 902 of a further embodiment of a magnetic resonance fiducial marker according to the invention.", "In this embodiment there is a substrate 904 which is toroidal in shape.", "The substrate 904 is connected to a central support 906.There is a hole 908 in the central support 906 for guiding a shaft.", "On the surface of the substrate 904 there is a coil 912 in series with a capacitor 914.The coil 912 and capacitor 914 form a resonant circuit which may be detected by a magnetic resonance imaging system.", "The central support 906 in some embodiments may be mounted onto a subject in which case the surface 916 may be a subject surface and may also have an adhesive surface.", "FIG.", "10 shows a magnetic resonance fiducial marker 1000 according to an embodiment of the invention.", "In this embodiment there is a signal volume 1002.In this embodiment no coil is shown.", "There is a central support 1004 which is in the middle of the toroidal signal volume 1002.There is a hole 1006 in the centre of the central support 1004 for guiding a shaft 1014.There is an adhesive 1008 on the bottom of the central support 1004.In some embodiments the adhesive 1008 is also on the signal volume 1002.In yet other embodiments, the adhesive 1008 is only on signal volume 1002.The adhesive 1008 has a subject surface 1010 and is adapted for adhering to the surface of a subject 1012.A shaft 1014 is shown as being inserted through the hole 1006 and a distal end of the shaft 1014 is a hub 1016.In this embodiment the central support 1004 is able to be torn or removed from the signal volume 1002.For instance the adhesive may not be underneath the signal volume 1002 in some embodiments.", "When the signal volume 1002 is forcibly removed from the central support 1004 it is able to pass the hub 1016.The central part of the toroidal signal volume 1002 is larger than the circumference of the hub 1016.In this way the marker 1000 can be removed while leaving the shaft 1014 in place.", "Having the adhesive 1008 only on the ventral support 1004 is beneficial, because it aids in separating the signal volume from the central support 1004.FIG.", "11 shows a medical apparatus 1100 according to an embodiment of the invention.", "The medical apparatus 1100 comprises a magnetic resonance imaging system 1102.The magnetic resonance imaging system 1102 comprises an open magnet 1104.In the open magnet two superconducting coils are mounted on top of each other and they produce a magnetic field similar to the way in which a Helmholtz coil would.", "The advantage to an open magnet 1104 is that it provides easy access to a subject 1110.The magnet 1104 has a liquid helium cooled cryostat with superconducting coils.", "It is also possible to use permanent or resistive magnets.", "The use of different types of magnets is also possible for instance it is also possible to use both a split cylindrical magnet and a cylindrical magnet, although both are less convenient to use than an open magnet.", "A split cylindrical magnet is similar to a standard cylindrical magnet, except that the cryostat has been split into two sections to allow access to the iso-plane of the magnet.", "An open magnet has two magnet sections, one above the other with a space in-between that is large enough to receive a subject: as mentioned above the arrangement of the two sections is similar to that of a Helmholtz coil.", "Open magnets are popular, because the subject is less confined.", "Inside the cryostat of the cylindrical magnet there is a collection of superconducting coils.", "Within the magnet 1104 there is an imaging zone 1108 where the magnetic field is strong and uniform enough to perform magnetic resonance imaging.", "On the inside of the magnet 1104 there are magnetic field gradient coils 1106 which are used for acquisition of magnetic resonance data to spatially encode magnetic spins within an imaging zone of the magnet.", "The magnetic field gradient coils 1106 are connected to a gradient coil power supply 1107.The magnetic field gradient coil is intended to be representative.", "Typically magnetic field gradient coils contain three separate sets of coils for spatially encoding in three orthogonal spatial directions.", "A magnetic field gradient power supply supplies current to the magnetic field gradient coils.", "The current supplied to the magnetic field coils is controlled as a function of time and may be ramped or pulsed.", "A subject 1110 is reposing on a subject support 1112 and is partially within the imaging zone 1108.A surface coil 1114 can be seen as being on the surface of the subject 1110.The surface coil 1114 is a radio frequency antenna for manipulating the orientations of magnetic spins within the imaging zone and for receiving radio transmissions from spins also within the imaging zone.", "The surface coil 1114 is connected to a transceiver 1116.The radio frequency transceiver 1116 may be replaced by separate transmit and receive coils and a separate transmitter and receiver.", "It is understood that the radio frequency transceiver are simply representative.", "The surface coil is intended to represent a dedicated transmit antenna and a dedicated receive antenna.", "For instance, the magnetic resonance imaging system may also include a body coil for exciting magnetic spins.", "Likewise the transceiver may also represent a separate transmitter and receiver.", "The transceiver 1116 is a multiple channel transceiver it is connected to both a magnetic resonance marker 1122 and the surface coil 1114.Within the subject 1110 there is a target zone 1118.A shaft or needle 1120 has been inserted into the subject 1110.There is a magnetic resonance fiducial marker 1122 on the shaft 1120.The magnetic resonance fiducial marker 1122 is also connected to the transceiver 1116.The transceiver 1116 and the gradient coil power supply 1107 are connected to a hardware interface 1126 of a computer system 1124.The computer system further comprises a processor 1128.The processor 1128 uses the hardware interface 1126 to send and receive command signals to the magnetic resonance imaging system 1102.The processor 1128 is able to control the magnetic resonance imaging system 1102 via the hardware interface 1126.The processor 1128 is further connected to a user interface 1130, computer storage 1132, and computer memory 1134.The computer storage 1132 is shown as containing magnetic resonance data 1140.The computer storage 1132 is further shown as containing a magnetic resonance image 1142 reconstructed from the magnetic resonance data 1140.The computer storage 1132 is further shown as containing a location 1144 of the target zone 1118.These are coordinates of the target zone 1118.The computer storage 1132 is further shown as containing magnetic resonance location data 1146.The computer storage 1132 is further shown as containing an image 1148 which has been rendered and shows the relationship of the shaft 1120 relative to the target zone 1118.The computer memory 1134 is further shown as containing a control module 1150.The control module 1150 contains computer executable code for controlling the operation and function of the medical apparatus 1100.The computer memory 1134 is further shown as containing a location identification module 1152.The location identification module 1152 is able to determine the location of magnetic resonance fiducial markers 1122 using magnetic resonance location data 1146.The computer memory 1134 is further shown as containing an image segmentation module 1154.The image segmentation module 1154 is adapted for locating target zones, shaft entry points, and/or anatomical structures using the magnetic resonance image 1142.The computer memory 1134 is further shown as containing a rendering module 1156.The rendering module 1156 is used for generating the image 1148 using at a minimum the magnetic resonance location data 1146 and the location of the target zone 1144.The computer memory 1134 is further shown as containing an image reconstruction module 1158.The image reconstruction module 1158 contains computer executable code for reconstructing the magnetic resonance image 1142 from the magnetic resonance data 1140.As part of the user interface 1130 a graphical user interface 1160 is displayed on a display device.", "Within the graphical user interface 1160 is an image 1162.This may be a magnetic resonance image or it may be an image which is generated.", "Within the image 1162 is shown the location of a subject 1164.Within the subject 1164 is a target zone 1168.There is a needle 1170 which is also shown with its position relative to the target zone 1168.The point marked 1172 is the shaft entry point 1172 of the shaft 1120 into the subject 1110, 1164.While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments.", "Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.", "In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality.", "A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims.", "The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measured cannot be used to advantage.", "A computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.", "Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope." ] ]
Patent_15875063
[ [ "Mark and Papermaking Belt Made Therefrom", "A textured mask comprising a film.", "The film can have a first substantially continuously flat surface lying in a first plane and a second surface opposite the first surface lying in a second plane substantially parallel to the first plane.", "The second surface is interrupted by a plurality of cavities, each of the cavities having a first depth defined by a third surface lying in a third plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes.", "The depth of the cavities can be at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the second plane.", "The textured mask is at least partially coated with an opaque masking agent.", "The textured mask can make a correspondingly structured three-dimensional papermaking belt, which can make correspondingly structured three-dimensional fibrous structure." ], [ "1.A textured mask comprising a film, the film having a first substantially continuously flat surface lying in a first plane and a second surface opposite the first surface lying in a second plane substantially parallel to the first plane, the second surface being interrupted by a plurality of cavities, each of the cavities having a first depth defined by a third surface lying in a third plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes, the first depth being at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the second plane, and a second depth defined by a fourth surface lying in a fourth plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes, the second depth being at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the third plane, wherein the textured mask is at least partially coated with an opaque masking agent, wherein portions of the textured mask coated with the opaque masking agent are opaque to UV light radiation, and wherein portions of the textured mask that are not coated with the opaque masking agent remain transparent to radiation and include the portions corresponding to the plurality of cavities.", "2.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein the first depth is an average depth.", "3.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein the second depth is an average depth.", "4.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein the opaque masking agent is an ink.", "5.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein the opaque masking agent is applied to the first substantially continuously flat surface.", "6.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein the opaque masking agent is applied to the second surface.", "7.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein each cavity has a maximum depth, the maximum depth being at a distance of from about 0.5 mm to about 10 mm from the second surface.", "8.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein among the plurality of cavities, a cavity can have a depth different from an adjacent cavity, with the various depths among all the cavities being at a distance from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the second surface.", "9.The textured mask of claim 1, wherein the fourth surface has a projected area less than a projected area of the third surface, and is bounded by the area of the third surface.", "10.A textured mask comprising a film, the film having a first substantially continuously flat surface lying in a first plane and a second surface opposite the first surface lying in a second plane substantially parallel to the first plane, the second surface being interrupted by a plurality of cavities, each of the cavities having a first depth defined by a third surface lying in a third plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes, the first depth being at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the second plane, and a second depth defined by a fourth surface lying in a fourth plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes, the second depth being at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the third plane, and a third depth defined by a fifth surface lying in a fifth plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes, the third depth being at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the fourth plane, wherein the textured mask is at least partially coated with an opaque masking agent, wherein portions of the textured mask coated with the opaque masking agent are opaque to UV light radiation, and wherein portions of the textured mask that are not coated with the opaque masking agent remain transparent to radiation and include the portions corresponding to the plurality of cavities.", "11.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the first depth is an average depth.", "12.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the second depth is an average depth.", "13.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the third depth is an average depth.", "14.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the opaque masking agent is an ink.", "15.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the opaque masking agent is applied to the first substantially continuously flat surface.", "16.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the opaque masking agent is applied to the second surface.", "17.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein each cavity has a maximum depth, the maximum depth being at a distance of from about 0.5 mm to about 10 mm from the second surface.", "18.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein among the plurality of cavities, a cavity can have a depth different from an adjacent cavity, with the various depths among all the cavities being at a distance from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the second surface.", "19.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the fourth surface has a projected area less than a projected area of the third surface, and is bounded by the area of the third surface.", "20.The textured mask of claim 10, wherein the fifth surface has a projected area less than a projected area of the fourth surface, and is bounded by the area of the fourth surface." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Products made from a fibrous web are used for a variety of purposes.", "For example, paper towels, facial tissues, toilet tissues, napkins, and the like are in constant use in modern industrialized societies.", "The large demand for such paper products has created a demand for improved versions of the products.", "If the paper products such as paper towels, facial tissues, napkins, toilet tissues, mop heads, and the like are to perform their intended tasks and to find wide acceptance, they must possess certain physical characteristics.", "Among the more important of these characteristics are strength, softness, and absorbency.", "Strength is the ability of a paper web to retain its physical integrity during use.", "Softness is the pleasing tactile sensation consumers perceive when they use the paper for its intended purposes.", "Absorbency is the characteristic of the paper that allows the paper to take up and retain fluids, particularly water and aqueous solutions and suspensions.", "Important not only is the absolute quantity of fluid a given amount of paper will hold, but also the rate at which the paper will absorb the fluid.", "Through-air drying papermaking belts comprising a reinforcing member and a resinous framework, and/or fibrous webs made using these belts are known and described, for example, in the following commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "No.", ": 4,514,345, issued Apr.", "30, 1985 to Johnson et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,637,859 issued Jan. 20, 1987 to Trokhan; and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,660,129 issued Dec. 9, 2003 to Cabell et al.", "In the aforementioned belts of prior art the resinous framework is joined to the fluid-permeable reinforcing member (such as, for example, a woven structure, or a felt).", "The resinous framework may be continuous, semi-continuous, comprise a plurality of discrete protuberances, or any combination thereof The resinous framework extends outwardly from the reinforcing member to form a web-side of the belt (i.e., the surface upon which the paper web is disposed during a papermaking process), a backside opposite to the web-side, and deflection conduits extending therebetween.", "The deflection conduits provide spaces into which papermaking fibers deflect under application of a pressure differential during a papermaking process.", "The terms “papermaking belt,” and “forming member,” may be used herein interchangeably.", "Paper produced on the papermaking belts disclosed in the aforementioned patents are generally characterized by having at least two physically distinct regions: a region having a first elevation and typically having a relatively high density, and a region extending from the first region to a second elevation and typically having a relatively low density.", "This is because papermaking belts on which the paper is produced generally have two distinct regions at two distinct elevations, a first region at a first elevation associated with the resinous framework, and a second region at a second elevation associated with the woven (or felt) reinforcing member.", "The first region is typically formed from the fibers that have not been deflected into the deflection conduits, and the second region is typically formed from the fibers deflected into the deflection conduits of the papermaking belt.", "The papers made using the belts having a continuous resinous framework and a plurality of discrete deflection conduits dispersed therethrough comprise a continuous high-density network region and a plurality of discrete low-density pillows (or domes), dispersed throughout, separated by, and extending from the network region.", "The continuous high-density network region is designed primarily to provide strength, while the plurality of the low-density pillows is designed primarily to provide softness and absorbency.", "Such belts have been used to produce commercially successful products, such as, for example, BOUNTY® paper towels, CHARMIN® toilet tissue, and PUFFS® facial tissue, all produced and sold by The Procter & Gamble Co. Certain aspects of absorbency of a fibrous structure, as well as its ability to clean more effectively, are highly dependent on its three-dimensional surface area.", "By three-dimensional surface area is meant the surface area that includes out-of-plane three-dimensionality such that a sheet of fibrous structure of a given overall two-dimensional size has a three-dimensional surface area greater than its two-dimensional calculated area.", "Attempts have been made to increase the three-dimensional surface area by increasing the number and placement of different elevations of a papermaking belt.", "That is, for a given fibrous web, the greater the web's three-dimensional surface area the higher the web's absorbency and cleaning performance.", "In the three-dimensional structured webs made on the aforementioned papermaking belts, the low-density pillows and the transition areas between the pillows and the relatively high density regions, dispersed throughout the web, increase the web's three-dimensional surface area, thereby increasing the web's absorbency.", "However, increasing the web's surface area by increasing the area comprising the relatively low-density pillows would result in decreasing the web's area comprising the relatively high-density network area that imparts the strength.", "Attempts to increase absorbency and cleaning performance of absorbent paper products by increasing the three-dimensional surface area include using two layers of a resinous framework of the forming member.", "One example of using two layers of a resinous framework is shown in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,660,129 B1, issued Dec. 9, 2003 to Cabell et al.", "Cabell et al.", "discloses a fibrous structure having at least a first region defining a first plane and having a first elevation, and a second region outwardly extending from the first plane to define a second elevation, wherein the second region comprises a plurality of fibrous pillows.", "Due to the nature of the resinous framework on the forming member described in Cabell et al., one feature of a fibrous structure made thereon is fibrous cantilever portions laterally extending at a second elevation.", "This is believed to be because of the nature of the process of producing the resinous framework of Cabell et al., which includes randomly dispersed cantilevered portions of the second layer of the resinous framework of Cabell et al.", "It is believed that the cantilevered portions can be weakened and fail during prolonged use of the belt, and, as well, fail to produce increased surface area in the finished paper of a type not requiring the cantilevered portions.", "There is a continuing unaddressed need for a papermaking belt that can produce fibrous structures having greater absorbency and cleaning performance, particularly cleaning of soils and other solids, due to increased three-dimensional surface area.", "Additionally, there is a continuing unaddressed need for a papermaking belt that can produce fibrous structures having distinct three-dimensional features in discrete planes, but which are not cantilevered.", "Additionally, there is a continuing unaddressed need for a method for making a papermaking belt having a multi-stage, three-dimensional structure in a single pass.", "Further, there is an unaddressed need for a three-dimensional mask that can produce a papermaking belt that can produce fibrous structures having distinct three-dimensional features in discrete planes, but which are not cantilevered." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>A textured mask comprising a film is disclosed.", "The film can have a first substantially continuously flat surface lying in a first plane and a second surface opposite the first surface lying in a second plane substantially parallel to the first plane.", "The second surface is interrupted by a plurality of cavities, each of the cavities having a first depth defined by a third surface lying in a third plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes.", "The depth of the cavities can be at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the second plane.", "The textured mask is at least partially coated with an opaque masking agent.", "The textured mask can make a correspondingly structured three-dimensional papermaking belt, which can make correspondingly structured three-dimensional fibrous structure." ], [ "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is related to processes for making strong, soft, absorbent fibrous webs, such as, for example, paper webs.", "More particularly, this invention is concerned with structured fibrous webs, equipment used to make such structured fibrous webs, and processes therefor.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Products made from a fibrous web are used for a variety of purposes.", "For example, paper towels, facial tissues, toilet tissues, napkins, and the like are in constant use in modern industrialized societies.", "The large demand for such paper products has created a demand for improved versions of the products.", "If the paper products such as paper towels, facial tissues, napkins, toilet tissues, mop heads, and the like are to perform their intended tasks and to find wide acceptance, they must possess certain physical characteristics.", "Among the more important of these characteristics are strength, softness, and absorbency.", "Strength is the ability of a paper web to retain its physical integrity during use.", "Softness is the pleasing tactile sensation consumers perceive when they use the paper for its intended purposes.", "Absorbency is the characteristic of the paper that allows the paper to take up and retain fluids, particularly water and aqueous solutions and suspensions.", "Important not only is the absolute quantity of fluid a given amount of paper will hold, but also the rate at which the paper will absorb the fluid.", "Through-air drying papermaking belts comprising a reinforcing member and a resinous framework, and/or fibrous webs made using these belts are known and described, for example, in the following commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "No.", ": 4,514,345, issued Apr.", "30, 1985 to Johnson et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,637,859 issued Jan. 20, 1987 to Trokhan; and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,660,129 issued Dec. 9, 2003 to Cabell et al.", "In the aforementioned belts of prior art the resinous framework is joined to the fluid-permeable reinforcing member (such as, for example, a woven structure, or a felt).", "The resinous framework may be continuous, semi-continuous, comprise a plurality of discrete protuberances, or any combination thereof The resinous framework extends outwardly from the reinforcing member to form a web-side of the belt (i.e., the surface upon which the paper web is disposed during a papermaking process), a backside opposite to the web-side, and deflection conduits extending therebetween.", "The deflection conduits provide spaces into which papermaking fibers deflect under application of a pressure differential during a papermaking process.", "The terms “papermaking belt,” and “forming member,” may be used herein interchangeably.", "Paper produced on the papermaking belts disclosed in the aforementioned patents are generally characterized by having at least two physically distinct regions: a region having a first elevation and typically having a relatively high density, and a region extending from the first region to a second elevation and typically having a relatively low density.", "This is because papermaking belts on which the paper is produced generally have two distinct regions at two distinct elevations, a first region at a first elevation associated with the resinous framework, and a second region at a second elevation associated with the woven (or felt) reinforcing member.", "The first region is typically formed from the fibers that have not been deflected into the deflection conduits, and the second region is typically formed from the fibers deflected into the deflection conduits of the papermaking belt.", "The papers made using the belts having a continuous resinous framework and a plurality of discrete deflection conduits dispersed therethrough comprise a continuous high-density network region and a plurality of discrete low-density pillows (or domes), dispersed throughout, separated by, and extending from the network region.", "The continuous high-density network region is designed primarily to provide strength, while the plurality of the low-density pillows is designed primarily to provide softness and absorbency.", "Such belts have been used to produce commercially successful products, such as, for example, BOUNTY® paper towels, CHARMIN® toilet tissue, and PUFFS® facial tissue, all produced and sold by The Procter & Gamble Co. Certain aspects of absorbency of a fibrous structure, as well as its ability to clean more effectively, are highly dependent on its three-dimensional surface area.", "By three-dimensional surface area is meant the surface area that includes out-of-plane three-dimensionality such that a sheet of fibrous structure of a given overall two-dimensional size has a three-dimensional surface area greater than its two-dimensional calculated area.", "Attempts have been made to increase the three-dimensional surface area by increasing the number and placement of different elevations of a papermaking belt.", "That is, for a given fibrous web, the greater the web's three-dimensional surface area the higher the web's absorbency and cleaning performance.", "In the three-dimensional structured webs made on the aforementioned papermaking belts, the low-density pillows and the transition areas between the pillows and the relatively high density regions, dispersed throughout the web, increase the web's three-dimensional surface area, thereby increasing the web's absorbency.", "However, increasing the web's surface area by increasing the area comprising the relatively low-density pillows would result in decreasing the web's area comprising the relatively high-density network area that imparts the strength.", "Attempts to increase absorbency and cleaning performance of absorbent paper products by increasing the three-dimensional surface area include using two layers of a resinous framework of the forming member.", "One example of using two layers of a resinous framework is shown in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,660,129 B1, issued Dec. 9, 2003 to Cabell et al.", "Cabell et al.", "discloses a fibrous structure having at least a first region defining a first plane and having a first elevation, and a second region outwardly extending from the first plane to define a second elevation, wherein the second region comprises a plurality of fibrous pillows.", "Due to the nature of the resinous framework on the forming member described in Cabell et al., one feature of a fibrous structure made thereon is fibrous cantilever portions laterally extending at a second elevation.", "This is believed to be because of the nature of the process of producing the resinous framework of Cabell et al., which includes randomly dispersed cantilevered portions of the second layer of the resinous framework of Cabell et al.", "It is believed that the cantilevered portions can be weakened and fail during prolonged use of the belt, and, as well, fail to produce increased surface area in the finished paper of a type not requiring the cantilevered portions.", "There is a continuing unaddressed need for a papermaking belt that can produce fibrous structures having greater absorbency and cleaning performance, particularly cleaning of soils and other solids, due to increased three-dimensional surface area.", "Additionally, there is a continuing unaddressed need for a papermaking belt that can produce fibrous structures having distinct three-dimensional features in discrete planes, but which are not cantilevered.", "Additionally, there is a continuing unaddressed need for a method for making a papermaking belt having a multi-stage, three-dimensional structure in a single pass.", "Further, there is an unaddressed need for a three-dimensional mask that can produce a papermaking belt that can produce fibrous structures having distinct three-dimensional features in discrete planes, but which are not cantilevered.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A textured mask comprising a film is disclosed.", "The film can have a first substantially continuously flat surface lying in a first plane and a second surface opposite the first surface lying in a second plane substantially parallel to the first plane.", "The second surface is interrupted by a plurality of cavities, each of the cavities having a first depth defined by a third surface lying in a third plane substantially parallel to the first and second planes.", "The depth of the cavities can be at a distance of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm from the second plane.", "The textured mask is at least partially coated with an opaque masking agent.", "The textured mask can make a correspondingly structured three-dimensional papermaking belt, which can make correspondingly structured three-dimensional fibrous structure.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a plan view of a portion of a papermaking belt of the present invention made by a mask of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional view of the papermaking belt shown in FIG.", "1, taken along lines 2-2 of FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3 is a plan view of a portion of a papermaking belt of the present invention made by a mask of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a cross-sectional view of the papermaking belt shown in FIG.", "3, taken along lines 4-4 of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "5 is a schematic representation of a portion of the cross-sectional view of FIGS.", "2 and 4.FIG.", "6 is a schematic plan view of representative area representations of papermaking belt of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a schematic cross-sectional representation of various knuckle configurations of a papermaking belt of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a schematic plan view of the representative knuckle configurations shown in FIG.", "7.FIG.", "9 is a schematic elevation view of representative alternative configurations of patterns of knuckles on a papermaking belt of the present invention.", "FIG.", "10 is a schematic representation of an apparatus and method for making a belt of the present invention.", "FIG.", "11 is a perspective view of a portion of a mask of the present invention.", "FIG.", "12 is partially a schematic representation of a cross-section of the mask shown in FIG.", "11 and taken along lines 12-12, and is a schematic elevation view of a portion of a mask of the present invention and a portion of a papermaking belt made with it.", "FIG.", "12a is a schematic elevation view of a portion of a mask of the present invention and a portion of the papermaking belt made with it.", "FIG.", "12b is a schematic elevation view of a portion of a mask of the present invention and a portion of the papermaking belt made with it.", "FIG.", "13 is a schematic elevation view of machining operation.", "FIG.", "14 is a schematic elevation view of nickel plating operation.", "FIG.", "15 is a perspective view of a portion of an apparatus for making a mask of the present invention.", "FIG.", "16 is a perspective view of an apparatus and method for coating a mask of the present invention.", "FIG.", "17 is a schematic elevation view of an apparatus for making a fibrous structure of the present invention.", "FIG.", "18 is a representative view in elevation of a portion of a fibrous structure that can be made on a papermaking belt of the present invention.", "FIG.", "19 is an elevation view of a roll of fibrous structure of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Papermaking Belt In FIGS.", "1-8, various embodiments of a papermaking belt 2 of the present invention are shown.", "In general, a papermaking belt 2 comprises a macroscopic, multi-elevational patterned framework, or, simply a “framework,” of cured resin elements 4 commonly referred to as knuckles 6.The papermaking belt 2 can be utilized in a wet laid papermaking process which is typically used for making absorbent fibrous structures, including paper towels and bath tissue.", "The papermaking belt 2 can be adapted to any of the various forming wires and papermaking belts utilized by papermakers and can be designed to leave a physical, three-dimensional impression in the finished paper.", "Such three-dimensional impressions are well known in the art, particularly in the art of “through air drying” (TAD) processes, with such impressions often being referred to a “knuckles” and “pillows.” Knuckles in a fibrous structure are typically relatively high density and/or three-dimensionally deformed regions formed by the corresponding knuckles 6 of a papermaking belt 2, i.e., the filaments or resinous structures that are raised at a higher elevation than other portions of the belt and are therefore pressed into the paper or permit fiber mobility during the papermaking process to achieve densified and/or three-dimensionally deformed regions.", "Likewise, “pillows” are typically relatively low density regions formed in the finished fibrous structure at the relatively uncompressed regions between or around knuckles 6.Further, the pillows in a fibrous structure can exhibit a range of densities relative to one another.", "The present invention is an improvement in the art in the making of knuckles 6 on papermaking belt 2 used as a papermaking belt.", "The improved papermaking belt is enabled by a mask of the present invention, and can make paper of the present invention.", "Patterns of knuckles and pillows can be made generally according to the methods and processes described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,610,173, issued to Lindsay et al.", "on Aug. 26, 2003, or U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,514,345 issued to Trokhan on Apr.", "30, 1985, together with the improved techniques disclosed herein.", "The Lindsay and Trokhan disclosures describe belts that are representative of papermaking belts made with cured resin on a woven reinforcing member, of which the present invention is an improvement.", "But further, the present improvement can make papermaking belts useful as a fabric crepe belt as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,494,563, issued to Edwards et al.", "on Feb. 24, 2009 or U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,152,958, issued to Super et al.", "on Apr.", "10, 2012, as well as belt crepe belts, as described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,293,072, issued to Super et al on Oct. 23, 2012.When utilized as a fabric crepe belt, a papermaking belt of the present invention can provide the relatively large recessed pockets and three-dimensional knuckle dimensions to redistribute the fiber to a greater degree upon high impact creping in a creping nip between a backing roll and the fabric to form additional bulk in conventional wet press processes.", "Likewise, when utilized as a belt in a belt crepe method, a papermaking belt of the present invention can provide three-dimensional fiber enriched dome regions arranged in a repeating pattern corresponding to the pattern of the papermaking belt, as well as the interconnected plurality of surround areas to form additional bulk and local basis weight distribution in a conventional wet press process.", "Examples of papermaking belts 2 of the present invention are shown in FIGS.", "1 and 3.As shown, a papermaking belt 2 can include cured resin elements 4 forming protuberances, also known as knuckles 6, and deflection conduits, known as pillows or pillow region 12, on a woven reinforcing member 8.The reinforcing member 8 can made of woven filaments 10 as is known in the art of papermaking belts, including resin coated papermaking belts.", "The knuckles 6 may be continuous, as shown in FIG.", "1 in which case the pillows are discrete pillow regions 12.The papermaking belt structure shown in FIG.", "3 includes discrete knuckles 6 and a continuous pillow region 12, also known in the art as a continuous deflection conduit.", "The knuckles 6 of the papermaking belt can form relatively high density knuckles in the fibrous structure made thereon in a pattern corresponding to the knuckles 6 of the papermaking belt.", "Likewise, the pillow regions 12 of the papermaking belt can form relatively low density pillows or pillow regions in the fibrous structure made thereon in a pattern corresponding to the pillow regions 12 of the papermaking belt.", "The papermaking belt 2 may be made from a variety of materials, including but not limited to: resinous material, metal, metal-impregnated resin, plastic, polymers such as a polyurethane material, or any combination thereof that can form a patterned framework of knuckles.", "As used herein, the term “patterned framework” or “framework” does not include a structure that is formed solely by mutually perpendicular interwoven filaments, such as, for example, a forming wire or a similarly formed structure.", "Such a structure, comprising a plurality of mutually perpendicular filaments, may be used as a reinforcing member 8 in the papermaking belt 2 of the present invention, as will be discussed below, but does not constitute the framework of knuckles 6 of the papermaking belt 2.If the papermaking belt 2 is made with a resinous material or other material having a pattern that can be distorted when pulled in a machine direction, a reinforcing member 8 is typically used to reinforce the framework of the papermaking belt 2.The reinforcing member 8 may be necessary when the patterned framework comprises a semi-continuous pattern or a pattern comprising a plurality of discrete protuberances, as shown in FIG.", "3.The reinforcing member 8 is positioned between the web-side 14 and at least a portion of the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2.While the reinforcing member 8 is generally parallel to the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2, a portion of the reinforcing member 8 may extend beyond the backside 22 of the papermaking belt 2, thereby creating surface irregularities in the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2.In some embodiments, the reinforcing member 8 may comprise the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2.The papermaking belt 2 can be joined to the reinforcing member 8.The reinforcing member 8 has an upper side 18 and a lower side 20 opposite to the upper side 18.The web-side 14 of the papermaking belt 2 and the upper side 18 of the reinforcing member 8 face one direction, and the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2 and the lower side 20 of the reinforcing member 8 face the opposite direction.", "As defined herein, the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2 forms an X-Y plane.", "Since the reinforcing member 8 is typically near or adjacent to the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2 (e.g., FIGS.", "2, 4), it could also be said that in some embodiments the reinforcing member 8, as a whole, defines the X-Y plane.", "One skilled in the art will appreciate that the symbols “X,” “Y,” and “Z” designate a system of Cartesian coordinates, wherein mutually perpendicular “X” and “Y” define a reference plane formed by the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2 (or by the reinforcing member 8) when the papermaking belt 2 is disposed on a flat surface, and “Z” designates any direction perpendicular to the X-Y plane.", "Analogously, the term “Z-dimension” means a dimension, distance, or parameter measured parallel to the Z-direction.", "It should be carefully noted, however, that an element that “extends” in the Z-direction does not need itself to be oriented strictly parallel to the Z-direction; the term “extends in the Z-direction” in this context merely indicates that the element extends in a direction which is not parallel to the X-Y plane.", "Analogously, an element that “extends in a direction parallel to the X-Y plane” does not need, as a whole, to be parallel to the X-Y plane; such an element can be oriented in the direction that is not parallel to the Z-direction.", "One skilled in the art will also appreciate that the reinforcing member 8, as well as the papermaking belt 2 as a whole, does not need to (and indeed cannot in some embodiments) have a planar configuration throughout its length, especially when used in a typical industrial process for making a fibrous structure 500 of the present invention, as shown in FIG.", "18.A papermaking belt 2 in the form of an endless belt travels through the equipment in a direction indicated by a directional arrow “B” (FIG.", "17).", "Therefore, the concept of the papermaking belt 2 being disposed on a flat surface and having the “X-Y” plane is conventionally used herein for the purpose of describing relative geometry of several elements of the generally flexible papermaking belt 2.A person skilled in the art will appreciate that when the papermaking belt 2 curves, the X-Y plane follows the configuration of the papermaking belt 2.In some embodiments, the reinforcing member 8 is substantially fluid-permeable.", "The fluid-permeable reinforcing member 8 may comprise a woven screen, or an apertured element, a felt, a film, or any combination thereof.", "Various types of the fluid-permeable reinforcing member 8 are described in several commonly assigned US Patents, for example, U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,275,700 and 5,954,097.The reinforcing member 8 may comprise a felt, also referred to as a “press felt” as is used in conventional papermaking.", "The framework may be applied to the reinforcing member 8, as taught by commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,549,790, issued Aug. 27, 1996 to Phan; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,556,509, issued Sep. 17, 1996 to Trokhan et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,580,423, issued Dec. 3, 1996 to Ampulski et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,609,725, issued Mar.", "11, 1997 to Phan; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,629,052 issued May 13, 1997 to Trokhan et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,637,194, issued Jun.", "10, 1997 to Ampulski et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,674,663, issued Oct. 7, 1997 to McFarland et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,693,187 issued Dec. 2, 1997 to Ampulski et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,709,775 issued Jan. 20, 1998 to Trokhan et al., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,795,440 issued Aug. 18, 1998 to Ampulski et al., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,814,190 issued Sep. 29, 1998 to Phan; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,817,377 issued Oct. 6, 1998 to Trokhan et al.", "; and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,846,379 issued Dec. 8, 1998 to Ampulski et al.", "Alternatively, in some embodiments, the reinforcing member 8 may be fluid-impermeable.", "The fluid-impermeable reinforcing member 8 can comprise, for example, a polymeric resinous material, identical to, or different from, the material used for making a papermaking belt 2 of the present invention; a plastic material; a metal; a film, or any other suitable natural or synthetic material; or any combination thereof.", "One skilled in the art will appreciate that the fluid-impermeable reinforcing member 8 will cause the papermaking belt 2, as a whole, to be also fluid-impermeable.", "If desired, the reinforcing member 8 comprising a Jacquard weave can be utilized.", "Illustrative belts having the Jacquard weave can be found in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,429,686 issued Jul.", "4, 1995 to Chiu, et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,672,248 issued Sep. 30, 1997 to Wendt, et al.", "; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,746,887 issued May 5, 1998 to Wendt, et al.", "; and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,017,417 issued Jan. 25, 2000 to Wendt, et al.", "It is believed that a Yankeeless process may benefit from using the papermaking belt 2 of the present invention by providing additional three-dimensionality to a fibrous structure during the web formation process.", "It is to be understood that the present invention contemplates a papermaking belt 2 previously unachievable with prior techniques.", "Specifically, in general, the multi-elevational framework of knuckles of the invention comprises a plurality of Z-direction spatially separated surfaces defined in order spatially with respect to the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2.Each surface can be substantially parallel to the X-Y plane.", "Further, each successive surface progressing in a Z-direction away from the backside 16 toward a web side 14 has a projected area less than the projected area of the surface adjacent and closer to the backside 16, and is bounded completely by the area of the projected area of the surface adjacent and closer to the backside 16.The concept of projected area and description of the framework of the invention as well as a mask to make the framework and fibrous structures made on the framework is described more fully below.", "As shown in FIGS.", "1 and 3, and with respect to FIGS.", "2 and 4, respectively, knuckles 6 have at least, but not limited to, two portions, a base portion 26 and an extended portion 28.As shown in more detail in FIG.", "5, the base portion 26 can define a first surface 30 in a first plane P1, and the extended portion 28 can define a second surface 32 in a second plane P2, with the second plane P2 being spaced a greater distance in the Z-direction from backside 16 than the first plane P1.As shown, the base portion 26 can be a continuous knuckle portion (as shown in FIG.", "1) or discontinuous knuckle portion of discrete knuckles (as shown in FIG.", "3).", "Likewise, in an embodiment of a continuous base portion 26, the extended portion 28 can be correspondingly continuous or discontinuous or semi-continuous.", "Although FIGS.", "1 and 3 depict a base portion and an extended portion 28 defining only one second surface 32, it is contemplated that additional extended portions can be incorporated, such as a plurality of extended portions each having a surface in a subsequent plane PS, to form additional extended portions extending from extended portion 28, in “wedding cake” style of progressively smaller extended portions, each having a projected area bounded by the projected area of the previous portion.", "In an embodiment, the distance in the Z-direction between surfaces can be from about 0.1 mm to about 1.0 mm, or greater, up to about 5 mm.", "In an embodiment, therefore, the distance in the first surface 30 to second surface 32 shown in FIG.", "5 can be from about 0.1 mm to about 1.0 mm or greater, up to about 5 mm.", "By “projected area” is meant an area of a surface as it would be projected in the Z-direction onto an X-Y plane, 44, as shown in FIGS.", "5 and 6, and as indicated by arrows 45 in FIG.", "5.As shown, the framework of knuckles 6 can be described as having a plurality of multi-stage surfaces.", "In FIG.", "5 two surfaces are shown, a first surface 30 residing in a first plane P1 and a second surface 32 residing in a second plane P2.While two surfaces are described, the invention is not limited to only two surfaces.", "For each surface, the area of the surface can be determined by projecting in a Z-direction as indicated by arrows 45 the surface area of the surface to an X-Y plane, 44.As shown in FIGS.", "5 and 6, for example, the area of first surface 30 can be projected to be Area 1, 40 in the X-Y plane, and the area of second surface 32 can be projected to be Area 2, 42 in the X-Y plane.", "As can be appreciated from the description herein, Area 2, 42, is smaller than, and fully bounded by Area 1, 40.That is, no part of the portion of the second surface 32 of the framework 20 extends over or beyond the area of first surface 30 in the X-Y plane, as would be the case if any part of the extended portion 28 was cantilevered over base portion 26.Correspondingly, the structure of the framework of knuckles 6 that forms second surface 32 is smaller than, and fully “bounded,” so to speak, in the X-Y dimension, by the structure of the framework that forms the first surface 30.“Draft angles” 46 of sidewalls the Z-direction-oriented three-dimensional features may be present in the structure of the knuckles 6 of the papermaking belt 2, as shown in FIG.", "5.Therefore, with respect to a measure of projected areas, the area is projected from the surface in the plane of the surface, as shown in FIG.", "5.This technique eliminates any ambiguity introduced by sloping sides of the portions of the structures defining the respective surfaces, and substantially corresponds in size and shape to the transparent portions of a mask used to make the papermaking belt, as disclosed below.", "By using projected area as the area dimension, any complexities introduced by draft angles or non-planar surfaces 30, 32 can be eliminated.", "For example, if second surface 32 as shown in FIG.", "5 were slightly dome shaped or had some irregular surface features, the area for purposes of the present invention can be determined using the projected area.", "However, for purposes of the present invention, the actual numerical value of any projected area is not critical to be determined.", "The invention is achieved if each successive feature of the knuckle portion has a qualitatively determined smaller projected area than the one before it, again, in “wedding cake” style.", "In an embodiment, the extended portion 28 can be designed to have a shape and predetermined position with respect to the base portion 26, such as being fully centrally registered with respect to the base portion 26 in the X-Y dimension, but in any configuration the extended portion 28 does not extend beyond the boundaries of the projected area of the base portion 26 to form a cantilevered, or overhanging, member.", "Any other configuration is contemplated, however, and several various embodiments of example configurations of base portions 26 and extended portions 28 are shown schematically in FIGS.", "7 and 8.FIG.", "7 shows non-limiting representative knuckle shapes in elevation.", "Note that the knuckles shown in FIG.", "7 can be representative of either a continuous knuckle papermaking belt as shown in FIG.", "1, or a discrete knuckle papermaking belt as shown in FIG.", "3.FIG.", "8 shows exemplary plan views of the knuckles shown in FIG.", "7.The knuckles shown in plan view in FIG.", "8 are represented as discrete knuckles, but the general geometry can easily be extended to continuous knuckles, or semi-continuous.", "As shown in FIG.", "8 at 33, extended portion 28 can be substantially centrally positioned on base portion 26.While 33 shows a generally circular shaped base portions 26 and extended portion 28, the shape of either portion can be virtually any shape desired, limited only by the mask making process, described below.", "At 34, extended portion 28 is offset from center on base portion 26.While 34 shows a generally square shaped base portions 26 and extended portion 28, the shape of either portion can be virtually any shape desired.", "At 36, extended portion 28 is offset from center on base portion 26 and generally ridge-like.", "While 36 shows a generally square shaped base portions 26 and ridge-like extended portion 28, the shape of either portion can be any shape desired.", "At 38, extended portion 28 is generally conically shaped.", "While 38 shows a generally circular shaped base portions 26 and generally circular shaped extended portion 28, the shape of either portion can be virtually any shape desired.", "In general, as shown in FIG.", "9, the knuckles 6, such as discrete knuckles 6 shown in FIG.", "3, need not all be substantially identical in shape or size.", "For example, in an embodiment, one knuckle 6 can have a first surface 30 at a Z-direction dimension Dz defining a first plane P1, and another knuckle can have a first surface 30 at a different Z-direction dimension Dz defining a second plane P2.Further, in general, the uppermost surface, such as second surface 32 described above at a plane Pn, can have indentations, or a third surface 48, having a portion at a plane P2 in between a first plane P1 and second plane P3.Process for Making Papermaking Belt A process for making the papermaking belt 2, according to one embodiment of the present invention, is shown in FIG.", "10.Specifically, the process produces a multi-elevational papermaking belt 2, and does so in a single pass through the apparatus described herein with respect to FIG.", "10.The papermaking belt 2 can be formed using a forming surface 100.As used herein, the term “forming surface” means a surface of a forming unit structured and configured to support a coating of a suitable curable material, such as, for example, a liquid photosensitive resin.", "The curable material can be deposited directly to the forming surface, or it can be deposited to a backing film provided to cover the forming surface to avoid contamination thereof by the liquid curable material.", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "10, a curable material 300, comprising, for example, a liquid photosensitive resin, is deposited to the forming surface 100 covered by a backing film 128.The forming surface 100 is formed by a forming unit comprising a drum 101.If desired, the forming surface may comprise a deformable surface, as described in the commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,275,700.When the reinforcing member 8 is pressed into the deformable forming surface during the process of making, the deformable forming surface forms protrusions that exclude the curable material from certain areas which, when cured, will lie along the backside 16 of the papermaking belt 2.This causes the reinforcing member to extend at least partially beyond the back side of the framework of the papermaking belt 2 to form a so-called “textured” backside 16 having passageways providing texture irregularities therein.", "Those texture irregularities are beneficial in some embodiments of the papermaking belt 2, because they prevent formation of a vacuum seal between the backside of the papermaking belt 2 and a surface of the papermaking equipment (such as, for example, a surface of a vacuum box or a surface of a pick-up shoe), thereby creating a “leakage” there between and thus mitigating undesirable consequences of an application of a vacuum pressure in a through-air-drying process of making a fibrous structure 500 of the present invention.", "Other methods of creating such a leakage are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,718,806; 5,741,402; 5,744,007; 5,776,311; and 5,885,421.The leakage can also be created using so-called “differential light transmission techniques” as described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,624,790; 5,554,467; 5,529,664; 5,514,523; and 5,334,289.The papermaking belt is made by applying a coating of photosensitive resin to a reinforcing member that has opaque portions, and then exposing the coating to light of an activating wavelength through a mask having transparent and opaque regions, and also through the reinforcing member 8.Another way of creating backside surface irregularities comprises the use of a textured forming surface, or a textured barrier film, as described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,364,504; 5,260,171; and 5,098,522.The papermaking belt 2 is made by casting a photosensitive resin over and through the reinforcing member while the reinforcing member travels over a textured surface, and then exposing the coating to light of an activating wavelength through a mask which has transparent and opaque regions.", "As shown in FIG.", "10, a backing film 128 is provided to protect the forming surface 100 and to facilitate removal of the partially completed forming structure from the forming surface 100.In a continuous process of FIG.", "10, the backing film 128 is traveling in a direction indicated by directional arrows D3, which is the direction of rotation of drum 101.As an example, in the embodiment of FIG.", "10, the backing film 128 is a single-use film, which can be supplied by a supply roll and wound into a take-up roll (not shown) and is typically discarded after the use.", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "10, the process of forming the papermaking belt 2 comprises the following steps.", "If the papermaking belt 2 is to have a reinforcing member, then a reinforcing member 8 is provided.", "The reinforcing member 8 is supported by the first forming surface 100 such that the lower side 20 of the reinforcing member 8 faces the forming surface 100 and can be in contact therewith or with the first backing film 128 if such backing film is used, as explained above.", "Typically, but not necessarily, the reinforcing member 8 is placed in direct contact with the backing film 128.In the continuous process illustrated in FIG.", "10, the reinforcing member 8 can be supplied from a supply roll (not shown).", "It is also contemplated in the present invention that the reinforcing member 8 may be supplied in the form of an endless belt, as described, for example, in commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,514,345.In FIG.", "10, the reinforcing member 8 is traveling in a machine direction MD.", "The use herein of the term “machine direction” is consistent with the traditional use of the term in papermaking, where this term refers to a direction which is parallel to the flow of the paper web through the papermaking equipment.", "In the context of the continuous process of making the papermaking belt 2, the “machine direction” is a direction parallel to the flow of the coating of the curable material (or the reinforcing member where applicable) during the process of the present invention.", "It should be understood that the machine direction is a relative term defined in relation to the movement of the coating at a particular point of the process.", "Therefore, the machine direction may (and typically does) change several times during a given process of the present invention.", "A term “cross-machine direction” is a direction perpendicular to the machine direction and parallel to the general plane of the papermaking belt 2 being constructed, or the X-Y plane.", "A coating of curable material 300, such as, for example, a liquid photosensitive resinous material, is applied to the reinforcing member 8, and specifically, to its upper side 18.Any technique by which the liquid curable material can be applied to the reinforcing member 8 is suitable.", "For example, a nozzle 260, schematically shown in FIG.", "10, can be used.", "Typically, the curable material 300 should be evenly applied throughout a width of the reinforcing member 8 or a portion thereof.", "The width of the reinforcing member 8 and a width of the forming surface 100 extend in the cross-machine direction.", "If the reinforcing member 8 has voids designed and structured to be penetrated by the curable material 300, such as, for example, the reinforcing member comprising a plurality of interwoven yarns, the curable material should be applied such that a sufficient amount of the curable material can be worked through the first reinforcing member 8 to achieve a secure joining therebetween.", "Suitable curable materials that can be readily selected from the many those commercially available.", "For example, the curable material may comprise liquid photosensitive resins, such as polymers that can be cured or cross-linked under the influence of a suitable radiation, typically an ultraviolet (UV) light.", "References containing more information about liquid photosensitive resins include Green et al., “Photocross-linkable Resin Systems,” J. Macro-Sci.", "Revs.", "Macro Chem., C21 (2), 187-273 (1981-82); Bayer, “A Review of Ultraviolet Curing Technology,” Tappi Paper Synthetics Conf.", "Proc., Sep. 25-27, 1978, pp.", "167-172; and Schmidle, “Ultraviolet Curable Flexible Coatings,” J. of Coated Fabrics, 8, 10-20 (July, 1978).", "All the preceding three references are incorporated herein by reference.", "The next step is optional and comprises controlling a thickness of the coating to a pre-selected value.", "In some embodiments, this pre-selected value is dictated by a desired thickness of resin layer and will influence the resulting thickness of the papermaking belt 2.This resulting thickness of the papermaking belt 2 is primarily dictated by the expected use of the papermaking belt 2.For example, when the papermaking belt 2 is to be used in a process for making a fibrous structure, described hereinafter, the papermaking belt 2 is typically from about 0.3 mm to about 10.0 millimeters thick.", "Any suitable means for controlling the thickness of the layer 300 can be used in the process.", "For example, illustrated in FIG.", "10 is the use of a roll 111a.", "A clearance between the roll 111a and the forming surface 100, or more specifically between the roll 111a and the backing film 128, can be controlled manually or mechanically, by any conventional means (not shown).", "The coating is then cured via UV light radiation through the mask.", "The intensity of the radiation and its duration depend upon the degree of curing required in the areas exposed to the radiation.", "In the instance of the photosensitive resin, the absolute values of the exposure intensity and time depend upon the chemical nature of the resin, its photo characteristics, the pattern selected, and the thickness of the coating, or of the desired depth of its areas, to be cured.", "Further, the intensity of the exposure and the angle of incidence of the curing radiation can have an important effect on the presence or absence of taper in the walls of the pre-selected pattern of the framework to be constructed.", "The disclosure of commonly assigned U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,962,860, issued Oct. 5, 1999 in the name of Trokhan et al.", "for teaching an apparatus for generating controlled radiation for curing a photosensitive resin, comprising a reflector having a plurality of elongate reflective facets that are adjustable such as to direct the curing radiation substantially to a desired direction.", "The patent further discloses a radiation management device comprising a mini-reflector juxtaposed with the source of radiation for controlling the direction and intensity of the curing radiation.", "The reinforcing member 8 comprising so-called “fugitive tie yarns” may be beneficially used for the second layer 40.Commonly assigned PCT application WO 1999/14425, published on Mar.", "25, 1999, and titled Multiple Layer Foraminous Belts With Fugitive Tie Yarns, discloses a belt for supporting a cellulosic fibrous structure in a papermaking process and a method of producing the belt.", "The belt comprises a reinforcing member having two layers, a web-contacting first layer and a machine-facing second layer, and a pattern layer comprising a cured photosensitive resin, the pattern layer having a plurality of conduits therethrough.", "The two layers of the reinforcing member are joined together by either integral or adjunct tie yarns such that at least a portion of the tie yarns which lies within the conduits is removable after the photosensitive resin has been cured.", "These “fugitive” tie yarns are substantially transparent to actinic radiation and can be removed by chemical or mechanical processes when they are no longer needed to stabilize the relationship between the web-facing layer and the machine-facing layer of the reinforcing member.", "In particular, the portion of the fugitive tie yarns that lies within the conduits can be removed so that belt properties, such as projected open area, are substantially isotropic across the belt.", "A means to remove the fugitive adjunct tie yarns may include a combination of solubilization and mechanical energy provided by showering systems that are part of the belt-making and papermaking processes.", "Suitable materials for the fugitive tie yarns comprise those that can be controllably removed by chemical or mechanical means.", "Mask A mask 110 is positioned between the coating of the curable material 300 and a source of curing radiation 120.In the instance of a photosensitive resin, the source of curing radiation 120 may comprise, for example, a mercury arc lamp or an LED source.", "The mask 110, a portion of which is shown in perspective view in FIG.", "11, comprises a relatively thin and flexible structure, typically in the nature of film, having a substantially continuously flat top side 110a and a bottom side 110b opposite to the top side 110a, the bottom side 110b being interrupted from a substantially continuously flat configuration by cavities 116.In this context “top” and “bottom” are used for convenience and relate to the in-use configuration shown in FIG.", "10, in which “top” is up, and “bottom” is down.", "In general, however, the film has two major surfaces corresponding to the two sides of the relatively thin film mask, either of which could in practice be top or bottom.", "In practice the film can be a laminate.", "In the exemplary portion shown in FIG.", "11, only one cavity 116 corresponding to one knuckle portion of the papermaking belt 2 is shown.", "In the exemplary embodiment of a portion of the mask, as shown in FIG.", "11, for example, the cavity 116 has a three-dimensional structure that provides a third surface 156 at a depth DM1 (shown in FIG.", "12), which enables the three dimensional structure of the corresponding knuckle formed by it, such as one of the discrete knuckles 6 shown in FIG.", "3.However, the example described with respect to FIG.", "11 is only exemplary, and is not to be limiting.", "For example, the third surface 156 (and fourth, fifth surfaces, etc.—as shown in FIGS.", "12a and 12b) need not be flat and in a plane substantially parallel to the first or second surfaces.", "In an embodiment where the third surface is not flat, average depth measure can be used for depth DM1.As described more fully below, the mask 110 comprises transparent regions 112 and opaque regions 114.As used herein, the term “opacity” and “opaque” mean lack of transparency or translucency in certain areas of the mask 110, and designates those areas' quality of being shaded such as to be impervious or partially impervious to the rays of curing radiation.", "The portion of mask 110 shown in FIG.", "11 is shown in cross-section in FIG.", "12, together with a representative knuckle 6 formed by radiant curing of a curable resin.", "As shown, the mask 110 has a topside 110a and a bottom side 110b, with the top and bottom being with respect to the typical orientation in use.", "In use, the bottom side 110b is in contact with the curable resin used to form the papermaking belt 2, allowing the curable resin to flow into cavity, which acts as a mold to form a knuckle which takes the shape of the cavity.", "As shown, cavity 116 is characterized by defined surfaces similar to the surfaces described with respect to knuckles 6 on the papermaking belt 2.Thus, broadly speaking, the topside 110a of the mask lies in a first mask plane 152, and the bottom side 110b lies in a second mask plane 154.Between the first mask plane 152 and second mask plane 154 can be a plurality of planes corresponding to surfaces in cavity 116.As can be understood, the surfaces in mask 110 correspond virtually identically to the surfaces, i.e., second surface 32, of knuckles 6.Therefore, the number of planes corresponding to surfaces in cavity 116 can be varied according to the desired pattern of knuckles, and the exemplary cavity 116 shown in FIG.", "12 has one such mask plane, third mask plane 158, designated as P3 in FIG.", "12.But as seen in FIG.", "12a, the design of cavity 116 can be modified with other surfaces in mask planes 160, P4 (fourth plane) as desired for the desired knuckle configuration of papermaking belt 2, to form corresponding surfaces 32 of knuckles 6.And as seen in FIG.", "12b, the design of cavity 116 can be modified with other surfaces in mask planes 160, P4 (fourth plane), and 162, P5 (fifth plane) as desired for the desired knuckle configuration of papermaking belt 2, to form corresponding surfaces 32 of knuckles 6.The design shown in FIG.", "12 corresponds generally to one capable of achieving a knuckle configuration on a papermaking belt 2 as shown in FIG.", "5, as well as other patterns, depending, for example, on the opaque pattern applied to mask 110, as described more fully below.", "With reference to FIG.", "12, in an embodiment having a first mask plane 152 and a generally parallel third mask plane 158, the cavity can define a first step in cavity 116, and a second step plane (shown in cross section in FIGS.", "12a and 12b), generally parallel to and spaced from first step plane 156 in a direction away from second mask plane 154.As discussed above with respect to the knuckles 6, each surface portion of cavity 116 defined by a distance progressively away from second mask plane 154 has a projected area less than the projected area of the next adjacent plane in the Z-direction, and is fully bounded by the area of the adjacent plane.", "The purpose of the mask 110 is to shield certain areas of the curable material 300, i.e., those areas that are shielded by the opaque regions 114, from exposure to curing radiation and to form a three dimensional knuckle structure.", "The three-dimensional structure of the mask serves to mold a substantially identically shaped three-dimensional structure of a knuckle of a papermaking belt, which likewise serves to form the three-dimensional structure of a fibrous structure made on the papermaking belt.", "The novel three-dimensional structure of the fibrous structure so formed serves to increase the absorbency and cleaning performance of the fibrous structure by providing relatively more surface area in a given sheet of fibrous structure than was previously possible in prior structures.", "One method for providing shielding is to apply an opaque coating, which can be an opaque ink, 118 to in a pattern to form transparent regions of the mask and opaque regions of the mask corresponding to the desired pattern of the resulting papermaking belt 2.The transparent regions 112 of the mask 110 allow other (unshielded or partially shielded) areas of the curable resin to be exposed to and receive the curing radiation which results in hardening, i. e., curing, of these unshielded portions.", "The opaque regions can be in a pattern such that the mask has a plurality of transparent regions, the transparent regions corresponding to and being coextensive with the cavities.", "The shielded areas of the coating thus form a pre-selected pattern corresponding to the desired pattern of knuckles 6 on the papermaking belt 2.Ink 118 can be applied on either surface of mask 110, that is, on either side 110a or 110b.", "As can be understood by the description herein, applying the coating 118 on first surface 110a requires registered application to ensure that light can penetrate the mask through the region of cavity 116.However, applying the coating 118 onto side 110b can be accomplished without registration with a printing process that for example, applies ink from a generally smooth-surface roller to second surface 110b, thereby applying ink to second mask plane 154, but not to third (or fourth, fifth, etc.)", "surface 156.In an embodiment, for example, ink 118 can be applied to second mask plane 154 in a gravure coating process.", "Additionally, however, in the present invention the mask provides a dimensionally-stable, three-dimensional mold, so to speak, to form the knuckles 6 of the papermaking belt 2 in a corresponding three-dimensional shape.", "Prior masks utilized in the formation of papermaking belts, being flat or at the most having a single-elevation, possibly deformable, cavity, are incapable of forming the papermaking belt 2 or the fibrous structures of the present invention.", "The three-dimensional structure of the mask 110 can be used to form a papermaking belt having substantially the same three-dimensional geometry, as shown in FIGS.", "1, 3 and 5, for example.", "A source of curing radiation 120, i.e., a light source, radiates through the non-opaque transparent region 112 to cure a portion of the curable resin, which cured portion can include the base portion 26 and extended portion 28 of knuckles 6.Once the mask is removed, and the uncured resin is washed away, the resulting cured resin forms the patterned framework of knuckles 6, as shown, for example in FIGS.", "1 and 3.Thus, the dimensions of the mask features, such as the distance DM1 from the second mask plane 154 and third mask plane 158, translate to the dimensions distance between the first surface 30 of knuckle and second surface 32 of knuckle 6, and ultimately to the three-dimensional structures of the paper formed thereon.", "In an embodiment, the distance in the Z-direction between planes, e.g., distance DM1, and the distance between any additional planes, e.g., DM2 (not shown) of the mask can be from about 0.1 mm to about 1.0 mm, or greater, up to about 5 mm.", "In an embodiment, therefore, the distance in the Z-direction from first surface 30 to second surface 32 shown in FIG.", "5 can be from about 0.1 mm to about 1.0 mm or greater, up to about 5 mm.", "The mask 110 of the present invention may have multiple differential opacities, i.e., the mask 110 may have the opaque regions 114 that differ in opacity.", "Those differential opacities may comprise discrete opacities and/or gradient opacities.", "As used herein, the term “gradient opacity” means an opacity having a gradually changing intensity.", "Gradual opacity does not have a defined “border line” therein that would separate one opacity value from the other.", "That is, the gradient opacity is a non-monotone opacity, wherein the change in opacity in at least one direction is gradually incremental, as opposed to discrete.", "One method of constructing the mask 10 having regions of differential opacities comprises printing a transparent film to form a pattern of opaque regions having a certain initial opacity, and then printing the film a second time to form a pattern of opaque regions having another opacity different from the initial opacity.", "For example, first the film can be printed with ink to form regions of the initial opacity, and then printed again to apply the ink to at least several of the regions already having the initial opacity, thereby increasing the opacity of said several regions.", "In another method, the differential opacities can be formed in one-step printing, by using a printing roll, such as, for example, a Gravure roll, having a differential-depths pattern therein for receiving ink.", "During printing, the ink deposited to the transparent film will have regions of differential intensities, reflecting the differential depths of the roll's pattern.", "Other methods of forming opaque regions can be used in the present invention.", "Such methods include, but are not limited to, chemical, electromagnetic, laser, heat, lamination of various transmission films, such as by combining multiple layers of film, at least two of the films having a difference in opacity.", "In one embodiment, the three-dimensional mask can be formed by the lamination of at least two film layers, with at least one being a flat, smooth film, and at least one being formed with a pattern of apertures, such that when laminated the apertures, in effect, form the cavity 116 of mask 110.The mask 110 can be made in a form of an endless loop (all the details of which are not shown but should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art), or it can be supplied from a supply roll to a take-up roll.", "As shown in FIG.", "10, the mask 110 travels in the direction indicated by a directional arrow D1, turns under the nip roll 111a where it can be brought into contact with the surface of the coating 300, travels to a mask guide roll 111b in the vicinity of which it can be removed from the contact with the coating 300.The mask 110 can be made of any suitable material which can be provided with opaque and transparent regions.", "A material in the nature of a flexible optical film is suitable.", "The mask can be made the process described herein schematically in FIGS.", "13-16, a process which has the capability of making relatively fine cavities 116 in relatively thin films that have the flexibility and optical clarity to be used as a mask 110 in making a papermaking belt 2 of the present invention.", "The first step of the mask-making process, as shown schematically in FIG.", "13, is to machine into metal 200, e.g., brass or aluminum, at least one desired repeating pattern for the shape of the of knuckles 6 of papermaking belt 2.The repeating pattern can be machined, such as by milling using a CNC milling machine 210, to form a master tool 212 exhibiting the relatively small dimensions that will be imparted to the resulting mask.", "The master tool 212 can be a size determined by the repeating pattern size and in an embodiment can be a rectangular piece being about 2 inches by 4 inches, with a thickness sufficient to exceed the depth of CNC milling and provide physical integrity for electroforming a nickel replica, as described herein.", "In an embodiment, the CNC milling can be as deep (i.e., the dimension in the Z-direction) as 500 microns (about 20 mils) per “stage” or depth relative to any previous cutting.", "That is, DM1, which corresponds substantially to the same dimension of the mask in FIG.", "12, and DM2 (which is a depth to a fourth surface of cavity 116 as described above, and which cavity can make a knuckle shape to make the paper described with respect to FIG.", "20 below) can each be from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm, or about 0.1 mm to about 4 mm, or from about 0.1 mm to about 3 mm.", "Once the desired repeating pattern for the patterned framework is machined into an individual master tool 212, the master tool 212 is immersed in an electrolyte solution 220 and acts as the cathode in an electroforming process 214 to form a nickel replica 216 of the master tool, as depicted schematically in FIG.", "14.Once deposited, the nickel replica 216 is removed from the master tool and represents a substantially exact negative image of the desired knuckles 6 in patterned framework repeat unit for papermaking belt 2.In an embodiment, a mask can be produced by casting an optically clear polymer film onto the nickel replica 216, thus forming a virtually exact copy of the cavity 116 or a plurality of cavities 116 in the film mask.", "Due to its size, the mask so formed would have limited usefulness in a commercial papermaking operation.", "But with an opaque ink coating 118 added in a desired pattern, the mask made from casting on a single nickel replica would have all the structural features for usefulness in making a papermaking belt 2 of the present invention.", "In commercial practice, however, it can be beneficial to use multiple nickel replicas of the master tool 212, each mounted to a rotating drum or belt or other continuous support loop, as discussed below with reference to FIG.", "15, with the multiple nickel replicas substantially covering the surface of the rotating drum or belt.", "The drum or belt size can be sufficient to make a mask having dimensions suitable for the resulting papermaking belt 2.Thus, in an embodiment, a plurality of nickel replicas can be mounted, such as by screwing, joining, adhering, or otherwise connecting onto a drum surface or affixing to seamless belt tool, in a quantity sufficient to cover a rotating drum or belt used to cast masks of the present invention.", "If desired, the adjacent nickel replicas can be welded together in a manner to have the resulting pattern appear seamless.", "A mask can be cast on an embosser apparatus of the type developed by Avery Dennison Corporation, and described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,375,776.The process is briefly repeated below with respect to FIG.", "15, which is a re-numbered re-production of FIG.", "4 of the above-mentioned '776 patent.", "The embosser apparatus facilitates a method of continuously forming a multi-layer laminate of thermoplastic polymeric films wherein one surface thereof has a precision pattern of embossed elements thereon and wherein the thermoplastic polymeric films can be dissimilar.", "A generally cylindrical seamless metal embossing tool with an outer surface having the reverse of the pattern to be formed on the surface of the sheeting can be used.", "The mask is formed by continuously feeding onto a heated embossing tool a plurality of films, including in an embodiment, a superimposed first resinous film and a first carrier film wherein the first resinous film is pressed against the embossing tool and is heated above its glass transition temperature thereby becoming embossed with the pattern, while the first carrier film remains at a temperature below its glass transition temperature.", "The first carrier film is then removed, and a second resinous film and second carrier film are superimposed on the unembossed surface of the first resinous film and are heated such that the two resinous films become bonded together.", "The resulting laminate is then cooled and is stripped from the embossing tool.", "Turning now to FIG.", "15, an embosser apparatus capable of making the mask of the invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 130.It comprises as a principal component, an endless, seamless metal belt or tool 132 which is rotatable about a heating roller 134 and cooling roller 136.The outer surface of the tool 132 is fabricated with a plurality of closely spaced nickel replicas as described above, which are the reverse of the pattern embossed in the mask 110.Spaced sequentially around the heating roller 134, and preferably through a range of about 180 degrees are a plurality of pressure rollers 138, 139, 140, 141 and 142.Each pressure roller can be formed from silicone rubber with a durometer hardness ranging from Shore A 60 to 90.The endless belt can also be a cylindrical drum on which are mounted closely spaced nickel replicas, as described above.", "In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, the mask is constructed with the aid of apparatus 130 by simultaneously feeding at least one lower layer polymer film 144, such as film, described above, together with at least one specialized carrier film 146 into the embosser 130 between pressure roller 138 and the embossing tool 132.The region of the embosser 130 in which embossing tool 132 is in contact with heating roller 134 functions as a heating station.", "The temperature of the heating roller 134 can be set such that the tool 132 is raised to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the film 144.When acrylic is used, the heating roller temperature can be about 425° F., although one skilled in the art will recognize that the optimum temperature of the heating roller will depend on environmental conditions and the particular features of the specific embossing machine used.", "Heating of the roller 134 can be accomplished such as by circulating hot oil axially through the roller 134, or by electrically heating roller 134.The film 144 and carrier 146 pass between pressure rollers 138, 139 and 140 and the tool 132 whereupon the desired pattern of the tool 132 is impressed into the film 144.The carrier film 146 can be selected as to have a glass transition temperature higher than that of the film 144 and, therefore, can remain unaffected by the tool 132 as it passes beneath the pressure rollers 138, 139 and 140.After the embossed film 144 and carrier film 146 pass roller 140, the carrier film 146 can be separated from superimposed relationship with film 144 and can be moved onto a wind-up roll (not shown).", "However, the film 144 continues to be adhered to the tool 132 and reaches pressure roller 141 at which point a superimposed top layer of polymer film 148 and a standard carrier film 150 can be joined with the film 144 and together pass beneath the rollers 141 and 142 with the film 144.Because the tool 132 is still in contact with the heating roller 134 at this point, the two polymer films 144 and 148 become bonded together.", "Like carrier film 146, the carrier film 150 is selected to have a glass transition temperature which is higher than that of both film 144 and film 148.The multi-layer laminate next moves through a cooling station, which can be a generally planar region 122 where the mask is cooled such as by a chilled fluid such as chilled air, and finally exits the embosser 130 at a stripper roller 124, which can strip the mask from the tool (such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,601,861).", "While lower layer polymer film 144 and top layer polymer film 148 have been illustrated in FIG.", "15 for the sake of simplicity as each comprising a single film layer, the instant invention is not so limited.", "Films 144 and 148 can each comprise a plurality of films.", "For example, film 144 can comprise a plurality of layers of different polycarbonate films, which layers may have different additives such as colorants and may otherwise differ somewhat from one another.", "The various layers of film 144 can be pre-laminated together prior to being fed into apparatus 130, or the layers can be fed into apparatus 130 as separate webs and laminated together as they pass between the nip rollers 138, 139, 140 and heating roller 134.In an embodiment, the plurality of films that make up film 144 can have substantially equivalent refractive indexes and UV transmittance properties.", "Similarly, film 148 can comprise a plurality of layers of, for example, different acrylic films, which can be either pre-laminated together, or fed into the apparatus 130 as separate webs and laminated together as they pass between the nip rollers 141, 142 and heating roller 134.Hence, good optical performance and UV transmittance and flexibility can be achieved even if dissimilar polymeric films comprise film 148, provided that the interface between each film layer is optically smooth.", "Once the three-dimensional mask 110 is made on the apparatus described with respect to FIG.", "15, the film can be selectively coated with an opaque coating to provide for the opaque regions 14 that mask light from the light curable resin during manufacture of the papermaking belt 2.The opaque coating can be an opaque ink applied in known manners, including by hand with an applicator such as a brush or wiper.", "As shown in FIG.", "16, one method is to apply ink to a roll 360, such as a printing roll, and roll over the mask, thus depositing ink on the contacting areas of the mask.", "Cavities 116, being at a lower elevation during this printing process, would not receive ink, and thus would remain substantially transparent.", "One advantage of the mask of the present invention is that it facilitates single-pass formation of three-dimensional structures on a patterned framework 20 of papermaking belt 2.This provides commercial advantages in that a papermaking belt 2 having a three-dimensional patterned framework can be made more economically.", "Further, the mask of the present invention provides for better registration of the three-dimensional aspects of the patterned framework on papermaking belt 2.These features of the mask, and the papermaking belt 2 produced by the mask, translate into a fibrous structure having three-dimensional features that improve the absorbency and cleaning performance of the fibrous structure.", "Process for Making Fibrous Structure With reference to FIG.", "17, one exemplary embodiment of the process for producing the fibrous structure 500 of the present invention is described below.", "In the description below, the papermaking belt 211 can be the papermaking belt 2 described hererin made by curing UV-curable resin on a reinforcing member 8 utilizing the mask of the invention described above.", "The process disclosed herein is a wet-laying papermaking process.", "However, it is contemplated that the belt of the present invention can find utility in making air-laid substrates, and other processed known in the art of manufacturing nonwoven materials.", "The present invention contemplates the use of a variety of fibers, such as, for example, papermaking cellulosic fibers, synthetic fibers, or any other suitable fibers, and any combination thereof.", "Papermaking fibers useful in the present invention include cellulosic fibers commonly known as wood pulp fibers.", "Fibers derived from soft woods (gymnosperms or coniferous trees) and hard woods (angiosperms or deciduous trees) are contemplated for use in this invention.", "The particular species of tree from which the fibers are derived is immaterial.", "The hardwood and softwood fibers can be blended, or alternatively, can be deposited in layers to provide a stratified web.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,300,981 issued Nov. 17, 1981 to Carstens and U.S. Pat.", "No.", "3,994,771 issued Nov. 30, 1976 to Morgan et al.", "are each incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of disclosing layering of hardwood and softwood fibers.", "The wood pulp fibers can be produced from the native wood by any convenient pulping process.", "Chemical processes such as sulfite, sulfate (including the Kraft) and soda processes are suitable.", "Mechanical processes such as thermomechanical (or Asplund) processes are also suitable.", "In addition, the various semi-chemical and chemi-mechanical processes can be used.", "Bleached as well as unbleached fibers are contemplated for use.", "When the fibrous web of this invention is intended for use in absorbent products such as paper towels, bleached northern softwood Kraft pulp fibers may be used.", "Wood pulps useful herein include chemical pulps such as Kraft, sulfite and sulfate pulps as well as mechanical pulps including for example, ground wood, thermomechanical pulps and Chemi-ThermoMechanical Pulp (CTMP).", "Pulps derived from both deciduous and coniferous trees can be used.", "In addition to the various wood pulp fibers, other cellulosic fibers such as cotton linters, rayon, and bagasse can be used in this invention.", "Synthetic fibers, such as polymeric fibers, can also be used.", "Elastomeric polymers, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, polyolefin, and nylon, can be used.", "The polymeric fibers can be produced by spunbond processes, meltblown processes, and other suitable methods known in the art.", "It is believed that thin, long, and continuous fibers produces by spunbond and meltblown processes may be beneficially used in the fibrous structure of the present invention, because such fibers are believed to be easily deflectable into the pockets of the papermaking belt of the present invention.", "The paper furnish can comprise a variety of additives, including but not limited to fiber binder materials, such as wet strength binder materials, dry strength binder materials, and chemical softening compositions.", "Suitable wet strength binders include, but are not limited to, materials such as polyamide-epichlorohydrin resins sold under the trade name of KYMENE™ 557H by Hercules Inc., Wilmington, Del.", "Suitable temporary wet strength binders include but are not limited to synthetic polyacrylates.", "A suitable temporary wet strength binder is PAREZ™ 750 marketed by American Cyanamid of Stanford, Conn.", "Suitable dry strength binders include materials such as carboxymethyl cellulose and cationic polymers such as ACCO™ 711.The CYPRO/ACCO family of dry strength materials are available from CYTEC of Kalamazoo, Mich.", "The paper furnish can comprise a debonding agent to inhibit formation of some fiber to fiber bonds as the web is dried.", "The debonding agent, in combination with the energy provided to the web by the dry creping process, results in a portion of the web being debulked.", "In one embodiment, the debonding agent can be applied to fibers forming an intermediate fiber layer positioned between two or more layers.", "The intermediate layer acts as a debonding layer between outer layers of fibers.", "The creping energy can therefore debulk a portion of the web along the debonding layer.", "Suitable debonding agents include chemical softening compositions such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,279,767 issued Jan. 18, 1994 to Phan et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference Suitable biodegradable chemical softening compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,312,522 issued May 17, 1994 to Phan et al.", "U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "5,279,767 and 5,312,522, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "Such chemical softening compositions can be used as debonding agents for inhibiting fiber to fiber bonding in one or more layers of the fibers making up the web.", "One suitable softener for providing debonding of fibers in one or more layers of fibers forming the web 20 is a papermaking additive comprising DiEster Di (Touch Hardened) Tallow Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride.", "A suitable softener is ADOGEN® brand papermaking additive available from Witco Company of Greenwich, Conn.", "The embryonic web can be typically prepared from an aqueous dispersion of papermaking fibers, though dispersions in liquids other than water can be used.", "The fibers are dispersed in the carrier liquid to have a consistency of from about 0.1 to about 0.3 percent.", "Alternatively, and without being limited by theory, it is believed that the present invention is applicable to moist forming operations where the fibers are dispersed in a carrier liquid to have a consistency less than about 50 percent.", "Conventional papermaking fibers can be used and the aqueous dispersion can be formed in conventional ways.", "Conventional papermaking equipment and processes can be used to form the embryonic web on the Fourdrinier wire.", "The association of the embryonic web with the papermaking belt 211 can be accomplished by simple transfer of the web between two moving endless belts as assisted by differential fluid pressure.", "The fibers may be deflected into the papermaking belt 211 by the application of differential fluid pressure induced by an applied vacuum.", "Any technique, such as the use of a Yankee drum dryer, can be used to dry the intermediate web.", "Foreshortening can be accomplished by any conventional technique such as creping.", "The plurality of fibers can also be supplied in the form of a moistened fibrous web (not shown), which should preferably be in a condition in which portions of the web could be effectively deflected into the deflection conduits of the papermaking belt and the void spaces formed between the suspended portions and the X-Y plane.", "In FIG.", "17, the embryonic web comprising fibers 501 is transferred from a forming wire to the papermaking belt 211 by a vacuum pick-up shoe 218a.", "Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of fibers, or fibrous slurry, can be deposited to the papermaking belt 211 directly (not shown) from a headbox or otherwise.", "The papermaking belt 211 in the form of an endless belt travels about rolls 219a, 219b, 219k, 219c, 219d, 219e, and 19f in the direction schematically indicated by the directional arrow “B.” Then, a portion of the fibers 501 is deflected into the deflection portion of the papermaking belt such as to cause some of the deflected fibers or portions thereof to be disposed within the deflection conduits of the papermaking belt, and therefore, to take the shape of the knuckles 6, as shown in FIG.", "18.Depending on the process, mechanical, as well as fluid pressure differential, alone or in combination, can be utilized to deflect a portion of the fibers 501 into the deflection conduits of the papermaking belt.", "For example, in a through-air drying process shown in FIG.", "17, a vacuum apparatus 218b, applies a fluid pressure differential to the embryonic web disposed on the papermaking belt 211, thereby deflecting fibers into the deflection conduits of the papermaking belt 211.The process of deflection may be continued as another vacuum apparatus 218c applies additional vacuum pressure (or, alternatively, positive pressure) to even further deflect the fibers into the deflection conduits of the papermaking belt 211.Finally, a partly-formed fibrous structure associated with the papermaking belt 211 can be separated from the papermaking belt to form the fibrous structure 500 of the present invention.", "The process may further comprise a step of impressing the papermaking belt 211 having the fibers therein against a pressing surface, such as, for example, a surface of a Yankee drying drum 228, thereby densifying portions of web.", "In FIG.", "17, the step of impressing the web against the Yankee drying drum is performed by using the pressure roll 219k.", "This also typically includes a step of drying the fibrous structure.", "Fibrous Structure When formed utilizing a papermaking belt 2 having a knuckle pattern of the invention, the fibrous structure can exhibit features corresponding to the features of the knuckles of the papermaking belt, as shown in FIG.", "18.FIG.", "18 shows how a fibrous structure 500 can take the form of the knuckles of the papermaking belt, the outline of which is represented as dashed line 530.As shown, a fibrous structure, which can be a bath tissue, facial tissue, paper towel, or other cellulosic sanitary tissue product (or non-cellulosic, synthetic, nonwoven materials) can be made up of fibers 501 which have been deposited on a papermaking belt having a knuckle configuration as described herein, and represented by nonlimiting example in FIG.", "18 as having a plurality of surfaces substantially parallel to an X-Y plane, and separated by a distance in the Z-direction.", "The resulting fibrous structure can exhibit a substantially identical, albeit less well defined due to the nature of fibrous webs.", "As shown in a representative potential configuration in FIG.", "18, a fibrous structure can exhibit a first surface 510 in plane 516 which has a first projected area AF1; a second surface 512 in plane 518 which has a second projected area AF2; and a third surface 514 in plane 520 which has a third projected area AF3.As with the description above relating to the mask and knuckles made thereby, the relationship of projected areas of the various surfaces of the fibrous structure follow the same pattern.", "That is, the projected area of each successive surface in a Z-direction from a lower side 540 of the fibrous structure is less than the projected area of any surfaces closer to the lower side 540 of the fibrous structure 500.Thus, in FIG.", "18, AF3<AF2<AF1.Moreover, each successive projected area in a Z-direction from lower side 540 is bounded by the projected area any surfaces closer to the lower side 540 of the fibrous structure 500.A fibrous structure of the present invention therefore can have greater surface area per sheet due to the multiple elevations of out-of-plane three-dimensional features.", "The specific structure of the out-of-plane three-dimensional features can enable better cleaning and better absorbency.", "The fibrous structure can be further processed and converted to consumer goods, for example by joining together single plies to make a multi-ply fibrous structure, and/or by embossing to provided for an embossed fibrous structure, and/or by supplying in roll form to provide for a rolled fibrous structure which can be a roll of sheets separated by perforations as is commonly known in the field of bath tissue and paper towels.", "In an embodiment, the fibrous structure is a roll of embossed, multi-ply fibrous structure in the form of bath tissue or paper towels, as shown in FIG.", "19.FIG.", "19 shows a roll 600 of fibrous structure 500 of the present invention, which can be a multi-ply paper towel, for example.", "The fibrous structure can have embossments 602 on the surface of at least one ply, and the rolled product can have a plurality of spaced lines of perforations 604 separating individual sheets.", "The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited.", "Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value.", "For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm.” Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or related patent or application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited.", "The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any embodiment disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such embodiment.", "Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.", "While particular embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15875064
[ [ "Image Sensor Device", "An image sensor device, as well as methods therefor, is disclosed.", "This image sensor device includes a substrate having bond pads.", "The substrate has a through substrate channel defined therein extending between a front side surface and a back side surface thereof.", "The front side surface is associated with an optically-activatable surface.", "The bond pads are located at or proximal to the front side surface aligned for access via the through substrate channel.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to the bond pads at first ends thereof extending away from the bond pads with second ends of the wire bond wires located outside of an opening of the channel at the back side surface.", "A molding layer is disposed along the back side surface and in the through substrate channel.", "A redistribution layer is in contact with the molding layer and interconnected to the second ends of the wire bond wires." ], [ "1.A method for forming an image sensor device, comprising: obtaining a substrate having an image sensor die; plating a conductive layer on a front side surface of the substrate; forming a through channel in the substrate from a back side surface to the front side surface of the substrate; bonding wire bond wires to conductive pads located in the channel; the wire bond wires extending in the channel away from the pads; tips of the wire bond wires being located outside of the channel; depositing a molding layer onto the back side surface of the substrate including into the channel; and forming a redistribution layer coupled to the wire bond wires for electrical conductivity.", "2.The method according to claim 1, further comprising: adhering with an adhesive a cover to at least one of the conductive layer or the front side surface, the cover being offset from and over an optically-activatable portion of the image sensor die for defining a gap between an underneath side of the cover and the front side surface; and thinning the substrate prior to forming the through channel.", "3.The method according to claim 1, wherein the forming of the through channel comprises drilling the substrate to reveal the conductive pads and stop on the conductive layer.", "4.The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has the image sensor die and an image processor die coupled to one another.", "5.The method according to claim 1, wherein the conductive pads are first bond pads obtained with the substrate, the method further comprising: grinding the molding layer and the tips to provide a planarized surface of the molding layer and upper ends of the wire bond wires; and forming second bond pads on the planarized surface for interconnection with the upper ends of the wire bond wires.", "6.A method for forming an image sensor device, comprising: obtaining a substrate having an image sensor die; depositing a conductive layer on a front side surface of the substrate; forming a through channel in the substrate from a back side surface to the front side surface of the substrate; coupling an image controller die or an image processor die having interconnects to the back side surface of the substrate; bonding wire bond wires to conductive pads located in the channel, the wire bond wires extending in the channel away from the pads with tips of the wire bond wires located outside of the channel and above or at least even with interconnects of the controller die; depositing a molding layer onto the back side surface of the substrate including into the channel; and forming a redistribution layer coupled to the wire bond wires and the interconnects for electrical conductivity.", "7.The method according to claim 6, further comprising: adhering with an adhesive a cover to at least one of the conductive layer or the front side surface, the cover being offset from and over an optically-activatable portion of the image sensor die for defining a gap between an underneath side of the cover and the front side surface; and thinning the substrate for the coupling of the image controller die or the image processor die.", "8.The method according to claim 7, wherein the thinning of the substrate comprises forming a die cavity for the coupling of the image controller die or the image processor die at least partially inside the die cavity.", "9.The method according to claim 6, wherein the forming of the through channel comprises drilling the substrate to reveal the conductive pads and stop on the conductive layer.", "10.The method according to claim 6, wherein the conductive pads are first bond pads obtained with the substrate, the method further comprising: grinding the molding layer, the interconnects and the tips to provide a planarized surface of the molding layer and upper ends of the wire bond wires and the interconnects; and forming second bond pads on the planarized surface for interconnection with the upper ends of the wire bond wires and the interconnects." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Microelectronic assemblies generally include one or more ICs, such as for example one or more packaged dies (“chips”) or one or more dies.", "One or more of such ICs may be mounted on a circuit platform, such as a wafer such as in wafer-level-packaging (“WLP”), printed board (“PB”), a printed wiring board (“PWB”), a printed circuit board (“PCB”), a printed wiring assembly (“PWA”), a printed circuit assembly (“PCA”), a package substrate, an interposer, or a chip carrier.", "Additionally, one IC may be mounted on another IC.", "An interposer may be an IC, and an interposer may be a passive or an active IC, where the latter includes one or more active devices, such as transistors for example, and the former does not include any active device.", "Furthermore, an interposer may be formed like a PWB, namely without any circuit elements, such as passive devices including inductors, capacitors and resistors, or active devices.", "Additionally, an interposer includes at least one through-substrate-via.", "An IC may include conductive elements, such as pathways, traces, tracks, vias, contacts, pads such as contact pads and bond pads, plugs, nodes, or terminals for example, that may be used for making electrical interconnections with a circuit platform.", "These arrangements may facilitate electrical connections used to provide functionality of ICs.", "An IC may be coupled to a circuit platform by bonding, such as bonding traces or terminals, for example, of such circuit platform to bond pads or exposed ends of pins or posts or the like of an IC.", "Additionally, a redistribution layer (“RDL”) may be part of an IC to facilitate a flip-chip configuration, a die stacking configuration, or a more convenient or accessible position of bond pads for example.", "Conventionally, an image sensor device, such as for a digital camera, is coupled to a separate controller chip (“controller”), such as to control sensor sensing time (exposure time), thresholds, and/or other features.", "An image sensor device may further be coupled to a separate driver chip and a separate image processor chip, as is known.", "Such controller may further be coupled to a motor for adjusting focus and/or electronic aperture, among other camera components.", "Distance between an image sensor device and a separate chip coupled thereto, such as a controller or image sensor for example, of a camera causes an amount of signal propagation delay.", "This delay can negatively impact performance of a camera.", "Accordingly, it would be desirable and useful to provide a camera with less propagation time between an image sensor device and a separate chip coupled thereto." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY <EOH>An apparatus relates generally to an image sensor device.", "In such an image sensor device, there is a substrate having bond pads.", "The substrate has a front side surface and a back side surface opposite the front side surface.", "The front side surface is associated with an optically-activatable surface.", "The substrate has a through substrate channel defined therein extending between the front side surface and the back side surface.", "The bond pads are located at or proximal to the front side surface of the substrate aligned for access via the through substrate channel.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to the bond pads at first ends thereof extending away from the bond pads with second ends of the wire bond wires located outside of an opening of the channel at the back side surface of the substrate.", "A molding layer is disposed along the back side surface of the substrate and in the through substrate channel.", "A redistribution layer is in contact with the molding layer and interconnected to the second ends of the wire bond wires.", "A method relates generally to forming an image sensor device.", "In such a method, a substrate having an image sensor die is obtained.", "A conductive layer is plated on a front side surface of the substrate.", "A through channel is formed in the substrate from a back side surface to the front side surface of the substrate.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to conductive pads located in the channel.", "The wire bond wires extend in the channel away from the pads with tips of the wire bond wires located outside of the channel.", "A molding layer is deposited onto the back side surface of the substrate including into the channel.", "A redistribution layer is coupled to the wire bond wires for electrical conductivity.", "A method relates generally to forming an image sensor device.", "In such a method, a substrate having an image sensor die is obtained.", "A conductive layer is deposited on a front side surface of the substrate.", "A through channel is formed in the substrate from a back side surface to the front side surface of the substrate.", "An image controller die or an image processor die having interconnects is coupled to the back side surface of the substrate.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to conductive pads located in the channel.", "The wire bond wires extend in the channel away from the pads, and tips of the wire bond wires are located outside of the channel and above or at least even with interconnects of the image controller die or the image processor die.", "A molding layer is deposited onto the back side surface of the substrate including into the channel.", "A redistribution layer is coupled to the wire bond wires and the interconnects for electrical conductivity.", "Another apparatus relates generally to an image sensor device.", "In such an image sensor device, there is an image sensor, and a substrate is coupled to the image sensor.", "The substrate has a front side surface and a back side surface opposite the front side surface.", "The substrate has a through substrate channel defined therein at least extending between the front side surface and the back side surface.", "The bond pads are located at or proximal to the front side surface of the substrate aligned for access via the through substrate channel.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to the bond pads at first ends thereof extending away from the bond pads with second ends of the wire bond wires located outside of an opening of the channel at the back side surface of the substrate.", "A molding layer is disposed along the back side surface of the substrate and in the through substrate channel.", "A redistribution layer is in contact with the molding layer and interconnected to the second ends of the wire bond wires." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application is a divisional of and hereby claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/945,292, filed Nov. 18, 2015, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "US 62/090,788, filed Dec. 11, 2014, the entirety of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.", "FIELD The following description relates to integrated circuits (“ICs”).", "More particularly, the following description relates to an image sensor device.", "BACKGROUND Microelectronic assemblies generally include one or more ICs, such as for example one or more packaged dies (“chips”) or one or more dies.", "One or more of such ICs may be mounted on a circuit platform, such as a wafer such as in wafer-level-packaging (“WLP”), printed board (“PB”), a printed wiring board (“PWB”), a printed circuit board (“PCB”), a printed wiring assembly (“PWA”), a printed circuit assembly (“PCA”), a package substrate, an interposer, or a chip carrier.", "Additionally, one IC may be mounted on another IC.", "An interposer may be an IC, and an interposer may be a passive or an active IC, where the latter includes one or more active devices, such as transistors for example, and the former does not include any active device.", "Furthermore, an interposer may be formed like a PWB, namely without any circuit elements, such as passive devices including inductors, capacitors and resistors, or active devices.", "Additionally, an interposer includes at least one through-substrate-via.", "An IC may include conductive elements, such as pathways, traces, tracks, vias, contacts, pads such as contact pads and bond pads, plugs, nodes, or terminals for example, that may be used for making electrical interconnections with a circuit platform.", "These arrangements may facilitate electrical connections used to provide functionality of ICs.", "An IC may be coupled to a circuit platform by bonding, such as bonding traces or terminals, for example, of such circuit platform to bond pads or exposed ends of pins or posts or the like of an IC.", "Additionally, a redistribution layer (“RDL”) may be part of an IC to facilitate a flip-chip configuration, a die stacking configuration, or a more convenient or accessible position of bond pads for example.", "Conventionally, an image sensor device, such as for a digital camera, is coupled to a separate controller chip (“controller”), such as to control sensor sensing time (exposure time), thresholds, and/or other features.", "An image sensor device may further be coupled to a separate driver chip and a separate image processor chip, as is known.", "Such controller may further be coupled to a motor for adjusting focus and/or electronic aperture, among other camera components.", "Distance between an image sensor device and a separate chip coupled thereto, such as a controller or image sensor for example, of a camera causes an amount of signal propagation delay.", "This delay can negatively impact performance of a camera.", "Accordingly, it would be desirable and useful to provide a camera with less propagation time between an image sensor device and a separate chip coupled thereto.", "BRIEF SUMMARY An apparatus relates generally to an image sensor device.", "In such an image sensor device, there is a substrate having bond pads.", "The substrate has a front side surface and a back side surface opposite the front side surface.", "The front side surface is associated with an optically-activatable surface.", "The substrate has a through substrate channel defined therein extending between the front side surface and the back side surface.", "The bond pads are located at or proximal to the front side surface of the substrate aligned for access via the through substrate channel.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to the bond pads at first ends thereof extending away from the bond pads with second ends of the wire bond wires located outside of an opening of the channel at the back side surface of the substrate.", "A molding layer is disposed along the back side surface of the substrate and in the through substrate channel.", "A redistribution layer is in contact with the molding layer and interconnected to the second ends of the wire bond wires.", "A method relates generally to forming an image sensor device.", "In such a method, a substrate having an image sensor die is obtained.", "A conductive layer is plated on a front side surface of the substrate.", "A through channel is formed in the substrate from a back side surface to the front side surface of the substrate.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to conductive pads located in the channel.", "The wire bond wires extend in the channel away from the pads with tips of the wire bond wires located outside of the channel.", "A molding layer is deposited onto the back side surface of the substrate including into the channel.", "A redistribution layer is coupled to the wire bond wires for electrical conductivity.", "A method relates generally to forming an image sensor device.", "In such a method, a substrate having an image sensor die is obtained.", "A conductive layer is deposited on a front side surface of the substrate.", "A through channel is formed in the substrate from a back side surface to the front side surface of the substrate.", "An image controller die or an image processor die having interconnects is coupled to the back side surface of the substrate.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to conductive pads located in the channel.", "The wire bond wires extend in the channel away from the pads, and tips of the wire bond wires are located outside of the channel and above or at least even with interconnects of the image controller die or the image processor die.", "A molding layer is deposited onto the back side surface of the substrate including into the channel.", "A redistribution layer is coupled to the wire bond wires and the interconnects for electrical conductivity.", "Another apparatus relates generally to an image sensor device.", "In such an image sensor device, there is an image sensor, and a substrate is coupled to the image sensor.", "The substrate has a front side surface and a back side surface opposite the front side surface.", "The substrate has a through substrate channel defined therein at least extending between the front side surface and the back side surface.", "The bond pads are located at or proximal to the front side surface of the substrate aligned for access via the through substrate channel.", "Wire bond wires are bonded to the bond pads at first ends thereof extending away from the bond pads with second ends of the wire bond wires located outside of an opening of the channel at the back side surface of the substrate.", "A molding layer is disposed along the back side surface of the substrate and in the through substrate channel.", "A redistribution layer is in contact with the molding layer and interconnected to the second ends of the wire bond wires.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S) Accompanying drawing(s) show exemplary embodiment(s) in accordance with one or more aspects of exemplary apparatus(es) or method(s).", "However, the accompanying drawings should not be taken to limit the scope of the claims, but are for explanation and understanding only.", "FIG.", "1 is a top-down perspective and cut-away view illustratively depicting an exemplary conventional image sensor device.", "FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary the conventional image sensor device of FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary conventional process flow, which may be used to form the conventional image sensor device of FIGS.", "1 and 2 for a bulk substrate device.", "FIG.", "4 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary conventional process flow, which may be used to form the conventional image sensor device of FIGS.", "1 and 2 though for a substrate-on-insulator substrate device.", "FIG.", "5 is a top plan view depicting an exemplary conventional image sensor device.", "FIG.", "6 is a bottom plan view depicting an exemplary conventional image sensor device.", "FIG.", "7 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary image sensor device with dicing lanes for sensor dies in a substrate.", "FIG.", "8 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary image sensor device with dicing lanes in mold cavities.", "FIG.", "9 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary process flow, which may be used to form the image sensor device of FIG.", "7.FIG.", "10 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary image sensor device with dicing lanes for an image sensor die in a substrate and with an optional embedded die.", "FIG.", "11 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting another exemplary image sensor device with dicing lanes for an image sensor die in a substrate and with an optional embedded die.", "FIG.", "12 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary process flow, which may be used to form the image sensor device of FIG.", "FIGS.", "13 through 15 are cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting respective exemplary “back side” image sensor devices with dicing lanes for sensor dies in a substrate.", "FIG.", "16 is a block diagram illustratively depicting an exemplary camera system.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a more thorough description of the specific examples described herein.", "It should be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other examples or variations of these examples may be practiced without all the specific details given below.", "In other instances, well known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the description of the examples herein.", "For ease of illustration, the same number labels are used in different diagrams to refer to the same items; however, in alternative examples the items may be different.", "Exemplary apparatus(es) and/or method(s) are described herein.", "It should be understood that the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any example or feature described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other examples or features.", "Before a detailed description is provided, a more detailed description of the context of the prior art may be useful.", "Along those lines, FIG.", "1 is a top-down perspective and cut-away view illustratively depicting an exemplary conventional image sensor device 10.FIG.", "2 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting the conventional image sensor device 10 of FIG.", "1.FIG.", "3 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary conventional process flow 30, which may be used to form the conventional image sensor device 10 of FIGS.", "1 and 2.As image sensor device 10 and process flow 30 are known, unnecessary detail in the description thereof is not provided for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "Generally, with reference to FIGS.", "1-3, a transparent cover sheet, such as a sheet of glass (“cover glass”) 11 for example, and a large-scale integration (“LSI”) image sensor chip or die (“substrate” or “sensor chip”) 12 having a pixel array 18 are attached to one another with an adhesive 13 defining a cavity 14 between them.", "In the cavity 14, there is/are one or more micro lenses (“micro lens”) 22 on one or more color filters (“color filter”) 21.The color filter 21 may be on a front side surface of an LSI image sensor chip or die 12 (“substrate” or “silicon”).", "There may be a slight gap between a lower surface of the cover sheet (“cover glass” or “glass”) 11 and an upper surface of the micro lens 22.In process 30, after attaching or bonding at 31, there may be a back-grinding and stress relieving of the substrate 12 at 32, where the glass 11 may be used as a carrier.", "The substrate 12 may be flipped over and via etched at 33, followed by formation of via insulation at 34 and via metalization at 35 to form through substrate vias, such as through silicon vias (“TSVs”) 15 for example.", "On a back side surface of the substrate 12, via metalization of such TSVs 15 may be passivated at 36 followed by under-bump metalization at 37 to form bond pads 16 including any redistribution layers and then forming of external interconnects (“bumping”) at 38, such as to form back side bumps 17.Because bumps 17 of bumping are interconnected to TSVs 15 of the substrate 12, a separate controller die or chip (not shown in FIGS.", "1 and 2) is conventionally coupled alongside of or otherwise spatially removed from a package of image sensor device 10.While process flow 30 is for a bulk silicon substrate 12, one or more other semiconductive material(s) may be used for such substrate 12.Furthermore, rather than a bulk substrate 12, a substrate on insulator wafer may be used, such as for example a silicon on insulator (“SOI”) wafer.", "Along those lines, FIG.", "4 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary conventional process flow 40, which may be used to form back side illuminated (BSI) image sensor device 10 of FIGS.", "1 and 2, though for an SOI device.", "This formation may be done with wafer-level packaging (“WLP”).", "As process flow 40 is known, unnecessary detail in the description thereof is not provided for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "Operations 45 are for Front-End Of Line (“FEOL”) processing.", "At 41, an SOI wafer is obtained.", "At 42, gradient implants are implanted into the wafer.", "At 43, epitaxial growth and annealing is performed.", "At 44, pixel and photo diode processing is performed.", "Operations 46 are for Back-End Of Line (“BEOL”) processing.", "At 47, bonding to a final carrier is performed.", "At 48, the wafer and carrier is flipped over.", "At 49, back side grinding or other thinning of the SOI wafer is performed down to the buried oxide layer (“BOX”) to expose a back or underside of the SOI wafer.", "This operation at 49 may include laser annealing.", "Operations 50 are for forming optical components.", "At 51, one or more anti-reflective (“AR”) coatings are deposited.", "At 52, color filters are formed.", "At 53, microlenses are formed.", "Operations 54 are “packaging” operations.", "At 55, glass is bonded to the wafer.", "At 56, front side grinding or other thinning of the carrier is performed.", "At 57, TSVs for a three dimensional package or a WLP are formed followed by formation of bumps.", "FIG.", "5 is a top plan view depicting an exemplary conventional image sensor device 10, and FIG.", "6 is a bottom plan view depicting an exemplary image sensor device 10.In FIG.", "5, an image sensing portion, such as a pixel array 18 (center box) of an image sensor device 10 is conventionally located in a middle portion of a substrate 12, and so TSVs 15 conventionally are around a perimeter of image sensor device 10 with bond pads coupled to such TSVs.", "In other words, because an image sensor device 10 is a sensitive active device during operation, conventionally other circuitry is disposed away from such image sensing portion, such as pixel array 18.However, bumps 17 for coupling to such perimeter of bond pads 16 may be coupled through traces 59 on a back side of such substrate 12 as depicted in FIG.", "6.Bumps 17 and the ball grid array (BGA) at the bottom of the image sensor device shown in FIG.", "6 is just one example of how the image sensor device is electrically connected to the motherboard.", "In another example, the bottom side of the image sensor device is attached to an organic substrate using an adhesive and electrically connected to this organic substrate via wire bonds directly connecting the top of the image sensor to a the organic substrate.", "Conventionally, a controller and image processor (not shown) is a separate chip externally coupled to a plurality of bumps 17 of such back side of such substrate 12 as depicted in FIG.", "6.Because an image sensor device 10 is conventionally a low-profile device, in the past this has meant having TSVs 15 directly connected to bond pads 16 for direct connection with traces 59 and bumps 17, such as previously described.", "To reduce propagation delay between an image sensor device and a controller therefor and provide a low profile device, described below is an image sensor device package having another die embedded with an image sensor device in a common package.", "In the example below, a controller die (“controller”) is embedded with an image sensor device in a common package; however, in another implementation, another type of die, e.g.", "an image processor die generally used in a camera or other imaging device, may be embedded with an image sensor device in a common package.", "FIG.", "7 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary image sensor device 100 with dicing lanes 160 for sensor dies 170 in substrate 110, and FIG.", "8 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary image sensor device 100 with dicing lanes in mold cavities, such as channels, 140.Image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "7 and 8 are similar.", "However, in image sensor device 100 of FIG.", "8, rather than dicing in lanes of a wafer of substrate 110 having sensor dies 170, dicing through mold cavities 140, namely spaced apart sensor dies 170 defining mold cavities or channels therebetween, may be used.", "Even though an image sensor die 170 is described, other types of integrated circuit dies having input and/or output signal lines proximally disposed to an outer perimeter thereof may be used.", "The implementation of FIG.", "8 may be for a reconstituted wafer for substrate 110, whereas the implementation of FIG.", "7 may be for a wafer-level process or WLP.", "Even though either implementation illustratively depicted may be used, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, the implementation associated with FIG.", "7 is generally further described though the implementation associated with FIG.", "8 may be understood from the following description.", "Along those lines, FIG.", "9 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary process flow 200, which may be used to form image sensor device 100 of FIG.", "7.The description herein is for a wafer-level process (“WLP”) flow, in contrast to a substrate/chip in a mold or a reconstituted wafer process flow.", "However, the following description likewise applies to a reconstituted wafer process as shall be apparent to one of skill in the art.", "An image sensor wafer or substrate 110 may have multiple image sensor devices to be diced from one another, though only a single image sensor die 170 is illustratively depicted for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "As described hereinbelow, slots, channels and/or vias may be formed in such a wafer from and in a back side thereof.", "In an implementation, a molding material may be deposited, including without limitation injected, along a back side surface of such wafer including into dicing lanes thereof.", "In another implementation, channels and/or vias are formed in a wafer from a back side thereof; however, these channels and/or vias are not metalized as in a conventional TSV flow.", "With simultaneous reference to FIGS.", "7 through 9, image sensor devices 100 are further described.", "At 201, a substrate 110 may be obtained having image sensor dies 170 and a conductive layer, such as a metal layer, 111 may be deposited or otherwise plated onto an upper surface 115 of substrate 110.Substrate 110 may be an optically sensitive/activatable semiconductor wafer having a plurality of sensor dies 170 formed therein.", "This wafer may be a silicon wafer or other semiconductor wafer.", "This example implementation is for a “front side” image sensor device 100.Such substrate 110 may have an anti-reflective coating (“ARC”; not shown in this figure for purposes of clarity and not limitation) deposited on upper surface 115, as is known.", "A metal interconnect layer, namely metal layer 111, on an upper surface 115 of substrate 110 may be used as an etch stop layer for a “via” etch, or more appropriately a channel etch, as described below in additional detail.", "In this example, only one metal layer 111 is depicted for simplicity; however, this or another implementation may have one or more metal layers to effectively connect diodes under pixels to bond pads 131 at the periphery.", "Metal layer 111 may be plated on an active upper surface 115 outside of an optically activatable portion or surface of die 170 for physically coupling to bond pads 131 for electrical conductivity, where bond pads 131 are formed in sensor dies 170 at or proximal to an upper surface or front side surface of substrate 110 as part of an image sensor die fabrication process.", "For purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, a micro lens 22 and a color filter 21 are illustratively depicted in FIGS.", "7 through 9 but not described in unnecessary detail for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "Generally, electrical connections to diodes under pixels may be established though these metal layers interconnecting such pixels to pads 131.Hence, traces or lines of such metal layers may travel to active areas and pixels.", "In a front side image sensor die, metal layers are above or on top of diodes, which may obstruct a light path.", "However, in a back side image sensor die (“BSI sensor”), diodes may be above or on top of such metal layers, namely metal lines are below such diodes.", "Optionally, stud bumps 130 may formed at 201 to be positioned on metal layer 111 portions corresponding to upper bond pads 131 on a surface thereof opposite wire bond wires 150 to provide additional rigidity to upper bond pads 131.A glass or cover glass or other optically suited material (“cover glass”) 11 may be coupled to a substrate 110 with an adhesive 13 at 202, such as to provide an offset for a cavity 14 for a micro lens 22 and a color filter 21.Adhesive 13 may be used to adhere glass cover 11 to at least one of a conductive layer, such as metal layer 111, or a front side surface 115 of substrate 110, where glass cover 11 is offset from and over an optically-activatable portion of a front side surface 115 for defining a gap, such as air cavity 14, between an underneath side of glass cover 11 and such portion of a front side surface 115.Cover glass 11 may be a glass wafer coupled to an image sensor wafer or substrate 110 using adhesive 13.In an implementation, air cavity 14 may be approximately 50 to 100 microns thick or tall.", "In another example, no separate cover glass may be coupled to or be a part of an image sensor device.", "Adhesive 13 may likewise be around a pixel array area, namely generally proximal to a perimeter of die 170 without being located in a pixel array area.", "Thus, adhesive 13 may be deposited or otherwise applied to or put in contact with an upper surface of metal layer 111.Adhesive 13 may provide an offset between an upper surface of metal layer 111 and a lower surface of cover glass 11 to define a cavity 14 therebetween, such as previously described.", "At 203, a substrate 110, such as a wafer, may optionally be ground, polished, or otherwise thinned to reduce overall thickness prior to drilling or etching channels or slots therein.", "Further at 203, substrate 110 may be drilled or etched or otherwise formed to provide vias and/or channels or slots (“channels”) or mold cavities 140 therein.", "This channel etching or drilling may be from a back side surface 212 of a wafer or substrate 110 used to form dies 170 down toward a front side surface of such a wafer or substrate 110.In another implementation, etching may form a chamfered edge along one or more sides of dies 170 of substrate 110.Although, side walls of vias or channels are depicted to be vertical side walls, in another implementation such sidewalls may slanted at an angle with respect to the vertical direction.", "For etching, a masking layer may be patterned prior to etching using a mask, and this may add additional costs.", "To avoid this additional cost, direct laser drilling may be used to form channels 140 across a back side surface 212 of a wafer or substrate 110 for multiple image sensor dies 170 thereof.", "Such channels may be located at or proximal to the peripheries of active areas of image sensor dies 170.Thus, each image sensor die 170 may effectively have a continuous or discontinuous channel 140 around an active area thereof.", "Channels 140 may extend from a lower surface of substrate 110 completely through to an upper surface of substrate 110, and thus may be thought of as through-substrate channels 140.Etching or drilling may be used to temporarily expose or reveal surfaces of bond pads 131 generally at the bottom of a channel 140.Whether etching or drilling, metal layer 111, as well as bond pads 131, may be used as a stop layer at 203 for such etching or drilling.", "Moreover, such etching or drilling may be selective to material of wire bond wires 150, as well as bond pads 131 and metal layer 111.In this example, bond pads 131 are at least partially disposed within a channel 140.However, for bond pads formed of metal layer 111 for example, a channel 140 may be aligned to bond pads, or vice versa, though at least partially disposed outside a channel 140.Accordingly, generally channels and bond pads are aligned with one another, with such bond pads at or proximal to an upper surface of substrate 110 for access from a lower surface of substrate 110 via a channel 140.At 204, bond pads 131, which may be formed with a bondable metalization, may optionally be oxide and/or metal etched at a bottom of such channels 140.Along those lines, this etching may be to remove oxidation prior to wire bonding.", "Optionally, at 204 a metal etch may be used to electrically disconnect two or more bond pads 131 from one another interconnected to one another by metal layer 111.However, generally it may be easier to pattern metal layer 111 and form separate bond pads during a plating/BEOL process.", "Thus, wire bond wires 150, bond pads 131, and metal layer 111 may be formed of different materials for selectivity to partially etch metal layer 111, which may partially etch bond pads 131 too, while not significantly removing material of wire bond wires 150.In an example, the top metal layer of metal layers 111 may be formed of aluminum and multiple bottom layers may be formed of copper, as wire bonding on aluminum pads is a conventional process.", "Bond pads 131 may be disposed around a pixel array.", "A subsequent optional oxide and/or metal etch at a bottom of such channels 140 may be used to enhance subsequent bonding thereto and/or to physically disconnect bond pads 131 from one another due to metal layer 111, as illustratively depicted at operation 204.However, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, it shall be assumed that such optional etching is not used in this implementation.", "Further at 204, wire bond wires 150 may be bonded to upper surfaces of conductive bond pads 131 along bottoms of channels 140 of a wafer or substrate 110.For a WLP, wire bond wires 150 may be bonded to bond pads 131 located along the base or bases of such one or more trenches or channels 140.Wire bond wires 150 may be ball bonded or use another type of bonding at 204 to bond pads 131.Wire bond wires 150 may extend vertically away from bond pads 131.After bonding, severing of feed wire of wire bond wires 150 may be performed above channels 140 for having wire bond wires 150 exit channels 140 at the top.", "Along those lines, tips 151 of wire bond wires may extend above an upper surface 212 of dies 170 of a wafer or substrate 110, namely, extend above an upper opening 153 of channels 140 to be located outside of channels 140, after severing from a feed wire.", "Such a feed wire may be a copper feed wire for copper bond pads 131.Aluminum or gold wires can additionally or alternatively be used.", "Optionally, a coated copper wire, e.g.", "palladium coated copper wire, or other wire bond wire may be used.", "In another example, tips 151 of wire bond wires 150 may be flush with or even below an upper surface 212 of dies 170.Rather than using TSVs plated or filled with a conductive material, such as a metal for example, such vias and/or channels 140 may have wire bond wires 150 extending from a bottom or bottoms thereof.", "Wire bond wires 150 may be of an array, and may be known as BVA™ wires, referring to a “free standing” array of wire bonds.", "Thus, BVA wire bonds may be disposed in channels 140 with tips 151 extending out of and above such channel openings 153 in a free standing configuration prior to molding.", "In another implementation, tips 151 may be even with or below channel openings 153.Another set of bond pads 102, which may be part of or interconnects for a redistribution layer (“RDL”) 120, may be formed over filled channels 140, generally on a same plane as a back side surface of die 170.Moreover, bond pads 120 may be formed in or partially in channels 140 to further reduce overall thickness of image sensor devices 100.However, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, it shall be assumed that bond pads 102 are formed as part of an RDL 120, where such RDL 120 is formed on a molding layer 141, including without limitation an epoxy molding compound, as described below in additional detail.", "Bond pads 102 may be formed such that they interconnect to tips 151 located above, flushed or below upper surface 212 of a die 170.Along those lines, each die 170 is in a face-up orientation in FIGS.", "7 and 8.By having upper ends (lower ends at operation 204) of wire bond wires 150 and associated upper bond pads 131 disposed generally in a same or common horizontal plane as a face-up front face/front side or active surface 115 of substrate 110, connections from substrate 110, or more particularly dies 170 thereof, to upper bond pads 131 may be formed without having to wire bond down to a lower surface.", "This common orientation of position may shorten overall wire length for some applications and/or may avoid plating or filling TSVs in substrate 110.Having to wire bond down to a lower surface may be in some package-in-package configurations, such as in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,618,659, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.", "At least a portion of wire bond wires 150 may extend in channels 140, which is referred to as mold cavity 140, as a molding material 215 is deposited, injected, or otherwise loaded into such channels 140 at 205.This mold cavity 140 may be in a mold (not shown) in which one or more singulated in-process image sensor devices 100 are loaded, such as for a reconstituted wafer; or for WLP, channels 140 may be formed along perimeters of dies 170 of substrate 110, such as into image sensor dies 170 proximal to one or more sides thereof.", "For purposes of clarity by way of example, it shall be assumed that molding for WLP is used for the following description, though the following description generally applies to both implementations.", "Deposition of molding material 215 may cover a back side surface or lower surface 212 (an upper surface at operation 205) of die 170 or generally substrate 110, which may include another molding material or coating, to provide molding material (“molding”) layer 141.In an implementation, at 205 a wafer or substrate 110 may be transfer molded with molding material 215 with a mold assist film (not shown) to allow tips 151 to extend above an upper surface of molding layer 141.Molding material 205 and molding layer 141 may be formed of the identical material.", "Film assist molding may be used to keep upper ends 151 of wires 150 from being covered with molding material 215 for subsequent interconnection with lower bond pads 102.With upper ends 151 of wires 150 extending above an upper front face surface of substrate 110, in this example implementation molding material 215 may be deposited and then ground back to provide a planarized surface of molding layer 141 and upper ends 151 of wires 150 for formation of lower bond pads 102.In another implementation, tips 151 may be completely covered after molding at 205, and back grinding or polishing of an upper surface of molding layer 141 may temporarily expose upper ends 151 of wire bond wires 150 for physical connection with bond pads 102 to be formed.", "To recapitulate, wire bond wires 150 may be bonded to upper bond pads 131 at 204 followed by deposition of molding material 215 at 205, and then such upper ends (lower ends with respect to FIGS.", "7 and 8) 151 of wire bond wires 150 may subsequently be interconnected to lower bond pads 102, as described below in additional detail.", "At 206, bond pads 102 may be formed over upper ends 151 of wire bond wires 150.An RDL 120 may be formed after formation of bond pads 102.RDL 120 may include one or more conductive layers and one or more dielectric layers.", "Optionally, bond pads 102 may be formed as part of RDL 120.This inverse orientation effectively converts lower bond pads 102 to base bond pads.", "Thus, base bond pads 102 may be generally in a same or common horizontal plane as a back side lower surface of substrate 110, or more particularly image sensor dies 170 thereof for a WLP.", "This allows for a face-up configuration of an image sensor die 170 or a substrate 110 with base or lower bond pads 102 being associated with a back side surface of such face-up oriented substrate 110, which is an opposite orientation with respect to that in U.S. Pat.", "Pub.", "No.", "20140175671 A1, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.", "As lower bond pads 102 may be formed on molding layer 141, and as RDL 120 may be formed on lower bond pads 102, lower bond pads 102 as well as RDL 120 may not come into direct contact with substrate 110, or more particularly an associated image sensor die 170.In an implementation at 206, traces 103 of RDL 120 may be used to couple a perimeter of lower bond pads 102 to bump pads or receptors 104 for interconnection with associated bumps 101.Accordingly, substrate 110, or more particularly an image sensor die 100, may have a front face up orientation with a shorter wiring path to reduce signal propagation delay for operation of such an image sensor device 100.Optionally, one or more chips or dies may be coupled to RDL 120, generally at a back side of image sensor device 100 to provide a multi-die or multi-chip image sensor module.", "Such other chip or die may include an image processor or a controller chip.", "One or more operations associated with forming a TSV including forming a dielectric boundary, a barrier layer, a seed layer, and an associated TSV metal plating may be avoided.", "Having an RDL 120 on one common surface, namely on only mold material of molding layer 141 in this example implementation and on no other material surface, may provide better reliability in comparison to conventional Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging (“FOWLP”), as for example RDL 120 metal is not transitioned between an Si substrate surface, such as of a wafer or substrate 110, and a molding material surface of molding material 215.Furthermore, a coefficient of thermal expansion (“CTE”) of molding material 215, or a combination of molding and/or coating layers, of molding layer 141 may more closely correspond to a PCB material.", "Moreover, molding layer 141 may have a larger surface area than substrate 110 for purposes of bump pads 104, namely for purposes of “bumping out” for providing a FO capability.", "A conventional CMOS image sensor device with TSVs has dimensional restrictions due to locations of such TSVs; however, by avoiding TSVs, these dimensional restrictions may be avoided.", "Along those lines, more of an edge area around a perimeter of substrate 110 may be etched to make such additional space available for wire bond wires 150 in comparison to TSVs.", "Along those lines, in another implementation, RDL 120 may extend up (down at operation 206) along sidewalls 220 of substrate 110.In an implementation, RDL 120 may be formed partly on molding layer 141 and partly on substrate 110, like in a FOWLP.", "FIG.", "10 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary image sensor device 100 with dicing lanes 160 for image sensor dies 170 formed in a substrate 110, where image sensor dies respectively have an optional embedded die 300 coupled to thereto.", "An embedded die 300 may be a controller die, an image processor die or another chip performing any other functionality that is located in die cavities 301 of corresponding image sensor dies 170.Although only one die 300 and only one cavity 301 is illustratively depicted in FIG.", "10, there may be more than one die 300 or more than one cavity 301 at the back side of an image sensor device 100.In another implementation, there may be more than one die in one cavity.", "Even though singulation of an image sensor device 100 from a substrate 110 is described herein, in another implementation more than one image sensor die 170 may be used in an image sensor device 100, where such image sensor dies 170 may be coupled to one another after dicing from a substrate 110.Accordingly, such image sensor dies 170 may have a substrate 110 and a glass cover 11 respectively in common with one another after dicing.", "FIG.", "11 is a cross-sectional side view illustratively depicting an exemplary image sensor device 100 with dicing lanes 160 for an image sensor die 170 formed in “thinned” substrate 110 with an optional embedded die 300 coupled to image sensor die 170.Even though a single embedded die 300 is illustratively depicted in FIG.", "11, in other implementations more than one embedded die may be used.", "Furthermore, even though embedded die 300 is described below as a “controller” 300 as associated with a controller for controlling an image sensing device, as described herein, in another implementation embedded die 300 may be a driver or an image processor die.", "However, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, it shall be assumed that embedded die 300 is a controller 300.Although only one embedded die 300 is illustratively depicted in FIG.", "11, there may be more than one embedded die 300 at the back side of an image sensor device 100.An image sensor device 100 may be provided in a single package with a controller 300 optionally embedded in a packaged image sensor device 100.FIG.", "12 is a progression of cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting an exemplary process flow 400, which may be used to form image sensor device 100 of FIG.", "11.Even though the following description is for a WLP process 400, the following description may be used in a reconstituted wafer process as shall be apparent to one of skill in the art from the following description.", "With simultaneous reference to FIGS.", "7 through 12, image sensor devices 100 are further described.", "Along those lines, as details with respect to image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "10 through 12 are the same or similar to image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "7 through 9, some of those same or similar details are not repeated for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "At 201, a metal layer 111 may be deposited or otherwise plated onto an upper surface 115 of substrate 110, such as a wafer having a plurality of sensor dies 170 formed therein, as previously described.", "Optionally, metal layer 111 may be patterned to provide bond pads 431 for interconnecting to image sensor die 170.However, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, a continuous metal layer 111 in cross-section is illustratively depicted.", "Again, optionally, stud bumps 130 may formed at 201 to be positioned on metal layer 111 portions corresponding to upper bond pads 431 on a surface thereof opposite wire bond wires 150 to provide additional rigidity to upper bond pads 431.Such substrate 110 may have an anti-reflective coating (“ARC”; not shown in this figure for purposes of clarity and not limitation) deposited on upper surface 115, as is known.", "Again, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, a micro lens 22 and a color filter 11 are illustratively depicted in FIGS.", "10 through 12 but not described in detail for purpose of clarity and not limitation.", "At 202, a glass cover glass 11 may be coupled to a substrate 110 with an adhesive 13, as previously described.", "At 203, a substrate 110, such as a wafer, may be ground, polished, or otherwise thinned to reduce overall thickness prior to drilling or etching channels or slots therein, as similarly previously described.", "In this implementation, substrate 110 may be thinned for coupling a controller 300 to a sensor die 170 thereof for a low-profile image sensor 100.Further at 203, substrate 110 may be laser drilled or wet or dry etched or otherwise formed to provide through channels 140 therein, as previously described.", "For image sensor device 100 of FIG.", "10, a controller die cavity 301 may be formed when forming mold cavities 140 at 203, as generally indicated by dashed line 219.Generally, substrate 110 is much thicker than needed for formation of image sensors for image sensor device 100.Most of this thickness is to provide separation of image sensors of image sensor device 100 from heat and/or interfering signals at an interconnect side of image sensor device 100.However, generally there may be about 10 or fewer wires that interconnect to controller 300, and controller 300 may have a limited amount of circuitry generating heat.", "Additionally, controller 300 may have a much smaller surface area than an image sensor die 170 of substrate 110.In short, controller 300 may have a small thermal impact.", "However, in another implementation, an image processor die 300 may be used.", "Furthermore, controller die cavity 301 may be formed off to one side of substrate 110 to reduce possibility for thermal interference with sensors of a pixel array of image sensor die 170.A controller die 300 may be coupled to a back side surface of substrate 110 to be at least partially in controller die cavity 301.However, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, it shall be assumed that image sensor device 100 is formed as described with reference to FIG.", "12, as previously stated.", "Again, channels 140 may be located at or proximal to the peripheries of active areas of image sensor dies 170.Thus, each image sensor die 170 may effectively have a continuous or discontinuous channel 140 around an active area thereof.", "Again, whether etching or drilling, metal layer 111 may be used as a stop layer at 203.However, in this example, metal layer 111 is used for providing bond pads, such as bond pads 431.Bond pads 431 may be disposed around a pixel array of sensor die 170.Along those lines, bond pads 431 of metal layer 111 may be formed with a bondable metalization, and a subsequent oxide and/or metal etch at a bottom of such channels 140 may optionally be used to enhance subsequent bonding thereto and/or to optionally physically disconnect bond pads 431 from one another, as illustratively depicted at operation 404.With respect to the former, this etching may be to remove oxidation prior to wire bonding.", "However, for purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, it shall be assumed that such optional etching is not used in this implementation.", "At 404, a back side of controller or image processor die 300 may be coupled to a back side of sensor die 170, namely along upper surface 212, with an adhesive 310.Along a front side surface of controller 300, namely upper surface 452, there may be die pads and/or interconnects, generally contacts 302.Additionally, at 404, wire bond wires 150 may be bonded to upper surfaces of bond pads 431 along bottoms of channels 140 of a wafer or substrate 110.For a WLP, wire bond wires 150 may be bonded to bond pads 431 located along the base or bases of such one or more trenches or channels 140.Wire bond wires 150 may be ball bonded or use another type of bonding at 404 to bond pads 431.Wire bond wires 150 may extend vertically away from bond pads 431.After bonding, severing of feed wire used to form wire bond wires 150 may be performed above channels 140.Along those lines, tips 151 of wire bond wires may extend above or to an upper surface 452 of controllers 300 adhered to corresponding sensor dies 170 of a wafer or substrate 110, namely, extend above an upper opening 153 of channels 140, after severing from a feed wire.", "Again, rather than using TSVs plated or filled with a conductive material, such as a metal for example, such vias and/or channels 140 may have wire bond wires 150 extending from a bottom or bottoms thereof.", "Wire bond wires 150 may be of an array, and may be known as BVA™ wires.", "Thus, BVA wire bonds may be disposed in channels 140 with tips 151 extending out of and above such channel openings 153 in a free standing configuration prior to molding.", "In this implementation, tips 151 may be even with or above upper surface 452 of controller 300, and bond pads 102 for an RDL 120 may be formed on a molding layer 141, as described below in additional detail.", "Along those lines, image sensor dies 170 are in a face-up orientation in FIGS.", "10 and 11, and controllers 300 are in a face-down orientation in those respective figures.", "Again, by having upper ends (lower ends at operation 404) of wire bond wires 150 and associated upper bond pads 431 disposed generally in a same or common horizontal plane as a face-up front face or active surface 115 of substrate 110, connections from substrate 110, or more particularly dies 170 thereof, to upper bond pads 431 may be formed without having to wire bond down to a lower surface.", "This common orientation of position may shorten overall wire length for some applications and/or may avoid plating or filling TSVs in substrate 110.Additionally, by having one or more embedded dies in an image sensor device in a face-down orientation, such one or more embedded dies, such as controller 300 in the examples of FIGS.", "10 and 11, may be directly interconnected to a circuit board, such as a PCB, to shorten signal path length.", "Controller or image processor die 300 in FIGS.", "10 and 11 may, though need not be, positioned coaxially with respect to a center of a pixel array of image sensor die 170.A portion of lengths of wire bond wires 150 extends in channels 140, which is also referred to as mold cavities 140, as a molding material 215 is deposited, injected, transferred or otherwise loaded into such channels 140 at 405.This mold cavity 140 may be in a mold in which singulated in-process image sensor devices 100 are loaded for molding, such as for a reconstituted wafer; or for a WLP, channels 140 may be formed along perimeters of dies 170 of substrate 110, such as into dies 170 proximal to one or more sides thereof, and such substrate 110 may be loaded into a mold for injection molding of a molding layer 141.For purposes of clarity by way of example, it shall be assumed that molding for WLP is used for the following description, though the following description generally applies to both implementations.", "Deposition, including without limitation by injection, of molding material 215 may coat a lower surface (an upper surface at operation 405) of substrate 110, which may include another molding material or coating, to provide molding layer 141.In an implementation, at 205 a wafer or substrate 110 may be transfer molded with molding material 215 with a mold assist film (not shown) to allow tips 151 and contacts 302 to extend above an upper surface of molding layer 141.Generally, tips 151 may be above or even with contacts 302.Film assist molding may be used to reveal tips or upper ends 151 of wires 150 for subsequent interconnection with lower bond pads 102.Such film assist molding may be used to reveal upper end surfaces of contacts 302, as well.", "With upper ends 151 of wires 150 extending above an upper surface 452 of controller 300 as in this example implementation, molding material 215 may be injection deposited.", "In this or another implementation, a portion of upper ends of wires 150, as well as contacts 302, may be ground or polished back to planarize for physical interconnection with yet to be formed lower bond pads 102.To recapitulate, for an image sensor device 100 of FIG.", "11, substrate 110 may be thinned, which may be before or after formation of channels 140 or mold cavities 140.After thinning, a controller 300 and/or one or more other dies may be attached back side surface down to a back side surface up oriented thinned substrate 110, and, after thinning and formation of channels 140 for mold cavities 140, formation and boding of wire bond wires 150 may be performed.", "Attachment of controller or image processor die 300 may include using a thermally insulating adhesive 310 to attach controller 300 to a back side surface of a corresponding image sensor die 170 of substrate 110.After attachment of controller 300 and formation of wire bond wires 150, a molding material 215 may be deposited.", "Such molding material 215 may be deposited into channels 140 to provide mold cavities 140, as well as into controller or die cavities 301 (if present), and along back side surfaces of image sensor dies 170 of substrates 110 and over a front side surface of controller 300.Wire bond wires 150, along with contacts 302 of controller 300, may extend beyond an upper surface of molding layer 141 by use of a film assisted molding and/or by use of a grinding or polishing operation.", "At 406, bond pads 102 may be formed over upper ends 151 of wire bond wires 150.An RDL 120 may be formed after formation of bond pads 102.Optionally, bond pads 102 may be formed as part of RDL 120.Again, image sensor die 170 of FIGS.", "10 and 11 is in an inverse orientation, which effectively converts lower bond pads 102 to base bond pads.", "Thus, base bond pads 102 may be generally in a same or common horizontal plane as a back side lower surface of substrate 110, or more particularly image sensor die 170.This allows for a face-up configuration of an image sensor die 170 or a substrate 110 with base or lower bond pads 102 being associated with a back side surface of such face-up oriented substrate 110 An RDL 120 may be formed on molding layer 141, as previously described, but with contacts 302 interconnected through such RDL 120 and bump pads 104 to bumps 101, and such contacts 302 may be coupled to wires 150 for controlling image sensors of image sensor device 100.As lower bond pads 102 may be formed on molding layer 141, and as RDL 120 may be formed on lower bond pads 102, lower bond pads 102 as well as RDL 120 may not come into direct contact with substrate 110, or more particularly an associated image sensor die 170.In an implementation at 406, traces 103 of RDL 120 may be used to couple a perimeter of lower bond pads 102 to bump pads or receptors 104 for interconnection with associated bumps 101.Accordingly, substrate 110, or more particularly an image sensor device 100, may have a front face up orientation with a shorter wiring path to reduce signal propagation delay for operation of such an image sensor device 100.Optionally, another chip or die may be coupled to RDL 120, generally at a back side of image sensor device 100 to provide a multi-die or multi-chip image sensor module.", "Such other chip or die may include an image processor.", "One or more operations associated with a dielectric boundary, a barrier layer, a seed layer, and a metal plating associated with forming a TSV may be avoided.", "Having an RDL 120 on one common surface, namely on only mold material of molding layer 141 in this example implementation and on no other material surface, may provide better reliability in comparison to FOWLP, as for example RDL 120 metal is not transitioned between an Si substrate surface, such as of a wafer or substrate 110, and a molding material surface of molding material 215.Furthermore, a CTE of molding material 215, or a combination of molding and/or coating layers, of molding layer 141 may more closely correspond to a PCB material.", "Moreover, molding layer 141 may have a larger surface area than substrate 110 for purposes of bump pads 104, namely for purposes of “bumping out”.", "A conventional CMOS image sensor device with TSVs has dimensional restrictions due to locations of such TSVs; however, by avoiding TSVs, these dimensional restrictions may be avoided.", "Along those lines, more of an edge area around a perimeter of substrate 110 may be etched to make such additional space available for wire bond wires 150 in comparison to TSVs.", "Along those lines, in another implementation, RDL 120 may extend up (down at operation 206) along sidewalls 220 of substrate 110.In an implementation, RDL 120 may be formed partly on molding layer 141 and partly on substrate 110, like in a FOWLP.", "FIGS.", "13 through 15 are cross-sectional side views illustratively depicting respective exemplary “back side” image sensor devices 100 with dicing lanes 160.In these exemplary implementations, back side image sensor devices 100 are illustratively depicted.", "In the exemplary image sensor device 100 of FIG.", "13, a substrate 110 is used to provide carriers 500.While carrier 500 may be formed of a semiconductor material, such as Si, GaAs, SiGe, or other form of semiconductor wafer, carriers 500 may be formed of other materials, such as glass or a dielectric material for example.", "In contrast, in FIGS.", "14 and 15 back side image sensor devices 100 are from a substrate 110 formed of a semiconductor material, such as an Si, GaAs, SiGe, or other form of semiconductor wafer, used to provide image processor dies 520.Though the example herein is generally described in terms of CMOS image processor dies 520, other types of image processor dies may be used.", "With reference to FIG.", "13, a back side image sensor die (“BSI sensor”) 510 is coupled to a substrate 110, where carriers 500, or image processor dies (“IPDs”) 520, are formed from such substrate 110.Even though a BSI sensor 510 is described herein, another type of image sensor may be used in other implementations.", "Moreover, even though the term “die” is used throughout herein, it should be understood that a die may be in a wafer or other substrate having multiple dies.", "Thus, the term “die” should not be construed to be limited to only after dicing a wafer or substrate, but may include a die yet to be diced.", "For purposes of clarity by way of example and not limitation, it shall be assumed that carriers 500 are formed of substrate 110, which may be a wafer.", "However, in another implementation, IPDs 520 may be formed of substrate 110.As many of the components of image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "7 and 13 are the same or similar, description of those components is generally not repeated below for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "BSI sensor 510 may include BSI bond pads 531 coupled to a BSI metal layer 512, which may be coupled to BSI sensor circuitry 519.A BSI oxide or other dielectric layer 511 of BSI sensor 510 may be on a side (“underside”) of BSI sensor 510.A carrier oxide or other dielectric layer 513 may be deposited on and/or grown from an upper surface 115 of substrate 110.BSI bond pads 531 of BSI sensor 510 may at least be partially in BSI oxide layer 511 and are in channel 140.Bond pads 131 may be formed as previously described.", "A BSI oxide layer 511 to carrier oxide layer 513 interface may be an oxide-to-oxide bond interface 529 for coupling BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another.", "Along those lines, this coupling may be done as a wafer-to-wafer coupling for subsequent dicing via dicing lanes 160.Again, though an oxide-to-oxide interface is described in this example, in another example another type of dielectric-to-dielectric interface may be used, which may or may not include an oxide layer.", "After coupling BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another, channels 140 may be etched or drilled using a stop on metal etch to reveal BSI bond pads 531, as well as bond pads 131.Along those lines, metal layer 111 may have openings therein for allowing etching through into oxide layers 511 and 513 to reveal BSI bond pads 531, which may further stop on BSI metal layer 512.Wire bonds of wire bond wires 150 may then be bonded on bond pads 131 and 531 in channels 140, as previously described.", "Accordingly, channels 140 may be through substrate 110 channels extending at least between front and back side surfaces thereof.", "Image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "13 through 15 may be formed as generally described with reference to exemplary process flow 200 of FIG.", "9.Generally, an image sensor 510 may be coupled to substrate 110, such as with an oxide-to-oxide bond for example as described herein.", "Such image sensor 510 and substrate 110 combination may then be drilled or generally anisotropically etched through substrate 110 and then through oxide layers 513 and 511 with a stop on metal layer 512 for BSI bond pads 531 of FIG.", "13.For image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "14 and 15, such anisotropic etching or drilling is likewise through substrate 110, and then through a dielectric layer 524 for a stop on metal layer 523.Of course chemistries may be changed, including changed in situ, for such etching or drilling to account for etching or drilling different materials.", "Moreover, even though etching or drilling may be used exclusively, in another implementation a combination of drilling then etching, or vice versa, may be used to form channels 140.With reference to FIG.", "14, a BSI sensor 510 is coupled to a substrate 110, where IPDs 520 are formed from such substrate 110.As many of the components of image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "7 and 14 are the same or similar, description of those components is generally not repeated below for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "Image processor die (“IPD”) 520 may include IPD bond pads 541.IPD bond pads 541 may be coupled to either or both of an IPD metal layer 523 or a metal layer 111.An IPD oxide or other dielectric layer 524 may be formed on metal layer 111, and metal layer 111 may be coupled to IPD circuitry of IPD 520.An IPD bond pad 541 may be coupled to or formed as part of metal layer 111.IPD bond pad 541 may be at least partially in IPD oxide layer 524.IPD bond pad 541 may be coupled for electrical conductivity with an IPD metal layer 523, and IPD metal layer 523 may be formed on IPD oxide layer 524.IPD oxide layer 513 may be deposited on IPD metal layer 523.A BSI oxide layer 511 of BSI sensor 510 may be on an underside of BSI sensor 510.Bond pads 131 may be formed as previously described.", "BSI sensor 510 may include a BSI metal layer 512 formed between BSI oxide layer 521 and BSI oxide layer 511.A BSI oxide layer 511 to carrier oxide layer 513 interface may be an oxide-to-oxide bond interface, such as previously described, for coupling BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another.", "Along those lines, this coupling may be done as a wafer-to-wafer coupling for subsequent dicing via dicing lanes 160.Moreover, through substrate vias or TSVs 525 and 526 may be respectively interconnected to metal layers 512 and 523.Along those lines, TSVs 526 may go through a substrate of BSI sensor 510 from an upper surface thereof to a lower surface thereof, as well as through IPD oxide layer 513 to IPD metal layer 523.Accordingly, completion of TSVs 526 may be after coupling of BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another.", "After coupling BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another, channels 140 may be etched or drilled using a stop on metal etch to reveal IPD bond pads 541, as well as bond pads 131.Wire bonds of wire bond wires 150 may then be made on bond pads 131 and 541 in channels 140, as previously described.", "With reference to FIG.", "15, a BSI sensor 510 is coupled to a substrate 110, where IPDs 520 are formed from such substrate 110.As many of the components of image sensor devices 100 of FIGS.", "7, 14 and 15 are the same or similar, description of those components is generally not repeated below for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "IPD 520 may include IPD bond pads 541.IPD bond pads 541 may be coupled to either or both of an IPD metal layer 523 or a metal layer 111.An IPD oxide or other dielectric layer 524 may be formed on metal layer 111, and metal layer 111 may be coupled to IPD circuitry of IPD 520.IPD bond pad 541 may be coupled to or formed as part of metal layer 111.IPD bond pad 541 may be defined, at least in part, in IPD oxide layer 524.IPD bond pad 541 may be coupled for electrical conductivity with an IPD metal layer 523, and IPD metal layer 523 may be formed on IPD oxide layer 524.IPD oxide layer 513 may be deposited on IPD metal layer 523.A BSI oxide layer 511 of BSI sensor 510 may be on an underside of BSI sensor 510.Bond pads 131 may be formed as previously described.", "BSI sensor 510 may include a BSI metal layer 512 formed between BSI oxide layer 521 and BSI oxide layer 511.A BSI oxide layer 511 to carrier oxide layer 513 interface may be an oxide-to-oxide bond interface, such as previously described, for coupling BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another.", "Along those lines, this coupling may be done as a wafer-to-wafer coupling for subsequent dicing via dicing lanes 160.Moreover, metal vias 527 may be respectively interconnected to metal layers 512 and 523.Along those lines, metal vias 527 may go through IPD oxide layer 513 to IPD metal layer 523 and go through BSI oxide layer 511 to BSI metal layer 512.Accordingly, a portion of metal vias 527 may be formed in BSI sensor 510 and another portion of metal vias 527 may be formed in IPD 520, and completion of metal vias 527 may be after coupling of BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another, which coupling may include a copper-to-copper bonding of corresponding metal via 527 portions to one another.", "After coupling BSI sensor 510 and substrate 110 to one another, channels 140 may be etched or drilled using a stop on metal etch to reveal IPD bond pads 541, as well as bond pads 131.Wire bonds of wire bond wires 150 may then be made on bond pads 131 and 541 in channels 140, as previously described.", "FIG.", "16 is a block diagram illustratively depicting an exemplary camera system 550.In camera system 550, an image sensor device 100 is coupled to an image signal processor 501.Other details regarding camera system 550 are well-known, and thus not described for purposes of clarity and not limitation.", "While the foregoing describes exemplary embodiment(s) in accordance with one or more aspects of the invention, other and further embodiment(s) in accordance with the one or more aspects of the invention may be devised without departing from the scope thereof, which is determined by the claim(s) that follow and equivalents thereof.", "Claim(s) listing steps do not imply any order of the steps.", "Trademarks are the property of their respective owners." ] ]
Patent_15875067
[ [ "INTEGRATED SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND MANUFACTURING METHOD", "The present disclosure relates to an integrated semiconductor device, comprising a semiconductor substrate; a cavity formed into the semiconductor substrate; a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspended in the cavity at one side of the cavity via a suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof, wherein an extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity." ], [ "1.A method for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device, comprising: forming, in a semiconductor substrate, a cavity extending below a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, wherein the cavity is delimited by the semiconductor substrate at sidewalls, a bottom portion and a cover portion of the cavity; and forming, at one side of the cavity, a suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspending the sensor portion in the cavity, such that an extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein forming the cavity comprises using a Silicon-On-Nothing, SON, processing sequence.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the SON processing sequence comprises forming one or more trench structures in the semiconductor substrate; annealing the trench structures in a deoxidizing ambient; and obtaining the cavity below the sensor portion from the annealed trench structures.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein forming the suspension portion comprises forming a single bar of semiconductor material integrally interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof.", "5.The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming, in the semiconductor substrate, a frame structure surrounding the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, and suspending the frame structure in the cavity by integrally interconnecting the semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion, and the frame structure via the suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein forming the suspension portion comprises at least partially coating the suspension portion with a stress layer to apply a biasing stress or strain to the flexibly suspended sensor portion of semiconductor material.", "7.A method for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device, comprising: forming a cavity into a semiconductor substrate, the cavity comprising a bottom, a cover, and sidewalls extending from the bottom to the cover, a respective sidewall comprising a curved transition from the sidewall to the cover; forming a trench tangentially extending to the curved transition of the sidewalls to transform the cover of the cavity into a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspended in the cavity via a remaining suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion.", "8.The method of claim 8, wherein the cavity is formed using an Empty-Space-in-Silicon, ESS, technique.", "9.The method of claim 8, wherein forming the trench comprises generating an anti-sticking structure from the curved transition at the end of the sensor portion facing the trench.", "10.A method of manufacturing a sensor structure, comprising: forming a cavity in a substrate, the cavity having a top portion, a bottom portion and sidewalls delimited by the substrate; and forming at one side of the cavity a suspension portion of the substrate, the suspension portion integrally connected to a sensor portion of the substrate above the cavity, and wherein the sensor portion is configured to deflect up and down about an axis defined by the suspension portion.", "11.The method of claim 10, wherein the substrate comprises a semiconductor substrate.", "12.The method of claim 10, wherein the cavity has a cavity length along a side thereof, and wherein the suspension portion has a suspension portion length that is smaller than the cavity length.", "13.The method of claim 10, further comprising applying a biasing stress to at least a portion of the suspension portion.", "14.The method of claim 13, wherein applying the biasing stress comprises at least partially coating the suspension portion with a stress layer.", "15.The method of claim 10, further comprising: forming a plurality of comb-like sensor portion tines in the sensor portion; forming a plurality of comb-like substrate tines that alternate and interleave with the comb-like sensor portion tines, wherein the comb-like sensor portion tines are opposite the one side of the cavity having the suspension portion.", "16.The method of claim 11, wherein forming the cavity comprises forming one or more trench structures in the semiconductor substrate; annealing the trench structures in a deoxidizing ambient; and obtaining the cavity below the sensor portion from the annealed trench structures.", "17.The method of claim 16, wherein forming the suspension portion comprises forming a trench tangentially extending down to the sidewalls of the cavity to transform the substrate above the top portion of the cavity into the sensor portion.", "18.The method of claim 17, wherein the obtaining of the cavity results in a curved surface at the sidewalls thereof, and wherein forming the trench comprises forming one or more ant-sticking structures from the curved surface at one or more positions along a periphery of the sensor portion.", "19.The method of claim 11, further comprising: forming, in the semiconductor substrate, a frame structure surrounding the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate; and suspending the frame structure in the cavity by integrally interconnecting the semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion, and the frame structure via the suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Electronic sensors generally measure a physical quantity and convert the measured physical quantity into a signal that is provided to an electronic instrument (e.g., integrated chip processor).", "In recent years, the number of areas using sensors has vastly expanded.", "For example, sensors can be found in diverse applications such as chemical agent detection units, medical diagnostic equipment, industrial process controls, pollution monitoring, automobiles, etc.", "Semiconductor based integrated sensors, such as acceleration or pressure sensors, for example, are available as mass products in automotive and consumer goods electronics.", "Here, among other things, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are desirable, which integrate a simple threshold switch in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).", "When migrating to newer semiconductor process technologies, one challenge is to integrate MEMS such that the complexity of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) processes is not unnecessarily increased and existing CMOS integration schemes can be largely retained with minimal development effort.", "For sub 130 nm process technologies, for example, topology of frontend-of-line structures plays an important role.", "They should not exceed a total thickness of a few hundred nanometers, so as not to interfere a potential Borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) polishing act.", "Furthermore, a reduction to possibly few extra acts and the joint use of existing processes is a prerequisite for successful integration.", "Another challenge is the interaction between housing and sensor.", "In the field of capacitive sensors, the capacitor elements may be subject to considerable stress—depending on the housing type.", "Often special housings are used which contribute a significant cost component in the overall system.", "It is therefore desirable to provide improved microelectromechanical sensor systems taking into account the above mentioned issues." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an integrated semiconductor device.", "The integrated semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate and a cavity formed into the semiconductor substrate.", "Further, the integrated semiconductor device comprises a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion being deflectably suspended in the cavity at one side of the cavity via a suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof.", "An extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion and the suspension portion are continuous portions of the semiconductor substrate.", "That is to say, the sensor portion, the suspension portion, and the semiconductor substrate may be formed monolithically as one piece.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate is configured for an out-of-plane deflection relative to a surface of the semiconductor substrate in response to an out-of-plane excitation applied to the integrated semiconductor device.", "In some embodiments, the suspension portion is a single strip of semiconductor material integrally or monolithically interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof.", "An extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity may hence be smaller than an extension of the sensor portion along said side of the cavity.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate may have a width of more than 100 μm and a length of more than 100 μm.", "In some embodiments, the suspension portion is at least partially coated with a stress layer configured to apply an offset tensile or compressive stress or strain to the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "The stress layer may comprise a material with a different lattice constant and/or a different coefficient of thermal expansion than that of the substrate's semiconductor material (for example Silicon, Si).", "An example material for the stress layer would be silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ).", "In some embodiments, the integrated semiconductor device is or comprises an accelerometer.", "Here, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate constitutes a proof mass configured for an out-of-plane movement in response to an out-of-plane acceleration of the integrated semiconductor device.", "In some embodiments, the integrated semiconductor device further comprises a frame structure formed into the semiconductor substrate such that the frame structure surrounds the sensor portion.", "The frame structure is suspended in the cavity laterally between an edge of the sensor portion and an edge of the cavity.", "The frame structure and the sensor portion are separated by a first gap, the frame structure and the edge of the cavity are separated by a second gap.", "In some embodiments related to accelerometers, the sensor portion is a proof mass and comprises a first plurality of comb tines formed into at least one edge of the proof mass.", "The frame structure comprises second plurality of comb tines arranged interleaved with the first plurality of comb tines.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion, the frame structure, and the semiconductor substrate are integrally or monolithically formed from one piece of semiconductor material.", "The sensor portion and the frame structure are suspended in the cavity via a common single suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate integrally or monolithically interconnecting the semiconductor substrate, the frame structure, and the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "Consequently, the sensor portion, the frame structure, the suspension portion, and the semiconductor substrate may be monolithically formed from one piece of semiconductor material.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion comprises, at an end of the sensor portion merging into the suspension portion, a trench extending substantially parallel to an edge of the sensor portion facing the suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "A distance between the trench and the edge is dependent on the size and mass of the sensor portion.", "In some embodiments, it may be less than 10 μm.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate is a membrane configured for an out-of-plane oscillation in response to an out-of-plane pressure applied to the integrated semiconductor device.", "This may be useful for MEMS microphone applications, for example.", "According to a further aspect, the present disclosure provides an integrated semiconductor device.", "The integrated semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate, a cavity formed into the semiconductor substrate, a continuous sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspended in the cavity at a single side of the cavity via a continuous single suspension strip of the semiconductor substrate integrally interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof, wherein an extension of the suspension strip along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "The integrated semiconductor device further includes a continuous frame portion of the semiconductor substrate, the frame portion surrounding the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "The frame portion is suspended in the cavity, via the suspension strip, laterally between an edge of the sensor portion and an edge of the cavity.", "The frame portion and the sensor portion are separated by a first gap, and the frame portion and the edge of the cavity are separated by a second gap.", "The semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion, the suspension strip, the frame portion may constitute one continuous piece.", "That is, they may be formed monolithically.", "According to yet a further aspect, the present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device.", "The method includes forming, in a semiconductor substrate, a cavity extending below a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, and forming, at one side of the cavity, a suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspending the sensor portion in the cavity, such that an extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "In some embodiments, forming the cavity comprises using a Silicon-On-Nothing, SON, processing sequence.", "The SON processing sequence may include forming one or more trench structures in the semiconductor substrate, annealing the trench structures in a deoxidizing ambient, and obtaining the cavity below the sensor portion from the annealed trench structures.", "In some embodiments, forming the suspension portion comprises forming a single suspension strip of semiconductor material integrally (monolithically) interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof.", "In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming, in the semiconductor substrate, a frame structure surrounding the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, and suspending the frame structure in the cavity by integrally (monolithically) interconnecting the semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion, and the frame structure via the suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "In some embodiments, forming the suspension portion comprises at least partially coating the suspension portion with a stress layer to apply a biasing stress or strain to the flexibly suspended sensor portion of semiconductor material.", "According to yet a further aspect, the present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device.", "The method includes forming a cavity into a semiconductor substrate.", "The cavity comprises a bottom, a cover, and sidewalls extending from the bottom to the cover.", "A respective sidewall comprises a curved transition from the sidewall to the cover.", "The method further includes forming a trench which tangentially extends to the curved transition of the sidewalls to transform the cover of the cavity into a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate which is deflectably suspended in the cavity via a remaining suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion.", "In some embodiments, the cavity can be formed using an Empty-Space-in-Silicon (ESS) technique.", "In some embodiments, forming the trench includes generating an anti-sticking structure from the curved transition at the end of the sensor portion facing the trench.", "Embodiments of the present disclosure can be used for implementing MEMS devices, such as MEMS microphones, pressure sensors, or accelerometers, for example.", "Due to the suspension of the sensor portion at only one side of the cavity, the sensor portion of the integrated semiconductor device can be made substantially independent of stress applied to the semiconductor substrate and/or a housing and further undesired external mechanical influences.", "Furthermore, due to the sensor portion being suspended in the cavity, frontend-of-line structures having low thickness or height become possible." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/208,975 filed on Jul.", "13, 2016, which claims priority to German Application number 10 2015 111 676.6 filed on Jul.", "17, 2015 and German Application number 10 2016 107 059.9 filed on Apr.", "15, 2016, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.", "FIELD Embodiments generally relate to semiconductor devices and methods for manufacturing semiconductor devices, and, more particularly, to integrated sensor devices and related manufacturing methods.", "BACKGROUND Electronic sensors generally measure a physical quantity and convert the measured physical quantity into a signal that is provided to an electronic instrument (e.g., integrated chip processor).", "In recent years, the number of areas using sensors has vastly expanded.", "For example, sensors can be found in diverse applications such as chemical agent detection units, medical diagnostic equipment, industrial process controls, pollution monitoring, automobiles, etc.", "Semiconductor based integrated sensors, such as acceleration or pressure sensors, for example, are available as mass products in automotive and consumer goods electronics.", "Here, among other things, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are desirable, which integrate a simple threshold switch in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).", "When migrating to newer semiconductor process technologies, one challenge is to integrate MEMS such that the complexity of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) processes is not unnecessarily increased and existing CMOS integration schemes can be largely retained with minimal development effort.", "For sub 130 nm process technologies, for example, topology of frontend-of-line structures plays an important role.", "They should not exceed a total thickness of a few hundred nanometers, so as not to interfere a potential Borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) polishing act.", "Furthermore, a reduction to possibly few extra acts and the joint use of existing processes is a prerequisite for successful integration.", "Another challenge is the interaction between housing and sensor.", "In the field of capacitive sensors, the capacitor elements may be subject to considerable stress—depending on the housing type.", "Often special housings are used which contribute a significant cost component in the overall system.", "It is therefore desirable to provide improved microelectromechanical sensor systems taking into account the above mentioned issues.", "SUMMARY An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to an integrated semiconductor device.", "The integrated semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate and a cavity formed into the semiconductor substrate.", "Further, the integrated semiconductor device comprises a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion being deflectably suspended in the cavity at one side of the cavity via a suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof.", "An extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion and the suspension portion are continuous portions of the semiconductor substrate.", "That is to say, the sensor portion, the suspension portion, and the semiconductor substrate may be formed monolithically as one piece.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate is configured for an out-of-plane deflection relative to a surface of the semiconductor substrate in response to an out-of-plane excitation applied to the integrated semiconductor device.", "In some embodiments, the suspension portion is a single strip of semiconductor material integrally or monolithically interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof.", "An extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity may hence be smaller than an extension of the sensor portion along said side of the cavity.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate may have a width of more than 100 μm and a length of more than 100 μm.", "In some embodiments, the suspension portion is at least partially coated with a stress layer configured to apply an offset tensile or compressive stress or strain to the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "The stress layer may comprise a material with a different lattice constant and/or a different coefficient of thermal expansion than that of the substrate's semiconductor material (for example Silicon, Si).", "An example material for the stress layer would be silicon nitride (Si3N4).", "In some embodiments, the integrated semiconductor device is or comprises an accelerometer.", "Here, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate constitutes a proof mass configured for an out-of-plane movement in response to an out-of-plane acceleration of the integrated semiconductor device.", "In some embodiments, the integrated semiconductor device further comprises a frame structure formed into the semiconductor substrate such that the frame structure surrounds the sensor portion.", "The frame structure is suspended in the cavity laterally between an edge of the sensor portion and an edge of the cavity.", "The frame structure and the sensor portion are separated by a first gap, the frame structure and the edge of the cavity are separated by a second gap.", "In some embodiments related to accelerometers, the sensor portion is a proof mass and comprises a first plurality of comb tines formed into at least one edge of the proof mass.", "The frame structure comprises second plurality of comb tines arranged interleaved with the first plurality of comb tines.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion, the frame structure, and the semiconductor substrate are integrally or monolithically formed from one piece of semiconductor material.", "The sensor portion and the frame structure are suspended in the cavity via a common single suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate integrally or monolithically interconnecting the semiconductor substrate, the frame structure, and the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "Consequently, the sensor portion, the frame structure, the suspension portion, and the semiconductor substrate may be monolithically formed from one piece of semiconductor material.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion comprises, at an end of the sensor portion merging into the suspension portion, a trench extending substantially parallel to an edge of the sensor portion facing the suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "A distance between the trench and the edge is dependent on the size and mass of the sensor portion.", "In some embodiments, it may be less than 10 μm.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate is a membrane configured for an out-of-plane oscillation in response to an out-of-plane pressure applied to the integrated semiconductor device.", "This may be useful for MEMS microphone applications, for example.", "According to a further aspect, the present disclosure provides an integrated semiconductor device.", "The integrated semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate, a cavity formed into the semiconductor substrate, a continuous sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspended in the cavity at a single side of the cavity via a continuous single suspension strip of the semiconductor substrate integrally interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof, wherein an extension of the suspension strip along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "The integrated semiconductor device further includes a continuous frame portion of the semiconductor substrate, the frame portion surrounding the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "The frame portion is suspended in the cavity, via the suspension strip, laterally between an edge of the sensor portion and an edge of the cavity.", "The frame portion and the sensor portion are separated by a first gap, and the frame portion and the edge of the cavity are separated by a second gap.", "The semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion, the suspension strip, the frame portion may constitute one continuous piece.", "That is, they may be formed monolithically.", "According to yet a further aspect, the present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device.", "The method includes forming, in a semiconductor substrate, a cavity extending below a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, and forming, at one side of the cavity, a suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspending the sensor portion in the cavity, such that an extension of the suspension portion along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "In some embodiments, forming the cavity comprises using a Silicon-On-Nothing, SON, processing sequence.", "The SON processing sequence may include forming one or more trench structures in the semiconductor substrate, annealing the trench structures in a deoxidizing ambient, and obtaining the cavity below the sensor portion from the annealed trench structures.", "In some embodiments, forming the suspension portion comprises forming a single suspension strip of semiconductor material integrally (monolithically) interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion thereof.", "In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming, in the semiconductor substrate, a frame structure surrounding the sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate, and suspending the frame structure in the cavity by integrally (monolithically) interconnecting the semiconductor substrate, the sensor portion, and the frame structure via the suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate.", "In some embodiments, forming the suspension portion comprises at least partially coating the suspension portion with a stress layer to apply a biasing stress or strain to the flexibly suspended sensor portion of semiconductor material.", "According to yet a further aspect, the present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device.", "The method includes forming a cavity into a semiconductor substrate.", "The cavity comprises a bottom, a cover, and sidewalls extending from the bottom to the cover.", "A respective sidewall comprises a curved transition from the sidewall to the cover.", "The method further includes forming a trench which tangentially extends to the curved transition of the sidewalls to transform the cover of the cavity into a sensor portion of the semiconductor substrate which is deflectably suspended in the cavity via a remaining suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the sensor portion.", "In some embodiments, the cavity can be formed using an Empty-Space-in-Silicon (ESS) technique.", "In some embodiments, forming the trench includes generating an anti-sticking structure from the curved transition at the end of the sensor portion facing the trench.", "Embodiments of the present disclosure can be used for implementing MEMS devices, such as MEMS microphones, pressure sensors, or accelerometers, for example.", "Due to the suspension of the sensor portion at only one side of the cavity, the sensor portion of the integrated semiconductor device can be made substantially independent of stress applied to the semiconductor substrate and/or a housing and further undesired external mechanical influences.", "Furthermore, due to the sensor portion being suspended in the cavity, frontend-of-line structures having low thickness or height become possible.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Some embodiments of apparatuses and/or methods will be described in the following by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which FIG.", "1 shows a perspective view of a conventional out-of-plane comb drive accelerometer; FIG.", "2a, b illustrate different views of an integrated semiconductor device according to an example embodiment; FIG.", "3a, b illustrate different views of an integrated comb drive accelerometer according to an example embodiment; FIG.", "4 shows a biased integrated comb drive accelerometer according to an example embodiment; FIG.", "5 illustrates a high-level flowchart of a method for manufacturing integrated semiconductor device according to an embodiment; FIG.", "6 shows various principles of forming Silicon-On-Nothing (SON) cavities; and FIG.", "7 shows and example of a silicon-on-nothing structure; FIG.", "8 shows anti-sticking bumps at a silicon microphone; FIG.", "9 illustrates an example process of for formation of MEMS elements with anti-sticking lines; and FIG.", "10 shows a top view of an anti sticking structure produced in combination with a comb drive.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Various example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodiments are illustrated.", "In the figures, the thicknesses of lines, layers and/or regions may be exaggerated for clarity.", "Accordingly, while further embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, some example embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the figures and will herein be described in detail.", "It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.", "Like numbers refer to like or similar elements throughout the description of the figures.", "It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present.", "In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.", "Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).", "The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of further example embodiments.", "As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.", "Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong.", "It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, unless expressly defined otherwise herein.", "In the following, example embodiments related to acceleration sensors (also referred to as accelerometers) will be described in more detail.", "The skilled person having benefit from the present disclosure will appreciate however that the principles of the present disclosure are not limited to accelerometers but are also applicable to other kinds of sensors using mechanically deflectable sensor portions, such as pressure sensors or microphones, for example.", "Conventional accelerometers operate with a polycrystalline silicon lamination provided on top of a silicon substrate, for example.", "Here, layers having thicknesses of typically 5-10 μm are used as the basis of a discrete sensor component.", "However, in this form of structuring the layers are not integrable in a conventional CMOS process.", "To illustrate the working principle of capacitive accelerometers, FIG.", "1 shows a perspective view of a conventional out-of-plane comb drive accelerometer 100.The example comb drive accelerometer 100 includes a proof mass or seismic mass 102, first and second anchors 104 and 106, suspension strips or flexures 108, a stator 110, a row of rotor tines or sense fingers 112, and a row of stator tines 114.The comb drive 100 may be fabricated using conventional MEMS technologies.", "The proof mass 102 is suspended above a substrate 120, which can be a semiconductor substrate, so that the proof mass 102 is free to rotate about an axis of rotation (in x-direction) along the flexures 108.The proof mass 102 is suspended by the flexures 108 from two suspension points formed by the first anchor 104 and the second anchor 106.The first anchor 104 and the second anchor 106 are bonded to the substrate 120 using respective support posts 124 and 126.The flexures 108 substantially limit movement of the proof mass 102 in the x- and y-axes, yet permit rotation in the z direction (about the y axis) in response to an out-of-plane acceleration (out of the x-y plane).", "The plurality of rotor comb tines 112 are formed along a first end of the proof mass 102.Additional symmetrically arranged rotor comb tines can also be formed along an opposing second end of the proof mass 102 (not shown in FIG.", "1).", "For illustrative purposes, five rotor comb tines 112 are illustrated, but in practice many more rotor comb tines 112 would be used.", "The stator 110 comprises a row of stator comb tines 114 complementary to the rotor comb tines 112.Additional symmetrically arranged stator comb tines could also be formed proximate to rotor comb tines at the opposing second end of the proof mass 102 (not shown in FIG.", "1).", "For illustrative purposes, only four stator comb tines 114 shown.", "In practice many stator comb tines would be used.", "In the illustrated example, the stator 110 is bonded to the substrate 120 using support post 128 such that stator comb tines 114 are held in a fixed position relative to the rotor tines 112.The stator comb tines 114 interleave with the rotor comb tines 112 with a gap 116 separating the stator comb tines 114 from the rotor comb tines 112.The gap 116 provides at least two functions.", "First, the gap 116 eliminates frictional contact between adjacent stator and rotor comb tines so that the proof mass 102 is free to rotate about its rotation axis in response to accelerations along the z axis.", "Second, the separation between adjacent stator and rotor comb tines defined by the gap 116 allows a capacitance to exist when a potential difference is applied across the stator comb tines 114 and the rotor comb tines 112.The capacitance across the gap 116 is a function of the area of overlap between the opposing faces of the rotor and stator tines 112, 114.Because the proof mass 102 can rotate in response to accelerations along the z axis, the area of overlap in the rotor and stator tines 112, 114 can vary.", "As the area of overlap varies (in z-direction), so does the value of the capacitance across the gap 116.For example, measurement of this capacitive value may be used in a feedback loop to determine the level of voltage to apply to the rotor and stator tines 112, 114 to maintain the proof mass 104 in an approximately fixed position.", "In the conventional example of FIG.", "1, the proof mass (or seismic mass) 102, the first and second anchors 104 and 106, the flexures 108, the stator 110, the rotor tines 112, and the stator tines 114 are all formed from an additional polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) layer provided on top of the silicon substrate 120.For example, said polysilicon layer may have a thickness/height of 12 μm or more in some examples.", "As has been explained above, the topology of frontend-of-line structures plays an important role for sub 130 nm process technologies employed to date.", "They should not exceed a total thickness of a few hundred nanometers, so as not to interfere a potential Borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) polishing act.", "Further, if mechanical stress is applied to the substrate 120, the stress may disadvantageously be transferred to the proof mass 102 and/or the stator 110, i.e., the capacitor elements.", "Such mechanical stress may even lead to frictional contact between adjacent stator and rotor comb tines so that the proof mass 102 cannot freely rotate.", "Embodiments of the present disclosure, which will be explained in the sequel, address these disadvantageous issues of conventional MEMS accelerometers.", "FIG.", "2a illustrates a cross-sectional view of an integrated semiconductor-based sensor device 200 according to an example embodiment.", "The integrated semiconductor device 200 comprises a semiconductor substrate 220, such as a semiconductor wafer, for example.", "The semiconductor substrate 220 is made of semiconductor material, such as Silicon (Si) or Germanium (Ge), for example.", "The substrate 220 may be at least partially doped.", "The semiconductor substrate 220 comprises a cavity 230 formed into the semiconductor substrate 220.The semiconductor substrate 220 also comprises a sensor portion 202 formed into the semiconductor substrate 220, wherein the sensor portion 202 is deflectably suspended in the cavity 230 at one side of the cavity via a suspension portion 208 of the semiconductor substrate.", "In the illustrated example of FIG.", "2a, the suspension portion 208 is located on the left side of the cavity 230.However, the skilled person having benefit from the present disclosure will appreciate that the suspension portion 208 could be located on any side of the cavity 230.The suspension portion 208 interconnects the semiconductor substrate 220 and the sensor portion 202 thereof.", "An extension l208 of the suspension portion 208 along the (e.g.", "left) side of the cavity 230 is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "This can be better seen in the top view of FIG.", "2b.", "Likewise, the extension l208 of the suspension portion 208 along the side of the cavity (in y-direction) may also be smaller than an extension of the sensor portion 202 along said side of the cavity.", "Such dimensions allow for stability and flexibility of the suspension portion 208 at the same time.", "In the illustrated example, the cavity 230 extends below the sensor portion 202 and has a bottom 232 formed by the bulk semiconductor substrate 220.Note, however, that the bottom 232 is optional and may be omitted in other embodiments.", "In such cases the cavity 230 compares to a hole formed in the semiconductor substrate 220 and reaching through from a top surface to a bottom surface of the substrate 220.For example, an amplitude of the sensor portion's defection may be increased without the bottom 232.As can be seen from FIG.", "2a, a thickness or height h of the example integrated semiconductor device 200 corresponds to a thickness/height of the bulk semiconductor substrate 220.In contrast to the conventional setup of FIG.", "1, no additional layers are required on top of the bulk substrate 220.According to embodiments, a top surface of the sensor portion 202 may be located even below or at least coplanar with a top surface of the bulk semiconductor substrate 220.Likewise, a top surface of the suspension portion 208 may be located below or coplanar with the top surface of the semiconductor substrate 220.In the illustrated example, the top surfaces of the semiconductor substrate 220, the suspension portion 208 thereof, and the sensor portion 202 thereof are coplanar.", "This may enable small heights/thicknesses of resulting frontend-of-line structures.", "Vertical sidewalls of the cavity 230 and vertical sidewalls of the sensor portion 202 suspended therein are separated by a gap 234.Also here the gap 234 may provide at least two functions.", "First, the gap 234 may eliminate frictional contact between adjacent sidewalls of the cavity 230 and the sensor portion 202 so that the sensor portion 202 is free to move about its deflection axis in response to excitations along the z axis.", "Second, the separation between adjacent sidewalls of the cavity 230 and sidewalls of the sensor portion 202 defined by the gap 234 allows a capacitance to exist when a potential difference is applied across the gap 234.Hence, the integrated semiconductor device 200 can be used for capacitive sensing purposes, for example.", "Such sensors include, among others, capacitive MEMS microphones, capacitive MEMS pressure sensors, or MEMS accelerometers.", "The sensor portion 202 of the semiconductor substrate 220 is suspended in the cavity 230 so that the sensor portion 202 is free to get mechanically deflected about an axis 240 (in y-direction) along the flexible suspension portion 208.The sensor portion 202 is suspended using the suspension portion 208 protruding from the substrate 220 at substantially one suspension point at one side of the cavity 230.In some embodiments, the suspension portion 208 may be implemented as a single strip or bar of semiconductor material integrally or continuously or monolithically interconnecting the semiconductor substrate 220 and the sensor portion 202 thereof.", "Further, the suspension portion 208 may be dimensioned to substantially limit movement of the sensor portion 202 in direction of the x- and y-axes, yet permit deflection in the z direction (about the y axis) in response to an out-of-plane excitation (out of the x-y plane).", "In other words, the sensor portion 202 of semiconductor substrate 220 may be configured for an out-of-plane deflection (e.g.", "normal to the substrate surface) relative to the semiconductor substrate 220 in response to an out-of-plane excitation applied to the integrated semiconductor device 200.In the example embodiment of FIGS.", "2a, b, the sensor portion 202 and the suspension portion 208 both are continuous portions of the bulk semiconductor substrate 220.This means that the sensor portion 202, the suspension portion 208, and the remaining semiconductor substrate 220 are monolithically integrated and form one continuous piece of semiconductor material.", "In some embodiments, the sensor portion 202 of the semiconductor substrate may have a width w202 of more than 100 μm and a length l202 of more than 100 μm, leading to a surface area of more than 100 μm×100 μm, while the length l208 and width w208 of the suspension portion 208 may be much smaller, respectively.", "For example, l208l/l202 may be smaller than ⅕ or even smaller than 1/10.Likewise, w208l/w202 may be smaller than ⅕ or even smaller than 1/10.Consequently, a surface area of the suspension portion 208 may be not more than 10 μm×10 μm in some embodiments.", "A thickness or height h208 of the suspension portion 208 may be equal to or smaller than a thickness or height h202 of the sensor portion 202 or the semiconductor substrate.", "In some embodiments related to microphones or pressure sensors, the sensor portion 202 of the semiconductor substrate 220 may act as a membrane configured for an out-of-plane oscillation in response to an out-of-plane pressure applied to the integrated semiconductor device.", "In other embodiments, which will be described in more detail, the integrated semiconductor device 200 may be an accelerometer, for example.", "In this case the sensor portion 202 of the semiconductor substrate constitutes a seismic or proof mass configured for an out-of-plane movement in response to an out-of-plane acceleration of the integrated semiconductor device 200.Turning now to FIG.", "3a, it is shown a perspective view of an out-of-plane comb drive accelerometer 300 according to an embodiment.", "The example comb drive accelerometer 100 includes an acceleration sensitive proof mass 302 suspended in a cavity 330, which is formed in a bulk semiconductor substrate body 320.The comb drive accelerometer 300 further includes a thin suspension portion (suspension strip/suspension bar) 308, a rigid stator frame 310, a row of rotor tines or sense fingers 312 formed into the proof mass 302, and a row of stator tines 314 formed into the stator frame 310.As will be explained below, the comb drive 300 may be fabricated using Silicon-On-Nothing (SON) process steps.", "Note that the proof mass 302, the suspension strip/bar 308, and the stator frame 310 are all obtained from the same bulk semiconductor material.", "That is, the bulk semiconductor substrate body 320, the proof mass 302, the suspension bar 308, and the stator frame 310 are one continuous piece of semiconductor material.", "The acceleration sensitive proof mass 302 is suspended in the cavity 330, so that the proof mass 302 is free to swing about an axis (in y-direction) along the left side of cavity 330.The proof mass 302 is suspended at the semiconductor substrate body 320 via the suspension bar 308 at precisely one suspension point located where the suspension bar 308 continuously merges into the bulk semiconductor substrate 320.The suspension bar 308 substantially limits movement of the proof mass 302 in the x- and y-direction, yet permits deflection in the z direction (about the y axis) in response to an out-of-plane acceleration (out of the x-y plane).", "Deflection may be further improved by an optional trench 303 formed into the proof mass 302 at an end of the proof mass 302 continuously merging into the suspension bar 308.The trench 303 may be obtained by using conventional deep trench etching processing technology, for example.", "The trench 303 extends substantially parallel to an edge of the proof mass portion 302 facing the suspension bar portion 308 of the semiconductor substrate.", "A distance d between the trench 303 and the edge may be less than 20 μm or less than 10 μm, hence leaving thin strips/bars 305 of semiconductor material of less than 20 μm or less than 10 μm width in x-direction between gap 316 and trench 303.Those bars 305 of semiconductor material act as a torsional spring allowing for better deflection in z-direction.", "The rigid stator frame 310 is also monolithically formed into or from the semiconductor substrate 320 and surrounds the deflectable proof mass 302 of semiconductor material.", "Via the suspension bar 308 the stator frame 310 is suspended in the cavity 330 laterally between an edge of the proof mass 302 and an edge of the cavity 330.The stator frame 310 and the proof mass portion 302 are separated by a first gap 316.The stator frame 310 and the edge/sidewall of the cavity are separated by a second gap 334.The proof mass 302, the stator frame 310, and the semiconductor substrate 320 are integrally or monolithically formed from one piece of semiconductor material.", "The proof mass 302 and the stator frame 310 are suspended in the cavity 330 via suspension bar or strip 308, which is a common single suspension portion of the semiconductor substrate 320 integrally or continuously interconnecting the semiconductor substrate 320, the stator frame 310, and the proof mass portion 302 of the semiconductor substrate.", "To increase a capacitance, the proof mass 302 comprises a first electrode with a plurality of rotor comb tines 312 formed into at least one edge of the proof mass.", "The rigid stator frame 310 comprises a second electrode with a plurality of stator comb tines 314 arranged interleaved with the first plurality of comb tines 312.The plurality of rotor comb tines 312 are formed along a first (right) end of the proof mass 102 opposed to suspension bar 308.Additional rotor comb tines can also be formed along the lower and/or upper ends of the proof mass 302 (not shown in FIG.", "3a).", "For illustrative purposes, five rotor comb tines 312 are illustrated, but in practice many more rotor comb tines 312 would be used.", "Correspondingly, additional arranged stator comb tines could also be formed proximate to rotor comb tines at the lower and/or upper ends of the proof mass 302 (not shown in FIG.", "3a).", "For illustrative purposes, only four stator comb tines 314 shown.", "In practice many stator comb tines would be used.", "In the illustrated example, the stator frame 310 is fixed to the substrate 320 using suspension bar 308 such that stator comb tines 314 are held in a fixed position relative to the rotor tines 312.The stator comb tines 314 interleave with the rotor comb tines 312 with a gap 316 separating the stator comb tines 314 from the rotor comb tines 312.The gap 316 provides at least two functions.", "First, the gap 316 eliminates frictional contact between adjacent stator and rotor comb tines so that the proof mass 302 is free to rotate about its rotation axis in response to accelerations along the z axis.", "Second, the separation between adjacent stator and rotor comb tines defined by the gap 316 allows a capacitance to exist when a potential difference is applied across the stator comb tines 314 and the rotor comb tines 312.The electrode structures may be created with a proven carbon sacrificial layer process, for example.", "The capacitance across gap 316 is a function of the area of overlap between the opposing faces of the rotor and stator tines 312, 314.Because the proof mass 302 can deflect in response to accelerations along the z axis, the area of overlap in the rotor and stator tines 312, 314 can vary.", "As the area of overlap varies, so does the value of the capacitance across the gap 316.For example, measurement of this capacitive value may be used in a feedback loop to determine the level of voltage to apply to the rotor and stator tines 312, 314 to maintain the proof mass 302 in an approximately fixed position.", "The second gap 334 between stator frame 310 and sidewalls of the cavity 330 in conjunction with the single suspension bar 308 decouples the stator frame 310 and the proof mass 302 from the remaining semiconductor substrate 320 such that mechanical stress applied to the semiconductor substrate 320 can be decoupled from the stator frame 310 and the proof mass 302.FIG.", "3b illustrates an enlarged cross-sectional view of the out-of-plane comb drive accelerometer 300.Here, the comb drive accelerometer 300 comprises an optional sealing layer 340 covering at least the deflectable proof mass 302, which is suspended in the cavity 330.Here, the sealing layer 340 comprises a protrusion or chamber 345 allowing the proof mass 302 to swing in and out the cavity 330.The sealing layer 340 may comprise various sealing materials, such as thermoplastic, elastomeric or metallic materials, for example.", "Here, silicon oxide, silicon nitride or polysilicon layers are appropriate candidates as well.", "In particular, the portions of the cavity 330 extending laterally underneath the proof mass portion 302 of the bulk silicon may be obtained using Silicon-On-Nothing (SON) process techniques.", "Vertical portions of the cavity 330 extending vertically between the bulk substrate 320 and the proof mass portion 302 may be obtained using conventional deep trench etching techniques, for example, and may be synergistically combined with forming other similar structures in the semiconductor device 300, such as trenches, transistors or capacitors, for example.", "Turning now to FIG.", "4, an embodiment of a biased comb drive accelerometer 400 is illustrated.", "For the sake of brevity a detailed description of like or similar elements that have been described before will be omitted.", "Here, the suspension bar 308 is at least partially coated with a stress layer 409 configured to apply a tensile or compressive stress or strain offset to the proof mass 302.The stress layer 409 may comprise a material with different (larger or smaller) a lattice constant than that of the substrate's semiconductor material (for example Silicon, Si).", "An example material for the stress layer would be silicon nitride (Si3N4).", "In this way the accelerometer 400 may be biased in a specific direction.", "As schematically shown by FIG.", "5, embodiments also provide a method 500 for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device according to embodiments.", "Method 500 includes forming 510, in a semiconductor substrate 220, 320, a cavity 230, 330 extending below a sensor portion 202, 302 of the semiconductor substrate.", "Further, method 500 includes forming 520, at one side of the cavity 230, 330, a suspension portion 208, 308 of the semiconductor substrate deflectably suspending the sensor portion 202, 302 in the cavity, such that an extension of the suspension portion 208, 308 along the side of the cavity is smaller than an extension of said side of the cavity.", "Some embodiments use a so-called Silicon-On-Nothing (SON) processing sequence to form the cavity 230, 330 or at least portions thereof and/or to provide further basic structural elements of the integrated semiconductor device 200, 300, 400.In other words, the cavity 230, 330 between the substrate 220, 320 and the sensor portion 202, 302 may be provided by applying a SON processing sequence, an example of which will be explained in more detail below.", "A practical method for obtaining SON structures with a desired size and shape may use the so-called Empty-Space-in-Silicon (ESS) formation technique.", "It has been shown that a SON structure can be precisely controlled by the initial shape and layout of trenches.", "The size of ESS is determined by the size of the initial trench(es).", "The desired shapes of ESS, such as spherical, pipe-shaped and plate-shaped, can be fabricated by changing the arrangement of the initial trenches.", "Some examples of SON processing make use of the self-organizing recrystallization caused by silicon surface migration.", "The initial trench shape patterned on the silicon substrate may be regarded as the most important factor to fabricate a SON structure.", "The trench structure transforms so as to minimize the surface energy, when it is annealed in a deoxidizing ambient, such as hydrogen.", "Trench transformation by surface migration results in the Empty-Space-in-Silicon (ESS).", "The SON structure can be made of SON sheet layer over ESS by this means.", "Typical examples of ESS formation, whose shapes are spherical, pipe-shaped and plate-shaped, are schematically illustrated in FIG.", "6.An isolated deep trench 601 may be transformed to a spherical ESS 602, see FIG.", "6a.", "Formation of the spherical ESS begins at the top and bottom corners of the deep trench, because the radius of curvature of these regions is the smallest.", "This result indicates that the diameter of the spherical ESS becomes larger than that of the initial trench.", "Thus, trenches 603 closely arranged in a row are transformed to the pipe-shaped ESS 604, due to the combination of the grown spherical ESS at the bottom of each trench, see FIG.", "6b.", "A plate-shaped ESS 606 can also be fabricated by developing this technique.", "By arranging the trenches in a lattice 605, the spherical ESSs at the bottom of all trenches are combined, and they are transformed to a large, thin plate-shaped ESS 606, see FIG.", "6c.", "In particular, the technique of FIG.", "6c may be used for obtaining a SON cavity below the sensor portion 202, 302, for example.", "An example of a plate-shaped ESS 706 structure embedded in a semiconductor substrate 720 is shown in FIG.", "7, also illustrating an enlarged view of the ESS 706 structure.", "It can be seen that the ESS 706 structure comprises rounded edges or corners 708 that are formed during the annealing process.", "The ESS technique offers a wide range of chances and opportunities to design and fabricate new devices for micromechanical, optical and sensor applications.", "However, concerning process capability and robustness at application, parallel plate configurations may not always be favorable.", "Sticking or lamella breakage may occur—especially, when deflection due to external forces or internal stress leads to a touching of two adjacent surfaces.", "Such situations can occur in acceleration sensors or silicon microphones, for example.", "Therefore, a structuring process can be used to form bump structures, which can be formed in a way that a minimum contact area ensures a detaching when restoring forces act.", "An example related to a MEMS microphone 800 is shown in FIG.", "8.The MEMS microphone 800 comprises a membrane 802 and a back plate 804.As can be seen from the enlarged portion on the right of FIG.", "8, the back plate 804 also comprises, beside perforation holes 806, anti-sticking or stop bumps 806 facing the membrane 802 to prevent in-use sticking.", "Some examples of the present disclosure propose to use rounded or curved regions of a silicon-on-nothing cavity to form in-situ processed anti-sticking lines or bumps.", "One example semiconductor device 900 is illustrated in FIG.", "9.FIG.", "9a shows a semiconductor substrate 920 comprising a SON cavity 930 formed into the semiconductor substrate 920, e.g., by using an ESS formation technique.", "The SON cavity 930 is delimited by sidewalls 932, a bottom portion 934, and a cover portion 936 of semiconductor substrate.", "Due to the ESS formation technique, the sidewalls 932 have curved transitions 938 toward the bottom portion 934 and the cover portion 936.Said differently, corner regions between the sidewalls 932 and the cover portion 936 or the bottom portion 934 are not rectangular but substantially curved or bent.", "A curvature radius r of the curved sidewalls 932 can be in the range of h/2, wherein h denotes a height of the cavity 930.A deflectable sensor portion 902 can be obtained from the cover portion 936 by separating the cover portion 936 from the semiconductor substrate 920 except leaving a suspension portion 908 of the semiconductor substrate integrally interconnecting the semiconductor substrate and the remaining sensor portion 902.For example, this separation or generation of the sensor portion 902 can be done by forming a vertically extending trench surrounding the sensor portion 902 except the suspension portion 908.In some examples, the vertical trench 940 can be formed as a tangent to the curved sidewalls 932.Thus, the trench 940 for separation of MEMS elements from the surrounding substrate 920 can be positioned at the edge of the rounded portion of the SON cavity 930.In this way, a portion of the curved corner regions 938 remains with the deflectable sensor portion 902 (former cover portion) as anti-sticking or stop bumps 906 at the end of the sensor portion 902 facing the trench or gap 940.In the illustrated example, the end of the sensor portion 902 facing the trench 940 has a trumpet-like cross section.", "That is to say, a thickness of the end of the sensor portion 902 facing the trench or gap 940 is larger than a thickness of the remaining deflectable sensor portion 902.For example, a ratio between the thickness of the end of the sensor portion 902 and the thickness of the remaining sensor portion 902 may be in the range from 1.01 to 1.2.Thus, an anti-sticking structure 906 can be generated at the end of the sensor portion 902 facing the trench or gap 940 using a suited separation of silicon-on-nothing structures.", "For example, this can be done by etching a separating trench 940 in the region of the curved edge of the SON cavity 930.FIG.", "9c further illustrates providing a sacrificial layer 950 and a sealing layer 960 on top of the semiconductor substrate 920.Sacrificial layer 950 is removed in FIG.", "9d.", "Some examples may also use a trench shape producing an interlaced comb-drive like structure.", "In this way, the contact region may be defined according to the mechanical needs (e.g.", "spring constant, etc.).", "Furthermore, the region may be used as a capacitive read out structure (comb drive).", "A top view such an example with bars 905 of semiconductor material acting as a torsional spring is shown in FIG.", "10.Thus, a method for manufacturing an integrated semiconductor device 900 is provided, wherein a cavity 930 is formed into a semiconductor substrate 920, for example using an Empty-Space-in-Silicon (ESS) technique.", "The cavity 930 comprises a bottom 934, a cover 936, and sidewalls 932.A respective sidewall 932 extends from the bottom 934 to the cover 936 and comprises (e.g.", "due to annealing) a curved transition (curved or bent corner) 938 from the sidewall 932 to the bottom 934 and/or to the cover 936.A trench 940 can be formed tangentially extending to the curved transition 938 of the sidewalls 932 in order to transform the cover 936 of the cavity 930 into a sensor portion 902 which is deflectably suspended in the cavity 930 via a remaining suspension portion 908 of the semiconductor substrate interconnecting the semiconductor substrate 920 and the sensor portion 902.Thereby, tangentially forming the trench 940 causes a portion of the curved transition 938 to become part of the deflectable sensor portion 902.Thus, the separated portion of the curved or rounded transition 938 forms an anti-sticking structure 906 at the end of the sensor portion 902 facing the trench 940.To summarize, some embodiments propose integrating an acceleration sensor structure for measuring in the z-direction (normal to the substrate surface) into the substrate.", "For this purpose, a Silicon-On-Nothing technology may be used.", "A proposed variant uses a comb structure suspended on a frame for capacitive tapping.", "Both the acceleration sensitive element 302 and the frame/electrode 310 for signal tapping are hereby suspended from a common point, which may have a size less than 10 μm×10 μm.", "Thus seismic elements (or membranes) with an extension of 100 μm×100 μm or more are possible without generating an increased interaction with a housing.", "The geometry of the suspension enables a largely free design of spring elements and the seismic mass.", "A benefit of the proposed structure is, on the one hand, the ease of integration into a CMOS process.", "On the other hand, it provides a very good decoupling of an external stress entry and thus allows the use of low-cost housing options.", "The fix or suspension point of the electrode on the mechanically rigid frame structure, the torsion spring and the entire frame structure can be defined with a single lithography and etching process.", "The support structure for the counter electrode on the seismic mass (or membrane) can take very diverse forms.", "In one embodiment, the frame and the seismic mass (or membrane) may be dielectrically isolated by an oxide layer.", "Electrical connections may also be made on the suspension portion.", "Some embodiments use a combination of an SON structure (seismic mass) with a counter electrode, which is fixed to a point-like suspended supporting structure.", "In this way, the sensor element may be substantially independent of stress applied to the housing and further undesired mechanical influences.", "Furthermore, embodiments open up the possibility for monolithic integration of the sensor with an ASIC.", "The description and drawings merely illustrate the principles of the disclosure.", "It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are included within its spirit and scope.", "Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions.", "Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof.", "Furthermore, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, where each claim may stand on its own as a separate example embodiment.", "While each claim may stand on its own as a separate example embodiment, it is to be noted that—although a dependent claim may refer in the claims to a specific combination with one or more other claims—other example embodiments may also include a combination of the dependent claim with the subject matter of each other dependent or independent claim.", "Such combinations are proposed herein unless it is stated that a specific combination is not intended.", "Furthermore, it is intended to include also features of a claim to any other independent claim even if this claim is not directly made dependent to the independent claim.", "It is further to be noted that methods disclosed in the specification or in the claims may be implemented by a device having means for performing each of the respective acts of these methods.", "Further, it is to be understood that the disclosure of multiple acts or functions disclosed in the specification or claims may not be construed as to be within the specific order.", "Therefore, the disclosure of multiple acts or functions will not limit these to a particular order unless such acts or functions are not interchangeable for technical reasons.", "Furthermore, in some embodiments a single act may include or may be broken into multiple sub acts.", "Such sub acts may be included and part of the disclosure of this single act unless explicitly excluded." ] ]
Patent_15875068
[ [ "SILENCER AND VEHICLE ENGINE INCLUDING SAME", "A silencer having an outer housing; and a central perforated tube through which air flows.", "The silencer further includes an additional perforated structure located between the central perforated tube and the outer housing, a first chamber is formed between the central perforated tube and the additional perforated structure, and the additional perforated structure is configured such that at least one second chamber is formed, which is at least partially located radially outside of the first chamber, where the second chamber is communicated with the first chamber by perforates.", "The disclosure further relates to a vehicle engine having the silencer.", "The silencer is compact in structure, and has a better broadband silencing effect." ], [ "1.A silencer, comprising: an outer housing; and a central perforated tube through which air flows; an additional perforated structure arranged between the central perforated tube and the outer housing; and a first chamber formed between the central perforated tube and the additional perforated structure; wherein the additional perforated structure is configured such that at least one second chamber is formed, which is at least partially located radially outside of the first chamber, wherein the second chamber is in fluidic communication with the first chamber by perforates.", "2.The silencer according to claim 1, wherein the additional perforated structure is configured as an additional perforated tube which is mounted over the central perforated tube.", "3.The silencer according to claim 2, wherein the additional perforated tube is disposed concentrically with the central perforated tube.", "4.The silencer according to claim 2, wherein the central perforated tube is adapted to be connected with or integrally formed in one piece with a first end pipe section located axially outside of the outer housing, and the additional perforated tube is adapted to be connected with or integrally formed in one piece with a second end pipe section located axially outside of the outer housing, wherein the first end pipe section and the second end pipe section are located at axial opposite sides of the central perforated tube.", "5.The silencer according to claim 1, wherein the second chamber is configured so as to be completely located radially outside of the first chamber.", "6.The silencer according to claim 1, wherein the second chamber is configured so as to only be in a partial circumferential region of the central perforated tube.", "7.The silencer according to claim 6, wherein the second chamber is configured as a box-shaped structure which has a radially outward opening, and the outer housing has a cover plate adapted to close the opening.", "8.The silencer according to claim 1, wherein the first chamber and/or the second chamber is separated axially into a plurality of sub-chambers communicated with each other by a perforated member.", "9.The silencer according to claim 1, wherein the silencer is adapted for use in an air inlet system of a vehicle engine; and the at least one second chamber comprises a plurality of second chambers which are located radially with respect to each other, and the adjacent second chambers are communicated with each other by perforates.", "10.The silencer according to claim 2, wherein the additional perforated tube and/or the central perforated tube have/has a circular cross section and/or the first chamber and/or the second chamber have/has an annular cross section.", "11.An air inlet system of a vehicle engine, wherein the air inlet system has a silencer as claimed in claim 1.12.The silencer according to claim 1, wherein the second chamber and the first chamber have the same axial length and are aligned axially with each other." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Small-displacement turbocharged engines are an important development in the direction of energy-efficient vehicles.", "A turbocharged engine improves the power and fuel economy of the vehicle, but also introduced a new problem of noise for an air inlet system, thereby severely impacting the rider's comfort of the vehicle.", "The howling generated by a turbocharger adopting a mechanical relief valve during instant operation belongs to typical broadband noises.", "A conventional silencer has a narrow silencing frequency range and cannot efficiently suppress this type of noise, and also has high cost and large size.", "Perforated broadband silencers are widely applied in air inlet systems of turbocharged engines as excellent silencing elements meeting requirements of both silencing and mounting space, and each include a main tube and several annular resonance chambers.", "A desirable broadband silencing effect can be achieved by adjusting the width, diameter and number of the annular resonance chambers and the aperture and number of perforates.", "When the perforated silencer is used in a turbocharged engine, the diameter of an air flow main tube depends on the tube diameter of the air inlet system, and the outer diameter of the annular resonance chamber is limited by the mounting space of an engine compartment.", "Therefore, the design of the perforated silencer having the expected silencing effect may be constrained in various terms including structure and size.", "Moreover, it is further required in practice that the perforated silencer has small flow loss.", "However, the existing perforated silencer cannot, at times, achieve the expected silencing effect due to limitations such as the mounting space, and is complicated in structure and high in cost." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An objective of the present invention is to provide a silencer having a more compact structure and desirable broadband silencing effect and a corresponding vehicle engine.", "According to a first aspect of the present invention, a silencer is provided, including: an outer housing; and a central perforated tube through which air flows; where the silencer further includes an additional perforated structure located between the central perforated tube and the outer housing; a first chamber is formed between the central perforated tube and the additional perforated structure; and the additional perforated structure is configured such that at least one second chamber is formed, which is at least partially located radially outside of the first chamber, wherein the second chamber is communicated with the first chamber by perforates.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the additional perforated structure is configured as an additional perforated tube which is mounted over the central perforated tube.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the additional perforated tube is disposed concentrically with the central perforated tube; and/or the additional perforated tube and/or the central perforated tube has circular cross section; and/or the first chamber and/or the second chamber has annular cross section.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the central perforated tube is adapted to be connected to or integrally formed with a first end pipe section located axially outside of the outer housing, and the additional perforated tube is adapted to be connected to or integrally formed with a second end pipe section located axially outside of the outer housing, wherein the first end pipe section and the second end pipe section are located at axial opposite sides of the central perforated tube.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the second chamber is configured so as to be completely located radially outside of the first chamber; and/or the second chamber and the first chamber have the same axial length and are aligned axially with each other.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the second chamber is configured so as to only be in a partial circumferential region of the central perforated tube.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the second chamber is configured as a box-shaped structure which has a radially-outward opening, and the outer housing has a cover plate adapted to close the opening.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the first chamber and/or the second chamber is separated axially into a plurality of sub-chambers, communicated with each other via a perforated member.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the silencer is adapted for use in an air inlet system of a vehicle engine; and/or the at least one second chamber comprises a plurality of second chambers which are located radially with respect to each other, and the adjacent second chambers are communicated with each other via perforates.", "According to a second aspect of the present invention, an air inlet system of a vehicle engine is provided, where the air inlet system has the silencer.", "The silencer of the present invention has a compact structure and better broadband silencing effect, especially when it is used in an air inlet system of a vehicle engine, the broadband noise of the air inlet system can be obviously suppressed.", "According to this invention, the silencer and the air inlet system are not limited to an engine of a vehicle but also incorporate a silencer or an air inlet system for a stationary engine, e.g.", "a power generator.", "The invention is not limited to an exhaust gas turbo charged engine but also incorporates a silencer and an air inlet system for any other engine charged by other devices like mechanical compressors or electrical driven air chargers." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/EP2016/065117, filed 29 Jun.", "2016 and designating the United States, which claims the benefit of China Application No.", "CN 201510436110.7, filed 23 Jul.", "2015.The entire contents of the aforesaid international application and the aforesaid China application being incorporated herein by reference.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a silencer, which includes an outer housing and a central perforated tube through which air flows.", "The present invention further relates to a vehicle engine including a silencer.", "BACKGROUND Small-displacement turbocharged engines are an important development in the direction of energy-efficient vehicles.", "A turbocharged engine improves the power and fuel economy of the vehicle, but also introduced a new problem of noise for an air inlet system, thereby severely impacting the rider's comfort of the vehicle.", "The howling generated by a turbocharger adopting a mechanical relief valve during instant operation belongs to typical broadband noises.", "A conventional silencer has a narrow silencing frequency range and cannot efficiently suppress this type of noise, and also has high cost and large size.", "Perforated broadband silencers are widely applied in air inlet systems of turbocharged engines as excellent silencing elements meeting requirements of both silencing and mounting space, and each include a main tube and several annular resonance chambers.", "A desirable broadband silencing effect can be achieved by adjusting the width, diameter and number of the annular resonance chambers and the aperture and number of perforates.", "When the perforated silencer is used in a turbocharged engine, the diameter of an air flow main tube depends on the tube diameter of the air inlet system, and the outer diameter of the annular resonance chamber is limited by the mounting space of an engine compartment.", "Therefore, the design of the perforated silencer having the expected silencing effect may be constrained in various terms including structure and size.", "Moreover, it is further required in practice that the perforated silencer has small flow loss.", "However, the existing perforated silencer cannot, at times, achieve the expected silencing effect due to limitations such as the mounting space, and is complicated in structure and high in cost.", "SUMMARY An objective of the present invention is to provide a silencer having a more compact structure and desirable broadband silencing effect and a corresponding vehicle engine.", "According to a first aspect of the present invention, a silencer is provided, including: an outer housing; and a central perforated tube through which air flows; where the silencer further includes an additional perforated structure located between the central perforated tube and the outer housing; a first chamber is formed between the central perforated tube and the additional perforated structure; and the additional perforated structure is configured such that at least one second chamber is formed, which is at least partially located radially outside of the first chamber, wherein the second chamber is communicated with the first chamber by perforates.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the additional perforated structure is configured as an additional perforated tube which is mounted over the central perforated tube.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the additional perforated tube is disposed concentrically with the central perforated tube; and/or the additional perforated tube and/or the central perforated tube has circular cross section; and/or the first chamber and/or the second chamber has annular cross section.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the central perforated tube is adapted to be connected to or integrally formed with a first end pipe section located axially outside of the outer housing, and the additional perforated tube is adapted to be connected to or integrally formed with a second end pipe section located axially outside of the outer housing, wherein the first end pipe section and the second end pipe section are located at axial opposite sides of the central perforated tube.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the second chamber is configured so as to be completely located radially outside of the first chamber; and/or the second chamber and the first chamber have the same axial length and are aligned axially with each other.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the second chamber is configured so as to only be in a partial circumferential region of the central perforated tube.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the second chamber is configured as a box-shaped structure which has a radially-outward opening, and the outer housing has a cover plate adapted to close the opening.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the first chamber and/or the second chamber is separated axially into a plurality of sub-chambers, communicated with each other via a perforated member.", "According to an optional solution of the present invention, the silencer is adapted for use in an air inlet system of a vehicle engine; and/or the at least one second chamber comprises a plurality of second chambers which are located radially with respect to each other, and the adjacent second chambers are communicated with each other via perforates.", "According to a second aspect of the present invention, an air inlet system of a vehicle engine is provided, where the air inlet system has the silencer.", "The silencer of the present invention has a compact structure and better broadband silencing effect, especially when it is used in an air inlet system of a vehicle engine, the broadband noise of the air inlet system can be obviously suppressed.", "According to this invention, the silencer and the air inlet system are not limited to an engine of a vehicle but also incorporate a silencer or an air inlet system for a stationary engine, e.g.", "a power generator.", "The invention is not limited to an exhaust gas turbo charged engine but also incorporates a silencer and an air inlet system for any other engine charged by other devices like mechanical compressors or electrical driven air chargers.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and principles, characteristics and advantages of the present invention may be better understood.", "The accompanying drawings include: FIG.", "1 shows a three-dimensional sectional diagram of a perforated broadband silencer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "2 shows some simplified schematic diagrams, illustrating some possible arrangements, position relations and size relations of a first chamber and a second chamber; and FIG.", "3 shows a simplified schematic diagram of a perforated broadband silencer according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION In order for the technical problems to be solved, the technical solutions and beneficial technical effects of the present invention must be clear and more comprehensive.", "The present invention will be further described in detail through the accompanying drawings and multiple embodiments.", "It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used to explain the present invention, and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.", "FIG.", "1 shows a three-dimensional sectional diagram of a perforated broadband silencer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the silencer 1 mainly includes an outer housing 2, a first perforated tube 3 and a second perforated tube 4 mounted over the first perforated tube 3, where, the outer housing 2 is mounted over the second perforated tube 4.Preferably, the first perforated tube 3 is disposed concentrically with the second perforated tube 4.A first chamber 5 is formed between the first perforated tube 3 and the second perforated tube 4, and a second chamber 6 is formed between the second perforated tube 4 and the outer housing 2, so as to form two chambers communicated with each other by perforates in a radial direction relative to the air flow.", "During use, an air inlet silencer is generally mounted on a main pipeline between an air cleaner and a turbocharger, or between the turbocharger and an intercooler.", "Preferably, the first perforated tube 3 is made to have a diameter equal to that of the main pipeline.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the first perforated tube 3 is integrally formed with a first end pipe section 7 extending outside of the outer housing 2; the second perforated tube 4 is also integrally formed with a second end pipe section 8 extending outside of the outer housing 2.Preferably, the first end pipe section 7, the first perforated tube 3, and the second end pipe section 8 have the same diameters, and are disposed concentrically.", "During mounting, the silencer 1 is embedded into a corresponding main pipeline through the first end pipe section 7 and the second end pipe section 8, or the first end pipe section 7 and the second end pipe section 8 are integrally formed with the main pipeline.", "In view of the above, the intake silencer has two chambers communicated with each other in the radial direction, and the chambers, together with perforates in the first and second perforated tubes, form a Helmholtz resonance chamber structure.", "When the air flow passes through the first perforated tube, the Helmholtz resonance chamber structure may generate an attenuation effect on the broadband noise.", "As being proved by experiments, compared with the conventional perforated silencer having only one chamber in the radial direction, the perforated silencer having multiple chambers communicated with each other in the radial direction has a better silencing effect, especially having a desirable silencing effect for any frequency in a broad frequency band.", "Moreover, the silencer in such configuration is compact in structure and low in cost, and can be mounted in a limited space.", "It is understandable that changes of parameters such as the aperture, the percentage of perforation, the length of the perforated tube and the chamber capacity may also affect the silencing effect to some extent, and the silencer may be further optimized based on these parameters in practice.", "To simplify the structure and facilitate mounting, as shown in FIG.", "1, the first perforated tube 3 is provided with a first flange 31 and a second flange 32 that extend outward radially, and the second perforated tube 4 is transited to the second end pipe section 8 through a step 41.During mounting, the first flange 31 is pressed against the step 41, an end 42 of the second perforated tube 4 is embedded into a receiving groove 33 formed in the second flange 32, and the outer housing 2 is mounted over the second perforated tube 4, so that one end of the outer housing 2 is attached to the second end pipe section 8 and the step 41, and the other end is connected to the second flange 32.All portions that need to be connected may implement connection by means of, for example, soldering.", "Definitely, the first flange 31 may also be omitted, that is, the end of the first perforated tube 3 is directly pressed against the step 41.The silencer needs three members in total, being simple in structure and convenient in mounting, thereby greatly reducing the manufacturing cost.", "It should be noted that the silencer 1 shown in FIG.", "1 has two chambers communicated with each other in the radial direction relative to the air flow.", "Definitely, the number of chambers is not limited to two, and more chambers are available.", "On the other hand, the silencer 1 shown in FIG.", "1 is provided with two chambers communicated with each other and arranged radially in the whole circumference; however, the present invention is not limited to this arrangement.", "According to requirements, for example, specific limits of the mounting space, it may also be allowed that two chambers communicated with each other are provided on a part of the circumference.", "For example, two chambers may be disposed merely at one side of the first perforated tube 3.For a person skilled in the art, although the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 shown in FIG.", "1 are both annular, the first chamber and the second chamber are not limited to these criteria, and any advantageous shape may be designed according to requirements as long as the two chambers (or more chambers) are arranged radially relative to each other and communicated with each other.", "According to a preferred embodiment, the second chamber may be designed as a box-shaped structure.", "The box-shaped structure has a radially-outward opening and a cover plate for closing the opening.", "The cover plate is preferably connected to the opening by snapping, thereby simplifying mounting and manufacturing processes.", "Moreover, according to the technical idea of the present invention, the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 may also have different axial lengths, and definitely, may also have different dimensions in other directions, as long as the first chamber and the second chamber are arranged at least partially in a radial position relation relative to each other.", "To better understand the technical idea of the present invention, FIG.", "2 shows some simplified schematic diagrams, for illustrating some possible arrangements, position relations and size relations between the first chamber and the second chamber, where, an arrow indicates a flowing direction of the air flow passing through the first perforated tube.", "In a) and b) of FIG.", "2, the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 are partially staggered in an axial direction of flowing of the air flow, and the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 have different sizes.", "In c) of FIG.", "2, the first chamber 5 is completely covered by the second chamber 6 in the axial direction, and in d) of FIG.", "2, the first chamber 5 completely covers the second chamber 6 in the axial direction.", "In e) and f) of FIG.", "2, the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 are partially overlapped in a radial direction relative to the air flow.", "It should be noted that FIG.", "2 merely shows some possible arrangement solutions, and they are not exhaustive.", "According to actual situations, other suitable arrangement solutions are viable, as long as the first chamber and the second chamber at least partially form a radial position relative to each other.", "FIG.", "3 shows a simplified schematic diagram of a perforated broadband silencer according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, where an arrow indicates a flowing direction of an air flow passing through a first perforated tube.", "As shown in FIG.", "3, the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 are both partitioned into multiple sub-chambers by perforated partition plates 10 substantially extending radially and/or axially.", "Specifically, the first chamber 5 is partitioned into three sub-chambers 51, 52 and 53, and the second chamber 6 is also partitioned into three sub-chambers 61, 62 and 63.The sub-chamber 51 is axially communicated with the sub-chamber 52, and the sub-chamber 52 is also axially communicated with the sub-chamber 53.Similarly, the sub-chamber 61 is axially communicated with the sub-chamber 62, and the sub-chamber 62 is also axially communicated with the sub-chamber 63.Moreover, the sub-chamber 51 is radially communicated with the sub-chamber 61.Similarly, the sub-chamber 52 is radially communicated with the sub-chamber 62, and the sub-chamber 53 is radially communicated with the sub-chamber 63.It can be seen that the sub-chambers are communicated with one another.", "This structure actually can be considered a serial connection of the structure shown in FIG.", "1.For persons skilled in the art, the embodiment shown in FIG.", "3 is definitely exemplary.", "In fact, the first chamber 5 and the second chamber 6 may also adopt other partition manners.", "Even some sub-chambers may be omitted according to actual requirements, and some axially adjacent sub-chambers may not be communicated with each other; all these solutions fall within the scope of the present invention.", "The basic idea of the perforated silencer of the present invention lies in that multiple chambers communicated with each other and arranged at least partially in a radial position relation relative to each other are provided at least in a partial circumferential region.", "By means of this structure, the silencer may achieve a better broadband silencing effect.", "Although the perforated silencer is described by using a silencer for an air inlet system of a vehicle engine as an example, for persons skilled in the art, the perforated silencer definitely can be applied to other scenarios that require silencing the air flow.", "Specific implementation manners of the present invention are described in detail here; however, they are provided merely for explanation, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.", "Various replacements, variations and modifications may be conceived without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15875074
[ [ "AID REASSIGNMENT METHOD, AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING SAID AID REASSIGNMENT METHOD", "Disclosed are an AID reassignment method capable of optimally operating a wireless LAN system, and an apparatus for performing the AID reassignment method.", "The method comprises the steps of: generating a reconnection request frame for an AID reassignment request; transmitting the generated reconnection request frame to the currently associated access point; and receiving a reconnection response frame including AID reassignment information from the access point.", "Thus, the AID of the currently associated terminal can be dynamically reassigned according to a change in the characteristics of the terminal, thus operating a wireless LAN system in an optimum manner." ], [ "1.A method by a terminal for performing an association ID (AID) reassignment request, the method comprising: establishing, by the terminal, an association with an access point, wherein an AID is assigned to a station by establishing the association; generating, by the terminal to which a first AID has been assigned by the access point with which the terminal is currently associated, a request frame for an AID reassignment request; transmitting the generated request frame to the access point with which the terminal is currently associated; and receiving a response frame including information on a second AID from the access point with which the terminal is currently associated, wherein the second AID different from the first AID is used as a new AID of the terminal, wherein the request frame includes first information indicating whether service type information is included in the request frame or not, and comprises service type information of the terminal according to the first information, and wherein the AID reassignment request is performed when a service type of the terminal being changed.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the request frame includes an AID reassignment request element.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the request frame includes second information indicating whether listen interval information is included in the request frame or not, and comprises listen interval information of the terminal according to the second information.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the AID reassignment request is performed when a listen interval of the terminal being changed.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the request frame is a reassociation request frame, and the response frame is a reassociation response frame.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein the request frame is an AID assignment request frame for AID change, and the response frame is an AID assignment response frame for AID change.", "7.A method by an access point for performing an association ID (AID) reassignment, the method comprising: establishing, by the access point, an association with a station, wherein an AID is assigned to the station by establishing the association; receiving, from a terminal which is currently associated with the access point and a first AID having been assigned to the terminal by the access point, a request frame for AID reassignment request; and transmitting a response frame including information on a second AID to the terminal, wherein the second AID different from the first AID is used as a new AID of the terminal, wherein the request frame includes first information indicating whether service type information is included in the request frame or not, and comprises service type information of the terminal according to the first information, and wherein the AID reassignment request is performed when a service type of the terminal being changed.", "8.The method of claim 7, wherein the request frame includes an AID reassignment request element.", "9.The method of claim 7, wherein the request frame includes second information indicating whether listen interval information is included in the request frame or not, and comprises listen interval information of the terminal according to the second information.", "10.The method of claim 7, wherein the AID reassignment request is performed when a listen interval of the terminal being changed.", "11.The method of claim 7, wherein the request frame is a reassociation request frame, and the response frame is a reassociation response frame.", "12.The method of claim 7, wherein the request frame is an AID assignment request frame for AID change, and the response frame is an AID assignment response frame for AID change.", "13.A terminal for performing an association ID (AID) reassignment request, the terminal comprising: a transceiver; and a processor; wherein the processor is configured to: establish, by the terminal, an association with an access point, wherein an AID is assigned to a station by establishing the association; generate, when a first AID has been assigned to the terminal by the access point with which the terminal is currently associated, a request frame for an AID reassignment request; transmit, using the transceiver, the generated request frame to the access point with which the terminal is currently associated; and receive, using the transceiver, a response frame including information on a second AID from the access point with which the terminal is currently associated, wherein the second AID different from the first AID is used as a new AID of the terminal, wherein the request frame includes first information indicating whether service type information is included in the request frame or not, and comprises service type information of the terminal according to the first information, and wherein the AID reassignment request is performed when a service type of the terminal being changed.", "14.An access point for performing an association ID (AID) reassignment, the access point comprising: a transceiver; and a processor; wherein the processor is configured to: establish, by the access point, an association with a station, wherein an AID is assigned to the station by establishing the association; receive, using the transceiver, from a terminal which is currently associated with the access point and a first AID having been assigned to the terminal by the access point, a request frame for AID reassignment request; and transmit, using the transceiver, a response frame including information on a second AID to the terminal, wherein the second AID different from the first AID is used as a new AID of the terminal, wherein the request frame includes first information indicating whether service type information is included in the request frame or not, and comprises service type information of the terminal according to the first information, and wherein the AID reassignment request is performed when a service type of the terminal being changed.", "15.The access point of claim 14, wherein the request frame includes an AID reassignment request element.", "16.The access point of claim 14, wherein the request frame includes second information indicating whether listen interval information is included in the request frame or not, and comprises listen interval information of the terminal according to the second information.", "17.The access point of claim 14, wherein the AID reassignment request is performed when a listen interval of the terminal being changed.", "18.The access point of claim 14, wherein the request frame is a reassociation request frame, and the response frame is a reassociation response frame.", "19.The access point of claim 14, wherein the request frame is an AID assignment request frame for AID change, and the response frame is an AID assignment response frame for AID change." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Accordingly, example embodiments of the present invention are provided to substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.", "Example embodiments of the present invention provide a method of reassigning an association ID (AID), which may optimally operate a wireless local area network (WLAN) system according to a change in characteristics of a terminal.", "Example embodiments of the present invention also provide an apparatus for performing the AID reassignment method.", "In some example embodiments, a method of reassigning an association ID (AID), which is performed by a terminal, the method includes generating a reassociation request frame for an AID reassignment request, transmitting the generated reassociation request frame to a currently associated access point, and receiving a reassociation response frame including AID reassignment information from the access point.", "The generating of the reassociation request frame for the AID reassignment request may include generating the reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The AID reassignment cause field may include at least one of service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "The reassociation request frame may further include a service type element, and when the AID reassignment cause field includes the service type change information, the service type element may include a service type that is changed based on the service type change information.", "The method may further include determining whether the AID reassignment is needed.", "The determining of whether the AID reassignment is needed may include determining whether the AID reassignment is needed based on at least one of traffic pattern information, battery information, and service type information of the terminal.", "In other example embodiments, a method of reassigning an association ID (AID), which is performed by an access point, the method includes receiving a reassociation request frame from a currently associated terminal, reassigning an AID of the terminal based on the reassociation request frame, and transmitting a reassociation response frame including the reassigned AID to the terminal.", "The receiving of the reassociation request frame from the currently associated terminal may include receiving the reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element from the currently associated terminal.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The reassigning of the AID of the terminal based on the reassociation request frame may include checking a current AP address, a service set ID (SSID), and the AID reassignment request element included in the reassociation request frame and reassigning the AID of the terminal based on the AID reassignment cause included in the AID reassignment request element when the reassociation request frame is checked to be the AID reassignment request.", "The reassociation response frame may include at least one of AID reassignment success information, AID reassignment failure information, and information on the reassigned AID.", "In still other example embodiments, a terminal includes a transceiving unit and a processing unit configured to generate a reassociation request frame for an association ID (AID) reassignment request; transmit the generated reassociation request frame to a currently associated access point; and receive a reassociation response frame including AID reassignment information from the access point.", "The processing unit may generate a reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The AID reassignment cause field may include at least one of service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "The processing unit may determine whether the AID reassignment is needed based on at least one of the traffic pattern information, battery information, and service type information of the terminal.", "In yet still other example embodiments, an access point includes a communication unit and a processing unit configured to reassign an association ID (AID) of a terminal based on a reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element received from the terminal through the communication unit and transmit a reassociation response frame including the reassigned AID to the terminal through the communication unit.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The processing unit may check a current AP address, a service set ID (SSID), and the AID reassignment request element included in the reassociation request frame and, when the reassociation request frame is checked to be an AID reassignment request, reassign the AID of the terminal based on the AID reassignment cause included in the AID reassignment request element." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM FOR PRIORITY This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/411,302, filed on Dec. 24, 2014, which is a National Stage of International Patent Application No.", "PCT/KR2013/005756, filed on Jun.", "28, 2013, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.", "10-2012-0069980, filed on Jun.", "28, 2012 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "BACKGROUND 1.Technical Field Example embodiments of the present invention relate in general to a wireless communication technology and more specifically to a method of reassigning an association ID (AID) and an apparatus for performing the same, which allow an optimal operation of a wireless local area network (WLAN) system according to a change in characteristics of a terminal.", "2.Related Art Various wireless communication techniques are being developed along with the recent development of an information communication technology.", "In particular, wireless local area network (WLAN) is a technology that can provide a wireless connection to the Internet in a limited service area such as a home or office building using portable terminals, for example, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop computer, and a portable multimedia player (PMP) based on a wireless frequency technology.", "Standards for WLAN technology is developed and standardized by IEEE 802.11 working group (WG) in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) 802.11.IEEE 802.11a provides a maximum PHY data rate of 54 Mbps using 5 GHz unlicensed band.", "IEEE 802.11b provides a maximum PHY data rate of 11 Mbps by using direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) in 2.4 GHz band.", "IEEE 802.11g supports a maximum PHY data rate of 54 Mbps by using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in 2.4 GHz band.", "IEEE 802.11n provides a maximum PHY data rate of 300 Mbps using 40 MHz bandwidth with two spatial streams and a maximum PHY data rate of 600 Mbps using 40 MHz bandwidth with four spatial streams.", "Along with the wide deployment of WLAN and the diversification of applications using WLAN, new WLAN techniques are increasingly needed to support higher throughput than IEEE 802.11n.", "Very high throughput (VHT) WLAN is one of 802.11 WLAN techniques, which is proposed to support a data processing rate of 1 Gbps or more.", "In particular, IEEE 802.11ac is developed as a standard for providing a very high throughput on the 5 GHz band, and IEEE 802.11ad is developed as a standard for providing a very high throughput on the 60 GHz band.", "In systems based on the WLAN techniques, an access point assigns individual association IDs (AIDs) to terminals in the order in which the terminals are associated with the access point.", "However, when 6,000 or more terminals are required to be supported (for example, 802.11ah), the access point groups terminals having similar characteristics and assigns AIDs to the grouped terminals to perform effective management.", "That is, the access point may adjust a network traffic amount and a simultaneous channel access amount by grouping a plurality of terminal in units of pages and setting traffic indication map (TIM) elements at different periods.", "When the traffic is overloaded at a TIM setting period, AIDs are needed to be reassigned to change some of terminals in a specific page group to another page group.", "In addition, when a service type or a traffic characteristic of a terminal is changed, the AID is needed to be correspondingly reassigned.", "In order to the above-described need, research is being conducted on an AID assignment request, but a detailed method for AID assignment is not yet revealed.", "SUMMARY Accordingly, example embodiments of the present invention are provided to substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.", "Example embodiments of the present invention provide a method of reassigning an association ID (AID), which may optimally operate a wireless local area network (WLAN) system according to a change in characteristics of a terminal.", "Example embodiments of the present invention also provide an apparatus for performing the AID reassignment method.", "In some example embodiments, a method of reassigning an association ID (AID), which is performed by a terminal, the method includes generating a reassociation request frame for an AID reassignment request, transmitting the generated reassociation request frame to a currently associated access point, and receiving a reassociation response frame including AID reassignment information from the access point.", "The generating of the reassociation request frame for the AID reassignment request may include generating the reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The AID reassignment cause field may include at least one of service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "The reassociation request frame may further include a service type element, and when the AID reassignment cause field includes the service type change information, the service type element may include a service type that is changed based on the service type change information.", "The method may further include determining whether the AID reassignment is needed.", "The determining of whether the AID reassignment is needed may include determining whether the AID reassignment is needed based on at least one of traffic pattern information, battery information, and service type information of the terminal.", "In other example embodiments, a method of reassigning an association ID (AID), which is performed by an access point, the method includes receiving a reassociation request frame from a currently associated terminal, reassigning an AID of the terminal based on the reassociation request frame, and transmitting a reassociation response frame including the reassigned AID to the terminal.", "The receiving of the reassociation request frame from the currently associated terminal may include receiving the reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element from the currently associated terminal.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The reassigning of the AID of the terminal based on the reassociation request frame may include checking a current AP address, a service set ID (SSID), and the AID reassignment request element included in the reassociation request frame and reassigning the AID of the terminal based on the AID reassignment cause included in the AID reassignment request element when the reassociation request frame is checked to be the AID reassignment request.", "The reassociation response frame may include at least one of AID reassignment success information, AID reassignment failure information, and information on the reassigned AID.", "In still other example embodiments, a terminal includes a transceiving unit and a processing unit configured to generate a reassociation request frame for an association ID (AID) reassignment request; transmit the generated reassociation request frame to a currently associated access point; and receive a reassociation response frame including AID reassignment information from the access point.", "The processing unit may generate a reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The AID reassignment cause field may include at least one of service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "The processing unit may determine whether the AID reassignment is needed based on at least one of the traffic pattern information, battery information, and service type information of the terminal.", "In yet still other example embodiments, an access point includes a communication unit and a processing unit configured to reassign an association ID (AID) of a terminal based on a reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element received from the terminal through the communication unit and transmit a reassociation response frame including the reassigned AID to the terminal through the communication unit.", "The AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "The processing unit may check a current AP address, a service set ID (SSID), and the AID reassignment request element included in the reassociation request frame and, when the reassociation request frame is checked to be an AID reassignment request, reassign the AID of the terminal based on the AID reassignment cause included in the AID reassignment request element.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Example embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail example embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 is a conceptual view showing a configuration of an IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "2 is a conceptual view showing an association process for data transmission in a WLAN system; FIG.", "3 is a conceptual view showing a TIM element format; FIG.", "4 is a conceptual view showing a mechanism of a power save mode in a WLAN system; FIG.", "5 is a conceptual view showing a hierarchical AID structure; FIG.", "6 is a conceptual view showing a TIM element that is set at different periods from a grouped page; FIG.", "7 is a conceptual view showing a reassociation request frame structure; FIG.", "8 is a flowchart showing a TIM reassignment method performed by a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "9 is a conceptual view showing a reassociation request frame structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "10 is a conceptual view showing an AID reassignment request element format according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "11 is a conceptual view showing an AID reassignment cause field according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "12 is a conceptual view showing a service type element format according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "13 is a flowchart showing a TIM reassignment method performed by an access point according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "14 is a conceptual view showing a reassignment response frame structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.", "15 is a view showing a configuration of a terminal that performs an AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG.", "16 is a view showing a configuration of a terminal that performs an AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Since the present invention may be variously modified and have several exemplary embodiments, specific exemplary embodiments will be shown in the accompanying drawings and be described in detail in a detailed description.", "However, it should be understood that the particular embodiments are not intended to limit the present disclosure to specific forms, but rather the present disclosure is meant to cover all modification, similarities, and alternatives which are included in the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.", "may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.", "For example, a first component may be designated as a second component, and similarly, the second component may be designated as the second component.", "The use of the term of ‘and/or’ means that combination of a plurality of related and described items or one items among a plurality of related and described items is included.", "When it is mentioned that a certain component is “coupled with” or “connected with” another component, it may be understood that another component can exist between the two components although the component can be directly coupled or connected with the another component.", "Meanwhile, when it is mentioned that a certain component is “directly coupled with” or “directly connected with” another component, it has to be understood that another component does not exist between the two components.", "In the following description, the technical terms are used only for explaining a specific exemplary embodiment while not limiting the present disclosure.", "Singular forms used herein are intended to include plural forms unless explicitly indicated otherwise.", "It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or a combination thereof.", "Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.", "Terms such as terms that are generally used and have been in dictionaries should be construed as having meanings matched with contextual meanings in the art.", "In this description, unless defined clearly, terms are not ideally, excessively construed as formal meanings.", "Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "In describing the invention, in order to facilitate the entire understanding of the invention, like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description of the figures and the repetitive description thereof will be omitted.", "Throughout this specification, a station (hereinafter also referred to as an STA) is any functional medium including a medium access control (MAC) and wireless-medium physical layer (PHY) interface conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard.", "The STA may include an access point (AP) STA and non-AP STA.", "The AP STA may be simply referred to as an access point (hereinafter also referred to as an AP), and the non-AP STA is simply referred to as a terminal.", "The STA includes a processor and a transceiver, and may further include a user interface, a display device, and so on.", "The processor is a functional unit devised to generate a frame to be transmitted through a wireless network or to process a frame received through the wireless network, and performs various functions to control the STA.", "The transceiver is functionally connected to the processor and is a functional unit devised to transmit and receive a frame for the STA through the wireless network.", "The AP may be called a convergence controller, a base station (BS), a node-B, an eNode0B, a base transceiver system, or a site controller, and may include some or all of functions thereof.", "The terminal may be called a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a user terminal (UT), a wireless terminal, an access terminal (AT), a subscriber unit, a subscriber station (SS), a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU), a mobile node, a mobile, or the like.", "Examples of the terminal may include, but are not limited to, a cellular phone, a smart phone with a wireless communication function, a personal digital assistant (PDA) with a wireless communication function, a wireless modem, a portable computer with a wireless communication function, an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera with a wireless communication function, a gaming apparatus with a wireless communication function, a home appliance for storing and playing music files with a wireless communication function, an Internet home appliance capable of wireless Internet connection and browsing as well as portable units or terminals incorporating combinations of the functions.", "FIG.", "1 is a conceptual view showing a configuration of an IEEE 802.11 WLAN system according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, the IEEE 802.11 WLAN system includes at least one basic service set (BSS).", "The BBS denotes a set of stations STA 1, STA 2 (AP 1), STA 3, STA 4, STA 5 (AP 2) that may be successfully synchronized to communicate with one another, but does not denote a certain region.", "The BBS may be classified into an infrastructure BSS and an independent BSS (IBSS).", "BBS 1 and BBS 2 denote the infrastructure BSS.", "BBS 1 may include a terminal STA 1, an access point STA 2 (AP 1) that provides a distribution service, and a distribution system (DS) that connects a plurality of access points STA 2 (AP 1) and STA 5 (AP 2).", "In BSS 1, the access point STA 2 (AP 1) manages the terminal STA 1.BBS 2 may include the terminals STA 3 and STA 4, an access point STA 5 (AP 2) that provides a distribution service, and a distribution system that connects the plurality of access points STA 2 (AP 1) and STA 5 (AP 2).", "In BSS 2, the access point STA 5 (AP 2) manages the terminals STA 3 and STA 4.The independent BSS (IBSS) is a BSS that operates in an ad-hoc mode.", "Since the IBSS does not include an access point, there is no centralized management entity for performing a central management function.", "That is, in the IBSS, terminals are managed in a distributed manner.", "The IBSS is a self-contained network, in which all terminals may be mobile terminals and may be disallowed to access the distribution system (DS).", "The access points STA 2 (AP 1) and STA 5 (AP 2) provide a connection to the DS through a wireless medium for the associated terminals STA 1, STA 3 and STA 4.In BSS 1 or BSS 2, generally, a communication between the terminals STA 1, STA 3, and STA 4 is made through the access points STA 2 (AP 1) and STA 5 (AP 2).", "However, when a direct link is established, a direct communication between the terminals STA 1, STA 3, and STA 4 is enabled.", "A plurality of infrastructure BBSs may be interconnected through the DS.", "The plurality of BBSs connected to each other through the DS is called an extended service set (ESS).", "STAs included in the ESS may communicate with each other, and within the same ESS, a terminal may move from one BSS to another BSS while communicating in a seamless manner.", "The DS is a mechanism in which one AP communicates with another AP.", "By using the DS, an AP may transmit a frame to terminals that is associated with a BSS managed by the AP, or transmit a frame to a terminal that has moved to another BSS.", "In addition, the AP may transmit and receive a frame to and from an external network such as a wired network.", "The DS is not necessarily a network and has no limitation in its form as long as a predetermined distribution service specified in the IEEE 802.11 standard can be provided.", "For example, the DS may be a wireless network such as a mesh network, or may be a physical structure for interconnecting APs.", "An AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be described below, may be applied to the above IEEE 802.11 WLAN system and also various networks such as a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a wireless body area network (WBAN), and so on.", "FIG.", "2 is a conceptual view showing an association process for data transmission in a WLAN system.", "In order for a terminal STA to transmit and receive data in an infrastructure BSS, first, the terminal STA should be associated with an AP.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, the association process of the terminal STA in the infrastructure BSS may include: 1) probe step of probing an AP, 2) authentication step of authenticating the probed AP, and 3) association step of associating with the authenticated AP.", "First, the terminal STA may probe neighboring APs through the probe process.", "The probe process includes a passive scanning method and an active scanning method.", "The passive scanning method may be performed by overhearing beacons that are transmitted by the neighboring APs.", "On the other hand, the active scanning method may be performed by broadcasting a probe request frame.", "Upon receiving the probe request frame, the AP may transmit a probe response frame corresponding to the probe request frame to the terminal STA.", "The terminal STA may check the presence of the neighboring APs by receiving the probe response frame.", "Subsequently, the terminal STA performs authentication with the probed APs, and may perform the authentication with the plurality of APs.", "An authentication algorithm conforming to the IEEE 802.11 standard includes an open system algorithm that exchanges two authentication frames and a shared key algorithm that exchanges four authentication frames.", "Through a process of exchanging the authentication request frame and the authentication response frame based on the authentication algorithm, the terminal STA may perform authentication with the AP.", "Last, the terminal STA selects one AP from among the authenticated plurality of APs and performs an association process with the selected AP.", "That is, the terminal STA transmits an association request frame to the selected AP.", "Upon receiving the association request frame, the AP transmits the terminal STA to an association response frame corresponding to the association request frame.", "As such, through the process of exchanging the association request frame and the association response frame, the terminal STA may perform the association process with the AP.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram showing an element of a traffic indication map (TIM) included in a beacon according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "In the IEEE 802.11 WLAN system, when there is data to be transmitted to the terminal, the AP notifies the terminal that there is data to be transmitted using a TIM in a beacon frame that is periodically transmitted.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, the TIM includes an element ID field, a length field, a delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) count field, a DTIM period field, a bitmap control field, and a partial virtual bitmap field.", "The length field indicates a length of an information field.", "The DTIM count field indicates the number of beacons before the DTIM.", "When a DTIM count is 0, a current TIM is the DTIM.", "The DTIM count field is composed of 1 octet.", "The DTIM period field indicates the number of beacon intervals between consecutive DTIMs.", "If all TIMs are the DTIMs, a value of the DTIM period field is 1.The DTIM period field is composed of 1 octet.", "The bitmap control field is composed of 1 octet, and a bit number 0 of the bitmap control field denotes a traffic indicator bit that is associated with an association ID (AID) 0.When the bit is set as 1 and the value of the DTIM count field is 0, it can be seen that at least one multicast or broadcast frame is buffered in the AP.", "The remaining 7 bits of the bitmap control field form a bitmap offset.", "Since the length field of the TIM element format is 1 octet, the partial virtual bitmap may have up to 251 octets, which may represent a total of 2,007 (8×251−1) terminals.", "In addition, each bit of the partial virtual bitmap field corresponds to a traffic that is buffered for a specific terminal.", "In a case in which an AID of any terminal is N, a bit number N of the partial virtual bitmap field is set as 0 when there is no buffered traffic and the bit number N of the partial virtual bitmap field is set as 1 when there is buffered traffic.", "FIG.", "4 is a conceptual view showing a data transmission process of an access point according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, the AP broadcasts a beacon periodically and may broadcast a beacon including the DTIM at every 3 beacon intervals.", "The terminals STA 1 and STA2 periodically wake up from a power save mode (PSM) and receive the beacon, and check the TIM or DTIM included in the beacon to determine whether the data to be transmitted to the terminals is buffered in the AP.", "In this case, when there is the buffered data, the terminals STA 1 and STA 2 maintain awake and receive the data from the AP.", "When there is no buffered data, the terminals STA 1 and STA 2 return to the PSM (that is, a doze state).", "That is, when a bit in the TIM corresponding to an AID of the terminal STA 1 or STA 2 is set as 1, the terminal STA 1 or STA 2 transmits, to the AP, a power save (PS)-Poll frame (or a trigger frame) that informs the AP that the terminal STA is awake and ready to receive data.", "The AP may determine that the terminal STA 1 or STA 2 is ready to receive the data by receiving the PS-Poll frame and then may transmit the data or an acknowledgement (ACK) to the terminal STA 1 or STA 2.When the AP transmits the ACK to the terminal STA 1 or STA 2, the AP transmits data to the terminal STA 1 or STA 2 at an appropriate time.", "On the other hand, when the bit in the TIM corresponding to the AID of the terminal STA 1 or STA 2 is set as 0, the terminal STA 1 or STA 2 returns to the PSM.", "FIG.", "5 is a conceptual view showing a hierarchical AID structure, FIG.", "6 is a conceptual view showing a TIM element that is set at different periods from a grouped page, and FIG.", "7 is a conceptual view showing a reassociation request frame structure.", "Referring to FIG.", "5, the hierarchical AID structure may include a page ID, a block index, and an STA bit position index in a sub-block.", "Through the above-described hierarchical AID structure, 2,007 terminals or more may be represented and managed as a TIM bitmap.", "Referring to FIG.", "6, the AP groups a plurality of terminals in units of pages to set a TIM element at different periods according to characteristics of a terminal.", "For example, if terminals belonging to Page 1 have a small amount of traffic, the TIM element is set to the DTIM beacon for the terminals belonging to Page 1.In addition, if terminals belonging to Page 2 have a large amount of traffic, the TIM element may be set to every beacon for the terminals belong to Page 2, thus simultaneously controlling the amount of traffic and the amount of channel connection.", "However, the AID of the terminal is needed to be reassigned when a service type of the terminal that is grouped in units of pages is changed (for example, the terminal has a different traffic pattern), when a remaining battery life of the terminal is changed, or when a listen interval is needed to be changed.", "Typically, the terminal uses the reassociation request frame as shown in FIG.", "7 to reassign an AID of the terminal.", "However, generally, the reassociation request frame shown in FIG.", "7 is a frame that is transmitted by the terminal to connect to an AP of a different basic service set (BSS) in an extended service set (ESS), That is, when the terminal requests an AID reassociation to the currently associated access point, the terminal does not have to transmit a reassociation request frame including all information elements as shown in FIG.", "7.FIG.", "8 is a flowchart showing a TIM reassignment method performed by a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "8, the terminal 100 determines whether the AID reassignment is currently needed (S810).", "Here, the terminal 100 may determine whether the AID reassignment is needed based on traffic pattern information, battery information, and service type information of the terminal 100.For example, when a transmission traffic amount is significantly reduced, or when a remaining battery life is less than a predetermined amount, the terminal determines that the AID reassignment is needed to wake up at longer intervals than before.", "When it is determined through operation S810 that the AID reassignment is needed, the terminal 100 generates a reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element (S820).", "Here, the terminal 100 generates a reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element.", "In addition, since the reassociation request frame is a frame that is transmitted to a currently associated AP, the reassociation request frame may include a capability field, a listen interval field, a current AP address field, a service set identifier (SSID) field, a supported rates field, and the AID reassignment request element.", "In addition, the AID reassignment request element may include an element ID field, a length field, and an AID reassignment cause field.", "Here, the AID reassignment cause field may include service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "In addition, the reassociation request frame may further include a service type element.", "As such, when the reassociation request frame further includes the service type element, the terminal 100 may add, to the service type element, a service type that is changed based on the service type change information of the terminal 100 included in the AID reassignment cause field.", "The terminal 100 transmits the reassociation request frame generated through operation S820 to a currently associated AP (S830).", "Subsequently, the terminal 100 receives, from the AP, a reassignment response frame including the reassigned AID as a response to the reassociation request frame that is transmitted through operation S830 (S840).", "The above description of the AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention has exemplified the AID reassignment cause in a case in which the service type is changed, the terminal is changed to a low power mode according to a remaining batter situation, or the listen interval is needed to be changed.", "However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the AID reassignment cause is not limited as long as the gist of the present invention is not impaired.", "The above-described reassociation request frame structure, an AID reassignment request element format, an AID reassignment cause field, and a service type element format will be described below with reference to FIGS.", "9 to 12.FIG.", "9 is a conceptual view showing a reassociation request frame structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.", "10 is a conceptual view showing an AID reassignment request element format according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.", "11 is a conceptual view showing an AID reassignment cause field according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.", "12 is a conceptual view showing a service type element format according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "9, when it is determined that the reassignment of the AID of the terminal 100 is needed, the terminal 100 transmits a reassociation request frame to the currently associated AP 200.Here, since the AP 200 is the currently associated AP 200, an extended supported rates element, a power capability element, a supported channels element, a robust security network (RSN) element, a quality of service (QoS) capability element, an RM enabled capabilities element, and a mobility domain element may be excluded from the existing reassociation request frame.", "In addition, the reassociation request frame that is transmitted by the terminal 100 to the AP 200 may include a capability element, a listen interval element, a current AP address element, an SSID element, and a supported rates element, and may additionally include an AID reassignment request element and a service type element to request AID reassignment.", "Referring to FIG.", "10, the AID reassignment request element may include 1 octet element ID field, 1 octet length field, and 1 octet AID reassignment cause field.", "In particular, as described in FIG.", "11, the cause for requesting the AID reassignment may be represented in units of bits in the AID reassignment cause field.", "Here, the AID reassignment cause field may include cases in which (1) a service type is changed, that is, a service type of an application layer is changed (for example, the change of the traffic pattern), (2) the terminal is changed to a low power mode according to a remaining battery life, and (3) the listen interval is needed to be changed.", "In addition, the AID reassignment cause field may additionally include any case when the AID is needed to be reassigned.", "Referring to FIG.", "12, when the service type is changed, an AID reassignment cause may add the changed service type to the service type element among the reassociation request frame shown in FIG.", "9.Here, the service type element may include an element ID, a length, and a service type.", "FIG.", "13 is a flowchart showing a TIM reassignment method performed by an access point according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.", "14 is a conceptual view showing a reassignment response frame structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "13, the AP 200 receives a reassociation request frame including the AID reassignment request element from the terminal 100 (S1310).", "Here, the AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field that represents a cause for requesting the AID reassignment.", "The AID reassignment cause field may include service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "The AP 200 checks an AP address element, an SSID element, and an AID reassignment request element, which are included in the reassociation request frame received through operation S1310 (S1320) and determines whether the received reassociation request frame is checked to be an AID reassignment request (S1330).", "Here, the AP 200 may check that the terminal 100 is the currently associated terminal through the check of the AP address and the SSID and may determine whether the reassociation request frame is an AID reassignment request through the check of the AID reassignment request element.", "When the reassociation request frame received through operation S1330 is an AID reassignment request, the AP 200 reassigns an AID of the terminal 100 based on an AID assignment cause included in the AID reassignment request element (S1340).", "Specifically, the AP 200 may reassign the AID such that the terminal 100 wakes up at every beacon when the AID assignment cause is that the amount of traffic of the terminal 100 increases.", "On the other hand, when the amount of traffic of the terminal 100 decreases, the AP 200 may reassign the AID such that the terminal 100 wakes up at longer intervals than before.", "Alternatively, when the remaining batter is almost empty, or when the listen interval is needed to be long, the AP 200 may reassign the AID such that the terminal 100 wakes up at longer intervals than before.", "Here, the AP 200 may add the AID reassignment result to the reassignment response frame shown in FIG.", "7.That is, the AP 200 may add a success or failure of the AID reassignment succeeds or fails to the status code, and may add the reassigned AID value to the AID field.", "Subsequently, the AP 200 transmits, to the terminal 100, the reassociation response frame including the AID that is reassigned through operation S1340 (S1350).", "In the AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to add some fields to the reassociation request frame and dynamically reassign the AID of the currently associated terminal to optimally operate a WLAN system.", "Elements to be described below are elements defined not by physical properties but by functional properties.", "Thus, each element may be defined by its function.", "Each element may be implemented as hardware and/or a program code and a processing unit for performing its function.", "The functions of two or more elements may be implemented to be included in one element.", "Accordingly, it should be noted that names of elements in an embodiment to be described below are not given to physically classify the elements but given to imply representative functions performed by the elements, and the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by the names of the elements.", "FIG.", "15 is a view showing a configuration of a terminal that performs an AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "15, the terminal 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a transceiving unit 110 and a processing unit 120.The transceiving unit 110 may perform communication with the AP 200 or another terminal based on a control of the processing unit 120.The processing unit 120 determines whether the AID reassignment is needed.", "Here, the processing unit 120 may determine whether the AID reassignment is needed based on the traffic pattern information, battery information, and service type information of the terminal 100.In addition, when the AID reassignment is determined to be needed, the processing unit generates the reassociation request frame including the AID reassignment request element.", "Specifically, the processing unit 120 generates a reassociation request frame including an AID reassignment request element.", "Here, since the reassociation request frame is a frame that is transmitted to a currently associated AP 200, the reassociation request frame may include a capability field, a listen interval field, a current AP address field, a service set identifier (SSID) field, a supported rates field, and the AID reassignment request element.", "In addition, the AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassignment cause field.", "Here, the AID reassignment cause field may include service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "In addition, when the reassociation request frame includes the service type element, the processing unit 120 may add, to the service type element, to a service type that is changed based on the service type change information of the terminal 100 included in the AID reassignment cause field.", "The processing unit 120 transmits a generated reassociation request frame to the currently associated AP 200 through the transceiving unit 110.Furthermore, the processing unit 120 receives a reassociation response frame including the AID reassigned from the AP 200 through the transceiving unit 110.The above description of the terminal that performs the AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention has exemplified the AID reassignment cause in a case in which the service type is changed, the terminal is changed to a low power mode according to a remaining batter situation, or the listen interval is needed to be changed.", "However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the AID reassignment cause is not limited as long as the gist of the present invention is not impaired.", "FIG.", "16 is a view showing a configuration of a terminal that performs an AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "Referring to FIG.", "16, the AP 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a communication unit 210 and a processing unit 220.The communication unit 210 may perform communication with nearby terminals based on a control of the processing unit 220.The processing unit 220 receives the reassociation request frame including the AID reassignment request element from the terminal 100 through the communication unit 210.Here, the AID reassignment request element may include an AID reassociation cause field that represents a cause to request the AID reassignment, and the AID reassignment cause field may include service type change information, low power mode information, listen interval change information, traffic pattern change information, and remaining battery information.", "The processing unit 220 determines whether the received reassociation request frame is the AID reassignment request.", "Here, the processing unit 220 may check that the terminal 100 is the currently associated terminal through the check of the AP address and the SSID and may determine whether the reassociation request frame is an AID reassignment request through the check of the AID reassignment request element.", "When the received reassociation request frame is an AID reassignment request, the processing unit 220 reassigns an AID of the terminal 100 based on an AID assignment cause included in the AID reassignment request element and generates a reassociation response frame including the reassigned AID.", "Here, the processing unit 220 may add a success or failure of the AID reassignment succeeds or fails to the status code among the reassociation response frame, and may add the reassigned AID value to the AID field.", "In addition, the processing unit 220 transmits the reassociation response frame including the reassigned AID to the terminal 100 through the communication unit 210.In the AP that performs the AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to add some fields to the reassociation request frame and dynamically reassign the AID of the currently associated terminal to optimally operate a WLAN system.", "According to the AID reassignment method and the apparatus that performs the AID reassignment method according to an embodiment of the present invention may include generating a reassociation request frame by adding an AID reassociation request element when the reassignment of an AID to a terminal is needed, transmitting the generated reassociation request frame to a currently associated access point, and receiving a reassociation response frame including AID reassignment information from the access point.", "Accordingly, the AID of the currently associated terminal may be dynamically reassigned according to a change in characteristics of the terminal to optimally operate a WLAN system.", "While the example embodiments of the present invention and their advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations may be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15875075
[ [ "PIEZOELECTRIC SPEAKERS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES", "An electronic device has an exterior housing with a piezoelectric speaker disposed in an opening formed within the housing.", "The piezoelectric speaker includes a speaker diaphragm that is secured within the opening with a vibration isolator.", "The vibration isolator allows the diaphragm to vibrate independently from the housing." ], [ "1.An electronic device comprising: a housing including a first transparent panel positioned opposite a second panel; a piezoelectric receiver attached to an interior surface of the first panel; and circuitry disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the piezoelectric receiver, the circuitry configured to cause the piezoelectric receiver to vibrate such that at least a portion of the first panel functions as a speaker diaphragm that produces sound waves external to the electronic device.", "2.The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the housing further includes a plurality of sidewalls that extend between the first panel and the second panel.", "3.The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the second panel is transparent.", "4.The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the first panel is glass.", "5.The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the first and the second panels are glass.", "6.The electronic device of claim 1 further comprising a processor disposed within the housing and coupled to the circuitry.", "7.The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the piezoelectric receiver includes a layer of piezoelectric material bonded to the interior surface of the first panel.", "8.An electronic device comprising: a housing including a glass region; a piezoelectric receiver attached to an interior surface of the glass region; circuitry disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the piezoelectric receiver, the circuitry configured to cause the piezoelectric receiver to vibrate such that at least a portion of the glass region functions as a speaker diaphragm that produces sound waves external to the electronic device.", "9.The electronic device of claim 8 wherein the glass region is a portion of a transparent panel.", "10.The electronic device of claim 9 wherein the panel is a first panel and the housing includes a second panel that is positioned opposite the first panel.", "11.The electronic device of claim 10 wherein the second panel is glass.", "12.The electronic device of claim 10 further comprising a plurality of sidewalls that extend between the first and the second panels.", "13.The electronic device of claim 8 further comprising a processor disposed within the housing and coupled to the circuitry.", "14.The electronic device of claim 8 wherein the piezoelectric receiver includes a layer of piezoelectric material bonded to the interior surface of the glass region.", "15.An electronic device comprising: a housing including a first transparent panel positioned opposite a second panel and one or more sidewalls extending between the first panel and the second panel; a piezoelectric receiver attached to an interior surface of the first panel; and circuitry disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the piezoelectric receiver, the circuitry configured to cause the piezoelectric receiver to vibrate such that at least a portion of the first panel functions as a speaker diaphragm that produces sound waves external to the electronic device.", "16.The electronic device of claim 15 wherein the first panel is glass.", "17.The electronic device of claim 15 wherein the second panel is glass.", "18.The electronic device of claim 15 further comprising a processor disposed within the housing and coupled to the circuitry.", "19.The electronic device of claim 15 wherein the piezoelectric receiver includes a layer of piezoelectric material bonded to the interior surface of the first panel.", "20.The electronic device of claim 19 wherein the layer of piezoelectric material moves in response to receiving electrical signals from the circuitry." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Currently there are a wide variety of electronic devices that include one or more speakers located within their exterior housings.", "Many of these electronic devices employ traditional voice coil speakers that involve relatively large and complex assemblies.", "However, electronic devices are becoming smaller and more feature rich, leaving less room for the relatively large and complex voice coil speakers." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to piezoelectric speakers and to electronic devices that include such speakers.", "Piezoelectric speakers according to embodiments of the disclosure can be relatively thin compared to traditional voice coil speakers, which in turn, allows devices that incorporate such piezoelectric speakers to be made smaller and/or enables the devices to have extra room for additional components.", "In some embodiments an electronic device according to the disclosure includes a housing having an exterior surface with an opening formed there through.", "A piezoelectric speaker, including a diaphragm and a piezoelectric receiver, is aligned with and fit within the opening.", "A vibration isolator is coupled between the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm and the housing to enable the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate independently from the housing.", "In some embodiments the vibration isolator is disposed around a periphery of the speaker diaphragm and creates a water tight seal between the speaker diaphragm and the housing.", "In various embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is coplanar with and colored to match the exterior surface of the housing such that it appears to be a portion of the housing.", "In some embodiments a plurality of piezoelectric speakers are used together to create an aggregate speaker with improved sound quality as compared to a unitary piezoelectric speaker.", "In some embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is made from a transparent material and in various embodiments the diaphragm and the housing are both made from a transparent material.", "In some embodiments circuitry is operatively coupled to the piezoelectric receiver and is configured to cause the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate and function as a speaker.", "In some embodiments an electronic device according to the disclosure includes a transparent cover disposed over a graphical display of the electronic device.", "The transparent cover has an opening formed there through and a piezoelectric speaker is aligned with the opening.", "The piezoelectric speaker can include a speaker diaphragm and a piezoelectric receiver attached to the speaker diaphragm.", "A vibration isolator is coupled between the speaker diaphragm and the transparent cover to enable the speaker diaphragm to vibrate independently from the transparent cover.", "In some embodiments the speaker diaphragm is made from a transparent material and is coplanar with the transparent cover.", "In various embodiments the piezoelectric receiver includes a layer of piezoelectric material bonded to the speaker diaphragm.", "In some embodiments the vibration isolator is arranged to cover a gap between the speaker diaphragm and the transparent cover creating a water tight seal between the speaker diaphragm and the transparent cover.", "In some embodiments a plurality of vibration isolators are disposed around a periphery of the speaker diaphragm.", "In various embodiments there are a plurality of speakers used together to create an aggregate speaker with improved sound quality.", "Each of the plurality of speakers can each have a separate diaphragm aligned with an opening within the transparent cover.", "In some embodiments circuitry is operatively coupled to the piezoelectric receiver and is configured to cause the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate and function as a speaker.", "In some embodiments an electronic device includes a housing having an exterior surface with an opening formed there through.", "A piezoelectric speaker is aligned with the opening and includes a piezoelectric receiver attached to the speaker diaphragm.", "A speaker driver circuit is configured to transmit electronic signals to the piezoelectric speaker receiver that make the speaker diaphragm vibrate.", "A vibration isolator is coupled between the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm and the housing to enable the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate independently from the housing.", "In some embodiments the vibration isolator is arranged to cover a gap between the speaker diaphragm and the housing to create a water tight seal between the speaker diaphragm and the housing.", "In various embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is coplanar with and colored to match the exterior surface of the housing such that it appears to be a portion of the housing.", "In some embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is made from a transparent material.", "In some embodiments the housing is made from a transparent material.", "In various embodiments there are a plurality of speaker diaphragms, each aligned with an opening within the housing.", "To better understand the nature and advantages of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the following description and the accompanying figures.", "It is to be understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the scope of the present disclosure.", "Also, as a general rule, and unless it is evident to the contrary from the description, where elements in different figures use identical reference numbers, the elements are generally either identical or at least similar in function or purpose." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-provisional application Ser.", "No.", "15/132,136, filed Apr.", "18, 2016 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.", "FIELD The described embodiments relate generally to electronic devices that employ speakers within an exterior housing of an electronic device.", "More particularly, the present embodiments relate to piezoelectric speakers that are used in electronic devices.", "BACKGROUND Currently there are a wide variety of electronic devices that include one or more speakers located within their exterior housings.", "Many of these electronic devices employ traditional voice coil speakers that involve relatively large and complex assemblies.", "However, electronic devices are becoming smaller and more feature rich, leaving less room for the relatively large and complex voice coil speakers.", "SUMMARY Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to piezoelectric speakers and to electronic devices that include such speakers.", "Piezoelectric speakers according to embodiments of the disclosure can be relatively thin compared to traditional voice coil speakers, which in turn, allows devices that incorporate such piezoelectric speakers to be made smaller and/or enables the devices to have extra room for additional components.", "In some embodiments an electronic device according to the disclosure includes a housing having an exterior surface with an opening formed there through.", "A piezoelectric speaker, including a diaphragm and a piezoelectric receiver, is aligned with and fit within the opening.", "A vibration isolator is coupled between the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm and the housing to enable the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate independently from the housing.", "In some embodiments the vibration isolator is disposed around a periphery of the speaker diaphragm and creates a water tight seal between the speaker diaphragm and the housing.", "In various embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is coplanar with and colored to match the exterior surface of the housing such that it appears to be a portion of the housing.", "In some embodiments a plurality of piezoelectric speakers are used together to create an aggregate speaker with improved sound quality as compared to a unitary piezoelectric speaker.", "In some embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is made from a transparent material and in various embodiments the diaphragm and the housing are both made from a transparent material.", "In some embodiments circuitry is operatively coupled to the piezoelectric receiver and is configured to cause the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate and function as a speaker.", "In some embodiments an electronic device according to the disclosure includes a transparent cover disposed over a graphical display of the electronic device.", "The transparent cover has an opening formed there through and a piezoelectric speaker is aligned with the opening.", "The piezoelectric speaker can include a speaker diaphragm and a piezoelectric receiver attached to the speaker diaphragm.", "A vibration isolator is coupled between the speaker diaphragm and the transparent cover to enable the speaker diaphragm to vibrate independently from the transparent cover.", "In some embodiments the speaker diaphragm is made from a transparent material and is coplanar with the transparent cover.", "In various embodiments the piezoelectric receiver includes a layer of piezoelectric material bonded to the speaker diaphragm.", "In some embodiments the vibration isolator is arranged to cover a gap between the speaker diaphragm and the transparent cover creating a water tight seal between the speaker diaphragm and the transparent cover.", "In some embodiments a plurality of vibration isolators are disposed around a periphery of the speaker diaphragm.", "In various embodiments there are a plurality of speakers used together to create an aggregate speaker with improved sound quality.", "Each of the plurality of speakers can each have a separate diaphragm aligned with an opening within the transparent cover.", "In some embodiments circuitry is operatively coupled to the piezoelectric receiver and is configured to cause the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate and function as a speaker.", "In some embodiments an electronic device includes a housing having an exterior surface with an opening formed there through.", "A piezoelectric speaker is aligned with the opening and includes a piezoelectric receiver attached to the speaker diaphragm.", "A speaker driver circuit is configured to transmit electronic signals to the piezoelectric speaker receiver that make the speaker diaphragm vibrate.", "A vibration isolator is coupled between the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm and the housing to enable the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm to vibrate independently from the housing.", "In some embodiments the vibration isolator is arranged to cover a gap between the speaker diaphragm and the housing to create a water tight seal between the speaker diaphragm and the housing.", "In various embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is coplanar with and colored to match the exterior surface of the housing such that it appears to be a portion of the housing.", "In some embodiments the piezoelectric speaker diaphragm is made from a transparent material.", "In some embodiments the housing is made from a transparent material.", "In various embodiments there are a plurality of speaker diaphragms, each aligned with an opening within the housing.", "To better understand the nature and advantages of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the following description and the accompanying figures.", "It is to be understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the scope of the present disclosure.", "Also, as a general rule, and unless it is evident to the contrary from the description, where elements in different figures use identical reference numbers, the elements are generally either identical or at least similar in function or purpose.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a front perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "2 is a close up view of a top portion of the electronic device shown in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the receiver speaker shown in FIG.", "2; FIG.", "4 is a close up view of the receiver speaker of the electronic device shown in FIG.", "2; FIG.", "5 is a close up view of an alternative embodiment of the receiver speaker of the electronic device shown in FIG.", "2; FIG.", "6 is a partial cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the receiver speaker shown in FIG.", "2; FIG.", "7 is a close up view of a top portion of an electronic device with two receiver speakers according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "8 is a rear perspective view of an electronic device with a piezoelectric loudspeaker according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG.", "9 is a partial cross-sectional view of the loudspeaker shown in FIG.", "8; and FIG.", "10 is a simplified system diagram of an electronic device with a speaker according to an embodiment of the invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to piezoelectric speakers that are used in electronic devices.", "For example, in some embodiments an electronic device, such as a smartphone, is equipped with a piezoelectric speaker that is used as a phone receiver.", "The electronic device has an exterior housing with an opening that is configured to receive the piezoelectric speaker.", "The piezoelectric speaker has a diaphragm that is aligned with the opening and coplanar with an exterior surface of the housing.", "A vibration isolator is used to secure the diaphragm to the housing and to isolate the diaphragm from the housing so the diaphragm can vibrate independently from the housing.", "A piezoelectric receiver, comprising piezoelectric material, is attached to an interior surface of the diaphragm and is driven by circuitry within the electronic device.", "The circuitry within the electronic device supplies electronic signals to the piezoelectric receiver which moves in response, causing the diaphragm to vibrate, creating sound waves the user can hear.", "The piezoelectric speaker is relatively thin as compared to traditional voice coil speakers, consuming relatively little space within the electronic device.", "In some embodiments, the vibration isolator can be configured to form a watertight seal between the diaphragm and the housing so liquid and/or debris cannot pass into the electronic device through the opening in the housing.", "In various embodiments the diaphragm can be made out of the same material as the housing (e.g., glass, zirconia, aluminum, steel, etc.)", "and formed to be nearly imperceptible from the remainder of the housing, providing an aesthetically appealing continuous exterior housing.", "In another example a combination of different sizes and/or shapes of piezoelectric speakers can be used together to improve the sound quality of the aggregated speaker.", "In a further example, a piezoelectric receiver can be mounted to a portion of the electronic device housing so the housing functions as the speaker diaphragm.", "In order to better appreciate the features and aspects of piezoelectric speakers for electronic devices according to the present disclosure, further context for the disclosure is provided in the following section by discussing one particular implementation of an electronic device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.", "These embodiments are for example only and other embodiments can be employed in other electronic devices such as, but not limited to computers, watches, wearable electronic devices, media players and other devices.", "FIG.", "1 depicts an illustrative rendering of an electronic device 100, such as a smart phone, according to some embodiments of the disclosure.", "Electronic device 100 includes a housing 105 having an exterior surface 110, a receptacle connector 115, a multipurpose button 120 as an input component and a touch screen display 125 as both an input and output component.", "Housing 105 may include a transparent cover made from a transparent ceramic, glass or plastic material as a front portion of the housing and the remainder of the housing may be made from a different material such as, for example, metal or plastic.", "Electronic device 100 also includes a phone receiver 130 including one or more piezoelectric speakers 135, as described in greater detail below.", "Now referring to FIG.", "2 a magnified view of a top portion of electronic device 100, including phone receiver 130 is illustrated.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, phone receiver 130 includes a receiver opening 205 formed through housing 105.A diaphragm 210 of piezoelectric speaker 135 is aligned with and fit into the opening.", "In some embodiments diaphragm 210 can have a similar appearance as housing 105 and a gap 215 between the diaphragm and housing 105 can be relatively small such that the diaphragm is nearly imperceptible from the housing, providing an aesthetically appealing continuous exterior housing, as discussed in more detail below.", "Section A-A through receiver opening 205, speaker diaphragm 210 and other components within housing 105 is illustrated in FIG.", "3.As shown in FIG.", "3 receiver opening 205 is formed through the entire thickness of housing 105 and piezoelectric speaker 135 is fit within the opening.", "More specifically, piezoelectric speaker 135 includes a piezoelectric speaker diaphragm 210 with a piezoelectric receiver 305 bonded to it.", "Speaker diaphragm 210, which can include a substantially flat and thin high modulus of elasticity material, is aligned with opening 205 and positioned substantially flush with exterior surface 110 of housing 105.Piezoelectric receiver 305, which can include a substantially flat and thin piece of piezoelectric material sized slightly smaller than speaker diaphragm 210, is attached to an interior surface 310 of speaker diaphragm 210.A vibration isolator 315 is coupled between piezoelectric speaker diaphragm 210 and housing 105 to hold piezoelectric speaker 135 in place within opening 205 and to isolate the diaphragm from the housing, as described in more detail below.", "Piezoelectric speaker 135 functions by receiving electronic signals from circuitry within electronic device 100.More specifically, piezoelectric receiver 305 is made from a piezoelectric material that moves in response to receiving electronic signals.", "When piezoelectric receiver 305 moves (i.e., vibrates) it makes diaphragm 210 vibrate which creates sound waves that can be heard by a user.", "In some embodiments diaphragm 210 can be arranged to be coplanar with and colored to match exterior surface 110 of housing 105 such that the diaphragm appears to be a portion of the housing, giving electronic device 100 an aesthetically appealing appearance.", "For example, in some embodiments housing 105 may have a front portion (also called a transparent cover) made from a transparent material, such as, for example, glass, sapphire, silicon dioxide or zirconia, and diaphragm 210 is made from the same or a similar looking material.", "In another example, housing 105 is made from a metal, such as aluminum or steel, and diaphragm 210 is made from the same or a similar looking material.", "As discussed above, housing 105 may have a transparent cover disposed over all of or a portion of the housing and the remainder of the housing may be made from a different material such as metal and/or plastic.", "These materials are for example only and other materials can be used for housing 105 and diaphragm 210 without departing from the disclosure.", "In some embodiments diaphragm 210 may be made from a relatively high modulus of elasticity material that can be above 25 GPa, while in various embodiments it can be above 50 GPa.", "In some embodiments, diaphragm 210 can be made to look like a portion of housing 105 by minimizing gap 215 between diaphragm 210 and housing 105.In various embodiments gap 215 can be between 5 microns and 1500 microns while in other embodiments it can be between 5 microns and 100 microns and in some embodiments it can be between 10 microns and 50 microns.", "In some embodiments piezoelectric receiver 305 includes a piezoelectric crystalline, polycrystalline material such as, for example: quartz, berlinite, sucrose, topaz, tourmaline, Rochelle salt, barium titanate (BaTiO3), lead zirconate titanate (PZT), potassium niobate (KNbO3), sodium tungstate (Na2WO3), Ba2NaNb5O5, Pb2KNb5O15, Zinc oxide (ZnO)—Wurtzite structure and Group III-V and II-VI materials, or other material.", "In some embodiments, vibration isolator 315 is made from a material that enables piezoelectric speaker diaphragm 210 to vibrate independently from housing 105.More specifically, in some embodiments when piezoelectric diaphragm 210 vibrates to generate sound waves, it may be desirable to isolate the diaphragm from surrounding housing 105 so the housing does not also vibrate and broadcast the sound (i.e., acting as a loudspeaker).", "By isolating the vibrations to diaphragm 210, a user may be able to privately hear sound from the diaphragm by placing their ear over the diaphragm (i.e., over phone receiver 130 in FIG.", "1).", "Further, vibration isolator 315 can also improve the acoustic performance of piezoelectric speaker 135 by allowing the majority of the vibrational energy from piezoelectric receiver 305 to be used to make diaphragm 210 vibrate and not be damped or dissipated by housing 105.In some embodiments vibration isolator 315 can be made out of a relatively low modulus of elasticity elastic material, such as, for example: a silicone, a rubber, or an elastomer while other embodiments can be made out of a flexible membrane such as, for example, mylar, polyamide, or other material.", "Vibration isolator 315 can be secured to diaphragm 210 and/or housing 105 by the adhesion of the isolator material itself, or with the aid of other materials like an adhesive or a heat activated film.", "Similar materials can be used to adhere piezoelectric receiver 305 to diaphragm 210.Myriad materials can be used for vibration isolator 315 and for the adhesion of the isolator without departing from the disclosure.", "In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "3, vibration isolator 315 has an outer surface 320 that is secured to a wall 325 of opening 205 and an upper surface 330 that is secured to interior surface 310 of diaphragm 210, however other embodiments can have vibration isolators that are secured to piezoelectric speaker 135 in a different way.", "Now referring to FIG.", "4 a close-up plan view of piezoelectric speaker 135 is shown with the dashed lines indicating the planar location of vibration isolator 315.In this embodiment a single vibration isolator 315 is disposed around an entire periphery 405 of speaker diaphragm 210 and can be configured to create a water tight seal between the speaker diaphragm and housing 105, however other embodiments of the disclosure can include different configurations for the vibration isolator.", "For example, referring to FIG.", "5, in some embodiments there can be a plurality of individual vibration isolators 505 that are disposed around periphery 405 of speaker diaphragm 210.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "5 there are six individual vibration isolators 505, however other embodiments can have less or more individual isolators that may be arranged or configured differently than illustrated.", "Now referring to FIG.", "6, a cross-section of a piezoelectric speaker 135 is illustrated according to another embodiment of the disclosure.", "The embodiment shown in FIG.", "6 differs from the embodiment discussed above in that a housing 605 of an electronic device includes an opening 610 that does not penetrate the entire thickness of the housing.", "Rather, opening 610 is a recess that is formed in an outer surface 615 of housing 605.This embodiment has the benefit of a waterproof housing 605 without relying on vibration isolator 620 to provide a seal.", "Thus, this embodiment can be used with a plurality of individual vibration isolators, such as those described above in FIG.", "5, without adversely affecting the waterproof performance of the electronic device.", "In some embodiments, electronic signals can be coupled to receiver 305 with, for example, wires, a flexible circuit board or conductive traces that could be formed with insert molding or laser direct structuring.", "In embodiments where opening 610 is formed in a portion of housing 605 that is a transparent cover, conductive traces may be routed on the inside surface of the transparent cover and conductive vias can transition electrical signals within the recess where wires or a flexible circuit board can couple the electronic signals to the piezoelectric receiver.", "In some embodiments the traces and vias can be formed with printable metallic inks having a glass frit such as those used with ceramics.", "In other embodiments the traces and vias can be formed with a thin film process, such as electroplating or sputtering and patterned with photolithography.", "Other methods can be used without departing from this disclosure.", "Now referring to FIG.", "7 an embodiment of electronic device 100 is illustrated that uses two separate piezoelectric speakers 705, 710 for phone receiver 715.Using more than one piezoelectric speaker can enable the combination of speakers to, for example, improve the sound quality of receiver 715 and/or simultaneously generate audio for a user while generating active noise cancellation sounds or for other functions.", "In this embodiment, left speaker 705 has a relatively larger rectangular diaphragm 720 and right speaker 710 has a relatively smaller circular diaphragm 725, however other embodiments can employ a greater number of piezoelectric speakers having diaphragms of any size and shape.", "As an example, left speaker 705 can use larger diaphragm 720 to generate lower frequency audio signals while right speaker 710 can use smaller diaphragm 725 to generate higher frequency audio signals.", "Thus, the combination of speakers 705, 710 can be used in aggregate to improve audio quality of phone receiver 715.Now referring to FIG.", "8, an isometric rear view of electronic device 100 is illustrated.", "In this embodiment a piezoelectric receiver 805 is secured to an inside surface of rear housing 810 such that a portion of the housing acts as the speaker diaphragm.", "As compared to the embodiments above, this embodiment can generate louder sounds (i.e., due to the larger diaphragm) and could be used as a loudspeaker or other function such as, for example, tactile feedback to a user.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates cross-section C-C through piezoelectric receiver 805 and rear housing 810.FIG.", "9 also illustrates an exaggerated upper range of motion 905 and a lower range of motion 910 for a portion of rear housing 810 when piezoelectric receiver 805 makes the rear housing vibrate and generate sound waves.", "The location at which piezoelectric receiver 805 is mounted to housing 810 in FIG.", "8 is just one example of a suitable mounting location.", "In other embodiments of the disclosure piezoelectric receiver 805 can be mounted to the electronic device housing at other locations.", "Further, the particular portion of housing 810 that piezoelectric receiver 805 is mounted to can be any material including a transparent material including glass or ceramic, a metal or a plastic.", "Now referring to FIG.", "10 a simplified illustrative block diagram representing an electronic media device 1000 (e.g., such as device 100 in FIG.", "1) that includes a piezoelectric speaker 1005 according to embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.", "Electronic media device 1000 can also include, among other components, connector receptacle 1010, one or more user input components 1020, one or more output components 1025, control circuitry 1030, graphics circuitry 1035, a bus 1040, a memory 1045, a storage device 1050, communications circuitry 1055 and speaker driver circuitry 1060.Control circuitry 1030 can communicate with the other components of electronic media device 1000 (e.g., via bus 1040) to control the operation of electronic media device 1000.In some embodiments, control circuitry 1030 can execute instructions stored in a memory 1045.Control circuitry 1030 can also be operative to control the performance of electronic media device 1000.Control circuitry 1030 can include, for example, a processor, a microcontroller and a bus (e.g., for sending instructions to the other components of electronic media device 1000).", "In some embodiments, control circuitry 1030 can also drive the display and process inputs received from input component 1020.Memory 1045 can include one or more different types of memory that can be used to perform device functions.", "For example, memory 1045 can include cache, flash memory, ROM, RAM and hybrid types of memory.", "Memory 1045 can also store firmware for the device and its applications (e.g., operating system, user interface functions and processor functions).", "Storage device 1050 can include one or more suitable storage mediums or mechanisms, such as a magnetic hard drive, flash drive, tape drive, optical drive, permanent memory (such as ROM), semi-permanent memory (such as RAM) or cache.", "Storage device 1050 can be used for storing media (e.g., audio and video files), text, pictures, graphics, advertising or any suitable user-specific or global information that can be used by electronic media device 1000.Storage device 1050 can also store programs or applications that can run on control circuitry 1030, can maintain files formatted to be read and edited by one or more of the applications and can store any additional files that can aid the operation of one or more applications (e.g., files with metadata).", "It should be understood that any of the information stored on storage device 1050 can instead be stored in memory 1045.Electronic media device 1000 can also include input component 1020 and output component 1025 for providing a user with the ability to interact with electronic media device 1000.For example, input component 1020 and output component 1025 can provide an interface for a user to interact with an application running on control circuitry 1030.Input component 1020 can take a variety of forms, such as a keyboard/keypad, trackpad, mouse, click wheel, button, stylus or touch screen.", "Input component 1020 can also include one or more devices for user authentication (e.g., a smart card reader, a fingerprint reader or an iris scanner) as well as an audio input device (e.g., a microphone) or a video input device (e.g., a camera or a web cam) for recording video or still frames.", "Output component 1025 can include any suitable display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a touch screen display, a projection device, a speaker or any other suitable system for presenting information or media to a user.", "Output component 1025 can be controlled by graphics circuitry 1035.Graphics circuitry 1035 can include a video card, such as a video card with 2D, 3D or vector graphics capabilities.", "In some embodiments, output component 1025 can also include an audio component that is remotely coupled to electronic media device 1000.For example, output component 1025 can include a headset, headphones or ear buds that can be coupled to electronic media device 1000 with a wire or wirelessly (e.g., Bluetooth headphones or a Bluetooth headset).", "Electronic media device 1000 can have one or more applications (e.g., software applications) stored on storage device 1050 or in memory 1045.Control circuitry 1030 can be configured to execute instructions of the applications from memory 1045.For example, control circuitry 1030 can be configured to execute a media player application that causes full-motion video or audio to be presented or displayed on output component 1025.Other applications resident on electronic media device 1000 can include, for example, a telephony application, a GPS navigator application, a web browser application and a calendar or organizer application.", "Electronic media device 1000 can also execute any suitable operating system, such as Mac OS, Apple iOS, Linux or Windows and can include a set of applications stored on storage device 1050 or memory 1045, which applications can be compatible with the operating system running on the device.", "In some embodiments, electronic media device 1000 can also include communications circuitry 1055 to connect to one or more communications networks.", "Communications circuitry 1055 can be any suitable communications circuitry operative to connect to a communications network and to transmit communications (e.g., voice or data) from electronic media device 1000 to other devices within the communications network.", "Communications circuitry 1055 can be operative to interface with the communications network using any suitable communications protocol such as, for example, Wi-Fi (e.g., a 802.11 protocol), Bluetooth, high frequency systems (e.g., 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.6 GHz communication systems), infrared, GSM, GSM plus EDGE, CDMA, quadband and other cellular protocols, VOIP or any other suitable protocol.", "In some embodiments, communications circuitry 1055 can be operative to create a communications network using any suitable communications protocol.", "Communications circuitry 1055 can create a short-range communications network using a short-range communications protocol to connect to other devices.", "For example, communications circuitry 1055 can be operative to create a local communications network using the Bluetooth protocol to couple with a Bluetooth headset (or any other Bluetooth device).", "Communications circuitry 1055 can also include a wired or wireless network interface card (NIC) configured to connect to the Internet or any other public or private network.", "For example, electronic media device 1000 can be configured to connect to the Internet via a wireless network, such as a packet radio network, an RF network, a cellular network or any other suitable type of network.", "Communication circuitry 1055 can be used to initiate and conduct communications with other communications devices or media devices within a communications network.", "Electronic media device 1000 can also include any other component suitable for performing a communications operation.", "For example, electronic media device 1000 can include a power supply, an antenna, ports or interfaces for coupling to a host device, a secondary input mechanism (e.g., an ON/OFF switch) or any other suitable component.", "Speaker driver circuitry 1060 can include circuitry configured to convert audio signals to signals that are configured to drive one or more piezoelectric speakers 1005.In some embodiments piezoelectric speakers 1005 can be driven with a varying voltage, however other types of signals can be used.", "In various embodiments speaker driver circuitry can separate a higher frequency band from a lower frequency band and send the higher frequencies to a first piezoelectric speaker and the lower frequencies to a second piezoelectric speaker.", "Other configurations and variations of speaker driver circuitry 1060 and piezoelectric speaker 1005 are within the scope of this disclosure.", "Although the electronic devices (e.g., electronic device 100 in FIG.", "1) are described and illustrated as one particular electronic device, embodiments of the disclosure are suitable for use with a multiplicity of electronic devices.", "For example, any device that receives or transmits audio, video or data signals can be used with the disclosure.", "In some instances, embodiments of the disclosure are particularly well suited for use with portable electronic media devices because of their potentially small form factor.", "As used herein, an electronic media device includes any device with at least one electronic component that can be used to present human-perceivable media.", "Such devices can include, for example, portable music players (e.g., MP3 devices and Apple's iPod devices), portable video players (e.g., portable DVD players), cellular telephones (e.g., smart telephones such as Apple's iPhone devices), watches, wearable electronic devices, video cameras, digital still cameras, projection systems (e.g., holographic projection systems), gaming systems, PDAs, as well as tablet (e.g., Apple's iPad devices), laptop or other mobile computers.", "Some of these devices can be configured to provide audio, video or other data or sensory output.", "For simplicity, various internal components, such as the control circuitry, graphics circuitry, bus, memory, storage device and other components of electronic devices are not shown in the figures.", "In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the disclosure have been described with reference to numerous specific details that can vary from implementation to implementation.", "The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.", "The sole and exclusive indicator of the scope of the disclosure, and what is intended by the applicants to be the scope of the disclosure, is the literal and equivalent scope of the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction.", "The specific details of particular embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without departing from the spirit and scope of embodiments of the disclosure.", "Additionally, spatially relative terms, such as “bottom or “top” and the like may be used to describe an element and/or feature's relationship to another element(s) and/or feature(s) as, for example, illustrated in the figures.", "It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use and/or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.", "For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as a “bottom” surface may then be oriented “above” other elements or features.", "The device may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly." ] ]
Patent_15875080
[ [ "Antibody Therapy for Amyloid Beta Disease", "The present disclosure relates generally to a protocol to treat or prevent diseases or conditions associated with pathological forms of amyloid beta (Aβ), including Alzheimer's disease.", "Enabled herein is a reagent for use in the treatment and prophylaxis of Aβ-associated pathological conditions." ], [ "1.An isolated Fab 2286-like antibody which binds to Aβ1-40 and a C-terminally elongated form thereof, said antibody comprising a modified Fab 2286 wherein a mature heavy chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is not glutamic acid (E), wherein the numbering of the amino acid sequence WIGE in Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO:1) represents residues 47 to 50 or comprising one or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.2.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 1 herein the amino acid at position 50 is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "3.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 1 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is a basic amino acid selected from arginine, lysine and histidine.", "4.The isolated Fab 2886-like antibody of claim 1 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is alanine.", "5.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 1 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is arginine.", "6.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 1 wherein the C-terminally elongated form of Aβ1-40 is selected from Aβ1-42, Aβ1-43, Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, AβpyroGlu3-42 and AβpyroGlu11-42.7.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 1 conjugated to constant regions of light and heavy chains.", "8.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 7 comprising a heavy chain variable region selected from SEQ ID NO:9 and 11.9.A mammalianized form of the isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 1.10.The mammalianized form of the isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 9 wherein the antibody is humanized.", "11.An isolated nucleic acid molecule encoding an amino acid chain of the antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.12.The isolated nucleic acid molecule of claim 11 comprised within an expression vector.", "13.An isolated cell comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 11 or 12.14.A pharmaceutical composition comprising the antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10, together with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, diluents and/or excipients.", "15.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10 for use in the treatment of pathogenic Aβ disease.", "16.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 15 wherein the Aβ disease is associated with or characterized by pathogenic forms of Aβ selected from Aβ1-42, Aβ1-43, Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, AβpyroGlu3-42 and AβpyroGlu11-42 in tissue or fluid.", "17.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 16 wherein the tissue is brain tissue.", "18.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 16 wherein the fluid is circulatory blood fluid.", "19.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 15 to 18 wherein the disease is selected from Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels.", "20.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 19 wherein the vascular disorder is stroke or hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type (HCHWA-D).", "21.The isolated Fab 2286-like antibody of claim 19 wherein the disease is Alzheimer's disease.", "22.A method of treating or ameliorating symptoms of a neurological condition selected from Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, stroke and HCHWA-D or other adverse event of the systemic vasculature in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject, an effective amount of an Fab 2286-like antibody comprising a mature heavy chain variable region having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is not gluatimic acid (E) using a numbering system where the amino acid sequence WIGE of Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO:1) is at positions 47 to 50 or having one or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions thereto.", "23.The method of claim 22 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "24.The method of claim 22 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is a basic amino acid selected from arginine, lysine and histidine.", "25.The method of claim 22 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is alanine.", "26.The method of claim 22 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is arginine.", "27.A method for the treatment or prophylaxis of Alzheimer's disease in a subject, said method comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of the Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.28.A method of delaying development of a symptom associated with Alzheimer's disease in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective dosage of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.29.A method of inhibiting or suppressing the formation of amyloid plaques and/or Aβ accumulation in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.30.A method of reducing amyloid plaques and/or reducing or slowing Aβ accumulation in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.31.A method of removing or clearing amyloid plaques and/or Aβ accumulation in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.32.A method of reducing Aβ peptide in a tissue, inhibiting and/or reducing accumulation of Aβ peptide in a tissue, or inhibiting and/or reducing toxic effects of Aβ peptide in a tissue in a subject comprising administering to the subject an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.33.The method of any one of claims 22 to 32 wherein the subject is a human.", "34.The method of claim 33 wherein the antibody is intravenously or intracerebrally administered.", "35.A kit comprising the antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10.36.The kit of claim 35 further comprising an antibody labeled with a reporter molecule or enzyme specific to the Fab 2286-like antibody.", "37.Use of the antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10 in the manufacture of a medicament in the treatment of pathogenic Aβ disease.", "38.Use of claim 37 wherein the Aβ disease is selected from the list consisting of Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels.", "39.Use of claim 38 wherein the vascular disorder is stroke or hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type (HCHWA-D).", "40.Use of claim 37 wherein the Aβ disease is Alzheimer's disease.", "41.Use of Fab 2286-like antibody of any one of claims 1 to 10 in the treatment of pathogenic Aβ disease via a peripheral sink.", "42.Use of claim 41 wherein the Aβ disease is selected from the list consisting of Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, pre-eclampsia and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels.", "43.Use of claim 42 wherein the vascular disorder is stroke or hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type (HCHWA-D).", "44.Use of claim 41 wherein the Aβ disease is Alzheimer's disease.", "45.A method of detecting a toxic form of Aβ in a sample from a subject, said method comprising identifying binding between the Aβ form and Fab 2286-like antibody.", "46.The method of claim 45 wherein the Fab 2286-like antibody is labeled with a reporter molecule.", "47.The method of claim 45 wherein the Fab 2286-like antibody is identified by a labeled anti-immunoglobulin antibody.", "48.The method of claim 45 or 46 or 47 for the detection of a disease selected from the list consisting of Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, pre-eclampsia and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels.", "49.The method of claim 48 for the detection of Alzheimer's disease.", "50.The method of claim 48 for the detection of stroke or hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type (HCHWA-D).", "51.The method of claim 48 for the detection of pre-eclampsia.", "52.The method of claim 51 wherein the toxic form of Aβ is detected in urine.", "53.A dipstick comprising Fab 2286-like antibody immobilized thereon for use in detecting toxic forms of Aβ in a biological sample.", "54.The dipstick of claim 53 wherein the sample is urine.", "55.The dipstick of claim 54 in the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia.", "56.An isolated polynucleotide encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:19 or an amino acid sequence having at least 90% similarity thereto after optimal alignment.", "57.The isolated polynucleotide of claim 56 as set forth in SEQ ID NO:18 or a sequence having at lest 90% identity thereto after optimal alignment or a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes to the complement of SEQ ID NO:18 under medium or high stringency conditions.", "58.The isolated polynucleotide of claim 52 comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:18." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Nucleotide and amino acid sequences are referred to by a sequence identifier number (SEQ ID NO:).", "The SEQ ID NOs: correspond numerically to the sequence identifiers <400>1 (SEQ ID NO:1), <400>2 (SEQ ID NO:2), etc.", "A summary of the sequence identifiers is provided in Table 1.A sequence listing is provided after the claims.", "The present disclosure teaches the generation of an antibody and derivatives thereof which target Aβ 1-40 and its C-terminally extended forms including Aβ 1-42 and Aβ 1-43 .", "The inventors analyzed the molecular basis of antibody engagement with Aβ.", "The 3D structure of a Fab binding fragment of the variable domain of Mab 2286 (referred to herein as “Fab 2286”) was determined to near atomic resolution.", "Fab 2286 is a chimera comprising the mouse variable region of Mab 2286 transplanted onto a human scaffold.", "Fab 2286 comprises V H and V L from Mab 2286 and C H and C L from a human template.", "This antibody exhibits similar specificity as Ponezumab to the C-terminus of Aβ 1-40 and does not react with Aβ 1-42 or Aβ 1-43 or other elongated forms such as Aβ 3-42 , Aβ 4-42 , Aβ pyroGln3-42 and Aβ pyroGlu11-42 .", "The analysis of chimeric Fab 2286 revealed a hydrophobic cavity in the Fab 2286 surface suitable for binding amyloid beta peptide.", "The amino acid sequences of Ponezumab and Fab 2286 show little similarity in the complementarity determining regions, but comparison of the 3D structures (Protein Data Bank entries 3U0T and 3U0W, respectively) revealed some potential spacial similarities for ligand engagement.", "Structural analysis of the Ponezumab-Aβ complex revealed a buried Aβ terminal carboxyl location that excluded cross reactivity with C-terminally elongated Aβ species.", "A modification is prepared of the proposed Aβ 1-40 C-terminus binding site of Fab 2286 at the glutamic acid (E; Glu) at residue 50 in the heavy variable chain of Fab 2286 [Glu50].", "The substitution to another amino acid (Glu500Xaa), wherein Xaa is not glutamic acid, substantially improves affinity for the Aβ 1-40 ligand and enables binding to the C-terminally elongated Aβ species.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is alanine.", "In a particular embodiment, Xaa is arginine.", "Accordingly, enabled herein is an antibody that specifically binds to the C-terminal end portion of Aβ 1-40 and to C-terminally extended toxic forms thereof.", "In an embodiment, the antibody is a derivative of Fab 2286 and is referred to herein as a “Fab 2286-like antibody”.", "Fab 2286 comprises the antigen binding fragment of Mab 2286 grafted onto a human scaffold constant region.", "In an embodiment, the instant disclosure teaches a Fab 2286-like antibody comprising an amino acid substitution at glutamic acid (E) in its heavy chain in the amino acid sequence WIGE to generate the sequence WIGX.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an amino acid selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an alanine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an arginine.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may have one or more other mutations.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may be conjugated to any light and heavy chain constant region and be subject to mammalianization such as humanization (or deimmunization).", "In terms of testing the antibody in an animal model, the antibody may, for example, be subject to murinization.", "Further enabled herein is a method for treating a disease or condition characterized by the presence of aberrant or toxic forms of Aβ including C-terminally elongated forms (e.g.", "Aβ 1-42 , Aβ 1-43 .", "Aβ 3-42 , Aβ 3-42 , Aβ 4-42 , Aβ pyroGlu3-42 and Aβ pyroGlu11-42 ) as well as covalently cross-linked pathogenic forms of Aβ multimers.", "The method comprises the administration of a Fab 2286-like antibody comprising a mutation in its heavy chain variable region which enables it to bind to C-terminally elongated pathogenic forms of Aβ.", "The mutation is a Glu50Xaa substitution in SEQ ID NO: 1.An example is a Glu500Arg substitution as depicted in SEQ ID NO:2.Other modified forms of the heavy chain which includes the Glu50Arg substitution are provided in SEQ ID NOs:6 and 8.As indicated above, however, the glutamic acid is changed to an amino acid selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is alanine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is arginine.", "Diseases and conditions contemplated herein include Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]).", "The subject antibody may also be used to capture and/or detect toxic forms of Aβ associated with the above-listed conditions.", "In terms of diagnosis, another condition contemplated herein is pre-eclampsia.", "Whilst pre-eclampsia and a neurological condition such as Alzheimer's disease share no clinical features in common, the pre-eclampsia susceptibility gene, STOX-1, is abundantly expressed in the brain and transactivates LRRTM3 in neural cells which promotes elevated Aβ processing.", "Hence, the presence of toxic forms of Aβ in urine is potentially indicative of pre-eclampsia.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may act to promote microglial-mediated removal of pathogenic Aβ species in the brain and/or through the “peripheral sink” route to induce an equilibrium shift to remove Aβ from the brain to the blood stream where it is removed by various immune mechanisms.", "The treatment may also include ameliorating symptoms or delaying onset of symptoms of an Aβ pathology such as Alzheimer's disease.", "Another aspect contemplated herein is a method of detecting a toxic form of Aβ in a sample from a subject, the method comprising identifying binding between the Aβ form and Fab 2286-like antibody.", "The antibody may also be used to capture an Aβ form which is then detected by, for example, another antibody specific for an epitope on Aβ or by an anti-immunoglobulin antibody which binds to the Fab 2286-like antibody.", "Diagnostic applications extend to Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]) and pre-eclampsia.", "Whilst a blood-based test is proposed for most conditions, for pre-eclampsia, a urine-based test is proposed.", "Cerebral spinal fluid may also be tested.", "In an embodiment, taught herein is a dipstick comprising Fab 2286-like antibody immobilized thereon for use in detecting toxic forms of Aβ in a biological sample.", "In an embodiment, the sample is urine and the condition diagnosed is pre-eclampsia.", "TABLE 1 Summary of sequence identifiers SEQUENCE ID NO: DESCRIPTION 1 Amino acid sequence of heavy chain variable region of Fab 2286 antibody 2 Amino acid sequence of heavy chain of Fab 2286-like antibody comprising Glu50Arg substitution 3 Amino acid sequence of light chain (hkappa) of Fab 2286 and Fab 2286-like antibody) 4 Amino acid sequence of Aβ 1-28 5 Aniino acid sequence of Aβ 1-40 6 Amino acid sequence of Aβ 1-42 7 Amino acid sequence of Aβ 1-43 8 Amino acid sequence of Aβ 35-40 9 Amino acid sequence, of murinized Fab 2286-like antibody heavy chain conjugated to human gamma-1 immunoglobulin (hG1) heavy constant region with Glu50Arg substitution 10 Amino acid sequence of chimeric Fab 2286 antibody heavy chain variable region 11 Amino acid sequence of chimeric Fab 2286-like antibody heavy chain variable region 12 Nucleotide sequence of Mab 2286 heavy chain (variable domain and constant domain 1 [CH1]) 13 Amino acid sequence of Mab 2286 heavy chain (variable domain and constant domain 1 [CH1]) 14 Nucleotide sequence of Mab 2286 light chain 15 Amino acid sequence of Mab 2286 light chain 16 Nucleotide sequence of synthetic DNA construct encoding Fc portion of murine gamma heavy chain (GenBank: AAA75163.1) of Mab 2286 17 Amino acid sequence of Fc portion of murine gamma heavy chain (GenBank: AAA75163.1) of Mab 2286 18 Nucleotide sequence of murine heavy B encoding Glu to Arg substitution 19 Amino acid sequence of murine heavy B with Glu to Arg substitution 20 Nucleotide sequence of murine light chain of Fab 2286-like antibody 21 Amino acid sequence of murine light chain of Fab 2286-like antibody Amino acid abbreviations used herein are defined in Table 2.TABLE 2 Amino acid three and single letter abbreviations Three-letter One-letter Amino Acid Abbreviation Symbol Alanine Ala A Arginine Arg R Asparagine Asn N Aspartic acid Asp D Cysteine Cys C Glutamine Gln Q Ghitamic acid Glu E Glycine Gly G Histidine His H Isoleucine Ile I Leucine Leu L Lysine Lys K Methionine Met M Phenylalanine Phe F Proline Pro P Serine Ser S Threonine Thr T Tryptophan Trp W Tyrosine Tyr Y Valine Val V Pyrrolysine Pyl O Selenocysteine Sec U Any residue Xaa X" ], [ "FILING DATA This application is associated with and claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No.", "2013902922, filed on 5 Aug. 2013, entitled “An antibody therapy for amyloid beta disease”, the entire contents of which, are incorporated herein by reference.", "BACKGROUND Field The present disclosure relates generally to a protocol to treat or prevent diseases or conditions associated with pathological forms of amyloid beta (Aβ), including Alzheimer's disease.", "Enabled herein is a reagent for use in the treatment and prophylaxis and diagnosis of Aβ-associated pathological conditions.", "Prior Art Bibliographic details of the publications referred to by author in this specification are collected alphabetically at the end of the description.", "Reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in any country.", "Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disorder characterized histologically by neuritic plaques found primarily in association with the cortex, limbic system and basal ganglia.", "These neuritic plaques comprise a cleavage product of amyloid precursor protein (APP), a type I transmembrane glycoprotein.", "The cleavage product of APP is β-amyloid peptide or Aβ.", "Incorrect processing of APP can result in pathological forms of Aβ (Tanzi et al.", "(1996) Neurobiol Dis 3:159-168; Hardy (1996) Ann Med 28:255-258; Schenk et al.", "(1999) Nature 400:173-177).", "These pathological forms include Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-43 which have been detected as predominant species in the neurite plaques.", "Bard et al.", "(2000) Nature Medicine 6:916-919 showed that peripheral administration of antibodies directed against Aβ can reduce plaque burden.", "Bard et al.", "(2003) Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 100:2023-2028 subsequently showed that Fc-mediated phagocytosis by microglial cells or macrophages is associated with plaque clearance.", "Hence, antibody therapy has the potential to treat Alzheimer's disease.", "This is supported by non-Fc-mediated mechanisms being found to be associated with Aβ clearance in immunotherapy (Bacskai et al.", "(2002).", "J. Neurosci.", "22:7873-7878; Das et al.", "(2003) J. Neurosci.", "23:8532-9538).", "One attempt at immunotherapy was the humanized antibody, Bapineuzumab or Bapi, developed by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.", "Bapi targets neurotoxic Aβ (Salloway et al.", "(2009) Neurology 73:2061-2070) at the extreme N-terminus in a helical conformation (Miles et al.", "(2013) Sci Rep 3:1-8) [doi:10.1038/srep01302].", "Such Aβ forms with the N-terminal truncations comprise approximately 60% of Aβ deposits in the Alzheimer's diseased brains.", "Bapi was, however, shown to be toxic at higher doses.", "Another antibody is Solanezumab (Eli Lilly).", "This antibody targets monomeric Aβ in the mid-region of the peptide and was partially efficacious in mild cases of Alzheimer's disease (Hardy (2014) N Engl J Med 370(4):377-378).", "However, it appears that Solanezumab may be ineffective at reversing the symptoms in the later stages of Alzheimer's disease (Panza et al.", "(2014) Expert Opin Biol Ther: 1-12 PMID 24981190).", "Crenezumab (Genentech Inc.) also targets the mid-region of Aβ.", "It appears to stimulate microglia to a level sufficient to clear Aβ but without inducing an inflammatory response (Adolfsson et al.", "(2012) J. Neuroscience 32(28):9677-9689).", "Ponezumab (Pfizer) targets the C-terminal end of Aβ1-40 but is unable to bind to elongated forms such as Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-43.Ponezumab was not efficacious in reducing biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease or cognitive decline (Liu et al.", "(2014) Mol Neurobiol:PMID 24733588).", "Another monoclonal antibody which has the same binding specificity as Ponezumab is referred to as Mab 2286 (Rosenthal et al.", "USSN 2011/038861, 2004/0146512 and 2007/0160616).", "Mab 2286 also does not bind to Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-43.There is a need to further develop an immunotherapeutic approach to the treatment of disease conditions associated with toxic Aβ forms and their diagnosis.", "SUMMARY Nucleotide and amino acid sequences are referred to by a sequence identifier number (SEQ ID NO:).", "The SEQ ID NOs: correspond numerically to the sequence identifiers <400>1 (SEQ ID NO:1), <400>2 (SEQ ID NO:2), etc.", "A summary of the sequence identifiers is provided in Table 1.A sequence listing is provided after the claims.", "The present disclosure teaches the generation of an antibody and derivatives thereof which target Aβ1-40 and its C-terminally extended forms including Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-43.The inventors analyzed the molecular basis of antibody engagement with Aβ.", "The 3D structure of a Fab binding fragment of the variable domain of Mab 2286 (referred to herein as “Fab 2286”) was determined to near atomic resolution.", "Fab 2286 is a chimera comprising the mouse variable region of Mab 2286 transplanted onto a human scaffold.", "Fab 2286 comprises VH and VL from Mab 2286 and CH and CL from a human template.", "This antibody exhibits similar specificity as Ponezumab to the C-terminus of Aβ1-40 and does not react with Aβ1-42 or Aβ1-43 or other elongated forms such as Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, AβpyroGln3-42 and AβpyroGlu11-42.The analysis of chimeric Fab 2286 revealed a hydrophobic cavity in the Fab 2286 surface suitable for binding amyloid beta peptide.", "The amino acid sequences of Ponezumab and Fab 2286 show little similarity in the complementarity determining regions, but comparison of the 3D structures (Protein Data Bank entries 3U0T and 3U0W, respectively) revealed some potential spacial similarities for ligand engagement.", "Structural analysis of the Ponezumab-Aβ complex revealed a buried Aβ terminal carboxyl location that excluded cross reactivity with C-terminally elongated Aβ species.", "A modification is prepared of the proposed Aβ1-40 C-terminus binding site of Fab 2286 at the glutamic acid (E; Glu) at residue 50 in the heavy variable chain of Fab 2286 [Glu50].", "The substitution to another amino acid (Glu500Xaa), wherein Xaa is not glutamic acid, substantially improves affinity for the Aβ1-40 ligand and enables binding to the C-terminally elongated Aβ species.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is alanine.", "In a particular embodiment, Xaa is arginine.", "Accordingly, enabled herein is an antibody that specifically binds to the C-terminal end portion of Aβ1-40 and to C-terminally extended toxic forms thereof.", "In an embodiment, the antibody is a derivative of Fab 2286 and is referred to herein as a “Fab 2286-like antibody”.", "Fab 2286 comprises the antigen binding fragment of Mab 2286 grafted onto a human scaffold constant region.", "In an embodiment, the instant disclosure teaches a Fab 2286-like antibody comprising an amino acid substitution at glutamic acid (E) in its heavy chain in the amino acid sequence WIGE to generate the sequence WIGX.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an amino acid selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an alanine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an arginine.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may have one or more other mutations.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may be conjugated to any light and heavy chain constant region and be subject to mammalianization such as humanization (or deimmunization).", "In terms of testing the antibody in an animal model, the antibody may, for example, be subject to murinization.", "Further enabled herein is a method for treating a disease or condition characterized by the presence of aberrant or toxic forms of Aβ including C-terminally elongated forms (e.g.", "Aβ1-42, Aβ1-43.Aβ3-42, Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, AβpyroGlu3-42 and AβpyroGlu11-42) as well as covalently cross-linked pathogenic forms of Aβ multimers.", "The method comprises the administration of a Fab 2286-like antibody comprising a mutation in its heavy chain variable region which enables it to bind to C-terminally elongated pathogenic forms of Aβ.", "The mutation is a Glu50Xaa substitution in SEQ ID NO: 1.An example is a Glu500Arg substitution as depicted in SEQ ID NO:2.Other modified forms of the heavy chain which includes the Glu50Arg substitution are provided in SEQ ID NOs:6 and 8.As indicated above, however, the glutamic acid is changed to an amino acid selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is alanine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is arginine.", "Diseases and conditions contemplated herein include Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]).", "The subject antibody may also be used to capture and/or detect toxic forms of Aβ associated with the above-listed conditions.", "In terms of diagnosis, another condition contemplated herein is pre-eclampsia.", "Whilst pre-eclampsia and a neurological condition such as Alzheimer's disease share no clinical features in common, the pre-eclampsia susceptibility gene, STOX-1, is abundantly expressed in the brain and transactivates LRRTM3 in neural cells which promotes elevated Aβ processing.", "Hence, the presence of toxic forms of Aβ in urine is potentially indicative of pre-eclampsia.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may act to promote microglial-mediated removal of pathogenic Aβ species in the brain and/or through the “peripheral sink” route to induce an equilibrium shift to remove Aβ from the brain to the blood stream where it is removed by various immune mechanisms.", "The treatment may also include ameliorating symptoms or delaying onset of symptoms of an Aβ pathology such as Alzheimer's disease.", "Another aspect contemplated herein is a method of detecting a toxic form of Aβ in a sample from a subject, the method comprising identifying binding between the Aβ form and Fab 2286-like antibody.", "The antibody may also be used to capture an Aβ form which is then detected by, for example, another antibody specific for an epitope on Aβ or by an anti-immunoglobulin antibody which binds to the Fab 2286-like antibody.", "Diagnostic applications extend to Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]) and pre-eclampsia.", "Whilst a blood-based test is proposed for most conditions, for pre-eclampsia, a urine-based test is proposed.", "Cerebral spinal fluid may also be tested.", "In an embodiment, taught herein is a dipstick comprising Fab 2286-like antibody immobilized thereon for use in detecting toxic forms of Aβ in a biological sample.", "In an embodiment, the sample is urine and the condition diagnosed is pre-eclampsia.", "TABLE 1 Summary of sequence identifiers SEQUENCE ID NO: DESCRIPTION 1 Amino acid sequence of heavy chain variable region of Fab 2286 antibody 2 Amino acid sequence of heavy chain of Fab 2286-like antibody comprising Glu50Arg substitution 3 Amino acid sequence of light chain (hkappa) of Fab 2286 and Fab 2286-like antibody) 4 Amino acid sequence of Aβ1-28 5 Aniino acid sequence of Aβ1-40 6 Amino acid sequence of Aβ1-42 7 Amino acid sequence of Aβ1-43 8 Amino acid sequence of Aβ35-40 9 Amino acid sequence, of murinized Fab 2286-like antibody heavy chain conjugated to human gamma-1 immunoglobulin (hG1) heavy constant region with Glu50Arg substitution 10 Amino acid sequence of chimeric Fab 2286 antibody heavy chain variable region 11 Amino acid sequence of chimeric Fab 2286-like antibody heavy chain variable region 12 Nucleotide sequence of Mab 2286 heavy chain (variable domain and constant domain 1 [CH1]) 13 Amino acid sequence of Mab 2286 heavy chain (variable domain and constant domain 1 [CH1]) 14 Nucleotide sequence of Mab 2286 light chain 15 Amino acid sequence of Mab 2286 light chain 16 Nucleotide sequence of synthetic DNA construct encoding Fc portion of murine gamma heavy chain (GenBank: AAA75163.1) of Mab 2286 17 Amino acid sequence of Fc portion of murine gamma heavy chain (GenBank: AAA75163.1) of Mab 2286 18 Nucleotide sequence of murine heavy B encoding Glu to Arg substitution 19 Amino acid sequence of murine heavy B with Glu to Arg substitution 20 Nucleotide sequence of murine light chain of Fab 2286-like antibody 21 Amino acid sequence of murine light chain of Fab 2286-like antibody Amino acid abbreviations used herein are defined in Table 2.TABLE 2 Amino acid three and single letter abbreviations Three-letter One-letter Amino Acid Abbreviation Symbol Alanine Ala A Arginine Arg R Asparagine Asn N Aspartic acid Asp D Cysteine Cys C Glutamine Gln Q Ghitamic acid Glu E Glycine Gly G Histidine His H Isoleucine Ile I Leucine Leu L Lysine Lys K Methionine Met M Phenylalanine Phe F Proline Pro P Serine Ser S Threonine Thr T Tryptophan Trp W Tyrosine Tyr Y Valine Val V Pyrrolysine Pyl O Selenocysteine Sec U Any residue Xaa X BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Some figures contain color representations or entities.", "Color photographs are available from the Patentee upon request or from an appropriate Patent Office.", "A fee may be imposed if obtained from a Patent Office.", "FIGS.", "1A through C are photographical representations of SDS-PAGE analysis of synthetic Aβ preparations.", "Detected by (A) Coomassie stain, (B) anti-Aβ40 C-terminus specific Mab 2286 Western Blot and (C) anti-Aβ2-7 specific Mab WO2 Western Blot.", "In each panel, lanes represent: (1) Aβ1-40 aged for 21 days at room temperature in PBS; (2) freshly prepared, from 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE)-treated and lyophilized stock, Aβ1-40; (3) Aβ1-42 aged for 21 days at room temperature in phosphile buffered saline (PBS); (4) freshly prepared, from TFE-treated and lyophilized stock, Aβ1-42; (5) 1:1 mixture of Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 aged overnight at room temperature in PBS; (6) Aβ1-28 freshly prepared, from TFE-treated and lyophilized stock.", "FIG.", "2 is a graphical representation of the binding characteristics of Fab 2286 (Aβ Fab wt) and the Fab 2286-like antibody (Aβ Fab mutant) in tissue from a familial Alzheimer's diseased brain and against synthetic peptide Aβ1-42.FIG.", "3 is a graphical representation of the binding characteristics of Fab 2286 (Aβ Fab wt) and the Fab 2286-like antibody (Aβ Fab mutant) in tissue from a sporadic Alzheimer's diseased brain and against synthetic peptide Aβ1-42.DETAILED DESCRIPTION Throughout this specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element or integer or method step or group of elements or integers or method steps but not the exclusion of any element or integer or method step or group of elements or integers or method steps.", "As used in the subject specification, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural aspects unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "Thus, for example, reference to “a mutation” includes a single mutation, as well as two or more mutations; reference to “an antibody” includes a single antibody, as well as two or more antibodies; reference to “the disclosure” includes a single reference to “the disclosure” and includes single and multiple aspects taught by the disclosure; and so forth.", "Aspects taught and enabled herein are encompassed by the term “invention”.", "All such aspects are enabled within the width of the present invention.", "Disclosed herein is an antibody which binds to Aβ1-40 (“Aβ40”) as well as C-terminally elongated pathogenic forms of Aβ, including Aβ1-42 (“Aβ42”) and Aβ1-43 (“Aβ43”) as well as covalently linked multimers thereof.", "A “multimer” includes an oligomer.", "The antibody comprises a mature heavy chain having the amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 with the proviso that in the sequence WIGE, the glutamic acid (E) is substituted for another amino acid residue, i.e.", "Glu50Xaa.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is alanine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is arginine such as depicted in SEQ ID NO:2.Other forms are provided in SEQ ID NOs:9 and 11.The amino acid sequence of its light chain is set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.The mature heavy chain is derived from an antigen-binding fragment of Mab 2286 (a Fab 2286 fragment) and the antibody of the present disclosure is referred to as an “Fab 2286-like antibody”.", "It is also referred to as “Aβ Fab mutant”.", "The Mab 2286 precursor antigen binding fragment is referred to as “Fab 2286” or “Aβ Fab wt”.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody differs from Ponezumab and Mab 2286 by its ability to bind to C-terminally elongated Aβ species.", "These include Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-43 as well as Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, AβpyroGlu3-42 and AβpyroGlu11-42.The Fab 2286-like antibody may also comprise one or more additional amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions.", "In addition, the Fab 2286-like antibody may be conjugated to any heavy and light constant regions.", "For example, in an embodiment, the Fab 2286-like antibody is conjugated to human kappa-1 immunoglobulin (hkappa) light chain and human gamma-1 immunoglobulin (hG1) heavy chain constant regions.", "In one example, the heavy chain variable and constant regions (VH+CH) have an amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:9.Furthermore, the antibody may be mammalianized so that it can be administered to a particular mammal such as a mouse, rat, pig, sheep or monkey.", "In an embodiment, the mammal is a human and the antibody is humanized or deimmunized.", "In terms of testing the antibody in an animal model such as a mouse model, it may also be subject to murinization.", "Accordingly, enabled herein is an isolated Fab 2286-like antibody which binds to Aβ1-40 and a C-terminally elongated form thereof, the antibody comprising a modified Fab 2286 wherein a mature heavy chain variable region comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is not glutamic acid, wherein the numbering of the amino acid sequence WIGE in Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO:1) represents residues 47 to 50 or comprising one or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:1.Enabled herein is an isolated antibody comprising a mature heavy chain as set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 or one or more amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 provided that the amino acid residue at position 50 is arginine (R) [50 Arg].", "In an embodiment, the amino acid sequence comprises at least 90% similarity to SEQ ID NO:2 provided it still contains the Glu50Arg substitution.", "Enabled herein is an isolated antibody comprising a mature heavy chain as set forth in SEQ ID NO:9 or one or more amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:9 provided that the amino acid residue at position 50 is arginine (R) [50 Arg].", "In an embodiment, the amino acid sequence comprises at least 90% similarity to SEQ ID NO:9 provided it still contains the Glu50Arg substitution.", "Enabled herein is an isolated antibody comprising a mature heavy chain as set forth in SEQ ID NO:11 or one or more amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:11 provided that the amino acid residue at position 50 is arginine (R) [50 Arg].", "In an embodiment, the amino acid sequence comprises at least 90% similarity to SEQ ID NO:1 provided it contains the Glu50Arg substitution.", "To take into account variations in the heavy chain, in the amino acid sequence WIGE of SEQ ID NO:1 (mature heavy chain variable region of Fab 2286), the E is at position 50 and in the Fab 2286-like antibody, the sequence is WIGR (see SEQ ID NO:2, 9 and 11).", "This is also referred to herein as a Glu50Arg substitution of the mature heavy chain variable region of Fab 2286.However, the present invention extends to a substitution of E at position 50 to any amino acid residue such as alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine or selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to a basic amino acid residue such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an alanine.", "In an embodiment, the substitution is to an arginine.", "In an embodiment, the present invention extends to a Fab 2286-like antibody comprising a heavy chain variable region as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 with the exception that in the sequence WIGE at amino acids 47 to 50, the sequence is selected from WIGA, WIGR, WIGN, WIGD, WIGC, WIGQ, WJGG, WIGH, WIGI, WIGL, WIGK, WIGM, WIGF, WIGP, WIGS, WIGT, WIGW, WIGY, WIGV, WIGO and WIGU.", "In an embodiment, the sequence is WIGR, WIGK, WIGH, WIGA or WIGM.", "In an embodiment, the seuqnece is WIGR.", "Reference to “at least 90%” amino acid sequence similarity means 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100% similarity.", "By “similarity” includes “identity”.", "In a related embodiment, enabled herein is an isolated antibody which binds to Aβ1-40 or C-terminally elongated forms thereof or covalently linked multimers thereof, the antibody comprising a modified form of Fab 2286 wherein a mature heavy chain variable region comprises a modified amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is not glutamic acid (E), wherein the numbering of the amino acid sequence WIGE in Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO:1) represents amino acid residues 47 to 50 or comprising one or more amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.In an embodiment, the amino acid residue at position 50 is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid residue at position 50 is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid residue at position 50 is alanine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid reisdue at position 50 is arginine.", "The present disclosure is instructional on a Fab 2286-like antibody comprising a mature heavy chain variable region comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 wherein the Fab 2286-like antibody binds to Aβ1-40 and to C-terminally elongated forms thereof.", "Other examples of the heavy chain variable regions are found in SEQ ID NOs:9 and 11.Reference to “C-terminally elongated forms” of Aβ1-40 includes Aβ1-42, Aβ1-43, Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, AβpyroGlu3-42 and AβpyroGlu11-42.Enabled herein is an isolated polynucleotide encoding an amino acid sequence of a mature heavy chain variable region of an antibody which binds to Aβ1-40 and C-terminally elongated forms thereof or covalently linked multimers thereof, the antibody comprising a modified form of Fab 2286 wherein a mature heavy chain variable region comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 wherein the amino acid at position 50 is not glutamic acid or comprising one or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.The numbering of the amino acid sequence WIGE in Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO:1) represents amino acid residues 47 to 50.In an embodiment, the amino acid at position 50 is selected from the list constiting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid at position 50 is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid at position 50 is alanine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid residue at position 50 is arginine.", "Hence, in an embodiment, the polynucleotide encodes SEQ ID NO:2.Cells and vectors comprising the polynucleotide are also enabled herein.", "Polynucleotide encoding SEQ ID NOs:9 and 11 are also contemplated herein as well as polynucleotide sequence which have at least 90% identity to the nucleotide sequence encoding each of SEQ ID NO:2, 9 or 11 or a nucleic acid capable of hybridizing under medium or high stringency conditions to the nucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:2, 9 or 11 provided the nucleotide sequence encodes Glu50Arg substitution.", "In an embodiment, the nucleotide sequence is SEQ ID NO:18 or a nucleotide having at least 90% identity to SEQ ID NO:18 or a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes to the complement of SEQ ID NO: 18 under medium or high stringency conditions.", "In relation to a nucleotide sequence, “at least 90%” means 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 or 100%.", "The term “similarity” as used herein includes exact identity between compared sequences at the nucleotide or amino acid level.", "Where there is non-identity at the nucleotide level, “similarity” includes differences between sequences which result in different amino acids that are nevertheless related to each other at the structural, functional, biochemical and/or conformational levels.", "Where there is non-identity at the amino acid level, “similarity” includes amino acids that are nevertheless related to each other at the structural, functional, biochemical and/or conformational levels.", "In an embodiment, nucleotide and sequence comparisons are made at the level of identity rather than similarity.", "Terms used to describe sequence relationships between two or more polynucleotides or polypeptides include “reference sequence”, “comparison window”, “sequence similarity”, “sequence identity”, “percentage of sequence similarity”, “percentage of sequence identity”, “substantially similar” and “substantial identity”.", "A “reference sequence” is at least 12 but frequently 15 to 18 and often at least 25 or above, such as 30 monomer units, inclusive of nucleotides and amino acid residues, in length.", "Because two polynucleotides may each comprise (1) a sequence (i.e.", "only a portion of the complete polynucleotide sequence) that is similar between the two polynucleotides, and (2) a sequence that is divergent between the two polynucleotides, sequence comparisons between two (or more) polynucleotides are typically performed by comparing sequences of the two polynucleotides over a “comparison window” to identify and compare local regions of sequence similarity.", "A “comparison window” refers to a conceptual segment of typically 12 contiguous residues that is compared to a reference sequence.", "The comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e.", "gaps) of about 20% or less as compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences.", "Optimal alignment of sequences for aligning a comparison window may be conducted by computerized implementations of algorithms (e.g.", "GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package Release 7.0, Genetics Computer Group, 575 Science Drive Madison, Wis., USA) or by inspection and the best alignment (i.e.", "resulting in the highest percentage homology over the comparison window) generated by any of the various methods selected.", "Reference also may be made to the BLAST family of programs as for example disclosed by Altschul et al.", "(1997) Nucl.", "Acids.", "Res.", "25:3389.A detailed discussion of sequence analysis can be found in Unit 19.3 of Ausubel et al.", "(In: Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons Inc. 1994-1998).", "The terms “sequence similarity” and “sequence identity” as used herein refers to the extent that sequences are identical or functionally or structurally similar on a nucleotide-by-nucleotide basis or an amino acid-by-amino acid basis over a window of comparison.", "Thus, a “percentage of sequence identity”, for example, is calculated by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over the window of comparison, determining the number of positions at which the identical nucleic acid base (e.g.", "A, T, C, G, I) or the identical amino acid residue (e.g.", "Ala, Pro, Ser, Thr, Gly, Val, Leu, Ile, Phe, Tyr, Trp, Lys, Arg, His, Asp, Glu, Asn, Gin, Cys and Met) occurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the number of matched positions by the total number of positions in the window of comparison (i.e., the window size), and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage of sequence identity.", "For the purposes of the present invention, “sequence identity” will be understood to mean the “match percentage” calculated by the DNASIS computer program (Version 2.5 for windows; available from Hitachi Software engineering Co., Ltd., South San Francisco, Calif., USA) using standard defaults as used in the reference manual accompanying the software.", "Similar comments apply in relation to sequence similarity.", "Reference to medium stringency includes and encompasses from at least about 16% v/v to at least about 30%0/v/v formamide and from at least about 0.5 M to at least about 0.9 M salt for hybridization, and at least about 0.5 M to at least about 0.9 M salt for washing condition.", "Reference to high stringency includes and encompasses from at least about 31% v/v to at least about 50% v/v formamide and from at least about 0.01 M to at least about 0.15 M salt for hybridization, and at least about 0.01 M to at least about 0.15 M salt for washing conditions.", "In general, washing is carried out Tm=69.3+0.41 (G+C) % (Marmur and Doty (1962) J. Mol.", "Biol.", "5:109).", "However, the Tm of a duplex DNA decreases by 1° C. with every increase of 1% in the number of mismatch base pairs (Bonner and Laskey (1974) Eur.", "J. Biochem.", "46:83).", "Formamide is optional in these hybridization conditions.", "Accordingly, particularly preferred levels of stringency are defined as follows: low stringency is 6×SSC buffer, 0.1% w/v SDS at 25°-42° C.; a moderate stringency is 2×SSC buffer, 0.1% w/v SDS at a temperature in the range 20° C. to 65° C.; high stringency is 0.1×SSC buffer, 0.1% w/v SDS at a temperature of at least 65° C. The Fab 2286-like antibody disclosed herein is useful in the treatment of a subject with a disease or condition associated with or characterized by the presence of pathogenic or toxic forms of Aβ species.", "The C-terminally elongated Aβ species may also be in the form of cerebral deposits.", "Such diseases or conditions include Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]).", "Generally, the subject is a human although for testing purposes, non-human mammalian subjects may be tested.", "In an example, a humanized antibody is used in humans and a murinize form is used for mice or rats.", "In an embodiment, the subject is a companion animal such as a dog or cat (using caninized and felinized antibodies, respectively).", "See, for example, SEQ ID NOs:9 and 11.Hence, the instant disclosure teaches a method for the treatment or prophylaxis of a condition associated with or characterized by the presence of a pathogenic form of Aβ comprising a C-terminally elongated species of Aβ, the method comprising administering to a subject in need of treatment an effective amount of an antibody comprising a mature heavy chain having a modified amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is not glutamic acid, using a numbering system where the amino acid sequence WIGE in Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO:1) is at positions 47 to 50 or an amino acid sequence with one or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions thereto.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid at position 50 is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid at position 50 is a basic amino acid such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid at position 50 is alanine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid at position 50 is arginine.", "In an embodiment, the instant disclosure teaches a method for the treatment or prophylaxis of a condition associated with or characterized by the presence of a pathogenic form of Aβ comprising a C-terminally elongated species of Aβ, the method comprising administering to a subject in need of treatment an effective amount of an antibody comprising a mature heavy chain having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 or an amino acid sequence with one or more amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions thereto with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is R, using a numbering system where the amino acid sequence WIGE in Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO: 1) is at positions 47 to 50.The effective amount of antibody includes an amount sufficient for microglia to be stimulated to facilitate removal of pathogenic forms of Aβ to which the antibody binds.", "Generally, the antibody does not substantially provoke an inflammatory response, the Fab 2286-like antibody promotes clearance of pathogenic Aβ species.", "This can be via microglial removal of Aβ in the brain or via a shift in the equilibrium of Aβ from the brain to the circulatory blood system (“peripheral sink”).", "Enabled herein is a method of treating or ameliorating symptoms of a neurological condition selected from Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, stroke and HCHWA-D or other adverse event involving amyloidosis in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject, an effective amount of a Fab 2286-like antibody comprising a mature heavy chain variable region having a modified amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is not glutamic acid (E) using a numbering system where the amino acid sequence WIGE of Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO: 1) is at positions 47 to 50 or having one or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions thereto.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid substitution may also be referred to as Glu50Xaa in the heavy chain variable region of Fab 2286.In an embodiment, Xaa is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is a basic amino acid residue such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, Xaa is alanine.", "In a particular embodiment, Xaa is arginine (i.e.", "the substitution is Glu50Arg).", "The term “Fab 2286-like antibody” means that the Fab 2286 antibody has undergone a modification to the mature heavy chain variable region to substitute the E in the amino acid sequence WIGE at positions 47 to 50 to an R (i.e.", "WIGR) [Glu500Arg] or another amino acid [Glu500Xaa], wherein Xaa is not glutamic acid.", "One or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions may also be made to the mature heavy chain or a light chain.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody, however, binds to A β1-40 and C-terminally elongated forms thereof such as A β1-42 and A β1-43.In addition, the Fab 2286-like antibody may be conjugated to any light and heavy chain constant region scaffold.", "The original 2286 antibody (VL+CL; VH+CH) is referred to as Mab 2286.In an embodiment, the Fab 2286-like antibody is conjugated to heavy and light chain constant regions of any antibody.", "The antibody may also bind to covalently bound multimers of these Aβ species.", "In an embodiment, the present disclosure teaches a method for the treatment or prophylaxis of Alzheimer's disease in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of an Fab 2286-like antibody having a modification to its mature heavy chain to substitute an E in the amino acid sequence WIGE to X (WIGX), wherein X is any amino acid except glutamic acid.", "In an embodiment, X is R (WIGR).", "One or more other amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions may also be made to the heavy or light chain.", "In one embodiment, the VL+CL comprises an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO:9.The inventors analyzed the molecular basis of antibody engagement of Aβ epitopes.", "The 3D Fab structure (Fab 2286) was determined to near atomic resolution of the variable domain of Mab 2286.Fab 2286 is a chimera comprising the mouse variable region of Mab 2286 transplanted onto a human scaffold.", "Fab 2286 is VH and VL from Mab 2286 and CH and CL from a human template.", "The analysis revealed a hydrophobic cavity in the Fab 2286 binding site in which the C-terminal region of A β1-40 was modeled.", "Data further revealed a buried terminal carboxyl location that excluded cross reactivity with C-terminally elongated Aβ species.", "Modification of the glutamic acid (E) at residue 50 by the substitution to another amino acid residue in the mature heavy chain variable region enables binding to the C-terminally elongated Aβ species.", "Reference to an “antibody” includes an immunoglobulin molecule which binds to a specific target.", "In the case of the Fab 2286-like antibody of the instant disclosure, the specific target is the C-terminal end of A β1-40 or C-terminally elongated Aβ species such as Aβ1-42 and A β1-43 as well as Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, A βpyroGlu3-43 and A βpyroGlu11-42.The immunoglobulin binds to the C-terminal end of the elongated pathogenic forms of Aβ.", "Further covered herein are fragments of antibodies such as Fab, Fab′, F(ab′)2 and Fv fragments, single chain (ScFv) forms, mutants, fusion proteins comprising a portion of the Fab 2286-like antibody and synthetically modified derivatives.", "In an embodiment, the Fab 2286-like antibody is conjugated to hkappa-1 light chain and hG1 heavy chain constant regions.", "As used herein, an “effective dosage” or “effective amount” of the Fab 2286-like antibody or a pharmaceutical composition comprising same is an amount sufficient to effect beneficial or desired results.", "For prophylactic use, beneficial or desired results include results such as eliminating or reducing the risk, lessening the severity, or delaying the outset of the disease, including biochemical, histological and/or behavioral symptoms of the disease, its complications and intermediate pathological phenotypes presenting during development of the disease.", "Such a disease is a disease or condition associated with pathogenic forms of Aβ.", "Examples include Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]).", "For therapeutic use, beneficial or desired results include clinical results such as inhibiting, suppressing or reducing the formation of amyloid plaques, reducing, removing, clearing amyloid plaques, improving cognition, reversing or slowing cognitive decline, sequestering or increasing soluble Aβ peptide circulating in biological fluids, decreasing one or more symptoms resulting from the disease (biochemical, histological and/or behavioral), including its complications and intermediate pathological phenotypes presenting during development of the disease, increasing the quality of life of those suffering from the disease, decreasing the dose of other medications required to treat the disease, enhancing effect of another medication, delaying the progression of the disease, and/or prolonging survival of patients.", "An effective dosage can be administered in one or more administrations.", "For purposes of the present disclosure, an effective dosage of antibody, or pharmaceutical composition is an amount sufficient to accomplish prophylactic or therapeutic treatment either directly or indirectly.", "As is understood in the clinical context, an effective dosage of the Fab 2286-like antibody or pharmaceutical composition comprising same may or may not be achieved in conjunction with another drug, compound, or pharmaceutical composition.", "Thus, an “effective dosage” may be considered in the context of administering one or more therapeutic agents, and a single agent may be considered to be given in an effective amount if, in conjunction with one or more other agents, a desirable result may be or is achieved.", "As used herein, “treatment” or “treating” is an approach for obtaining beneficial or desired results including clinical results.", "For purposes of this disclosure, beneficial or desired clinical results include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: inhibiting, suppressing or reducing the formation of amyloid plaques, reducing, removing, or clearing amyloid plaques, improving cognition, reversing or slowing cognitive decline, sequestering soluble Aβ peptide circulating in biological fluids, reducing Aβ peptide (including soluble, oligomeric and deposited) in a tissue (such as brain), inhibiting, slowing and/or reducing accumulation of Aβ peptide in the brain, inhibiting, slowing and/or reducing toxic effects of Aβ peptide in a tissue (such as brain), decreasing symptoms resulting from the disease, increasing the quality of life of those suffering from the disease, decreasing the dose of other medications required to treat the disease, delaying the progression of the disease, and/or prolonging survival of patients.", "Reference to disease includes Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]).", "As used herein, “delaying” development of Alzheimer's disease means to defer, hinder, slow, retard, stabilize, and/or postpone development of the disease or its symptoms.", "This delay can be of varying lengths of time, depending on the history of the disease and/or individual being treated.", "As is evident to one skilled in the art, a sufficient or significant delay can, in effect, encompass prevention, in that the individual does not develop the disease.", "A method that “delays” development of Alzheimer's disease is a method that reduces probability of disease development in a given time frame and/or reduces extent of the disease in a given time frame, when compared to not using the method.", "Such comparisons are typically based on clinical studies, using a statistically significant number of subjects.", "“Development” of Alzheimer's disease means the onset and/or progression of Alzheimer's disease within an individual.", "Alzheimer's disease development can be detectable using standard clinical techniques.", "However, development also refers to disease progression that may be initially undetectable.", "For purposes of this disclosure, progression refers to the biological course of the disease state, in this case, as determined by a standard neurological examination, patient interview, or may be determined by more specialized testing such as the detection or monitoring of biological markers of the disease.", "A variety of these diagnostic tests include, but not limited to, neuroimaging, detecting alterations of levels of specific proteins in the serum or cerebrospinal fluid (e.g.", "amyloid peptides and Tau), computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).", "“Development” includes occurrence, recurrence, and onset.", "As used herein “onset” or “occurrence” of Alzheimer's disease includes initial onset and and/or recurrence.", "As used herein, administration “in conjunction” includes simultaneous administration and/or administration at different times.", "Administration in conjunction also encompasses administration as a co-formulation or administration as separate compositions.", "As used herein, administration in conjunction is meant to encompass any circumstance wherein an anti-Aβ antibody and another agent are administered to an individual, which can occur simultaneously and/or separately.", "As further enabled herein, it is understood that an anti-A Fab 2286-like antibody and optionally the other agent can be administered at different dosing frequencies or intervals.", "For example, an anti-Aβ antibody can be administered weekly, while the other agent can be administered less frequently.", "It is understood that the anti-Aβ antibody and the other agent can be administered using the same route of administration or different routes of administration.", "An “individual” (alternatively referred to as a “subject”) is a mammal, including a human.", "Other mammals include, but are not limited to, farm animals (such as cows), sport animals, companion animals (such as cats, dogs, horses), primates, mice and rats.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may be formulated in a pharmaceutical composition with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, “pharmaceutically acceptable carrier” includes any material which, when combined with an active ingredient, allows the ingredient to retain biological activity and is non-reactive with the subject's immune system.", "Examples include, but are not limited to, any of the standard pharmaceutical carriers such as a phosphate buffered saline solution, water, emulsions such as oil/water emulsion, and various types of wetting agents.", "Diluents for aerosol or parenteral administration include phosphate buffered saline or normal (0.9% /w/v) saline.", "Compositions comprising such carriers are formulated by well known conventional methods (see, for example, Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th edition, A. Gennaro, ed., Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa., 1990; and Remington, The Science and Practice of Pharmacy 20th Ed.", "Mack Publishing, 2000).", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may include additional modifications which include functionally equivalent antibodies which do not significantly affect their properties and variants which have enhanced or decreased activity and/or affinity.", "For example, the amino acid sequence of the heavy or light variable region of the Fab 2286-like antibody may be mutated to obtain an antibody with a desired binding affinity to Aβ1-42 of Aβ1-43 peptide.", "Modification of polypeptides is routine practice in the art and need not be described in detail herein.", "Examples of modified polypeptides include polypeptides with conservative substitutions of amino acid residues, one or more deletions or additions of amino acids which do not significantly deleteriously change the functional activity, or use of chemical analogs.", "Amino acid sequence insertions include amino- and/or carboxyl-terminal fusions ranging in length from one residue to polypeptides containing a hundred or more residues, as well as intrasequence insertions of single or multiple amino acid residues.", "Examples of terminal insertions include an antibody with an N-terminal methionyl residue or the antibody fused to an epitope tag.", "Other insertional variants of the antibody molecule include the fusion to the N- or C-terminus of the antibody of an enzyme or a polypeptide which increases the serum half-life of the antibody or which provides a particular functionality.", "Substitution variants have at least one amino acid residue in the antibody molecule removed and a different residue inserted in its place.", "The sites of greatest interest for substitutional mutagenesis include the hypervariable regions, but Fc alterations are also contemplated.", "Conservative substitutions are shown in Table 3 under the heading of “conservative substitutions”.", "TABLE 3 Amino Acid subiitutions Original Conservative Residue Substitutions Exemplary Substitutions Ala (A) Val Val; Leu; Ile Arg (R) Lys Lys; Gln; Asn Asn (N) Gln Gln; His; Asp; Lys; Arg Asp (D) Glu Glu; Asn Cys (C) Ser Ser; Ala Gln (Q) Asn Asn; Gln Glu (E) Asp Asp; Gln Gly (G) Ala Ala His (H) Arg Asn; Gln; Lys; Arg Ile (I) Leu Leu; Val; Met; Ala; Phe; Norleucine Leu (L) Ile Norleucine; Ile; Val; Met; Ala; Phe Lys (K) Arg Arg; Gln; Asn Met (M) Leu Leu; Phe; Ile Phe (F) Tyr Leu; Val; Ile; Ala; Tyr Pro (P) Ala Ala Ser (S) Thr Thr Thr (T) Ser Ser Trp (W) Tyr Tyr; Phe Tyr (Y) Phe Trp; Phe; Thr; Ser Val (V) Leu Ile; Leu; Met; Phe; Ala; Norleucine Substantial modifications in the biological properties of the antibody are accomplished by selecting substitutions that differ significantly in their effect on maintaining: (a) the structure of the polypeptide backbone in the area of the substitution, for example, as a sheet or helical conformation; (b) the charge or hydrophobicity of the molecule at the target site; or (c) the bulk of the side chain.", "Naturally occurring residues are divided into groups based on common side-chain properties: (1) Non-polar: Norleucine, Met, Ala, Val, Leu, Ile; (2) Polar without charge: Cys, Ser, Thr, Asn, Gin; (3) Acidic (negatively charged): Asp, Glu; (4) Basic (positively charged): Lys, Arg; (5) Residues that influence chain orientation: Gly, Pro; and (6) Aromatic: Trp, Tyr, Phe, His.", "As taught herein, the Fab 2286-like antibody comprises a substitution of E to an R in the sequence WIGE in the heavy chain variable region of Fab 2286 (wild type).", "Non-conservative substitutions are made by exchanging a member of one of these classes for another class.", "Any cysteine residue not involved in maintaining the proper conformation of the antibody also may be substituted, generally with serine, to improve the oxidative stability of the molecule and prevent aberrant cross-linking.", "Conversely, cysteine bond(s) may be added to the antibody to improve its stability, particularly where the antibody is an antibody fragment such as an Fv fragment.", "Amino acid modifications can range from changing or modifying one or more amino acids to complete redesign of a region, such as the variable region.", "Changes in the variable region can alter binding affinity and/or specificity.", "Modifications also include glycosylated and nonglycosylated polypeptides, as well as polypeptides with other post-translational modifications, such as, for example, glycosylation with different sugars, acetylation, and phosphorylation.", "Antibodies are glycosylated at conserved positions in their constant regions (Jefferis and Lund (1997) Chem.", "Immunol.", "65:111-128; Wright and Morrison (1997) TibTECH 15:26-32).", "The oligosaccharide side chains of the immunoglobulins affect the protein's function (Boyd et al.", "(1996) Mol.", "Immunol.", "32:1311-1318; Wittwe and Howard (1990) Biochem.", "29:4175-4180) and the intramolecular interaction between portions of the glycoprotein, which can affect the conformation and presented three-dimensional surface of the glycoprotein (Jefferis and Lund (1997) supra; Wyss and Wagner (1996) Current Opin.", "Biotech.", "7:409-416).", "Oligosaccharides may also serve to target a given glycoprotein to certain molecules based upon specific recognition structures.", "Glycosylation of antibodies has also been reported to affect antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC).", "Glycosylation of antibodies is typically either N-linked or O-linked.", "N-linked refers to the attachment of the carbohydrate moiety to the side chain of an asparagine residue.", "The tripeptide sequences asparagine-X-serine, asparagine-X-threonine, and asparagine-X-cysteine, where X is any amino acid except proline, are the recognition sequences for enzymatic attachment of the carbohydrate moiety to the asparagine side chain.", "Thus, the presence of either of these tripeptide sequences in a polypeptide creates a potential glycosylation site.", "O-linked glycosylation refers to the attachment of one of the sugars N-acetylgalactosamine, galactose, or xylose to a hydroxyamino acid, most commonly serine or threonine, although 5-hydroxyproline or 5-hydroxylysine may also be used.", "Addition of glycosylation sites to the antibody is conveniently accomplished by altering the amino acid sequence such that it contains one or more of the above-described tripeptide sequences (for N-linked glycosylation sites).", "The alteration may also be made by the addition of, or substitution by, one or more serine or threonine residues to the sequence of the original antibody (for O-linked glycosylation sites).", "The glycosylation pattern of antibodies may also be altered without altering the underlying nucleotide sequence.", "Glycosylation largely depends on the host cell used to express the antibody.", "Since the cell type used for expression of recombinant glycoproteins, e.g.", "antibodies, as potential therapeutics is rarely the native cell, variations in the glycosylation pattern of the antibodies can be expected (see, e.g.", "Hse et al.", "(1997) J. Biol.", "Chem.", "272:9062-9070).", "The methods taught herein use antibodies (including pharmaceutical compositions comprising the antibodies) that specifically bind to an Aβ peptide at the C-terminal end.", "The antibodies are further characterized by any (one or more) of the following characteristics: (a) suppresses formation of amyloid plaques in a subject; (b) reduces amyloid plaques in a subject; (c) treats, prevents, ameliorates one or more symptoms of Alzheimer's disease; (d) improves cognitive function.", "The antibodies described herein may exhibit a desirable safety profile, for example, the compositions of Fab 2286-like antibody do not cause significant or unacceptable levels or have a reduced level of any one or more of: bleeding in the brain vasculature (cerebral hemorrhage); meningoencephalitis (including changing magnetic resonance scan); elevated white blood count in cerebral spinal fluid; central nervous system inflammation.", "The Fab 2286-like antibodies, polynucleotides encoding amino acid chains of the Fab 2286-like antibody, and pharmaceutical compositions described herein can be used in methods for treating, preventing and inhibiting the development of a disease characterized by aberrant deposition of Aβ peptide in the brain of a subject.", "The methods comprise administering to the subject an effective amount of the Fab 2286-like antibody that specifically binds to the Aβ peptide or the Aβ peptide deposit or a polynucleotide encoding a chain of the antibody.", "Without limiting the present disclosure to any one hypothesis or mode of action, the Fab 2286-like antibody can act directly in the brain to induce microglial-mediated removal of Aβ or via the “peripheral sink” route.", "According to the latter mode of action, the Fab 2286-like antibody does not need to cross the blood-brain barrier to act, but rather, binds Aβ in the blood and shift the equilibrium of Aβ from the CNS to the plasma, where Aβ can be degraded (DeMattos et al.", "(2001) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:8850-8855).", "The Fab 2286-like antibodies, polynucleotides encoding an amino acid chain in the antibody, and pharmaceutical compositions described herein can be used in methods for treating, preventing and inhibiting the development of Alzheimer's disease and other diseases associated with altered Aβ or APP expression, or accumulation or deposit of Aβ peptide (collectively termed “Aβ-associated diseases”), such as Down's syndrome, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, mild cognitive impairment, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, vascular disorder caused by deposit of Aβ peptide in blood vessels (such as stroke and HCHWA-D).", "Such methods comprise administering the Fab 2286-like antibodies or a pharmaceutical composition comprising same to the subject.", "In prophylactic applications, pharmaceutical compositions or medicaments are administered to a patient susceptible to, or otherwise at risk of, Alzheimer's disease (or other Aβ-associated disease) in an amount sufficient to eliminate or reduce the risk, lessen the severity, or delay the outset of the disease, including biochemical, histological and/or behavioral symptoms of the disease, its complications and intermediate pathological phenotypes presenting during development of the disease.", "In therapeutic applications, compositions or medicaments are administered; to a patient suspected of, or already suffering from such a disease in amount sufficient to cure, or at least partially arrest, the symptoms of the disease (biochemical, histological and/or behavioral), including its complications and intermediate pathological phenotypes in development of the disease.", "The present disclosure teaches a method of delaying development of a symptom associated with Alzheimer's disease (or other Aβ-associated disease) in a subject comprising administering an effective dosage of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a Fab 2286-like antibody described herein to the subject.", "Symptoms associated with Alzheimer disease includes, but not limited to, abnormalities of memory, problem solving, language, calculation, visuospatial perception, judgment, and behavior.", "This disclosure enables a method of inhibiting or suppressing the formation of amyloid plaques and/or Aβ accumulation in a subject comprising administering an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a Fab 2286-like antibody to the subject.", "In an embodiment, the amyloid plaques are in the brain of the subject.", "In an embodiment, the amyloid plaques are in the cerebral vasculature of the subject.", "In an embodiment, the Aβ accumulation is in the circulatory system of the subject.", "The instant disclosure teaches a method of reducing amyloid plaques and/or reducing or slowing Aβ accumulation in a subject comprising administering an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody to the subject an Fab 2286-like antibody.", "In an embodiment, the amyloid plaques are in the brain of the subject.", "In an embodiment, the amyloid plaques are in the cerebral vasculature of the subject.", "In an embodiment, the Aβ accumulation is in the circulatory system of the subject.", "Further taught herein is a method of removing or clearing amyloid plaques and/or Aβ accumulation in a subject comprising administering an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody to the subject an Fab 2286-like antibody.", "In an embodiment, the amyloid plaques are in the brain of the subject.", "In some embodiments, the amyloid plaques are in the cerebral vasculature of the subject.", "In an embodiment, the Aβ accumulation is in the circulatory system of the subject.", "The present disclosure is instructional for a method of reducing Aβ peptide in a tissue (such as brain), inhibiting and/or reducing accumulation of Aβ peptide in a tissue (such as brain), and inhibiting and/or reducing toxic effects of Aβ peptide in a tissue (such as brain) in a subject comprising administering an effective dose of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody to the subject an Fab 2286-like antibody.", "Aβ polypeptide may be in soluble, oligomeric, or deposited form.", "An oligomeric form of Aβ may be composed of 2 or more (e.g.", "2 to 50) Aβ polypeptides, which can be a mixture of inter alia A β1-40, Aβ1-42 and A β1-43 peptides as well as Aβ3-42, Aβ4-42, A βpyroGlu3-42 and A βpyroGlu11-42 and the like.", "The present disclosure teaches a method of improving cognition or reversing cognitive decline associated with diseases associated with amyloid deposit of Aβ in a subject, such as Alzheimer's disease, comprising administering an effective dosage of a pharmaceutical composition comprising an Fab 2286-like antibody to the subject an Fab 2286-like antibody.", "Effective dosages and schedules for administering the Fab 2286-like antibody may be determined empirically, and making such determinations is within the skill in the art.", "Those skilled in the art will understand that the dosage of antibody that must be administered will vary depending on, for example, the mammal that will receive the antibody, the route of administration, the particular type of antibody used and other drugs being administered to the mammal.", "Guidance in selecting appropriate doses for antibody is found in the literature on therapeutic uses of antibodies, e.g., Handbook of Monoclonal Antibodies, Ferrone et al.", "eds.", "Noges Publications, Park Ridge, N.J. (1985) ch.", "22:303-357; Smith et al.", "(1977) Antibodies in Human Diagnosis and Therapy, Haber et al.", "eds., Raven Press, New York:365-389.A typical daily dosage of the antibody used alone might range from about 1 μg/kg to up to 100 mg/kg of body weight or more per day, depending on the factors mentioned above.", "Generally, any of the following doses may be used: a dose of at least about 50 mg/kg body weight; at least about 10 mg/kg body weight; at least about 3 mg/kg body weight; at least about 1 mg/kg body weight; at least about 750 μg/kg body weight; at least about 500 μg/kg body weight; at least about 250 μg/kg body weight; at least about 100 μg/kg body weight; at least about 50 μg/kg body weight; at least about 10 μg/kg body weight; at least about 1 μg/kg body weight, or more, is administered.", "Antibodies may be administered at lower doses or less frequent at the beginning of the treatment to avoid potential side effect.", "Administration may be by any route including intracerebral and intravenous.", "The latter is useful in promoting a “peripheral sink” effect.", "In an embodiment, more than one antibody is present.", "Such compositions may contain at least one, at least two, at least three, at least four, at least five different antibodies which bind to different epitopes on Aβ or which bind to the same epitope but with different binding avidities.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may also be administered to a mammalian subject in combination with effective amounts of one or more other therapeutic agents.", "The antibody may be administered sequentially or concurrently with the one or more other therapeutic agents.", "The amounts of antibody and therapeutic agent depend, for example, on what type of drugs are used, the pathological condition being treated, and the scheduling and routes of administration but would generally be less than if each were used individually.", "Following administration of antibody to the mammal, the mammal's physiological condition can be monitored in various ways well known to the skilled practitioner.", "In an embodiment, the mammal is a human, companion animal, simian animal or laboratory test animal such as a mouse or rat.", "The instant disclosure further teaches articles of manufacture and kits containing materials useful for treating pathological conditions described herein, such as Alzheimer's disease or other Aβ-associated diseases (such as Down's syndrome, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, mild cognitive impairment, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma, vascular disorder caused by deposit of Aβ peptide in blood vessels [such as stroke and HCHWA-D]), or detecting or purifying Aβ or APP.", "The article of manufacture comprises a container with a label.", "Suitable containers include, for example, bottles, vials, and test tubes.", "The containers may be formed from a variety of materials such as glass or plastic.", "The container holds a composition having an active agent which is effective for treating pathological conditions or for detecting or purifying Aβ or APP.", "The active agent in the composition is an Fab 2286-like antibody and may further include an anti-Fab 2286-like antibody labeled with a reporter molecule or enzyme.", "The label on the container indicates that the composition is used for treating pathological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or detecting or purifying Aβ or APP, and may also indicate directions for either in vivo or in vitro use.", "The present disclosure also provides kits comprising the Fab 2286-like antibody and/or polynucleotides encoding amino acid chains of Fab 2286-like antibody.", "In an embodiment, the kit disclosed herein comprises the container described above.", "In an embodiment, the kit comprises the container described above and a second container comprising a buffer.", "It may further include other materials desirable from a commercial and user standpoint, including other buffers, diluents, filters, needles, syringes, and package inserts with instructions for performing any methods described herein (such as methods for treating Alzheimer's disease, and methods for inhibiting or reducing accumulation of Aβ peptide in the brain).", "In kits to be used for detecting or purifying Aβ or APP, the antibody is typically labeled with a detectable marker, such as, for example, a radioisotope, fluorescent compound, bioluminescent compound, a chemiluminescent compound, metal chelator or enzyme.", "In an embodiment, described herein is a composition for use in any of the methods described herein, whether in the context of use as a medicament and/or use for manufacture of a medicament.", "Hence, taught herein is a use of an antibody which binds to Aβ1-40 or C-terminally elongated forms thereof or covalently linked multimers thereof, the antibody comprising a modified Fab 2286 wherein a mature heavy chain comprises a modified amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 with the proviso that the amino acid residue at position 50 is not glutamic acid, wherein the numbering of the amino acid sequence WIGE in Fab 2286 (SEQ ID NO:1) represents amino acid residues 47 to 50 or comprising one or other more amino acid substitutions, additions and/or deletions to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of pathogenic Aβ disease.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is selected from the list consisting of alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, pyrrolysine and selenocysteine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is a basic amino acid residue such as arginine, lysine or histidine.", "In an embodiment, the amino acid is alanine.", "In a particular embodiment, the amino acid is arginine.", "In an embodiment, the Aβ disease is selected from the list consisting of Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]).", "Another aspect enabled herein is a method of detecting a toxic form of Aβ in a sample from a subject, said method comprising identifying binding between the Aβ form and Fab 2286-like antibody.", "Diagnostic applications include the detection of Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, cognitive impairment or memory loss, Parkinson's disease, multi-infarct dementia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, glaucoma and a vascular disorder caused by pathogenic Aβ peptide in blood vessels (e.g.", "stroke and hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis-Dutch type [HCHWA-D]) as well as pre-eclampsia.", "In an embodiment, the Fab 2286-like antibody is used to detect Alzheimer's disease, HCHWA-D or pre-eclampsia.", "Any immunoassay may be used to capture and/or directly identify a toxic form of Aβ.", "Immunoassays are binding assays.", "Certain immunoassays contemplated herein are the various types of enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and radioimmunoassays (RIA) known in the art.", "However, it will be readily appreciated that detection is not limited to such techniques, and Western blotting, dot blotting, FACS analyses, and the like may also be used.", "In an embodiment, the assay is capable of generating quantitative results.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody is either labeled with a reporter molecule or the Fab 2286-like antibody is used to bind to or capture the Aβ and a second antibody (directed to Fab 2286-like antibody or a portion of Aβ) labeled with a reporter molecule is used to detect an Fab 2286-like antibody-Aβ complex.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody can be used to screen for or capture toxic forms of Aβ.", "Techniques for the assays contemplated herein are known in the art and include, for example, sandwich assays and ELISA.", "It is within the scope of this invention to include any second antibodies (monoclonal, polyclonal or fragments of antibodies or synthetic antibodies) directed to Fab 2286-like antibody.", "Both types of antibodies may be used in detection assays or the Fab 2286-like antibody may be used with a commercially available anti-immunoglobulin antibody.", "Both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies specific for Fab 2286-like antibody are obtainable by immunization with Fab 2286-like antibodies or antigenic fragments thereof and either type is utilizable for immunoassays.", "The methods of obtaining both types of sera are well known in the art.", "Polyclonal sera are less preferred but are relatively easily prepared by injection of a suitable laboratory animal with an effective amount of the Fab 2286-like antibody, or antigenic parts thereof, collecting serum from the animal and isolating specific sera by any of the known immunoadsorbent techniques.", "Although antibodies produced by this method are utilizable in virtually any type of immunoassay, they are generally less favoured because of the potential heterogeneity of the product.", "The use of monoclonal antibodies in an immunoassay is particularly preferred because of the ability to produce them in large quantities and the homogeneity of the product.", "The preparation of hybridoma cell lines for monoclonal antibody production derived by fusing an immortal cell line and lymphocytes sensitized against the immunogenic preparation can be done by techniques which are well known to those who are skilled in the art.", "Another aspect of the present invention contemplates, therefore, a method for detecting a toxic form of Aβ in a biological sample from a subject.", "The method comprising contacting the biological sample with Fab 2286-like antibody for a time and under conditions sufficient for an antibody-polypeptide complex to form, and then detecting the complex.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may be labeled with a reporter molecule and this is detected or a labeled anti-Fab 2286-like antibody or generic labeled anti-immunoglobulin antibody is employed to detect the Fab 2286-like antibody-A complex.", "A biological sample includes a blood or cerebral spinal fluid sample.", "For the detection of pre-eclampsia, the sample is urine.", "A “labeled” antibody means an antibody labeled with a reporter molecule.", "By “reporter molecule” as used in the present specification, is meant a molecule which, by its chemical nature, provides an analytically identifiable signal which allows the detection of antigen-bound antibody.", "Detection may be either qualitative or quantitative.", "The most commonly used reporter molecules in this type of assay are either enzymes, fluorophores or radionuclide containing molecules (i.e.", "radioisotopes) and chemiluminescent molecules.", "In the case of an enzyme immunoassay, an enzyme is conjugated to a second antibody, generally by means of glutaraldehyde or periodate.", "As will be readily recognized, however, a wide variety of different conjugation techniques exist, which are readily available to the skilled artisan.", "Alternately, fluorescent compounds, such as fluorescein and rhodamine, may be chemically coupled to antibodies without altering their binding capacity.", "When activated by illumination with light of a particular wavelength, the fluorochrome-labeled antibody adsorbs the light energy, inducing a state to excitability in the molecule, followed by emission of the light at a characteristic colour visually detectable with a light microscope.", "The fluorescent labeled antibody is allowed to bind to a Fab 2286-like antibody-Aβ complex.", "After washing off the unbound reagent, the remaining tertiary complex is then exposed to the light of the appropriate wavelength the fluorescence observed indicates the presence of the hapten of interest.", "Immunofluorescene and EIA techniques are both very well established in the art.", "However, other reporter molecules, such as radioisotope, chemiluminescent or bioluminescent molecules, may also be employed.", "In an embodiment, taught herein is a dipstick comprising Fab 2286-like antibody immobilized thereon for use in detecting toxic forms of Aβ in a biological sample.", "In an embodiment, the sample is urine and the condition diagnosed is pre-eclampsia.", "EXAMPLES Aspects of the present disclosure are now further described by the following non-limiting Examples.", "Materials and Methods Antibody Cloning and Expression and Purification A chimeric antibody was produced incorporating light and heavy chain variable domains of the anti-Aβ murine monoclonal antibody, Mab 2286, described by Rosenthal et al.", "(US Patent Application Nos.", "2004/046512 and 2007/0160616) conjugated, respectively, to human kappa 1 immunoglobulin (hKappa) light chain and gamma-1 immunoglobulin (hG1) heavy chain constant regions.", "Amino acid sequences for the Fab region of the light (VL+CL) [SEQ ID NO:3] and heavy (VH+CH) [SEQ ID NO: 1] chains of Fab 2286 are shown in Table 4.Heavy and light chain constructs were each cloned into the pcDNA 3.1 vector (Invitrogen).", "Plasmids were transformed into E. coli (DHS-alpha, Invitrogen) for amplification under ampicillin selection and purified with a PureLink (Trade Mark) HiPure Plasmid Megaprep Kit (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions.", "Recombinant expression plasmids were then transfected into FreeStyle (Trade Mark) 293-F cells to allow expression of the recombinant chimeric antibody.", "FreeStyle (Trade Mark) 293-F cells were cultured in FreeStyle expression medium (Invitrogen), and maintained at 37° C. with an atmosphere of 8% v/v CO2.Transient transfections were performed using 293Fectin transfection reagent (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions.", "Cultures of 1000 mL were shaken in a Cellbag (Trade Mark) 2L (flow rate: 0.1-0.15 Lpm) on a bioreactor system.", "Cultures were supplemented with 0.1% Pluronic F68 (Invitrogen) and 0.5% Lucratone Lupin (Millipore) 4 and 24 hours post transfection, respectively, and the rocking angle adjusted to 9° after 24 hours.", "Six days post-transfection the cell culture supernatants were harvested by centrifugation at 1000×g.", "Harvested conditioned media was filtered through a 0.22 μm filter and applied to a MabSelect SuRe HiTrap Protein A HP Column (5 ml, Hitrap, GE Life Sciences, Sweden) previously equilibrated with PBS.", "Antibody was eluted with 0.1 M sodium citrate pH 3.5 and collected into 10% v/v final volume of 3.0 M Tris pH 8.0.Antibody was buffer exchanged into PBS using a HiLoad desalting column 26/10 (GE Life Sciences, Sweden) and concentrated to 1 mg/mL with a centrifugal concentrator (Amicon ultra, 50 kDa MWCO) for storage at −80° C. For expression and purification of Fab2286-like antibody fragment, synthetic DNA cloned into pcDNA3.1 expression vectors were obtained from Genscript for expression of the heavy and light chains.", "The N-terminal signal peptides were incorporated for the heavy chain (MGWSWIFLFL VSGTGGVLSE) and light chain (MESQTQVLMS LLFWVSGTCG).", "The heavy chain was expressed as a Hexa-histidine tagged construct, with the tag at the C-terminus of the chain.", "DNA constructs were transformed into DHSα E. coli for amplification under ampicillin selection and purified with a PureLink (Trade Mark) HiPure Plasmid Megaprep Kit (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions.", "Recombinant expression plasmids were then co-transfected into FreeStyle (Trade Mark) 293-F cells (Invitrogen) to allow expression of the recombinant antibody fragment.", "293-F cells were cultured in FreeStyle expression medium (Invitrogen), and maintained at 310 K with an atmosphere of 8% v/v CO2.The expression was performed in 4 L batches in a Certomat Ct plus incubator (Sartorius) by doing co-transfection of 1×106 cells/mL with both DNA and 293Fectin transfection reagent (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions.", "Cultures were supplemented with 5 mL/L of 10% v/v Pluronic F68 (Invitrogen), 5 mg/L Lucratone Lupin (Millipore) 4 hours post transfection, and 5 mg/L of glucose 2 days post-transfection.", "The cell culture supernatants were harvested by centrifugation at 500×g, and the media collected for purification.", "4 L of harvested media was concentrated to 200 mL by tangental flow filtration system (Millipore Proflux M12).", "The concentrated media was centrifuged at 20000×g for 30 minutes before being purified by immobilised-metal affinity chromatography.", "The supernatant containing Fab was incubated for 1 hour with equilibrated Ni-NTA affinity resin (Qiagen).", "The mixture was washed 4 times with 20 mM Tris pH 8.0, 150 mM NaCl and 20 mM imidazole.", "The protein of interest was eluted with 20 mM Tris pH 8.0, 150 mM NaCl and 500 mM imidazole.", "Eluted sample was further purified by size exclusion chromatography with a HiLoad Superdex 200 20/60 run in PBS on an AKTApurifier (GE Healthcare).", "Fractions were concentrated to 2 mg/mL with a centrifugal concentrator (Amicon ultra, 10 kDa MWCO).", "Purification of Fab Fab fragments were prepared using the Immunopure Fab Preparation kit (Pierce Biotechnology).", "IgG (10 mg) was digested with 0.5 mL of the 50% w/v immobilized papain slurry overnight at room temperature.", "The immobilized papain was removed by centrifugation (3000×g for 3 minutes) and the supernatant containing the digested sample was loaded onto a 1 mL HiTrap Protein A column (GE Life Sciences, Sweden).", "Fractions containing the clean Fab fragments were pooled and dialyzed over night in 20 mM HEPES pH 7.0.The dialyzed sample was concentrated with a Centriprep-10 centrifugal concentrator to 4 mg/mL (10 kDa MWCO, Millipore).", "The digestion and purification steps were monitored by SDS-PAGE.", "Amyloid-β Peptides Peptides corresponding to residues 1-28 (Aβ28), 1-40 (Aβ40) and 1-42 (Aβ42) of the amyloid-β sequence (1-DAEFRHDSGYEVHHQKLVFFAEDVGSNKGA IIGLMVGGVVIA-42) [SEQ ID NO:6] were obtained from commercial sources: Aβ28 (AnaSpec, San Jose, Calif., USA); Aβ40 and Aβ42 (GenicBio BioTech Co., Shanghai, China).", "Each of the Aβ peptides was resuspended in 100% (v/v) 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) and aliquoted to give 100 μg per Eppendorf tube.", "All aliquots were freeze-dried for 4 hours and stored at −80° C. until required.", "SDS-PAGE and Western Blot Aβ peptides (100 μg) were dissolved in 2 μL of 10 μM NaOH, then made up to a volume of 100 μL with PBS.", "Samples of Aβ40 and Aβ42 were prepared in advance and aged at room temperature for either 24 hours or 21 days.", "A 1:1 molar ratio of Aβ40 and Aβ42 was also prepared and allowed to age overnight before running on SDS-PAGE.", "Aβ28 was used as a negative control and prepared on the day along with fresh samples of Aβ40 and Aβ42.An aliquot of 0.5 μg of all aged and freshly prepared Aβ peptides in non-reducing Lamelii loading dye was run on 12% w/v SDS polyacrilamide gel (NuPage; Invitrogen).", "Gels were run in triplicate, one gel was Coomassie stained with InstantBlue (Expedon) and the other two were transferred for 1 hour at 4° C. to nitrocellulose membrane (Millipore).", "Following Western transfer, the nitrocellulose membrane was blocked with 3% w/v BSA in PBS with 0.1% v/v Tween-20 (PBS-T) overnight at 4° C. The membrane was incubated with either Mab 2286 (1:5000) or Mab WO2 (1:2000) in 3% v/v BSA, PBS-T for 1 hour at room temperature.", "It was then washed four times in PBS-T for 15 minutes each.", "The blot was then incubated with 1:5000 Protein A-HRP (Millipore) in PBS-T for 1 hour at room temperature.", "It was washed a further four times in PBS-T for 15 minutes.", "The membrane was incubated with SuperSignal West Pico chemiluminescent (Pierce) for 5 minutes, exposed for 1 minute to X-ray film (Super RX; Fuji) and developed.", "Crystallization Initial crystallization screening resulted in small needles of crystals that were subsequently optimized by a combination of the Additive Screen (Hampton Research) and grid screening varying pH and PEG concentration.", "The best crystals were grown in 100 mM citric acid pH 5.5, 20% v/v 2-propanol and 20% w/v PEG 4000.All crystals were grown using by vapor diffusion using 2 μL hanging drops at 22° C. Crystals were soaked in a cryoprotectant (mother liquor plus 15% v/v glycerol) for several minutes prior to mounting in a N2 stream at 100 K. Structure Determination Diffraction data from a single crystal of Fab 2286 were collected on the MX1 beamline of the Australian Synchrotron (Melbourne, Australia) with an ADSC Quantum 210r detector.", "Data collection were controlled using Blue-Ice software (McPhillips et al.", "(2002) J. Synchroton Radiat 9:401-406).", "All diffraction data were acquired from one crystal frozen at 100 K. Data collection statistics are summarized in Table 5.Accession Numbers The coordinates for the Fab 2286 structure have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank under the accession number 3U0W.", "TABLE 4 Amino acid sequences of the chimeric Fab 2286 light and heavy chains Light Chain (hKappa) DIQMTQTTSSLSASLGDRVTISCSASQGISNYLNWFQQKPDGTVKLLIYY TSSLHSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDYSLTISNLEPEDIATYYCQQYRKLPYTFGG GTKLEIKRTVAAPSVFIFPPSDEQLKSGTASVVCLLNNFYPREAKVQWKV DNALQSGNSQESVTEQDSKDSTYSLSSTLTLSKADYEKHKVYACEVTHQG LSSPVTKSFNRGEC (SEQ ID NO: 3) Heavy Chain (hG1) EVKLLESGGGLVQPGGSLKISCAASGFDFSRYWMNWVRQAPGKGLEWIGE INPDSSTINYTPSLKDKFIISRDNAKNTLYLQMSKVRSEDTAIYYCARQM GYWGQGTTLTVSSASTKGPSVFPLAPSSKSTSGGTAALGCLVKDYFPEPV TVSWNSGALTSGVHTFPAVLQSSGLYSLSSVVTVPSSSLGTQTYICNVNH KPSNTKVDKKVEPKSC (SEQ ID NO: 10) Example 1 Western Blot Analysis Antibody recognition of Aβ peptides is confounded by not only the range of different length peptides produced, but by their propensity to form a range of higher order complexes.", "In order to explore the specificity of Mab 2286, a number of different Aβ peptide preparations were examined.", "These included denatured and freshly dissolved Aβ28, Aβ40 and Aβ42, which would be mostly monomeric in solution.", "The peptides were allowed to oligomerize/aggregate both in isolation and as a mixture of the two most common peptides, Aβ40 and Aβ42, for 24 hours to 21 days.", "These were then analyzed by SDS-PAGE and detected by Coomassie stain (FIG.", "1A), Western Blot with chimeric anti-Aβ Mab 2286 as the primary antibody (FIG.", "1B) and Western Blot with murine anti-Aβ Mab WO2 as the primary antibody (FIG.", "1C).", "Mab WO2 was used as the reference antibody as the 3-D Aβ recognition epitope was previously determined, which involves the free side chains of Aβ2-7 (Miles et al.", "(2008) J Mol Biol 377:181-192).", "Consistent with the epitope recognition of Mab WO2, specific bands corresponding to Aβ28, Aβ40 and Aβ42 were detected as well as a range of higher molecular weight Aβ species observed for all of the aged peptides (FIG.", "1C), indicating that the aging protocol used was sufficient to generate a number of oligomeric forms.", "By contrast, quite strikingly, Mab 2286 was highly selective and sensitive in detecting monomeric Aβ40, with no cross-reactivity with any of the other aggregated forms apart from a minor Aβ40 dimeric species (FIG.", "1B, Lane 2).", "There was no cross-reactivity with either the Aβ28 or Aβ42 sample (FIG.", "1B, Lane 6 and 4 respectively).", "Interestingly, no monomeric Aβ40 was detected in the sample that had been left to age for 21 days (FIG.", "1B Lane 1), suggesting that all monomeric Aβ40 had reacted to form oligomers/aggregates.", "The preparation comprised a mixture of Aβ40 and Aβ42 and was allowed to age overnight.", "Under these conditions the level of monomeric Aβ40 detected by Mab 2286 was significantly reduced (FIG.", "1B Lane 5) relative to freshly prepared Aβ40 alone (the starting concentration of monomeric Aβ40 is the same as the sample in Lane 2) indicating that it has formed higher molecular weight oligomers in the presence of Aβ42.Rosenthal and co-workers showed that Mab 2286 is specific for Aβ terminating at residue 40.They also showed that single point alanine mutations across the terminal residues (35-MVGGVV-40 [SEQ ID NO:8]) modulated binding affinity (Rosenthal et al.", "US Patent Application No.", "2007/0160616).", "Unlike the N-terminal region of Aβ, the C-terminal region is hydrophobic.", "When combined, these data indicate that Mab 2286 recognises the hydrophobic side chains of Aβ40 at the C-terminus that are predominantly available in the monomeric state or available for recruitment from perhaps dimers or higher order complexes.", "Example 2 Structure of Fab 2286 High resolution (2 Å) structure of a chimeric form of an antigen binding fragment of Mab 2286 [Fab 2286], was determined (Table 5).", "The structure of Fab 2286 reveals that it is a typical immunoglobulin Fab heavy/light chain heterodimer with an elbow angle of 185.2°.", "The putative Aβ binding groove in the Fab2286 crystal structure was calculated to be approximately 1900{acute over (Å)}3 using Fred Receptor (v2.2.5, OpenEye Scientific Software, Inc., http://www.eyesopen.com).", "TABLE 5 Data collection and refinement statistics Crystal Fab 2286 Data collection Space group P212121 Unit-cell parameters a (Å) 64.0 b (Å) 81.3 c (Å) 108.5 Maximum resolution (Å) 2.0 Total observations 437605 Unique reflections used 39062 Redundancy 11.7 (5.0)[a] Completeness (%) 95.7 (71.7) I/σI 27.9 (2.3) RSYM (%)[b] 9.7 (83.1) Final refinement statistics Resolution (Å) 2.0 Total no.", "of atoms 3511 No.", "of waters 304 R-factor (%)[c] 18.9 R-free (%)[d] 23.5 r.m.s.d.", "bond lengths (Å) 0.021 r.m.s.d.", "bond angles (°) 2.0 Mean B-factor Protein m.c.", "(s.c.) 28.4 (33.1) Solvent 41.2 Ramathandran regions (%) Favored 90.0 Allowed 9.7 Disallowed 0.3 [a]The values in parentheses are for the highest resolution bin.", "[b]RSYM = ΣhklΣi|Ii − <I>|/|<I>|, where Ii is the intensity for the ith measurement of an equivalent reflection with indices h, k, l. [c]R-factor = Σ||Fobs| − |Fcalc||/Σ|Fobs|, where Fobs and Fcalc are the observed and calculated structure factor amplitudes respectively.", "[d]R-free was calculated with 5% of the diffraction data that were selected randomly and not used throughout refinement.", "Example 3 Generation of Fab 2286-Like Antibody Mab 2286 exhibits specificity for the carboxyl terminus of Aβ40 and shows no significant cross reactivity with C-terminally extended peptides such as Aβ42 and Aβ43.Antibody binding to Aβ40 is not inhibited by Aβ38 in competitive binding assays, and binding is similarly modulated by conservative alanine single point mutations across the mapped residues (35-MVGGVV-40 [SEQ ID NO:8]).", "The structure of chimeric Fab 2286 determined herein reveals a mechanism explaining specificity for the Aβ40 C-terminus and involves extensive contacts with the Aβ40 Val39 side chain buried in a hydrophobic pocket at the antibody interface.", "With the side chain of Aβ40 Val39 anchored in this way, the side chain of Val40 makes further hydrophobic contacts such that the free carboxyl moiety can hydrogen bond with Asn35(H).", "C-terminally extended Aβ peptides would lose this potential hydrogen bond and the additional residues would force the ligand backbone to adopt a conformation that is incompatible with the Aβ binding site.", "The Western Blot analysis shown in FIG.", "1 indicates that, unlike the N-terminus, this hydrophobic C-terminal epitope is buried in oligomeric/aggregated synthetic Aβ40, as only bands correlating with monomer and dimer molecular weights are detected by the binding fragment of Mab 2286, i.e.", "Fab 2286.It is concluded that the epitope of Aβ recognized by Fab 2286 is buried in higher order oligomeric assemblies is consistent with the crystal structures of the peptide reported by Colletier et al.", "(2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108(41):16938-43.In that work, fibril-like structures of the peptide were shown to exhibit parallel and anti-parallel β-sheet stacked forms.", "The two steric zippers reported identify “knobs-in-holes” type packing, with Val39 (and Ile41) constituting the buried ‘knobs’ accommodated by the “holes” enabled by the presence of the glycine residues.", "It is known that amyloid plaques in the Alzheimer's diseased brain are mainly composed of C-terminally extended species such as Aβ42 and Aβ43, and these represent significant pathogens in Alzheimer's disease.", "According to the “peripheral sink” hypothesis (DeMattos et al.", "(2001) supra), anti-Aβ antibodies need not cross the blood brain barrier to act, but rather, bind Aβ in the blood and shift the equilibrium of Aβ from the CNS to the plasma, where Aβ can be degraded.", "A His-tagged fusion of Fab 2286 chains was generated using human kappa-1 immunoglobulin (hkappa-1) light chain and gamma-1 immunoglobulin (hG1) heavy chain constant regions.", "In the Fab 2286, Glu50 is mutated to Arg (Glu50Arg) on the heavy chain.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody produced recognized the hydrophobic C-terminal epitope available in monomeric forms of Aβ, but one which can also accommodate C-terminally extended Aβ peptides which have a greater propensity to aggregate or nucleate/accelerate oligomerization.", "Synthetic DNA constructs corresponding to heavy and light chains of Fab 2286 were ordered from Genscript and subcloned into the pcDNA 3.1 vector (Invitrogen) for expression in mammalian cells.", "A single point mutation was introduced into the heavy chain protein sequence based on a computational analysis of Fab 2286, an antibody fragment that has only low micromolar affinity for amyloid beta peptide terminating at residue 40.The mutant Fab was designed to recognize Aβ1-40.It also was able to bind toxic C-terminally extended peptides including Aβ1-42 and Aβ1-43.The resultant mutant Fab not only bound the longer length peptides but also did so with low nanomolar affinity.", "FIGS.", "2 and 3 compare the Aβ binding profiles between Fab 2286 and the Fab 2286-like antibody Glu50Arg Fab mutant against synthetic Aβ species and against Aβ species in brain tissue affected by familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease respectively.", "Example 4 Generation of Fab 2286-Like Antibody on a Murine Scaffold A murinized form of the Fab 2286-like antibody was generated.", "To murinized the antibody, the following seuqences were employed: Monoclonal antibody 2286 (Mab 2286) nucleic acid sequence: heavy chain [variable domain and constant domain 1 (CHI)]; [SEQ ID NO:12]: gaggtgaagcttctcgagtctggaggtggcctggtgcagcctggaggatc cctgaaactctcctgtgcagcctcaggattcgattttagtagatactgga tgaattgggtccggcaggctccagggaaagggctagaatggattggagaa attaatccagatagcagtacgataaactatacgccatctctaaaggataa attcatcatctccagagacaacgccaaaaatacgctgtacctgcaaatga gcaaagtgagatctgaggaeacagccctttattactgtgcaagacaaatg ggctactggggccaaggcaccactctcacagtctcctcagccaaaacgac acccccatctgtctatccactggcccctggatctgctgcccaaactaact ccatggtgaccctgggatgcctggtcaagggctatttccctgagccagtg acagtgacctggaactctggatccctgtccagcggtgtgcacaccttccc agctgtcctgcagtctgacctctacactctgagcagctcagtgactgtcc cctccagcacctggcccagcgagaccgtcacctgcaacgttgcccacccg gccagcagcaccaaggtggacaagaaaattgtgcccagggattgt and the light chain; (SEQ ID NO: 14): gatatccagatgacacagactacatcctccctgtctgcctctctgggaga cagagtcaccatcagttgcagtgcaagtcagggcattagcaattatttaa actggtttcagcagaaaccagatggaactgttaaactcctgatctattac acatcaagtttacactcaggagtcccatcaaggttcagtggcagtgggtc tgggacagattattctctcaccatcagcaacctggaacctgaagatattg ccacttactattgtcagcagtataggaagcttccgtacacgttcggaggg gggaccaagctggaaataaaacgggctgatgctgcaccaactgtatccat cttcccaccatccagtgagcagttaacatctggaggtgcctcagtcgtgt gcttcttgaacaacttctaccccaaagacatcaatgtcaagtggaagatt gatggcagtgaacgacaaaatggcgtcctgaacagttggactgatcagga cagcaaagacagcacctacagcatgagcagcaccctcacgttgaccaagg acgagtatgaacgacataacagctatacctgtgaggccactcacaagaca tcaacttcacccattgtcaagagcttcaacaggaatgagtgt The Mab 2286 amino acid sequence: heavy chain [variable domain and constant domain 1 (CHI)]; [SEQ ID NO: 13]: EVKLLESGGGLVQPGGSLKLSCAASGEDFSRYWMNWVRQAPGKGLEWIGE INPDSSTINYTPSLKDKFIISRDNAKNTLYLQMSKVRSEDTALYYCARQM GYWGQGTTLTVSSAKTTPPSVYPLAPGSAAQTNSMVTLGCLVKGYFPEPV TVWNSGSLSSGVHTFPAVLQSDLYTLSSSVTVPSSTWPSETVTCNVAHP ASSTKVDKKIVPRDC and the light chain; (SEQ ID NO: 15): DIQMTQTTSSLSASLGDRVTISCSASQGISNYLNWFQQKPDGTVKLLIYY TSSLHSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDYSLTISNLEPEDIATYYCQQYRKLPYTFGG GTKLEIKRADAAPTVSIFPPSSEQLTSGGASVVCFLNNFYPKDINVKWKI DGSERQNGVLNSWTDQDSKDSTYSMSSTLTLTKDEYERHNSYTCEATHKT STSPIVKSFNRNEC The Fc portion from a murine gamma heavy chain (GenBank: AAA75163.1) was added to the heavy chain Fab portion sequence.", "The synthetic DNA construct was: Gene name: MurineHeavyA_OPT, Length: 1391 bp.", "Sequence (SEQ ID NO: 16): GAGGTCAAACTGCTGGAGAGTGGAGGGGGACTGGTGCAGCCAGGCGGGTC ACTGAAGCTGAGCTGCGCCGCTTCCGGCTTCGACTTTTCCCGGTACTGGA TGAATTGGGTGAGACAGGCTCCCGGAAAAGGCCTGGAGTGGATCGGGGAA ATTAATCCTGATAGCTCCACCATCAACTACACACCAAGTCTGAAGGACAA ATTCATCATTTCACGCGATAACGCAAAGAATACTCTGTATCTGCAGATGT CTAAAGTGCGAAGTGAGGACACCGCACTGTACTATTGTGCAAGACAGATG GGATACTGGGGACAGGGAACCACACTGACCGTGTCTAGTGCTAAGACTAC CCCTCCCAGCGTGTATCCTCTGGCACCTGGCTCCGCAGCACAGACCAATT CTATGGTGACACTGGGCTGTCTGGTCAAGGGGTACTTCCCTGAGCCAGTC ACAGTGACTTGGAACAGCGGCAGCCTGTCAAGCGGCGTGCACACCTTTCC TGCCGTCCTGCAGAGCGATCTGTATACACTGTCCTCTAGTGTCACTGTGC CCTCAAGCACCTGGCCTTCCGAGACCGTGACATGCAACGTCGCCCATCCT GCTTCCTCTACAAAGGTGGACAAGAAAATCGTCCCACGAGATTGCGGCTG TAAACCATGCATTTGTACTGTCCCCGAAGTGAGTTCAGTCTTCATCTTTC CACCCAAGCCAAAAGACGTGCTGACTATTACCCTGACACCCAAGGTCACA TGCGTGGTCGTGGATATCAGCAAAGACGATCCCGAGGTGCAGTTCTCCTG GTTTGTCGACGATGTCGAAGTGCACACAGCCCAGACTCAGCCCAGGGAGG AACAGTTCAATTCTACCTTTCGCTCTGTGAGTGAGCTGCCTATTATGCAT CAGGACTGGCTGAATGGAAAGGAATTCAAATGCAGAGTGAACTCTGCTGC TTTCCCGCTCCTATCGAGAAGACTATTAGCAAGACCAAAGGCAGGCCTAA AGCCCCACAGGTGTACACAATCCCTCCACCCAAGGAACAGATGGCTAAGG ATAAAGTGAGCCTGACATGTATGATCACTGACTTCTTTCCCGAGGATATT ACCGTGGAATGGCAGTGGAACGGGCAGCCCGCAGAGAACTATAAGAATAC ACAGCCTATTATGGACACTGATGGATCATACTTCGTGTATAGCAAGCTGA ACGTCCAGAAATCTAATTGGGAAGCCGGCAACACTTTTACCTGTAGTGTG CTGCATGAAGGACTGCATAACCATCATACTGAAAAGTCACTGTCTCATTC ACCAGGCAAA and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 17): EVKLLESGGGLVQPGGSLKLSCAASGFDFSRYWMNWVRQAPGKGLEWIGE INPDSSTINYTPSLKDKFIISRDNAKNTLYLQMSKVRSEDTALYYCARQM GYWGQGTTLTVSSAKTTPPSVYPLAPGSAAQTNSMVTLGCLVKGYFPEPV TVTWNSGSLSSGVHTFPAVLQSDLYTLSSSVTVPSSTWPSETVTCNVAHP ASSTKVDKKIVPRDCGCKPCICTVPEVSSVFIFPPKPKDVLTITLTPKVT CVVVDISKDDPEVQFSWFVDDVEVHTAQTQPREEQFNSTFRSVSELPIMH QDWLNGKEFKCRVNSAAFPAPIEKTISKTKGRPKAPQVYTIPPPKEQMAK DKSVLTCMITDFFPEDITVEWQWNGQPAENYKNTQPIMDTDGSYFVYSKL NVQKSNWEAGNTFTCSVLHEGLHNHHTEKSLSHSPGK The mutant Fab 2286-like antibody (with the Glu to Arg substitution) was derived from mutagenisis of that sequence yielding: Variant name: Murine Heavy B, Variant sequence (SEQ ID NO: 18): GAGGTCAAACTGCTGGAGAGTGGAGGGGGACTGGTGCAGCCAGGCGGGTC ACTGAAGCTGAGCTGCGCCGCTTCCGCTTCGACTTTTCCCGGTACTGGAT GAATTGGGTGAGACAGGCTCCCGGAAAAGGCCTGGAGTGGATCGGGCGTA TTAATCCTGATAGCTCCACCATCAACTACACACCAAGTCTGAAGGACAAA TTCATCATTTCACGCGATAACGCAAAGAATACTCTGTATCTGCAGATGTC TAAAGTGCGAAGTGAGGACACCGCACTGTACTATTGTGCAAGACAGATGG GATACTGGGGACAGGGAACCACACTGACCGTGTCTAGTGCTAAGACTACC CCTCCCAGCGTGTATCCTCTGGCACCTGGCTCCGCAGCACAGACCAATTC TATGGTGACACTGGGCTGTCTGGTCAAGGGGTACTTCCCTGAGCCAGTCA CAGTGACTTGGAACAGCGGCAGCCTGTCAAGCGGCGTGCACACCTTTCCT GCCGTCCTGCAGAGCGATCTGTATACACTGTCCTCTAGTGTCACTGTGCC CTCAAGCACCTGGCCTTCCGAGACCGTGACATGCAACGTCGCCCATCCTG CTTCCTCTACAAAGGTGGACAAGAAAATCGTCCCACGAGATTGCGGCTGT AAACCATGCATTTGTACTGTCCCCGAAGTGAGTTCAGTCTTCATCTTTCC ACCCAAGCCAAAAGACGTGCTGACTATTACCTGACACCCAAGGTCACATG CGTGGTCGGGATATCAGCAAAGACGATCCCGAGGTGCAGTTCTCCTGGTT TGTCGACGATGTCGAAGTGCACACAGCCCAGACTCAGCCCAGGGAGGAAC AGTTCAATTCTACCTTTCGCTCTGTGAGTGAGCTGCCTATTATGCATCAG GACTGGCTGAATGGAAAGGAATTCAAATGCAGAGTGAACTCTGCTGCATT TCCCGCTCCTATCGAGAAGACTATTAGCAAGACCAAAGGCAGGCCTAAAG CCCCACAGGTGTACACAATCCCTCCACCCAAGGAACAGATGGCTAAGGAT AAAGTGAGCCTGACATGTATGATCACTGACTTCTTTCCCGAGGATATTAC CGTGGAATGGCAGTGGAACGGGCAGCCCGCAGAGAACTATAAGAATACAC AGCCTATTATGGACACTGATGGATCATACTTCGTGTATAGCAAGCTGAAC GTCCAGAAATCTAATTGGGAAGCCGGCAACACTTTTACCTGTAGTGTGCT GCATGAAGGACTGCATAACCATCATACTGAAAAGTCACTGTCTCATTCAC CAGGCAAA and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:19): EVKLLESGGGLVQPGGSLKLSCAASGFDFSRYWMNWVRQAPGKGLEWIG RINPDSSTINYTPSLKDKFIISRDNAKNTLYLQMSKVRSEDTALYYCAR QMGYWGQGTTLTVSSAKTTPPSVYPLAPGSAAQTNSMVTLGCLVKGYFP EPVTVTWNSGSLSSGVHTFPAVLQSDLYTLSSSVTVPSSWPSETVTCNV AHPASSTKVDKKIVPRDCGCKPCICTVPEVSSVFIFPPKPKDVLTITLT PKVTCVVVDISKDDPEVQFSWFVDDVEVHTAQTQPREEQFNSTFRSVSE LPIMHQDWLNGKEFKCRVNSAAFPAPIEKTISKTKGRPKAPQVYTIPPP KEQMAKDKVSLTCMITDFFPEDITVEWQWNGQPAENYKNTQPIMDTDGS YFVYSKLNVQKSNWEAGNTFTCSVLHEGLHNHHTEKSLSHSPGK The synthetic DNA light chain construct is: Murine Light_OPT, Length: 725 bp, Sequence (SEQ ID NO:20): GATATTCAGATGACTCAGACTACTTCTTCCCTGTCTGCAAGTCTGGGGGA CCGAGTGACAATCTCATGCAGCGCCTCCCAGGGAATTTCCAACTACCTGA ATTGGTTCCAGCAGAAGCCTGATGGCACAGTGAAACTGCTGATCTACTAT ACTAGCTCCCTGCACAGTGGGGTCCCATCAAGATTTTCTGGAAGTGGCTC AGGGACCGACTATAGCCTGACAATCTCCAACCTGGAGCCAGAAGATATTG CCACTTACTATTGCCAGCAGTACCGGAAGCTGCCCTATCTTTCGGCGGGG GAACCAAGCTGGAGATCAAAAGAGCTGACCGCCGCTCCCACCGTGAGCAT TTTTCCCCCTTCTAGTGAACAGCTGACCTCTGGCGGGGCAAGTGTGGTCT GTTTCCTGAACAACTTCTACCCTAAAGACATCAACGTGAAGTGGAAAATT GATGAAGCGAGAGGCAGAACGGCGTCCTGAATTCCTGGACCGACCAGGAT AGCAAGGACTCCACATATTCTATGTCAAGCACCCTGACACTGACTAAAGA TGAGTACGAACGCCATAATAGCTATACATGTGAAGCTACTCATAAGACCT CTACCTCTCCTATTGTGAAATCTTTTAACCGAAATGAATGT and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO:21): DIQMTQTTSSLSASLGDRVTISCSASQGISNYLNWFQQKPDGTVKLLIY YTSSLHSGVPSRFSGSGSGTDYSLTISNLEPEDIATYYCQQYRKLPYTF GGGTKLEIKRADAAPTVSIFPPSSEQLTSGGASVVCFLNNFYPKDINVK WKIDGSERQNGVLNSWTDQDSKDSTYSMSSTLTLTKDEYERHNSYTCEA THKTSTSPIVKSFNRNEC The murinized Fab 2286-like antibody is used in animal model studies.", "Example 5 Animal Model Mouse model protocols for the evaluation of Fab 2286-like antibody are established.", "Efficacy of the antibody is tested in Tg2576 mice which over express Aβ40 or other mice which over express elongated forms of Aβ.", "To test Fab 2286-lie antibody or a derivative thereof, APP/PSI mice are used.", "An anti-AD drug efficacy protocol such as by Kenche et al.", "(2013) Angewandle Chemie International Edition 52):3374-3378 is a reliable template to formulate a study design.", "These mice generate significant quantities of both Aβ40 and Aβ42 in the brain and are amyloid positive at around 7-8 months, cognitively impaired at 9-10 months.", "Mice are purchased at ˜3 months of age from The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Me., USA, and are allowed 2 months for acclimatization at a housing facility.", "APP/PSI mice are randomly assigned to different treatment groups, (e.g.", "10 mg/kg Fab 2286-like antibody, 10 mg/kg vehicle control).", "Behavioral assessment and tissue analysis follow protocols established by Kenche et al.", "(2013) supra.", "Treatment begins at 5 months before amyloid deposition has begun in three arms of 15 animals each (based on a Power statistical analysis for a significant outcome).", "Behavioral assessments begin at 7 months of age by Y-maze and water platform techniques as described by Kenche et al.", "(2013) supra.", "Weekly dosing is administered by oral gavage until 10 months of age when tissue is collected and subject to immunohistochemical analysis and examined for differential Aβ40/Aβ422 profiles by SELDI-TOF MS and other IP/MS methods.", "Example 6 Detection of Pre-Eclanmpsia Urine samples are obtained from healthy women, healthy pregnant women and pregnant women diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.", "The levels and species of Aβ are determined in each group.", "In an alternative, cerebral spinal fluid is tested.", "However, a urine sample is far less invasive.", "Fab 2286-like antibody is used to either capture the Aβ species which is then detected using a labeled anti-immunoglobulin antibody or the Fab 2286-like antibody is labeled itself.", "It is expected that pregnant women with pre-eclampsia will exhibit elevated levels of brain-derived toxic Aβ species comprising C-terminally elongated forms.", "The Fab 2286-like antibody may also be used in the development of a dipstick or other similar approach to detect toxic Aβ in urine of pregnant women.", "Example 7 Generation of Modified Fab 2286 Heavy Chains Using the techniques disclosed herein or known to the skilled artisan, a range of substitutions is made at amino acid residue 50 in the heavy chain variable region of Fab 2286.The amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 comprises an arginine in place of a glutamic acid at residue 50.This creates the amino acid sequence comprising WIGR.", "Other substitutions are selected from WIGA, WIGR, WIGN, WIGD, WIGC, WIGQ, WJGG, WIGH, WIGI, WIGL, WIGK, WIGM, WIGF, WIGP, WIGS, WIGT, WIGW, WIGY, WIGV, WIGO and WIGU.", "An antibody comprising any of these substitutions from glutamic acid are readily tested as disclosed herein for the ability to bind to Aβ1-40 or C-terminally elongated forms.", "Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described.", "It is to be understood that the disclosure contemplates all such variations and modifications.", "The disclosure also enables all of the steps, features, compositions and compounds referred to or indicated in this specification, individually or collectively, and any and all combinations of any two or more of the steps or features or compositions or compounds.", "BIBLIOGRAPHY Adolfsson et al.", "(2012) J. Neuroscience 32(28):9677-9689 Altschul et al.", "(1997) Nucl.", "Acids.", "Res.", "25:3389 Ausubel et al.", "(In: Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons Inc. 1994-1998 Bacskai et al.", "(2002) J. Neurosci.", "22:7873-7878 Bard et al.", "(2000) Nature Medicine 6:916-919 Bard et al.", "(2003) Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 100:2023-2028 Bonner and Laskey (1974) Eur.", "J. Biochem.", "46:83 Boyd et al.", "(1996) Mol.", "Immunol.", "32:1311-1318 Colletier et al.", "(2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108(41): 16938-43 Das et al.", "(2003) J. Neurosci.", "23:8532-9538 DeMattos et al.", "(2001) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:8850-8855 Hardy (1996) Ann Med 28:255-258 Hardy (2014) N Engl.", "Med 370(4):377-378 Handbook of Monoclonal Antibodies, Ferrone et al.", "eds.", "Noges Publications, Park Ridge, N.J. (1985) ch.", "22:303-357 Hse et al.", "(1997) J. Biol.", "Chem.", "272:9062-9070 Jefferis and Lund (1997) Chem.", "Immunol.", "65:111-128 Kenche et al.", "(2013) Angewmulte Chemie International Edition 52:3374-3378 Liu et al.", "(2014) Mol Neurobiol:PMID 24733588 Marmur and Doty (1962) J. Mol.", "Biol.", "5:109 McPhillips et al.", "(2002) J. Synchroton Radiat 9:401-406 Miles et al.", "(2008) J. Mol Biol 377:181-192 Miles et al.", "(2013) Sci Rep 3:1-8 Panza et al.", "(2014) Expert Opin Biol Ther: 1-12 PMID 24981190 Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th edition, A. Gennaro, ed., Mack Publishing Co., Easton, Pa., 1990; and Remington, The Science and Practice of Pharmacy 20th Ed.", "Mack Publishing, 2000 Rosenthal et al.", "(2004) US Patent Application No.", "2004/046512 Rosenthal et al.", "(2007) US Patent Application No.", "2007/016616 Rosenthal et al.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,807,165 Salloway et al.", "(2009) Neurology 73:2061-2070 Schenk et al.", "(1999) Nature 400:173-177 Selkoe (2001) Physiol Rev 81:741-766 Smith et al.", "(1977) Antibodies in Human Diagnosis and Therapy, Haber et al.", "eds., Raven Press, New York:365-389 Tanzi et al.", "(1996) Neurobiol Dis 3:159-168 Wallace et al.", "(1996) Protein Eng 8:127-134 Wittwe and Howard (1990) Biochem.", "29:4175-4180 Wright and Morrison (1997) TibTECH 15:26-32 Wyss and Wagner (1996) Current Opin.", "Biotech.", "7:409-416" ] ]
Patent_15875082
[ [ "Ticket Based Harvest Management System and Method", "A system and method is presented for gathering data concerning harvests.", "Data tickets are generated when the harvest is received at a point of origination (i.e., the field), local storage, processing, or a customer location.", "Data tickets can be manually generated using apps running on mobile devices.", "Users of the mobile devices input the data tickets when harvest is received at these locations.", "Data tickets are transmitted to a remote server over a wide area network.", "Analysis of the data tickets is possible through a web interface to the remote server.", "Beacons that identify various equipment or locations can be used to trigger the automatic generation of data tickets." ], [ "1.A method for tracking a transfer of materials between a mobile vehicle and a static storage site at a known physical location comprising: a) monitoring, using a GPS device, a location for the mobile vehicle; b) identifying, using the GPS device, the static storage site when the location of the mobile vehicle is proximal to the known physical location; c) after the identifying step, monitoring an electronic scale to determine a change of weight of the materials while the materials are being transferred from the mobile vehicle to the static storage site; d) after determining the change of weight, transmitting from the mobile vehicle to a remote server computer a digital data ticket comprising: i) data identifying the mobile vehicle, ii) data identifying the static storage site, and iii) data identifying the change of weight of materials.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein step c) further comprises monitoring a mobile weight scale fixed to the mobile vehicle.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein step c) further comprises establishing a Bluetooth connection between a mobile device residing on the mobile vehicle and a scale integrated into a scale house.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein step a) is preceded by the following steps: (1) detecting an electronic beacon signal from a plurality of grain carts that approach the mobile vehicle to determine a grain cart identifier for the grain carts, (2) determining a quantity of material transferred from the grain carts to the mobile vehicle for each of the grain carts, and (3) moving the motor vehicle to the static storage site; wherein the digital data ticket further comprises grain cart data, wherein the grain cart data comprises the grain cart identifier and the quantity of material transferred for each of the grain carts.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein step d) occurs automatically without user intervention after determining the change of weight at the static storage site.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein step d) occurs automatically without user intervention after determining the change of weight at the static storage site.", "7.A method for tracking movement of a crop between a crop transportation truck and a crop storage location that does not move, comprising: a) detecting, using a computing device on the crop transportation truck, a unique electromagnetic signal emanating from a beacon at the crop storage location; b) analyzing, using the computing device, the unique electromagnetic signal to identify the crop storage location; c) determining, using the computing device, an amount of crop physically transferred from the crop transportation truck to the crop storage location; d) after determining the amount of crop transferred, using the computing device to create and transmit, without user intervention, a data ticket comprising: i) data identifying the crop transportation truck, ii) data identifying the crop storage location, and iii) data identifying the amount of crop transferred from the crop transportation truck change to the crop storage location; and 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the computing device is a mobile computing device selected from a set comprising a mobile phone and a tablet computer.", "9.The method of claim 7, wherein step c) further comprises reading a scale integrated into the crop transportation truck.", "10.The method of claim 7, wherein step c) further comprises establishing a communications link between the computing device and a scale used by the crop storage location.", "11.The method of claim 10, wherein the communications link is a Bluetooth communications link.", "12.The method of claim 7, wherein the unique electromagnetic signal emanating from the beacon is associated with an identifier and the identifier is included in the data ticket as the data identifying the crop storage location.", "13.The method of claim 7, wherein the computing device determines the amount of crop transferred by monitoring a scale integrated into the crop transportation truck, and further wherein the computing device begins monitoring the scale only after the computing device identifies the crop storage location from the electromagnetic signal." ], [ "<SOH> FIELD OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present application relates to the field of automated harvest management.", "More particularly, the described embodiments relate to a system and method for tracking harvesting in mining, agricultural, and forestry industries through automated data ticket processing." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The presented embodiments disclose a flexible, cloud-based tool that provides an automated method to record the harvest and distribution process, and tools to meet unique requirements of farming operations.", "The system integrates with a farm's existing infrastructure to capture and record data necessary in order to secure harvested crops from the field to the point of delivery.", "The system also integrates with forestry and mining inventory to secure harvested wood or mining products from the point of origination to the point of delivery.", "The disclosed embodiments provide unprecedented control over harvest security, updating critical data on a daily or even real-time basis.", "Issues are identified.", "Compounding problems are prevented.", "Workers are held accountable.", "Accurate accounting is possible.", "All of which translates into improved transparency for stakeholders: bankers, investors, insurance agents and most importantly, the farmer, forester, or miner.", "Through use of the disclosed system and method, farmers, foresters, and miners accurately track and trace key harvest and distribution activities.", "This is accomplished by: recording weights and quality levels for material harvested at the field or forest level, or mined at the mine level.", "recording and tracking product stored in point of origin storage.", "recording product transportation activities on a per load basis.", "recording product loads delivered to internal storage facilities.", "recording product weights and quality levels for loads delivered to customers.", "reconciling all activities and view product data in real time." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/559,991, filed on Dec. 4, 2014, which in turn is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/551,916, filed Jul.", "18, 2012, which in turn claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Application 61/508,819, filed Jul.", "18, 2011, each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present application relates to the field of automated harvest management.", "More particularly, the described embodiments relate to a system and method for tracking harvesting in mining, agricultural, and forestry industries through automated data ticket processing.", "SUMMARY The presented embodiments disclose a flexible, cloud-based tool that provides an automated method to record the harvest and distribution process, and tools to meet unique requirements of farming operations.", "The system integrates with a farm's existing infrastructure to capture and record data necessary in order to secure harvested crops from the field to the point of delivery.", "The system also integrates with forestry and mining inventory to secure harvested wood or mining products from the point of origination to the point of delivery.", "The disclosed embodiments provide unprecedented control over harvest security, updating critical data on a daily or even real-time basis.", "Issues are identified.", "Compounding problems are prevented.", "Workers are held accountable.", "Accurate accounting is possible.", "All of which translates into improved transparency for stakeholders: bankers, investors, insurance agents and most importantly, the farmer, forester, or miner.", "Through use of the disclosed system and method, farmers, foresters, and miners accurately track and trace key harvest and distribution activities.", "This is accomplished by: recording weights and quality levels for material harvested at the field or forest level, or mined at the mine level.", "recording and tracking product stored in point of origin storage.", "recording product transportation activities on a per load basis.", "recording product loads delivered to internal storage facilities.", "recording product weights and quality levels for loads delivered to customers.", "reconciling all activities and view product data in real time.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram showing locations that can be used to source, store, process, or receive the goods from a farm, forest, or mine.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic diagram showing the components of a system that gathers, stores, and processes data in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic diagram showing a three-ticket process that takes goods from a field, stores the goods in local storage, and then delivers the goods from storage to a customer.", "FIG.", "4 is a schematic diagram showing a two-ticket process that takes goods from a field to a customer.", "FIG.", "5 is a schematic diagram showing a five-ticket process including a processing step.", "FIGS.", "6a through 6f show screen shots from a ticket creation software application running on a mobile device, with FIG.", "6a showing a home screen, FIG.", "6b showing a cart ticket entry screen, FIG.", "6c showing a field-to-storage ticket entry screen, FIG.", "6d showing a field-to-customer ticket screen, FIG.", "6e showing a storage-to-customer entry screen, and FIG.", "6f showing additional data entry fields that form the storage-to-customer ticket entry screen of FIG.", "6e.", "FIG.", "7 is a schematic diagram showing system capable of ticket generation without human interaction.", "FIG.", "8 is a schematic diagram showing relevant locations for the tracking of crop inputs.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview The present invention can be used to track goods that are obtained through farming, forestry, mining, drilling, and similar processes.", "For instance, agricultural crops such as corn or cotton are ideal candidates for tracking through the disclosed embodiments of the present invention.", "In addition, lumber obtained through harvesting forests can also be tracked, as can coal or other materials that are removed from the earth through mining, and oil, natural gas, and other hydrocarbonic materials removed from the earth through drilling.", "The current description will describe the use of the present invention in connection with farming.", "Nonetheless, it should be clear that the same systems and processes can be used in these other contexts as well.", "FIG.", "1 shows four key locations where the harvest data is to be obtained.", "In particular, data is to be obtained at the field 110 (or forest or mine) where the product to be tracked originates.", "In addition, data is to be obtained at local storage facilities 120 where the crop (or other product) can be stored temporarily after being collected.", "Data is also obtained at processing facilities 130, such a cotton gin or crop drying facility that processes or transforms the crop in some way.", "Finally, data is obtained when products or crops are delivered to a customer 140 that pays the farmer for their crop.", "These different locations 110-140 are shown connected by some type of transport 150.The transport 150 may be a truck, train, barge, pipeline, or any other transportation mechanism.", "By tracking data about a crop at various locations, it is possible to accumulate comprehensive data about a farmer's harvest in a way that has not been previously possible.", "It is important to track this data at the locations 110-140 specified in FIG.", "1 because it is at these locations that a crop must be carefully monitored for potential loss or other events.", "For instance, it is important for a farmer to confirm that the amount of crop taken off the field and delivered to a trucking firm is the same as the amount of crop received and paid for by the farmer's customer.", "In addition, monitoring the crop at these locations also allows the farmer to analyze their business for profitability.", "For example, by tracking the crop that comes off each field 110, the farmer can determine the comparative yield for each field.", "These results can be compared to the inputs (such as seed, fertilizer, pesticides, labor) that created that crop in each field to determine whether changes in procedures might increase the profitability of a farm.", "FIG.", "2 shows one system 200 that can be used to track this harvest data.", "In this system, a plurality of handheld devices 210, 212, 214 are used by the farmer to obtain data about the harvest.", "For instance, a worker in the field cart can record on handheld device 210 information about each cartload of a crop that is delivered to a semi truck for transportation.", "This information can include the field where the crop was harvested, the time and date of that harvest, an identifier for the field cart being operated by that worker, the weight of the crop that was delivered to the semi, the particular semi that received the crop, and the driver of that semi.", "Additional information could also be collected, such as descriptors about the weather (sunny, cold, etc.)", "and descriptions about the crop (healthy, wet, etc.).", "Similarly, another worker can use handheld device 212 to receive information about the delivery of the crop from that semi to the farmer's local storage facility 120, while a third worker can use handheld device 214 to record information about deliveries made directly to customers 140.Data relating to the receipt of crops at the various data gathering locations 110-140 is recorded on the handheld devices 210-214 as data “tickets.” Data tickets contain data, typically in a plurality of structured data fields, concerning a transfer of a crop from one location to another.", "The devices 210-214 then transmit these data tickets over a network 220 to a remote server 230, which then stores the data in a database 240.In one embodiment, the network 220 is a wide area network such as the Internet.", "The handhelds 210-214 can access the Internet 220 through a WiFi network.", "Frequently, the handhelds 210-214 will be gathering data in locations that do not have WiFi access easily available, such as in a farmer's field.", "In one embodiment, the handhelds 210-214 allow input of data even when the device does not have network access.", "This data is cached in local storage on the device.", "The handhelds 210-214 then periodically determine whether access to the network 220 is available.", "If so, data cached in the local storage is then sent to the server 230 over the network 220.In another embodiment, the handheld devices 210-214 include cellular capabilities, such as smart phones or tablet computers using Apple's iOS (from Apple Inc., Cupertino Calif.) or the Android operating system (from Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif.).", "These types of devices can frequently transmit data over the Internet 220 using cellular data networks.", "With such capabilities, data can be transmitted to the server 230 immediately upon data entry as long as the device 210 is within range of a cellular tower with data capabilities.", "Even with this embodiment, the devices 210-214 are preferably designed to cache data when the network 220 is not immediately available.", "The data is accumulated in database 240, and then made available to the farmer through a back office computer 250 operating over the same network 220 and server 230 that was used to collect the data from the remote handheld devices 210-214.In other embodiments, different or multiple physical servers could perform the function of the server 230 shown in FIG.", "2 without altering the scope of the present invention.", "The back office computer 250 accesses the database 240 through programming provided by the server 230, ideally through a web browser or other thin client operating on the computer 250.In effect, data collection and data analysis for the farmer are provided using a software-as-a-service model.", "The farmer pays the operator of the server 230 and database 240 for the right to store data in the database 240 and to use software operating on the server 230 to analyze this data.", "This frees the farmer from the headaches of maintaining the network and server needed to store and backup the data.", "Meanwhile, the operator of the server 230 and database 240 offers the same service to multiple farmers.", "The data analysis software provided to the back office computer 250 allows the farmer to compare payments received from a customer (as evidenced through settlement documents and delivery receipts from the customer) with data tickets specifying the amount of crop that was delivered to that customer.", "Furthermore, the farmer can verify that the amount of crop taken from the fields is equivalent to the crop that was either delivered to a customer or is otherwise in storage.", "This type of reconciliation is extremely valuable for farmers, especially since this data is almost immediately available given the nature of the data ticket submission described herein.", "Reconciliation errors that indicate missing crop can be immediately tracked down to a particular worker, piece of equipment, date, and time.", "In addition, the analysis software available through the back office computer can also give the farmer the ability to analyze the productivity of individual fields in a way that was not otherwise possible for most farmers.", "The server computer 230 and the back office computer 250 includes a set of software instructions or interfaces stored on a non-volatile, non-transitory, computer readable medium such as a hard drive or flash memory device.", "A digital processor, such as a general purpose CPU manufactured by Intel Corporation (Mountain View, Calif.) or Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) accesses and performs the software.", "To improve efficiency, processor may load software stored in its non-volatile memory into faster, but volatile RAM.", "The database 240 can be stored on the same non-volatile memory used by the server computer 230 for its operating system, or on a different memory accessible by its process such as an external direct access storage device (or DASD).", "The database 240 consists of both data and software instructions informing the server computer 230 how to access, analyze, and report on the data in the database 240.The computers 230, 250 further include a network interface to communicate with other computerized devices across a digital data network such as network 220.In one embodiment, the network is the Internet, and the network interfaces on the computers 230, 250 include TCP/IP protocol stacks for communicating over the network 220.The network interface may connect to the network wirelessly or through a physical wired connection.", "Instead of being a single computer with a single processor, the server 230 could also implemented using a network of computers all operating according to the instructions of the software.", "Ticket Generation FIG.", "3 shows a typical process 300 used by a farmer to track crops coming off a field 110.In this process, a combine 112 in the field 110 takes the crop off the field 110.Periodically, the combine 112 transfers its load to a field cart 114, which then takes its load to one or more waiting semi trucks 152 for transport 150.In this embodiment, a data ticket 310 is created when the crop is transferred from the cart 114 to the semi 152.This first data ticket 310 is referred to as a cart-to-truck ticket (or simply “cart ticket”) 310.In this embodiment, the cart ticket 310 is created by a worker operating the field cart 114.Using their handheld device 210, the worker opens an application (or app) that operates on the device 210.The worker logs into the app, so that the app knows the worker's identifier, the particular field being worked by the worker, as well as an identifier for the cart 114 being operated by the worker.", "When the transfer is made to the semi 152, the worker tells the app to create a cart ticket 310.The worker must input or verify the crop, identify the semi 152 and the driver of the semi, and then input the amount of crop transferred to the semi 152.In most embodiments, the cart 114 has an integrated scale.", "The app requests that the worker input the weight on the scale before and after the transfer to the semi, with the calculated difference being the amount of the crop transferred to the semi.", "The worker may also include descriptors about the current weather conditions or the condition of the crop (i.e., “wet”) with the data transmitted in the cart ticket 310.In FIG.", "3, the cart ticket 310 is the first ticket created, and is also called ticket 1.In some embodiments, the driver of the semi also has a handheld device 212, and the semi truck also contains a scale.", "In these embodiments, the semi driver will also create a cart ticket 310 (i.e., ticket 1b) indicated the amount of crop received from the cart 114, and the identifier of the cart and the cart operator.", "While these two cart tickets 310 contain essentially the same information, the creation of two tickets allows comparisons between the tickets and the ability to detect and correct faulty data from one of the tickets.", "Because the data is mostly duplicative, however, some embodiments would create only a single cart ticket 310.In the process 300 shown in FIG.", "3, the semi driver delivers their load to a local storage facility 120 on the farm.", "This storage facility may include a plurality of storage bins, including storage bin 122.When the load from the semi truck 152 is transferred to the storage bin 122, a second ticket (known as a field-to-storage ticket) 320 is created.", "This ticket 320 can be created by the operator of the truck 152 using the app running on their handheld device 112.Like the cart ticket 310, the field-to-storage ticket 320 contains information about the delivery equipment (semi 152 and the driver) as well as the receiving equipment (storage bin 122).", "A bin operator may have their own handheld device 114, and therefore may create their own version of the field-to-storage ticket 320 (ticket 2b in FIG.", "3).", "Note that since the storage capabilities of the field carts 114 and the semi trucks 152 are not identical, there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the cart tickets 310 and the field-to-storage tickets 320.A different semi truck 154 may then be used at a later date to take the crop from the storage bin 122 and deliver the crop to the customer 140.To track this transaction, the truck driver will create a storage-to-customer ticket 330 to track details about the delivery, including date, time, identifiers for the semi 154 and the driver, the originating location (storage bin 122), the receiving location (grain elevator 142 at the customer location 140), and the condition of the crop (“dry”).", "The crop condition may be based merely on general observations (“dry”), or may be made upon scientific tests establishing various characteristics of the crop (i.e., moisture content).", "These tests may be conducted at the farmer's storage facilities 120, at the customer's facilities 140, or at both locations.", "If the customer participates in the system 200 with the farmer, the customer 140 could create a corresponding ticket 330.In most cases, however, the customer 140 does not participate, and instead presents the driver with a written delivery receipt 340.When payment is made to the famer, the payment will likely include a settlement document 350 that includes the delivery information found on the delivery receipts 340.Payment associated with the settlement document 350 will relate to a specific contract 360 between the customer 140 and the farmer.", "Consequently, to complete the data record in the database 240 for proper tracking and reconciliation, it is contemplated that the interface provided by the server 230 to the back office computer 250 includes the ability for the farmer to enter information about written delivery receipts 340, settlement documents 350, and contracts 360.FIG.", "4 shows a simplified process 400, where the farmer delivers their crop directly to a customer 140 without storing the grain at a local storage facility 120.In this case, the transfer from the field cart 114 to the semi truck 152 creates one or two first tickets (the cart ticket) 410.This cart ticket 410 is effectively the same as the cart ticket 310 created in process 300.Rather than transporting the crop to storage 120, the semi 152 in process 400 delivers the crop directly the customer elevator 142.When this delivery is made, the truck driver creates a second ticket known as a field-to-customer ticket 420.The process 500 shown in FIG.", "5 is similar to the processes 300, 400 shown in FIGS.", "3 and 4, respectively, although process 500 contains more steps.", "In this case, the field cart 114 delivers the crop to semi 152, and in the process the operator or operators of these machines create a cart ticket 510.The semi 152 delivers the crop to the local storage bin 122, and a field-to-storage ticket is created 520 that is much like ticket 320 described above.", "In process 500, the farmer must pay a third party to process the crop.", "For instance, if the farmer were growing cotton, the farmer would pay a cotton gin facility to gin the cotton.", "A semi 154 is used to transfer to crop to the processor 130.When the crop is delivered to the processor, a storage-to-processor ticket 530 is created with details about the semi 154, the semi driver, the amount of crop delivered, the condition of the crop, the originating storage bin 122, and the specific processing facility of the processor 130 that received the crop.", "After the processing is complete, a new semi 156 accepts the processed crop and delivers the crop back to local storage 120 on the farm.", "In this case, the crop is stored in storage bin 124.A processor-to storage ticket 540 is created detailing this transaction.", "Finally, the processed crop is taken from storage bin 124 by semi 158 and delivered to customer elevator 142, and a storage-to-customer ticket 550 is created.", "In this embodiment, a data ticket is created every time the crop is received at the field 110, local storage 120, processor 130, or the customer 140.The field related ticket (cart ticket 310, 410, or 510) is created when harvesting of the crop (effectively receiving the crop at the field).", "By ensuring that a data ticket is created when the crop is received at each of these locations, the harvest is effectively tracked and monitored through each movement, storage, processing, and customer delivery step.", "It would be possible to create additional data tickets and still be within the scope of the present invention.", "However, additional tickets are not necessary to ensure the minimal level of tracking as exemplified in processes 300, 400, and 500.FIG.", "6a shows a mobile device 600 that could be used by an operator of a field cart 112 or semi truck 152, or an individual working at a storage location 120, processing location 130, or customer site 140.The mobile device 600 includes a processor (such as those created under the ARM architecture developed by ARM Holdings, Cambridge, UK) and tangible, non-transitory memory that contains both computing instructions (software) and data.", "The computing instructions include an application or “app” that allows the user to create data for the database 240.As explained above, this data is created in the form of tickets that contain data about a particular event relating to the receipt of product at one of the key locations 110-140.In the preferred embodiment, this app runs on a general purpose operating system, such as Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating system.", "Furthermore, the preferred mobile device 600 includes network capabilities to allow the device 600 to communicate with the server 230 over the network 220.This could be provided by a WiFi or cellular network interface (or both) located within the device.", "Finally, the preferred device 600 includes location detection capabilities that can identify the location of the device 600.This helps in numerous situations, including the automated identification of a farmer's field in a cart ticket 310, 410, or 510.The device 600 is preferably a smart phone, a tablet computer, or any other similar device.", "The app operating on the mobile device 600 creates a home screen 610, which provides the user with the ability to change information about the user by selecting change button 620.Information about the user, including the equipment or location being managed by the user can be entered into the app at this stage so that it doesn't need to be separately entered for each ticket created by the app.", "The home screen 610 also includes a cart ticket button 630, a field-to-storage ticket button 640, a field-to-customer ticket button 650, and a storage-to-customer ticket button 660.Each of these ticket creation buttons 630-660 bring up an entry screen for the user to enter the necessary data to create the desired ticket.", "The entry screen 632 for the cart ticket is shown in FIG.", "6b, and can be reached by pressing the cart ticket button 630 on the home screen 610.Similarly, the field-to-storage ticket entry screen 642 (FIG.", "6c), the field-to-customer ticket screen 652 (FIG.", "6d), and the storage-to-customer entry screen 662 (FIG.", "6e) can be reached by selecting buttons 640, 650 and 660, respectively.", "The ticket entry screens 632, 642, 652, and 662 allow the user to enter the data necessary to complete the data ticket.", "To the extent possible, permissible data has been predefined in the database 240, preferably through the back office computer 250.This permissible data is downloaded by the app running on the mobile device 600, allowing many of the fields in the ticket entry screens 632-662 to be filled in through pull down selection menus.", "In most cases, the entry screens 632-662 contain more data than can be viewed at once on the mobile device.", "Consequently, the entry screens 632-662 preferably scroll up and down to allow the user to access all of the data fields.", "FIG.", "6f, for example, shows the additional data entry fields that form the storage-to-customer ticket entry screen 662 that were not shown in FIG.", "6e.", "Automatic Ticket Generation FIG.", "7 shows an alternative embodiment system 700 that allows the automatic generation of data tickets.", "This system 700 takes advantage of the fact that the tickets created in the previously described embodiment are generated when product is received at a location.", "In the case ticket generation scenarios described above, a piece of equipment that contains the product is brought into proximity with another piece of equipment that will receive the product.", "The equipment might be the field cart 114, the semi 152, the storage bin 122, the grain elevator 142, or equipment at a processing location 130.System 700 takes advantage of this fact by detecting the proximity of another piece of equipment, and using that detection to generate a ticket and to determine the data necessary to complete the ticket.", "This is accomplished by using beacons in field equipment to broadcast equipment location so that when two pieces of equipment are within sufficient range, the beacon in either piece of equipment can broadcast a signal unique to the piece of equipment that can be recognized by a mobile device (e.g.", "an Android phone or tablet) in the other piece of equipment.", "In terms of uniqueness, all that is necessary is that the beacon be unique in the context in which the equipment is used.", "In the context of a farm utilizing 25 different pieces of farm equipment, the beacons must be unique to that farm.", "A beacon would be considered unique even if the beacon utilizes the same signal as a different but remote beacon not used on the farm.", "In FIG.", "7, a field cart 720 loaded with crop from the field approaches a semi truck 740, which is waiting for the cart 720 on a road proximate to the field.", "The field cart 720 contains a scale 722 that weighs the current load on the cart.", "Preferably, this scale 722 can be wirelessly queried by other devices, which causes the scale to return the current weight of the load carried by the cart 720.The field cart 720 also contains a mobile device 730 operating an application designed to automatically generate data tickets.", "A beacon 744 on the semi truck 740 continuously or periodically transmits a signal that can be received by a receiver or receiver/transmitter 732 on the mobile device 730.The app running on the mobile device 730 recognizes the beacon as belonging to a particular semi 740.Alternatively the receiver 732 can be located separately from the mobile device elsewhere on the field cart 720.For instance, a beacon device 724 that transmits a beacon for the field card 720 may also include a receiver that detects the presence of the beacon 744 from semi 740.This would allow the manufacturer of the beacon technology to sell a combination beacon transmitter and beacon detector.", "When this beacon detector detects the beacon 744, the detector will signal the mobile device 730 with information about the beacon 744.In yet another embodiment, the semi 740 does not have a beacon device 744 to signal its presence.", "Instead, a mobile device 750 on the semi 740 has its own transmitter and receiver device 752.The transceiver could be, for instance, a WiFi transceiver sending and receiving signals according to one of the IEEE 802.11 standards.", "A similar transceiver 732 in the mobile device 730 riding in the field cart 720 would detect the presence of the signal from the mobile device 750.The presence of this signal could inform the mobile device 730 in the field cart of the presence of the semi's mobile device 750.At this point, field cart mobile device 730 could consult an internal or external database to learn information about whether the semi mobile device 750 is currently operating.", "Alternatively, the field cart mobile device 730 could establish a network or other data connection with the semi mobile device 750 after that device 750 is detected.", "The two mobile devices 730, 750 could then exchange data stored in each device 730, 750 about how each device, 730, 750 is currently being used.", "For example, the mobile device 730 could monitor its WiFi receiver to detect the presence of another mobile device transmitting a WiFi signal.", "The strength of the signal received can be used to determine the nearest machine.", "Once the signal from the semi's mobile device 750 is received, the two devices 730, 750 establish a communication interface or link.", "In this way, the field cart mobile device 730 learns that the field cart 720 has approached a particular semi 740 currently being driven by a particular operator.", "When the semi's beacon 744 is detected, or the signal from the semi's mobile device 750 is received and understood, the field cart mobile device 730 then begins to query and monitor the scale 722 operating on the field cart 720.Alternatively, the mobile device 730 may be capable of extracting and reading other equipment related data streams, such as speed, acceleration, braking, and dumping from the field cart 720.The app on the mobile device 730 can interpret the mechanical activity data generated from the equipment in which the smart device is located (i.e., that the cart is unloading its load) or can monitor changes in the scale 722 to see that the load in the cart has lessened.", "By intelligently monitoring these on-cart devices, the mobile device 730 will be able to tell when a transfer of the product has completed, and also will be able to tell the amount of product that has been transferred.", "By combining this information with the beacon data (which other equipment 740 is near or nearest the cart 720), the mobile device can detect the need to generate a ticket, complete the data in the ticket, and transmit the ticket to the server 230, all without any user intervention.", "In FIG.", "7, the field cart 720 and the semi truck 740 each have beacons 724, 744 and each have smart devices 730, 750, respectively.", "The semi 740 may be parked next to the field currently being harvested, such as on an access road.", "The semi 740 remains on the road waiting to be filled, and might be located next to other semi trucks (not shown in FIG.", "7).", "When the field cart 720 is full, the operator drives to the side of the field and approaches the trucks.", "The field cart 720 stops closest to the first semi truck 740 in line to unload.", "The smart device 730 in the cart 720 may receive a data stream from devices on the cart 720 indicating that the cart 720 is stopped.", "The mobile device 730 will sense the beacon data from beacon 744 and determine which semi truck 740 is closest to the device 730.The device 730 will next sense that the cart 720 is unloading from the data stream from the monitoring equipment on the cart 720 (such as scale 722).", "As a result the smart device will have the capability to generate an activity record (a cart ticket) that documents the following: Activity date Activity time Activity type Initiating equipment (grain cart id—signed into the device) Initiating operator (grain cart driver—signed into the device) Receiving equipment (truck id—recognized from the truck beacon Receiving operator (recognized from the truck beacon) Activity location (from the smart device and or device GPS) Truck weight (from scale data collected by smart device) Similarly, a smart device 750 in the truck 740 will be able to create data tickets as well.", "If the system 700 was so set up, the truck's device 750 could create a corresponding cart ticket based on readings from its own scale 742, and information obtained from the beacon 724 operating on the cart 720.If the truck had no internal scale 742, it is possible that the device could obtain this information directly from the scale 722 on the cart 720, or the weight data could be simple left blank and extracted from the cart ticket created by the cart 720 when the tickets are received and analyzed by the server 230.When the truck 740 then delivers its load to the farmer's storage facility or to a customer, a new ticket could be created (a field-to-customer or a field-to-storage ticket), also with out operator intervention.", "A beacon could be set up at either location, thereby allowing the process to repeat much as when the cart 720 approached the semi truck 740.Alternatively, there may be no beacon at the destination (which may be likely when delivering the load to a customer).", "To allow the automatic creation of a ticket in these locations, the device 750 on the truck would know that the load was now to be delivered to some location after it detected the loading of the semi 740 from the field cart 720.Since the device 750 cannot rely upon beacon information to determine its delivery location, the device 750 instead relies on GPS location.", "This GPS location can be determined from a GPS or other locating technology that is internal to the device 750 (such technology is commonly found in phones and tablet computers running the Android operating system or Apple's iOS) or by reading a GPS device on the truck 740 itself.", "This generated ticket could include the following information: Activity date (from smart device) Activity time (from smart device) Activity type (internal storage location or customer delivery, as determined from the GPS on a smart device or from a beacon at the delivery location) Supplying equipment (from the Grain Cart Beacon) Supplying operator (from the Grain Cart Beacon and system) Activity locations (field and dump location) from GPS in smart device Weight data (from the GC ticket matched by the system or read by the device at the scale house via Bluetooth) This type of scenario applies to all of the activity ticket-based data creation and collection in harvest processes as well as in input management processes.", "The ability to sense and record related equipment and equipment proximity in a new and unique way enables smart devices in field equipment to auto generate activity tickets without user intervention.", "Importantly, this type of scenario applies broadly to a host of harvest or input management activities across a multitude of similar industries including: forestry (harvesting and planting of lumber and trees), mining (harvesting minerals), energy (harvesting oil and natural gas), or any agricultural sector.", "Inputs The system described above is used to track crops or similar goods that are harvested from a location.", "As described in the above-identified priority provisional application, one embodiment of the current invention can also be used to track inputs at farmer fields.", "These “inputs” may constitute seeds for planting the crop in the field.", "Other inputs include fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides that are sprayed or spread on a field to improve crop yields.", "As shown in FIG.", "8, data tickets are created when input materials are moved between different locations 810, 820, 822, and 830.More particular, input related data tickets are created when inputs are received in inventory 820 or 822 after purchase from a source or store 810, are taken from inventory 820, 822 to be used in the field 830, are returned unused from the field 830 and placed back into inventory 820, 822, are moved from one inventory location 820 to another 822, and are returned from inventory 820, 822 to the store 810.Transport and other farm vehicles and equipment 840 provide the ability to move the inputs between these locations 810, 820, 822, and 830.In some embodiments, the transporting equipment 840 has weights, scales, and other measuring devices to help determine the quantity of inputs that are moved or applied by the vehicles 840.As was the case in managing and tracking harvests, the tickets that are created to manage and track inputs have a different name and contain different data depending upon the movement being tracked.", "A “contract delivery ticket” is used to record the input (i.e., the product) and quantity that is received from the store 810 and put into inventory 820, 822 after purchase.", "This ticket would record the date of delivery and the inventory location 820, 822 that received the input.", "A contract delivery ticket can be created using a remote handheld (such as device 210 shown in FIG.", "2) by the worker that received the input into inventory, or by back office personnel using the back office computer (such as computer 250 of FIG.", "2).", "A “load out ticket” is created when an input is taken out of inventory 820, 822.This ticket creates the input product, the quantity of product, the originating inventory location 820, 822 of the input, the equipment that received in the input, and the equipment operator.", "The “field application ticket” is used to recording planting, spraying, or spreading an input on a field 830.The field 830 on which an input is used, and the time at which the input was applied, is recorded in the field application ticket.", "In some embodiments, the field application ticket is submitted to the remote server 230 when the field application is completed, which allows the worker that completes the ticket to indicate whether the application to that entire field 830 has been completed.", "This allows the system 200 to track the completion of input application tasks on a field-by-field basis.", "A “field return ticket” is used to indicate that some of the inputs that were taken out of inventory 820, 822 through a load out ticket were not used on the field 830 (as indicated in the field application ticket) and are therefore returned into inventory 820, 822.If inputs can be stored in multiple storage or inventory locations 820, 822, transfer tickets track the movement of inputs between these locations.", "A “transfer out ticket” indicates that the input has been removed from one location 820, and a “transfer in ticket” indicates that the input as been received at a second location 822.“Supplier return tickets” are used to indicate that input in inventory 820.822 has been returned to the originating supplier 810 for a refund.", "These input related tickets can be generated in the same manner as the harvest tickets.", "In other words, the tickets can be created manually in the field by workers using remote handheld devices 210-214, or can be created automatically using beacons and scales that are detectable and accessible to the devices 210-214 as described above.", "The tickets can be designed to refer to only one type of input at a time.", "If multiple types of inputs are removed from inventory 820, 822 for application on field 830, multiple input tickets would be used to track this movement.", "Alternatively, and preferably, tickets can be designed to allow the tracking of different inputs on a single ticket.", "By tracking both inputs and harvests, a farmer can compare yield results to input applications on a field-by-field basis.", "In addition, the farmer can manage and track inventory of inputs and harvests, which helps the farmer prevent loss, identify spoilage and shrinkage points, and develop a greater understanding of their business.", "The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the above description.", "Numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art.", "For example, the above description explained that various software can be running on mobile devices that operating in various crop-related machines or at various crop-related locations.", "Many aspects of the present invention would be equally novel if these mobile devices were fixedly mounted in these locations so that they were no longer technically mobile.", "Furthermore, many aspects of the present invention remain novel even if the technology running these applications were embedded directly into the machinery or locations involved.", "Since such modifications are possible, the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described.", "Rather, the present invention should be limited only by the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15875083
[ [ "DISTRIBUTED MULTI-SENSOR STREAMER", "This disclosure is related to the field of streamers.", "In one embodiment, a streamer may include a group of particle motion sensors.", "In some embodiments, at least two of the particle motion sensors in the group are movable relative to one another within the streamer, and the two particle motion sensors are configured to measure motion along a particular axis.", "In some embodiments, the streamer may additionally include a plurality of pressure sensors." ], [ "1.An apparatus, comprising: a streamer that includes a group of particle motion sensors, wherein each particle motion sensor in the group is configured to perform measurements along a same particular axis, wherein the group of particle motion sensors includes a first particle motion sensor and a second particle motion sensor, and wherein the streamer permits flexing that changes an orientation of at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors relative to the axis; circuitry configured to combine outputs of the particle motion sensors in the group; one or more orientation sensors configured to determine a difference in orientation of the at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors relative to the axis; and a compensation unit configured to compensate for flexing of the streamer by processing outputs of at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors, based on the determined difference in orientation.", "2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second particle motion sensors are housed in respective bodies within the streamer, wherein the respective bodies are coupled to a strength member of the streamer.", "3.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the streamer further includes a second group of particle motion sensors configured to measure motion along a different axis, wherein the second group of particle motion sensors includes a third and a fourth particle motion sensor that are movable relative to one another within the streamer.", "4.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising control circuitry configured to control a streamer positioning device to untwist at least a portion of the streamer such that the difference in orientation is reduced.", "5.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the difference in orientation is caused by twisting of the streamer.", "6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to combine the outputs of the particle motion sensors in the group in an analog fashion prior to digitization.", "7.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more orientation sensors are two tilt sensors.", "8.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more orientation sensors include a magnetic sensor.", "9.A method, comprising: towing an array of streamers behind a vessel in a body of water, wherein at least one streamer includes a group of particle motion sensors, wherein each particle motion sensor in the group is configured to perform measurements along a same particular axis, wherein the group of particle motion sensors includes a first particle motion sensor and a second particle motion sensor, and wherein the streamer permits flexing that changes an orientation of at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors relative to the axis; combining outputs of the particle motion sensors in the group; determining, using one or more orientation sensors, a difference in orientation of the at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors relative to the axis; and compensating for flexing of the streamer by processing outputs of at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors, based on the determined difference in orientation.", "10.The method of claim 9, further comprising: updating a model of an orientation of the first particle motion sensor.", "11.The method of claim 9, further comprising: controlling a streamer positioning device to untwist at least a portion of the streamer such that the difference in orientation is reduced.", "12.The method of claim 9, wherein the difference in orientation is caused by twisting of the streamer during the towing.", "13.The method of claim 9, wherein the combining outputs is performed prior to digitization of outputs of the particle motion sensors in the group.", "14.The method of claim 9, further comprising: producing a geophysical data product based on signals from the group of particle motion sensors.", "15.The method of claim 14, further comprising importing the geophysical data product onshore.", "16.The method of claim 15, further comprising performing geophysical analysis onshore on the geophysical data product.", "17.A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable by a computing device to perform operations comprising: combining outputs of particle motion sensors in a group of particle motion sensors included in a streamer towed behind a vessel in a body of water, wherein each particle motion sensor in the group is configured to perform measurements along a same particular axis, wherein the group of particle motion sensors includes a first particle motion sensor and a second particle motion sensor, and wherein the streamer permits flexing that changes an orientation of at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors relative to the axis; determining, using one or more orientation sensors, a difference in orientation of the at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors relative to the axis; and compensating for flexing of the streamer by processing outputs of at least one of the first and second particle motion sensors, based on the determined difference in orientation.", "18.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: controlling a streamer positioning device to untwist at least a portion of the streamer such that the difference in orientation is reduced.", "19.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the combining outputs is performed prior to digitization of outputs of the particle motion sensors in the group.", "20.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the difference in orientation is caused by twisting of the streamer during towing." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>This application generally relates to the field of marine geophysical prospecting.", "More specifically, the application relates to the field of streamer design.", "In the oil and gas exploration industry, marine geophysical prospecting is commonly used in the search for hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean formations.", "Marine geophysical prospecting techniques may yield knowledge of the subsurface structure of the Earth, which is useful for finding and extracting hydrocarbon deposits such as oil and natural gas.", "Seismic surveying is one of the well-known techniques of marine geophysical prospecting.", "For example, in a seismic survey conducted in a marine environment (which may include saltwater, freshwater, and/or brackish water environments), one or more seismic energy sources are typically configured to be submerged and towed by a vessel.", "The vessel is typically also configured to tow one or more laterally-spaced streamers through the water.", "At selected times, control equipment may cause the one or more seismic energy sources to actuate.", "Seismic signals may then be received by sensors disposed along the streamers.", "Data collected during such a seismic survey may be analyzed to assist identification of hydrocarbon-bearing geological structures, and thus determine where deposits of oil and natural gas may be located." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 illustrates a marine seismic survey system using an apparatus according to one embodiment of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an embodiment of a configuration of a group of particle motion sensors and a group of pressure sensors in an apparatus according to the disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a configuration of a group of particle motion sensors and a group of pressure sensors in an apparatus according to the disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a cut-away view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a process flow according to one embodiment of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a process flow according to a different embodiment of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a process flow according to a different embodiment of the disclosure.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/317,622, filed Jun.", "27, 2014 (now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,874,647), which claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Patent Application No.", "61/873,223 filed Sep. 3, 2013, each of with which is incorporated by reference herein in its respective entirety.", "BACKGROUND This application generally relates to the field of marine geophysical prospecting.", "More specifically, the application relates to the field of streamer design.", "In the oil and gas exploration industry, marine geophysical prospecting is commonly used in the search for hydrocarbon-bearing subterranean formations.", "Marine geophysical prospecting techniques may yield knowledge of the subsurface structure of the Earth, which is useful for finding and extracting hydrocarbon deposits such as oil and natural gas.", "Seismic surveying is one of the well-known techniques of marine geophysical prospecting.", "For example, in a seismic survey conducted in a marine environment (which may include saltwater, freshwater, and/or brackish water environments), one or more seismic energy sources are typically configured to be submerged and towed by a vessel.", "The vessel is typically also configured to tow one or more laterally-spaced streamers through the water.", "At selected times, control equipment may cause the one or more seismic energy sources to actuate.", "Seismic signals may then be received by sensors disposed along the streamers.", "Data collected during such a seismic survey may be analyzed to assist identification of hydrocarbon-bearing geological structures, and thus determine where deposits of oil and natural gas may be located.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 illustrates a marine seismic survey system using an apparatus according to one embodiment of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an embodiment of a configuration of a group of particle motion sensors and a group of pressure sensors in an apparatus according to the disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a configuration of a group of particle motion sensors and a group of pressure sensors in an apparatus according to the disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a cut-away view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a process flow according to one embodiment of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a process flow according to a different embodiment of the disclosure.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates a process flow according to a different embodiment of the disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION This specification includes references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment.” The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.", "Particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner consistent with this disclosure.", "This specification may use phrase such as “based on.” As used herein, this term is used to describe one or more factors that affect a determination.", "This term does not foreclose additional factors that may affect a determination.", "That is, a determination may be solely based on those factors or based only in part on those factors.", "Consider the phrase “determine A based on B.” This phrase connotes that B is a factor that affects the determination of A, but does not foreclose the determination of A from also being based on C. In other instances, A may be determined based solely on B.", "Various devices, units, circuits, or other components may be described or claimed as “configured to” perform a task or tasks.", "In such contexts, “configured to” is each used to connote structure by indicating that the devices/units/circuits/components include structure that performs the task or tasks during operation.", "As such, the device/unit/circuit/component can be said to be configured to perform the task even when the specified device/unit/circuit/component is not currently operational (e.g., is not on or in operation).", "The devices/units/circuits/components used with the “configured to” language include hardware—for example, circuits, memory storing program instructions executable to implement the operation, etc.", "Reciting that a device/unit/circuit/component is “configured to” perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C.", "§ 112(f), for that device/unit/circuit/component.", "In some embodiments, various items of information relating to geophysical surveying may be embodied in a geophysical data product.", "A “geophysical data product” may be stored on a computer-readable, non-transitory medium and may embody geophysical data (such as raw streamer data, processed streamer data, two- or three-dimensional maps based on streamer data, etc.).", "Some non-limiting examples of computer-readable media may include hard drives, CDs, DVDs, print-outs, etc.", "In some embodiments, raw analog data from streamers may be stored as a geophysical data product.", "In other instances, the data may first be digitized and/or conditioned prior to being stored as the geophysical data product.", "In yet other instances, the data may be fully processed into a two- or three-dimensional map of the various geophysical structures before being stored in the geophysical data product.", "The geophysical data product may be produced offshore (i.e.", "by equipment on a vessel) or onshore (i.e.", "at a facility on land) either within the United States or in another country.", "If the geophysical data product is produced offshore or in another country, it may be imported onshore to a facility in the United States.", "Once onshore in the United States, geophysical analysis may be performed on the geophysical data product.", "A marine seismic survey commonly employs seismic energy sources such as an array of air guns or marine vibrators that produce a seismic wavefield when activated.", "As used herein, a “seismic wavefield” includes components such as a single velocity field with vertical and lateral variations.", "In a marine seismic survey, the seismic wavefield typically travels downward through a body of water overlying the subsurface of the earth.", "Upon propagating into the Earth, the seismic wavefield is then at least partially reflected by subsurface reflectors.", "Such reflectors are typically those interfaces between subterranean formations having different elastic properties such as density and sound wave velocity, which may lead to differences in acoustic impedance at the interfaces.", "The reflected seismic wavefield is detected by the sensors such as particle motion sensors and/or pressure sensors in the streamers.", "A record is made in the recording system of the signals detected by each sensor (or by groups/networks of such sensors).", "The recorded signals may thereafter be interpreted to infer properties of the subterranean formation.", "Streamers may be quite long, typically multiple kilometers in length.", "Some geophysical surveys may be conducted with a single streamer, while some surveys use multiple streamer systems including one or more arrays of streamers.", "The individual streamers in such arrays may be generally affected by the same types of forces that affect a single streamer.", "One of the most common types of pressure sensor used in marine seismic surveying is a hydrophone.", "A hydrophone may typically be an omnidirectional device.", "Such hydrophones therefore generally cannot distinguish between the directions of the up-going and down-going wavefields.", "In particular, seismic energy directly reaching the hydrophones from the source cannot be easily distinguished from the various reflections from the surface of the water and the seafloor (e.g., the “source ghost” and the “receiver ghost”).", "As a consequence, wavefields of both the source and receiver ghost may interfere with primary reflections, which contain the desired information about the subterranean formations, reducing seismic image resolution and reducing the usefulness of seismic data for reservoir delineation and characterization.", "Due to the omnidirectional reception nature of hydrophones, particle motion sensors have also been employed to detect vector quantities during marine seismic survey operations.", "The term “particle motion sensor” should be understood in the context of this disclosure as referring to any of various types of sensors, including velocity meters, accelerometers, geophones, pressure gradient sensors, particle displacement sensors, etc.", "In a multi-component streamer that includes both pressure sensors and particle motion sensors, the combination of signals from pressure and particle motion sensors may be used to remove the “ghosting” effects during seismic data processing.", "One example of this is described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,684,281, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "Streamer positioning devices (e.g., lateral force and depth control devices commonly known as “birds”) are in some embodiments coupled to the exteriors of the streamers in the array.", "The streamer positioning devices are operable to impart force on the streamers to control the respective positions of the streamers in the array.", "Turning now to FIG.", "1, an embodiment of a marine seismic survey system is shown.", "Vessel 14 may move along a surface of body of water 11 such as a lake or the ocean.", "Vessel 14 may include source actuation, data recording, and navigation equipment, shown generally at 12 and referred to for convenience in the aggregate as a “recording system.” Vessel 14 (or a different vessel, not shown) may be configured to tow one or more seismic energy sources 33, or one or more arrays of such sources, in body of water 11.Vessel 14 (or a different vessel) may also tow one or more streamers 30 near the surface of body of water 11.Streamers 30 may include a plurality of streamer positioning devices 35.Streamers 30 may in some embodiments contain various types of sensors (e.g., hydrophones, geophones, pressure sensors, particle motion sensors, etc.", "), one or more strength members, electrical wiring (e.g., data and/or power wiring), optical fiber, and other components.", "Although not shown, it is contemplated that streamers 30 may also include electromagnetic sensors, and that additional streamers may be utilized at varying depths.", "In accordance with some embodiments, streamer 30 may be a multi-component streamer, containing both particle motion sensors and pressure sensors.", "Pressure sensors may be configured to detect a scalar-valued wavefield, and particle motion sensors may be configured to detect a vector-valued wavefield.", "The configuration of some embodiments of streamer 30 will be explained in more detail below.", "During one embodiment of marine seismic survey operation, seismic energy source 33 may actuate at selected times.", "When actuated, seismic energy source 33 may produce seismic wavefield 19 that emanates generally outwardly from seismic energy source 33.Seismic wavefield 19 may travel downwardly, through body of water 11, and pass, at least in part, through water bottom 20 into the subterranean formations.", "Seismic wavefield 19 may be at least partially reflected from one or more acoustic impedance boundaries below water bottom 20, and may travel upwardly and be detected by sensors in streamers 30.The structure of the formations, among other properties of the Earth's subsurface, may be inferred by detection of seismic wavefield 19 and by characteristics of the detected seismic wavefield, such as amplitude, phase, travel time, etc.", "The orientation, configuration, and number of streamers, sensors, streamer positioning devices, or other equipment shown in FIG.", "1 is only for purposes of illustration and is not a limitation on the orientation, configuration, or number of each device that may be used in any particular embodiment.", "The broken lines in streamers 30 indicate that this figure is not necessarily drawn to scale Turning now to FIG.", "2, a schematic of a sensor configuration of one embodiment of streamer 30 is shown.", "Sensors may be combined into groups, for example, to increase sensitivity and/or improve the signal-to-noise ratio.", "In the embodiment shown in FIG.", "2, streamer 30 includes particle motion sensor groups 500, 510, 520, and 530, as well as pressure sensor groups 400, 410, 420, and 430.In this embodiment, particle motion sensor group 500 may include a plurality of particle motion sensors 50A, 50B, 50C, and 50D (“50A-50D”) that are electrically connected to form particle motion sensor group 500.Particle motion sensors 50A-50D may in some embodiments be 1-, 2-, or 3-axis sensors configured to measure one or more vector components of particle motion in the body of water 11.The term “sensor group,” as used herein, is defined as a set of two or more sensors (e.g., particle motion sensors or pressure sensors) that are connected together such that the outputs of the sensors are combined in an analog fashion.", "In some embodiments, a sensor group may span a length of 5 meters along a streamer.", "In some other embodiments, a sensor group may span a length of 10 meters along a streamer.", "For example, sensors within a group may be connected electrically or optically in some embodiments.", "In some embodiments, this combined analog output from a sensor group may then be digitized for further processing.", "Sensors within a group may in various embodiments be connected in serial and/or in parallel.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an example configuration in which particle motion sensor groups 500, 510, 520, and 530 include both series and parallel connections.", "That is (for example), particle motion sensors 50A and 50B are connected in series, and particle motion sensors 50C and 50D are connected in series, and the two pairs are then connected in parallel.", "One of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure will of course understand that there are various ways of connecting the sensor outputs in each group.", "In known designs, it has been considered desirable for all of the sensors within a sensor group to be rigidly connected together (e.g., disposed within a single rigid body in the streamer).", "Such a rigid arrangement may have the advantage of simplifying processing of the resultant data, but it may have the disadvantage of limiting the flexibility that would be available if sensors within a group could be mounted non-rigidly relative to one another.", "According to embodiments of the present disclosure, sensors within a single group may be mounted non-rigidly to one another.", "The number of sensors in a group may be selected as appropriate in various instances.", "For example, a group may include 2, 3, 6, 12, 16, 24, 32, or any other appropriate number of sensors.", "Particle motion sensor group 500 may be coupled to digitizing unit 300.Digitizing unit 300 may be configured to process the combined signals of particle motion sensors 50A-50D.", "For example, in some embodiments, digitizing unit 300 may include an analog to digital conversion circuitry that is configured to digitize the combined signals of particle motion sensors 50A-50D.", "Digitizing unit 300 may in some embodiments also be configured to perform some additional processing on the signals from particle motion sensors 50A-50D.", "For example, digitizing unit 300 may be configured to determine a particular component (e.g., vertical) of motion based on the signal from particle motion sensors 50A-50D.", "In some embodiments, digitizing unit 300 may be configured to process a summed signal of particle motion sensor group 500.In these embodiments, signals from particle motion sensors 50A-50D in particle motion sensor group 500 may be summed to generate the equivalent of a single particle motion sensor signal.", "In some embodiments, digitizing unit 300 may include a module or circuitry to attenuate noise in a summed signal of particle motion sensor group 500 by respectively weighting signals of each of particle motion sensors 50A-50D and determining a weighted signal.", "For example, in an electrical system, the weights may be determined by selecting appropriate values for resistors used to connect each particle motion sensor to the others in the group.", "In one embodiment, the spacing between each adjacent particle motion sensor 50A-50D and the weight of each of particle motion sensor may be selected to attenuate noise in a selected mode of propagation and within a selected wavenumber range.", "Some embodiments of connections between sensors in a group involving weighting are described in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "8,553,490, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, output from digitizing unit 300 may be communicatively coupled to telemetry network 100 and transmitted to recording system 12 (onboard vessel 14 in FIG.", "1) for data analysis and/or further processing.", "Similar to particle motion sensor group 500, particle motion sensor groups 510, 520, and 530 may each respectively contain particle motion sensors 51A, 51B, 51C, and 51D; 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D; and 53A, 53B, 53C, and 53D.", "Each of these groups may also respectively be coupled to digitizing units 310, 320, and 330.In known designs, the particle motion sensors within a group are typically rigidly connected together so that their orientation relative to one another remains constant.", "For example, a gimbal may be used in known designs to maintain a sensor in a desired orientation (e.g., vertical).", "These known designs may have the advantage of simplifying data collection and processing, but they may lack flexibility in sensor placement.", "The particle motion sensors in a particle motion sensor group need not be rigidly connected together, and thus individual sensors within a group may be moved relative to one another by, for example, water currents, streamer twisting, streamer untwisting, forces applied by birds, etc.", "Such motion may occur during survey operations, such as during the time in between survey shots or even (though typically to a lesser extent) during a single shot.", "For example, the individual sensors may be independently rotatable with respect to an axis (such as the streamer axis).", "They may also in some embodiments be movable longitudinally relative to one another along the streamer axis or movable based on streamer bending, although it is expected that these effects will typically be smaller than rotational effects.", "Such an arrangement may allow for more flexibility in the positioning of sensors within a group.", "Various challenges may be introduced by not rigidly connecting together all sensors in a group.", "As described herein, these challenges may be mitigated or eliminated with the benefit of this disclosure.", "In some embodiments, particular ones of the sensors within a group may be mounted rigidly together, while other ones are free to move.", "For example, particle motion sensors 50A and 50B may be rigidly mounted together, and particle motion sensors 50C and 50D may be rigidly mounted together, but the pairs may be free to move relative to one another.", "In other embodiments, all of the sensors within a group may be free to move relative to one another.", "In one embodiment, for example, the particle motion sensors in a group may be disposed (e.g., mounted) in two or more rigid bodies.", "These rigid bodies, however, may be movable with respect to one another.", "In an alternative embodiment, the particle motion sensors in a group may be disposed within a single non-rigid (e.g., bendable) body.", "In one embodiment, particle motion sensors 50A-50D may be disposed within streamer 30 and arranged such that they are longitudinally spaced apart from each other along a length of streamer 30.In a particular embodiment, a distance between particle motion sensors 50A and 50B may be less than or equal to 1 meter.", "Particle motion sensors 50A-50D in particle motion sensor group 500 may or may not be evenly spaced apart.", "Distance is generally measured from a center of an item, for example, a body such as a spacer which may house a sensor, to a center of another item (e.g., another body such as another spacer housing another sensor).", "The term “spacer” is understood to mean a solid structural component within a streamer that connects to the strength members.", "The term “body” includes spacers, but also includes various other solid structures within a streamer to which sensors may be mounted.", "The mechanical arrangement of particle motions sensors 50A-50D within a streamer will be discussed in further detail below in reference to FIG.", "4.In some embodiments, digitizing unit 300 may be disposed within 5 meters of particle motion sensor group 500.The respective distance between particle motion sensor group 510, 520, and 530 and respective digitizing units 310, 320, or 330 may or may not be the same.", "Streamer 30 may contain multiple such particle motion sensor groups and digitizing units.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, streamer 30 may also in some embodiments include pressure sensor groups 400, 410, 420, and 430, which may include individual pressure sensors that are connected together.", "Pressure sensors 40A-40D may be, for example, hydrophones.", "Pressure sensors 40A-40D may be disposed within streamer 30 and be arranged longitudinally spaced apart from each other along a length of the streamer 30.Similarly, pressure sensor groups 410, 420, and 430 may respectively include pressure sensors 41A, 41B, 41C, and 41D; 42A, 42B, 42C, and 42D; and 43A, 43B, 43C, and 43D.", "Pressure sensor group 400 may be configured to produce an electrical or optical signal indicative of a pressure variation.", "Digitizing unit 300 may be configured to process output of pressure sensor group 400 and such output may be transmitted to recording system 12 via telemetry network 100.In some embodiments, a separate digitizing unit (not shown) may be used instead of digitizing unit 300.In some embodiments, the pressure sensors need not be arranged into groups.", "Instead, a digitizing unit may be configured to process the output of an individual pressure sensor.", "In some embodiments, the pressure sensors may even be omitted altogether.", "The digitized output of the pressure sensors (if present) may similarly be transmitted to recording system 12 via telemetry network 100.Turning now to FIG.", "3, an alternative embodiment (generally similar to that of FIG.", "2) is shown.", "In FIG.", "3, a different configuration for the sensors is depicted.", "Particle motion sensor groups 600 and 610 respectively include particle motion sensors 60A, 60B, 60C, and 60D connected in series; and 61A, 61B, 61C, and 61D connected in series.", "Digitizing unit 200 may be configured to process signals from both particle motion sensor groups 600 and 610.In addition, digitizing unit 200 may be configured to process signals from pressure sensor groups 700 and 710.The remainder of FIG.", "3 may be understood by reference to corresponding structures in FIG.", "2.One of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure will understand the multitude of ways that sensors may be connected together in various instances.", "Turning now to FIG.", "4, a cut-away view of a portion 30A of streamer 30 is shown (not necessarily to scale).", "Streamer portion 30A may include external jacket 22, a plurality of bodies including bodies 18A, 18B, 18C, and 18D (“18A-18D”), along with connectors 38A and 38B, and strength members 44A and 44B.", "In this particular embodiment, streamer portion 30A may also include coupling plates 43A and 43B.", "External jacket 22 may be formed from a flexible, acoustically transparent material such as polyurethane and protect the interior of streamer portion 30A from water intrusion.", "Connectors 38A and 38B may be disposed at the ends of streamer portion 30A and may be configured to connect streamer portion 30A mechanically, electrically, and/or optically to the remaining portions of streamer 30.Also included in streamer portion 30A is cable 15 that may include one or more electrical conductors (not shown separately), and/or one or more optical fibers (not shown).", "Cable 15 may include telemetry network 100 (shown schematically in FIGS.", "2 and 3) and may transmit electrical and/or optical signals to recording system 12.Cable 15 may also carry electrical power to, for example, various sensors, digitizing units, and/or other components disposed elsewhere along streamer 30.Strength members 44A and 44B may be configured to support the tension of streamer 30 resulting from towing (as shown in FIG.", "1) in the direction of longitudinal axis 59.As noted above, in some embodiments, bodies 18A-18D may be spacers that are configured to provide radial support of streamer portion 30A.", "Such spacers may be of a cylindrical or other shape.", "The spacers may be made from plastic, foamed polyurethane or any other suitable material.", "In some embodiments, the spacers may be made from a material configured to provide buoyancy to streamer portion 30A.", "In yet an alternative embodiment, one or more of the bodies may be a housing that is flexible or bendable.", "In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "4, body 18A may house particle motion sensor 50A.", "In some embodiments, particle motion sensor 50A may be rigidly disposed within body 18A.", "In other embodiments, other types of suitable devices such as harnesses and others may be used to mount particle motion sensor 50A and/or other sensors within body 18A.", "In the illustration of FIG.", "4, each of bodies 18A-18D is coupled to strength members 44A and 44B.", "Particle motion sensors 50A-50D of particle motion sensor group 500 may each be rigidly disposed within corresponding bodies 18A-18D.", "As such, each of particle motion sensors 50A-50D may not be movable relative to the corresponding body in which it is housed.", "However, as streamer portion 30A may twist, compress, or otherwise move during towing, bodies 18A-18D may also move or twist relative to on another.", "Accordingly, particle motion sensors 50A-50D may also move or twist relative to one another.", "Bodies 18A-18D may in some embodiments also contain one or more pressure sensors.", "In other embodiments, such pressure sensors may instead be housed in separate bodies (not specifically labeled in FIG.", "4).", "For example, a pressure sensor (or group of pressure sensors) may in some embodiments be located within 10 meters of a corresponding group of particle motion sensors.", "As noted above, the movement and/or twisting of bodies 18A-18D relative to one another may cause particle motion sensors 50A-50D (e.g., some or all of such particle motion sensors) to become misaligned relative to one another.", "As used herein, the term “misaligned” (or variations of the term) means an arrangement of at least two items where the orientation of the items differs by more than 3°.", "The term “aligned” (or variations of the term) means an arrangement of at least two items where the orientation of the items differs by less than or equal to 3°.", "In some embodiments, it may be desirable for the items to be aligned even more closely than 3°.", "For example, it may be advantageous for the items to be aligned to within 2.5°, 2°, 1.5°, 1°, 0.5°, 0.1°, etc.", "in various embodiments.", "In one particular embodiment, bodies 18A-18D are evenly spaced at distance “a” along the length of streamer portion 30A, and distance “a” is approximately 0.5 meters.", "In this embodiment, bodies 18A-18D thus extend for a length of approximately 1.5 meters along the length of streamer portion 30A, and particle motion group 500 which includes particle motion sensors 50A-50D extends for the same approximate length of approximately 1.5 meters along streamer portion 30A.", "In an alternative embodiment, bodies 18A-18D may be variably spaced.", "In other embodiments, the length of the particle motion sensor group may be approximately 3 meters or even longer.", "Other lengths may also be chosen as appropriate.", "Streamer portion 30A may also include bodies 36A and 36B, which may be coupled to strength members 44A and 44B.", "In this embodiment, particle motion sensors 51A and 51B may be rigidly disposed within body 36A, whereas particle motion sensors 51C and 51D may be rigidly disposed within body 36B.", "Particle motion sensor group 510 is accordingly disposed within bodies 36A and 36B.", "In certain embodiments, particle motion sensor groups 500 and 510 may be separated by distance “b” which may be in an approximate range of 1-15 meters along the length of streamer portion 30A.", "Particle motion sensor groups such as groups 500, 510, 520 and 530 (shown in FIGS.", "2 and 3) may or may not be evenly spaced apart along the length of streamer 30.In one embodiment, particle motion sensors 50A-50D in particle motion sensor group 500 may be generally oriented along one or more axes (e.g., two axes) orthogonal to longitudinal axis 59 (for example, vertical and horizontal axes).", "For example, particle motion sensors 50A-50B may be oriented along one axis that is orthogonal to longitudinal axis 59, and particle motion sensors 50C-50D may be oriented a different (e.g., mutually orthogonal) axis.", "In other words, particle motion sensor group 500 may include two subgroups of sensors that are both oriented orthogonal to longitudinal axis 59 and that are also oriented orthogonal to one another.", "Such subgroups may contain one or more particle motion sensors.", "In some embodiments, streamer portion 30A may contain body 17 in which a tilt sensor (also referred to as an orientation sensor) may be disposed.", "For example, a single tilt sensor may be used to determine the twist orientation of the body in which the sensor is mounted.", "In other instances, multiple tilt sensors may be used to determine a twist rate along a selected length of the streamer or streamer portion.", "As described below, the twist orientation and/or the twist rate may be used to mitigate the effects of sensor misalignment.", "Body 17 may be disposed within distance “c” from particle motion sensor group 500.Distance “c” may, in some embodiments, be approximately 1 to 2 meters.", "In other embodiments, distance “c” may be within a range of approximately 1 to 5 meters of particle motion sensor group 500.In some embodiments, the tilt sensor may be disposed within one of the same bodies as an element of particle motion sensor group 500.The tilt sensor may include an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscopic sensor, a magnetic sensor, a combination thereof, or any other suitable device for indicating a tilt state.", "In one embodiment, the tilt sensor may be of a particular orientation relative to one of particle motion sensors in particle motion sensor group 500.In this embodiment, the particular orientation of the tilt sensor relative to at least one particle motion sensor in particle motion sensor group 500 may be known prior to the commencement of the marine seismic survey operations.", "Based on such a known orientation, the tilt sensor may be configured to indicate a change in orientation such as a tilt angle of the at least one particle motion sensor in particle motion sensor group 500.A tilt sensor (which may also generally be referred to as an “orientation sensor”) may indicate a misalignment of a particle motion sensor relative to other particle motion sensors in particle motion sensor group 500.Misalignment may be indicative of twisting of streamer portion 30A.", "While tilt sensors are typically used to indicate a rotational relationship relative to a particular axis, in some embodiments, more than one tilt sensor may be spatially separated by a selected length along the streamer axis in order to estimate the amount of twist in the streamer.", "In some embodiments, the tilt sensor(s) may be in signal communication with streamer positioning device 35, and upon an indication of twisting of streamer portion 30A, streamer positioning device 35 may accordingly untwist the streamer portion 30A.", "As shown in this embodiment, streamer positioning device 35 may be coupled to exterior jacket 22 of streamer portion 30A.", "In other embodiments, streamer positioning device 35 may be coupled in between streamer portions such as those that may be connected by way of connector 38A or 38B.", "Typically, such streamer positioning device may be coupled to streamer 30 about every 300 meters.", "Streamer positioning device 35 may include a sensor configured to determine the orientation of streamer portion 30A at the location of streamer positioning device 35.Streamer positioning device 35 may include hydrodynamic deflecting surfaces (e.g., “wings”) that are configured to impart force on streamer portion 30A as it is towed.", "As such, streamer positioning device 35 may be operable to control a position of streamer portion 30A.", "Such control may be in the vertical (depth) direction and/or the horizontal (lateral) direction and/or the direction of twist about longitudinal axis 59.Streamer positioning device 35 may also be operable to twist and untwist streamer portion 30A.", "In certain embodiments, streamer positioning device 35 may impart force upon streamer portion 30A causing it to rotate against a detected amount of twist.", "As streamer portion 30A is untwisted, particle motion sensors 50A and 50B may be rotated relative to one another and become aligned with one another along a particular axis.", "In some embodiments, this untwisting functionality may allow particle motion sensors 50A and 50B to become aligned with one another with a difference of orientation less than or equal to 1.5°.", "Streamer positioning device 35 may in some embodiments be communicatively coupled to a control system on vessel 14.Such a control system may be included in recording system 12.The control system may monitor and control the forces imparted by each of streamer positioning devices 35.In some embodiments, the control system may maintain a model (e.g., a dynamic computer-based model) of position, orientation, and other data of each of the streamers including streamer 30.As such, the model may include an orientation of the particle motion sensors that are disposed within streamer 30.Based on the model, the control system may determine the forces that streamer positioning devices 35 should impart to adjust the position and/or rotational orientation of streamer 30.In one embodiment, for example, an orientation of particle motion sensor group 500 along with data indicative of a position of streamer 30 may be included in the computer-based model.", "The control system may then update the orientation of particle motion sensor group 500 and position of streamer 30 in the model based on data from tilt sensor(s) and/or the forces that streamer positioning devices 35 impart on streamer 30.In certain embodiments, the control system may include a module or circuitry configured to dynamically compensate the signals output from a particle motion sensor group based on the twist (e.g., relative movement/misalignment between particle motion sensors in a particle motion sensor group).", "In some embodiments, an important impact of streamer twist is that a group of vector-based sensors (e.g., particle motion sensors) may show a reduced output due to the misalignment among the sensors in the group.", "In some embodiments, recording system 12 (or circuitry on the streamers themselves, such as the digitizing units) may compensate for the effects of twist.", "The reduction in signal due to sensor misalignment within a group may be mathematically compensated for.", "For example, consider the case where a streamer has a twist rate per unit length of θ(l).", "The analog output, y, of the particle motion sensor group may then be given by: y = ∑ l = - x x  a l  cos  ( ∫ 0 l  θ  ( z )  dz ) In this equation, l denotes the position along the length of a particle motion sensor group that extends from −x to +x along the streamer axis, and the a's denote the ideal output of the individual sensor at position l (that is, the output that would be expected in the absence of any twist).", "The integral over the dummy variable z represents the amount of streamer twist at position l based on the twist rate θ, and the cosine indicates the amount by which each term is reduced due to the twist.", "Under some circumstances (e.g., if the twist rate is relatively constant, or if the group length is relatively short), the sum given above may be well-approximated by assuming that θ is approximately constant over the group length.", "In this case, the equation above becomes: y ≅ ∑ l = - x x  a l  cos  ( l   θ  ( l ) ) The twist-compensated output ycomp (scaled to an equivalent single sensor output at l=0) can be approximated by using the inverse of the “geometrical factor” (that is, the sum of the cosines): y comp ≅ y · 1 ∑ l = - x x  cos  ( l   θ  ( l ) ) Turning now to FIGS.", "5-7, flow charts of various embodiments of methods according to this disclosure are shown.", "It should be understood that according to some embodiments, fewer than all steps of each method may be performed in accordance with this disclosure, and that in some embodiments the steps may be performed in a different order.", "Turning now to FIG.", "5, an embodiment of a method of operating a streamer according to this disclosure is shown.", "Process 900 starts at block 910.At block 910, a vessel tows an array of streamers in a body of water, and at least one of the streamers in the array includes a group of particle motion sensors that are not rigidly aligned to one another.", "Process 900 proceeds to block 920.At block 920, the streamer becomes twisted, causing a rotation of some of the particle motion sensors in the group relative to others in the group.", "Process 900 proceeds to block 930.At block 930, in response to the at least one streamer becoming twisted, a streamer positioning device imparts force on the streamer causing it to untwist by rotating against the twist.", "Process 900 proceeds to block 940.At block 940, as the streamer rotates and untwists, some particle motion sensors in the group are rotated relative to others in the group.", "Process 900 proceeds to block 950.At block 950, the particle motion sensors in the group become aligned (for example, they may become aligned along the vertical axis).", "Process 900 ends at block 950.Turning now to FIG.", "6, another embodiment of a method of operating a streamer according to this disclosure is shown.", "Process 1000 starts at block 1010.At block 1010, a vessel tows an array of streamers in a body of water, and at least one of the streamers in the array includes a group of particle motion sensors that are not rigidly aligned to one another.", "Process 1000 proceeds to block 1020.At block 1020, the streamer becomes twisted, causing a rotation of some of the particle motion sensors in the group relative to others in the group.", "Process 1000 proceeds to block 1030.At block 1030, the amount of twist (e.g., a twist orientation and/or a twist rate) is detected.", "For example, this may be detected via one or more twist sensors in the streamer.", "In some embodiments, a twist sensor may be formed from two (or more) tilt sensors separated by a selected distance along the length of the streamer.", "In some embodiments, the amount may be detected via other types of sensors, such as sensors operable to detect the direction of gravity and/or the earth's magnetic field.", "Process 1000 proceeds to block 1040.At block 1040, the twist is mathematically compensated for.", "For example, this may be done via the equations described above or by other methods in various embodiments.", "Process 1000 ends at block 1040.Turning now to FIG.", "7, another embodiment of a method according to this disclosure is shown.", "Process 1100 starts at block 1110.At block 1110, an array of streamers is towed behind a vessel in a body of water.", "Process 1100 proceeds to block 1120.At block 1120, it is noted that at least one of the streamers in the array houses a group of particle motion sensors configured to measure motion along a particular axis.", "Process 1100 proceeds to block 1130.At block 1130, it is noted that the group includes a first particle motion sensor and a second particle motion sensor not rigidly coupled to one another.", "Process 1100 ends at block 1130.According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the signal-to-noise ratio of particle motion sensors may be improved during a marine seismic survey operation.", "According to some embodiments, survey sensitivity may be increased, and/or inefficiencies related to streamer twisting may be reduced, and/or overall survey operation cost may be reduced.", "Although specific embodiments have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, even where only a single embodiment is described with respect to a particular feature.", "Examples of features provided in the disclosure are intended to be illustrative rather than restrictive unless stated otherwise.", "The above description is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.", "The scope of the present disclosure includes any feature or combination of features disclosed herein (either explicitly or implicitly), or any generalization thereof, whether or not it mitigates any or all of the problems addressed herein.", "Various embodiments may provide some, all, or none of the described advantages.", "Accordingly, new claims may be formulated during prosecution of this application (or an application claiming priority thereto) to any such combination of features.", "In particular, with reference to the appended claims, features from dependent claims may be combined with those of the independent claims and features from respective independent claims may be combined in any appropriate manner and not merely in the specific combinations enumerated in the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15875084
[ [ "Travel Planning Application", "A method for travel planning which includes a customized application and results in efficient customized grouping and coordination of selected locations and destinations based on a combination of user-selected criteria; radius searching; and real-time, simultaneous, multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation executed by and presented on a computer or smart device for user preference.", "At least one embodiment focuses on travel planning for visiting colleges and universities prior to making decisions on where to apply to or where to enroll." ], [ "1.A computer-implemented method comprising: storing, by a server, in a database, a plurality of colleges and universities (“C/Us”), each of the C/Us associated with: C/U student qualifications information relating to one or more of: a standardized test score, a grade point average (“GPA”), a student ranking, a required degree, a required course, and a required grade; and C/U information relating to one or more of: contact information, curriculum information, degree information, tuition information, size information, admissions information, tour information, visitor information, extracurricular activity information, reputation information, a type, student population information and faculty information; a C/U location; storing, by the server, in the database, a plurality of destinations, each of the destinations associated with a destination location; receiving, by the server, from an input device associated with a user, user student qualifications information relating to one or more of: a standardized test score associated with the user, a GPA associated with the user, a high school associated with the user, a student ranking associated with the user, a degree associated with the user, a completed course associated with the user, and a grade associated with the user; receiving, by the server, from the input device, user preferences information relating to one or more of: a desired curriculum offered by a C/U, a degree offered by a C/U, a tuition charged by a C/U, a C/U size, an extracurricular activity offered by a C/U, a C/U reputation, a C/U type, and C/U faculty; receiving, by the server, from the input device, locating information comprising at least one of: a location of the user, a location of the input device, and a location designated by the user; receiving, by the server, from the input device, a desired radius limitation; transmitting, by the server, to the input device, one or more matching C/Us selected from the plurality of C/Us stored in the database, upon a determination that: the C/U location associated with each of the matching C/Us is within the desired radius limitation of the locating information; the received user student qualifications information is comparable to the C/U student qualifications information associated with each of the matching C/Us; and the received user preferences information is comparable to the C/U information associated with each of the matching C/Us; receiving, by the server, from the input device, a selected C/U selected from the one or more matching C/Us; and transmitting, by the server, to the input device: a map interface comprising: the selected C/U; and one or more determined destinations selected from the plurality of destinations stored in the database, upon a determination that the destination location associated with each of the determined destinations is within the desired radius limitation of the locating information; and at least a portion of the C/U information associated with the selected C/U, the portion of the C/U information comprising at least one of: the contact information, the admissions information, tour information, visitor information, and the student population information.", "2.A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the C/U information associated with each of the C/Us stored in the database further comprises information relating to at least one of: student employment, financial aid, majors, information sessions, clubs, sports, activities, and organizations.", "3.A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein each of the destinations stored in the database is further associated with destination information comprising at least one of: a destination name and a destination type.", "4.A computer-implemented method according to claim 3, further comprising: transmitting, by the server, to the input device, the destination information associated with each of the transmitted destinations.", "5.A computer-implemented method according to claim 3, wherein the destination type is selected from the group consisting of: a structure, an address, a school, a college, a university, a tourist site, a university, a business, a movie theatre, a store, an office, a facility, a gas station, a restaurant, lodging, a hotel, a hostel, and a landmark.", "6.A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the location information comprises one or more of: an address, a street name, a city, a zip code, a state, a county, a village, a town, a landmark, and a C/U name.", "7.A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitted portion of the C/U information associated with each of the selected C/Us further comprises one or more of: a link to obtain information relating to tour availability, a link to schedule a visit, a link to schedule an interview, a link to obtain visitor information, a link to a social media account, and a link to a website.", "8.A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein: the locating information comprises the location of the input device; and the method further comprises: generating transit directions from the location of the input device to the selected C/U; and transmitting the transit directions to the input device such that they are displayed to the user via the transmitted map interface.", "9.A computer-implemented method according to claim 8, wherein the transit directions further comprise a route from the location of the input device to a selected destination selected from the determined destinations.", "10.A computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the transit directions further comprise a route from the selected destination to the selected C/U.", "11.A computer-implemented method according to claim 8, wherein the transit directions further comprise a route from the selected C/U to at least one of the determined destinations.", "12.A computer program product encoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, the computer program product comprising instructions that when executed by one or more computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising: storing, by the one or more computers, in a database, a plurality of colleges and universities (“C/Us”), each of the C/Us associated with: C/U student qualifications information relating to one or more of: a standardized test score, a grade point average (“GPA”), a student ranking, a required degree, a required course, and a required grade; C/U information relating to one or more of: contact information, curriculum information, degree information, tuition information, size information, admissions information, tour information, visitor information, extracurricular activity information, reputation information, a type, student population information and faculty information; and a C/U location; storing, by the one or more computers, in the database, a plurality of destinations, each of the destinations associated with a destination location; receiving, by the one or more computers, from an input device associated with a user, user student qualifications information relating to one or more of: a standardized test score associated with the user, a GPA associated with the user, a student ranking associated with the user, a degree associated with the user, a completed course associated with the user, and a grade associated with the user; receiving, by the one or more computers, from the input device, user preferences information relating to one or more of: a desired curriculum offered by a C/U, a degree offered by a C/U, a tuition charged by a C/U, a C/U size, an extracurricular activity offered by a C/U, a C/U reputation, a C/U type, and C/U faculty; receiving, by the one or more computers, from the input device, locating information comprising at least one of: a location of the user, a location of the input device, and a location designated by the user; receiving, by the one or more computers, from the input device, a desired radius limitation; transmitting, by the one or more computers, to the input device, one or more matching C/Us selected from the plurality of C/Us stored in the database, upon a determination that: the C/U location associated with each of the matching C/Us is within the desired radius limitation of the locating information; the received user student qualifications information is comparable to the C/U student qualifications information associated with each of the matching C/Us; and the received user preferences information is comparable to the C/U information associated with each of the matching C/Us; receiving, by the one or more computers, from the input device, a selected C/U selected from the one or more matching C/Us; and transmitting, by the one or more computers, to the input device: a map interface comprising: the selected C/U; and one or more determined destinations selected from the plurality of destinations stored in the database, upon a determination that the destination location associated with each of the determined destinations is within the desired radius limitation of the locating information; and at least a portion of the C/U information associated with the selected C/U, the portion of the C/U information comprising at least one of: the contact information, the admissions information, tour information, visitor information, and the student population information.", "13.A computer program product according to claim 12, wherein the C/U information associated with each of the C/Us stored in the database further comprises information relating to at least one of: student employment, financial aid, majors, information sessions, clubs, sports, activities, and organizations.", "14.A computer program product according to claim 12, wherein each of the destinations stored in the database is further associated with destination information comprising at least one of: a destination name and a destination type.", "15.A computer program product according to claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise: transmitting, by the server, to the input device, the destination information associated with each of the transmitted destinations.", "16.A computer program product according to claim 14, wherein the destination type is selected from the group consisting of: a structure, an address, a school, a college, a university, a tourist site, a university, a business, a movie theatre, a store, an office, a facility, a gas station, a restaurant, lodging, a hotel, a hostel, and a landmark.", "17.A computer program product according to claim 12, wherein the location information comprises one or more of: an address, a street name, a city, a zip code, a state, a county, a village, a town, a landmark, and a C/U name.", "18.A computer program product according to claim 12, wherein the transmitted portion of the C/U information associated with each of the selected C/Us further comprises one or more of: a link to obtain information relating to tour availability, a link to schedule a visit, a link to schedule an interview, a link to obtain visitor information, a link to a social media account, and a link to a website.", "19.A computer program product according to claim 12, wherein: the locating information comprises the location of the input device; and the operations further comprise: generating transit directions from the location of the input device to the selected C/U; and transmitting the transit directions to the input device such that they are displayed to the user via the transmitted map interface.", "20.A computer program product according to claim 19, wherein the transit directions further comprise a route from the location of the input device to at least one destination selected from the determined destinations." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present invention is a method for creating unique groups of locations to be included in travel destination itinerary based on customized criteria and real-time communications, and radius searching, which aides in the reduction of time increasing ones' options and enhancing the experience of visiting locations and destinations.", "The present invention was made to fill a gap in visiting/searching for and choosing from destinations, generally, and, more specifically, colleges and universities (“C/Us”).", "Geography is an important factor when deciding on C/Us since it has been shown that an estimated 75% of college students go to schools within approximately 230 miles of their homes (Journal of College Admission).", "However, no prior art was found that specifically discloses a specialized C/U visitation program to aid in locating relevant, nearby C/Us or that concerns a visitation trip where a goal is a pre-attendance C/U trip.", "The state of the prior art does not deal specifically with pre-attendance C/U travel planning; the prior art does not live feed curriculum/course information or allow the input of student specific information (e.g., qualifying SAT/GPAs) and/or C/U-specific information (e.g., student population, average tuition costs, etc.)", "to help choose appropriate and relevant nearby C/Us.", "Most college research tools cover so many bases that they either do not address the college visit in depth at all or they spend time addressing what goes on after the student is enrolled in school.", "The present invention addresses these issues by allowing for a search for relevant C/Us over a certain size area over the radius you choose, and providing relevant information about each school, along with details such as size, cost, tours, info sessions, their website, contact info, etc.", "This invention saves time by maximizing efficiency and saves money by minimizing travel costs while also presenting options and choices that might have been missed without this app." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present invention relates to a method for visiting, searching for, or choosing from a variety of destinations, generally, and more specifically, C/Us, using radius searching.", "It can combine primary target or primary desired and secondary nearby destinations as well as data input of different types to narrow search results.", "More relevant search results are also obtained by searching within a desired radius of a primary target or primary desired location, secondary nearby destinations, or other destination.", "The search results can be provided in the form of an itinerary together with directions for visiting the destinations.", "They can also include relevant information about the destinations, as well as information about local restaurants, lodging, gas stations, and other possible stops or sites along the way.", "The system and method of the invention also makes possible two-way communication between the user and the destination to allow the user to make appointments (e.g., schedule interviews), reservations (e.g., for dinner), etc.", "The system and method of the invention can be included in the form of a mobile app to make it easier to make such appointments and reservations on the go and to obtain relevant information about nearby destinations to add to the itinerary if time permits, all of which make travelling more economical, more useful and more convenient.", "The system and method of the invention lets a user find destinations within a chosen radius to make visits, including travel directions/options, local restaurants, hotels, gas stations, etc.", "pertaining to the trip itineraries.", "The present invention fills a niche that no other applications fully explore.", "When using the system and method of the invention, a search for relevant C/Us over a certain size area over a radius you choose, provides relevant information about each school, along with details such as size, cost, tours, info sessions, their website, contact information, etc.", "A method of creating at least one new uniquely created group, and customized list and map, which includes C/Us meeting a specific customized criteria, by conducting a search with specific customized criteria including a location search of CUs, resulting in preparing at least one new uniquely created group and customized list, itinerary and, mapped route to visit C/Us, and a uniquely created list providing criteria and information for communicating with C/Us and/or direct communication immediate and in real time to the C/Us contained in the at least one new uniquely created group that is created and selected by at least one user and customizing the unique group by selecting from a uniquely formatted on screen visual presentation of all the matched choices presented to said user utilizing the screen of a user smart device running a specific software application, such method allowing for at least one user directed to utilizing a specific mechanical device that functions running software specially to retrieve data such as location data and upload the information so that the claimed method generates and presents information in real time together for the user to then make selections from and follow through the other steps of the claimed method as the users are directed towards performing steps leading to identifying the potential stops and locations creating a new data file containing new relevant groups combining together from different sources to produce the resulting group which technology rooted in computer identifies elements and sources together and grouping them in real time in a new unique group of required elements allowing for large amounts of data about C/U's, locations and the sources along with various additional data to be displayed on a smart device and for the information to be reviewed by the user at a glance thus comprising of the following steps: initiating the method by downloading a specific software application, registering for a sign-in process, initiating and running of a specific software application on a user smart device, operated by at least one user; initiating and running of a specific software application on a user smart device, operated by at least one user; receiving of the input of student data input by at least one user wherein said student data is comprised of specific student qualifications and student choices, utilizing user smart device comprising a global position system (“GPS”) or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and running specific software application that utilizes at least one storage database containing information related to C/Us and other preselected content; calculating and determining unique list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the at least one storage database matches or is comparable to the criteria of the student data; receiving specific locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver live or supplied from the input device and a desired radius limitation from user input to input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends; generating a unique list or group and a map to be presented in a unique formatted visual presentation showing the locations of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the information input into the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us on the list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the student data and the locating information and determining which C/Us are within the radius limitation received by the input device; displaying in said unique formatted visual presentation the said unique list or group of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device on the display, receiving a selection from the information input into the input device of one or more C/Us from the list and map showing the locations of relevant C/Us generated, generate information about the selected C/Us, and display said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein the planned route or journey includes public or other methods of transportation, selected by at least one user customizing the unique group from a unique formatted visual presentation to said user utilizing a user smart device running a specific software application; transmitting one-way communication(s) to or transmit to and receive two-way communication(s) from relevant C/Us via the wireless communication transceiver, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, and save the one or more C/Us selected from the list of relevant C/Us as a new group created by the combination of these steps, and executing and performing at least one of: receiving a second group of locating information, and a second desired radius limitation from the input device, generating and displaying a second unique list and map showing the locations of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us on the list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the student data and the second locating information and determining which C/Us are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and planned route or journey on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on a computer and steps, only human performed, receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, receiving a selection of repeat C/Us of interest from the input device, generating information about the selected C/Us of interest, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us of interest on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on a computer and steps only human performed, and/or destinations relevant to other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the itinerary and planned route or journey and/or providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on computer and steps only human performed, receiving student data for another group, which is the same or different from the student data previously received from the input device, receiving locating information for another group, which is the same or different from the locating information previously received by the input device and/or a desired radius limitation from the input device, and generating and displaying a list of C/Us relevant to the student data for said another new group, and receiving a selection of one or more C/Us from the list of C/Us relevant to the student data for said another group and saving the selected C/Us on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on computer and steps only human performed, and receiving further student data to generate at least one combined list and group of C/Us.", "The method may include that student qualifications comprise of at least one of standardized test scores (e.g., SAT scores and/or ACT scores), GPA scores, school attended, school attending, year of graduation, public or private school, years of attendance, high school attending, high school attended, type of education, degree(s), grade(s), course(s), curriculum, school rating, class rating, class ranking, student rating, and/or student ranking.", "The method may include that student choices comprise of at least one of curriculum, degrees offered, school requirements, public or private, tuition, additional school costs, extracurricular activities, school organizations, student organizations, size of school, type of school, housing, school statistics, school information, school data, school criteria, school history, faculty, faculty information, school achievements or honors, school reputation, school area information, distance coordinates, and/or travel considerations.", "The method may include that the locating information comprises of at least one of: longitude, latitude, location coordinates, a city, zip code, street address, street name, state, nearby location, county, village, town, landmark, destination (optionally including a destination address in part or in whole), college, university, school, school name, phone number (in part or in whole), email, web address, social media address, Skype name, information that helps to determine the starting or beginning point of a search, and/or information that helps to determine any point or destination of a search.", "The method may include wherein the input device is at least one of: tablet, smart phone, phone, smart device, computer, electronic device, handheld device, iPhone, iPad, mobile phone, touch screen computing device, portable media player, smart pad, smart device, micro device, portable device, powered device, technical device, electronic component device, iOS device, optical device, optical reader, information or data input communication device, visual device, or any other device capable of interfacing with a communications network.", "The method may include that the information generated about the selected C/Us comprises at least one of student population, average annual tuition, tuition, and at least one of tour availability, admissions information, admissions appointments or availability, visiting information, tour information, and/or information sessions.", "The method may include that the information generated about the selected C/Us comprises at least one of: a link to communicate with, call the C/Us, link to the C/Us' website, link to make an online appointment for an interview, and/or link to the C/Us' Facebook page or other social media.", "The method may include that further comprising a software element that can utilize a map application programming interface (“API”).", "The method may include that the communication via wireless communication transceiver is at least one of 2-way text-to-cell communication, 2-way voice communication, 2-way social media communications, 2-way texting, 2-way phone, 2-way SMS and/or MMS, and 2-way communication.", "The method may include that the mobile device is further programmed to receive and execute a request from the input device for sorting the generated C/Us by one or more of distance, price, schools, divisions, majors, curriculums, clubs, sports, activities, organizations, student information, school information, student qualifications, school qualifications, honors, awards, financial aid, scholarships, student employment information, student population, average annual tuition, tour availability, information sessions, and/or size.", "The invention in some embodiments is a system for conducting a location-based search of CUs, preparing an itinerary and mapped route to visit C/Us, and communicating with C/Us comprising: a mobile device comprising a GPS or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and a software program that utilizes information stored in a storage database, the mobile device programmed to: receive locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver or the input device and a desired radius limitation from the input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends; generate and display a list and map, the list displaying and the map showing the locations of all C/Us that are located within the radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us and the locating information and determining which C/Us are within the radius limitation received by the input device; receive a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list displaying, and map showing the locations of relevant C/Us generated, generate information about the selected C/Us, and display said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein the planned route or Journey includes public or other methods of transportation, transmit one-way communication(s) to or transmit to or receive two-way communication(s) from at least one selected destination C/U via the wireless communication transceiver, receive a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, and save the one or more C/Us selected from the list of relevant C/Us as a group; and execute and perform at least one of: receiving a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first locating information, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first desired radius limitation, from the input device, generating and displaying a list and map showing the locations of all C/Us that are located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us and the second locating information and determining which C/Us are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/U s from the list of relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and planned route or journey on the display; receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us; generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, receiving a selection of repeat C/Us of interest from the input device, generating information about the selected C/Us of interest, and displaying said information about the selected C/U s of interest; and receiving other stops and/or destination data, and/or C/Us or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, generating and displaying a list of other stops and/or destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the itinerary and planned route or journey and/or providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging.", "The method may include that the information generated about the selected C/Us comprises at least one of: student population, average annual tuition, and at least one of tour availability, information sessions, distance, price, schools, divisions, majors, curriculums, clubs, sports, activities, organizations, student information, school information, student qualifications, school qualifications, honors, awards, financial aid, scholarships, student employment information, and size.", "The method may include that the locating information is at least one of: longitude and latitude, location coordinates, a city, zip code, street address, street name, state, nearby location, county, village, town, landmark, destination, college, university, school name, phone number in part or in whole, email, web address, social media address, and/or Skype name, a place, structure, event, site, address, tourist site, business, desired location, target location, nearby location, additional location, location, movie theatre, store, office, facility, professional space, professional location, professional office, professional practices, professional address, specialty store, gas, restaurant, food, lodging, hotel, hospital, camp site, and/or medical, dental, and/or health related practices.", "The method may include that information generated about the selected C/Us comprises a link to communicate with the C/Us, a link to call the C/Us, a link to the C/U's website, a link to make an online appointment for an interview at the selected C/Us, and a link to the C/U's Facebook page or other social media, and the wireless communication transceiver.", "The method may include a mobile device that is a tablet, smart phone, phone, smart device, computer, electronic device, hand held device, iPhone, or iPad, mobile phone, touch-screen computing device, portable media player, smart pad, micro device, portable device, powered device, technical device, electronic component device, iOS device, optical device, optical reader, information or data input communication device, virtual device, or any smart device capable of interfacing with a communications network.", "A system for conducting a criteria and location-based search of destinations, preparing an itinerary and mapped route to visit destinations, and communicating with destinations is provided comprising: a mobile device comprising a GPS or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and a software program that utilizes a storage database containing information related to destinations and other preselected content.", "The mobile device may be programmed to: receive destination data from the input device; calculate and determine a list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destination data; receive locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver or the input device and a desired radius limitation from the input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends; generate a list and map showing the locations of destinations that are relevant to the destination data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the destinations on the list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destination data and the locating information and determining which destinations are within the radius limitation received by the input device; display the list of destinations that are relevant to the destination data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device on the display; receive a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list and map showing the locations of relevant destinations generated, generate information about the selected destinations, and display said information about the selected destinations, an itinerary of the selected destinations and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein a planned route or journey includes public or other methods of transportation; transmit one-way communication(s) to or transmit to or receive two-way communication(s) from at least one selected destination or location included via the wireless communication transceiver; receive a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list of relevant destinations generated, and save the one or more destinations selected from the list of relevant destinations as a group.", "The mobile device may be further programmed to execute and perform at least one of: receiving a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first locating information, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first desired radius limitation, from the input device, generating and displaying a list and map showing the locations of destinations that are relevant to the destinations data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the destinations on the list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destinations data and the second locating information and determining which destinations are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list of relevant destinations generated, generating information about the selected destinations, and displaying said information about the selected destinations, an itinerary of the selected destinations and planned route or journey on the display; receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of destinations within a radius limitation of one or more selected destinations, generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of repeat destinations within the radius limitation of one or more selected destinations, receiving a selection of repeat destinations of interest from the input device, generating information about the selected destinations of interest, and displaying said information about the selected destinations of interest; receiving other stops and/or destination data, and/or destinations or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, generating and displaying a list of other stops and/or destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the itinerary and planned route or journey and/or providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging; receiving destinations data for another group, which is the same or different from the destinations data previously received from the input device, receiving locating information for said another group, which is the same or different from the locating information previously received by the input device and/e=a desired radius limitation from the input device, and generating and displaying a list of destinations relevant to the destinations data for said another group, and receiving a selection of one or more destinations from the list of destinations relevant to the destinations data for said another group and saving the selected destinations, and receiving further destinations data to generate at least one combined list of destinations.", "The method may include that destination data comprises at least one of: type of destination, name of destination, and/or category of destination, or a place, structure, event, site, address, school, tourist site, college, university.", "The method may include that business, target location, desired location, nearby location, additional location, location, movie theatre, store, office, facility, professional space, professional location, professional address, professional office, specialty store, gas, restaurant, food, lodging, hotel, hostel, camp site, and/or medical, dental, and/or health related practices, geographic coordinate(s), geolocation, longitude and latitude, measurements, address in part or in whole, a place, structure, event, site, address, school, tourist site, college, or university.", "The method may include that the locating information is at least one of: longitude and latitude, location coordinates, a city, zip code, street address, street name, state, nearby location, county, village, town, landmark, destination, college, university, school name, phone number in part or in whole, email, web address, social media address, and/or Skype name.", "The method may include that the communication via wireless communication transceiver at least one of, at least 2-way text-to-cell communication, at least 2-way voice communication, at least 2-way social media communications, at least 2-way texting, at least 2-way phone, at least 2-way SMS and/or MMS, and at least 2-way communication.", "In some embodiments, the invention is a non-transitory storage device storing a plurality of instructions, to conduct a search, and visit of C/Us wherein said non-transitory storage device comprises a plurality of instructions for: entering student data into an input device; entering locating information and a desired radius limitation into the said input device; and generating C/Us relevant to the student data and within the radius limitation.", "The instructions further comprise at least one of the following steps of: selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and providing an itinerary of said selected C/Us and a planned route or journey; entering a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first, into the input device, generating a second batch of C/Us relevant to the student data and within the second radius limitation, selecting C/Us from the second batch of C/Us, and providing an itinerary based on the first batch and the second batch of the selected C/Us or planned route or journey; requesting a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, generating repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, selecting repeat C/Us of interest, generating information about selected C/Us of interest; entering other stops and/or destination data into the said input device; entering the C/Us or other locating information and/or a desired radius limitation into the input device; generating other stops relevant to the other stops data and within the radius limitation if applicable; selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated and saving the selected C/Us as a group; entering student data for another group, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, into said input device, entering locating information for that other group, which is the same or different from the locating information which has already been entered, and/or a desired radius limitation into a input device, generating C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and/or within the radius limitation, selecting one or more C/Us from the generated C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and saving the selected C/Us as another group, repeating these steps as often as desired; and entering further student data into the input device to generate a combined list of C/Us from all the groups and relevant to the further student data entered; entering into the input device another set of student data, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, and generating C/Us relevant to the other set of student data from the group of C/Us which has already been selected; providing information about food, gas and/or lodging within a selected radius of selected C/Us; selecting one or more C/Us from the generated C/Us relevant to the student data for said another group and saving the selected C/U s; entering said input device further student data to generate at least one combined list of C/Us; and/or repeating at least one of the above steps as often as desired.", "The invention can run on both a computer and/or a smart device.", "This invention saves time by maximizing efficiency and saves money by minimizing travel costs.", "Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention should not be limited to the described preferred embodiments.", "Rather, various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention.", "All the material in this patent document issue subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries.", "The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all other copyright rights whatsoever are reserved." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. utility patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/617,528, titled “TRAVEL PLANNING APPLICATION RESULTING IN EFFICIENT CUSTOMIZED GROUPING AND COORDINATION OF SELECTED LOCATIONS AND DESTINATIONS BASED ON THE COMBINATION OF USER SELECTED IMPORTANT CRITERIA, RADIUS SEARCHING, AND REAL TIME SIMULTANEOUS MULTI-SOURCE DATA GATHERING, ANALYSIS, AND DERIVATION EXECUTED BY AND PRESENTED ON A COMPUTER AND/OR SMART DEVICE FOR USER PREFERENCE,” having a filing date of Jun.", "8, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. utility patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/942,705, titled “Travel App,” having a filing date of Jul.", "16, 2013, which claims benefit of priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser.", "No.", "61/676,118, titled “Computer and/or phone APP that lets user find colleges (and what I am calling “basic info” about the colleges such as size, cost, tours, info sessions, their website, contact info etc.)", "within a user chosen radius to make college visits more economical, more useful and more convenient,” having a filing date of Jul.", "26, 2012.Each of the above applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "BACKGROUND The present invention is a method for creating unique groups of locations to be included in travel destination itinerary based on customized criteria and real-time communications, and radius searching, which aides in the reduction of time increasing ones' options and enhancing the experience of visiting locations and destinations.", "The present invention was made to fill a gap in visiting/searching for and choosing from destinations, generally, and, more specifically, colleges and universities (“C/Us”).", "Geography is an important factor when deciding on C/Us since it has been shown that an estimated 75% of college students go to schools within approximately 230 miles of their homes (Journal of College Admission).", "However, no prior art was found that specifically discloses a specialized C/U visitation program to aid in locating relevant, nearby C/Us or that concerns a visitation trip where a goal is a pre-attendance C/U trip.", "The state of the prior art does not deal specifically with pre-attendance C/U travel planning; the prior art does not live feed curriculum/course information or allow the input of student specific information (e.g., qualifying SAT/GPAs) and/or C/U-specific information (e.g., student population, average tuition costs, etc.)", "to help choose appropriate and relevant nearby C/Us.", "Most college research tools cover so many bases that they either do not address the college visit in depth at all or they spend time addressing what goes on after the student is enrolled in school.", "The present invention addresses these issues by allowing for a search for relevant C/Us over a certain size area over the radius you choose, and providing relevant information about each school, along with details such as size, cost, tours, info sessions, their website, contact info, etc.", "This invention saves time by maximizing efficiency and saves money by minimizing travel costs while also presenting options and choices that might have been missed without this app.", "SUMMARY The present invention relates to a method for visiting, searching for, or choosing from a variety of destinations, generally, and more specifically, C/Us, using radius searching.", "It can combine primary target or primary desired and secondary nearby destinations as well as data input of different types to narrow search results.", "More relevant search results are also obtained by searching within a desired radius of a primary target or primary desired location, secondary nearby destinations, or other destination.", "The search results can be provided in the form of an itinerary together with directions for visiting the destinations.", "They can also include relevant information about the destinations, as well as information about local restaurants, lodging, gas stations, and other possible stops or sites along the way.", "The system and method of the invention also makes possible two-way communication between the user and the destination to allow the user to make appointments (e.g., schedule interviews), reservations (e.g., for dinner), etc.", "The system and method of the invention can be included in the form of a mobile app to make it easier to make such appointments and reservations on the go and to obtain relevant information about nearby destinations to add to the itinerary if time permits, all of which make travelling more economical, more useful and more convenient.", "The system and method of the invention lets a user find destinations within a chosen radius to make visits, including travel directions/options, local restaurants, hotels, gas stations, etc.", "pertaining to the trip itineraries.", "The present invention fills a niche that no other applications fully explore.", "When using the system and method of the invention, a search for relevant C/Us over a certain size area over a radius you choose, provides relevant information about each school, along with details such as size, cost, tours, info sessions, their website, contact information, etc.", "A method of creating at least one new uniquely created group, and customized list and map, which includes C/Us meeting a specific customized criteria, by conducting a search with specific customized criteria including a location search of CUs, resulting in preparing at least one new uniquely created group and customized list, itinerary and, mapped route to visit C/Us, and a uniquely created list providing criteria and information for communicating with C/Us and/or direct communication immediate and in real time to the C/Us contained in the at least one new uniquely created group that is created and selected by at least one user and customizing the unique group by selecting from a uniquely formatted on screen visual presentation of all the matched choices presented to said user utilizing the screen of a user smart device running a specific software application, such method allowing for at least one user directed to utilizing a specific mechanical device that functions running software specially to retrieve data such as location data and upload the information so that the claimed method generates and presents information in real time together for the user to then make selections from and follow through the other steps of the claimed method as the users are directed towards performing steps leading to identifying the potential stops and locations creating a new data file containing new relevant groups combining together from different sources to produce the resulting group which technology rooted in computer identifies elements and sources together and grouping them in real time in a new unique group of required elements allowing for large amounts of data about C/U's, locations and the sources along with various additional data to be displayed on a smart device and for the information to be reviewed by the user at a glance thus comprising of the following steps: initiating the method by downloading a specific software application, registering for a sign-in process, initiating and running of a specific software application on a user smart device, operated by at least one user; initiating and running of a specific software application on a user smart device, operated by at least one user; receiving of the input of student data input by at least one user wherein said student data is comprised of specific student qualifications and student choices, utilizing user smart device comprising a global position system (“GPS”) or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and running specific software application that utilizes at least one storage database containing information related to C/Us and other preselected content; calculating and determining unique list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the at least one storage database matches or is comparable to the criteria of the student data; receiving specific locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver live or supplied from the input device and a desired radius limitation from user input to input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends; generating a unique list or group and a map to be presented in a unique formatted visual presentation showing the locations of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the information input into the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us on the list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the student data and the locating information and determining which C/Us are within the radius limitation received by the input device; displaying in said unique formatted visual presentation the said unique list or group of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device on the display, receiving a selection from the information input into the input device of one or more C/Us from the list and map showing the locations of relevant C/Us generated, generate information about the selected C/Us, and display said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein the planned route or journey includes public or other methods of transportation, selected by at least one user customizing the unique group from a unique formatted visual presentation to said user utilizing a user smart device running a specific software application; transmitting one-way communication(s) to or transmit to and receive two-way communication(s) from relevant C/Us via the wireless communication transceiver, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, and save the one or more C/Us selected from the list of relevant C/Us as a new group created by the combination of these steps, and executing and performing at least one of: receiving a second group of locating information, and a second desired radius limitation from the input device, generating and displaying a second unique list and map showing the locations of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us on the list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the student data and the second locating information and determining which C/Us are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and planned route or journey on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on a computer and steps, only human performed, receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, receiving a selection of repeat C/Us of interest from the input device, generating information about the selected C/Us of interest, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us of interest on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on a computer and steps only human performed, and/or destinations relevant to other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the itinerary and planned route or journey and/or providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on computer and steps only human performed, receiving student data for another group, which is the same or different from the student data previously received from the input device, receiving locating information for another group, which is the same or different from the locating information previously received by the input device and/or a desired radius limitation from the input device, and generating and displaying a list of C/Us relevant to the student data for said another new group, and receiving a selection of one or more C/Us from the list of C/Us relevant to the student data for said another group and saving the selected C/Us on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps that are a combination of steps that can only be performed on computer and steps only human performed, and receiving further student data to generate at least one combined list and group of C/Us.", "The method may include that student qualifications comprise of at least one of standardized test scores (e.g., SAT scores and/or ACT scores), GPA scores, school attended, school attending, year of graduation, public or private school, years of attendance, high school attending, high school attended, type of education, degree(s), grade(s), course(s), curriculum, school rating, class rating, class ranking, student rating, and/or student ranking.", "The method may include that student choices comprise of at least one of curriculum, degrees offered, school requirements, public or private, tuition, additional school costs, extracurricular activities, school organizations, student organizations, size of school, type of school, housing, school statistics, school information, school data, school criteria, school history, faculty, faculty information, school achievements or honors, school reputation, school area information, distance coordinates, and/or travel considerations.", "The method may include that the locating information comprises of at least one of: longitude, latitude, location coordinates, a city, zip code, street address, street name, state, nearby location, county, village, town, landmark, destination (optionally including a destination address in part or in whole), college, university, school, school name, phone number (in part or in whole), email, web address, social media address, Skype name, information that helps to determine the starting or beginning point of a search, and/or information that helps to determine any point or destination of a search.", "The method may include wherein the input device is at least one of: tablet, smart phone, phone, smart device, computer, electronic device, handheld device, iPhone, iPad, mobile phone, touch screen computing device, portable media player, smart pad, smart device, micro device, portable device, powered device, technical device, electronic component device, iOS device, optical device, optical reader, information or data input communication device, visual device, or any other device capable of interfacing with a communications network.", "The method may include that the information generated about the selected C/Us comprises at least one of student population, average annual tuition, tuition, and at least one of tour availability, admissions information, admissions appointments or availability, visiting information, tour information, and/or information sessions.", "The method may include that the information generated about the selected C/Us comprises at least one of: a link to communicate with, call the C/Us, link to the C/Us' website, link to make an online appointment for an interview, and/or link to the C/Us' Facebook page or other social media.", "The method may include that further comprising a software element that can utilize a map application programming interface (“API”).", "The method may include that the communication via wireless communication transceiver is at least one of 2-way text-to-cell communication, 2-way voice communication, 2-way social media communications, 2-way texting, 2-way phone, 2-way SMS and/or MMS, and 2-way communication.", "The method may include that the mobile device is further programmed to receive and execute a request from the input device for sorting the generated C/Us by one or more of distance, price, schools, divisions, majors, curriculums, clubs, sports, activities, organizations, student information, school information, student qualifications, school qualifications, honors, awards, financial aid, scholarships, student employment information, student population, average annual tuition, tour availability, information sessions, and/or size.", "The invention in some embodiments is a system for conducting a location-based search of CUs, preparing an itinerary and mapped route to visit C/Us, and communicating with C/Us comprising: a mobile device comprising a GPS or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and a software program that utilizes information stored in a storage database, the mobile device programmed to: receive locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver or the input device and a desired radius limitation from the input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends; generate and display a list and map, the list displaying and the map showing the locations of all C/Us that are located within the radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us and the locating information and determining which C/Us are within the radius limitation received by the input device; receive a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list displaying, and map showing the locations of relevant C/Us generated, generate information about the selected C/Us, and display said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein the planned route or Journey includes public or other methods of transportation, transmit one-way communication(s) to or transmit to or receive two-way communication(s) from at least one selected destination C/U via the wireless communication transceiver, receive a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, and save the one or more C/Us selected from the list of relevant C/Us as a group; and execute and perform at least one of: receiving a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first locating information, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first desired radius limitation, from the input device, generating and displaying a list and map showing the locations of all C/Us that are located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us and the second locating information and determining which C/Us are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/U s from the list of relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and planned route or journey on the display; receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us; generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, receiving a selection of repeat C/Us of interest from the input device, generating information about the selected C/Us of interest, and displaying said information about the selected C/U s of interest; and receiving other stops and/or destination data, and/or C/Us or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, generating and displaying a list of other stops and/or destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the itinerary and planned route or journey and/or providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging.", "The method may include that the information generated about the selected C/Us comprises at least one of: student population, average annual tuition, and at least one of tour availability, information sessions, distance, price, schools, divisions, majors, curriculums, clubs, sports, activities, organizations, student information, school information, student qualifications, school qualifications, honors, awards, financial aid, scholarships, student employment information, and size.", "The method may include that the locating information is at least one of: longitude and latitude, location coordinates, a city, zip code, street address, street name, state, nearby location, county, village, town, landmark, destination, college, university, school name, phone number in part or in whole, email, web address, social media address, and/or Skype name, a place, structure, event, site, address, tourist site, business, desired location, target location, nearby location, additional location, location, movie theatre, store, office, facility, professional space, professional location, professional office, professional practices, professional address, specialty store, gas, restaurant, food, lodging, hotel, hospital, camp site, and/or medical, dental, and/or health related practices.", "The method may include that information generated about the selected C/Us comprises a link to communicate with the C/Us, a link to call the C/Us, a link to the C/U's website, a link to make an online appointment for an interview at the selected C/Us, and a link to the C/U's Facebook page or other social media, and the wireless communication transceiver.", "The method may include a mobile device that is a tablet, smart phone, phone, smart device, computer, electronic device, hand held device, iPhone, or iPad, mobile phone, touch-screen computing device, portable media player, smart pad, micro device, portable device, powered device, technical device, electronic component device, iOS device, optical device, optical reader, information or data input communication device, virtual device, or any smart device capable of interfacing with a communications network.", "A system for conducting a criteria and location-based search of destinations, preparing an itinerary and mapped route to visit destinations, and communicating with destinations is provided comprising: a mobile device comprising a GPS or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and a software program that utilizes a storage database containing information related to destinations and other preselected content.", "The mobile device may be programmed to: receive destination data from the input device; calculate and determine a list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destination data; receive locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver or the input device and a desired radius limitation from the input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends; generate a list and map showing the locations of destinations that are relevant to the destination data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the destinations on the list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destination data and the locating information and determining which destinations are within the radius limitation received by the input device; display the list of destinations that are relevant to the destination data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device on the display; receive a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list and map showing the locations of relevant destinations generated, generate information about the selected destinations, and display said information about the selected destinations, an itinerary of the selected destinations and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein a planned route or journey includes public or other methods of transportation; transmit one-way communication(s) to or transmit to or receive two-way communication(s) from at least one selected destination or location included via the wireless communication transceiver; receive a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list of relevant destinations generated, and save the one or more destinations selected from the list of relevant destinations as a group.", "The mobile device may be further programmed to execute and perform at least one of: receiving a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first locating information, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first desired radius limitation, from the input device, generating and displaying a list and map showing the locations of destinations that are relevant to the destinations data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the destinations on the list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destinations data and the second locating information and determining which destinations are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, receiving a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list of relevant destinations generated, generating information about the selected destinations, and displaying said information about the selected destinations, an itinerary of the selected destinations and planned route or journey on the display; receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of destinations within a radius limitation of one or more selected destinations, generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of repeat destinations within the radius limitation of one or more selected destinations, receiving a selection of repeat destinations of interest from the input device, generating information about the selected destinations of interest, and displaying said information about the selected destinations of interest; receiving other stops and/or destination data, and/or destinations or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, generating and displaying a list of other stops and/or destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the itinerary and planned route or journey and/or providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging; receiving destinations data for another group, which is the same or different from the destinations data previously received from the input device, receiving locating information for said another group, which is the same or different from the locating information previously received by the input device and/e=a desired radius limitation from the input device, and generating and displaying a list of destinations relevant to the destinations data for said another group, and receiving a selection of one or more destinations from the list of destinations relevant to the destinations data for said another group and saving the selected destinations, and receiving further destinations data to generate at least one combined list of destinations.", "The method may include that destination data comprises at least one of: type of destination, name of destination, and/or category of destination, or a place, structure, event, site, address, school, tourist site, college, university.", "The method may include that business, target location, desired location, nearby location, additional location, location, movie theatre, store, office, facility, professional space, professional location, professional address, professional office, specialty store, gas, restaurant, food, lodging, hotel, hostel, camp site, and/or medical, dental, and/or health related practices, geographic coordinate(s), geolocation, longitude and latitude, measurements, address in part or in whole, a place, structure, event, site, address, school, tourist site, college, or university.", "The method may include that the locating information is at least one of: longitude and latitude, location coordinates, a city, zip code, street address, street name, state, nearby location, county, village, town, landmark, destination, college, university, school name, phone number in part or in whole, email, web address, social media address, and/or Skype name.", "The method may include that the communication via wireless communication transceiver at least one of, at least 2-way text-to-cell communication, at least 2-way voice communication, at least 2-way social media communications, at least 2-way texting, at least 2-way phone, at least 2-way SMS and/or MMS, and at least 2-way communication.", "In some embodiments, the invention is a non-transitory storage device storing a plurality of instructions, to conduct a search, and visit of C/Us wherein said non-transitory storage device comprises a plurality of instructions for: entering student data into an input device; entering locating information and a desired radius limitation into the said input device; and generating C/Us relevant to the student data and within the radius limitation.", "The instructions further comprise at least one of the following steps of: selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and providing an itinerary of said selected C/Us and a planned route or journey; entering a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first, into the input device, generating a second batch of C/Us relevant to the student data and within the second radius limitation, selecting C/Us from the second batch of C/Us, and providing an itinerary based on the first batch and the second batch of the selected C/Us or planned route or journey; requesting a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, generating repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, selecting repeat C/Us of interest, generating information about selected C/Us of interest; entering other stops and/or destination data into the said input device; entering the C/Us or other locating information and/or a desired radius limitation into the input device; generating other stops relevant to the other stops data and within the radius limitation if applicable; selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated and saving the selected C/Us as a group; entering student data for another group, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, into said input device, entering locating information for that other group, which is the same or different from the locating information which has already been entered, and/or a desired radius limitation into a input device, generating C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and/or within the radius limitation, selecting one or more C/Us from the generated C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and saving the selected C/Us as another group, repeating these steps as often as desired; and entering further student data into the input device to generate a combined list of C/Us from all the groups and relevant to the further student data entered; entering into the input device another set of student data, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, and generating C/Us relevant to the other set of student data from the group of C/Us which has already been selected; providing information about food, gas and/or lodging within a selected radius of selected C/Us; selecting one or more C/Us from the generated C/Us relevant to the student data for said another group and saving the selected C/U s; entering said input device further student data to generate at least one combined list of C/Us; and/or repeating at least one of the above steps as often as desired.", "The invention can run on both a computer and/or a smart device.", "This invention saves time by maximizing efficiency and saves money by minimizing travel costs.", "Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention should not be limited to the described preferred embodiments.", "Rather, various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention.", "All the material in this patent document issue subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries.", "The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all other copyright rights whatsoever are reserved.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic view of an example of the operation of the system and the method for searching for or choosing from destinations; FIG.", "2 is a schematic view of an example of the operation of another embodiment of the system and the method for searching for or choosing from destinations; FIG.", "3 depicts a smartphone 301 with a Nearby Colleges Icon 302.Submitter clicks the mobile application icon to startup/initiate the mobile application; FIG.", "4 depicts an example of the flow of creating a new search request; FIG.", "5 depicts an illustrated block diagram of an exemplary information handling system; FIG.", "6 depicts an example of a typical system enabling bi-directional connection; FIG.", "7 depicts a search screen; FIG.", "8 depicts an example of a results screen; FIG.", "9 depicts another example of a results screen; FIG.", "10 depicts another example of a results screen; FIG.", "11 depicts another example of a results screen; and FIG.", "12 depicts another example of a results screen.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description is intended to facilitate the understanding of the present invention without limiting its scope.", "According to one embodiment, the invention is a system and a method to conduct a search to visit C/Us comprising the steps of: entering student data into an input device; entering locating information and a desired radius limitation into an input device; and generating C/Us relevant to the student data and within the radius limitation.", "Additionally, the system and method of the invention can have a software element that can communicate with a map API to provide directions and/or a map.", "The map API can be sourced from a third party if desired.", "Information on public or other transportation (including but not limited to train, plan, boat, and/or ground transportation information) can be obtained from the internet and provided in addition to or instead of the directions and/or map.", "The student data may be one or more student qualifications and/or student choices.", "Examples of student qualifications may include, but are not limited to: standardized test scores (e.g., SAT scores, ACT scores, GPA scores), school attended, school attending, year of graduation, type of school (e.g., public or private school), years of attendance, high school attending, high school attended, type of education, degree(s), grade(s), course(s), curriculum, school rating, class rating, class ranking, student rating, and/or student ranking.", "Examples of student choices include, but are not limited to: curriculum, degrees offered, school requirements or criteria, type of school (e.g., public or private), tuition, average tuition, additional school costs, extracurricular activities, school organizations, student organizations, school size, number of students, housing, school statistics, school information, school data, school history, faculty, faculty information, school achievements or honors, school reputation, school area information, distance coordinates, and/or travel considerations.", "The input device is where the user enters information for the system and method of the invention to use.", "Examples include, but are not limited to: smart devices, tablets, smart phones, phones, mobile devices, computers, voice prompt, microphones, fax, facsimile, electronic devices, Bluetooth device, hand held device, touch-screen computing devices, portable media players, smart pads, micro devices, portable devices, powered devices, technical devices, electronic component devices, iOS device (e.g., iPhones and iPads), optical devices, optical readers, GPS devices, etc.", "Generally, smart devices include electronic devices that are usually cordless (unless while being charged), mobile (easily transportable), connected or connectable to the virtual or internet (e.g., via Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G etc.).", "Such devices are typically capable of voice and video communication, internet browsing, geolocation (for search purposes and location-based services) and of operating to some extent autonomously.", "The term “smart device” can also refer to a ubiquitous computing device, such as a device that exhibits some properties of ubiquitous computing including artificial intelligence.", "Smart devices can be designed to support a variety of form factors and a range of properties pertaining to ubiquitous computing and can also be any combination of three main system environments: physical world, human-centered environments and distributed computing environments.", "The locating information provides the system and method of the invention with a geographic point from which to do a search.", "Examples include, but are not limited to: a longitude, latitude, location coordinates, city, zip code, street address, street name, state, nearby location, county, village, town, landmark, destination (optionally including a destination address in part or in whole), college, university, school name, phone number (in part or in whole), email, web address, social media address, Skype name, a place, structure, event, site, address, tourist site, business, desired location, target location, nearby location, additional location, movie theatre, store, office, facility, professional space, professional location, professional office, professional practices, professional address, specialty store, gas, restaurant, food, lodging, hotel, hostel, camp site, health-related practices (e.g., medical, dental, etc.)", "and/or any other information that helps to determine the starting or beginning point of a search and/or that helps to determine any point or destination of a search.", "A desired radius limitation can be used and it can be in a specific unit(s) of measurement, including, but not limited to: feet, yards, miles, meters, etc.", "Also, any amount can be entered as the desired radius limitation, including, but not limited to 1 mile, 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, 40 miles, 50 miles, 75 miles, 100 miles, 150 miles, etc.", "Based on the student data and desired radius limitation that have been entered into the input device, the system and method of the invention generates relevant C/Us.", "That is, the C/Us generated would meet or approximate the student qualifications and/or student choices entered as well as the desired radius limitations.", "The user can select one or more of the C/Us from the relevant C/Us that are generated.", "Then, the system and method of the invention can generate information about the selected C/Us.", "Examples of such information may include, but is not limited to: student population, average annual tuition, tour availability, information sessions, etc.", "The information generated about the selected C/Us can be in the form of links, for example, but not limited to, a link to call the C/Us, a link to the C/U's website, a link to the C/U's Facebook page, etc.", "Still another type of link would be a link to make an online appointment for an interview at the C/Us.", "The system and method of the invention can provide an itinerary of the selected C/Us including directions and available public transportation to the selected C/Us.", "The directions provided with the itinerary can be in any useful format, for example, but not limited to, turn-by-turn, voice, map, etc.", "The itinerary can include other stops (e.g., additional destinations) besides C/Us.", "For example, the user might be interested in finding a store or restaurant for some food, a place to stay overnight, a gas station, a library, a post office, etc.", "Stops include, for example, places, destinations, or locations of interest to include in your travel plans or trip.", "The system and method of the invention can generate such other stops automatically when it generates the C/Us.", "Also, it can generate specific other stops by the steps of: entering other stops data into the input device; entering the C/Us or other locating information and a desired radius limitation into the input device; and generating other stops relevant to the other stops data and within the radius limitation.", "Exemplary stops (e.g., additional destinations) may include, but are not limited to: a place, structure, event, site, address, school, tourist site, college, university, business, desired location, target location, nearby location, additional location, location, movie theatre, store, office, facility, professional space, professional location, professional address, professional office, professional practice, specialty store, gas, restaurant, food, lodging, hotel, hostel, camp site, and/or health-related practices (e.g., medical, dental, etc.).", "And each of such stops may be associated with destination data, such as but not limited to: a type, a name, a chain with which the stop is associated, geographic coordinate(s), geolocation, longitude and/or latitude, measurements, address (in part or in whole) and/or other stops.", "As a specific example, a landmark may be considered a destination (e.g., Grand Central Terminal).", "Examples of other landmarks include, but are not limited to, the Washington Monument, the Empire State Building, a specific Frank Lloyd Wright house, etc.", "Other specific examples of destinations include, but are not limited to, airports, zoos, parks, beaches, foreign countries, etc.", "One feature of the system and method of the invention is that it is easy to find other C/Us near the originally selected C/Us.", "There are several ways of doing this.", "The original search will, of course, include any C/Us near the originally selected C/Us.", "Another way is to run the original search again.", "Input the same student data, the same or similar locating information (any one of the selected C/Us or associated data can be used as the locating information), and the same, or similar, or even a different radius limitation.", "The system and method of the invention will then generate relevant C/Us (relevant to the student data, locating information and radius limitation).", "Other or additional C/Us can be found at the start of the trip or during the trip if, for example, the user finds that there is more time to visit more C/Us.", "Another way to find nearby C/Us is by entering the input device a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first.", "This will generate a second batch of C/Us relevant to the student data and within the second radius limitation.", "The user can then select C/Us from the second batch of C/Us.", "The system and method of the invention can then provide an itinerary, including directions/available public transportation, based on the first batch and the second batch of the selected C/Us.", "In addition to the above-described methods of finding other C/Us near the originally selected C/Us, the system and method of the invention can find nearby C/Us by repeating a search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more of the selected C/Us; generating repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more of the selected C/Us; selecting repeat C/Us of interest; and generating information about the selected C/Us of interest.", "Another embodiment of the invention does not need student data to be input.", "Instead, just locating information and a desired radius limitation are input or sent to an input device.", "The system and method of the invention can then generate C/Us within the radius limitation.", "The user can select C/Us of interest and then the system and method of the invention can generate information about the selected C/Us.", "In this embodiment, it is possible for the system and method of the invention to generate all C/Us within the radius limitation.", "It is also possible to generate an itinerary with directions.", "The locating information, desired radius limitation and type of input device can be the same or different as in the other embodiments.", "In yet another embodiment, the system and method of the invention conducts a search of destinations to visit comprising the steps of: entering destination data into an input device; entering locating information and/or a desired radius limitation into the input device; and generating destinations relevant to the destination data and/or within the radius limitation.", "The destination data, locating information, desired radius limitation, and type of input device can be the same or different as in the other embodiments.", "The system and method of searching destinations can further comprise the steps of: selecting one or more destinations from the relevant destinations generated; generating information about the selected destinations; and providing directions/information on available public transportation based on the selected destinations.", "Additional destinations can be found, for example, by: entering a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first, and a desired second radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first, into the input device; generating a second batch of destinations relevant to the destination data and within the second radius limitation; selecting destinations from the second batch of destinations; and providing directions and/or information on available public transportation based on the first batch and the second batch of the selected destinations.", "Additional nearby destinations can be found, for example, by: requesting a repeat search of destinations within a radius limitation of one or more selected destinations; generating repeat destinations within the radius limitation of one or more selected destinations; selecting repeat destinations of interest; and generating information about selected destinations of interest.", "Additional nearby destinations can also be found, for example, by: entering destination data for a nearby destination into an input device; entering locating information for the original destination and a desired radius limitation into the input device; and generating nearby destinations relevant to the destination data and within the radius limitation.", "In an example of the invention, a user can search a specific city, zip code, or even a street address and all higher learning institutions within a user defined radius will pop up.", "Then the user can tap a school of interest and obtain information that at a glance can help decide if it's a school worth checking out.", "For example, a screen pops up with student population, average annual tuition, as shown in FIG.", "9.It can also provide the user with links to optional information such as to call the college, obtain information on tour availability, make an appointment for an interview, visitor information, Facebook link, etc., as shown in FIGS.", "10 and 11.Also, directions can be accessed through an online map tool for quick planning of a driving route as shown in FIG.", "12 and information on food, lodging, gas, etc.", "can be displayed.", "And, while on the road, the user can make quick and efficient changes in route when opportunities arise to see other schools and/or other stops and/or destinations, e.g., when there is more time available.", "It is easy to adjust the route if desired.", "Some basic components of the system and method to search for or choose from destinations in accordance with the present invention are illustrated in FIG.", "1.The flow is between the submitter/user 1 and the system 37 which includes an interface with the app 12 where the information/content is entered by the (user) submitter 1.The information/content then goes to the Internet 15 (e.g., world wide web, any virtual network, a wide-area network (“WAN”), and/or a local-area network (“LAN”)).", "The Internet 15 is connected to storage database 18, which holds the information/content which has been entered into the system through the input device.", "The Internet 15 is also connected to storage database 21, which holds the destination information.", "FIG.", "2 depicts another embodiment of the invention showing system 37 in which additional steps can be added at interface 24.FIG.", "3 depicts a smartphone 301 with a mobile application icon 302 (i.e., “Nearby Colleges”).", "Submitter clicks the icon 302 to startup/initiate a mobile application.", "Referring to FIG.", "4, an embodiment of a message submitter/user screen 1 is shown.", "In the embodiment of FIG.", "4, a person who would like to submit a search request (“submitter” or “user”) may optionally select to download a smart device application by clicking or selecting the application allocated on screen 1, and continue the process from the smart device or continue on screen 1 by first selecting the message window 42 from the designated website or application, optionally selecting from the language choices available 53 for the application, in whole or in part, and then select and identify destination data 45, and/or student data 48, together with locating information 51 and desired radius 44.Other search specific information can be entered in, e.g., 52, 54, 56, etc.", "Lastly, the submitter would click the graphic icon 57 (i.e., “Search”) to submit the search request.", "FIG.", "5 depicts an illustrated block diagram of an exemplary information handling system.", "The information handling system comprises a bus that connects (either directly, or in combination with another bus) a Central Processing Unit (“CPU” or processor) 1702 to RAM 1704, hard disc 1712, ROM 1714, and input/output devices.", "Additionally, the bus can have an interface for receiving removable memory 1706.Removable memory can include but is not limited to an optical disc, a memory card, a “boot” drive, etc.", "Additionally, the bus can connect the CPU 1702 to network interface(s) 1710.The network interface(s) 1710 can either physically or wirelessly connect the information handling system to one or more networks 1708 such as, but not limited to, the internet, WAN, and/or LAN, the Public System Telephone Network, a cellular telephone network, or a cellular data network.", "Some input devices can include a mouse 1720, a keyboard 1718, and/or a microphone 1724.The output devices can include a screen 1716 and/or speaker(s) 1722.In certain embodiments, the screen 1716 can be heat or touch sensitive so as to project a virtual keyboard 1716A for receiving inputs, thus not requiring a keyboard 1718 or mouse 1720.According to certain embodiments of the present invention, the invention incorporates a plurality of instructions that are executable by the CPU 1702, residing in any combination of RAM 1704, Removable Memory 1706, hard disc 1712, or ROM 1714.Additionally, the instructions can reside at a node on the network.", "It will be understood that storage of said instructions in the node, RAM 1704, Removable Memory 1706, hard disc 1712, or ROM 1714 changes the foregoing, chemically, electrically, and/or electromagnetically.", "FIG.", "6 depicts a typical system 37 enabling bi-directional connection via the cloud 530 (which can be comprised of one of more of the following: the interne, a virtual network, social network, world wide web, WAN, and/or LAN) of a collection of submitter(s)/user(s) 520 using user devices 560 such as a smart phone, tablet, computer, laptop, etc.", "with a collection of destinations 510 representing a variety of different places such as universities, friend's houses, hotels, and other places, and their bi-directional communication is enabled by a two-way communicator 540 for making reservations, appointments, etc.", "Information about the destinations is stored in storage database 550 which holds the destination information.", "By enabling bi-directional connection, the enterer (person entering information) can communicate directly with one or more of the generated C/Us or other destination using a communicator such as, but not limited to, 2-way text-to-cell communication, 2-way voice communication, 2-way social media communications, 2-way texting, 2-way phone, 2-way SMS, MMS, 2-way communication etc.", "FIG.", "7 shows an example of a search screen 710.It provides a map 712.In this example, the map 712 shows the point 714 of the chosen locating information at the center of an encircled area 716, which represents the radius searched.", "Also included is a search section 718 for the user to input the locating information, which in this example is “current location.” In this embodiment, there is also a choice of three different types of locating information 720 (i.e., zip code, address, or landmarks).", "In this example, the landmarks selection is highlighted showing that was chosen.", "Although three choices are shown in this example, more or fewer choices can be provided on the screen or in a drop-down menu.", "Also shown is a mile radius section 722 in which the user can select the radius to be searched.", "Mile radius section 722 in this embodiment in this example provides a sliding bar selection mechanism 724 which is set at 20 miles.", "When sliding bar selection mechanism 724 is moved to the left (for example, but not limited to, by dragging with a mouse, dragging a finger across the screen, dragging a stylus across the screen, using arrow keys, etc.)", "a radius of less than 20 miles can be chosen.", "When sliding bar selection mechanism 724 is moved to the right, a radius of more than 20 miles can be chosen.", "The mile radius section 722 can also or instead be provided with units other than miles for measuring distance (by way of non-limiting example, feet, meters, kilometers, etc.).", "Also, the section for choosing the radius, which is mile radius section 722 in this example, does not have to employ a sliding bar mechanism.", "Any method of inputting a desired radius can be used, for example, but not limited to, by way of a drop-down menu with choices of potential radius values, using number keys, etc.", "Also included in search screen 710 of FIG.", "7 is a search selection section 726.In the present example, it is simply labeled “SEARCH.” Any method of selecting search selection section 726 can be used, for example, but not limited to, a mouse, a finger, a stylus, an enter key, arrow keys, etc.", "FIG.", "8 is an example of a screen showing generated search results.", "It includes a map 810, having a center point 812, and being enclosed in a circle 814 which delineates the radius searched from the center point 812.Also enclosed in circle 814 are C/Us 816, gas stations 818, restaurants 819, and hotels 820.A key 822 to the symbols for these other stops is included as well.", "Some symbols that might appear on the screen depicted in FIG.", "8 are for example a knife and fork icon for restaurants, graduation that for C/Us, a gas pump icon for gas stations, and/or a bed icon for hotels and/or lodging.", "The key 822 and/or the icons can have color distinctions.", "This type of search result screen, an example of which is shown in FIG.", "8, could, in accordance with this invention, show only C/Us, or show only other stops (e.g., the gas stations, restaurants, and hotels shown in FIG.", "8), and/or show other potential stops in addition to the other stops.", "FIG.", "9 is one example of a screen 910 which could pop up after selecting a C/U symbol in FIG.", "8.In the example shown in FIG.", "9, the screen 910 provides student data information in an information section 912.The student data information shown in this example includes the name of the school, its student population and its average annual tuition.", "The screen 910 also includes a direction selection section 914 labeled “GET DIRECTIONS.” Any method of selecting direction selection section 914 can be used, for example, but not limited to, a mouse, a finger, a stylus, an enter key, arrow keys, etc.", "FIG.", "10 is an example of a screen 1010, which pops up after selecting a C/U symbol in FIG.", "8.In the example shown in FIG.", "10, the screen 1010 provides student data information in an information section 1012 (like information section 912).", "Screen 1010 also provides additional student data information in another information section 1013.The additional student data information available in this example includes links to call the college, obtain information on tour availability, obtain visitor information, and Facebook.", "Any method of selecting one or more of these links to additional student data information can be used, for example, but not limited to, a mouse, a finger, a stylus, an enter key, arrow keys, etc.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "10, the “Call College” link has been selected, and a phone number is displayed, and a link 1016 to call the college using the device displaying the screen 1010 can be selected.", "Any method of selecting link 1016 to call the college can be used, for example, but not limited to, a mouse, a finger, a stylus, an enter key, arrow keys, etc.", "The screen 1010 also includes a direction selection section 1014 labeled “GET DIRECTIONS.” Any method of selecting direction selection section 1014 can be used, for example, but not limited to, a mouse, a finger, a stylus, an enter key, arrow keys, etc.", "FIG.", "11 is another example of a screen 1110 which pops up after selecting a C/U symbol in FIG.", "8.In the example shown in FIG.", "11, the screen 1110 provides student data information in an information section 1112 (like information section 912 and 1012).", "Screen 1110 also provides additional student data information in another information section 1113.The additional student data information available in this example includes links to call the college, obtain information on tour availability, obtain visitor information, and a Facebook link.", "Any method of selecting one or more of these links to additional student data information can be used, for example, but not limited to, a mouse, a finger, a stylus, an enter key, arrow keys, etc.", "In the example shown in FIG.", "11, the “Tour Availability” link has been selected and the tour schedule is displayed.", "The screen 1110 also includes a direction selection section 1114 labeled “GET DIRECTIONS”.", "Any method of selecting direction selection section 1114 can be used, for example, but not limited to, a mouse, a finger, a stylus, an enter key, arrow keys, etc.", "FIG.", "12 is an example of a screen 1210 which pops up after selecting a direction selection section, such as 1014 in FIG.", "10 or 1114 in FIG.", "11.It includes a map 1212 which shows the route 1214 to follow for the directions.", "The route 1214 is shown starting at a start point 1216 labeled “You Are Here” and ending at an end point 1218 which includes the icon for C/Us and is labeled “State University of New York.” Also, turn-by-turn directions are included in direction section 1220.The system and method can further comprise that the enterer/user can communicate directly with one or more of the generated C/Us with multiple communications that each can be more than 2-way communications.", "The system and method can further comprise that the enterer/user can communicate directly with one or more of the generated C/Us using a communicator comprising at least one of the following: at least 2-way text-to-cell communication; at least 2-way voice communication; at least 2-way social media communications; at least 2-way texting; at least 2-way phone; at least 2-way SMS and/or MMS; and/or at least 2-way communication.", "The invention can be a non-transitory storage device storing a plurality of instructions, to conduct a search, and/or visit of C/Us wherein said non-transitory storage device comprises a plurality of instructions for: entering student data into an input device; entering locating information and a desired radius limitation into the input device; and generating C/Us relevant to the student data and within the radius limitation.", "The non-transitory storage device can further have instructions for at least one of the following: selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and/or providing an itinerary of selected C/Us or planned route or journey; or entering a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first, into the input device, generating a second batch of C/Us relevant to the student data and within the second radius limitation, selecting C/Us from the second batch of C/Us, and providing an itinerary based on the first batch and the second batch of the selected C/Us or planned route or journey; requesting a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, generating repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, selecting repeat C/Us of interest, generating information about selected C/Us of interest; entering other stops or destination data into the input device; entering the C/Us or other locating information and/or a desired radius limitation into the input device; generating other stops relevant to the other stops data and within the radius limitation if applicable; selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated and saving the selected C/Us as a group; entering student data for another group, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, into an input device, entering locating information for that other group, which is the same or different from the locating information which has already been entered, and/or a desired radius limitation into an input device, generating C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and/or within the radius limitation, selecting one or more C/Us from the generated C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and saving the selected C/Us as another group, repeating the first through fourth steps as often as desired; entering further student data into the input device to generate a combined list of C/Us from all the groups and relevant to the further student data entered; entering into the input device another set of student data, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, and generating C/Us relevant to the other set of student data from the group of C/Us which has already been selected; and/or providing information about food, gas and/or lodging within a selected radius of the selected C/Us.", "At least one embodiment is a method for travel planning and creating a group of C/Us, which are coordinated locations and destinations for at least one travel plan having associated at least one itinerary and at least one map, which all include visitation only to those C/Us meeting a specific customized criteria, and also providing criteria and information for communicating with the selected C/Us or providing for direct communication that is immediate and in real time to the C/Us contained in the at least one new uniquely created group and further including selecting from a uniquely formatted on screen visual presentation of all the relevant choices presented to the at least one user for selection comprising of the following steps: (1) initiating the method by: (a) downloading a specific customized software application and/or registering for a sign-in process, (b) initiating and running of the said specific customized software application on a user computer and/or smart device, operated by at least one user; or (c) initiating and running of the said specific customized software application on a user computer and/or smart device, operated by at least one user; and (d) performing any associated or required sign-in process; (2) receiving of the input of student data, input by at least one user, wherein said student data is comprised of specific student qualifications and student choices; (3) utilizing said computer or user smart device comprising of in part or in whole at least one of each of: a GPS or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and running said specific customized software application; (4) performing real time simultaneous multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation that utilizes at least one storage database said storage database also containing information related to C/Us and other preselected content; (5) gathering, analyzing and coordinating at least one efficient “customized grouping” also called “unique list” or “unique group” of locations and destinations where the information related to locations and destinations and other associated preselected content from real time simultaneous multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation including but not limited to retrieving data from the at least one storage database, matches or is comparable to the criteria requested by input by the said at least one user and determining said unique list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the said at least one storage database matches or is comparable to the criteria of the said student data; (6) receiving specific locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver live or supplied from the input device or user input, and a desired radius limitation(s) from user input to said input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation(s) extends; (7) generating a unique list or group and an associated map coordinating locations and destinations to be presented in a unique formatted visual presentation showing the locations of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database or retrieved in search, and located within the radius limitation received from the information input into the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us on the list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the student data and the locating information and determining which C/Us are within the radius limitation received by the input device; (8) displaying in said unique formatted visual presentation the said unique list or group of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device on the display; (9) receiving a selection from the information input into the input device of one or more C/Us from the list and map showing the locations of relevant C/Us generated, generate information about the selected C/Us, and display said information about the selected C/Us, an itinerary of the selected C/Us and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein the planned route or journey includes public or other methods of transportation, selected by the at least one user customizing the unique group from a unique formatted visual presentation to said user utilizing a user smart device running a specific software application; (10) transmitting one-way communication(s), or two-way, or transmitting to and receiving two-way communication(s) from selected, and preferred Locations and Destinations via the wireless communication transceiver; (11) receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, and save the one or more C/Us selected from the list of relevant C/Us as a new group created by the combination of these steps, and (12) executing and performing at least one of: (a) receiving a second group of locating information, and a second desired radius limitation from the input device, (b) generating and displaying a second unique list and associated at least one map showing the locations of C/Us that are relevant to the student data, relevant to the information gathered, analyzed, and/or contained in the storage database, and located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the relevant C/Us on the list of C/Us where the information related to C/Us and other preselected content gathered, analyzed, and/or contained from the storage database matches or is comparable to the student data and the second locating information and determining which C/Us are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, (c) receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us, coordinated travel plan, and itinerary of the selected C/Us and planned route or journey; (d) receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, (e) generating and displaying at least one coordinated list and associated at least one map of the locations of repeat search C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, (f) receiving a selection of relevant repeat search resulting C/Us of interest from the input device, generating information about the selected C/Us of interest, and storing, and displaying said information about the selected C/Us of interest on the display; (g) receiving other stops and/or destination data, and/or C/Us or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, generating and displaying at least one relevant list of other stops and/or destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and (h) receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the at least one coordinated travel plan, associated at least one itinerary and map(s) and planned route or journey and/or providing information or upon request providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging, storing same, and visually displaying this at least one uniquely created new group; (i) receiving student data for another request for another at least one group, which is the same or different from the student data previously received from the input device, receiving locating information for said another group, which is the same or different from the locating information previously received by the input device and/or a desired radius limitation from the input device, and generating and displaying at least one coordinated list of C/Us relevant to the student data for said another at least one new group, and receiving a selection of one or more C/Us from the list of C/Us relevant to the student data for said another at least one group and saving the selected C/Us and uniquely visual displaying the at least one new created group, and (j) receiving further student data to generate at least one combined list and group of C/Us.", "At least one embodiment is comprised of a system for conducting a location-based search of CUs, preparing a real time and immediate coordinated travel plan, itinerary and mapped route to visit C/Us, and communicating with C/Us which includes a customized application and resulting in efficient customized grouping and coordination of selected locations and destinations based on the combination of user selected important criteria, radius searching, and real time simultaneous multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation executed by and uniquely visually presented on a computer and/or smart device for user preference comprising: (1) a computer and/or mobile device comprising a GPS or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor and, a wireless communication transceiver, and a customized software program that utilizes information from user selected important criteria, radius searching, and real time simultaneous multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation and information stored in a storage database, the computer and/or mobile device programmed to: (a) receive locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver or the input device and a desired radius limitation from the input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends; (b) generate and display a coordinated list and associated at least one map, the said list displaying and the associated at least one map showing the locations of all C/Us that are located within the radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us and the locating information and determining which C/Us are within the radius limitation received by the input device; (c) receiving at least one selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the said list displaying, and said associated at least one map showing the coordinated locations of relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and uniquely visually displaying said information about the selected C/Us, coordinated travel plan, and associated coordinated itinerary of the selected C/Us and a planned coordinated route or journey on the visual display, wherein the planned coordinated route or journey includes or includes upon input request information on public or other methods of transportation available; (d) transmitting one-way communication(s) to or transmitting to or receiving from at least two-way communication(s) from at least one selected destination C/U via wireless communication; (e) receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the uniquely created coordinated list of relevant C/Us generated, and save the one or more C/Us selected from the list of relevant C/Us as a group; and (f) executing and performing at least one of: (i) receiving second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first locating information, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first desired radius limitation, from the input device, (ii) generating and displaying at least one uniquely created and coordinated list and at least one associated map showing the locations of all selected C/Us that are located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the C/Us and analyzing the second locating information and determining which C/Us are relevant and within the second radius limitation received by the input device, (iii) receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant C/Us generated, generating information about the selected C/Us, and (iv) uniquely visually displaying said information about the selected C/Us, and associated travel plan, and itinerary of the selected C/Us and planned route or journey on the visual display; (g) receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, (h) generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, (i) receiving a selection of repeat C/Us of interest from the input device, (j) generating information about the selected C /Us of interest, displaying said information about the selected C/U s of interest; and (k) receiving other stops and/or destination data, and/or C/Us or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, (l) generating and displaying at least one uniquely created list of other stops and/or destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and (m) receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the travel plan, itinerary and planned route or journey and (n) providing or if requested providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging.", "At least one embodiment is a system for conducting a criteria and location-based search of destinations, preparing an itinerary and mapped route to visit destinations, and communicating with destinations comprising: (1) a mobile device comprising a GPS or other technology receiver, a display, an input device, a microprocessor, a wireless communication transceiver, and a software program that utilizes a storage database containing information related to destinations and other preselected content, the mobile device programmed to: (a) receive destination data from the input device, (b) calculate and determine a list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destination data, (c) receive locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver or the input device and a desired radius limitation from the input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which the radius limitation extends, (d) generate a list and map showing the locations of destinations that are relevant to the destination data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the destinations on the list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destination data and the locating information and determining which destinations are within the radius limitation received by the input device, (e) display the list of destinations that are relevant to the destination data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device on the display, (f) receive a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list and map showing the locations of relevant destinations generated, (g) generate information about the selected destinations, and (h) display said information about the selected destinations, an itinerary of the selected destinations and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein the planned route or journey includes public or other methods of transportation, (i) transmit one-way communication(s) to or transmit to or receive two-way communication(s) from at least one selected destination or location included via the wireless communication transceiver, (j) receive a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list of relevant destinations generated, and save the one or more destinations selected from the list of relevant destinations as a group; and (k) execute and perform at least one of: (i) receiving a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first locating information, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first desired radius limitation, from the input device, (ii) generating and displaying a list and map showing the locations of destinations that are relevant to the destinations data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the destinations on the list of destinations where the information related to destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the destinations data and the second locating information and (iii) determining which destinations are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, (iv) receiving a selection from the input device of one or more destinations from the list of relevant destinations generated, (v) generating information about the selected destinations, and (vi) displaying said information about the selected destinations, an itinerary of the selected destinations and planned route or journey on the display, (vii) receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of destinations within a radius limitation of one or more selected destinations, (viii) generating and displaying a list and map of the locations of, repeat destinations within the radius limitation of one or more selected destinations, (ix) receiving a selection of repeat destinations of interest from the input device, (x) generating information about the selected destinations of interest, and (xi) displaying said information about the selected destinations of interest, (xii) receiving other stops and/or destination data, and/or destinations or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, (xiii) generating and displaying a list of other stops and/or destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and (xiv) receiving a selection of one or more other stops and/or destinations from the input device for adding to the itinerary and planned route or journey and/or providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging, (xv) receiving destinations data for another group, which is the same or different from the destinations data previously received from the input device, (xvi) receiving locating information for said another group, which is the same or different from the locating information previously received by the input device and/or a desired radius limitation from the input device, and (xvii) generating and displaying a list of destinations relevant to the destinations data for said another group, and (xviii) receiving a selection of one or more destinations from the list of destinations relevant to the destinations data for said another group and saving the selected destinations, and (xix) receiving further destinations data to generate at least one combined list of destinations.", "At least one embodiment is a non-transitory storage device storing a plurality of instructions, to conduct a search, and visit of C/Us wherein said non-transitory storage device comprises a plurality of instructions for: (1) entering critical student data into an input device; (2) entering locating information and a desired radius limitation into the said input device; and (3) generating at least one coordinated list C/Us relevant to the student data and within the radius limitation; wherein the instructions further comprise at least one of the following steps of: (a) selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated after real time analysis and coordination, (b) generating information about the selected C/Us, and (c) immediately providing in real time an itinerary of said selected C/Us and an immediate real time coordinated planned route or journey including all selected locations and destinations; (4) entering a second locating information, which can be the same or different from the first, and a second desired radius limitation, which can be the same or different from the first, into the input device, (5) generating a second batch of C/Us relevant to the student data and within the second radius limitation, (6) selecting C/Us from the second batch of C/Us, and (7) providing at least one travel plan, and itinerary based on the first batch and the second batch of the selected C/Us or planned route or journey; (8) requesting a repeat search of C/Us within a radius limitation of me or more selected C/Us, (9) generating repeat C/Us within the radius limitation of one or more selected C/Us, (10) selecting repeat C/Us of interest, generating information about selected C/Us of interest; (11) entering other stops and/or destination data into the said input device; (12) entering the C/Us or other locating information and/or a desired radius limitation into the input device; (13) generating a rating other stops relevant to the other stops data and within the radius limitation if applicable; (14) running and further comprising a software element that can utilize a map; (15) selecting one or more C/Us from the relevant C/Us generated and saving the selected C/Us as a group; (16) entering student data for another group, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, into said input device, (17) entering locating information for that other group, which is the same or different from the locating information which has already been entered, and/or a desired radius limitation into a input device, (18) generating C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and/or within the radius limitation, (19) selecting one or more C/Us from the generated C/Us relevant to the student data for that other group and saving the selected C/Us as another group, (20) repeating these steps as often as desired; and (21) entering further student data into the input device to generate a combined list of C/Us from all the groups and relevant to the further student data entered; (22) entering the input device another set of student data, which is the same or different from the student data which has already been entered, and generating C/Us relevant to the other set of student data from the group of C/Us which has already been selected; (23) communicating directly with one or more of the generated and/or selected C/Us comprising at least one of the following: at least a 2-way text-to-cell communication, at least a 2-way voice communication, at least a 2-way social media communications, at least a 2-way texting, at least a 2-way phone, at least a 2-way SMS or MMS, at least 2-way wireless communication; (24) production of a real-time travel plan, map, and itinerary or prior to final production of a real-time travel plan, map, and itinerary and this said communication may result in further input of data by user to be analysis for generation of a new group stored and visually presented to user for selection and production of a real-time travel plan, map, and itinerary; (25) providing information about food, gas and/or lodging within a selected radius of selected C/Us; (26) selecting one or more C/Us from the generated C /Us relevant to the student data for said another group and saving the selected C/Us; (27) entering said input device further student data to generate at least one combined list of C/Us; and/or (28) repeating at least one of the above steps.", "In the above embodiment, the C/Us may be input in real time along with the other critical information and/or radius information for immediate analysis and production of a real-time travel plan, map, and itinerary may.", "Such C/Us may be C/Us and/or any location or destination and/or the student data input can be student data as defined herein or just data deemed by user as critical to the said real time analysis and production of a real-time travel plan, map, and itinerary.", "At least one embodiment is a method for travel planning which includes a customized application and resulting in efficient customized grouping and coordination of selected locations and destinations based on the combination of user selected important criteria, radius searching, and real time simultaneous multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation executed by and presented on a computer and/or smart device for user preference.", "Such embodiment may comprise of the following steps: (1) initiating the method by: (a) downloading a specific customized software application, and/or registering for a sign in process, (b) initiating and running of the said specific customized software application on a user computer and/or smart device, operated by at least one user; (b) or initiating and running of the specific customized software application on a user computer and/or smart device, operated by at least one user; (2) receiving data containing important criteria input by at least one user wherein said data is comprised of specific qualifications and choices, utilizing said computer and/or smart device, and running said specific customized software application performing real time simultaneous multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation including but not limited to the utilizing of at least one storage database containing information related to locations and destinations and other associated preselected content; (3) gathering, analyzing and coordinating said efficient customized grouping also called “unique list” or “unique group” of locations and destinations where the information related to locations and destinations and other associated preselected content from real time simultaneous multi-source data gathering, analysis, and derivation including but not limited to the said at least one storage database, matches or is comparable to the criteria of the said data input by the at least one user; (4) receiving specific locating information from the GPS or other technology receiver live or supplied from the input device and at least one desired radius limitation from user input to said input device, wherein the locating information is used as the center or starting point from which at least one desired radius limitation extends; (5) generating a unique list or group and map coordinating locations and destinations to be presented in a unique formatted visual presentation showing said locations and destinations that are relevant to the data input by said at least one user, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the information input into the input device by calculating the distance between the locations and destinations on the list of locations and destinations where the information related to locations and destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the data and the locating information and determining which locations and destinations are within the radius limitation received by the input device; (6) displaying in said unique formatted visual presentation the said unique list or group of said locations and destinations that are relevant to the data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the radius limitation received from the input device on the display; (7) receiving a selection by user from the information input into the input device of one or more locations and destinations from the list and map showing the locations of relevant locations and destinations generated; (8) generate information about the selected locations and destinations, and display said information about the selected locations and destinations, an itinerary of the selected locations and destinations and a planned route or journey on the display, wherein the planned route or journey includes public or other methods of transportation, selected by at least one user customizing the unique group from a unique formatted visual presentation to said user utilizing a user smart device running a specific software application; (10) transmitting communication(s) to and receiving communication(s) from selected, and preferred locations and destinations via the wireless communication transceiver; (11) receiving a selection from the input device of one or more C/Us from the list of relevant locations and destinations generated, and save the one or more locations and destinations selected from the list of relevant locations and destinations as a new group created by the combination of these steps, and; (12) executing and performing at least one of: (a) receiving a second group of locating information, and a second desired radius limitation from the input device, (b) generating and displaying a second unique list and map showing the locations of locations and destinations that are relevant to the data, relevant to the information contained in the storage database, and located within the second radius limitation received from the input device by calculating the distance between the locations and destinations on the list of locations and destinations where the information related to locations and destinations and other preselected content from the storage database matches or is comparable to the data and the second locating information and (c) determining which locations and destinations are within the second radius limitation received by the input device, (d) receiving a selection from the input device of one or more locations and destinations from the list of relevant locations and destinations generated, (e) generating information about the selected locations and destinations, and (f) displaying said information about the selected locations and destinations, an itinerary of the selected locations and destinations and planned route or journey on the display a new group created; (g) receiving a request from the input device for a repeat search of locations and destinations within a radius limitation of one or more selected locations and destinations, (h) generating, analyzing, and displaying at least one uniquely created list and map of the locations of repeat locations and destinations within the radius limitation of one or more selected locations and destinations, (i) receiving a selection of repeat locations and destinations of interest from the input device, (j) generating information about the selected locations and destinations of interest, and (k) displaying said information about the selected locations and destinations of interest on the display a new group created by the combination of these steps; (13) receiving other stops and destinations data, and/or locations and destinations or other locating information and/or desired radius limitations, (14) generating, analyzing, and displaying at least one uniquely created and coordinated list of other stops and destinations relevant to said other data within the radius limitation to be offered for selection, and (15) receiving a selection of one or more other stops and destinations from the input device for adding to the at least one uniquely created and coordinated travel plan, itinerary, map(s) and planned route or journey and/or providing information or upon request providing information about food, gas, and/or lodging; (16) receiving data for creating another at least one uniquely created group, which is the same or different from the data previously received from the input device, (17) receiving locating information for said at least one another uniquely created group, which is the same or different from the locating information previously received by the input device and receiving a desired radius limitation from the input device, and (18) generating, analyzing, and displaying in a unique visual format a coordinated list of locations and destinations relevant to the data for said another at least one new unique group, and (19) receiving a selection of one or more locations and destinations from the said at least one uniquely created new list of locations and destinations relevant to the data for said another group and saving the selected locations and destinations on the display a new group created, and (20) receiving further data to generate at least one combined coordinated list and group of locations and destinations.", "While the instant invention has been shown and described in accordance with preferred and practical embodiments thereof, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention.", "Therefore, the true scope of the invention should not be limited since other modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the claims, drawings, descriptions, explanations, and specifications herein.", "It is understood that various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention." ] ]
Patent_15875093
[ [ "THERMOFORMABLE MEDICAL MEMBER WITH HEATER AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SAME", "A thermoformable medical member and heater and method for manufacturing same.", "A thermoplastic material is converted from a relatively rigid state to a formable state over a narrow temperature range, and, which reverts back to a clinically rigid state within a relatively short period of time, and, which remains in that state even at elevated ambient temperatures." ], [ "1.A thermoformable medical member and heater comprising: a thermoplastic material having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side, wherein the thermoplastic material comprises a flexural modulus at 73 degrees F. of at least 2.3 GPa, a heat deflection temperature less than 70 degrees C.; and a thermoformable temperature in the range of 35-70 degrees C.; and a heater operatively associated with at least one of the top and bottom sides of the thermoplastic material, wherein the heater comprises an oxygen activated heater.", "2.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material has a tensile modulus of at least 0.3 GPa at 23 degrees C. 3.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material contains a polylactic acid (PLA) polymer, cellulose acetate butyrate, or polycaprolactone.", "4.The invention according to claim 3 wherein the PLA polymer has a flexural modulus of 2.4-4.9 GPa at 23 degrees C. 5.The invention according to claim 3 wherein the PLA polymer has an L-lactide/D-lactide ratio of 24:1 to 30:1.6.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material further includes at least one of an organic and inorganic filler.", "7.The invention according to claim 6 wherein the filler has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.12 W/(meter ° C.) at 48 degrees C. 8.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material has at least a portion of at least one of the top and bottom sides has a textured surface.", "9.The invention according to claim 8 wherein the textured surface is corrugated.", "10.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material has an internal structure, having a volume, located between the top and bottom sides, wherein 40% or less of the volume is defined by an open cell structure.", "11.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoformable medical member comprises a splint.", "12.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoformable medical member comprises an orthotic.", "13.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoformable medical member comprises an exoskeleton member.", "14.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the heater is integrated with the thermoformable medical member.", "15.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material is chemically or physically bonded to the heater.", "16.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material has a glass transition temperature in the range of 35-70 degrees C. 17.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic material contains a reinforcing fiber.", "18.The invention according to claim 1 wherein the thermoformable medical member contains a thermosetting component capable of forming crosslinks in the range of 20-70 degrees C. 19.A method for achieving an effect on a thermoformable medical member from an integrated heater for use on a patient comprising the steps of: heating a thermoformable medical member fabricated from a thermoplastic material with an oxygen activated heater in a range of 48-70 degrees C., wherein the thermoplastic material prior to heating is in a relatively rigid, non-thermoformable phase; converting the thermoplastic material from a non-thermoformable state to a thermoformable state within the heated range; forming the thermoplastic material to a desired shape while in its thermoformable state; converting the thermoplastic material back toward and into a relatively rigid non-thermoformable phase; and maintaining the desired shape of the thermoplastic material at a temperature imparted to the thermoplastic material of less than 48 degrees C. 20.The method according to claim 19 wherein the step of converting the thermoplastic material from a non-thermoformable state comprises maintaining structural rigidity of the thermoplastic material until the thermoplastic material until it is heated within the range of 48-70 degrees C. 21.The method according to claim 19 wherein the step of heating comprises constructing the heater so that it ceases to generate heat to the thermoplastic material in the range of 48-70 degrees C. after the thermoplastic material has been converted to a thermoformable state 22.The method according to claim 21 wherein the step of heating comprises generating heat to the thermoplastic material in the range of 48-70 degrees C. after the thermoplastic material has been converted to a thermoformable state for a period of approximately 1-7 minutes, and, preferably 3-5 minutes.", "23.The method according to claim 19 wherein the step of converting the thermoplastic material back toward and into a relatively rigid non-thermoformable state occurs after the temperature of the thermoplastic material is less than 48 degrees C. 24.The method according to claim 23 wherein the step of converting the thermoplastic material back toward and into a relatively rigid non-thermoformable state occurs within 1-7 minutes, and, preferably 3-5 minutes." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Thermoformable materials have been used in association with medical structures such as casts, splints, orthotics, etc., for medical purposes for several years.", "Indeed, such materials offer several benefits over conventional non-thermoformable materials such as faster set times, eliminating the lengthy application process associated therewith and the dampness inflicted on the patients skin.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,778,717 is directed to a specific structure for a thermoplastic, thermoformable composite.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,652,053 discloses utilizing a molecular or intermolecular combination of materials comprised of an inter-penetrating polymer network so as to cause the combined structure to transfer from an amorphous state to a viscoelastic and rubbery state.", "While such a structure may provide some support to a user, it is not effective when a ridged support is desired such as is typically the case with a splint, cast, orthotic or exoskeleton.", "U.S. Pat App.", "Nos.", "20080319362 and 20120101417 both disclose a thermoformable cast or splint that can be used in association with an exothermic heating reaction for causing a thermoplastic material to go from a relatively rigid state to a malleable state so that the material can be formed to a portion of a patient in need of support.", "Unfortunately, in order to heat the thermoplastic material in such a reaction, the material is placed in a separate and distinct heating bag where the exothermic reaction takes place.", "After appropriate heating, the thermoplastic material is removed from the bag and ready for use.", "In addition, the assignee of the present invention has provided oxygen-based heaters and various packages for same.", "See, e.g., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,722,782, issued on May 25, 2010; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/376,927, filed on Feb. 9, 2009; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/874,338, filed on Sep. 2, 2010; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/055,250 filed on Oct. 16, 2013; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/058,719, filed on Oct. 21, 2013; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/058,496, filed on Oct. 21, 2013; and, U.S. Ser.", "No.", "13/734,594, filed Jan. 4, 2013, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "These disclosed heaters and packages are successful at providing an oxygen based heater and/or package for same.", "While the above disclosed devices and methods may be capable of providing effective formable medical structures, none of them disclose such a device that provides for the conversion of a thermoformable material from a relatively rigid state to a formable state over a narrow temperature range, and, which reverts back to a clinically rigid state within a relatively short period of time, and, which remains in that state even at elevated ambient temperatures.", "The present invention is provided to solve these and other problems." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>The present invention is directed to a thermoformable medical member and heater comprising a thermoplastic material having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side.", "The thermoplastic material comprises a flexural modulus at 73 degrees F. of at least 2.3 GPa, a heat deflection temperature less than 70 degrees C.; and a thermoformable temperature in the range of 35-70 degrees C. In addition, a heater is operatively associated with at least one of the top and bottom sides of the thermoplastic material.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has a tensile modulus of at least 0.3 GPa at 23 degrees C. In this embodiment, the thermoplastic material contains a polylactic acid (PLA) polymer, cellulose acetate butyrate, or polycaprolactone.", "In addition, the PLA polymer has a flexural modulus of 2.4-4.9 GPa at 23 degrees C. Also, the PLA polymer has an L-lactide/D-lactide ratio of 24:1 to 30:1.In yet another preferred embodiment the thermoplastic material includes at least one of an organic and inorganic filler.", "It is contemplated that the filler has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.12 W/(meter ° C.) at 48 degrees C. In still another preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has at least a portion of at least one of the top and bottom sides with a textured surface.", "For example, the textured surface may be corrugated.", "In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has an internal structure, having a volume, located between the top and bottom sides, wherein 40% or less of the volume is defined by an open cell structure.", "This internal structure may take the form of a honeycomb configuration.", "In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoformable medical member comprises at least one of a splint, cast, an orthotic or an exoskeleton member.", "In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the heater comprises either an oxygen activated heater or a water activated heater.", "It is preferred, but not required, that the heater is integrated with the thermoformable medical member.", "Such integration may take the form of the thermoplastic material being chemically or physically bonded to the heater.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has a glass transition temperature in the range of 35-70 degrees C. In addition, the thermoplastic material contains a reinforcing fiber.", "In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoformable medical member contains a thermosetting component capable of forming crosslinks in the range of 20-70 degrees C. The present invention is also directed to a method for achieving an effect on a thermoformable medical member from a heater for use on a patient comprising the steps of: heating a thermoformable medical member fabricated from a thermoplastic material with at least one of an oxygen activated heater and a water activated heater in a range of 48-70 degrees C., wherein the thermoplastic material prior to heating is in a relatively rigid, non-thermoformable phase; converting the thermoplastic material from a non-thermoformable state to a thermoformable state within the heated range; forming the thermoplastic material to a desired shape while in its thermoformable state; converting the thermoplastic material back toward and into a relatively rigid non-thermoformable phase; and maintaining the desired shape of the thermoplastic material at a temperature imparted to the thermoplastic material of less than 48 degrees C. In the preferred method, the step of converting the thermoplastic material from a non-thermoformable state comprises maintaining structural rigidity of the thermoplastic material until the thermoplastic material until it is heated within the range of 48-70 degrees C. In this preferred method the step of heating comprises constructing the heater so that it ceases to generate heat to the thermoplastic material in the range of 48-70 degrees C. after the thermoplastic material has been converted to a thermoformable state.", "It is preferred that the thermoformable state is maintained for approximately 1-7 minutes, and, preferably 3-5 minutes.", "In this preferred embodiment, the step of converting the thermoplastic material back toward and into a relatively rigid non-thermoformable state occurs after the temperature of the thermoplastic material is less than 48 degrees C. Again, this occurs within 1-7 minutes, and, preferably 3-5 minutes." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present invention is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/482,351 filed on Sep. 10, 2014 which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/206,252, filed on Mar.", "12, 2014—the contents of both of which is incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a portable thermoformable medical member in association with a heater that generates heat from an exothermic reaction.", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thermoformable materials have been used in association with medical structures such as casts, splints, orthotics, etc., for medical purposes for several years.", "Indeed, such materials offer several benefits over conventional non-thermoformable materials such as faster set times, eliminating the lengthy application process associated therewith and the dampness inflicted on the patients skin.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,778,717 is directed to a specific structure for a thermoplastic, thermoformable composite.", "U.S. Pat.", "No.", "5,652,053 discloses utilizing a molecular or intermolecular combination of materials comprised of an inter-penetrating polymer network so as to cause the combined structure to transfer from an amorphous state to a viscoelastic and rubbery state.", "While such a structure may provide some support to a user, it is not effective when a ridged support is desired such as is typically the case with a splint, cast, orthotic or exoskeleton.", "U.S. Pat App.", "Nos.", "20080319362 and 20120101417 both disclose a thermoformable cast or splint that can be used in association with an exothermic heating reaction for causing a thermoplastic material to go from a relatively rigid state to a malleable state so that the material can be formed to a portion of a patient in need of support.", "Unfortunately, in order to heat the thermoplastic material in such a reaction, the material is placed in a separate and distinct heating bag where the exothermic reaction takes place.", "After appropriate heating, the thermoplastic material is removed from the bag and ready for use.", "In addition, the assignee of the present invention has provided oxygen-based heaters and various packages for same.", "See, e.g., U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,722,782, issued on May 25, 2010; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/376,927, filed on Feb. 9, 2009; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/874,338, filed on Sep. 2, 2010; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/055,250 filed on Oct. 16, 2013; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/058,719, filed on Oct. 21, 2013; U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/058,496, filed on Oct. 21, 2013; and, U.S. Ser.", "No.", "13/734,594, filed Jan. 4, 2013, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "These disclosed heaters and packages are successful at providing an oxygen based heater and/or package for same.", "While the above disclosed devices and methods may be capable of providing effective formable medical structures, none of them disclose such a device that provides for the conversion of a thermoformable material from a relatively rigid state to a formable state over a narrow temperature range, and, which reverts back to a clinically rigid state within a relatively short period of time, and, which remains in that state even at elevated ambient temperatures.", "The present invention is provided to solve these and other problems.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a thermoformable medical member and heater comprising a thermoplastic material having a top side and a bottom side opposite the top side.", "The thermoplastic material comprises a flexural modulus at 73 degrees F. of at least 2.3 GPa, a heat deflection temperature less than 70 degrees C.; and a thermoformable temperature in the range of 35-70 degrees C. In addition, a heater is operatively associated with at least one of the top and bottom sides of the thermoplastic material.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has a tensile modulus of at least 0.3 GPa at 23 degrees C. In this embodiment, the thermoplastic material contains a polylactic acid (PLA) polymer, cellulose acetate butyrate, or polycaprolactone.", "In addition, the PLA polymer has a flexural modulus of 2.4-4.9 GPa at 23 degrees C. Also, the PLA polymer has an L-lactide/D-lactide ratio of 24:1 to 30:1.In yet another preferred embodiment the thermoplastic material includes at least one of an organic and inorganic filler.", "It is contemplated that the filler has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.12 W/(meter ° C.) at 48 degrees C. In still another preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has at least a portion of at least one of the top and bottom sides with a textured surface.", "For example, the textured surface may be corrugated.", "In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has an internal structure, having a volume, located between the top and bottom sides, wherein 40% or less of the volume is defined by an open cell structure.", "This internal structure may take the form of a honeycomb configuration.", "In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoformable medical member comprises at least one of a splint, cast, an orthotic or an exoskeleton member.", "In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the heater comprises either an oxygen activated heater or a water activated heater.", "It is preferred, but not required, that the heater is integrated with the thermoformable medical member.", "Such integration may take the form of the thermoplastic material being chemically or physically bonded to the heater.", "In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material has a glass transition temperature in the range of 35-70 degrees C. In addition, the thermoplastic material contains a reinforcing fiber.", "In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoformable medical member contains a thermosetting component capable of forming crosslinks in the range of 20-70 degrees C. The present invention is also directed to a method for achieving an effect on a thermoformable medical member from a heater for use on a patient comprising the steps of: heating a thermoformable medical member fabricated from a thermoplastic material with at least one of an oxygen activated heater and a water activated heater in a range of 48-70 degrees C., wherein the thermoplastic material prior to heating is in a relatively rigid, non-thermoformable phase; converting the thermoplastic material from a non-thermoformable state to a thermoformable state within the heated range; forming the thermoplastic material to a desired shape while in its thermoformable state; converting the thermoplastic material back toward and into a relatively rigid non-thermoformable phase; and maintaining the desired shape of the thermoplastic material at a temperature imparted to the thermoplastic material of less than 48 degrees C. In the preferred method, the step of converting the thermoplastic material from a non-thermoformable state comprises maintaining structural rigidity of the thermoplastic material until the thermoplastic material until it is heated within the range of 48-70 degrees C. In this preferred method the step of heating comprises constructing the heater so that it ceases to generate heat to the thermoplastic material in the range of 48-70 degrees C. after the thermoplastic material has been converted to a thermoformable state.", "It is preferred that the thermoformable state is maintained for approximately 1-7 minutes, and, preferably 3-5 minutes.", "In this preferred embodiment, the step of converting the thermoplastic material back toward and into a relatively rigid non-thermoformable state occurs after the temperature of the thermoplastic material is less than 48 degrees C. Again, this occurs within 1-7 minutes, and, preferably 3-5 minutes.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 of the drawings is an exploded view of the present invention; FIG.", "2 of the drawings is an elevated cut-away view of the present invention; FIG.", "3 of the drawings is a top perspective view of one of the features of the present invention; FIG.", "4 of the drawings is a top view of one of the features of the present invention; FIG.", "5 of the drawings is an elevated side view of one of the features of the present invention; FIG.", "6 of the drawings is a side view of one of the features of the present invention; FIG.", "7 is a top view of one of the features of the present invention; FIG.", "8 is a perspective view of orthotic devices of the present invention; and FIG.", "9 is three graphical representations of experimental results.", "Flexural moduli were calculated at room temperature for loadings of 0.396 and 0.789 pounds.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present, disclosure and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description.", "It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments, as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein.", "Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the disclosure.", "The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the examples of the disclosure.", "Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.", "Thermoformable medical member and heater 10 is shown in FIG.", "1 as comprising thermoplastic material 12 and oxygen activated heater 18.Thermoplastic material 12, which, in this embodiment, will result in a formable and rigid splint, has top side 14 and bottom side 15.As will be explained in greater detail, the thermoplastic material becomes malleable (“formable”) upon heating to a predetermined temperature (48-70 degrees C.), which is a relatively narrow temperature range as compared to known thermoformable splint materials.", "As will also be explained, the thermoplastic material will revert back toward and into a clinically rigid state at a temperature below 48 degrees C. Accordingly, once the thermoplastic material is formed to a desired shape, it will maintain that shape, and, in turn, its clinically rigid state, even at elevated ambient temperatures.", "As will be understood to those having ordinary skill in the art, the term “clinically rigid state” means that the splint will maintain its desired shape without softening and/or deforming after it has been formed by the person applying the material/member to a patient.", "In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the thermoplastic material is constructed so that it has a flexural modulus at 23 degrees C. of approximately 2.4-4.9 GPa, a heat deflection temperature less than 70 degrees C., and, a thermoformable (“malleable”) temperature in the range of 48-70 degrees C. It is also contemplated that the thermoplastic material has a tensile modulus of at least 0.3 GPa at 23 degrees C. It is contemplated that the thermoplastic material contains a polyactic acid (“PLA”) polymer.", "The PLA has an L-lactide/D-lactide ratio of 24:1 to 30:1.As would be appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art, although the thermoplastic material has been identified as containing PLA, other materials that will exhibit similar properties under similar pressures and temperatures are also contemplated by the present invention.", "Examples include cellulose acetate butyrate or polycaprolactone.", "Indeed, it is contemplated that other materials can be combined with, for example, the PLA, such other materials include, but are not limited to, lower durometer plastics such as EVA.", "Of primary concern is the relatively narrow temperature range in which the thermoplastic material becomes formable, the time of formability (as will be further explained), and, being able to maintain a clinically rigid state after the thermoformable member has been properly formed, even at temperatures below 120 degrees F. Thermoplastic material 12 may further include at least one organic or inorganic filler for reducing the overall cost and for improving the mechanical properties (i.e.", "flexural modulus) of the device.", "The filler has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.12 W/(meter degrees C.) at 48 degrees C. Thermoplastic material 12 is shown in FIGS.", "6 and 7 as including a corrugated surface 70 (FIG.", "6) and an open cell configuration 75 (FIG.", "7).", "The corrugated surface maximizes physical contact between thermoplastic material 12 and oxygen activated heater 18.The open cell configuration (such as a honeycomb configuration) helps to maximize heat transfer between the heater sheet and the thermoplastic material.", "It is contemplated that the thermoplastic material is occupied by 40% or less than the open cell configuration.", "Although a corrugated surface and an open cell configuration have been disclosed, it will be understood by those have ordinary skill in the art that other configurations can be used for optimizing/increasing heat transfer from the heater to the thermoplastic material.", "Oxygen activated heater 18 includes heater sheet 20, wicking layer 24 and air diffuser layer 28.Heater sheet 20, wicking layer 24 and air diffuser layer 28 each have a top surface and a bottom surface 21 and 22, 25 and 26, and, 29 and 30, respectively.", "The heater sheet comprises a metal-based substrate that exothermically reacts with and upon exposure to oxygen.", "Although the heater sheet is identified as a “sheet” or “substrate”, it is contemplated by the present invention that the heater sheet can actually be applied as a layer, such as by deposition coating, rolling of material, etc.", "Examples of the chemistry and general mechanical configurations associated with oxygen activated heaters are known in the art and specific examples have been incorporated herein by reference in the Background of the Invention.", "As will be readily understood by those having ordinary skill in the art with such heaters, wicking layer 24 serves to distribute the electrolyte evenly into the heater sheet.", "This electrolyte facilitates the reaction that takes place when the heater sheet is exposed to oxygen.", "As shown in greater detail in FIG.", "2 (but as is also apparent in FIG.", "1), bottom surface 22 of heater sheet 20 is operatively associated with top side 14 of thermoplastic material 12.Such association can occur as a result of chemical or mechanical bonding there between, or a combination thereof.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "1, top side of thermoplastic material 12 is associated with binding component 34.In this embodiment, the binding component comprises a non-woven fabric secured to the thermoplastic material.", "Although a non-woven fabric has been disclosed, other binding components are also contemplated by the present invention, including, but not limited to, adhesive materials, such as glue and double sided thermal tape.", "(See, for example, double sided thermal tape 34, shown in FIG.", "3).", "In addition to the felt acting as a binding agent, desired felt may also include some heat insulating properties.", "Accordingly, it is contemplated that such felt, or other heat insulating material 40 (see FIG.", "5) also be associated with bottom side 15 of thermoplastic material 12 inasmuch as the bottom side will be the side that comes into contact with the skin of a patient.", "Heat insulating material 40 in FIG.", "5 can serve as a resilient pad, known as a cast pad, and is placed on bottom side 15 of thermoplastic material 12 for providing thermal protection while thermoformable medical member and heater 10 are being formed to the appropriate region of a patient, as well as providing comfort to the wearer after the thermoplastic heater reverts from a malleable state back to a relatively rigid state.", "As can be seen in FIGS.", "1 and 2, bottom surface 26 of wicking layer 24 is operatively associated with and over top surface 21 of the heater sheet.", "Additionally, bottom surface 30 of air diffuser layer 28 is operatively positioned over top surface 25 of the wicking layer.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, air diffuser layer (which allows relatively uniform dispersion of oxygen toward and in contact with the wicking layer, and, in turn, the heater sheet upon association with oxygen) includes peripheral region 45 as a result of it having a length and width greater than the length and width of the wicking layer and heater sheet.", "Accordingly, peripheral region 45 of air diffuser layer 28 is adhered to a portion of the top side of thermoplastic material 12.Such adherence secures/contains the heater sheet and wicking layer in operative association with the thermoplastic material.", "Although the diffuser layer and the wicking layer have been described as two separate components, it is also contemplated that those two layers be combined into a single unitary structure.", "Alternatively, it is also contemplated that one material can achieve the function of both of those layers.", "As shown in FIGS.", "1 and 2, thermoformable medical member and heater 10 further includes outer housing 50.The outer housing, once assembled about oxygen activated heater 18 and thermoplastic material 12, includes interior region 51 and outer surface 52 (see FIG.", "2).", "As can be seen in FIG.", "2, such an assembly is completely positioned within the interior region of the outer housing.", "As shown in FIGS.", "1 and 2, outer housing 50 includes first and second sheets of material 58, 59, respectively.", "The first and second sheets of material are adhered at their edges (see FIG.", "2) so as to form seal 53.The outer housing is fabricated from a material that is relatively impervious to oxygen transmission.", "One example of acceptable material for the outer housing is commercially available from Curwood Inc. P.O.", "Box 2968, 2200 Badger Ave., Osjkosh, Wis. 54903 under the trade name Liquiflex® A6661-MO.", "Seal 53 also is relatively impervious to oxygen transmission.", "Outer housing 50 may include oxygen penetration region 55 and removable seal 56 operatively positioned over and around the oxygen penetration region, as shown in FIG.", "4.The oxygen penetration region includes pores, or sections that will allow oxygen transmission into interior region 51 of the outer housing.", "However, removable seal 56 is comprised of a material (that may be the same as the material used for outer housing 50) that is intended to precluded oxygen transmission there through.", "Accordingly, oxygen will be precluded from entering interior region of the housing unless and until the removable seal is at least partially removed.", "Although outer housing has been described with an oxygen penetration region, it is also contemplated that such a region not be used.", "In such a case, oxygen will only be transmitted to the oxygen activated heater upon physical removal of the integrated heater and thermoplastic material from interior region 51 of the outer housing.", "Thermoformable medical member and heater 10 is manufactured by fabricating oxygen activated heater 18 with air diffuser layer 28, wicking layer 24 and a metal-based (such as zinc) heater substrate 20, and securing all of them to thermoplastic material 12.As previously explained, the heater sheet is adhered to the thermoplastic material by means of a chemical and/or mechanical bond, such as with non-woven felt or an adhesive applied to top side 14 of the thermoplastic material.", "In addition, cast pad 40 (FIG.", "5) may be applied to bottom side 15 of the thermoplastic material for thermal protection and comfort.", "As also previously explained, the air diffuser layer includes a peripheral region 45 that extends beyond the peripheries of the wicking layer and heating sheet.", "Inasmuch as the thermoplastic material has a length and width that is also greater than that of the wicking layer and heating sheet, the peripheral region 45 of the air diffuser layer can be secured to a portion of the thermoplastic material (see FIG.", "2).", "In this instance, the heater sheet is held against the thermoplastic material by being “sandwiched” between the air diffuser and the thermoplastic material, and direct binding of the heater sheet to the thermoplastic material may not be required.", "An outer housing 50 is fabricated from a flexible material that is relatively impermeable to oxygen.", "The outer housing is constructed to have a top sheet 58 and bottom sheet 59.Once constructed, the combined and integrated oxygen activated heater 18 (FIG.", "1) and thermoplastic material 12 are positioned within what will become interior region 51 (FIG.", "2) of the outer housing.", "The top and bottom sheet of the outer housing are then sealed together, optionally under a vacuum, forming seal 53 so that the interior region of the outer housing is substantially devoid of oxygen, and wherein the outer housing substantially conforms around the thermoplastic material and oxygen activated heater.", "As an alternative embodiment, top sheet 58 of the outer housing can be fabricated with pores, or oxygen penetration regions 55, and a removable seal 56 positioned there over.", "As previously described, in such an embodiment, oxygen will only transmit into the interior region of the outer housing upon at least partial removal of the removable seal.", "Although thermoformable medical member and heater 10 have been described/shown in FIGS.", "1 and 2 as a splint having an integrated oxygen activated heater, such is for disclosure and understanding of the invention only.", "Indeed, as shown in FIG.", "8, thermoplastic material 12′ is shown as comprising orthotic devices.", "In addition, it will be readily understood to those with ordinary skill in the art that the present invention is equally applicable to exoskeleton devices.", "Examples of exoskeleton devices contemplated by the present invention includes, but are not limited to, prosthetics, braces and sports armour.", "As will be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art, other thermoformable medical members can also be used in association with the teachings of the present invention.", "In addition, although the heater has been disclosed as comprising an oxygen activated heater integrally associated with the thermoplastic material, other heaters that generate heat as a result of an exothermic reaction are also contemplated—such as various conventional water activated heaters.", "Furthermore, in some applications it may be beneficial to have the heater as a separate, non-integrated component relative to the thermoplastic material.", "In such a case, operative association of the heater with the thermoplastic material would occur at the time of intended formation/molding.", "In operation, (and as will be described with respect to an integrated oxygen activated heater) a desired user of the thermoformable medical member and heater would merely open the outer housing (by, for example, cutting a sealed edge with a scissors, or by tearing at a perforated line) and then removing the integrated thermoplastic material and oxygen activated heater there from.", "(Prior to commencement of heating, the thermoplastic material will be in a relatively rigid state).", "As oxygen from the ambient environment comes into contact with the air diffuser layer, and, in turn, into contact with the wicking layer, a chemical reaction will occur causing the heater sheet to create an exothermic reaction.", "This exothermic reaction will result in the release of heat from the heater sheet toward and into the thermoplastic material to a temperature range of 48-70 degrees C. This temperature range will be maintained for a predefined period of time (typically 3-5 minutes) at which point the thermoplastic material will become and remain malleable/formable for a predetermined period of time.", "It will be understood that the amount of time the thermoplastic material stays in the malleable state is a function of how long heat in the previously identified temperature range is imparted into the thermoplastic material.", "How to alter this time would be readily understood to those having ordinary skill in the art merely by altering the amount of active material associated with producing the desired exothermic reaction associated with the heater.", "Once the thermoplastic material is in a formable state, a person would then place the device onto a person's arm (for example) and press the thermoplastic material against the person's arm until it forms thereto.", "Once properly formed, an elastic bandage, or the like, is wrapped around the person's arm and the thermoplastic material and oxygen activated heater (when integrated) so as to secure it in place.", "Inasmuch as the side of the thermoplastic material applied to the person's arm may include an insulating pad (such as a cast pad) he or she will not be subjected to unsafe temperatures.", "The air diffuser layer also has heat insulating properties, so the person applying the device will also be protected from unsafe temperatures.", "As previously mentioned, after the thermoplastic splint has become malleable, it will continue in that state until the temperature of the thermoplastic material drops below 48 degrees C. In a preferred embodiment of the method, the time it remains malleable, and, in turn “workable”, is about one minute.", "After that, the thermoplastic material, and, in turn, the splint, will be in a clinically rigid and formed state.", "Such a quick time before reverting to a non-formable state greatly reduces the amount of time before the limb, or the like, is properly secured and stabilized.", "Again, this time can be altered by increasing the amount of time the exothermic reaction continues at the previously identified temperatures.", "Those with ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that other thermoformable medical members, such as orthotics and exoskeleton devices can likewise be formed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention—with or without an integrated heater, depending on the particular application.", "In support of the above, experiments were conducted using three different thermoformable (thermoplastics) materials: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (“ABS”); an unknown material used by DJO Global of Vista, Calif. for thermoformable splints sold under the trademark EXOS (“EXOS”); and, a PLA in accordance with the present invention (“PLA”).", "In these experiments, the three materials were each spaced 6 inches apart and tested for deflection under controlled loads at seven different temperatures.", "Specifically, each of the materials were placed on two triangular prisms.", "A drop gauge was fitted with an approximately 179 g weight and then allowed to drop on the center of the respective material at each of the different temperatures.", "The tests were repeated with an approximately 358 g weight.", "Deflection of each of the materials was read and recorded based on the readings from the drop gauge.", "The results of those tests can be seen in graphical form in combined FIG.", "9—revealing flexural modulus (psi) vs. temperature in degrees F. As can be seen from the graphs in FIG.", "8, the flexural modulus of the ABS had insignificant change at temperatures from ambient to 200 degrees F. The EXOS material softened significantly between 70 and 100 degrees F. (temperatures often experienced in the ambient environment).", "Indeed, the EXOS material exhibited a relatively uniform softening behavior, and, in turn, a relatively broad softening range within the temperatures tested.", "The material of the present invention (“PLA”) exhibited the sharpest softening point) of the tested materials with noticeable deflection occurring above 120 degrees F. Not only did this experiment confirm that the PLA became malleable within a very narrow temperature range, it further confirmed that it would be maintainable in a clinically rigid state below 120 degrees F. Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the detailed description and drawings.", "Moreover, it is to be understood that the foregoing summary of the invention and the associated detailed description and drawings are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed." ] ]
Patent_15875094
[ [ "FULL FIELD MAMMOGRAPHY WITH TISSUE EXPOSURE CONTROL, TOMOSYNTHESIS, AND DYNAMIC FIELD OF VIEW PROCESSING", "A mammography system using a tissue exposure control relying on estimates of the thickness of the compressed and immobilized breast and of breast density to automatically derive one or more technic factors.", "The system further uses a tomosynthesis arrangement that maintains the focus of an anti-scatter grid on the x-ray source and also maintains the field of view of the x-ray receptor.", "Finally, the system finds an outline that forms a reduced field of view that still encompasses the breast in the image, and uses for further processing, transmission or archival storage the data within said reduced field of view." ], [ "1.A mammography method comprising: compressing and immobilizing a patient's breast for x-ray imaging; providing information about the thickness of the immobilized breast and the density of the breast; using the thickness and density information to automatically estimate one or more technic factors appropriate for imaging the breast with x-rays; and using the estimated technic factors in imaging the breast.", "2.A mammography method comprising: an x-ray source and an x-ray receptor coupled with an anti-scatter grid focused on the x-ray source, and a breast compressing arrangement between the source and the grid for compressing and immobilizing a patient's breast for x-ray imaging; moving at last one of the source and receptor relative to the immobilized breast while maintaining the grid focused on the source and maintaining a field of view of said receptor to derive breast image data for a number of position of the source or receptor relative to the breast; and using said data in a tomosynthesis process.", "3.A mammography method comprising: providing an image of a patient's breast that occupies less than the entire field of view of an imaging receptor; selecting an outline that encompasses the breast image to thereby define a reduced field of view image; and using said reduced field of view image for further processing, transmission and/or archiving.", "4.", "(canceled) 5.", "(canceled)" ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>X-ray mammography systems typically use an x-ray source mounted at one end of a rotatable c-arm assembly and an image receptor at the other.", "Between the x-ray source and the image receptor is a device for compressing and immobilizing a breast.", "Until recently, the image receptor was typically a screen-film cassette, which generated an image related to the detected transmission of x-rays through the breast.", "The device for compressing the breast against the image receptor, or a breast tray covering the receptor, is often called a paddle, and comes in a variety of sizes to match both the cassette size and the breast size.", "Such matching is desirable because the use of a small size paddle on a large breast can result in uneven and inadequate breast compression and may not allow full-breast imaging, while using a large paddle on a small breast can impede access to the breast, which is important during the compression cycle in order to optimize the amount of breast tissue brought into the field of view of the image receptor.", "New mammography systems are now being introduced to use digital image receptors in place of screen-film, and have many well recognized advantages.", "Such a system is currently available from the assignee hereof under the trade name Selenia.", "Further information thereon, found at www.loradmedical.com/selenia, is hereby incorporated by reference in this disclosure.", "The Selenia system uses a digital flat panel detector made by the Digital Radiography Corp. division of the assignee hereof, located in Newark, Del.", "The panel has a 24×29 cm field of view.", "Various other aspects of a mammography system and method are describe in commonly assigned provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/350,213 filed Oct. 19, 2001 and International Application No.", "PCT/US02/33058 filed Oct. 17, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference.", "Mammography systems often have provisions for partly or fully automating the selection of appropriate technic factors for an x-ray exposure, such as one or more of kVp (the x-ray tube accelerating potential), mA (x-ray tube current), and exposure time.", "When a film-screen image receptor is used, this can be done by relying on exposure detectors at the other side of the film from the x-ray source.", "An imaging exposure of the breast is stopped when these exposure detectors indicate that they have received a sufficient amount of x-radiation.", "This is not believed practical for use with flat panel image receptors for a number of reasons.", "Accordingly, one known approach for use with digital flat panel image receptors is to take a short, low x-ray dosage pre-exposure after the breast has been compressed, and then take an imaging exposure while the breast remains immobilized, using technic factors based on measurements taken with the same receptor in the pre-exposure.", "Another aspect of mammography is proposals for tomographic imaging or tomosynthesis.", "In principle, a tomographic image of a plane in the breast can be obtained by moving at least one of the x-ray source and the image receptor relative to the breast during the x-ray exposure.", "If the x-ray source and the image receptor move in opposite directions in parallel planes, with the appropriate geometry, a plane in the breast that is parallel to the image receptor remains in focus during the entire exposure while the images of all other planes in the breast are blurred and become background noise in the final image.", "One known approach is to keep the image receptor stationary but move the x-ray source in a path suitable for tomosynthesis.", "One problem with this is that this limits the field of view for the tomosynthesis image.", "Another is that this makes it difficult to effectively control the effects of scattered radiation as it becomes difficult to maintain the commonly used anti-scatter grids focused on the focal spot of the x-ray source.", "Yet another problem is that this arrangement allows for only relatively shallow (small) angles relative to a normal to the plane of the receptor.", "Yet another aspect of mammography using flat panel digital image receptors is the transmission and storage of images.", "Many health facilities had image storage systems such as PACS, and protocols such as DICOM exist for formatting medical x-ray images for storage and future use.", "However, in many if not most cases, the breast takes up only a part of the image taken with flat panel digital receptors such that an imaginary rectangle that envelops the image of the breast is smaller than the field of view of the receptor.", "One proposal has been made for use with a fan beam of x-rays scanning a flat panel digital image receptor, and is believed to involve eliminating from storage image areas that do not contain an image of the breast.", "However, that proposal is believed to be specific to the use of a scanning fan beam of x-rays.", "The system and method disclosed in this patent specification are designed to overcome these and other disadvantages of the known prior proposals, cited patents are hereby incorporated by reference in this patent specification." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An object of the disclosed system and method is to provide a particularly effective and advantageous exposure control for mammography using flat panel, digital x-ray receptors, using an estimate of the thickness of the compressed breast and of breast density.", "Another object is to improve tomosynthesis in mammography, preferably while retaining the benefits of a focused anti-scatter grid and avoiding a reduction of the field of view.", "Yet another object is to improve the efficiency of x-ray image storage and transmission, particularly for mammography images, by selective use of decreased effective image size." ], [ "FIELD This patent specification is in the field of mammography systems and methods, and is particularly applicable to using large field, flat panel, digital x-ray receptors.", "BACKGROUND X-ray mammography systems typically use an x-ray source mounted at one end of a rotatable c-arm assembly and an image receptor at the other.", "Between the x-ray source and the image receptor is a device for compressing and immobilizing a breast.", "Until recently, the image receptor was typically a screen-film cassette, which generated an image related to the detected transmission of x-rays through the breast.", "The device for compressing the breast against the image receptor, or a breast tray covering the receptor, is often called a paddle, and comes in a variety of sizes to match both the cassette size and the breast size.", "Such matching is desirable because the use of a small size paddle on a large breast can result in uneven and inadequate breast compression and may not allow full-breast imaging, while using a large paddle on a small breast can impede access to the breast, which is important during the compression cycle in order to optimize the amount of breast tissue brought into the field of view of the image receptor.", "New mammography systems are now being introduced to use digital image receptors in place of screen-film, and have many well recognized advantages.", "Such a system is currently available from the assignee hereof under the trade name Selenia.", "Further information thereon, found at www.loradmedical.com/selenia, is hereby incorporated by reference in this disclosure.", "The Selenia system uses a digital flat panel detector made by the Digital Radiography Corp. division of the assignee hereof, located in Newark, Del.", "The panel has a 24×29 cm field of view.", "Various other aspects of a mammography system and method are describe in commonly assigned provisional Patent Application Ser.", "No.", "60/350,213 filed Oct. 19, 2001 and International Application No.", "PCT/US02/33058 filed Oct. 17, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference.", "Mammography systems often have provisions for partly or fully automating the selection of appropriate technic factors for an x-ray exposure, such as one or more of kVp (the x-ray tube accelerating potential), mA (x-ray tube current), and exposure time.", "When a film-screen image receptor is used, this can be done by relying on exposure detectors at the other side of the film from the x-ray source.", "An imaging exposure of the breast is stopped when these exposure detectors indicate that they have received a sufficient amount of x-radiation.", "This is not believed practical for use with flat panel image receptors for a number of reasons.", "Accordingly, one known approach for use with digital flat panel image receptors is to take a short, low x-ray dosage pre-exposure after the breast has been compressed, and then take an imaging exposure while the breast remains immobilized, using technic factors based on measurements taken with the same receptor in the pre-exposure.", "Another aspect of mammography is proposals for tomographic imaging or tomosynthesis.", "In principle, a tomographic image of a plane in the breast can be obtained by moving at least one of the x-ray source and the image receptor relative to the breast during the x-ray exposure.", "If the x-ray source and the image receptor move in opposite directions in parallel planes, with the appropriate geometry, a plane in the breast that is parallel to the image receptor remains in focus during the entire exposure while the images of all other planes in the breast are blurred and become background noise in the final image.", "One known approach is to keep the image receptor stationary but move the x-ray source in a path suitable for tomosynthesis.", "One problem with this is that this limits the field of view for the tomosynthesis image.", "Another is that this makes it difficult to effectively control the effects of scattered radiation as it becomes difficult to maintain the commonly used anti-scatter grids focused on the focal spot of the x-ray source.", "Yet another problem is that this arrangement allows for only relatively shallow (small) angles relative to a normal to the plane of the receptor.", "Yet another aspect of mammography using flat panel digital image receptors is the transmission and storage of images.", "Many health facilities had image storage systems such as PACS, and protocols such as DICOM exist for formatting medical x-ray images for storage and future use.", "However, in many if not most cases, the breast takes up only a part of the image taken with flat panel digital receptors such that an imaginary rectangle that envelops the image of the breast is smaller than the field of view of the receptor.", "One proposal has been made for use with a fan beam of x-rays scanning a flat panel digital image receptor, and is believed to involve eliminating from storage image areas that do not contain an image of the breast.", "However, that proposal is believed to be specific to the use of a scanning fan beam of x-rays.", "The system and method disclosed in this patent specification are designed to overcome these and other disadvantages of the known prior proposals, cited patents are hereby incorporated by reference in this patent specification.", "SUMMARY An object of the disclosed system and method is to provide a particularly effective and advantageous exposure control for mammography using flat panel, digital x-ray receptors, using an estimate of the thickness of the compressed breast and of breast density.", "Another object is to improve tomosynthesis in mammography, preferably while retaining the benefits of a focused anti-scatter grid and avoiding a reduction of the field of view.", "Yet another object is to improve the efficiency of x-ray image storage and transmission, particularly for mammography images, by selective use of decreased effective image size.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG.", "1 illustrates a digital mammography system in which preferred embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented.", "FIG.", "2 is a flow chart illustrating processes of estimating and using tissue exposure control in a mammography system.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates a focused anti-scatter grid that can be used in the system of FIGS.", "3 and 1.FIG.", "4 illustrates an aspect of tomosyntesis in mammography.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates selection of a decreased size mammography image for storage and transmission.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates processes involved in selecting a reduced size image for transmission and storage.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG.", "1, a mammography system currently available from the common assignee under the trade name Sclenia except for the new features described herein, comprises a stand 10 supporting a C-arm 12 that can move up or down along stand 10, to a selected height, driven by motor(s) controlled by a health professional operating the system.", "C-arm 12 carries an x-ray tube at an upper end 12a, a breast tray 12b at a lower end.", "Tray 12b covers a flat panel x-ray image receptor 12c, spaced from the tray by a focused anti-scatter grid 12d (which may be retractable so that it can be removed from the space between tray 12b and receptor 12c).", "C-arm 12 also carries a compression paddle 12e that is between source 12a and breast tray 12b and is motorized to move away from tray 12b so a patient's breast can be fitted between tray 12b and paddle 12e, and closer to tray 12b so the patient's breast can be compressed and immobilized.", "The movement of paddle 12e is motorized and controlled by the health professional.", "Different size paddles 12e can be fitted to suit different breast sizes for best compression.", "In addition, the health professional can move paddle 12 along the width of tray 12b to a position in which paddle 12e matches the position of a breast that is not centered on tray 12b, as in the Selenia system currently offered by the common assignee.", "The system further includes other components, such as a control station 14 comprising interface devices such a keyboard 14a and trackball 14b, a display screen 14c, and control and image processing facilities.", "In order to carry out tissue exposure control, the currently available Selenia mammography system is modified to incorporate the equipment and process steps illustrated in FIG.", "2.In particular, a paddle position encoder 20 measures the position of paddle 12e relative to tray 12b as the health professional positions, compresses and immobilizes the patient's breast for imaging.", "The thickness of the immobilized breast can be measured or estimated in other ways instead.", "For example, the final position of paddle 12e can be measured in some way, e.g.", "mechanically or optically or in some other way.", "The thickness of the immobilized breast may be measured or estimated directly in any one of a number of ways.", "A calculator 22, which can be implemented by suitably programming the processing unit 14 (FIG.", "1) calculates the thickness of the compressed and immobilized breast on the basis of the output of encoder 20, or some other means for measuring breast thickness indicators, and provides information about breast thickness for a tissue exposure control calculator 24, which again can be implement through such programming.", "To estimate technic factors, calculator 24 also relies on information about the x-ray density of the breast.", "Such information can come from one or more different sources.", "One example is manual input 26, e.g., keyboard 14a (FIG.", "1), through which the health professional can input information characterizing the density of the breast.", "For example, the system can present the health professional with three choices—fatty, normal, and dense—and the health professional can make the appropriate choice based on any one or more factors such as physical examination of the breast, information from previous views in the same examination or taken at a much earlier time, or other information about the patient.", "Another example of a source of information about breast density is previous x-ray images (views) of the patient's breast or breasts.", "A previous view can be one taken at any earlier time, either in the same visit of the patient or at a previous visit Information about density can be derived from the previous view(s) by the health professional, or it can be derived automatically—by measuring the overall density of a previous x-ray image and perhaps knowing the technic factors used to take it.", "If actually measured, the density information from the previous view(s) can be provided to calculator 24 manually or automatically, through a connection from the measuring device to calculator 24.Another source of density information is a dual energy arrangement 30 that pulses the immobilized breast with a low dose x-ray energy at each of two different energies, e.g.", "sequentially, and the measurements of x-rays with receptor 12c (FIG.", "1) at each of the energies are used in a known process, similar to that used in bone densitometry, to estimate breast density and automatically or manually provide the estimate to calculator 24.X-ray tube 12a can be used for such dual energy process, using two different x-ray filters to emit x-rays at the appropriate to different energies or energy bands.", "Yet another source of information about breast density can be an arrangement 32 that measures the force with which paddle 12e compresses the breast and the time such force acts from the start of compression until the breast is immobilized for imaging, and supplies such force/time information to calculator 24, manually automatically.", "Calculator 24 can be implemented as look-up table that in effect has an entry for each of a number of combinations of breast thickness and breast density values.", "The initial values of the entries can be estimated by actual tests, in essence a trial-and-error process, or in some other way.", "Calculator 24 provides its output to technic factor display 34, which can be display 14c (FIG.", "1), at which the health professional can see the automatically estimated factors such as one or more of kV, mAs, filter, time, etc.", "An entry device, which can be keyboard 14a, allows the health professional to confirm or modify the automatically estimated parameters, and control 38 (which can be a part of unit 14 of FIG.", "1) uses the resulting final tissue exposure control technic factors for an imaging x-ray exposure.", "The examples disclosed in this patent specification refer to compressing and immobilizing the breast before determining technic factors and imaging.", "However, alternatives are contemplated in which the breast need not be compressed before imaging; the breast may be simply supported in some manner, such as by a breast tray, or may be suspended in some manner between an x-ray source and an image receptor.", "In such a case, the breast thickness and density information can come from different sources, such as measurements or estimates of the thickness of the uncompressed breast, or an average of the thickness of the breast portion that will be imaged, of the thickness of the part that is of particular interest for imaging.", "The density information may come from the health professional, or from prior x-ray images of the breast, or from some other source.", "The same alternative of imaging the uncompressed breast applies to the other two features discussed below—tomosynthesis and selecting a reduced field of view image for transmission and/or storage—where the alternative dispenses with compression but otherwise conforms to the description below.", "Another feature of the mammography system disclosed here is tomosynthesis that both allows a large field of view and the use of a focused anti-scatter grid.", "As illustrated in FIG.", "3, anti-scatter grid 12d is focused to allow the passage of x-rays along paths 40 that emanate from the focal spot of x-ray source 2a and to suppress (scattered) x-rays that travel along other paths.", "If such a grid changes its orientation relative to the x-ray source, it would undesirably suppress x-rays that it should be passing.", "Such change in orientation would result if x-ray tube 12e moves in a direction transverse to the x-ray beam it emits while grid 12d and detector 12c remain stationary.", "In addition, such motion would reduce the field of view, so a portion of the breast projected on the receptor in one position of the moving source may fall outside the receptor outline at another position of the source.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates an arrangement that overcomes these deficiencies of a known proposal.", "In FIG.", "4, x-ray tube 12a and the combination of anti-scatter grid 12d and receptor 12c rotate as a unit while a compressed and immobilized breast remains between them and in the path of x-rays emitted from tube 12a and impinging on receptor 12c.", "Anti-scatter grid 12d remains focused on the focal spot of tube 12a, and the effective field of view does not change with angular position of the source-receptor unit.", "In the currently offered Selenia unit, source 12a and grid 12d and receptor 12c rotate as a unit, also together with compression paddle 12c and breast tray 12b, so a modification is needed to achieve the geometry of FIG.", "4.This modification involves decoupling a means to compress and immobilize the breast from motion of tube 12a, grid 12d and receptor 12c.", "For example, this can be done by removing compression paddle 12e and compressing and immobilizing the breast between compression paddles 44 that are appropriately positioned relative to the center of rotation of tube 12a but do not rotate with tube 12a, as illustrated in FIG.", "4.As an alternative to rotation, one or both of tube 12a and receptor 12c can translate relative to the breast immobilized between paddles 44.In such case, focused grid 12d can be decoupled from receptor 12c and allowed to remain focused at tube 12a, or a different grid can be used that is not focused or is less focused, and/or the motion of tube 12a and/or receptor 12c can be over a more limited path.", "Discrete x-ray images of the breast are taken at each of a number of different positions of tube 12 relative to the breast.", "The image data is used for tomosynthesis through the application of known image processing methods.", "An important advantage of the example of FIG.", "4 is that it allows imaging at relatively large angles between the extreme rotational or translational positions of x-ray tube 12a as compared with known systems.", "Yet another feature of the mammography system disclosed here is to transmit and store only a portion of the field of view.", "With a relatively large field-of-view receptor 12c, such as used in the Selenia system (24×29 cm), typically the image of the breast lies within a rectangle that is smaller than the field of view, as illustrated in FIG.", "5, where the image 46 of a breast is within a notional rectangular outline 48 (reduced field of view) that is much smaller than the field of view 50 of receptor 12c.", "The area of field of view 50 that is outside the reduced filed of view area 48 may contain little or no information 20o about the breast.", "To save on transmitting and storing the breast image, only the information within the reduced field of view 48 may be used, and any information outside outline 48 can be discarded.", "If there is any significant information outside outline 48, only that information can be attached to the information for the image portion inside outline 48.One way to select the position and size of outline 48 is to rely on the selection of the size and position of compression paddle 12e that the health professional has made.", "As earlier noted, the currently offered Selenia system allows the health professional to select both the size of a paddle and, at least for some paddles, also the position of the paddle relative to receptor 12c, so as to match the size and position on receptor 12c of the breast being x-rayed.", "The size and position of paddle 12e can be automatically determined, and the result used to in effect crop the resulting breast image before transmitting and/or storing and/or formatting it for transmission or storage, for example according to DICOM standards.", "Alternatively, the size and position of the breast in the image can be found through image analysis, such as analysis involving edge detection, and the size and position of outline 48 can be found in this manner.", "Still alternatively, the size and position of outline 48 may be entered by the health professional.", "e.g., through keyboard 14a, based on viewing the image displayed on monitor 14c.", "Or, a combination of said methods can be used, e.g., an automatic determination based on one or both of image analysis and paddle selection, followed with a presentation of a recommended outline 48 displayed to the health professional together with the entire image, for confirmation or modification by the health professional.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates an arrangement for providing a reduced field of view image.", "A compression paddle size and position encoder incorporated in C-arm 12 or elsewhere in association with the means for mounting and moving paddle 12e provides information about the paddle 12e that the health professional has selected, and about the position of the paddle's projection on receptor 12c.", "A manual input provides information entered by the health professional, which can be similar to that provided by encoder 52 or can be information regarding which of several rectangles within the entire breast image encompasses the breast, or what arbitrary rectangle can encompass the breast on the image.", "An image analyzer 56 provides information about the area in the overall image occupied by the breast.", "A calculator 58 uses the information from one or more of units 52, 54 and 57 to calculate the size and position of a reduced field of view that still encompasses the breast, and the calculation is displayed at 60, e.g., as an outline 48 in an image such as illustrated in FIG.", "5, for the health professional to confirm or modify.", "e.g.", "through manual entries.", "The result is a finalized reduced field of view image at 62 that can be used for further processing, for transmission, and/or storage.", "While a rectangular outline 48 has been discussed above, in fact outline 48 can have other suitable shapes." ] ]
Patent_15875095
[ [ "Apparatus and Method for Image Content Replacement", "An image content replacement apparatus and method wherein a camera image receiving unit receives video images observing a scene including a subject and a mask signal generating unit generates a mask signal that defines marked areas of the video images corresponding to the subject.", "A content substitution unit substitutes the marked areas with alternate image content according to the mask signal to output modified camera images.", "An image selector unit selects the alternate image content amongst at least a first alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a first condition within the scene and a second alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a second condition within the scene.", "In examples, the first and second alternate image contents are selected based on a determined camera zoom value or a camera angle." ], [ "1.", "(canceled) 2.A computer-implemented method for image content replacement, comprising: receiving video images taken by a camera, the video images having a field of view that changes over time to track a scene including a subject of interest; determining a current zoom level of the video images at least while the subject is currently within the field of view of the video images; selecting, based on the current zoom level, one of either a first substitute content or a second substitute content to be inserted into a current segment of the video images to overlay the subject to provide modified video images; and repeating the determining and selecting for each of a plurality of segments of the video images over time.", "3.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the determining and selecting are performed at a scene change point of the video images.", "4.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of segments of the video images are divided by scene change points, and the determining and selecting are repeated at each of the scene change points.", "5.The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the scene change points include changing from a first camera providing the video images to a second camera providing the video images.", "6.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein, after the determining and selecting, the selected first or second substitute content is maintained throughout the current segment of the video images.", "7.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to selecting the first substitute content for a first segment of the video images, overlaying the subject with the first substitute content in the first segment of the video images and, in response to selecting the second substitute content for a second segment of the video images, overlaying the same subject instead with the second substitute content in the second segment of the video images.", "8.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises selecting the first substitute content to overlay the subject when the current zoom level is in a first range and selecting the second substitute content to overlay the subject when the current zoom level is in a second range.", "9.The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the first and second substitute content are different from each other, and wherein the first and second ranges are non-overlapping.", "10.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the current zoom level is determined by analysing the video images.", "11.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the current zoom level is determined by analysing a mask signal which defines a target masking area within the video images that corresponds to the subject of interest.", "12.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the current zoom level is determined based on a camera telemetry signal representing a focal length of the camera.", "13.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising overlaying the subject in the video images in a target masking area defined by a masking signal using the selected first and second substitute content in first and second segments of the video images, respectively.", "14.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises determining a current height of the subject within the video images and comparing the current height with a height threshold for selecting between the first and second substitute content.", "15.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises determining a current width of the subject within the video images, deriving an expected width of the subject within the video images according to the current height, and comparing the current width with the expected width for selecting between the first and second substitute content.", "16.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises determining a current visible area of the subject within the video images and comparing the current visible area of the subject with predetermined prime areas within the first and second substitute content for selecting between the first and second substitute content.", "17.The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising identifying that the subject within the video images is partially obscured behind an intervening object, wherein the current visible area corresponds to a non-obscured region of the subject in the video images for selecting between the first and second substitute content.", "18.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises determining that the subject within the video images is only partially in frame for selecting between the first and second substitute content.", "19.The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the selecting further comprises determining a current shooting angle of the camera which provides the video images for selecting between the first and second substitute content.", "20.A computer apparatus comprising: a processor and memory containing instructions which when executed by the processor perform operations comprising: receiving video images taken by a camera, the video images having a field of view that changes over time to track a scene including a subject of interest; determining a current zoom level of the video images at least while the subject is currently within the field of view of the video images; selecting, based on the current zoom level, either a first substitute content or a second substitute content to be inserted into a current segment of the video images to overlay the subject to provide modified video images; and repeating the determining and selecting for each of a plurality of segments of the video images over time.", "21.A non-transitory machine-readable medium having recorded thereon instructions which when executed by a processor perform operations for image content replacement comprising: receiving video images taken by a camera, the video images having a field of view that changes over time to track a scene including a subject of interest; determining a current zoom level of the video images at least while the subject is currently within the field of view of the video images; selecting, based on the current zoom level, one of either a first substitute content and a second substitute content to be inserted into a current segment of the video images to overlay the subject to provide modified video images; and repeating the determining and selecting for each of a plurality of segments of the video images over time." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>WO 01/58147 (Rantalainen) describes a method for modifying television video images, wherein a billboard or other visible object is identified with non-visible electromagnetic radiation, such as infra-red light, and selected areas within the video image are replaced with alternate images appropriate to specific viewer groups or geographical regions.", "For example, billboards at a ground or arena of a major sporting event are observed as part of a television broadcast.", "Selected areas within the television video images are electronically substituted by alternate images that are more appropriate for a particular country or region.", "In particular, such an electronic system is useful to create multiple television feeds each having different advertisement content tailored according to an intended audience.", "Considering the related art, there is still a difficulty in providing a reliable and effective mechanism for image content replacement.", "In particular, there is still a difficulty in providing a system which replaces image content in a way which is pleasing and unobtrusive for the viewer.", "It is now desired to provide an image content replacement apparatus and method which addresses these, or other, limitations of the current art, as will be appreciated from the discussion and description herein." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus and method as set forth in the appended claims.", "Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows.", "In one aspect there is provided an improved mechanism for replacing content within camera video images.", "The mechanism may select most-appropriate or best-fit substitute image content for a particular point in time.", "The substitute content may be selected by considering the current field of view of the camera images and/or a position or orientation of a subject with respect to the field of view.", "The substitute content may be selected based on telemetry from the camera and/or by analysing the video images themselves.", "The mechanism may locate, define and replace one or more areas within a moving image which correspond to the subject or subjects.", "In one embodiment, the subject is a billboard.", "In one example, a subject billboard reflects or emits electromagnetic radiation in one or more predetermined wavelength bands.", "A camera observes the subject to provide camera video images.", "At least one detector unit also observes the scene to derive a detector signal relating to the radiation from the subject to thereby distinguish the subject from its surroundings.", "A content replacement apparatus selectively replaces one or more marked areas within the camera video images with alternate image content, such as displaying an alternate advertisement on the billboards, according to a mask signal that is accurately and efficiently identified by the detector signals.", "In one aspect there is provided an image content replacement apparatus.", "A camera image receiving unit receives video images observing a scene including a subject, a mask signal generating unit generates a mask signal that defines marked areas of the video images corresponding to the subject, a content substitution unit substitutes the marked areas with alternate image content according to the mask signal to output modified video images, and an image selector unit selects the alternate image content amongst at least a first alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a first condition within the scene and a second alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a second condition within the scene.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects the alternate image content at a scene change point of the video images.", "A scene change point may be a point in time when the video images change significantly.", "In one example, a scene change point may occur at a point in time when the video images change from one camera to another camera.", "In one example, the image selector unit may select the alternate image content at a scene change point of the video images according to the camera that is currently used to provide the video images among a set of cameras.", "In one example, the image selector unit is arranged to obtain a camera zoom signal defining a relative size of the subject within the video images and to select amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera zoom signal.", "The camera zoom signal may define a relative height of the subject within the video images.", "In one example, the camera zoom signal is based on a camera telemetry signal which defines a focal length of a camera which observes the scene to provide the video images.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be fully visible within the video images and selects the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be partially obscured within the video images.", "In one example, image selector unit selects the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be fully visible within the video images and selects the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be incomplete within the video images.", "In one example, the image selector unit detects the subject within the video images using the masking signal.", "In one example, the image selector unit obtains a camera angle signal defining a relative angle of the camera with respect to the subject within the video images, and selects amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera angle signal.", "In one example, the camera angle signal defines a shooting angle of a camera which observes the scene to provide the video images.", "The shooting angle may be derived from a camera telemetry signal of the camera.", "The camera angle signal may be a pan or tilt signal from the camera.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects amongst a sequence of replacement images which are triggered by the current value of the camera angle signal.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be substantially planar to an image plane of the video images and selects the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be at an acute angle with respect to the image plane of the video images.", "In one aspect there is provided an image content replacement method.", "In the method, video images are provided from a camera of a scene including a subject.", "A mask area is defined corresponding to the subject within the scene, such as by providing a masking signal.", "A chosen alternate image is selected amongst at least a first alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a normal condition within the scene and a second alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in an exceptional condition within the scene.", "The mask area in the video images is substituted with the chosen alternate image content.", "The method may include obtaining a camera zoom signal defining a relative size of the subject within the video images, and selecting amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera zoom signal.", "The camera zoom signal may be compared against a threshold to select amongst the first and second alternate images.", "In one example, the camera zoom signal defines a height of the subject within the video images.", "In another example, the camera zoom signal comprises a camera telemetry signal which defines a focal length of the camera.", "The method may include detecting that the subject is partially obscured within the video images.", "The method may include generating a masking signal which defines the mask area of the video images and detecting that the subject is partially obscured within the video images using the masking signal.", "The method may include choosing the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be fully visible within the video images and choosing the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be partially obscured by another object within the video images.", "The method may include defining a prime visible area of the subject using the masking signal, and comparing the prime visible area of the subject with a prime area of each of the first and second replacement images.", "The method may include detecting that the subject is incomplete within the video images.", "The method may include generating a masking signal which defines the mask area of the video images and detecting that the subject is incomplete within the video images as the exceptional condition using the masking signal.", "The method may include obtaining a camera angle signal defining a relative angle of the camera with respect to the subject within the video images, and selecting amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera angle signal.", "The camera angle signal may define a shooting angle of the camera.", "The camera angle signal may be derived from a camera telemetry signal.", "The camera angle signal may be based on a current pan angle and/or current tilt angle of the camera.", "The method may include providing replacement images in a sequence triggered by the camera angle signal.", "In this method, the selecting step may be performed at a scene change point of the video images.", "In one aspect there is provided a tangible non-transient computer readable medium having recorded thereon instructions which when executed cause a computer to perform the steps of any of the methods defined herein." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/407,235, filed Dec. 11, 2014, which was the National Stage of International Application No.", "PCT/EP2013/062184, filed Jun.", "12, 2013, which claims the benefit of G.B.", "Application No.", "1210332.1, filed Jun.", "12, 2012, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system which modifies the content of an image.", "More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus which electronically substitutes content in one or more areas of an image.", "In some aspects, the present invention relates to an image content detection method and apparatus suitable for use with television broadcast video images.", "BACKGROUND WO 01/58147 (Rantalainen) describes a method for modifying television video images, wherein a billboard or other visible object is identified with non-visible electromagnetic radiation, such as infra-red light, and selected areas within the video image are replaced with alternate images appropriate to specific viewer groups or geographical regions.", "For example, billboards at a ground or arena of a major sporting event are observed as part of a television broadcast.", "Selected areas within the television video images are electronically substituted by alternate images that are more appropriate for a particular country or region.", "In particular, such an electronic system is useful to create multiple television feeds each having different advertisement content tailored according to an intended audience.", "Considering the related art, there is still a difficulty in providing a reliable and effective mechanism for image content replacement.", "In particular, there is still a difficulty in providing a system which replaces image content in a way which is pleasing and unobtrusive for the viewer.", "It is now desired to provide an image content replacement apparatus and method which addresses these, or other, limitations of the current art, as will be appreciated from the discussion and description herein.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus and method as set forth in the appended claims.", "Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows.", "In one aspect there is provided an improved mechanism for replacing content within camera video images.", "The mechanism may select most-appropriate or best-fit substitute image content for a particular point in time.", "The substitute content may be selected by considering the current field of view of the camera images and/or a position or orientation of a subject with respect to the field of view.", "The substitute content may be selected based on telemetry from the camera and/or by analysing the video images themselves.", "The mechanism may locate, define and replace one or more areas within a moving image which correspond to the subject or subjects.", "In one embodiment, the subject is a billboard.", "In one example, a subject billboard reflects or emits electromagnetic radiation in one or more predetermined wavelength bands.", "A camera observes the subject to provide camera video images.", "At least one detector unit also observes the scene to derive a detector signal relating to the radiation from the subject to thereby distinguish the subject from its surroundings.", "A content replacement apparatus selectively replaces one or more marked areas within the camera video images with alternate image content, such as displaying an alternate advertisement on the billboards, according to a mask signal that is accurately and efficiently identified by the detector signals.", "In one aspect there is provided an image content replacement apparatus.", "A camera image receiving unit receives video images observing a scene including a subject, a mask signal generating unit generates a mask signal that defines marked areas of the video images corresponding to the subject, a content substitution unit substitutes the marked areas with alternate image content according to the mask signal to output modified video images, and an image selector unit selects the alternate image content amongst at least a first alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a first condition within the scene and a second alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a second condition within the scene.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects the alternate image content at a scene change point of the video images.", "A scene change point may be a point in time when the video images change significantly.", "In one example, a scene change point may occur at a point in time when the video images change from one camera to another camera.", "In one example, the image selector unit may select the alternate image content at a scene change point of the video images according to the camera that is currently used to provide the video images among a set of cameras.", "In one example, the image selector unit is arranged to obtain a camera zoom signal defining a relative size of the subject within the video images and to select amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera zoom signal.", "The camera zoom signal may define a relative height of the subject within the video images.", "In one example, the camera zoom signal is based on a camera telemetry signal which defines a focal length of a camera which observes the scene to provide the video images.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be fully visible within the video images and selects the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be partially obscured within the video images.", "In one example, image selector unit selects the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be fully visible within the video images and selects the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be incomplete within the video images.", "In one example, the image selector unit detects the subject within the video images using the masking signal.", "In one example, the image selector unit obtains a camera angle signal defining a relative angle of the camera with respect to the subject within the video images, and selects amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera angle signal.", "In one example, the camera angle signal defines a shooting angle of a camera which observes the scene to provide the video images.", "The shooting angle may be derived from a camera telemetry signal of the camera.", "The camera angle signal may be a pan or tilt signal from the camera.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects amongst a sequence of replacement images which are triggered by the current value of the camera angle signal.", "In one example, the image selector unit selects the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be substantially planar to an image plane of the video images and selects the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be at an acute angle with respect to the image plane of the video images.", "In one aspect there is provided an image content replacement method.", "In the method, video images are provided from a camera of a scene including a subject.", "A mask area is defined corresponding to the subject within the scene, such as by providing a masking signal.", "A chosen alternate image is selected amongst at least a first alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in a normal condition within the scene and a second alternate image content when the subject is determined to be in an exceptional condition within the scene.", "The mask area in the video images is substituted with the chosen alternate image content.", "The method may include obtaining a camera zoom signal defining a relative size of the subject within the video images, and selecting amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera zoom signal.", "The camera zoom signal may be compared against a threshold to select amongst the first and second alternate images.", "In one example, the camera zoom signal defines a height of the subject within the video images.", "In another example, the camera zoom signal comprises a camera telemetry signal which defines a focal length of the camera.", "The method may include detecting that the subject is partially obscured within the video images.", "The method may include generating a masking signal which defines the mask area of the video images and detecting that the subject is partially obscured within the video images using the masking signal.", "The method may include choosing the first alternate image content when the subject is detected to be fully visible within the video images and choosing the second alternate image content when the subject is detected to be partially obscured by another object within the video images.", "The method may include defining a prime visible area of the subject using the masking signal, and comparing the prime visible area of the subject with a prime area of each of the first and second replacement images.", "The method may include detecting that the subject is incomplete within the video images.", "The method may include generating a masking signal which defines the mask area of the video images and detecting that the subject is incomplete within the video images as the exceptional condition using the masking signal.", "The method may include obtaining a camera angle signal defining a relative angle of the camera with respect to the subject within the video images, and selecting amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera angle signal.", "The camera angle signal may define a shooting angle of the camera.", "The camera angle signal may be derived from a camera telemetry signal.", "The camera angle signal may be based on a current pan angle and/or current tilt angle of the camera.", "The method may include providing replacement images in a sequence triggered by the camera angle signal.", "In this method, the selecting step may be performed at a scene change point of the video images.", "In one aspect there is provided a tangible non-transient computer readable medium having recorded thereon instructions which when executed cause a computer to perform the steps of any of the methods defined herein.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a schematic diagram of an example television broadcasting system; FIG.", "2 is a schematic diagram of the example television broadcasting system incorporating a content replacement system; FIG.", "3 is a schematic view showing an example content replacement system in more detail; FIG.", "4 is a schematic view showing the example content replacement method and apparatus in more detail; FIG.", "5 is a schematic view showing the example content replacement method and apparatus in more detail; FIG.", "6 is a schematic view showing the example content replacement method and apparatus in more detail; FIGS.", "7A & 7B are a time sequence of schematic views showing the example content replacement method and apparatus in more detail; FIG.", "8 is a schematic view showing the example content replacement method and apparatus in more detail; and FIG.", "9 is a flowchart illustrating an example content replacement method.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The example embodiments will be described with reference to a content replacement apparatus and method used to replace content within television video images, particularly to provide photo-realistic replacement of a billboard.", "However, the apparatus described herein may be applied in many other specific implementations, which may involve other forms of video images or relate to other subjects of interest, as will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the teachings herein.", "FIG.", "1 is a schematic overview of an example television broadcasting system in which example embodiments of the present invention may be applied.", "FIG.", "1 shows one or more observed subjects 10, one or more cameras 20, a vision mixer 30 and a broadcast delivery system 50.It will be appreciated that the television broadcasting system of FIG.", "1 has been simplified for ease of explanation and that many other specific configurations will be available to persons skilled in the art.", "In the illustrated example embodiment, the observed subject of interest is a billboard 10 which carries original content 11 such as an advertisement (in this case the word “Sport”).", "The billboard 10 and the original content 11 are provided to be seen by persons in the vicinity.", "For example, many billboards are provided at a sporting stadium or arena visible to spectators present at the event.", "In one example, the billboards are provided around a perimeter of a pitch so as to be prominent to spectators in the ground and also in TV coverage of the event.", "A television camera 20 observes a scene in a desired field of view to provide a respective camera feed 21.The field of view may change over time in order to track a scene of interest.", "The camera 20 may have a fixed location or may be movable (e.g.", "on a trackway) or may be mobile (e.g.", "a hand-held camera or gyroscopic stabilised camera).", "The camera 20 may have a fixed lens or zoom lens, and may have local pan and/or tilt motion.", "Typically, several cameras 20 are provided to cover the event or scene from different viewpoints, producing a corresponding plurality of camera feeds 21.The billboard 10 may become obscured in the field of view of the camera 20 by an intervening object, such as by a ball, person or player 12.Thus, the camera feed 21 obtained by the camera 20 will encounter different conditions at different times during a particular event, such as (a) the subject billboard moving into or out of the field of view, (b) showing only part of the subject (c) the subject being obscured, wholly or partially, by an obstacle and/or (d) the observed subject being both partially observed and partially obscured.", "Hence, there is a difficulty in accurately determining the position of the desired subject within the video images of the captured camera feed 21, and so define a masking area where the content within the captured feed is to be electronically replaced with alternate image content.", "There is a difficulty in providing substitute content smoothly and unobtrusively, e.g.", "so the viewer can continue watching the game without being unduly distracted by the electronic replacement of billboard advertisements.", "Further, there is a difficulty in providing substitute content which is in itself interesting and attractive for the viewer.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the captured camera feeds 21 are provided to a vision mixing system 30, which in this example includes a camera feed selector unit 30a and a graphics overlay mixer unit 30b.", "Typically, the vision mixer 30 is located in a professional television production environment such as a television studio, a cable broadcast facility, a commercial production facility, a remote truck or outside broadcast van (OB van) or a linear video editing bay.", "The vision mixer 30 is operated by a vision engineer to select amongst the camera feeds 21 at each point in time to produce a clean feed 31, also known as a director's cut clean feed.", "The vision mixing system 30 may incorporate, or be coupled to, a graphics generator unit which provides a plurality of graphics layers 22, such as a station logo (“Logo”), a current score (“Score”) and a pop-up or scrolling information bar (“News: story1 story2”).", "Typically, the one or more graphics layers 22 are applied over the clean feed 31 to produce a respective dirty feed 32.A separate graphics computer system may produce the graphics layers 22, and/or the graphics layers 22 may be produced by the vision mixer 30.The graphics layers 22 may be semi-transparent and hence may overlap the observed billboard 10 in the video images.", "The graphics layers 22 may be dynamic, such as a moving logo, updating time or current score information, or a moving information bar.", "Such dynamic graphics layers give rise to further complexity in defining the desired masking area at each point in time.", "The dirty feed 32 is output to be transmitted as a broadcast feed, e.g.", "using a downstream broadcast delivery 50.The dirty feed 32 may be broadcast live and/or is recorded for transmission later.", "The broadcast delivery system 50 may distribute and deliver the feed 32 in any suitable form including, for example, terrestrial, cable, satellite or Internet delivery mechanisms to any suitable media playback device including, for example, televisions, computers or hand-held devices.", "The broadcast feed may be broadcast to multiple viewers simultaneously, or may be transmitted to users individually, e.g.", "as video on demand.", "FIG.", "2 shows the example television broadcasting system in more detail.", "A content replacement apparatus 40 is arranged to identify relevant portions of received video images corresponding to the observed subject of interest 10, and to selectively replace the identified portions with alternate content 42.In this case, the content replacement apparatus 40 receives a video image feed 31 and identifies therein the billboard 10 as the subject of interest.", "These video images are modified so that the billboard 10, which originally displayed the word “Sport”, now appears to display the alternate content 42, as illustrated by the word “Other”.", "In this example, the content replacement apparatus 40 is coupled to receive video images 31 from the vision mixer 30 and to return amended video images 41 to the vision mixer 30.The content replacement apparatus 40 may be combined with the vision mixer 30, or may be provided as a separate and isolated piece of equipment.", "The content replacement apparatus 40 may be provided in the immediate vicinity of the vision mixer 30, or may be located remotely.", "The content replacement apparatus 40 may receive video images directly from the vision mixer 30, or via one or more intermediate pieces of equipment.", "The input video images 31 may be recorded and then processed by the content replacement apparatus 40 later, and/or the output images 41 may be recorded and provided to the vision mixer 30 later.", "In the example embodiment, the content replacement apparatus 40 receives the clean feed 31 directly from the vision mixer 30 and produces a modified clean feed 41 as output.", "The graphics layers 22 are then added to these modified video images 41 through the graphics overlay unit 30b to create a modified dirty feed 33 ready for broadcast.", "In another example embodiment, the content replacement apparatus 40 receives both the clean feed 31 and the dirty feed 32, substitutes the subject 10 of interest, and then restores the graphics layers 22.Many other specific configurations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.", "For example, the content replacement apparatus 40 may be provided prior to the mixer 30 and thus provide the alternate image feed 41 as an input to the mixer 30.In this case the mixer 30 may then apply the graphics layers 22 over the already modified video images 41 to produce the modified dirty feed.", "However, such as system then tends to be limited in the number of alternate dirty feeds 33 based on the capabilities of the mixer 30.By contrast, placing the content replacement apparatus 40 after the mixer 30 as illustrated in FIG.", "2 eliminates the 30 mixer as a limiting factor.", "In the example embodiment, a high value is achieved when images of a sporting event, such as a football or soccer match, are shown live to a large audience.", "The audience may be geographically diverse, e.g.", "worldwide, and hence it is desirable to create multiple different alternate broadcast feeds 33 for supply to the broadcasting system 50 to be delivered in different territories using local delivery broadcast stations 51, e.g.", "country by country or region by region.", "In a live event, the content replacement apparatus 40 should operate reliably and efficiently, and should cause minimal delay.", "In the example embodiments, the alternate content 42 comprises one or more still images (e.g.", "JPEG image files) and/or one or more moving images (e.g.", "MPEG motion picture files).", "As another example, the alternate content 42 may comprise three-dimensional objects in a 3D interchange format, such as COLLADA, Wavefront OBJ or 3DS.", "The alternate content 42 is suitably prepared in advance and recorded on a storage medium 49 coupled to the content replacement apparatus 40.Thus, the content replacement apparatus 40 produces one or more output feeds 41 where the observed subject 10, in this case the billboard 10, is replaced instead with the alternate content 42.Ideally, the images within the alternate feed 41 should appear photo-realistic, in that the ordinary viewer normally would not notice that the content carried by the billboard 10 has been electronically substituted.", "Hence, it is important to accurately determine a masking area defining the position of the billboard 10 within the received video images input to the content replacement apparatus 40.Also, it is important to identify accurately when portions of the observed subject 10 have been obscured by an intervening object 12 such as a player, referee, etc.", "Notably, the intervening object or objects may be fast-moving and may appear at different distances between the camera 20 and the subject 10.Further, it is desirable to produce the alternate feed 41 containing the alternate content 42 in a way which is more agreeable and/or less obtrusive for the viewer.", "As shown in FIG.", "2, the example content replacement apparatus 40 is arranged to process one or more detector signals 61.In one example embodiment, the detector signals 61 may be derived from the video images captured by the camera 20, e.g.", "using visible or near-visible light radiation capable of being captured optically through the camera 20, wherein the camera 20 acts as a detector 60.In another example embodiment, one or more detector units 60 are provided separate to the camera 20.The detector signals 61 may be derived from any suitable wavelength radiation.", "The wavelengths may be visible or non-visible.", "In the following example embodiment, the detector signals 61 are derived from infra-red wavelengths, and the detector signals 61 are infra red video signals.", "Another example embodiment may detect ultra-violet radiation.", "In one example embodiment, polarised visible or non-visible radiation is detected.", "A combination of different wavelength groups may be used, such as a first detector signal derived from any one of infra-red, visible or ultra-violet wavelengths and a second detector signal derived from any one of infra-red, visible or ultra-violet wavelengths.", "In the illustrated example embodiment, one or more detectors 60 are associated with the camera 20.In the example embodiment, each camera 20 is co-located with at least one detector 60.The detector 60 may survey a field of view which is consistent with the field of view of the camera 20 and so include the observed subject of interest 10.The detector field of view and the camera field of view may be correlated.", "Thus, the detector signals 61 are correlated with the respective camera feed 21.In the example embodiment, the detector signals 61 are fed to the content replacement apparatus 40.In the example embodiment, the detector signals 61 are relayed live to the content replacement apparatus 40.In another example embodiment, the detector signals 61 may be recorded into a detector signal storage medium 65 to be replayed at the content replacement apparatus 40 at a later time.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic view showing an example content replacement system in more detail.", "In this example, the system uses infra-red detectors to determine a position of the subject billboard within the video images.", "In this example, the subject billboard 10 comprises a substrate which carries a printed medium, such as a printed sheet, to display a desired printed message or advertisement.", "The billboard 10 may be passive, being illuminated by ambient radiation (e.g.", "from natural sunlight or stadium lights) and reflecting the ambient radiation toward the camera 20 and detector 60.Alternately, the billboard 10 may be active by including a plurality of light units, such as light emitting diode (LED) packages.", "A lens unit and/or a diffuser (not shown) may be provided to distribute light from the LED units evenly across an illuminated area of the billboard.", "These light units may form a light box to illuminate the printed sheet from behind with infra-red light.", "In the example embodiment, at least one infra-red detector 60 is associated with each of the cameras 20, producing one or more streams of the detector signals 61.As an example, the one or more detectors 60 may be narrow-spectrum near infra-red (NIR) cameras.", "The detector 60 may be mounted adjacent to the camera 20 so as to have a field of view consistent with the camera 20 and/or may share optical components with the camera 20.The detector 60 may be arranged to move with the camera 20, e.g.", "to follow the same pan & tilt motions.", "In the example embodiments, each of the cameras 20 may provide a telemetry signal 22 which records relevant parameters of the camera, such as the focal length, aperture, motion and position.", "In one example, the telemetry signal 22 includes pan and tilt information.", "The telemetry 22 may also include zoom information or zoom information may be derived from analysing the moving images themselves.", "The telemetry 22 may be used, directly or indirectly, to calculate or otherwise provide pan, roll, tilt and zoom (PRTZ) information.", "The camera telemetry signal 22 may be passed to the content replacement apparatus 40, directly or via an intermediate storage or recording, in order to provide additional information about the field of view being observed by the camera 20.In the example embodiment, the content replacement apparatus 40 comprises a camera image receiving unit 44, a signal processing unit 45, a mask signal generating unit 46, and a content substitution unit 47.The camera image receiving unit 44 receives video images 21, which in this case are the video images taken by the cameras 20 to provide respective camera feeds.", "As described above, the camera feeds 21 may be multiplexed together to provide a clean feed 31 comprising moving images from different cameras 20 at different points in time.", "The clean feed 31 may be modified with additional graphics layers to produce a dirty feed 32.The camera images 21, the clean feed 31 and/or the dirty feed 32 may be provided to the content replacement apparatus 40, depending upon the nature of the installation.", "The signal processing unit 45 receives signals which allow the subject billboards 10 to be identified within the video images 21.As will be discussed in more detail below, the signal processing unit 45 may process the infra-red detector signals 61 and/or the camera telemetry signals 22.In the example embodiment the signal processing unit 45 comprises a detector signal processing unit 45a and a telemetry signal processing unit 45b.", "The detector signal processing unit 45a processes the stream of detector signals 61 produced by the one or more detectors 60.In the example embodiments, the scene observed by the detector signal 61 is consistent with the scene in the video images 21 from the cameras 20.The detector signal processing unit 45a may spatially and/or temporally correlate the detector signals 61 with the video images 21.The detector signals 61 are preferably digital, or are digitised by analogue-digital conversion, thereby representing the field of view as an array of digital pixel values each representing an intensity of the detected radiation.", "As noted above, in the example embodiments the detector signals are based on infra-red wavelengths and thus represent an intensity of the selected infra-red wavelengths at each pixel value.", "Meanwhile, the telemetry signal processing unit 45b receives the telemetry signals 22 produced by the cameras 20.In particular, the telemetry signals 22 provide dynamic information concerning the field of view observed by the video images 21 and, consequently, the current field of view of the detector signals 61.The telemetry signal processing unit 45b may use the received telemetry signals 22 to establish a location of the subject 10 relative to the observed field of view in the video images 21.In the example embodiments, the telemetry signal processing unit 45b is provided in advance with 3D coordinates defining a location of the or each subject billboard 10 and the or each camera 20 within a 3D spatial environment, which allows the relative locations of these components to be established within a defined consistent three dimensional space.", "The system may be calibrated in advance such that an optical centre of the lens of the camera 20 is known.", "In one example, a pin hole camera mathematical model is applied in order to calculate a projection or mapping of the subject billboard 10 from the real world onto the image plane in the field of view of the camera 20 at a default starting position.", "In the example embodiments, the telemetry signal processing unit 45b then actively estimates a position of the subject 10 within the field of view of the camera 20 as the camera is moved, according to the telemetry signals 22.These calculations allow the system to estimate an approximate position of the subject 10 within the video images 21.The mask signal generating unit 46 generates a mask signal 43 to be applied to video images 21.In particular, the mask signal 43 is generated based on the detector signals 61, and may be enhanced by also considering the telemetry signals 22.The masking area signal 43 is itself a useful product of the system and can be output or recorded in a storage unit 50 to be used later (see FIG.", "3).", "In one example embodiment, the content replacement apparatus 40 may be used only to produce the masking area signal 43, and the content substitution operation may be performed downstream by another piece of equipment.", "For example, looking again at FIG.", "2, the masking signal 43 may be transmitted to the broadcasting system 50 to be carried alongside the broadcast feed to a downstream content substitution unit (not shown) to insert the alternate content 42 locally prior to transmission by a local transmitter unit 51.In the example embodiments, the content substitution unit 47 electronically substitutes one or more of the masked areas within the video images 21 with the alternate image content 42 according to the masking signal 43.Thus, the content substitution unit 47 in use produces the respective alternate video image feed 41.In one aspect, the content substitution unit 47 comprises an image selector unit 48 which determines that a predetermined special case or exceptional condition has arisen which needs special handling within the content substitution unit 47.The image selector unit 48 may generate an image selection signal which distinguishes at least between first and second conditions, such as between a normal situation on the one hand and an exceptional situation or special case situation on the other.", "In response, the content substitution unit 47 selects and applies appropriate replacement content 42, e.g.", "selects amongst normal and exceptional substitute images, according to this special case selection signal.", "The content substitution unit 47 substitutes the identified area within the video images 21 according to the mask signal 43 using the identified replacement image content 42 as selected by the image selector unit 48.As will be discussed below, the image selector unit 48 advantageously uses the camera telemetry to provide various enhancements within the content replacement apparatus 40.However, other embodiments are also envisaged which do not rely on the camera telemetry 22 and instead derive relevant signals or information directly from the camera images 21.Zoom/Focal Length FIG.", "4 shows a first example embodiment of a special case or exceptional situation as may be identified within the image selector unit 48.This example mechanism allows the apparatus 40 to identify predetermined exceptional conditions and, in response, select and apply a replacement content 42 which is most appropriate to those exceptional conditions.", "In this example, video images 21a and 21b show the same scene at two different camera focal lengths, and thus different amounts of zoom.", "The image selector unit 48 is arranged to select from amongst available replacement content images 42a, 42b accordingly, so that a best-fit substitute is provided for each respective image or image sequence.", "This mechanism is particularly useful in relation to cameras with a powerful zoom facility.", "The focal length of the camera 20 is a primary factor in determining whether the subject 10 will be visible distantly, as a normal case, or whether the subject 10 will instead be viewed in close up at this time.", "A camera 20 which observes a stadium or event with a wide field of view will tend to observe several billboards 10 distantly in their entirety, whereas the same camera when with a high zoom value (long focal length) has a restricted field of view and will tend to capture only one of the subject billboard 10 in full.", "In this example, the system is capable of displaying selectively, for the same subject billboard 10, either the first alternate image 42a or the second 42b.", "In this case, the first image 42a is more appropriate to being viewed from a distance and contains the text “Other” or some suitable simplified message.", "The second alternate image 42b is more appropriate to be viewed in close-up and thus may contain more detailed text or images, such as, in this example, “Other image .", ".", ".", "just for you”.", "In a first example embodiment, the focal length Z of the camera 20, as derived from the telemetry signals 22, is compared against a threshold value Tz which distinguishes between a normal wide field of view and an exceptional narrow field of view.", "The threshold Tz may be set in advance according to the conditions of the location of the scene, such as by testing the cameras 20 prior to a live event.", "The telemetry thus provides a camera zoom signal.", "The current focal length Z is compared against the predetermined threshold by the image selector unit 48.In response, the image selector unit 48 selects the replacement image 42 within a normal set 42a or an exceptional set 42b.", "In other words, comparing the telemetry against a predetermined threshold determines a selection between at least first and second substitute images 42a, 42b.", "In the example mechanism, this selection allows a best fit of the relevant alternate image against the subject 10 which is currently in view.", "In a second example embodiment, the image selector unit 48 uses the masking signal 43 to identify the special case or exceptional condition.", "In this case, the camera zoom signal is derived from the camera images 21.As an example, the subject billboard 10 is determined to appear at a region of the current image 21 according to the masking signal 43, and thus it is determined that the subject 10 will be visible in this frame or sequence of frames as a proportion of the visible area of the image.", "In the example embodiments, the subject billboards 10 have constant physical dimensions.", "Thus, a current height H of the subject billboards may be determined with reference to a vertical orientation of the image.", "The height H may be used in this situation as a useful indicator as well as or in place of the current camera focal length Z.", "The determined current height H may be expressed, for example, as a number of pixels or as a percentage of the full image height.", "The height H may be compared against a respective threshold value TH.", "As an example, an exceptional condition is considered to apply when the subject billboard is say 10% or say 20% or more of the total height of the screen.", "A replacement image content 42a or 42b is selected accordingly, ready to be applied to the subject 10 in view.", "In one aspect, more than one threshold value may be applied.", "However a single threshold is preferred in the example embodiments for simplicity.", "The threshold is convenient to determine whether the current tested value, e.g.", "zoom Z or subject height H, is within a first or a second range and to select first or second alternate images 42a or 42b accordingly.", "In one aspect, the image selector unit 48 determines whether or not a special case applies at a scene change point, namely at a point in time when the video images 21 changes significantly.", "As will be familiar in the context of video editing, a scene change point occurs at a point in time such as when the current image feed changes from one camera to another camera.", "Making the determination at the scene change point minimises disruption for the viewer and is least noticeable.", "Hence, using the scene change point as a trigger for the determination improves a photorealistic effect.", "The determined replacement content 42a or 42b is then maintained until the next scene change point.", "That is, even if the camera now changes focal length and moves from a high zoom or narrow point of field of view (high Z or H value) and returns towards a wide field of view or normal condition (low Z or H value) all within a single scene, then the selected replacement image 42b is maintained until the next scene change point, at which point in time the determination is made again.", "This mechanism also inhibits unwanted oscillations between images, such as where the tested Z or H value is close to the threshold T. As one example embodiment, the alternate image content 42 may comprise moving images which loop or repeat after a defined period of time (e.g.", "3 or 5 seconds).", "Suitably, the determination is made at a scene change point of the replacement media.", "Using certain kinds of video adverts, the scene change can be allowed to occur after the advert file has looped, i.e.", "when the video has reached its end and before that particular video sequence starts playing from the beginning again.", "In another example embodiment, the image selector unit 48 may select the alternate image content at a scene change point of the video images according to the camera that is currently used to provide the video images, amongst a plurality of cameras.", "This embodiment considers the situation where a first camera is provided to take close-up images with a long focal length, while a second camera has a wide field of view.", "In this case the alternate image content 42a, 42b may be selected based on a camera signal C which identifies the camera currently in use.", "Partially Obscured Subjects FIG.", "5 shows a further enhancement of the content replacement apparatus.", "In this example, the image selector unit 48 identifies that the subject 10 is partially obscured.", "The image selector unit 48 may use the masking signal 43 to identify the partially obscured subject 10.As noted above, the masking signal 43 reveals areas 10c of the subject which are visible and, accordingly, areas which are obscured by an intervening object such as a player 12.The image selector unit 48 suitably selects amongst a predetermined set of at least first and second replacement images 42c, 42d which best fits the visible area 10c of the subject 10.This may be achieved by considering the visible areas 10c as a prime area.", "The visible prime area 10c of the subject 10 is then compared against the available set of replacement images each of which has corresponding prime areas 42x, 42y and a best fit image is selected which is most appropriate.", "In this case, the sponsor's message “Other” is the defined prime area 42x, 42y and hence is matched with the visible prime area 10c of the billboard 10.In this example, if the obscuring object 12 now moves, then typically it will be more appropriate and least noticeable to maintain the same selected replacement content until a next scene change point.", "However, at other times it will be appropriate to re-evaluate the subject 10 according to the changing position of the obstacle 12 and select a new best fit replacement image even within a single scene.", "Incomplete Subjects FIG.", "6 illustrates a further example embodiment in which only a part 10d of the subject billboard 10 is currently visible within a frame of the video images 21.Identifying that the billboard 10 is incomplete allows the system to select replacement content 42 which is a best fit with the visible part 10d of the subject 10.In this example, a first replacement image 42e is appropriate to fill a complete area of the billboard and is most appropriate when the billboard 10 is completely within the image frame.", "Meanwhile, the second replacement image 42f is more appropriate when the billboard 10 is determined to be incomplete.", "Given that the billboard 10 has constant physical dimensions, the currently observed height H allows an expected width W to be predicted.", "The partially incomplete billboard may be determined by dividing an observed width W1 against the expected width W to give a width percentage W % which is compared against a width threshold Tw.", "As shown in FIG.", "6, advantageously the second image 42f contains elements which are tiled or repeated so that a sponsor message, such as “Other”, will be completely visible even when applied to only the visible part 10d of the incomplete subject 10.Action Following FIGS.", "7A & 7B show another example embodiment, here illustrated by two frames of the revised image stream 41 spaced apart by a short time interval.", "The replacement content 42 is updated and reselected for subsequent video image frames within a sequence, e.g.", "from the same camera 20.In this case, the images are updated relatively frequently and prior to a scene change point.", "In this embodiment, a plurality of similar replacement content images 42 are provided as a set comprising a sequence of images of which the example images 42g and 42h are shown here.", "The replacement images from the sequence are selected based on a relative position of the subject 10 with respect to the image frame 21.In one example embodiment, a shooting angle or shooting direction of the camera 20 is determined by the telemetry 22.The current pan angle P or tilt angle T may be used to infer the current relative location of the billboard 10 within the image 21.As shown in FIG.", "7, the sequence of replacement images 42g, 42h may be triggered so that the replacement images are applied in sequence.", "In particular, the sequence of replacement images may be applied to follow the shooting direction of the camera.", "Given that the camera will tend to keep an object of greatest interest at or about a centre of the frame, this embodiment can be used to give the impression that the replacement images on the billboard 10 is actively “watching” the game and following the ball, as illustrated here by eyes which change their direction of view depending on the relative angle between the billboard and the camera.", "As an example, the full sequence suitably includes of the order of 5 to 15 subsequent images for a good impression of smooth motion.", "Further, as another example, the alternate content 42 may comprise three-dimensional objects in a 3D interchange format, such as COLLADA, Wavefront OBJ or 3DS.", "These 3D-adverts allow the internal scale and orientation of the replacement media to be manipulated, based on the telemetry input data.", "As an example, a 3D text logo advert can be made to smoothly follow or “watch” the center of the visible screen.", "This embodiment provides functionality which is not only pleasing for the viewer but further enhances an experience of the viewer in the alternate electronically modified broadcast feed.", "Acute Angled Subjects FIG.", "8 shows a further example embodiment.", "In this case a particular problem arises where the subject 10f is at an acute angle to the image plane of the video images taken by the camera 20.In a normal situation, the subject billboards 10e are substantially parallel to the image plane and thus appear as regular rectangular shapes which are relatively easy to identify and process.", "By contrast, subject billboards 10f at an acute angle to the image plane appear as trapezoids or rhomboids.", "In this exceptional situation, a best fit image 42i or 42j is selected which is more appropriate to the geometric shape of the subject 10e or 10f as presented within the image plane.", "An image 42j with simplified content or images which are graphically appropriate to the observed condition of the acute angled subject 10f may be selected and applied.", "As another example, text within the second image 42j may have substantially increased kerning so as to remain readable even when manipulated to be displayed on the acute angled subject 10f in a photo-realistic manner.", "In the example embodiments, the exceptional condition for awkwardly angled subjects is identified by the telemetry 22 which reveals a current shooting direction of the camera 20.Given the known relative physical locations of the subject 10 and camera 20, appropriate threshold pan or tilt values can be predicted by 3D geometric modelling as discussed above.", "The exceptional case can thus be detected in use with this knowledge of the geometry of the scene including camera locations in relation to the subject billboards 10.Further, testing the cameras 20 in advance of a live event allows the threshold pan P and/or tilt T values to be determined at which the awkwardly angled subjects 10f will appear.", "The replacement images may then be selected accordingly for those subjects.", "Thus, the system identifies whether the respective subject 10 within the received image frame 21 will appear normally or will appear in the exceptional geometric condition.", "FIG.", "9 is a flowchart highlighting the image content replacement method discussed herein.", "In the method, video images are provided from a camera 20 of a scene including a subject 10 at step 901.At step 902, a mask area is defined corresponding to the subject within the scene, such as by providing a masking signal 43.At step 903, a chosen alternate image 42 is selected amongst at least a first alternate image content 42a when the subject 10 is determined to be in a first or normal condition within the scene and a second alternate image content 42b when the subject is determined to be in a second or exceptional condition within the scene.", "At step 904, the mask area in the video images 21 is substituted with the chosen alternate image content 42.The method may be augmented by any of the further steps as discussed herein.", "For example, the method at step 903 may include obtaining a camera zoom signal defining a relative size of the subject within the video images, and selecting amongst the first and second alternate images based on the camera zoom signal.", "At step 903, the method may include obtaining a camera angle signal defining a relative angle of the camera with respect to the subject within the video images, and selecting amongst the first and second alternate images 42a, 42b, etc, based on the camera angle signal.", "The camera angle signal may define a shooting angle of the camera.", "The camera angle signal may be derived from a camera telemetry signal 22.The camera angle signal may be based on a current pan angle and/or a current tilt angle of the camera 20.The method may include providing replacement images in a sequence triggered by the camera angle signal.", "The industrial application of the example embodiments will be clear from the discussion herein.", "At least some embodiments of the invention may be constructed, partially or wholly, using dedicated special-purpose hardware.", "Terms such as ‘component’, ‘module’ or ‘unit’ used herein may include, but are not limited to, a hardware device, such as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), which performs certain tasks.", "Alternatively, elements of the invention may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and be configured to execute on one or more processors.", "Thus, functional elements of the invention may in some embodiments include, by way of example, components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables.", "Further, although the example embodiments have been described with reference to the components, modules and units discussed herein, such functional elements may be combined into fewer elements or separated into additional elements.", "Although a few example embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15875096
[ [ "ISOLATION OF OMEGA-7 FATTY ACID ETHYL ESTERS FROM NATURAL OILS", "Methods of producing high purity palmitoleic acid esters from natural oils are disclosed.", "The natural oils may comprise plant oil, nut oil, microalgae oil, and fish oil.", "The methods of processing the natural oil comprise transesterification with ethanol as the reacting solvent to produce ethyl esters.", "Methods of producing a high purity fraction of Omega-3, 6, & 9 fatty acid esters from natural oils are also disclosed.", "The high purity fatty acid esters may be used in nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical products." ], [ "1.A method of producing high purity palmitoleic acid ethyl esters, comprising: a.", "Providing a natural oil; b. Transesterifying the natural oil with a catalyst and ethanol as a reacting solvent in a reaction comprising at least one stage to produce ethyl esters; c. Distilling the ethyl esters to produce a first fraction comprising C18:1n9, C20:4n6, and C20:5n3 ethyl esters, and a second fraction comprising C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters; and d. Separating the C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters of the second fraction to produce a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters and a fourth fraction comprising at least 50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the natural oil consists of a natural oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "3.The method of claim 2, wherein the natural oil comprises oil derived from at least one source selected from the group consisting of macadamia nut oil, menhaden oil, and anchovy oil.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the catalyst of the transesterifying step comprises at least one catalyst selected from the group consisting of: NaOH, KOH, sodium ethoxide, HCl, BF3, H3PO4, an organic sulfonic acid, sulphuric acid, a metal oxide, Mg—Al hydrolalcite, and an immobilized enzyme.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of ethanol in the transesterifying step is in the range of 1:3 to 1:15.6.The method of claim 5, wherein the molar ratio of ethanol in the transesterifying step is in the range of 1:6 to 1:8.7.The method of claim 1, wherein the transesterifying step comprises two stages of transesterification reactions.", "8.The method of claim 7, wherein the two stages of transesterification reactions use different catalysts.", "9.The method of claim 1, wherein the transesterifying step has a yield in the range of 70-90%.", "10.The method of claim 1, wherein the transesterifying step is performed at a temperature in the range of 75-85° C. 11.The method of claim 1, wherein the distillation step comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of one pass vacuum distillation, two pass vacuum distillation, fractional distillation, and simple molecular distillation.", "12.The method of claim 1, wherein the separation step comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of urea complexation, crystallization, filtration, extraction, and adsorption chromatography.", "13.The method of claim 1, wherein the fourth fraction comprises at least 80% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "14.The method of claim 3, wherein the second fraction derived from natural macadamia nut oil comprises less than 20% w/w C16:0 ethyl esters.", "15.The method of claim 14, wherein the fourth fraction derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises less than 10% w/w C16:0 ethyl esters.", "16.The method of claim 3, wherein the second fraction derived from natural macadamia nut oil comprises less than 1% w/w C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "17.The method of claim 16, wherein the fourth fraction derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises less than 5% w/w C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "18.The method of claim 3, wherein the second fraction derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises at least 70% w/w of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 ethyl esters combined.", "19.The method of claim 1, further comprising including the C16:1n7 ethyl esters in a product selected from the group consisting of a nutrition product, cosmetic product, and nutraceutical product.", "20.The method of claim 11, wherein the distillation step is performed at a pressure in the range of 0.3-5 mm Hg and a temperature in the range of 140-280° C." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA's) [e.g., C18-C22 (Omega-3 and 6)] are generally found in plants and marine sources, and are widely accepted in commercial cosmetic and health applications due to their beneficial effects on metabolism.", "The most common essential fatty acids are linoleic acid (LA) [C18:2n6, Omega-6] and α-linolenic acid (α-LN) [C18:3n3, Omega-3], and are responsible for the production of prostaglandins (PG) that control blood vessels and other body functions.", "Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [C20:5n3, Omega-3] and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) [C22:6n3, Omega-3] may be formed through the conversion of dietary linolenic acid, and are known to be essential for health and nutrition, resulting in an increase in commercial interest in recent years.", "EPA and DHA, are known to be potent antiarryhthmic agents and also improve vascular endothelial function, help lower blood pressure, platelet sensitivity, and the serum triglyceride level.", "In 2005 Simpson et. al (The impact of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on human health.", "Nutrition research reviews (2005), 18, pp.", "113-29) concluded that there is strong evidence of the clinical benefit of this type of Omega-3 PUFA on cardiovascular diseases or rheumatoid arthritis.", "Palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7, Omega-7) has also recently begun to receive an increase in commercial interest and has shown beneficial effects on cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and also on reducing muscle insulin resistance and preventing beta-cell apoptosis.", "As shown in Tables 1 and 2, trans fatty acids, cholesterol, and saturated fats responsible for atherosclerosis are fairly common in vegetable oil, fish oil, and marine products.", "Additionally, Omega-3 PUFA's are beneficial in reducing cholesterol and the risk of myocardial infarction.", "Hypertriglyceridaemia, which causes an increase in serum triglyceride in blood level, can cause cardiovascular diseases that may be prevented by replacing saturated fats with Omega-3 PUFAs.", "Synthesis and subsequent purification of essential fatty acid ethyl esters provides an opportunity to separate unwanted saturated fat from essential fatty acids.", "TABLE 1 Fat content/EPA + DHA (g 100 g −1 ) ratio of some various fish, marine products, vegetables and oils Fat content EPA + DHA Fat content/(EPA + DHA) (g 100 g −1 ) (g 100 g −1 ) (g 100 g −1 ) ratio Eel 24.5 0.83 29.51 Hering 17.8 2.72 6.54 Sprat 16.6 3.23 5.14 Tuna 15.5 3.37 4.60 Salmon 13.6 2.86 4.76 Mackerel 11.9 1.75 6.8 Carp 4.8 0.30 16 Sardine 4.5 1.39 3.24 Swordfish 4.4 1.79 2.45 Trout 2.7 0.59 4.58 Halibut 1.7 0.51 3.33 Cod 0.6 0.18 3.33 Haddock 0.6 0.16 3.75 Lobster 1.9 0.20 9.5 Shrimp 1.4 0.30 4.66 Mussels 1.4 0.15 9.33 Anchovy 2.3 0.50 4.60 Sardine 13.9 2.44 5.70 TABLE 2 Fat content Fat content/α-LN (g 100 g −1 ) α-LN (g 100 g −1 ) (g 100 g −1 ) ratio Butter 83.2 1.20 69.3 Lard 100.0 0.98 102.04 Linseed oil 100.0 54.2 1.84 Soybean oil 100.0 7.70 12.98 Rapeseed oil 100.0 9.15 10.93 Walnut oil 100.0 13.5 7.40 Olive oil 100.0 0.86 625 Vegetable oil 80.0 2.40 33.3 Almonds 54.1 0.26 208.07 Hazelnut 61.6 0.15 410.6 Walnuts 62.5 6.80 9.19 Kale 0.90 0.35 2.57 Lettuce 0.22 0.07 3.14 Parsley 0.36 0.12 3.00 Potato 0.11 0.02 5.5 Cauliflower 0.18 0.10 1.8 Spinach 0.30 0.13 2.31 White cabbage 0.20 0.09 2.22 Wheat bran 4.65 0.16 29.06 While sources and applications of Omega-3s have been developed commercially, the use of purified fatty acids in nutrition applications may extend beyond Omega-3s.", "Purified Omega-6, 7 & 9's may also be used in nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical application to provide a more complete health or personal care product.", "Yang et. al (Chronic administration of palmitoleic acid reduces insulin resistance and hepatic lipid accumulation in KK-Ay Mice with genetic type 2 diabetes.", "Lipids in health and disease 10, 120 (2011)) showed that oral administration of palmitoleic acid (Omega-7) to KK-Ay mice dramatically improved their diabetic condition.", "Also, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia were reduced in the mice with the oral administration of palmitoleic acid, while palmitic acid (saturated fat) was completely ineffective in providing the same effects.", "Maedler et. al (Distinct Effects of Saturated and Monosaturated Fatty Acids on Beta-Cell Turnover and Function.", "Diabetes (January 2001), vol.", "50, no.", "1, pp.", "69-76) showed the harmful effect of palmitate on β-cell turnover while in contrast, the monounsaturated palmitoleic acid does not affect β-cell apoptosis but instead promotes β-cell proliferation.", "In promoting β-cell proliferation, palmitoleic acid counteracted the negative effects of palmitate (an anion of palmitic acid) as well as improved β-cell function.", "Therefore purifying Omega-7 rich oil by removing saturated fat may provide Omega-7s in a beneficial form suited for nutrition applications.", "Such purified Omega-7 fractions may be produced by synthesis of ethyl esters and their purification.", "In addition to purified Omega-7s, purified Omega-6s also have an important role in the commercial nutrition market.", "The ratio of essential fatty acids is crucial to nutrition, as western diets are generally deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids and have excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids.", "According to Simopoulos et. al (Evolutionary aspects of diet, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio and genetic variation: nutritional implications for chronic diseases.", "Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy (2006), 60, pp.", "502-507; The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids.", "Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy (2002), 56, pp.", "365-379), a lower ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acids is desirable for reducing the risk of many chronic diseases.", "Synthesis of ethyl esters and their subsequent purification provides the opportunity for formulation of nutritionally relevant ratios of essential fatty acids like Omega-3 and Omega-6.Therefore, there is a need in the art for methods of producing high purity esters of Omega 3, 6, 7, & 9 fatty acids for use in nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical products." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Disclosed are methods for isolating high purity fractions of Omega-3, 6, 7, & 9 ethyl esters.", "The high purity isolated fatty acid ester fractions may be used in nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical products.", "In one embodiment of the invention, a method of producing high purity palmitoleic acid ethyl esters comprises: providing an oil; transesterifying the oil with a catalyst and ethanol as a reacting solvent to produce ethyl esters; distilling the ethyl esters to produce a first fraction comprising C18:1n9 ethyl esters and a second fraction comprising C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters; and separating the C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters of the second fraction to produce a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters and a fourth fraction comprising at least 50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the oil may consist of a natural oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the natural oil may comprise at least one oil selected from the group consisting of macadamia nut oil, menhaden oil, and anchovy oil.", "In some embodiments, the catalyst of the transesterifying step may comprise at least one catalyst selected from the group consisting of: NaOH, KOH, sodium ethoxide, HCl, BF 3 , H 3 PO 4 , an organic sulfonic acid, sulphuric acid, a metal oxide, Mg—Al hydrolalcite, and an immobilized enzyme.", "In some embodiments, the molar ratio of ethanol in the transesterifying step may be in the range of 1:3 to 1:15, and preferably in the range of 1:9 to 1:11.In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may have a yield of 70-90%.", "In some embodiments, the distillation step may comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of one pass vacuum distillation, two pass vacuum distillation, fractional distillation, and simple molecular distillation.", "In some embodiments, the separation step may comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of urea complexation, crystallization, filtration, extraction, and adsorption chromatography.", "In some embodiments, the separated C16:1n7 esters fraction may comprise 50-90% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In another embodiment of the invention, a method of producing high purity palmitoleic acid ethyl esters comprises: providing a microalgae oil; transesterifying the microalgae oil with a catalyst and ethanol as a reacting solvent in a reaction comprising at least one stage to produce ethyl esters; distilling the ethyl esters to produce a first fraction comprising C18:1n9, C20:4n6, and C20:5n3 ethyl esters, and a second fraction comprising C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters; and separating the C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters of the second fraction to produce a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters and a fourth fraction comprising at least 35% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the microalgae oil may consist of a natural microalgae oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the natural microalgae oil may comprise oil derived from at least one microalga from a genus selected from the group consisting of Nannochloropsis, Nitzschia, Thalasossira , and Phaeodactylum.", "In some embodiments, the molar ratio of ethanol in the transesterifying step may be in the range of 1:3 to 1:15, and preferably in the range of 1:6 to 1:8.In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may comprise two stages of transesterification reactions.", "In some embodiments, the two stages of transesterification reactions may use different catalysts.", "In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may have a yield of 60-80%.", "In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may be performed at 75-85° C. In some embodiments, the separated C16:1n7 esters fraction may comprise 35-50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In another embodiment of the invention, a composition comprises a mixture of esters derived an oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid, wherein the mixture of esters comprises at least 50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise at least one natural oil selected from the group consisting of macadamia nut oil, menhaden oil, and anchovy oil.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil comprises 50-90% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises 10% or less C16:0 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises 5-10% C16:0 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from macadamia nut oil further comprises 5% or less C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises 0.5-5% C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "In another embodiment of the invention, a composition comprises a mixture of esters derived from microalgae oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid, wherein the mixture of esters comprises at least 30% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the microalgae oil may comprise a natural oil derived from at least one microalga from a genus selected from the group consisting of Nannochloropsis, Nitzschia, Thalasossira , and Phaeodactylum .", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil comprises 30-50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 50% or less C16:0 esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 5-50% C16:0 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 10% or less C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 0.5-10% C18:1n9 ethyl esters." ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "61/907,437, filed Nov. 22, 2013, entitled Isolation of Omega-7 Fatty Acids From Natural Sources of Oil in Ethyl Ester Form, PCT Application No.", "PCT/US2014/066699, filed Nov. 20, 2014, entitled Isolation of Omega-7 Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters from Natural Oils, and U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/157,047, filed May 17, 2016, entitled Isolation of Omega-7 Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters from Natural Oils, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "BACKGROUND Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA's) [e.g., C18-C22 (Omega-3 and 6)] are generally found in plants and marine sources, and are widely accepted in commercial cosmetic and health applications due to their beneficial effects on metabolism.", "The most common essential fatty acids are linoleic acid (LA) [C18:2n6, Omega-6] and α-linolenic acid (α-LN) [C18:3n3, Omega-3], and are responsible for the production of prostaglandins (PG) that control blood vessels and other body functions.", "Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [C20:5n3, Omega-3] and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) [C22:6n3, Omega-3] may be formed through the conversion of dietary linolenic acid, and are known to be essential for health and nutrition, resulting in an increase in commercial interest in recent years.", "EPA and DHA, are known to be potent antiarryhthmic agents and also improve vascular endothelial function, help lower blood pressure, platelet sensitivity, and the serum triglyceride level.", "In 2005 Simpson et. al (The impact of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on human health.", "Nutrition research reviews (2005), 18, pp.", "113-29) concluded that there is strong evidence of the clinical benefit of this type of Omega-3 PUFA on cardiovascular diseases or rheumatoid arthritis.", "Palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7, Omega-7) has also recently begun to receive an increase in commercial interest and has shown beneficial effects on cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and also on reducing muscle insulin resistance and preventing beta-cell apoptosis.", "As shown in Tables 1 and 2, trans fatty acids, cholesterol, and saturated fats responsible for atherosclerosis are fairly common in vegetable oil, fish oil, and marine products.", "Additionally, Omega-3 PUFA's are beneficial in reducing cholesterol and the risk of myocardial infarction.", "Hypertriglyceridaemia, which causes an increase in serum triglyceride in blood level, can cause cardiovascular diseases that may be prevented by replacing saturated fats with Omega-3 PUFAs.", "Synthesis and subsequent purification of essential fatty acid ethyl esters provides an opportunity to separate unwanted saturated fat from essential fatty acids.", "TABLE 1 Fat content/EPA + DHA (g 100 g−1) ratio of some various fish, marine products, vegetables and oils Fat content EPA + DHA Fat content/(EPA + DHA) (g 100 g−1) (g 100 g−1) (g 100 g−1) ratio Eel 24.5 0.83 29.51 Hering 17.8 2.72 6.54 Sprat 16.6 3.23 5.14 Tuna 15.5 3.37 4.60 Salmon 13.6 2.86 4.76 Mackerel 11.9 1.75 6.8 Carp 4.8 0.30 16 Sardine 4.5 1.39 3.24 Swordfish 4.4 1.79 2.45 Trout 2.7 0.59 4.58 Halibut 1.7 0.51 3.33 Cod 0.6 0.18 3.33 Haddock 0.6 0.16 3.75 Lobster 1.9 0.20 9.5 Shrimp 1.4 0.30 4.66 Mussels 1.4 0.15 9.33 Anchovy 2.3 0.50 4.60 Sardine 13.9 2.44 5.70 TABLE 2 Fat content Fat content/α-LN (g 100 g−1) α-LN (g 100 g−1) (g 100 g−1) ratio Butter 83.2 1.20 69.3 Lard 100.0 0.98 102.04 Linseed oil 100.0 54.2 1.84 Soybean oil 100.0 7.70 12.98 Rapeseed oil 100.0 9.15 10.93 Walnut oil 100.0 13.5 7.40 Olive oil 100.0 0.86 625 Vegetable oil 80.0 2.40 33.3 Almonds 54.1 0.26 208.07 Hazelnut 61.6 0.15 410.6 Walnuts 62.5 6.80 9.19 Kale 0.90 0.35 2.57 Lettuce 0.22 0.07 3.14 Parsley 0.36 0.12 3.00 Potato 0.11 0.02 5.5 Cauliflower 0.18 0.10 1.8 Spinach 0.30 0.13 2.31 White cabbage 0.20 0.09 2.22 Wheat bran 4.65 0.16 29.06 While sources and applications of Omega-3s have been developed commercially, the use of purified fatty acids in nutrition applications may extend beyond Omega-3s.", "Purified Omega-6, 7 & 9's may also be used in nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical application to provide a more complete health or personal care product.", "Yang et. al (Chronic administration of palmitoleic acid reduces insulin resistance and hepatic lipid accumulation in KK-Ay Mice with genetic type 2 diabetes.", "Lipids in health and disease 10, 120 (2011)) showed that oral administration of palmitoleic acid (Omega-7) to KK-Ay mice dramatically improved their diabetic condition.", "Also, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia were reduced in the mice with the oral administration of palmitoleic acid, while palmitic acid (saturated fat) was completely ineffective in providing the same effects.", "Maedler et. al (Distinct Effects of Saturated and Monosaturated Fatty Acids on Beta-Cell Turnover and Function.", "Diabetes (January 2001), vol.", "50, no.", "1, pp.", "69-76) showed the harmful effect of palmitate on β-cell turnover while in contrast, the monounsaturated palmitoleic acid does not affect β-cell apoptosis but instead promotes β-cell proliferation.", "In promoting β-cell proliferation, palmitoleic acid counteracted the negative effects of palmitate (an anion of palmitic acid) as well as improved β-cell function.", "Therefore purifying Omega-7 rich oil by removing saturated fat may provide Omega-7s in a beneficial form suited for nutrition applications.", "Such purified Omega-7 fractions may be produced by synthesis of ethyl esters and their purification.", "In addition to purified Omega-7s, purified Omega-6s also have an important role in the commercial nutrition market.", "The ratio of essential fatty acids is crucial to nutrition, as western diets are generally deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids and have excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids.", "According to Simopoulos et. al (Evolutionary aspects of diet, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio and genetic variation: nutritional implications for chronic diseases.", "Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy (2006), 60, pp.", "502-507; The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids.", "Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy (2002), 56, pp.", "365-379), a lower ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acids is desirable for reducing the risk of many chronic diseases.", "Synthesis of ethyl esters and their subsequent purification provides the opportunity for formulation of nutritionally relevant ratios of essential fatty acids like Omega-3 and Omega-6.Therefore, there is a need in the art for methods of producing high purity esters of Omega 3, 6, 7, & 9 fatty acids for use in nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical products.", "SUMMARY Disclosed are methods for isolating high purity fractions of Omega-3, 6, 7, & 9 ethyl esters.", "The high purity isolated fatty acid ester fractions may be used in nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical products.", "In one embodiment of the invention, a method of producing high purity palmitoleic acid ethyl esters comprises: providing an oil; transesterifying the oil with a catalyst and ethanol as a reacting solvent to produce ethyl esters; distilling the ethyl esters to produce a first fraction comprising C18:1n9 ethyl esters and a second fraction comprising C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters; and separating the C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters of the second fraction to produce a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters and a fourth fraction comprising at least 50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the oil may consist of a natural oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the natural oil may comprise at least one oil selected from the group consisting of macadamia nut oil, menhaden oil, and anchovy oil.", "In some embodiments, the catalyst of the transesterifying step may comprise at least one catalyst selected from the group consisting of: NaOH, KOH, sodium ethoxide, HCl, BF3, H3PO4, an organic sulfonic acid, sulphuric acid, a metal oxide, Mg—Al hydrolalcite, and an immobilized enzyme.", "In some embodiments, the molar ratio of ethanol in the transesterifying step may be in the range of 1:3 to 1:15, and preferably in the range of 1:9 to 1:11.In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may have a yield of 70-90%.", "In some embodiments, the distillation step may comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of one pass vacuum distillation, two pass vacuum distillation, fractional distillation, and simple molecular distillation.", "In some embodiments, the separation step may comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of urea complexation, crystallization, filtration, extraction, and adsorption chromatography.", "In some embodiments, the separated C16:1n7 esters fraction may comprise 50-90% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In another embodiment of the invention, a method of producing high purity palmitoleic acid ethyl esters comprises: providing a microalgae oil; transesterifying the microalgae oil with a catalyst and ethanol as a reacting solvent in a reaction comprising at least one stage to produce ethyl esters; distilling the ethyl esters to produce a first fraction comprising C18:1n9, C20:4n6, and C20:5n3 ethyl esters, and a second fraction comprising C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters; and separating the C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters of the second fraction to produce a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters and a fourth fraction comprising at least 35% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the microalgae oil may consist of a natural microalgae oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the natural microalgae oil may comprise oil derived from at least one microalga from a genus selected from the group consisting of Nannochloropsis, Nitzschia, Thalasossira, and Phaeodactylum.", "In some embodiments, the molar ratio of ethanol in the transesterifying step may be in the range of 1:3 to 1:15, and preferably in the range of 1:6 to 1:8.In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may comprise two stages of transesterification reactions.", "In some embodiments, the two stages of transesterification reactions may use different catalysts.", "In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may have a yield of 60-80%.", "In some embodiments, the transesterifying step may be performed at 75-85° C. In some embodiments, the separated C16:1n7 esters fraction may comprise 35-50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In another embodiment of the invention, a composition comprises a mixture of esters derived an oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid, wherein the mixture of esters comprises at least 50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise at least one natural oil selected from the group consisting of macadamia nut oil, menhaden oil, and anchovy oil.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil comprises 50-90% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises 10% or less C16:0 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises 5-10% C16:0 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from macadamia nut oil further comprises 5% or less C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural macadamia nut oil further comprises 0.5-5% C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "In another embodiment of the invention, a composition comprises a mixture of esters derived from microalgae oil comprising at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid, wherein the mixture of esters comprises at least 30% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the microalgae oil may comprise a natural oil derived from at least one microalga from a genus selected from the group consisting of Nannochloropsis, Nitzschia, Thalasossira, and Phaeodactylum.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil comprises 30-50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 50% or less C16:0 esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 5-50% C16:0 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 10% or less C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of esters derived from natural Nannochloropsis oil further comprises 0.5-10% C18:1n9 ethyl esters.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the invention can be obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.", "Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates one non-limiting embodiment for isolating an Omega-7 product from natural nut oil.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates a non-limiting embodiment for isolating an Omega-7 & 9 product from natural nut oil.", "FIG.", "3 illustrates non-limiting embodiments for isolating an Omega-7 product from natural microalgae oil.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a non-limiting embodiment for purifying an Omega-7 product isolated from natural microalgae oil.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates a non-limiting embodiment for purifying an Omega-3, 6 or 9 product isolated from natural microalgae oil.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a non-limiting embodiment for purifying an Omega-3, 6, 7 or 9 product isolated from natural microalgae oil.", "FIG.", "7 illustrates non-limiting embodiments for isolating and purifying an Omega-3, 6, 7 or 9 product from natural fish oil.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates non-limiting embodiments for isolating and purifying an Omega-3, 6, 7 or 9 product from natural fish oil.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION A number of nutrition, cosmetic, and nutraceutical products may be produced from oils comprising Omega-3, 6, 7 & 9 fatty acids.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise a natural oil comprising plant oil, nut oil, microalgae oil, or fish oil derived from plants or animals that have not been genetically or transgenically modified, and has not been previously purified to remove certain constituents (e.g., targeted fatty acids).", "In some embodiments, the oil may be derived from plant oil, nut oil, microalgae oil, or fish oil derived from plants or animals that have been genetically or transgenically modified, may be previously purified to remove certain constituents (e.g., targeted fatty acids), may be synthesized, or combinations thereof.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise at least 5% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise 5-30% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise 5-25% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise 5-10% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise 10-20% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the oil may comprise 20-30% C16:1n7 fatty acid.", "In some embodiments, the oil may be high in C16:1n7 fatty acid (Omega-7) and comprise plant oil (e.g., sea buckthorn), nut oil (e.g., macadamia), microalgae oil (e.g., Nannochloropsis, Nitzschia, Thalasossira, Phaeodactylum), or fish oil (e.g., menhaden, anchovy).", "In some embodiments, the oil may be processed in a multiple step process to produce high purity Omega-3, 6, 7 and/or 9 oil products.", "The targeted end product may influence the method steps and inputs in the oil processing methods.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may comprise at least one transesterification step.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may comprise a distillation step comprising at least one distillation method selected from the group consisting of simple molecular distillation, short path distillation, one pass vacuum distillation, two pass vacuum distillation, and fractional distillation.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may comprise a separation step comprising at least one separation method selected from the group consisting of urea complexation, crystallization, filtration, extraction, and adsorption chromatography.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may comprise combinations of the steps described throughout the specification.", "Using the methods and 1 oils described throughout the specification, the inventors surprisingly found that purity levels of Omega-7 esters could be attained that were not previously achievable, particularly purity levels of Omega-7 esters could be attained from natural oils.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of at least 30% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of at least 50% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of at least 70% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of at least 80% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of 30-90% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of 30-50% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of 50-70% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a high purity Omega-7 product with a concentration of palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) esters of 70-90% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of at least 40% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of at least 50% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of at least 70% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of at least 80% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of 30-90% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of 30-50% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of 50-70% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in an Omega-7 & 9 product with a combined concentration of C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 esters of 70-90% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters of less than 50% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters of less than 40% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters of less than 30% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters of less than 20% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters of less than 10% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters ranging from 5-50% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters ranging from 5-40% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters ranging from 5-30% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters ranging from 5-20% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C16:0 esters ranging from 5-10% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters of less than 30% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters of less than 20% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters of less than 10% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters of less than 5% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters of less than 1% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters ranging from 0.5-30% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters ranging from 0.5-20% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters ranging from 0.5-10% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters ranging from 0.5-5% w/w.", "In some embodiments, processing of the oil may result in a concentration of C18:1n9 esters ranging from 0.5-1% w/w.", "Transesterification Synthesis of ethyl esters is known in the art for the enrichment of Omega-3 fatty acids, and the inventors found that such synthesis may also be adapted for application to Omega-6, 7 & 9 fatty acids.", "Transesterification of Omega-7 rich oil may be performed using a variety of different catalysts and conditions.", "In some embodiments, the transesterification may be performed enzymatically, with an acid or base catalyst, a heterogeneous catalyst, or combinations thereof.", "In some embodiments, the base catalyst may comprise NaOH, KOH, sodium ethoxide, and combinations thereof.", "In some embodiments, the acid catalyst may comprise HCl, BF3, H3PO4, organic sulfonic acids, and combinations thereof.", "In some embodiments, the heterogeneous catalyst may comprise metal oxide (e.g., CaO, MgO, SrO, ZnO, La2O3), Mg—Al hydrolalcite, and combinations thereof.", "In some embodiments, the enzymatic method may comprise immobilized enzyme-based catalysts, such as those commercially available from TransBiodiesel Ltd. (P.O.", "Box 437, Shfar-Am 20200 Israel).", "In some embodiments, the catalyst may preferably comprise at least one catalyst selected from the group consisting of sulphuric acid and sodium ethoxide.", "In some embodiments, the transesterification method may use methanol as a reacting solvent and produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs).", "In some embodiments, the transesterification method may use ethanol as a reacting solvent and produce fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs).", "In some embodiments, the molar ratio of the reacting solvent may range from 1:3 to 1:15.In some embodiments, the molar ratio of the reacting solvent may range from 1:4 to 1:14.In some embodiments, the molar ratio of the reacting solvent may range from 1:5 to 1:13.In some embodiments, the molar ratio of the reacting solvent may range from 1:5 to 1:12.In some embodiments, the molar ratio of the reacting solvent may range from 1:7 to 1:10.In some embodiments, the molar ratio of the reacting solvent may range from 1:6 to 1:8.In some embodiments, the molar ratio of the reacting solvent may range from 1:9 to 1:11.In some embodiments, the temperature of the transesterification step may comprise a temperature in the range of 70-90° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the transesterification step may comprise a temperature in the range of 75-85° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the transesterification step may comprise a temperature in the range of 76-84° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the transesterification step may comprise a temperature in the range of 77-83° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the transesterification step may comprise a temperature in the range of 78-82° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the transesterification step may comprise a temperature in the range of 79-81° C. In some embodiments, the yield of the transesterification step may comprise at least 50%.", "In some embodiments, the yield of the transesterification step may comprise 50-90%.", "In some embodiments, the yield of the transesterification step may comprise 60-80%.", "In some embodiments, the yield of the transesterification step may comprise 70-90%.", "In some embodiments, the yield of the transesterification step may comprise 75-90%.", "In some embodiments, the yield of the transesterification step may comprise 80-90%.", "In some embodiments, the yield of the transesterification step may comprise 75-85%.", "Purification of Esters Purification of esters may be performed with adsorption chromatography, fractional or simple molecular distillation, low-temperature crystallization (winterization), supercritical fluid extraction, solvent extraction, and urea complexation.", "Suitable solvents for extraction include, but are not limited to ethanol, methanol, and hexane.", "With the help of proper absorbents, adsorption chromatography may be used to separate the esters based on the number of carbons as well as the degree of unsaturation.", "In some embodiments, such absorbents may comprise AgBF4/SBA15.HPSiOEtIM.PF6, Silver resin Chromatography, Ag+ immobilized by ionic liquid precursor molecules covalently bonded to silica gel, and mesoporous SBA-15.Molecular distillation is known in the art to be useful for the separation, purification and concentration of thermolabile substances with low vapor pressure.", "Molecular distillation techniques may be used as simple or short path distillation, especially when purifying crude esters such as but not limited to microalgae oil FAEEs.", "Fractional distillation also provides a method of producing higher purity FAEEs from oils, such as but not limited to nut oil FAEE (e.g., macadamia) or fish oil FAEE (e.g., menhaden, anchovy).", "In some embodiments, the distillation may comprise one pass or multiple pass vacuum distillation and take place under pressure.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may take place under pressure ranging from 0.1-10 mm Hg.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may take place under pressure ranging from 0.2-7.5 mm Hg.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may take place under pressure ranging from 0.3-5 mm Hg.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may take place under pressure ranging from 1-4 mm Hg.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may take place under pressure ranging from 2-3 mm Hg.", "In some embodiments, multiple passes in a distillation take place at the same pressures.", "In some embodiments, multiple passes in a distillation take place at different pressures In some embodiments, the temperature during distillation may range from 140-280° C. In some embodiments, the temperature during distillation may range from 160-270° C. In some embodiments, the temperature during distillation may range from 170-250° C. In some embodiments, the temperature during distillation may range from 180-225° C. In some embodiments, the temperature during distillation may range from 190-210° C. In some embodiments, the distillation may comprise a single pass at a constant temperature.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may comprise a single pass at varying temperatures.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may comprise multiple passes at the same temperature.", "In some embodiments, the distillation may comprise multiple passes at different temperatures.", "Low-temperature crystallization (winterization) may also be used to produce high purity esters, and takes advantage of the solubility of the esters in different solvents.", "In some embodiments, the solvents may comprise: alcohols (e.g., methanol, ethanol), esters (e.g., ethyl acetate), ethers (e.g., diethyl ether), ketones (e.g., acetone), aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., toluene), hydrocarbons (e.g., hexane), and n-heptane.", "In some embodiments, low-temperature crystallization may be used to purify the Omega-3 EPA or DHA fatty acids or esters from oil with higher concentrations of EPA or DHA, such as fish or microalgae oil.", "Urea complexation may also be used to effectively separate the saturated fat from PUFAs.", "In some embodiments, urea complexation may be used with simple principle straight-chain saturated fatty acids with six carbon atoms confined in the complex.", "In such six carbon atom embodiments, the presence of double bonds in the fatty acids increases the bulk of the molecule and reduces the likelihood of the molecule's complexation with urea, which helps to achieve the separation.", "In some embodiments, the temperature of the urea complexation step may comprise a temperature in the range of 70-90° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the urea complexation step may comprise a temperature in the range of 75-85° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the urea complexation step may comprise a temperature in the range of 76-84° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the urea complexation step may comprise a temperature in the range of 77-83° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the urea complexation step may comprise a temperature in the range of 78-82° C. In some embodiments, the temperature of the urea complexation step may comprise a temperature in the range of 79-81° C. Example 1 An experiment was conducted to determine the purity of Omega-7 ethyl esters that could be isolated from natural macadamia nut oil.", "Natural macadamia nut oil was analyzed and found to contain the fatty acid profile as shown in Table 3.TABLE 3 Natural Macadamia Oil Composition Analyte % C14:0 1.1 C16:0 8.3 C16:1n7 22.0 (Omega-7) C18:0 3.1 C18:1n9 53.7 (Omega-9) C18:1n11t 4.2 C18:2 2.3 C20:0 2.8 C20:1 2.6 Total Fatty 100.0 Acids One non-limiting embodiment of the multi-step process for producing an isolated high purity Omega-7 product from natural nut oil, such as macadamia nut oil, is shown in FIG.", "1.Transesterification Step: Macadamia nut oil (1 kg) was transesterified in a 5 L, 3-neck round bottom flask using 2.5% w/w sodium ethoxide as the catalyst and 1:10 molar ratio of ethanol as the reacting solvent to produce an FAEE product.", "The reaction was performed for 3 hrs at 80° C. After 3 hrs, the reaction mixture was cooled to ≤40° C. and neutralized with 1:1 v/v of water.", "After neutralization the reaction mixture was allowed to separate into two layers comprising an ethyl ester layer on top and an aqueous layer on bottom.", "The ethyl ester layer was separated and was concentrated using a rotary evaporator resulting in ≥850 grams of the FAEE product (≥85% Yield).", "Distillation Step: For macadamia nut oil FAEE with a composition of at least 20% w/w C16:1n7 (palmitoleic acid) and using a vacuum distillation apparatus in either a one-pass or two-pass system, it is possible to produce an oil product with a concentration of C16:1n7 ethyl esters above 50% w/w.", "In such a system, the reboiler temperature varied between 170° C. and 220° C., and the vacuum pressure was maintained at 0.3 to 5 mm Hg.", "Using a single pass vacuum distillation system with the macadamia nut oil FAEE product from the transesterification step resulted in a concentrated oil product mixture of C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters (second fraction) as shown in Table 4.The resulting second fraction concentrated oil product may be successfully used in the cosmetics field, as the saturated fat along with Omega-7 also has antimicrobial activity.", "A significant portion of Omega-9 ethyl esters (C18:1n9) were separated from the Omega-7 ethyl esters in the molecular distillation step to form a first fraction, and the first fraction comprising Omega-9 ethyl esters may be used in nutrition products for heart health, blood sugar control, managing cholesterol levels, and promoting healthy inflammation responses.", "TABLE 4 Single pass distillate Analyte % C12:0 1.1 C14:0 5.9 C16:0 19.0 C16:1n7 73.4 (Omega-7) C18:0 0.0 C18:1n9 0.8 (Omega-9) Total Fatty 100.1 Acid Esters Separation Step: The second fraction concentrated oil product (20 grams) resulting from the molecular distillation step was treated with urea (2 times w/w) and ethanol (5 times w/v).", "The resulting reaction mixture was refluxed at 80° C. for 2 hrs and then allowed to crystallize overnight (approximately 10-12 hrs).", "After overnight crystallization, the resulting crystals comprising saturated fats (C16:0) were separated from the liquid phase using a simple filtration system to form a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters.", "The liquid phase filtrate (fourth fraction) was treated with water to remove the dissolved urea and the Omega-7 ethyl ester product was extracted using hexane.", "The hexane layer was then concentrated using a rotary evaporator under vacuum to give the product composition as shown in Table 5.TABLE 5 Urea crystallization Analyte % C12:0 0.61 C14:0 3.17 C16:0 7.44 C16:1n7 86.37 (Omega-7) C18:1n9 1.43 (Omega-9) Total Fatty 99.02 Acid Esters Additionally, a nutraceutical fraction comprising C16:1n7 and C18:1n9 ethyl esters may be obtained from macadamia nut oil FAEE by using either a molecular distillation method to remove fatty acids≤C16:0 or by using a urea complexation method to remove saturated fat after transesterification, as shown in FIG.", "2.Example 2 An experiment was conducted to determine the purity of Omega-7 ethyl esters that could be isolated from natural microalgae oil.", "Microalgae from genera such as Nannochloropsis, Nitzschia, Thalasossira, and Phaeodactylum are known to be sources of Omega-7 as well as sources of Omega-3 (EPA, DHA) fatty acids.", "Similar to the macadamia nut oil in Example 1, the oil derived from Nannochloropsis may also be processed to produce a high purity Omega-7 product.", "Natural Nannochloropsis oil was analyzed and found to contain the fatty acid profile shown in Table 6.TABLE 6 Natural Nannochloropsis Oil Analyte % C14:0 Myristic 4.0 C16:0 Palmitic 32.1 C16:1n7 Palmitoleic (Omega-7) 23.8 C18:1n9 Oleic (Omega-9) 12.7 C18:2 Linoleic 1.0 C20:4n6 Arachidonic (Omega-6) 1.6 C20:5n3 Eicosapentaenoic (Omega-3) 5.1 Others 1.4 Total Fatty Acids 84.4 Transesterification Step: A traditional two stage transesterification method may be used with microalgae oil.", "During the first stage, the Nannochloropsis oil (1 kg) was transesterified in a 5 L, 3-neck round bottom flask using 8% w/w concentration.", "In the first transesterification stage, sulphuric acid was used as the acid catalyst and a 1:7 molar ratio of ethanol was used as the reacting solvent.", "The first stage reaction was performed for 3 hrs at 80° C. After 3 hrs, the second stage of transesterification was performed.", "In the second transesterification stage, the reaction mixture used 2.5% sodium ethoxide as the base catalyst and a 1:7 molar ratio of ethanol as the reacting solvent.", "The second stage reaction was performed for 3 hrs at 80° C. After completion of both reaction stages (6 hrs), the reaction mixture was cooled to ≤40° C. and neutralized with 1:1 v/v of water.", "The resulting mixture was extracted using hexane, forming a hexane layer on top comprising the target Omega-7 ethyl ester product which was separated and was concentrated using rotary evaporator resulting in ≥700 grams of the FAEE product (≥70% Yield).", "Distillation Step: With a microalgae oil mixture that contains less than 85% total fatty acids, as with the Nannochloropsis oil shown in Table 6, it is recommended that the first distillation step comprise a simple distillation under high vacuum in order to create a distillate with a total fatty acid content greater than 85%.", "The first step distillation may be performed with a short path distillation unit or simple distillation unit operated at a temperature at which all the fatty acids present will vaporize but below a temperature that causes thermal decomposition.", "With the Nannochloropsis FAEE product, the first step distillation was performed at a reboiler temperature of 275° C., a pressure of 2 mmHg, and a distillate temperature of 168° C. After the simple or short path distillation step, a fractional distillation step may be performed on the purified FAEEs to fractionate C16:0 and C16:1 ethyl esters using conditions similar to conditions used for macadamia nut oil in Example 1.Variations from the parameters in Example 1 may be required due to the different molar fraction of C16:0 and C16:1 in microalgae oil as compared to the nut oil.", "With the Nannochloropsis FAEE product, the fractional distillation was performed at a reboiler temperature of 200° C., a pressure of 1 mmHg, and a distillate temperature of 144° C. The method of processing Nannochloropsis oil is shown in FIG.", "3, and the resulting fatty acid concentrations of the resulting products from the molecular distillation are shown in Table 7.TABLE 7 Distillate Residue (Omega 7) % (Omega 3) % C14:0 7.19 C14:1 0.41 C15:0 0.56 C16:0 41.31 8.71 C16:1n7 (Omega-7) 35.13 4.79 C18:1n9 (Omega-9) 5.93 22.78 C18:2 1.02 3.49 C18:3n6 0.19 0.59 C20:1 0.33 C20:3n6 0.92 C20:4n6 (Omega-6) 0.23 10.39 C20:5n3 (Omega-3) 0.66 33.37 Total Fatty Acid 98.53 93.9 Esters The process shown in FIG.", "3 produces two different fractions a first fraction comprising C18:1n9 (Omega-9), C20:4n6 (Omega-6), and C20:5n3 (Omega-3) ethyl esters and a second fraction comprising saturated C16 and C16:1 (Omega-7) ethyl esters, similar to resulting product in the macadamia nut oil FAEE distillation method of Example 1.The C16:0 and C16:1n7 (Omega-7) ethyl ester fraction resulting from the microalgae oil also has potential for commercial use in the cosmetics field due to the antimicrobial activity.", "The Omega-7 ethyl ester fraction may be further purified using a urea crystallization technique to achieve a high purity Omega-7 ethyl ester product as shown in FIG.", "4 to produce a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters (saturated fats) and a fourth fraction comprising C16:1n7 (Omega-7) ethyl esters, thereby raising the concentration level of Omega-7 ethyl esters above the 35% shown in Table 7.The method shown in FIG.", "3 also produces an Omega-3, 6 & 9 ethyl ester rich first fraction.", "The fatty acids present in the Omega-3, 6, & 9 fraction have similar physical properties, allowing the use of adsorption chromatography (Silver-ion Chromatography) to separate these fatty acid ethyl esters and achieve higher purities.", "The adsorption chromatography selectively separates the fatty acid ethyl esters based on unsaturation and carbon chain length as shown in FIG.", "5.Additionally, the microalgae FAEE produced with the method shown in FIG.", "3 may be separated into a saturated fat fraction and a monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA)+PUFA fractions using urea crystallization.", "A MUFA+PUFA fraction will contain Omega-3, 6, 7 & 9 fatty acid ethyl esters which have potential commercial value in nutraceutical applications and may be purified into individual components using adsorption chromatography as shown in FIG.", "6.Example 3 An experimental plan was formed to determine for isolating an Omega-7 ethyl esters product from natural fish oil.", "Natural fish oil from sources such as menhaden and anchovy are also known to be sources of nutritional fatty acids, including Omega-7 fatty acids.", "Natural menhaden oil was analyzed and found to contain the fatty acid profile shown in Table 8, and may be processed in a method similar to the methods described for macadamia nut oil in Example 1 to produce high purity fractions of Omega-3, 6, 7 & 9 ethyl esters.", "TABLE 8 Natural Menhaden Oil Composition Analyte % (Average) C14:0 8 C16:0 18 C16:1n7 11 (Omega-7) C18:0 3.1 C18:1n9 8 (Omega-9) C20:5n3 15 (Omega-3) C22:6n3 7 (Omega-3) Total Fatty 70.1 Acids Transesterification Step: Fish oil (1 kg) may be transesterified in a 5 L, 3-neck round bottom flask using 2.5% w/w sodium ethoxide as the catalyst and a 1:10 molar ratio of ethanol as the reacting solvent.", "The reaction may be performed for 3 hrs at 80° C. After 3 hrs, the reaction mixture will be cooled to ≤40° C. and neutralized with 1:1 v/v of water.", "After neutralization the reaction mixture will separate into two layers comprising an ethyl ester layer on top and an aqueous layer on bottom.", "The ethyl ester layer will be separated and concentrated using a rotary evaporator resulting in ≥850 grams of the FAEE product (≥85% Yield).", "Distillation Step: A fish oil FAEE product with a composition of at least 20% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters may be concentrated to above 50% w/w C16:1n7 ethyl esters using a vacuum distillation apparatus in either a one-pass or two-pass system.", "The two-pass distillation system may be similar to the distillation system and method described in Example 2.In such a system, the reboiler temperature varies between 170° C. and 220° C., and the vacuum pressure is maintained at 0.3 to 5 mmHg.", "Using the single pass distillation system in conditions similar to Example 1 for the macadamia nut oil FAEE will result in a second fraction mixture of C16:0 and C16:1n7 ethyl esters.", "The resulting concentrated oil product may be successfully used in the cosmetics field, as the saturated fat along with Omega-7 also has antimicrobial activity.", "Separation Step: The second fraction distillate mixture (20 grams) resulting from the molecular distillation step may be treated with urea (2 times w/w) and ethanol (5 times w/v).", "The resulting reaction mixture will be refluxed at 80° C. for 2 hrs and then allowed to crystallize overnight (approximately 10-12 hrs).", "After overnight crystallization, the resulting crystals comprising saturated fats (C16:0) will be separated using a simple filtration system to form a third fraction of C16:0 ethyl esters.", "The fourth fraction liquid phase filtrate (fourth fraction) will be treated with water to remove the dissolved urea and the Omega-7 product will be extracted using hexane.", "The hexane layer will be concentrated using a rotary evaporator under vacuum to give the Omega-7 ethyl ester product as shown in FIG.", "7.Additionally, the Omega-3, 6, & 9 first fraction separated during the simple distillation step may be further purified using adsorption chromatography to further separate the Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 FAEE from each other as shown in FIG.", "7.A nutraceutical fraction (Omega-3) may also be produced from fish oil FAEE using either a molecular distillation method to remove fatty acids≤C16:0 or a urea complexation method to remove saturated fat.", "The Omega fraction separated from saturated fat may comprise Omega-3, 6, 7 & 9 FAEE, similar to the fraction separated from microalgae oil in Example 2.The Omega-3, 6, 7, & 9 fraction has potential value in a nutraceutical product as an Omega mixture.", "As shown in FIG.", "8, the Omega fraction may also be further purified into individual fatty acids fractions using a technique such as adsorption chromatography to produce separate Omega-3, Omega-6, Omega-7, and Omega-9 fractions for use in nutraceuticals.", "All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein (to the maximum extent permitted by law), regardless of any separately provided incorporation of particular documents made elsewhere herein.", "The citation and incorporation of patent documents herein is done for convenience only and does not reflect any view of the validity, patentability, and/or enforceability of such patent documents.", "The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context.", "Unless otherwise stated, all exact values provided herein are representative of corresponding approximate values (e.g., all exact exemplary values provided with respect to a particular factor or measurement can be considered to also provide a corresponding approximate measurement, modified by “about,” where appropriate).", "All provided ranges of values are intended to include the end points of the ranges, as well as values between the end points.", "The description herein of any aspect or embodiment of the invention using terms such as “comprising”, “having,” “including,” or “containing” with reference to an element or elements is intended to provide support for a similar aspect or embodiment of the invention that “consists of”, “consists essentially of”, or “substantially comprises” that particular element or elements, unless otherwise stated or clearly contradicted by context (e.g., a composition described herein as comprising a particular element should be understood as also describing a composition consisting of that element, unless otherwise stated or clearly contradicted by context).", "All headings and sub-headings are used herein for convenience only and should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way.", "The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed.", "No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.", "This invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims and/or aspects appended hereto as permitted by applicable law." ] ]
Patent_15875098
[ [ "COMPOUNDS AND METHODS FOR DELIVERY OF PROSTACYCLIN ANALOGS", "This invention pertains generally to prostacyclin formulations and methods for their use in promoting vasodilation, inhibiting platelet aggregation and thrombus formation, stimulating thrombolysis, inhibiting cell proliferation (including vascular remodeling), providing cytoprotection, preventing atherogenesis and inducing angiogenesis." ], [ "1.A method of treating pulmonary hypertension, treating peripheral vascular disease, promoting vasodilation, inhibiting platelet aggregation and thrombus formation, stimulating thrombolysis, inhibiting cell proliferation, providing cytoprotection, preventing atherogenesis, or inducing angiogenesis comprising administering to a patient in need thereof a pharmaceutically effective amount of a prodrug of treprostinil, wherein the prodrug converts to treprostinil upon said administration.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug has no activity before being converted to treprostinil.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is administered by oral administration.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is administered by ingestion.", "5.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is administered by transmucosal administration.", "6.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is administered by parenteral administration.", "7.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is administered by subcutaneous administration.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is administered by injection.", "9.The method of claim 8, wherein the injection is a bolus injection.", "10.The method of claim 8, wherein the injection is continuous infusion.", "11.The method of claim 8, wherein the injection is an intravenous injection.", "12.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is administered by duodenal administration.", "13.The method of claim 1, which is a method of treating pulmonary hypertension.", "14.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug is an ester of treprostinil.", "15.The method of claim 14, which is a method of treating pulmonary hypertension.", "16.The method of claim 1, wherein the prodrug provides a Cmax up to 240 minutes post-dosing." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Many valuable pharmacologically active compounds cannot be effectively administered orally for various reasons and are generally administered via intravenous or intramuscular routes.", "These routes of administration generally require intervention by a physician or other health care professional, and can entail considerable discomfort as well as potential local trauma to the patient.", "One example of such a compound is treprostinil, a chemically stable analog of prostacyclin.", "Although treprostinil sodium (Remodulin®) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for subcutaneous administration, treprostinil as the free acid has an absolute oral bioavailability of less than 10%.", "Accordingly, there is clinical interest in providing treprostinil orally.", "Thus, there is a need for a safe and effective method for increasing the systemic availability of treprostinil via administration of treprostinil or treprostinil analogs." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>In one embodiment, the present invention provides a compound having structure I: wherein, R 1 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, substituted and unsubstituted benzyl groups, and groups wherein OR 1 are substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide esters; R 2 and R 3 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, phosphate and groups wherein OR 2 and OR 3 form esters of amino acids or proteins, with the proviso that all of R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are not H; an enantiomer of the compound; and pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compound and polymorphs.", "In some of these embodiments, R 1 is a substituted or unsubstituted benzyl group, such as CH 2 C 6 H 5 .", "In other embodiments, OR 1 is a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester, R 1 is —CH 2 CONR 4 R 5 , R 4 and R 5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, —(CH 2 ) m CH 3 , —CH 2 OH, and —CH 2 (CH 2 ) n OH, with the proviso that m is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.In certain of these embodiments one or both of R 4 and R 5 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, —OH, —CH 3 , or —CH 2 CH 2 OH.", "In any of the previously discussed embodiments, one or both of R 2 and R 3 can be H. In some enantiomers of the compound R 1 =R 2 =R 3 =H, or R 2 =R 3 =H and R 1 =valinyl amide.", "In still further embodiments of the present compounds R 2 and R 3 are independently selected from phosphate and groups wherein OR 2 and OR 3 are esters of amino acids, dipeptides, esters of tripeptides and esters of tetrapeptides.", "In some compounds only one of R 2 or R 3 is a phosphate group.", "In other compounds R 2 and R 3 are independently selected from groups wherein OR 2 and OR 3 are esters of amino acids, such as esters of glycine or alanine.", "In any of the above embodiments, one of R 2 and R 3 are H. In certain of the present compounds, the oral bioavailability of the compound is greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil, such as at least 50% or 100% greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil.", "The above compounds can further comprise an inhibitor of p-glycoprotein transport.", "Any of these compounds can also further comprise a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.", "The present invention also provides a method of using the above compounds therapeutically of/for: pulmonary hypertension, ischemic diseases, heart failure, conditions requiring anticoagulation, thrombotic microangiopathy, extracorporeal circulation, central retinal vein occlusion, atherosclerosis, inflammatory diseases, hypertension, reproduction and parturition, cancer or other conditions of unregulated cell growth, cell/tissue preservation and other emerging therapeutic areas where prostacyclin treatment appears to have a beneficial role.", "A preferred embodiment is a method of treating pulmonary hypertension and/or peripheral vascular disease in a subject comprising orally administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of a compound of structure II: wherein, R 1 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, arylalkyl groups and groups wherein OR 1 form a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester; R 2 and R 3 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, phosphate and groups wherein OR 2 and OR 3 form esters of amino acids or proteins, with the proviso that all of R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are not H; an enantiomer of the compound; and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or polymorph of the compound.", "In some of these methods, when OR 1 forms a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester, R 1 is —CH 2 CONR 4 R 5 , wherein R 4 and R 5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, —(CH 2 ) m CH 3 , —CH 2 OH, and —CH 2 (CH 2 ) n OH, with the proviso that m is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.In other methods R 1 is a C 1 -C 4 alkyl group, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl.", "In the disclosed methods, R 1 can also be a substituted or unsubstituted benzyl group.", "In other methods, R 1 can be —CH 3 or —CH 2 C 6 H 5 .", "In still other methods R 4 and R 5 are the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, —CH 3 , and —CH 2 CH 2 OH.", "In yet other methods, one or both of R 2 and R 3 are H. Alternatively, one or both of R 2 and R 3 are not H and R 2 and R 3 are independently selected from phosphate and groups wherein OR 2 and OR 3 are esters of amino acids, dipeptides, esters of tripeptides and esters of tetrapeptides.", "In some methods, only one of R 2 or R 3 is a phosphate group.", "In additional methods, R 2 and R 3 are independently selected from groups wherein OR 2 and OR 3 are esters of amino acids, such as esters of glycine or alanine.", "In further methods one of R 1 and R 2 is H. In some methods, enantiomers of the compound where R 1 =R 2 =R 3 =H, or R 2 =R 3 =H and R 1 =valinyl amide are used.", "In various methods the oral bioavailability of the compound is greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil, such as at least 50% or 100% greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil.", "The present methods can also comprise administering pharmaceutically effective amount of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor, simultaneously, sequentially, or prior to administration of the compound of structure II.", "In some embodiments the p-glycoprotein inhibitor is administered orally or intravenously.", "The disclosed methods can be used to treat pulmonary hypertension.", "The present invention also provides a method of increasing the oral bioavailability of treprostinil or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, comprising administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor and orally administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of treprostinil to a subject.", "In certain of these embodiments the p-glycoprotein inhibitor is administered prior to or simultaneously with the treprostinil.", "The route of the p-glycoprotein inhibitor administration can vary, such as orally or intravenously.", "The present invention also provides a composition comprising treprostinil or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "The present compound can also be administered topically or transdermally.", "Pharmaceutical formulations according to the present invention are provided which include any of the compounds described above in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "The compounds described above can also be used to treat cancer.", "Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "15/239,014, filed Aug. 17, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/881,379, filed Oct. 13, 2015, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/710,694, filed May 13, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/490,014, filed Sep. 18, 2014, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/906,585, filed May 31, 2013, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "13/558,757, filed Jul.", "26, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "12/078,955, filed Apr.", "8, 2008, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "11/603,124, filed Nov. 22, 2006, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "10/851,481, filed May 24, 2004, which claims benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application Ser.", "No.", "60/472,407, filed on May 22, 2003, the entire contents of which applications are incorporated by reference herein.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains generally to prostacyclin analogs and methods for their use in promoting vasodilation, inhibiting platelet aggregation and thrombus formation, stimulating thrombolysis, inhibiting cell proliferation (including vascular remodeling), providing cytoprotection, preventing atherogenesis and inducing angiogenesis.", "Through these prostacyclin-mimetic mechanisms, the compounds of the present invention may be used in the treatment of/for: pulmonary hypertension, ischemic diseases (e.g., peripheral vascular disease, Raynaud's phenomenon, Scleroderma, myocardial ischemia, ischemic stroke, renal insufficiency), heart failure (including congestive heart failure), conditions requiring anticoagulation (e.g., post MI, post cardiac surgery), thrombotic microangiopathy, extracorporeal circulation, central retinal vein occlusion, atherosclerosis, inflammatory diseases (e.g., COPD, psoriasis), hypertension (e.g., preeclampsia), reproduction and parturition, cancer or other conditions of unregulated cell growth, cell/tissue preservation and other emerging therapeutic areas where prostacyclin treatment appears to have a beneficial role.", "These compounds may also demonstrate additive or synergistic benefit in combination with other cardiovascular agents (e.g., calcium channel blockers, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, endothelial antagonists, antiplatelet agents).", "BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many valuable pharmacologically active compounds cannot be effectively administered orally for various reasons and are generally administered via intravenous or intramuscular routes.", "These routes of administration generally require intervention by a physician or other health care professional, and can entail considerable discomfort as well as potential local trauma to the patient.", "One example of such a compound is treprostinil, a chemically stable analog of prostacyclin.", "Although treprostinil sodium (Remodulin®) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for subcutaneous administration, treprostinil as the free acid has an absolute oral bioavailability of less than 10%.", "Accordingly, there is clinical interest in providing treprostinil orally.", "Thus, there is a need for a safe and effective method for increasing the systemic availability of treprostinil via administration of treprostinil or treprostinil analogs.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one embodiment, the present invention provides a compound having structure I: wherein, R1 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, substituted and unsubstituted benzyl groups, and groups wherein OR1 are substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide esters; R2 and R3 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 form esters of amino acids or proteins, with the proviso that all of R1, R2 and R3 are not H; an enantiomer of the compound; and pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compound and polymorphs.", "In some of these embodiments, R1 is a substituted or unsubstituted benzyl group, such as CH2C6H5.In other embodiments, OR1 is a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester, R1 is —CH2CONR4R5, R4 and R5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, —(CH2)mCH3, —CH2OH, and —CH2(CH2)nOH, with the proviso that m is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.In certain of these embodiments one or both of R4 and R5 are independently selected from the group consisting of H, —OH, —CH3, or —CH2CH2OH.", "In any of the previously discussed embodiments, one or both of R2 and R3 can be H. In some enantiomers of the compound R1=R2=R3=H, or R2=R3=H and R1=valinyl amide.", "In still further embodiments of the present compounds R2 and R3 are independently selected from phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 are esters of amino acids, dipeptides, esters of tripeptides and esters of tetrapeptides.", "In some compounds only one of R2 or R3 is a phosphate group.", "In other compounds R2 and R3 are independently selected from groups wherein OR2 and OR3 are esters of amino acids, such as esters of glycine or alanine.", "In any of the above embodiments, one of R2 and R3 are H. In certain of the present compounds, the oral bioavailability of the compound is greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil, such as at least 50% or 100% greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil.", "The above compounds can further comprise an inhibitor of p-glycoprotein transport.", "Any of these compounds can also further comprise a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.", "The present invention also provides a method of using the above compounds therapeutically of/for: pulmonary hypertension, ischemic diseases, heart failure, conditions requiring anticoagulation, thrombotic microangiopathy, extracorporeal circulation, central retinal vein occlusion, atherosclerosis, inflammatory diseases, hypertension, reproduction and parturition, cancer or other conditions of unregulated cell growth, cell/tissue preservation and other emerging therapeutic areas where prostacyclin treatment appears to have a beneficial role.", "A preferred embodiment is a method of treating pulmonary hypertension and/or peripheral vascular disease in a subject comprising orally administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of a compound of structure II: wherein, R1 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, arylalkyl groups and groups wherein OR1 form a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester; R2 and R3 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 form esters of amino acids or proteins, with the proviso that all of R1, R2 and R3 are not H; an enantiomer of the compound; and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or polymorph of the compound.", "In some of these methods, when OR1 forms a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester, R1 is —CH2CONR4R5, wherein R4 and R5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, —(CH2)mCH3, —CH2OH, and —CH2(CH2)nOH, with the proviso that m is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.In other methods R1 is a C1-C4 alkyl group, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl.", "In the disclosed methods, R1 can also be a substituted or unsubstituted benzyl group.", "In other methods, R1 can be —CH3 or —CH2C6H5.In still other methods R4 and R5 are the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, —CH3, and —CH2CH2OH.", "In yet other methods, one or both of R2 and R3 are H. Alternatively, one or both of R2 and R3 are not H and R2 and R3 are independently selected from phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 are esters of amino acids, dipeptides, esters of tripeptides and esters of tetrapeptides.", "In some methods, only one of R2 or R3 is a phosphate group.", "In additional methods, R2 and R3 are independently selected from groups wherein OR2 and OR3 are esters of amino acids, such as esters of glycine or alanine.", "In further methods one of R1 and R2 is H. In some methods, enantiomers of the compound where R1=R2=R3=H, or R2=R3=H and R1=valinyl amide are used.", "In various methods the oral bioavailability of the compound is greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil, such as at least 50% or 100% greater than the oral bioavailability of treprostinil.", "The present methods can also comprise administering pharmaceutically effective amount of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor, simultaneously, sequentially, or prior to administration of the compound of structure II.", "In some embodiments the p-glycoprotein inhibitor is administered orally or intravenously.", "The disclosed methods can be used to treat pulmonary hypertension.", "The present invention also provides a method of increasing the oral bioavailability of treprostinil or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, comprising administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor and orally administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of treprostinil to a subject.", "In certain of these embodiments the p-glycoprotein inhibitor is administered prior to or simultaneously with the treprostinil.", "The route of the p-glycoprotein inhibitor administration can vary, such as orally or intravenously.", "The present invention also provides a composition comprising treprostinil or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "The present compound can also be administered topically or transdermally.", "Pharmaceutical formulations according to the present invention are provided which include any of the compounds described above in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "The compounds described above can also be used to treat cancer.", "Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS.", "1A and 1B respectively show plasma concentration versus time curves for intravenous and intraportal dosing of treprostinil diethanolamine salt in rats as described in Example 1; FIGS.", "2A, 2B and 2C respectively show plasma concentration versus time curves for intraduodenal, intracolonic and oral dosing of treprostinil diethanol amine salt in rats as described in Example 1; FIG.", "3 shows on a logarithmic scale the average plasma concentration versus time curves for the routes of administration described in Example 1; FIG.", "4 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following oral administration in rats of treprostinil methyl ester as described in Example 2; FIG.", "5 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following oral administration in rats of treprostinil benzyl ester as described in Example 2; FIG.", "6 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following oral administration in rats of treprostinil diglycine as described in Example 2; FIG.", "7 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following oral administration in rates of treprostinil benzyl ester (0.5 mg/kg) and treprostinil diglycine (0.5 mg/kg) as described in Example 2 compared to treprostinil (1 mg/per kg).", "FIG.", "8 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following intraduodenal administration of treprostinil monophosphate (ring) as described in Example 3; FIG.", "9 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following intraduodenal administration of treprostinil monovaline (ring) as described in Example 3; FIG.", "10 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following intraduodenal administration of treprostinil monoalanine (ring) as described in Example 3; FIG.", "11 is a graphical representation of the plasma concentration versus time curve for treprostinil in rat following intraduodenal administration of treprostinil monoalanine (chain) as described in Example 3; and FIG.", "12 is a graphical representation of the average plasma concentration versus time curve for each prodrug compared to treprostinil alone from Example 1, as described in Example 3.Treprostinil was dosed at 1 mg/kg whereas the prodrugs were dosed at 0.5 mg/kg.", "FIGS.", "13A-13D respectively show doses, administered every two hours for four doses, for either 0.05 mg per dose (total=0.2 mg), 0.125 mg per dose (total=0.5 mg), 0.25 mg per dose (total=1.0 mg), or 0.5 mg per dose (total=2.0 mg).", "FIG.", "14 shows pharmacokinetic profiles of UT-15C sustained release tablets and sustained release capsules, fasted and fed state.", "FIG.", "15 shows an X ray powder diffraction spectrum of the polymorph Form A.", "FIG.", "16 shows an IR spectrum of the polymorph Form A.", "FIG.", "17 shows a Raman spectrum of the polymorph Form A.", "FIG.", "18 shows thermal data of the polymorph Form A.", "FIG.", "19 shows moisture sorption data of the polymorph Form A.", "FIG.", "20 shows an X ray powder diffraction spectrum of the polymorph Form B.", "FIG.", "21 shows thermal data of the polymorph Form B.", "FIG.", "22 shows moisture sorption data of the polymorph Form B.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Unless otherwise specified, “a” or “an” means “one or more”.", "The present invention provides compounds and methods for inducing prostacyclin-like effects in a subject or patient.", "The compounds provided herein can be formulated into pharmaceutical formulations and medicaments that are useful in the methods of the invention.", "The invention also provides for the use of the compounds in preparing medicaments and pharmaceutical formulations and for use of the compounds in treating biological conditions related to insufficient prostacyclin activity as outlined in the Field of Invention.", "The present invention also provides compounds and methods for the treatment of cancer and cancer related disorders.", "In some embodiments, the present compounds are chemical derivatives of (+)-treprostinil, which has the following structure: Treprostinil is a chemically stable analog of prostacyclin, and as such is a potent vasodilator and inhibitor of platelet aggregation.", "The sodium salt of treprostinil, (1R,2R,3aS,9aS)-[[2,3,3a,4,9,9a-Hexahydro-2-hydroxy-1-[(3S)-3-hydroxyoctyl]-1H-benz[f]inden-5-yl] oxy]acetic acid monosodium salt, is sold as a solution for injection as Remodulin® which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of pulmonary hypertension.", "In some embodiments, the present compounds are derivatives of (−)-treprostinil, the enantiomer of (+)-treprostinil.", "A preferred embodiment of the present invention is the diethanolamine salt of treprostinil.", "The present invention further includes polymorphs of the above compounds, with two forms, A and B, being described in the examples below.", "Of the two forms, B is preferred.", "A particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention is form B of treprostinil diethanolamine.", "In some embodiments, the present compounds are generally classified as prodrugs of treprostinil that convert to treprostinil after administration to a patient, such as through ingestion.", "In some embodiments, the prodrugs have little or no activity themselves and only show activity after being converted to treprostinil.", "In some embodiments, the present compounds were produced by chemically derivatizing treprostinil to make stable esters, and in some instances, the compounds were derivatized from the hydroxyl groups.", "Compounds of the present invention can also be provided by modifying the compounds found in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "4,306,075 and 5,153,222 in like manner.", "In one embodiment, the present invention provides compounds of structure I: wherein, R1 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, substituted and unsubstituted benzyl groups and groups wherein OR1 are substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide esters; R2 and R3 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 form esters of amino acids or proteins, with the proviso that all of R1, R2 and R3 are not H; enantiomers of the compound; and pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compound.", "In some embodiments wherein OR1 are substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide esters, R1 is —CH2CONR4R5 and R4 and R5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, —(CH2)mCH3, —CH2OH, and —CH2(CH2)nOH, with the proviso that m is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.One skilled in the art will also readily recognize that where members are grouped together in a common manner, such as in a Markush group or the groups described in the R of structures I and II above and below, the present invention encompasses not only the entire group listed as a whole, but each member of the group individually and all possible subgroups of the main group.", "Accordingly, for all purposes, the present invention encompasses not only the main group, but also the main group absent one or more of the group members.", "The present invention also envisages the explicit exclusion of one or more of any of the group members in the claimed invention.", "For example, R1 can specifically exclude H, substituted and unsubstituted benzyl groups, or groups wherein OR1 are substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide esters.", "In some embodiments, R1 is a substituted or unsubstituted benzyl groups, such as —CH2C6H5, —CH2C6H4NO2, —CH2C6H4OCH3, —CH2C6H4Cl, —CH2C6H4(NO2)2, or —CH2C6H4F.", "The benzyl group can be ortho, meta, para, ortho/para substituted and combinations thereof.", "Suitable substituents on the aromatic ring include halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine), —NO2 groups, —OR16 groups wherein R16 is H or a C1-C4 alkyl group, and combinations thereof.", "Alternatively, when R1 is —CH2CONR4R5 then R4 and R5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, —CH3, and —CH2CH2OH.", "In these compounds where R1 is not H, generally one or both of R2 and R3 are H. In some embodiment one or both of R2 and R3 are H and R1 is —CH2CONR4R5, and one or both of R4 and R5 are H, —OH, —CH3, —CH2CH2OH.", "In compounds where one or both of R2 and R3 are not H, R2 and R3 can be independently selected from phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 are esters of amino acids, dipeptides, esters of tripeptides and esters of tetrapeptides.", "In some embodiments, only one of R2 or R3 is a phosphate group.", "In compounds where at least one of R2 and R3 is not H, generally R1 is H. In additional embodiments, one of R2 and R3 are H and thus the compound of structure I is derivatized at only one of R2 and R3.In particular compounds, R2 is H and R3 is defined as above.", "In additional embodiments, R1 and R3 are H and R2 is a group wherein OR2 is an ester of an amino acid or a dipeptide.", "In further embodiments, R1 and R2 are H and R3 is a group wherein OR3 is an ester of an amino acid or a dipeptide.", "When one or both of the OR2 and OR3 groups form esters of amino acids or peptides, i.e., dipeptides, tripeptides or tetrapeptides, these can be depicted generically as —COCHR6NR7R8 wherein R6 is selected from the group consisting of amino acid side chains, R7 and R8 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR9NR10R11.Generally, reference to amino acids or peptides refers to the naturally occurring, or L-isomer, of the amino acids or peptides.", "However, the present compounds and methods are not limited thereto and D-isomer amino acid residues can take the place of some or all of L-amino acids.", "In like manner, mixtures of D- and L-isomers can also be used.", "In the embodiments wherein the amino acid is proline, R7 together with R6 forms a pyrrolidine ring structure.", "R6 can be any of the naturally occurring amino acid side chains, for example —CH3 (alanine), —(CH2)3NHCNH2NH (arginine), —CH2CONH2 (asparagine), —CH2COOH (aspartic acid), —CH2SH (cysteine), —(CH2)2CONH2 (glutamine), —(CH2)2COOH (glutamic acid), —H (glycine), —CHCH3CH2CH3 (isoleucine), —CH2CH(CH3)2 (leucine), —(CH2)4NH2 (lysine), —(CH2)2SCH3 (methionine), —CH2Ph (phenylalanine), —CH2OH (serine), —CHOHCH3 (threonine), —CH(CH3)2 (valine), —(CH2)3NHCONH2 (citrulline) or —(CH2)3NH2 (ornithine).", "Ph designates a phenyl group.", "In the above compounds, R7 and R8 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR9NR10R11, wherein R9 is a side chain of amino acid, R10 and R11 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR12NR13R14, wherein R12 is an amino acid side chain, R13 and R14 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR15NH2.One skilled in the art will realize that the peptide chains can be extended on the following scheme to the desired length and include the desired amino acid residues.", "In the embodiments where either or both of OR2 and OR3 groups form an ester of a peptide, such as dipeptide, tripeptide, tetrapeptide, etc.", "the peptides can be either homopeptides, i.e., repeats of the same amino acid, such as arginyl-arginine, or heteropeptides, i.e., made up of different combinations of amino acids.", "Examples of heterodipeptides include alanyl-glutamine, glycyl-glutamine, lysyl-arginine, etc.", "As will be understood by the skilled artisan when only one R7 and R8 includes a peptide bond to further amino acid, such as in the di, tri and tetrapeptides, the resulting peptide chain will be linear.", "When both R7 and R8 include a peptide bond, then the peptide can be branched.", "In still other embodiments of the present compounds R1 is H and one of R2 or R3 is a phosphate group or H while the other R2 or R3 is a group such the OR2 or OR3 is an ester of an amino acid, such as an ester of glycine or alanine.", "Pharmaceutically acceptable salts of these compounds as well as pharmaceutical formulation of these compounds are also provided.", "Generally, the compounds described herein have enhanced oral bioavailability compared to the oral bioavailability of treprostinil, either in free acid or salt form.", "The described compounds can have oral bioavailability that is at least 25%, 50% 100%, 200%, 400% or more compared to the oral bioavailability of treprostinil.", "The absolute oral bioavailability of these compounds can range between 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60% or more when administered orally.", "For comparison, the absolute oral bioavailability of treprostinil is on the order of 10%, although treprostinil sodium has an absolute bioavailability approximating 100% when administered by subcutaneous infusion.", "As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, particularly in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein, and in particular the bioavailability ranges described herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof.", "As only one example, a range of 20% to 40%, can be broken down into ranges of 20% to 32.5% and 32.5% to 40%, 20% to 27.5% and 27.5% to 40%, etc.", "Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc.", "As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc.", "As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” “more than” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above.", "In the same manner, all ratios disclosed herein also include all subratios falling within the broader ratio.", "Administration of these compounds can be by any route by which the compound will be bioavailable in effective amounts including oral and parenteral routes.", "The compounds can be administered intravenously, topically, subcutaneously, intranasally, rectally, intramuscularly, transdermally or by other parenteral routes.", "When administered orally, the compounds can be administered in any convenient dosage form including, for example, capsule, tablet, liquid, suspension, and the like.", "Testing has shown that that treprostinil can be irritating upon skin contact.", "In contrast, some of the compounds disclosed herein, generally as prodrugs of treprostinil, are not irritating to the skin.", "Accordingly, the present compounds are well suited for topical or transdermal administration.", "When administered to a subject, the above compounds, and in particular the compounds of structure I, are prostacyclin-mimetic and are useful in treating conditions or disorders where vasodilation and/or inhibition of platelet aggregation or other disorders where prostacyclin has shown benefit, such as in treating pulmonary hypertension.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides methods for inducing prostacyclin-like effects in a subject comprising administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of one or more of the compounds described herein, such as those of structure I above, preferably orally, to a patient in need of such treatment.", "As an example, the vasodilating effects of the present compounds can be used to treat pulmonary hypertension, which result from various forms of connective tissue disease, such as lupus, scleroderma or mixed connective tissue disease.", "These compounds are thus useful for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.", "In another embodiment, the present invention also provides methods of promoting prostacyclin-like effect in a subject by administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of a compound of structure II: wherein, R1 is independently selected from the group consisting of H, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, arylalkyl groups and groups wherein OR1 form a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester; R2 and R3 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 form esters of amino acids or proteins, with the proviso that all of R1, R2 and R3 are not H; an enantiomer of the compound; and a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of the compound.", "In groups wherein OR1 form a substituted or unsubstituted glycolamide ester, R1 can be —CH2CONR4R5, wherein R4 and R5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, substituted and unsubstituted alkyl groups, —(CH2)mCH3, —CH2OH, and —CH2(CH2)nOH, with the proviso that m is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and n is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.In other methods of inducing vasodilation or treating hypertension, R1 can be a C1-C4 alkyl group, such as methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl.", "In other methods R1 is a substituted or unsubstituted benzyl groups, such as —CH2C6H5, —CH2C6H4NO2, —CH2C6H4OCH3, —CH2C6H4Cl, —CH2C6H4(NO2)2, or —CH2C6H4F.", "The benzyl group can be ortho, meta, para, ortho/para substituted and combinations thereof.", "Suitable substituents on the aromatic ring include halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine), —NO2 groups, —OR16 groups wherein R16 is H or a C1-C4 alkyl group, and combinations thereof.", "Alternatively, when R1 is —CH2CONR4R5 then R4 and R5 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, OH, —CH3, and —CH2CH2OH.", "In these methods, where R1 is not H, generally one or both of R2 and R3 are H. In some methods, one or both of R2 and R3 are H and R1 is —CH3, —CH2C6H5.In other methods where one or both of R2 and R3 are H, then R1 is —CH2CONR4R5, and one or both of R4 and R5 are H, —OH, —CH3, —CH2CH2OH.", "In methods where one or both of R2 and R3 are not H, R2 and R3 can be independently selected from phosphate and groups wherein OR2 and OR3 are esters of amino acids, dipeptides, esters of tripeptides and esters of tetrapeptides.", "In some embodiments, only one of R2 or R3 is a phosphate group.", "In methods where at least one of R2 and R3 is not H, generally R1 is H. In other methods, one of R2 or R3 is H and the other R2 or R3 is as defined elsewhere herein.", "In some methods, R2 is H and R3 is not H. In additional embodiments, R1 and R3 are H and R2 is a group wherein OR2 is an ester of an amino acid or a dipeptide.", "In further embodiments, R1 and R2 are H and R3 is a group wherein OR3 is an ester of an amino acid or a dipeptide.", "In the methods, where one or both of the OR2 and OR3 groups form esters of amino acids or peptides, i.e., dipeptides, tripeptides or tetrapeptides, these can be depicted generically as —COCHR6NR7R8 wherein R6 is selected from the group consisting of amino acid side chains, R7 and R8 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR9NR10R11.In the embodiments wherein the amino acid is proline, R7 together with R6 forms a pyrrolidine ring structure.", "R6 can be any of the naturally occurring amino acid side chains, for example —CH3 (alanine), —(CH2)3NHCNH2NH (arginine), —CH2CONH2 (asparagine), —CH2COOH (aspartic acid), —CH2SH (cysteine), —(CH2)2CONH2 (glutamine), —(CH2)2COOH (glutamic acid), —H (glycine), —CHCH3CH2CH3 (isoleucine), —CH2CH(CH3)2 (leucine), —(CH2)4NH2 (lysine), —(CH2)2SCH3 (methionine), —CH2Ph (phenylalanine), —CH2OH (serine), —CHOHCH3 (threonine), —CH(CH3)2 (valine), —(CH2)3NHCONH2 (citrulline) or —(CH2)3NH2 (ornithine).", "Ph designates a phenyl group.", "In the above methods, R7 and R8 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR9NR10R11, wherein R9 is a side chain of amino acid, R10 and R11 may be the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR12NR13R14, wherein R12 is an amino acid side chain, R13 and R14 may be the same or different and are independently selected from the group consisting of H, and —COCHR15NH2.One skilled in the art will realize that the peptide chains can be extended on the following scheme to the desired length and include the desired amino acid residues.", "In the embodiments where either or both of OR2 and OR3 groups form an ester of a peptide, such as dipeptide, tripeptide, tetrapeptide, etc.", "the peptides can be either homopeptides, i.e., repeats of the same amino residue, or heteropeptides, i.e., made up of different combinations of amino acids.", "As will be understood by the skilled artisan when only one of R7 and R8 includes a peptide bond to further amino acid, such as in the di, tri and tetrapeptides, the resulting peptide chain will be linear.", "When both R7 and R8 include a peptide bond, then the peptide can be branched.", "In still other methods R1 is H and one of R2 or R3 is a phosphate group or H while the other R2 or R3 is a group such the OR2 or OR3 is an ester of an amino acid, such as an ester of glycine or alanine.", "In some methods, the administered compound can have an oral bioavailability that is at least 25%, 50% 100%, 200%, 400% of the oral bioavailability of treprostinil.", "It is generally preferred to administer compounds that have higher absolute oral bioavailabilities, such as 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60% or more when administered orally.", "Treprostinil has also been discovered to inhibit metastasis of cancer cells as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "10/006,197 filed Dec. 10, 2001 and Ser.", "No.", "10/047,802 filed Jan. 16, 2002, both of which are hereby incorporated into this application.", "Accordingly, the compounds described above, and in particular those of structure I and II, can also be used in the treatment of cancer and cancer related disorders, and as such the present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions and methods for treating cancer.", "Suitable formulations and methods of using the present compounds can be achieved by substituting the compounds of the present invention, such as those of structure I and II and in particular prodrugs of treprostinil, for the active compounds disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.", "Nos.", "10/006,197 and 10/047,802 filed Jan. 16, 2002.Synthesis of the following compounds of structure I and structure II can be achieved as follows: Synthesis of Methyl Ester of Treprostinil (2) and Biphosphate Ester of Treprostinil Synthesis of Methyl Ester of Treprostinil (2) Methyl ester of treprostinil (2) was prepared by treating 1.087 g (2.8 mmoles) of treprostinil (1) with 50 ml of a saturated solution of dry hydrochloric acid in methanol.", "After 24 hours at room temperature, the methanol was evaporated to dryness and the residue was taken in 200 ml dichloromethane.", "The dichloromethane solution was washed with a 10% aqueous potassium carbonate solution, and then with water to a neutral pH, it was dried over sodium sulfate, filtered and the solvent was removed in vacuo affording treprostinil methyl ester (2) in 98% yield as a yellow oil.", "The crude methyl ester was used as such in subsequent reactions.", "Synthesis of Biphosphate Ester of Treprostinil (4) The procedure was adapted after Steroids, 2(6), 567-603(1963).", "The methyl ester of treprostinil (2) (60 mg, 0.15 mmoles) was dissolved in 2 ml dry pyridine and a pyridinium solution of the previously prepared pyridinium solution of 2-cyanoethylphosphate 1M (0.3 ml, 0.3 mmoles) (cf.", "Methods in Enzymology, 1971, 18(c), 54-57) were concentrated to dryness in vacuo at 40° C. Anhydrous pyridine was added and the reaction mixture was again concentrated; the operation was repeated twice in order to remove water completely.", "Finally the residue was dissolved in 2 ml anhydrous pyridine and 190 mg (0.9 mmoles) dicyclohexylcarbodiimide were added as a solution in 2 ml anhydrous pyridine.", "The reaction mixture in a closed flask was stirred magnetically for 48 hours at room temperature.", "1 ml water was added and after one hour, the mixture was concentrated to a thick paste in vacuo.", "The reaction mixture was treated overnight at room temperature with 3 ml of a 1/9 water/methanol solution containing 35 mg sodium hydroxide.", "The white solid (dicyclohexylurea) formed was removed by filtration and it was washed well with water.", "The aqueous-methanolic solution was concentrated almost to dryness in vacuo, water was added and the solution was extracted with n-butanol (3×2 ml), then with methylene chloride (1×2 ml).", "The pH of the solution was adjusted to 9.0 by treatment with a sulfonic acid ion exchange resin (H+ cycle-Dowex), treatment with Dowex resin for a longer time (˜12 hours) lead to both the cleavage of the TBDMS group and the recovery of the free carboxyl group.", "The resin was filtered and the solution was concentrated to dryness affording the corresponding bisphosphate 4 (43 mg, yield 52%).", "Synthesis of 3′-Monophosphate Ester of Treprostinil (8) and 2-Monophosphate Ester of Treprostinil (10) Synthesis of Monoprotected TBDMS Methyl Ester of Treprostinil (5 and 6) The procedure was adapted from Org.", "Synth., 1998, 75, 139-145.The treprostinil methyl ester (2) (305.8 mg, 0.75 mmoles) was dissolved in 15 ml anhydrous dichloromethane and the solution was cooled on an ice bath to 0° C. Imidazole (102 mg, 1.5 mmoles) and tert-butyldimethyl silyl chloride (226.2 mg, 1.5 mmoles) were added and the mixture was maintained under stirring at 0° C. for 30 minutes, then stirred overnight at room temperature.", "Water (25 ml) was added and the organic layer was separated.", "The aqueous layer was then extracted with dichloromethane (3×50 ml).", "The organic layers were dried over Na2SO4, the solution was filtered and the solvent was removed in vacuo affording 447 mg crude reaction product.", "The crude reaction product was separated by column chromatography (silica gel, 35% ethyl acetate/hexanes) affording 140 mg bis-TBDMS protected Treprostinil methyl ester, 160 mg 2-TBDMS protected treprostinil methyl ester (6) and 60 mg 3′-TBDMS protected Treprostinil methyl ester (5).", "Synthesis of Monophosphate Ester of Treprostinil 8/10 The procedure was adapted after Steroids, 1963, 2(6), 567-603 and is the same for (8) and (10) starting from (6) and (5), respectively.", "The TBDMS protected methyl ester of treprostinil (6) (46 mg, 0.09 mmoles) was dissolved in 2 ml dry pyridine and a pyridinium solution of the previously prepared pyridinium solution of 2-cyanoethyiphosphate 1M (0.2 ml, 0.2 mmoles) (cf.", "Methods in Enzymology, 1971, 18(c), 54-57) were concentrated to dryness in vacuo at 40° C. Anhydrous pyridine was added and the reaction mixture was again concentrated; the operation was repeated twice in order to remove water completely.", "Finally the residue was dissolved in 2 ml anhydrous pyridine and 116 mg (0.56 mmoles) dicyclohexylcarbodiimide were added as a solution in 2 ml anhydrous pyridine.", "The reaction mixture in a closed flask was stirred magnetically for 48 hours at room temperature in the dark.", "5 ml water were added and after one hour, the mixture was concentrated to a thick paste in vacuo.", "The reaction mixture was treated overnight at room temperature with 10 ml of a 1/9 water/methanol solution containing 100 mg sodium hydroxide.", "The white solid (dicyclohexylurea) formed was removed by filtration and it was washed well with water.", "The aqueous-methanolic solution was concentrated almost to dryness in vacuo, water was added and the solution was extracted with n-butanol (3×10 ml), then with methylene chloride (1×10 ml).", "The pH of the solution was adjusted to 9.0 by treatment with a sulfonic acid ion exchange resin (H+ cycle-Dowex); treatment with Dowex resin for a longer time (−˜12 hours) lead to both the cleavage of the TBDMS group and the recovery of the free carboxyl group.", "The resin was filtered and the solution was concentrated to dryness affording the corresponding monophosphate 8 (33 mg, yield 68%).", "Synthesis of Methyl Ester of Treprostinil (2) (2) (1 g; 2.56 mmol) was added to methanol (50 ml) prior saturated with gaseous hydrochloric acid and the mixture swirled to give a clear solution that was left to stand overnight at room temperature.", "Solvent was removed in vacuo and the residue was neutralized with a 20% potassium carbonate solution and extracted in dichloromethane.", "The organic layer was washed with water, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and evaporated to yield the crude product (0.96 g).", "Purification by preparative tlc (silica gel plate; eluent: 7:3 (v/v) hexane-ethyl acetate) afforded 2 (0.803; 77.5%), colorless oil.", "Synthesis of Treprostinil Diethanolamine (UT-15C) Treprostinil acid is dissolved in a 1:1 molar ratio mixture of ethanol:water and diethanolamine is added and dissolved.", "The solution is heated and acetone is added as an antisolvent during cooling.", "Synthesis of Diglycil Ester of Treprostinil Methyl Ester (12) To a magnetically stirred solution of (2) methyl ester 2 (0.268 g; 0.66 mmol) in dichloromethane (30 ml) N-carbobenzyloxyglycine p-nitrophenyl ester (0.766 g; 2.32 mmol) and 4-(dimethyamino)pyridine (250 mg; 2.05 mmol) were successively added.", "The resulted yellow solution was stirred at 20° C. for 24 hrs., then treated with 5% sodium hydroxide solution (20 ml) and stirring continued for 15 mm.", "Dichloromethane (50 ml) was added, layers separated and the organic phase washed with a 5% sodium hydroxide solution (6×20 ml), water (30 ml), 10% hydrochloric acid (2×40 ml), 5% sodium bicarbonate solution (40 ml) and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate.", "Removal of the solvent afforded crude (11) (0.61 g), pale-yellow viscous oil.", "Purification by flash column chromatography on silica gel eluting with gradient 9/1 to 1/2 (v/v) hexane-ethyl ether afforded 0.445 g (85.3%) of 11, white crystals, m.p.", "70-72° C. ′F1-NMR [CDCl3; δ(ppm)]: 3.786 (s)(3H, COOCH3), 3.875 (d)(2H) and 3.940 (d)(2H)(NH—CH2—COO), 4.631 (s) (2H, OCH2COOCH3), 4.789 (m)(1H, adjacent to OOC—CH2NHcbz) and 4.903 (m) (1H, adjacent to OOCCH2NHcbz), 5.09 (s)(4H, C6H5CH2O), 5.378 (m)(1H) and 5.392 (m)(1H)(NH), 7.295-7.329 (m)(10H, C6H5).", "LR ESI-MS (m/z): 787.1 [M+H]+, 804.1 [M+NH4]+, 809.3 [M+Na]+, 825.2 [M+K]+, 1590.5 [2M+NH4]+, 1595.6 [2M+Na]+.", "Methyl Ester, Diglycyl Ester (12) A solution of ester (11) (0.4 g; 0.51 mmol) in methanol (30 ml) was introduced in the pressure bottle of a Parr hydrogenation apparatus, 10% palladium on charcoal (0.2 g; 0.197 mmol Pd) was added, apparatus closed, purged thrice with hydrogen and loaded with hydrogen at 50 p.s.i.", "Stirring was started and hydrogenation carried out for 5 hrs.", "at room temperature.", "Hydrogen was removed from the installation by vacuum suction and replaced with argon.", "The catalyst was filtered off through celite deposited on a fit and the filtrate concentrated in vacuo to give 0.240 g (91%) of 4, white solid m.p.", "98-100° C. Synthesis of Benzyl Ester of Treprostinil (13) To a stirred solution of (2) (2 g; 5.12 mmol) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (20 ml) benzyl bromide (0.95 ml; 7.98 mmol) and freshly distilled triethylamine (1.6 ml; 11.48 mmol) were consecutively added at room temperature and the obtained solution was refluxed with stirring for 12 hrs.", "A white precipitate was gradually formed.", "Solvent was distilled off in vacuo and the residue treated with water (30 ml).", "Upon extraction with methylene chloride emulsion formation occurs.", "The organic and aqueous layers could be separated only after treatment with 5% hydrochloric acid solution (20 ml).", "The organic layer was washed with water, dried on anhydrous sodium sulfate, and evaporated, the residue was further dried under reduced pressure over phosphorus pentoxide to give a yellow viscous oil (2.32 g) that was purified by preparative thin layer chromatography (silica gel plate; eluent: 1:2, v/v, hexane/ethyl ether).", "Yield: 81.2%.", "Synthesis of Bis-Glycyl Ester of Treprostinil (15) Benzy Ester, Di-cbzGly Ester (14) To a magnetically stirred solution of benzyl ester 13 (1 g; 2.08 mmol) in dichloromethane (50 ml) N-carbobenzyloxyglycine p-nitrophenyl ester (2.41 g; 7.28 mmol) and 4-(dimethyamino) pyridine (788 mg; 6.45 mmol) were added.", "The resulted yellow solution was stirred at 20° C. for 21 hrs., then successively washed with a 5% sodium hydroxide solution (6×45 ml), 10% hydrochloric acid (2×40 ml), 5% sodium bicarbonate solution (40 ml) and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate.", "Removal of the solvent, followed by drying over phosphorus pentoxide under reduced pressure, afforded crude 14 (2.61 g), pale-yellow oil.", "Purification by flash column chromatography on silica gel eluting with gradient 9:1 to 1:2 (v/v) hexane-ethyl ether gave (14_(1.51 g; 84.1%) as a colorless, very viscous oil.", "Diglycyl Ester (15) A solution of ester (14) (0.4 g; 0.46 mmol) in methanol (30 ml) was hydrogenated over 10% Pd/C as described for ester (12).", "Work-up and drying over phosphorus pentoxide in vacuo yielded 0.170 g (72.7%) of ester 15, white solid m.p.", "155-158° C. Synthesis of 3′-Glycyl Ester of Treprostinil 19 Benzyl Ester, t-Butyldimethysilyl Monoester (16) A solution of tert-butyldimethylsilyl chloride (0.45 g; 2.98 mmol) in dichloromethane (8 ml) was added dropwise over 10 min., at room temperature, into a stirred solution of benzyl ester 13 (0.83 g; 1.73 mmol) and imidazole (0.33 g; 4.85 mmol) in dichloromethane (20 ml).", "Stirring was continued overnight then water (20 ml) was added, the mixture stirred for one hour, layers separated, organic layer dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to give a slightly yellow oil (1.15 g).", "The crude product is a mixture of the mono-TBDMS (16) and di-TBDMS esters (1H-NMR).", "Column chromatography on silica gel, eluting with a 9:1 (v/v) hexane-ethyl acetate mixture, readily afforded the di-ester (0.618 g) in a first fraction, and ester 16 (0.353 g; yield relative to 13:34.4%) in subsequent fractions.", "Analytical tlc on silica gel of the ester 16 showed only one spot (eluent: 3:2 (v/v) hexane-ethyl ether).", "Consequently, under the above reaction conditions, the other possible isomer (mono-TBDMS ester at the side-chain hydroxyl) was not observed.", "Another experiment in which the molar ratio tert-butyldimethylsilyl chloride:ester 13 was lowered to 1.49 (followed by flash column chromatography of the product on silica gel, eluting with gradient 9.5/0.5 to 3/1 (v/v) hexane-ethyl ether) lead to a decreased content (36.5%, as pure isolated material) of the undesired di-OTBDMS by-product.", "The mono-OTBDMS ester fractions (45.1%; isolated material) consisted of ester 16 (98%) and its side-chain isomer (2%) that could be distinctly separated; the latter was evidenced (tlc, NMR) only in the last of the monoester fractions.", "Benzyl Ester, Cbz-Glycyl Monoester (18) To a magnetically stirred solution of ester 16 (0.340 g; 0.57 mmol) in dichloromethane (15 ml) N-carbobenzyloxyglycine p-nitrophenyl ester (0.445 g; 1.35 mmol) and 4-(dimethyamino) pyridine (150 mg; 1.23 mmol) were successively added.", "The solution was stirred at 20° C. for 40 hrs.", "Work-up as described for esters 11 and 14 yielded a crude product (0.63 g) containing 90% 17 and 10% 18 (1H-NMR).", "To completely remove the protective TBDMS group, this mixture was dissolved in ethanol (30 ml) and subjected to acid hydrolysis (5% HCl, 7 ml) by stirring overnight at room temperature.", "Solvent was then removed under reduced pressure and the residue extracted in dichloromethane (3×50 ml); the organic layer was separated, washed once with water (50 ml), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to give crude ester 18 (0.51 g).", "Purification by flash column chromatography as for esters 11 and 14 afforded ester 18 (0.150 g; overall yield: 39.1%) as a colorless, viscous oil.", "Glycyl Monoester (19) A solution of ester 18 (0.15 g; 0.22 mmol) in methanol (30 ml) was hydrogenated over 10% Pd/C as described for ester 12 and 15.Work-up and drying over phosphorus pentoxide in vacuo yielded ester 10 (0.98 g; 98.0%), white, shiny crystals m.p.", "74-76° C. LR ESI-MS (m/z): 448.2 [M+H]+, 446.4 [M−H]−.", "Synthesis of 3′-L-Leucyl Ester of Treprostinil 22 Benzyl Ester, t-Butyldimethysilyl Monoester, Cbz-L-Leucyl Monoester (20) To a stirred solution of ester 16 (0.38 g: 0.64 mmol) and N-carbobenzyloxy-L-leucine N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (0.37 g; 1.02 mmol) in 10 ml dichloromethane 4-(dimethyamino)pyridine (0.17 g; 1.39 mmol) was added, then stirring continued at room temperature for 2 days.", "The solvent was removed in vacuo and the crude product (0.9 g) subjected to flash column chromatography on silica gel eluting with 9:1 hexane-ethyl acetate; the firstly collected fraction yielded an oil (0.51 g) which, based on the its NMR spectrum and tlc, was proved to be a 2:1 mixture of ester 20 and the starting ester 16.Preparative tlc on silica gel (eluent: ethyl acetate-hexane 1:4) gave pure 20, colorless oil (overall yield based on 7:62.6%).", "Benzyl Ester, Cbz-L-Leucyl Monoester (21) De-protection of the cyclopentenyl hydroxyl in the t-butyldimethysilyl monoester 20 succeeded by treatment with diluted hydrochloric acid solution as described for 18, with the exception that a 1:5 (v/v) chloroform-ethanol mixture, instead of ethanol alone, was used to ensure homogeneity.", "Work-up afforded 20, colorless oil, in 87.6% yield.", "L-Leucyl Monoester (22) Hydrogenolysis of the benzyl and N-carbobenzyloxy groups in 21 was carried out as for 18.Work-up afforded 22 (95.3%), white solid, m.p.", "118-120° C. Synthesis of 2-L-Leucyl Ester of Treprostinil 25 Benzyl Ester, Cbz-L-Ieucyl Monoesters (21, 23) and -Diester (24) To a stirred solution of ester 13 (0.53 g: 1.10 mmol) and N-carbobenzyloxy-L-leucine N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (0.76 g; 2.05 mmol) in dichloromethane (30 ml) 4-(dimethyamino) pyridine (0.29 g; 2.37 mmol) was added, then stirring continued at room temperature for 1 day.", "The solution was diluted with dichioromethane (40 mnl), successively washed with a 5% sodium hydroxide solution (4×25 ml), 10% hydrochloric acid (2×30 ml), 5% sodium bicarbonate solution (50 ml), dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the crude product (0.85 g), as a viscous, yellow oil.", "Thin layer chromatography revealed a complex mixture in which esters 13 and 21 as well as cbz-L-leucine could be identified through the corresponding rF values, only as minor products.", "The crude product was flash-chromatographed through a silica gel column eluting with gradient hexane-ethyl ether.", "At 7:3 (v/v) hexane-ethyl ether, the first fraction gave the cbz-L-leucyl diester 24 (6% of the product subjected to chromatography) while the two subsequent fractions afforded the cbz-L-leucyl monoester 23 (54% of the crude product, as pure isolated 23; 57.6% yield, relative to 2).", "Purity of both compounds was verified by analytical tlc and NMR.", "The other isomer, cbz-L-leucyl monoester 21 constituted only about 5% of the crude product and was isolated by preparative tlc of the latter only a 3.1 23/21 mixture L-Leucyl Monoester (25) Hydrogenolysis of 23 to the ester 25 was performed as described for compound 12 but reaction was carried out at 35 p.s.i., overnight.", "Work-up and drying over phosphorus pentoxide in vacuo afforded 25, white solid m. p. 153-155° C., in quantitative yield.", "Synthesis of 3′-L-Alanyl Ester of Treprostinil 30 N-Cbz-L-Alanyl p-Nitro Phenyl Ester (27) To a stirred solution containing N-carbobenzyloxy-L-alanine (1 g; 4.48 mmol) and p-nitrophenol (1 g; 7.19 mmol) in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (7 ml) a fine suspension of 1,3-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (1.11 g; 5.38 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (5 ml) was added over 30 min.", "Stirring was continued at room temperature for 18 hrs., glacial acetic acid (0.3 ml) added, 1,3-dicyclohexylurea filtered off and solvent removed in vacuo, at 40° C., to give a viscous, yellow-reddish oil (2.5 g).", "The 1H-NMR spectrum showed a mixture consisting of N-carbobenzyloxy-Lalanine p-nitrophenyl ester (27), unreacted p-nitrophenol and a small amount of DCU, which was used as such in the next reaction step.", "Benzyl Ester, Cbz-L-Alanyl Monoester (29) A solution of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (0.30 g; 2.49 mmol) in dichloromethane (3 ml) was quickly dropped (over 5 min.)", "into a magnetically stirred solution of ester 16 (0.37 g; 0.62 mmol) and crude N-carbobenzyloxy-L-alanine p-nitrophenyl ester (0.98 g) in dichloromethane (12 ml).", "The mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature, then diluted with dichloromethanc (50 ml), and thoroughly washed with a 5% sodium hydroxide solution (7×35 ml), 10% hydrochloric acid (3×35 ml), 5°/a sodium bicarbonate solution (50 ml), dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the crude ester 28 (1.1 g).", "The latter was dissolved in ethanol (30 ml), 5% hydrochloric acid (8 ml) and chloroform (5 ml) were added and the solution stirred overnight.", "Solvents were removed in vacuo, the residue taken-up in dichloromethane, washed to pH 7 with a 5% sodium hydrogencarbonate solution, dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and the solvent evaporated affording crude 29 (1.04 g).", "Purification by column chromatography on silica gel, eluting with gradient hexane-ethyl ether, enabled separation of a fraction (at hexane:ethyl ether=1:1 v/v) of pure 29 as a colorless very viscous oil (0.11 g; 25.8% overall yield, based on 16).", "L-Alanyl Monoester (30) Removal of the benzyl and N-carbobenzyloxy groups in 29 was achieved through catalytic hydrogenation as described for 12.Ester 30 was obtained (yield: 97.2%) as a pale-yellow, partially crystallized, oil.", "Synthesis of the 3′-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 33 Synthesis of the Benzyl Ester of Treprostinil 13 The benzyl ester 11 was synthesized by adapting the method described by J. C. Lee et al.", "in Organic Prep.", "and Proc.", "Intl., 1996, 28(4), 480-483.To a solution of 1 (620 mg, 1.6 mmoles) and cesium carbonate (782.4 mg, 2.4 mmoles) in acetonitrile (30 ml) was added benzyl bromide (0.48 ml, 4 mmoles) and the mixture was stirred at reflux for 1 hour.", "After cooling at room temperature, the precipitate was filtered off and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo.", "The residue was dissolved in chloroform (150 ml) and washed with a 2% aqueous solution of NaHCO3 (3×30 ml).", "The organic layer was washed with brine, dried on Na2SO4, filtered and the solvent was removed in vacuo to afford 750 mg of the crude benzyl ester 13 (yield 98%) as a yellow viscous oil.", "The crude benzyl ester 13 can be purified by column chromatography (100-0% dichioromethane(methanol) but it can also be used crude in subsequent reactions.", "Synthesis of the TBDMS Protected Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 16 The procedure for the synthesis of the TBDMS protected benzyl ester was adapted from Organic Synth., 1998, 75, 139-145.The benzyl ester 13 (679 mg, 1.4 mmoles) was dissolved in anhydrous dichloromethanc (20 ml) and the solution was cooled to 0° C. on an ice bath.", "Imidazole (192 mg, 2.8 mmoles) and t-butyldimethylsilyl chloride (TBDMSCl) (420 mg, 2.8 mmoles) were added and the mixture was maintained under stirring for another half hour on the ice bath and then it was left overnight at room temperature.", "40 ml water was added to the reaction mixture and the organic layer was separated.", "The aqueous layer was extracted with 3×50 ml dichloromethane.", "The combined organic layers were dried over Na2SO4, filtered and the solvent was removed in vacuo.", "This afforded 795 mg of material which proved to be a mixture of the desired mono TBDMS protected 5 benzyl ester with the bis-TBDMS protected benzyl ester.", "Pure 16 (249 mg) was obtained by column chromatography on silica gel (eluent 35% ethyl acetate/hexane).", "Synthesis of N-Cbz-L-Valine Ester of the TBDMS Protected Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 31 The procedure used was adapted from Tetrahedron Lett., 1978, 46, 4475-4478.A solution of NCbz-L-valine (127 mg, 0.5 mmoles), N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) (111 mg, 0.5 mmoles), compound 16 (249 mg, 0.4 mmoles) and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) (6 mg, 0.05 mmoles) in anhydrous dichloromethane (15 ml) was stirred at room temperature until esterification was complete.", "The solution was filtered and the formed N,N-dicyclohexylurea was filtered.", "The filtrate was diluted with dichloromethane (80 ml) and washed with water (3×30 ml), a 5% aqueous acetic acid solution (2×30 ml) and then again with water (3×30 ml).", "The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4 and the solvent was evaporated in vacuo affording 369 mg crude 31.Pure 31 was obtained by chromatography (silica gel, 35% ethyl acetate/hexane).", "Synthesis of the 3′-N-Cbz-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 32 Cleavage of the TBDMS group in compound 31 was achieved using an adaptation of the procedure described in Org.", "Letters, 2000, 2(26), 4177-4180.The N-Cbz-L-valine ester of the TBDMS protected benzyl ester 31 (33 mg, 0.04 mmoles) was dissolved in methanol (5 ml) and tetrabutylammonium tribromide (TBATB) (2 mg, 0.004 mmoles) was added.", "The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 24 hrs until the TBDMS deprotection was complete.", "The methanol was evaporated and the residue was taken in dichloromethane.", "The dichloromethane solution was washed with brine and then dried over Na2SO4.After filtering the drying agent the solvent was evaporated to dryness affording 30.2 mg of crude compound 32.Synthesis of the 3′-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil 33 The benzyl and benzyl carboxy groups were removed by catalytic hydrogenation at atmospheric pressure in the presence of palladium 10% wt on activated carbon.", "The 3′-N-Cbz-L-valine ester of benzyl ester 32 (30.2 mg, 0.04 mmoles) was dissolved in methanol (10 ml) and a catalytic amount of Pd/C was added.", "Under magnetic stirring the air was removed from the flask and then hydrogen was admitted.", "The reaction mixture was maintained under hydrogen and stirring at room temperature for 24 hrs, then the hydrogen was removed with vacuum.", "The reaction mixture was then filtered through a layer of celite and the solvent was removed in vacuo to afford the pure 3′-L-valine ester of Treprostinil 33 (15 mg, 0.03 mmoles).", "Synthesis of 2-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil 36/Bis-L-Valine Ester of Trenrostinil 37 Synthesis of 2-L-Alanine Ester of Treprostinil 36′/Bis-L-Alanine Ester of Treprostinil 37′ Synthesis of 2-N-Cbz-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 34 and Bis-N-Cbz-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 35 The procedure used was adapted from Tetrahedron Lett., 1978, 46, 4475-4478.A solution of NCbz-L-valine (186 mg, 0.7 mmoles), N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) (167 mg, 0.8 mmoles), compound 13 (367 mg, 0.8 mmoles) and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) (12 mg, 0.09 mmoles) in anhydrous dichloromethane (15 ml) was stirred at room temperature until esterification was complete.", "The solution was filtered and the formed N,N-dicyclohexylurea was filtered.", "The filtrate was diluted with dichloromethane (100 ml) and washed with water (3×50 ml), a 5% aqueous acetic acid solution (2×50 ml) and then again with water (3×50 ml).", "The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4 and the solvent was evaporated in vacuo affording 556 mg crude product.", "The product was separated by chromatography (silica gel, 35% ethyl acetate/hexane) yielding 369.4 mg 2-valine ester 34 and 98 mg bis-valine ester 35.Synthesis of 2 N-Cbz-L-Alanine Ester of Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 34′ and Bis-N-Cbz-L-Alanine Ester of Treprostinil Benzyl Ester 35′ The procedure used was adapted from Tetrahedron Lett., 1978, 46, 4475-4478.A solution of NCbz-L-alanine (187 mg, 0.84 mmoles), N,N-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) (175 mg, 0.85 mmoles), compound 13 (401 mg, 0.84 mmoles) and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (UMAP) (11.8 mg, 0.1 mmoles) in anhydrous dichloromethane (15 ml) was stirred at room temperature until esterification was complete.", "The solution was filtered and the formed N,N-dicyclohexylurea was filtered.", "The filtrate was diluted with dichloromethane (100 ml) and washed with water (3×50 ml), a 5% aqueous acetic acid solution (2×50 ml) and then again with water (3×50 ml).", "The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4 and the solvent was evaporated in vacuo affording 516 mg crude product.", "The product was separated by chromatography (silica gel, 35% ethyl acetate/hexane) yielding 93.4 mg 2-alanine ester 34′ and 227 mg bis-alanine ester 35′.", "Synthesis of 2-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil 36/Bis-L-Valine Ester of Treprostinil 37 The benzyl and benzyl carboxy groups were removed by catalytic hydrogenation at atmospheric pressure in the presence of palladium 10% wt on activated carbon.", "The 2-N-Cbz-L-valine ester of Treprostinil benzyl ester 34 (58.2 mg, 0.08 mmoles)/bis-N-Cbz-L-valine ester of Treprostinil benzyl ester 35 (55.1 mg, 0.06 mmoles) was dissolved in methanol (10 ml) and a catalytic amount of Pd/C was added.", "Under magnetic stirring the air was removed from the flask and hydrogen was admitted.", "The reaction mixture was maintained under hydrogen and stirring at room temperature for 20 hrs, then hydrogen was removed with vacuum.", "The reaction mixture was then filtered through a layer of celite and the solvent was removed in vacuo to afford the pure 2-L-valine ester of Treprostinil 36 (40 mg, 0.078 mmoles)/bis-L-valine ester of Treprostinil 37 (23 mg, 0.04 mmoles).", "Synthesis of 2-L-Alanine Ester of Treprostinil 36′/Bis-L-Alanine Ester of Treprostinil 37′ The benzyl and benzyl carboxy groups were removed by catalytic hydrogenation at atmospheric pressure in the presence of palladium 10% wt on activated carbon.", "The 2-N-Cbz-L-alanine ester of Treprostinil benzyl ester 34′ (87.4 mg, 0.13 mmoles)/bis-N-Cbz-L-alanine ester of Treprostinil benzyl ester 35′ (135 mg, 0.15 mmoles) was dissolved in methanol (15 ml) and a catalytic amount of Pd/C was added.", "Under magnetic stirring the air was removed from the flask and hydrogen was admitted.", "The reaction mixture was maintained under hydrogen and stirring at room temperature for 20 hrs, then hydrogen was removed with vacuum.", "The reaction mixture was then filtered through a layer of celite and the solvent was removed in vacuo to afford the pure 2-L-valine ester of Treprostinil 36′ (57 mg, 0.12 mmoles)/bis-L-alanine ester of Treprostinil 37′ (82 mg, 0.15 mmoles).", "Synthesis of Benzyl Esters of Treprostinil 38 a-e a 4-NO2C6H4CH2; b 4-(CH3O)C6H4CH2; c 2-ClC6H4CH2; d 2,4-(NO2)2C6H3CH2; e 4-FC6H4CH2 Synthesis of the benzyl esters of treprostinil 38 a-e was performed using the procedure for the benzyl ester 13.Enantiomers of these compounds, shown below, can be synthesized using reagents and synthons of enantiomeric chirality of the above reagents.", "(−)-treprostinil can be synthesized as follows: (a) (S)-2-methyl-CBS-oxazaborolidine, BH3.SMe2, THF, −30° C., 85%.", "(b) TBDMSCl, imidazole, CH2Cl2, 95%.", "(c) Co2(CO)8, CH2Cl2, 2 hr.", "r.t., then CH3CN, 2 hr.", "reflux.", "98%.", "(d) K2CO3, Pd/C (10%), EtOH, 50 psi/24 hr.", "78% (e) NaOH, EtOH, NaBH4.95%.", "(f) BnBr, NaH, THF, 98%.", "(g).", "CH3OH, TsOH.", "96%.", "(h) i. p-nitrobenzoic acid, DEAD, TPP, benzene.", "(i) CH3OH, KOH.", "94%.", "(j) Pd/C (10%), EtOH, 50 psi/2 hr.", "quant.", "(k).", "Ph2PLi, THF.", "(1) i. ClCH2CN, K2CO3.ii, KOH, CH3OH, reflux.", "83% (2 steps).", "Briefly, the enantiomer of the commercial drug (+)-Treprostinil was synthesized using the stereoselective intramolecular Pauson Khand reaction as a key step and Mitsunobu inversion of the side-chain hydroxyl group.", "The absolute configuration of (−)-Treprostinil was confirmed by an X-ray structure of the L-valine amide derivative.", "The following procedure was used to make (−)-treprostinil-methyl-L-valine amide: To a stirred solution of (−)-Treprostinil (391 mg, 1 mmol) and L-valine methyl ester hydrochloride (184 mg, 1.1 mmol) in DMF (10 ml) under Ar was sequentially added pyBOP reagent (1.04 g, 2 mmol), diisopropylethyl amine (0.52 ml, 3 mmol).", "The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight (15 hrs).", "Removal of the solvent in vacuo and purification by chromatography yielded white solid 12 (481 mg, 86%), which was recrystallized (10% ethyl acetate in hexane) to give suitable crystals for X-ray.", "Various modifications of these synthetic schemes capable of producing additional compounds discussed herein will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art.", "There are two major barriers to deliver treprostinil in the circulatory system.", "One of these barriers is that treprostinil undergoes a large first pass effect.", "Upon first circulating through the liver, about 60% of treprostinil plasma levels are metabolized, which leaves only about 40% of the absorbed dose.", "Also, a major barrier to oral delivery for treprostinil is that the compound is susceptible to an efflux mechanism in the gastrointestinal tract.", "The permeability of treprostinil has been measured across Caco-2 cell monolayers.", "The apical to basal transport rate was measured to be 1.39×106 cm/sec, which is indicative of a highly permeable compound.", "However, the basal to apical transport rate was 12.3×106 cm/sec, which suggests that treprostinil is efficiently effluxed from the serosal to lumenal side of the epithelial cell.", "These data suggest that treprostinil is susceptible to p-glycoprotein, a membrane bound multidrug transporter.", "It is believed that the p-glycoprotein efflux pump prevents certain pharmaceutical compounds from traversing the mucosal cells of the small intestine and, therefore, from being absorbed into systemic circulation.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising treprostinil, the compound of structure I or the compound of structure II, or their pharmaceutically acceptable salts and combinations thereof in combination with one or more inhibitors of p-glycoprotein.", "A number of known non-cytotoxic pharmacological agents have been shown to inhibit p-glycoprotein are disclosed in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "6,451,815, 6,469,022, and 6,171,786.P-glycoprotein inhibitors include water soluble forms of vitamin E, polyethylene glycol, poloxamers including Pluronic F-68, polyethylene oxide, polyoxyethylene castor oil derivatives including Cremophor EL and Cremophor RH 40, Chrysin, (+)-Taxifolin, Naringenin, Diosmin, Quercetin, cyclosporin A (also known as cyclosporine), verapamil, tamoxifen, quinidine, phenothiazines, and 9,10-dihydro-5-methoxy-9-oxo-N-[4-[2-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6,7,-dimethoxy-2-isoquinolinyl)ethyl]phenyl]-4-acridinecarboxamide or a salt thereof.", "Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) are liquid and solid polymers of the general formula H(OCH2CH2)nOH, where n is greater than or equal to 4, having various average molecular weights ranging from about 200 to about 20,000.PEGs are also known as alpha-hydro-omega-hydroxypoly-(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl)polyethylene glycols.", "For example, PEG 200 is a polyethylene glycol wherein the average value of n is 4 and the average molecular weight is from about 190 to about 210.PEG 400 is a polyethylene glycol wherein the average value of n is between 8.2 and 9.1 and the average molecular weight is from about 380 to about 420.Likewise, PEG 600, PEG 1500 and PEG 4000 have average values of n of 12.5-13.9, 29-36 and 68-84, respectively, and average molecular weights of 570-630, 1300-1600 and 3000-3700, respectively, and PEG 1000, PEG 6000 and PEG 8000 have average molecular weights of 950-1050, 5400-6600, and 7000-9000, respectively.", "Polyethylene glycols of varying average molecular weight of from 200 to 20000 are well known and appreciated in the art of pharmaceutical science and are readily available.", "The preferred polyethylene glycols for use in the instant invention are polyethylene glycols having an average molecular weight of from about 200 to about 20,000.The more preferred polyethylene glycols have an average molecular weight of from about 200 to about 8000.More specifically, the more preferred polyethylene glycols for use in the present invention are PEG 200, PEG 400, PEG 600, PEG 1000, PEG 1450, PEG 1500, PEG 4000, PEG 4600, and PEG 8000.The most preferred polyethylene glycols for use in the instant invention is PEG 400, PEG 1000, PEG 1450, PEG 4600 and PEG 8000.Polysorbate 80 is an oleate ester of sorbitol and its anhydrides copolymerized with approximately 20 moles of ethylene oxide for each mole of sorbitol and sorbitol anhydrides.", "Polysorbate 80 is made up of sorbitan mono-9-octadecanoate poly(oxy-1,2-ethandiyl) derivatives.", "Polysorbate 80, also known as Tween 80, is well known and appreciated in the pharmaceutical arts and is readily available.", "Water-soluble vitamin E, also known as d-alpha-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate [TPGS], is a water-soluble derivative of natural-source vitamin E. TPGS may be prepared by the esterification of the acid group of crystalline d-alpha-tocopheryl acid succinate by polyethylene glycol 1000.This product is well known and appreciated in the pharmaceutical arts and is readily available.", "For example, a water-soluble vitamin E product is available commercially from Eastman Corporation as Vitamin E TPGS.", "Naringenin is the bioflavonoid compound 2,3-dihydro-5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one and is also known as 4′,5,7-trihydroxyflavanone.", "Naringenin is the aglucon of naringen which is a natural product found in the fruit and rind of grapefruit.", "Naringenin is readily available to the public from commercial sources.", "Quercetin is the bioflavonoid compound 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one and is also known as 3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxyflavone.", "Quercetin is the aglucon of quercitrin, of rutin and of other glycosides.", "Quercetin is readily available to the public from commercial sources.", "Diosmin is the naturally occurring flavonic glycoside compound 7-[[6-O-6-deoxy-alpha-L-mannopyranosyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]oxy]-5-hydroxy-2-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one.", "Diosmin can be isolated from various plant sources including citrus fruits.", "Diosmin is readily available to the public from commercial sources.", "Chrysin is the naturally occurring compound 5,7-dihydroxy-2-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one which can be isolated from various plant sources.", "Chrysin is readily available to the public from commercial sources.", "Poloxamers are alpha-hydro-omega-hydroxypoly(oxyethylene)poly (oxypropylene)poly(oxyethylene) block copolymers.", "Poloxamers are a series of closely related block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide conforming to the general formula HO(C2H4O)a(C3H6O)b(C2H4O)aH.", "For example, poloxamer 124 is a liquid with “a” being 12, “b” being 20, and having an average molecular weight of from about 2090 to about 2360; poloxamer 188 is a solid with “a” being 80, “b” being 27, and having an average molecular weight of from about 7680 to about 9510; poloxamer 237 is a solid with “a” being 64, “b” being 37, and having an average molecular weight of from about 6840 to about 8830; poloxamer 338 is a solid with “a” being 141, “b” being 44, and having an average molecular weight of from about 12700 to about 17400; and poloxamer 407 is a solid with “a” being 101, “b” being 56, and having an average molecular weight of from about 9840 to about 14600.Poloxamers are well known and appreciated in the pharmaceutical arts and are readily available commercially.", "For example, Pluronic F-68 is a commercially available poloxamer from BASF Corp.", "The preferred poloxamers for use in the present invention are those such as poloxamer 188, Pluronic F-68, and the like.", "Polyoxyethylene castor oil derivatives are a series of materials obtained by reacting varying amounts of ethylene oxide with either castor oil or hydrogenated castor oil.", "These polyoxyethylene castor oil derivatives are well known and appreciated in the pharmaceutical arts and several different types of material are commercially available, including the Cremophors available from BASF Corporation.", "Polyoxyethylene castor oil derivatives are complex mixtures of various hydrophobic and hydrophilic components.", "For example, in polyoxyl 35 castor oil (also known as Cremophor EL), the hydrophobic constituents comprise about 83% of the total mixture, the main component being glycerol polyethylene glycol ricinoleate.", "Other hydrophobic constituents include fatty acid esters of polyethylene glycol along with some unchanged castor oil.", "The hydrophilic part of polyoxyl 35 castor oil (17%) consists of polyethylene glycols and glyceryl ethoxylates.", "In polyoxyl 40 hydrogenated castor oil (Cremophor RH 40) approximately 75% of the components of the mixture are hydrophobic.", "These comprise mainly fatty acid esters of glycerol polyethylene glycol and fatty acid esters of polyethylene glycol.", "The hydrophilic portion consists of polyethylene glycols and glycerol ethoxylates.", "The preferred polyoxyethylene castor oil derivatives for use in the present invention are polyoxyl 35 castor oil, such as Cremophor EL, and polyoxyl 40 hydrogenated castor oil, such as Cremophor RH 40.Cremophor EL and Cremophor RH 40 are commercially available from BASF Corporation.", "Polyethylene oxide is a nonionic homopolymer of ethylene oxide conforming to the general formula (OCH2CH2)n in which n represents the average number of oxyethylene groups.", "Polyethylene oxides are available in various grades which are well known and appreciated by those in the pharmaceutical arts and several different types of material are commercially available.", "The preferred grade of polyethylene oxide is NF and the like which are commercially available.", "(+)-Taxifolin is (2R-trans)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2,3-dihydro-3,5,7-trihydroxy-4H-1-benzo pyran-4-one.", "Other common names for (+)-taxifolin are (+)-dihydroquercetin; 3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxy-flavanone; diquertin; taxifoliol; and distylin.", "(+)-Taxifolin is well know and appreciated in the art of pharmaceutical arts and is readily available commercially.", "The preferred p-glycoprotein inhibitor for use in the present invention are water soluble vitamin E, such as vitamin E TPGS, and the polyethylene glycols.", "Of the polyethylene glycols, the most preferred p-glycoprotein inhibitors are PEG 400, PEG 1000, PEG 1450, PEG 4600 and PEG 8000.Administration of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor may be by any route by which the p-glycoprotein inhibitor will be bioavailable in effective amounts including oral and parenteral routes.", "Although oral administration is preferred, the p-glycoprotein inhibitors may also be administered intravenously, topically, subcutaneously, intranasally, rectally, intramuscularly, or by other parenteral routes.", "When administered orally, the p-glycoprotein inhibitor may be administered in any convenient dosage form including, for example, capsule, tablet, liquid, suspension, and the like.", "Generally, an effective p-glycoprotein inhibiting amount of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor is that amount which is effective in providing inhibition of the activity of the p-glycoprotein mediated active transport system present in the gut.", "An effective p-glycoprotein inhibiting amount can vary between about 5 mg to about 1000 mg of p-glycoprotein inhibitor as a daily dose depending upon the particular p-glycoprotein inhibitor selected, the species of patient to be treated, the dosage regimen, and other factors which are all well within the abilities of one of ordinary skill in the medical arts to evaluate and assess.", "A preferred amount however will typically be from about 50 mg to about 500 mg, and a more preferred amount will typically be from about 100 mg to about 500 mg.", "The above amounts of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor can be administered from once to multiple times per day.", "Typically for oral dosing, doses will be administered on a regimen requiring one, two or three doses per day.", "Where water soluble vitamin E or a polyethylene glycol is selected as the p-glycoprotein inhibitor, a preferred amount will typically be from about 5 mg to about 1000 mg, a more preferred amount will typically be from about 50 mg to about 500 mg, and a further preferred amount will typically be from about 100 mg to about 500 mg.", "The most preferred amount of water soluble vitamin E or a polyethylene glycol will be from about 200 mg to about 500 mg.", "The above amounts of water soluble vitamin E or polyethylene glycol can be administered from once to multiple times per day.", "Typically, doses will be administered on a regimen requiring one, two or three doses per day with one and two being preferred.", "As used herein, the term “co-administration” refers to administration to a patient of both a compound that has vasodilating and/or platelet aggregation inhibiting properties, including the compounds described in U.S. Pat.", "Nos.", "4,306,075 and 5,153,222 which include treprostinil and structures I and II described herein, and a p-glycoprotein inhibitor so that the pharmacologic effect of the p-glycoprotein inhibitor in inhibiting p-glycoprotein mediated transport in the gut is manifest at the time at which the compound is being absorbed from the gut.", "Of course, the compound and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor may be administered at different times or concurrently.", "For example, the p-glycoprotein inhibitor may be administered to the patient at a time prior to administration of the therapeutic compound so as to pre-treat the patient in preparation for dosing with the vasodilating compound.", "Furthermore, it may be convenient for a patient to be pre-treated with the p-glycoprotein inhibitor so as to achieve steady state levels of p-glycoprotein inhibitor prior to administration of the first dose of the therapeutic compound.", "It is also contemplated that the vasodilating and/or platelet aggregation inhibiting compounds and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor may be administered essentially concurrently either in separate dosage forms or in the same oral dosage form.", "The present invention further provides that the vasodilating and/or platelet aggregation inhibiting compound and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor may be administered in separate dosage forms or in the same combination oral dosage form.", "Co-administration of the compound and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor may conveniently be accomplished by oral administration of a combination dosage form containing both the compound and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "Thus, an additional embodiment of the present invention is a combination pharmaceutical composition for oral administration comprising an effective vasodilating and/or platelet aggregation inhibiting amount of a compound described herein and an effective p-glycoprotein inhibiting amount of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "This combination oral dosage form may provide for immediate release of both the vasodilating and/or platelet aggregation inhibiting compound and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor or may provide for sustained release of one or both of the vasodilating and/or platelet aggregation inhibiting compound and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "One skilled in the art would readily be able to determine the appropriate properties of the combination dosage form so as to achieve the desired effect of co-administration of the vasodilating and/or platelet aggregation inhibiting compound and the p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides for an enhancement of the bioavailability of treprostinil, a drug of structure I or II, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof by co-administration of a p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "By co-administration of these compounds and a p-glycoprotein inhibitor, the total amount of the compound can be increased over that which would otherwise circulate in the blood in the absence of the p-glycoprotein inhibitor.", "Thus, co-administration in accordance with the present invention can cause an increase in the AUC of the present compounds over that seen with administration of the compounds alone.", "Typically, bioavailability is assessed by measuring the drug concentration in the blood at various points of time after administration of the drug and then integrating the values obtained over time to yield the total amount of drug circulating in the blood.", "This measurement, called the Area Under the Curve (AUC), is a direct measurement of the bioavailability of the drug.", "Without limiting the scope of the invention, it is believed that in some embodiments derivatizing treprostinil at the R2 and R3 hydroxyl groups can help overcome the barriers to oral treprostinil delivery by blocking these sites, and thus the metabolism rate may be reduced to permit the compound to bypass some of the first pass effect.", "Also, with an exposed amino acid, the prodrug may be actively absorbed from the dipeptide transporter system that exists in the gastrointestinal tract.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides compounds, such as those found in structures I and II, that reduce the first pass effect of treprostinil and/or reduce the efflux mechanism of the gastrointestinal tract.", "In some embodiments of the method of treating hypertension in a subject, the subject is a mammal, and in some embodiments is a human.", "Pharmaceutical formulations may include any of the compounds of any of the embodiments described above, either alone or in combination, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier such as those described herein.", "The instant invention also provides for compositions which may be prepared by mixing one or more compounds of the instant invention, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers, excipients, binders, diluents or the like, to treat or ameliorate a variety of disorders related vasoconstriction and/or platelet aggregation.", "A therapeutically effective dose further refers to that amount of one or more compounds of the instant invention sufficient to result in amelioration of symptoms of the disorder.", "The pharmaceutical compositions of the instant invention can be manufactured by methods well known in the art such as conventional granulating, mixing, dissolving, encapsulating, lyophilizing, emulsifying or levigating processes, among others.", "The compositions can be in the form of, for example, granules, powders, tablets, capsules, syrup, suppositories, injections, emulsions, elixirs, suspensions or solutions.", "The instant compositions can be formulated for various routes of administration, for example, by oral administration, by transmucosal administration, by rectal administration, transdermal or subcutaneous administration as well as intrathecal, intravenous, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, intranasal, intraocular or intraventricular injection.", "The compound or compounds of the instant invention can also be administered by any of the above routes, for example in a local rather than a systemic fashion, such as injection as a sustained release formulation.", "The following dosage forms are given by way of example and should not be construed as limiting the instant invention.", "For oral, buccal, and sublingual administration, powders, suspensions, granules, tablets, pills, capsules, gelcaps, and caplets are acceptable as solid dosage forms.", "These can be prepared, for example, by mixing one or more compounds of the instant invention, or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, with at least one additive or excipient such as a starch or other additive.", "Suitable additives or excipients are sucrose, lactose, cellulose sugar, mannitol, maltitol, dextran, sorbitol, starch, agar, alginates, chitins, chitosans, pectins, tragacanth gum, gum arabic, gelatins, collagens, casein, albumin, synthetic or semi-synthetic polymers or glycerides, methyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl-cellulose, and/or polyvinylpyrrolidone.", "Optionally, oral dosage forms can contain other ingredients to aid in administration, such as an inactive diluent, or lubricants such as magnesium stearate, or preservatives such as paraben or sorbic acid, or anti-oxidants such as ascorbic acid, tocopherol or cysteine, a disintegrating agent, binders, thickeners, buffers, sweeteners, flavoring agents or perfuming agents.", "Additionally, dyestuffs or pigments may be added for identification.", "Tablets may be further treated with suitable coating materials known in the art.", "Additionally, tests have shown that the present compounds, including treprostinil, and in particular the compounds of structure I and II have increased bioavailability when delivered to the duodenum.", "Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention involves preferential delivery of the desired compound to the duodenum as well as pharmaceutical formulations that achieve duodenal delivery.", "Duodenal administration can be achieved by any means known in the art.", "In one of these embodiments, the present compounds can be formulated in an enteric-coated dosage form.", "Generally, enteric-coated dosage forms are usually coated with a polymer that is not soluble at low pH, but dissolves quickly when exposed to pH conditions of 3 or above.", "This delivery form takes advantage of the difference in pH between the stomach, which is about 1 to 2, and the duodenum, where the pH tends to be greater than 4.Liquid dosage forms for oral administration may be in the form of pharmaceutically acceptable emulsions, syrups, elixirs, suspensions, slurries and solutions, which may contain an inactive diluent, such as water.", "Pharmaceutical formulations may be prepared as liquid suspensions or solutions using a sterile liquid, such as, but not limited to, an oil, water, an alcohol, and combinations of these.", "Pharmaceutically suitable surfactants, suspending agents, emulsifying agents, may be added for oral or parenteral administration.", "As noted above, suspensions may include oils.", "Such oil include, but are not limited to, peanut oil, sesame oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil and olive oil.", "Suspension preparation may also contain esters of fatty acids such as ethyl oleate, isopropyl myristate, fatty acid glycerides and acetylated fatty acid glycerides.", "Suspension formulations may include alcohols, such as, but not limited to, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, hexadecyl alcohol, glycerol and propylene glycol.", "Ethers, such as but not limited to, poly(ethyleneglycol), petroleum hydrocarbons such as mineral oil and petrolatum; and water may also be used in suspension formulations.", "Injectable dosage forms generally include aqueous suspensions or oil suspensions which may be prepared using a suitable dispersant or wetting agent and a suspending agent.", "Injectable forms may be in solution phase or in the form of a suspension, which is prepared with a solvent or diluent.", "Acceptable solvents or vehicles include sterilized water, Ringer's solution, or an isotonic aqueous saline solution.", "Alternatively, sterile oils may be employed as solvents or suspending agents.", "Preferably, the oil or fatty acid is non-volatile, including natural or synthetic oils, fatty acids, mono-, di- or tri-glycerides.", "For injection, the pharmaceutical formulation may be a powder suitable for reconstitution with an appropriate solution as described above.", "Examples of these include, but are not limited to, freeze dried, rotary dried or spray dried powders, amorphous powders, granules, precipitates, or particulates.", "For injection, the formulations may optionally contain stabilizers, pH modifiers, surfactants, bioavailability modifiers and combinations of these.", "The compounds may be formulated for parenteral administration by injection such as by bolus injection or continuous infusion.", "A unit dosage form for injection may be in ampoules or in multi-dose containers.", "Besides those representative dosage forms described above, pharmaceutically acceptable excipients and carries are generally known to those skilled in the art and are thus included in the instant invention.", "Such excipients and carriers are described, for example, in “Remingtons Pharmaceutical Sciences” Mack Pub.", "Co., New Jersey (1991), which is incorporated herein by reference.", "The formulations of the invention may be designed for to be short-acting, fast-releasing, long-acting, and sustained-releasing as described below.", "Thus, the pharmaceutical formulations may also be formulated for controlled release or for slow release.", "The instant compositions may also comprise, for example, micelles or liposomes, or some other encapsulated form, or may be administered in an extended release form to provide a prolonged storage and/or delivery effect.", "Therefore, the pharmaceutical formulations may be compressed into pellets or cylinders and implanted intramuscularly or subcutaneously as depot injections or as implants such as stents.", "Such implants may employ known inert materials such as silicones and biodegradable polymers.", "Specific dosages may be adjusted depending on conditions of disease, the age, body weight, general health conditions, sex, and diet of the subject, dose intervals, administration routes, excretion rate, and combinations of drugs.", "Any of the above dosage forms containing effective amounts are well within the bounds of routine experimentation and therefore, well within the scope of the instant invention.", "A therapeutically effective dose may vary depending upon the route of administration and dosage form.", "The preferred compound or compounds of the instant invention is a formulation that exhibits a high therapeutic index.", "The therapeutic index is the dose ratio between toxic and therapeutic effects which can be expressed as the ratio between LD50 and ED50.The LD50 is the dose lethal to 50% of the population and the ED50 is the dose therapeutically effective in 50% of the population.", "The LD50 and ED50 are determined by standard pharmaceutical procedures in animal cell cultures or experimental animals.", "A method of preparing pharmaceutical formulations includes mixing any of the above-described compounds with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and water or an aqueous solution.", "Pharmaceutical formulations and medicaments according to the invention include any of the compounds of any of the embodiments of compound of structure I, II or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof described above in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.", "Thus, the compounds of the invention may be used to prepare medicaments and pharmaceutical formulations.", "In some such embodiments, the medicaments and pharmaceutical formulations comprise any of the compounds of any of the embodiments of the compounds of structure I or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.", "The invention also provides for the use of any of the compounds of any of the embodiments of the compounds of structure I, II or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof for prostacyclin-like effects.", "The invention also provides for the use of any of the compounds of any of the embodiments of the compounds of structure I, II or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof or for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.", "The invention also pertains to kits comprising one or more of the compounds of structure I or II along with instructions for use of the compounds.", "In another embodiment, kits having compounds with prostacyclin-like effects described herein in combination with one or more p-glycoprotein inhibitors is provided along with instructions for using the kit.", "By way of illustration, a kit of the invention may include one or more tablets, capsules, caplets, gelcaps or liquid formulations containing the bioenhancer of the present invention, and one or more tablets, capsules, caplets, gelcaps or liquid formulations containing a prostacyclin-like effect compound described herein in dosage amounts within the ranges described above.", "Such kits may be used in hospitals, clinics, physician's offices or in patients' homes to facilitate the co-administration of the enhancing and target agents.", "The kits should also include as an insert printed dosing information for the co-administration of the enhancing and target agents.", "The following abbreviations and definitions are used throughout this application: Generally, reference to a certain element such as hydrogen or H is meant to include all isotopes of that element.", "For example, if an R group is defined to include hydrogen or H, it also includes deuterium and tritium.", "As used herein, the term “p-glycoprotein inhibitor” refers to organic compounds which inhibit the activity of the p-glycoprotein mediated active transport system present in the gut.", "This transport system actively transports drugs which have been absorbed from the intestinal lumen and into the gut epithelium back out into the lumen.", "Inhibition of this p-glycoprotein mediated active transport system will cause less drug to be transported back into the lumen and will thus increase the net drug transport across the gut epithelium and will increase the amount of drug ultimately available in the blood.", "The phrases “oral bioavailability” and “bioavailability upon oral administration” as used herein refer to the systemic availability (i.e., blood/plasma levels) of a given amount of drug administered orally to a patient.", "The phrase “unsubstituted alkyl” refers to alkyl groups that do not contain heteroatoms.", "Thus the phrase includes straight chain alkyl groups such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl, undecyl, dodecyl and the like.", "The phrase also includes branched chain isomers of straight chain alkyl groups, including but not limited to, the following which are provided by way of example: —CH(CH3)2, —CH(CH3)(CH2CH3), —CH(CH2CH3)2, —C(CH3)3, —C(CH2CH3)3, —CH2CH(CH3)2, —CH2CH(CH3)(CH2CH3), —CH2CH(CH2CH3)2, —CH2C(CH3)3, —CH2C(CH2CH3)3, —CH(CH3)CH(CH3)(CH2CH3), —CH2CH2CH(CH3)2, —CH2CH2CH(CH3)(CH2CH3), —CH2CH2CH(CH2CH3)2, —CH2CH2C(CH3)3, —CH2CH2C(CH2CH3)3, —CH(CH3)CH2CH(CH3)2, —CH(CH3)CH(CH3)CH(CH3)2, —CH(CH2CH3)CH(CH3)CH(CH3)(CH2CH3), and others.", "The phrase also includes cyclic alkyl groups such as cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl, and cyclooctyl and such rings substituted with straight and branched chain alkyl groups as defined above.", "The phrase also includes polycyclic alkyl groups such as, but not limited to, adamantyl norbornyl, and bicyclo[2.2.2]octyl and such rings substituted with straight and branched chain alkyl groups as defined above.", "Thus, the phrase unsubstituted alkyl groups includes primary alkyl groups, secondary alkyl groups, and tertiary alkyl groups.", "Unsubstituted alkyl groups may be bonded to one or more carbon atom(s), oxygen atom(s), nitrogen atom(s), and/or sulfur atom(s) in the parent compound.", "Preferred unsubstituted alkyl groups include straight and branched chain alkyl groups and cyclic alkyl groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms.", "More preferred such unsubstituted alkyl groups have from 1 to 10 carbon atoms while even more preferred such groups have from 1 to 5 carbon atoms.", "Most preferred unsubstituted alkyl groups include straight and branched chain alkyl groups having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms and include methyl, ethyl, propyl, and —CH(CH3)2.The phrase “substituted alkyl” refers to an unsubstituted alkyl group as defined above in which one or more bonds to a carbon(s) or hydrogen(s) are replaced by a bond to non-hydrogen and non-carbon atoms such as, but not limited to, a halogen atom in halides such as F, Cl, Br, and I; and oxygen atom in groups such as hydroxyl groups, alkoxy groups, aryloxy groups, and ester groups; a sulfur atom in groups such as thiol groups, alkyl and aryl sulfide groups, sulfone groups, sulfonyl groups, and sulfoxide groups; a nitrogen atom in groups such as amines, amides, alkylamines, dialkylamines, arylamines, alkylarylamines, diarylamines, N-oxides, imides, and enamines; a silicon atom in groups such as in trialkylsilyl groups, dialkylarylsilyl groups, alkyldiarylsilyl groups, and triarylsilyl groups; and other heteroatoms in various other groups.", "Substituted alkyl groups also include groups in which one or more bonds to a carbon(s) or hydrogen(s) atom is replaced by a bond to a heteroatom such as oxygen in carbonyl, carboxyl, and ester groups; nitrogen in groups such as imines, oximes, hydrazones, and nitriles.", "Preferred substituted alkyl groups include, among others, alkyl groups in which one or more bonds to a carbon or hydrogen atom is/are replaced by one or more bonds to fluorine atoms.", "One example of a substituted alkyl group is the trifluoromethyl group and other alkyl groups that contain the trifluoromethyl group.", "Other alkyl groups include those in which one or more bonds to a carbon or hydrogen atom is replaced by a bond to an oxygen atom such that the substituted alkyl group contains a hydroxyl, alkoxy, aryloxy group, or heterocyclyloxy group.", "Still other alkyl groups include alkyl groups that have an amine, alkylamine, dialkylamine, arylamine, (alkyl)(aryl)amine, diarylamine, heterocyclylamine, (alkyl)(heterocyclyl)amine, (aryl)(heterocyclyl)amine, or diheterocyclylamine group.", "The phrase “unsubstituted arylalkyl” refers to unsubstituted alkyl groups as defined above in which a hydrogen or carbon bond of the unsubstituted alkyl group is replaced with a bond to an aryl group as defined above.", "For example, methyl (—CH3) is an unsubstituted alkyl group.", "If a hydrogen atom of the methyl group is replaced by a bond to a phenyl group, such as if the carbon of the methyl were bonded to a carbon of benzene, then the compound is an unsubstituted arylalkyl group (i.e., a benzyl group).", "Thus the phrase includes, but is not limited to, groups such as benzyl, diphenylmethyl, and 1-phenylethyl (—CH(C6H5)(CH3)) among others.", "The phrase “substituted arylalkyl” has the same meaning with respect to unsubstituted arylalkyl groups that substituted aryl groups had with respect to unsubstituted aryl groups.", "However, a substituted arylalkyl group also includes groups in which a carbon or hydrogen bond of the alkyl part of the group is replaced by a bond to a non-carbon or a non-hydrogen atom.", "Examples of substituted arylalkyl groups include, but are not limited to, —CH2C(═O)(C6H5), and —CH2(2-methylphenyl) among others.", "A “pharmaceutically acceptable salt” includes a salt with an inorganic base, organic base, inorganic acid, organic acid, or basic or acidic amino acid.", "As salts of inorganic bases, the invention includes, for example, alkali metals such as sodium or potassium; alkaline earth metals such as calcium and magnesium or aluminum; and ammonia.", "As salts of organic bases, the invention includes, for example, trimethylamine, triethylamine, pyridine, picoline, ethanolamine, diethanolamine, and triethanolamine.", "As salts of inorganic acids, the instant invention includes, for example, hydrochloric acid, hydroboric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and phosphoric acid.", "As salts of organic acids, the instant invention includes, for example, formic acid, acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, fumaric acid, oxalic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, maleic acid, citric acid, succinic acid, malic acid, methanesulfonic acid, benzenesulfonic acid, and p-toluenesulfonic acid.", "As salts of basic amino acids, the instant invention includes, for example, arginine, lysine and ornithine.", "Acidic amino acids include, for example, aspartic acid and glutamic acid.", "“Treating” within the context of the instant invention, means an alleviation of symptoms associated with a biological condition, disorder, or disease, or halt of further progression or worsening of those symptoms, or prevention or prophylaxis of the disease or disorder.", "For example, within the context of treating patients having pulmonary hypertension, successful treatment may include a reduction direct vasodilation of pulmonary and/or systemic arterial vascular beds and inhibition of platelet aggregation.", "The result of this vasodilation will generally reduce right and left ventricular afterload and increased cardiac output and stroke volume.", "Dose-related negative inotropic and lusitropic effects can also result.", "The outward manifestation of these physical effects can include a decrease in the symptoms of hypertension, such as shortness of breath, and an increase in exercise capacity.", "The present invention, thus generally described, will be understood more readily by reference to the following examples, which are provided by way of illustration and are not intended to be limiting of the present invention.", "EXAMPLES Example 1 In this Example, the bioavailability of treprostinil in rats after dosing orally, intraduodenally, intracolonically and via the portal vein was compared to determine possible barriers to bioavailability.", "In addition to bioavailability, a number of pharmacokinetic parameters were determined.", "Animal Dosing The bioavailability of treprostinil was evaluated in Sprague-Dawley, male rats.", "Fifteen surgically modified rats were purchased from Hilltop Lab Animals (Scottdale, Pa.).", "The animals were shipped from Hilltop to Absorption Systems' West Chester University facility (West Chester, Pa.), where they were housed for at least twenty-four hours prior to being used in the study.", "The animals were fasted for approximately 16 hours prior to dosing.", "The fifteen rats used in this study were divided into five groups (I, II, III, IV and V).", "The weight of the animals and the dosing regimen are presented in Table 1.TABLE 1 Dose Weight Route of Study Volume Dose Group Rat # (g) Administration Day (mL/kg) (mg/kg) I 118 327 Intravenous 0 2 1 119 329 Intravenous 0 2 1 120 320 Intravenous 0 2 1 II 121 337 Intraportal Vein 0 2 1 122 319 Intraportal Vein 0 2 1 123 330 Intraportal Vein 0 2 1 III 124 329 Intraduodenal 0 2 1 125 331 Intraduodenal 0 2 1 126 324 Intraduodenal 0 2 1 IV 127 339 Intracolonic 0 2 1 128 333 Intracolonic 0 2 1 129 320 Intracolonic 0 2 1 V 130 293 Oral 0 2 1 131 323 Oral 0 2 1 132 332 Oral 0 2 1 Samples were withdrawn at the following time points.", "IV and IPV: 0 (pre-dose) 2, 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360, 480 minutes ID, IC and Oral: 0 (pre-dose), 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360, 480 minutes Approximately 0.50 to 0.75 mL of whole blood was collected from the jugular vein of a cannulated rat.", "The blood was transferred to heparinized tubes and placed on ice until centrifuged.", "Following centrifugation the plasma was placed on ice until frozen at −70□C prior to shipment to Absorption Systems Analysis of Plasma Samples Samples were analyzed using the following methodology: Dosing Solution Preparation The dosing solution was prepared by combining 15.2 mg of treprostinil diethanolamine (12.0 mg of the free acid form) with 24 mL of 5% dextrose.", "The solution was then sonicated until dissolved for a final concentration of 0.5 mg/mL.", "The final pH of the dosing solution was 4.6.At the time of dosing, the dosing solution was clear and homogenous.", "Standards and Sample Preparation To determine the concentration of treprostinil in rat plasma samples, standards were prepared with rat plasma collected in heparin obtained from Lampire Biological Laboratories (Lot #021335263) to contain 1000, 300, 100, 30, 10, 3, 1 and 0.3 ng/mL of treprostinil.", "Plasma standards were treated identically to the plasma samples.", "Plasma samples were prepared by solid phase extraction.", "After an extraction plate was equilibrated, 150 μL of a plasma sample was placed into the well and vacuumed through.", "The extraction bed was then washed with 600 μL of acetonitrile:deionized water (25:75) with 0.2% formic acid.", "The compound was eluted with 600 μL of 90% acetonitrile and 10% ammonium acetate.", "The eluates were collected and evaporated to dryness.", "The residue was reconstituted with 150 μL of acetonitrile:deionized water (50:50) with 0.5 μg/mL of tolbutamide (used as an internal standard).", "HPLC Conditions Column: Keystone Hypersil BDS C18 30×2 mm i.d., 3 μm.", "Mobile Phase Buffer: 25 mM NH4OH to pH 3.5 w/85% formic acid.", "Reservoir A: 10% buffer and 90% water.", "Reservoir B: 10% buffer and 90% acetonitrile.", "Mobile Phase Composition: Gradient Program: Time Duration Grad.", "Curve % A % B −0.1 0.10 0 80 20 0 3.00 1.0 10 90 3.00 1.00 1.0 0 100 4.00 2.00 0 80 20 Flow Rate: 300 μL/min.", "Inj.", "Vol.", ": 10 μL Run Time: 6.0 min.", "Retention Time: 2.6 min.", "Mass Spectrometer Instrument: PE SCIEX API 2000 Interface: Electrospray (“Turbo Ion Spray”) Mode: Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) Precursor Ion Product Ion Treprostinil 389.2 331.2 IS 269.0 170.0 Nebulizing Drying Gas: Curtain Gas: 25 Ion Spray: Gas: 25 60, 350° C. −5000 V Orifice: −80 V Ring: −350 V Q0: 10 V IQ1: 11 V ST: 15 V R01: 11 V IQ2: 35 V R02: 40 V IQ3: 55 V R03: 45 V CAD Gas: 4 Method Validation Table 2 lists the average recoveries (n=6) and coefficient of variation (c.v.) for rat plasma spiked with treprostinil.", "All samples were compared to a standard curve prepared in 50:50 dH2O:acetonitrile with 0.5 μg/mL of tolbutamide to determine the percent of treprostinil recovered from the plasma.", "TABLE 2 Accuracy and Precision of Method Spiked Coefficient of Concentration Percent Recovered Variation 1000 ng/mL 85.6 5.2 100 ng/mL 89.6 11.6 10 ng/mL 98.8 7.0 Pharmacokinetic Analysis Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed on the average plasma concentration for each time point.", "The data were subjected to non-compartmental analysis using the pharmacokinetic program WinNonlin v. 3.1 (2).", "Results Clinical Observations Prior to beginning the experiments it was noted that supra-pharmacological doses of treprostinil would be needed to achieve plasma concentrations that could be analyzed with adequate sensitivity.", "Using the dose of 1 mg/kg some adverse effects were noted in animals dosed intravenously and via the intraportal vein.", "All rats dosed intravenously displayed signs of extreme lethargy five minutes after dosing but fully recovered to normal activity thirty minutes post-dosing.", "In addition, fifteen minutes after dosing all three animals dosed via the portal vein exhibited signs of lethargy.", "One rat (#123) expired before the thirty-minute sample was drawn.", "The other rats fully recovered.", "The remaining animals did not display any adverse reactions after administration of the compound.", "Sample Analysis Average plasma concentrations for each route of administration are shown in Table 3.TABLE 3 Average (n = 3) plasma concentrations (ng/mL) Pre- Time (min) dose 2 5 15 30 60 120 240 360 480 Intravenous 0 1047.96 364.28 130.91 55.56 14.45 4.45 1.09 0.50 0.30 Intraportal Vein* 0 302.28 97.39 47.98 21.94 11.06 3.87 2.51 4.95 5.14 Intraduodenal 0 — 61.76 31.67 18.57 13.55 5.91 1.11 0.89 0.90 Intracolonic 0 — 7.46 3.43 3.52 1.48 0.64 0.36 0.062λ 0.202λ Oral 0 — 4.52 2.90 3.67 2.06 4.52 1.82 0.90 0.96 *n = 2, λconcentration falls below the limit of quantitation (LOQ) of the analytical method The plasma concentration versus time curves for intravenous, intraportal, intraduodenal, intracolonic and oral dosing are shown in FIGS.", "1 and 2.FIG.", "3 shows the average plasma concentration versus time curves for all five routes of administration.", "In the experiments shown in these figures, the diethanolamine salt was used.", "Table 4 shows the pharmacokinetic parameters determined for treprostinil.", "The individual bioavailabilities of each rat are found in Table 5.TABLE 4 Average Bioavailability and Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Treprostinil in Rats Average Average Volume of CLs Route of AUC480 min Cmax Tmax T1/2 Bioavailability Distribution* (mL · min−1 · Administration (min · ng/mL) (ng/mL) (min) (min) (%) ± SD (L · kg−1) kg−1)* Intravenous 11253.49 2120Ψ 0 94 NA 1.98 88.54 Intraportal Vein 4531.74 302 2 ND 40.3 ± 5.5 ND ND Intraduodenal 2712.55 62 5 ND 24.1 ± 0.5 ND ND Intracolonic 364.63 8 5 ND 3.2 ± 2.5 ND ND Oral 1036.23 5 5 ND 9.2 ± 1.4 ND ND *Normalized to the average weight of the rats ND:Not determined ΨExtrapolated Value TABLE 5 Individual Bioavailabilities of Treprostinil in Rats Route of Individual AUC480 min Individual Administration Rat # (min · ng/mL) Bioavailability (%) Intravenous 118 10302.85 NA 119 9981.52 NA 120 13510.65 NA Intraportal Vein 121 4970.67 44.2 122 4093.21 36.4 123 ND ND Intraduodenal 124 2725.68 24.2 125 2763.60 24.6 126 2646.05 23.5 Intracolonic 127 72.63 0.7 128 395.08 3.5 129 625.20 5.6 Oral 130 998.70 8.9 131 907.60 8.1 132 1203.73 10.7 NA: Not applicable ND: Not determined Conclusions Treprostinil has a terminal plasma half-life of 94 minutes.", "The distribution phase of treprostinil has a half-life of 10.3 minutes and over 90% of the distribution and elimination of the compound occurs by 60 minutes post-dosing.", "The volume of distribution (Vd=1.98 L/kg) is greater than the total body water of the rat (0.67 L/kg) indicating extensive partitioning into tissues.", "The systemic clearance of treprostinil (88.54 mL/min/kg) is greater than the hepatic blood flow signifying that extra-hepatic clearance mechanisms are involved in the elimination of the compound.", "First pass hepatic elimination of treprostinil results in an average intraportal vein bioavailability of 40.3%.", "Fast but incomplete absorption is observed after intraduodenal, intracolonic and oral dosing (Tmax≤5 min).", "By comparing the intraportal vein (40.3%) and intraduodenal bioavailability (24.1%) it appears that approximately 60% of the compound is absorbed in the intestine.", "The average intraduodenal bioavailibility is almost three times greater than the oral bioavailibility suggesting that degradation of treprostinil in the stomach or gastric emptying may influence the extent of systemic absorption.", "Example 2 In this Example, Treprostinil concentrations were determined in male Sprague-Dawley rats following a single oral dose of the following compounds: Treprostinil Benzyl Ester Treprostinil Diglycine Treprostinil Methyl Ester Experimental Dosing Solution Preparation All dosing vehicles were prepared less than 2 hours prior to dosing.", "1.Treprostinil Methyl Ester A solution of treprostinil methyl ester was prepared by dissolving 2.21 mg of treprostinil methyl ester with 0.85 mL of dimethylacetamide (DMA).", "This solution was then diluted with 7.65 mL of PEG 400:Polysorbate 80:Water, 40:1:49.The final concentration of the dosing vehicle was 0.26 mg/mL of treprostinil methyl ester equivalent to 0.25 mg/mL of Treprostinil.", "The dosing vehicle was a clear solution at the time of dosing.", "2.Treprostinil Benzyl Ester A solution of treprostinil benzyl ester was prepared by dissolving 2.58 mg of treprostinil benzyl ester with 0.84 mL of dimethylacetamide (DMA).", "This solution was then diluted with 7.54 mL of PEG 400:Polysorbate 80:Water, 40:1:49.The final concentration of the dosing vehicle was 0.268 mg/mL of treprostinil benzyl ester equivalent to 0.25 mg/mL of Treprostinil.", "The dosing vehicle was a clear solution at the time of dosing.", "3.Treprostinil Diglycine A solution of treprostinil diglycine was prepared by dissolving 1.86 mg of compound with 0.58 mL of dimethylacetamide (DMA).", "This solution was then diluted with 5.18 mL of PEG 400:Polysorbate 80:Water, 40:1:49.The final concentration of the dosing vehicle was 0.323 mg/mL of treprostinil diglycine equivalent to 0.25 mg/mL of Treprostinil.", "The dosing vehicle was a clear solution at the time of dosing.", "Animal Dosing The plasma concentrations of Treprostinil following administration of each prodrug were evaluated in male Sprague-Dawley rats.", "Rats were purchased from Hilltop Lab Animals (Scottdale, Pa.).", "The animals were shipped from Hilltop to Absorption Systems' West Chester University facility (West Chester, Pa.).", "They were housed for at least twenty-four hours prior to being used in the study.", "The animals were fasted for approximately 16 hours prior to dosing.", "The rats used in this study were divided into three groups (I, II and III).", "Groups I-III were dosed on the same day.", "The weight of the animals and the dosing regimen are presented in Table 6.TABLE 6 Study Design Route of Dose Weight Ad- Compound Volume Dose* Group Rat # (kg) ministration Dosed (mL/kg) (mg/kg) I 638 306 Oral Treprostinil 2 0.520 639 310 Oral methyl ester 640 319 Oral II 641 319 Oral Treprostinil 2 0.616 642 309 Oral benzyl ester 643 320 Oral III 644 318 Oral Treprostinil 2 0.646 645 313 Oral diglycine 646 322 Oral *This dose of prodrug = 0.500 mg/kg of the active, Treprostinil Animals were dosed via oral gavage.", "Blood samples were taken from a jugular vein cannula at the following time points: 0 (pre-dose) 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360 and 480 minutes The blood samples were withdrawn and placed into tubes containing 30 μL of a solution of 500 units per mL of heparin in saline, and centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 10 minutes.", "Approximately 200 μL of plasma was then removed and dispensed into appropriately labeled polypropylene tubes containing 4 μL of acetic acid in order to stabilize any prodrug remaining in the samples.", "The plasma samples were frozen at −20° C. and were transported on ice to Absorption Systems Exton Facility.", "There they were stored in a −80° C. freezer pending analysis.", "Analysis of Plasma Samples Plasma samples were analyzed as described in Example 1.In brief, Treprostinil was extracted from the plasma via liquid-liquid extraction then analyzed by LC/MS/MS.", "The analytical validation results were reported previously in Example 1.The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of the analytical method was 0.01 ng/mL.", "Samples were not assayed for unchanged prodrug.", "Acceptance Criteria for Analytical Runs Two standard curves, with a minimum of five points per curve, and a minimum of two quality control samples (QCs) were dispersed throughout each run.", "Each route of administration was bracketed by a standard curve used for back-calculation.", "The standards and QCs must be within ±15% (20% for the LLOQ) accuracy and precision for the run to be accepted.", "At least 75% of all standards and QCs must pass the acceptance criteria.", "Pharmacokinetic Analysis Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed on the plasma concentration of Treprostinil for each individual rat at each time point and on the average plasma concentration for all three rats in the group for each time point.", "The data were subjected to non-compartmental analysis using the pharmacokinetic program WinNonLin v. 3.1 (2).", "Results Study Observations No adverse reactions were observed following oral administration of treprostinil methyl ester, treprostinil benzyl ester or treprostinil diglycine.", "Plasma Stability of Prodrugs in Acidified Rat Plasma In order to terminate any conversion of prodrug to active after samples were withdrawn the plasma was acidified.", "Acetic acid (v/v) was added to each plasma sample immediately after centrifugation of the red blood cells to a concentration of 2%.", "In-vitro plasma stability of each prodrug was performed to insure that the compound was stable in acidified plasma.", "To perform this assay 2% acetic acid was added to blank rat plasma obtained from Lampire Biological.", "The acidified rat plasma was equilibrated at 37° C. for three minutes prior to addition of prodrug.", "The initial concentration of each prodrug was 1000 ng/mL.", "A 100 μL aliquot of plasma (n=3 per time point) was taken at 0, 60 and 120 minutes.", "Each aliquot was combined with 20 μL of HCl and vortexed.", "Liquid-liquid extraction was then performed and the concentration of Treprostinil in each sample determined.", "The concentration of Treprostinil at each time point in acidified rat plasma is given in Table 7.Small amounts of Treprostinil appear to be present in the neat compound sample of treprostinil methyl ester and treprostinil diglycine.", "The concentration of Treprostinil remained constant throughout the course of the experiment, indicating that there was no conversion of prodrug into active compound occurring in acidified plasma.", "TABLE 7 Plasma Stability of Prodrugs in Acidified Dog Plasma Treprostinil Concentration (ng/mL) ± SD (n = 3) Treprostinil Treprostinil Treprostinil Time (min) methyl ester benzyl ester diglycine 0 56.8 ± 9.3 <0.01 54.9 ± 4.3 60 55.1 ± 5.0 <0.01 51.8 ± 5.9 120 53.8 ± 1.3 <0.01 54.5 ± 0.8 Total % Treprostinil 5.7 <0.01 5.5 Average Treprostinil plasma concentrations following administration of treprostinil methyl ester, treprostinil benzyl ester or treprostinil diglycine are shown in Table 8.TABLE 8 Treprostinil Concentrations (Average ± SD (n = 3) Plasma Concentrations (ng/mL) Oral Dosing Pre- 5 15 30 60 120 240 360 480 Solution Dose (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) Treprostinil 0 <0.01 0.2 ± 0.0 0.3 ± 0.1 0.5 ± 0.1 1.5 ± 0.8 0.2 ± 0.7 <0.01 0.1 ± 0.1 methyl ester Treprostinil 0 3.1 ± 2.8 1.9 ± 0.8 2.5 ± 1.5 3.2 ± 1.9 7.3 ± 4.9 1.6 ± 1.2 0.4 ± 0.40 0.6 ± 0.9 benzyl ester Treprostinil 0 <0.01 1.1 ± 1.9 6.6 ± 10.7 0.5 ± 0.3* 40.± 5.8 9.0 ± 13.5 2.1 ± 2.9 1.3 ± 0.8 diglycine *Due to insufficient amount of sample collected this time point is the average of n = 2 rats.", "FIGS.", "4-7 contain graphical representations of the plasma concentration versus time curves for Treprostinil in rat following administration of each prodrug.", "Table 9 lists each figure and the information displayed.", "TABLE 9 List of Figures FIG.", "Description 4 Oral Dose of Treprostinil methyl ester 5 Oral Dose of Treprostinil benzyl ester 6 Oral Dose of Treprostinil diglycine 7 Oral Dose of Treprostinil benzyl ester and Treprostinil diglycine Compared to Treprostinil Alone from Example 1 Pharmacokinetic Analysis Bioavailability of the prodrug was determined relative to that of the active compound based on Example 1 in which Treprostinil was dosed to rats.", "The following formula was used to determine relative bioavailability (F): Relative F=(AUC(Prodrug Dose)/Dose)/(AUC(Treprostinil Dose)/Dose)*100 Bioavailability was also determined relative to an intravenous dose of Treprostinil in rats determined in Example 1.Results are listed in Table 10.TABLE 10 Average Relative Bioavailability and Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Treprostinil in Rats Test Average Relative Compound Dose AUC0-t Cmax Tmax Bioavailability Bioavailability Administered (mg/kg) (min · ng/mL) (ng/mL) (min) (%) ± SD (n = 3) (%) ± SD (n = 3) Treprostinil 0.5 212 1.50 120 41.0 ± 16 3.8 ± 2 methyl ester Treprostinil 0.5 1171 7.20 120 226 ± 155 20.8 ± 14 benzyl ester Treprostinil 0.5 2242 9.04 240 433 ± 631 39.9 ± 58 diglycine Conclusions In this study the relative oral bioavailabilities of prodrugs of Treprostinil were determined in rats.", "Treprostinil methyl ester resulted in Treprostinil area under the plasma concentration versus time curves (AUCs) less than that after dosing the active compound.", "Prodrugs treprostinil benzyl ester and treprostinil diglycine both had Treprostinil average AUCs greater than that after dosing of the active compound.", "Treprostinil diglycine had the highest relative bioavailability of 433% with over 4 times more Treprostinil reaching the systemic circulation.", "The Cmax of 9 ng/mL of Treprostinil following administration of treprostinil diglycine occurred at 240 minutes post-dosing.", "The Cmax following dosing of Treprostinil is 5 ng/mL and occurs only 5 minutes post-dosing.", "Treprostinil benzyl ester had a relative bioavailability of 226±155% with a Cmax of 7.2 ng/mL occurring 120 minutes post-dosing.", "It should also be noted that the AUCs are not extrapolated to infinity.", "REFERENCES 1.WinNonlin User's Guide, version 3.1, 1998-1999, Pharsight Co., Mountain View, Calif. 94040.Example 3 This example illustrates a pharmacokinetic study of treprostinil following administration of a single duodenal dose of treprostinil and various prodrugs of the present invention.", "In this study, the area under the curve of Treprostinil in male Sprague-Dawley rats following a single intraduodenal dose of treprostinil monophosphate (ring), treprostinil monovaline (ring), treprostinil monoalanine (ring) or treprostinil monoalanine (chain), prodrugs of treprostinil was compared.", "The compounds were as follows: having the following substituents: Compound R1 R2 R3 treprostinil H —PO3H3 H monophosphate (ring) treprostinil H —COCH(CH(CH3)2)NH2 H monovaline (ring) treprostinil H —COCH(CH3)NH2 H monoalanine (ring) treprostinil H H —COCH(CH3)NH2 monoalanine (chain) Experimental Dosing Solution Preparation All dosing vehicles were prepared less than 2 hours prior to dosing.", "1.Treprostinil Monophosphate (Ring) A dosing solution of treprostinil monophosphate (ring) was prepared by dissolving 1.01 mg of treprostinil monophosphate (ring) in 0.167 mL of dimethylacetamide (DMA) until dissolved.", "This solution was further diluted with 1.50 mL of PEG 400:Polysorbate 80:Water, 40:1:49.The final concentration of the dosing vehicle was 0.603 mg/mL of prodrug equivalent to 0.5 mg/mL of Treprostinil.", "The dosing vehicle was a clear solution at the time of dosing.", "2.Treprostinil Monovaline (Ring) A 50 mg/mL solution of treprostinil monovaline (ring) was prepared in dimethylacetamide (DMA).", "A 25 μL aliquot of the 50 mg/mL stock solution was then diluted with 175 μL of DMA and 1.8 mL of PEG 400:Polysorbate 80:Water, 40:1:49.The final concentration of the dosing vehicle was 0.625 mg/mL of prodrug equivalent to 0.5 mg/mL of Treprostinil.", "The dosing vehicle was a clear solution at the time of dosing.", "3.Treprostinil Monoalanine (Ring) A solution of treprostinil monoalanine (ring) was prepared by dissolving 1.05 mg of treprostinil monoalanine (ring) in 0.178 mL of dimethylacetamide (DMA) until dissolved.", "This solution was further diluted with 1.60 mL of PEG 400:Polysorbate 80:Water, 40:1:49.The final concentration of the dosing vehicle was 0.590 mg/mL of treprostinil monoalanine (ring) equivalent to 0.5 mg/mL of Treprostinil.", "The dosing vehicle was a clear solution at the time of dosing.", "4.Treprostinil Monoalanine (Chain) A solution of treprostinil monoalanine (chain) was prepared by dissolving 0.83 mg of treprostinil monoalanine (chain) in 0.14 mL of dimethylacetamide (DMA) until dissolved.", "This solution was further diluted with 1.26 mL of PEG 400:Polysorbate 80:Water, 40:1:49.The final concentration of the dosing vehicle was 0.591 mg/mL of treprostinil monoalanine (chain) equivalent to 0.5 mg/mL of Treprostinil.", "The dosing vehicle was a clear solution at the time of dosing.", "Animal Dosing The plasma concentrations of Treprostinil following oral administration of each prodrug were evaluated in male Sprague-Dawley rats.", "Twelve rats were purchased from Hilltop Lab Animals (Scottdale, Pa.).", "The animals were shipped from Hilltop to Absorption Systems' West Chester University facility (West Chester, Pa.).", "They were housed for at least twenty-four hours prior to being used in the study.", "The animals were fasted for approximately 16 hours prior to dosing.", "The twelve rats used in this study were divided into four groups.", "All groups were dosed on day 1 of the study.", "The weight of the animals and the dosing regimen are presented in Table 11.TABLE 11 Dose Volume Dose* Rat # Weight (g) Compound (mL/kg) (mg/kg) 130 327 treprostinil monophosphate (ring) 1 0.603 131 321 treprostinil monophosphate (ring) 1 0.603 132 310 treprostinil monophosphate (ring) 1 0.603 133 328 treprostinil monovaline (ring) 1 0.625 134 326 treprostinil monovaline (ring) 1 0.625 135 346 treprostinil monovaline (ring) 1 0.625 136 321 treprostinil monoalanine (chain) 1 0.591 137 319 treprostinil monoalanine (chain) 1 0.591 138 330 treprostinil monoalanine (chain) 1 0.591 139 316 treprostinil monoalanine (ring) 1 0.590 140 330 treprostinil monoalanine (ring) 1 0.590 141 339 treprostinil monoalanine (ring) 1 0.590 *This dose of prodrug = 0.500 mg/kg of treprostinil Animals were dosed via an indwelling duodenal cannula.", "Blood samples were taken from a jugular vein cannula at the following time points: 0 (pre-dose) 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360 and 480 minutes.", "The blood samples were withdrawn and placed into tubes containing 30 μL of a solution of 500 units per mL of heparin in saline, and centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 10 minutes.", "Approximately 200 μL of plasma was then removed and dispensed into appropriately labeled polypropylene tubes containing 4 μL of acetic acid in order to stabilize any prodrug remaining in the samples.", "The plasma samples were frozen at −20° C. and were transported on ice to Absorption Systems Exton Facility.", "There they were stored in a −80° C. freezer pending analysis.", "Analysis of Plasma Samples Plasma samples were analyzed using the methods described above.", "In brief, Treprostinil was extracted from the plasma via solid phase extraction then analyzed by LC/MS/MS.", "The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) of the analytical method was 0.03 ng/mL.", "Acceptance Criteria for Analytical Runs Four standard curves, with a minimum of five points per curve, and a minimum of two quality control samples (QCs) at 3 concentrations were dispersed throughout each run.", "Each prodrug set was bracketed by a standard curve used for back-calculation.", "The standards and QCs must be within ±15% (20% for the LLOQ) accuracy and precision for the run to be accepted.", "At least 75% of all standards and QCs must pass the acceptance criteria.", "Pharmacokinetic Analysis Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed on the plasma concentration of Treprostinil for each individual rat at each time point and on the average plasma concentration for all three rats in the group for each time point.", "The data were subjected to non-compartmental analysis using the pharmacokinetic program WinNonLin v. 3.1 (2).", "Results Study Observations No adverse reactions were observed following intraduodenal administration of treprostinil monophosphate (ring), treprostinil monovaline (ring), treprostinil monoalanine (ring) or treprostinil monoalanine (chain).", "Ex-Vivo Plasma Stability of Prodrugs in Acidified Rat Plasma In order to terminate any conversion of prodrug to active after samples were withdrawn, the plasma was acidified.", "Acetic acid (v/v) was added to each plasma sample immediately after separation of the red blood cells to a concentration of 2%.", "In-vitro plasma stability of each prodrug was performed to insure that the compound was stable in acidified plasma.", "To perform this assay 2% acetic acid was added to blank rat plasma obtained from Lampire Biological.", "The acidified rat plasma was brought to room temperature for three minutes prior to addition of prodrug.", "The initial concentration of each prodrug was 1000 ng/mL.", "A 100 μL aliquot of plasma (n=3 per time point) was taken at 0, 60 and 120 minutes.", "Sample preparation of each plasma sample was performed as described above and the concentration of Treprostinil monitored.", "Treprostinil concentrations did not increase in any of the acidified plasma samples spiked with prodrug over the two-hour period of the experiment.", "Sample Analysis Average Treprostinil plasma concentrations following administration of treprostinil monophosphate (ring), treprostinil monovaline (ring), treprostinil monoalanine (ring) or treprostinil monoalanine (chain) are shown in Table 12.TABLE 12 AVERAGE ± SD (N = 3) PLASMA TREPROSTINIL CONCENTRATIONS (NG/ML) Oral Dosing Pre- 5 15 30 60 120 240 360 480 Solution dose (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) (min) treprostinil 0 8.62 ± 3.0 6.57 ± 1.7 3.31 ± 1.2 4.31 ± 0.8 2.07 ± 0.4 0.91 ± 0.5 0.26 ± 0.08 0.3 ± 0.08 monophosphate (ring) treprostinil 0 0.76 ± 0.2 0.91 ± 0.7 1.52 ± 0.6 1.53 ± 0.6 1.65 ± 0.7 0.66 ± 0.1 0.15 ± 0.03 0.05 ± 0.02 monovaline (ring) treprostinil 0 2.42 ± 0.6 2.52 ± 0.4 2.91 ± 0.6 3.25 ± 1.5 1.69 ± 0.4 0.55 ± 0.2 0.20 ± 0.1 0.22 ± 0.2 monoalanine (ring) treprostinil 0 9.53 ± 2.6 3.92 ± 0.6 3.83 ± 0.7 2.74 ± 0.9 0.86 ± 0.4 0.29 ± 0.2 0.08 ± 0.04 0.19 ± 0.3 monoalanine (chain) FIGS.", "8-12 contain graphical representations of the plasma concentration versus time curves for Treprostinil in rat following administration of each prodrug.", "Table 13 lists each figure and the information displayed.", "TABLE 13 FIG.", "Description 8 Intraduodenal dose of treprostinil monophosphate (ring) 9 Intraduodenal dose of treprostinil monovaline (ring) 10 Intraduodenal dose of treprostinil monoalanine (ring) 11 Intraduodenal dose of treprostinil monoalanine (chain) 12 Intraduodenal dose of each prodrug compared to treprostinil alone from Example 1 Pharmacokinetic Analysis Bioavailability of the prodrug was determined relative to that of the active compound based on a previous study in which Treprostinil was dosed to rats.", "The following formula was used to determine relative bioavailability (F): Relative F=(AUC(ProdrugDose)/Dose)/(AUC(Treprostinil Dose)/Dose)*100 Absolute bioavailability was also estimated using data from an intravenous dose of Treprostinil in rats determined in Example 1.Results are listed in Table 14.TABLE 14 List of Figures FIG.", "Description 8 Intraduodenal Dose of treprostinil monophosphate (ring) 9 Intraduodenal Dose of treprostinil monovaline (ring) 10 Intraduodenal Dose of treprostinil monoalanine (ring) 11 Intraduodenal Dose of treprostinil monoalanine (chain) 12 Intraduodenal Dose of Each Prodrug Compared to Treprostinil Alone from Example 1 Conclusions The relative intraduodenal bioavailabilities of four prodrugs of Treprostinil were determined in rats.", "All the compounds had relative intraduodenal bioavailabilities less than that of the active compound.", "treprostinil monophosphate (ring) and treprostinil monoalanine (ring) had the highest relative intraduodenal bioavailability at 56% and 38% respectively.", "The Tmax for treprostinil monophosphate (ring) and treprostinil monoalanine (chain) occurred 5 minutes post-dosing.", "treprostinil monovaline (ring) and treprostinil monoalanine (ring) had longer absorption times with Tmax values of 120 and 60 minutes respectively.", "Maximum Treprostinil concentrations were highest following treprostinil monophosphate (ring) and treprostinil monoalanine (chain) dosing.", "They reached approximately 9 ng/mL 5 minutes post-dosing.", "The bioavailabilities are much greater when dosed intraduodenally than when dosed orally as measured by treprostinil plasma levels.", "REFERENCES 1.WinNonlin User's Guide, version 3.1, 1998-1999, Pharsight Co., Mountain View, Calif. 94040.Example 4 In this Example, Treprostinil concentrations will be determined in male Sprague-Dawley rats following a single oral or intraduodenal dose of the following compounds of structure II: having the following substituents: Cpd.", "R1 R2 R3 A —CH2CONH2 H H B —CH2CON(CH2)2OH H H C —CH2CON(CH3)2 H H D —CH2CONHOH H H E —CH2C6H4NO2 (p)* H H F —CH2C6H4OCH3 (p)* H H G —CH2C6H4Cl (o)* H H H —CH2C6H4(NO2)2* H H (o,p) I —CH2C6H4F (p)* H H J H —PO3H3 H K H H —PO3H3 L H —COCH2NH2 H M H H —COCH2NH2 N H —COCH(CH3)NH2 H O H H —COCH(CH3)NH2 P H —COCH(CH3)NH2 —COCH(CH3)NH2 *o denotes ortho substitution, m denotes meta substitution and p denotes para substitution.", "Examples of these compounds include: Prodrug preparation and analysis will take place as described in Examples 1 and 2 above.", "Additionally, the oral bioavailability of treprostinil, treprostinil sodium and the compounds shown in Example 2 and this Example will be administered in close proximity to or simultaneously with various different p-glycoprotein inhibiting compounds at varying concentrations and tested to determine the effect of the p-glycoprotein inhibitors on the oral bioavailability of the compounds.", "The p-glycoprotein inhibitors will be administered both intravenously and orally.", "Example 5 Clinical Studies with Treprostinil Diethanolamine Introduction Prior to proceeding directly into clinical studies with a sustained release (SR) solid dosage form of UT-15C (treprostinil diethanolamine), a determination of the pharmacokinetics of an oral “immediate release” solution was performed.", "The first clinical study (01-101) evaluated the ability of escalating doses of an oral solution of UT-15C to reach detectable levels in plasma, potential dose-plasma concentration relationship, bioavailability and the overall safety of UT-15C.", "Volunteers were dosed with the solutions in a manner that simulated a sustained release formulation releasing drug over approximately 8 hours.", "The second clinical study (01-102) assessed the ability of two SR solid dosage form prototypes (i.e., 1.microparticulate beads in a capsule and, 2.tablet) to reach detectable levels in plasma and the potential influence of food on these plasma drug concentrations.", "The SR prototypes were designed to release UT-15C over approximately an 8 hour time period.", "Details of the two clinical studies are described below.", "Clinical Study 01-101 A Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetic Study of Multiple Escalating Doses of UT-15C (Treprostinil Diethanolamine) Administered as an Oral Solution in Healthy Adult Volunteers (Including Study of Bioavailability).", "The oral solution of UT-15C was administered to 24 healthy volunteers to assess the safety and pharmacokinetic profile of UT-15C as well as its bioavailability.", "To mimic a SR release profile, doses were administered every two hours for four doses at either 0.05 mg per dose (total=0.2 mg), 0.125 mg per dose (total=0.5 mg), 0.25 mg per dose (total=1.0 mg), or 0.5 mg per dose (total=2.0 mg).", "Study endpoints included standard safety assessments (adverse events, vital signs, laboratory parameters, physical examinations, and electrocardiograms) as well as pharmacokinetic parameters.", "All subjects received all four scheduled doses and completed the study in its entirety.", "Treprostinil plasma concentrations were detectable in all subjects following administration of an oral solution dose of UT-15C.", "Both AUCinf and Cmax increased in a linear fashion with dose for each of the four dose aliquots.", "The highest concentration observed in this study was 5.51 ng/mL after the third 0.25 mg solution dose aliquot of the 2.0 mg UT-15C total dose.", "Based on historical intravenous treprostinil sodium data, the mean absolute bioavailability values for the 0.2 mg, 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg and 2.0 mg doses of UT-15C were estimated to be 21%, 23%, 24% and 25%, respectively.", "The results of this study are respectively shown in FIGS.", "13A-13D.", "UT-15C was well tolerated by the majority of subjects at all doses given.", "There were no clinically significant, treatment emergent changes in hematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, vital signs, physical exams, and ECGs.", "The most frequently reported adverse events were flushing, headache, and dizziness.", "This safety profile with UT-15C (treprostinil diethanolamine) is consistent with the reported safety profile and product labeling of Remodulin (treprostinil sodium) and other prostacyclin analogs.", "Thus, changing the salt form of treprostinil did not result in any unexpected safety issues following the protocol specified dosing regimen (i.e.", "single dose every 2 hours for four total doses on a single day).", "Clinical Study 01-102 A Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetic Study Comparing a Single Dose of a Sustained Release Capsule and Tablet Formulation of UT-15C (Treprostinil Diethanolamine) Administered to Healthy Adult Volunteers in the Fasted and Fed State The 01-102 study was designed to evaluate and compare the safety and pharmacokinetic profiles of a (1) UT-15C SR tablet prototype and, (2) UT-15C SR capsule prototype (microparticulate beads in a capsule) in both the fasted and fed state.", "Each of the SR dosage forms were designed to release UT-15C (1 mg) over an approximate 8-hour time period.", "Fourteen healthy adult volunteers were assigned to receive the SR tablet formulation while an additional fourteen volunteers were assigned to receive the SR capsule formulation.", "Subjects were randomized to receive a single dose (1 mg) of their assigned SR prototype in both the fasted and fed state.", "A crossover design was employed with a seven day wash-out period separating the fed/fasted states.", "For the fed portion of the study, subjects received a high calorie, high fat meal.", "Study endpoints included standard safety assessments (adverse events, vital signs, laboratory parameters, physical examinations, and electrocardiograms) as well as pharmacokinetic parameters.", "All subjects administered UT-15C SR tablets and capsules had detectable treprostinil plasma concentrations.", "Calculations of area under the curve from zero to twenty-four hours (AUC0-24) indicate that total exposure to UT-15C SR occurred in the following order: Tablet Fed>Capsule Fasted>Tablet Fasted>Capsule Fed.", "FIG.", "14 displays the pharmacokinetic profiles of the two formulations in the fasted and fed states.", "UT-15C SR tablets and capsules were tolerated by the majority of subjects.", "All adverse events were mild to moderate in severity and were similar to those described in Study 01-101 and in Remodulin's product labeling.", "Additionally, there were no treatment-emergent changes in vital signs, laboratory parameters, physical examinations, or electrocardiograms throughout the study.", "These results demonstrate that detectable and potentially therapeutic drug concentrations can be obtained from a solid dosage form of UT-15C and that these concentrations can be maintained over an extended period of time through sustained release formulation technology.", "Polymorphs of Treprostinil Diethanolamine Two crystalline forms of UT-15C were identified as well as an amorphous form.", "The first, which is metastable, is termed Form A.", "The second, which is thermodynamically more stable, is Form B.", "Each form was characterized and interconversion studies were conducted to demonstrate which form was thermodynamically stable.", "Form A is made according to the methods in Table 15.Form B is made from Form A, in accordance with the procedures of Table 16.TABLE 15 XRPD Sample Solvent Conditionsa Habit/Description Resultb ID tetrahydrofuran FE opaque white solids; morphology A 1440- unknown, birefringent 72-02 SE glassy transparent solids A (PO) 1440- 72-03 SC (60° C.) translucent, colorless glassy sheets A 1440- of material, birefringent 72-16 Toluene slurry (RT), 6 d white solids; opaque masses of A + B 1440- smaller particles 72-01 toluene:IPA SC(60° C.) white solids; spherical clusters of A 1480- (11.4:1) fibers, birefringent 21-03 Water FE opaque white solids; morphology A 1440- unknowm, birefringent 72-07 SE opaque ring of solids, birefringent A + B 1440- 72-08 freeze dry white, glassy transparent solids A + B 1480- 58-02 water:ethanol FE opaque white solids; morphology A + 1440- (1:1) unknown, birefringent 11.5 pk 72-09 FE clear and oily substance with some B 1480- opaque solids 79-02 SE glassy opaque ring of solid A 1440- 72-10 aFE = fast evaporation; SE = slow evaporation; SC = slow cool bIS = insufficient sample; PO = preferred orientation; LC = low crystallinity; pk = peak cXRPD = X-ray powder diffraction TABLE 16 XRPD Solvent Conditions Habit/Description Result Sample ID ethanol/water FE glassy appearing solids of —b 1519-68-01 (1:1) unknown morphology; birefringent 1,4-dioxane slurry(50° C.), 6 d white solids; opaque masses of B 1519-73-02a material; morphology unknown slurry(50° C.), 2 d small grainy solids; with B 1557-12-01 birefringence subsample of — B 1557-15-01 1557-12-01 subsample of white solids B 1557-15-02 1557-12-01 slurry(50° C.), 2 d — B 1557-17-01 isopropanol slurry(RT), 1 d white solids —b 1519-96-03 tetrahydrofuran slurry(RT), 1 d — —b 1519-96-02 toluene slurry(50° C.), 6 d white solids B 1519-73-01 aSeeds of sample #1480-58-01 (A + B) added bSamples not analyzed Characterization of Crystal Forms: Form A The initial material synthesized (termed Form A) was characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), hot stage microscopy, infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, and moisture sorption.", "Representative XRPD of Form A is shown in FIG.", "15.The IR and Raman spectra for Form A are shown in FIGS.", "16 and 17, respectively.", "The thermal data for Form A are shown in FIG.", "18.The DSC thermogram shows an endotherm at 103° C. that is consistent with melting (from hot stage microscopy).", "The sample was observed to recrystallize to needles on cooling from the melt.", "The TG data shows no measurable weight loss up to 100° C., indicating that the material is not solvated.", "The moisture sorption data are shown graphically in FIG.", "19.Form A material shows significant weight gain (>33%) during the course of the experiment (beginning between 65 to 75% RH), indicating that the material is hygroscopic.", "In addition, hygroscopicity of treprostinil diethanolamine was evaluated in humidity chambers at approximately 52% RH and 68% RH.", "The materials were observed to gain 4.9% and 28% weight after 23 days in the ˜52% RH and ˜68% RH chambers, respectively.", "Based on the above characterization data, Form A is a crystalline, anhydrous material which is hygroscopic and melts at 103° C. Form B Treprostinil diethanolamine Form B was made from heated slurries (50° C.) of Form A in 1,4 dioxane and toluene, as shown in Table 16.Material isolated from 1,4-dioxane was used to fully characterize Form B.", "A representative XRPD pattern of Form B is shown in FIG.", "20.Form A and Form B XRPD patterns are similar, however, significant differences are observed in the range of approximately 12-17°2θ (FIG.", "20).", "The thermal data for Form B are shown in FIG.", "21.The DSC thermogram (Sample ID 1557-17-01) shows a single endotherm at 107° C. that is consistent with a melting event (as determined by hotstage microscopy).", "The TG shows minimal weight loss up to 100° C. The moisture sorption/desorption data for Form B are shown in FIG.", "22.There is minimal weight loss at 5% RH and the material absorbs approximately 49% water at 95% RH.", "Upon desorption from 95% down to 5% RH, the sample loses approximately 47%.", "Form A and Form B can easily be detected in the DSC curve.", "Based on the above characterization data, Form B appears to be a crystalline material which melts at 107° C. Thermodynamic Properties: Inter-conversion experiments were carried out in order to determine the thermodynamically most stable form at various temperatures.", "These studies were performed in two different solvents, using Forms A and B material, and the data are summarized in Table 17.Experiments in isopropanol exhibit full conversion to Form B at ambient, 15° C., and 30° C. after 7 days, 11 days, and 1 day, respectively.", "Experiments in tetrahydrofuran also exhibit conversion to Form B at ambient, 15° C., and 30° C. conditions.", "Full conversion was obtained after 11 days at 15° C., and 1 day at 30° C. At ambient conditions, however, a minor amount of Form A remained after 7 days based on XRPD data obtained.", "Full conversion would likely occur upon extended slurry time.", "Based on these slurry inter-conversion experiments, Form B appears to be the most thermodynamically stable form.", "Form A and Form B appear to be related monotropically with Form B being more thermodynamically stable.", "TABLE 17 Interconversion Studies of Treprostinil Diethanolamine Experiment/ Sample No.", "Forms Solvent Starting Materials Temperature Time 1557-22- A vs. B isopropanol solid mixture ambient 7 days 01 # 1557-20-01a 1557-47- A vs. B solid mixture 15° C. 11 days 02 # 1557-35-01d 1557-33- A vs. B solid mixture 30° C. 1 day 02 # 1557-35-01d 1557-21- A vs. B solid mixture 50° C. — 02e # 1557-20-01b 1557-20- A vs. B tetrahydrofuran solid mixture ambient 7 days 03 # 1557-20-01c 1557-47- A vs. B solid mixture 15° C. 11 days 01 # 1557-35-01d 1557-33- A vs. B solid mixture 30° C. 1 day 01 # 1557-35-01d 1557-21- A vs. B solid mixture 50° C. — 01e # 1557-20-01c asaturated solution Sample ID 1557-21-03 bsaturated solution Sample ID 1519-96-03 csaturated solution Sample ID 1519-96-02 dsaturated solution prepared just prior to addition of solids esamples not analyzed as solubility (at 50° C.) of treprostinil diethanolamine was very high and solutions became discolored.", "All references disclosed herein are specifically incorporated by reference thereto.", "While preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described, it should be understood that changes and modifications can be made therein in accordance with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the invention in its broader aspects as defined herein." ] ]
Patent_15875101
[ [ "DISPLAY WITH SURFACE MOUNT EMISSIVE ELEMENTS AND ACTIVE MATRIX DRIVE", "A surface mount emissive element is provided with a top surface and a bottom surface.", "A first electrical contact is formed exclusively on the top surface, and a second electrical contact is formed exclusively on the top surface.", "A post extends from the bottom surface.", "An emissive display is also provided made from surface mount emissive elements and an emissions substrate.", "The emissions substrate has a top surface with a first plurality of wells formed in the emissions substrate top surface.", "Each well has a bottom surface, sidewalls, a first electrical interface formed on the bottom surface, and a second electrical interface formed on the bottom surface.", "The emissions substrate also includes a matrix of column and row conductive traces forming a first plurality of column/row intersections, where each column/row intersection is associated with a corresponding well.", "A first plurality of emissive elements populates the wells." ], [ "1.An emissive display comprising: an emissions substrate comprising: a matrix of column and row conductive traces forming a first plurality of column/row intersections; a first plurality of surface mount emissive elements, each emissive element comprising; a top surface overlying the emissions substrate; a bottom surface; a first electrical contact formed on the top surface; a second electrical contact formed on the top surface; and, wherein each column/row intersection is associated with a corresponding emissive element.", "2.The emissive display of claim 1 wherein the emissions substrate further comprises: a first plurality of active matrix (AM) drive circuits, each AM drive circuit having inputs connected to a corresponding column/row intersection, and an output associated with the first electrical contact of a corresponding emissive element; and, a network of reference voltage traces associated with the second electrical contact of each emissive element.", "3.The emissive display of claim 2 wherein the AM drive circuit comprises at least one thin-film transistor (TFT) including a semiconductor material selected from the group consisting of low temperature poly silicon (LTPS), indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), and amorphous silicon (a-Si).", "4.The emissive display of claim 1 wherein the emissions substrate further comprises: a top surface; and, a first plurality of wells formed in the emissions substrate top surface, each well comprising a bottom surface, sidewalls, a first electrical interface formed on the well bottom surface and connected to the first electrical contact of a corresponding emissive element, and a second electrical interface formed on the well bottom surface connected to the second electrical contact of a corresponding emissive element.", "5.The emissive display of claim 1 wherein each emissive element further comprises: a post extending from its bottom surface.", "6.The emissive display of claim 1 further comprising: a color modifier overlying each emissive element bottom surface.", "7.The emissive display of claim 1 wherein the emissive elements are surface mount light emitting diodes (SMLEDs), each SMLED comprising: a first semiconductor layer, with a dopant selected from a first group consisting of an n-dopant or a p-dopant; a second semiconductor layer, with the unselected dopant from the first group; and, a multiple quantum well (MQW) layer interposed between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer.", "8.The emissive display of claim 7 wherein the first and second semiconductor layers are selected from the group consisting of gallium nitride (GaN) and aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP).", "9.The emissive display of claim 7 further comprising: a second plurality of first color modifiers overlying the bottom surfaces of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs, where the second plurality is less than the first plurality; a second plurality of second color modifiers overlying the bottom surfaces of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs, where the second color is different than the first color.", "10.The emissive display of claim 9 further comprising: a second plurality of light diffusers overlying the bottom surfaces of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs with no overlying color modifier.", "11.The emissive display of claim 10 further comprising: a second plurality of pixel regions, each pixel region comprising a SMLED with an overlying first color modifier, a SMLED with an overlying second color modifier, and a SMLED with no overlying color modifier; and, wherein the first color is green, the second color is red, and wherein the SMLED with no overlying color modifier emits a blue color light.", "12.The emissive display of claim 7 further comprising: a second plurality of red color modifiers overlying the bottom surfaces of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs, where the second plurality is less than the first plurality; a third plurality of light diffusers overlying the bottom surfaces of a corresponding third plurality of SMLEDs with no overlying color modifier, where the third plurality is less than the first plurality and equal to twice the second plurality; and, a second plurality of pixel regions, each pixel region comprising a SMLED with an overlying red color modifier, a blue color SMLED with no overlying color modifier, and a green color SMLED with no color modifier.", "13.The emissive display of claim 7 wherein the first electrical contact of each SMLED is configured as a ring with a first diameter; wherein the first semiconductor layer and MQW layer of each SMLED form a stack overlying the first electrical contact, in the shape of a ring; wherein the second electrical contact of each SMLED is formed within a first electrical contact ring perimeter; wherein the second semiconductor layer of each SMLED has a disk shape with a center portion overlying the second electrical contact; wherein the emissions substrate further comprises: a top surface; and, a first plurality of wells formed in the emissions substrate top surface, each well comprising a bottom surface, sidewalls, a first electrical interface formed on the well bottom surface configured as a partial ring with a mouth opening and connected to the first electrical contact of a corresponding SMLED, and a second electrical interface formed on the well bottom surface configured as a trace extending into the mouth of a corresponding first electrical interface partial ring and connected to the second electrical contact of a corresponding SMLED.", "14.The emissive display of claim 7 wherein the second electrical contact of each SMLED is configured as a ring with a first diameter; wherein the second semiconductor layer of each SMLED has a disk shape with a perimeter overlying the second electrical contact ring; wherein the first electrical contact of each SMLED is formed within a second electrical contact ring perimeter; wherein the first semiconductor layer and MQW layer of each SMLED are a stack overlying the first electrical contact; wherein the emissions substrate further comprises: a top surface; and, a first plurality of wells formed in the emissions substrate top surface, each well comprising a bottom surface, sidewalls, a second electrical interface formed on the bottom surface configured as a partial ring with the first diameter with a mouth opening and connected to the second electrical contact of a corresponding SMLED, and a first electrical interface formed on the well bottom surface configured as a trace extending into the mouth of a corresponding second electrical interface partial ring and connected to the first electrical contact of a corresponding SMLED.", "15.The emissive display of claim 1 wherein each emissive element top surface is planar; and, wherein each well bottom surface is planar.", "16.The emissive display of claim 4 wherein each emissive element top surface is bi-planar with a first level and a second level; wherein each emissive element first electrical contact is formed on the first level of the top surface; wherein each emissive element second electrical contact is formed on the second level of the top surface; wherein each well bottom surface is bi-planar with a first level and a second level; wherein each well first electrical interface is formed on the well bottom first level; and, wherein each well second electrical interface is formed on the well bottom second level.", "17.An emissive display comprising: a first plurality of surface mount emissive elements, each emissive element comprising; a top surface; a bottom surface; a first electrical contact formed on the top surface; a second electrical contact formed on the top surface; and, an emissions substrate comprising: a matrix of column and row conductive traces forming a first plurality of column/row intersections, where each column/row intersection is associated with a corresponding emissive element; a first plurality of active matrix (AM) drive circuits, each AM drive circuit having inputs connected to a corresponding column/row intersection, and an output associated with the first electrical contact of a corresponding emissive element; and, a network of reference voltage traces associated with the second electrical contact of each emissive element.", "18.The emissive display of claim 17 wherein the emissions substrate further comprises: a top surface; and, a first plurality of wells formed in the emissions substrate top surface, each well comprising a bottom surface, sidewalls, a first electrical interface formed on the well bottom surface and connected to the first electrical contact of a corresponding emissive element, and a second electrical interface formed on the well bottom surface connected to the second electrical contact of a corresponding emissive element.", "19.The emissive display of claim 17 wherein each emissive element further comprises: a post extending from its bottom surface.", "20.The emissive display of claim 17 wherein the AM drive circuit comprises at least one thin-film transistor (TFT) including a semiconductor material selected from the group consisting of low temperature poly silicon (LTPS), indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), and amorphous silicon (a-Si).", "21.An emissive display comprising: an emissions substrate comprising: a top surface; a first plurality of pre-formed wells in the emissions substrate top surface, each well comprising a pre-formed bottom surface, preformed sidewalls, a first electrical interface pre-formed on the well bottom surface, and a second electrical interface pre-formed on the well bottom surface; a pre-formed matrix of column and row conductive traces forming a first plurality of column/row intersections, where each column/row trace is associated with a corresponding well; a first plurality of surface mount emissive elements deposited in the pre-formed wells, each emissive element comprising; a top surface overlying a corresponding well bottom surface; a bottom surface; a first electrical contact formed on the top surface and connected to a corresponding first electrical interface; and, a second electrical contact formed on the top surface and connected to a corresponding second electrical interface.", "22.The emissive display of claim 21 wherein the emissions substrate further comprises: a first plurality of pre-formed active matrix (AM) drive circuits, each AM drive circuit having inputs connected to a corresponding column/row intersection, and an output connected to the first electrical interface of a corresponding well; and, a pre-formed network of reference voltage traces connected with the second electrical interface of each well." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>Disclosed herein is a direct emission display or liquid crystal display (LCD) backlight using inorganic micro light emitting diodes (LEDs), to enable the fabrication of a large area high dynamic range display with reasonable cost and high reliability.", "For example, an array of inorganic micro-LEDs (uLEDs) in a surface mount configuration can be fabricated by fluidic assembly to make a high dynamic range emissive display.", "uLED emitters are fabricated by etching small disk shapes in a conventional planar LED structure fabricated on a sapphire substrate.", "Disks are processed to form separate anode and cathode electrodes on the top surface of the uLED.", "The resulting uLEDs are released by a laser lift off process and harvested to form a suspension in a suitable liquid such as isopropanol (IPA), acetone, or distilled water.", "This suspension is deposited on a display substrate that has been prepared with an array of well structures with two electrodes that match the anode and cathode electrodes on a uLED disk.", "The well is a cylindrical opening slightly larger than the disk diameter so that one uLED can be deposited in the well in a position with the LED electrodes in contact with the electrodes on the substrate.", "Since both the LED electrodes directly overlie and are adjacent to the well bottom surface, electrical connections are greatly simplified, in contrast to LED disks having one or both electrodes exposed by the well opening, and so requiring addition interconnection layers and processing.", "As a result of suitable annealing, the uLEDs are connected to the array electrodes on the substrate so they can be powered by a suitable drive circuit to emit light.", "The array can be powered as a passive matrix so each row is turned on in sequence with each sub-pixel in the array powered at a controlled current to produce the required brightness.", "However, due to sampling and power restraints this simple driving scheme is necessarily limited to a relatively small number of rows.", "Alternatively, each sub-pixel can be controlled by a thin-film transistor (TFT) driving circuit, which can control the amount of drive current based on the charge stored in a capacitor.", "This active matrix (AM) circuit configuration allows the uLED to be powered nearly 100% of the time so there is no limit on the number of rows in a display, except for the power supplied to each column.", "The surface mount uLED architecture offers several major advantages compared with the current vertical uLED display, where the vertical uLEDs have top and bottom surface electrical contacts: 1) The small emitter area is better suited to high resolution active matrix (AM) display but the overall disk size is large enough for fluidic assembly.", "2) The process of fluidic assembly occurs as the last major operation so smaller glass can be used without returning to an LCD fab for metallization after assembly.", "3) Interconnect patterning occurs before wells are formed, so no metal defects exist from misaligned uLEDs and there is no need for deep interconnect from the substrate through the well layer.", "4) After annealing, the uLED is electrically connected but exposed so there is the possibility of electrical testing to see if a given uLED lights up, followed by pick-place repair of defective uLEDs.", "These advantages tend to offset the emission area of the surface mount LEDs being a relatively small proportion of the area of the LED growth substrate, increasing the cost per pixel.", "Further, the uLED fabrication process is relatively complex with multiple patterning steps including post fabrication which occurs after laser lift off (LLO).", "Accordingly, a surface mount emissive element is provided with a top surface and a bottom surface.", "A first electrical contact is formed exclusively on the top surface, and a second electrical contact is formed exclusively on the top surface.", "A post extends from the bottom surface.", "In one aspect, the surface mount emissive element is a surface mount light emitting diode (SMLED), made from a first semiconductor layer, with either an n-dopant or a p-dopant, and a second semiconductor layer, made with the opposite dopant used for the first semiconductor layer.", "A multiple quantum well (MQW) layer is interposed between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer.", "Typically, the first semiconductor layer and second semiconductor layer are gallium nitride (GaN) or aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP).", "An emissive display is also provided made from surface mount emissive elements, as described above, and an emissions substrate.", "The emissions substrate has a top surface with a first plurality of wells formed in the emissions substrate top surface.", "Each well has a bottom surface, sidewalls, a first electrical interface formed on the bottom surface, and a second electrical interface formed on the bottom surface.", "The emissions substrate also includes a matrix of column and row conductive traces forming a first plurality of column/row intersections, where each column/row intersection is associated with a corresponding well.", "A first plurality of emissive elements populates the wells.", "In one aspect, a color modifier overlies each emissive element bottom surface (e.g., to produce a monochrome color such as white), and the display includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) substrate overlying the emissions substrate top surface.", "The emissive display may also be a direct emissions type of display, in which case a plurality of first color modifiers overlies the bottom surfaces of corresponding SMLEDs.", "A plurality of second color modifiers overlies the bottom surfaces of corresponding SMLEDs, where the second color is different than the first color.", "If the display is red-green-blue (RGB) and only one type of LED is used (e.g., a blue color GaN LED), then a plurality of light diffusers would overlie the bottom surfaces of corresponding SMLEDs with no overlying color modifier.", "The result is a display with pixel regions, each pixel region including a SMLED with an overlying first color modifier (e.g., green), a SMLED with an overlying second color modifier (e.g., red), and a SMLED with no overlying color modifier (e.g., blue).", "Alternatively, if both blue and green emitting GaNs LEDs are used, then color modifiers are only need to create the red color.", "In one aspect, the first electrical contact (electrode) of each SMLED is configured as a ring with a first diameter, and the first semiconductor layer and MQW layer of each SMLED are a stack overlying the first electrical contact, in the shape of a ring.", "Then, the second electrical contact of each SMLED is formed within a first electrical contact ring perimeter, and the second semiconductor layer of each SMLED has a disk shape with a center portion overlying the second electrical contact.", "Each well first electrical interface is configured as a partial ring with the first diameter, and having a mouth opening, and each well second electrical interface is configured as a trace extending into the mouth of a corresponding first electrical interface partial ring.", "Alternatively, the first semiconductor layer and MQW layer of each SMLED may be a stack overlying the second electrical contact, and the second semiconductor layer overlies the first electrical contact.", "As another alternative, each emissive element top surface may be bi-planar with a first level and a second level, so that each emissive element first electrical contact is formed on the first level of the top surface and each emissive element second electrical contact is formed in the second level of the top surface.", "Each well bottom surface is likewise bi-planar with a first level and a second level, with each well first electrical interface formed on the well bottom first level and each well second electrical interface formed on the well bottom second level.", "The emissive elements may be enabling using active matrix (AM) drive circuits, with each drive circuit connected to a corresponding column/row intersection, and connected to the first electrical interface of a corresponding well.", "Then, the emissions substrate would also include a network of reference voltage (e.g., ground) traces connected to the second electrical interface of each well.", "Alternatively, the matrix of column and row traces form a passive matrix (PM) with the column trace of each column/row intersection connected to the first electrical interface of a corresponding well, and the row trace of each column/row intersection connected to the second electrical interface of each well.", "Additional details of the above-described surface mount emissive element and emissive display are provided below." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS Any and all applications, if any, for which a foreign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application Data Sheet of the present application are hereby incorporated by reference under 37 CFR 1.57.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention This invention generally relates to integrated circuits (ICs) and, more particularly, to a surface mount emissive element, and an emissive display made using the surface mount emissive elements.", "2.Description of the Related Art The current competing technologies for large area display are liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting device (OLED) display, and more recently, inorganic LED display.", "The weaknesses of LCD, which the current disclosure directly addresses, are 1) low efficiency where only about 5% of the light generated by the backlight is seen as an image by the user, and 2) low dynamic range because the LC material cannot completely block light to produce a black pixel.", "The weaknesses of OLED display are poor reliability and low efficiency (˜5% QE) of the blue OLED material.", "The use of inorganic micro-LEDs (uLEDs) in a display would provide a very high efficiency because the display would not use color filters and polarizers to absorb light.", "As used herein, a uLED is an LED with a diameter or cross-sectional area of 100 microns or less.", "The inorganic uLED display would have very high contrast because black pixels are set to emit no light.", "For an inorganic uLED display, blue gallium nitride (GaN) LEDs would be 35-40% efficient, with a reliability of over 50,000 hours, as has been established in general lighting.", "Sony has developed a passive matrix of uLEDs arranged in a display array using a pick and place system.", "However, since large displays require millions of LEDs, displays made by this process are time and cost prohibitive compared to other technologies.", "The fluidic transfer of microfabricated electronic devices, optoelectronic devices, and sub-systems from a donor substrate/wafer to a large area and/or unconventional substrate provides a new opportunity to extend the application range of electronic and optoelectronic devices.", "For example, display pixel size LED micro structures, such as rods, fins or disks, can be first fabricated on small size wafers and then be transferred to large panel glass substrate to make a direct emitting display requiring no backlighting.", "Conventional transfer techniques such as inkjet printing or robotic pick-and-place work reasonable well in certain particular applications.", "However, these conventional techniques are either not cost effective or so poor in yield that they cannot be applied to directly transfer LED micro structures.", "There are three major processes in the fabrication of inorganic uLED disks for use in direct emission displays.", "These processes are: uLED disk fabrication; uLED disk distribution onto a transparent substrate; and, uLED disk interconnection.", "Since a fluidic assembly process distributes uLED disks randomly inside transparent substrate placement wells, it makes conventional IC style contact hole opening/metal interconnection design extremely challenging.", "Extra tolerances are required in the (opaque) interconnections to address this random distribution, resulting in a substantial loss in the emission area fill factor.", "Further, the complexity required to make these connections results in either a poor yield and/or high cost.", "FIGS.", "1A and 1B are plan views of a top-contact LED disk located in a substrate well (prior art).", "In FIG.", "1A, Dd denotes the diameter of the LED (e.g., GaN) disk, Dc denotes the diameter of the micro-cavity or well into which the uLED disk has been distributed, and Dp denotes the diameter of the p-doped GaN (p-GaN) area, assuming the p-GaN is formed on the top of the disk.", "Area 100 is the n-GaN contact, where the p-GaN and MQW have been removed by a reactive ion etch (RIE).", "The inner circular area 102 is the full LED stack with p-GaN on top.", "A layer of nickel oxide (NiOx)/indium tin oxide (ITO) may be formed on the surface of area 102.In considering typical photolithography misalignment tolerances (up to 2 microns (μm)), the circular area 102 is off the GaN disk center by 2 μm.", "Since only the area 102 can emit light, the emission area fill factor is only about 70.6%.", "Nearly 30% of emission area is lost due to the n-GaN opening 100.FIG.", "1B shows the working area for anode end connection 104 (Dpc).", "Connections made outside of the 24 μm diameter area 104 are likely to result in either a short circuit or open circuit.", "Conventional metal interconnection to the n-GaN area 100 further reduces the emission area fill factor.", "Only 31.4% area of the GaN disk will emit light in this example.", "FIG.", "2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a bottom cathode contact architecture (prior art).", "This option avoids the significant emission area fill factor loss associated with a conventional top-contact LED disk.", "A bottom interconnection electrode 200 is first evaporated and patterned on a substrate 202, followed by micro-cavity (well) 204 formation.", "A thin layer of low melting temperature metal 206 is then coated on the bottom electrode surface inside the micro-cavity 204.The GaN disk 208 (n-GaN 210/p-GaN 212) is then distributed into the micro-cavity 204.After interlayer dielectric film 214 patterning, the top interconnection electrode 216 is evaporated and patterned to complete the whole process flow.", "The process flow described by FIG.", "2 is relatively simple.", "The front-side emission area fill factor can possible reach a maximum of 85% with a carefully selected top metal wiring design.", "Major challenges of this flow include the bottom contact yield, uniformity, reliability and repeatability, and the tradeoff between the bottom contact yield and the bottom electrode area if a backside emission opening is needed.", "It would be advantageous if large emissive displays could be efficiently fabricated using a fluidic assembly process, through the employment of surface mount emissive elements.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Disclosed herein is a direct emission display or liquid crystal display (LCD) backlight using inorganic micro light emitting diodes (LEDs), to enable the fabrication of a large area high dynamic range display with reasonable cost and high reliability.", "For example, an array of inorganic micro-LEDs (uLEDs) in a surface mount configuration can be fabricated by fluidic assembly to make a high dynamic range emissive display.", "uLED emitters are fabricated by etching small disk shapes in a conventional planar LED structure fabricated on a sapphire substrate.", "Disks are processed to form separate anode and cathode electrodes on the top surface of the uLED.", "The resulting uLEDs are released by a laser lift off process and harvested to form a suspension in a suitable liquid such as isopropanol (IPA), acetone, or distilled water.", "This suspension is deposited on a display substrate that has been prepared with an array of well structures with two electrodes that match the anode and cathode electrodes on a uLED disk.", "The well is a cylindrical opening slightly larger than the disk diameter so that one uLED can be deposited in the well in a position with the LED electrodes in contact with the electrodes on the substrate.", "Since both the LED electrodes directly overlie and are adjacent to the well bottom surface, electrical connections are greatly simplified, in contrast to LED disks having one or both electrodes exposed by the well opening, and so requiring addition interconnection layers and processing.", "As a result of suitable annealing, the uLEDs are connected to the array electrodes on the substrate so they can be powered by a suitable drive circuit to emit light.", "The array can be powered as a passive matrix so each row is turned on in sequence with each sub-pixel in the array powered at a controlled current to produce the required brightness.", "However, due to sampling and power restraints this simple driving scheme is necessarily limited to a relatively small number of rows.", "Alternatively, each sub-pixel can be controlled by a thin-film transistor (TFT) driving circuit, which can control the amount of drive current based on the charge stored in a capacitor.", "This active matrix (AM) circuit configuration allows the uLED to be powered nearly 100% of the time so there is no limit on the number of rows in a display, except for the power supplied to each column.", "The surface mount uLED architecture offers several major advantages compared with the current vertical uLED display, where the vertical uLEDs have top and bottom surface electrical contacts: 1) The small emitter area is better suited to high resolution active matrix (AM) display but the overall disk size is large enough for fluidic assembly.", "2) The process of fluidic assembly occurs as the last major operation so smaller glass can be used without returning to an LCD fab for metallization after assembly.", "3) Interconnect patterning occurs before wells are formed, so no metal defects exist from misaligned uLEDs and there is no need for deep interconnect from the substrate through the well layer.", "4) After annealing, the uLED is electrically connected but exposed so there is the possibility of electrical testing to see if a given uLED lights up, followed by pick-place repair of defective uLEDs.", "These advantages tend to offset the emission area of the surface mount LEDs being a relatively small proportion of the area of the LED growth substrate, increasing the cost per pixel.", "Further, the uLED fabrication process is relatively complex with multiple patterning steps including post fabrication which occurs after laser lift off (LLO).", "Accordingly, a surface mount emissive element is provided with a top surface and a bottom surface.", "A first electrical contact is formed exclusively on the top surface, and a second electrical contact is formed exclusively on the top surface.", "A post extends from the bottom surface.", "In one aspect, the surface mount emissive element is a surface mount light emitting diode (SMLED), made from a first semiconductor layer, with either an n-dopant or a p-dopant, and a second semiconductor layer, made with the opposite dopant used for the first semiconductor layer.", "A multiple quantum well (MQW) layer is interposed between the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer.", "Typically, the first semiconductor layer and second semiconductor layer are gallium nitride (GaN) or aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP).", "An emissive display is also provided made from surface mount emissive elements, as described above, and an emissions substrate.", "The emissions substrate has a top surface with a first plurality of wells formed in the emissions substrate top surface.", "Each well has a bottom surface, sidewalls, a first electrical interface formed on the bottom surface, and a second electrical interface formed on the bottom surface.", "The emissions substrate also includes a matrix of column and row conductive traces forming a first plurality of column/row intersections, where each column/row intersection is associated with a corresponding well.", "A first plurality of emissive elements populates the wells.", "In one aspect, a color modifier overlies each emissive element bottom surface (e.g., to produce a monochrome color such as white), and the display includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) substrate overlying the emissions substrate top surface.", "The emissive display may also be a direct emissions type of display, in which case a plurality of first color modifiers overlies the bottom surfaces of corresponding SMLEDs.", "A plurality of second color modifiers overlies the bottom surfaces of corresponding SMLEDs, where the second color is different than the first color.", "If the display is red-green-blue (RGB) and only one type of LED is used (e.g., a blue color GaN LED), then a plurality of light diffusers would overlie the bottom surfaces of corresponding SMLEDs with no overlying color modifier.", "The result is a display with pixel regions, each pixel region including a SMLED with an overlying first color modifier (e.g., green), a SMLED with an overlying second color modifier (e.g., red), and a SMLED with no overlying color modifier (e.g., blue).", "Alternatively, if both blue and green emitting GaNs LEDs are used, then color modifiers are only need to create the red color.", "In one aspect, the first electrical contact (electrode) of each SMLED is configured as a ring with a first diameter, and the first semiconductor layer and MQW layer of each SMLED are a stack overlying the first electrical contact, in the shape of a ring.", "Then, the second electrical contact of each SMLED is formed within a first electrical contact ring perimeter, and the second semiconductor layer of each SMLED has a disk shape with a center portion overlying the second electrical contact.", "Each well first electrical interface is configured as a partial ring with the first diameter, and having a mouth opening, and each well second electrical interface is configured as a trace extending into the mouth of a corresponding first electrical interface partial ring.", "Alternatively, the first semiconductor layer and MQW layer of each SMLED may be a stack overlying the second electrical contact, and the second semiconductor layer overlies the first electrical contact.", "As another alternative, each emissive element top surface may be bi-planar with a first level and a second level, so that each emissive element first electrical contact is formed on the first level of the top surface and each emissive element second electrical contact is formed in the second level of the top surface.", "Each well bottom surface is likewise bi-planar with a first level and a second level, with each well first electrical interface formed on the well bottom first level and each well second electrical interface formed on the well bottom second level.", "The emissive elements may be enabling using active matrix (AM) drive circuits, with each drive circuit connected to a corresponding column/row intersection, and connected to the first electrical interface of a corresponding well.", "Then, the emissions substrate would also include a network of reference voltage (e.g., ground) traces connected to the second electrical interface of each well.", "Alternatively, the matrix of column and row traces form a passive matrix (PM) with the column trace of each column/row intersection connected to the first electrical interface of a corresponding well, and the row trace of each column/row intersection connected to the second electrical interface of each well.", "Additional details of the above-described surface mount emissive element and emissive display are provided below.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS.", "1A and 1B are plan views of a top-contact LED disk located in a substrate well (prior art).", "FIG.", "2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a bottom cathode contact architecture (prior art).", "FIG.", "3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a surface mount emissive element.", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B are, respectively, partial cross-sectional and plan views of a surface mount emissive element enabled as a surface mount light emitting diode (SMLED).", "FIG.", "5 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting an alternative to the LED of FIG.", "4A.", "FIG.", "6 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting a bi-level variation of the emissive element.", "FIGS.", "7A and 7B are bottom surface views depicting surface mount emissive element post variations.", "FIGS.", "8A and 8B are, respectively, plan and partial cross-sectional views of an emissive display.", "FIGS.", "9A and 9B are partial cross-sectional views depicting two different approaches to enable the emissions substrate of FIGS.", "8A and 8B as a backlight.", "FIGS.", "10A and 10B are partial cross-sectional views depicting different approaches enabling the emissions substrate as a direct emission display.", "FIGS.", "11A and 11B are, respectively, a plan view of a well bottom surface and a partial cross-sectional view of the emissions substrate.", "FIGS.", "12A and 12B are, respectively, a variation of the well bottom surface plan view and emissions substrate partial cross-sectional view of FIGS.", "11A and 11B.", "FIGS.", "13A, 13B, and 13C are, respectively, a partial cross-sectional view of an emissive element variation, a well variation, and the emissive element seated in the well.", "FIGS.", "14A and 14B are, respectively, schematic and partial cross-sectional views of an emissions substrate enabled with a first plurality of active matrix (AM) drive circuits.", "One particular variation of a drive circuit is shown in FIG.", "14C.", "FIGS.", "15A and 15B are, respectively, a schematic and a partial cross-sectional view of an emissions substrate where the emissive elements are enabled using a passive matrix.", "FIG.", "16 is a partial cross-sectional view of a surface mount uLED designed for fluidic assembly.", "FIGS.", "17A through 17L depict plan and partial cross-sectional views of an exemplary emissions substrate fabrication process.", "FIG.", "18 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting color generation through the use of a separate color conversion sheet.", "FIG.", "19 is a partial cross-sectional view of color generation through the use of phosphors deposited over the emissive elements.", "FIGS.", "20A and 20B are, respectively, a partial cross-sectional view and light intensity graph for an emissive substrate using three different LED types, to respectively generate three different colors.", "FIGS.", "21A, 21B, and 21C respectively depict a white light phosphor intensity graph, exemplary stacked color filter, and associated stacked color filter intensity graph.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG.", "3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a surface mount emissive element.", "The surface mount emissive element 300 comprises a top surface 302, a bottom surface 304, a first electrical contact 306 formed exclusively on the top surface, and a second electrical contact 308 formed exclusively on the top surface.", "By “exclusively on the top surface” it is meant that the electrical contacts or electrodes do not extend over the emissive element sides 312 or bottom surface 304.The electrical contacts may be a metal, doped semiconductor, or transparent conductive oxide (TCO) such as indium tin oxide (ITO).", "Although not explicitly shown as a distinct layer, the electrical contacts 306 and 308 may be solder or solder-coated (e.g., a eutectic solder) for subsequent connection to an emissive substrate.", "The emissive element 300 further comprises a post 310 extending from the bottom surface 304.In one aspect, the post 310 is centered in the middle of the bottom surface 304.One example of a emissive element is a light emitting diode (LED).", "Although not light emissive, other two-terminal surface mount elements include photodiodes, thermistors, pressure sensors, and piezoelectric devices.", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B are, respectively, partial cross-sectional and plan views of a surface mount emissive element enabled as a surface mount light emitting diode (SMLED).", "The SMLED 300 comprises a first semiconductor layer 402, with either an n-dopant or a p-dopant.", "A second semiconductor layer 404 with the dopant type not used in the first semiconductor layer 402.A multiple quantum well (MQW) layer 406 is interposed between the first semiconductor layer 402 and the second semiconductor layer 404.The MQW layer 406 may typically be a series of quantum well layers (typically 5 layers—e.g., alternating 5 nm of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) with 9 nm of n-doped GaN (n-GaN)) not shown.", "There may also be an aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) electron blocking layer (not shown) between MQW layers and the p-doped semiconductor layer.", "The outer semiconductor layer may be p-doped GaN (Mg doping) about 200 nm thick.", "A high-brightness blue LED can be formed, or a green LED if a higher indium content is used in the MQW.", "The most practical first and second semiconductor layer materials are either gallium nitride (GaN), capable of emitting a blue or green light, and aluminum gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP), capable of emitting red light.", "The second electrical contact 308 is configured as a ring, and the second semiconductor layer 404 has a disk shape with a perimeter underlying the second electrical contact ring.", "The first electrical contact 306 is formed within a second electrical contact 308 ring perimeter, and the first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 are a stack underlying the first electrical contact.", "A moat may be formed between the second electrical contact 308 ring and the first electrical contact 306, filled with an electrical insulator 408.Conventional LED processing (e.g., LEDs used for lighting) only occurs on one surface prior to separation from the sapphire substrate.", "Some of these processes use a laser liftoff (LLO) to separate the LEDs from the sapphire substrate as the final step.", "Other processes do not use LLO, but rather, cut up the sapphire substrate to singulate the LEDs.", "However, the SMLED architecture requires electrodes on the surface opposite the post, so that the post is made after the uLED is lifted off the sapphire substrate.", "Conventional processes do not provide a means of maintaining the known position of each LED as the LEDs are removed from the sapphire so that photolithography can be performed on the bottom of the LED.", "Precise x-y position is required to accurately locate the posts at the desired location of the LED top surface (e.g., in the center).", "Precise z (vertical) position is required to establish a focal plane to image the post structure with the dimensional control required for fluidic assembly (e.g., surface orientation).", "That is, SMLED LLO requires that the SMLEDs must be located on a transfer substrate in a controlled manner to form their post, and then released from the transfer substrate to make the suspension for fluidic assembly.", "FIG.", "5 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting an alternative to the LED of FIG.", "4A.", "In this aspect, the first electrical contact (electrode) 306 is configured as a ring, and the first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 are a stack underlying the first electrical contact, in the shape of a ring.", "The second electrical contact 308 is formed within a first electrical contact 306 ring perimeter.", "The second semiconductor layer 404 has a disk shape with a center portion underlying the second electrical contact.", "As shown, a moat is formed between the first electrical contact 306 ring and the second electrical contact 308.An electrical insulator 408 fills the moat.", "FIG.", "6 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting a bi-level variation of the emissive element.", "In FIGS.", "4A and 5 it can be seen that the top surface is planar and the bottom surface is planar.", "As used herein, “planar” refers to a surface that is globally flat with a root mean square (RMS) roughness of less than 10 nanometers (nm).", "Alternatively, as shown in FIG.", "6, the surface mount emissive element top surface is bi-planar with a first level 600 and a second level 602.The first electrical contact 306 is formed on the first level 600 of the top surface, and the second electrical contact 308 is formed on the second level 602 of the top surface.", "Alternatively but not shown, the second electrical contact may be formed on the first level of the top surface, and the first electrical contact may be formed on the second level of the top surface.", "FIGS.", "7A and 7B are bottom surface views depicting surface mount emissive element post variations.", "In one aspect, the surface mount emissive element may comprise a plurality of posts 310 extending from the bottom surface 304, as shown in FIG.", "7A.", "Note: the surface mount emissive element 300 is not limited to any particular number of posts, placement of posts, or any particular post shape.", "Two posts are shown in FIG.", "7A, and a post in the shape of a fin is depicted in FIG.", "7B.", "Other shapes or combination of shapes are also feasible.", "In one aspect, particularly in the case of a single post, the post is centered on the emissive element bottom surface, which acts to tip one edge of the emissive element into the fluidic flow.", "In FIGS.", "7A and 7B, the post(s) act to tip the emissive element in a direction perpendicular to a vertical axis coming out of the page.", "FIGS.", "8A and 8B are, respectively, plan and partial cross-sectional views of an emissive display.", "Some examples of emissive displays include televisions, computer monitors, handheld device screens, and backlights for LCD displays, as might be used for some of the above-mentioned examples, or as a direct emissions display.", "The emissive display 800 comprises an emissions substrate 802 with a top surface 804.The emissions substrate 802 also comprises a first plurality of wells 806 formed in the emissions substrate top surface 804.Each well 806 comprises a bottom surface 808, sidewalls 810, a first electrical interface 812 formed on the bottom surface, and a second electrical interface 814 formed on the bottom surface.", "Although not explicitly shown as a distinct layer, the first electrical interface 812 and the second electrical interface 814 may be solder-coated for connection to emissive element electrical contacts.", "A matrix of column conductive traces 816 and row conductive traces 818 form a first plurality of column/row intersections 820, where each column/row intersection is associated with a corresponding well 806.Additional details of the interface between the wells and the matrix of column and row traces are provided below.", "A first plurality of emissive elements 300 populates the wells 806.Each emissive element 300 comprises a top surface 302 overlying a corresponding well bottom surface 808.The emissive elements 300 have a bottom surface 304 and a post 310 extending from the bottom surface.", "A first electrical contact (electrode) 306 is formed on the emissive element top surface 302 and connected to a corresponding well first electrical interface 812.Although not explicitly shown as a distinct layer, the first electrical contact 306 and the second electrical contact 308 may be solder or solder-coated for connection to emissive substrate electrical interfaces.", "A second electrical contact 308 is formed on the emissive element top surface 302 and connected to a corresponding well second electrical interface 814.Note that the electrical contacts of the emissive device, and the electrical interfaces of wells can be made of a reflective material (e.g., a metal) to direct light towards the top surface 804 of the emissions substrate 802.Since both the emissive element contacts are formed on the top surface 302, the device may be referred to as a surface mount emissive element.", "It should also be noted that the bottom surface 304 of the emissive element overlies the top surface 302 when the emissive element has been captured in a well 806.As noted in the explanations above, the emissive element first and second electrical contacts 306/308 are formed exclusively on the emissive element top surface 302.As a result, there is no need for an electrical interface to be formed over the emissions substrate top surface 804 after the wells are populated.", "As noted above, the emissive elements may be surface mount light emitting diodes (SMLEDs), the details of which are not repeated here in the interest of brevity.", "In one aspect, each emissive element top surface 302 is planar and each well bottom surface 808 is planar, as defined above.", "The emissive element bottom surface 304 may also be planar.", "The emissive elements have dimensions that permit the emissive elements to fit inside the well cavities.", "As used herein, the word “fit” refers to the mating of two mechanical components.", "Manufactured parts are very frequently required to mate with one another.", "They may be designed to slide freely against one another or they may be designed to bind together to form a single unit or assembly.", "There are three general categories of fits.", "A clearance fit may be desirable for an object (e.g., emissive element) to rotate or slide freely within the well, this is usually referred to as a “sliding fit.” An interference fits may be desirable for when as object is to be securely held within the well, this is usually referred to as an interference fit, A transition fits may be desirable for when the object is to be held securely, yet not so securely that it cannot be disassembled or rotated in the well, this is usually referred to herein as a location or transition fit.", "The emissive elements typically have a clearance or sliding fit with respect to the well.", "FIGS.", "9A and 9B are partial cross-sectional views depicting two different approaches to enable the emissions substrate of FIGS.", "8A and 8B as a backlight.", "A color modifier 902 overlies each emissive element bottom surface 304, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) substrate 900 overlies the modifier.", "Many different types of LCD substrates are well known in the art and details of their construction are omitted in the interest of brevity.", "In short, the LCD substrate 900 forms selectively engageable “windows” over each emissive element 300, and the color modifier 902 changes the color of light emitted by the emissive element to one appropriate to employ as an LCD display backlight.", "For example, if the emissive elements are GaN LEDs emitting a blue color light, the color modifier 902 may act to convert the blue light to a white color.", "For example, the color modifier 902 may be a stack comprising a red color modifier and a green color modifier, as explained in greater detail below.", "In FIG.", "9A the color modifier is formed directly over the emissive elements 300, for example, by a printing process.", "In FIG.", "9B the color modifiers 902 are a layer in the LCD substrate 900.FIGS.", "10A and 10B are partial cross-sectional views depicting different approaches enabling the emissions substrate as a direct emission display.", "In FIG.", "10A a second plurality of first color modifiers 1000 overlie the bottom surfaces 304 of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs 300, where the second plurality is less than the first plurality.", "A second plurality of second color modifiers 1002 overlie the bottom surfaces 304 of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs 300, where the second color is different than the first color.", "Further, a second plurality of light diffusers 1004 overlies the bottom surfaces 304 of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs 300 with no overlying color modifier.", "Thus, if only GaN LEDs are used, the result is a second plurality of pixel regions (only one pixel region is shown), where each pixel region comprises a SMLED 300 with an overlying first color modifier 1000 (e.g., green), a SMLED with an overlying second color modifier 1002 (e.g., red), and a SMLED with no overlying color modifier (e.g., blue).", "Although a red-green-blue (RGB) display is described, it should be understood that additional colors could be added to each pixel region using additional color modifiers.", "In FIG.", "10B, a second plurality of green color modifiers 1010 overlie the bottom surfaces 304 of a corresponding second plurality of SMLEDs 300, where the second plurality is less than the first plurality.", "A third plurality of light diffusers 1012 overlies the bottom surfaces 304 of a corresponding third plurality of SMLEDs 300 with no overlying color modifier.", "The third plurality is less than the first plurality and equal to twice the second plurality in the case of an RGB display.", "The result is a second plurality of pixel regions, where each pixel region comprises a SMLED 300 (e.g., GaN LED) with an overlying red color modifier 1010, a blue color SMLED 300 (e.g., GaN LED) with no overlying color modifier 1012, and a green color SMLED 1014 (e.g., GaN LED) with no color modifier 1012.In one aspect, layers 1012 are light diffusers.", "In another aspect, color combinations may be enabled using both GaN and red emitting AlGaInP SMLEDs.", "FIGS.", "11A and 11B are, respectively, a plan view of a well bottom surface and a partial cross-sectional view of the emissions substrate.", "Referring briefly to FIG.", "5, the first electrical contact 306 of each SMLED 300 may be configured as a ring with a first diameter.", "The first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 of each SMLED 300 are a stack overlying the first electrical contact, in the shape of a ring.", "Note, first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 are shown underling the first electrical contact 306 in FIG.", "5, however when seated in the well, the first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 overlie the first electrical contact.", "The second electrical contact 308 of each SMLED 300 is formed within a first electrical contact 306 ring perimeter.", "The second semiconductor layer 404 of each SMLED 300 has a disk shape with a center portion overlying (as explained above) the second electrical contact 308.Returning to FIGS.", "11A and 11B, each well first electrical interface 812 is configured as a partial ring with the first diameter, having a mouth 1100 opening, and is connected to trace 816.Each well second electrical interface 814 is connected to trace 818 extending into the mouth 1100 of a corresponding first electrical interface 812 partial ring.", "FIGS.", "12A and 12B are, respectively, a variation of the well bottom surface plan view and emissions substrate partial cross-sectional view of FIGS.", "11A and 11B.", "Referring briefly to FIGS.", "4A and 4B, the second electrical contact 308 of each SMLED 300 may be configured as a ring with a first diameter.", "The second semiconductor layer 404 of each SMLED has a disk shape with a perimeter overlying the second electrical contact ring.", "The first electrical contact 306 of each SMLED is formed within a second electrical contact 308 ring perimeter.", "The first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 of each SMLED are a stack overlying the first electrical contact 306.Note, first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 are shown underling the first electrical contact 306 in FIG.", "4A, however when seated in the well, the first semiconductor layer 402 and MQW layer 406 overlie the first electrical contact.", "Returning to FIGS.", "12A and 12B, each well second electrical interface 814 is configured as a partial ring or circular electrode with the first diameter, having a mouth opening 1100 and connected to trace 816.Each well first electrical interface 812 is connected to a trace 818 extending into the mouth 1100 of a corresponding second electrical interface 814 partial ring.", "One other feature of note with respect to FIGS.", "11B and 12B is that the emissions substrate 802 may be comprised of multiple levels.", "In FIG.", "12B for example, the emissions substrate 802 may comprise a glass or plastic layer 1200, with conductive traces overlying layer 1200 connected to the well electrical interfaces.", "A transparent material layer 1202 may overlie the conductive traces and layer 1200, into which the wells are formed.", "For example, transparent material layer 1202 may be a dielectric material or a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) film.", "FIGS.", "13A, 13B, and 13C are, respectively, a partial cross-sectional view an emissive element variation, a well variation, and the emissive element seated in the well.", "In one aspect, each emissive element top surface 302 is bi-planar with a first level 1300 and a second level 1302.The first electrical contact 306 is formed on the first level 1300 of the top surface 302, and the second electrical contact is formed 308 on the second level of the top surface.", "Alternatively but not shown, the first electrical contact 306 is formed on the second level of the top surface, and the second electrical contact is formed on the first level of the top surface.", "Likewise, each well bottom surface 808 is bi-planar with a first level 1304 and a second level 1306.Thus, each well first electrical interface is formed 812 on the well bottom first level 1304, and each well second electrical interface 814 is formed on the well bottom second level 1306.FIGS.", "14A and 14B are, respectively, schematic and partial cross-sectional views of an emissions substrate enabled with a first plurality of active matrix (AM) drive circuits.", "One particular variation of a drive circuit is shown in FIG.", "14C.", "Each drive circuit 1400 is connected to a corresponding column/row intersection, with an output connected to the first electrical interface 812 of a corresponding well.", "Alternatively, each drive circuit output may be connected to the second electrical interface of each well.", "A network of reference voltage (e.g., ground) traces 1402 are connected to the second electrical interface 814 of each well.", "FIG.", "14B depicts just the final output transistor 1404 of a drive circuit that controls the output of a corresponding LED 300 by changing the interposing variable resistance between the dc power trace (Vdd) 1406 and the LED.", "FIGS.", "15A and 15B are, respectively, a schematic and a partial cross-sectional view of an emissions substrate where the emissive elements are enabled using a passive matrix.", "In this aspect, a series of column traces 816 and row traces 818 form a passive matrix (PM) with the column trace of each column/row intersection 820 is connected to the first electrical interface 812 of a corresponding well, and the row trace of each column/row intersection is connected to the second electrical interface 814 of each well.", "uLED emitter elements can be manufactured using processes similar to those used for uLED lighting.", "However the size, shape, and configuration of the disks have additional requirements that do not exist for general lighting, as described below.", "Otherwise, the LEDs may be fabricated on a suitable backplane that can hold a large area array of uLEDs, with electrical connections made to them.", "Again, there are specific requirements for the size, shape, and position of features so that the uLEDs can be successfully positioned and connected.", "Finally, a fluidic assembly process can be used to position the uLEDs in an array and establish electrical connections to between each uLED and the backplane.", "The emitter size point is an important distinction for displays.", "For general lighting and LCD backlights the emitter (emissive element) size tends to be whatever is convenient, and the important consideration is cost per photon.", "The most common (cheapest) LED for general lighting has an area of about 200×200 um, an LED thickness of about 5 um, a sapphire thickness of about 100 um.", "So the aspect ratio of the emissive element is about 2:1.In direct emissions applications the uLED emission area is chosen to produce sufficient illumination for one sub-pixel, which may be less than 25 um in diameter.", "Because of the uLED size, the fraction of the device area needed to make contact is important as larger contacts result in less emitter area, but smaller contacts increase loss due to the spreading resistance in the GaN layers.", "uLED Fabrication Surface mount uLEDs that might be used to make the emissive display disclosed herein may be fabricated from conventional high brightness LED wafers like those used to make emitters for general lighting as is well known in the art.", "The resulting uLEDs are from 10 to 100 microns (μm) in diameter and typically are in the form of round disks as shown in several of the above figures.", "The round disk shape is typical but other planar shapes such as triangles, squares, or hexagons could also be made in the same way and the display substrate would be fabricated with a well structure matching the uLED shape for fluidic assembly.", "Briefly the process flow for manufacturing one particular type of uLED proceeds as follows: 1) Manufacture a planar high brightness blue LED wafer in the conventional manner as follows: a.", "On a sapphire substrate deposit a buffer layer and n-GaN (404) to form the LED cathode, see FIGS.", "4A and 4B.", "The N doped GaN can be intrinsic (i.e.", "defect doped) or doped by the inclusion of trace amounts of silicon (Si).", "b.", "Deposit alternating layers of InGaN and GaN (406) to form a multiple quantum well structure (MQW).", "c. Deposit a hole blocking layer of AlGaN and a thin p-GaN layer (402) to form the LED anode.", "The p-GaN is typically magnesium (Mg) doped.", "d. Deposit an ITO current spreading layer on the p-GaN.", "2) Form the LED emission area by etching the ITO, p-GaN, and MQW layers to make a mesa with some overetch into the n-GaN layer.", "3) Form the uLED disk shape that is larger than the mesa formed in 2) by etching the n-GaN to the sapphire substrate.", "This is typically a close packed array of round disk shapes to maximize utilization of the device area.", "Other simple plate shapes such as triangles, squares, or hexagons can be used as long as the aspect ratio is suitable for fluidic assembly.", "4) Deposit an insulating material (408) in a ring shape to electrically isolate the anode and cathode regions.", "This material can also contain a light absorbing material to prevent light leakage between the anode and cathode electrodes.", "5) Deposit the anode electrode stack (308) to a suitable height.", "The electrode stack has several components in successive layers: a.", "A material such as titanium (Ti) having a work function matching that of n-GaN.", "b.", "A thick electrode that bonds to the display substrate well electrode, such as a layered structure of indium (In) and tin (Sn) with a thin gold cap to prevent oxidation.", "6) Deposit the cathode electrode stack to a suitable height.", "The electrode stack has several components in successive layers: a.", "A material such as nickel/gold (Ni/Au), chromium/gold (Cr/Au), or Ti that makes good contact to the ITO current spreading layer.", "b.", "An electrode that bonds to the display substrate well electrode such as a layered structure of In and Sn with a thin gold cap to prevent oxidation.", "7) Attach the top surface of the wafer to a glass handling substrate with an adhesive coating.", "8) Laser liftoff (LLO) is used to remove the sapphire substrate and allow access to the bottom surface of the uLED structure.", "9) The handle substrate with the uLEDs positioned in an array with the n-GaN side up is processed to make the orientation post (310).", "The post may be a photo patternable material such as SU-8 (a commonly used epoxy-based negative photoresist) or a deposited oxide or metal.", "The completed uLEDs are harvested by dissolving the adhesive and collecting the disks in a fluid suspension, which may be an alcohol, polyol, ketone, halocarbon, or distilled (DI) water.", "FIG.", "16 is a partial cross-sectional view of a vertical uLED designed for fluidic assembly.", "There are a number of constraints on the LED structure to improve the device performance as well as the fluidic assembly yield.", "In one aspect, commercially available GaN LED structures can be etched to make surface mount uLEDs (SM uLEDs), as shown.", "As used herein a SMuLED is defined as a device having two electrical contacts (adjacent the well bottom surface).", "In more detail, the SMuLED of FIG.", "16 comprises p+-GaN 1600, MQW 1606, n+-GaN 1604, and n-GaN 1606.The c dimension may be 2 to 4 microns, and the b dimension may be 1 to 2 microns.", "Most of the characteristics required for fluidic assembly of vertical LEDs are also important for the surface mount uLED configuration.", "The following guidelines may be used for the production of vertical or surface mount uLEDs for surface fluidic assembly: Substrate: is preferably sapphire for laser lift off.", "The surface may be planar or textured to improve light extraction.", "n-GaN thickness (1604 and 1606): The main body of the SMuLED consists of intrinsic n-type GaN (1606) and Si-doped n-type GaN (1604).", "The thickness of each layer may be 3 μm or less, for each layer.", "Disc diameter (d): The uLED thickness “a” determines the disk diameter.", "Usually, the d/a ratio is in the range of 5-50 um.", "If the disc thickness is ˜5 μm, the disc diameter “d” may be between 30 and 120 μm.", "If disc thickness is 2 μm, the diameter “d” can be reduced to 5 μm-50 μm.", "Post diameter (e): The ratio of e/d is between 10%-20%.", "For a 50 μm diameter disc, the post diameter may be 5-10 μm.", "For a 5 μm disc, the post diameter may be 0.5-1 μm.", "Post height (f): The post height is about 30% to 100% of post diameter.", "For a 50 μm diameter disk, a 1 μm post height can be used, but a height of 2 μm is more effective at flipping surface-misoriented disks during fluidic assembly.", "Stack height (a): The height of the stack “a”, which is the summation of (“b”+“c”+the height of the MQW 1602+the height of the p+-GaN 1600) is in the range of 2 to 7 microns.", "Emissions Substrate Fabrication and Requirements FIGS.", "17A through 17L depict plan and partial cross-sectional views of an exemplary emissions substrate fabrication process.", "The uLED display emissions substrate (backplane) can be fabricated on large area glass or plastic substrates using conventional processes on the same equipment set that is used to fabricate LCD displays.", "A brief exemplary process flow to produce a simple passive matrix array connecting uLEDs in rows and columns proceeds as follows: 1) On a glass or plastic substrate 1200 deposit a first layer of metal interconnect, which may be tungsten or Ti/Al/Ti or some other low resistance metal.", "Pattern the first metal 1701 to form interconnects that will connect the electrical interface in the well bottom surface to a row and column.", "One basic electrode shape is the “C” or partial ring shape with a centered circle, as shown in FIGS.", "17A and 17B.", "2) Deposit an insulating layer 1700 (silicon dioxide (SiO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), or an insulating organic film) over the first metal 1701 and etch contact openings 1702 to connect with a subsequently deposited second metal, see FIGS.", "17C and 17D.", "3) Deposit a second layer of metal interconnect 1704, which may be tungsten or Ti/Al/Ti or some other low resistance metal.", "Pattern the metal 1704.Deposit an insulating layer 1706 (SiO2, Si3N4, or an insulating organic film) over the second metal 1704, see FIGS.", "17E and 17F.", "4) Etch contact openings 1708 and 1710 to connect a subsequently deposited third metal layer, see FIGS.", "17G and 1711.5) Deposit a third local interconnect metal, forming 1712 and 1714 after patterning, which may be Ti, molybdenum (Mo), a gold/germanium stack (Au/Ge), or tungsten (w), and pattern the shape to match the size and spacing of the anode and cathode electrodes on the uLED.", "Interconnects 1712 and 1714 are shown as electrical interfaces in FIG.", "8B.", "At this point the electrode layers as described are co-planar so the electrode surface of the uLED will rest evenly on the third metal surfaces 1712 and 1714, see FIGS.", "171 and 17J.", "6) Deposit an insulating material 1202 to form well structures to capture uLEDs in the fluidic assembly process.", "This may be spin-on glass (SOG), tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) oxide, or polyimide and the patterning may be by photolithography or an etching process.", "By whatever means they are formed, the well sidewalls are preferably greater than 70 degrees, the depth of the well should be approximately the same as the thickness of the uLED, and the electrodes in the bottom of the well must be open to make contact with the uLED electrodes, see FIG.", "17K.", "7) After a fluidic assembly process, the uLED 300 is seated in the well, see FIG.", "17L.", "Fluidic Assembly of Surface Mount uLEDs The suspension of surface mount uLEDs in a liquid is deposited on the prepared substrate and some means to induce flow is used to move the liquid across the substrate such that the uLEDs flow laterally across the surface of the substrate.", "Many possible techniques can be used to flow the liquid including pumping, gravity, brushing, ultrasonic transducers, an air knife, or nozzle, etc.", "One key point is that the disks are moved quickly enough across the surface to create many assembly opportunities without exerting so much force that disks are forced out of the wells.", "The uLEDs have a higher density than the liquid so they settle to the substrate surface and can be captured by an open well.", "If the disk settles in the well with a post-down orientation, the edge of the disk bottom surface (with attached post) is above the surface of the substrate and the liquid flow exerts a torque that tends to flip the disk out of the well.", "If the disk settles in the well with a post-up orientation, only the post is subject to flow forces and the disk stays in the well with the proper surface orientation.", "Carrying out this process with a sufficient number of disks over a long enough period of time increases the number of assembly attempts at each site until each well has a working uLED deposited in a post-up orientation.", "When assembly is complete the unused uLEDs are swept off the substrate into a sump or reservoir for recycling and the remaining liquid is allowed to evaporate or exchanged with a second liquid.", "At this point it may be appropriate to use a visual inspection method to look for defects such as missing disks, wells that have been blocked by particles, or even disks in wells that are post down.", "It should be possible to repair a small number of defects using a pick and place technique to remove the defect if necessary.", "It is clear that more than one emitter per sub-pixel can be used to compensate for a single defect by redundancy, and a laser cutting strategy can be used to isolate a shorted uLED from the drive circuit.", "After assembly, all of the uLEDs are positioned with the anode and cathode electrodes over and in contact with the corresponding substrate electrodes, as shown in the FIG.", "17L.", "The substrate is heated to a suitable temperature to cause the anode and cathode electrodes to interact with the substrate electrodes to form a stable mechanical and electrical connection.", "For In/Sn electrodes, a connection to Ti substrate electrodes can be made at an annealing temperature of 220° C. and the connection process is facilitated by the application of a liquid flux that breaks down surface oxide.", "LED electrodes made of other materials may be covered with a layer of In/Sn solder, or the substrate electrodes may be coated with In/Sn solder to aid in making electrical connections.", "AuGe eutectic solder electrodes, or electrodes coated with AuGe eutectic solder may also be used.", "However, AuGe has a higher annealing temperature of 380° C., which may not be appropriate for some fabrication processes.", "After annealing, the substrate can be rinsed to remove residual flux and a passivation coat such as polyimide or Si3N4 or the like may be deposited to prevent contact between the electrode interface and the environment.", "Passive Matrix Array The uLED pixel described above can be combined in an array to form a passive matrix array that has external driving circuits for each row and column, see FIG.", "15A.", "Thus, the driving scheme works by setting an appropriate drive voltage at each column electrode, then turning on the appropriate row while all other rows are disconnected.", "The signal is applied for a short time (e.g., a few microseconds), the row electrode is disconnected, and the process is repeated for the next row.", "In this way each row is illuminated for the refresh time divided by the number of rows.", "If the refresh time is reasonably short, like 1/60 of a second, the human vision system averages everything out producing an image composed of all of the rows.", "However, it is clear that this approach is limited to a modest number of rows to maintain reasonable peak intensity and power.", "Active Matrix Array The passive matrix array described above is very simple but it has significant weaknesses for making a high resolution display.", "Because each row is addressed separately, there is a limited number of rows in the display that can be cycled for a realistic row duty cycle and power level.", "Further, the high emission required for the short time durations of LED enablement decreases the uLED lifetime.", "Consequently, it is advantageous to use an active matrix display where a control element is fabricated on the display substrate, to control the emission for each sub pixel (LED) independently.", "With this architecture it is possible for each pixel to be illuminated continuously, although lower duty cycles may be advantageous in some situations.", "There are many possible circuits to accomplish this but the simplest consists of two transistors and a storage capacitor in addition to the uLED emissive element.", "As shown in FIG.", "14C, transistor 1404 (T1) determines the amount of current flowing from Vdd through the uLED to Vss, based on the setting of the gate voltage established by the amount of charge stored on the storage capacitor (Cs).", "So in operation the pixel is programmed by setting an appropriate voltage on the column line and turning on the access gate T2, waiting for a few time constants for the voltage on Cs to stabilize, and then turning the access gate off to hold the charge on Cs.", "The circuit may use a low temperature poly silicon (LTPS) thin-film transistor (TFT) process to make a PMOS device for the drive transistor T1 because of the combination of high mobility and stability exhibited by these devices.", "It is possible that a similar pixel made with indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) TFTs can be used, but IGZO has only 10-20% as much mobility as an LTPS transistor of the same size.", "So for a given pixel size, the limitations of the IGZO TFT performance yield lower luminance per pixel, as compared with LTPS.", "As is well known in the art, there are a great number of drive circuits used in displays to selectively power emissive elements, many of which use more than two TFTs.", "The display described herein is not limited to any particular type of drive circuit or any particular number of transistors per drive circuit.", "Color Generation Using Blue uLEDs In one aspect, the emissive substrate is monochrome, typically blue, for use as an LCD backlight.", "However, the substrate can also be used for RGB color generation.", "There are two approaches to generating color (green and red) by down-conversion of a blue LED light.", "FIG.", "18 is a partial cross-sectional view depicting color generation through the use of a separate color conversion sheet.", "The quantum dot color filter (QDCF) approach uses quantum dots (QD) in a matrix printed on a separate substrate, similar to the color filter process used in LCD display.", "The color conversion sheet 1800 has a diffuser 1802 over the blue sub-pixel 300 and quantum dot color converters 1804 and 1806 to respectively generate red and green light, and color filters 1808 and 1810 to block blue contamination.", "Each conversion element is surrounded by an absorber 1812 (black matrix) to prevent light scattering to adjacent pixels.", "The color conversion sheet 1800 is aligned and bonded to the emissions substrate (1200/1202) over the uLED emitters 300.Layer 1816 represents an adhesive used to bind the emissive substrate 1200 to the color conversion sheet 1800.FIG.", "19 is a partial cross-sectional view of color generation through the use of phosphors deposited over the emissive elements.", "The phosphor can be conventional ceramic phosphor with diameter in micron-meter range or QD with diameter in nanometer range.", "The quantum dot LED (QDLED) approach is similar to the QDCF approach with a diffuser 1802, red QD matrix 1804, and green QD matrix 1806 printed directly on the uLEDs 300 and surrounded by black matrix 1812.Then, any unwanted blue light contamination for red and green pixels is absorbed by red and green color filters 1808 and 1810 on the separate color filter sheet 1800 bonded to the emissions substrate.", "Conventional phosphors are mixed as received into phosphor binder.", "Commercially available red and green phosphor materials have particle sizes of around an 8 μm diameter.", "The particles are mixed with an appropriate binder material that is suitable for the printing process.", "A gravure printing technique, for example, entails inking a pattern plate, wiping excess ink from the pattern plate, and subsequent transfer of the phosphor ink pattern from the pattern plate to the emissions substrate.", "Other printing techniques could be applied for this process such as screen print, flexography, offset, extrusion, or inkjet.", "In one aspect, the phosphor ink is thermally cured on a hotplate at 140° C. for 8 minutes.", "Further processing is dictated by the specific materials used for phosphor and binder.", "It is also possible to use this approach and two separate LED fluidic assembly flows, to make a hybrid display with blue and green uLEDs and red generated using a blue uLED and red QD color converter.", "The QDCF approach has the advantage of placing the QD material away from the LEDs so there is a lower temperature and consequently less thermal impact on the performance and reliability of the QDs.", "Both approaches require high loading of QDs to achieve high efficiency of color conversion in a relatively thin film, and both approaches are challenging for ink jet printing resolution.", "Color Generation Using all Inorganic uLEDs FIGS.", "20A and 20B are, respectively, a partial cross-sectional view and light intensity graph for an emissive substrate using three different LED types, to respectively generate three different colors.", "FIG.", "20A depicts a cover glass 2000 bound to substrate 1200 with adhesive layer 1816.In this approach color generation may be achieved using three inorganic LEDs 300a, 300b, and 300c, respectively emitting at 450 nm (blue), 530 nm (green), and 630 nm (red).", "This gives very narrow emission peaks for each color, which gives the best color gamut and image appearance, as shown in FIG.", "20B.", "There are two major hurdles for this approach however.", "Red LEDs are not made using GaN, but rather, with AlGaInP diodes grown on a GaAs substrate.", "Consequently, the LED fabrication and harvest procedures recited for GaN (blue) LEDs are not appropriate for red uLEDs.", "Further, three-emitter displays require the development of fluidic assembly techniques that can align three different LED shapes or size.", "The red LEDs made from AlGaInP may have different operating voltages and temperature behavior than GaN LEDs, in addition to being more brittle than GaN based devices.", "Color Conversion for LCD Back Light Unit (BLU) FIGS.", "21A, 21B, and 21C respectively depict a white light phosphor intensity graph, exemplary stacked color modifier, and associated stacked color modifier intensity graph.", "The uLED emissive display can also be used as a local dimming backlight unit (BLU) by including a phosphor material to generate red and green colors by down-conversion of the blue light emitted by the uLEDs.", "So the BLU will be a low resolution copy of the display image to increase dynamic range by better matching the output of the backlight to the requirements of the image.", "One simple version of the BLU is a uniform coating of white light color conversion phosphor.", "A more sophisticated version might use a layer of a red color conversion phosphor 2100 printed over the LED 300, followed by a coating of green color conversion phosphor 2102, as shown in FIG.", "21B.", "Using high quality quantum dot color converters with an optical density tuned to allow the right amount of blue to pass through, the spectrum of FIG.", "21C is obtained.", "A printing process may be used to deposit QDs only over the uLED, and depositing the green layer over the red layer helps by limiting the absorption of green light in the red converter.", "However, a uniform coating over the whole substrate with mixed red and green converters is also effective, albeit at a higher cost.", "A surface mount emissive device and display fabrication method using a surface mount emissive device are provided.", "Examples of particular material, dimensions, and circuit layouts have been presented to illustrate the invention.", "However, the invention is not limited to merely these examples.", "Other variations and embodiments of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art." ] ]
Patent_15875108
[ [ "METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE INCLUDING FORMING PROTECTIVE FILM WITHIN RECESS IN SUBSTRATE", "An n-type layer (3) is formed by implanting an n-type impurity in a back surface of a Si substrate (1).", "A recess (4) is formed in the back surface of the Si substrate (1).", "After forming the n-type layer (3), an oxide film (5) is formed on the back surface and in the recess (4).", "The oxide film (5) on the back surface is removed while the oxide film (5) in the recess (4) is left.", "After removing the oxide film (5), an Al—Si film (6) is formed on the back surface.", "A metal electrode (7) is formed on the Al—Si film (6).", "The oxide film (5) in the recess (4) prevents Al from diffusing from the Al—Si film (6) into the Si substrate (1) through the recess (4)." ], [ "1.A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising: forming an n-type layer by implanting an n-type impurity in a back surface of a Si substrate wherein a recess is formed in the back surface; recrystallizing the back surface by laser annealing the back surface while the recess is left, thereby re-forming the n-type layer; after the laser annealing, forming an Al—Si film on the back surface; and forming a metal electrode on the Al—Si film.", "2.The method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the laser annealing is selectively performed on the recess." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>In a power semiconductor device for driving a large current, a metal electrode is formed on a back surface of a Si substrate (see, for example, PTL 1).", "An Al—Si film is formed between the Si substrate and the metal electrode for the purpose of inhibiting separation therebetween." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/304,558 filed Oct. 17, 2016, which is the U.S. National Phase Application of International Application No.", "PCT/JP2014/070246, filed Jul.", "31, 2014, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device wherein a metal electrode is formed on a back surface of a Si substrate.", "BACKGROUND In a power semiconductor device for driving a large current, a metal electrode is formed on a back surface of a Si substrate (see, for example, PTL 1).", "An Al—Si film is formed between the Si substrate and the metal electrode for the purpose of inhibiting separation therebetween.", "CITATION LIST Patent Literature PTL 1: JP 2006-074024 A SUMMARY Technical Problem A recess is formed in the back surface of the Si substrate due to mechanical stress at the time of wafer manufacturing.", "Al diffuses from the Al—Si film into the Si substrate through this recess, thereby forming a p-type layer.", "There is a problem that a depletion layer reaches this p-type layer to cause a leak current and a reduction in withstand voltage of the device.", "The present invention has been achieved to solve the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device capable of inhibiting a leak current and a reduction in withstand voltage even in a case where a recess exists in a back surface of a Si substrate.", "Solution to Problem A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present invention includes: forming an n-type layer by implanting an n-type impurity in a back surface of a Si substrate wherein a recess is formed in the back surface; after forming the n-type layer, forming a protective film on the back surface and in the recess; removing the protective film on the back surface while the protective film in the recess is left; after removing the protective film, forming an Al—Si film on the back surface; and forming a metal electrode on the Al—Si film, wherein the protective film in the recess prevents Al from diffusing from the Al—Si film into the Si substrate through the recess.", "Advantageous Effects of Invention In the present invention, the protective film in the recess prevents Al from diffusing from the Al—Si film into the Si substrate through the recess.", "Thus, although the recess exists in the back surface of the Si substrate, a leak current and a reduction in withstand voltage can be inhibited.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS.", "1 to 4 are sectional views showing the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to a comparative example.", "FIG.", "6 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "7 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "8 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "9 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "10 and 11 are sectional views showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.", "FIG.", "12 is a sectional view showing a modified example of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.", "The same components will be denoted by the same symbols, and the repeated description thereof may be omitted.", "Embodiment 1 A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.", "FIGS.", "1 to 4 are sectional views showing the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.", "First, as shown in FIG.", "1, a p-type layer 2 is formed by implanting a p-type impurity into a front surface of an n−-type Si substrate 1, and an n-type layer 3 is formed by implanting an n-type impurity in a back surface of the substrate 1.A recess 4 (flaw) is formed in the back surface of the Si substrate 1.Subsequently, as shown in FIG.", "2, an oxide film 5 is formed on the back surface and in the recess 4.Subsequently, as shown in FIG.", "3, the oxide film 5 on the back surface is removed by sputter-etching while the oxide film 5 in the recess 4 is left.", "It is necessary that at this time part of the oxide film 5 be left at least in an innermost portion of the recess 4.Subsequently, as shown in FIG.", "4, an Al—Si film 6 is formed on the back surface.", "Subsequently, a metal electrode 7 is formed on the Al—Si film 6.The metal electrode 7 is a multilayer electrode.", "The advantageous effect of the present embodiment will be described through comparison with a comparative example.", "FIG.", "5 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to a comparative example.", "In the comparative example, the Al—Si film 6 is in direct contact with the Si substrate 1 in an innermost portion of the recess 4.When a reverse voltage is applied to the device, therefore, Al diffuses from the Al—Si film 6 into the Si substrate 1 through the recess 4 to form a p-type layer.", "Because a depletion layer reaches this p-type layer, a leak current is generated and the withstand voltage of the device is reduced.", "On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the oxide film 5 in the recess 4 functions as a protective film for preventing Al from diffusing from the Al—Si film 6 into the Si substrate 1 through the recess 4.Thus, although the recess 4 exists in the back surface of the Si substrate 1, a leak current and a reduction in withstand voltage can be inhibited.", "Also, separation between the Si substrate 1 and the metal electrode 7 can be inhibited with the Al—Si film 6.Embodiment 2 FIG.", "6 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, an n-type doped polysilicon 8 is formed as a protective film in place of the oxide film 5 in Embodiment 1.In this case, the n-type doped polysilicon 8 in the recess 4 prevents Al from diffusing the Al—Si film 6 into the Si substrate 1 through the recess 4, thus obtaining the same advantage as in Embodiment 1.Since the n-doped polysilicon 8 is of the n-type, there is a margin for Al that activates the Si substrate 1 into the p-type and energization can be effected even through the recess 4.Embodiment 3 FIG.", "7 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a phosphosilicate glass 9 is formed as a protective film in place of the oxide film 5 in Embodiment 1.Also in this case, the same advantage as that in Embodiment 1 can be obtained.", "Since the phosphosilicate glass 9 is of the n-type, there is a margin for Al that activates the Si substrate 1 into the p-type and energization can be effected even through the recess 4.Embodiment 4 FIG.", "8 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a metal simple substance 10 (titanium) not silicidized is formed as a protective film in place of the oxide film 5 in Embodiment 1.Because the metal simple substance 10 in the recess 4 functions as a barrier metal for preventing diffusion of Al, the same advantage as that in Embodiment 1 can be obtained.", "The metal simple substance 10 has a good ohmic characteristic with respect to the n-type.", "Embodiment 5 FIG.", "9 is a sectional view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.", "In the present embodiment, a metal film (titanium, cobalt, tungsten or molybdenum) is formed on the back surface and in the recess 4 after the n-type layer 3 is formed.", "Thereafter, metal silicide 11 (titanium silicide, cobalt silicide, tungsten silicide or molybdenum silicide) is formed by performing annealing.", "Subsequently, the metal silicide 11 on the back surface is removed by sputter-etching while the metal silicide 11 in the recess 4 is left.", "Al—Si film 6 and a metal electrode 7 are thereafter formed, as are those in Embodiment 1.The metal silicide 11 in the recess 4 functions as a protective film for preventing Al from diffusing from the Al—Si film 6 into the Si substrate 1 through the recess 4.The same advantage as that in Embodiment 1 can therefore be obtained.", "The metal silicide 11 is higher in ohmic characteristic with respect to the n-type layer 3 than the metal simple substance 10 and functions as a barrier metal for preventing diffusion of Al.", "Embodiment 6 FIGS.", "10 and 11 are sectional views showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.", "First, in the same way as in Embodiment 1, and as shown in FIG.", "1, the p-type layer 2 is formed by implanting a p-type impurity into a front surface of the n−-type Si substrate 1, and the n-type layer 3 is formed by implanting an n-type impurity in the back surface of the substrate 1.The recess 4 is formed in the back surface of the Si substrate 1.Subsequently, as shown in FIG.", "10, the back surface is recrystallized by laser annealing the back surface while the recess 4 is left, thereby re-forming the n-type layer 3.Subsequently, as shown in FIG.", "11, the Al—Si film 6 is formed on the back surface.", "The metal electrode 7 is formed on the Al—Si film 6.Prevention of diffusion of Al from the Al—Si film 6 into the Si substrate 1 through the recess 4 is thus enabled.", "The same advantage as that in Embodiment 1 can therefore be obtained.", "Also, since the n-type layer 3 can be re-formed, a change in characteristic can be inhibited.", "While the method of eliminating the recess 4 by melting the back surface by laser application requires a long processing time, the recess 4 is left in the present embodiment to enable shortening the laser annealing processing time and, hence, reducing the manufacturing cost.", "FIG.", "12 is a sectional view showing a modified example of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.", "Laser annealing is selectively performed only on the recess 4.Recrystallization of a portion including and around the recess 4 can be performed in this way and the advantage of Embodiment 6 can therefore be obtained.", "Since laser annealing is selectively performed, the laser annealing processing time can be further reduced and a reduction in manufacturing cost can therefore be achieved.", "REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Si substrate; 3 n-type layer; 4 recess; 5 oxide film; 6 Al—Si film; 7 metal electrode; 8 n-type doped polysilicon; 9 phosphosilicate glass; 10 metal simple substance; 11 metal silicide" ] ]
Patent_15875111
[ [ "USING HYPERVISOR TRAPPING FOR PROTECTION AGAINST INTERRUPTS IN VIRTUAL MACHINE FUNCTIONS", "A system, methods, and apparatus for using hypervisor trapping for protection against interrupts in virtual machine functions are disclosed.", "A system includes memory, one or more physical processors, a virtual machine executing on the one or more physical processors, and a hypervisor executing on the one or more physical processors.", "The hypervisor reads an interrupt data structure on the virtual machine.", "The hypervisor determines whether the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view.", "Responsive to determining that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, the hypervisor disables a virtual machine function." ], [ "1.A method of restricting access to memory resources by a virtual machine, the method comprising: activating a trap to a hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on a virtual machine, wherein the virtual machine executes with a default page view stored in a default page table; reading the interrupt data structure to determine that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view stored in an alternate page table, which is different from the default page view and the alternate page view includes a reference to a memory location outside of a memory location of a virtual machine function; and disabling the virtual machine function.", "2.The method of claim 1 further comprising determining that the interrupt data structure points to the alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in a page data structure.", "3.The method of claim 2 further comprising reading the one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in two or more page data structures.", "4.The method of claim 2, wherein the page data structure is the alternate page data structure.", "5.The method of claim 1 further comprising disabling the virtual machine function by modifying code that invokes the virtual machine function.", "6.The method of claim 5, wherein modifying code of the virtual machine function includes incorporating code that returns an error message when executed.", "7.The method of claim 1 further comprising disabling the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine to restrict access to one or more memory resources.", "8.The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more memory resources are memory resources that can be accessed by the virtual machine function.", "9.The method of claim 1 further comprising disabling the virtual machine function by modifying the alternate page data structure to match a default page data structure.", "10.The method of claim 1 further comprising modifying a permission of the interrupt data structure.", "11.The method of claim 10, wherein modifying the permission of the interrupt data structure includes making the alternate page view non-present to the virtual machine.", "12.The method of claim 10, wherein modifying the permission of the interrupt data structure includes making the interrupt data structure non-writable by the virtual machine.", "13.The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual machine function is re-enabled by the hypervisor based on an override request.", "14.The method of claim 13, wherein the virtual machine function changes a first mapping of a virtual machine memory address to a second mapping of a host memory address, granting access to the host memory address to the virtual machine.", "15.The method of claim 1, wherein the interrupt data structure is stored separately from and outside of the virtual machine.", "16.A system of restricting access to memory resources by a virtual machine, the system comprising: a default page table storing a default page view, wherein the virtual machine executes with the default page view; an alternate page table storing an alternate page view; and a hypervisor executing on a processor to: activate a trap to the hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on the virtual machine; read the interrupt data structure to determine that the interrupt data structure points to the alternate page view, which is different from the default page view and the alternate page view includes a reference to a memory location outside of a memory location of a virtual machine function; and disable the virtual machine function.", "17.The system of claim 16, wherein the virtual machine function is re-enabled by the hypervisor based on an override request.", "18.The system of claim 17, wherein the virtual machine function changes a first mapping of a virtual machine memory address to a second mapping of a host memory address, granting access to the host memory address to the virtual machine.", "19.The system of claim 16, wherein the interrupt data structure is stored separately from and outside of the virtual machine.", "20.A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium comprising executable instructions of restricting access to memory resources by a virtual machine, a host operating system, and a guest operating system that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to: activate a trap to a hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on a virtual machine, wherein the virtual machine executes with a default page view stored in a default page table; read the interrupt data structure to determine that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view stored in an alternate page table, which is different from the default page view and the alternate page view includes a reference to a memory location outside of a memory location of a virtual machine function; and disable the virtual machine function." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Virtualization may be used to provide some physical components as logical objects in order to allow running various software modules, for example, multiple operating systems, concurrently and in isolation from other software modules, on one or more interconnected physical computer systems.", "Virtualization allows, for example, consolidating multiple physical servers into one physical server running multiple virtual machines in order to improve the hardware utilization rate.", "Virtualization may be achieved by running a software layer, often referred to as hypervisor, above the hardware and below the virtual machines.", "A hypervisor may run directly on the server hardware without an operating system beneath it or as an application running under a traditional operating system.", "A hypervisor may virtualize the physical layer and provide interfaces between the underlying hardware and virtual devices of virtual machines.", "Processor virtualization may be implemented by the hypervisor scheduling time slots on one or more physical processors for a virtual machine, rather than a virtual machine actually having a dedicated physical processor.", "A virtualized computer system may provide routing and processing of interrupts.", "An interrupt generally refers to an event that requires a processor to execute event-specific instructions, which might involve the processor's holding the current thread of execution and/or switching contexts." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure provides a new and innovative system, methods and apparatus for using hypervisor trapping for protection against interrupts in virtual machine functions.", "In an example embodiment, a system includes memory, one or more physical processors, a virtual machine executing on the one or more physical processors, and a hypervisor executing on the one or more physical processors.", "The hypervisor activates a trap to the hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on the virtual machine.", "The hypervisor reads the interrupt data structure on the virtual machine.", "The hypervisor determines based on reading the interrupt data structure whether the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view.", "Responsive to determining that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, the hypervisor disables a virtual machine function.", "Additional features and advantages of the disclosed method and apparatus are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the Figures." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.", "No.", "14/603,984, filed Jan. 23, 2015 the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "BACKGROUND Virtualization may be used to provide some physical components as logical objects in order to allow running various software modules, for example, multiple operating systems, concurrently and in isolation from other software modules, on one or more interconnected physical computer systems.", "Virtualization allows, for example, consolidating multiple physical servers into one physical server running multiple virtual machines in order to improve the hardware utilization rate.", "Virtualization may be achieved by running a software layer, often referred to as hypervisor, above the hardware and below the virtual machines.", "A hypervisor may run directly on the server hardware without an operating system beneath it or as an application running under a traditional operating system.", "A hypervisor may virtualize the physical layer and provide interfaces between the underlying hardware and virtual devices of virtual machines.", "Processor virtualization may be implemented by the hypervisor scheduling time slots on one or more physical processors for a virtual machine, rather than a virtual machine actually having a dedicated physical processor.", "A virtualized computer system may provide routing and processing of interrupts.", "An interrupt generally refers to an event that requires a processor to execute event-specific instructions, which might involve the processor's holding the current thread of execution and/or switching contexts.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure provides a new and innovative system, methods and apparatus for using hypervisor trapping for protection against interrupts in virtual machine functions.", "In an example embodiment, a system includes memory, one or more physical processors, a virtual machine executing on the one or more physical processors, and a hypervisor executing on the one or more physical processors.", "The hypervisor activates a trap to the hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on the virtual machine.", "The hypervisor reads the interrupt data structure on the virtual machine.", "The hypervisor determines based on reading the interrupt data structure whether the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view.", "Responsive to determining that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, the hypervisor disables a virtual machine function.", "Additional features and advantages of the disclosed method and apparatus are described in, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the Figures.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of an example multiprocessor computer system according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram of an example virtual machine including an interrupt data structure according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "3 a block diagram of an example default page table and alternate page table according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram of exemplary page views and pages according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIG.", "5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process for using interrupt descriptor exiting for protection against interrupts in virtual machine functions according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure FIG.", "6 is a flow diagram illustrating a guest operating system and hypervisor according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS FIG.", "1 depicts a high-level component diagram of an example multi-processor (or host) computer system 100 in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.", "The computer system 100 may include one or more interconnected nodes 110.Each node 110 may in turn include one or more physical processors 120 communicatively coupled to memory devices (MD) 130 and input/output (I/O) devices 140.As used herein, physical processor or processor refers to a device capable of executing instructions encoding arithmetic, logical, and/or I/O operations.", "In one illustrative example, a processor may follow Von Neumann architectural model and may include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a control unit, and a plurality of registers.", "In a further aspect, a processor may be a single core processor which is typically capable of executing one instruction at a time (or process a single pipeline of instructions), or a multi-core processor which may simultaneously execute multiple instructions.", "In another aspect, a processor may be implemented as a single integrated circuit, two or more integrated circuits, or may be a component of a multi-chip module (e.g., in which individual microprocessor dies are included in a single integrated circuit package and hence share a single socket).", "A processor may also be referred to as a central processing unit (CPU).", "As discussed herein, a memory device refers to a volatile or non-volatile memory device, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or any other device capable of storing data.", "As discussed herein, I/O device refers to a device capable of providing an interface between one or more processor pins and an external device capable of inputting and/or outputting binary data.", "Processors 120 may be interconnected using a variety of techniques, ranging from a point-to-point processor interconnect, to a system area network 150, as shown in FIG.", "1, such as an Ethernet-based network.", "Local connections within each node 110, including the connections between a processor 120 and a memory 130 and between a processor 120 and an I/O device 140 may be provided by one or more local buses 160 of suitable architecture, for example, peripheral component interconnect (PCI).", "As noted above, computer system 100 may run multiple virtual machines 170, by executing a software layer (e.g.", "hypervisor 180) above the hardware and below the virtual machines, as schematically shown in FIG.", "1.In one illustrative example, the hypervisor 180 may be a component of the operating system 185 executed by the computer system 100.Alternatively, the hypervisor 180 may be provided by an application running under the host operating system 185, or may run directly on the host computer system 100 without an operating system beneath it.", "The hypervisor 180 may virtualize the physical layer, including processors, memory, and I/O devices, and present this virtualization to virtual machines 170 as virtual devices, including virtual processors (VCPU) 190, virtual memory 192, and virtual I/O devices 194.A virtual machine 170 may execute a guest operating system 196 which may utilize the underlying virtual processors 190, virtual memory 192, and virtual I/O devices 194.One or more applications 198 may be running on a virtual machine 170 under the guest operating system 196.The guest operating system may include a virtual interrupt data structure (VIDS) 197.Exemplary embodiments of the VIDS 197 are described in greater detail below and as shown in FIG.", "2.A virtual machine 170 may include multiple virtual processors (VCPU) 190.Processor virtualization may be implemented by the hypervisor 180 scheduling time slots on one or more physical processors 120 such that from the guest operating system's perspective those time slots are scheduled on a virtual processor 190.The hypervisor 180 may provide one or more virtual machine functions (VM Functions 183) to a virtual machine 170.The code that a VM Function 183 runs on the physical processor(s) 120 may utilize the resources of host operating system (Host OS) 185, such as the memory devices 130, and the input/output devices 140 as well as the resources of one or more of the virtual machines 170 including the virtual processors 190, the virtual memory 192, and the virtual I/O devices 194.For example, the VM Function 183 may be called by a VM 170 to transfer data to, or access the resources of another VM 170.By contrast, each VM 170 may be limited to the use of its own resources including its VCPUs 190, virtual memory 192, and virtual I/O devices 194 unless it invokes a VM Function 183 as described below.", "In an example embodiment, the VM Function 183 may be invoked for a VM 170, by the guest OS 196 that is running on it.", "In an example embodiment, a VM Function 183 may only be invoked if hypervisor 180 provides permission or grants a request.", "For example, a VM 170 or guest OS 196 may invoke a VM Function to handle a task more efficiently or using greater resources than are presently available to the VM 170 or guest OS 196.In an example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 may also deny the request by causing an undefined opcode exception or a general protection fault exception whenever the VM Function 183 is invoked.", "The hypervisor may also include a default page table 181 and an alternate page table 182.Exemplary embodiments of these data structures are described in greater detail below and as shown in FIG.", "3.FIG.", "2 illustrates an example embodiment of a virtual machine 170.During operation, an event may be triggered by the operation of virtual device 250.The virtual device 250 can report the event by sending a virtual interrupt request (VIRQ 245) to one of the VCPUs 190 via an interrupt controller 240.The VIRQ 245 is sent with an interrupt vector that is assigned to the event.", "The VIRQ 245 is passed to a system handler 210, which consults a virtual interrupt data structure (VIDS) 197, using the interrupt vector as an index.", "The VIDS 197 associates each interrupt vector with an interrupt service routine 220.For example, the VIDS 197 is indexed by interrupt vectors, allowing the system handler 210 to use interrupt vectors to locate pointers to the corresponding interrupt service routines 220.The interrupt service routines 220 may then handle the event by causing the VCPU 190 to execute event handling code to perform appropriate operations.", "The present disclosure is not limited to the structure of the system illustrated in FIG.", "2.In an example embodiment, the virtual device 250 may be external to the VM 170 and/or the VIDS 197 may be stored externally to the VM 170.In another example embodiment, the system handler 210, interrupt service routines 220, and interrupt manager 230 may be on the hypervisor 180.FIG.", "3 illustrates a default page table 181 and an alternate page table 182 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "In general, the hypervisor 180 manages the memory usage of the VMs 170.Both virtual memory and physical memory may be divided into pages which are identified with a unique number (e.g., Page Frame Number (PFN) 310A-E or 340A-F).", "Exemplary embodiments of pages and page views are described in greater detail below and as shown in FIG.", "4.A page table is a data structure used by the hypervisor 180 to store a mapping of physical addresses for the guest (e.g., used by the guest OS 196 on VM 170) to physical addresses for the host (e.g., used by the host hardware platform 100).", "Accordingly, address translation from guest-physical to host-physical memory addresses is handled using page tables.", "For example, each process or application operating within the VMs 170 may be given the impression that there is a contiguous section of memory available, when in reality, the available memory may be spread across various memory devices 130.The page tables 181 and 182 comprise entries that map a virtual PFN 310A-E (or 340A-F) with a physical address 330A-E (or 360A-F).", "The page tables 181 and 182 may be used together with any paging data structure used by the VMs 170 to support translation from virtual to physical addresses (e.g., 32-bit linear address space using a two-level hierarchical paging structure, Physical Address Extension mode, INTEL Extended Memory 64 Technology mode, etc.).", "In an example embodiment, page tables 181 and 182 may also include a protection identifier 320A-E (or 350A-F).", "The protection identifier 320A-E (or 350A-F) indicates the access protection status of a page for the page view described by the page table.", "A protection status may used to define for example that a given page is writable (or read-write), write-protected (or read-only), executable (or executable and readable), executable only, inaccessible (or non-present), etc.", "For example, in FIG.", "3, the page associated with virtual PFN x0001 and memory location x03FF has been defined in default page table 181 as ‘Read-Only’.", "The page associated with virtual PFN x0001 is associated with memory location x01AF in alternate page table 182 and has been defined as ‘Read-Write’.", "The hypervisor 180 may be used to control to protection status of pages.", "In addition, in an example embodiment, the page tables 181 and 182 may include additional information not shown in FIG.", "3 including statistics information, background information, dirty identifiers which indicate that modifications to a page must be written back to disk, etc.", "In an example embodiment, one or more default page tables 181 may be maintained by the hypervisor 180 for each of the VMs 170 which maps virtual addresses to physical addresses that are accessible by each of the VMs 170.For example, the page table entries in the default page table 181 corresponding to the virtual PFNs (e.g.", "310A-E) of an interrupt data structure (e.g., VIDS 197) on the VM 170 is accessed by physical CPU 120 when looking up pointers to interrupt service routines.", "The pointers to these interrupt service routines themselves provide a virtual PFN that is consulted in the default page table 181 to convert the pointers to physical addresses of the host computer system 100.In an example embodiment, in order to convert a virtual PFN to a host physical address, the hypervisor 180 may also consult page table 181, together with any paging data structure that the VMs 170 use to support translation from virtual to physical addresses.", "One or more alternate page tables 182 may be maintained by the hypervisor 180 for each of one or more VM Functions 183 which maps virtual addresses to physical addresses that are accessible by each of the VM Functions 183.For example, a portion of the entries in an alternate page table 182 (e.g., 360B-360E) may correspond to physical pages at which the VM Function 183 is located.", "In an example embodiment, one or more alternate page tables 182 may additionally be maintained by the hypervisor 180 for an interrupt data structure (e.g.", "VIDS 197) on the VM 170.As illustrated in FIG.", "3, in an example embodiment, an alternate page table 182 may be more expansive than a default page table 181 in order to permit the VM Functions 183 to access a larger set of memory resources than the VMs 170 have access to.", "However, the sizes of different page tables may vary and that the degree of overlap between different page tables may vary (e.g., there may be no overlap).", "FIG.", "4 illustrates page views and pages, for example a default page view 410, an alternate page view 420, and pages 430A-E and 440A-F, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure.", "As noted above, a page may be a portion of physical or virtual memory designated for storing data.", "As used herein, a page view denotes a mapping from guest-physical addresses to host-physical addresses.", "For example, a default page view 410 is a page view that is referenced by a default page table 181.In an example embodiment, the default page view 410 may denote the mapping from virtual PFNs of a VM 170 to host-physical addresses, as used during normal execution of the virtual machine.", "An alternate page view 420 is a page view that is referenced by an alternate page table 182, as used during execution of the VM Function 183.In an example embodiment, the alternate page view 420 may denote a mapping from addresses designated for use by the VM Function 183 to host-physical addresses.", "In the illustrated example in FIG.", "4, only a portion of pages on alternate page view 420 are designated for use by the VM Function 183 (e.g., 440B-E) and the remaining pages (e.g., 440A and 440F) refer to locations in the alternate page view 420 that are outside the memory location of the VM Function 183.As illustrated in FIG.", "4, pages (e.g., 430A and 440A) may be defined by access protections (described above in more detail) such as ‘Read-Only’ or ‘Read-Write’ in accordance with their respective page table protection identifiers (e.g., 320A and 350A).", "A VM Function 183 may change the mapping of guest-physical addresses to host-physical addresses, e.g., page views 410 or 420, by changing the page tables 181 or 182 that the processor 120 uses to perform memory accesses in the VM 170.FIG.", "5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 500 for using interrupt descriptor exiting for protection against interrupts in virtual machine functions.", "Although the example method 500 is described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG.", "5, it will be appreciated that many other methods of performing the acts associated with the method 500 may be used.", "For example, the order of some of the blocks may be changed, certain blocks may be combined with other blocks, and some of the blocks described are optional.", "The method 500 may be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.", "), software (such as is run on a general purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both.", "In an example embodiment, the method is performed by a hypervisor (e.g., hypervisor 180 of FIG.", "1).", "The example method 500 starts and the hypervisor 180, block 510, activates a trap to the hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on a virtual machine.", "For example, prior to a guest OS 196 executing an instruction that loads VIDS 197 on VM 170, the hypervisor 180 may activate a trap.", "Activating a trap to hypervisor 180 for a particular instruction in this manner can be used to cause the hypervisor to emulate the execution of guest instructions on the code of the hypervisor itself.", "For example, when the guest OS 196 executes an instruction that loads VIDS 197 on VM 170, the prior activated trap may cause a descriptor exit to the hypervisor 180 that causes the hypervisor to emulate running the guest OS 196 on the hypervisor's own code and processors.", "The use of descriptor exiting is merely exemplary, and there are many other ways to activate a trap to the hypervisor in accordance with the present disclosure.", "In an exemplary embodiment, activating a trap may include requesting that a processor 120 enable a trap to the hypervisor 180 such that responsive to the guest OS 196 executing an instruction, the enabled (i.e.", "activated) trap causes the hypervisor 180 to emulate running the guest OS 196.The hypervisor 180 then, block 520, reads an interrupt data structure on a virtual machine.", "In an example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 reads an interrupt data structure 197 by first detecting a ‘load pointer to interrupt data structure’ instruction, whose operands could include a pointer to the first entry of the interrupt data structure.", "For example, the hypervisor 180 may load an internal register code with this pointer and call an analysis routine internal to the hypervisor 180.The hypervisor 180 then, block 530, determines based on reading the interrupt data structure whether the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view.", "For example, the hypervisor 182 may determine whether the interrupt service routines 220 associated with the interrupt data structure 197 points to an executable page in the alternate page table 182.In an example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 makes this determination by retrieving the addresses of the interrupt service routines 220 from the interrupt data structure 197 of a particular VM 170 and reading the entries that correspond to the addresses in one or more page tables (e.g.", "page tables 181 and/or 182) on the hypervisor 180.For example, the hypervisor 180 may read the address for the interrupt service routine and then the entry for the address in one or more alternate page tables 182 to determine if the interrupt service routine can be accessed as an alternate page view 420 corresponding to the alternate page tables 182.If the hypervisor 180 determines that the interrupt data structure 197 points to an alternate page view 420, then the hypervisor 180 disables a virtual machine function 183 (block 540).", "For example, if the hypervisor 180 determines that an interrupt service routine 220 listed in the interrupt data structure 197 is executable when accessed as an alternate page view 420, then the hypervisor 180 disables a virtual machine function 183.A virtual machine function 183 may be disabled in a variety of ways.", "In an example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 may disable the virtual machine function 183 by modifying code that invokes virtual machine function 183.For example, this code modification might involve adding or replacing code in the memory location where the VM Function 183 execution instruction is stored.", "This modification may involve incorporating code that returns an error message when executed or generating a hypercall that executes code in the hypervisor 180 that would have been available in the alternate page view 420.In another example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 disables the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine on which the analyzed interrupt data structure resides, to restrict access to one or more memory resources.", "For example, the hypervisor 180 can set a flag of one or more VCPUs 190 on the virtual machine 170 so that the virtual machine 170 will not be able to access alternate page views 420 or alternate resources.", "Accordingly, upon encountering a VM Function 183 instruction, a processor 120 may then exit to the hypervisor 180 and execute code in the hypervisor 180 that returns an error message, or execute code in the hypervisor 180 that would have been available in the alternate page view 420.In another example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 disables the virtual machine function by modifying access permissions of one or more memory resources accessed by the virtual machine function.", "In another example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 disables the VM Function 183 by modifying one or more alternate page views 420 associated with the VM Function 183 that the hypervisor 180 seeks to disable to match a default page view 410 associated with the virtual machine.", "Additionally, the hypervisor 180 may determine that certain alternate page views 420 are associated with a VM Function 183 that the hypervisor 180 seeks to disable.", "Then the hypervisor 180 can modify one or more alternate page tables 182 to make these page views non-present or inaccessible.", "The hypervisor 180 may determine which VM function 183 to disable based on the following.", "Upon determining that the interrupt data structure of interest points to an alternate page view 420 (as described in block 520), the hypervisor 180 may analyze which virtual machine function corresponds to the one or more alternate page tables 182 that contain pointers to the alternate page view 420 described in determining block 520.In yet another example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 modify the permissions of the interrupt data structure 197 to restrict access by the virtual machine 170.For example, the hypervisor can change the alternate page view 420 for the interrupt data structure 197 of a virtual machine 170, modifying the permissions of the interrupt data structure 197 to restrict access by the virtual machine 170.The hypervisor 180 may modify these permissions in alternate page tables 182 to make one or more alternate page views 420 that correspond to the interrupt data structure non-present or inaccessible to the virtual machine 170.In another example embodiment, the hypervisor 180 can modify permissions of the interrupt data structure to make the interrupt data structure non-writable or read-only by the virtual machine.", "The hypervisor 180 can modify permissions in this manner preemptively, without the above discussed analyzing and determining according to blocks 510 and 520, or in addition to example method 500.For example, a hypervisor may modify permissions in the alternate page table responsive to a determination that an interrupt data structure 197 does not point to alternate page view 420.More particularly, if the hypervisor 180 determines that the interrupt service routines 220 listed in the interrupt data structure 197 are not executable when accessed as alternate page views 420, the hypervisor 180 may modify the permissions of the interrupt data structure 197 to make the interrupt data structure non-writable by the virtual machine 170.Disabling a VM Function 183 or modifying the permissions of a page data structure 181, 182 as described in the present disclosure, significantly limits the access to virtual and physical resources of a computer system by the source of an interrupt (e.g.", "a VM 170, guest OS 196, application 198, physical or virtual devices, malicious code, etc.)", "through the use of an interrupt data structure 197.Moreover, injecting interrupts via a virtual machine while a virtual machine function is executing may cause one or more VMs, host OS's, or guest OS's to crash, for example, if the interrupt data structure 197 points to code in memory that adversely affects execution of code for VM Function 183, or accesses resources that are not available in a default page view 410, but which are available in an alternate page view 420.The present disclosure advantageously protects a computer system 100 from the above described problems.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates a flow diagram including a VM 170 and hypervisor 180 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.", "At block 630, the guest OS 196 loads a VIDS 197 on VM 170 prior to sending a request to the hypervisor 180 to invoke a virtual machine function 183.This request is transmitted to the hypervisor 180 (block 640).", "The hypervisor 180 may then determine whether to block the VM Function 183.At block 650, hypervisor 180 reads VIDS 197.The hypervisor 180 may then determine whether an interrupt data structure 197 points to an alternate page view 420 as described above and shown in FIG.", "5 (block 652).", "For example, the hypervisor 180 may determine whether an interrupt service routine 220 listed in VIDS 197 points to an executable page in an alternate page table 182.In response to this determination the hypervisor 180 may then disable VM Function 183 as described above and shown in FIG.", "5 (block 654).", "Then, the hypervisor may finish executing and return (blocks 656 and 660).", "It will be appreciated that all of the disclosed methods and procedures described herein can be implemented using one or more computer programs or components.", "These components may be provided as a series of computer instructions on any conventional computer readable medium or machine readable medium, including volatile or non-volatile memory, such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, magnetic or optical disks, optical memory, or other storage media.", "The instructions may be provided as software or firmware, and/or may be implemented in whole or in part in hardware components such as ASICs, FPGAs, DSPs or any other similar devices.", "The instructions may be configured to be executed by one or more processors, which when executing the series of computer instructions, performs or facilitates the performance of all or part of the disclosed methods and procedures.", "Aspects of the subject matter described herein may be useful alone or in combination with one or more other aspects described herein.", "Without limiting the following description, in a first exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a system comprises a memory, one or more processors coupled to the memory, a virtual machine executing on the one or more processors, and a hypervisor executing on the one or more processors to activate a trap to the hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on the virtual machine, read the interrupt data structure on the virtual machine, determine based on reading the interrupt data structure that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, and responsive to determining that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, disable a virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with the first aspect, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in a page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in two or more page data structures.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in an alternate page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying code that invokes the virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying code that invokes the virtual machine function including incorporating code that returns an error message when executed.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine to restrict access to one or more memory resources.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine to restrict access to one or more memory resources that can be accessed by the virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying an alternate page data structure to match a default page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure including making the alternate page view non-present to the virtual machine.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure including making the interrupt data structure non-writable by the virtual machine.", "In a second exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a method comprises activating, by a hypervisor executing on a computer system, a trap to the hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on a virtual machine, reading, by the hypervisor, the interrupt data structure on the virtual machine, determining, by the hypervisor, based on reading the interrupt data structure that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, and responsive to determining that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, disabling, by the hypervisor, a virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in a page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in two or more page data structures.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in an alternate page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying code that invokes the virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying code that invokes the virtual machine function including incorporating code that returns an error message when executed.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine to restrict access to one or more memory resources.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine to restrict access to one or more memory resources that can be accessed by the virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying an alternate page data structure to match a default page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure including making the alternate page view non-present to the virtual machine.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure including making the interrupt data structure non-writable by the virtual machine.", "In a third exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium comprises executable instructions that, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to activate, by a hypervisor executing on a computer system, a trap to the hypervisor prior to an execution of an instruction that loads an interrupt data structure on a virtual machine, read, by the hypervisor, an interrupt data structure on a virtual machine, determine, by the hypervisor, based on reading the interrupt data structure that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, and responsive to determining that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view, disable, by the hypervisor, a virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in a page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in two or more page data structures.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor determines that the interrupt data structure points to an alternate page view by retrieving one or more addresses of the interrupt service routines from the interrupt data structure and reading one or more entries that correspond to the one or more addresses in an alternate page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying code that invokes the virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying code that invokes the virtual machine function including incorporating code that returns an error message when executed.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine to restrict access to one or more memory resources.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by setting an access flag of the virtual machine to restrict access to one or more memory resources that can be accessed by the virtual machine function.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor disables the virtual machine function by modifying an alternate page data structure to match a default page data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure including making the alternate page view non-present to the virtual machine.", "In accordance with another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure, which may be used in combination with any one or more of the preceding aspects, the hypervisor modifies a permission of the interrupt data structure including making the interrupt data structure non-writable by the virtual machine.", "It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the example embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art.", "Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages.", "It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15875112
[ [ "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PREVENTING, DIAGNOSING, AND/OR TREATING ONE OR MORE MEDICAL CONDITIONS VIA NEUROMODULATION", "Described are systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "The medical conditions can be ocular and/or neurological diseases, disorders, and/or conditions.", "The systems and methods can employ a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can be capacitively linked to an external electronic device to provide neuromodulation to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site." ], [ "1.A microstimulator comprising: a body; and an electrically conductive insert, arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with an external electronic device, wherein the electrically conductive insert receives a power signal from the external electronic device and converts the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to a biological target site.", "2.The microstimulator of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive insert further comprises: an electrically conductive plate having a surface area to receive the power signal from the external electronic device; and an electrode, electrically coupled to the electrically conductive plate, to deliver the therapy signal to the biological target site.", "3.The microstimulator of claim 2, wherein the electrode is physically connected to the conductive plate.", "4.The microstimulator of claim 2, wherein the body comprises a reference electrode or a return electrode isolated from the conductive plate to create a reference or return path that is connected to the external electronic device.", "5.The microstimulator of claim 1, wherein the body comprises a horizontal portion, a vertical portion, and a curved portion extending between and connecting the horizontal portion and the vertical portion, wherein the horizontal portion and the vertical portion are arranged at an angle relative to one another.", "6.The microstimulator of claim 5, wherein the angle is from 70 degrees to 120 degrees.", "7.The microstimulator of claim 5, wherein the vertical portion has a length that is less than a length of the horizontal portion.", "8.The microstimulator of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive insert is arranged in a circular or oval cross section.", "9.The microstimulator of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive insert comprises at least one other material deposited upon a nonconductive material.", "10.The microstimulator of claim 1, wherein the body comprises a longitudinal central lumen.", "11.The microstimulator of claim 10, wherein the body further comprises at least one radial channel in fluid communication with the central lumen, wherein the at least one radial channel allows fluid drainage to coat at least a portion of the exterior of the body.", "12.The microstimulator of claim 10, wherein the body further comprises one or more peripheral channels that extend transverse to, and are in fluid communication with, the central lumen, wherein the one or more peripheral channels is configured to facilitate at least one of fluid drainage and pharmaceutical delivery in response to delivery of the therapy signal to the target biological site.", "13.The microstimulator of claim 10, wherein the body further comprises a sensor to measure a property of a fluid flowing therethrough.", "14.The microstimulator of claim 1, further comprising a faceplate disposed at a proximal end of the body and covering at least a portion of the body.", "15.The microstimulator of claim 14, wherein the faceplate is impregnated with a pharmaceutical for release into the biological target site.", "16.The microstimulator of claim 15, wherein the body comprises one or more radial channels to control the release of the pharmaceutical into the biological target site.", "17.The microstimulator of claim 16, wherein an outside surface of the faceplate is bathed in tear fluid in response to delivery of the therapy signal to the target biological site to trigger release of the pharmaceutical." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Dry eye disease is a condition resulting from a disruption of the natural tear film on the ocular surface, leading to ocular discomfort, visual disturbance, and/or a reduction in vision-related quality of life.", "The disruption in the natural tear film may prevent healthy gas exchange and nutrient transport, promote cellular desiccation, and/or create a poor refractive surface for vision.", "Such disruption in the natural tear film can be due to an imbalance between tear production from the lacrimal glands and evaporation or drainage by the Meibomian glands, which may be caused by or secondary to post-menopausal hormonal deficiency, auto-immune disease, LASIK surgery, or the like.", "The disruption of the natural tear film may cause a low tear volume, which causes a hyperosmolar environment that may induce an inflamed state of the ocular surface.", "Such an inflammatory response may induce apoptosis of ocular surface cells, which, in turn, prevent proper distribution of the tear film on the ocular surface, such that any available tear volume delivered to the ocular surface may be rendered less effective initiating a vicious cycle in which more inflammation can ensue, causing more ocular surface damage.", "Additionally, the neural control loop, which controls reflex tear activation, may be disrupted because the sensory neurons in the ocular surface are damaged, resulting in fewer tears being secreted, and another vicious cycle may develop, resulting in further progression of dry eye disease, in which fewer tears may cause nerve cell loss, which may result in even fewer tears.", "A wide spectrum of treatments options exist for dry eye disease, including: artificial tear substitutes, ointments, gels, warm compresses, environmental modification, topical cyclosporine, omega- 3 fatty acid supplements, punctal plugs, moisture chamber goggles, punctal cautery, systemic cholinergic antagonists, systemic anti-inflammatory agents, mucolytic agents, autologous serum tears, scleral contact lenses, and tarsorrhaphy.", "Although the current treatment options are numerous, such treatment options have limited effectiveness and generally provide only mild symptom relief or improvement in ocular health over a short period of time." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "In one aspect, the present disclosure can include a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can be capacitively linked to an external electronic device to provide neuromodulation to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link to the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "In another aspect, the present disclosure can include a system for capacitive power transfer.", "The system can include an external electronic device capacitively coupled to a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "The microstimulator can be configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject and can include a body and an electrically conductive insert.", "The electrically conductive insert can be arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from the external electronic device and converts the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "In a further aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "The method can include the steps of establishing a connection between an external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator through a conductive biological material; and capacitively linking the external electronic device with the implantable microstimulator to deliver a power signal from the external electronic device to the implantable microstimulator.", "In yet another aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "Examples of the medical condition can include, but are not limited to dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection pain and/or side effects, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, ocular hypertension, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "The method can include the steps of: delivering a microstimulator into an anatomical structure of the subject innervated by one or more nerves; establishing a capacitive link between the microstimulator and an external electronic device; using the external electronic device to deliver a power signal to the microstimulator; and delivering a therapy signal to a target portion of the anatomical structure via the microstimulator based on the power signal." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/851,842, filed Dec. 22, 2017, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Preventing, Diagnosing, and/or Treating one or More Medical Conditions via Neuromodulation”.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/851,842 claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/589,877, filed Nov. 22, 2017, entitled “Nasolacrimal Tear Microstimulator”.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/851,842 is also a Continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451, filed Jun.", "13, 2016, and entitled “Nasolacrimal Implants and Related Methods for Tear Stimulation”, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Applications 62/321,961, filed Apr.", "13, 2016, and 62/180,225, filed Jun.", "16, 2015.Each of these applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions via neuromodulation.", "The systems and methods of the present disclosure can be used, as an example, to use neuromodulation to induce tear production to treat or prevent the medical condition of dry eye disease.", "BACKGROUND Dry eye disease is a condition resulting from a disruption of the natural tear film on the ocular surface, leading to ocular discomfort, visual disturbance, and/or a reduction in vision-related quality of life.", "The disruption in the natural tear film may prevent healthy gas exchange and nutrient transport, promote cellular desiccation, and/or create a poor refractive surface for vision.", "Such disruption in the natural tear film can be due to an imbalance between tear production from the lacrimal glands and evaporation or drainage by the Meibomian glands, which may be caused by or secondary to post-menopausal hormonal deficiency, auto-immune disease, LASIK surgery, or the like.", "The disruption of the natural tear film may cause a low tear volume, which causes a hyperosmolar environment that may induce an inflamed state of the ocular surface.", "Such an inflammatory response may induce apoptosis of ocular surface cells, which, in turn, prevent proper distribution of the tear film on the ocular surface, such that any available tear volume delivered to the ocular surface may be rendered less effective initiating a vicious cycle in which more inflammation can ensue, causing more ocular surface damage.", "Additionally, the neural control loop, which controls reflex tear activation, may be disrupted because the sensory neurons in the ocular surface are damaged, resulting in fewer tears being secreted, and another vicious cycle may develop, resulting in further progression of dry eye disease, in which fewer tears may cause nerve cell loss, which may result in even fewer tears.", "A wide spectrum of treatments options exist for dry eye disease, including: artificial tear substitutes, ointments, gels, warm compresses, environmental modification, topical cyclosporine, omega-3 fatty acid supplements, punctal plugs, moisture chamber goggles, punctal cautery, systemic cholinergic antagonists, systemic anti-inflammatory agents, mucolytic agents, autologous serum tears, scleral contact lenses, and tarsorrhaphy.", "Although the current treatment options are numerous, such treatment options have limited effectiveness and generally provide only mild symptom relief or improvement in ocular health over a short period of time.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "In one aspect, the present disclosure can include a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can be capacitively linked to an external electronic device to provide neuromodulation to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link to the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "In another aspect, the present disclosure can include a system for capacitive power transfer.", "The system can include an external electronic device capacitively coupled to a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "The microstimulator can be configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject and can include a body and an electrically conductive insert.", "The electrically conductive insert can be arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from the external electronic device and converts the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "In a further aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "The method can include the steps of establishing a connection between an external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator through a conductive biological material; and capacitively linking the external electronic device with the implantable microstimulator to deliver a power signal from the external electronic device to the implantable microstimulator.", "In yet another aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "Examples of the medical condition can include, but are not limited to dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection pain and/or side effects, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, ocular hypertension, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "The method can include the steps of: delivering a microstimulator into an anatomical structure of the subject innervated by one or more nerves; establishing a capacitive link between the microstimulator and an external electronic device; using the external electronic device to deliver a power signal to the microstimulator; and delivering a therapy signal to a target portion of the anatomical structure via the microstimulator based on the power signal.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure relates upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates a neural modulation system in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 illustrates a capacitive coupling between the implantable microstimulator and the external electronic device of FIG.", "1 established across a dielectric medium; FIG.", "3 illustrates an example configuration of the implantable microstimulator of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "4 illustrates a side-view of an eye of a subject, depicting the three layers of naturally produced tears; FIG.", "5 illustrates anatomical features of nerves and blood vessels related to the eye and lacrimal system of a subject; FIG.", "6 illustrates anatomical features related to the eye and lacrimal system of a subject; FIG.", "7 illustrates an example structure of the microstimulator of FIG.", "1 implemented for inducing tear production; FIG.", "8 illustrates an example configuration of a flex circuit of the microstimulator of FIG.", "7; FIG.", "9 illustrates another example configuration of the microstimulator of FIG.", "7 constructed without the flex circuit; FIGS.", "10, 11, and 12 each illustrate different views of the example structure of the microstimulator of FIGS.", "8 and 9; FIG.", "13 illustrates a process flow diagram illustrating a method for powering an implantable microstimulator in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure; and FIG.", "14 illustrates a process flow diagram illustrating a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Definitions To facilitate understanding of this disclosure, a number of terms are defined below.", "Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art in the areas relevant to this disclosure.", "Terms such as “a,” “an” and “the” are not intended to refer only to the singular entity, but can also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "The terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” as used herein, can specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups.", "As used herein, the term “and/or” can include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "Additionally, although the terms “first,” “second,” etc.", "may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.", "Thus, a “first” element discussed below could also be termed a “second” element without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.", "The sequence of operations (or acts/steps) is not limited to the order presented in the claims or figures unless specifically indicated otherwise.", "As used herein, the term “medical condition” can refer to an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "As used herein, the term “ocular” can refer to something of, for, or like the eye.", "An ocular disorder can be, for example, dry eye.", "In order to restore ocular health to a patient with dry eye, a physiology normal amount, level, and/or degree of tears in the eye can be restored and/or maintained to minimize and/or alleviate dryness.", "Such minimization and/or alleviation of dryness may treat or prevent at least one symptom associated with dry eye disease, such as stinging, burning, and/or scratchy sensation in the eyes; stringy mucus in or around an eye; increased eye irritation from smoke or wind; eye fatigue; eye sensitivity to light; eye redness; a sensation of having something in the eye; difficulty wearing contact lenses; periods of excessive tearing; and blurred vision, often worsening at the end of the day or after focusing for a prolonged period.", "As used herein, the terms “tear drainage system”, “nasolacrimal drainage system”, and “lacrimal drainage system” can be used interchangeably to refer to any one or more connected anatomical structures having two small openings (e.g., puncta).", "As an example, the puncta may be located in an upper and/or a lower eyelid, wherein these small openings lead to a small tube (e.g., canaliculus) which, in turn, empties into a lacrimal sac and then into a canal called the nasolacrimal duct.", "It will be understood that the term “drainage system” also may be used interchangeably with “tear drainage system”, “nasolacrimal drainage system”, and “lacrimal drainage system”.", "As used herein, the term “medical device” can refer to any objected that is designed to be placed or implanted partially or wholly within a patient's body and/or a naturally occurring orifice of the patient's body for one or more therapeutic or prophylactic purposes.", "Examples of such therapeutic or prophylactic purposes can include: tissue augmentation, tissue stimulation, contouring, restoring physiological function, repairing and/or restoring tissues damaged by disease or trauma, and/or delivering therapeutic agents to normal, damaged, and/or diseased organs and tissues.", "While medical devices are often composed of biologically compatible synthetic materials (e.g., medical-grade stainless steel, nitinol, titanium, and/or other metals; exogenous polymers, such as polyurethane, silicone, PLA, PLGA, PGA, PCL, etc.", "), other materials also may be used in the construction of the medical implant.", "While not limiting the present disclosure to any particular device, specific medical devices and implants that are particularly relevant to this disclosure include stents, punctal plugs, Crawford tubes, catheters, lacrimal tubes, ocular or other shunts.", "In some examples, the device may incorporate a contrast material and/or opaque material(s) that may allow for visualization with standard imaging devices (for example, barium to allow for x-ray visualization).", "In some instances, the medical device can be an implantable device, such as: a neurostimulator, a microstimulator, a device configured to monitor a physiological response of the patient's tissue, a therapeutic agent delivery device, a bone graft, and a sensor.", "In other instances, the medical device can be a removable device, such as a surgical instrument.", "As used herein, the terms “medical device”, “implant”, “device”, “medical implant”, “implant/device”, and the like can be used interchangeably.", "As used herein, the term “implanted” can refer to a state in which at least a portion of a device (such as a medical device) is placed or inserted within a host and/or a naturally occurring orifice of the host.", "In some instances, a medical device can be completely placed or implanted within the host.", "However, in other instances, some of the medical device can reach or extend to the outside of the host.", "When a device is referred to as being “implantable”, the device can be capable of being implanted within the host.", "As used herein, the term “proximal” can refer to a location situation and/or positioned toward a point of origin (e.g., between a medical professional and an implantable microstimulator).", "In other words, the term “proximal” may refer to a position relatively close to the exterior of the body of a patient and/or closer to a medical professional.", "As used herein, the term “distal” can refer to a location situation and/or position away from a point of origin (e.g., behind a lacrimal implant device relative to a physician).", "In other words, the term “distal” may refer to a position relatively further away from the exterior of the body of a patient and/or further away from a medical processional.", "As used herein, the terms “prevention” and/or “preventing” can refer to preventing or slowing development of a disease or disorder in a patient.", "As used herein, the terms “treat”, “treating”, and/or “treatment” can refer to the act of reducing and/or eliminating symptoms of a disease or disorder to improve a condition of a patient to some degree, delaying progression of the disease or disorder, or providing some other effect related to the disease or disorder.", "As used herein, the terms “therapeutically effective amount” and/or “pharmaceutically effective amount” can refer to an amount which, when administered to a patient for treating a disease or disorder, will effect such treatment for the disease or disorder.", "As used herein, the terms “therapy signal” and “stimulation signal” can refer to an electrical signal designed for neuromodulation.", "The stimulation signal can be delivered to a patient's tissue of interest for neuromodulation (e.g., stimulation).", "As used herein, the term “feedback signal” can refer to a signal provided in response to application of the therapy signal for neuromodulation.", "As used herein, the term “medical professional” can refer to any person involved the conducting a procedure involving a medical device including, but not limited to, physicians, medical students, nurse practitioners, nurses, operators, and other staff.", "As used herein, the term “patient” can refer to any living or non-living warm-blooded organism including, but not limited to, a human being, a pig, a rat, a mouse, a dog, a cat, a goat, a sheep, a horse, a monkey, an ape, a rabbit, a cow, etc.", "Non-limiting examples of human subjects are adults, juveniles, infants, and fetuses.", "The terms “patient” and “subject” can be used interchangeably herein.", "As used herein, the term “coupled” and/or “coupling” can refer to the pairing of two objects.", "The coupling can be wireless, but, in other instances, the coupling can be wired or a combination of wired and wireless.", "The coupling can facilitate the exchange of current between the two objects and may be, for example, capacitive, resistive, inductive, or the like.", "As used herein, the term “biomaterial” can refer to any substance (other than a drug or pharmaceutical) or combination of substances, synthetic or natural in origin, which can be used for any period of time as a hole or as a part of a system that treats, augments, or replaces any cell, tissue, organ, and/or function of the body.", "As used herein, the term “biocompatibility” can refer to the ability of a material, such as a biomaterial, to perform a specific application with an appropriate host response.", "As used herein, the term “dielectric medium” can refer to a substance, medium, ir bidy that can sustain an electrical field therewithin.", "II.", "Overview The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "The medical condition can be an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "As an example, the systems and methods of the present disclosure can be used to induce tear production via neuromodulation to treat or prevent dry eye disease.", "Although the induction of tear production is an example use of the present disclosure, it will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to induction of treat production.", "Instead, the present disclosure is related to preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological diseases, disorders, and/or conditions.", "Diseases that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection pain and/or side effects, and/or glaucoma.", "As another example, disorders that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but is not limited to, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, and/or ocular hypertension.", "Conditions that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods employing neuromodulation to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat one or more medical conditions.", "The neuromodulation can be achieved via application of an electrical signal to an anatomical structure.", "As an example, when the medical condition is dry eye disease, the anatomical structure can include at least a portion of the nasolacrimal drainage system, so that one or more nerves within the portion of the nasolacrimal drainage system can be neuromodulated to produce bilateral or unilateral lacrimation.", "The electrical signal can be delivered to the anatomical structure by a microstimulator.", "The microstimulator can be placed or inserted within the anatomical structure and wirelessly coupled to an external electronic device.", "For example, the microstimulator can be capacitively coupled to the external electronic device with the patient's skin acting as a dielectric medium.", "As such, the microstimulator can receive a power signal from the external electronic device.", "III.", "Systems One aspect of the present disclosure can include a neuromodulation system.", "The neuromodulation system can deliver a therapy signal to a target anatomical area to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat one or more medical conditions.", "The therapy signal can be, for example, a stimulation signal configured to stimulate a portion of the target anatomical area to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat one or more medical conditions.", "The medical condition can be an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "Diseases that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection side effects, and/or glaucoma.", "As another example, disorders that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, and/or ocular hypertension.", "Conditions that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "The neuromodulation system can include an implantable microstimulator 201 and an external electronic device 202.The implantable microstimulator 201 can be configured to deliver the therapy signal to the anatomical structure.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can be configured for insertion into an anatomical structure of a subject.", "At least a portion of the implantable microstimulator 201 configured to contact the anatomical structure can be formed of one or more biocompatible materials.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can be shaped and sized to correspond to the specific anatomical structure.", "The anatomical structure can be chosen based on the presence of a particular target nerve or nerves.", "The target nerve, upon activation, can cause the occurrence of a physiologic function.", "As an example, the target nerve can be part of a neurological reflex.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can have the capability to deliver a stimulation signal (or therapy signal) to the target nerve or nerves within the anatomical structure to induce a physiologic function.", "The stimulation signal can be an electrical signal, such as a direct current signal, an alternating current signal, or the like, and can be configured as a charge balanced symmetric or asymmetric biphasic waveform, a charge imbalanced asymmetric biphasic waveform, and/or a monophasic waveform depending on the application.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can also provide additional functionality in addition to delivering the stimulation signal.", "As one example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can have the ability to facilitate drainage of one or more fluids inside the anatomical structure.", "As another example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can be capable of eluding a drug or other pharmaceutical substance into the anatomical structure.", "In a further example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can provide feedback related to application of the stimulation signal.", "In some instances, the implantable microstimulator 201 can be activated, powered, and/or controlled by the external electronic device 202.The microstimulator 201, in an example, can be operable as a slave device to the master external electronic device 201.However, in other examples, the microstimulator 201 and the external electronic device 202 can be components of a closed loop control system, where the implantable microstimulator 201 provides the additional functionality of recording feedback information from the anatomical structure and sending the feedback information back to the external electronic device 202.The external electronic device can send the feedback information to an external expert device 203 for further analysis.", "In either example, the external electronic device 202 can be configured to generate a power transfer waveform (or power signal) that is sent to the implantable microstimulator 201 to activate, power, and/or control the implantable microstimulator 201.The implantable microstimulator 201 may not include a dedicated power source, like a battery, and, instead, may rely on the power signal for activation, power, and/or control.", "In some instances, the external electronic device 202 can pair the power transfer waveform with a carrier waveform.", "For example, the carrier waveform can be transposed on top of the power transfer waveform and may be used for data transmission and/or control functions.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can be electronically coupled to the external electronic device 202 to exchange the power signal and/or a feedback signal.", "The electronic coupling can be a wired coupling and/or a wireless coupling.", "One example of a wireless coupling between the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 is a capacitive coupling, as shown in FIG.", "2.Although capacitive coupling is the example of wireless coupling described in more detail herein, it will be understood that the wireless coupling may be an antenna coupling, an inductive coupling, a resonant inductive coupling, a resistive coupling, an optical coupling, or the like.", "It will be understood that the implantable microstimulator 201 may include circuitry necessary to be activated, powered, and/or controlled from the external electronic device 202 according to the type of coupling.", "Using the capacitive coupling of FIG.", "2, the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 can achieve capacitive power transfer.", "Both the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 are separated by a dielectric medium 213 (or dielectric medium), so that the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 are on either side of the dielectric medium 213.The dielectric medium 213 can be, for example, at least a portion of a subject's body.", "For example, the portion of the subject's body can include skin.", "Although the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 are both illustrated as contacting the dielectric medium 213, it will be understood that one or both of the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 need not contact the dielectric medium 213 and may be separated from the dielectric medium 213 by a distance less than or equal to a threshold value.", "The threshold value can depend on the use and orientation of the implantable microstimulator 201.The external electronic device 202 can include an external plate 212, while the implantable microstimulator 201 can include an internal plate 211.When the external plate 212 and the internal plate 211 are aligned across the dielectric medium 213 (e.g., each plate 211, 212 being in parallel to the dielectric medium 213), the capacitive coupling is created.", "The “external plate” and the “internal plate” need not be plates per se.", "Instead, term “plate” is used to mean “portion” or “component”, which may be of a length, width, and/or diameter limited only by the length, width, and/or diameter of the implantable microstimulator 201.Capacitive power transfer can occur when the voltage of either the external plate 212 or the internal plate 211 is varied.", "The configuration of the overall capacitance, surface area of the capacitive plates 211, 212, distance between the plates 211, 212, dielectric medium 213 separating the plates 211, 212, and/or the voltage of the power signal is deterministic for the amount and efficiency of the capacitive power transfer.", "Compared to traditional capacitive power transfer, the capacitive power transfer of FIG.", "2 has a reduced complexity by varying the voltage at just one of the external plate 212 or the internal plate 211.FIG.", "3 shows an example of the capacitive power transfer within the implantable microstimulator 201.The capacitive power transfer can occur using the external plate 212 and the internal plate 211, with a reference electrode located on the external electronic device 202 and another reference electrode located in the microstimulator 201 (represented as return electrode 214).", "Stimulation occurs via a power electrode 213 and the return electrode 214.The power electrode 213 is connected to the internal plate 211 so the power signal is converted to the stimulation signal directly.", "In some instances, the implantable microstimulator 201 may include additional components between the internal plate 211 and the power electrode 213 to facilitate the conversion of the power signal to the stimulation signal.", "The internal plate 212 is used in the transfer of power from the external electronic device 202 to the implantable microstimulator 201, the power electrode 213 delivers the stimulation signal to the tissue of interest (the stimulation signal is based on the power received from the external electronic device 202), while the return electrode 214 acts as a passive return reference, establishing a common ground between the implantable microstimulator 201 and the external electronic device 202.The internal plate 211 of the microstimulator 201 can be electrically connected to the power electrode 213, but electrically isolated 215 from the return electrode 214.The power electrode 213 can also be electrically isolated 215 from the return electrode 214, but connected to the subject's body to deliver the stimulation signal.", "It should be noted that the components of the implantable microstimulator 201 are not drawn to scale.", "In some examples, the internal plate 211 can extend along the entirety of the implantable microstimulator 201.In other examples, the insulation 215 can be more extensive or less extensive than shown.", "Additionally, the power electrode 213 and the return electrode 214 can be arranged in a different manner than shown.", "As an example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can include a flex circuit or other means to establish an internal capacitor between the internal plate 211/power electrode 213 and the return electrode 214.Advantageously, in this example, the implantable microstimulator 201 need not include any active or passive circuit elements within the implantable microstimulator 201.The external electronic device 202, shown in FIG.", "1, can be operated by a medical professional and/or by the subject in need of the neuromodulation.", "In instances where the subject operates the external electronic device 202, the external electronic device 202 can be designed in a manner that is easy for the subject to use, such as in a form that is attachable to the subject's skin, in a form capable of being held or placed against the subject's skin, worn by the patient, or the like.", "For example, the external electronic device 202 can be embodied in a form that is familiar to the subject, such as a key fob, a pen-like cylinder, a sleep mask, pair of glasses, a nose clip, a flexible bandage, virtual reality (VR) goggles, or the like.", "Regardless of form, the external electronic device 202 includes all elements necessary to generate the power signal and/or the carrier signal, and other electronics to power, control and/or manipulate the microstimulator 201.For example, the elements included with the external electronic device 202 can include a power source to deliver the power signal and/or the carrier signal.", "As another example, the elements included with the external electronic device 202 can include a controller to control delivery of the power signal.", "The power source and the controller can be enclosed within a casing.", "Additionally, the casing can also include at least a portion configured to contact the subject's skin that includes an electrically conductive material, which can be at least partially biocompatible.", "Additionally, one electrically conductive device 202 can have the capabilities to interface with and communicate with one or more microstimulators 201.However, in some instances, one electrically conductive device 202 can have the capabilities to interface with and communicate with two or more microstimulators 201 so that each of the microstimulators 201 can apply the therapy signal when signaled to do so.", "In some instances, the electrically conductive material can be placed in communication with the microstimulator 201 in a unilateral manner, but in other instances, the electrically conductive material can be placed in communication with the microstimulator 201 in a bilateral manner.", "The unilateral or bilateral nature of capacitive power transfer can be controlled individually.", "Moreover, the external electronic device 201 can include a mechanism to allow the subject to control the amount and duration of the stimulation, such as one or more input buttons that allow the subject to control stimulation amplitude, pulse width, frequency, and/or stimulation duration or other aspects of the stimulation.", "The external electronic device 202, in some instances, can include one or more input buttons that allow for user control of the stimulation parameters.", "In other instances, the external electronic device 202 can have an onboard memory to store data related to use of the system, including stimulation parameters, duration, power efficiencies, biofeedback signals, subject input, and the like.", "For example, the external electronic device 202 can include the ability to store data relative to the subject's medical condition via sensors within the microstimulator 201, via sensors on the external electronic device 202, or via input from the subject (e.g., in an application that is linked via Bluetooth or other wireless communication mechanism to the external electronic device 202).", "The data that is collected can be used to create closed loop therapies, provide relative health data to a medical professional, track personal health related information, saved for future therapy improvements or innovations (e.g., stored as “big data”), or the like.", "The stored data can be used, for example, to alert a medical provider when the microstimulator 201 may need to be replaced or feedback regarding the medical condition, to alert the subject when the medical condition occurs, to determine when the stimulation should be delivered, etc.", "In some instances, the external electronic device 202 can include a feedback system to provide feedback to the subject.", "The feedback provided to the subject can be a visual feedback, an audio feedback, a touch/pressure/vibration feedback, or the like.", "The feedback system can be used to guide placement of the external electronic device 202 to establish the capacitive link with the implantable microstimulator 201.The feedback system may also provide alerts to the subject during therapy.", "For example, the alerts can be provided when 50% of the max amplitude has been reached, 100% of the max amplitude has been reached, the duration of the stimulation is 50% complete, the duration of the stimulation is 100% complete, the position of the external electronic device 202 has been moved and needs to be realigned, or the like.", "In other instances, the external electronic device 202 can automatically control therapy.", "The subject can use the feedback system to place the external electronic device 202 correctly, and the external electronic device 202 can automatically ramp up the therapy signal until the therapy signal reaches a pre-determined level that is known to be comfortable and effective for the subject.", "The external electronic device 202 can receive biofeedback to control delivery of the therapy signal.", "For example, the external electronic device 202 can include or interface with a camera, a Doppler system, or other type of sensor to provide biofeedback signals.", "In some instances, the external electronic device 202 can include a communication mechanism to communicate with an external expert device 203 and/or to communicate with the microstimulator 201.The external electronic device 202, in some instances, can receive control and power parameters from the external expert device 203 according to a wired connection and/or a wireless connection.", "For example, the communication mechanism can include a Bluetooth communication mechanism or other type of wireless communication mechanism.", "The expert device 203 can be associated with a medical professional to communicate with the external electronic device 202 to adjust stimulation parameters associated with the microstimulator 201 and/or to assess functionality of the microstimulator 201.Alternatively, the expert device 203 can include a mobile application that can interact with the external electronic device 202 and a device associated with a medical professional.", "As another example, the expert device 203 can be a cloud-based server.", "In another instance, the expert device 203 can interface with and/or include a physician programmer.", "The physician programmer can be configured as a tablet, a personal computer, a smartphone appliance, a tablet application or other suitable means.", "The physician programmer allows the physician to modulate the therapy for each subject.", "The physician programmer is configured to allow the physician to input, save, store and recall information about a specific subject's therapy into/from a secure database.", "As an example, the physician programmer can establish different therapy levels for the subject (e.g., the first instance of a therapeutic effect, the highest level tolerated by the subject, etc.", "), and the subject can choose from the different therapy levels for each application of the therapy.", "The physician programmer can also determine the effectiveness of the capacitive link, the power transfer efficiency, and the like.", "As such, the physician programmer can determine the optimum placement of the external conductive pads by providing real time feedback regarding the capacitive link.", "An example use of the neuromodulation system of FIG.", "1 is inducing tear production to treat or prevent dry eye disease.", "A description of dry eye disease is provided in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451, which is incorporated herein by reference.", "Tears are produced via unilateral or bilateral reflex lacrimation, which can be induced via neuromodulation of one or more nerves that innervate the punctum and/or canaliculus of the nasolacrimal drainage system.", "Similarly, a description of tear production is provided in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451, which is incorporated herein by reference.", "A general depiction of physiology of an eye of a subject is shown in FIGS.", "4-6.However, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451 provides a more detailed description of the physiology of the subject's eye.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a side view of an eye 6 of a subject, including three layers of naturally produced tears.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "4, naturally produced tears include an outer oily layer 6A, a middle watery layer (or aqueous layer) 6B, and an inner mucus layer 6C, which is spread across the surface of the eye (the ocular surface) whenever the subject blinks, thereby providing lubrication, washing away foreign matter, reducing the risk of infection, and keeping the surface of the eye 6 smooth and clear.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates anatomical features of nerves and blood vessels related to the eye 6 and the lacrimal system of a subject.", "Such nerves and blood vessels include the dorsal nasal vessel 80, the frontal 81, the medial palpebral 82, the supraorbital 83, the anterior ethmoidal 84, the posterior ethmoidal 85, the muscular 88, the bulb of the eye 89, the ciliary 90, the arteria centralis retinae 91, the lacrimal 92, the zygomatic branches 94, the ophthalmic 96, the internal carotid 97, the lacrimal gland 2, and the optic nerve 98.FIG.", "6 illustrates additional anatomical features related to the lacrimal system of the eye 6 of a subject.", "As shown, the lacrimal gland 2 is positioned in the upper outer portion of the orbit of each eye 6.The lacrimal gland 2 includes the orbital (superior) portion 2A and the palpebral (inferior) portion 2B.", "The lacrimal gland 2 secretes the aqueous layer 6B of tears 4, which are delivered from the lacrimal gland 2 to the surface of the eye 6 via one or more channels or ducts 8 of the lacrimal gland 2.Tears 4 drain from the eye 6, towards a plica semilunaris 11 and lacrimal caruncle 13 via the nasolacrimal drainage system, which includes two puncta 10 located on a lacrimal papilla (e.g., superior lacrimal papilla 10A or inferior lacrimal papilla 10B).", "Each puncta 10 includes a minute orifice or opening in fluid communication with canaliculi 12.The canaliculi 12 converge and drain into the lacrimal sac 16, which in turn, is in fluid communication with the nasolacrimal duct 18.In order to induce tear production, one or more devices (like implantable microstimulator 201, an example of which is shown in FIG.", "7 that is configured for the induction of tear production) may be positioned within the nasolacrimal drainage system to prompt or stimulate the lacrimal gland 2.As shown in FIG.", "7, the microstimulator has a body 112; an electrically conductive insert (an example of a flex circuit shown in FIG.", "8) can be arranged within the body 112 to create the capacitively coupled link with an external electronic device, as described above with regard to FIGS.", "1-3.However, an example an equivalent microstimulator without the flex circuit (with the electrically conductive parts deposited on the body 112) is shown in FIG.", "9.Additional views of the microstimulator are shown in FIGS.", "10-12.FIG.", "10 shows an anterior view; FIG.", "11 shows a medial view; FIG.", "12 shows a posterior view.", "At least a portion of the body 112 configured to be implanted within the nasolacrimal drainage system can be formed of one or more biocompatible materials.", "Biocompatible materials can include certain polymer materials, metal materials, silicone materials, urethane materials, or the like, which do not cause an appreciable immune reaction.", "Examples of such materials can include, but are not limited to, polyimide, palladium, silicone, and/or urethane.", "The body 112 includes a vertical component (V), a horizontal component (H), and a curved portion (A) extending between and connecting the horizontal portion (H) and the vertical portion (V).", "The curved portion (A) can arrange the horizontal portion (H) and the vertical portion (V) at an angle relative to one another.", "At least one of the horizontal component (H) and the vertical component (V) can have a cylindrical cross section with a diameter from 0.2 mm to 0.8 mm.", "However, the horizontal component (H) includes an end portion that is tapered to facilitate implantation of the microstimulator.", "The horizontal component (H) can be longer than the vertical component (V).", "For example, the horizontal component (H) can be between 1 and 8 mm in length, or between 4 and 6 mm in length, while the vertical component (V) can be between 0.1 and 3 mm in length, or between 0.5 and 2 mm in length.", "Even more specifically, the horizontal component (H) can be between 5 and 6 mm in length, while the vertical component (V) can be between 1.6 and 1.8 mm in length.", "The angle between the vertical component (V) and the horizontal component (H) established by the curved portion (A) can be between 70 degrees and 120 degrees.", "As another example, the angle can be between 90 and 110 degrees.", "Even more specifically, the angle can be 90 degrees.", "The angle is specifically chosen to aid in retention of the microstimulator within the punctum and canaliculus.", "The microstimulator is not anchored by any means within the punctum or canaliculus.", "The microstimulator shape and angle are selected to enhance the unanchored in vivo retention.", "In some instances, a faceplate 105 can cover the vertical component (V) of the body 112.The faceplate can be, in its most general form, a surface that is wider than the vertical component (V).", "For example, the faceplate 105 may aid in the unanchored in vivo retention based on the associated shape and/or thickness.", "The faceplate 105 is a cap like structure that is placed on the proximal portion 104 of the microstimulator to prevent internal migration of the microstimulator, ease implantation (e.g., insertion) of the microstimulator, or other functions.", "The faceplate 105 can cover at least a portion of the body 112.Additionally, the faceplate 105 can include circuitry required to communicate with the external electronic device in a way other than the capacitive coupling, such as a wireless transceiver.", "As an example, the faceplate 105 can be positioned on the outer surface of the punctum.", "The shape of the faceplate 105 can be oval with a long dimension of 0.5 to 2 mm and a short dimension of 0.2 to 1 mm, or, more specifically, 1×0.8 mm (long vs. short axis).", "The long axis can be orientated lateral to medial when inserted such that the long axis is orientated from the nose to temple.", "The corresponding thickness of the faceplate 105 can be between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm, more specifically, 0.2 mm.", "In instances, the faceplate 105 has an infinity design with the edges of the oval faceplate 105 being rounded to a very thin or infinity edge.", "The faceplate 105 can also be used to ease the insertion of the microstimulator into the punctum and canaliculus by forceps or other insertion tools.", "The distal end 103 of the microstimulator can be tapered down to ease insertion, as well.", "Since the microstimulator is configured to be inserted into the punctum and the canaliculus and to stimulate the surrounding tissue, the microstimulator may occlude tear drainage.", "If the microstimulator occludes the tear drainage, this may inadvertently cause the electrical properties of the tissue surrounding the microstimulator to change in a manner that will alter the stimulation characteristics adversely.", "Specifically, in a dry environment, the tissue impedances will increase and this will cause the stimulation amplitudes needed to achieve the desired result to increase over time.", "These changes in system impedance may cause changes in how the stimulation is perceived by the subject, the overall effect of stimulation and thus the efficacy of the therapy.", "To eliminate some of the variable tissue impedances caused by the placement of the microstimulator, the microstimulator may include features that allow for ongoing tear drainage as well as tear fluid to flow over and around the microstimulator while inserted into the punctum and canaliculus.", "In one example, the microstimulator may include a central lumen (shown as element 116 in FIGS.", "9 and 10) that extends longitudinally.", "For example, the central lumen can extend between the proximal end 104 and the distal end 103.The central lumen 116 allows for tear drainage.", "In some instances, the radial channels may allow the tear drainage to coat the mucosa lining of the punctum and canaliculus throughout the length of the microstimulator body 112.The radial channels may be spaced to occur around the circumference of the microstimulator and spaced such that they occur along the entire length of the microstimulator.", "In one example, the radial channels occur every 2 mm from the faceplate to the end of the microstimulator and, at each 2 mm occurrence, there are two or more channels radially orientated equally around the circumference of the microstimulator.", "The diameter of the radial channels can be from 0.05 mm to 0.3 mm.", "The axial lumen and radial channels may be open and allow for free flowing of tears throughout the nasolacrimal system.", "In another example, the microstimulator includes the central lumen 116, as well as one or more micro-channels and/or grooves on the outside of the body of the microstimulator.", "The micro-channels extend from the distal portion of the microstimulator to the proximal portion just below the faceplate 105.Tear fluid can drain from the eye through the lower punctum (through the central lumen 116 in the microstimulator), as well as through the punctum on the upper eyelid.", "Fluid draining from the upper punctum will also flow in a retrograde manner around the lower canaliculus and surround the microstimulator by flowing through the micro-channels to bath the microstimulator (including at least a portion of the body 112) and surrounding tissue.", "In other examples, the central lumen 116, radial channels, micro-channels, and/or faceplate 105 may contain or be impregnated with a material that allows for drug elution into a target site.", "The faceplate 105, central lumen 116, and/or radial channels may elute a NSAID or other corticosteroids, which will help to reduce inflammation of the surrounding tissue from the insertion of the device and help to promote healing and stable tissue interface after the insertion of the microstimulator.", "Other drugs can also be eluted that are helpful in dry eye disease or other ocular diseases as well.", "The drug concentration amounts can be controlled by the amount of tear fluid that is allowed to flow through or around the microstimulator.", "The drug can be eluted using electrical energy, using iontophoresis methods, in which small micro-currents are used to release and drive the compound or drug in precise areas and/or in precise amounts.", "Such drug delivery can be done based on a pre-determined schedule, or using biofeedback in a closed loop manner.", "The biofeedback can include bathing the faceplate 105 in tear fluid in response to delivery of the therapy signal to the target biological site to trigger release of the pharmaceutical.", "In some instances, the drug delivery can occur through degradation or erosion of a biodegradable or erodible coating (like PLGA or similar co-polymer).", "The central lumen 116, in another example, may have a means of measuring the volume or velocity of tears flowing through the microstimulator.", "For example, the central lumen can have one or more sensors therein to measure a property of fluid flowing therethrough, including volume, velocity, and the like.", "The volume or velocity of tear flow could be used as a close-loop system, in which the microstimulator alerts the user that the tear production is dropping and that would cause the user to apply the therapy.", "Such a measurement may be done using a piezoelectric sensor, a bladder diaphragm or using Doppler (ultrasound, laser, optical, etc.).", "The microstimulator will communicate (via long range communication, Bluetooth or other suitable means) with a smartphone, smartwatch, or other device that can alert the patients to the need to re-apply therapy.", "In one example, the closed loop sensor can also be placed in the faceplate and adjacent to the central lumen but situated within the faceplate along with any necessary components (e.g.", "circuits, etc.,) to allow for proper functionality of the tear sensor.", "In another embodiment, the sensor may be configured to sense the chemical composition of the tear fluid, sensing the amount of certain proteins or other cellular components that would trigger an additional application of therapy by the patient user.", "In another embodiment, the microstimulator may use electrode impedances to characterize the amount of tear productions.", "For example, if the impedances start to increase, this would simulate a decrease in fluid flowing through the nasolacrimal system, and in a closed loop fashion trigger use of the therapy to produce more tears.", "Long or short-term trending of the impedance values over time can also be used to provide treatment options that are individualized for each patient.", "If the impedance indicates that the patient's tear production is the lowest during the morning, the system can remind the patient to stimulate at certain times that are associated with the lowest amount of tear production.", "This can be done through a smartphone app or through an associated wearable smart device or other suitable means of interacting with the subject.", "In some instances, the stimulation can be automatic as part of a closed loop control system.", "Inside the body, the microstimulator can include the electrically conductive plate (like internal plate 213 of FIGS.", "2 and 3).", "The surface area of the electrically conductive plate can be chosen large enough to receive the power signal from the external electronic device strong enough to create the stimulation signal that facilitates tear production.", "The electrically conductive insert can also include the electrode coupled to the electrically conductive plate (shown in FIG.", "3) to deliver the therapy signal to the biological target site in the subject.", "In some examples, the electrode can be physically connected to the electrically conductive plate.", "The electrically conductive plate can also include a reference electrode or return electrode (shown in FIG.", "3) isolated from the conductive plate to create a reference or return path that is connected to the external electronic device.", "Each of the electrodes can be made of an electrically conductive material, like platinum, platinum/iridium, palladium, or another inert metal that is electrically conductive and appropriate for electrical stimulation.", "The electrodes can be positioned between the distal portion 104 of the microstimulator and the proximal portion 103 of the microstimulator.", "For example, the electrodes can be positioned such that they are equally spaced longitudinally from the distal portion 104 to the proximal portion 103 of the microstimulator.", "Each electrode is then radially exposed to the surrounding tissue in a 180-degree orientation.", "In one example, the electrodes can be quarter moon-shaped so that these electrodes are only exposed in quarter segments on the top and bottom of the microstimulator to avoid any overlap with the internal plate.", "The overlap is avoided to ensure the capacitance created remains consistent.", "The rise/fall time (e.g., time constant) of the capacitor created is important in creating the therapy signal waveform.", "Changes in the capacitance created can change the waveform and waveform efficiency.", "In some instances, four electrodes are exposed to the surrounding environment and each electrode is exposed to the environment at two locations around the circumference of the microstimulator body.", "The exposed portions are between 40 and 180 degrees from each other around the circumference of the microstimulator body.", "It should be appreciated that the exposed electrodes can be positioned using any orientation around or within the microstimulator body from the distal portion 104 to the proximal portion 103 of the microstimulator body.", "For example, the orientation can be determined based on the orientation of the microstimulator 201 compared to the external device 202.In some instances, the microstimulator can be configured such that there is no battery contained within the microstimulator.", "The microstimulator can be configured to receive power from an external electronic device.", "In other words, the microstimulator can be a slave to the external electronic device and can deliver stimulation when activated by the external electronic device.", "The microstimulator and the external electronic device can exchange energy wirelessly, using a capacitive power transfer method, as described above with respect to FIGS.", "2 and 3.In these instances, the microstimulator is configured for insertion through the punctum of the lower eyelid into the canaliculus and configured such that the associated “plate” is oriented to be parallel with the external skin overlaying the canaliculus to establish the capacitive link with the external electronic device.", "The “plate” can be located on a side of the microstimulator and covers the majority of the surface area on the one side of the microstimulator.", "Capacitive power transfer is useful for the microstimulator, when the microstimulator requires charge balancing.", "The external electronic device is responsible for generating the power transfer waveform, which capacitively couples power to the internal device.", "Additionally, the external electronic device is responsible for generating the carrier waveform, which can be used for data transmission or control of the microstimulator.", "As such, the external electronic device creates the carrier waveform by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), or voltage to frequency converter (VFC).", "The frequency is set by a digital to analog converter from a microcontroller.", "This carrier waveform may be buffered by a unity gain configured op-amp, such that the VCO/VFC is not loaded.", "The buffer waveform is then amplified/attenuated and DC shifted by a second op-amp.", "The gain of waveform is set by a series of feedback resistors.", "Alternatively, the feedback resistors can be replaced with analog or digital potentiometers to adjust the gain.", "In this embodiment, the microcontroller is able to control the gain through digital communication solely.", "In this embodiment, the carrier waveform is also DC shifted using a second stage.", "This is done by asserting a DC bias voltage to the op-amp.", "This DC bias voltage is generated and adjusted using a Digital to Analog Converter on the micro-controller.", "The generated output waveform at the power electrode may be biphasic, in which each pulse may include a first phase, an interphase delay, and a second phase.", "During the first phase, a positive DC bias is applied to the output, with the carrier frequency transposed on top.", "During this phase, electrical current is induced through a capacitively coupled load.", "During the interphase delay, the carrier waveform and DC bias are shut off and no waveform is generated.", "During the second phase, a negative DC bias is applied to the output, with a carrier frequency transposed on top, which induces a current in the opposite direction of the first phase.", "This phase is used as an active recovery, or charge-balancing phase for stimulation.", "Between pulses, the carrier waveform and DC bias are shut off, and the output remains off until the next active stimulation phase.", "This period between pulses also acts as a passive recovery phase, allowing any excess charge to be recaptured.", "The power transfer through the capacitive link is generated by the edge transition of the DC bias.", "The capacitive link between the external and internal device is high impedance at DC, but is low impedance when an AC signal is applied.", "The actual impedance varies based on the frequency of the signal and the value of the capacitance.", "In this respect, by applying an increasing/decreasing voltage across the capacitive link, the link acts as a low impedance medium and current is induced.", "The magnitude of the current is determined by the slew rate of the signal and total capacitance of the link.", "The rising and falling edges at the beginning of each phase of the waveform generate this induced current at the electrodes on the inserted microstimulator.", "In some instances, the capacitive link between the external electronic device and the microstimulator can be through an electrically conductive insert within the body 112.The electrically conductive insert can be a flex circuit configured or formed into a circular cross section.", "The flex circuit can be positioned between the central lumen 116 and the surface of the body 112 of the microstimulator.", "The flex circuit can include the plate, the power electrode, and the return electrode.", "Similar to FIG, 3, the power electrode is electrically connected to the plate.", "However, the plate is electrically isolated from the body 112, leaving only the power electrode exposed to the tissue in the anatomical area.", "The return electrode is isolated from the capacitive plate and the power electrode, but electrically connected to the body 112.When activated by the external electronic device 202, the stimulation waveform can be generated between the power electrode and the return electrode.", "The resulting electrical field will then activate nerves that innervate the punctum and canalicus, which will then result in reflexive lacrimation.", "However, the return electrode is not necessarily in the flex circuit; instead, the return electrode can be located on the external electronic device to create a common system ground for the external electronic device and the flex circuit.", "The flex circuit can be created in different ways.", "One example is by sputtering, depositing, or otherwise adhering a biocompatible material to a base substrate.", "An example of this is shown in element 106A of FIG.", "8, where a biocompatible conductive material 107 is adhered to a base substrate 108.As an example, the base substrate 108 can be polyimide (such as a thin polyimide sheet) and the biocompatible conductive material 107 is a metal.", "As illustrated, the base substrate 108 can be configured into a geometry that can be furled, rolled, or otherwise curled into a circular cross-section.", "After the biocompatible conductive material 107 is adhered to the base substrate, a third layer is applied to the areas of the flex circuit to be electrically isolated from the subject's body upon insertion.", "The third layer can be a liquid polyimide (such as a very thin liquid polyimide), for example.", "The resulting flex circuit 106A is configured into a circular cross-section shown in element 1068.The circular cross section creates the internal capacitor, which allows for energy and/or the stimulation waveform to be transferred or delivered without any internal circuit components.", "As such, there are no passive circuit elements or active circuit elements within the body 112 and no internal battery.", "As an alternative to FIG.", "8, the flex circuit can be created by sputtering or depositing a biocompatible material onto the base layer that is pre-configured in the tubular cross-section.", "One example alternative is shown in FIG.", "9, in which the metal is deposited directly onto the microstimulator in a defined way with very precise placement of the electrodes and plate metals.", "In this example, the base material 401 can be polyimide, silicone or polyurethane, other polymers, or other co-polymers.", "One or more metal layers (e.g., metal layer 402 that adheres better to the base layer 401, like titanium, and metal layer 403 like palladium) are then sputtered or deposited onto the tubular base 401 layer (e.g., the horizontal component of the microstimulator 201) directly.", "The amount of metal deposited may vary to allow for exposure to the tissue of the electrodes without exposing the plate.", "The base layer 401 can be configured, prior to deposition, into the J shape (90-degree shape between the vertical component and the horizontal component) required for the microstimulator.", "A second layer 402 (and subsequent layers 403) of material may be sputtered or deposited onto the base layer 401.An isolating material 404 can be applied of the same material as the base layer 401.To create the right capacitive power transfer and to translate the waveform correctly, the dielectric constant must be created for the applications, which means adjusting the thickness of the metal, the surface area, etc.", "In an example, the tubular base layer is silicone.", "The dielectric created with the metal deposited onto the silicone will need to match the dielectric created in when the polyimide flex circuit is rolled to create the capacitor system for power transfer.", "Polyimide provides a significant contribution to the dielectric and thus if that is replaced with Silicone or other material as mentioned above, then the metal and position needs to be altered to match the dielectric constant.", "However, this process provides the advantage of reducing the amount of manual processing steps needed to manufacture the microstimulator.", "The other advantage of this technique is that delamination between the metal layer and the base layer is significantly reduced by depositing the metal onto the pre-formed tube base layer.", "When the flex circuit is rolled, certain areas see higher bend radii and hence are more susceptible to delamination events and thus causing further fallout in the manufacturing process.", "Also important for the microstimulator is the overall stiffness of the flex circuit.", "A microstimulator at this scale, less than one mm in diameter and 5-6 mm in length, containing a full polyimide tube could cause the microstimulator to be quite rigid overall.", "To avoid this, the polyimide can be laser etched post deposition to create “bend joints” corresponding to areas in the microstimulator that are anticipated to have more flex and allow these areas to flex better.", "Using Silicone or Polyurethane as the base material will allow for ultimate flexibility, without having to laser etch areas out of the tubular cross-section to allow for bending of the microstimulator.", "In another example, the electrodes can be mesh electrodes.", "Using mesh electrodes may eliminate the need for the radial channel extending from the central lumen 116 to wet the tissue surrounding the microstimulator.", "The mesh electrode allows for tear drainage from the central lumen through the mesh electrode.", "The mesh electrodes can be placed circumferentially around the entire microstimulator or can be placed and configured as directional electrodes.", "In other words, the electrodes are placed in a manner that is not circumferential, but sized and shaped accordingly to cover only a portion of the circumferential area of the microstimulator and allowing stimulation to occur in a directional manner.", "Alternatively, the directional electrodes can be made of a solid inert metal that is suitable for electrical stimulation or of a conductive polymer resin or other suitable material.", "IV.", "Methods Another aspect of the present disclosure can include methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "The methods of FIGS.", "13 and 14 can be implemented using the system of FIGS.", "1-3, in which the implantable microstimulator may be as shown in FIGS.", "7-12.FIGS.", "13 and 14, respectively, are illustrated as process flow diagrams with flowchart illustrations.", "For purposes of simplicity, the methods of FIGS.", "13 and 14 are shown and described as being executed serially; however, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited by the illustrated order as some steps could occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other steps shown and described herein.", "Moreover, not all illustrated aspects may be required to implement the methods of FIGS.", "13 and 14.Additionally, FIGS.", "13 and 14 may also include steps that can be implemented by computer program instructions.", "These computer program instructions can be stored in memory and provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps/acts specified in the flowchart blocks and/or the associated description.", "In other words, the steps/acts can be implemented by a system comprising a processor that can access the computer-executable instructions that are stored in a non-transitory memory.", "Referring to FIG.", "13, an aspect of the present disclosure can include a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "As an example, the implantable microstimulator can be as shown in FIGS.", "7-12, including a body and an electrically conductive insert.", "The powering can be through a wireless connection between the implantable microstimulator and an external electronic device.", "At 301, the connection can be established between the external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator through a dielectric material.", "The conductive material, in some examples, can be a biological material, such as the subject's skin.", "An example of this connection is shown in FIG.", "2.At 302, a link can be established between the external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator to deliver a power signal from the external electronic device to the implantable microstimulator.", "The link can be a capacitively coupled link link for capacitive power transfer upon a voltage change of an external plate associated with the external electronic device relative to an internal plate associated with the implantable microstimulator (shown in FIG.", "2).", "The internal plate can be part of the electrically conductive insert within the body of the microstimulator.", "The electrically conductive insert can deliver a therapy signal (or stimulation signal) to the surrounding anatomical site in response to receiving the power signal.", "Referring now to FIG.", "14, illustrated is a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "The medical condition can be an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "Diseases that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection side effects, and/or glaucoma.", "As another example, disorders that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, and/or ocular hypertension.", "Conditions that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "At 311, a microstimulator can be delivered into an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The anatomical structure can be any structure in the subject's body containing one or more target nerves.", "The microstimulator can be sized and dimensioned for the particular anatomical structure.", "For example, when inserted into a nasolacrimal structure, such as the punctum and canaliculus, to induce tear production, the microstimulator can be arranged in the shape shown in FIG.", "7 with the dimensions described in connection to FIG.", "7.At 312, a capacitive link can be established between the microstimulator and an external electronic device.", "At 313, the external electronic device can be used to deliver a power signal to the microstimulator across the capacitive link.", "For example, the voltage of a plate of the external device can change relative to a plate of the internal device.", "As noted, “plates” is a general term describing a capacitive element; the “plates” are not necessarily shaped like plates.", "At 314, a therapy signal can be delivered by the microstimulator to a target portion of the anatomical structure.", "The target portion can include the one or more target nerves From the above description, those skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and modifications.", "Such improvements, changes and modifications are within the skill of one in the art and are intended to be covered by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15875113
[ [ "METHOD FOR REPORTING A MEASUREMENT REPORT OF A MEASUREMENT EVENT", "The present disclosure discloses a method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, including: determining that a measurement event is generated in a user equipment (UE) in an activated state of discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that there is a measurement event generated; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE is in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "The present disclosure can improve a success rate of mobility handover between cells or wireless link quality." ], [ "1.User equipment (UE) for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, comprising: a memory comprising instructions; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the processor executes the instructions to: determine that a measurement event is generated in the UE in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; determine whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid; use, when it is determined that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; and when it is determined that the first time to trigger is invalid, using a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell when being in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, so as to obtain a measurement result; determine whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result; and when the previous one measurement event is still valid, reporting the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event to a network; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event; wherein in using the second time to trigger to time the measurement event, the processor is configured to: use an effective second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, is in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; wherein before determining that the measurement event is generated in the UE in the activated state of DRX mode, the processor further executes the instructions to: receive measurement parameters configured by a network, wherein the measurement parameters comprising a duration of the first time to trigger; or wherein the measurement parameters comprising a duration of the first time to trigger, a duration of the second time to trigger and a starting timing of the second time to trigger.", "2.The UE according to claim 1, wherein in using the effective second time to trigger to time the measurement event, the processor is configured to: make the UE change the duration of the first time to trigger so as to obtain the second time to trigger, such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to a time point at which the UE exits a DRX sleep state for a last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; or at a timing when the first time to trigger configured by the network corresponding to the previous one measurement event has expired and the UE exiting the DRX sleep state, start the second time to trigger configured by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; or configure the duration of at least two second times to trigger for the measurement event, the at least two times to trigger respectively corresponding to the neighboring cells with different coverage area, so that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger corresponding to the neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "3.The UE according to claim 1, wherein in determining whether the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid, the processor is configured to: determine whether a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to a time point at which the UE enters a DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and whether the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for a last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from the time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is determined to be invalid; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is greater than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from the time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is determined to be valid.", "4.The UE according to claim 1, wherein in the step of determining that the measurement event is generated in the UE in the activated state of the DRX mode, the measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report.", "5.A network equipment for configuring measurement parameters for a user equipment (UE) which generates a measurement event in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode, comprising: a memory comprising instructions; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the processor executes the instructions to: issue measurement parameters comprising a duration of a first time to trigger to the UE, such that the UE in the activated state of the DRX mode performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell, according to the issued measurement parameters comprising the duration of the first time to trigger; and receive a measurement report obtained by the UE with the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring a duration of a second time to trigger for the measurement event or a reporting manner of the measurement report, such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to a time point at which the UE exits a DRX sleep state for a last time is less than or equal to a duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at an expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; wherein in issuing the measurement parameters comprising the duration of the first time to trigger to the UE, the processor is configured to: issue the measurement parameters comprising the duration of the second time to trigger, wherein the second time to trigger is applied to the measurement event after the UE exits the DRX sleep state; or issue a duration of at least two second times to trigger to the UE, the at least two second times to trigger respectively corresponding to neighboring cells with different coverage area, so that the time from the time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger, which corresponds to the neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "6.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer in a user equipment (UE), cause the computer to: determine that a measurement event is generated in the UE in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; determine whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid; use, when it is determined that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; and when it is determined that the first time to trigger is invalid, using a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell when being in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, so as to obtain a measurement result; determine whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result; and when the previous one measurement event is still valid, reporting the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event to a network; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event; wherein in using the second time to trigger to time the measurement event, the instructions cause the computer to: use a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at an expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; wherein before determining that the measurement event is generated in the UE in the activated state of DRX mode, the instructions cause the computer to: receive measurement parameters configured by a network, wherein the measurement parameters comprise a duration of the first time to trigger; or wherein the measurement parameters comprise a duration of the first time to trigger, a duration of the second time to trigger and a starting timing of the second time to trigger.", "7.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 6, wherein in using the second time to trigger to time the measurement event, the instructions cause the computer to: make the UE change a duration of the first time to trigger so as to obtain the second time to trigger, such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to a time point at which the UE exits a DRX sleep state for a last time is less than or equal to a duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; or at a timing when the first time to trigger configured by the network corresponds to the previous one measurement event has expired and the UE has exited the DRX sleep state, start the second time to trigger configured by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; or configure a duration of at least two second times to trigger for the measurement event, the at least two times to trigger respectively corresponding to neighboring cells with different coverage area, so that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger corresponding to the neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "8.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 6, wherein in determining whether the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid, the instructions cause the computer to: determine whether a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to a time point at which the UE enters a DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and whether a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to a time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for a last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is determined to be invalid; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is greater than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is determined to be valid.", "9.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 6, wherein in the step of determining that the measurement event is generated in the UE in the activated state of the DRX mode, the measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network, and reporting the measurement report.", "10.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer in a user equipment (UE), cause the computer to: issue measurement parameters comprising a duration of a first time to trigger to the UE, such that the UE in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell, according to the issued measurement parameters comprising the duration of the first time to trigger; and receive a measurement report obtained by the UE with the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring a duration of a second time to trigger for the measurement event or a reporting manner of the measurement report, such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to a time point at which the UE exits a DRX sleep state for a last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at an expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; wherein in issuing the measurement parameters comprising the duration of the first time to trigger to the UE, the instructions cause the computer to: issue the measurement parameters comprising the duration of the second time to trigger, the second time to trigger applied to the measurement event after the UE exits the DRX sleep state; or issue a duration of at least two second times to trigger to the UE, the at least two second times to trigger respectively corresponding to neighboring cells with different coverage area, so that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger, which corresponds to the neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>A base station in a wireless communication system, which may include a BS, eNodeB, node B, node, BTS (Base Transceiver Station) or AP (Access Point), etc., transmits data and/or control information to a user equipment UE via downlink, the user equipment UE may include an access terminal, access point, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), laptop, etc., and the base station receives the data and/or control information of the user equipment via an uplink.", "Similarly, the user equipment transmits the data and/or control information for the base station via the uplink, and receives the data and/or control information transmitted from the base station via the downlink.", "In the prior art, in order to satisfy or improve performance requirement of the wireless communication system (such as, an LTE-A and/or LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) communication system), various types of base stations or base stations of various standards are deployed in a homogeneous network so as to enhance coverage and performance of a network.", "Such a network structure is referred to as a heterogeneous network, wherein for example, the original base station, which is a lower transmission power base station (abbreviated as lower power node (LPN)) or an transmission /reception node, may include an Micro BS, Pico BS, Home BS, femto BS, Relay BS or RRH (Radio Remote Head), etc., whereas various types of base stations deployed in the heterogeneous network can be a high transmission power base station (such as Macro eNodeB, MeNB), the high transmission power base station and the lower power base station have different transmission powers.", "As LTE of a 3G communication system, the LTE communication system can provide high-speed upstream and downstream data transmission.", "Due to a large amount of data transmission in the LTE communication system, data transmission has a relatively high requirement on power consumption of a receiving antenna: during the reception of data, the antenna shall monitor PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) only when data exists as far as possible, to receive downlink data or uplink authorization, and shall be in a sleep state as far as possible when there is no data.", "For example, when browse web pages, other web pages might be opened for a short while.", "To this end, it is necessary to be in a sleep state in a short time, and then monitor PDCCH after a certain timing relationship.", "Therefore, in order to reduce energy consumption while ensuring performance, a discontinuous reception (DRX) technology is generated.", "A DRX function control entity in the LTE communication system is in an MAC layer of a protocol stack, with a main function of controlling the transmission of instructions to a physical layer, informing the physical layer to monitor PDCCH at a certain time, and disenabling the receiving antenna at all the other time, and making the system to be in sleep state.", "The DRX technology is a new power-saving working mechanism introduced in the LTE communication system, which cause the UE does not need to enter into an idle mode when there is no data transmission, while keeps in synchronization with the base station.", "For example, a DRX algorithm has been applied in TD-SCDMA.", "However, the algorithm is relatively simple, in particularly, the algorithm operates with a single DRX loop, receives downlink data and uplink authorization only during an activation period, and performs DRX loop according to a paging cycle in the idle mode.", "However, the DRX algorithm in a RRC (Radio Resource Control) protocol connection state adopts various types of timers which are cooperatively operated, so as to ensure the receiving of downlink data and uplink authorization.", "Although the DRX function can greatly reduce the power consumption in the LTE communication system, a DRX cycle is much longer than a time to trigger of the UE.", "If there is a measurement event satisfying a generation condition before the UE enters into the sleep state, the time to trigger starts.", "After the UE enters into the sleep state, the time to trigger still runs normally; when returning back to an activated state, the UE reports a measurement report to the base station, but if the time to trigger expires at this time, signal quality states of a serving cell and a neighboring cell at this moment have changed, which will lead to handover failure or wireless link failure, thereby exerting a great influence on mobility performance." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, which is capable of increasing a success rate of mobility handover between cells or improving wireless link quality.", "An aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, including: determining that a measurement event is generated in a user equipment UE in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell when being in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, to obtain a measurement result; judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result; reporting, when the previous one measurement event is still valid, to a network the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "An aspect of the present disclosure provides another method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, including: determining that a measurement event is generated in a user equipment (UE) in an activated state of a DRX mode; using a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event to time the measurement event; if the first time to trigger has not expired when the UE enters a DRX sleep state, deciding whether the UE continues measuring in the sleep state until a first time to trigger expires and whether the measurement result is reported when the first time to trigger expires, according to measurement parameters configured for the measurement event by the network.", "Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for configuring measurement parameters for a UE which generates a measurement event in an activated state of a DRX mode, including: issuing measurement parameters including a duration of the first time to trigger to the UE, such that the UE in the activated state of the DRX mode performs the measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the issued measurement parameters including the duration of the first time to trigger; receiving a measurement report obtained by the UE using the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring an appropriate duration of a second time to trigger for the measurement event or an reporting manner of the measurement report, such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for a last time is less than or equal to a duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a user equipment, including a determining unit for determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment (UE) in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; a first judging unit for judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when the determining unit determines that there is a measurement event generated; a configuring unit for using, when it is judged by the first judging unit that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event and using, when it is judged by the first judging unit that the first time to trigger is invalid, a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE is in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; a measurement unit for re-performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to measurement parameters configured by a network when the configuring unit uses the second time to trigger to time the measurement event, so as to obtain a measurement result; a second judging unit for judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result obtained by the measuring unit; a reporting processing unit for reporting, when the second judging unit judges that the previous one measurement event is still valid, to the network the measurement report of the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event; the measurement event being generated by performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report, the measurement operation generating the measurement report when the conditions are met.", "A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a network equipment which generates a measurement event in an activated state of a DRX mode, including: an issuing unit for issuing measurement parameters to a UE, such that the UE in an activated state of the DRX mode performs the measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the issued measurement parameters; a receiving unit for receiving a measurement report obtained by the UE using the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring an appropriate duration of the time to trigger for the measurement event or an reporting manner of the measurement report such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the time to trigger, in next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "Different from the situation in the prior art where the use of an outdated measurement report leads to handover failure or wireless link failure, in an aspect of the present disclosure, it is judged whether the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that there is an measurement event generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report; if it is judged that the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid, the first time to trigger is used to time the measurement event and if it is judged that the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is invalid, it indicates that it will result in the situation where the use of an outdated measurement report leads to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, design is changed to make the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, such that when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement, to judge whether the previous one measurement report is still valid, and not to report to the network the measurement report of the previous one measurement event when the previous one measurement event is invalid, thereby enabling to avoid the situation where the use of an outdated measurement report leads to handover failure or wireless link failure, and increasing a success rate of mobility handover between cells or improving wireless link quality." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/158,309, filed on May 18, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/318,984, filed on Jun.", "30, 2014, now U.S. Pat.", "No.", "9,374,745, which is a continuation of International Patent Application No.", "PCT/CN2012/087362, filed on Dec. 25, 2012, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No.", "201110459643.9, filed on Dec. 31, 2011.The afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the communication technical field, and particularly, to a method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event.", "BACKGROUND A base station in a wireless communication system, which may include a BS, eNodeB, node B, node, BTS (Base Transceiver Station) or AP (Access Point), etc., transmits data and/or control information to a user equipment UE via downlink, the user equipment UE may include an access terminal, access point, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), laptop, etc., and the base station receives the data and/or control information of the user equipment via an uplink.", "Similarly, the user equipment transmits the data and/or control information for the base station via the uplink, and receives the data and/or control information transmitted from the base station via the downlink.", "In the prior art, in order to satisfy or improve performance requirement of the wireless communication system (such as, an LTE-A and/or LTE-A (LTE-Advanced) communication system), various types of base stations or base stations of various standards are deployed in a homogeneous network so as to enhance coverage and performance of a network.", "Such a network structure is referred to as a heterogeneous network, wherein for example, the original base station, which is a lower transmission power base station (abbreviated as lower power node (LPN)) or an transmission /reception node, may include an Micro BS, Pico BS, Home BS, femto BS, Relay BS or RRH (Radio Remote Head), etc., whereas various types of base stations deployed in the heterogeneous network can be a high transmission power base station (such as Macro eNodeB, MeNB), the high transmission power base station and the lower power base station have different transmission powers.", "As LTE of a 3G communication system, the LTE communication system can provide high-speed upstream and downstream data transmission.", "Due to a large amount of data transmission in the LTE communication system, data transmission has a relatively high requirement on power consumption of a receiving antenna: during the reception of data, the antenna shall monitor PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) only when data exists as far as possible, to receive downlink data or uplink authorization, and shall be in a sleep state as far as possible when there is no data.", "For example, when browse web pages, other web pages might be opened for a short while.", "To this end, it is necessary to be in a sleep state in a short time, and then monitor PDCCH after a certain timing relationship.", "Therefore, in order to reduce energy consumption while ensuring performance, a discontinuous reception (DRX) technology is generated.", "A DRX function control entity in the LTE communication system is in an MAC layer of a protocol stack, with a main function of controlling the transmission of instructions to a physical layer, informing the physical layer to monitor PDCCH at a certain time, and disenabling the receiving antenna at all the other time, and making the system to be in sleep state.", "The DRX technology is a new power-saving working mechanism introduced in the LTE communication system, which cause the UE does not need to enter into an idle mode when there is no data transmission, while keeps in synchronization with the base station.", "For example, a DRX algorithm has been applied in TD-SCDMA.", "However, the algorithm is relatively simple, in particularly, the algorithm operates with a single DRX loop, receives downlink data and uplink authorization only during an activation period, and performs DRX loop according to a paging cycle in the idle mode.", "However, the DRX algorithm in a RRC (Radio Resource Control) protocol connection state adopts various types of timers which are cooperatively operated, so as to ensure the receiving of downlink data and uplink authorization.", "Although the DRX function can greatly reduce the power consumption in the LTE communication system, a DRX cycle is much longer than a time to trigger of the UE.", "If there is a measurement event satisfying a generation condition before the UE enters into the sleep state, the time to trigger starts.", "After the UE enters into the sleep state, the time to trigger still runs normally; when returning back to an activated state, the UE reports a measurement report to the base station, but if the time to trigger expires at this time, signal quality states of a serving cell and a neighboring cell at this moment have changed, which will lead to handover failure or wireless link failure, thereby exerting a great influence on mobility performance.", "SUMMARY An aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, which is capable of increasing a success rate of mobility handover between cells or improving wireless link quality.", "An aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, including: determining that a measurement event is generated in a user equipment UE in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell when being in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, to obtain a measurement result; judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result; reporting, when the previous one measurement event is still valid, to a network the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "An aspect of the present disclosure provides another method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event, including: determining that a measurement event is generated in a user equipment (UE) in an activated state of a DRX mode; using a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event to time the measurement event; if the first time to trigger has not expired when the UE enters a DRX sleep state, deciding whether the UE continues measuring in the sleep state until a first time to trigger expires and whether the measurement result is reported when the first time to trigger expires, according to measurement parameters configured for the measurement event by the network.", "Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for configuring measurement parameters for a UE which generates a measurement event in an activated state of a DRX mode, including: issuing measurement parameters including a duration of the first time to trigger to the UE, such that the UE in the activated state of the DRX mode performs the measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the issued measurement parameters including the duration of the first time to trigger; receiving a measurement report obtained by the UE using the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring an appropriate duration of a second time to trigger for the measurement event or an reporting manner of the measurement report, such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for a last time is less than or equal to a duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a user equipment, including a determining unit for determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment (UE) in an activated state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; a first judging unit for judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when the determining unit determines that there is a measurement event generated; a configuring unit for using, when it is judged by the first judging unit that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event and using, when it is judged by the first judging unit that the first time to trigger is invalid, a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE is in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; a measurement unit for re-performs a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to measurement parameters configured by a network when the configuring unit uses the second time to trigger to time the measurement event, so as to obtain a measurement result; a second judging unit for judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result obtained by the measuring unit; a reporting processing unit for reporting, when the second judging unit judges that the previous one measurement event is still valid, to the network the measurement report of the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event; the measurement event being generated by performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report, the measurement operation generating the measurement report when the conditions are met.", "A further aspect of the present disclosure provides a network equipment which generates a measurement event in an activated state of a DRX mode, including: an issuing unit for issuing measurement parameters to a UE, such that the UE in an activated state of the DRX mode performs the measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the issued measurement parameters; a receiving unit for receiving a measurement report obtained by the UE using the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring an appropriate duration of the time to trigger for the measurement event or an reporting manner of the measurement report such that a time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the time to trigger, in next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "Different from the situation in the prior art where the use of an outdated measurement report leads to handover failure or wireless link failure, in an aspect of the present disclosure, it is judged whether the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that there is an measurement event generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report; if it is judged that the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid, the first time to trigger is used to time the measurement event and if it is judged that the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is invalid, it indicates that it will result in the situation where the use of an outdated measurement report leads to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, design is changed to make the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, such that when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement, to judge whether the previous one measurement report is still valid, and not to report to the network the measurement report of the previous one measurement event when the previous one measurement event is invalid, thereby enabling to avoid the situation where the use of an outdated measurement report leads to handover failure or wireless link failure, and increasing a success rate of mobility handover between cells or improving wireless link quality.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a flowchart of an example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 is a schematic diagram shows the influence of the time to trigger on the reporting of the measurement report in the DRX mode in FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3 is a flowchart of another example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the present disclosure; FIG.", "4 is a flowchart of a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the present disclosure; FIG.", "5 is a schematic diagram shows the influence of the time to trigger on the reporting of the measurement report in the DRX mode in FIG.", "4; FIG.", "6 is a flowchart of a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the present disclosure; FIG.", "7 is a flowchart of a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the present disclosure; FIG.", "8 is a flowchart of a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the present disclosure; FIG.", "9 is a schematic diagram shows the influence of the time to trigger on the reporting of the measurement report in the DRX mode in FIG.", "6; FIG.", "10 is a flowchart of a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the present disclosure; FIG.", "11 is a flowchart of an example of the method for configuring a measurement parameter for UE of the present disclosure; FIG.", "12 is a functional block diagram of an example of the user equipment of the present disclosure; FIG.", "13 is a functional block diagram of an example of the network equipment of the present disclosure.", "DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Generally, in order to ensure communication quality, the UE will perform a measurement operation to a serving cell and a neighboring cell according to a measurement parameter configured by the network in the activated state of the DRX mode, generate a measurement event under a certain condition, and report the measurement report when a certain condition is satisfied after the time to trigger (TTT) expires.", "When the DRX mode is configured for the UE, a 3GPP protocol restricts the measurement report reported to the network by the UE to some extent.", "For example, in order to avoid the UE frequently return to the activated state from the sleep state caused by the reporting of the measurement result, the UE delays the reporting of the measurement result (including two modes: event reporting and periodical reporting) as far as possible, and does not report the measurement result until a next activation time (from TS 36.331).", "Meanwhile, the inventor of the present disclosure found in long-term research and development that in the prior art, if the UE is configured with the DRX mode and the cycle of the DRX mode is much longer than the time to trigger, then if there is a measurement event which satisfies generation condition before the UE enters the sleep state, a timer of the time to trigger is started and before long the UE enters into DRX sleep state, but the timer for the time to trigger normally runs; when the UE returns back to the activated state again and finds that the time to trigger has expired, then reports the measurement report obtained in the previous activated state to the base station.", "However, practically, the signal quality states of the serving cell and the neighboring cell in the activated state of this time may have changed, therefore the measurement report reported at this moment is no longer applicable, but the base station still continues the utilization of this measurement report unwittingly.", "In this way, it leads to the handover failure or wireless link failure.", "In view of system efficiency, the above technical problem will exert great influences on the mobility performance.", "Especially in an emerging heterogeneous system scenario mentioned in the above Background portion, the number of times for the user equipment moving between cells will greatly increase.", "Therefore, in order to obtain relatively robust measurement function and seamless handover effect, the present disclosure provides the examples of corresponding method and equipment, allowing breaking the above limitation to the measurement report of the measurement event, such that the duration of the time to trigger and the measuring accuracy satisfy the demand before the measurement report is reported.", "With reference to FIG.", "1 and FIG.", "2, one example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event includes: Step 101: determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment (UE) in an activated state of discontinuous reception (DRX) mode.", "The network configures the DRX mode and the measurement parameters to the UE according to factors such as a traffic feature of the UE; when the UE is in the activated state of the DRX mode, it is determined that there is a measurement event generated.", "When a certain condition is satisfied, the measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report; whereas the measurement operation generates the measurement report when a certain condition is met.", "Step 102: judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that there is a measurement event generated.", "In case of satisfying a certain condition, when it is determined that there is the measurement event generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report, it is judged whether the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger (original time to trigger), which is configured to the measurement event by the network, and whether the time (i.e., the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX activated state again) from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, as shown in FIG.", "2; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be invalid, if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is greater than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be valid.", "Step 103: using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE is in a next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger is used to time the measurement event, i.e., after the measurement event is generated, the first time to trigger is started, and when the first time to trigger expires and the measured cell signal strength/quality satisfies the measurement event condition all the time before the first time to trigger expires, the measurement event is reported to a network side.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, it indicates that the outdated measurement report will be used in the next activated state, thereby possibly leading to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, in order to avoid such situation, design is changed to make the UE before the second time to trigger expires or when the second time to trigger expires in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, such that when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement so as to select whether to use the measurement report of the last time.", "The step of making the UE before the second time to trigger expires or at the overtime moment of the second time to trigger in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event can not only be realized by the control performed by UE itself, but also could be realized by the network controlling UE, and can not only be realized by adjusting the duration of the first time to trigger or rearrange the second time to trigger without changing the distribution of the activated state or sleep state of the existing DRX mode, but also could be realized by making the UE have a report indication of reporting the measurement event before the first time to trigger expires or at the overtime moment of the first time to trigger without changing the duration of the first time to trigger, for example, making the UE in the activated state at this time, etc.", "The example of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.", "Step 104: re-performing a measurement operation on a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to measurement parameters configured by a network, when the UE is in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, so as to obtain the measurement result.", "As stated above, by various methods, the UE is caused to have an opportunity to perform measurement when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, so as to judge whether the previous measurement report is still valid.", "Step 105: judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result.", "For example, in the previous one activated state, the result of the previous one measurement operation corresponding to the first time to trigger is that the signal of the neighboring cell is better than that of the current serving cell.", "However, in this activated state, the result of the measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is worse than that of the current serving cell, then the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated and is judged to be invalid.", "Step 106: reporting, when the previous one measurement event is still valid, to a network the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "As stated before, if the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated, it is judged to be invalid, then at this time, the measurement report of the previous one measurement event is not reported to the network and the measurement event is not updated; certainly, when the judgment result is that the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is not outdated and is valid, then the measurement report of the previous one measurement event is reported to the network.", "It can be understood that in the example of the present disclosure, it is judged whether the first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that there is an measurement event generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report; if it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, it indicates that it will result in the use of an outdated measurement report and might lead to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, design is changed to make the UE before the second time to trigger expires or at the overtime moment of the second time to trigger in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, such that when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement, to judge whether the previous one measurement report is still valid, and not to report to the network the measurement report of the previous one measurement event or update the measurement event when the previous one measurement event is invalid, thereby enabling to avoid the use of an outdated measurement report which might lead to handover failure or wireless link failure, and increasing a success rate of mobility handover between cells or improving wireless link quality.", "With reference to FIGS.", "2 and 3, another example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the disclosure includes: Step 201: determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment (UE) in an activated state of discontinuous reception DRX mode.", "When a certain condition is satisfied, the measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation on the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report; the measurement operation generates the measurement report when a certain condition is met.", "Step 202: judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that a measurement event is generated.", "In case of satisfying a certain condition, when it is determined that the measurement event is generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report, it is judged whether the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger (original time to trigger) configured to the measurement event by the network, and whether the time (i.e., the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX activated state again) from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, as shown in FIG.", "2; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be invalid, if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is greater than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be valid.", "Step 203: using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; making, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, the UE initiatively change the duration of the first time to trigger so as to obtain the second time to trigger (new time to trigger), such that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE before the second time to trigger expires or at the overtime moment of the second time to trigger in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger is used to time the measurement event, i.e., after the measurement event is generated, the first time to trigger is started, and when the first time to trigger expires and the measured cell signal strength/quality satisfies the measurement event condition all the time before the first time to trigger expires, the measurement event is reported to a network side.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, it indicates that the outdated measurement report will be used in the next activated state, thereby possibly leading to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, in order to avoid such situation, design is changed: the UE automatically changes the duration of the first time to trigger according to the duration of entering the DRX sleep state this time and the measurement accuracy demands, such that when entering an activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement so as to select whether to use the previous one measurement report.", "Step 204: re-performing a measurement operation on a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to measurement parameters configured by a network when the UE is in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, so as to obtain the measurement result.", "As stated above, by various methods, when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE is caused to have an opportunity to perform measurement so as to judge whether the previous one measurement report is still valid.", "Step 205: judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result.", "For example, in the previous one activated state, the result of the previous one measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is better than that of the current serving cell.", "However, in this activated state, the result of the measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is worse than that of the current serving cell, then the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated and is judged to be invalid.", "Step 206: reporting, when the previous one measurement event is still valid, to a network the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "As stated before, the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated and is judged to be invalid, and at this time, the measurement report of the previous one measurement event is not reported to the network and the measurement event is not updated; certainly, when the judgment result is that the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is not outdated and is valid, the measurement report of the previous one measurement event is reported to the network.", "In the present example, the UE initiatively adjusts the duration of the time to trigger.", "In the next example, it is possible to control the duration of the time to trigger by the network.", "With reference to FIGS.", "4 and 5, a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the disclosure includes: Step 301: determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment UE in activated state of a discontinuous reception DRX mode.", "The network configures the DRX mode and measurement parameters to the UE according to factors such as a traffic feature of the UE; wherein the measurement parameters include the first time to trigger, and include the second time to trigger pre-configured to the DRX mode by the base station.", "The second time to trigger includes an initial starting time point at which the UE restarts the second time to trigger and the duration of the time to trigger; for example, the initial starting time point of the second time to trigger can be the timing at which the UE re-enters the DRX activated state or 2 ms after the UE re-enters the DRX activated state.", "The measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report; the measurement operation generates the measurement report when a certain condition is met.", "Step 302: judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that a measurement event is generated.", "In case of satisfying a certain condition, when it is determined that a measurement event is generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report, it is judged whether the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger (original time to trigger) configured to the measurement event by the network, and whether the time (i.e., the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX activated state again) from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, as shown in FIG.", "5; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be invalid, if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is greater than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be valid.", "When it is determined that there is a measurement event generated, the UE applies the first time to trigger; when the first time to trigger does not expire, the UE enters the sleep state of the DRX mode.", "Step 303: using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; enabling, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, the second time to trigger configured by the network at a timing when the first time to trigger configured by the network corresponding to the previous one measurement event has been expired and the UE entering the initial starting time point for starting the second time to trigger (new time to trigger) configured by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger is used to time the measurement event, i.e., after the measurement event is generated, the first time to trigger is started, and when the first time to trigger expires and if the measured cell signal strength and/or quality satisfies the measurement event condition all the time before the first time to trigger expires, the measurement event is reported to a network side.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, it indicates that the outdated measurement report will be used in the next activated state, thereby possibly leading to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, in order to avoid such situation, design is changed: the network pre-configures the second time to trigger.", "When the UE re-enters the activated state of the DRX mode and if the condition of step 302 is satisfied, the measurement event is generated again, the UE uses the second time to trigger, such that when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement so as to select whether to use the previous one measurement report.", "Step 304: when the UE is in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, re-performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to measurement parameters configured by a network, so as to obtain a measurement result.", "As stated above, various methods are adopted to let the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement at the time of entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, so as to judge whether the previous one measurement report is still valid.", "Step 305: judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result.", "For example, in the previous one activated state, the result of the previous one measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is better than that of the current serving cell.", "However, in the present activated state, the result of the measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is worse than that of the current serving cell, then the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated and is judged to be invalid.", "Step 306: reporting, when the previous one measurement event is still valid, to a network the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "As stated before, if the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated, it is judged to be invalid, and at this time, the measurement report of the previous one measurement event is not reported to the network or the measurement event is updated; certainly, if the judgment result is that the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is not outdated and is valid, the measurement report of the previous one measurement event is reported to the network.", "With reference to FIGS.", "5 and 6, a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the disclosure includes: Step 401: determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment UE in an activated state of DRX mode.", "The network configures the DRX mode and measurement parameters to the UE according to factors such as a traffic feature of the UE; wherein the measurement parameters include the first time to trigger and the second time to trigger pre-configured for the DRX mode by the base station.", "The second time to trigger only includes an initial starting time point at which the UE restarts the second time to trigger.", "The measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report; the measurement operation generates the measurement report when a certain condition is met.", "Step 402: when it is determined that there is a measurement event generated, judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid.", "In case of satisfying a certain condition, when it is determined that there is the measurement event generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report, it is judged whether the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state for the present time is less than the duration of the first time to trigger (original time to trigger) configured to the measurement event by the network, and whether the time (i.e., the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX activated state again) from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, as shown in FIG.", "5; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state for the present time is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be invalid; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state for the present time is greater than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be valid.", "When it is determined that there is the measurement event generated, the UE applies the first time to trigger; when the first time to trigger does not expire, the UE enters the sleep state of the DRX mode.", "Step 403: using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, the second time to trigger to time the measurement event by the UE, thereby making the UE before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger is used to time the measurement event, i.e., after the measurement event is generated, the first time to trigger is started, and if the measured cell signal strength and/or quality satisfies the measurement event condition all the time before the first time to trigger expires, then the measurement event is reported to a network side at the expiring moment of the first time to trigger.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, it indicates that the outdated measurement report will be used in the next activated state, thereby possibly leading to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, in order to avoid such situation, design is changed: the network pre-configures the second time to trigger.", "The UE uses the second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement so as to select whether to use the previous one measurement report.", "Step 404: when the UE is in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, re-performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to measurement parameters configured by a network, so as to obtain the measurement result.", "As stated above, various methods are adopted to let the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, so as to judge whether the previous one measurement report is still valid.", "Step 405: judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result.", "For example, in the previous one activated state, the result of the previous one measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is better than that of the current serving cell.", "However, in this activated state, the result of the measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is worse than that of the current serving cell, and the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated and is judged to be invalid.", "Step 406: reporting, when the previous one measurement event is still valid, to a network the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "With reference to FIGS.", "5 and 7, a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the disclosure includes: Step 501: determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment UE in activated state of a DRX mode.", "The network configures the DRX mode for the UE according to factors such as a traffic feature of the UE, and configures the measurement parameters for the UE; wherein the measurement parameters include the first time to trigger, and include the second time to trigger pre-configured for the DRX mode by the base station.", "The second time to trigger includes the duration of the second time to trigger.", "The measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report; the measurement operation generates the measurement report when a certain condition is met.", "Step 502: judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that there is a measurement event generated.", "In case of satisfying a certain condition, when it is determined that the measurement event is generated and it is necessary to report the measurement report, it is judged whether the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger (original time to trigger) configured to the measurement event by the network, and whether the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, as shown in FIG.", "5; if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is less than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is larger than the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be invalid, if the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE enters the DRX sleep state is greater than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, and the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the first time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, the first time to trigger is judged to be valid.", "When it is determined that the measurement event is generated, the UE applies the first time to trigger; when the first time to trigger has not expired, the UE enters the sleep state of the DRX mode.", "Step 503: using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, and if the first time to trigger(corresponding to the measurement event of the last time and being configured by the network) has expired and at a timing of the UE entering next one or the next several activated states of DRX mode, enabling the second time to trigger (new time to trigger) configured by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, be in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger is used to time the measurement event, i.e., after the measurement event is generated, the first time to trigger is started, and when the first time to trigger expires and the measured cell signal strength/quality satisfies the measurement event condition all the time before the first time to trigger expires, the measurement event is reported to a network side.", "When it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, it indicates that the outdated measurement report will be used in the next activated state, thereby possibly leading to handover failure or wireless link failure.", "Therefore, in order to avoid such situation, design is changed: the network pre-configures the second time to trigger.", "When the UE re-enters the activated state of the DRX mode, UE starts the second time to trigger, such that when entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement so as to select whether to use the previous one measurement report.", "Step 504: when the UE is in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, re-performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the measurement parameters configured by a network, so as to obtain measurement result.", "As stated above, various methods are adopted to let the UE has an opportunity to perform measurement at the timing of entering the activated state of the DRX mode again, so as to judge whether the previous one measurement report is still valid.", "Step 505: judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid according to the measurement result.", "For example, in the previous one activated state, the result of the previous one measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is better than that of the current serving cell.", "However, in this activated state, the result of the measurement operation is that the signal of the neighboring cell is worse than that of the current serving cell, then the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event in the activated state is outdated and is judged to be invalid.", "Step 506: when the previous one measurement event is still valid, reporting the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event to the network; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "In the present example, the duration of the time to trigger is controlled by the network.", "In the next example, the duration of the time to trigger is still controlled by the network.", "With reference to FIGS.", "8 and 9, a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the disclosure includes: Step 601: determining that a measurement event is generated in a user equipment UE in activated state of a discontinuous reception DRX mode.", "The network configures the DRX mode for the UE according to factors such as a traffic feature of the UE, and configures measurement parameters for the UE; wherein the measurement parameters include a trigger type of measurement and the first time to trigger.", "The measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report; the measurement operation generates the measurement report when a certain condition is met.", "If the trigger type of the measurement is periodic, the UE reports the measurement result according to the existing technology.", "Step 602: the UE applying, when it is determined that there is the measurement event generated, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event.", "When the first time to trigger has not expired, the UE enters the DRX sleep state.", "Step 603: if the network configures the trigger type of the measurement event to be an event trigger type during the course of the configuration of the measurement parameters for the UE, when the first time to trigger expires, the measurement report is reported immediately.", "In the present example, the duration of the time to trigger is controlled by the network.", "In the next example, the duration of the time to trigger is still controlled by the network.", "With reference to FIGS.", "9 and 10, a further example of the method for reporting a measurement report of a measurement event of the disclosure includes: Step 701: determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment UE in activated state of a discontinuous reception DRX mode.", "The network configures the DRX mode for the UE according to factors such as a traffic feature of the UE, and configures measurement parameters for the UE; wherein the measurement parameters include a trigger type of measurement, the first time to trigger and an indication of reporting the measurement report which is related with corresponding measurement event and set in a measurement report configuration file.", "The measurement event is generated by performing a measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and reporting the measurement report; the measurement operation generates the measurement report when a certain condition is met.", "If the trigger type of measurement is periodic, the UE reports the measurement result according to the existing technology.", "Step 702: when it is determined that the measurement event is generated, the UE applies the first time to trigger to time the measurement event.", "When the first time to trigger has not expired, the UE enters the DRX sleep state.", "Step 703: during the course of the configuring measurement parameters for the UE, the network sets an indication of reporting the measurement report in a measurement report configuration file corresponding to the measurement event; after the indication of reporting the measurement report is triggered, once the first time to trigger expires, the measurement report will be reported immediately.", "After the corresponding measurement event is generated, once the time specified by the first time to trigger arrives, and the indication of reporting the measurement report is triggered, the UE reports the measurement report immediately, regardless of the UE being in the DRX activated state or the sleep state.", "In this case, UE still performs the measurement operation in the DRX sleep state.", "During the course of the configuring measurement parameters for the UE, the network sets the indication of reporting the measurement report in the measurement report configuration file corresponding to the measurement event, wherein, when the indication of reporting the measurement report is not triggered or the indication does not appear, the UE does not report the measurement result until re-entering the next activated state.", "In another example, the step of making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, to be in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event further may also be: configuring at least two second times to trigger for the measurement event, the at least two times to trigger respectively corresponding to the neighboring cells with different sizes of coverage, so that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger of the corresponding neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, to be in next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "Further, the example of the present disclosure can further provide other ideas.", "For example: Step 1: configuring, by the network, measurement parameters for the UE, which include the trigger type and the time to trigger of measurement.", "The measurement parameters include the first time to trigger, the second time to trigger and the third time to trigger, .", ".", ".", ", pre-configured for the UE by the base station, these times to trigger respectively corresponding to different type of cells with different sizes of coverage.", "Step 2: measuring, by the UE, the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network.", "The UE judges that one measurement event is generated according to the measurement result.", "Step 3: the UE needs to deduce a level of the coverage area provided to the corresponding neighboring cell with the transmission power capacity contained in a system message broadcasted in the neighboring cell; or to deduce a level of the coverage area provided to the corresponding neighboring cell, according to information of different PCI (Physics Community ID) groups division corresponding to known cells with different levels of the coverage area as well as the PCI of the neighboring cell.", "Step 4: applying, by the UE, corresponding TTT (time to trigger) according to the acknowledged level of the coverage area of the detected neighboring cell; Step 5: reporting, when the duration specified by the effective time to trigger arrives and the condition of the measurement event is still satisfied, then the measurement report of the previous one activated state is reported.", "Or, Step 1: configuring, by the network, measurement parameters for the UE; including the trigger type and the time to trigger of measurement.", "The measurement parameters include the first time to trigger, and a first scaling factor coefficient, a second scaling factor coefficient, .", ".", ".", ", pre-configured to the UE by the base station, these scaling factor coefficients respectively corresponding to the cell types(optional) with different coverage areas; Step 2: measuring, by the UE, the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network.", "The UE judges that one measurement event is generated according to the measurement result.", "Step 3: the UE needs to deduce the level of the coverage area of the corresponding neighboring cell with the transmission power capacity contained in a system message broadcasted in the neighboring cell; or to deduce the level of the coverage area provided to the corresponding neighboring cell, according to information of different PCI (Physics Community ID) groups division corresponding to known cells with different levels of the coverage area as well as the PCI of the neighboring cell.", "Step 4: the UE multiplying the corresponding scaling factor coefficient with the time to trigger so as to generate the effective time to trigger, according to the acknowledged level of the coverage area of the detected neighboring cell.", "The scaling factor coefficient can be configured by the base station during the measurement configuration, or can be a value saved by the UE itself.", "Step 5: when the duration specified by the effective time to trigger arrives and the condition of the measurement event is still satisfied, the measurement report is then reported.", "With reference to FIG.", "11, the present disclosure further provides an example of the method for configuring measurement parameters for UE, the method including: Step 801: issuing to the UE measurement parameters including a duration of the first time to trigger, the measurement parameters being provided to the user equipment UE in activated state of a discontinuous reception DRX mode, so that the UE performs the measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network.", "In connection with the former description, there are at least the following ways of issuing the measurement parameters to the UE: 1) issuing the measurement parameters including the duration of the first time to trigger and the duration of the second time to trigger, the second time to trigger applied to the measurement event after the UE exits the DRX sleep state.", "2) issuing to the UE the duration of at least two second times to trigger, the at least two second times to trigger respectively corresponding to the neighboring cells with different coverage areas, so that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger corresponding to the neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "Step 802: receiving a measurement report obtained by the UE using the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring an appropriate second time to trigger for the measurement event or an reporting manner of the measurement report, such that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, be in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "In the present example, the process of controlling the UE is performed at the network side, so that to make the UE, before the time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the time to trigger, be is in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "With reference to FIG.", "12, the present disclosure further provides an example of the user equipment, the user equipment including: a determining unit, for determining that a measurement event is generated in a user equipment UE in activated state of a discontinuous reception DRX mode; a first judging unit, for judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when the determining unit determines that a measurement event is generated; a configuring unit for using, when it is judged by the first judging unit that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event, and when it is judged by the first judging unit that the first time to trigger is invalid, using a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE is in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; a measurement unit, for re-performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to measurement parameters configured by a network, so as to obtain a measurement result, when the configuring unit uses the second time to trigger to time the measurement event; a second judging unit for judging whether a previous one measurement event corresponding to the first time to trigger is still valid, according to the measurement result obtained by the measuring unit; a reporting processing unit for reporting, when the second judging unit judges that the previous one measurement event is still valid, to the network the measurement report of the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event; the measurement event being generated by performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network and by reporting the measurement report, the measurement operation generating the measurement report when the conditions are met.", "The configuring unit is specifically used to: 1) make the UE initiatively change the duration of the first time to trigger so as to obtain the second time to trigger, such that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in an activated state of the DRX mode again; or 2) enable the second time to trigger configured by the network at a timing, when the first time to trigger configured by the network corresponding to the previous one measurement event expires and at the timing of the UE exiting the DRX sleep state, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; or 3) when the first time to trigger expires, report the measurement report immediately according to the event trigger type configured by the network for the measurement event.", "Wherein, the trigger type of the measurement event is configured as the event trigger type, and the indication of reporting the measurement report is set in the measurement report configuration files corresponding to the measurement event.", "Or, 4) configure the duration of the at least two second times to trigger for the measurement event, the at least two times to trigger corresponding to the neighboring cells with different coverage areas, so that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the second time to trigger of corresponding neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "With reference to FIG.", "13, the present disclosure further provides an example of a network equipment, the network equipment including: an issuing unit, for issuing measurement parameters to the UE, the measurement parameters being provided to the user equipment UE in activated state of a discontinuous reception DRX mode, so that the UE performs the measurement operation to the serving cell and at least one neighboring cell according to the measurement parameters configured by the network; a receiving unit, for receiving a measurement report obtained by the UE with the measurement parameters, the measurement parameters configuring an appropriate time to trigger for the measurement event or a reporting manner of the measurement report, such that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the time to trigger configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the second time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in next one or next several activated states of DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "Wherein, the issuing unit is specifically used to: 1) issue the measurement parameters including the duration of the first time to trigger and the duration of the second time to trigger, the first time to trigger is applied to the corresponding previous one measurement event, the second time to trigger is applied to the measurement event after the UE exits the DRX sleep state, or 2) issue to the UE the measurement parameters for configuring the trigger type of the measurement event to be event trigger, so that the measurement report is immediately reported at the expiring moment of the time to trigger; or 3) issue the duration of the at least two times to trigger to the UE, the at least two times to trigger respectively corresponding to the neighboring cells with different coverage areas, so that the time from a time point at which the measurement event is generated to the time point at which the UE exits the DRX sleep state for the last time is less than or equal to the duration of the time to trigger corresponding to the neighboring cell configured to the measurement event by the network, thereby making the UE, before the time to trigger expires or at the expiring moment of the second time to trigger, in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event.", "It can be understood that based on the spirit of the present disclosure, there may have more examples; each of the examples, each of the steps and units in the above can also be reasonably combined to obtain new examples; each of the units in the above can be arbitrarily merged, changed in sub-ordination relation, split and combined under the precondition of realizing the same purpose, and the example of the present disclosure is not limited.", "Persons skilled in the art can further understand that all or part of the steps in the above method examples can be realized by programs to instruct the related hardware.", "The program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and includes, when executed, the steps of any of the above method examples, for example, including the following steps of: determining that there is a measurement event generated in a user equipment UE in a discontinuous reception DRX mode activated state; judging whether a first time to trigger corresponding to the measurement event is valid when it is determined that there is a measurement event generated; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is valid, the first time to trigger to time the measurement event; using, when it is judged that the first time to trigger is invalid, a second time to trigger to time the measurement event, such that the UE is in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event; re-performing a measurement operation to a serving cell and at least one neighboring cell of the serving cell according to a measurement parameter configured by a network when the UE is in the next one or next several activated states of the DRX mode after the generation of the measurement event, so as to obtain the measurement result; judging whether a previous one measurement event is still valid according to the measurement result; reporting, when the previous one measurement event is still valid, to a network the measurement report corresponding to the previous one measurement event; otherwise, not reporting the measurement report of the previous one measurement event to the network or updating the measurement event.", "The storage medium can be: ROM/RAM, disk, solid state disk, memory card, USB flash disk or optical disk, etc.", "The aforementioned description is just an embodiment of the present disclosure, instead of limiting the patent scope of the present disclosure.", "Any equivalent structure or equivalent flow transformation made by using the specification and drawings of the present disclosure is directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, and similarly fall within the patent protection scope of the present disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15875123
[ [ "NOISE ESTIMATION FOR DYNAMIC SOUND ADJUSTMENT", "A system that performs noise estimation for an audio adjustment application comprises a coherence calculator that determines at least one coherence value between microphone signals generated by at least two microphones that each independently senses acoustic energy in a listening space.", "A first microphone of the at least two microphones generates a first microphone signal from the acoustic energy and a second microphone of the at least two microphones generates a second microphone signal from the acoustic energy.", "The acoustic energy comprises a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and environmental noise of the acoustic energy that is local to the listening space.", "A noise estimate computation processor determines an estimate of a level of the environmental noise based on the at least one coherence value." ], [ "1.A sound adjustment system for a vehicle cabin, comprising: an audio speaker that transduces an audio signal; a first microphone that senses a source of acoustic energy in the vehicle cabin and generates a first microphone signal from the acoustic energy, wherein the acoustic energy comprises a combination of the audio signal transduced by the speaker and environmental noise of the acoustic energy that is local to the vehicle cabin; a second microphone that senses the source of acoustic energy in the vehicle cabin and generates a second microphone signal from the acoustic energy; a noise compensation system that determines a plurality of coherence values from a comparison of frequency bands of the first and second microphone signals, determines an estimate of a level of the environmental noise in the acoustic energy from the coherence values, and generates an adjustment value from the estimate that adjusts the audio signal.", "2.The sound adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the estimate is determined in a high frequency band that is greater than 4 kHz.", "3.The sound adjustment system of claim 2, wherein the high frequency band is between 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "4.The sound adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the noise compensation system comprises a coherence calculator that receives the first microphone signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the first microphone at a first location in the vehicle cabin, and receives the second microphone signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the second microphone at a second location in the vehicle cabin.", "5.The sound adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the sound adjustment system determines an amount of energy in the first and second microphone signals that is attributable to the environmental noise, and wherein a coherence corresponding to the at least one coherence value is related to an energy level of the first and second microphone signals.", "6.The sound adjustment system of claim 1, wherein the noise compensation system further comprises a noise estimate computation processor that includes a high frequency noise estimator that derives the estimate based on an approximation according to the coherence values to generate the adjustment value for adjusting the audio signal to compensate for effects from the noise.", "7.The sound adjustment system of claim 6, wherein the noise estimator includes at least one noise estimation scheme to derive the estimate.", "8.The sound adjustment system of claim 7, wherein the noise estimation scheme includes an adaptive filter and a noise level derivation system.", "9.A system for coherence processing, comprising: a plurality of coherence calculators that each generates a coherence value from a frequency band of an audio signal detected by first and second microphones; and a noise estimate computation processor that determines an estimate of a level of the noise in the acoustic energy based on an approximation according to the coherence values and generates an adjustment value from the estimate that adjusts the audio signal.", "10.The system of claim 9, wherein the frequency bands received by the coherence calculators are each centered at a frequency greater than 4 kHz.", "11.The system of claim 10, wherein the frequency bands include frequencies ranging from 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "12.The system of claim 9, wherein each of the coherence calculators receives a first signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the first microphone at a first location in a vehicle cabin, and receives a second signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the second microphone at a second location in the vehicle cabin.", "13.A dynamic audio adjustment system, comprising: a first filter that processes a first microphone signal input and outputs a predetermined range of frequencies of the first microphone signal input; a second filter that processes a second microphone signal input and outputs a predetermined range of frequencies of the second microphone signal input, the first and second microphone signal inputs representing acoustic energy in a listening space that is sensed by a first microphone and a second microphone, respectively, the acoustic energy comprising a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and noise within the listening space; a first frequency analyzer that divides the predetermined range of frequencies of the first microphone signal input into a plurality of separate frequency bands, and outputs a frequency band value for each frequency band; a second frequency analyzer that divides the predetermined range of frequencies of the second microphone signal input into a plurality of separate frequency bands, and outputs a frequency band value for each frequency band; a coherence calculator for each frequency band, each coherence calculator determining a coherence value between frequency band values output from each of the first and second frequency analyzers; and a noise estimate computation processor that derives an estimate of a level of noise in the listening space based on an approximation according to the coherence values and generates an adjustment value from the estimate that adjusts the audio signal.", "14.The dynamic audio adjustment system of claim 13, wherein the estimate of the noise level is determined in a high frequency band that is greater than 4 kHz.", "15.The dynamic audio adjustment system of claim 13, wherein the high frequency band is between 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "16.The dynamic audio adjustment system of claim 13, wherein the noise estimate computation processor determines from the coherence values a coherence level relative to the microphone signals to derive the estimate of the level of noise.", "17.The dynamic audio adjustment system of claim 13, wherein the first microphone is positioned at a first location in the listening space and the second microphone is positioned at a second location in the listening space for sensing the acoustic energy.", "18.The dynamic audio adjustment system of claim 13, wherein the adjustment value is output for adjusting different electrical audio signals input to multiple speakers.", "19.The dynamic audio adjustment system of claim 18, wherein the multiple speakers include a first speaker receiving left channel audio content and a second speaker receiving right channel audio content.", "20.A method for sound adjustment/noise compensation comprising: processing, by a special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer, a first microphone signal from a first microphone; processing, by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer, a second microphone signal from a second microphone, the first and second microphone signals representing acoustic energy in a listening space that is sensed by the first microphone and the second microphone, respectively, the acoustic energy comprising a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and noise within the listening space; performing by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer an approximation based on a coherence level between the first and second microphone signals; determining by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer an estimate of a level of the noise in the listening space based on the approximation according to coherence values corresponding to the coherence levels; generating an adjustment value from the estimate; and adjusting the audio signal with the adjustment value." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>This description relates generally to dynamic sound adjustment, and more specifically, to noise estimation for dynamic sound adjustment, e.g., where sound is reproduced in a vehicle having an acoustic system." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF SUMMARY <EOH>In accordance with one aspect, a system that performs noise estimation for an audio adjustment application comprises a coherence calculator that determines at least one coherence value between microphone signals generated by at least two microphones that each independently senses acoustic energy in a listening space.", "A first microphone of the at least two microphones generates a first microphone signal from the acoustic energy and a second microphone of the at least two microphones generates a second microphone signal from the acoustic energy.", "The acoustic energy comprises a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and environmental noise of the acoustic energy that is local to the listening space.", "A noise estimate computation processor determines an estimate of a level of the environmental noise based on the at least one coherence value.", "Aspects may include one or more of the following features: The estimate of the noise level may be determined in a high frequency band that is greater than 4 kHz.", "The high frequency band may be between 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "The listening space may comprise a vehicle cabin.", "The coherence calculator may receive the first microphone signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the first microphone at a first location in the vehicle cabin, and may receive the second microphone signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the second microphone at a second location in the vehicle cabin.", "The system may determine an amount of energy in the first and second microphone signals that is attributable to the noise.", "A coherence measurement corresponding to the at least one coherence value may be related to an energy level of the first and second microphone signals.", "The system may further comprise a high frequency noise estimator that processes an output of the noise estimate computation processor to generate an adjustment value for adjusting the first and second audio signals to compensate for effects from the noise.", "In accordance with another aspect, a noise compensation system, comprises a first input for receiving a first microphone signal; and a second input for receiving a second microphone signal.", "The first and second microphone signals generated from acoustic energy are detected by the first and second microphones.", "The acoustic energy represents a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and environmental noise local to the first and second microphone signals.", "The system further comprises a first coherence calculator that determines a first coherence value from a comparison of a first frequency band of a plurality of frequencies of the first and second microphone signals; a second coherence calculator that determines a second coherence value from a comparison of a second frequency band of the plurality of frequencies of the first and second microphone signals; and a noise estimate computation processor that determines an estimate of a level of the noise in the acoustic energy in response to the first and second coherence values.", "Aspects may include one or more of the following features: The first and second frequency bands may be centered at a frequency greater than 4 kHz.", "The first and second frequency bands may be located between frequencies ranging from 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "The noise level of the first and second microphone signals may be derived from the environmental noise local to the first and second microphone signals, respectively.", "The noise estimate computation processor may include a noise estimator that implements and may execute one or more noise estimation schemes that are used in combination to derive an estimate of the noise based on an approximation according to the first and second coherence values.", "In another aspect, a dynamic audio adjustment system comprises a first filter that processes a first microphone signal input and outputs a predetermined range of frequencies of the first microphone signal input; and a second filter that processes a second microphone signal input and outputs a predetermined range of frequencies of the second microphone signal input.", "The first and second microphone signal inputs represent acoustic energy in a listening space that is sensed by a first microphone and a second microphone, respectively.", "The acoustic energy comprises a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and noise within the listening space.", "A first frequency analyzer divides the predetermined range of frequencies of the first microphone signal input into a plurality of separate frequency bands, and outputs a frequency band value for each frequency band.", "A second frequency analyzer divides the predetermined range of frequencies of the second microphone signal input into a plurality of separate frequency bands, and outputs a frequency band value for each frequency band.", "A coherence calculator is for each frequency band, each coherence calculator determining a coherence value between frequency band values output from each of the first and second frequency analyzers.", "A noise estimate computation processor derives an estimate of a level of noise in the listening space based on an approximation according to the coherence values and generates an adjustment value from the estimate that adjusts the audio signal.", "Aspects may include one or more of the following features: The first and second frequency bands may be centered at a frequency greater than 4 kHz.", "The first and second frequency bands may be located between frequencies ranging from 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "The noise estimate computation processor may determine from the coherence values a coherence level relative to the microphone signals to derive the estimate of the level of noise.", "The first microphone may be positioned at a first location in the listening space and the second microphone may be positioned at a second location in the listening space for sensing the acoustic energy.", "The adjustment value may be output for adjusting different electrical audio signals input to multiple speakers.", "The multiple speakers may include a first speaker receiving left channel audio content and a second speaker receiving right channel audio content.", "In another aspect, a method for sound adjustment/noise compensation comprises processing, by a special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer, a first microphone signal from a first microphone; processing, by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer, a second microphone signal from a second microphone, the first and second microphone signals representing acoustic energy in a listening space that is sensed by the first microphone and the second microphone, respectively, the acoustic energy comprising a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and noise within the listening space; performing by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer an approximation based on a coherence level between the first and second microphone signals; determining by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer an estimate of a level of the noise in the listening space based on the approximation; generating an adjustment value from the estimate; and adjusting the audio signal with the adjustment value.", "In another aspect, a sound system, comprises a speaker that transduces an audio signal; a first microphone and a second microphone that each senses acoustic energy comprising the transduced audio signal and environmental noise and generates a corresponding microphone signal; and a dynamic audio adjustment system that performs a coherence processing technique on the first and second microphone signals and adjusts the audio signal in response to the coherence processing.", "The dynamic audio adjustment system may include a noise estimator that implements and executes one or more noise estimation schemes that are used in combination to derive an estimate of a level of the environmental noise based on an approximation according to the coherence processing technique." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/282,652, filed Sep. 30, 2016, and entitled “Noise Estimation for Dynamic Sound Adjustment”, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.", "BACKGROUND This description relates generally to dynamic sound adjustment, and more specifically, to noise estimation for dynamic sound adjustment, e.g., where sound is reproduced in a vehicle having an acoustic system.", "BRIEF SUMMARY In accordance with one aspect, a system that performs noise estimation for an audio adjustment application comprises a coherence calculator that determines at least one coherence value between microphone signals generated by at least two microphones that each independently senses acoustic energy in a listening space.", "A first microphone of the at least two microphones generates a first microphone signal from the acoustic energy and a second microphone of the at least two microphones generates a second microphone signal from the acoustic energy.", "The acoustic energy comprises a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and environmental noise of the acoustic energy that is local to the listening space.", "A noise estimate computation processor determines an estimate of a level of the environmental noise based on the at least one coherence value.", "Aspects may include one or more of the following features: The estimate of the noise level may be determined in a high frequency band that is greater than 4 kHz.", "The high frequency band may be between 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "The listening space may comprise a vehicle cabin.", "The coherence calculator may receive the first microphone signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the first microphone at a first location in the vehicle cabin, and may receive the second microphone signal generated in response to the acoustic energy detected by the second microphone at a second location in the vehicle cabin.", "The system may determine an amount of energy in the first and second microphone signals that is attributable to the noise.", "A coherence measurement corresponding to the at least one coherence value may be related to an energy level of the first and second microphone signals.", "The system may further comprise a high frequency noise estimator that processes an output of the noise estimate computation processor to generate an adjustment value for adjusting the first and second audio signals to compensate for effects from the noise.", "In accordance with another aspect, a noise compensation system, comprises a first input for receiving a first microphone signal; and a second input for receiving a second microphone signal.", "The first and second microphone signals generated from acoustic energy are detected by the first and second microphones.", "The acoustic energy represents a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and environmental noise local to the first and second microphone signals.", "The system further comprises a first coherence calculator that determines a first coherence value from a comparison of a first frequency band of a plurality of frequencies of the first and second microphone signals; a second coherence calculator that determines a second coherence value from a comparison of a second frequency band of the plurality of frequencies of the first and second microphone signals; and a noise estimate computation processor that determines an estimate of a level of the noise in the acoustic energy in response to the first and second coherence values.", "Aspects may include one or more of the following features: The first and second frequency bands may be centered at a frequency greater than 4 kHz.", "The first and second frequency bands may be located between frequencies ranging from 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "The noise level of the first and second microphone signals may be derived from the environmental noise local to the first and second microphone signals, respectively.", "The noise estimate computation processor may include a noise estimator that implements and may execute one or more noise estimation schemes that are used in combination to derive an estimate of the noise based on an approximation according to the first and second coherence values.", "In another aspect, a dynamic audio adjustment system comprises a first filter that processes a first microphone signal input and outputs a predetermined range of frequencies of the first microphone signal input; and a second filter that processes a second microphone signal input and outputs a predetermined range of frequencies of the second microphone signal input.", "The first and second microphone signal inputs represent acoustic energy in a listening space that is sensed by a first microphone and a second microphone, respectively.", "The acoustic energy comprises a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and noise within the listening space.", "A first frequency analyzer divides the predetermined range of frequencies of the first microphone signal input into a plurality of separate frequency bands, and outputs a frequency band value for each frequency band.", "A second frequency analyzer divides the predetermined range of frequencies of the second microphone signal input into a plurality of separate frequency bands, and outputs a frequency band value for each frequency band.", "A coherence calculator is for each frequency band, each coherence calculator determining a coherence value between frequency band values output from each of the first and second frequency analyzers.", "A noise estimate computation processor derives an estimate of a level of noise in the listening space based on an approximation according to the coherence values and generates an adjustment value from the estimate that adjusts the audio signal.", "Aspects may include one or more of the following features: The first and second frequency bands may be centered at a frequency greater than 4 kHz.", "The first and second frequency bands may be located between frequencies ranging from 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz.", "The noise estimate computation processor may determine from the coherence values a coherence level relative to the microphone signals to derive the estimate of the level of noise.", "The first microphone may be positioned at a first location in the listening space and the second microphone may be positioned at a second location in the listening space for sensing the acoustic energy.", "The adjustment value may be output for adjusting different electrical audio signals input to multiple speakers.", "The multiple speakers may include a first speaker receiving left channel audio content and a second speaker receiving right channel audio content.", "In another aspect, a method for sound adjustment/noise compensation comprises processing, by a special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer, a first microphone signal from a first microphone; processing, by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer, a second microphone signal from a second microphone, the first and second microphone signals representing acoustic energy in a listening space that is sensed by the first microphone and the second microphone, respectively, the acoustic energy comprising a combination of an audio signal transduced by one or more speakers and noise within the listening space; performing by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer an approximation based on a coherence level between the first and second microphone signals; determining by the special-purpose dynamic audio adjustment computer an estimate of a level of the noise in the listening space based on the approximation; generating an adjustment value from the estimate; and adjusting the audio signal with the adjustment value.", "In another aspect, a sound system, comprises a speaker that transduces an audio signal; a first microphone and a second microphone that each senses acoustic energy comprising the transduced audio signal and environmental noise and generates a corresponding microphone signal; and a dynamic audio adjustment system that performs a coherence processing technique on the first and second microphone signals and adjusts the audio signal in response to the coherence processing.", "The dynamic audio adjustment system may include a noise estimator that implements and executes one or more noise estimation schemes that are used in combination to derive an estimate of a level of the environmental noise based on an approximation according to the coherence processing technique.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION The above and further advantages of examples of the present inventive concepts may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like structural elements and features in various figures.", "The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of features and implementations.", "FIG.", "1 is block diagram illustrating an environment in which examples of a dynamic audio adjustment system operate.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart of an example process performed by a dynamic audio adjustment system.", "FIG.", "3 is a block diagram of an example of a dynamic audio adjustment system.", "FIG.", "4 is a block diagram of an example of a noise compensation system of the dynamic audio adjustment system of FIG.", "3.FIG.", "5 is a graph illustrating a feature of an example of a dynamic sound adjustment system.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Modern audio reproduction systems installed in vehicles, which are capable of dynamic sound adjustment, may include noise detectors, such as a set of microphones positioned in the vehicle cabin that detects a combination of speaker output and surrounding noise (from a vehicle engine, wind, road noise, etc.", "), and may further include a processor that applies complex adaptive filtering to separate the noise from the current audio output from the speaker.", "A limitation with this approach relates to the cost and feasibility of an acoustic system that is associated with how many audio channels its audio source includes, for example, mono, stereo, two channel, left/center/right (LCR), surround sound, and so on.", "For example, if the source provides a mono signal, then only one reference signal is present.", "This requires at least a single adaptive filter providing at least one transfer function logic for the single audio channel.", "However, if the source is stereo audio, then at least two adaptive filters are necessary for modeling at least two different transfer functions, because the left channel and the right channel take different paths to the microphone.", "Similarly, a 5.1 surround format requires six different channels, and therefore, at least six different adaptive filters, to separate the noise from the output audio at the microphones.", "In cases where an up-mixer is applied to the stereo input, the channel count can increase to a high number such as 32.Such an acoustic system may become more expensive due to the added complexity of multiple adaptive filters.", "Another limitation pertains to multichannel adaptive filtering, where if the left channel and the right channel are highly correlated, then it is difficult for the left channel adaptive filter and the right channel adaptive filter to converge to the true transfer functions.", "For example, the similarity in the left and right channel reference signals may cause the adaptive filters to model similar transfer functions, even though the left and right channel transmission paths are clearly distinct from each other.", "The addition of more channels will only magnify this problem, possibly to the point that the adaptive filters will never converge to the correct transfer functions.", "Another limitation pertains to acoustic systems that perform non-linear processing.", "Examples of non-linear processing include limiters, soft clippers, and the aforementioned up-mixers, which may include features such as compressed audio enhancement (CAE).", "Non-linear processing is not amenable to modeling by adaptive filters.", "Therefore, the presence of non-linear processing in the acoustic system renders the use of adaptive filtering in noise estimation difficult and expensive to perform.", "In brief overview, examples of the present inventive concepts include the determining and processing of coherence between two microphones for high-frequency noise estimation, thereby reducing cost and complexity associated with the use of adaptive filtering in noise estimation.", "A system in these examples can process additional varieties of input sources such as 5.1-channel surround sound, since the abovementioned coherence processing is performed on the microphone signals who are sensing the output of the system.", "Accordingly, there is no need for scaling to accommodate the number of channels in the input source.", "Also, the system will not fail in the presence of non-linear signals in the audio system.", "FIG.", "1 shows a block diagram of an example dynamic audio adjustment system 10 installed in a vehicle (only a vehicle cabin is shown).", "Although an application of the system 10 in a vehicle is described, in other examples, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 may be applied in any environment where the presence of noise may degrade the quality of sound reproduced by an audio system.", "The dynamic audio adjustment system 10 is configured to compensate for effects of variable noise on a vehicle occupant's listening experience by automatically and dynamically adjusting the music, speech, or other sounds generated by an audio source 11 of an audio system as electrical audio signals, which are presented as sound by a speaker 20 so that users within earshot of the speaker 20, for example, occupants of a vehicle, can hear the sound produced by the speaker 20 in response to the received electrical audio signals.", "Although a single speaker 20 is shown and described in FIG.", "1, some examples may include a plurality of speakers, each of which may present different audio signals.", "For example, one speaker may receive left channel audio data content and another may receive right channel audio data content.", "The dynamic audio adjustment system 10 may be part of an audio control system.", "Other elements of the audio control system may include an audio source 11, for example, an acoustic system that plays music, speech, or other sound signals, one or more speakers 20, and one or more noise detectors, such as microphones 12A and 12B.", "The audio control system may be configured for mono, stereo, two channel, left/center/right (LCR), N:1 surround sound (where N is an integer greater than 1), or other multi-channel configuration.", "The microphones 12 may be placed at a location near a listener's ears, e.g., along a headliner of the vehicle cabin.", "For example, the first microphone 12A may be at a first location in a vehicle cabin, for example, near a right ear of a driver or passenger, and the second microphone 12B may be at a second location in the vehicle cabin, for example, near a left ear of the driver or passenger.", "Each of the first microphone 12A and the second microphone 12B generates a microphone signal input in response to a detected audio signal.", "A detected audio signal received by the first microphone 12A may represent a combination of a common source of audio from the speaker (which is also detected by the second microphone 12B) and a source of noise from an environment (also referred to as environmental noise) within a range of detection of the first microphone 12A.", "For example, random sources outside or inside the vehicle cabin may contribute to the noise that is picked up by the first microphone 12A in addition to the audio output from the speaker 20.Similarly, a detected audio signal received by the second microphone 12B may represent a combination of the source of audio from the speaker (which is also detected by the first microphone 12A) and a source of noise from an environment within a range of detection of the second microphone 12B.", "In brief overview, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 separates the undesirable noise from the entertainment audio provided by the audio source 11.To do so, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 performs a coherence processing technique on the first and second microphone signals, and processes the results to derive a noise estimate, which is then used to adjust an electrical audio signal input to the speaker 20.It is well-known that coherence is related to energy.", "Therefore, the system 10 can determine how much of the energy in a microphone signal is attributable to noise, since coherence is related to the energy level of the signal or the noise at the microphone.", "The two microphones 12A, 12B, when listening to the same audio output from a speaker 20, are expected to receive highly correlated audio signals.", "However, noise from random sources such as wind or rain on the vehicle's windows, squealing brakes, or other high frequency sound sources, and/or from inside the vehicle may generate uncorrelated audio signals at the microphones 12A, 12B.", "By determining the coherence between the microphones 12A, 12B, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 may derive an estimate of the noise level, which is then used to adjust the sound output from the vehicle's audio speakers.", "FIG.", "2 is a flowchart of an example process 200 performed by a dynamic audio adjustment system.", "For example, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 of FIG.", "1 can apply the example process 200 to electrical audio signals input to a speaker 20 in real time in response to noise changes detected in a vehicle cabin.", "According to process 200, two or more detectors, for example, microphones 12A and 12B, may detect a combination of acoustic energy output from the speaker 20 and environmental noise, for example, engine noise, wind, rain, or other high frequency noise sources, collectively referred to as an acoustic signal.", "The acoustic signal is detected by the microphones 12A and 12B, which each transfers the received combined acoustic signal to the adjustment system as an electronic microphone signal.", "At block 202, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 receives a first microphone signal from the first microphone 12A and a second microphone signal from the second microphone 12B.", "At block 204, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 performs coherence processing on the first and second microphone signals received from the first microphone 12A and second microphone 12B, respectively.", "In particular, the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 performs an approximation based on a coherence level between the first and second microphone signals.", "In theory, the first and second microphone signals are correlated in the absence of high frequency noise, since the microphones 12A, 12B detect a common source of audio, i.e., entertainment audio output from the speaker 20.However, when the vehicle's windows are rolled down, wind, rain, and related noise may result in a drop in coherence between the first and second microphone signals, as the microphone signals may become more uncorrelated.", "In particular, a lack of correlation between the signals is indicative of the level of noise in the listening space.", "Coherence values, also referred to as coherence processing results, ranging from 0 to 1, may be derived using coherence processing.", "A coherence value, or the coherence between microphones 12A and 12B, of “0” may refer to an approximation that everything detected by the microphones 12A and 12B is noise-related.", "A coherence value of “1” may refer to an approximation that there is no noise present at microphones 12A and 12B.", "The coherence values of 0 and 1 can serve as the two boundaries, or points.", "Any point on the curve between the two points of 0 and 1 can be used to calculate a noise estimate (step 206).", "For example, a determined coherence value of 0.3 can be used to determine a noise estimate, for example, according to the following equation: Noise level=microphone energy*y0, where y0 is a multiplicative factor that may be derived using a pre-determined function of the coherence value FIG.", "5 illustrates coherence values related to various detected microphone signals.", "At step 208, an adjustment value is generated by the dynamic audio adjustment system.", "The adjustment value is partially derived from the noise estimate calculated at step 206.Examples of other factors on which the adjustment value may be based include information from other noise detectors, and the energy level of the audio signal output.", "The adjustment value may be input to an audio processor 22 which combines the adjustment value with the electrical audio signal output from the audio source 11 to the speaker 20.The adjustment value adjusts the electrical audio signal input to the speaker 20 as a result of the coherence processing performed at step 204.As shown in FIG.", "3, an example of a dynamic audio adjustment system 10 comprises a plurality of filters 14A, 14B (generally, 14), a plurality of frequency analyzers 16A, 16B (generally, 16), and a noise compensation system 50.In some examples, the microphones 12 and speaker 20 are part of the system 10.In other examples, the microphones 12 and speaker 20 exchange electronic signals with the dynamic audio adjustment system 10 via inputs and outputs of the dynamic audio adjustment system 10.First filter 14A processes a microphone signal received from a first microphone 12A.", "Second filter 14B likewise processes a microphone signal received from a second microphone 12B.", "In some examples, more than two microphones 12 may be deployed in a vehicle cabin.", "Each microphone 12A and 12B (generally, 12) independently listens to a common source of audio, and generates a microphone signal in response to a received audio signal that represents combination of a common source of audio from the speaker 20 and environmental noise local to the respective microphone 12.One filter 14 is provided for each microphone 12.Microphone signals output to filters 14A and 14B, respectively, may be different due to differences in noise detected at each microphone 12A, 12B.", "Each filter 14 serves to isolate from the input audio signals of the microphone signal from each microphone 12 in a predetermined and specific frequency band, for example a band that is located between frequencies ranging from 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz, but not limited thereto.", "Each filter 14 therefore outputs a predetermined range of frequencies of the corresponding received microphone signal input.", "A first frequency analyzer 16A divides the range of frequencies, e.g., a frequency band between 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz, of the microphone signal output from the first filter 14A into a plurality of frequency bands.", "Similarly, a second frequency analyzer 16B divides the range of frequencies, e.g., a frequency band between 4.5 kHz and 6 kHz, of the microphone signal output from the second filter 14B into a plurality of frequency bands.", "The frequency analyzers 16 are therefore configured to isolate components at the same frequency from each microphone signal for comparison using coherence processing.", "The noise compensation system 50 computes a separate coherence value between the microphone signals 12A and 12B for each corresponding frequency band.", "These values are then aggregated and used to determine an approximation factor.", "The relationship between the aggregate coherence value and the factor can be established by a predefined curve or a lookup table.", "This factor is then multiplied to the total energy of the signals output from filter 14A and 14B directly to the noise compensation system 50 to derive the noise level.", "Based on the results of that processing, the established noise level estimates may be used to generate the adjustment values, which may be output to an audio processor 22 which combines the adjustment values with electrical audio signals output from the audio source 11 to the speaker 20.In some examples, also referring to FIG.", "4, the noise compensation system 50 may comprise a plurality of coherence calculators 102-1 through 102-N, wherein N is an integer greater than 0, and a noise estimate computation processor 104.Each coherence calculator 102-1 to 102-N (generally, 102) includes two inputs, each communicating with a frequency analyzer 16A and 16B, and each receiving a frequency band ((1−x), where x=N or another integer greater than 0).", "Thus, each coherence calculator 102 receives an output from each frequency analyzer 16A and 16B.", "For example, coherence calculator 102-1 may receive a first frequency band (freq.", "band 1), e.g.", "4.0-4.1 kHz, from first frequency analyzer 16A that includes a microphone signal from the first microphone 12A, and also receive the first frequency band (freq.", "band 1), e.g.", "4.0-4.1 kHz, from second frequency analyzer 16B that includes a microphone signal from the first microphone 12B.", "Also in this example, coherence calculator 102-2 may receive a second frequency band (freq.", "band 2), e.g.", "4.1-4.2 kHz, from first frequency analyzer 16A that includes a microphone signal from the first microphone, and also receive the second frequency band (freq.", "band 2), e.g.", "4.0-4.1 kHz, from second frequency analyzer 16B that includes a microphone signal from the first microphone 12B.", "Each coherence calculator 102-1 to 102-N (generally, 102) generates a coherence value in response to a comparison of a frequency band of the microphone signals output from the first and second frequency analyzers 16A and 16B, respectively.", "As described above, the microphone signals are generated in response to a received audio signal that represents a combination of a common source of audio from the speaker 20 and environmental noise local to the respective microphone 12A, 12B.", "Thus, the computed coherence results apply to a particular frequency range of the entire audio that may be heard by a listener, including noise and desirable audio.", "Also, the coherence at different frequency bands may vary, for example, higher coherence, or more correlation, between microphone signals at the various frequency bands for entertainment audio, lower coherence, or less correlation, between microphone signals at the various frequency bands for wind or road noise.", "The noise estimate computation processor 104 may include a noise estimator that implements and executes one or more noise estimation schemes that are used in combination to derive an estimate of the noise based on an approximation according to the coherence values generated by the coherence calculators 102.Examples of such noise estimation schemes include the aforementioned noise estimation using adaptive filtering, as well as noise level derivation based on vehicle speed.", "An approximation value based on the noise level estimate is generated, and output to the audio processor 22 for adjusting an audio input to the speaker 20 to compensate for the noise detected by the microphones 12.A number of implementations have been described.", "Nevertheless, it will be understood that the foregoing description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the inventive concepts which are defined by the scope of the claims.", "Other examples are within the scope of the following claims." ] ]
Patent_15875126
[ [ "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PREVENTING, DIAGNOSING, AND/OR TREATING ONE OR MORE MEDICAL CONDITIONS VIA NEUROMODULATION", "Described are systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "The medical conditions can be ocular and/or neurological diseases, disorders, and/or conditions.", "The systems and methods can employ a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can be capacitively linked to an external electronic device to provide neuromodulation to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site." ], [ "1.A system comprising: an external electronic device; and a microstimulator configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject comprising: a body; and an electrically conductive insert, arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device, wherein the electrically conductive insert receives a power signal from the external electronic device and converts the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "2.The system of claim 1, wherein the external electronic device is configured to deliver the power signal through a patient's skin as a dielectric medium.", "3.The system of claim 1, wherein the external electronic device comprises circuitry to control the microstimulator and at least a portion of the external electronic device is located within a pair of glasses, a sleep mask, a nose clip, a flexible bandage, or a key fob.", "4.The system of claim 1, wherein the external electronic device comprises: a power source to deliver the power signal to the microstimulator; and a controller to control delivery of the power signal to the microstimulator, wherein the power source and the controller are enclosed in a casing, wherein at least a portion of the casing that contacts a patient's skin comprises an electrically conductive material.", "5.The system of claim 1, wherein the external electronic device further comprises a wireless transceiver to exchange data with a wireless transceiver of the microstimulator or a device corresponding to a medical professional.", "6.The system of claim 5, wherein the data comprises control data and the system is a closed-loop control system, wherein the external device is a master and the microstimulator is a slave.", "7.The system of claim 1, wherein the body comprises a horizontal portion, a vertical portion, and a curved portion extending between and connecting the horizontal portion and the vertical portion, wherein the horizontal portion and the vertical portion are arranged at an angle relative to one another.", "8.The system of claim 7, wherein the angle is from 70 degrees to 120 degrees.", "9.The system of claim 8, wherein the vertical portion has a length that is less than a length of the horizontal portion.", "10.The system of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive insert is arranged in a circular or oval cross section.", "11.The system of claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive insert further comprises: an electrically conductive plate having a surface area to receive the power signal from the external electronic device; a stimulating electrode physically connected to and electrically coupled with the electrically conductive plate to deliver the therapy signal to the biological target site.", "12.The system of claim 11, further comprising a reference electrode or a return electrode isolated from the conductive plate to create a reference or return path that is connected to the external electronic device.", "13.The system of claim 11, wherein the electrically conductive insert comprises an electrically conductive material layered upon a nonconductive material.", "14.The system of claim 11, wherein the body comprises a longitudinal central lumen.", "15.The system of claim 14, wherein the body further comprises one or more radial channels in fluid communication with the central lumen, wherein the at least one radial channel allows tear drainage to coat at least a portion of the exterior of the body.", "16.The system of claim 1, wherein the microstimulator further comprises a faceplate disposed at a proximal end of the body and covering at least a portion of the body.", "17.The system of claim 16, wherein the faceplate is impregnated with a pharmaceutical for release into the biological target site in response to delivery of the therapy signal to the target biological site.", "18.The system of claim 17, wherein the body comprises one or more radial channels to control the release of the pharmaceutical into the biological target site.", "19.The system of claim 16, wherein the faceplate comprises a wireless transceiver to exchange a signal with the external electronic device.", "20.A method for powering an implantable microstimulator comprising: establishing a connection between an external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator through a dielectric biological material; and capacitively linking the external electronic device with the implantable microstimulator to deliver a power signal from the external electronic device to the implantable microstimulator.", "21.The method of claim 20, wherein the dielectric biological material comprises skin.", "22.The method of claim 20, wherein the microstimulator comprises: a body; and an electrically conductive insert, arranged within the body to create the link with the external electronic device, wherein the electrically conductive insert receives the power signal from the external electronic device and delivers a therapy signal to a biological target site.", "23.The method of claim 22, wherein the therapy signal comprises an electrical signal." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Dry eye disease is a condition resulting from a disruption of the natural tear film on the ocular surface, leading to ocular discomfort, visual disturbance, and/or a reduction in vision-related quality of life.", "The disruption in the natural tear film may prevent healthy gas exchange and nutrient transport, promote cellular desiccation, and/or create a poor refractive surface for vision.", "Such disruption in the natural tear film can be due to an imbalance between tear production from the lacrimal glands and evaporation or drainage by the Meibomian glands, which may be caused by or secondary to post-menopausal hormonal deficiency, auto-immune disease, LASIK surgery, or the like.", "The disruption of the natural tear film may cause a low tear volume, which causes a hyperosmolar environment that may induce an inflamed state of the ocular surface.", "Such an inflammatory response may induce apoptosis of ocular surface cells, which, in turn, prevent proper distribution of the tear film on the ocular surface, such that any available tear volume delivered to the ocular surface may be rendered less effective initiating a vicious cycle in which more inflammation can ensue, causing more ocular surface damage.", "Additionally, the neural control loop, which controls reflex tear activation, may be disrupted because the sensory neurons in the ocular surface are damaged, resulting in fewer tears being secreted, and another vicious cycle may develop, resulting in further progression of dry eye disease, in which fewer tears may cause nerve cell loss, which may result in even fewer tears.", "A wide spectrum of treatments options exist for dry eye disease, including: artificial tear substitutes, ointments, gels, warm compresses, environmental modification, topical cyclosporine, omega-3 fatty acid supplements, punctal plugs, moisture chamber goggles, punctal cautery, systemic cholinergic antagonists, systemic anti-inflammatory agents, mucolytic agents, autologous serum tears, scleral contact lenses, and tarsorrhaphy.", "Although the current treatment options are numerous, such treatment options have limited effectiveness and generally provide only mild symptom relief or improvement in ocular health over a short period of time." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "In one aspect, the present disclosure can include a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can be capacitively linked to an external electronic device to provide neuromodulation to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link to the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "In another aspect, the present disclosure can include a system for capacitive power transfer.", "The system can include an external electronic device capacitively coupled to a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "The microstimulator can be configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject and can include a body and an electrically conductive insert.", "The electrically conductive insert can be arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from the external electronic device and converts the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "In a further aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "The method can include the steps of establishing a connection between an external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator through a conductive biological material; and capacitively linking the external electronic device with the implantable microstimulator to deliver a power signal from the external electronic device to the implantable microstimulator.", "In yet another aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "Examples of the medical condition can include, but are not limited to dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection pain and/or side effects, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, ocular hypertension, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "The method can include the steps of: delivering a microstimulator into an anatomical structure of the subject innervated by one or more nerves; establishing a capacitive link between the microstimulator and an external electronic device; using the external electronic device to deliver a power signal to the microstimulator; and delivering a therapy signal to a target portion of the anatomical structure via the microstimulator based on the power signal." ], [ "RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/851,842, filed Dec. 22, 2017, and entitled “Systems and Methods for Preventing, Diagnosing, and/or Treating one or More Medical Conditions via Neuromodulation”.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/851,842 claims the benefit of U.S.", "Provisional Application No.", "62/589,877, filed Nov. 22, 2017, entitled “Nasolacrimal Tear Microstimulator”.", "U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/851,842 is also a Continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451, filed Jun.", "13, 2016, and entitled “Nasolacrimal Implants and Related Methods for Tear Stimulation”, which claims priority to U.S.", "Provisional Applications 62/321,961, filed Apr.", "13, 2016, and 62/180,225, filed Jun.", "16, 2015.Each of these applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.", "TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions via neuromodulation.", "The systems and methods of the present disclosure can be used, as an example, to use neuromodulation to induce tear production to treat or prevent the medical condition of dry eye disease.", "BACKGROUND Dry eye disease is a condition resulting from a disruption of the natural tear film on the ocular surface, leading to ocular discomfort, visual disturbance, and/or a reduction in vision-related quality of life.", "The disruption in the natural tear film may prevent healthy gas exchange and nutrient transport, promote cellular desiccation, and/or create a poor refractive surface for vision.", "Such disruption in the natural tear film can be due to an imbalance between tear production from the lacrimal glands and evaporation or drainage by the Meibomian glands, which may be caused by or secondary to post-menopausal hormonal deficiency, auto-immune disease, LASIK surgery, or the like.", "The disruption of the natural tear film may cause a low tear volume, which causes a hyperosmolar environment that may induce an inflamed state of the ocular surface.", "Such an inflammatory response may induce apoptosis of ocular surface cells, which, in turn, prevent proper distribution of the tear film on the ocular surface, such that any available tear volume delivered to the ocular surface may be rendered less effective initiating a vicious cycle in which more inflammation can ensue, causing more ocular surface damage.", "Additionally, the neural control loop, which controls reflex tear activation, may be disrupted because the sensory neurons in the ocular surface are damaged, resulting in fewer tears being secreted, and another vicious cycle may develop, resulting in further progression of dry eye disease, in which fewer tears may cause nerve cell loss, which may result in even fewer tears.", "A wide spectrum of treatments options exist for dry eye disease, including: artificial tear substitutes, ointments, gels, warm compresses, environmental modification, topical cyclosporine, omega-3 fatty acid supplements, punctal plugs, moisture chamber goggles, punctal cautery, systemic cholinergic antagonists, systemic anti-inflammatory agents, mucolytic agents, autologous serum tears, scleral contact lenses, and tarsorrhaphy.", "Although the current treatment options are numerous, such treatment options have limited effectiveness and generally provide only mild symptom relief or improvement in ocular health over a short period of time.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "In one aspect, the present disclosure can include a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can be capacitively linked to an external electronic device to provide neuromodulation to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link to the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "In another aspect, the present disclosure can include a system for capacitive power transfer.", "The system can include an external electronic device capacitively coupled to a microstimulator that is configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The microstimulator can include a body and an electrically conductive insert arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from an external electronic device and convert the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to the biological target site.", "The microstimulator can be configured to be placed within an anatomical structure of a subject and can include a body and an electrically conductive insert.", "The electrically conductive insert can be arranged within the body to create a capacitively coupled link with the external electronic device.", "The electrically conductive insert can receive a power signal from the external electronic device and converts the power signal to deliver a therapy signal to a biological target site proximal to the anatomical structure.", "In a further aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "The method can include the steps of establishing a connection between an external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator through a conductive biological material; and capacitively linking the external electronic device with the implantable microstimulator to deliver a power signal from the external electronic device to the implantable microstimulator.", "In yet another aspect, the present disclosure can include a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "Examples of the medical condition can include, but are not limited to dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection pain and/or side effects, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, ocular hypertension, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "The method can include the steps of: delivering a microstimulator into an anatomical structure of the subject innervated by one or more nerves; establishing a capacitive link between the microstimulator and an external electronic device; using the external electronic device to deliver a power signal to the microstimulator; and delivering a therapy signal to a target portion of the anatomical structure via the microstimulator based on the power signal.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure relates upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 illustrates a neural modulation system in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 illustrates a capacitive coupling between the implantable microstimulator and the external electronic device of FIG.", "1 established across a dielectric medium; FIG.", "3 illustrates an example configuration of the implantable microstimulator of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "4 illustrates a side-view of an eye of a subject, depicting the three layers of naturally produced tears; FIG.", "5 illustrates anatomical features of nerves and blood vessels related to the eye and lacrimal system of a subject; FIG.", "6 illustrates anatomical features related to the eye and lacrimal system of a subject; FIG.", "7 illustrates an example structure of the microstimulator of FIG.", "1 implemented for inducing tear production; FIG.", "8 illustrates an example configuration of a flex circuit of the microstimulator of FIG.", "7; FIG.", "9 illustrates another example configuration of the microstimulator of FIG.", "7 constructed without the flex circuit; FIGS.", "10, 11, and 12 each illustrate different views of the example structure of the microstimulator of FIGS.", "8 and 9; FIG.", "13 illustrates a process flow diagram illustrating a method for powering an implantable microstimulator in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure; and FIG.", "14 illustrates a process flow diagram illustrating a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Definitions To facilitate understanding of this disclosure, a number of terms are defined below.", "Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art in the areas relevant to this disclosure.", "Terms such as “a,” “an” and “the” are not intended to refer only to the singular entity, but can also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.", "The terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” as used herein, can specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups.", "As used herein, the term “and/or” can include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.", "Additionally, although the terms “first,” “second,” etc.", "may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms.", "These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another.", "Thus, a “first” element discussed below could also be termed a “second” element without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.", "The sequence of operations (or acts/steps) is not limited to the order presented in the claims or figures unless specifically indicated otherwise.", "As used herein, the term “medical condition” can refer to an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "As used herein, the term “ocular” can refer to something of, for, or like the eye.", "An ocular disorder can be, for example, dry eye.", "In order to restore ocular health to a patient with dry eye, a physiology normal amount, level, and/or degree of tears in the eye can be restored and/or maintained to minimize and/or alleviate dryness.", "Such minimization and/or alleviation of dryness may treat or prevent at least one symptom associated with dry eye disease, such as stinging, burning, and/or scratchy sensation in the eyes; stringy mucus in or around an eye; increased eye irritation from smoke or wind; eye fatigue; eye sensitivity to light; eye redness; a sensation of having something in the eye; difficulty wearing contact lenses; periods of excessive tearing; and blurred vision, often worsening at the end of the day or after focusing for a prolonged period.", "As used herein, the terms “tear drainage system”, “nasolacrimal drainage system”, and “lacrimal drainage system” can be used interchangeably to refer to any one or more connected anatomical structures having two small openings (e.g., puncta).", "As an example, the puncta may be located in an upper and/or a lower eyelid, wherein these small openings lead to a small tube (e.g., canaliculus) which, in turn, empties into a lacrimal sac and then into a canal called the nasolacrimal duct.", "It will be understood that the term “drainage system” also may be used interchangeably with “tear drainage system”, “nasolacrimal drainage system”, and “lacrimal drainage system”.", "As used herein, the term “medical device” can refer to any objected that is designed to be placed or implanted partially or wholly within a patient's body and/or a naturally occurring orifice of the patient's body for one or more therapeutic or prophylactic purposes.", "Examples of such therapeutic or prophylactic purposes can include: tissue augmentation, tissue stimulation, contouring, restoring physiological function, repairing and/or restoring tissues damaged by disease or trauma, and/or delivering therapeutic agents to normal, damaged, and/or diseased organs and tissues.", "While medical devices are often composed of biologically compatible synthetic materials (e.g., medical-grade stainless steel, nitinol, titanium, and/or other metals; exogenous polymers, such as polyurethane, silicone, PLA, PLGA, PGA, PCL, etc.", "), other materials also may be used in the construction of the medical implant.", "While not limiting the present disclosure to any particular device, specific medical devices and implants that are particularly relevant to this disclosure include stents, punctal plugs, Crawford tubes, catheters, lacrimal tubes, ocular or other shunts.", "In some examples, the device may incorporate a contrast material and/or opaque material(s) that may allow for visualization with standard imaging devices (for example, barium to allow for x-ray visualization).", "In some instances, the medical device can be an implantable device, such as: a neurostimulator, a microstimulator, a device configured to monitor a physiological response of the patient's tissue, a therapeutic agent delivery device, a bone graft, and a sensor.", "In other instances, the medical device can be a removable device, such as a surgical instrument.", "As used herein, the terms “medical device”, “implant”, “device”, “medical implant”, “implant/device”, and the like can be used interchangeably.", "As used herein, the term “implanted” can refer to a state in which at least a portion of a device (such as a medical device) is placed or inserted within a host and/or a naturally occurring orifice of the host.", "In some instances, a medical device can be completely placed or implanted within the host.", "However, in other instances, some of the medical device can reach or extend to the outside of the host.", "When a device is referred to as being “implantable”, the device can be capable of being implanted within the host.", "As used herein, the term “proximal” can refer to a location situation and/or positioned toward a point of origin (e.g., between a medical professional and an implantable microstimulator).", "In other words, the term “proximal” may refer to a position relatively close to the exterior of the body of a patient and/or closer to a medical professional.", "As used herein, the term “distal” can refer to a location situation and/or position away from a point of origin (e.g., behind a lacrimal implant device relative to a physician).", "In other words, the term “distal” may refer to a position relatively further away from the exterior of the body of a patient and/or further away from a medical processional.", "As used herein, the terms “prevention” and/or “preventing” can refer to preventing or slowing development of a disease or disorder in a patient.", "As used herein, the terms “treat”, “treating”, and/or “treatment” can refer to the act of reducing and/or eliminating symptoms of a disease or disorder to improve a condition of a patient to some degree, delaying progression of the disease or disorder, or providing some other effect related to the disease or disorder.", "As used herein, the terms “therapeutically effective amount” and/or “pharmaceutically effective amount” can refer to an amount which, when administered to a patient for treating a disease or disorder, will effect such treatment for the disease or disorder.", "As used herein, the terms “therapy signal” and “stimulation signal” can refer to an electrical signal designed for neuromodulation.", "The stimulation signal can be delivered to a patient's tissue of interest for neuromodulation (e.g., stimulation).", "As used herein, the term “feedback signal” can refer to a signal provided in response to application of the therapy signal for neuromodulation.", "As used herein, the term “medical professional” can refer to any person involved the conducting a procedure involving a medical device including, but not limited to, physicians, medical students, nurse practitioners, nurses, operators, and other staff.", "As used herein, the term “patient” can refer to any living or non-living warm-blooded organism including, but not limited to, a human being, a pig, a rat, a mouse, a dog, a cat, a goat, a sheep, a horse, a monkey, an ape, a rabbit, a cow, etc.", "Non-limiting examples of human subjects are adults, juveniles, infants, and fetuses.", "The terms “patient” and “subject” can be used interchangeably herein.", "As used herein, the term “coupled” and/or “coupling” can refer to the pairing of two objects.", "The coupling can be wireless, but, in other instances, the coupling can be wired or a combination of wired and wireless.", "The coupling can facilitate the exchange of current between the two objects and may be, for example, capacitive, resistive, inductive, or the like.", "As used herein, the term “biomaterial” can refer to any substance (other than a drug or pharmaceutical) or combination of substances, synthetic or natural in origin, which can be used for any period of time as a hole or as a part of a system that treats, augments, or replaces any cell, tissue, organ, and/or function of the body.", "As used herein, the term “biocompatibility” can refer to the ability of a material, such as a biomaterial, to perform a specific application with an appropriate host response.", "As used herein, the term “dielectric medium” can refer to a substance, medium, or body that can sustain an electrical field therewithin.", "II.", "Overview The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "The medical condition can be an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "As an example, the systems and methods of the present disclosure can be used to induce tear production via neuromodulation to treat or prevent dry eye disease.", "Although the induction of tear production is an example use of the present disclosure, it will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to induction of treat production.", "Instead, the present disclosure is related to preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological diseases, disorders, and/or conditions.", "Diseases that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection pain and/or side effects, and/or glaucoma.", "As another example, disorders that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but is not limited to, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, and/or ocular hypertension.", "Conditions that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods employing neuromodulation to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat one or more medical conditions.", "The neuromodulation can be achieved via application of an electrical signal to an anatomical structure.", "As an example, when the medical condition is dry eye disease, the anatomical structure can include at least a portion of the nasolacrimal drainage system, so that one or more nerves within the portion of the nasolacrimal drainage system can be neuromodulated to produce bilateral or unilateral lacrimation.", "The electrical signal can be delivered to the anatomical structure by a microstimulator.", "The microstimulator can be placed or inserted within the anatomical structure and wirelessly coupled to an external electronic device.", "For example, the microstimulator can be capacitively coupled to the external electronic device with the patient's skin acting as a dielectric medium.", "As such, the microstimulator can receive a power signal from the external electronic device.", "III.", "Systems One aspect of the present disclosure can include a neuromodulation system.", "The neuromodulation system can deliver a therapy signal to a target anatomical area to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat one or more medical conditions.", "The therapy signal can be, for example, a stimulation signal configured to stimulate a portion of the target anatomical area to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat one or more medical conditions.", "The medical condition can be an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "Diseases that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection side effects, and/or glaucoma.", "As another example, disorders that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, and/or ocular hypertension.", "Conditions that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "The neuromodulation system can include an implantable microstimulator 201 and an external electronic device 202.The implantable microstimulator 201 can be configured to deliver the therapy signal to the anatomical structure.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can be configured for insertion into an anatomical structure of a subject.", "At least a portion of the implantable microstimulator 201 configured to contact the anatomical structure can be formed of one or more biocompatible materials.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can be shaped and sized to correspond to the specific anatomical structure.", "The anatomical structure can be chosen based on the presence of a particular target nerve or nerves.", "The target nerve, upon activation, can cause the occurrence of a physiologic function.", "As an example, the target nerve can be part of a neurological reflex.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can have the capability to deliver a stimulation signal (or therapy signal) to the target nerve or nerves within the anatomical structure to induce a physiologic function.", "The stimulation signal can be an electrical signal, such as a direct current signal, an alternating current signal, or the like, and can be configured as a charge balanced symmetric or asymmetric biphasic waveform, a charge imbalanced asymmetric biphasic waveform, and/or a monophasic waveform depending on the application.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can also provide additional functionality in addition to delivering the stimulation signal.", "As one example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can have the ability to facilitate drainage of one or more fluids inside the anatomical structure.", "As another example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can be capable of eluding a drug or other pharmaceutical substance into the anatomical structure.", "In a further example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can provide feedback related to application of the stimulation signal.", "In some instances, the implantable microstimulator 201 can be activated, powered, and/or controlled by the external electronic device 202.The microstimulator 201, in an example, can be operable as a slave device to the master external electronic device 201.However, in other examples, the microstimulator 201 and the external electronic device 202 can be components of a closed loop control system, where the implantable microstimulator 201 provides the additional functionality of recording feedback information from the anatomical structure and sending the feedback information back to the external electronic device 202.The external electronic device can send the feedback information to an external expert device 203 for further analysis.", "In either example, the external electronic device 202 can be configured to generate a power transfer waveform (or power signal) that is sent to the implantable microstimulator 201 to activate, power, and/or control the implantable microstimulator 201.The implantable microstimulator 201 may not include a dedicated power source, like a battery, and, instead, may rely on the power signal for activation, power, and/or control.", "In some instances, the external electronic device 202 can pair the power transfer waveform with a carrier waveform.", "For example, the carrier waveform can be transposed on top of the power transfer waveform and may be used for data transmission and/or control functions.", "The implantable microstimulator 201 can be electronically coupled to the external electronic device 202 to exchange the power signal and/or a feedback signal.", "The electronic coupling can be a wired coupling and/or a wireless coupling.", "One example of a wireless coupling between the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 is a capacitive coupling, as shown in FIG.", "2.Although capacitive coupling is the example of wireless coupling described in more detail herein, it will be understood that the wireless coupling may be an antenna coupling, an inductive coupling, a resonant inductive coupling, a resistive coupling, an optical coupling, or the like.", "It will be understood that the implantable microstimulator 201 may include circuitry necessary to be activated, powered, and/or controlled from the external electronic device 202 according to the type of coupling.", "Using the capacitive coupling of FIG.", "2, the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 can achieve capacitive power transfer.", "Both the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 are separated by a dielectric medium 213 (or dielectric medium), so that the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 are on either side of the dielectric medium 213.The dielectric medium 213 can be, for example, at least a portion of a subject's body.", "For example, the portion of the subject's body can include skin.", "Although the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 are both illustrated as contacting the dielectric medium 213, it will be understood that one or both of the external electronic device 202 and the implantable microstimulator 201 need not contact the dielectric medium 213 and may be separated from the dielectric medium 213 by a distance less than or equal to a threshold value.", "The threshold value can depend on the use and orientation of the implantable microstimulator 201.The external electronic device 202 can include an external plate 212, while the implantable microstimulator 201 can include an internal plate 211.When the external plate 212 and the internal plate 211 are aligned across the dielectric medium 213 (e.g., each plate 211, 212 being in parallel to the dielectric medium 213), the capacitive coupling is created.", "The “external plate” and the “internal plate” need not be plates per se.", "Instead, term “plate” is used to mean “portion” or “component”, which may be of a length, width, and/or diameter limited only by the length, width, and/or diameter of the implantable microstimulator 201.Capacitive power transfer can occur when the voltage of either the external plate 212 or the internal plate 211 is varied.", "The configuration of the overall capacitance, surface area of the capacitive plates 211, 212, distance between the plates 211, 212, dielectric medium 213 separating the plates 211, 212, and/or the voltage of the power signal is deterministic for the amount and efficiency of the capacitive power transfer.", "Compared to traditional capacitive power transfer, the capacitive power transfer of FIG.", "2 has a reduced complexity by varying the voltage at just one of the external plate 212 or the internal plate 211.FIG.", "3 shows an example of the capacitive power transfer within the implantable microstimulator 201.The capacitive power transfer can occur using the external plate 212 and the internal plate 211, with a reference electrode located on the external electronic device 202 and another reference electrode located in the microstimulator 201 (represented as return electrode 214).", "Stimulation occurs via a power electrode 213 and the return electrode 214.The power electrode 213 is connected to the internal plate 211 so the power signal is converted to the stimulation signal directly.", "In some instances, the implantable microstimulator 201 may include additional components between the internal plate 211 and the power electrode 213 to facilitate the conversion of the power signal to the stimulation signal.", "The internal plate 212 is used in the transfer of power from the external electronic device 202 to the implantable microstimulator 201, the power electrode 213 delivers the stimulation signal to the tissue of interest (the stimulation signal is based on the power received from the external electronic device 202), while the return electrode 214 acts as a passive return reference, establishing a common ground between the implantable microstimulator 201 and the external electronic device 202.The internal plate 211 of the microstimulator 201 can be electrically connected to the power electrode 213, but electrically isolated 215 from the return electrode 214.The power electrode 213 can also be electrically isolated 215 from the return electrode 214, but connected to the subject's body to deliver the stimulation signal.", "It should be noted that the components of the implantable microstimulator 201 are not drawn to scale.", "In some examples, the internal plate 211 can extend along the entirety of the implantable microstimulator 201.In other examples, the insulation 215 can be more extensive or less extensive than shown.", "Additionally, the power electrode 213 and the return electrode 214 can be arranged in a different manner than shown.", "As an example, the implantable microstimulator 201 can include a flex circuit or other means to establish an internal capacitor between the internal plate 211/power electrode 213 and the return electrode 214.Advantageously, in this example, the implantable microstimulator 201 need not include any active or passive circuit elements within the implantable microstimulator 201.The external electronic device 202, shown in FIG.", "1, can be operated by a medical professional and/or by the subject in need of the neuromodulation.", "In instances where the subject operates the external electronic device 202, the external electronic device 202 can be designed in a manner that is easy for the subject to use, such as in a form that is attachable to the subject's skin, in a form capable of being held or placed against the subject's skin, worn by the patient, or the like.", "For example, the external electronic device 202 can be embodied in a form that is familiar to the subject, such as a key fob, a pen-like cylinder, a sleep mask, pair of glasses, a nose clip, a flexible bandage, virtual reality (VR) goggles, or the like.", "Regardless of form, the external electronic device 202 includes all elements necessary to generate the power signal and/or the carrier signal, and other electronics to power, control and/or manipulate the microstimulator 201.For example, the elements included with the external electronic device 202 can include a power source to deliver the power signal and/or the carrier signal.", "As another example, the elements included with the external electronic device 202 can include a controller to control delivery of the power signal.", "The power source and the controller can be enclosed within a casing.", "Additionally, the casing can also include at least a portion configured to contact the subject's skin that includes an electrically conductive material, which can be at least partially biocompatible.", "Additionally, one electrically conductive device 202 can have the capabilities to interface with and communicate with one or more microstimulators 201.However, in some instances, one electrically conductive device 202 can have the capabilities to interface with and communicate with two or more microstimulators 201 so that each of the microstimulators 201 can apply the therapy signal when signaled to do so.", "In some instances, the electrically conductive material can be placed in communication with the microstimulator 201 in a unilateral manner, but in other instances, the electrically conductive material can be placed in communication with the microstimulator 201 in a bilateral manner.", "The unilateral or bilateral nature of capacitive power transfer can be controlled individually.", "Moreover, the external electronic device 201 can include a mechanism to allow the subject to control the amount and duration of the stimulation, such as one or more input buttons that allow the subject to control stimulation amplitude, pulse width, frequency, and/or stimulation duration or other aspects of the stimulation.", "The external electronic device 202, in some instances, can include one or more input buttons that allow for user control of the stimulation parameters.", "In other instances, the external electronic device 202 can have an onboard memory to store data related to use of the system, including stimulation parameters, duration, power efficiencies, biofeedback signals, subject input, and the like.", "For example, the external electronic device 202 can include the ability to store data relative to the subject's medical condition via sensors within the microstimulator 201, via sensors on the external electronic device 202, or via input from the subject (e.g., in an application that is linked via Bluetooth or other wireless communication mechanism to the external electronic device 202).", "The data that is collected can be used to create closed loop therapies, provide relative health data to a medical professional, track personal health related information, saved for future therapy improvements or innovations (e.g., stored as “big data”), or the like.", "The stored data can be used, for example, to alert a medical provider when the microstimulator 201 may need to be replaced or feedback regarding the medical condition, to alert the subject when the medical condition occurs, to determine when the stimulation should be delivered, etc.", "In some instances, the external electronic device 202 can include a feedback system to provide feedback to the subject.", "The feedback provided to the subject can be a visual feedback, an audio feedback, a touch/pressure/vibration feedback, or the like.", "The feedback system can be used to guide placement of the external electronic device 202 to establish the capacitive link with the implantable microstimulator 201.The feedback system may also provide alerts to the subject during therapy.", "For example, the alerts can be provided when 50% of the max amplitude has been reached, 100% of the max amplitude has been reached, the duration of the stimulation is 50% complete, the duration of the stimulation is 100% complete, the position of the external electronic device 202 has been moved and needs to be realigned, or the like.", "In other instances, the external electronic device 202 can automatically control therapy.", "The subject can use the feedback system to place the external electronic device 202 correctly, and the external electronic device 202 can automatically ramp up the therapy signal until the therapy signal reaches a pre-determined level that is known to be comfortable and effective for the subject.", "The external electronic device 202 can receive biofeedback to control delivery of the therapy signal.", "For example, the external electronic device 202 can include or interface with a camera, a Doppler system, or other type of sensor to provide biofeedback signals.", "In some instances, the external electronic device 202 can include a communication mechanism to communicate with an external expert device 203 and/or to communicate with the microstimulator 201.The external electronic device 202, in some instances, can receive control and power parameters from the external expert device 203 according to a wired connection and/or a wireless connection.", "For example, the communication mechanism can include a Bluetooth communication mechanism or other type of wireless communication mechanism.", "The expert device 203 can be associated with a medical professional to communicate with the external electronic device 202 to adjust stimulation parameters associated with the microstimulator 201 and/or to assess functionality of the microstimulator 201.Alternatively, the expert device 203 can include a mobile application that can interact with the external electronic device 202 and a device associated with a medical professional.", "As another example, the expert device 203 can be a cloud-based server.", "In another instance, the expert device 203 can interface with and/or include a physician programmer.", "The physician programmer can be configured as a tablet, a personal computer, a smartphone appliance, a tablet application or other suitable means.", "The physician programmer allows the physician to modulate the therapy for each subject.", "The physician programmer is configured to allow the physician to input, save, store and recall information about a specific subject's therapy into/from a secure database.", "As an example, the physician programmer can establish different therapy levels for the subject (e.g., the first instance of a therapeutic effect, the highest level tolerated by the subject, etc.", "), and the subject can choose from the different therapy levels for each application of the therapy.", "The physician programmer can also determine the effectiveness of the capacitive link, the power transfer efficiency, and the like.", "As such, the physician programmer can determine the optimum placement of the external conductive pads by providing real time feedback regarding the capacitive link.", "An example use of the neuromodulation system of FIG.", "1 is inducing tear production to treat or prevent dry eye disease.", "A description of dry eye disease is provided in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451, which is incorporated herein by reference.", "Tears are produced via unilateral or bilateral reflex lacrimation, which can be induced via neuromodulation of one or more nerves that innervate the punctum and/or canaliculus of the nasolacrimal drainage system.", "Similarly, a description of tear production is provided in U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451, which is incorporated herein by reference.", "A general depiction of physiology of an eye of a subject is shown in FIGS.", "4-6.However, U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "15/180,451 provides a more detailed description of the physiology of the subject's eye.", "FIG.", "4 illustrates a side view of an eye 6 of a subject, including three layers of naturally produced tears.", "For example, as shown in FIG.", "4, naturally produced tears include an outer oily layer 6A, a middle watery layer (or aqueous layer) 6B, and an inner mucus layer 6C, which is spread across the surface of the eye (the ocular surface) whenever the subject blinks, thereby providing lubrication, washing away foreign matter, reducing the risk of infection, and keeping the surface of the eye 6 smooth and clear.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates anatomical features of nerves and blood vessels related to the eye 6 and the lacrimal system of a subject.", "Such nerves and blood vessels include the dorsal nasal vessel 80, the frontal 81, the medial palpebral 82, the supraorbital 83, the anterior ethmoidal 84, the posterior ethmoidal 85, the muscular 88, the bulb of the eye 89, the ciliary 90, the arteria centralis retinae 91, the lacrimal 92, the zygomatic branches 94, the ophthalmic 96, the internal carotid 97, the lacrimal gland 2, and the optic nerve 98.FIG.", "6 illustrates additional anatomical features related to the lacrimal system of the eye 6 of a subject.", "As shown, the lacrimal gland 2 is positioned in the upper outer portion of the orbit of each eye 6.The lacrimal gland 2 includes the orbital (superior) portion 2A and the palpebral (inferior) portion 2B.", "The lacrimal gland 2 secretes the aqueous layer 6B of tears 4, which are delivered from the lacrimal gland 2 to the surface of the eye 6 via one or more channels or ducts 8 of the lacrimal gland 2.Tears 4 drain from the eye 6, towards a plica semilunaris 11 and lacrimal caruncle 13 via the nasolacrimal drainage system, which includes two puncta 10 located on a lacrimal papilla (e.g., superior lacrimal papilla 10A or inferior lacrimal papilla 10B).", "Each puncta 10 includes a minute orifice or opening in fluid communication with canaliculi 12.The canaliculi 12 converge and drain into the lacrimal sac 16, which in turn, is in fluid communication with the nasolacrimal duct 18.In order to induce tear production, one or more devices (like implantable microstimulator 201, an example of which is shown in FIG.", "7 that is configured for the induction of tear production) may be positioned within the nasolacrimal drainage system to prompt or stimulate the lacrimal gland 2.As shown in FIG.", "7, the microstimulator has a body 112; an electrically conductive insert (an example of a flex circuit shown in FIG.", "8) can be arranged within the body 112 to create the capacitively coupled link with an external electronic device, as described above with regard to FIGS.", "1-3.However, an example an equivalent microstimulator without the flex circuit (with the electrically conductive parts deposited on the body 112) is shown in FIG.", "9.Additional views of the microstimulator are shown in FIGS.", "10-12.FIG.", "10 shows an anterior view; FIG.", "11 shows a medial view; FIG.", "12 shows a posterior view.", "At least a portion of the body 112 configured to be implanted within the nasolacrimal drainage system can be formed of one or more biocompatible materials.", "Biocompatible materials can include certain polymer materials, metal materials, silicone materials, urethane materials, or the like, which do not cause an appreciable immune reaction.", "Examples of such materials can include, but are not limited to, polyimide, palladium, silicone, and/or urethane.", "The body 112 includes a vertical component (V), a horizontal component (H), and a curved portion (A) extending between and connecting the horizontal portion (H) and the vertical portion (V).", "The curved portion (A) can arrange the horizontal portion (H) and the vertical portion (V) at an angle relative to one another.", "At least one of the horizontal component (H) and the vertical component (V) can have a cylindrical cross section with a diameter from 0.2 mm to 0.8 mm.", "However, the horizontal component (H) includes an end portion that is tapered to facilitate implantation of the microstimulator.", "The horizontal component (H) can be longer than the vertical component (V).", "For example, the horizontal component (H) can be between 1 and 8 mm in length, or between 4 and 6 mm in length, while the vertical component (V) can be between 0.1 and 3 mm in length, or between 0.5 and 2 mm in length.", "Even more specifically, the horizontal component (H) can be between 5 and 6 mm in length, while the vertical component (V) can be between 1.6 and 1.8 mm in length.", "The angle between the vertical component (V) and the horizontal component (H) established by the curved portion (A) can be between 70 degrees and 120 degrees.", "As another example, the angle can be between 90 and 110 degrees.", "Even more specifically, the angle can be 90 degrees.", "The angle is specifically chosen to aid in retention of the microstimulator within the punctum and canaliculus.", "The microstimulator is not anchored by any means within the punctum or canaliculus.", "The microstimulator shape and angle are selected to enhance the unanchored in vivo retention.", "In some instances, a faceplate 105 can cover the vertical component (V) of the body 112.The faceplate can be, in its most general form, a surface that is wider than the vertical component (V).", "For example, the faceplate 105 may aid in the unanchored in vivo retention based on the associated shape and/or thickness.", "The faceplate 105 is a cap like structure that is placed on the proximal portion 104 of the microstimulator to prevent internal migration of the microstimulator, ease implantation (e.g., insertion) of the microstimulator, or other functions.", "The faceplate 105 can cover at least a portion of the body 112.Additionally, the faceplate 105 can include circuitry required to communicate with the external electronic device in a way other than the capacitive coupling, such as a wireless transceiver.", "As an example, the faceplate 105 can be positioned on the outer surface of the punctum.", "The shape of the faceplate 105 can be oval with a long dimension of 0.5 to 2 mm and a short dimension of 0.2 to 1 mm, or, more specifically, 1×0.8 mm (long vs. short axis).", "The long axis can be orientated lateral to medial when inserted such that the long axis is orientated from the nose to temple.", "The corresponding thickness of the faceplate 105 can be between 0.1 mm and 0.3 mm, more specifically, 0.2 mm.", "In instances, the faceplate 105 has an infinity design with the edges of the oval faceplate 105 being rounded to a very thin or infinity edge.", "The faceplate 105 can also be used to ease the insertion of the microstimulator into the punctum and canaliculus by forceps or other insertion tools.", "The distal end 103 of the microstimulator can be tapered down to ease insertion, as well.", "Since the microstimulator is configured to be inserted into the punctum and the canaliculus and to stimulate the surrounding tissue, the microstimulator may occlude tear drainage.", "If the microstimulator occludes the tear drainage, this may inadvertently cause the electrical properties of the tissue surrounding the microstimulator to change in a manner that will alter the stimulation characteristics adversely.", "Specifically, in a dry environment, the tissue impedances will increase and this will cause the stimulation amplitudes needed to achieve the desired result to increase over time.", "These changes in system impedance may cause changes in how the stimulation is perceived by the subject, the overall effect of stimulation and thus the efficacy of the therapy.", "To eliminate some of the variable tissue impedances caused by the placement of the microstimulator, the microstimulator may include features that allow for ongoing tear drainage as well as tear fluid to flow over and around the microstimulator while inserted into the punctum and canaliculus.", "In one example, the microstimulator may include a central lumen (shown as element 116 in FIGS.", "9 and 10) that extends longitudinally.", "For example, the central lumen can extend between the proximal end 104 and the distal end 103.The central lumen 116 allows for tear drainage.", "In some instances, the radial channels may allow the tear drainage to coat the mucosa lining of the punctum and canaliculus throughout the length of the microstimulator body 112.The radial channels may be spaced to occur around the circumference of the microstimulator and spaced such that they occur along the entire length of the microstimulator.", "In one example, the radial channels occur every 2 mm from the faceplate to the end of the microstimulator and, at each 2 mm occurrence, there are two or more channels radially orientated equally around the circumference of the microstimulator.", "The diameter of the radial channels can be from 0.05 mm to 0.3 mm.", "The axial lumen and radial channels may be open and allow for free flowing of tears throughout the nasolacrimal system.", "In another example, the microstimulator includes the central lumen 116, as well as one or more micro-channels and/or grooves on the outside of the body of the microstimulator.", "The micro-channels extend from the distal portion of the microstimulator to the proximal portion just below the faceplate 105.Tear fluid can drain from the eye through the lower punctum (through the central lumen 116 in the microstimulator), as well as through the punctum on the upper eyelid.", "Fluid draining from the upper punctum will also flow in a retrograde manner around the lower canaliculus and surround the microstimulator by flowing through the micro-channels to bath the microstimulator (including at least a portion of the body 112) and surrounding tissue.", "In other examples, the central lumen 116, radial channels, micro-channels, and/or faceplate 105 may contain or be impregnated with a material that allows for drug elution into a target site.", "The faceplate 105, central lumen 116, and/or radial channels may elute a NSAID or other corticosteroids, which will help to reduce inflammation of the surrounding tissue from the insertion of the device and help to promote healing and stable tissue interface after the insertion of the microstimulator.", "Other drugs can also be eluted that are helpful in dry eye disease or other ocular diseases as well.", "The drug concentration amounts can be controlled by the amount of tear fluid that is allowed to flow through or around the microstimulator.", "The drug can be eluted using electrical energy, using iontophoresis methods, in which small micro-currents are used to release and drive the compound or drug in precise areas and/or in precise amounts.", "Such drug delivery can be done based on a pre-determined schedule, or using biofeedback in a closed loop manner.", "The biofeedback can include bathing the faceplate 105 in tear fluid in response to delivery of the therapy signal to the target biological site to trigger release of the pharmaceutical.", "In some instances, the drug delivery can occur through degradation or erosion of a biodegradable or erodible coating (like PLGA or similar co-polymer).", "The central lumen 116, in another example, may have a means of measuring the volume or velocity of tears flowing through the microstimulator.", "For example, the central lumen can have one or more sensors therein to measure a property of fluid flowing therethrough, including volume, velocity, and the like.", "The volume or velocity of tear flow could be used as a close-loop system, in which the microstimulator alerts the user that the tear production is dropping and that would cause the user to apply the therapy.", "Such a measurement may be done using a piezoelectric sensor, a bladder diaphragm or using Doppler (ultrasound, laser, optical, etc.).", "The microstimulator will communicate (via long range communication, Bluetooth or other suitable means) with a smartphone, smartwatch, or other device that can alert the patients to the need to re-apply therapy.", "In one example, the closed loop sensor can also be placed in the faceplate and adjacent to the central lumen but situated within the faceplate along with any necessary components (e.g.", "circuits, etc.,) to allow for proper functionality of the tear sensor.", "In another embodiment, the sensor may be configured to sense the chemical composition of the tear fluid, sensing the amount of certain proteins or other cellular components that would trigger an additional application of therapy by the patient user.", "In another embodiment, the microstimulator may use electrode impedances to characterize the amount of tear productions.", "For example, if the impedances start to increase, this would simulate a decrease in fluid flowing through the nasolacrimal system, and in a closed loop fashion trigger use of the therapy to produce more tears.", "Long or short-term trending of the impedance values over time can also be used to provide treatment options that are individualized for each patient.", "If the impedance indicates that the patient's tear production is the lowest during the morning, the system can remind the patient to stimulate at certain times that are associated with the lowest amount of tear production.", "This can be done through a smartphone app or through an associated wearable smart device or other suitable means of interacting with the subject.", "In some instances, the stimulation can be automatic as part of a closed loop control system.", "Inside the body, the microstimulator can include the electrically conductive plate (like internal plate 213 of FIGS.", "2 and 3).", "The surface area of the electrically conductive plate can be chosen large enough to receive the power signal from the external electronic device strong enough to create the stimulation signal that facilitates tear production.", "The electrically conductive insert can also include the electrode coupled to the electrically conductive plate (shown in FIG.", "3) to deliver the therapy signal to the biological target site in the subject.", "In some examples, the electrode can be physically connected to the electrically conductive plate.", "The electrically conductive plate can also include a reference electrode or return electrode (shown in FIG.", "3) isolated from the conductive plate to create a reference or return path that is connected to the external electronic device.", "Each of the electrodes can be made of an electrically conductive material, like platinum, platinum/iridium, palladium, or another inert metal that is electrically conductive and appropriate for electrical stimulation.", "The electrodes can be positioned between the distal portion 104 of the microstimulator and the proximal portion 103 of the microstimulator.", "For example, the electrodes can be positioned such that they are equally spaced longitudinally from the distal portion 104 to the proximal portion 103 of the microstimulator.", "Each electrode is then radially exposed to the surrounding tissue in a 180-degree orientation.", "In one example, the electrodes can be quarter moon-shaped so that these electrodes are only exposed in quarter segments on the top and bottom of the microstimulator to avoid any overlap with the internal plate.", "The overlap is avoided to ensure the capacitance created remains consistent.", "The rise/fall time (e.g., time constant) of the capacitor created is important in creating the therapy signal waveform.", "Changes in the capacitance created can change the waveform and waveform efficiency.", "In some instances, four electrodes are exposed to the surrounding environment and each electrode is exposed to the environment at two locations around the circumference of the microstimulator body.", "The exposed portions are between 40 and 180 degrees from each other around the circumference of the microstimulator body.", "It should be appreciated that the exposed electrodes can be positioned using any orientation around or within the microstimulator body from the distal portion 104 to the proximal portion 103 of the microstimulator body.", "For example, the orientation can be determined based on the orientation of the microstimulator 201 compared to the external device 202.In some instances, the microstimulator can be configured such that there is no battery contained within the microstimulator.", "The microstimulator can be configured to receive power from an external electronic device.", "In other words, the microstimulator can be a slave to the external electronic device and can deliver stimulation when activated by the external electronic device.", "The microstimulator and the external electronic device can exchange energy wirelessly, using a capacitive power transfer method, as described above with respect to FIGS.", "2 and 3.In these instances, the microstimulator is configured for insertion through the punctum of the lower eyelid into the canaliculus and configured such that the associated “plate” is oriented to be parallel with the external skin overlaying the canaliculus to establish the capacitive link with the external electronic device.", "The “plate” can be located on a side of the microstimulator and covers the majority of the surface area on the one side of the microstimulator.", "Capacitive power transfer is useful for the microstimulator, when the microstimulator requires charge balancing.", "The external electronic device is responsible for generating the power transfer waveform, which capacitively couples power to the internal device.", "Additionally, the external electronic device is responsible for generating the carrier waveform, which can be used for data transmission or control of the microstimulator.", "As such, the external electronic device creates the carrier waveform by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), or voltage to frequency converter (VFC).", "The frequency is set by a digital to analog converter from a microcontroller.", "This carrier waveform may be buffered by a unity gain configured op-amp, such that the VCO/VFC is not loaded.", "The buffer waveform is then amplified/attenuated and DC shifted by a second op-amp.", "The gain of waveform is set by a series of feedback resistors.", "Alternatively, the feedback resistors can be replaced with analog or digital potentiometers to adjust the gain.", "In this embodiment, the microcontroller is able to control the gain through digital communication solely.", "In this embodiment, the carrier waveform is also DC shifted using a second stage.", "This is done by asserting a DC bias voltage to the op-amp.", "This DC bias voltage is generated and adjusted using a Digital to Analog Converter on the micro-controller.", "The generated output waveform at the power electrode may be biphasic, in which each pulse may include a first phase, an interphase delay, and a second phase.", "During the first phase, a positive DC bias is applied to the output, with the carrier frequency transposed on top.", "During this phase, electrical current is induced through a capacitively coupled load.", "During the interphase delay, the carrier waveform and DC bias are shut off and no waveform is generated.", "During the second phase, a negative DC bias is applied to the output, with a carrier frequency transposed on top, which induces a current in the opposite direction of the first phase.", "This phase is used as an active recovery, or charge-balancing phase for stimulation.", "Between pulses, the carrier waveform and DC bias are shut off, and the output remains off until the next active stimulation phase.", "This period between pulses also acts as a passive recovery phase, allowing any excess charge to be recaptured.", "The power transfer through the capacitive link is generated by the edge transition of the DC bias.", "The capacitive link between the external and internal device is high impedance at DC, but is low impedance when an AC signal is applied.", "The actual impedance varies based on the frequency of the signal and the value of the capacitance.", "In this respect, by applying an increasing/decreasing voltage across the capacitive link, the link acts as a low impedance medium and current is induced.", "The magnitude of the current is determined by the slew rate of the signal and total capacitance of the link.", "The rising and falling edges at the beginning of each phase of the waveform generate this induced current at the electrodes on the inserted microstimulator.", "In some instances, the capacitive link between the external electronic device and the microstimulator can be through an electrically conductive insert within the body 112.The electrically conductive insert can be a flex circuit configured or formed into a circular cross section.", "The flex circuit can be positioned between the central lumen 116 and the surface of the body 112 of the microstimulator.", "The flex circuit can include the plate, the power electrode, and the return electrode.", "Similar to FIG, 3, the power electrode is electrically connected to the plate.", "However, the plate is electrically isolated from the body 112, leaving only the power electrode exposed to the tissue in the anatomical area.", "The return electrode is isolated from the capacitive plate and the power electrode, but electrically connected to the body 112.When activated by the external electronic device 202, the stimulation waveform can be generated between the power electrode and the return electrode.", "The resulting electrical field will then activate nerves that innervate the punctum and canalicus, which will then result in reflexive lacrimation.", "However, the return electrode is not necessarily in the flex circuit; instead, the return electrode can be located on the external electronic device to create a common system ground for the external electronic device and the flex circuit.", "The flex circuit can be created in different ways.", "One example is by sputtering, depositing, or otherwise adhering a biocompatible material to a base substrate.", "An example of this is shown in element 106A of FIG.", "8, where a biocompatible conductive material 107 is adhered to a base substrate 108.As an example, the base substrate 108 can be polyimide (such as a thin polyimide sheet) and the biocompatible conductive material 107 is a metal.", "As illustrated, the base substrate 108 can be configured into a geometry that can be furled, rolled, or otherwise curled into a circular cross-section.", "After the biocompatible conductive material 107 is adhered to the base substrate, a third layer is applied to the areas of the flex circuit to be electrically isolated from the subject's body upon insertion.", "The third layer can be a liquid polyimide (such as a very thin liquid polyimide), for example.", "The resulting flex circuit 106A is configured into a circular cross-section shown in element 1068.The circular cross section creates the internal capacitor, which allows for energy and/or the stimulation waveform to be transferred or delivered without any internal circuit components.", "As such, there are no passive circuit elements or active circuit elements within the body 112 and no internal battery.", "As an alternative to FIG.", "8, the flex circuit can be created by sputtering or depositing a biocompatible material onto the base layer that is pre-configured in the tubular cross-section.", "One example alternative is shown in FIG.", "9, in which the metal is deposited directly onto the microstimulator in a defined way with very precise placement of the electrodes and plate metals.", "In this example, the base material 401 can be polyimide, silicone or polyurethane, other polymers, or other co-polymers.", "One or more metal layers (e.g., metal layer 402 that adheres better to the base layer 401, like titanium, and metal layer 403 like palladium) are then sputtered or deposited onto the tubular base 401 layer (e.g., the horizontal component of the microstimulator 201) directly.", "The amount of metal deposited may vary to allow for exposure to the tissue of the electrodes without exposing the plate.", "The base layer 401 can be configured, prior to deposition, into the J shape (90-degree shape between the vertical component and the horizontal component) required for the microstimulator.", "A second layer 402 (and subsequent layers 403) of material may be sputtered or deposited onto the base layer 401.An isolating material 404 can be applied of the same material as the base layer 401.To create the right capacitive power transfer and to translate the waveform correctly, the dielectric constant must be created for the applications, which means adjusting the thickness of the metal, the surface area, etc.", "In an example, the tubular base layer is silicone.", "The dielectric created with the metal deposited onto the silicone will need to match the dielectric created in when the polyimide flex circuit is rolled to create the capacitor system for power transfer.", "Polyimide provides a significant contribution to the dielectric and thus if that is replaced with Silicone or other material as mentioned above, then the metal and position needs to be altered to match the dielectric constant.", "However, this process provides the advantage of reducing the amount of manual processing steps needed to manufacture the microstimulator.", "The other advantage of this technique is that delamination between the metal layer and the base layer is significantly reduced by depositing the metal onto the pre-formed tube base layer.", "When the flex circuit is rolled, certain areas see higher bend radii and hence are more susceptible to delamination events and thus causing further fallout in the manufacturing process.", "Also important for the microstimulator is the overall stiffness of the flex circuit.", "A microstimulator at this scale, less than one mm in diameter and 5-6 mm in length, containing a full polyimide tube could cause the microstimulator to be quite rigid overall.", "To avoid this, the polyimide can be laser etched post deposition to create “bend joints” corresponding to areas in the microstimulator that are anticipated to have more flex and allow these areas to flex better.", "Using Silicone or Polyurethane as the base material will allow for ultimate flexibility, without having to laser etch areas out of the tubular cross-section to allow for bending of the microstimulator.", "In another example, the electrodes can be mesh electrodes.", "Using mesh electrodes may eliminate the need for the radial channel extending from the central lumen 116 to wet the tissue surrounding the microstimulator.", "The mesh electrode allows for tear drainage from the central lumen through the mesh electrode.", "The mesh electrodes can be placed circumferentially around the entire microstimulator or can be placed and configured as directional electrodes.", "In other words, the electrodes are placed in a manner that is not circumferential, but sized and shaped accordingly to cover only a portion of the circumferential area of the microstimulator and allowing stimulation to occur in a directional manner.", "Alternatively, the directional electrodes can be made of a solid inert metal that is suitable for electrical stimulation or of a conductive polymer resin or other suitable material.", "IV.", "Methods Another aspect of the present disclosure can include methods for preventing, diagnosing, and/or treating one or more medical conditions.", "FIG.", "13 illustrates a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "FIG.", "14 illustrates a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "The methods of FIGS.", "13 and 14 can be implemented using the system of FIGS.", "1-3, in which the implantable microstimulator may be as shown in FIGS.", "7-12.FIGS.", "13 and 14, respectively, are illustrated as process flow diagrams with flowchart illustrations.", "For purposes of simplicity, the methods of FIGS.", "13 and 14 are shown and described as being executed serially; however, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited by the illustrated order as some steps could occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other steps shown and described herein.", "Moreover, not all illustrated aspects may be required to implement the methods of FIGS.", "13 and 14.Additionally, FIGS.", "13 and 14 may also include steps that can be implemented by computer program instructions.", "These computer program instructions can be stored in memory and provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps/acts specified in the flowchart blocks and/or the associated description.", "In other words, the steps/acts can be implemented by a system comprising a processor that can access the computer-executable instructions that are stored in a non-transitory memory.", "Referring to FIG.", "13, an aspect of the present disclosure can include a method for powering an implantable microstimulator.", "As an example, the implantable microstimulator can be as shown in FIGS.", "7-12, including a body and an electrically conductive insert.", "The powering can be through a wireless connection between the implantable microstimulator and an external electronic device.", "At 301, the connection can be established between the external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator through a dielectric material.", "The conductive material, in some examples, can be a biological material, such as the subject's skin.", "An example of this connection is shown in FIG.", "2.At 302, a link can be established between the external electronic device and the implantable microstimulator to deliver a power signal from the external electronic device to the implantable microstimulator.", "The link can be a capacitively coupled link link for capacitive power transfer upon a voltage change of an external plate associated with the external electronic device relative to an internal plate associated with the implantable microstimulator (shown in FIG.", "2).", "The internal plate can be part of the electrically conductive insert within the body of the microstimulator.", "The electrically conductive insert can deliver a therapy signal (or stimulation signal) to the surrounding anatomical site in response to receiving the power signal.", "Referring now to FIG.", "14, illustrated is a method for treating, diagnosing, or preventing a medical condition in a subject.", "The medical condition can be an ocular, orbital, autoimmune, and/or neurological disease, disorder, and/or condition.", "Diseases that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, dry eye, Meibomian gland dysfunction, goblet cell degranulation, presbyopia, Sjogren's syndrome, pain, ocular pain, corneal pain, facial pain, atypical facial pain, neuralgia, facial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, ocular neuralgia, autonomic dysfunctions, headache, primary headache, secondary headache, myasthenia gravis, intravitreal injection side effects, and/or glaucoma.", "As another example, disorders that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, contact lens over wear, contact lens keratopathy, contact lens intolerance, and/or ocular hypertension.", "Conditions that can be prevented, diagnosed, and/or treated can include, but are not limited to, loose skin, skin redness, lip ptosis, and/or winkles.", "At 311, a microstimulator can be delivered into an anatomical structure of a subject.", "The anatomical structure can be any structure in the subject's body containing one or more target nerves.", "The microstimulator can be sized and dimensioned for the particular anatomical structure.", "For example, when inserted into a nasolacrimal structure, such as the punctum and canaliculus, to induce tear production, the microstimulator can be arranged in the shape shown in FIG.", "7 with the dimensions described in connection to FIG.", "7.At 312, a capacitive link can be established between the microstimulator and an external electronic device.", "At 313, the external electronic device can be used to deliver a power signal to the microstimulator across the capacitive link.", "For example, the voltage of a plate of the external device can change relative to a plate of the internal device.", "As noted, “plates” is a general term describing a capacitive element; the “plates” are not necessarily shaped like plates.", "At 314, a therapy signal can be delivered by the microstimulator to a target portion of the anatomical structure.", "The target portion can include the one or more target nerves From the above description, those skilled in the art will perceive improvements, changes and modifications.", "Such improvements, changes and modifications are within the skill of one in the art and are intended to be covered by the appended claims." ] ]
Patent_15875141
[ [ "Radio-Frequency Identification Device for a Tubular Element to Be Identified in a Constrained Environment", "A radio-frequency identification device for identifying a tubular element is provided that includes a radio-frequency identification chip connected to at least one antenna having two conductive strands and a flexible envelope enveloping the radio-frequency identification chip and strands.", "The envelope is a silicone material and includes a central portion overmolding the radio-frequency identification chip, and two strips extend on either side of the central portion and each strip overmolds at least one strand.", "Each of the two strips has a free end with a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp.", "The two strips are thermoformed in a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis." ], [ "1.A radio-frequency identification device for a tubular element to be identified in a constrained environment, said radio-frequency identification device comprising: a radio-frequency identification chip connected to at least one antenna having two conductive strands connected to the radio-frequency identification chip; and a flexible envelope completely enveloping said radio-frequency identification chip and said two conductive strands, wherein the flexible envelope is made by an overmolding with a silicone material of said radio-frequency identification chip and of the two conductive strands, said flexible envelope comprising: a central portion overmolding the radio-frequency identification chip; and two strips extending on either side of said central portion, each strip overmolds at least one of the two conductive strands, wherein the two strips of the flexible envelope are thermoformed in a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis to temporarily hold said radio-frequency identification device around said tubular element, and wherein each of the two strips includes a free end having a pierced boss configured to cooperate with a hose clamp for final fastening of said radio-frequency identification device around said tubular element.", "2.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 1, wherein the central portion further includes a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp.", "3.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 1, wherein, before thermoforming, the two strips of the flexible envelope extend from the central portion up to their respective free ends according to two main axes, wherein said two main axes intersect at an angle between 60 and 120 degrees such that the flexible envelope has a “V” shape.", "4.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 3, wherein the two main axes intersect at an angle between 75 and 105 degrees.", "5.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 3, wherein the two main axes intersect at an angle between 85 and 95 degrees.", "6.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 1, wherein, before thermoforming, the two strips of the flexible envelope extend from the central portion up to their respective free ends according to a common main axis such that the flexible envelope has a rectilinear shape.", "7.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 1, wherein, before thermoforming, each strip of the flexible envelope extends from the central portion up to its free end according to a main axis, and a corresponding boss includes a hole extending according to a passage axis inclined with respect to said main axis at an angle between 30 and 60 degrees.", "8.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 1, wherein each of the two conductive strands includes a sheath made of a dielectric material is and disposed inside the flexible envelope that overmolds said sheaths.", "9.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 8 further comprising two double-stranded antennas, each double-stranded antenna comprising two conductive strands, wherein each strip of the flexible envelope overmolds two adjacent conductive strands spaced apart from each other, and wherein, inside each strip of the flexible envelope, the sheaths of the two conductive strands are longitudinally linked by a ribbon made of a thermoplastic material that overmolds the two sheaths and maintains a constant spacing between the two sheaths.", "10.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 9, wherein the two conductive strands of a first antenna of the two double-stranded antennas extends in a first strip of the flexible envelope, and the two conductive strands of a second antenna of the two double-stranded antennas extends in a second strip of the flexible envelope.", "11.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 9, wherein one conductive strand of each of the two antennas extends in a first strip of the flexible envelope and the other conductive strand of each of the two antennas extends in a second strip of the flexible envelope.", "12.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 1 further comprising two double-stranded antennas, each double-stranded antennas comprising two conductive strands, wherein each strip of the flexible envelope overmolds two adjacent conductive strands spaced apart from each other.", "13.The radio-frequency identification device according to claim 1, wherein the radio-frequency identification chip is soldered on an electronic board on which the conductive strands are soldered.", "14.A method of identifying a tubular element, the method comprising: providing the radio-frequency identification device of claim 1; positioning the two twisted strips of the flexible envelope around the tubular element to be identified; tightening said flexible envelope with at least two hose clamps passing through the pierced bosses of the flexible envelope; and clasping said tubular element to be identified.", "15.The method according to claim 14, wherein the tubular element is an electric cable, a fluid circulation conduit, a braided sheath or a metallic sheath.", "16.A method for manufacturing a radio-frequency identification device comprising the steps: connecting two conductive strands of at least one antenna to a radio-frequency identification chip; enveloping the radio-frequency identification chip and two conductive strands with a flexible envelope made of a silicone material by overmolding said radio-frequency identification chip and the two conductive strands such that the flexible envelope includes: a central portion overmolding the radio-frequency identification chip; and two strips extending on either side of said central portion, wherein each strip overmolds at least one conductive strand of the two conducive strands, wherein each of the two strips has a free end provided with a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp; and thermoforming the flexible envelope such that the two strips of the flexible envelope are thermoformed into a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.", "In the fields of automotive industry, energy and in particular nuclear energy, telecommunications, avionics, industrial machines, electronic appliances, communication networks, and in a general manner in the industrial field, it is often complex to ensure the individual identification of the cables, conduits and other tubular elements, for the purposes of servicing, repair, maintenance, traceability, logistics, distribution, configuration management or tamper-resistant safety.", "To this end, it is known, in particular from the document EP 2 765 537 A1, to use radio-frequency identification devices mounted on such tubular elements, in order to establish a radio-frequency identification according to the RFID technology.", "Document EP 2 765 537 A1 proposes a radio-frequency identification device comprising a radio-frequency identification chip connected to a dipolar antenna with strands, with an envelope made of a shape-memory material, such as in particular polytetrafluoroethylene.", "The radio-frequency identification device is fastened on the tubular element by taking advantage of the shape-memory characteristics of the envelope, and more specifically by arranging the envelope in the form of a twisted ribbon and by ensuring the fastening by clasping by performing a retraction subsequently to a stretching.", "However, it turns out that such a fastening by clasping subsequently to a stretching, using the shape-memory properties of the envelope, does not offer a sufficient mechanical strength under all conditions.", "Indeed, in environments called constrained environments subjected to vibrations, and possibly to considerable temperature variations and/or chemically toxic or corrosive atmospheres and/or severe pressure conditions, it is essential to guarantee a durable and stable fastening of the radio-frequency identification device on the element to be identified, while offering an effective protection of the radio-frequency identification chip.", "There is also known from U.S. Patent Application No.", "2006/0186210 a radio-frequency identification device for a tubular element, where the device comprises a flexible sleeve protecting an RFID transponder in connection with an antenna which forms at least one peripheral turn in order to enable proceeding to reading regardless of the orientation.", "However, such a device turns out to be impractical, because it requires fitting the sleeve around the tubular element, which completely prohibitive for cables or conduits networks, in particular in bulky and difficult to access spaces.", "In addition, such a device may have sealing issues and also defects in stable holding around the tubular element.", "Indeed, the sleeve is held only by elastic tightening and by friction, which cannot be considered in constrained environments subjected to high vibrations and to considerable temperature variations." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The present disclosure addresses the issue of holding a radio-frequency identification device on a tubular element, while enabling a radio-frequency identification reading in all directions (in order to overcome the final position of the radio-frequency identification device on the tubular element), at reasonable detection distances, in particular in the range of at least 1 to 2 meter, the detection distance corresponding to the minimum distance necessary for the detection of the radio-frequency identification device by an appropriate reader, and possibly for writing on the radio-frequency identification chip.", "The present disclosure provides a radio-frequency identification device for a tubular element to be identified in a constrained environment, said radio-frequency identification device comprising a radio-frequency identification chip connected to at least one antenna having two conductive strands connected to the radio-frequency identification chip, and a flexible envelope completely enveloping said radio-frequency identification chip and said strands.", "This radio-frequency identification device is remarkable in that: the envelope is made by overmolding with a silicone material of the radio-frequency identification chip and of the strands of the antennas, this envelope having a central portion overmolding the radio-frequency identification chip and having two strips, extending on either side of the central portion, which each overmold at least one strand; the two strips of the envelope are thermoformed according to a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis in order to enable a temporary holding of said device around said element; and each of the two strips has a free end provided with a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp in order to enable a final fastening of said device around said element.", "Thus, the envelope is made of silicone, a material offering excellent properties in terms of thermal protection and vibration isolation, and allowing a thermoforming of the envelope in a twisted (or helical) shape which is stable and which will allow positioning the radio-frequency identification device temporarily on the tubular element, before achieving a durable anchorage by means of at least two hose clamps passing in the orifices or holes of the pierced bosses.", "The tightening at the level of the free ends of the strips provides a holding over the entire length of the envelope.", "Advantageously, the central portion also has a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp.", "The tightening at the level of the central portion provides extreme stability of the radio-frequency identification chip.", "In one form, before thermoforming, the two strips of the envelope extend, from the central portion up to their respective free ends, according to two main axes, wherein these two main axes intersect at an angle comprised between 60 and 120 degrees, so that the envelope has a general “V” shape.", "The Applicant has observed that such a “V” shape confers improved performances in terms of detection distance and detection angles around the tubular element.", "Advantageously, the two main axes intersect at an angle comprised between 75 and 105 degrees, and in particular between 85 and 95 degrees, for an enhanced reading performance.", "In another form, before thermoforming, the two strips of the envelope extend, from the central portion up to their respective free ends, according to the same common main axis, so that the envelope has a rectilinear general shape.", "Although less performing than the first “V” shaped form, this second form still offers interesting performances in terms of detection distance, for detecting and possibly for writing on the radio-frequency identification chip.", "According to one feature, before thermoforming, each strip of the envelope extends, from the central portion up to its free end, according to a main axis, and the corresponding boss has a hole extending according to a passage axis inclined with respect to said main axis at an angle comprised between 30 and 60 degrees.", "This inclination of the holes for the passage of the hose clamps is advantageous for guiding the hose clamps along the circumference of the element to be identified, by taking into account the twisted shape of the strips of the envelope.", "According to another feature, the envelope has an inner face intended to bear against the element to be identified, and an opposite outer face, wherein the bosses protrude from said outer face and/or from said inner face.", "It should be noted that the inner face may be planar, smooth or still have, over all or part of its surface area, rough elements promoting the gripping on the element to be identified.", "In particular, in one variation, these rough elements may be provided only at the level of the bosses.", "According to another feature, each of the strands is sheathed with a sheath made of a dielectric thermoplastic material, inside the envelope which overmolds said sheaths.", "Such sheaths allow protection and stabilization of the strands during the operation of overmolding the envelope.", "In one aspect, the device comprises two double-stranded antennas, each strip of the envelope overmolding two adjacent strands spaced apart from each other.", "With two double-stranded antennas, two configurations may be considered, namely: a configuration (a) with a first antenna having its two strands in a first strip, and a second antenna having its two strands in a second strip; and a configuration (b) with a first antenna having a first strand in a first strip and a second strand in a second strip, and a second antenna having a first strand in a first strip and a second strand in a second strip.", "In the configuration (b), two forms are possible, namely: a first form wherein the first strand of the first antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand of the first antenna, and wherein the first strand of the second antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand of the second antenna; and a second form wherein the first strand of the first antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the first strand of the second antenna, and wherein the second strand of the first antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand of the second antenna.", "Alternatively, the device comprises one single double-stranded antenna, with a first strand in a first strip and a second strand in a second strip.", "In accordance with an advantageous feature of the present disclosure, inside each strip, the two sheaths overmolding the concerned two strands are longitudinally linked to each other by a ribbon which maintains a constant spacing between the two sheaths.", "Such a ribbon is particularly adapted to address the requirements of constrained environments, and to allow improved operation despite the high pressures, the variations of temperature and the vibrations.", "In one aspect, inside each strip, the ribbon is made by overmolding of the sheaths.", "According to a possibility of the present disclosure, the radio-frequency identification chip is soldered on an electronic board on which the strands are soldered.", "The present disclosure also concerns a method for manufacturing a radio-frequency identification device in accordance with the present disclosure, comprising the following steps of: connecting the strands to the radio-frequency identification chip; making an envelope in a silicone material by overmolding of said radio-frequency identification chip and the strands of said antennas, so that the envelope has a central portion overmolding the radio-frequency identification chip and two strips, extending on either side of said central portion, respectively overmolding the strands of the antennas, wherein each of the two strips has a free end provided with a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp; and thermoforming the envelope so that the two strips of the envelope are thermoformed according to a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis.", "The present disclosure also relates to a use of a radio-frequency identification device in accordance with the present disclosure, to identify a tubular element to be identified, such as in particular an electrical cable, a fluid circulation conduit, a braided sheath or a metallic sheath, by positioning the twisted strips of the envelope around the element to be identified, and by tightening said envelope by means of at least two hose clamps passing through the pierced bosses of the envelope and clasping said element to be identified.", "Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein.", "It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No.", "PCT/FR2016/051896, filed on Jul.", "21, 2016, which claims priority to and the benefit of FR 15/56877 filed on Jul.", "21, 2015.The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.", "FIELD The present disclosure relates to radio-frequency identification device for a tubular element to be identified, and more particularly to a radio-frequency identification device for identifying a fluid circulation conduit, an electrical cable, a braided sheath or a metallic sheath.", "BACKGROUND The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.", "In the fields of automotive industry, energy and in particular nuclear energy, telecommunications, avionics, industrial machines, electronic appliances, communication networks, and in a general manner in the industrial field, it is often complex to ensure the individual identification of the cables, conduits and other tubular elements, for the purposes of servicing, repair, maintenance, traceability, logistics, distribution, configuration management or tamper-resistant safety.", "To this end, it is known, in particular from the document EP 2 765 537 A1, to use radio-frequency identification devices mounted on such tubular elements, in order to establish a radio-frequency identification according to the RFID technology.", "Document EP 2 765 537 A1 proposes a radio-frequency identification device comprising a radio-frequency identification chip connected to a dipolar antenna with strands, with an envelope made of a shape-memory material, such as in particular polytetrafluoroethylene.", "The radio-frequency identification device is fastened on the tubular element by taking advantage of the shape-memory characteristics of the envelope, and more specifically by arranging the envelope in the form of a twisted ribbon and by ensuring the fastening by clasping by performing a retraction subsequently to a stretching.", "However, it turns out that such a fastening by clasping subsequently to a stretching, using the shape-memory properties of the envelope, does not offer a sufficient mechanical strength under all conditions.", "Indeed, in environments called constrained environments subjected to vibrations, and possibly to considerable temperature variations and/or chemically toxic or corrosive atmospheres and/or severe pressure conditions, it is essential to guarantee a durable and stable fastening of the radio-frequency identification device on the element to be identified, while offering an effective protection of the radio-frequency identification chip.", "There is also known from U.S. Patent Application No.", "2006/0186210 a radio-frequency identification device for a tubular element, where the device comprises a flexible sleeve protecting an RFID transponder in connection with an antenna which forms at least one peripheral turn in order to enable proceeding to reading regardless of the orientation.", "However, such a device turns out to be impractical, because it requires fitting the sleeve around the tubular element, which completely prohibitive for cables or conduits networks, in particular in bulky and difficult to access spaces.", "In addition, such a device may have sealing issues and also defects in stable holding around the tubular element.", "Indeed, the sleeve is held only by elastic tightening and by friction, which cannot be considered in constrained environments subjected to high vibrations and to considerable temperature variations.", "SUMMARY The present disclosure addresses the issue of holding a radio-frequency identification device on a tubular element, while enabling a radio-frequency identification reading in all directions (in order to overcome the final position of the radio-frequency identification device on the tubular element), at reasonable detection distances, in particular in the range of at least 1 to 2 meter, the detection distance corresponding to the minimum distance necessary for the detection of the radio-frequency identification device by an appropriate reader, and possibly for writing on the radio-frequency identification chip.", "The present disclosure provides a radio-frequency identification device for a tubular element to be identified in a constrained environment, said radio-frequency identification device comprising a radio-frequency identification chip connected to at least one antenna having two conductive strands connected to the radio-frequency identification chip, and a flexible envelope completely enveloping said radio-frequency identification chip and said strands.", "This radio-frequency identification device is remarkable in that: the envelope is made by overmolding with a silicone material of the radio-frequency identification chip and of the strands of the antennas, this envelope having a central portion overmolding the radio-frequency identification chip and having two strips, extending on either side of the central portion, which each overmold at least one strand; the two strips of the envelope are thermoformed according to a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis in order to enable a temporary holding of said device around said element; and each of the two strips has a free end provided with a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp in order to enable a final fastening of said device around said element.", "Thus, the envelope is made of silicone, a material offering excellent properties in terms of thermal protection and vibration isolation, and allowing a thermoforming of the envelope in a twisted (or helical) shape which is stable and which will allow positioning the radio-frequency identification device temporarily on the tubular element, before achieving a durable anchorage by means of at least two hose clamps passing in the orifices or holes of the pierced bosses.", "The tightening at the level of the free ends of the strips provides a holding over the entire length of the envelope.", "Advantageously, the central portion also has a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp.", "The tightening at the level of the central portion provides extreme stability of the radio-frequency identification chip.", "In one form, before thermoforming, the two strips of the envelope extend, from the central portion up to their respective free ends, according to two main axes, wherein these two main axes intersect at an angle comprised between 60 and 120 degrees, so that the envelope has a general “V” shape.", "The Applicant has observed that such a “V” shape confers improved performances in terms of detection distance and detection angles around the tubular element.", "Advantageously, the two main axes intersect at an angle comprised between 75 and 105 degrees, and in particular between 85 and 95 degrees, for an enhanced reading performance.", "In another form, before thermoforming, the two strips of the envelope extend, from the central portion up to their respective free ends, according to the same common main axis, so that the envelope has a rectilinear general shape.", "Although less performing than the first “V” shaped form, this second form still offers interesting performances in terms of detection distance, for detecting and possibly for writing on the radio-frequency identification chip.", "According to one feature, before thermoforming, each strip of the envelope extends, from the central portion up to its free end, according to a main axis, and the corresponding boss has a hole extending according to a passage axis inclined with respect to said main axis at an angle comprised between 30 and 60 degrees.", "This inclination of the holes for the passage of the hose clamps is advantageous for guiding the hose clamps along the circumference of the element to be identified, by taking into account the twisted shape of the strips of the envelope.", "According to another feature, the envelope has an inner face intended to bear against the element to be identified, and an opposite outer face, wherein the bosses protrude from said outer face and/or from said inner face.", "It should be noted that the inner face may be planar, smooth or still have, over all or part of its surface area, rough elements promoting the gripping on the element to be identified.", "In particular, in one variation, these rough elements may be provided only at the level of the bosses.", "According to another feature, each of the strands is sheathed with a sheath made of a dielectric thermoplastic material, inside the envelope which overmolds said sheaths.", "Such sheaths allow protection and stabilization of the strands during the operation of overmolding the envelope.", "In one aspect, the device comprises two double-stranded antennas, each strip of the envelope overmolding two adjacent strands spaced apart from each other.", "With two double-stranded antennas, two configurations may be considered, namely: a configuration (a) with a first antenna having its two strands in a first strip, and a second antenna having its two strands in a second strip; and a configuration (b) with a first antenna having a first strand in a first strip and a second strand in a second strip, and a second antenna having a first strand in a first strip and a second strand in a second strip.", "In the configuration (b), two forms are possible, namely: a first form wherein the first strand of the first antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand of the first antenna, and wherein the first strand of the second antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand of the second antenna; and a second form wherein the first strand of the first antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the first strand of the second antenna, and wherein the second strand of the first antenna is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand of the second antenna.", "Alternatively, the device comprises one single double-stranded antenna, with a first strand in a first strip and a second strand in a second strip.", "In accordance with an advantageous feature of the present disclosure, inside each strip, the two sheaths overmolding the concerned two strands are longitudinally linked to each other by a ribbon which maintains a constant spacing between the two sheaths.", "Such a ribbon is particularly adapted to address the requirements of constrained environments, and to allow improved operation despite the high pressures, the variations of temperature and the vibrations.", "In one aspect, inside each strip, the ribbon is made by overmolding of the sheaths.", "According to a possibility of the present disclosure, the radio-frequency identification chip is soldered on an electronic board on which the strands are soldered.", "The present disclosure also concerns a method for manufacturing a radio-frequency identification device in accordance with the present disclosure, comprising the following steps of: connecting the strands to the radio-frequency identification chip; making an envelope in a silicone material by overmolding of said radio-frequency identification chip and the strands of said antennas, so that the envelope has a central portion overmolding the radio-frequency identification chip and two strips, extending on either side of said central portion, respectively overmolding the strands of the antennas, wherein each of the two strips has a free end provided with a pierced boss capable of cooperating with a hose clamp; and thermoforming the envelope so that the two strips of the envelope are thermoformed according to a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis.", "The present disclosure also relates to a use of a radio-frequency identification device in accordance with the present disclosure, to identify a tubular element to be identified, such as in particular an electrical cable, a fluid circulation conduit, a braided sheath or a metallic sheath, by positioning the twisted strips of the envelope around the element to be identified, and by tightening said envelope by means of at least two hose clamps passing through the pierced bosses of the envelope and clasping said element to be identified.", "Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein.", "It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.", "DRAWINGS In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 is a schematic perspective view of a first form of a radio-frequency identification device before thermoforming in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "2 is another schematic perspective view of the first form of the radio-frequency identification device before thermoforming of FIG.", "1; FIG.", "3 is a schematic profile view of the first form of the radio-frequency identification device of FIGS.", "1 and 2; FIG.", "4 is a schematic top view of the first form of the radio-frequency identification device of FIGS.", "1 and 2, in which an inner element is illustrated in dashed lines; FIG.", "5 is a schematic view of the first form of the radio-frequency identification device, according to a section plane V-V of FIG.", "4; FIG.", "6 is a schematic perspective view of two antenna strands sheathed in sheaths assembled to a ribbon, serving to make an antenna for a radio-frequency identification device in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "7 is a schematic perspective view of a second form of a radio-frequency identification device before thermoforming in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "8 is a schematic profile view of the radio-frequency identification device of FIG.", "7 with two portions enlarged for more clarity; FIG.", "9 is a schematic top view of the radio-frequency identification device of FIG.", "7; FIG.", "10 is a schematic view of the radio-frequency identification device according to a section plane X-X of FIG.", "9; FIG.", "11 is a schematic perspective view of a first form of a radio-frequency identification device after a thermoforming operation and in place on an element to be identified in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "12 is a schematic perspective view of a second form of a radio-frequency identification device after the thermoforming operation in accordance with the present disclosure; FIG.", "13 is a schematic perspective view of a second form of a radio-frequency identification device after a thermoforming operation and in place on an element to be identified in accordance with the present disclosure; and FIG.", "14 represents curves of a variation of a maximum detection distance as a function of a frequency of a radio-frequency identification signal for a first and a second radio-frequency identification device in accordance with the present disclosure.", "The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.", "It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.", "In general, a radio-frequency identification device 1 in accordance with the present disclosure is provided to be fastened on a tubular element EL to be identified, in order to enable the radio-frequency identification of such an element EL with an appropriate radio-frequency identification reader.", "The following description covers two non-limiting forms, among which the first form is described with reference to FIGS.", "1 to 5 and 11, and the second form is described with reference to FIGS.", "7 to 10, 12 and 13.The radio-frequency identification device 1 comprises a radio-frequency identification chip 2 (shown in FIG.", "4 for the first form and in FIGS.", "8 and 9 for the second form) soldered on an electronic board 20, as well as two antennas 3 each comprising two conductive strands 30 connected to the chip 2 by being soldered on the electronic board 20.The strands 30 extend on either side of the chip 2, respectively at the right side and at the left side, with two strands at the right side and two strands at the left side.", "The two right-side strands may be associated to a first antenna, and the two left-side strands may be associated to a second antenna.", "Alternatively, a right-side strand and a left-side strand are associated to a first antenna, and the other right-side strand and the other left-side strand are associated to a second antenna.", "It would have also been possible to consider providing one single antenna having a right-side strand and a left-side strand.", "As shown in FIGS.", "4 and 5 for the first form and in FIGS.", "8 to 10 for the second form, and also in FIG.", "6 associated to both forms, each pair of strands 30 (at the right side as well as the left side) is supplied in the form of a strip called primary strip 8 (shown alone in FIG.", "6) comprising: the two strands 30, each sheathed with a sheath 31 made of a dielectric material, such as for example a PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) polymer, each strand 30 may be composed of a metallic wire or of a set of several metallic wires; and a ribbon 32 which overmolds the two sheaths 31 and which has two end portions 33 which overmold the respective sheaths 31, and a central portion 34 which forms a thin strip which maintains the two sheaths 31 parallel to each other, so that the two sheaths 31 (and therefore the two strands 30) are maintained away from each other with a constant spacing, said ribbon 32 being made of a dielectric thermoplastic material.", "For example, the dielectric thermoplastic material of the ribbon 32 is a FEP (Perfluoro Ethylene Propylene) polymer material.", "Thus, the pair of strands 30/sheaths 31/ribbon 32 set is supplied in the form of this primary strip 8 which will be cut to the desired length; such a primary strip 8 may be used for both the first device of FIGS.", "1 to 5 as well as for the second device of FIGS.", "7 to 10.At one end of this primary strip 8, the ribbon 32 and the sheaths 31 are stripped off in order to expose the strands 30 to enable a connection by soldering with the electronic board 20, in particular by directly soldering each strand 30 on the electronic board 20.The device 1 further comprises an envelope 4 made of silicone which completely envelops the chip 2, the electronic board 20 and the two primary strands 8, and therefore the two pairs of strands 30.This envelope 4 is made by overmolding and has: a central portion 40 which overmolds the chip 2 and the electronic board 20; and two strips 41 which overmold the two primary strips 8, and consequently the pairs of strands 30 of the antennas 3, these two strips 41 extending on either side of the central portion 40, respectively at the right side and at the left side.", "The central portion 40 has a boss 400 which forms a thickened portion in comparison with the thicknesses of the two strips 41.In the first form, this boss 400 is pierced with a hole 401 (FIGS.", "1 to 3) capable of cooperating with a hose clamp 5, whereas in the second form, this boss 400 is not pierced.", "In both forms, each of the two strips 41 has a free end also provided with a boss 410 pierced with a hole 411 capable of cooperating with a hose clamp 5.These bosses 400 form thickened portions, in comparison with the thicknesses of the strips 41 considered between the central portion 40 and the bosses 410.Thus, and as shown in FIGS.", "11 and 13, the envelope 4 has two or three holes 401, 411 provided for the passage of respective hose clamps 5, in particular of the RILSAN™ clamp or TY-RAP™ clamp type.", "It should be noted that the holes 401, 411 may be for example delimited by protruding arches atop the bosses, or yet be made directly in the material of the bosses.", "The strips 41 have an inner face 42 provided to bear against the element EL, the inner face 42 may be substantially planar and smooth or still optionally have, over all or part of its surface area, rough elements (such as in particular grains, teeth or tips) which will reinforce the gripping of the envelope 4 on the element EL.", "The envelope 4 also has an opposite outer face 43.In the first form, and as shown in FIG.", "3, the three bosses 400, 410 protrude from the outer faces 43 of the strips 41, without surpassing the inner faces 42, so that the envelope 4 has a continuous inner face 42 (smooth with rough elements).", "In the second form, and as shown in FIG.", "8, the three bosses 400, 410 protrude from both the inner 42 and outer 43 faces of the strips 41, so that the envelope 4 has a discontinuous inner face 42 with steps at the level of the bosses 400, 410.For example, the rough elements may be provided only on the inside of the bosses 400, 410 according to one variation.", "Of course, the shape of the bosses 400, 410 of the first device 1 may be applied to the second device 1, and vice versa.", "In the first form illustrated in FIGS.", "1 to 4, the two strips 41 of the envelope 4 extend, from the central portion 40 up to their respective free ends, according to two main axes A1, A2, where the two main axes A1, A2 intersect at an angle AN comprised between 85 and 95 degrees, so that the envelope 4 has a general “V” shape.", "In the second form and as shown in FIG.", "9, the two strips 41 of the envelope 4 extend, from the central portion 40 up to their respective free ends, according to the same common main axis AC, so that the envelope 4 has a rectilinear general shape.", "Moreover, in both forms, and as shown in FIGS.", "4 to 9, the hole 411 of each end boss 410 extends according to a passage axis 412 inclined with respect to the main axis A1, A2, AC corresponding to an angle AP comprised between 30 and 60 degrees, and in particular in the range of 45 degrees.", "Thus, and as shown in FIGS.", "11 and 13, after the twisted winding of the strips 41 around the element EL to be identified, the holes 411 extend substantially orthogonally to the element EL, so that the hose clamps 5 are wound around the element EL orthogonally to the latter.", "As shown in FIG.", "13, although the second device 1 device does not have holes on the boss 400 of the central portion 40, it is nevertheless possible to consider providing a third hose clamp 5 which passes above this boss 400 to clasp it around the element EL.", "The method for manufacturing the radio-frequency identification device 1 may include a first sequence comprising the following steps of: providing two cables each comprising one strand 30 (with one or several semi-rigid metallic wires) sheathed with a sheath 31; making a ribbon 32 with the two cables (strand 30 and sheath 31) inside, with a desired and observed spacing distance between the two sheaths 31, so as to form the aforementioned primary strip 8, this ribbon 32 may be made by overmolding; a first operation of overmolding with silicone comprising overmolding with a silicone material the ribbon 32 (in other words the primary strip 8 and its strands 30), in particular according to an extrusion process, in order to form a strip called secondary strip comprising the two strands 30 sheathed with the sheaths 31, the ribbon 32 and the silicone overmolding layer; cutting the secondary strip into two sections with the same predefined length (these sections forming the future strips 41 of the envelope 4), the length of the sections or strips 41 being predefined so as to obtain enhanced adaptation between the impedance of the antenna 3 and the conjugate impedance of the chip 2 while taking into account the element EL to be identified; exposing the strands 30 at one end of each section, by stripping off the ribbons 32 and the sheaths 31; soldering the strands 30 to the electronic board 20, on which is soldered the chip 2, while taking care to orientate the main axes of the sections (or strips 41) according to the desired angle (either a substantially right angle in the first form, or a substantially zero angle in the second form); and a second operation of overmolding with silicone, in particular according to a molding process, comprising overmolding with a silicone material: the chip 2, the electronic board 20 and the exposed ends of the strands 30 in order to form the central portion 40 with its boss 400; and the free ends of the sections in order to form the bosses 410 and to cover the ends of the sections.", "In the forms illustrated in the figures, each strip 41 envelops two antenna strands 30, so that the device 1 comprises two dipolar or double-stranded antennas 3.With two double-stranded antennas 3, two configurations may be considered, namely: a configuration (a) with a first antenna 3 having its two strands 30 in a first strip (the right-side one), and a second antenna 3 having its two strands 30 in a second strip (the left-side one); or a configuration (b) with a first antenna 3 having a first strand 30 in a first strip (the right-side one) and a second strand 30 in a second strip (the left-side one), and a second antenna 3 having a first strand 30 in a first strip (the right-side one) and a second strand in a second strip (the left-side one).", "In the configuration (a), the device 1 therefore comprises two opposite antennas 3, on either side of the chip 2.In the configuration (b), the device 1 therefore comprises two antennas 3 each having two opposite strands 30 on either side of the chip 2.In the configuration (b), two forms are possible, namely: a first form where the first strand 30 of the first antenna 3 is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand 30 of the first antenna 3, and where the first strand 30 of the second antenna 3 is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand 30 of the second antenna 3; and a second form where the first strand 30 of the first antenna 3 is in the extension (or the alignment) of the first strand 30 of the second antenna 3, and where the second strand 30 of the first antenna 3 is in the extension (or the alignment) of the second strand 30 of the second antenna 3.The silicone material used during the two overmolding operations forms a hydrophobic material, guaranteed against fungi and mildew, resisting sand and dust, having elastic properties adapted to its use, and offering thermoforming properties desired in the second sequence of the manufacturing method of the radio-frequency identification device 1.In other words, the device 1 may be subjected to high temperatures, high pressures and will be capable of withstanding different aggressions (fire, different liquids, thermal variations, pressure variations .", ".", ".", ").", "The second sequence of the manufacturing method comprises thermoforming the envelope 4 so that the two strips 41 are thermoformed according to a twisted configuration around a common twisting axis.", "This thermoforming operation is carried out in an oven at a temperature comprised between 80 and 100° C., until the strips 41 take on a helical or twisted shape, in particular around a jig.", "Afterwards, after cooling, and as shown in FIG.", "12 for the second device 1, the strips 41 will have a solid twisted shape and the radio-frequency identification device 1 is ready to be placed on the element EL.", "Referring to FIGS.", "11 and 13, the radio-frequency identification device 1 is used by fastening it on the element EL as follows: the twisted strips 41 are positioned (or wound) around the element EL; and two or three hose clamps 5 are placed in the holes 401, 411 of the respective bosses 400,410, and are afterwards clasped around the element EL in order to clamp and press the device 1 on the element EL.", "The devices 1 in accordance with either one of the two forms described hereinabove, have excellent performances in terms of detection distance, even in constrained environments, as illustrated in FIG.", "14 which are modellings of the variation of the maximum detection distance as a function of frequency for the first device 1 (curve C1) and for the second device 1 (curve C2).", "In the models of FIG.", "14, the maximum detection distance has a maximum of about 3.70 meter for the first device 1 and about 2 meter for the second device 1.It should also be noted that the first device 1 outperforms the second device 1.In practice, it should be noted that the maximum detection distance is larger and varies between 2.5 meter and about 4 meter.", "The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure.", "Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure." ] ]
Patent_15875142
[ [ "DISPLAY APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF", "An apparatus includes: a display unit; a communication unit configured to communicate with a plurality of devices external to the apparatus; and a processor configured to control the display unit to display a first user interface (UI) image including a list of content files stored in a first device of the plurality of devices and a second UI image including a list of applications stored in a second device of the plurality of devices, and, in response to receiving a first user input selecting a content file from the list of content files in the first UI image and a second user input selecting an application from the list of applications in the second UI image, to control the selected content file to be processed by the selected application in the second device." ], [ "1.An apparatus comprising: a display unit; a communication unit configured to communicate with a plurality of devices external to the apparatus; and a processor configured: to control the display unit to display a first user interface (UI) image including a list of content files stored in a first device of the plurality of devices and a second UI image including a list of applications stored in a second device of the plurality of devices, and in response to receiving a first user input selecting a content file from the list of content files in the first UI image and a second user input selecting an application from the list of applications in the second UI image, to control the selected content file to be processed by the selected application in the second device.", "2.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control the first device to transmit the selected content file from the first device to the second device.", "3.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first UI image and the second UI image correspond to UI images provided by the first device and the second device, respectively.", "4.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control in response to the selected content file being selected, dragged, and dropped to an execution view of the application included in the second UI image.", "5.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit comprises a touch screen, and the first user input and the second user input comprise a touch, drag, and drop of the selected content file through the touch screen.", "6.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in response to receiving a third user input designating at least one of the plurality of devices, the processor is further configured to control the second device such that the second device transmits the content file processed by the selected application to a designated device.", "7.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the second UI image corresponding to an execution view of the application of the second device, and to receive the first UI image from the first device to process the content files by the application executed by the second device.", "8.The apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a user input device, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the first user input, the second user input, and the third user input that are input through the user input device.", "9.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to designate at least one among the first device, the second device, and the apparatus, to store the selected content file processed by the selected application.", "10.A control method of an apparatus, the control method comprising: communicating with a plurality of devices external to the apparatus; displaying a first user interface (UI) image including a list of content files stored in a first device of the plurality of devices and a second UI image including a list of applications stored in a second device of the plurality of devices; receiving a first user input selecting a content file from the list of content files in the first UI image and a second user input selecting an application from the list of applications in the second UI image; and in response to the first user input and the second user input, controlling the selected content file to be processed by the selected application in the second device.", "11.The control method according to claim 10, wherein the controlling comprises: controlling the first device to transmit the selected content file from the first device to the second device.", "12.The control method according to claim 10, wherein the first UI image and the second UI image correspond to UI images provided by the first device and the second device, respectively.", "13.The control method according to claim 10, wherein the receiving the first user input and the second user input comprises: receiving the first user input and the second user input by selecting, dragging and dropping the selected content file into an execution view of the application included in the second UI image.", "14.The control method according to claim 10, wherein the apparatus comprises a touch screen, and the receiving the first user input and the second user input comprises: a touch, drag, and drop of the selected content file through the touch screen.", "15.The control method according to claim 10, further comprises: receiving a third user input designating at least one of the plurality of devices; and in response to the third user input, controlling the second device such that the second device transmits the content file processed by the selected application to a designated device.", "16.The control method according to claim 10, wherein the displaying comprises: receiving the first UI image corresponding to content data from the first device and receiving the second UI image corresponding to an execution view of the application of the second device.", "17.The control method according to claim 10, wherein the controlling comprises: storing content data processed by the selected application in at least one among the first device, the second device, and the apparatus." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>Exemplary embodiments may address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above.", "According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a display apparatus including: a display unit; an image processor which processes an image to display the image on the display unit; a communication unit which communicates with at least one first external device in which content data are stored and at least one second external device in which an application for processing the content data is stored; and a controller which controls the communication unit to communicate with the first and second external devices and display a user interface (UI) image corresponding to the content data and the application on the display unit, and controls the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data through the UI image.", "The UI image may include a first UI image corresponding to the first external device and a second UI image corresponding to the second external device, and the controller may control the processing operation for the content data according to an interaction input between the first and second UI images.", "The first UI image and the second UI image may correspond to UI images provided by the first and second external devices, respectively.", "The first UI image may include a list of the content data stored in the first external device, and the second UI image may include an execution view of the application of the second external device, and the controller may control the processing operation of the application with respect to first content data from the list as the first content data are dragged and dropped to the execution view of the application.", "The display unit may include a touch screen, and the interaction input between the first and second UI images may include a drag and drop through the touch screen.", "The controller may control the first external device to transmit the content data to the second external device, and control the second external device to process the content data through the application executed by the section external device.", "The controller may control the application of the second external device to be executed in the display apparatus, receive the content data from the first external device and process the content data through the application executed by the display apparatus.", "The controller may receive a UI image corresponding to an execution view of the application of the second external device and receive a UI image corresponding to the content data from the first external device to process the content data through the application executed by the second external device.", "The display apparatus may further include a user input unit, and the controller may control the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data based on a user's input through the user input unit.", "The controller may designate at least one of the first external device, the second external device and the display apparatus to store in the designated place the content data processed by the application.", "According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a control method of a display apparatus including: communicating with at least one first external device storing content data therein and at least one second external device storing an application therein to process the content data and displaying a UI image corresponding to the content data and the application; receiving a command to process the content data by the application through the UI image; and controlling a processing operation of the application with respect to the content data based on the command.", "The UI image may include a first UI image corresponding to the first external device and a second UI image corresponding to the second external device, and the controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include controlling the processing operation of the content data according to an interaction input between the first and second UI images.", "The first and second UI images may correspond to UI images provided by the first and second external devices, respectively.", "The first UI image may include a list of the content data stored in the first external device and the second UI image may include an execution view of the application of the second external device, and the controlling the processing operation for the content data according to the interaction input may include controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the first content data by dragging and dropping the first content data of the list to the execution view of the application.", "The display apparatus may include a touch screen, and the interaction input between the first and second UI images may include a drag and drop through the touch screen.", "The controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include controlling the first external device to transmit the content data to the second external device; and controlling the second external device to process the content data through the application executed by the second external device.", "The controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include executing the application of the second external device in the display apparatus; and receiving the content data from the first external device and processing the content data through the application executed in the display apparatus.", "The displaying the UI image may include receiving a UI image corresponding to an execution view of the application of the second external device; and the controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include receiving a UI image corresponding to the content data from the first external device and processing the content data through the application executed in the second external device.", "The controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include storing the content data processed by the application in at least one of the first external device, the second external device and the display apparatus as designated." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "13/771,817, filed Feb. 20, 2013, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.", "10-2012-0016868, filed on Feb. 20, 2012 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office.", "The entire disclosures of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.", "BACKGROUND 1.Field Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a display apparatus and a control method thereof displaying various types of images, and more particularly, to a display apparatus and a control method thereof which communicates with a plurality of external devices and relays the plurality of external devices.", "2.Description of the Related Art A display apparatus processes image signals or image data which are input from an external image supply source or stored in the display apparatus, and displays an image on a display unit based on the processed image signal and/or image data.", "A display apparatus which is available to general users includes a television (TV) or a monitor.", "Further, in consideration of special functions required by a user, such display apparatus has been developed into a portable multimedia player (PMP), a mobile phone, etc.", "With the development of local area communication in wired and/or wireless manner, a plurality of electronic devices accesses one another to share various signals, information, and/or data.", "For example, in the case of editing a photo taken by a camera, the camera takes a photograph of a predetermined object, generates and stores a digital data file.", "Then, a computer main body receives the image data from the camera through a preset wired and/or wireless protocol, and executes a prestored editing application to edit and process the image data.", "Accordingly, transmission and processing of data is executed between a device which stores the data and a device in which the data processing application has been installed.", "SUMMARY Exemplary embodiments may address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and other disadvantages not described above.", "According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a display apparatus including: a display unit; an image processor which processes an image to display the image on the display unit; a communication unit which communicates with at least one first external device in which content data are stored and at least one second external device in which an application for processing the content data is stored; and a controller which controls the communication unit to communicate with the first and second external devices and display a user interface (UI) image corresponding to the content data and the application on the display unit, and controls the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data through the UI image.", "The UI image may include a first UI image corresponding to the first external device and a second UI image corresponding to the second external device, and the controller may control the processing operation for the content data according to an interaction input between the first and second UI images.", "The first UI image and the second UI image may correspond to UI images provided by the first and second external devices, respectively.", "The first UI image may include a list of the content data stored in the first external device, and the second UI image may include an execution view of the application of the second external device, and the controller may control the processing operation of the application with respect to first content data from the list as the first content data are dragged and dropped to the execution view of the application.", "The display unit may include a touch screen, and the interaction input between the first and second UI images may include a drag and drop through the touch screen.", "The controller may control the first external device to transmit the content data to the second external device, and control the second external device to process the content data through the application executed by the section external device.", "The controller may control the application of the second external device to be executed in the display apparatus, receive the content data from the first external device and process the content data through the application executed by the display apparatus.", "The controller may receive a UI image corresponding to an execution view of the application of the second external device and receive a UI image corresponding to the content data from the first external device to process the content data through the application executed by the second external device.", "The display apparatus may further include a user input unit, and the controller may control the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data based on a user's input through the user input unit.", "The controller may designate at least one of the first external device, the second external device and the display apparatus to store in the designated place the content data processed by the application.", "According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a control method of a display apparatus including: communicating with at least one first external device storing content data therein and at least one second external device storing an application therein to process the content data and displaying a UI image corresponding to the content data and the application; receiving a command to process the content data by the application through the UI image; and controlling a processing operation of the application with respect to the content data based on the command.", "The UI image may include a first UI image corresponding to the first external device and a second UI image corresponding to the second external device, and the controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include controlling the processing operation of the content data according to an interaction input between the first and second UI images.", "The first and second UI images may correspond to UI images provided by the first and second external devices, respectively.", "The first UI image may include a list of the content data stored in the first external device and the second UI image may include an execution view of the application of the second external device, and the controlling the processing operation for the content data according to the interaction input may include controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the first content data by dragging and dropping the first content data of the list to the execution view of the application.", "The display apparatus may include a touch screen, and the interaction input between the first and second UI images may include a drag and drop through the touch screen.", "The controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include controlling the first external device to transmit the content data to the second external device; and controlling the second external device to process the content data through the application executed by the second external device.", "The controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include executing the application of the second external device in the display apparatus; and receiving the content data from the first external device and processing the content data through the application executed in the display apparatus.", "The displaying the UI image may include receiving a UI image corresponding to an execution view of the application of the second external device; and the controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include receiving a UI image corresponding to the content data from the first external device and processing the content data through the application executed in the second external device.", "The controlling the processing operation of the application with respect to the content data may include storing the content data processed by the application in at least one of the first external device, the second external device and the display apparatus as designated.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and/or other aspects will become apparent by describing certain exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of a display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment; FIG.", "2 illustrates an example of a UI image corresponding to a first external device and a second external device which are displayed in the display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment; FIG.", "3 illustrates an example of transmission of signals and data between the display apparatus and the first and second external devices according to an exemplary embodiment; FIG.", "4 illustrates an example of a UI image corresponding to first and second external devices which are displayed in a display apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment; and FIG.", "5 is a control flowchart of a control method of the display apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Below, certain exemplary embodiments are described in greater detail with reference to accompanying drawings.", "The exemplary embodiments may be embodied in various forms without being limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein.", "In the following description, like drawing reference numerals are used for the like elements, even in different drawings.", "The matters defined in the description, such as detailed construction and elements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments.", "However, exemplary embodiments can be carried out without those specifically defined matters.", "Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since that would obscure the invention with unnecessary detail.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram of a display apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment.", "As shown therein, a display system according to an exemplary embodiment includes a display apparatus 100 which displays an image, a first external device 210 and a second external device 220 which communicate with the display apparatus 100 and transmit and receive commands, data, information, and/or signals, the types of which are not limited.", "The display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a multimedia player which is hand-held and portable.", "However, such embodiment of the display apparatus 100 is not limiting.", "In this regard, as long as the display apparatus 100 may display an image and communicate with the first and second external devices 210 and 220, the display apparatus 100 which may include a TV, a monitor, a mobile phone, etc.", "The first and second external devices 210 and 220 include electronic devices which may store and/or process data.", "According to the present exemplary embodiment, the first external device 210 includes a digital camera and the second external device 220 includes a tablet PC.", "However, this is an example and the first and second external devices 210 and 220 may include a computer main body, a camera, a camcorder, a mobile phone and a TV as long as they may communicate with the display apparatus 100 based on a preset protocol.", "Hereinafter, configuration of the display apparatus 100 will be described.", "The display apparatus 100 includes a communication unit 110 which communicates with the first external device 210 or the second external device 220, an image processor 120 which processes data received through the communication unit 110 or stored in the display apparatus 100, a display device 130 which displays an image thereon based on the data processed by the image processor 120, and a controller 140 which controls overall operations of the display apparatus 100.The communication unit 110 transmits commands, data, information, and/or signals from the first external device 210 or the second external device 220 to the image processor 120 or the controller 140 depending on the characteristic or nature of such commands, data, information, and signals.", "The communication unit 110 may transmit the commands, data, information, and signals supplied by the controller 150, to the first external device 210 or the second external device 220.As above, the communication unit 110 performs interactive communication with the first external device 210 or the second external device 220.The communication unit 110 may directly access the first external device 210 or the second external device 220, or access a local area communication network to which both the first and second external devices 210 and 220 access.", "To do the foregoing, the communication unit 110 performs a communication access according to a preset wired and/or wireless communication protocol.", "The image processor 120 processes data which are received through the communication unit 110 or data stored in advance in the display apparatus 100 to display an image on the display device 130.If the data include image data, the image processor 120 performs various processing operations.", "If the data include control information or script information instead of the image data, the image processor 120 processes the data information according to a preset algorithm to generate an image based on the data.", "The image processor 120 may perform image processing operations including a decoding operation corresponding to an image format of an image signal, a de-interlacing operation to convert an interlace image signal into a progressive image signal, a scaling operation to scale an image signal into preset resolution, a noise reduction operation to improve an image quality, a detail enhancement operation and conversion of a frame refresh rate, but not limited thereto.", "The image processor 120 includes a system-on-chip (SoC) which integrates various functions, or an image processing board (not shown) which is formed by installing individual elements independently performing various processes in a printed circuit board.", "The display device 130 displays an image thereon based on image signals and/or image data output by the image processor 120.The display device 130 may include liquid crystal, plasma, light-emitting diode (LED), organic light-emitting diode (OLED), surface-conduction electron-emitter, carbon nano-tube, and nano-crystal, but not limited thereto.", "The display device 130 may include additional elements depending on configuration thereof.", "For example, if the display device 130 includes liquid crystal, the display device 130 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel (not shown), a backlight (not shown) to emit light to the LCD panel, and a panel driving substrate (not shown) to drive the LCD panel.", "The display device 130 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a touch screen.", "The display device 130 transmits a preset command and/or signal to the controller 140 corresponding to a user's touch input on the surface of the touch screen.", "The controller 140 controls an operation of the display apparatus 100 or generates and transmits a corresponding control signal through the communication unit 110, corresponding to a command received through the communication unit 110 or an input command displayed on the display device 130.For example, the controller 140 may control an image processing operation of the image processor 120 or transmit a preset control signal to the first external device 210 or the second external device 220 to operate the first external device 210 or the second external device 220 by the control signal, according to the nature of the received command.", "According to an exemplary embodiment, the controller 140 and the image processor 120 are described as separate elements, but not limited thereto.", "Alternatively, the controller 140 and the image processor 120 may be provided as a single image processing board (not shown).", "With the foregoing configuration, a control method of the display apparatus 100 for processing content data stored in the first external device 210 by an application stored in the second external device 220 will be described hereinafter.", "According an exemplary embodiment, editing and processing of an image data file stored in the first external device 210 is performed by an image editing application stored in the second external device 220.However, this is an example, and the nature of the data or application, or exemplary embodiment of a UI image is not limited thereto.", "The controller 140 is connected to the first and second external devices 210 and 220 through the communication unit 110 for communication, and controls the image processor 120 to display an UI image of the first and second external devices 210 and 220, respectively, on the display device 130.The method of realizing a UI image corresponding to the first and second external devices 210 and 220 by the controller 140 may vary.", "For example, the controller 140 transmits a request signal to the first and second external devices 210 and 220 to generate a UI image.", "In response to the request signal received, the first and second external devices 210 and 220 transmit to the display apparatus 100 their own information necessary for generating the UI image.", "The controller 140 generates a UI image based on the information transmitted by the first and second external devices 210 and 220, respectively.", "FIG.", "2 illustrates an example of a UI image 310 corresponding to the first and second external devices 210 and 220 displayed on the display device 130, respectively.", "As shown therein, the controller 140 displays the UI image 310 on the display device 130 corresponding to the first and second external devices 210 and 220.The UI image 310 includes a first UI image 311 corresponding to the first external device 210, and a second UI image 312 corresponding to the second external device 220.The controller 140 may control operations of the first and second external devices 210 and 220 through the first and second UI images 311 and 312.If the first and second external devices 210 and 220 provide information and/or image data corresponding to their own UI environment, the first and second UI images 311 and 312 may be formed to correspond to the UI environment information provided by the first and second external devices 210 and 220.For example, the first UI image 311 may reflect the UI environment provided by the first external device 210 itself With respect to the request signal transmitted by the controller 140, the first external device 210 transmits to the display apparatus 100 list information of prestored image data files, and the second external device 220 transmits to the display apparatus 100 the UI environment information on an operating system which can be used to drive the second external device 220.Based on the foregoing information, the controller 140 displays both the first UI image 311 and the second UI image 312.The first UI image 311 includes an image data file list 340 of the first external device 210.The second UI image 312 includes an execution view 342 of an application which is executed in the operating system of the second external device 220.The first and second UI images 311 and 312 are provided to enable interaction input therefrom, e.g., an input from the first and second UI images 311 and 312.For example, a predetermined data file 344 in the list 340 of the first UI image 311 may be processed by an application of the second UI image 312.A user may touch, and drag and drop the data file 344 of the first UI image 311 in to the second UI image 312 to process the data file through the application.", "In response to such operation, the controller 140 transmits a control signal to control the first external device 210 to transmit the data file to the second external device 220 and transmits a control signal to the second external device 220 to process the data file transmitted by the first external device 210 through the application, upon receiving an input to drag and drop the data file to the second UI image 312.The first and second external devices 210 and 220 perform a corresponding operation according to the respective control signals.", "Then, the display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment may relay the first and second external devices 210 and 220 to process the data file of the first external device 210 through the application of the second external device 220.Upon receiving an input to manipulate a processing operation of the application through the second UI image 312, the controller 140 may transmit a control signal to the second external device 220 in response to the corresponding input, and control the second external device 220 to operate the application corresponding to the control signal.", "With respect to the operation of the application, real-time information may be provided by the second external device 220 to the display apparatus 100 and displayed on the second UI image 312.If the processing of the data file by the application is completed, the controller 140 may designate at least one of the first external device 210, the second external device 220 and the display apparatus 100 to store therein the processed data file.", "To do the foregoing, the controller 140 transmits a corresponding control signal to the second external device 220.Alternatively, the following method is available.", "If communication is not available between the first and second external devices 210 and 220, or upon receiving an input for dragging and dropping a predetermined data file of the first UI image 311 to the second UI image 312 even in the case that such communication is available, the controller 140 may transmit the data file from the first external device 210 to the second external device 220.If the system performance of the display apparatus 100 and the communication environment for the display apparatus 100 and the second external device 220 are ensured, the display apparatus 100 may perform at least a part of the processing operation of the data file performed by the application.", "In this case, when the application processes the data file in the second external device 220, the controller 140 provides system resources of the display apparatus 100 for processing the data file, or performs at least a part of such processing operation.", "In the foregoing exemplary embodiment, a single first external device 210 and a single second external device 220 are described, but not limited thereto.", "Alternatively, each of the first external device 210 and the second external device 220 may include a plurality of devices.", "In this case, the UI image 310 may be divided into and displayed as a plurality of UI images corresponding to the first and second external devices 210 and 220, respectively, and may perform interaction therebetween.", "Details of such operation may be similar or equivalent to the described above exemplary embodiment, and thus repetitive description will be omitted.", "Hereinafter, transmission of signals and data in the system according to an exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.", "3.FIG.", "3 illustrates transmission and reception of signals, data, commands, and/or information among the first external device 210, the second external device 220 and the display apparatus 100.As shown therein, the display apparatus 100 transmits to the first and second external devices 210 and 220, signals requesting the relevant information to display a UI image (operations 410 and 420).", "In response to the request signals, the first and second external devices 210 and 220 transmit UI information to the display apparatus 100, respectively (operations 430 and 440).", "Based on the received UI information, the display apparatus 100 displays a UI image (operation 450).", "The display apparatus 100 may receive an input to process predetermined data of the first external device 210 by the application of the second external device 220 through the displayed UI image.", "Upon receiving the input, the display apparatus 100 transmits a control signal to the first external device 210 to transmit the concerned data to the second external device 220 (operation 460), and transmits a control signal to the second external device 220 to process the data transmitted by the first external device 210 (operation 470).", "According to the control signal received in operation 460, the first external device 210 transmits the data to the second external device 220 (operation 480).", "In operation 470, the second external device 220 processes the data transmitted by the first external device 210 by the application according to the control signal received in operation 470.If this control signal includes information regarding storage of the processed data in the first external device 210, the second external device 220 may transmit the processed data to the first external device 210 such that the data is stored in the first external device 210 (operation 500).", "According to the transmission and reception processes for signals and data, the display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment may relay interaction between the first and second external devices 210 and 220.That is, the display apparatus may serve as an intermediary between the first and second external devices 210 and 220.Regarding processing of the data of the first external device 210 through the application, the display apparatus 100 may have the application of the second external device 220 executed in the display apparatus 100 and may allow the data to be processed by the application executed in the display apparatus 100.For example, the display apparatus 100 may provide system resources necessary for the execution of the application installed in the second external device 220 to thereby execute the application of the second external device 220 in the display apparatus 100.For example, predetermined content data which are stored in the first external device 210 or the second external device 220 may be collected and processed by the application installed in the display apparatus 100.This will be described with reference to FIG.", "4.FIG.", "4 illustrates an example of a UI image 320 corresponding to the first and second external devices 210 and 220 displayed in the display apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment.", "The configuration of the display apparatus 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment may be similar or equivalent to the one described above.", "Thus, repetitive description will be omitted.", "In the present exemplary embodiment, an image data file stored in the first external device 210 and a music data file stored in the second external device 220 are edited and processed together to generate an album file.", "However, this is an example, which is not limiting.", "As shown in FIG.", "4, the controller 140 displays the UI image 320 on the display device 130 corresponding to the first external device 210, the second external device 220 and the display apparatus 100.The UI image 320 includes a first UI image 321 corresponding to the first external device 210, a second UI image 322 corresponding to the second external device 220 and a third UI image 323 corresponding to UI environment provided by the display apparatus 100 itself The controller 140 accesses the first and second external devices 210 and 220 and receives information on an image data file list 350 stored in the first external device 210 and information on a music data file list 352 stored in the second external device 220.The controller 140 displays the first UI image 321 including the image data file list 350 of the first external device 210 and the second UI image 322 including the music data file list 352 of the second external device 220, based on the received information.", "Together with the first and second UI images 321 and 322, the controller 140 displays a third UI image 323 including an execution view 354 of the application installed in an operating system driven by the display apparatus 100.The first UI image 321, the second UI image 322 and the third UI image 323 may interact with one another by dragging and dropping objects included in the UI image 320.For example, if a user drags and drops a predetermined image data file 360 of the first UI image 321 and a predetermined music data file 362 of the second UI image 322 to the third UI image 323, the controller 140 receives the image data file and the music data file from the first and second external devices 210 and 220, respectively, edits the received files by the application and generates a new album file.", "According to a user's input through the display device 130, the controller 140 may store the generated album file in the display apparatus 100 or transmit to and store the album file in the first external device 210 or the second external device 220.Hereinafter, a control method of the display apparatus 100 according to the an exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.", "5.FIG.", "5 is a control flowchart of the control method of the display apparatus 100.As shown therein, the display apparatus 100 accesses the first external device 210 storing data therein and the second external device 220 storing therein an application to process the data (S100).", "The display apparatus 100 displays a UI image corresponding to the data of the first external device 210 and the application of the second external device 220 (S110).", "Upon receiving an interaction input command, e.g., a command for processing the data by the application through the UI image (S120), the display apparatus 100 controls the first external device 210 to transmit the data to the second external device 220 to process the data (S130).", "Otherwise, the display apparatus 100 may perform at least a part of the processing operation when the application of the second external device 220 processes the data.", "The display apparatus 100 stores the processed data in a storage (S140).", "In the foregoing exemplary embodiments, the interaction input between the UI images is performed by a user touching the display device 130 as a touch screen.", "In the case of a display apparatus in which the display device 130 does not include a touch screen, such interaction input may be performed by a user's input through a user input device (not shown) provided additionally.", "Although a few exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the range of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.", "The foregoing exemplary embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting.", "The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses.", "Also, the description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art." ] ]
Patent_15875146
[ [ "IMAGE ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND DEVICE", "Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for image encoding/decoding that support a plurality of layers.", "The method for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list, and the information of the first layer includes at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture." ], [ "1.A method for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers, the method being performed by a decoding apparatus and comprising: decoding a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configuring a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the first reference picture list and the second reference picture list to generate a prediction block; generating a residual block of the current decoding target block; and reconstructing the current decoding target block based on the prediction block and the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises upsampling the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises mapping motion information of the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "4.The method of claim 3, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer further comprises: dividing the picture of the second layer into N×N unit blocks; calculating a sample position of the first layer corresponding to one of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer including the current decoding target block; and determining motion information of the current decoding target block by mapping motion information of the sample position of the first layer to the N×N unit block of the second layer including the current decoding target block.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the sample position of the first layer corresponds to a reference sample position in the N×N unit blocks of the second layer, and the N×N unit blocks are 16×16 unit blocks.", "6.The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving information on the motion information mapping of the picture of the first layer in any one or any combination of any two or more of a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), and a slice segment header.", "7.The method of claim 3, further comprising using the mapped motion information of the first layer as a temporal motion vector candidate for the current decoding target block of the second layer.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the prediction samples of the current decoding target block comprises using a first layer sample at a same position as the current decoding target block as a prediction sample of the prediction samples of the current decoding target block in response to a reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicating the mapped picture of the first layer in the first reference picture list or the second reference picture list.", "9.An apparatus for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: decode a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; map the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configure a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configure a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; generate prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the first reference picture list and the second reference picture list to generate a prediction block; generate a residual block of the current decoding target block; and reconstruct the current decoding target block based on the prediction block and the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list.", "10.A method for image encoding that supports a plurality of layers, the method being performed by an encoding apparatus and comprising: decoding a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to; mapping the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configuring a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the mapped picture of the first layer to generate a prediction block; generating a residual block of the current encoding target block based on the prediction block; and encoding the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list.", "11.The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises upsampling the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "12.The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises mapping motion information of the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "13.The method of claim 12, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer further comprises: dividing the picture of the second layer into N×N unit blocks; calculating a sample position of the first layer corresponding to one of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer including the current encoding target block; and determining motion information of the current encoding target block by mapping motion information of the sample position of the first layer to the N×N unit block of the second layer including the current decoding target block.", "14.The method of claim 13, wherein the sample position of the first layer corresponds to a reference sample position in the N×N unit blocks of the second layer, and the N×N unit blocks are 16×16 unit blocks.", "15.The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting information on the motion information mapping of the picture of the first layer in any one or any combination of any two or more of a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), and a slice segment header.", "16.The method of claim 12, further comprising using the mapped motion information of the first layer as a temporal motion vector candidate for the current encoding target block of the second layer.", "17.The method of claim 10, wherein the generating of the prediction samples of the current encoding target block comprises using a first layer sample at a same position as the current encoding target block as a prediction sample of the prediction samples of the current encoding target block in response to a reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicating the mapped picture of the first layer in the first reference picture list or the second reference picture list.", "18.An apparatus for image encoding that supports a plurality of layers, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: decode a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to; map the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configure a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configure a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; and generate prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the mapped picture of the first layer to generate a prediction block; generate a residual block of the current encoding target block based on the prediction block; and encode the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list.", "19.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a bitstream generated by a method for image encoding that supports a plurality of layers, the method being performed by an encoding apparatus and comprising: decoding a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to; mapping the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configuring a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; and generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the mapped picture of the first layer to generate a prediction block; generating a residual block of the current encoding target block based on the prediction block; and encoding the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for encoding/decoding a higher layer by using information of a lower layer in scalable video coding.", "Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for mapping a lower layer image in scalable video coding.", "Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for configuring a reference picture list of a higher layer image by using a lower layer image and performing a prediction in scalable video coding.", "In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image decoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image decoding includes a decoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image encoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to, mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image encoding includes an encoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In the related art, during mapping motion information of a lower layer, even when a temporal motion vector of a higher layer is not predicted, there is a problem that an unnecessary motion information mapping process is performed.", "Further, when the motion information of the lower layer is not mapped, since a decoded picture of the lower layer can be indicated as a collocated picture for the temporal motion vector in the upper layer, a case in which the temporal motion vector of the upper layer cannot be predicted occurs, thereby degrading encoding efficiency.", "According to the present invention, the motion information of the lower layer to which the upper layer refers is mapped in an image size of the upper layer and thereafter, the upper layer is predicted and reconstructed by using an image signal of the lower layer which is mapped, thereby improving encoding/decoding efficiency.", "Further, by modifying an upper level syntax, an unnecessary mapping process of the motion information of the lower layer can be skipped and complexity can be reduced.", "In addition, a wrong collocated picture is prevented from being used to prevent the encoding efficiency from being degraded." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of application Ser.", "No.", "14/782,213 filed on Oct. 2, 2015, which is a U.S. national stage application of International Application No.", "PCT/KR2014/002899 filed on Apr.", "3, 2014, which claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a) and 365(b) of Korean Patent Application Nos.", "10-2013-0037106 filed on Apr.", "4, 2013, 10-2013-0039356 filed on Apr.", "10, 2013, 10-2013-0081199 filed on Jul.", "10, 2013, 10-2013-0082577 filed on Jul.", "15, 2013, and 10-2014-0039805 filed on Apr.", "3, 2014, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office.", "The entire disclosures of application Ser.", "No.", "14/782,213, International Application No.", "PCT/KR2014/002899, and Korean Patent Application Nos.", "10-2013-0037106, 10-2013-0039356, 10-2013-0081199, 10-2013-0082577, and 10-2014-0039805 are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.", "BACKGROUND 1.Field The present invention relates to image encoding and decoding, and more particularly, to a method for predicting, and encoding and decoding an image of a higher layer by using information of a lower layer in image encoding and decoding in a multi-layer structure.", "2.Description of Related Art In recent years, while a multimedia environment has been built up, various terminals and networks have been used and the resulting use requirement has been diversified.", "For example, as a performance and a computing capability of a terminal have been diversified, a supported performance has also been diversified for each apparatus.", "Further, in the case of a network in which information is transmitted, a pattern, an information amount, and a transmission speed of the transmitted information, as well as an external structure such as wired and wireless networks have been diversified for each function.", "A user has selected a terminal and a network to be used according to a desired function and further, spectrums of a terminal and a network which an enterprise provides to the user have been diversified.", "In this regard, in recent years, as a broadcast having a high definition (HD) resolution has been extended and serviced worldwide as well as domestically, a lot of users have been familiar with a high definition image.", "As a result, a lot of image service associated organizations have made a lot of efforts to develop a next-generation image apparatus.", "Further, with an increase in interest in ultra high definition (UHD) having four times higher resolution than an HDTV as well as the HDTV, a requirement for technology that compresses and processes a higher resolution and higher definition image has been further increased.", "In order to compress and process the image, inter prediction technology of predicting a pixel value included in a current image from a temporally prior and/or post image, intra prediction technology of predicting another pixel value included in the current image by using pixel information in the current image, and entropy encoding technology of allocating a short sign to a symbol in which an appearance frequency is high and a long sign to a symbol in which the appearance frequency is low, and the like may be used.", "As described above, when respective terminals and networks having different supported functions, and the diversified user requirements are considered, a quality, a size, a frame, and the like of a supported image need to be consequently diversified.", "As such, due to heterogeneous communication networks, and terminals having various functions and various types of terminals, scalability that variously supports the quality, resolution, size, frame rate, and the like of the image becomes a primary function of a video format.", "Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a scalability function so as to achieve video encoding and decoding in terms of time, space, image quality, and the like in order to provide a service required by the user under various environments based on a high-efficiency video encoding method.", "SUMMARY An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for encoding/decoding a higher layer by using information of a lower layer in scalable video coding.", "Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for mapping a lower layer image in scalable video coding.", "Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for configuring a reference picture list of a higher layer image by using a lower layer image and performing a prediction in scalable video coding.", "In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image decoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image decoding includes a decoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image encoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to, mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image encoding includes an encoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In the related art, during mapping motion information of a lower layer, even when a temporal motion vector of a higher layer is not predicted, there is a problem that an unnecessary motion information mapping process is performed.", "Further, when the motion information of the lower layer is not mapped, since a decoded picture of the lower layer can be indicated as a collocated picture for the temporal motion vector in the upper layer, a case in which the temporal motion vector of the upper layer cannot be predicted occurs, thereby degrading encoding efficiency.", "According to the present invention, the motion information of the lower layer to which the upper layer refers is mapped in an image size of the upper layer and thereafter, the upper layer is predicted and reconstructed by using an image signal of the lower layer which is mapped, thereby improving encoding/decoding efficiency.", "Further, by modifying an upper level syntax, an unnecessary mapping process of the motion information of the lower layer can be skipped and complexity can be reduced.", "In addition, a wrong collocated picture is prevented from being used to prevent the encoding efficiency from being degraded.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for image encoding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for image decoding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a scalable video coding structure using a plurality of layers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for performing an inter-layer prediction (inter-layer prediction) in scalable video coding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "5 and 6 are diagrams illustrated for describing an inter-layer motion information mapping method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "In describing the embodiments of the present specification, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known art related to the present invention may obscure the gist of the present invention, the corresponding description thereof may be omitted.", "It will be understood that when an element is simply referred to as being ‘connected to’ or ‘coupled to’ another element without being ‘directly connected to’ or ‘directly coupled to’ another element in the present description, it may be ‘directly connected to’ or ‘directly coupled to’ another element or be connected to or coupled to another element, having the other element intervening therebetween.", "Moreover, a content of describing “including” a specific component in the specification does not exclude a component other than the corresponding component and means that an additional component may be included in the embodiments of the present invention or the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention.", "Terms such first, second, and the like may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms.", "The above terms are used only to discriminate one component from the other component.", "For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may be referred to as a first component.", "Further, components described in the embodiments of the present invention are independently illustrated in order to show different characteristic functions and each component is not constituted by separated hardware or one software constituting unit.", "That is, each component includes respective components which are arranged for easy description and at least two components of the respective components may constitute one component or one component is divided into a plurality of components which may perform their functions.", "Even an integrated embodiment and separated embodiments of each component is also included in the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention.", "Further, some components are not requisite components that perform essential functions but selective components for just improving performance in the present invention.", "The present invention may be implemented with the requisite component for implementing the spirit of the present invention other than the component used to just improve the performance and a structure including only the requisite component other than the selective component used to just improve the performance is also included in the scope of the present invention.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for image encoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "A scalable video encoding apparatus that supports a multi-layer structure may be implemented by extending a general image encoding apparatus having a single-layer structure.", "The block diagram of FIG.", "1 illustrates an embodiment of an image encoding apparatus which may be a basis of the scalable video encoding apparatus which may be applied to the multi-layer structure.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, an image encoding apparatus 100 includes an inter prediction module 110, an intra prediction module 120, a switch 115, a subtractor 125, a transform module 130, a quantization module 140, an entropy encoding module 150, a dequantization module 160, an inverse transform module 170, an adder 175, a filter module 180, and a reference picture buffer 190.The image encoding apparatus 100 may encode an input image in an intra mode or an inter mode and output a bitstream.", "In the intra mode, the switch 115 may be switched to intra and in the inter mode, the switch 115 may be switched to inter.", "The intra prediction means an intra-screen prediction and the inter prediction means an inter-screen prediction.", "The image encoding apparatus 100 may generate a prediction block for an input block of the input image and thereafter, encode a residual between the input block and the prediction block.", "In this case, the input image may mean an original picture.", "In the intra mode, the intra prediction module 120 may generate the prediction block by performing a spatial prediction by using a pixel value of an already encoded/decoded block adjacent to a current block.", "The intra prediction module 120 may perform the spatial prediction by using a reference sample and generate prediction samples for the current block.", "In the inter mode, the inter prediction module 110 may acquire a motion vector by finding an area of a reference image stored in the reference picture buffer 190 which most matches the input block during a motion prediction process.", "The inter prediction module 110 corrects a motion by using the motion vector and the reference image stored in the picture buffer 190 to generate the prediction block for the current block.", "In case of the multi-layer structure, the inter prediction applied in the inter mode may include an inter-layer prediction.", "The inter prediction module 110 configures an inter-layer reference picture by sampling a picture of the reference layer and encapsulates the inter-layer reference picture in the reference picture list to perform the inter-layer prediction.", "An inter-layer reference relationship may be signaled through information that specifies inter-layer dependence.", "Meanwhile, when a current layer picture and the reference layer picture have the same size, sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean generation of a reference sample by sample copying or interpolation from the reference layer picture.", "When the current layer picture and the reference layer picture have different resolutions, the sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean up sampling.", "For example, as a case in which layers have different resolutions, the inter-layer reference picture may be configured by up-sampling the reconstructed picture of the reference layer between layers that support scalability regarding the resolution.", "A layer picture used for configuring the inter-layer reference picture may be determined by considering encoding cost, and the like.", "The encoding apparatus may transmit, to the decoding apparatus, information that specifies the layer to which the picture to be used as the inter-layer reference picture belongs.", "Further, a picture used to predict the current within a layer which is referred to in the inter-layer prediction, that is, the reference layer may be a picture of the same access unit (AU) as the current picture (a prediction target picture within the current layer).", "The subtractor 125 may a residual block by a residual between the input block and the generated prediction block.", "The transform module 130 transforms the residual block to output a transform coefficient.", "Herein, the transform coefficient may mean a coefficient value generated by converting the residual block and/or a residual signal.", "Hereinafter, in this specification, the transform coefficient is quantized and a quantized transform coefficient level may also be called the transform coefficient.", "When a transform skip mode is applied, the transform module 130 may skip transforming the residual block.", "The quantization module 140 quantizes an input transform coefficient according to a quantization parameter to output a quantized coefficient.", "The quantized coefficient may be called the quantized transform coefficient level.", "In this case, the quantization module 140 may quantize the input transform coefficient by using a quantization matrix.", "The entropy encoding module 150 performs entropy encoding based on values calculated by the quantization module 140 or an encoded parameter value calculated during encoding to output the bitstream.", "The entropy encoding module 150 may entropy-encode information (for example, a syntax element, and the like) for video encoding in addition to pixel information of a video.", "The coding parameter is a parameter required for encoding and decoding, and may include information encoded in the encoding apparatus to be transferred to the decoding apparatus like the syntax element and information to be inferred during the encoding or decoding process.", "The coding parameter may include values or statistics of for example, an intra/inter prediction mode, a movement/motion vector, a reference video index, an encoding block pattern, presence of a residual signal, a transform coefficient, a quantized transform coefficient, a quantization parameter, a block size, block segment information, and the like.", "The residual signal may mean a difference between an original signal and a prediction signal, and may also mean a signal having a transformed form of the difference between the original signal and the prediction signal or a signal having a transformed and quantized form of the difference between the original signal and the prediction signal.", "The residual signal may be referred to as a residual block in a block unit.", "In the case where the entropy encoding is applied, a few of bits are allocated to a symbol having high occurrence probability and a lot of bits are allocated to a symbol having low occurrence probability to express the symbols, and as a result, a size of a bitstream for encoding target symbols may be reduced.", "Accordingly, compression performance of video encoding may be enhanced through the entropy encoding.", "The entropy encoding module 150 may use encoding methods such as exponential-Golomb coding, context-adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC), and context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) for the entropy encoding.", "For example, the entropy encoding module 150 may perform entropy encoding by using a variable length coding/code (VLC) table.", "Further, the entropy encoding module 150 derives a binarization method of a target symbol and a probability model of a target symbol/bin, and then may also perform the entropy encoding by using the derived binarization method or probability model.", "Since the image encoding apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of FIG.", "1 performs inter prediction encoding, that is, inter-screen prediction encoding, a currently encoded image needs to be decoded and stored to be used as the reference image.", "Accordingly, the quantized coefficient may be inversely quantized in the dequantization module 160 and inversely transformed in the inverse transform module 170.The inversely quantized and inversely transformed coefficient is added to the prediction block by the adder 175 and a reconstructed block is generated.", "The reconstructed block passes though the filter module 180, and the filter module 180 may apply at least one of a deblocking filter, a sample adaptive offset (SAO), and an adaptive loop filter (ALF) to the reconstructed block or a reconstructed picture.", "The filter module 180 may be called an adaptive in-loop filter.", "The deblocking filter may remove block distortion which occurs on a boundary between blocks.", "The SAO may add an appropriate offset value to a pixel value in order to compensate for coding error.", "The ALF may perform filtering based on a value acquired by comparing the reconstructed image and the original image.", "The reconstructed block which passes through the filter module 180 may be stored in the reference picture buffer 190.FIG.", "2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image decoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "A scalable video decoding apparatus that supports the multi-layer structure may be implemented by extending a general image decoding apparatus having the single-layer structure.", "The block diagram of FIG.", "2 illustrates an embodiment of an image decoding apparatus which may be a basis of the scalable video decoding apparatus which may be applied to the multi-layer structure.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, an image decoding apparatus 200 includes an entropy decoding module 210, a dequantization module 220, an inverse transform module 230, an intra prediction module 240, an inter prediction module 250, an adder 255, a filter module 260, and a reference picture buffer 270.The image decoding apparatus 200 may receive a bitstream output by an encoder, decode the received bitstream in the intra mode or the inter mode, and output the reconstructed image, that is, the reconstructed image.", "In the intra mode, the switch may be switched to ‘intra’, and in the inter mode, the switch may be switched to ‘inter’.", "The image decoding apparatus 200 may acquire a reconstructed residual block from the received bitstream and generate a block reconstructed by adding the reconstructed residual block and the prediction block after generating the prediction block, that is, the reconstruction block.", "The entropy decoding module 210 entropy-decodes the input bitstream according to probability distribution to generate information such as a quantized coefficient and a syntax element.", "The quantized coefficient is inversely quantized by the dequantization module 220 and inversely transformed by the inverse transform module 230.The quantized coefficient is inversely quantized/inversely transformed, and as a result, the reconstructed residual block may be generated.", "In this case, the dequantization module 220 may apply a quantization matrix to the quantized coefficient.", "In the intra mode, the intra prediction module 240 may performs a spatial prediction and generate prediction samples for the current block by using a sample value of an already decoded block adjacent to the current block.", "In the inter mode, the inter prediction module 250 compensates for a motion by using a motion vector and a reference picture stored in the reference picture buffer 270 to generate the prediction block for the current block.", "In case of the multi-layer structure, the inter prediction applied in the inter mode may include the inter-layer prediction.", "The inter prediction module 250 configures an inter-layer reference picture by sampling a picture of the reference layer and encapsulates the inter-layer reference picture in the reference picture list to perform the inter-layer prediction.", "An inter-layer reference relationship may be signaled through information that specifies inter-layer dependence.", "Meanwhile, when a current layer picture and the reference layer picture have the same size, sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean generation of a reference sample by sample copying or interpolation from the reference layer picture.", "When the current layer picture and the reference layer picture have different resolutions, the sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean up sampling.", "For example, as a case in which layers have different resolutions, the inter-layer prediction is applied between the layers that supports scalability regarding the resolution, the inter-layer reference picture may be configured by up-sampling the reconstructed picture of the reference layer.", "In this case, information that specifies the layer to which the picture to be used as the inter-layer reference picture belongs may be transmitted from the encoding apparatus to the decoding apparatus.", "Further, a picture used to predict the current within a layer which is referred to in the inter-layer prediction, that is, the reference layer may be a picture of the same access unit (AU) as the current picture (a prediction target picture within the current layer).", "The reconstructed residual block and the prediction block are added by the adder 255, and as a result, the reconstructed block may be generated.", "In other words, a residual sample and a prediction sample are added to each other, and as a result, a reconstructed sample or a reconstructed picture is generated.", "The reconstructed picture is filtered by the filter module 260.The filter module 260 may apply at least one of a deblocking filter, an SAO, and an ALF to the reconstructed block or the reconstructed picture.", "The filter module 260 outputs a modified or filtered reconstructed picture.", "The reconstructed image is stored in the reference picture buffer 270 to be used in the inter prediction.", "Further, the video decoding apparatus 200 may further include a parsing unit (not illustrated) parsing information regarding the encoded video included in the bitstream.", "The parsing unit may include the entropy decoding module 210, and may also be included in the entropy decoding module 210.The parsing unit may also be implemented as one constituent element of the decoding unit.", "Although it has been described that one encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus processes encoding/decoding of multi-layers in FIGS.", "1 and 2, it is for easy description and the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus may be configured for each layer.", "In this case, the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus of a higher layer may perform encoding/decoding of the corresponding higher layer by using information of the higher layer and information of the higher layer.", "For example, the prediction unit (inter prediction unit) of the higher layer may perform the intra-prediction or inter-prediction for the current block by using pixel information or picture information of the higher layer, and perform the inter-prediction (inter-layer prediction) of the current block by receiving the reconstructed picture information from the lower layer and using the same.", "Herein, only the inter-layer prediction has been described as an example, but the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus may perform encoding/decoding for a current layer by using information of a different layer regardless of the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus being configured for each layer or one apparatus processing the multi-layers.", "In the present invention, the layer may include a view.", "In this case, the prediction of the higher layer is not just performed by using the information of the lower layer, but the inter-layer prediction may be performed by using information of a different layer among layers that are specified to be dependent by information that specifies inter-layer dependence.", "FIG.", "3 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a scalable video coding structure using a plurality of layers according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "3, a group of picture (GOP) represents a picture group, that is, a group of pictures.", "A transmission medium is required to transmit image data and performance thereof is different for each transmission medium according to various network environments.", "The scalable video coding method may be provided to be applied to various transmission media or network environments.", "The video coding method (hereinafter, referred to as ‘scalable coding’ or ‘scalable video coding’) supporting the scalability is a coding method that increases encoding and decoding performances by removing inter-layer redundancy by using inter-layer texture information, motion information, a residual signal, and the like.", "The scalable video coding method may provide various scalabilities in spatial, temporal, quality, and view terms according to surrounding conditions such as transmission bit rate, transmission error rate, a system resource, and the like.", "Scalable video coding may be performed by using a multiple-layer structure so as to provide a bitstream which is applicable to various network situations.", "For example, a scalable video coding structure may include a basic layer that compresses and processes the image data by using the general image decoding method and may include an improvement layer that compresses and processes the image data by using both decoding information of the basic layer and the general decoding method.", "A base layer may be referred to as a base layer or a lower layer.", "An enhancement layer may be designated as an enhancement layer or a higher layer.", "In this case, the lower layer may represent a layer that supports lower scalability than a specific layer and the higher layer may represent a layer that supports higher scalability than a specific layer.", "Further, a layer referred to for encoding/decoding of a different layer may be called a reference layer and a layer encoded/decoded by using the different layer may be a current layer.", "The reference layer may be a lower layer than the current layer and the current layer may be a higher layer than the reference layer.", "Herein, a layer means a set of images and bitstreams that are distinguished based on a space (for example, an image size), a time (for example, a decoding order, an image output order, and frame rate), image quality, complexity, and the like.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, for example, the basic layer may be defined as standard definition (SD), a frame rate of 15 Hz, and a bit rate of 1 Mbps, and a first enhanced layer may be defined as high definition (HD), a frame rate of 30 Hz, and a bit rate of 3.9 Mbps, and a second enhanced layer may be defined as ultra high definition (4K-UHE), a frame rate of 60 Hz, and a bit rate of 27.2 Mbps.", "The format, frame rate, bit rate, and the like as one embodiment may be decided differently as necessary.", "Further, the number of used layers is not limited to the embodiment and may be decided differently according to a situation.", "For example, if a transmission bandwidth is 4 Mbps, data may be transmitted at 15 Hz or less by decreasing the frame rate of the HD of the first enhancement layer.", "The scalable video coding method may provide spatial, temporal, quality, and view scalabilities by the method described in the embodiment of FIG.", "3.In this specification, the scalable video coding has the same as the scalable video encoding in terms of encoding and the scalable video decoding in terms of decoding.", "Generally, in the prediction between the screens, at least one of a previous picture or a next picture of the current picture is referred to as a reference picture, and prediction for the current block may be performed based on the reference picture.", "A video used for the prediction of the current block is referred to as a reference picture or a reference frame.", "A region in the reference picture used for predicting the current block may be represented by using a reference picture index refldx indicating the reference picture, the motion picture, and the like.", "In the prediction between the screens, the reference block corresponding to the reference picture and the current block in the reference picture is selected to generate the prediction block for the current block.", "In the inter-screen prediction, the prediction block may be created so that a residual signal with the current block is minimized and the size of the motion vector is also minimized.", "In order to use the information of the reference picture in the inter-prediction, information of neighboring blocks positioned around the current block may be used.", "For example, the inter-prediction may adopt a skip mode, a merge mode, an advanced motion vector prediction, or the like according to a method using the information of the neighboring blocks.", "The skip mode, the merge mode, and the AMVP mode may generate the prediction block for the current block based on the information of the neighboring block.", "The skip mode may use the information of the neighboring block for the current block as it is.", "Accordingly, in the case where the skip mode is applied, the encoder may transmit information that indicates which neighboring block to use motion information of as the motion information of the current block to the decoder and besides, does not transmit syntax information such as a residual, and the like to the decoder.", "The merge mode may generate the prediction block for the current block by using the motion information of the neighboring block.", "When the merge mode is applied, the encoder may transmit to the decoder information that indicates whether to apply the merge mode to the current block, which neighboring block to use motion information of, and residual information on the current block, and the like.", "The decoder generates the prediction block for the current block by using the motion information and adds the generated prediction block and the residual transmitted from the encoder to reconstruct the current block.", "The AMVP may predict the motion vector of the current block by using the motion information of the neighboring blocks.", "When the AMVP is applied, the encoder may transmit to the decoder information that indicates which neighboring block to use motion information of, a difference between a motion vector of the current block and a predicted motion vector, a reference picture index that indicates the reference picture, and the like.", "The decoder predicts the motion vector of the current block by using the motion information (motion vector) of the neighboring block, and may calculate the motion vector of the current block by using the motion vector difference received from the encoder.", "The decoder may generate the prediction block for the current block based on the calculated motion vector and the reference picture index information received from the encoder.", "In case of the inter prediction, the decoder may verify a skip flag, a merge flag, and the like that are received from the encoder and calculate motion information required for the inter-prediction of the current block (for example, information regarding a motion vector, a reference picture index, and the like) according to the verified information.", "A processing unit in which the prediction is performed may be different from a processing unit in which a prediction method and a detailed content are determined.", "For example, the inter-prediction or the intra-prediction may be determined by the coding unit (CU), and a prediction mode for the intra-prediction and a prediction mode for the inter-prediction may be determined by the prediction unit (PU).", "Alternatively, the prediction mode is determined by the prediction unit, and as a result, the prediction may be performed by the transform unit (TU).", "Meanwhile, since an inter-layer strong correlation is present in the scalable video coding structure that supports the plurality of layers, when the prediction is performed by using the correlation, a duplicative element of data may be removed and encoding performance of the image may be improved.", "Accordingly, when a picture (image) of the current layer (higher layer) which is encoded/decoded is predicted, the inter-prediction or the intra-prediction using information of the current layer and the inter-layer prediction using information of a different layer may be performed.", "Since the plurality of layers may be different from each other in terms of at least one of a resolution, a frame rate, a color format, and a view (that is, an inter-layer scalability difference), signal distortion may occur in the inter-layer prediction for the current layer and the residual signal may be increased.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides a method that may perform the inter-prediction for the current layer by mapping the motion information of the reference layer (lower layer) which the current layer (higher layer) refers to in an image size of the current layer and thereafter, adding the mapped motion information to the reference picture list of the current layer.", "Further, the present invention relates to encoding and decoding of an image including a plurality of layers or views, and the plurality of layers or views may be expressed as first, second, third, and n-th layers or first, second, third, and n-th views.", "Hereinafter, in the embodiment of the present invention, an image in which the first layer and the second layer are present is described as an example, but the embodiment may be applied even to an image in which more layers or views than the first layer and the second layer in the same method as above.", "Further, the first layer may be expressed as the lower layer, the base layer, or the reference layer and the second layer may be expressed as the higher layer, the enhancement layer, or the current layer.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for performing an inter-layer prediction (inter-layer prediction) in scalable video coding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "The method of FIG.", "4 may be performed by the image encoding apparatus of FIG.", "1 or the image decoding apparatus of FIG.", "2.Referring to FIG.", "4, the encoding/decoding apparatus decodes information of a first layer which an image (picture) of a second layer refers to (S400).", "As described above, the second layer means a layer that performs encoding/decoding at present and may be a higher layer that provides higher scalability than the first layer.", "The first layer may be a layer referred to for encoding/decoding the second layer, and may be designated as the reference layer or the lower layer.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may decode and use the first layer by the reference signal for predicting an encoding/decoding target block in the image of the second layer.", "Information (decoding target information of the first layer) of the first layer to be decoded may include a sample value and motion information of a first layer image (picture).", "Herein, the motion information may include regarding a motion vector value, a reference picture index, a prediction direction indicator, a reference picture POC (picture order count), a prediction mode, a reference picture list, a merge flag, a merge index, a picture type (a short-term reference picture or a long-term reference picture) of the reference picture, and the like.", "Decoded motion information of the first layer may be compressed and stored by a unit block having a size of N×N.", "For example, the decoded motion information of the first layer may be compressed and stored every 16×16 blocks.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus maps the decoded information of the first layer to an image size of the second layer (S410).", "Herein, mapping may represent sampling a sample of an image in order to adjust an image size or a resolution when images are different from each other in size or resolution, and may include sampling of a sample value of the image and motion information of the image.", "In other words, the encoding/decoding apparatus may sample the decoded first layer image and refer to a sample information and motion information of the sampled first layer image, in order to map the decoded first layer image to a size of the second layer image.", "Since sizes of images of layers may be different in the scalable video coding structure, when sizes of the images between the layers (between the first layer and the second layer) are different, the encoding/decoding apparatus may resample samples values of the decoded first layer image in order to map the size of the decoded first layer image to the image size of the second layer.", "For example, when the size of the decoded first layer image is 960×540 and the size of the image of the second layer is 1920×1080, the encoding/decoding apparatus may perform upsampling of mapping the size of the decoded first layer image to the size of 1920×1080 which is the image size of the second layer.", "The upsampling may be performed in order to adjust image sizes of layers having different image sizes, and interpolation is applied to an image of a layer (the reference layer or the lower layer) having a small image size, and as a result, interpolated samples are calculated to adjust the image size.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may map the decoded motion information of the first layer to the image size of the second layer to use the mapped motion information of the first layer.", "Inter-layer motion information mapping of mapping the motion information of the decoded first layer image to the image size of the second layer may divide the second layer image into unit blocks having N×N and use the motion information of the first layer corresponding to each of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer as motion information of a corresponding block of the second layer.", "Hereinafter, an inter-layer motion information mapping method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described through an embodiment of FIGS.", "5 and 6.FIGS.", "5 and 6 are diagrams illustrated for describing an inter-layer motion information mapping method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an image of a second layer divided into unit blocks having a size of N×N.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "5, when the image size of the second layer is 1920×1080 and N=16, the encoding/decoding apparatus may divide the image of the second layer into total 8160 (16×16) unit blocks and use motion information of a first layer block corresponding to each unit block of the second layer as motion information of the corresponding block of the second layer.", "In this case, the motion information may be stored for each unit block.", "Alternatively, the motion information is stored in the form of a look-up table for each picture to be used by referring to each unit block.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates N×N blocks of the second layer and as one example, illustrates a 16×16 block 600 in case of N=16.Respective quadrangles in the 16×16 block 600 mean one sample and it is assumed that uppermost and leftmost sample position in the 16×16 block 600 is (xP, yP).", "As described above, when the inter-layer motion information is mapped, the motion information of the first layer block corresponding to each of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer is mapped to the motion information of the second layer to be used.", "In this case, the motion information of the first layer block corresponding to each of the N×N blocks of the second layer may be motion information of a first layer sample position corresponding to a reference sample position of the N×N blocks of the second layer.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "6, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+8, yP+8) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+8, yP+8) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position the position (xP, yP) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP, yP) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+15, yP) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+15, yP) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP, yP+15) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP, yP+15) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+15, yP+15) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+15, yP+15) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+1, yP+1) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+1, yP+1) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may perform the inter-layer motion information mapping by using a difference reference sample position as well as the aforementioned reference sample position and the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding thereto.", "The sample position of the first layer corresponding to a reference sample position of the second layer may be calculated as illustrated in Equation 1 below by considering the size of an inter-layer image.", "xRef=(xP*picWRL+ScaledW/2)/ScaledW yRef=(yP*picHRL+ScaledH/2)/ScaledH [Equation 1] Where xRef and yRef represent the sample position of the first layer, xP and Yp represent the reference sample position of the second layer, ScaledW and ScaledH represent horizontal and vertical sizes of the first layer picture, and picWRL and picHRL represent horizontal and vertical sizes of the first layer picture.", "For example, when the motion information of the first layer is compressed and stored by the unit of 16×16, the sample position of the first layer calculated by Equation 1 may be adjusted to use 16×16-unit motion information through Equation 2 below.", "xRL=(xRef>>4)<<4 yRL=(yRef>>4)<<4 [Equation 2] As another example, when the motion information of the first layer is compressed and stored by the unit of 8×8, the sample position of the first layer calculated by Equation 1 may be adjusted to use 8×8-unit motion information through Equation 3 below.", "xRL=(xRef>>3)<<3 yRL=(yRef>>3)<<3 [Equation 3] When the prediction mode of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer is the intra prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use (0, 0) as a motion vector value of the corresponding block of the second layer and allocate a value of −1 to the reference picture index and the reference picture POC of the corresponding block of the second layer.", "Alternatively, when the prediction mode of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer is the intra prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use (0, 0) as the motion vector value of the corresponding block of the second layer and allocate a specific value (for example, allocate 0 to the reference picture index and a POC of a picture indicated by the reference picture index to the reference picture POC) to the reference picture index and the reference picture POC of the corresponding block of the second layer.", "When the prediction mode of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer is the inter prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use, as the motion information of the corresponding block of the second layer, the motion vector value of the first layer sample position, the reference picture index, and the reference picture POC.", "In case of using the motion vector of the first layer, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use the motion vector of the first layer by reflecting the size of the inter-layer image as illustrated in Equation 4 below.", "mvLX[xP][yP][0]=(mvLXRL[xRL][yRL][0]*ScaledW+offset)/PicWRL mvLX[xP][yP][1]=(mvLXRL[xRL][yRL][1]*ScaledH+offset)/PicHRL [Equation 4] The encoding/decoding apparatus may use, as information of the corresponding block of the second layer, picture type information (picture type information regarding whether the reference picture being a short-term reference picture or a long-term reference picture) of the reference picture which the corresponding block of the first layer corresponding to the block of the second layer refers to.", "The aforementioned inter-layer motion information mapping may be determined in a higher level and the encoding apparatus may transmit information related with the inter-layer motion information mapping in the higher level.", "The decoding apparatus may acquire the inter-layer motion information mapping related information from the higher level.", "The higher level may be a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), a slice segment header, and the like.", "Hereinafter, a method for signaling the motion information mapping related information in the higher level according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "According to the embodiment of the present invention, information related to motion information mapping of a corresponding layer in the VPS may be signaled as represented in Table 1.TABLE 1 Descriptor vps_extension( ) { for ( i = 1; i <= vps_max_layer_id; i++) inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag [i] u(1) } Referring to Table 1, when inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, motion information mapping of an i-th layer may not be performed.", "When inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the i-th layer may be performed.", "According to another embodiment of the present invention, information related to motion information mapping of a corresponding layer in extension of the SPS may be signaled as represented in Table 2.TABLE 2 Descriptor sps_extension( ) { sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 2, when sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, motion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.", "When sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the first layer may be performed.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, whether to transmit information (for example, sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag) that indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer may be determined according to information (for example, sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag) that indicates whether to use a temporal motion vector prediction transmitted in the SPS as represented in Table 3.TABLE 3 Descriptor sps_extension( ) { if ( sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag) sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 3, when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, which indicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction, sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.", "When sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of the first layer may not be used in the second layer.", "That is, a reconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as a temporal motion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, whether to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer may be determined by the value of sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag without transmitting sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag as represented in Table 3.For example, it is regarded that sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1 when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer.", "It is regarded that sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0 when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 0 to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer in extension of the PPS may be signaled as represented in Table 4.TABLE 4 Descriptor pps_extension( ) { pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 4, when pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.", "When pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the first layer may be performed.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer in extension of the slice segment header may be signaled as represented in Table 5.TABLE 5 Descriptor if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 5, when slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the first layer may be performed.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer in the extension of the slice segment header may be signaled as represented in Table 6.TABLE 6 Descriptor if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) if ( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 6, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, which indicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.", "slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is transmitted only in a layer (that is, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer and in case of the enhancement layer, when there is no layer used for a motion prediction, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may not be transmitted.", "When the corresponding flag is not present, a value of the corresponding flag value may be inferred as 0.When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of the first layer may not be used in the second layer.", "That is, the reconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as the temporal motion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is transmitted in the layer (that is, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be present above slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag in the slice segment header of the layer (that is, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer as represented in Table 7.TABLE 7 Descriptor slice_segment_header( ){ if ( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 7, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, which indicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.", "When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of the first layer may not be used in the second layer.", "That is, the reconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as the temporal motion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.", "When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information of the first layer may be used in the second layer.", "That is, after the motion information of the first layer is mapped to the size of the second layer, the reconstructed image of the first layer may be used as a collocated picture (ColPic) for the TMVP of the second layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, information on the collocated picture (ColPic) of the first layer for the TMVP of the second layer may be signaled through additional syntax information as represented in Table 8.For example, information of a referred layer may be known through collocated_ref_layer_idx and motion information of the reference layer collocated picture may be mapped to the image size of the second layer.", "Further, in case of a B slice, a reference picture list direction where the picture of the reference layer is positioned which may be used as the collocated picture may be determined through collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag.", "TABLE 8 slice_segment_header( ) { if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) { slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag ) { collocated_ref_layer_idx ue(v) if ( slice_type == B) collocated_ref_layer_from_l0_flag } else { if( slice_type = = B ) collocated_from_l0_flag u(1) if( ( collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l0_active_minus1 > 0 ) | | ( !collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l1_active_minus1 > 0 ) ) collocated_ref_idx ue(v) } } } Referring to Table 8, collocated_ref_layer_idx is an indicator that indicates information of the reference layer used for the motion prediction when the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 2 or more.", "When the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 1, collocated_ref_layer_idx may be skipped.", "In this case, a restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is transmitted in the B slice.", "When a value of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is 1, a picture that is present in LIST0 is set as the collocated picture (ColPic).", "When the value of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is 0, a picture that is present in LIST1 is set as the collocated picture (ColPic).", "Thereafter, during acquiring a motion vector of a collocated block (ColPb) in the collocated picture (ColPic), the value of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag may be used as the same meaning instead of collocated_from_I0_flag.", "In this case, the restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "Alternatively, during acquiring the motion vector of the collocated block (ColPb) in the collocated picture (ColPic), when the collocated block has motion information in directions of LIST0 and LIST1, motion information in the same direction as a direction indicated by a current encoding/decoding target picture may be brought.", "When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a list direction and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known by using collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using the motion information of the reference layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the information on the collocated picture (ColPic) of the first layer for the TMVP of the second layer and the information on the reference picture list direction may be signaled through additional syntax information as represented in Table 9.For example, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, the reference picture list direction of the collocated picture may be determined from the value of collocated_from_I0_flag, and a referred layer may be known from the value of collocated_ref_layer_idx.", "TABLE 9 slice_segment_header( ) { if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) { if ( slice_type == B) collocated_from_l0_flag slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag ) { collocated_ref_layer_idx ue(v) } else { if( ( collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l0_active_minus1 > 0 ) | | ( !collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l1_active_minus1 > 0 ) ) collocated_ref_idx ue(v) } } } Referring to Table 9, collocated_from_I0_flag indicates the reference picture list direction to which the collocated picture belongs when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and in case of the B slice.", "When collocated_from_I0_flag is not present, collocated_from_I0_flag may be inferred as 1.In this case, the restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "collocated_ref_layer_idx is an indicator that indicates information of the reference layer used for the motion prediction when the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 2 or more.", "When the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 1, collocated_ref_layer_idx may be skipped.", "In this case, the restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "The list direction for the collocated picture may be determined from collocated_from_I0_flag transmitted in the higher layer.", "When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a list direction and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known by using collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using the motion information of the reference layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, information of a referred layer may be known through collocated_ref_layer_idx and the motion information of the reference layer collocated picture may be mapped to the image size of the second layer, as represented in Table 10.In this case, according to a slice type, in case of a P slice, the picture of the reference layer which is present in LIST0 is set as the collocated picture and in case of the B slice, one direction of LIST0 and LIST1 is regulated and the picture of the corresponding reference layer is set as the collocated picture to be similarly used by the encoding/decoding apparatus.", "When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a list direction and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known by using collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using the motion information of the reference layer.", "TABLE 10 slice_segment_header( ){ if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) { slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag ) { collocated_ref_layer_idx ue(v) } else { if( slice_type = = B ) collocated_from_l0_flag u(1) if( ( collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l0_active_minus1 > 0 ) | | ( !collocated_from_l0_flag && num_ref_idx_l1_active_minus1 > 0 ) ) collocated_ref_idx ue(v) } } } According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, when the picture is divided into N independent slices, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flags in respective slice segment headers need to have the same value and one motion information mapping process per picture may be performed according to the value of slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag in a first independence slice segment header.", "In the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, ‘sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag’ transmitted in the higher level is used as information that indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping, but the information is extended to be used as information that indicates whether to perform an inter-layer syntax prediction.", "For example, when sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the inter-layer syntax (motion information) prediction may be performed as well as the motion information mapping.", "In the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, a separate syntax that indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping is used, but the motion information mapping may be performed according to a syntax information value regarding execution of the inter-layer prediction without transmitting the separate syntax.", "In the present invention, it may be judged whether to perform the motion information mapping by using the syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction signaled in the higher layer.", "The syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction may be signaled in the higher level.", "The higher level may be the video parameter set (VPS), the sequence parameter set (SPS), the picture parameter set (PPS), the slice segment header, and the like.", "According to an embodiment of the present invention a syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction may be transmitted in the VPS as represented in Table 11.TABLE 11 Descriptor vps_extension( ) { for ( i = 1 ; i <= vps_max_layer_id; i++) no_inter_layer_pred_flag [i] u(1) } Referring to Table 11, in the case where the syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction is transmitted in the VPS, when no_inter_layerpred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping may not be performed and when no_inter_layerpred_flag is 0, the motion information mapping may be performed.", "In the present invention, it may be judged whether to perform the motion information mapping by using the syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction signaled in the higher layer.", "The syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may be signaled in the higher level.", "The higher level may be the video parameter set (VPS), the sequence parameter set (SPS), the picture parameter set (PPS), the slice segment header, and the like.", "According to an embodiment of the present invention a syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may be transmitted in the PPS as represented in Table 12.TABLE 12 Descriptor if ( pps extension_flag ) no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 12, in the case where the syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction is transmitted in the PPS, when no_inter_layer_syntaxpred_flag is 0, the motion information mapping may be performed and when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping may not be performed.", "According to another embodiment of the present invention a syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may be transmitted in the syntax segment heard as represented in Table 13.TABLE 13 Descriptor if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 13, in the case where the syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction is transmitted in the slice segment header, when no_inter_layer_syntaxpred_flag is 0, the motion information mapping may be performed and when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping may not be performed.", "Referring back to FIG.", "4, the encoding/decoding apparatus adds the information of the first layer to the reference picture list of the second layer to encode/decode the image of the second layer (S420).", "That is, the encoding/decoding apparatus may add decoded sample values and motion information of the first layer mapped to the second layer image size to the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer through steps S400 to S410 described above, and configure the reference picture list of the second layer image by using the added information of the first layer.", "In addition, the encoding/decoding apparatus may perform the inter prediction of generating the prediction signal for the image of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "When the reference picture list of the second layer is configured, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a last position of the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a specific position of the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "In this case, the specific position may be known in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like) or the specific position may be designated by a determined regulation without transmitting additional information.", "Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to reference picture lists L0 and L1 for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "In this case, positions added to the reference picture lists L0 and L1 may be the same as each other or different from each other.", "For example, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a first position in the reference picture list L0 and the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a last position in the reference picture list L1.Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to any one of the reference picture list directions L0 and L1 for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "For example, when the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer is encoded/decoded to the B slice, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to only the reference picture list L0 or the reference picture list L1.In this case, when the decoded image of the first layer is added to a specific-direction reference picture list, there may be known a position in the specific-direction reference picture list to which the decoded image of the first layer is to be added in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like) or a specific position may be designated according to a determined regulation without transmitting additional information.", "Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to different positions of the reference picture list depending on a depth by using hierarchical depth information of a prediction structure.", "In this case, information on the positions may be known in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like).", "For example, the position in the reference picture list to which the decoded image of the first layer is added may vary based on a value of a temporal level (temporal_Id) depending on the hierarchical depth.", "As one example, in the case where the temporal level temporal_Id is equal to or more than 2, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to the last position and in the case where the temporal level temporal_Id is less than 2, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to the first position of the reference picture list.", "In this case, a reference temporal level value may be known in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like).", "The decoded image of the first layer may include the decoded motion information of the first layer mapped to the image size of the second layer as well as the decoded sample values of the first layer.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may add the decoded image of the first layer to the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer by the aforementioned method and thereafter, predict the current encoding target image of the second layer by a general inter-prediction method.", "When the prediction is performed by using the decoded image of the first layer as a reference signal of the current encoding target image of the second layer (when the inter-layer prediction is performed), the encoding apparatus may use as a prediction signal a first layer sample value at the same position as a prediction block in the current encoding target image without a motion predicting process.", "In this case, the encoding apparatus may not transmit motion information (for example, a motion vector difference value, a motion prediction candidate flag, and the like) of a corresponding block.", "The decoding apparatus may use as the prediction signal the first layer sample value at the same position as the prediction block in the current decoding target image without decoding the motion information (for example, the motion vector difference value, the motion prediction candidate flag, and the like) for the prediction block in the current decoding target image of the second layer when the an image indicated by the reference picture index of the second layer is the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list.", "When an image indicated by the reference picture index of the current decoding target block of the second layer is the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list (when the inter-layer prediction is performed), the decoding apparatus may predict the current decoding target block of the second layer by judging whether to decode the motion information (for example, the motion vector difference value, the motion prediction candidate flag, and the like) for the current decoding target block of the second layer based on information transmitted in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like).", "Table 14 represents one example of a syntax in which information (sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag) that indicates whether an inter-layer motion vector has a value of (0, 0) is transmitted in the SPS.", "TABLE 14 Descriptor sps_extension( ) { sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 14, when sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag transmitted in the SPS has a value of 1 and the reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicates the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list, the decoding apparatus may use, as the prediction signal for the current decoding target block, the decoded sample value of the first layer image which has the same position as the current target block without decoding the motion vector difference value and the motion prediction candidate flag.", "When sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag transmitted in the SPS has a value of 0 and the reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicates the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list, the decoding apparatus may decode the motion vector difference value and the motion prediction candidate flag and thereafter, acquire a motion vector value, and use, as the prediction signal for the current decoding target block, the decoded sample value of the first layer image which is at a position of the acquired motion vector value.", "Meanwhile, the encoding apparatus may use the decoded image of the first layer as a collocated picture for predicting the temporal motion vector of the second layer in order to use the mapped motion information of the first layer as a temporal motion vector candidate for the current encoding target block of the second layer.", "In this case, the encoding apparatus may designate the decoded image of the first layer as the collocated image through information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture in the slice segment header.", "When the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture in the slice segment header transmitted in the encoder indicates the decoded image of the first layer, the decoding apparatus may use the mapped motion information of the first layer as the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer.", "When the mapped motion information of the first layer is used as the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use at least one of the mapped motion information of the first layer, that is, at least one of the reference picture POC, the reference picture list, and the picture type (the short-term picture and the long-term reference picture) of the reference picture and scale and use a motion vector of the second layer according to a temporal distance by using one or more pieces of mapped motion information of the first layer.", "When the prediction is performed by adding only the decoded reference sample values of the first layer image to the reference picture list without permitting the motion information mapping of the first layer, the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture may be restricted in a standard document so as not to indicate the decoded image of the first layer as the collocated picture.", "As another example of using the mapped motion information of the first layer as the motion information of the second layer, the mapped motion information of the first layer may be used not as the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer but as an additional candidate mode.", "In this case, the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture may be restricted in the standard document so as not to indicate the decoded image of the first layer as the collocated picture, so that the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer is calculated from the reference picture of the second layer.", "Further, in order to use the motion information of the first layer mapped to the additional candidate mode, the encoding apparatus may additionally transmit an index (for example, base_ref_idx) that may indicate a position of the mapped image of the first layer in the reference picture list in the slice segment header, and the like in the slice segment header, and the like.", "A position of the additional candidate mode in the reference picture list may be applied similarly to the encoding apparatus and the decoding apparatus.", "The method according to the present invention is prepared as a program for being executed in a computer to be stored in a computer-readable medium, and examples of the computer readable recording medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storing device and the computer readable recording medium may also be implemented in a form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission through the Internet).", "Further, the computer-readable recording media are distributed on computer systems connected through the network, and thus the computer-readable recording media may be stored and executed as the computer-readable code by a distribution scheme.", "Further, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the method may be easily inferred by a programmer in a technical field to which the present invention belongs.", "In the aforementioned embodiments, methods have been described based on flowcharts as a series of steps or blocks, but the methods are not limited to the order of the steps of the present invention and any step may occur in a step or an order different from or simultaneously as the aforementioned step or order.", "Further, it can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that steps shown in the flowcharts are not exclusive and other steps may be included or one or more steps do not influence the scope of the present invention and may be deleted.", "While some exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art may change, modify, and substitute the present invention in various ways without departing from the essential characteristic of the present invention.", "Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to limit the technical spirit but describe with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.", "The scope of the present invention may be interpreted by the appended claims and the technical spirit in the equivalent range are intended to be embraced by the invention." ] ]
Patent_15875148
[ [ "PROPOSING A COPY AREA IN A DOCUMENT", "Information on a cursor or pointer position is obtained, indicating a first content on a document displayed on a screen.", "A plurality of second contents are retrieved from a history information, each of the second contents comprising the first content.", "The history information comprises sets of contents, each of the sets comprising a content in the document which was copied by one or more users, and position information of this content.", "The sets are ranked in a predetermined order.", "A copy area is proposed based on one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents." ], [ "1.A computer system for proposing a copy area in a document, the computer system comprising: a memory; and a processor in communication with the memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform a method, the method comprising: obtaining information on a pointer position on a first content on a document displayed on a screen, the first content selected from the group consisting of a character string, a cell, a photo image, and a moving image; retrieving, from a history information stored in a server, a plurality of second contents, each of the second contents comprising the first content, wherein the history information comprises sets of contents, a score associated with each of the contents in the document calculated from the number of times copied and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done, and the number of times copied for each of the contents in the document, each of the sets comprising a content in the document, which content was copied by at least one users, and position information of this content, the sets ranked in a predetermined order according to the number of times copied and the score, wherein the document is an unstructured document and wherein the retrieval of the plurality of second contents comprises calculating an order of bytes in the document and the calculated bytes are used for identifying plurality of second contents; proposing, as a copy area, one or more second contents among the retrieved second contents, the proposal made by displaying the one or more second contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to user operation; and wherein when a position of a content in the document is changed, position information on a corresponding content in the history information is updated correspondingly and when the proposed copy area is selected by a user, the number of copying of a corresponding content in the history information is incremented and the score is updated." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present disclosure relates to a text editing interface and more specifically, to proposing a copy area in a document.", "Many computing devices provide a basic copying function wherein a portion of text, a graphic, a format, etc.", "may be “lifted” from a particular page or window and replicated to another.", "This is generally accomplished by selecting the desired portion of text, graphic, file, etc.", "using a mouse cursor or other pointer to indicate each a “start copying” and “stop copying” point.", "By selecting the copy function, the text, graphic, etc.", "indicated by the mouse selection is moved to a “clipboard.” The clipboard a function provided by most operating systems, which is used to hold copied content until the user indicates it should be replicated." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method for proposing a copy area in a document.", "Information on a cursor or pointer position is obtained, indicating a first content on a document displayed on a screen.", "A plurality of second contents are retrieved from a history information, each of the second contents comprising the first content.", "The history information comprises sets of contents, each of the sets comprising a content in the document which was copied by one or more users, and position information of this content.", "The sets are ranked in a predetermined order.", "A copy area is proposed based on one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer system comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided." ], [ "BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates to a text editing interface and more specifically, to proposing a copy area in a document.", "Many computing devices provide a basic copying function wherein a portion of text, a graphic, a format, etc.", "may be “lifted” from a particular page or window and replicated to another.", "This is generally accomplished by selecting the desired portion of text, graphic, file, etc.", "using a mouse cursor or other pointer to indicate each a “start copying” and “stop copying” point.", "By selecting the copy function, the text, graphic, etc.", "indicated by the mouse selection is moved to a “clipboard.” The clipboard a function provided by most operating systems, which is used to hold copied content until the user indicates it should be replicated.", "SUMMARY According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method for proposing a copy area in a document.", "Information on a cursor or pointer position is obtained, indicating a first content on a document displayed on a screen.", "A plurality of second contents are retrieved from a history information, each of the second contents comprising the first content.", "The history information comprises sets of contents, each of the sets comprising a content in the document which was copied by one or more users, and position information of this content.", "The sets are ranked in a predetermined order.", "A copy area is proposed based on one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer system comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings included in the present application are incorporated into, and form part of, the specification.", "They illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, along with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.", "The drawings are only illustrative of certain embodiments and do not limit the disclosure.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an exemplified basic block diagram of a computer hardware used in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "2A through 2C illustrate an embodiment of a screen for proposing a copy area in a document to a user on a display.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device, a copy area in a document.", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrate an embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device and a server, a copy area in a document.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for analyzing, using a history information, information relating to the copied contents.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for updating history information in a case where an original of a copy source document having tags is modified.", "FIG.", "7A illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a user device.", "FIG.", "7B illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server.", "FIG.", "7C illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server after grouping.", "FIG.", "7D illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a user device or a server after a modification of a copy source document was made.", "FIG.", "7E illustrates an embodiment of an availability information on a document.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of a user device which is used in accordance with the embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "3A and 3B.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of a computer system hardware comprising a user device and a server which are used in accordance with the embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "4A and 4B.", "While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail.", "It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments described.", "On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed.", "Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.", "The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.", "When a user attempts to copy a text string in a document, such as a document on a website or in a local document, it may be cumbersome to specify an appropriate area of a text displayed on a screen of a device.", "When a user uses a device having a small screen, such as a smartphone, mobile phone or tablet, there may be some difficulty in specifying, using a finger or pointing device, a copy area, for example one character for starting or ending point where the user wants to copy.", "With reference now to FIG.", "1, FIG.", "1 illustrates an exemplified basic block diagram of a computer hardware used in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "A computer 101 may be, for example, but is not limited to, a desktop, laptop, notebook or server computer.", "The server computer may be, for example, but is not limited to, a workstation, a rack-mount type server, a blade type server, or a mainframe server and may run, for example, a hypervisor for creating and running one or more virtual machines.", "The computer 101 may comprise one or more CPUs 102 and a main memory 103 connected to a bus 104.A display 106 such as a liquid crystal display LCD may be connected to the bus 104 via a display controller 105.The display 106 may be used to display, for management of the computer(s), information on a computer connected to a network via a communication line and information on software running on the computer using an appropriate graphics interface.", "The display may have a touch screen or a non-touch screen.", "The display may be for example, but not limited to, a LCD, PDP, OEL or a projection type display.", "A disk 108 such as a hard disk or a solid state drive, SSD, and a drive 109 such as a CD, a DVD, or a BD Blu-ray disk drive may be connected to the bus 104 via an SATA or IDE controller 107.Moreover, a keyboard 111 and a mouse 112 may be connected to the bus 104 via a keyboard-mouse controller 110 or USB bus not shown.", "An operating system, programs, and any data may be stored in the disk 108 to be loadable to the main memory.", "The drive 109 may be used to install a program, such as the computer program of an embodiment of the present disclosure, readable from a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a BD to the disk 108 or to load any data readable from a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a BD into the main memory 103 or the disk 108, if necessary.", "A communication interface 114 may be based on, for example, but is not limited to, the Ethernet protocol.", "The communication interface 114 may be connected to the bus 104 via a communication controller 113, physically connects the computer 101 to a communication line 115, and may provide a network interface layer to the TCP/IP communication protocol of a communication function of the operating system of the computer 101.In this case, the communication line 115 may be a wired LAN environment or a wireless LAN environment based on wireless LAN connectivity standards.", "Hereinafter, a user device and optionally a server may be used in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The user device may be a computer, such as described in FIG.", "1, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a book reader, a virtual machine, etc.", "The server may be a computer, such as described in FIG.", "1 and connected to one or more user devices via an internet or intranet connection.", "FIGS.", "2A and 2B illustrate an embodiment of a screen for proposing a copy area in a document to a user on a display With reference to FIG.", "2A, FIG.", "2A illustrates an embodiment of a screen of a user device.", "The user device displays a part of a document on the screen 201 of the user device.", "The document has one or more contents which can be copyable.", "The document may be, for example, a local or server document in any format.", "The document may be, for example, but not limited to, a structured document in which tags are used, such as a web page document, an unstructured document, or a word, spreadsheet, presentation or PDF document.", "The tags may be, for example, HTML or XML.", "A content may be, for example, but not limited to one or more character strings, one or more cells in a spreadsheet, one or more photo image, one or more moving image, a combination of these, etc.", "If the user wants to copy content, such as a character string, in the document, the user may make a predetermined operation, such as one left click by a mouse cursor 282 or one touch by a finger, in the vicinity of an area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the one touch or click, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document.", "The touch may comprise, for example, tap operation.", "The cursor pointer position may be, for example, a mouse pointer position.", "The pointer position may be, for example, a touch position by a finger or touch pen, or a laser pointer position.", "If the position is a character string in the document, such as “er” in the sentence, “This version”, the user device may obtain a plurality of contents comprising such character string.", "The plurality of contents may be retrieved from a history information which may include sets of contents in the document and their position information.", "Each of the sets may include content in the document and position information of this content.", "The content may have been previously copied by one or more users.", "The sets may be ranked in a predetermined order.", "History information may be in a form of, for example, but not limited to, a database, a text file, such as a CSV format, or a structured text, such as XML based text.", "The user device obtains, as a copy area, one or more contents among the plurality of contents comprising the character string.", "The obtained one or more contents may be ranked in a predetermined order.", "The predetermined order may be determined in descending order according to a score or rank which is associated with each of the one or more contents.", "In response to a detection of the predetermined operation, the content, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information.", "If a single source document is used to supply multiple projects, shared copying may be especially useful,” 212, is highlighted on the screen 202 as the area copied most frequently by users.", "The user device may display the window 222 showing a message “This is the area copied most frequently by users”.", "Further, the window 222 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "The menu can be used for switching a proposal of the areas copied by users to a proposal of the areas copied by the user themself.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 212, the user may make a predetermined operation, e.g.", "one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "Meanwhile, if the user wants to show another proposal of a copy area, the user may make a further predetermined operation, such as further another left click by a mouse cursor 283 or further another touch by a finger, in the vicinity of the area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the further predetermined operation, the content, “This version” 213, is highlighted on the screen 203 as the area copied second most frequently by users.", "The user device may display the window 223 showing a message “This is the area copied most second frequently by users”.", "Further, the window 223 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 213, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "Meanwhile, if the user wants to show still another proposal of a copy area, the user may make still further predetermined operation, such as still further another left click by a mouse cursor 284 or still further another touch by a finger, in the vicinity of the area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the still further predetermined operation, the content, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for,” 214, is highlighted on the screen 204 as the area copied third most frequently by users.", "The user device may display the window 224 showing a message “This is the area copied most third frequently by users”.", "Further, the window 224 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 214, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "In the embodiment mentioned above, one touch or click is used for proposing a copy area in a predetermined order.", "In another embodiment, two or more touches or clicks may be used for proposing a copy area in a predetermined order.", "Such examples may be as follows: if the user does two touches or clicks, the user device may display the screen 203 in which the area copied most second frequently by users is highlighted.", "If the user does three touches or clicks, the user device may display the screen 204 in which the area copied most third frequently by users is highlighted.", "The number of times of touches or clicks may be arbitrarily set as appropriate.", "If the number of touches or clicks exceeds a predetermined number, the user device may display a list for proposals of copy areas, for example, in a separate window, or the user device may allow a user to select a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "As stated above, when a focus by a user associated a user device is done on a part of contents on a document, a copy area comprising the focused part is proposed in the predetermined order among the proposals of copying content.", "Accordingly, the user can select a copy area in the predetermined order according to the copying frequency done by a plurality of users.", "With reference now to FIG.", "2B, FIG.", "2B illustrates an embodiment of a screen displaying a copy area which is commonly copied by other users or is copied by a user associated with the user device.", "The user device displays a part of a document, for example, a web page or local document, on the screen 231 of the user device.", "The screen 232 and the window 252 are the same as the screen 202 and the window 222 described in FIG.", "2A, respectively.", "The screen 232 and the window 252 are displayed according to the same way described above.", "If the user wants to show a proposal of a copy area which was copied by the user itself, the user may touch or click the character string, “View area copied by you”, in the window 252.In response to a detection of the touch or click of the character string, the content, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow,” 243, is highlighted on the screen 233 as the area copied most frequency by the user itself.", "The user device may display the window 253 showing a message “This is the area copied most frequently by you”.", "Further, the window 253 may show a menu “View area copied by users”.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 243, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "Meanwhile, if the user wants to return to the screen 232, the user may touch or click the character string, “View area copied by users”, in the window 253.In response to a detection of the touch or click of the character string, the user device displays the screen 234 which is the same as the screen 232.If the user wants to copy the proposed area 244, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "In the embodiment mentioned above, a proposal of copy area which is commonly copied by other users is first displayed on the screen.", "In another embodiment, a proposal of copy area which is copied by a user associated with a user device is first displayed on the screen.", "The user may select which a proposal of copy area is first displayed on the screen.", "As stated above, when a focus by a user associated with a user device is done on a part of contents on a document, a copy area comprising the focused part is proposed in the predetermined order among the proposals of copying content in history information.", "Further, the user can switch a proposal of the areas from the areas copied by a plurality of users to the areas copied by the user themself or another user, and vice versa.", "Accordingly, the user can select a copy area in the predetermined order according to the copying frequency done by a plurality of users or the user itself.", "This selection may be useful when a document may be, for example, but not limited to, a collaborating document, such as a manual or materials on conference, or a web page.", "With reference now to FIG.", "2C, FIG.", "2C illustrates an embodiment of a screen displaying a copy area in a document in which a modification was made compared to an original of a copy source document.", "The user device displays a part of a document, for example, a web page or local document, on the screen 261 of the user device.", "If the user wants to copy a character string in the document, the user may make a predetermined operation, such as one left click by a mouse cursor 271 or one touch by a finger, in the vicinity of an area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the one touch or click, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document.", "If the position is a character string in the document, such as “er” in the sentence, “This version”, the user device obtains a plurality of contents comprising such character string.", "The plurality of contents is retrieved from a history information which comprises sets of contents in the document and their position information.", "Let us suppose that a sentence in an original of a copy source document, which sentence corresponding to the copied area recorded in the history information, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” was modified to “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” prior to displaying of a copy source document which was modified from an original of a copy source document (hereinafter also referred to as “modified copy source document”) on the screen.", "In such a case, the copied area recorded in the history information is updated from “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” to “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” Therefore, the proposal of copying area corresponding to the updated copied area 272 in the history information is presented in replace of the copied area before updated in the history information.", "Accordingly, the sentence after modification, “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” is highlighted on the screen 262 as a proposal of the copy area 272.The user device may display the window 273 showing a message “Notes: The original copy source document was modified.", "The proposal of copying area 272 is presented by taking into account a character string before modification.", "This area corresponds to the area copied most frequently by users.” Further, the window 273 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "As stated above, if a content in the document is modified, a corresponding content in the history information is also similarly modified.", "Further, if a position of a content in the document is changed, position information on a corresponding content in the history information is updated correspondingly.", "Therefore, the user device can propose to a user a copy area which is included in a modified copy source document, using the updated history information.", "Accordingly, a document which will be frequently modified, such as a web page or a collaborating document, is a subject of an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "With reference now to FIGS.", "3A and 3B, FIGS.", "3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device, a copy area in a document.", "In step 301, the user device starts the process for proposing a copy area in a document.", "In step 302, the user device reads, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage which can be accessible by the user device; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "Then, the user device displays the document on the screen of the user device.", "The user device monitors a user operation made on a document.", "The user operation may be done by, for example, but not limited to, a touch or click made on a content which is displayed on the screen.", "In decision 327, the user device may judge whether the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 303.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may wait for a next detection.", "In step 303, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document in response to a predetermined operation, such as a touch or click by the user.", "Further, the user device may obtain information on the document.", "The information may be a storage address of the document, such as a storage path or URL.", "The information may be used for specifying that the document is stored in the user device, or on the server or network attached storage NAS.", "In decision block 304, the user device may judge whether the document is a server document or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 315 FIG.", "3B.", "Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 305.In step 305, the user device accesses a history information for a user device.", "The history information for a user device may be stored in a storage of the user device or storage which can be accessible by the user device, such as a server or NAS.", "In step 306, the user device judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a user device has the location information which was obtained in step 303.If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 307.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 311.In step 307, the user device retrieves, from the history information for a user device, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents has been ranked in a predetermined order.", "For example, if the document is a structured document in which tags are used, the retrieval of the plurality of contents comprises calculating an order of tags in the document and the calculated order is used for identifying plurality of contents.", "For example, if the document is an unstructured document, the retrieval of the plurality of contents comprises calculating an order of bytes in the document and the calculated bytes are used for identifying plurality of contents.", "For example, if the document is a spreadsheet, the retrieval of the plurality of contents comprises calculating cell location in the document and the calculated cell location is used for identifying plurality of contents.", "In step 308, the user device proposes one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents.", "The proposal may be made by displaying the one or more contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user.", "The number of proposed contents may be a plural number.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content can be presented.", "The user operation may be predefined depending on a user device or an operation system which is running on the user device.", "The user operation may be, for example, but not limited to, the number of touches or clicks, or, while touching the screen with one finger, the number of times that a user touches the screen with another finger.", "The hover time may be predefined, such as a few seconds.", "In decision 309, the user device judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 310.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 312.In step 310, the user device copies the selected content to an area specified by the user.", "In step 311, the user device may show, for example, a new window on the screen, that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 312, the user device judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 313.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to final step 326.In step 313, the user device updates the history information for a user device using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "“Date of copying” may denote a date when a user selected a content in a copy source document and then made a copy operation for the content, or may otherwise provide some measure of the time a copy at which was made.", "“Information on a copy source document” may denote a location where the copy source document is stored.", "“Copied content” may denote the content to which the copy operation was made.", "“The number of copies made” may denote a count that the copy operation was made for each of the same contents in the same position in the copy source document.", "“The number of copies made” may be for one user who is or is not a user associated with a user device, or a plural users including or not including a user associated with a user device.", "“The number of copies made” may be calculated for one day or two or more days, or any other measurable time period.", "“Position of copied content” may denote a position of the copied document in the copy source document.", "“Score” may denote a value associated with each of the contents in the document The score may be calculated from the number of copies made and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done.", "“A content comprising the copied content” may denote a unit of document structure, such as a unit defined by p-tags, which comprises the copied content.", "“A content comprising the copied content” can be used for verifying a modification of an original source document.", "In step 314, the user device may analyze the information in the history information for a user device.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a user device will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "Referring now to FIG.", "3B, in step 315, the user device accesses a history information for a server.", "The history information for a server may be stored in a server storage or storage which can be accessible by the user device, such as a NAS.", "In decision 316, the user device judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a server has the location information which may have been obtained in step 303.If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 317.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 321.In step 317, the user device retrieves, from the history information for a server, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents may have been ranked in a predetermined order.", "In step 318, the user device proposes one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents.", "The proposal may be made by displaying the one or more contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user.", "The number of proposed contents may be a plural number.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content can be presented.", "The user operation may be predefined depending on a user device or an operation system which is running on the user device.", "The user operation may be, for example, but not limited to, the number of touches or clicks, or, while touching the screen with one finger, the number of times that a user touches the screen with another finger.", "The hover time may be predefined, such as a few seconds.", "In decision 319, the user device judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 320.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to decision 322.In step 320, the user device copies the selected content to an area specified by the user.", "In step 321, the user device may show, for example, a new window on the screen, that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 322, the user device judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 323.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to final step 326.In step 323, the user device updates the history information for a server using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In step 324, the user device may analyze the information in the history information for a server.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a server will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In step 326, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "With reference now to FIGS.", "4A and 4B, FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrate an example embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device and a server, a copy area in a document.", "In step 401, the user device starts the process for proposing a copy area in a document.", "In step 402, the user device reads, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage which can be accessible by the user device; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "Then, the user device displays the document on the screen of the user device.", "The user device monitors a user operation made on a document.", "The user operation may be done by, for example, but not limited to, a touch or click made on a content which is displayed on the screen.", "In decision 427, the user device may judge whether the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 303.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may wait for a next detection.", "In step 403, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document in response to a predetermined operation, such as a touch or click by the user.", "Further, the user device may obtain information on the document.", "The information may be a storage address of the document, such as a storage path or URL.", "The information may be used for specifying that the document is stored in the user device, or on the server or network attached storage NAS.", "In step 404, the user device judges whether the document is a server document or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device sends to a server a notification for requesting a retrieval of a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position and then proceed to step 415 (FIG.", "4B).", "The notification may comprise the information of the document and the cursor or pointer position on the document.", "The information of the document may be, for example, a storage path or URL.", "Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 405.In step 405, the user device accesses a history information for a user device.", "The history information for a user device may be stored in a storage of the user device or storage which can be accessible by the user device, such as a server or NAS.", "In decision 406, the user device judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a user device has the location information which was obtained in step 403.If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 407.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 411.In step 407, the user device retrieves, from the history information for a user device, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents has been ranked in a predetermined order.", "In step 408, the user device proposes one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents.", "The proposal may be made by displaying the one or more contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user.", "The number of proposed contents may be a plural number.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content can be presented.", "The user operation may be predefined depending on a user device or an operation system which is running on the user device.", "The user operation may be, for example, but not limited to, the number of touches or clicks, or, while touching the screen with one finger, the numbertimes that a user touches the screen with another finger.", "The hover time may be predefined, such as a few seconds.", "In decision 409, the user device judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 410.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 412.In step 410, the user device copies the selected content to an area specified by the user.", "In step 411, the user device may show, for example, a new window on the screen, that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 412, the user device judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 413.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to final step 426.In step 413, the user device updates the history information for a user device using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In step 414, the user device may analyze the information in the history information for a user device.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a user device will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4B, in step 415, the server accesses a history information for a server.", "The history information for a server may be stored in a storage in the server or storage which can be accessible by the server, such as a NAS.", "In decision 416, the server judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a server has the location information which was sent from the user device.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 417.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 421.In step 417, the server retrieves, from the history information for a server, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents may have been ranked in a predetermined order.", "In step 418, the server chooses one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents and then sends them to the user device.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content may be sent.", "The proposal in the user device may be made by displaying the one or more retrieved contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user or administrator of the server.", "In decision 419, the server waits for a notification, from the user device, for announcing that the proposed copy area is selected.", "In response to a receipt of the notification, the server judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 423.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 422.In step 421, the server may send to the user device a message to the effect that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 422, the server waits for a notification, from the user device, for announcing that the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "The notification may comprise the information of the document and the cursor or pointer position on the document.", "The information of the document may be, for example, a storage path or URL.", "In response to a receipt of the notification, the server judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 423.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 425.In step 423, the server updates the history information for a server using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, copied content, the number of copies made, position of copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In step 424, the server may analyze the information in the history information for a server.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a server will be explained by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In decision 425, the server may judges whether the history information for a user device is used or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 405.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to a final step 426.In step 426, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for analyzing, using a history information for a user device or for a server, information relating to the copied contents.", "With reference now to FIG.", "5A, FIG.", "5A illustrates an overall flowchart of the process for analyzing information relating to the copied contents.", "In step 501, the user device starts the process for analyzing information relating to the copied contents.", "In one embodiment, the process can be implemented in step 314 (FIG.", "3A), 324 (FIG.", "3B), 414 (FIG.", "4A), or 424 (FIG.", "4B).", "In another embodiment, the process can be started in a response to a detection of the selection and copy of a content in a document, which detection is described in step 502 below.", "In step 502, the user device detects a selection and copy of a content in a document.", "In decision 503, the user device judges whether the document is a server document or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may send to a server a notification for requesting analyzing information in the history information for a server and then the process goes to step 505.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 504.In step 504, the user device analyzes the information in the history information for a user device.", "The details of the analysis subprocess will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "5B discussed below.", "In step 505, the server analyzes the information in the history information for a server.", "The details of the analysis subprocess will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "5B discussed below.", "In step 506, the server terminates the process mentioned above.", "With reference now to FIG.", "5B, FIG.", "5B illustrates a flowchart of the detail subprocess of step 504, history information stored in the user device, and 505, history information stored in the server.", "In the following, a case of step 504, history information stored in the user device, mentioned above is first explained.", "In step 511, the user device starts the process for analyzing the information in the history information for a user device.", "In step 512, the user device accesses the history information for a user device.", "In step 513, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the information on the content which was copied by the user.", "The information may comprise, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of copied content, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In decision 514, the user device judges whether the history information for a user device already has the same following information or not: information on a copy source document, a copied content, and position of the copied content.", "All of which are recorded, in step 513, in the history information for a user device.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 515.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 520.In step 515, the user device calculates the total copy number for the content which was copied by the user and then records the calculated total number into the history information for a user device to update the total number of copying for the content which was copied by the user.", "In step 516, the user device calculates a score associated with each of the contents in the document, using the total number of copying and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done.", "The weight may be decided by using a date.", "In a case where date of copying is new, for example, in a year, high weight is used.", "Meanwhile, in a case where date of copying is old, for example, before a year, low weight is used.", "For example, in a case where date of copying is in a year, the weight is one, in a case where date of copying is before a year and in two year, the weight is 0.95, in a case where date of copying is before two year and in three year, the weight is 0.9, and so on.", "An example of score will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIGS.", "7A and 7B discussed below.", "In step 517, the user device generates a group in the history information for a user device.", "The group can be made using information on a copy source document, a copied content and position of the copied content.", "In each group, the copied contents having the same contents and the same position are summarized.", "An example of a group will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In step 518, the user device obtains a total score by calculating, in each group, the sum of each score for the same copied contents having the same position of the copied contents.", "Further, the user device may calculate a rank for each of the same copied content in the group, using the calculated total score and then assigns a number of the ranks to each of the total scores in the group.", "The ranking may be carried out according to the number of copying, the score or the combination of these.", "An example of a rank will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In step 519, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the calculated score, the generated group and the calculated rank to update the history information for a user device.", "In step 520, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, information relating to the copied content to update the history information for a user device, since the history information for a user device does not yet record the same data for the copied content.", "In step 521, the user device calculates a score associated with the copied content, using the total number of copying and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done and then record the calculated score into the history information for a user device.", "In step 522, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "In a case of step 504 mentioned above, a subject of steps 511 to 522 may be the user device and a history information is the history information for a user device.", "In a case of step 505 mentioned above, a subject of steps 511 to 522 may be the server and a history information is the history information for a server.", "The above explanations of steps 511 to 512 for the user device can be applied also to the case for the server.", "Therefore, the terms in the above explanations of steps 511 to 512 for the user device, “the user device” and “the history information for a user device”, may be read as “the server” and “the history information for a server”, respectively.", "With reference now to FIGS.", "6A and 6B, FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for updating history information for a user device or for a server in a case where an original of a copy source document having tags is modified.", "One kind of the tags is a p-tag.", "The p-tag can be represented as: <P></P> and is used for defining a paragraph.", "In step 601, the user device starts the process for updating history information.", "In step 602, the user device accesses a history information for a user device.", "In step 603, the user device repeats steps 604 to 630 until unprocessed data exists in the history information for a user device.", "In step 604, the user device obtains the following information from the history information for a user device: information on a copy source document, copied character string, position of copied character string, and a character string in p-tag in n-th tag, where n denotes a positive integer.", "In step 605, the user device accesses an original of the copy source document.", "In step 606, the user device obtains p-tags in the original of the copy source document and then assigns a number to the obtained p-tags.", "The number may be a positive integer.", "In step 607, the user device obtains a character string in the n-th tag.", "In step 608, the user device calculates a similarity between the character string in the p-tag which is obtained from the history information for a user device (hereinafter referred to as “the character string in the past time”) and the character string in the p-tag which is obtained from the original of the copy source document (hereinafter referred to as “the character string in the present time”).", "Many known method can be used for calculating such similarity, for example, but not limited to, a cosine similarity.", "In decision 609, the user device judges whether the similarity is equal to one or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the character string in the past time is the same with the character string in the present time and, therefore, the user device proceeds to step 630.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to decision 610 (FIG.", "6B).", "In decision 610, the user device judges whether the similarity is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to decision 611.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 618.In decision 611, the user device judges whether the copied character string is recorded in the character string in the history information which is now recorded or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 612.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 614.In step 612, the user device obtains, as the number of bytes, the position of the character string in the p-tag.", "In step 613, the user device replaces the position of copied character string in the history information for a user device with the obtained number of bytes to update the history information for a user device.", "In step 614, the user device retrieves, from the p-tag, a character string which is similar to the copied character string.", "In decision 615, the user device judges whether the similarity between the retrieved similar character string and the character string in the history information which is now recorded is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 616.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 617.In step 616, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the position of the similar character string which was retrieved in step 614.In step 617, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, information to the effect that the copied character string was deleted from the original of the copy source document.", "Referring now to FIG.", "6B, in decision 618, the user device judges whether there is another p-tag in the original of the copy source document.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 619.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 626.In step 619, the user device calculates a similarity between the character string in the p-tags which is obtained from the history information for a user device (hereinafter referred to as “the character string in the past time”) and the character string in another p-tag which is obtained from the original of the copy source document (hereinafter referred to as “another character string in the present time”).", "In decision 620, the user device judges whether the similarity is equal to one or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the character string in the past time is the same with another character string in the present time and, therefore, the user device proceeds to step 621.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to decision 622.In step 621, the user device updates the order of the number of tags in the history information for a user device.", "In decision 622, the user device judges whether the similarity is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to decision 623.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds back to decision 618.In decision 623, the user device judges whether the copied character string is recorded in another character string in the history information which is now recorded or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 624.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 627.In step 624, the user device obtains, as the number of bytes, the position of another character string in the p-tag.", "In step 625, the user device replaces the position of the copied character string in the history information for a user device with the obtained number of bytes to update the history information for a user device.", "In step 626, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, information to the effect that the copied character string was deleted from the original of the copy source document.", "In step 627, the user device retrieves, from another p-tag, a character string which is similar to the copied character string.", "In decision 628, the user device judges whether the similarity between the retrieved similar character string and the character string in the history information which is now recorded is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 629.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds back to decision 618.In step 629, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the position of the similar character string which was retrieved in step 627.In step 630, the user device proceeds back to step 603 to repeat steps 604 to 630 with a new character string.", "In step 631, the user device may update a score, a group and/or a rank if the history information for a user device was updated in steps 604 to 630.The update of a score, a group and/or a rank can be made as same way described in steps 516, 517 and 518 (FIG.", "5B) mentioned above, respectively.", "In step 632, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "In a case where a subject of steps 601 to 632 may be the user device and a history information may be the history information for a user device is explained above.", "The above explanations for the user device can be applied also to the case where a subject of steps 601 to 632 may be the server and a history information may be the history information for a server.", "Therefore, the terms in the above explanations of steps 601 to 632 for the user device, the terms in the above explanations of steps 601 to 632 for the user device, “the user device” and “the history information for a user device” may be read as “the server” and “the history information for a server”, respectively.", "With reference now to FIG.", "7A, FIG.", "7A illustrates an example embodiment of a history information for a user device.", "The history information for a user device 701 may have any, all, or at least the following information: date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, etc.", "The history information for a user device 701 may further have the following information: score, content comprising the copied content, etc.", "The history information for a user device 701 may be prepared using copy histories obtained from a user themself.", "Each of the scores described in fifth column of the second, third, fifth and sixth rows in the history information for a user device 701 may be calculated as follows: (the number of copied made)×(a weight associated with the date of copying) wherein the weight is one since the date of copying is in a year.", "The score described in the fifth column of the fourth row in the history information for a user device 701 may be calculated as follows: (the number of copies made)×(a weight associated with the date of copying) wherein the weight is 0.95 since the date of copying is before a year.", "In a case where the copy source document is a document written with HTML, the position of the copied content is defined with the order of the number of the tags and the starting and the end bytes in the tag.", "Examples can be seen in the sixth column of the second and third rows in the history information for a user device 701.For example, {T2; 1st byte; 9th bytes} denotes that the position of the copied content is in the second tag in the copy source document and the copied content is located in 1st byte to 9th byte in the second tag.", "In a case where the copy source document is a document written as a non-structured document, the position of the copied content is defined with the starting and the end bytes in the copy source document.", "Examples can be seen in the sixth column of the fourth to sixth rows in the history information for a user device 701.For example, {10th byte; 39th byte} denotes that the position of the copied content is located in 10th byte to 39th byte in the copy source document.", "FIG.", "7B illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server.", "The history information for a server 711 may have the following information: date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, score, content comprising the coped content, etc.", "The history information for a server 711 may be prepared using copy histories obtained from a plurality of users.", "The plurality of users may or may not comprise a user associated with a user device who uses the history information for a server 711.FIG.", "7C illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server after grouping.", "The history information for a server 721 may have the following information: information on a copy source document, group, a copied content, score, position of the copied content, rank, content comprising the copied content, etc.", "“Group” can be made using information on a copy source document, a copied content and position of the copied content.", "One group may be made for each of the copy source document having the common source.", "The history information for a server 721 shows the following three groups in the second column: http://www.sharecopy.com/shareddocs/thisversion*{10th byte; 214th byte}; “Test/NotesDevelopment:Notes: DB*{10th byte; 42nd byte}”; and “Test/NotesDevelopment:Notes: DB*{46th byte; 53rd byte}”.", "“Total score” may be obtained, for example, by calculating, in each group, the sum of each score for the same copied contents having the same position of the copied contents.", "“Rank” may be obtained, for example, by calculating the total score for each score of the same copied content in the group and then assigning a number of the ranks to each of the total scores in the groups.", "FIG.", "7D illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a user device or server after a modification of a copy source document.", "The history information 731 shows an original history information before a modification of a copy source document was made.", "In a case where the original of the copy source document is modified, the history information 731 is also modified according to the modification.", "For example, if the copied content in the sixth column of the second and third rows, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information.", "If a single source document is used to supply multiple projects, shared copying may be especially useful,” is modified to “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information.", "If a single source document is used to supply multiple projects, shared copying may be especially useful,” the history information 731 is updated by replacing the copied content with the modified sentence to generate the updated history information 741.Further, the position information on the modified content and the content relating to the modified content in the history information 731 is also updated accordingly, as seen in the sixth column of the second and third rows of the updated history information 741.For example, if the copied content, “Welcome to this doc!” which can be seen in the third column of the fourth row in the history information 731, is deleted from the original of the copy source document, the history information 731 is updated to show the effect that the copied content is deleted.", "Accordingly, the updated history information 741 shows that “copied content” and “the number of copies made” are “{deleted}” in the third column of the fourth row.", "After the updated history information 741 is generated, the updated history information 741 is used for proposing a copy area in a document in replace of the history information 731.In a case where the history information for a user device is associated with the history information for a server and the history information for a user device is updated, the history information for a server is also similarly modified according to the update done in the history information for a user device.", "With reference now to FIG.", "7E, FIG.", "7E illustrates an embodiment of an availability information on a document.", "The availability information 751 may define a rule for determining where the copied character string is stored or uploaded and who can access the history information.", "The availability information 751 has the following information: information on a copy source document, document where the copied content is pasted, place where information is available, security information, etc.", "“Information on a copy source document” may denote a location where the copy source document is stored.", "“Place where information is available” may denote a range where the history information for a server or user device is available.", "“Security information” may denote whether the history information for a server can be shared with a server or user device.", "For example, a user associated with a user device can determine that a copy history made by the user itself is or is not shared with a server.", "The availability information 751 may be used to determine in which history information the copied character string is stored, that is, a history information for a user device or a history information for a server.", "The determination can be made according to the “Place where information is available”.", "In a case where a server document is downloaded to a user device and then a character string in the server document is copied, the copied character string is uploaded to the server from the user device.", "Further, the availability information 751 may be used for determining a sharing range of the history information.", "The determination can be made according to the “Security information”.", "With reference now to FIG.", "8, FIG.", "8 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of an example of a user device which is used in accordance with the embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "3A and 3B.", "The user device 801 may correspond to the computer 101 described in FIG.", "1.The user device 801 may comprise a reading section 811, an obtaining section 812, a retrieving section 813, a proposing section 814, a copying section 815, an incrementing section 816 and an analyzing section 817.The user device 801 may further comprise a detecting section 818 and a modifying section 819.The reading section 811 may read, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage 891 which can be accessible by the user device 801; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "The obtaining section 812 may detect the user operation and, if the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document, then obtain information on a cursor or pointer position on a document displayed on a screen.", "The obtaining section 812 may perform a part of step 302, and step 303 described in FIG.", "3A.", "The retrieving section 813 may retrieve, from a history information 892, a plurality of second contents if the position is on a first content in the document.", "Each of the second contents comprises the first content.", "The retrieving section 813 may perform steps 304 to 307 described in FIG.", "3A and 315 to 317 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The proposing section 814 may propose, as a copy area, one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "The proposing section 814 may display the one or more second contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The proposing section 814 may perform step 308 described in FIG.", "3A and step 318 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The copying section 815 may copy the content selected by a user to an area designated by a user.", "The copying section 815 may perform steps 309 and 310 described in FIG.", "3A and steps 319 and 320 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The incrementing section 816 may increment the number of copying of a corresponding content in the history information 892, if the proposed copy area is selected and then copied by a user.", "The incrementing section 816 may perform step 313 described in FIG.", "3A and step 323 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The analyzing section 817 may analyze the information in the history information 892.The analyzing section 817 may perform step 314 described in FIG.", "3A and step 324 described in FIG.", "3B and all steps described in FIG.", "5B.", "The detecting section 818 may detect that an original document is modified.", "The modifying section 819 may modify the history information 892 if a content in the document is modified.", "If a content in the document is modified, the modifying section 819 may also similarly modify a corresponding content in the history information.", "If a position of a content in the document is changed, the modifying section 819 may correspondingly change position information on a corresponding content in the history information.", "With reference now to FIG.", "9, FIG.", "9 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of a computer system hardware comprising a user device and a server which may be used in accordance with the example embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "4A and 4B.", "The user device 901 may correspond to the computer 101 described in FIG.", "1.The user device 901 may comprise a reading section 911, an obtaining section 912, a receiving section 913, a displaying section 914, a copying section 915 and a sending section 916.The reading section 911 may read, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage 991 which can be accessible by the user device 901; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "The obtaining section 912 may detect the user operation and, if the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document, then obtain information on a cursor or pointer position on a document displayed on a screen.", "The obtaining section 912 may send the information on a cursor or pointer position to the server 902.The obtaining section 912 may perform a part of step 402, and steps 403 to 404 described in FIG.", "4A.", "The receiving section 913 may receive, from the server 902, one or more second contents comprising the first content associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "The received one or more contents may be in the predetermined order.", "The displaying section 914 may display, as a copy area, the one or more contents comprising the content associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "The copying section 915 may copy the content selected by a user to an area designated by a user.", "The sending section 916 may send information on the copied content to the server 902.The server 902 may comprise a retrieving section 923, a proposing section 924, a receiving section 925, an incrementing section 926 and an analyzing section 927.The server 902 may further comprise a detecting section 928 and a modifying section 929.The retrieving section 923 may retrieve, from a history information 992, a plurality of second contents if the position is on a first content in the document.", "Each of the second contents comprises the first content.", "The retrieving section 923 may perform steps 415 to 417 described in FIG.", "4B.", "The proposing section 924 may propose, as a copy area, one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "The proposing section 924 may send one or more second contents to the user device 901.The receiving section 925 may receive the information on the copied content from the user device 901.The incrementing section 926 may increment the number of copying of a corresponding content in the history information 992, if the server 902 receives the information on the copied content from the user device 901.The incrementing section 926 may perform step 423 described in FIG.", "4B.", "The analyzing section 927 may analyze the information in the history information 992.The analyzing section 927 may perform step 424 described in FIG.", "4B and all steps described in FIG.", "5B.", "The detecting section 928 may detect that an original document is modified.", "The modifying section 929 may modify the history information 992 if a content in the document is modified.", "If a content in the document is modified, the modifying section 929 may also similarly modify a corresponding content in the history information.", "If a position of a content in the document is changed, the modifying section 929 may correspondingly change position information on a corresponding content in the history information.", "The present invention may be a method, a system, and/or a computer program product.", "The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.", "The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device.", "The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.", "Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.", "The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers.", "A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.", "Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.", "The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.", "In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).", "In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.", "Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention.", "It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.", "These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention.", "In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s).", "In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures.", "For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.", "It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.", "By the expression “a/one” should be understood as “at least one”.", "By the expression “comprise(s)/comprising a/one” should be understood as “comprise(s)/comprising at least one”.", "By the expression “comprise(s)/comprising” should be understood as “comprise(s)/comprising at least”.", "By the expression “/” should be understood as “and/or”.", "The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed.", "Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.", "The terminology used herein was chosen to explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein." ] ]
Patent_15875152
[ [ "MULTIMEDIA CONTENT DURATION MANIPULATION", "Average pixel luminosity is calculated for each frame comprising a content item.", "For each pair of adjacent frames, an IFD is calculated.", "The IFD represents the difference between a baseline pixel luminosity associated with each of the two frames.", "An initial set of cut frames is selected based on IFD values that are less than a minimum value IFDmin, or that are greater than a maximum value IFDmax.", "The positions of these initial cut frames are optimized using a numerical optimization technique that favors removal of frames corresponding to IFD extrema, but that also attempts to maintain a minimum time gap between cut frames.", "Selecting frames for removal is approached as a constraint minimization problem.", "Once an optimized set of cut frames is established, audio is cut and crossfaded in a temporal window surrounding cut frame positions." ], [ "1.A method for manipulating a duration of a content item, the method comprising: receiving a content item that comprises a plurality of video frames; calculating a plurality of inter frame distance (IFD) values associated with the content item, wherein each of the IFD values represents a difference between baseline pixel luminosities associated with two adjacent video frames that comprise the content item; selecting an initial set of frame positions at least partially based on the plurality of IFD values and a minimum time gap G separating the frame positions; adjusting the frame positions using a numerical optimization technique; and modifying a duration of the content item by manipulating one or more video frames at the adjusted frame positions.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the duration of the content item is modified by removing video frames at the adjusted frame positions.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the duration of the content item is modified by inserting a new video frame adjacent to one of the adjusted frame positions.", "4.The method of claim 1, wherein each of the frame positions in the initial set corresponds to an IFD value that is either less than a threshold value IFDmin or greater than a threshold value IFDmax.", "5.The method of claim 1, further comprising cross-blending a plurality of video frames adjacent to one of the adjusted frame positions.", "6.A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a process for reducing a duration of a multimedia content item to be carried out, the process comprising: receiving a multimedia content item that includes a plurality of video frames and an audio track configured to be played synchronously with the video frames; calculating a plurality of inter frame distance (IFD) values associated with the multimedia content item, wherein each of the IFD values represents a difference between baseline pixel luminosities associated with two adjacent video frames that comprise the multimedia content item; selecting an initial subset of the video frames at least partially based on the plurality of IFD values, wherein each of the selected video frames is associated with a cut frame position, and wherein at least a minimum time gap G separates the cut frame positions from each other; adjusting at least one of the cut frame positions using a numerical optimization technique; removing, from the multimedia content item, a particular one of the selected video frames that was included in the initial subset; and cutting and crossfading the audio track within a window surrounding a cut frame position associated with the removed particular video frame, thereby causing a duration of the audio track to be reduced.", "7.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the process further comprises cross-blending a plurality of video frames adjacent to the removed particular video frame.", "8.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein each of the IFD values is calculated by: (a) determining a first luminosity of a first pixel comprising a first video frame; (b) determining a second luminosity of a second pixel comprising a second video frame that is adjacent to the first video frame, wherein the first and second pixels correspond to a common position in the first and second video frames; (c) determining a difference between the first and second luminosities; (d) repeating (a), (b), and (c) for a plurality of pixels comprising the first and second video frames, thereby producing a plurality of luminosity differences; and (e) averaging the plurality of luminosity differences.", "9.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the numerical optimization technique adjusts at least one of the cut frame positions by minimizing a quantity - λ  ∑ i = 1 N  IFD ′  ( x i ) 2 - ∑ i = 1 N  { ln  [ t  ( x i ) - t  ( x i - 1 ) - G ] + ln  [ t  ( x i + 1 ) - t  ( x i ) - G ] } , wherein: λ is a weighting parameter; Ni s a quantity of video frames in the initial subset; xi represents an ith video frame; IFD′(xi) represents a modified computation of an IFD corresponding to the xith video frame, wherein a smooth continuous correcting curve is applied for initially-calculated IFD values less than a threshold value IFDmin; and t(xi) corresponds to a time associated with the xith video frame.", "10.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the minimum time gap G is between about 0.25 seconds and about 0.50 seconds.", "11.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the process further comprises: receiving a qualitative quality control input; and setting the minimum time gap G based on the qualitative quality control input.", "12.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein IFD values are calculated for each pair of adjacent video frames comprising the multimedia content item.", "13.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein cutting and crossfading the audio track further comprises: determining a quantity of audio data segments to be extracted from the window; identifying an audio data segment existing within the window; determining a fundamental frequency and a corresponding sample period of the identified audio data segment; and crossfading a plurality of samples at the cut frame position associated with the removed particular video frame, wherein said crossfading is performed using a correlation-based mixture of linear and constant power crossfade.", "14.A system for manipulating a duration of a digital content item, the system comprising: an inter frame distance (IFD) calculation module configured to calculate a plurality of IFD values associated with video frames that comprise a digital content item, wherein each of the IFD values represents a difference between baseline pixel luminosities associated with two adjacent video frames; a frame selection module configured to identify a set of frame positions corresponding to IFD values that are less than a threshold value IFDmin, wherein the frame positions are separated from each other by at least a minimum time gap G; and a duration manipulation module configured to modify a duration of the digital content item by manipulating a particular video frame corresponding to a particular one of the frame positions.", "15.The system of claim 14, wherein: the digital content item further comprises an audio track configured to be played synchronously with the video frames; and the system further comprises an audio manipulation sub-module configured to modify a duration of the audio track by cutting and crossfading the audio track within a window surrounding one or more of the frame positions.", "16.The system of claim 14, further comprising a supplemental frame selection module configured to identify a supplemental set of frame positions corresponding to IFD values that are greater than a threshold value IFDmax.", "17.The system of claim 14, further comprising a supplemental frame selection module configured to identify a supplemental set of frame positions corresponding to IFD values that are greater than a threshold value IFDmax, wherein the duration manipulation module is further configured to modify the duration of the digital content item by manipulating a second particular video frame corresponding to a particular one of the frame positions in the supplemental set of frame positions.", "18.The system of claim 14, wherein the duration of the digital content item is modified by removing the particular video frame.", "19.The system of claim 14, wherein IFD values are calculated for each pair of adjacent video frames comprising the digital content item.", "20.The system of claim 14, wherein the duration of the content item is modified by inserting a new video frame adjacent to the particular video frame." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The duration of multimedia content—such as television programming—is often manipulated to fit within a scheduled timeslot.", "For example, the television broadcast schedule in the United Kingdom includes hour-long timeslots that are configured to accommodate between 45 minutes and 48 minutes of programming.", "On the other hand, the television broadcast schedule in the United States includes hour-long timeslots that are configured to accommodate between 39 minutes and 42 minutes of programming.", "As a result, if a British television program is to be adapted for viewing in the United States its duration should be reduced slightly.", "Even where programming is not being adapted for another market, many applications still call for a slight increase or decrease in the duration of such programming.", "For instance, television programs having a duration that does not necessarily conform to the standardized timeslots that comprise a broadcast schedule are apt candidates for duration manipulation.", "Examples of such programming include sporting events, live performances, and breaking news coverage.", "Outside the field of television broadcasting, it is still often desired to manipulate the duration of distributed multimedia content, for instance in the context of online streaming services and portable media distribution schemes such as digital video disc sales or rentals.", "Given the wide range of applications which call for manipulating multimedia content duration, a number of techniques have been developed to perform such manipulations.", "For instance, Time Tailor (Prime Image, Inc., Chalifont, Pa.) is one example of an existing tool that can be used to reduce the duration of a television program to create additional commercial time in a broadcast schedule." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>FIG.", "1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating selected components of an example computer system that can be used to manipulate the duration of multimedia content items in an analytical and controllable manner that is both visually and audibly subtle.", "FIGS.", "2A through 2D comprise a flowchart illustrating an example technique for manipulating the duration of multimedia content items in an analytical and controllable manner that is both visually and audibly subtle.", "FIG.", "3A is a timeline schematically illustrating an example multimedia content item having an initial duration of five minutes.", "FIG.", "3B is a timeline schematically illustrating the example multimedia content item of FIG.", "3A after applying one of the duration manipulation techniques disclosed herein, wherein both the original content item and a thirty-second commercial announcement are played in the same five minute timeslot.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/534,543 (filed 6 Nov. 2014), the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.", "FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE This application relates generally to manipulation of multimedia content items, and more specifically to methods for manipulating the duration of multimedia content items in an analytical and controllable manner that is both visually and audibly subtle.", "BACKGROUND The duration of multimedia content—such as television programming—is often manipulated to fit within a scheduled timeslot.", "For example, the television broadcast schedule in the United Kingdom includes hour-long timeslots that are configured to accommodate between 45 minutes and 48 minutes of programming.", "On the other hand, the television broadcast schedule in the United States includes hour-long timeslots that are configured to accommodate between 39 minutes and 42 minutes of programming.", "As a result, if a British television program is to be adapted for viewing in the United States its duration should be reduced slightly.", "Even where programming is not being adapted for another market, many applications still call for a slight increase or decrease in the duration of such programming.", "For instance, television programs having a duration that does not necessarily conform to the standardized timeslots that comprise a broadcast schedule are apt candidates for duration manipulation.", "Examples of such programming include sporting events, live performances, and breaking news coverage.", "Outside the field of television broadcasting, it is still often desired to manipulate the duration of distributed multimedia content, for instance in the context of online streaming services and portable media distribution schemes such as digital video disc sales or rentals.", "Given the wide range of applications which call for manipulating multimedia content duration, a number of techniques have been developed to perform such manipulations.", "For instance, Time Tailor (Prime Image, Inc., Chalifont, Pa.) is one example of an existing tool that can be used to reduce the duration of a television program to create additional commercial time in a broadcast schedule.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating selected components of an example computer system that can be used to manipulate the duration of multimedia content items in an analytical and controllable manner that is both visually and audibly subtle.", "FIGS.", "2A through 2D comprise a flowchart illustrating an example technique for manipulating the duration of multimedia content items in an analytical and controllable manner that is both visually and audibly subtle.", "FIG.", "3A is a timeline schematically illustrating an example multimedia content item having an initial duration of five minutes.", "FIG.", "3B is a timeline schematically illustrating the example multimedia content item of FIG.", "3A after applying one of the duration manipulation techniques disclosed herein, wherein both the original content item and a thirty-second commercial announcement are played in the same five minute timeslot.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION A multimedia content item can be understood as comprising a collection of synchronized audio and video segments that are arranged for sequential playback.", "The duration of the content item can therefore be manipulated by adding or removing such segments, or by adjusting the speed at which the segments are played.", "A significant challenge lies in implementing these manipulations in a visually and audibly subtle manner such that they are not easily noticed when a consumer views the manipulated content item.", "As a result, existing solutions for manipulating the duration of multimedia content tend to suffer from a number of shortcomings.", "For example, solutions that operate by manipulating the playback speed or frame rate tend to result in undesirable visible and audible artifacts.", "Solutions that rely on segment addition or removal generally (a) rely on manual input to identify appropriate editing points, which tends to be time consuming and expensive, or (b) rely on a window-based analysis of smaller content blocks that comprise the multimedia asset, which tends to produce suboptimal results.", "Moreover, existing automated algorithms for identifying segments to be removed tend not to efficiently identify frames that can be removed subtly.", "These shortcomings represent substantial limitations that make it difficult for broadcasters and program managers to “micro-schedule” their content—that is, to subtly manipulate multimedia content duration to conform to predetermined scheduled timeslots.", "Techniques are disclosed herein for manipulating the duration of a multimedia content item in a way that addresses certain of these shortcomings.", "In one embodiment average pixel luminosity is calculated for each frame comprising a multimedia content item.", "For each pair of adjacent frames, an inter frame distance (IFD) is calculated, wherein the IFD represents the difference between a baseline pixel luminosity associated with each of the two frames.", "An initial set of frames to be removed from the content item (also referred to herein as “cut frames”) is selected based on IFD values that are less than a pre-established minimum value IFDmin, or that are greater than a pre-established maximum value IFDmax.", "The positions of these initial cut frames are optimized using a numerical optimization technique that favors removal of frames corresponding to extreme IFD values, but that also attempts to maintain a minimum time gap G between cut frames.", "Thus selecting frames for removal can be understood and approached as a constraint minimization problem.", "Once an optimized set of cut frames is established, audio is cut and crossfaded in a temporal window surrounding each cut frame.", "Numerous configurations and modifications will be apparent in light of this disclosure, including modifications that enable the duration of the content item to be increased instead of decreased.", "A number of advantages are associated with certain of the disclosed embodiments.", "For example, certain of the techniques disclosed herein reduce the duration of a multimedia content item without introducing easily noticeable visible or audible artifacts into the modified content item.", "The appearance of artifacts depends on a number of factors ranging from the type of programming, the compression techniques used to encode the content, and the content consumer′s visual and aural acuity.", "However, in general, duration reductions of up to 10% have been observed to be unnoticeable to most content consumers, while even higher reductions have been observed to be barely or only occasionally noticeable.", "Because IFD extrema are identified and located based on an analysis of an entire content item, such analysis produces superior results as compared to a window-based approach that analyzes and processes the content item on a segment-by-segment basis.", "In particular, existing solutions which use a window-based approach tend to “force” frame cutting even in regions where such cuts may be more easily noticed.", "A wide range of different multimedia content can be processed using the techniques disclosed herein, including both interlaced and non-interlaced content.", "Certain embodiments also advantageously avoid human intervention and/or input by automating the duration manipulation process, thereby reducing costs and processing times.", "For example, in one implementation, a user simply identifies a multimedia content item to be processed and a target duration modification; other quality control parameters and settings can be applied based on predefined default values.", "This enables content to be processed efficiently and quickly: in one example embodiment one hour of high definition multimedia content is processed in less than five minutes.", "As used herein, the term “multimedia content” refers, in addition to its ordinary meaning, to audio, visual, or audiovisual information intended for consumption by a user, organization, or other human- or computer-controlled entity.", "In general, multimedia content can be understood as including audible recordings played via speakers or headphones, visual presentations that include one or more visual assets which may or may not change with the progression of time, and combinations of both audible and visual assets.", "Specific examples of multimedia content include television programs, movies, animated sequences, and other audiovisual assets.", "In applications where multimedia content includes both audio and video components, such components can be separated and subjected to different processing techniques.", "Multimedia content can be stored in a compressed digital format and may be created and manipulated using any suitable editing application.", "For example, multimedia content can be stored in any suitable file format defined by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), including MPEG-4, can be stored as a sequence of frames defined in a color space such as red-green-blue (RGB) or luma-chrominance (YUV), or can be stored in any other suitable compressed or uncompressed file format, including file formats generated in real-time by animation engines, compositing engines, or other video generation applications.", "Multimedia content may also include information that is not specifically intended for display, and thus also encompasses items such as embedded executable instructions, scripts, hyperlinks, metadata, encoding information, audio tracks, and formatting information.", "The term “multimedia content item” refers to a collection of multimedia content that is organized into a distinct unit, such as a file, which can be subjected to various processing operations.", "Thus while digital music or video may be referred to as multimedia content generally, a song or television episode may be referred to as a multimedia content item.", "Multimedia content items may also be referred to as “multimedia assets”.", "As used herein, the term “luminosity” refers, in addition to its ordinary meaning, to a measure of where a color falls on a spectrum between black and white.", "Luminosity can therefore be thought of as a measure of how close a given color is to black or white.", "Luminosity is typically expressed in terms of a percentage, where a luminosity of 0% corresponds to black and a luminosity of 100% corresponds to white.", "A color of a given hue and saturation having a luminosity of 50% will appear as close as possible to the pure color of that hue and saturation, as compared to colors having a higher (faded) or lower (darkened) luminosity.", "Thus luminosity is a unique parameter as compared to brightness and saturation in that the midpoint of the luminosity scale corresponds to a pure hue.", "Luminosity is also sometimes referred to as “lightness”.", "System Architecture FIG.", "1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating selected components of an example computer system 100 that can be used to manipulate the duration of multimedia content items in an analytical and controllable manner that is both visually and audibly subtle.", "Computer system 100 may comprise, for example, one or more devices selected from a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a workstation, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a handheld computer, a set-top box, an enterprise class server, or any other such computing device.", "A combination of different devices may be used in certain embodiments.", "In the illustrated embodiment, computer system 100 includes, among other things, a processor 110, a memory 120, an operating system 140, a communications module 150, a duration reduction module 160, and an optional multimedia rendering module 170.In alternative embodiments a duration increase module is provided in addition to, or instead of, duration reduction module 160.As can be further seen, a bus and/or interconnect 180 is also provided to allow for inter- and intra-device communications using, for example, communications module 150.Computer system 100 is optionally coupled to a network 200 to allow for communications with other computing devices or resources, such as a networked media store 300.Other componentry and functionality not reflected in the schematic block diagram of FIG.", "1 will be apparent in light of this disclosure, and it will be appreciated that other embodiments are not limited to any particular hardware configuration.", "Processor 110 can be any suitable processor, and may include one or more coprocessors or controllers, such as an audio processor or a graphics processing unit, to assist in control and processing operations associated with computer system 100.Memory 120 can be implemented using any suitable type of digital storage, such as one or more of a disc drive, a universal serial bus (USB) drive, flash memory, and/or random access memory (RAM).", "Operating system 140 may comprise any suitable operating system, such as Google Android (Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif.), Microsoft Windows (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash.), or Apple OS X (Apple Inc., Cupertino, Calif.).", "As will be appreciated in light of this disclosure, the techniques provided herein can be implemented without regard to the particular operating system provided in conjunction with computer system 100, and therefore may also be implemented using any suitable existing or subsequently-developed platform.", "Communications module 150 can be any appropriate network chip or chipset which allows for wired and/or wireless connection to other components of computer system 100 and/or to network 200, thereby enabling computer system 100 to communicate with other local and/or remote computer systems, servers, and/or resources.", "Duration reduction module 160 is configured to subtly reduce the duration of a multimedia content item by cutting video frames from the content and crossfading audio that corresponds to the cut video frames.", "Duration reduction module 160 can be implemented with a variety of suitable software and/or hardware that is coupled to or that otherwise forms part of computer system 100.For example, in terms of software, in certain embodiments duration reduction module 160 is used in conjunction with a video editing application, thereby allowing users to manipulate the duration of video content.", "In other embodiments duration reduction module 160 is used in conjunction with a media player application or other software component capable of rendering multimedia content, such as multimedia rendering module 170.For instance in one implementation a media player is configured to automatically reduce the duration of a content item and to insert an advertisement into the content item.", "In terms of hardware, duration reduction module 160 can be implemented or otherwise used in conjunction with input/output devices such as a display, a video camera, a textual input device such as a keyboard, and/or a pointer-based input device such as a mouse.", "Other input/output devices that may be used in other embodiments include a touchscreen, a touchpad, a speaker, and/or a microphone.", "Still other input/output devices can be used in other embodiments.", "In certain embodiments duration reduction module 160 is installed local to computer system 100, as illustrated in FIG.", "1.Alternatively, in embodiments where computer system 100 is implemented as a client in a client-server architecture, at least some functionality associated with duration reduction module 160 is downloaded from a server using an applet, such as a JavaScript applet, or other downloadable module.", "Such a remotely accessible module or sub-module can be provided in real-time in response to a request from computer system 100.For example, a user of a tablet computer may invoke functionality associated with duration reduction module 160 upon accessing multimedia content which is to be viewed or otherwise processed, and which may be retrieved from media store 300.In such embodiments the server can be local to network 200 or remotely coupled to network 200 by one or more other networks and/or communication channels.", "In some cases access to resources on a given network or computing system may require credentials such as usernames, passwords, and/or compliance with any other suitable security mechanism.", "In any such standalone or networked computing scenarios, duration reduction module 160 may be implemented with any suitable technology that allows a user to perform frame-by-frame analysis of a multimedia content item.", "Still referring to FIG.", "1, in certain embodiments duration reduction module 160 includes a user interface sub-module 161, an IFD calculation sub-module 162, an IFD smoothing sub-module 163, a cut frame selection sub-module 164, a frame removal sub-module 165, and an audio manipulation sub-module 166.In certain embodiments user interface sub-module 161 is used, for example, to receive user input that identifies a multimedia asset to be manipulated and defines the parameters of the manipulation including, for example, quality control parameters.", "User interface sub-module 161 also optionally provides information such as a maximum duration reduction that is available for a given multimedia content item, or a likelihood that a targeted duration reduction will produce visible and/or audible artifacts.", "Regardless of the specific functionality provided, in such embodiments user interface sub-module 161 can be configured to work in conjunction with suitable input/output hardware such as touch sensitive display.", "In an example embodiment IFD calculation sub-module 162 calculates an IFD for each pair of adjacent frames that comprise the processed multimedia content item.", "The IFD represents the difference between a baseline pixel luminosity for each of the two frames.", "Because the IFD values are calculated numerically and are often subject to large variations, in certain embodiments IFD smoothing sub-module 163 performs one or more iterative smoothing operations on the IFD values.", "In particular, once an optimized set of cut frame positions is established as will be described in turn, the IFD values can be smoothed and the optimization can be performed again using the optimized set of cut frame positions as seed points.", "It has been found that performing one or more iterations of (a) smoothing the IFD values, (b) finding a first optimized set of cut frame positions, (c) smoothing the IFD values again using a Gaussian kernel of decreasing sigma, and (d) finding a subsequent optimized set of cut frame positions reduces the likelihood that visible and/or audible artifacts will be present in a reduced-duration multimedia content item.", "Cut frame selection sub-module 164 is configured to identify a plurality of video frames that are suitable to be removed from a multimedia content item.", "The number of frames which are to be removed depends on the extent to which the duration of the content item is to be reduced, with large quantities of cut frames corresponding to greater duration reductions.", "In one embodiment, an initial set of cut frames is selected based on IFD values that are less than the pre-established minimum value IFDmin, or that are greater than the pre-established maximum value IFDmax.", "The threshold parameters IFDmin and IFDmax can be understood as quality control parameters that affect the perceived subtlety of the duration reduction, wherein a lower IFDmin value and/or a higher IFDmax value correspond to more restrictive frame cutting conditions, and therefore a lower likelihood that a viewer will notice the cut frame.", "Once the initial set of cut frames is identified, cut frame selection sub-module 165 is further configured to optimize the positions of these cut frames using a numerical optimization technique.", "In particular, identifying a preferred cut frame position can be understood as a minimization process that favors removal of frames corresponding to extreme IFD values, but that also attempts to maintain the minimum time gap G between cut frames.", "The minimum time gap G is yet another quality control parameter that prevents several frames from being removed in a short time window, which would make it difficult to synchronize the corresponding audio without producing audible artifacts.", "Once the cut frame positions are optimized or otherwise not subjected to further processing, frame removal sub-module 165 can be configured to remove frames from the multimedia content item at the identified cut frame positions.", "This can be accomplished by simply removing the identified cut frame, or by cross-blending a plurality of frames adjacent to the identified cut frame, wherein the cross-blending removes a time duration that corresponds to the duration of a single frame.", "Simply removing the video frames identified and positioned by cut frame selection sub-module 164 will result in a multimedia content item having an audio track that is longer than its video track.", "To address this, audio manipulation sub-module 166 is configured to cut and crossfade audio in a narrow window surrounding each cut frame.", "In particular, a narrow window surrounding each cut frame is divided into a plurality of smaller audio segments, each of which is associated with an average sound energy value that measures the intensity of sound within that segment.", "Audio cutting and crossfading is performed on the segments with the lowest average sound energy, wherein the audio crossfading is based on the fundamental frequency and sample period of the segment.", "This allows the duration of the audio track to be reduced such that it matches the modified video track.", "Additional details regarding the operation of the modules and sub-modules disclosed herein will be described in turn.", "As described herein, in an alternative embodiment a duration increase module is provided in addition to, or instead of, duration reduction module 160.In one such alternative embodiment duration increase module includes one or more sub-modules capable of identifying positions where it would be appropriate to insert a duplicate frame into a multimedia content item for the purpose of increasing the duration of the content item.", "Examples of sub-modules which are included in the duration increase module include an IFD calculation sub-module and an IFD smoothing sub-module.", "Such sub-modules operate similarly or identically to those used in conjunction with duration reduction module 160, and indeed, shared sub-modules can be implemented in certain embodiments.", "The duration increase module also includes an inserted frame positioning sub-module that is configured to optimize a set of positions suitable for inserting duplicative frames.", "In such case, inserted frame positioning sub-module operates on the same principle as cut frame selection sub-module 164, wherein an initial set of frame positions is optimized using a numerical optimization technique that favors frames corresponding to extreme IFD values, but that also attempts to maintain a minimum time gap G between frame insertions.", "In some implementations a duplicative frame is inserted, while in other implementations a cross-blended frame is inserted.", "Duration increase module also includes an audio manipulation sub-module that operates similarly or identically to the corresponding sub-module in duration reduction module 160, thereby maintaining a common duration between the audio and video tracks.", "Thus it will be appreciated that alternative embodiments can be configured to manipulate a multimedia content item to have a shorter or longer duration.", "The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, or special purpose processors.", "For example, in one embodiment a non-transitory computer readable medium has instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more of the methods for manipulating the duration of multimedia content items disclosed herein to be implemented.", "The instructions can be encoded using one or more suitable programming languages, such as C, C++, object-oriented C, JavaScript, Visual Basic .NET, BASIC, or alternatively, using custom or proprietary instruction sets.", "Such instructions can be provided in the form of one or more computer software applications or applets that are tangibly embodied on a memory device, and that can be executed by a computer having any suitable architecture.", "In one embodiment the system can be hosted on a given website and implemented using JavaScript or another suitable browser-based technology.", "The functionalities disclosed herein can optionally be incorporated into a variety of different software applications, including video editing applications, video analysis applications, digital content scheduling applications, or other content generation, modification, and/or management applications.", "Moreover, the functionalities disclosed herein can additionally or alternatively leverage services provided by separate software modules, such as content management services or user authentication services.", "The computer software applications disclosed herein may include a number of different modules, sub-modules, or other components of distinct functionality, and can provide information to, or receive information from, still other components and/or services.", "These modules can be used, for example, to communicate with input and/or output devices such as a display screen, a touch sensitive surface, a printer, and/or any other suitable input/output device.", "Other components and functionality not reflected in the illustrations will be apparent in light of this disclosure, and it will be appreciated that the claimed invention is not intended to be limited to any particular hardware or software configuration.", "Thus in other embodiments duration reduction module 160 may comprise additional, fewer, or alternative subcomponents as compared to those included in the example embodiment illustrated in FIG.", "1.For example, in one alternative embodiment duration reduction module 160 includes a sub-module configured for media playback, such as might otherwise be provided by multimedia rendering module 170.The aforementioned non-transitory computer readable medium may be any suitable medium for storing digital information, such as a hard drive, a server, a flash memory, and/or random access memory.", "In alternative embodiments, the computer and/or modules disclosed herein can be implemented with hardware, including gate level logic such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or alternatively, a purpose-built semiconductor such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).", "Still other embodiments may be implemented with a microcontroller having a number of input/output ports for receiving and outputting data, and a number of embedded routines for carrying out the various functionalities disclosed herein.", "It will be apparent that any suitable combination of hardware, software, and firmware can be used in this regard, and that the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limited to any particular system architecture.", "Methodology FIGS.", "2A through 2D comprise a flowchart illustrating an example method 2000 for manipulating the duration of a multimedia content item.", "As can be seen, duration manipulation method 2000 includes a number of phases and sub-processes, the sequence of which may vary from one embodiment to another.", "However, when considered in the aggregate, these phases and sub-processes form a complete multimedia content duration manipulation method that is responsive to user commands in accordance with certain of the embodiments disclosed herein.", "This method can be implemented, for example, using the system architecture illustrated in FIG.", "1.However other system architectures can be used in other embodiments, as will be apparent in light of this disclosure.", "To this end, the correlation of the various functionalities shown in FIGS.", "2A through 2D to the specific components illustrated in FIG.", "1 is not intended to imply any structural and/or use limitations.", "Rather, other embodiments may include varying degrees of integration wherein multiple functionalities are performed by one system or by separate systems.", "For instance, in an alternative embodiment a single module can be used to manipulate the duration of a multimedia content item and render the content item.", "Thus other embodiments may have fewer or more modules and sub-modules depending on the granularity of implementation.", "Numerous variations and alternative configurations will be apparent in light of this disclosure.", "Still referring to FIGS.", "2A through 2D, in one embodiment method 2000 commences with duration reduction module 160 receiving a multimedia content item from networked media store 300.See reference numeral 2110 in FIG.", "2A.", "The multimedia content item may alternatively be received from a different source, such as from a storage resource that is local to computer system 100 (for example, a hard disc drive or a portable storage device), or from a different type of networked storage resource (for example, an electronic mail server or a peer-to-peer network).", "Method 2000 may additionally or alternatively commence with user interface sub-module 161 setting a duration reduction factor and/or quality control parameters based on user input or some other source.", "See reference numeral 2120 in FIG.", "2A.", "For example, in some cases the multimedia content item is received before the duration reduction factor and/or quality control parameters are set, in other cases the multimedia content item is received after the duration reduction factor and/or quality control parameters are set, and in still other embodiments such receipt occurs simultaneously.", "A duration reduction factor P defines the extent to which the duration of a content item is to be reduced.", "In one implementation, duration reduction factor P is defined as the ratio of the target duration to the original duration, such that a factor P=1.0 corresponds to no duration reduction.", "For example, if a content item having a duration of 300 seconds is to be reduced by 30 seconds to allow for insertion of a commercial advertisement, then the target duration reduction factor P=270÷300=0.90.The duration reduction factor P can be provided on a case-by-case basis by a user interacting with user interface sub-module 161, although in certain embodiments a default duration reduction factor can be applied in the absence of user input.", "In alternative embodiments a user can specify a target duration that the content item should have and the duration reduction factor P is calculated based on the ratio of the user-specified target duration to the known original duration.", "Quality control parameters IFDmin and IFDmax define lower and upper thresholds, respectively, for identifying video frames which are suitable for removal from a multimedia content item.", "For example, a frame associated with an IFD value that is less than IFDmin will appear vary similar to its neighbors.", "Such a frame might be considered to be a still frame or a nearly still frame, and therefore could probably be removed from the content item without significantly affecting how the content item appears during playback.", "Such a frame would therefore be suitable for removal.", "Likewise, a frame associated with an IFD value that is greater than IFDmax will likely occur during a fast action scene, or immediately adjacent to a cut.", "Such a frame could also probably be removed from the content item without significantly affecting how the content item appears during playback since it would be hidden within the fast action scene.", "In general, video frames associated with IFD values less than IFDmin and greater than IFDmax are frames which are unlikely to significantly affect how the content item appears during playback.", "The parameters IFDmin and IFDmax can therefore be understood as quality control parameters.", "In particular, setting a higher IFDmin threshold will increase the number of frames identified as suitable candidates for removal, and will therefore increase the likelihood that visible artifacts are introduced into the content item as a result of the duration manipulation.", "Likewise, setting a lower IFDmax threshold will also increase the number of frames identified as suitable candidates for removal, and will therefore also increase the likelihood that visible artifacts are introduced into the content item as a result of the duration manipulation.", "In certain embodiments user interface sub-module 161 can be configured to receive specific user-defined values for IFDmin and IFDmax, while in other embodiments user interface sub-module 161 can be configured to simply establish values for IFDmin and IFDmax based on a user′s qualitative selection of higher quality or lower quality.", "This qualitative selection can be provided, for example, via a user interface element such as a slider extending from low to high quality or a radio button that can be toggled between low, medium, or high quality.", "In still other embodiments user interface sub-module 161 is configured to establish values for IFDmin and IFDmax based on predefined default values which may or may not be user adjustable.", "A minimum gap duration G defines a preferred minimum duration between frames identified as being suitable for removal.", "Removing multiple frames within a short time period increases the likelihood that visible and/or audible artifacts, and especially audible artifacts, will be apparent as a result of the removal.", "Thus the minimum gap duration G can be understood as yet another quality control parameter.", "Setting a lower minimum gap duration G will increase the number of frames identified as suitable candidates for removal, and will therefore increase the likelihood that visible and/or audible artifacts are introduced into the content item as a result of the duration manipulation.", "For example, if several video frames are removed in a relatively short window, the corresponding audio will need to be adjusted within that same relatively short window.", "This can result in audible artifacts, and in particular, in the perception that the audio portion of the content item changes speed suddenly.", "Such changes are more obvious for content types such as rhythmic music, and are less obvious for other content types such as spoken dialog.", "As a result, in some implementations different minimum gap durations can be defined for different portions of a multimedia content item depending on the multimedia content itself.", "In certain embodiments user interface sub-module 161 is configured to receive specific user-defined values for minimum gap duration G, while in other embodiments user interface sub-module 161 is configured to simply establish a value for minimum gap duration G based on a qualitative selection of higher quality or lower quality.", "This qualitative selection can be provided, for example, via a user interface element such as a slider extending from low to high quality or a radio button that can be toggled between low, medium, or high quality.", "In still other embodiments user interface sub-module 161 is configured to establish a value for minimum gap duration G based on a predefined default value which may or may not be user adjustable.", "In one embodiment minimum gap duration G is set to a value between about 0.10 seconds and about 1.00 seconds.", "In another embodiment minimum gap duration G is set to a value between about 0.20 seconds and about 0.60 seconds.", "In yet another embodiment minimum gap duration G is set to a value between about 0.25 seconds and about 0.50 seconds.", "In yet another embodiment minimum gap duration G is set to a value of about 0.35 seconds.", "Referring again to the example embodiment illustrated in FIGS.", "2A through 2D, once duration reduction module 160 has received the multimedia content item, IFD calculation sub-module 162 is configured to calculate IFD values for each of the adjacent frame pairings in the content item.", "See reference numeral 2140 in FIG.", "2A.", "In one implementation IFD values are calculated by first generating a luminosity differential image that is defined by the difference between luminosities derived from the two adjacent frames.", "That is, the luminosity differential image is defined by abs[lum(Fi)−lum(F2)], where F1 and F2 are adjacent frames, and lum(Fn) is a luminosity derived from frame Fn.", "The luminosity differential image can be used to compute an average luminosity differential for a large quantity of pixel subsets, such as rectangular pixel subsets, over an entire frame.", "The average luminosity differential for the plurality of pixel subsets can be calculated using an integral image.", "More specifically, an integral image can be computed by taking the luminosity differential image as input and computing an image such that the value at any pixel (x, y) represents the sum of a subset of pixels above and to the left of pixel (x, y).", "For example, in one embodiment each rectangular pixel subset has a height and width that is approximately one-quarter of the height and width of the original image, respectively.", "Amongst the large quantity of average luminosity differentials that are computed, the maximum luminosity differential is taken as the IFD between the two adjacent frames.", "Use of an integral image advantageously allows these sums to be calculated quickly and efficiently.", "This technique for determining the IFD advantageously captures local movement (such as a person running across a portion of the frame) as well as global changes (such as a fade-to-black cut).", "In an another implementation this is accomplished by calculating a difference in luminosity for each pixel across two adjacent frames, and then determining the IFD based on an average difference across all of the pixels comprising the frame.", "While the above techniques compare an average luminosity for a pixel subset (or for individual pixels), in other embodiments a statistical metric other than average is used, such as median or mode.", "More generally, the techniques disclosed herein can be understood as establishing what is referred to herein as a “baseline pixel luminosity” associated with each of two adjacent frames.", "Given this, the IFD can be understood as corresponding to the difference between the two baselines, regardless of how such baselines are specifically calculated in a given implementation.", "In one embodiment an baseline pixel luminosity is calculated for each frame comprising the content item and IFD values are determined for each pair of adjacent frames.", "In other embodiments baseline pixel luminosities are calculated only for a portion of the frames comprising the content item and IFD values are determined only for adjacent frames for which baseline pixel luminosities have been calculated.", "For example, in some cases a user may specify, for instance via user interface sub-module 161, that only a smaller portion of a larger content item is to be subjected to a duration manipulation technique.", "Pixel luminosity is used as the basis of the determined IFD values since it can be calculated quickly and because differences in luminosity can be perceived by the human eye relatively easily.", "Pixel luminosity thus can serve as a reasonably accurate proxy for how a scene appears to a user viewing the content item.", "IFD data calculated using the techniques disclosed herein tends not to be very smooth.", "Therefore in certain embodiments IFD smoothing sub-module 163 is configured to smoothen the IFD values using a Gaussian kernel σi.", "See reference numeral 2150 in FIG.", "2A.", "Any of a variety of suitable kernel smoothing techniques can be used in this regard.", "In general, using smoother IFD data for the constraint minimization techniques that are used to identify preferred cut frame positions results in fewer visible and/or audible artifacts in the resulting manipulated content item.", "However, it will be appreciated that using such smoothing techniques is optional, and in alternative embodiments the raw IFD values are subjected to further processing without performing any such statistical manipulations.", "Still referring to the example embodiment illustrated in FIGS.", "2A through 2D, cut frame selection sub-module 164 is configured to determine a number of frames N to be cut from the multimedia content item based on duration reduction factor P. See reference numeral 2160 in FIG.", "2A.", "For a received multimedia content item having M total frames configured for playback at a constant frame rate (for example as can be expressed in a number of frames per second), reducing the duration of the content item by a factor P can be understood as resulting in the removal of N frames, where N=M×(1−P).", "Thus the frames to be cut from the content item can be enumerated from the 1st to the Nth frame, each cut frame having a corresponding frame position x1, x2, x3, .", ".", ".", ", xN.", "Thus the goal of the subsequent processing can be understood as establishing a set of preferred positions {x1, x2, x3, .", ".", ".", ", xN} wherein removing the frames at such positions leaves few, if any, visible or audible artifacts in the content item.", "In some cases a small number of frames Np are removed from predetermined positions in the content item, such as at the very beginning of the content item or at known transition points in the content item.", "In such embodiments the number of frames to be positioned using the constraint minimization techniques disclosed herein can be reduced by the quantity Np.", "Once the number of frames N to be cut from the multimedia content item is established, cut frame selection sub-module 164 can define an initial set of cut frame positions {x1, x2, x3, .", ".", ".", ", xN} based on identifying those frames with the highest and lowest IFD values, and further based on maintaining the minimum gap duration G. See reference numeral 2170 in FIG.", "2A.", "For example, in one embodiment this is accomplished using a greedy algorithm that selects frames with the largest IFD values, in addition to the frames wherein IFD<IFDmin.", "In another embodiment the algorithm selects frames with the smallest IFD values, in addition to the frames wherein IFD>IFDmax.", "Other frame selection techniques can be used in other embodiments.", "For example, in embodiments wherein multiple cut frame position optimizations are performed, cut frame selection sub-module 164 can define the initial set of cut frame positions {x1, x2, x3, .", ".", ".", ", xN} based on the results of a prior optimization.", "See reference numeral 2175 in FIG.", "2A.", "In any case, frame selections are made in a way that maintains the specified minimum gap duration G between two cut frames xi and xi+1.Once the initial set of cut frame positions is established, cut frame selection sub-module 164 is further configured to use a numerical optimization technique to optimize the cut frame positions.", "See reference numeral 2210 in FIG.", "2B.", "A variety of numerical optimization techniques can be used in this regard, examples of which include the steepest descent technique, the Nelder-Mead simplex method, the Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (BFGS) algorithm, or a conjugate gradient technique.", "As used herein, the process of “optimizing” the cut frame positions refers to identifying particular cut frame positions where a viewer is less likely to perceive audible and/or visible artifacts as a result of removing a frame.", "The initially selected cut frame positions can then be adjusted, if appropriate, based on such optimization.", "This can be approached as a constraint optimization problem that responds to both IFD constraints and minimum gap duration constrains, as disclosed herein.", "For example, in one implementation an optimized set of cut frame positions {x1, x2, x3, .", ".", ".", ", xN} correspond to minimization of the quantity - λ  ∑ i = 1 N  IFD ′  ( x i ) 2 - ∑ i = 1 N  { ln  [ t  ( x i ) - t  ( x i - 1 ) - G ] + ln  [ t  ( x i + 1 ) - t  ( x i ) - G ] } , ( 1 ) where x0 corresponds to the position of the first frame of the multimedia content item, and xN+1 corresponds to the last frame of the content item.", "Equation (1) consists of two sums.", "The first sum serves to emphasize removal of frames having extreme IFD values.", "To this end, the function IFD′(xi) represents a modified computation of the IFD at position xi where a smooth continuous correcting curve is applied for values IFD<IFDmin.", "This causes IFD values less than IFDmin to receive a high function value instead of a low function value.", "IFD values greater than IFDmax also receive a high function value as well.", "The −λ value causes such values to be preferred when the value of Equation (1) is minimized.", "The value of the parameter A determines the relative weight of the IFD-based sum as compared to the second sum, which serves to deemphasize removal of frames within the minimum gap duration G of another cut frame.", "That is, the second sum can be understood as a barrier function that enforces minimum gap duration G. Minimizing the quantity of Equation (1) will result in an optimized set of cut frame positions {x1, x2, x3, .", ".", ".", ", xN}, wherein removing frames at such positions will produce a content item having a duration that is reduced by a factor P, wherein any video artifacts created by removing the frames are relatively subtle or are not apparent to a typical viewer.", "Once such cut frame positions have been identified, cut frame selection sub-module 164 can be configured to determine whether to further refine the cut frame positions by performing another smoothing iteration on the IFD values.", "See reference numeral 2212 in FIG.", "2B.", "If another smoothing iteration is to be performed, Gaussian kernel a, can be reduced by a factor k, wherein k<1.See reference numeral 2214 in FIG.", "2B.", "This causes the IFD values to be smoothened further, and when an subsequent optimization of the cut frame positions is performed, the previously optimized cut frame positions can be used as seed points.", "See reference numeral 2175 in FIG.", "2A.", "If no further smoothing of the IFD values is to be performed, frame removal sub-module 165 can be configured to remove frames from the content item at the identified cut frame positions.", "To facilitate sequential analysis of the N cut frames, frame removal sub-module 165 compares the quantity N to a cut frame counting parameter N′ which is initially set such that N′=0.See reference numeral 2220 in FIG.", "2B.", "Cut frame counting parameter N′ is then incremented before subsequent processing.", "See reference numeral 2230 in FIG.", "3B.", "The N'th cut frame can be processed in a variety of ways.", "For example, in one implementation frame removal sub-module 165 cross-blends q frames that are adjacent to the N'th cut frame, wherein the cross-blending removes a time duration D corresponding to the duration of a single frame.", "See reference numeral 2232 in FIG.", "2B.", "In one embodiment the quantity of cross-blended frames q is between 2 and 10 (inclusive), in another embodiment the quantity of cross-blended frames q is between 2 and 6 (inclusive), and in yet another embodiment the quantity of cross-blended frames q is between 3 and 4 (inclusive).", "In another implementation frame removal sub-module 165 removes the N'th cut frame without applying any cross-blending techniques.", "See reference numeral 2234 in FIG.", "2B.", "A combination of different approaches for removing the N'th cut frame can be used as well.", "For example, in one such hybrid implementation frames having IFD>IFDmax are cut without cross-blending, while other cut frames are cross-blended.", "Another time reduction techniques that can be used instead of, or in addition to, cross-blending and cutting is motion compensated blending, which works well to conceal removal of a single frame.", "Once the N'th cut frame is removed, it is determined whether N′=N.", "See reference numeral 2240 in FIG.", "2B.", "If not, the cut frame counting parameter N′ is incremented and the next cut frame is processed as described herein.", "On the other hand, if all of the cut frames have been processed, the cut frame counting parameter N′ is reset for subsequent audio processing, such that N′=1 once again.", "See reference numeral 2250 in FIG.", "2B.", "Audio manipulation sub-module 166 can then be used to synchronize the original audio data with the modified (for example, shortened) video data.", "Because the removed video frames are not equidistant from each other and may be clustered in certain regions of the content item, simply cutting and crossfading the audio component across the entire content item may result in substantial discrepancies between the audio and video components of the content item.", "Rather, audio manipulation sub-module 166 is configured to cut and crossfade the audio in N localized regions surrounding the N positions where video frames were removed or cross-blended, or where the duration of the video component of the multimedia content item was otherwise manipulated.", "In general, most viewers will not notice if audio is received shortly before (for example, up to about 30 milliseconds before), or shortly after (for example, up to about 60 milliseconds after), a corresponding video frame.", "These example time intervals correspond to one or two video frames based on the frame rates that are often used in contemporary digital video applications.", "The sum of these intervals therefore can be used to define a “removal opportunity window” of duration w that corresponds to a region around a point where a video frame was cut, and therefore where audio can be cut and crossfaded without introducing audible artifacts.", "For example, in one embodiment audio of duration D is removed from within a removal opportunity window of duration w, wherein D is the duration of the cut video frame, and w is a duration corresponding to the range of frames (xi−1, x1+2).", "While w is described in this example embodiment as corresponding to a total duration of three frame lengths D, one before the position of the ith cut frame and two after (xi−1, x1+2), it will be appreciated that other durations w can be used for the removal opportunity window in other embodiments.", "In one specific implementation, the duration w is about 90 milliseconds, and the frame length D is about 30 milliseconds.", "In other implementations w=3D generally, and the removal opportunity window asymmetrically surrounds the point where a video frame was removed such that most of the window occurs after the point where the video frame was removed.", "Cutting more than about 20 milliseconds of audio data from a single position can cause audible artifacts to be introduced into the resulting modified content item.", "The duration of a single video frame will often exceed 20 milliseconds in many implementations.", "As a result, in certain embodiments K segments of audio data (K>1), each having duration k≤20 ms, are extracted from the removal opportunity window.", "Since the total duration of audio data which should be extracted is D (the duration of one video frame), the total number of segments of audio data which should be removed is K=D÷k.", "Thus, for example, for a video frame length D=30 ms and a segment duration k=10 ms, a total of K=D÷k=30 ms÷ 10 ms=3 segments of audio data should be removed from the removal opportunity window.", "In some cases the segment duration k is manipulated slightly such that an integral number of segments corresponds to the frame length D. Thus audio manipulation sub-module 166 can be configured to determine a quantity of audio data segments K which should be extracted from the N'th removal opportunity window.", "See reference numeral 2310 in FIG.", "2C.", "In general, the N'th removal opportunity window can be understood as comprising an essentially unlimited quantity of segments of duration k, each of which commences at a slightly different point.", "Audio manipulation sub-module 166 is configured to analyze a large quantity of these segments and identify the K segments having the lowest sound energy.", "See reference numeral 2320 in FIG.", "2C.", "These K lowest energy segments can be identified, for example, by their starting point and duration.", "To facilitate sequential analysis of the K segments, audio manipulation sub-module 166 compares the quantity K to a segment counting parameter K′ which is initially set such that K′=1.See reference numeral 2330 in FIG.", "2C.", "A fundamental frequency F0 and sample period T0 are determined for the K'th segment.", "See reference numeral 2340 in FIG.", "2C.", "In such embodiments audio manipulation sub-module 166 determines a quantity of samples L which are to be extracted from the K'th segment based on the integer multiple of the fundamental sample period T0 that is closest to the segment duration k. See reference numeral 2350 in FIG.", "2C.", "Thus L=k÷T0, with L be rounded to the nearest integer.", "To avoid introducing discontinuities in the resulting audio signal, L samples are optionally crossfaded at the cut position using a correlation-based mixture of linear and constant power crossfade.", "See reference numeral 2360 in FIG.", "2C.", "Once the L samples are extracted from the K'th segment, the segment counting parameter K′ is incremented.", "See reference numeral 2410 in FIG.", "2D.", "It is then determined whether all K segments to be extracted from the N'th removal opportunity window have been processed, or stated alternatively, whether K′>K.", "See reference numeral 2420 in FIG.", "2D.", "If not, the next K'th segment is processed as described herein.", "If all K segments to be extracted from the N'th removal opportunity window have been processed, that is, if K′>K, the cut frame counting parameter N′ is incremented.", "See reference numeral 2430 in FIG.", "2D.", "It is then determined whether the audio duration has been adjusted in all N removal opportunity windows, or stated alternatively, whether N′>N.", "See reference numeral 2440 in FIG.", "2D.", "If not, the next N'th removal opportunity window is processed as described herein.", "If audio data has been extracted from all N removal opportunity windows, that is, if N′>N, user interface sub-module 161 can be configured to generate a notification that the duration manipulation process is complete.", "See reference numeral 2450 in FIG.", "2D.", "In some cases duration reduction module 160 can be configured to store the modified multimedia content item in networked media store 300.See reference numeral 2460 in FIG.", "2D.", "In embodiments wherein the multimedia content item was originally obtained from another source, such as a storage resource that is local to computer system 100 (for example, a hard disc drive or a portable storage device), or from a different type of networked storage resource (for example, an email server or a peer-to-peer network), the modified multimedia content item can alternatively be provided to such other source.", "In other embodiments the modified multimedia content item can additionally be rendered immediately after the duration modification operation, such as by leveraging services provided by multimedia rendering module 170.In some embodiments, such as where a duration reduction operation is performed, rendering the shortened content item includes rendering supplemental content having a duration that corresponds to the reduced duration of the original content item.", "Thus, for example, an advertisement can be rendered in the time made available by shortening the original content item.", "As described herein, in alternative embodiments a duration increase module is provided in addition to, or instead of, duration reduction module 160.In one such alternative embodiment an IFD calculation sub-module and an IFD smoothing sub-module can be used to process IFD data as described herein with respect to duration manipulation method 2000.An inserted frame selection sub-module can determine a number of inserted frame positions based on IFD extrema and a minimum gap duration, and thus can operate in substantially the same manner as cut frame selection module 164.In one implementation, frames are not inserted in high action sequences, and thus inserted frame selection sub-module determines inserted frame positions based only in IFD minima and disregards IFD maxima.", "A numerical optimization technique can be used to optimize the inserted frame positions.", "A frame insertion sub-module can be configured to insert duplicate frames at the positions identified by inserted frame selection sub-module.", "In some implementations a duplicative frame is inserted, while in other implementations a cross-blended frame is inserted.", "Once an appropriate number of frames are inserted, an audio manipulation sub-module can cut and crossfade the corresponding audio signal around the inserted frame positions as appropriate.", "Thus the techniques disclosed herein can be used to both increase and decrease the duration of a multimedia content item.", "Using the techniques disclosed herein, duration reductions of up to 10% have been observed to be unnoticeable to most content consumers, while even higher reductions have been observed to be barely or only occasionally noticeable.", "For example, in certain embodiments duration reductions of up to 11%, 12%, 14%, 15% and 20% have been performed.", "The duration reduction techniques disclosed herein can be used to accommodate supplemental content which is to be rendered along with an original multimedia content item.", "For example, FIG.", "3A is a timeline schematically illustrating an example unmodified multimedia content item 3000 having an initial duration of 300 seconds (five minutes).", "And FIG.", "3B is a timeline schematically illustrating the example multimedia content item of FIG.", "3A after applying one of the duration manipulation techniques disclosed herein.", "Such techniques result in a reduced duration multimedia content item 3200 having a modified duration of 270 seconds (four-and-one-half minutes).", "This reduction accommodates 30 seconds of inserted content 3100, such as a commercial announcement that precedes the rendering of reduced duration multimedia content item 3200.While FIG.", "3B illustrates the inserted content as being rendered before reduced duration multimedia content item 3200, in other implementations it may alternatively be rendered after, or at an intermediate point of, reduced duration multimedia content item 3200.Thus in certain applications the techniques disclosed herein can be used by, for example, broadcasters and program managers to “micro-schedule” content and to increase advertising revenue available in a broadcast schedule.", "CONCLUSION Numerous configurations and variations will be apparent in light of this disclosure.", "For instance, one example embodiment provides a method for manipulating a duration of a multimedia content item, wherein the method comprises receiving a multimedia content item that comprises a plurality of video frames.", "The method further comprises calculating a plurality of IFD values associated with the multimedia content item.", "Each of the IFD values represents a difference between a baseline pixel luminosity associated with two adjacent video frames that comprise the multimedia content item.", "The method further comprises selecting an initial set of frame positions at least partially based on the plurality of IFD values and a minimum time gap G separating the frame positions.", "The method further comprises adjusting the frame positions using a numerical optimization technique.", "The method further comprises modifying a duration of the content item by manipulating one or more video frames at the adjusted frame positions.", "In some cases IFD values are calculated for each pair of adjacent video frames comprising the multimedia content item.", "In some cases the method further comprises smoothing the IFD values before selecting the initial set of frame positions.", "In some cases modifying the duration of the content item further comprises reducing the duration of the content item by removing a video frame associated with one of the adjusted frame positions.", "In some cases modifying the duration of the content item further comprises increasing the duration of the content item by inserting a video frame at one of the adjusted frame positions.", "In some cases the method further comprises (a) receiving a qualitative quality control input from a user; and (b) setting the minimum time gap G based on the qualitative quality control input.", "In some cases (a) the multimedia content item further comprises an audio track configured to be played synchronously with the video frames; and (b) the method further comprises modifying a duration of the audio track by cutting and crossfading the audio track within a window surrounding each of the adjusted frame positions.", "In some cases each of the IFD values represents a difference between an average pixel luminosity associated with pixels comprising two adjacent video frames that comprise the multimedia content item.", "In some cases each of the IFD values is calculated by (a) determining a first luminosity of a first pixel comprising a first video frame; (b) determining a second luminosity of a second pixel comprising a second video frame that is adjacent to the first video frame, wherein the first and second pixels correspond to a common position in the first and second video frames; (c) determining a difference between the first and second luminosities; (d) repeating (a), (b), and (c) for a plurality of the pixels comprising the first and second video frames, thereby producing a plurality of luminosity differences; and (e) averaging the plurality of luminosity differences.", "In some cases each of the IFD values is calculated by (a) generating a luminosity differential image defined by a difference between luminosities derived from first and second video frames; (b) determining a plurality of average luminosity differential values for a corresponding plurality of pixel subsets comprising the first video frame and a corresponding plurality of pixel subsets comprising the second video frame; and (c) determining a maximum from the plurality of average luminosity differential values.", "Another example embodiment of the present invention provides a system for manipulating a duration of a multimedia content item, wherein the system comprises an IFD calculation module configured to calculate a plurality of IFD values associated with a corresponding plurality of video frames that comprise a multimedia content item.", "Each of the IFD values represents a difference between a baseline pixel luminosity associated with two adjacent video frames that comprise the multimedia content item.", "The system further comprises a frame selection module configured to identify a set of frame positions corresponding to IFD values that are less than a threshold value IFDmin.", "The system further comprises a duration manipulation module configured to modify a duration of the multimedia content item by manipulating one or more video frames at each of the frame positions.", "In some cases the frame selection module is configured to identify a set of frame positions corresponding to IFD values that are less than the threshold value IFDmin or that are greater than a threshold value IFDmax.", "In some cases the frame selection module is configured to define the frame positions in consideration of a minimum time gap G separating the frame positions.", "In some cases the duration manipulation module is configured to reduce the duration of the multimedia content item by removing a video frame from at least one of the frame positions.", "In some cases the duration manipulation module is configured to reduce the duration of the multimedia content item by cross-blending a plurality of video frames adjacent to one of the frame positions.", "In some cases the system further comprises a user interface module configured to (a) receive a qualitative quality control input from a user, and (b) set the threshold value IFDmin based on the qualitative quality control input.", "Another example embodiment of the present invention provides a computer readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a process for manipulating a duration of a multimedia content item to be carried out.", "The process comprises receiving a multimedia content item that includes a plurality of video frames and an audio track configured to be played synchronously with the video frames.", "The process further comprises calculating a plurality of IFD values associated with the multimedia content item.", "Each of the IFD values represents a difference between a baseline pixel luminosity associated with two adjacent video frames that comprise the multimedia content item.", "The process further comprises selecting an initial subset of cut frames at least partially based on the plurality of IFD values and a minimum time gap G separating the cut frames.", "Each of the cut frames is associated with a cut frame positions.", "The process further comprises adjusting the cut frame positions using a numerical optimization technique.", "The process further comprises removing a video frame associated with at least one of the adjusted cut frame positions.", "The process further comprises cutting and crossfading the audio track within a window surrounding each of the adjusted cut frame positions.", "Cutting the audio track causes a duration of the audio track to be reduced.", "In some cases the numerical optimization technique adjusts the cut frame positions by minimizing a quantity defined by Equation (1), wherein λ is a weighting parameter; N is a quantity of cut frames in the initial subset of cut frames; xi represents an ith frame; IFD′(xi) represents a modified computation of the IFD corresponding to the xith frame wherein a smooth continuous correcting curve is applied for IFD values less than a threshold value IFDmin; and t(xi) corresponds to a time associated with the xith frame.", "In some cases the minimum time gap G is between about 0.25 seconds and about 0.50 seconds.", "In some cases cutting and crossfading the audio track further comprises (a) determining a quantity of audio data segments to be extracted from the window; (b) identifying an audio data segment existing within the window; (c) determining a fundamental frequency and a corresponding sample period of the identified audio data segment; and (d) crossfading a plurality of samples at the adjusted cut frame position corresponding to the window, wherein said crossfading is performed using a correlation-based mixture of linear and constant power crossfade.", "The foregoing detailed description has been presented for illustration.", "It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form described.", "Many modifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure.", "Therefore it is intended that the scope of this application be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.", "Future filed applications claiming priority to this application may claim the disclosed subject matter in a different manner, and may generally include any set of one or more limitations as variously disclosed or otherwise demonstrated herein." ] ]
Patent_15875158
[ [ "Method of Preparing Quality Control Material for FFPE", "This specification relates to Formalin-fixed embedded quality control material for use for validation, verification, and to run controls for molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used for a variety of tissues and for a variety of molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used in commercial labs for validation and limit-of-detection analyses." ], [ "1-19.", "(canceled) 20.A quality control sample for formalin fixation and paraffin embedding (FFPE), comprising a defined amount of cellular material comprising a known amount of test cells admixed with a known amount of background cells admixed with a gelling polymer, wherein the cellular material is formalin-fixed, and further wherein the test cells include at least one pre-determined detectable genetic mutation and the background cells do not include said at least one pre-determined detectable genetic mutation.", "21.The quality control sample of claim 20, wherein the test cells are cancer cells.", "22.The quality control sample of claim 20, wherein the cellular material is subjected to formalin fixation before or after admixing with the gelling polymer.", "23.The quality control sample of claim 20, wherein the cellular material is embedded in paraffin.", "24.The quality control sample of claim 20, wherein the amount of test cells to background cells is between about 0.0001 and 100%.", "25.The quality control sample of claim 23, wherein the amount of test cells to background cells is between about 1 and 100%.", "26.The quality control sample of claim 20, wherein the amount of test cells is less than the amount of background cells.", "27.A kit for preparing samples for formalin fixation and paraffin embedding (FFPE), comprising: a quality control sample for FFPE, the sample comprising a defined amount of cellular material comprising a known amount of first test cells admixed with a known amount of background cells, wherein the cellular material is formalin-fixed, and further wherein the first test cells comprise a first pre-determined detectable genetic mutation and the background cells do not comprise the first pre-determined detectable genetic mutation.", "28.The kit of claim 27, further comprising a known amount of second test cells admixed with the first test cells and the background cells, wherein the second test cells comprise a second pre-determined detectable genetic mutation and the background cells do not comprise the second pre-determined detectable genetic mutation.", "29.The kit of claim 27, wherein the first test cells and/or the second test cells are cancer cells.", "30.The kit of claim 27, wherein the amount of first and second test cells to background cells is between about 0.0001 and 100%.", "31.The kit of claim 27, wherein the amount of first and second test cells to background cells is between about 1 and 100%.", "32.The kit of claim 27, wherein the amount of test cells is less than the amount of background cells.", "33.The kit of claim 27, wherein the cellular material is embedded in paraffin." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>Routine processing of samples in the clinical setting involves formalin fixation and paraffin embedding.", "FFPE is a highly efficient method that is currently the standard in pathology suites.", "Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues may be stored indefinitely at room temperature, and nucleic acids (both DNA and RNA) may be recovered from them decades after fixation, making FFPE tissues an important resource for molecular assays.", "However, better methods for developing FFPE materials that mimic actual patient specimens are needed to monitor the performance of molecular assays from FFPE materials and to develop appropriate quality control materials for these assays." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>This specification relates to Formalin-fixed embedded quality control material for use for validation, verification, and to run controls for molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used for a variety of tissues and for a variety of molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used in commercial labs for validation or verification, including limit-of-detection analyses, precision analyses, method comparison, and accuracy analyses.", "Embodiments described herein provide highly reproducible FFPE methods that provide for detection of one or more markers as described in the examples below.", "Further, these methods allow for the isolation of the DNA from the FFPE with an defined degree of degradation to the sample that mimics the patient sample used for the molecular assay, thereby making it a true control.", "Some aspects are methods for preparing a sample for FFPE, including: obtaining a defined concentration of cellular material; mixing the cellular material with a gelling polymer, creating a gel/cellular material; adding the gel/cellular material to a mold with a defined shape until the gelling polymer solidifies; and slicing the solidified material to a uniform and defined size.", "In some embodiments, the methods also include formalin fixing the sliced solidified material.", "In some embodiments, the methods also include embedding the material in paraffin.", "In some embodiments, the mold is a polypropylene cylinder.", "In some embodiments, the cellular material includes test cells and background cells.", "In some embodiments, the test cells and/or background cells are chosen from tissue or organs.", "In some embodiments, the cellular material comprises a known number of test cells and a known number of background cells in a homogeneous mixture.", "In some embodiments, the test cells comprise at least one marker that is being tested for and the background cells do not have the marker.", "In some embodiments, the percentage of test cells to background cells is between 0.0001 and 100%.", "In some embodiments, the percentage of test cells to background cells is between 1 and 100%.", "In some embodiments, a defined concentration of test cells is admixed with a defined concentration of background cells admixed with a gelling polymer, and formalin-fixed.", "In some embodiments, the test cells are positive for a test marker and the background cells are negative for the test marker.", "The test cells can be tissue culture cells, cancer cells, and/or tissue.", "In some embodiments, the concentration of test cells to background cells is between about 0.0001 to 100%.", "In some embodiments, the concentration of test cells to background cells is between about 1 and 100%.", "Other aspects include kits for preparing samples for FFPE, including: at least one quality control sample for FFPE, according to an embodiment disclosed herein, the sample comprising a first defined concentration of test cells admixed with background cells, wherein the test cells comprise at least a first marker and the background cells do not comprise the first marker.", "In some embodiments, the test cells are cancer cells.", "In some embodiments, the marker is a KRAS mutation.", "In some embodiments, the test cells are colorectal biopsy material.", "In some embodiments, the kit also includes a second sample containing a second test cell comprising a second marker.", "In some embodiments, the kit also includes at least one other sample containing a second marker.", "In some embodiments, the second marker is a second KRAS mutation.", "In some embodiments, the kit also contains 8 samples comprising the 8 known KRAS mutations associated with colorectal cancer.", "In some embodiments, the kit also includes a second sample containing a second defined concentration of the test cell admixed with the background cell.", "In some embodiments, the defined concentration of test cells to background cells is 0.0001 to 100%.", "These and other features of the present teachings will become more apparent from the description herein." ], [ "FIELD This specification relates to Formalin-fixed embedded quality control material for validation, verification, and to use as controls for molecular assays.", "BACKGROUND Routine processing of samples in the clinical setting involves formalin fixation and paraffin embedding.", "FFPE is a highly efficient method that is currently the standard in pathology suites.", "Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues may be stored indefinitely at room temperature, and nucleic acids (both DNA and RNA) may be recovered from them decades after fixation, making FFPE tissues an important resource for molecular assays.", "However, better methods for developing FFPE materials that mimic actual patient specimens are needed to monitor the performance of molecular assays from FFPE materials and to develop appropriate quality control materials for these assays.", "SUMMARY This specification relates to Formalin-fixed embedded quality control material for use for validation, verification, and to run controls for molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used for a variety of tissues and for a variety of molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used in commercial labs for validation or verification, including limit-of-detection analyses, precision analyses, method comparison, and accuracy analyses.", "Embodiments described herein provide highly reproducible FFPE methods that provide for detection of one or more markers as described in the examples below.", "Further, these methods allow for the isolation of the DNA from the FFPE with an defined degree of degradation to the sample that mimics the patient sample used for the molecular assay, thereby making it a true control.", "Some aspects are methods for preparing a sample for FFPE, including: obtaining a defined concentration of cellular material; mixing the cellular material with a gelling polymer, creating a gel/cellular material; adding the gel/cellular material to a mold with a defined shape until the gelling polymer solidifies; and slicing the solidified material to a uniform and defined size.", "In some embodiments, the methods also include formalin fixing the sliced solidified material.", "In some embodiments, the methods also include embedding the material in paraffin.", "In some embodiments, the mold is a polypropylene cylinder.", "In some embodiments, the cellular material includes test cells and background cells.", "In some embodiments, the test cells and/or background cells are chosen from tissue or organs.", "In some embodiments, the cellular material comprises a known number of test cells and a known number of background cells in a homogeneous mixture.", "In some embodiments, the test cells comprise at least one marker that is being tested for and the background cells do not have the marker.", "In some embodiments, the percentage of test cells to background cells is between 0.0001 and 100%.", "In some embodiments, the percentage of test cells to background cells is between 1 and 100%.", "In some embodiments, a defined concentration of test cells is admixed with a defined concentration of background cells admixed with a gelling polymer, and formalin-fixed.", "In some embodiments, the test cells are positive for a test marker and the background cells are negative for the test marker.", "The test cells can be tissue culture cells, cancer cells, and/or tissue.", "In some embodiments, the concentration of test cells to background cells is between about 0.0001 to 100%.", "In some embodiments, the concentration of test cells to background cells is between about 1 and 100%.", "Other aspects include kits for preparing samples for FFPE, including: at least one quality control sample for FFPE, according to an embodiment disclosed herein, the sample comprising a first defined concentration of test cells admixed with background cells, wherein the test cells comprise at least a first marker and the background cells do not comprise the first marker.", "In some embodiments, the test cells are cancer cells.", "In some embodiments, the marker is a KRAS mutation.", "In some embodiments, the test cells are colorectal biopsy material.", "In some embodiments, the kit also includes a second sample containing a second test cell comprising a second marker.", "In some embodiments, the kit also includes at least one other sample containing a second marker.", "In some embodiments, the second marker is a second KRAS mutation.", "In some embodiments, the kit also contains 8 samples comprising the 8 known KRAS mutations associated with colorectal cancer.", "In some embodiments, the kit also includes a second sample containing a second defined concentration of the test cell admixed with the background cell.", "In some embodiments, the defined concentration of test cells to background cells is 0.0001 to 100%.", "These and other features of the present teachings will become more apparent from the description herein.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The skilled artisan will understand that the drawings, described below, are for illustration purposes only.", "The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings in any way.", "FIG.", "1 provides a G12V reproducibility analysis using the FFPE quality control methods.", "FIG.", "2 shows the results from KRAS beta panel testing.", "A (+) designates that a KRAS mutation was detected using the method, a (−) designates that the KRAS mutation was not detected and an (ND) designates that the test was not run or that it was an invalid run.", "FIG.", "3 shows an agarose gel comparing the DNA quality of KRAS DNA isolated from various sources, the sources are in duplicates.", "The lanes include from left to right: DNA Ladders, AcroMetrix™ KRAS controls, FFPE Specimen, White Blood Cells, Cultured Cells and DNA Ladders.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not intended to limit the scope of the current teachings.", "In this application, the use of the singular includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise.", "Also, the use of “comprise”, “contain”, and “include”, or modifications of those root words, for example but not limited to, “comprises”, “contained”, and “including”, are not intended to be limiting.", "Use of “or” means “and/or” unless stated otherwise.", "The term “and/or” means that the terms before and after can be taken together or separately.", "For illustration purposes, but not as a limitation, “X and/or Y” can mean “X” or “Y” or “X and Y”.", "Whenever a range of values is provided herein, the range is meant to include the starting value and the ending value and any value or value range therebetween unless otherwise specifically stated.", "For example, “from 0.2 to 0.5” means 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5; ranges therebetween such as 0.2-0.3, 0.3-0.4, 0.2-0.4; increments there between such as 0.25, 0.35, 0.225, 0.335, 0.49; increment ranges there between such as 0.26-0.39; and the like.", "The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described in any way.", "All literature and similar materials cited in this application including, but not limited to, patents, patent applications, articles, books, treatises, and internet web pages, regardless of the format of such literature and similar materials, are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety for any purpose.", "In the event that one or more of the incorporated literature and similar materials defines or uses a term in such a way that it contradicts that term's definition in this application, this application controls.", "While the present teachings are described in conjunction with various embodiments, it is not intended that the present teachings be limited to such embodiments.", "On the contrary, the present teachings encompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art.", "Definitions The term “FFPE” or “formalin fixed paraffin embedded” refers to a method of treating tissues and/or cells by formalin fixing and paraffin embedding the tissues and/or cells and then slicing embedded material typically with a microtome.", "There are many methods known in the art for FFPE.", "The term “gelling polymer” or “gel” is interchangeable and refers to a colloidal suspension of a solid dispersed in a liquid; a semirigid solid.", "The term “homogeneous” refers to a mixture that exhibits uniformity.", "In the context of the mixture of test cells and background cells, the cells are intermixed in a uniform way such that every portion contains approximately the same number of test cells and/or the same number of background cells as other portions (e.g., slices).", "The ratio of test cells and background cells can vary.", "As used herein, the term “mold” refers to a hollow cavity form or matrix into which a liquid or semi-liquid material is placed to take a desired shape upon cooling or drying.", "The term “test cell” as used herein refers to a cell that is being tested to determine whether it contains one or more particular markers.", "Exemplary test cells include but are not limited to, cancer cells, cells from a patient, cells from a biopsy, hematopoietic cells, tissue culture cells, and cells from a tissue.", "As used herein, “background cell” “negative cell” and “negative control” are interchangeable and refer to a cell from the same patient or source that does not contain the marker that is being tested for.", "In some cases, this will be a wild-type cell of the same type as the test cell.", "As used herein, the term “patient” refers to any human or animal that is tested and/or treated for disease.", "The term “cylindrical” refers to something having the shape of a cylinder, an object shaped like a tube, an object or shape with straight sides and circular ends of equal size.", "The cylinder can also be a rectangle, square, triangular cylinder and any such shapes.", "The term “solidified” or “hardened” are used interchangeably and, with respect to a gel, refers to the ability of a gel to go from a liquid or semi-liquid state to a solid or semi-solid state.", "In the case of temperature-solidified gels, a polymer is introduced into a cylindrical tube in a fluid form, then allowed to gel to a solid form by cooling.", "Gels can also be solidified by adding a cross-linker, by motion, and/or by other methods known to those of skill in the art.", "When using a gel mixed with a cell, it is of interest to choose a gel that does not require extreme heat to form a liquid since this could be detrimental to the cells.", "As used herein, the term “fix” refers to a method of preserving tissue.", "Methods to preserve tissues or cells can be by irreversibly cross-linking proteins.", "As used herein, the phrase “quality control” refers to a system for ensuring the maintenance of proper standards in methods to determine whether the process exhibits nonrandom variation.", "As used herein the term “marker” and “test marker” are interchangeable and refer to a cellular component specific to a particular disease, whether prognostic, diagnostic, and/or with reference to treatment.", "The marker may be a DNA, RNA or protein marker.", "The marker can be any type of mutation associated with a disease.", "Markers include but are not limited to, translocations, alleles, SNPs, expression profiles, etc.", "The markers can be DNA, RNA (mRNA, rRNA, tRNA, mitochondrial RNA), or any type of nucleic acid.", "The markers can be genes, SNPs, microsatelites, translocations, alleles, mutations (e.g., multiple nucleotide and/or large deletions, additions, or changes), multi-RNA complexes, splice variants, transposons, ribozymes, microRNAs (primary, pre- or mature microRNAs), bacterial genomes, plasmids, viral genomes, and viroids.", "For example, in some embodiments, DNA is used to identify the presence of a SNP.", "In some embodiments, RNA is used to identify the expression of a SNP.", "Overview This specification relates to Formalin-fixed embedded quality control (FFPE-QC) material for use in validation, verification, and as controls for molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used for a variety of tissues and for a variety of molecular assays.", "The quality control material can be used in commercial labs for validation and limit-of-detection, accuracy and precision analyses.", "Embodiments herein provide highly reproducible FFPE methods that provide for detection of one or more markers as described in the examples below.", "Further, these methods allow for a quality control FFPE product that includes a test cell containing at least one test marker in a background of negative cells.", "The methods are highly reproducible within a lot and from lot-to-lot and provide for detection of one or more markers as described in the examples below.", "The marker can be any marker known in the art and can be used to diagnose disease, prognosticate disease and/or to test disease for drug effectiveness.", "Further, these methods allow for the isolation of the DNA from the FFPE and with controlled degradation to the sample.", "The test cells and background cells can be admixed in various amounts to identify the limit-of-detection.", "In use, different concentrations of test cells to background cells can be provided for identifying performance characteristics of a molecular assay in a laboratory.", "The methods can be used for any type of tissue that would normally be processed into FFPE material.", "The method involves accurately quantifying the cell concentration and creating a homogeneous mixture of cells containing the marker (test cells) versus background cells (negative cells).", "The methods involve mixing the cells with a gelling polymer to create homogeneous paraffin-embedded blocks.", "The methods have the advantage of creating a sustainable, reproducible, and limitless quality control material for FFPE-based diagnostic assays.", "The methods include the steps of obtaining a defined concentration of cellular material; mixing the cellular material with a gelling polymer, creating a gel/cellular material; adding the gel/cellular material to a mold with a defined shape until the gelling polymer solidifies; slicing the solidified material to a uniform and defined size, formalin fixing the sliced solidified material, embedding the material in paraffin, and sectioning the material.", "The resulting FFPE slice can be referred to as the QC sample.", "In some embodiments, each of the steps of the above method of preparing a QC FFPE sample is a distinct step.", "In some embodiments, they may not be distinct steps.", "In other embodiments, the methods may not have all of the above steps and/or may have other steps in addition to or instead of those listed above.", "The steps of preparing a QC FFPE sample may be performed in another order.", "Subsets of the steps listed above as part of preparing a QC FFPE sample may be used to form their own method.", "In one embodiment, formalin fixed paraffin embedded quality control materials were constructed by utilizing these methods and materials.", "The formalin fixed paraffin embedded quality control materials were homogeneous cell cylinders.", "In short, a defined concentration of cell material containing the target for the diagnostic assay system was obtained.", "The defined cell concentration was homogenously mixed with a gelling polymer.", "A mold was used to create a defined shape when the cell-containing polymer solidified.", "A slicing apparatus was used to separate the cell-containing polymer, shaped with the mold, into a uniform and defined number of pieces.", "The pieces were formalin-fixed and embedded into paraffin using clinically defined practices.", "Lastly, a microtome was used to slice the FFPE blocks into sections of defined thickness that can be placed into vials or onto microscope slides.", "Currently, the majority of molecular diagnostic assays target liquid-based specimen types (e.g., EDTA plasma, serum, and whole blood) or swab-based specimens (e.g., nasopharyngeal swab and cervical swab).", "However, recently with cancer-based molecular marker diagnostics, tissue-based diagnostics from FFPE specimen types are typically used.", "FFPE specimens typically require five processing steps: 1) deparaffinization, 2) reversal of cross linking, 3) extraction, 4) nucleic acid yield test, and 5) amplification/detection which is in contrast to liquid-based specimen diagnostic which requires two processing steps: 1) extraction and 2) amplification/detection.", "The quality control FFPE assay, disclosed herein, was evaluated for detection of a KRAS molecular marker as provided in Examples 1-4 herein.", "Reproducible detection of the KRAS molecular markers was observed after purification of DNA from the FFPE treated cells in a background of negative cells.", "Labs performing FFPE-based molecular diagnostic tests use synthetic oligonucleotides, cell lines, or patient specimens as quality control material.", "However synthetic material and cell lines do not control for specific steps in the process and patient specimens are limited in quantity and inconsistent between sections, reducing the utility of the control material for monitoring trending over an extended period of time.", "A true FFPE quality control material that is homogenous and consistently produced lot-to-lot ensures that laboratories have access to a full process control that can be used over an indefinite period to monitor assay performance.", "In certain embodiments, the cells in the FFPE controls can be wildtype or carry known mutations and thereby serve as controls for those mutations.", "For instance, there are known mutations within the codons 12 and 13 of the KRAS gene that result in the loss of effectiveness of pharmaceutical therapies.", "Seven mutations (G12D, G12V, G12C, G12S, G12A, G12R, G13D) comprise 98.5% of known KRAS mutations that are involved in drug effectiveness for colorectal cancer.", "Cell lines for these mutations were obtained and mixed in defined ratios with a cell line containing wild type KRAS.", "The cell mixtures were mixed with melted agarose cooled to within 10° C. of the gelling temperature and aliquoted into a polypropylene cylindrical mold.", "The agarose-cell mixture was allowed to solidify at 2-8° C. The cylinder was removed from the mold and placed on a sterile surface.", "A slicing apparatus was developed with wires spaced 1 mm to 10 mm apart, in certain embodiments the wires can be spaced 1 mm to 5 mm apart.", "The slicing apparatus was then placed over the cylinder and pressure applied to slice the cylinder into equidistant parts.", "Each part was then formalin fixed and embedded according to specified manufacturing procedures (see Example 8 below).", "Multiplex molecular assays allow for the detection of multiple test cells.", "Therefore, further embodiments include the step of pooling samples to be tested prior to using the multiplexed assays described herein.", "For example, different slices with individual mutations can be placed together in 1 tube (to be processed together).", "For example and without limitation, 1 slice from the G12V and 1 slice from the G12D mutations could be placed together to make a multiplex control (see Table 6).", "Cell Material The cell material can be obtained from any cell, tissue or organ of an organism.", "The cell material can include one or more prokaryotic cells and/or one or more eukaryotic cells.", "The eukaryotic cell can be from any eukaryotic organism including, but not limited to, a protozoa, a fungus, a plant, an animal, a human.", "The animal and/or human cells can be hematopoietic cells.", "The animal and/or human cells can be cancer cells and/or infected cells.", "The cells can be tissue culture cells.", "The cells can be obtained from a biopsy.", "In some embodiments, a tissue sample is disrupted into cells to prepare a homogeneous material.", "In some embodiments, the cell material is a formalin fixed (or other fixed) sample and/or an FFPE sample of tissue.", "In this case, because it would be difficult or impossible to disrupt the FFPE tissue into separate cells, the cell material can be used for a positive or negative control.", "In some embodiments, the cell material contains only test cells.", "The test cells can be cells that are positive for one or more particular marker or markers.", "In some embodiments the cell material contains more than one test cell.", "For example, if two different markers are diagnostic for a particular disease, two different test cells can be included, one test cell being positive for one marker and the other test cell being positive for the other marker.", "In some embodiments, the cell material also contains background cells.", "The background cells can be cells from the same or a related source as the test cells, but are cells that do not contain the one or more markers.", "In some embodiments, the background cells are wildtype cells and or wildtype for the marker.", "In some embodiments, the test cells may contain more than one marker for a particular disease or diseases and the background cells do not contain any of those markers.", "The cell material can contain both test cells and background cells in known amounts.", "In some embodiments, the amount of test cells to background cells is from about 0.0001 to about 100%, including 0.001, 0.005, 0.006, 0.008, 0.009, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, and 1%.", "In some embodiments, the amount of test cells to background cells is from about 1 to about 100%, including but not limited to, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, and 99%.", "In some embodiments, the amount of the test cell is less than the amount of the background cell.", "In certain embodiments, the test cells comprise a single marker.", "In other embodiments, the test cells contained in the cell material comprise more than one marker.", "For instance, the cell material can contain a defined percentage of a first marker, a defined percentage of a second marker, and so on, as well as a defined percentage of background cells.", "In some embodiments, the mixture of test and background cells is homogeneous.", "However, alternatively, the mixture can be formed such that the test cells are in the middle and the background cells are on the perimeter.", "Other combinations can be imagined.", "However, the ratio of test cells to background cells is maintained in the slice, portion or plug, etc.", "In some embodiments a series of samples are prepared from cell material of a specific type of test cell with a specific type of background cell in a variety of ratios to use for establishing performance characteristics of a molecular assay.", "For example, a series of 11 samples having test cell to background cell ratios of 1%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% could be produced to identify the limit of detection of a marker in the test cells using a specific molecular assay.", "Gel The gel used to create the solidified gel/cellular material can be any colloidal suspension of a solid dispersed in a liquid.", "The gel used can be any gel that can be mixed with cells without changing the properties of the nucleic acid to such an extent that they cannot be assayed.", "In some embodiments, the gel does not change the properties of the proteins so that they cannot be assayed.", "The gel can be any gel that can change from a liquid or semi solid state (to be able to mix it with cells) to a solid or gelled state (to allow it to be sliced).", "In some embodiments, the gel is an agarose, agar, carageenan, pectin, egg yolk, or any type of polymer.", "In some embodiments, the gel is a polymer that is able to be solidified or hardened.", "Solidified or hardened refers to the ability of a gel to go from a liquid or semi-liquid state to a solid or semi-solid state.", "In the case of temperature-solidified gels, a polymer is introduced into an electrophoresis tube in a fluid form, than allowed to gel to a solid form by cooling within the gel.", "Gels can also be solidified by adding a cross-linker, by motion, and/or by other methods known to those of skill in the art.", "When using a gel mixed with a cell, it is of interest to choose a gel that does not require extreme heat to form a liquid since this could be detrimental to the cells.", "Further, when using a gel mixed with a cell, it is also of interest to choose a gel that does not contain inhibitory substance that will inhibit the fixation, embedding, or downstream molecular tests.", "Mold The mold can be any shape known to the skilled artisan that allow for slicing.", "In some embodiments, the shape of the mold can be a cylinder.", "The cylinder can be of any length and diameter such that a useful sized slice is produced.", "The cylinder can be made of any material that will keep its shape when a hot gel is poured into it.", "In some embodiments, the material will not stick to the gel/cellular material mixture.", "In some embodiments, the material will not affect the cellular integrity.", "In some embodiments, the material can be removed from the solidified gel/cellular material mixture.", "In some embodiments, the material can be removed without sticking to the gel/cellular material mixture.", "In some embodiments, the ends of the cylindrical material can be cut off and the tube of hardened gel/cellular material can be slid out.", "Materials can include polypropylene and equivalent plastic materials.", "Other materials can be envisioned that might require producing a mold that can be opened and closed, for example glass, metals, and very hard plastics.", "Slicing The cylindrical solidified gel/cellular material can then be sliced into sections of a uniform and defined size.", "This ensures that the amount of nucleic acid in each slice will be equivalent.", "The cylindrical solidified gel/cellular material mixture can be sliced using any method known in the art that results in slices of uniform and defined sizes.", "Any slicer with equidistant slicing ability could be used.", "In some embodiments, the slicing wires or blades are spaced 1 mm to 5 mm apart.", "In some embodiments other methods of providing for equivalent samples (e.g., slices) are used.", "Any tool can be used that provides a sample with a constant volume.", "Exemplary methods include using a tool to obtain a plug, or using a syringe to obtain an even amount of liquefied sample (e.g., liquefied gel/cellular material).", "Fixatives The cells can be fixed prior to or after formation of the solidified gel/cellular material described above.", "Chemical fixatives are used to preserve tissue from degradation, and to maintain the structure of the cell and of sub-cellular components such as cell organelles (e.g., nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria).", "The most common fixative for FFPE is neutral buffered formalin (4-8% formaldehyde in phosphate buffered saline).", "Fixatives preserve tissues or cells mainly by irreversibly cross-linking proteins.", "The main action of these aldehyde fixatives is to cross-link amino groups in proteins through the formation of CH2 (methylene) linkage, in the case of formaldehyde, or by a C5H10 cross-links in the case of glutaraldehyde.", "This process, while preserving the structural integrity of the cells and tissue can damage the biological functionality of proteins, particularly enzymes, and can also denature them to a certain extent.", "This can be detrimental to certain histological techniques.", "In certain embodiments, during the fixation process, glycine (2.5 M) can be added to the suspended cells.", "The cells are then centrifuged at 1000×g for about 5 to about 20 mins.", "In certain embodiments, the cells are centrifuged for about 10 mins.", "After the cells are centrifuged and washed with a buffer, a freezing medium can be added, such as dimethylsulfoxide.", "For the methods of preparing QC FFPE controls, the sliced solidified gel/cellular material can be immersed in a fixative, such as a solution with a protein crosslinking activity, such as but not limited to a formaldehyde solution, glutaraldehyde solution, formaldehyde-alcohol mixed solution, alcohol solution, Bouin's solution, Zenker solution, Helv solution, osmic acid solution, Carnoy solution, standard saline citrate (SSC) and RNAeasy™, and equivalents thereof.", "In some embodiments, the fixative is formalin.", "In some embodiments, the formaldehyde can be in any kind of buffer.", "Non-limiting examples of fixative alcohols include thanol and isopropanol.", "These fixatives are commercially available.", "The time of fixation can be from about 2 to 72 hours, including but not limited to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, and 71 hours.", "The temperature of fixation can be from about 4° C. to about 26° C., including but not limited to, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25° C. Embedding and Sectioning After the slices have been fixed, they are ready for embedding.", "During this process the tissue samples are placed into molds along with liquid embedding material (such as agar, gelatin, or wax) which is then hardened.", "This is achieved by cooling in the case of paraffin wax and heating (curing) in the case of the epoxy resins.", "The acrylic resins are polymerized by heat, ultraviolet light, or chemical catalysts.", "The hardened blocks containing the tissue samples are then ready to be sectioned.", "Because Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues may be stored indefinitely at room temperature, and nucleic acids (both DNA and RNA) may be recovered from them decades after fixation, this makes FFPE tissues an important resource for historical studies in medicine.", "Embedding can also be accomplished using frozen, non-fixed tissue in a water-based medium.", "Pre-frozen tissues are placed into molds with the liquid embedding material, usually a water-based glycol, OCT, TBS, Cryogel, or resin, which is then frozen to form hardened blocks.", "The resulting blocks can be sectioned using methods known in the art, including, but not limited to, microtomes, vibratory microtomes and cryostats and the like.", "Deparaffinization Sections can be deparaffinized using methods known in the art and/or commercially available kits.", "The methods remove the bulk of paraffin from the sample.", "Various techniques are known for deparaffinizing and include, but are not limited to, washing with an organic solvent or agent to dissolve the paraffin.", "Solvents include but are not limited to, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, D-li-monene, octane, and mixtures thereof.", "These solvents are preferably of high purity, usually greater than 99%.", "The volume used and the number of washes necessary will depend on the size of the sample and the amount of paraffin to be removed.", "A sample may be washed between 1 and about 10 times, or between about two and about four times.", "A typical volume of organic solvent is about 500 ml for a 10 mm tissue sample.", "After deparaffinization, samples are preferably rehydrated such as by step-wise washing with aqueous lower alcoholic solutions of decreasing concentrations.", "Ethanol is a preferred lower alcohol for rehydrations while other alcohols may also be used.", "Non-limiting examples include methanol, isopropanol, and other C1-C5 alcohols.", "The sample is alternatively vigorously mixed with alcoholic solutions followed by its removal.", "In one embodiment, the concentration of alcohol is stepwise lowered.", "Uses for FFPE Sections The sections can be used to isolate DNA or RNA for identification of the presence of a marker and/or for expression of a marker.", "The markers can be used for diagnosis, prognosis, typing, and/or staging of disease.", "Markers can include DNA or RNA markers and/or expression levels.", "Gene expression analyses of various tumor types (breast, lung, prostate and colon) have revealed that there exist numerous subtypes of tumors within each anatomically defined cancer.", "Furthermore, in some of these studies different subtypes have been linked to a particular prognosis.", "For example, Wigle et al, (2002 Cancer Research 62 (11) pp.", "3005-3008) and Beer et al., (2002 Nature 8 (8) pp.", "816-824) demonstrated the existence of particular clusters of genes that are correlated with different disease-free survivals in non-small cell lung cancer.", "These reports establish that the molecular “make-up” of tumors, as defined by gene expression profiles, has a direct correlation to clinical endpoints such as disease free survival.", "These retrospective studies strongly suggest that in going forward with prospective trials there is great promise that the molecular make-up of a given tumor will also be directly correlated with whether a patient will respond or not respond to a given therapy.", "Pharmacogenomic methods can identify patients likely to respond to a particular drug and can lead the way to new therapeutic approaches.", "For example, thymidylate synthase (TS) is an integral enzyme in DNA biosynthesis where it catalyzes the reductive methylation of deoxyuridine monophosphate (dUMP) to deoxythymidine monophosphate (dTMP) and provides the only route for de novo synthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides within the cell (Johnston et al., 2002, J.", "Clinical Oncology, 20(7) pp.", "1721-1728).", "Thymidylate synthase is a target for chemotherapeutic drugs, most commonly the antifolate agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).", "As the most effective single agent for the treatment of colon, head and neck and breast cancers, the primary action of 5-FU is to inhibit TS activity, resulting in depletion of intracellular thymine levels and subsequently leading to cell death.", "Other markers that can be tested for include, but are not limited to: HIP1 in the diagnosis and treatment of lymphoma and brain cancers; TS and/or ERCC1 expression levels prognosticate the probable resistance of a patient's tumor to treatment with 5-FU and oxaliplatin-based therapies; recurrent gene fusions of androgen regulated genes and ETS family member genes in prostate cancer; ERBB-1, VEGF, cyclin A, FOS, JUN and MYC in patients with squamous cell lung carcinomas.", "Additional markers that can be used in accordance with the disclosure include, EGFR, BRAF, PTEN, and PI3K.", "One of skill will readily note that cells containing any biomarker can be used in accordance with the disclosure and that those disclosed herein represent non-limiting examples.", "Hematopoietic cancers or metastases can be tested using the QC FFPE controls.", "Cancers which involve cells generated during hematopoiesis, a process by which cellular elements of blood, such as lymphocytes, leukocytes, platelets, erythrocytes and natural killer cells are generated are referred to as hematopoietic cancers.", "Lymphocytes which can be found in blood and lymphatic tissue and are critical for immune response are categorized into two main classes of lymphocytes: B lymphocytes (B cells) and T lymphocytes (T cells), which mediate humoral and cell mediated immunity, respectively.", "Many of these cancers are characterized by recurrent translocations that can be detected from FFPE using methods discussed herein.", "Kits A “kit,” as used herein, refers to a combination of at least one quality control sample for FFPE (e.g., one FFPE slice of the gelled homogeneous mixture of test and background cells).", "In some embodiments, the kit may contain a combination of quality control samples organized in such a way as to provide controls for all variations of a particular marker.", "In some embodiments, the variations of the marker are variations of an oncogene that is diagnostic for a particular cancer.", "In some embodiments the variations of the marker are variations of a mutation in a gene that are prognostic for the usefulness of treating with a drug.", "In some embodiments, the kit includes a number of different markers that are diagnostic of a particular cancer.", "In some embodiments, the marker or markers are for a particular disease.", "In other embodiments, the marker or markers are for a variety of diseases.", "In some embodiments, the marker or markers test for drug efficacy for a disease.", "In some embodiments, the marker or markers test for diagnosis of a disease or a group of related diseases.", "In some embodiments, the marker or markers test for a series of diseases that have common characteristics and/or symptoms.", "The container means of the kits will generally include at least one vial, test tube, flask, bottle, syringe or other packaging means, into which a component can be placed, and in some embodiments, suitably aliquoted.", "Where more than one component is included in the kit (they can be packaged together), the kit also will generally contain at least one second, third or other additional container into which the additional components can be separately placed.", "However, various combinations of components can be packaged in a container means.", "The kits of the present teachings also will typically include reagent containers in close confinement for commercial sale.", "Such containers can include injection or blow-molded plastic containers into which the desired container means are retained.", "When the components of the kit are provided in one and/or more liquid solutions, the liquid solution comprises an aqueous solution that can be a sterile aqueous solution.", "A kit can also include instructions for employing the kit components as well as the use of any other reagent not included in the kit.", "Instructions can include variations that can be implemented.", "In some embodiments, the kit contains quality control samples for between 1 and 1000 markers and/or test cell to background cell ratios.", "For example, the kit can contain 11 FFPE quality control slices containing test cells to background cells in concentrations of 1%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100%.", "Exemplary kits are provided in Examples 6 and 7.EXAMPLES Aspects of the present teachings can be further understood in light of the following examples, which should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present teachings in any way.", "Tables 1-3 provide materials, consumable and instruments used in the following examples.", "The examples use the KRAS molecular markers to demonstrate the usefulness of the quality control FFPE methods.", "There are known mutations within the codon 12 and 13 of the KRAS gene that results in the loss of effectiveness of pharmaceutical therapies.", "7 mutations (G12D, G12V, G12C, G12S, G12A, G12R, G13D) comprise 98.5% of known KRAS mutations that are involved in identifying the usefulness of chemotherapy on colorectal cancers.", "Cell lines for these mutations were obtained and mixed and defined ratios with a cell line containing wild type KRAS.", "The cell mixtures were mixed with melted agarose cooled within 10° C. of the gelling temperature and aliquoted into a polypropylene cylindrical mold.", "The mold was allowed to solidify at 2-8° C. The cylinder was removed from the mold and placed on a sterile surface.", "A slicing apparatus was developed by modifying an egg slicer.", "The slicing apparatus was then placed over the cylinder and pressure applied to slice the cylinder into equidistant parts.", "Each part was then formalin fixed and embedded according to specified manufacturing procedures (see Example 8 below).", "TABLE 1 Materials Reagents Item Description 10% Neutral Formalin used as the fixative reagent in Buffered Formalin the process.", "70% Alcohol Reagent used in the dehydration process.", "95% Alcohol Reagent used in the dehydration process.", "100% Alcohol Reagent used in the dehydration process.", "SafeClear Xylene substitute, used to remove lipids and aid in the transition from dehydration to paraffin.", "Paraffin Paraffin used as the embedding medium.", "10 mM Tris Buffer used to dilute cell mixtures to the pH 7.5 appropriate concentration.", "Low Melting Low melting agarose is used as the copolymer Temperature that is mixed with cells and placed into a tube Agarose mold.", "Low melting is used due to the ability of remaining at a liquid state at a lower temperature than standard agarose.", "The lower temperature reduces the likelihood of lysing cells.", "TABLE 2 Consumables Item Description Tissue Molds Metallic or clear plastic molds used as receptacle for the final stage during paraffin embedding.", "Mixed agarose cell mixture and liquid paraffin are placed in the mold and allowed to harden.", "Tissue mold is then removed and discarded.", "Tissue Agarose cell mixtures after slicing are placed into Cassettes designated tissue cassettes for fixing and embedding.", "Tube Mold A specified mold with a fixed diameter is used as a mold for which the agarose cell mixture is allowed to harden in refrigerated temperatures.", "Removal of the harden agarose cell mixture is by removing both ends of the mold.", "Petri Dish The sterile petri dish allows for a clean environment for which the harden agarose cell mixture is processed.", "Sterile Forcep Forceps are used to transfer fixed cell mixtures from the tissue cassettes to the tissue mold.", "Razor Blade Sterile razor blade used to remove ends from the agarose cell mixtures.", "Sterile Scoops used to transfer fragile agarose cell mixtures after Disposable slicing into the appropriate reagent filled container.", "Scoops TABLE 3 Instruments Item Description Microwave The microwave is used to melt the agarose.", "Paraffin Instrument that contains a reservoir of melted paraffin and Embedder cooling block.", "The instrument is used to dispense paraffin into the tissue mold.", "The instrument also cools the tissue molds containing the fixed cell mixture and paraffin.", "Refrigerator The refrigerator is used to cool the tube mold containing agarose and cell mixtures Incubator/ The incubator and shaker is used to warm and mix the cell Shaker mixtures.", "The incubator can also be used to melt paraffin.", "Slicing The slicing apparatus can be a modified egg slicer (base Apparatus removed).", "The slicer divides the agarose cell mixture cylinder (after removal from the tube mold) into equivalent mini cylinders.", "Microtome Microtome is a calibrated instrument used to process FFPE blocks into sections.", "Example 1: Quality Control FFPE Method Using KRAS Markers Several KRAS point mutations have been shown to correlate with a lack of response to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors.", "As a result, in July of 2009, the FDA updated the “indication and usage” section of the labels of Amgen's Vectibix and ImClone/Bristol-Myers Squibb's Erbitux to note that “retrospective analyses of metastatic colorectal cancer trials have not shown a treatment benefit for the EGFR inhibitors in patients whose tumors had KRAS mutations in codon 12 or 13,” and that the use of the drugs is not recommended for the treatment of colorectal cancer patients with these mutations.", "This label change has led to an increase in KRAS mutation testing.", "This example demonstrates the feasibility of manufacturing qualitative formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) KRAS Positive Control products.", "The study demonstrates the ability to manufacture and value assign stock materials from sourced raw materials, the reproducibility of the product, detection of the product on target assays, as well as comparison of the products' DNA quality to those of patient FFPE samples and obtaining a usable DNA yield from a 10 μm section.", "The cell lines in Table 4 were obtained from ATCC (Manassas, Va.) and grown to a total of 1.0×109 cells.", "Stock materials are manufactured in Cell Freezing Media and were value-assigned against the calibrator (quantified by counting with a hemacytometer) using the Roche LIGHT CYCLER™ Control Beta-Globin test.", "The cell mixture formulation procedure was performed as follows: 1.values for cell materials stored in the vapor phase of a liquid nitrogen cryogenic freezer were obtained.", "2.The stock material was thawed at room temperature.", "3.A sterile clean disposable cup was obtained.", "4.The appropriate amount of cells containing the target of interest was measured gravimetrically into the sterile cup.", "5.The appropriate amount of background cells were measured gravimetrically into the sterile cup (this step is optional).", "6.A pre-defined amount of 10 mM Tris pH 7.5 was added into the sterile cup to bring the cells to the appropriate concentration.", "7.The sterile cup was placed into a pre-warmed incubator (37° C.) and shaken at 125 RPM for a period of between 20 and 30 minutes.", "TABLE 4 Cell lines Name Cell Line KRAS G12A SW1116 KRAS G12C SW1463 KRAS G12D PANC-1 KRAS G12R PSN-1 KRAS G12S A549 KRAS G12V SW480 KRAS G13D DLD-1 Wildtype Jurkat cells A 1% mixture of Low Melting Temperature agarose was formulated with 10 mM Tris pH 7.5 and microwaved until dissolved.", "The agarose was placed into a 37° C. incubator and allowed to cool for at least 30 minutes.", "At this point it was important to not mix the cells until the agarose cooled and equilibrated with the incubator.", "The cell mixture and the agarose were mixed as follows: The cell and agarose mixtures were removed from the incubator.", "They were then aliquoted into a sterile cup by mixing an equal volume of the cell mixture with an equal volume of the agarose mixture.", "The agarose/cell mixture was placed back into the incubator and shaken at 125 RPM for 10-20 minutes.", "An appropriately sized tube mold was obtained and labeled.", "The agarose/cell mixture was poured into the tube mold until the liquid exceeded the upper lip of the tube.", "The tube mold was capped and the excess liquid was wiped from the mold.", "If bubbles were present, the tube was reopened and additional liquid (cell/agarose liquid) was added.", "The tube mold was placed horizontally into a refrigerator at 2-8° C. for a minimum of 1 hour.", "The tube was inspected to ensure that the agarose had hardened.", "Both ends of the tube were removed (i.e., the cap was removed from one end and the other end was cut with a scissor).", "And the agarose cell mixture cylinder was poured into a sterile clean petri dish.", "The slicing apparatus was cleaned with 70% isopopanol.", "The Slicing Apparatus was placed over the cylinder to insure the maximum number of equivalent sized mini-cylinders and pressed with equal force through the cylinder until the slicing apparatus reached the bottom of the lid.", "Using disposable scoops the mini-cylinders were placed into a new sterile cup.", "If the mini-cylinder was punctured by the scoop during transfer, it was discarded.", "The mini-cylinders were formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded as follows: The sterile cup (containing the mini-cylinders) was filled with 10% neutral buffered formalin.", "The ratio of formalin to mini-cylinder was at least 10:1.They were incubated at room temperature for 2 hours in the shaker set at 125 RPM (incubation for longer or shorter periods may result in differing DNA fragmentation from lot-to-lot).", "The fixed mini-cylinders were transferred into labeled tissue cassettes.", "The tissue cassettes were transferred into a container filled with 70% alcohol and incubated for a minimum of 1 hour.", "The alcohol was decanted and excess removed using absorbent paper.", "However, the tissue cassettes were not allowed to dry completely.", "The tissue cassettes were transferred into a container filled with 95% alcohol and incubated for 1 hour.", "The alcohol was decanted and excess removed using absorbent paper.", "However, the tissue cassettes were not allowed to dry completely.", "The tissue cassettes were transferred into a container filled with 100% alcohol and incubated for 1 hour.", "The alcohol was decanted and the excess removed using absorbent paper.", "However, the tissue cassettes were not allowed to dry completely.", "The tissue cassettes were transferred into a container filled with SAFECLEAR™ and incubated for 30 minutes.", "The SAFECLEAR™ was decanted and excess removed using absorbent paper.", "The tissue cassettes were not allowed to dry completely.", "The tissue cassettes were transferred into a container filled with a 1:1 mixture of Safeclear™ and melted paraffin and incubated for 30 minutes at 65° C. The 1:1 mixture of SAFECLEAR™ and melted paraffin was decanted into a waste container.", "The tissue cassettes were transferred into container filled with melted paraffin and incubated for 1 hour at 65° C. The melted paraffin was decanted into a waste container.", "The tissue cassettes were transferred into a container filled with melted paraffin and incubated for 2 hours at 65° C. The fixed mini-cylinders were transferred into a tissue mold containing melted paraffin.", "The base of the tissue cassette was placed over the tissue mold and paraffin was dispensed from the paraffin embedding instrument until the mold and cassette were filled.", "The filled tissue mold was placed onto the refrigerated unit of the paraffin embedder and allowed to harden for at least 1 hour.", "The FFPE blocks were sectioned on a Microtome into the appropriate thickness.", "The section was transferred using forceps into a sterile tube.", "Example 2: Alternate Fixation Process An alternate fixation process was also performed prior to the formation of the agarose-cell cylinder.", "In this example, cells as described in Example 1 were pre-fixed with formaldehyde.", "Cells were suspended in phosphate buffered saline with 5.6% formaldehyde and incubated at 22° C. for 2 hours with shaking.", "2.5 M glycine was added to a final concentration of 1.8 M and incubated for 5 min at room temperature.", "Cells were centrifuged at 1000× for 10 min.", "Supernatant was removed, cells were washed with 5 mL PBS and centrifuged at 1000×g for 10 min.", "Supernatant was removed and freezing medium (cell culture medium+10% dimethylsulfoxide) was added.", "The steps of agarose cylinders formation, dehydration and embedding with paraffin then took place as described, for example, Example 1.Example 3: Reproducibility Analysis Two cylinders of KRAS G12V were manufactured using the method of Example 1 and 16-17 blocks were manufactured from each cylinder.", "Sections were cut from blocks, DNA was extracted, and the DNA was amplified using the Roche LIGHT CYCLER™ Control Beta-Globin test.", "As shown in FIG.", "1, the average crossing points among the blocks for each cylinder were similar, as assessed by low standard deviations.", "The average crossing points of the blocks between each cylinder were also similar, demonstrating good lot-to-lot reproducibility.", "The data indicated that the product could be reproducibly manufactured.", "Example 4: Detection on Target Assays A KRAS Beta panel, consisting of 10 m sections of G12C, G12V, and G13D sections at various percentages (ranging from 1 to 30%) using the method of Example 1 was sent out to a number of laboratories for testing.", "Results were obtained for various assay platforms including: Life Technologies SNaPshot™, TrimGen™ Mutector II, QIAGEN™/DxS TheraScreen K-RAS, QIAGEN™ PyroMark KRAS, Asuragen Signature KRAS Mutations 7, and a non-genotyping laboratory developed test (LDT).", "The results are displayed in FIG.", "2.A (+) designates that a KRAS mutation was detected using the method, a (−) designates that the KRAS mutation was not detected and an (ND) designates that the test was not run or that it was an invalid run.", "The results show that the samples worked comparably in all platforms.", "Example 5: Analysis of DNA Quality KRAS DNA was isolated from blood, cultured cells, patient FFPE Tumor, and AcroMetrix KRAS controls (from Example 3).", "Genomic DNA was isolated using QIAamp® DNA Kits, or the QIAamp® DNA FFPE Tissue Kit.", "250 ng of isolated DNA from each sample type were analyzed on a 0.8% agarose gel in duplicates as shown in FIG.", "3.Comparing DNA quality, the AcroMetrix KRAS controls were most similar to that of patient FFPE tumor samples showing comparable degradation.", "TABLE 5 DNA Yield Name Lot Average Yield (ng) WT SL-1 679 G12V SL-1 769 WT SL-2 1019 G12V SL-2 683 WT SL-3 728 G12V SL-3 567 Genomic DNA was isolated from three lots of KRAS FFPE wildtype and G12V samples (see Example 3) using the QIAamp® DNA FFPE Extraction protocol.", "Three 10 μm sections were obtained from each sample and extracted to obtain an eluate volume of 50 μL.", "The DNA yield from each eluate was obtained using the Agilent 8453 UV-visible Spectroscopy System.", "The average DNA yield from all samples was greater than 200 ng, showing that a usable amount of DNA can be obtained from the AMX KRAS FFPE products.", "Example 6: Kit for Analysis of KRAS FFPE Assay Quality Control There are known mutations within the codon 12 and 13 of the KRAS gene that results in the loss of effectiveness of pharmaceutical therapies.", "7 mutations (G12D, G12V, G12C, G12S, G12A, G12R, G13D) comprise 98.5% of known KRAS mutations that have an impact.", "Cell lines for these mutations were obtained and mixed in defined ratios with a cell line containing wild type KRAS (see Table 4).", "A KRAS FFPE kit is prepared containing controls intended for use in assessing the performance of nucleic acid test procedures for the determination of KRAS mutations.", "See Table 6, 1 vial per KRAS mutation and 1 wildtype (negative control).", "Routine use of the KRAS FFPE controls enables laboratories to monitor day-to-day assay variation, lot-to-lot performance of assay reagents, and operator variation.", "The KRAS FFPE controls can also assist in identifying increases in random or systematic error in testing systems.", "The KRAS FFPE Controls kit contains controls for 7 major KRAS mutations and a wild type.", "Each individual control consists of KRAS mutation-positive cells in a synthetic tissue that has been formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded and sectioned to 10 microns thick.", "The KRAS FFPE Controls were designed to meet the need for controls for molecular testing of KRAS in FFPE samples.", "The independent set of external controls helps to ensure that KRAS nucleic acid testing procedures are consistent across manufacturers, testing laboratories, operators, platforms and assay formats.", "The KRAS FFPE Controls are formulated to mimic formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues and designed to monitor all procedural steps in extracting human DNA from FFPE.", "The intact human cells allow for the verification of effective DNA extraction and purification.", "KRAS test methodology includes an extraction step that releases the DNA for amplification and detection, as appropriate to the test.", "TABLE 6 KRAS FFPE control kit Control name Quantity KRAS G12A 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA KRAS G12C 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA KRAS G12D 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA KRAS G12R 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA KRAS G12S 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA KRAS G12V 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA KRAS G13D 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA Wild Type 1 section per vial >200 ng DNA Example 7: Kit for Analysis of EGF-R FFPE Assay Quality Control An EGF-R FFPE kit is prepared containing controls intended for use in assessing the performance of nucleic acid test procedures for the determination of EGF-R mutations.", "Routine use of the EGF-R FFPE controls enables laboratories to monitor day-to-day assay variation, lot-to-lot performance of assay reagents, and operator variation.", "The EGF-R FFPE controls also assist in identifying increases in random or systematic error in testing systems.", "The EGF-R FFPE Controls kit contains controls for 29 major EGF-R mutations that are associated with drug resistance to chemotherapy drugs and a wild type (see Table 7 for mutations).", "Each individual control consists of EGF-R mutation-positive cells in a synthetic tissue that has been formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded and sectioned to 10 microns thick.", "The EGF-R FFPE Control meet the need for controls for molecular testing of EGF-R in FFPE samples.", "The kit contains 29 slices containing mixtures of EGF-R mutations in a background of wildtype and 1 slice containing only wildtype.", "The independent set of external controls helps to ensure that EGF-R nucleic acid testing procedures are consistent across manufacturers, testing laboratories, operators, platforms and assay formats.", "The EGF-R FFPE Controls are formulated to mimic formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues and are designed to monitor all procedural steps in extracting human DNA from FFPE.", "The intact human cells allow for the verification of effective DNA extraction and purification.", "EGF-R test methodology includes an extraction step that releases the DNA for amplification and detection, as appropriate to the test.", "TABLE 7 somatic EGF-R mutations Mutation Exon Base Change Cosmic ID T790M 20 2369C > T 6240 L858R 21 2573T > G 6224 L861Q 21 2582T > A 6213 S768I 20 2303G > T 6241 G719A 18 2156G > C 6239 G719S 18 2155G > A 6252 G719C 18 2155G > T 6253 Insertions 20 2307_2308ins9 12376 2319_2320insCAC 12377 2310_2311insGGT 12378 Deletions 19 2235_2249del15 6223 2235_2252 > AAT (complex) 13551 2236_2253del18 12728 2237_2251del15 12678 2237_2254del18 12367 2237_2255 > T (complex) 12384 2236_2250del15 6225 2238_2255del18 6220 2238_2248 > GC (complex) 12422 2238_2252 > GCA (complex) 12419 2239_2247del9 6218 2239_2253del15 6254 2239_2256del18 6255 2239_2248TTAAGAGAAG > C 12382 (complex) 2239_2258 > CA (complex) 12387 2240_2251del12 6210 2240_2257del18 12370 2240_2254del15 12369 2239_2251 > C (complex) 12383 (Note: the cosmic IDs are taken from the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer web site sanger.ac.uk/genetics/CGP/cosmic/).", "Example 8: Manufacturing Procedure for Sectioning of FFPE Blocks This manufacturing procedure describes the procedure for the manufacture of FFPE Blocks, as follows: A sterile cup is filled to the 80 ml line with 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin and swirled until all mini-cylinders (the slices) have separated.", "The mini-cylinders are placed in 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin for 2 hours at room temperature in the shaker set at 125 RPM, labeled and lidded.", "The 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin is decanted into the appropriate waste container and the mini-cylinders poured into a sterile Petri dish base.", "The tissue cassette is placed onto the sterile lid of the Petri dish and mini-cylinders transferred into tissue cassettes.", "A maximum of the same four mini-cylinders could be placed into one tissue cassette.", "The lid is closed and tissue cassettes placed into an appropriate container with 70% Alcohol.", "The volume of the 70% Alcohol reached above the tissue cassettes.", "A minimum fill at the 80 ml line of the disposable sterile cup is required.", "It is incubated for a minimum of 1 hour with a maximum of 24 hours.", "For a hold time of 1 hour, it is incubated at room temperature.", "Any hold times that exceeded one hour would be incubated at 2-8° C. 70% Alcohol is decanted into a dedicated waste container.", "The Container is inverted and tissue cassettes are poured over an absorbent paper.", "The tissue cassettes are transferred into an appropriately-sized container with 95% Ethanol (ensure that the volume of the 95% Ethanol reaches above the tissue cassette).", "A minimum of approximately 80 mL of 95% Ethanol is required.", "It is incubated for 55 to 65 minutes at room temperature.", "The Paraffin Embedder Instrument is turned on.", "An appropriate amount of paraffin is in each reservoir.", "The incubator/shaker is turned on and temperature set at 65° C. Clean sterile Polypropylene containers are filled with Paraffin until it reaches the top opening and placed in an incubator shaking at 125 RPM.", "95% Alcohol was decanted into an appropriate waste container.", "The container with the tissue cassettes is inverted and tissue cassettes poured over an absorbent paper (without allowing the tissue cassettes to dry).", "The tissue cassettes are transferred into an appropriately sized container with 100% Ethanol (ensuring that the volume of the 100% Ethanol reaches above the tissue cassette) and incubated between 60 to 80 minutes at Room Temperature.", "A minimum of approximately 80 mL of 100% Ethanol is required.", "The 100% Alcohol is decanted into an appropriate waste container.", "The container with the tissue cassettes is inverted and tissue cassettes poured over an absorbent paper (without allowing the tissue cassettes to dry).", "The tissue cassettes are transferred into an appropriately sized container with 100% Ethanol (ensuring that the volume of the 100% Ethanol reaches above the tissue cassette) and incubated between 30 to 40 minutes at Room Temperature.", "The 100% Alcohol is decanted into a sink with running water.", "The container with the tissue cassettes is inverted and tissue cassettes poured over an absorbent paper (without allowing the tissue cassettes to dry).", "The tissue cassettes are transferred into an appropriately sized container with SafeClear™ and the volume of the SafeClear™ made to reache above the tissue cassette and incubated between 30 to 40 minutes at room temperature.", "The SafeClear™ is decanted into a sink with running water.", "The container with the tissue cassettes is inverted and tissue cassettes poured over an absorbent paper (without allowing the tissue cassettes to dry).", "The tissue cassettes are placed into an appropriate container with SafeClear™, ensuring that the volume of the SafeClear™ reaches above the tissue cassette.", "The tissue cassettes are incubated between 30 to 40 minutes at room temperature.", "The incubator/shaker was set at 65° C., ensuring that the shaker switch is in the OFF position.", "Equal volumes of melted paraffin were added with SafeClear and placed in a 65° C.±1° C. incubator.", "The container with the tissue cassettes is inverted and tissue cassettes poured over an absorbent paper (without allowing the tissue cassettes to dry).", "The tissue cassettes are transferred into an appropriate container with 50:50 Paraffin/SafeClear™, ensuring that the volume of the 50:50 Paraffin/SafeClear™ reaches above the tissue cassette, and incubated between 30 to 40 minutes at 65° C.±1° C. (Ensuring the Shaker switch is in the OFF position).", "The 50:50 Paraffin/SafeClear™ was decanted into a disposable container.", "The tissue cassette was transferred into an appropriate container with Paraffin (ensuring that the volume of the Paraffin reaches above the tissue cassette), and incubated between 60 to 80 minutes at 65° C.±1° C. The Shaker switch is in the OFF position.", "The Paraffin was decanted into a disposable container.", "The tissue cassette was transferred into an appropriate container with Paraffin (Ensure that the volume of the Paraffin reaches above the tissue cassette), and incubated between 60 to 80 minutes at 65° C.±1° C. (Ensure Shaker switch is in the OFF position).", "The Paraffin is decanted into a disposable container.", "The tissue cassette is transferred into an appropriate container with sample reservoir of the Paraffin Embedder (ensuring that the volume of the Paraffin reaches above the tissue cassettes) and incubated between 120 to 140 minutes.", "Paraffin embedding is performed as follows: After incubation the first tissue cassette is removed and placed on a paraffin embedder.", "Tissue molds are placed into the warmed tissue mold holder.", "Mini-cylinders are inspected to ensure that they are intact and have significantly shrunk in size.", "The tissue mold is removed from the tissue mold warmer and paraffin dispensed from a nozzle to fill the bottom of the well.", "The tissue mold containing paraffin is placed over the cold portion of the paraffin embedder.", "In a timely manner, a mini-cylinder is placed onto the center of the tissue mold and allowed to cool partially, but not until solid.", "The tissue cassette is placed without the lid over the tissue mold with the flat surface facing the tissue.", "The tissue cassette is placed downward (ensure that no air bubbles are trapped within the sample).", "If air bubbles are present, the tissue cassette is lifted and placed back down until all the air bubbles are removed (ensure that the mini-cylinder is still within the center of the tissue mold).", "Paraffin is dispensed from the nozzle until the entire bottom of the tissue cassette is covered.", "Material is carefully transferred and placed on the cold side of the paraffin embedder.", "This is repeated until all of the mini-cylinders are embedded in paraffin.", "The embedded cylinders are allowed to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes up to a maximum of 24 hours on the cold side of the embedder.", "If the material is going to be filled within the next 24 hours, the bulk material is stored at 2-8° C. until filled.", "If the material is not going to be filled within the next 24 hours, the bulk material is stored at the appropriate storage temperature.", "Each embodiment disclosed herein may be used or otherwise combined with any of the other embodiments disclosed.", "Any element of any embodiment may be used in any embodiment.", "Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.", "In addition, modification may be made without departing from the essential teachings of the invention." ] ]
Patent_15875162
[ [ "PROPOSING A COPY AREA IN A DOCUMENT", "Information on a cursor or pointer position is obtained, indicating a first content on a document displayed on a screen.", "A plurality of second contents are retrieved from a history information, each of the second contents comprising the first content.", "The history information comprises sets of contents, each of the sets comprising a content in the document which was copied by one or more users, and position information of this content.", "The sets are ranked in a predetermined order.", "A copy area is proposed based on one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents." ], [ "1.A computer program product for proposing a copy area in a document, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se, the program instructions executable by a processor to perform a method comprising: obtaining information on a pointer position on a first content on a document displayed on a screen, the first content selected from the group consisting of a character string, a cell, a photo image, and a moving image; retrieving, from a history information stored in a server, a plurality of second contents, each of the second contents comprising the first content, wherein the history information comprises sets of contents, a score associated with each of the contents in the document calculated from the number of times copied and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done, and the number of times copied for each of the contents in the document, each of the sets comprising a content in the document, which content was copied by at least one users, and position information of this content, the sets ranked in a predetermined order according to the number of times copied and the score, wherein the document is an unstructured document and wherein the retrieval of the plurality of second contents comprises calculating an order of bytes in the document and the calculated bytes are used for identifying plurality of second contents; proposing, as a copy area, one or more second contents among the retrieved second contents, the proposal made by displaying the one or more second contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to user operation; and wherein when a position of a content in the document is changed, position information on a corresponding content in the history information is updated correspondingly and when the proposed copy area is selected by a user, the number of copying of a corresponding content in the history information is incremented and the score is updated." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>The present disclosure relates to a text editing interface and more specifically, to proposing a copy area in a document.", "Many computing devices provide a basic copying function wherein a portion of text, a graphic, a format, etc.", "may be “lifted” from a particular page or window and replicated to another.", "This is generally accomplished by selecting the desired portion of text, graphic, file, etc.", "using a mouse cursor or other pointer to indicate each a “start copying” and “stop copying” point.", "By selecting the copy function, the text, graphic, etc.", "indicated by the mouse selection is moved to a “clipboard.” The clipboard a function provided by most operating systems, which is used to hold copied content until the user indicates it should be replicated." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method for proposing a copy area in a document.", "Information on a cursor or pointer position is obtained, indicating a first content on a document displayed on a screen.", "A plurality of second contents are retrieved from a history information, each of the second contents comprising the first content.", "The history information comprises sets of contents, each of the sets comprising a content in the document which was copied by one or more users, and position information of this content.", "The sets are ranked in a predetermined order.", "A copy area is proposed based on one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer system comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided." ], [ "BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates to a text editing interface and more specifically, to proposing a copy area in a document.", "Many computing devices provide a basic copying function wherein a portion of text, a graphic, a format, etc.", "may be “lifted” from a particular page or window and replicated to another.", "This is generally accomplished by selecting the desired portion of text, graphic, file, etc.", "using a mouse cursor or other pointer to indicate each a “start copying” and “stop copying” point.", "By selecting the copy function, the text, graphic, etc.", "indicated by the mouse selection is moved to a “clipboard.” The clipboard a function provided by most operating systems, which is used to hold copied content until the user indicates it should be replicated.", "SUMMARY According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method for proposing a copy area in a document.", "Information on a cursor or pointer position is obtained, indicating a first content on a document displayed on a screen.", "A plurality of second contents are retrieved from a history information, each of the second contents comprising the first content.", "The history information comprises sets of contents, each of the sets comprising a content in the document which was copied by one or more users, and position information of this content.", "The sets are ranked in a predetermined order.", "A copy area is proposed based on one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer system comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided.", "According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer system to perform one or more methods described herein also may be provided.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The drawings included in the present application are incorporated into, and form part of, the specification.", "They illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and, along with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.", "The drawings are only illustrative of certain embodiments and do not limit the disclosure.", "FIG.", "1 illustrates an exemplified basic block diagram of a computer hardware used in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "FIGS.", "2A through 2C illustrate an embodiment of a screen for proposing a copy area in a document to a user on a display.", "FIGS.", "3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device, a copy area in a document.", "FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrate an embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device and a server, a copy area in a document.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for analyzing, using a history information, information relating to the copied contents.", "FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for updating history information in a case where an original of a copy source document having tags is modified.", "FIG.", "7A illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a user device.", "FIG.", "7B illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server.", "FIG.", "7C illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server after grouping.", "FIG.", "7D illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a user device or a server after a modification of a copy source document was made.", "FIG.", "7E illustrates an embodiment of an availability information on a document.", "FIG.", "8 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of a user device which is used in accordance with the embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "3A and 3B.", "FIG.", "9 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of a computer system hardware comprising a user device and a server which are used in accordance with the embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "4A and 4B.", "While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail.", "It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments described.", "On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed.", "Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.", "The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.", "When a user attempts to copy a text string in a document, such as a document on a website or in a local document, it may be cumbersome to specify an appropriate area of a text displayed on a screen of a device.", "When a user uses a device having a small screen, such as a smartphone, mobile phone or tablet, there may be some difficulty in specifying, using a finger or pointing device, a copy area, for example one character for starting or ending point where the user wants to copy.", "With reference now to FIG.", "1, FIG.", "1 illustrates an exemplified basic block diagram of a computer hardware used in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "A computer 101 may be, for example, but is not limited to, a desktop, laptop, notebook or server computer.", "The server computer may be, for example, but is not limited to, a workstation, a rack-mount type server, a blade type server, or a mainframe server and may run, for example, a hypervisor for creating and running one or more virtual machines.", "The computer 101 may comprise one or more CPUs 102 and a main memory 103 connected to a bus 104.A display 106 such as a liquid crystal display LCD may be connected to the bus 104 via a display controller 105.The display 106 may be used to display, for management of the computer(s), information on a computer connected to a network via a communication line and information on software running on the computer using an appropriate graphics interface.", "The display may have a touch screen or a non-touch screen.", "The display may be for example, but not limited to, a LCD, PDP, OEL or a projection type display.", "A disk 108 such as a hard disk or a solid state drive, SSD, and a drive 109 such as a CD, a DVD, or a BD Blu-ray disk drive may be connected to the bus 104 via an SATA or IDE controller 107.Moreover, a keyboard 111 and a mouse 112 may be connected to the bus 104 via a keyboard-mouse controller 110 or USB bus not shown.", "An operating system, programs, and any data may be stored in the disk 108 to be loadable to the main memory.", "The drive 109 may be used to install a program, such as the computer program of an embodiment of the present disclosure, readable from a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a BD to the disk 108 or to load any data readable from a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a BD into the main memory 103 or the disk 108, if necessary.", "A communication interface 114 may be based on, for example, but is not limited to, the Ethernet protocol.", "The communication interface 114 may be connected to the bus 104 via a communication controller 113, physically connects the computer 101 to a communication line 115, and may provide a network interface layer to the TCP/IP communication protocol of a communication function of the operating system of the computer 101.In this case, the communication line 115 may be a wired LAN environment or a wireless LAN environment based on wireless LAN connectivity standards.", "Hereinafter, a user device and optionally a server may be used in an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "The user device may be a computer, such as described in FIG.", "1, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a book reader, a virtual machine, etc.", "The server may be a computer, such as described in FIG.", "1 and connected to one or more user devices via an internet or intranet connection.", "FIGS.", "2A and 2B illustrate an embodiment of a screen for proposing a copy area in a document to a user on a display With reference to FIG.", "2A, FIG.", "2A illustrates an embodiment of a screen of a user device.", "The user device displays a part of a document on the screen 201 of the user device.", "The document has one or more contents which can be copyable.", "The document may be, for example, a local or server document in any format.", "The document may be, for example, but not limited to, a structured document in which tags are used, such as a web page document, an unstructured document, or a word, spreadsheet, presentation or PDF document.", "The tags may be, for example, HTML or XML.", "A content may be, for example, but not limited to one or more character strings, one or more cells in a spreadsheet, one or more photo image, one or more moving image, a combination of these, etc.", "If the user wants to copy content, such as a character string, in the document, the user may make a predetermined operation, such as one left click by a mouse cursor 282 or one touch by a finger, in the vicinity of an area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the one touch or click, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document.", "The touch may comprise, for example, tap operation.", "The cursor pointer position may be, for example, a mouse pointer position.", "The pointer position may be, for example, a touch position by a finger or touch pen, or a laser pointer position.", "If the position is a character string in the document, such as “er” in the sentence, “This version”, the user device may obtain a plurality of contents comprising such character string.", "The plurality of contents may be retrieved from a history information which may include sets of contents in the document and their position information.", "Each of the sets may include content in the document and position information of this content.", "The content may have been previously copied by one or more users.", "The sets may be ranked in a predetermined order.", "History information may be in a form of, for example, but not limited to, a database, a text file, such as a CSV format, or a structured text, such as XML based text.", "The user device obtains, as a copy area, one or more contents among the plurality of contents comprising the character string.", "The obtained one or more contents may be ranked in a predetermined order.", "The predetermined order may be determined in descending order according to a score or rank which is associated with each of the one or more contents.", "In response to a detection of the predetermined operation, the content, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information.", "If a single source document is used to supply multiple projects, shared copying may be especially useful,” 212, is highlighted on the screen 202 as the area copied most frequently by users.", "The user device may display the window 222 showing a message “This is the area copied most frequently by users”.", "Further, the window 222 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "The menu can be used for switching a proposal of the areas copied by users to a proposal of the areas copied by the user themself.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 212, the user may make a predetermined operation, e.g.", "one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "Meanwhile, if the user wants to show another proposal of a copy area, the user may make a further predetermined operation, such as further another left click by a mouse cursor 283 or further another touch by a finger, in the vicinity of the area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the further predetermined operation, the content, “This version” 213, is highlighted on the screen 203 as the area copied second most frequently by users.", "The user device may display the window 223 showing a message “This is the area copied most second frequently by users”.", "Further, the window 223 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 213, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "Meanwhile, if the user wants to show still another proposal of a copy area, the user may make still further predetermined operation, such as still further another left click by a mouse cursor 284 or still further another touch by a finger, in the vicinity of the area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the still further predetermined operation, the content, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for,” 214, is highlighted on the screen 204 as the area copied third most frequently by users.", "The user device may display the window 224 showing a message “This is the area copied most third frequently by users”.", "Further, the window 224 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 214, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "In the embodiment mentioned above, one touch or click is used for proposing a copy area in a predetermined order.", "In another embodiment, two or more touches or clicks may be used for proposing a copy area in a predetermined order.", "Such examples may be as follows: if the user does two touches or clicks, the user device may display the screen 203 in which the area copied most second frequently by users is highlighted.", "If the user does three touches or clicks, the user device may display the screen 204 in which the area copied most third frequently by users is highlighted.", "The number of times of touches or clicks may be arbitrarily set as appropriate.", "If the number of touches or clicks exceeds a predetermined number, the user device may display a list for proposals of copy areas, for example, in a separate window, or the user device may allow a user to select a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "As stated above, when a focus by a user associated a user device is done on a part of contents on a document, a copy area comprising the focused part is proposed in the predetermined order among the proposals of copying content.", "Accordingly, the user can select a copy area in the predetermined order according to the copying frequency done by a plurality of users.", "With reference now to FIG.", "2B, FIG.", "2B illustrates an embodiment of a screen displaying a copy area which is commonly copied by other users or is copied by a user associated with the user device.", "The user device displays a part of a document, for example, a web page or local document, on the screen 231 of the user device.", "The screen 232 and the window 252 are the same as the screen 202 and the window 222 described in FIG.", "2A, respectively.", "The screen 232 and the window 252 are displayed according to the same way described above.", "If the user wants to show a proposal of a copy area which was copied by the user itself, the user may touch or click the character string, “View area copied by you”, in the window 252.In response to a detection of the touch or click of the character string, the content, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow,” 243, is highlighted on the screen 233 as the area copied most frequency by the user itself.", "The user device may display the window 253 showing a message “This is the area copied most frequently by you”.", "Further, the window 253 may show a menu “View area copied by users”.", "If the user wants to copy the proposed area 243, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "Meanwhile, if the user wants to return to the screen 232, the user may touch or click the character string, “View area copied by users”, in the window 253.In response to a detection of the touch or click of the character string, the user device displays the screen 234 which is the same as the screen 232.If the user wants to copy the proposed area 244, the user may make the predetermined operation, such as one right click by the mouse while clicking the left button, or a double tapping by another finger while touching the “er” in the sentence by the finger.", "In the embodiment mentioned above, a proposal of copy area which is commonly copied by other users is first displayed on the screen.", "In another embodiment, a proposal of copy area which is copied by a user associated with a user device is first displayed on the screen.", "The user may select which a proposal of copy area is first displayed on the screen.", "As stated above, when a focus by a user associated with a user device is done on a part of contents on a document, a copy area comprising the focused part is proposed in the predetermined order among the proposals of copying content in history information.", "Further, the user can switch a proposal of the areas from the areas copied by a plurality of users to the areas copied by the user themself or another user, and vice versa.", "Accordingly, the user can select a copy area in the predetermined order according to the copying frequency done by a plurality of users or the user itself.", "This selection may be useful when a document may be, for example, but not limited to, a collaborating document, such as a manual or materials on conference, or a web page.", "With reference now to FIG.", "2C, FIG.", "2C illustrates an embodiment of a screen displaying a copy area in a document in which a modification was made compared to an original of a copy source document.", "The user device displays a part of a document, for example, a web page or local document, on the screen 261 of the user device.", "If the user wants to copy a character string in the document, the user may make a predetermined operation, such as one left click by a mouse cursor 271 or one touch by a finger, in the vicinity of an area where the user wants to copy.", "In response to a detection of the one touch or click, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document.", "If the position is a character string in the document, such as “er” in the sentence, “This version”, the user device obtains a plurality of contents comprising such character string.", "The plurality of contents is retrieved from a history information which comprises sets of contents in the document and their position information.", "Let us suppose that a sentence in an original of a copy source document, which sentence corresponding to the copied area recorded in the history information, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” was modified to “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” prior to displaying of a copy source document which was modified from an original of a copy source document (hereinafter also referred to as “modified copy source document”) on the screen.", "In such a case, the copied area recorded in the history information is updated from “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” to “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” Therefore, the proposal of copying area corresponding to the updated copied area 272 in the history information is presented in replace of the copied area before updated in the history information.", "Accordingly, the sentence after modification, “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information,” is highlighted on the screen 262 as a proposal of the copy area 272.The user device may display the window 273 showing a message “Notes: The original copy source document was modified.", "The proposal of copying area 272 is presented by taking into account a character string before modification.", "This area corresponds to the area copied most frequently by users.” Further, the window 273 may show a menu “View area copied by you”.", "As stated above, if a content in the document is modified, a corresponding content in the history information is also similarly modified.", "Further, if a position of a content in the document is changed, position information on a corresponding content in the history information is updated correspondingly.", "Therefore, the user device can propose to a user a copy area which is included in a modified copy source document, using the updated history information.", "Accordingly, a document which will be frequently modified, such as a web page or a collaborating document, is a subject of an embodiment of the present disclosure.", "With reference now to FIGS.", "3A and 3B, FIGS.", "3A and 3B illustrate an embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device, a copy area in a document.", "In step 301, the user device starts the process for proposing a copy area in a document.", "In step 302, the user device reads, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage which can be accessible by the user device; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "Then, the user device displays the document on the screen of the user device.", "The user device monitors a user operation made on a document.", "The user operation may be done by, for example, but not limited to, a touch or click made on a content which is displayed on the screen.", "In decision 327, the user device may judge whether the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 303.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may wait for a next detection.", "In step 303, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document in response to a predetermined operation, such as a touch or click by the user.", "Further, the user device may obtain information on the document.", "The information may be a storage address of the document, such as a storage path or URL.", "The information may be used for specifying that the document is stored in the user device, or on the server or network attached storage NAS.", "In decision block 304, the user device may judge whether the document is a server document or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 315 FIG.", "3B.", "Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 305.In step 305, the user device accesses a history information for a user device.", "The history information for a user device may be stored in a storage of the user device or storage which can be accessible by the user device, such as a server or NAS.", "In step 306, the user device judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a user device has the location information which was obtained in step 303.If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 307.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 311.In step 307, the user device retrieves, from the history information for a user device, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents has been ranked in a predetermined order.", "For example, if the document is a structured document in which tags are used, the retrieval of the plurality of contents comprises calculating an order of tags in the document and the calculated order is used for identifying plurality of contents.", "For example, if the document is an unstructured document, the retrieval of the plurality of contents comprises calculating an order of bytes in the document and the calculated bytes are used for identifying plurality of contents.", "For example, if the document is a spreadsheet, the retrieval of the plurality of contents comprises calculating cell location in the document and the calculated cell location is used for identifying plurality of contents.", "In step 308, the user device proposes one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents.", "The proposal may be made by displaying the one or more contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user.", "The number of proposed contents may be a plural number.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content can be presented.", "The user operation may be predefined depending on a user device or an operation system which is running on the user device.", "The user operation may be, for example, but not limited to, the number of touches or clicks, or, while touching the screen with one finger, the number of times that a user touches the screen with another finger.", "The hover time may be predefined, such as a few seconds.", "In decision 309, the user device judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 310.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 312.In step 310, the user device copies the selected content to an area specified by the user.", "In step 311, the user device may show, for example, a new window on the screen, that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 312, the user device judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 313.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to final step 326.In step 313, the user device updates the history information for a user device using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "“Date of copying” may denote a date when a user selected a content in a copy source document and then made a copy operation for the content, or may otherwise provide some measure of the time a copy at which was made.", "“Information on a copy source document” may denote a location where the copy source document is stored.", "“Copied content” may denote the content to which the copy operation was made.", "“The number of copies made” may denote a count that the copy operation was made for each of the same contents in the same position in the copy source document.", "“The number of copies made” may be for one user who is or is not a user associated with a user device, or a plural users including or not including a user associated with a user device.", "“The number of copies made” may be calculated for one day or two or more days, or any other measurable time period.", "“Position of copied content” may denote a position of the copied document in the copy source document.", "“Score” may denote a value associated with each of the contents in the document The score may be calculated from the number of copies made and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done.", "“A content comprising the copied content” may denote a unit of document structure, such as a unit defined by p-tags, which comprises the copied content.", "“A content comprising the copied content” can be used for verifying a modification of an original source document.", "In step 314, the user device may analyze the information in the history information for a user device.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a user device will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "Referring now to FIG.", "3B, in step 315, the user device accesses a history information for a server.", "The history information for a server may be stored in a server storage or storage which can be accessible by the user device, such as a NAS.", "In decision 316, the user device judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a server has the location information which may have been obtained in step 303.If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 317.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 321.In step 317, the user device retrieves, from the history information for a server, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents may have been ranked in a predetermined order.", "In step 318, the user device proposes one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents.", "The proposal may be made by displaying the one or more contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user.", "The number of proposed contents may be a plural number.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content can be presented.", "The user operation may be predefined depending on a user device or an operation system which is running on the user device.", "The user operation may be, for example, but not limited to, the number of touches or clicks, or, while touching the screen with one finger, the number of times that a user touches the screen with another finger.", "The hover time may be predefined, such as a few seconds.", "In decision 319, the user device judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 320.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to decision 322.In step 320, the user device copies the selected content to an area specified by the user.", "In step 321, the user device may show, for example, a new window on the screen, that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 322, the user device judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 323.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to final step 326.In step 323, the user device updates the history information for a server using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In step 324, the user device may analyze the information in the history information for a server.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a server will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In step 326, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "With reference now to FIGS.", "4A and 4B, FIGS.", "4A and 4B illustrate an example embodiment of an overall flowchart of a process for proposing, using a user device and a server, a copy area in a document.", "In step 401, the user device starts the process for proposing a copy area in a document.", "In step 402, the user device reads, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage which can be accessible by the user device; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "Then, the user device displays the document on the screen of the user device.", "The user device monitors a user operation made on a document.", "The user operation may be done by, for example, but not limited to, a touch or click made on a content which is displayed on the screen.", "In decision 427, the user device may judge whether the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 303.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may wait for a next detection.", "In step 403, the user device obtains information on a cursor or pointer position on the document in response to a predetermined operation, such as a touch or click by the user.", "Further, the user device may obtain information on the document.", "The information may be a storage address of the document, such as a storage path or URL.", "The information may be used for specifying that the document is stored in the user device, or on the server or network attached storage NAS.", "In step 404, the user device judges whether the document is a server document or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device sends to a server a notification for requesting a retrieval of a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position and then proceed to step 415 (FIG.", "4B).", "The notification may comprise the information of the document and the cursor or pointer position on the document.", "The information of the document may be, for example, a storage path or URL.", "Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 405.In step 405, the user device accesses a history information for a user device.", "The history information for a user device may be stored in a storage of the user device or storage which can be accessible by the user device, such as a server or NAS.", "In decision 406, the user device judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a user device has the location information which was obtained in step 403.If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 407.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 411.In step 407, the user device retrieves, from the history information for a user device, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents has been ranked in a predetermined order.", "In step 408, the user device proposes one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents.", "The proposal may be made by displaying the one or more contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user.", "The number of proposed contents may be a plural number.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content can be presented.", "The user operation may be predefined depending on a user device or an operation system which is running on the user device.", "The user operation may be, for example, but not limited to, the number of touches or clicks, or, while touching the screen with one finger, the number of times that a user touches the screen with another finger.", "The hover time may be predefined, such as a few seconds.", "In decision 409, the user device judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 410.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 412.In step 410, the user device copies the selected content to an area specified by the user.", "In step 411, the user device may show, for example, a new window on the screen, that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 412, the user device judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 413.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to final step 426.In step 413, the user device updates the history information for a user device using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In step 414, the user device may analyze the information in the history information for a user device.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a user device will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "Referring now to FIG.", "4B, in step 415, the server accesses a history information for a server.", "The history information for a server may be stored in a storage in the server or storage which can be accessible by the server, such as a NAS.", "In decision 416, the server judges, using the information on the document, whether the history information for a server has the location information which was sent from the user device.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 417.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 421.In step 417, the server retrieves, from the history information for a server, a plurality of contents comprising the character string associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "Each of the retrieved contents may have been ranked in a predetermined order.", "In step 418, the server chooses one or more contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved plurality of contents and then sends them to the user device.", "In a case where the retrieved content is only one, only this content may be sent.", "The proposal in the user device may be made by displaying the one or more retrieved contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The number of proposed contents may be determined by a predefined operation done by the user or administrator of the server.", "In decision 419, the server waits for a notification, from the user device, for announcing that the proposed copy area is selected.", "In response to a receipt of the notification, the server judges whether the proposed content is selected by the user or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 423.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 422.In step 421, the server may send to the user device a message to the effect that there is no proposal of copy area.", "In decision 422, the server waits for a notification, from the user device, for announcing that the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "The notification may comprise the information of the document and the cursor or pointer position on the document.", "The information of the document may be, for example, a storage path or URL.", "In response to a receipt of the notification, the server judges whether the user selects a copy area using a default method provided by an application.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 423.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 425.In step 423, the server updates the history information for a server using the copied content and its position information.", "The information to be updated may be, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, copied content, the number of copies made, position of copied content, a score, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In step 424, the server may analyze the information in the history information for a server.", "An example of merging the information in the history information for a server will be explained by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In decision 425, the server may judges whether the history information for a user device is used or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the server may proceed to step 405.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to a final step 426.In step 426, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "FIGS.", "5A and 5B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for analyzing, using a history information for a user device or for a server, information relating to the copied contents.", "With reference now to FIG.", "5A, FIG.", "5A illustrates an overall flowchart of the process for analyzing information relating to the copied contents.", "In step 501, the user device starts the process for analyzing information relating to the copied contents.", "In one embodiment, the process can be implemented in step 314 (FIG.", "3A), 324 (FIG.", "3B), 414 (FIG.", "4A), or 424 (FIG.", "4B).", "In another embodiment, the process can be started in a response to a detection of the selection and copy of a content in a document, which detection is described in step 502 below.", "In step 502, the user device detects a selection and copy of a content in a document.", "In decision 503, the user device judges whether the document is a server document or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may send to a server a notification for requesting analyzing information in the history information for a server and then the process goes to step 505.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device may proceed to step 504.In step 504, the user device analyzes the information in the history information for a user device.", "The details of the analysis subprocess will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "5B discussed below.", "In step 505, the server analyzes the information in the history information for a server.", "The details of the analysis subprocess will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "5B discussed below.", "In step 506, the server terminates the process mentioned above.", "With reference now to FIG.", "5B, FIG.", "5B illustrates a flowchart of the detail subprocess of step 504, history information stored in the user device, and 505, history information stored in the server.", "In the following, a case of step 504, history information stored in the user device, mentioned above is first explained.", "In step 511, the user device starts the process for analyzing the information in the history information for a user device.", "In step 512, the user device accesses the history information for a user device.", "In step 513, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the information on the content which was copied by the user.", "The information may comprise, for example, date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of copied content, a content comprising the copied content, etc.", "In decision 514, the user device judges whether the history information for a user device already has the same following information or not: information on a copy source document, a copied content, and position of the copied content.", "All of which are recorded, in step 513, in the history information for a user device.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device may proceed to step 515.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the server may proceed to step 520.In step 515, the user device calculates the total copy number for the content which was copied by the user and then records the calculated total number into the history information for a user device to update the total number of copying for the content which was copied by the user.", "In step 516, the user device calculates a score associated with each of the contents in the document, using the total number of copying and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done.", "The weight may be decided by using a date.", "In a case where date of copying is new, for example, in a year, high weight is used.", "Meanwhile, in a case where date of copying is old, for example, before a year, low weight is used.", "For example, in a case where date of copying is in a year, the weight is one, in a case where date of copying is before a year and in two year, the weight is 0.95, in a case where date of copying is before two year and in three year, the weight is 0.9, and so on.", "An example of score will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIGS.", "7A and 7B discussed below.", "In step 517, the user device generates a group in the history information for a user device.", "The group can be made using information on a copy source document, a copied content and position of the copied content.", "In each group, the copied contents having the same contents and the same position are summarized.", "An example of a group will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In step 518, the user device obtains a total score by calculating, in each group, the sum of each score for the same copied contents having the same position of the copied contents.", "Further, the user device may calculate a rank for each of the same copied content in the group, using the calculated total score and then assigns a number of the ranks to each of the total scores in the group.", "The ranking may be carried out according to the number of copying, the score or the combination of these.", "An example of a rank will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG.", "7C discussed below.", "In step 519, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the calculated score, the generated group and the calculated rank to update the history information for a user device.", "In step 520, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, information relating to the copied content to update the history information for a user device, since the history information for a user device does not yet record the same data for the copied content.", "In step 521, the user device calculates a score associated with the copied content, using the total number of copying and a weight associated with a date on which the copying of the content in the document was done and then record the calculated score into the history information for a user device.", "In step 522, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "In a case of step 504 mentioned above, a subject of steps 511 to 522 may be the user device and a history information is the history information for a user device.", "In a case of step 505 mentioned above, a subject of steps 511 to 522 may be the server and a history information is the history information for a server.", "The above explanations of steps 511 to 512 for the user device can be applied also to the case for the server.", "Therefore, the terms in the above explanations of steps 511 to 512 for the user device, “the user device” and “the history information for a user device”, may be read as “the server” and “the history information for a server”, respectively.", "With reference now to FIGS.", "6A and 6B, FIGS.", "6A and 6B illustrate an embodiment of a flowchart of a process for updating history information for a user device or for a server in a case where an original of a copy source document having tags is modified.", "One kind of the tags is a p-tag.", "The p-tag can be represented as: <P> </P> and is used for defining a paragraph.", "In step 601, the user device starts the process for updating history information.", "In step 602, the user device accesses a history information for a user device.", "In step 603, the user device repeats steps 604 to 630 until unprocessed data exists in the history information for a user device.", "In step 604, the user device obtains the following information from the history information for a user device: information on a copy source document, copied character string, position of copied character string, and a character string in p-tag in n-th tag, where n denotes a positive integer.", "In step 605, the user device accesses an original of the copy source document.", "In step 606, the user device obtains p-tags in the original of the copy source document and then assigns a number to the obtained p-tags.", "The number may be a positive integer.", "In step 607, the user device obtains a character string in the n-th tag.", "In step 608, the user device calculates a similarity between the character string in the p-tag which is obtained from the history information for a user device (hereinafter referred to as “the character string in the past time”) and the character string in the p-tag which is obtained from the original of the copy source document (hereinafter referred to as “the character string in the present time”).", "Many known method can be used for calculating such similarity, for example, but not limited to, a cosine similarity.", "In decision 609, the user device judges whether the similarity is equal to one or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the character string in the past time is the same with the character string in the present time and, therefore, the user device proceeds to step 630.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to decision 610 (FIG.", "6B).", "In decision 610, the user device judges whether the similarity is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to decision 611.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 618.In decision 611, the user device judges whether the copied character string is recorded in the character string in the history information which is now recorded or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 612.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 614.In step 612, the user device obtains, as the number of bytes, the position of the character string in the p-tag.", "In step 613, the user device replaces the position of copied character string in the history information for a user device with the obtained number of bytes to update the history information for a user device.", "In step 614, the user device retrieves, from the p-tag, a character string which is similar to the copied character string.", "In decision 615, the user device judges whether the similarity between the retrieved similar character string and the character string in the history information which is now recorded is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 616.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 617.In step 616, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the position of the similar character string which was retrieved in step 614.In step 617, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, information to the effect that the copied character string was deleted from the original of the copy source document.", "Referring now to FIG.", "6B, in decision 618, the user device judges whether there is another p-tag in the original of the copy source document.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 619.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 626.In step 619, the user device calculates a similarity between the character string in the p-tags which is obtained from the history information for a user device (hereinafter referred to as “the character string in the past time”) and the character string in another p-tag which is obtained from the original of the copy source document (hereinafter referred to as “another character string in the present time”).", "In decision 620, the user device judges whether the similarity is equal to one or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the character string in the past time is the same with another character string in the present time and, therefore, the user device proceeds to step 621.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to decision 622.In step 621, the user device updates the order of the number of tags in the history information for a user device.", "In decision 622, the user device judges whether the similarity is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to decision 623.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds back to decision 618.In decision 623, the user device judges whether the copied character string is recorded in another character string in the history information which is now recorded or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 624.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds to step 627.In step 624, the user device obtains, as the number of bytes, the position of another character string in the p-tag.", "In step 625, the user device replaces the position of the copied character string in the history information for a user device with the obtained number of bytes to update the history information for a user device.", "In step 626, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, information to the effect that the copied character string was deleted from the original of the copy source document.", "In step 627, the user device retrieves, from another p-tag, a character string which is similar to the copied character string.", "In decision 628, the user device judges whether the similarity between the retrieved similar character string and the character string in the history information which is now recorded is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold or not.", "If the judgment is positive, the user device proceeds to step 629.Meanwhile, if the judgment is negative, the user device proceeds back to decision 618.In step 629, the user device records, into the history information for a user device, the position of the similar character string which was retrieved in step 627.In step 630, the user device proceeds back to step 603 to repeat steps 604 to 630 with a new character string.", "In step 631, the user device may update a score, a group and/or a rank if the history information for a user device was updated in steps 604 to 630.The update of a score, a group and/or a rank can be made as same way described in steps 516, 517 and 518 (FIG.", "5B) mentioned above, respectively.", "In step 632, the user device terminates the process mentioned above.", "In a case where a subject of steps 601 to 632 may be the user device and a history information may be the history information for a user device is explained above.", "The above explanations for the user device can be applied also to the case where a subject of steps 601 to 632 may be the server and a history information may be the history information for a server.", "Therefore, the terms in the above explanations of steps 601 to 632 for the user device, the terms in the above explanations of steps 601 to 632 for the user device, “the user device” and “the history information for a user device” may be read as “the server” and “the history information for a server”, respectively.", "With reference now to FIG.", "7A, FIG.", "7A illustrates an example embodiment of a history information for a user device.", "The history information for a user device 701 may have any, all, or at least the following information: date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, etc.", "The history information for a user device 701 may further have the following information: score, content comprising the copied content, etc.", "The history information for a user device 701 may be prepared using copy histories obtained from a user themself.", "Each of the scores described in fifth column of the second, third, fifth and sixth rows in the history information for a user device 701 may be calculated as follows: (the number of copied made)×(a weight associated with the date of copying) wherein the weight is one since the date of copying is in a year.", "The score described in the fifth column of the fourth row in the history information for a user device 701 may be calculated as follows: (the number of copies made)×(a weight associated with the date of copying) wherein the weight is 0.95 since the date of copying is before a year.", "In a case where the copy source document is a document written with HTML, the position of the copied content is defined with the order of the number of the tags and the starting and the end bytes in the tag.", "Examples can be seen in the sixth column of the second and third rows in the history information for a user device 701.For example, {T2; 1st byte; 9th bytes} denotes that the position of the copied content is in the second tag in the copy source document and the copied content is located in 1st byte to 9th byte in the second tag.", "In a case where the copy source document is a document written as a non-structured document, the position of the copied content is defined with the starting and the end bytes in the copy source document.", "Examples can be seen in the sixth column of the fourth to sixth rows in the history information for a user device 701.For example, {10th byte; 39th byte} denotes that the position of the copied content is located in 10th byte to 39th byte in the copy source document.", "FIG.", "7B illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server.", "The history information for a server 711 may have the following information: date of copying, information on a copy source document, a copied content, the number of copies made, position of the copied content, score, content comprising the coped content, etc.", "The history information for a server 711 may be prepared using copy histories obtained from a plurality of users.", "The plurality of users may or may not comprise a user associated with a user device who uses the history information for a server 711.FIG.", "7C illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a server after grouping.", "The history information for a server 721 may have the following information: information on a copy source document, group, a copied content, score, position of the copied content, rank, content comprising the copied content, etc.", "“Group” can be made using information on a copy source document, a copied content and position of the copied content.", "One group may be made for each of the copy source document having the common source.", "The history information for a server 721 shows the following three groups in the second column: http://www.sharecopy.com/shareddocs/thisversion*{10th byte; 214th byte}; “Test/NotesDevelopment:Notes: DB*{10th byte; 42nd byte}”; and “Test/NotesDevelopment:Notes: DB*{46th byte; 53rd byte}”.", "“Total score” may be obtained, for example, by calculating, in each group, the sum of each score for the same copied contents having the same position of the copied contents.", "“Rank” may be obtained, for example, by calculating the total score for each score of the same copied content in the group and then assigning a number of the ranks to each of the total scores in the groups.", "FIG.", "7D illustrates an embodiment of a history information for a user device or server after a modification of a copy source document.", "The history information 731 shows an original history information before a modification of a copy source document was made.", "In a case where the original of the copy source document is modified, the history information 731 is also modified according to the modification.", "For example, if the copied content in the sixth column of the second and third rows, “This version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information.", "If a single source document is used to supply multiple projects, shared copying may be especially useful,” is modified to “To improve data sharing, this version could be a document shared among you and your coworkers to allow for effective distribution of information.", "If a single source document is used to supply multiple projects, shared copying may be especially useful,” the history information 731 is updated by replacing the copied content with the modified sentence to generate the updated history information 741.Further, the position information on the modified content and the content relating to the modified content in the history information 731 is also updated accordingly, as seen in the sixth column of the second and third rows of the updated history information 741.For example, if the copied content, “Welcome to this doc!” which can be seen in the third column of the fourth row in the history information 731, is deleted from the original of the copy source document, the history information 731 is updated to show the effect that the copied content is deleted.", "Accordingly, the updated history information 741 shows that “copied content” and “the number of copies made” are “{deleted}” in the third column of the fourth row.", "After the updated history information 741 is generated, the updated history information 741 is used for proposing a copy area in a document in replace of the history information 731.In a case where the history information for a user device is associated with the history information for a server and the history information for a user device is updated, the history information for a server is also similarly modified according to the update done in the history information for a user device.", "With reference now to FIG.", "7E, FIG.", "7E illustrates an embodiment of an availability information on a document.", "The availability information 751 may define a rule for determining where the copied character string is stored or uploaded and who can access the history information.", "The availability information 751 has the following information: information on a copy source document, document where the copied content is pasted, place where information is available, security information, etc.", "“Information on a copy source document” may denote a location where the copy source document is stored.", "“Place where information is available” may denote a range where the history information for a server or user device is available.", "“Security information” may denote whether the history information for a server can be shared with a server or user device.", "For example, a user associated with a user device can determine that a copy history made by the user itself is or is not shared with a server.", "The availability information 751 may be used to determine in which history information the copied character string is stored, that is, a history information for a user device or a history information for a server.", "The determination can be made according to the “Place where information is available”.", "In a case where a server document is downloaded to a user device and then a character string in the server document is copied, the copied character string is uploaded to the server from the user device.", "Further, the availability information 751 may be used for determining a sharing range of the history information.", "The determination can be made according to the “Security information”.", "With reference now to FIG.", "8, FIG.", "8 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of an example of a user device which is used in accordance with the embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "3A and 3B.", "The user device 801 may correspond to the computer 101 described in FIG.", "1.The user device 801 may comprise a reading section 811, an obtaining section 812, a retrieving section 813, a proposing section 814, a copying section 815, an incrementing section 816 and an analyzing section 817.The user device 801 may further comprise a detecting section 818 and a modifying section 819.The reading section 811 may read, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage 891 which can be accessible by the user device 801; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "The obtaining section 812 may detect the user operation and, if the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document, then obtain information on a cursor or pointer position on a document displayed on a screen.", "The obtaining section 812 may perform a part of step 302, and step 303 described in FIG.", "3A.", "The retrieving section 813 may retrieve, from a history information 892, a plurality of second contents if the position is on a first content in the document.", "Each of the second contents comprises the first content.", "The retrieving section 813 may perform steps 304 to 307 described in FIG.", "3A and 315 to 317 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The proposing section 814 may propose, as a copy area, one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "The proposing section 814 may display the one or more second contents on the screen in the predetermined order in response to hover time or user operation.", "The proposing section 814 may perform step 308 described in FIG.", "3A and step 318 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The copying section 815 may copy the content selected by a user to an area designated by a user.", "The copying section 815 may perform steps 309 and 310 described in FIG.", "3A and steps 319 and 320 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The incrementing section 816 may increment the number of copying of a corresponding content in the history information 892, if the proposed copy area is selected and then copied by a user.", "The incrementing section 816 may perform step 313 described in FIG.", "3A and step 323 described in FIG.", "3B.", "The analyzing section 817 may analyze the information in the history information 892.The analyzing section 817 may perform step 314 described in FIG.", "3A and step 324 described in FIG.", "3B and all steps described in FIG.", "5B.", "The detecting section 818 may detect that an original document is modified.", "The modifying section 819 may modify the history information 892 if a content in the document is modified.", "If a content in the document is modified, the modifying section 819 may also similarly modify a corresponding content in the history information.", "If a position of a content in the document is changed, the modifying section 819 may correspondingly change position information on a corresponding content in the history information.", "With reference now to FIG.", "9, FIG.", "9 illustrates of an overall functional block diagram of a computer system hardware comprising a user device and a server which may be used in accordance with the example embodiment of the overall flowchart described in FIGS.", "4A and 4B.", "The user device 901 may correspond to the computer 101 described in FIG.", "1.The user device 901 may comprise a reading section 911, an obtaining section 912, a receiving section 913, a displaying section 914, a copying section 915 and a sending section 916.The reading section 911 may read, into a memory, a document from a local storage or storage 991 which can be accessible by the user device 901; or downloads, into the memory, a document from an internet or intranet.", "The obtaining section 912 may detect the user operation and, if the user operation is a predetermined operation for starting the proposal of a copy area in the document, then obtain information on a cursor or pointer position on a document displayed on a screen.", "The obtaining section 912 may send the information on a cursor or pointer position to the server 902.The obtaining section 912 may perform a part of step 402, and steps 403 to 404 described in FIG.", "4A.", "The receiving section 913 may receive, from the server 902, one or more second contents comprising the first content associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "The received one or more contents may be in the predetermined order.", "The displaying section 914 may display, as a copy area, the one or more contents comprising the content associated with the cursor or pointer position.", "The copying section 915 may copy the content selected by a user to an area designated by a user.", "The sending section 916 may send information on the copied content to the server 902.The server 902 may comprise a retrieving section 923, a proposing section 924, a receiving section 925, an incrementing section 926 and an analyzing section 927.The server 902 may further comprise a detecting section 928 and a modifying section 929.The retrieving section 923 may retrieve, from a history information 992, a plurality of second contents if the position is on a first content in the document.", "Each of the second contents comprises the first content.", "The retrieving section 923 may perform steps 415 to 417 described in FIG.", "4B.", "The proposing section 924 may propose, as a copy area, one or more second contents in the predetermined order among the retrieved second contents.", "The proposing section 924 may send one or more second contents to the user device 901.The receiving section 925 may receive the information on the copied content from the user device 901.The incrementing section 926 may increment the number of copying of a corresponding content in the history information 992, if the server 902 receives the information on the copied content from the user device 901.The incrementing section 926 may perform step 423 described in FIG.", "4B.", "The analyzing section 927 may analyze the information in the history information 992.The analyzing section 927 may perform step 424 described in FIG.", "4B and all steps described in FIG.", "5B.", "The detecting section 928 may detect that an original document is modified.", "The modifying section 929 may modify the history information 992 if a content in the document is modified.", "If a content in the document is modified, the modifying section 929 may also similarly modify a corresponding content in the history information.", "If a position of a content in the document is changed, the modifying section 929 may correspondingly change position information on a corresponding content in the history information.", "The present invention may be a method, a system, and/or a computer program product.", "The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.", "The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device.", "The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing.", "A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.", "Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.", "The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers.", "A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.", "Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.", "The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.", "In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).", "In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.", "Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention.", "It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.", "These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.", "The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention.", "In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s).", "In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures.", "For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved.", "It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.", "By the expression “a/one” should be understood as “at least one”.", "By the expression “comprise(s)/comprising a/one” should be understood as “comprise(s)/comprising at least one”.", "By the expression “comprise(s)/comprising” should be understood as “comprise(s)/comprising at least”.", "By the expression “/” should be understood as “and/or”.", "The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed.", "Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.", "The terminology used herein was chosen to explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein." ] ]
Patent_15875165
[ [ "PLANT GERMPLASM RESISTANT TO RNA VIRUSES", "Disclosed is a dsRNA construct used to silencing specific eukaryotic translation initiation factor in plants to produce a plant resistant to viruses such as Potyviruses, Luteoviruses, and Furoviruses.", "More specifically, the plant would be resistant to viruses such as Wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, Soil bourne mosaic virus, or Barley yellow dwarf virus.", "Also disclosed are non-transgenic wheat plants having the genes for eIF(iso)4E-2 or eIF4G silenced." ], [ "1.A method of producing a plant germplasm having resistance to RNA viruses, the method comprising: a) introducing into a parental plant germplasm a chimeric DNA molecule comprising (i) a plant expressible promoter, (ii) a region which encodes dsRNA for eIF4G which is capable of inhibiting RNA viral replication, and (iii) a plant translation termination signal, b) transforming said parental plant germplasm, c) generating a plant germplasm from the parental plant germplasm comprising the chimeric DNA molecule; and d) selecting plant germplasm obtained from step (c) and identifying germplasm having immunity to viral RNA replication, wherein the plant germplasm is a wheat plant germplasm, and wherein said resistance is due to inhibited expression of a eIF4G gene encoding a protein comprising SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 4.2.The plant germplasm produced by the method of claim 1.3.The method of claim 1 wherein the plant is resistant to RNA plant viruses selected from the group consisting of Potyviruses, Luteoviruses, and Furoviruses.", "4.The method of claim 1 wherein the plant is resistant to Wheat streak mosaic virus.", "5.The method of claim 1 wherein the plant is resistant to Triticum mosaic virus.", "6.The method of claim 1 wherein the plant is resistant to Soil bourne mosaic virus.", "7.The method of claim 1 wherein the plant is resistant to Barley yellow dwarf virus.", "8.The method of claim 1 wherein the expression of transgenes and resistance phenotype remains stable in multiple generations of the progeny.", "9.The seed of a transgenic plant produced by the method of claim 1, wherein the seed has immunity to viral RNA replication, and wherein the seed comprises said chimeric DNA molecule.", "10.The method of claim 1 wherein said transforming is through a process selected from the group consisting of a biolistic particle delivery system, microprojectile bombardment, viral infection, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and electroporation.", "11.", "(canceled) 12.", "(canceled) 13.A transgenic plant having resistance to RNA viruses, the transgenic plant comprising a chimeric DNA molecule which encodes a double stranded RNA molecule for eIF4G, wherein the transgenic plant is resistant to RNA viruses, and wherein said resistance is due to inhibited expression of a eIF4G gene encoding a protein comprising SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 4.14.A transgenic wheat plant comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes a sequence encoding the polynucleotide sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 3 or the antisense corresponding to SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 3, wherein said transgenic plant has increased resistance to positive strand RNA viruses.", "15-17.", "(canceled) 18.A nucleic acid construct comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 3 or the antisense sequence corresponding to SEQ.", "ID.", "NO:3, operably linked to a promoter that drives expression in a plant cell.", "19.A vector comprising the nucleic acid construct of claim 18.20.A transgenic plant having stably incorporated in its genome the nucleic acid construct of claim 18.21.A non-transgenic plant comprising an eIF(iso)4E-2 allele in its genome, whereby the eIF(iso)4E-2 allele is an allele which encodes a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 2, characterized in that said eIF(iso)4E-2 allele comprises one or more mutations in its nucleotide sequence and whereby as a result of said one or more mutations the plant comprising said mutant allele in its genome has significant resistance to RNA viruses compared to a plant comprising a wild type eIF(iso)4E-2 allele in its genome.", "22.The non-transgenic plant of claim 21 wherein the plant is resistant to RNA plant viruses selected from the group consisting of Potyviruses, Luteoviruses, and Furoviruses.", "23.The non-transgenic plant of claim 21 wherein the plant is resistant to Wheat streak mosaic virus.", "24.The non-transgenic plant of claim 21 wherein the plant is resistant to Triticum mosaic virus.", "25.The method of claim 21 wherein the plant is resistant to Soil bourne mosaic virus.", "26.The method of claim 21 wherein the plant is resistant to Barley yellow dwarf virus.", "27.The seed of a non-transgenic plant produced by the method of claim 21.28.A non-transgenic plant comprising an eIF4G allele in its genome, whereby the eIF4G allele is an allele which encodes a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 4, characterized in that said eIF4G allele comprises one or more mutations in its nucleotide sequence and whereby as a result of said one or more mutations the plant comprising said mutant allele in its genome has significant resistance to RNA viruses compared to a plant comprising a wild type eIF4G allele in its genome.", "29.The non-transgenic plant of claim 28 wherein the plant is resistant to RNA plant viruses selected from the group consisting of Potyviruses, Luteoviruses, and Furoviruses.", "30.The non-transgenic plant of claim 28 wherein the plant is resistant to Wheat streak mosaic virus.", "31.The non-transgenic plant of claim 28 wherein the plant is resistant to Triticum mosaic virus.", "32.The method of claim 28 wherein the plant is resistant to Soil bourne mosaic virus.", "33.The method of claim 28 wherein the plant is resistant to Barley yellow dwarf virus.", "34.The seed of a non-transgenic wheat plant produced by the method of claim 28." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF INVENTION <EOH>Fire, et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,506,559) discloses a process of introducing RNA into a living cell to inhibit gene expression of a target gene in that cell.", "The RNA has a region with double-stranded structure.", "Inhibition is sequence-specific in that the nucleotide sequences of the duplex region of the RNA and of a portion of the target gene are identical.", "Specifically, Fire, et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,506,559) discloses a method to inhibit expression of a target gene in a cell, the method comprising introduction of a double stranded ribonucleic acid into the cell in an amount sufficient to inhibit expression of the target gene, wherein the RNA is a double-stranded molecule with a first ribonucleic acid strand consisting essentially of a ribonucleotide sequence which corresponds to a nucleotide sequence of the target gene and a second ribonucleic acid strand consisting essentially of a ribonucleotide sequence which is complementary to the nucleotide sequence of the target gene.", "Furthermore, the first and the second ribonucleotide strands are separately complementary strands that hybridize to each other to form the said double-stranded construct, and the double-stranded construct inhibits expression of the target gene.", "To utilize RNA interference as a method to regulate gene expression for control, a specific essential gene needs to be targeted.", "Coordinated gene expression requires factors involved in transcription and translation.", "Translation initiation coordinates activities of several eukaryotic initiation factors (eIF) or proteins which are classically defined by their cytoplasmic location and ability to regulate the initiation phase of protein synthesis.", "One of these factors, the eIF4F complex involves the expression of two proteins EIF(iso)4E-2 and EIF4G.", "Disclosed in Caranta et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,919,677) is a method to obtain Potyvirus resistant plants having mutations in an eIF4E translation factor region.", "Additionally, disclosed in Jahn et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,772,462) is silencing of translation initiation factor eIF4E from Capsicum annuum imparted virus resistance to transgenic plants.", "Given the interest and showing of viral resistance to poyviruses related to eIF4 region, there is a need in the art to determine whether targeting eIF(iso)4E-2 or eIF4G via RNA interference induces viral resistance in vial susceptible plants." ], [ "<SOH> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS <EOH>The present invention together with the above and other objects and advantages may best be understood from the following detailed description of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1A and FIG.", "1B depicts a vector map for a CP fragment cloned into pANDA mini vector by means of homologous recombination via LR clonase.", "detailed-description description=\"Detailed Description\" end=\"lead\"?" ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.", "§ 119(e) to U.S.", "Provisional Ser.", "No.", "61/882,116, which was filed on Sep. 25, 2013, and is hereby incorporated by reference.", "FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is related to silencing specific eukaryotic translation initiation factors in plants to produce a plant resistant to viruses such as Potyviruses, Luteoviruses, and Furoviruses.", "More specifically, the plant would be resistant to viruses such as Wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, Soil bourne mosaic virus, or Barley yellow dwarf virus.", "BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Fire, et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,506,559) discloses a process of introducing RNA into a living cell to inhibit gene expression of a target gene in that cell.", "The RNA has a region with double-stranded structure.", "Inhibition is sequence-specific in that the nucleotide sequences of the duplex region of the RNA and of a portion of the target gene are identical.", "Specifically, Fire, et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,506,559) discloses a method to inhibit expression of a target gene in a cell, the method comprising introduction of a double stranded ribonucleic acid into the cell in an amount sufficient to inhibit expression of the target gene, wherein the RNA is a double-stranded molecule with a first ribonucleic acid strand consisting essentially of a ribonucleotide sequence which corresponds to a nucleotide sequence of the target gene and a second ribonucleic acid strand consisting essentially of a ribonucleotide sequence which is complementary to the nucleotide sequence of the target gene.", "Furthermore, the first and the second ribonucleotide strands are separately complementary strands that hybridize to each other to form the said double-stranded construct, and the double-stranded construct inhibits expression of the target gene.", "To utilize RNA interference as a method to regulate gene expression for control, a specific essential gene needs to be targeted.", "Coordinated gene expression requires factors involved in transcription and translation.", "Translation initiation coordinates activities of several eukaryotic initiation factors (eIF) or proteins which are classically defined by their cytoplasmic location and ability to regulate the initiation phase of protein synthesis.", "One of these factors, the eIF4F complex involves the expression of two proteins EIF(iso)4E-2 and EIF4G.", "Disclosed in Caranta et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,919,677) is a method to obtain Potyvirus resistant plants having mutations in an eIF4E translation factor region.", "Additionally, disclosed in Jahn et al.", "(U.S. Pat.", "No.", "7,772,462) is silencing of translation initiation factor eIF4E from Capsicum annuum imparted virus resistance to transgenic plants.", "Given the interest and showing of viral resistance to poyviruses related to eIF4 region, there is a need in the art to determine whether targeting eIF(iso)4E-2 or eIF4G via RNA interference induces viral resistance in vial susceptible plants.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention together with the above and other objects and advantages may best be understood from the following detailed description of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, wherein: FIG.", "1A and FIG.", "1B depicts a vector map for a CP fragment cloned into pANDA mini vector by means of homologous recombination via LR clonase.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCES The invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying sequence descriptions, which form a part of this application.", "SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 1: ATGGCAGAGGTCGAAGCTGCGCTCCCGGTGGCGGCGACAGAGACCCCGGA GGTCGCCGCCGAGGGCGACGCGGGTGCGGCCGAGGCGAAGGGGCCGCACA AGCTGCAGCGGCAGTGGACCTTCTGGTACGACATCCAGACCAAGCCCAAG CCCGGCGCCGCCTGGGGCACCTCGCTCAAAAAGGGCTACACCTTCGACAC CGTCGAAGAGTTCTGGTGCTTGTATGATCAGATTTTCCGTCCGAGTAAGC TGGTAGGAAGTGCTGATTTTCATTTATTCAAGGCTGGGGTAGAACCAAAG TGGGAAGATCCAGAGTGCGCAAATGGAGGCAAATGGACTGTGATATCTAG CAGGAAGACCAATCTTGATACCATGTGGCTTGAAACGTGTATGGCTCTGA TTGGAGAGCAGTTCGATGAAAGCCAGGAAATTTGTGGTGTTGTTGCTAGT GTCCGCCAGAGACAGGATAAGCTTTCATTATGGACTAAGACTGCCAGTAA CGAAGCTGTTCAGGTGGACATTGGCAAGAAATGGAAGGAGGTTATTGACT ACAATGATAAGATGGTCTACAGCTTCCACGATGACTCAAGAAGTCAGAAA CCAAGCAGAGGTGGACGATACACCGTCTAA corresponds to the cDNA of eIF(iso)4E-2.SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 2: MAEVEAALPVAATETPEVAAEGDAGAAEAKGPHKLQRQWTFWYDIQTKPK PGAAWGTSLKKGYTFDTVEEFWCLYDQIFRPSKLVGSADFHLFKAGVEPK WEDPECANGGKWTVISSRKTNLDTMWLETCMALIGEQFDESQEICGVVAS VRQRQDKLSLWTKTASNEAVQVDIGKKWKEVIDYNDKMVYSFHDDSRSQK PSRGGRYTV corresponds to the amino acid sequence encoded by SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 1.SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 3: ATGGGGCATCAAGGACAAACCATGATGTATCCGTCTGTTGCTCATCCAAT CCCTCCTCAACTGGGCAATGTTAATTTGAACATGGCTTCACAGTATCCTC AGCAACAGCAGAATAAGCTTGTTGCTCCTCGAAAGAGCAGTAATATCAAA ATTACTGATCCAAACACTAACAAAGAAGTGGTTCTTGGGCGGCCTTCACC TAATGTAGCAGTACAACCGCAGCAAGTCAGTGGTGTTGCAACTCAGCCTA TGGTTTACTATACTAATCCACAGCAGACCTCGTATAACCAGTCAGGCACG TATTACTCCGGCACTGCTGGTGTTGTTCCCACTGGATCACAGGGCAGGTT TGGTTATCCTGCCACTCAAGCTGGTCAATCAATTCCTTTCATGAACCCTT CTATGTCAAATACTGTTCCTGCCAGCCACAAGGACAACATAGCTGGGCCT GCACCATCTGGTCAGTCCCAACTCATAGGCAAACCACAAGGTGGGTTGCA CATGGAGAAACCTGTTCCCTCGGTCAAGATAAGTATGCCTGCAGGTAGAT CAGACGCTTCTAAATTCGGGTCGCTGACCATGCGGTACAACATCGACAAA AGGATAATGAAGTTATTTCTGGTGCTATGGTTTCGAATAAACCAGTTAGT GAGAAGGAGAGCAAGGCACCATCTATCCCAGAGAAGCACTCCAAGGAAAG TAAAGCACCATCTGCCGTGGAGAAGCATCCCACTGCGGTGACTCAACCTT TACCGATTCAAGCTGCAAAGCCAGAAACTGATGCAGCGACTGCAAATTCA CCCTCATTCTTGACCGGAGCTGATGAAAAGAAAGAATCCCTTCCAATGAC TGATTCACTTAAGGATAACAAGAAAAATGCAACTAGAAATGACACAAAGA ATTTGCCGCAACAACCTCAGTCTGCTTCCCCTGCCGAAGAGTTGAAGGGG CAAACTTCTGTGAAGCTTGGTGATGATGTGGTTGGTCACATGGAAACCAA GAGCTTCGATAGTGAAAAGGTGGATTTAACCAGCAAGGTTTCAGGCTTAA CATCAGCAACATCTGAAAGTAGTATTTCTCCTATTCTTGGTAAAAGTGAA GCTGACAGCACATCAGTAGATGCTGCTGATGTTCCTGCCATGGTAATCAG CTCTGCAAAATTGTCCTCTGCGAGCACTGGGGAGCCCCAAGCAGTAGAAA GCTTAGGTGTTGCTGCTGTTAAATCTAAGGAGATTGAAATAACTCACCAA ATTTCACCTGAATCTAGTGATGGCAAAATTATGTCTGATTCTACTGAAAA TGAATCACATGACTTCACGGTGGACTTGGCTGAGCAGGCATCATTGGCAA CTTCAAAGCCTGGTAATTCAGATGCAACATCTTTTGTAACTGACCCGCAA GAGCTACCCAAGGAGTGCACAACATCTGTACCGGAGGACCACAGTTTGAT GAATACATCACATAATAAGGATACCCAAACTTTATCAGCTTCTGTGGATG CCAGCGATGTGTCTGAGGTCAATTCTGGAACCTCATCAGAGTCTACCAGC CAAAGTACCAACGATAAAGATATCAGAAGTAGCATTCAGGAAACTGGATT AGCTGTTTCTGGTATTACTCCTGGCATGTTGCCTGTGAATCATTCAGTTG CATCTGAGGGGCAAGTCAAACATGCAGATGGAGCGAAGGATGAGTCTAGT ACTGAGCAATCAAGTGCCGTACCAACAGGTTCTGTTAGACCCTTATCAAG GGAAAAACCTACTGCAGAGCTTGCCCGAACAAAGTCTACAGCTGGGAGAA AGAAGAAACGGAAGGAAATGCTTTCAAAAGCTGATGCTGCTGGGAGCTCA GATCTGTACAATGCATACAAAGGACCACAAGAACAGTCTGAGAGTGTTGC CACATCAGACGGTGCTGATAGTTCTTCAACAGTCGACGGGACACATGTGC TGCCTGAGGAATCAGAAAGGGAGGTGATGTGTGAGGACGATGGAAAGAAA AAAGTTGAGCCGGATGATTGGGAAGATGCAGCAGACATGTCTACTCCAAA GCTGCAAAGTTCGGACTCTGGAAACCAGGCTAGTGCAGTTCAATTGCCAG ATTCTGATATGACTGAAGCTAATGGCCGAAAGAAATATTCTCGTGATTTT CTTCTAACTTTTGCACATCAGTATTCTAGTCTTCCTGTTGGCATCCGGAT GGATACTGTCACTAGTACGCTATTCAAAGATTTGGCAGGAAAATCCTATG TTATTGATCGGGAACCTCACCCAAGTTCTGCAAGGGGATCTGATAGACCA ACATCTCGCGGTGATCGCCGTGGTCCTGCTATGGATGATGATAAGTGGTT AAAATCAGGTGTTCCTTACAGTCCTAACCGTGATGCCCACATGGACTTGA CAAACGGCCCAGCAATTAATTACCGTGGCGGCCCAGGAGGCGCTCATGGT GTTCTGAGGAATCCACGTGGTGCACTCCTTGTGGGACCACAATCCAATGC TCCTCAAGTACCCCGCAGTGGCTCTGATGCAGATAGATGGCAGCAAAAGG GTCTGATCCCATCTCCTGTTACACCCATGCAAGTAATGCACAAAGCCGAG AAAAAGTATGTTGTCGGCAAAGTTTCTGATGAGGAGCAGGCAAAGCAGAG GCAGCTGAAAGCCATTCTGAATAAACTGACCCCACAAAACTTTGACAAGC TTTTTGAACAAGTGAAAGAGGTGAACATTGACAATGTATCAACTCTTACT GGGGTGATTTCACAGATATTTGACAAAGCTTTGATGGAACCAACTTTCTG TGAAATGTATGCCAACTTCTGTTCCCATTTGGCTGGTGCCCTGCCAGACT TTAGTGAGGACAATGAAAAGATTACATTCAAGAGACTGCTATTGAACAAG TGCCAAGAGGAGTTTGAGAGGGGAGAAAGAGAAGAAGCTGAAGCAGATAA AACGGAGGAGGAAGGTGAGATTAAGCAAACGAAAGAGGAAAGGGAAGAAA AGAGAGTTAAAGCTCGAAGGCGCATGCTGGGTAATATTAGATTGATTGGA GAATTGTACAAAAAGAGGATGTTGACAGAGCGCATCATGCATGAATGCAT CAAAAAATTGTTGGGAAATTATCAGAATCCAGATGAGGAGAACATTGAAG CACTATGCAAATTGATGAGTACAATTGGAGAGATGATAGATCATCCCAAG GCTAAGGAACATATGGATGCNTATTTTGATAGAATGCGCAACCTGTCGAC CAGTCAACTGATATCTTCCCGTGTTAGATTCCTGCTCAGAGATTCAATCG ATCTCAGGAAGAACAAATGGCAGCAAAGGCGTAAAGTGGATGGCCCCAAG AAGATTGATGAGGTTCACAGGGATGCAGCTCAGGAAAGACATGCTCAATC GAGTAGGTCTCGTGGTCCAGTCGTTAGTTCTCTTCCAAGAAGAGGGGCAC CCTCTATGGATTACGGCTCCCGTGGCTCAGCAGCACCATTGGTATCTCCA GGTCCTCAGCAACGAGGGCGTGGATTTGGTAATCAAGATATTCGGTATGA GCAGGAAAGGCATCAGTTTGATAGAACTGTTCCCCTTCCCCAGCGTTCTG TAAAGGACGAAGCTATCACTCTTGGACCACAAGGTGGCCTAGCTAGGGGT ATGTCTTTAAGAGGGCAGCCACCGGTATCAAATTCTGAACTTCCTAGTGT TGTTGACCAGCGCAGGATTGTATCTGGTCCTAATGGGTACAATTCTGTGC CTTCAACAACAAGAGAAGACACTAGCTCTAGAATTCCAGATCGATTTTCT GGGAGAATAGCACCTGCTGCACAATCTGCTAGTTCTTCACACAGACCTGC CAGCCAGGAGGGTCGTTCAGGAAATAAATCATACTCTGAGGAGGAATTGA GAGAGAAATCTATTGCAACCATCCGGGAATATTATAGTGCGAAAGATGAA AAGGAAGTTGCATTGTGTATTGAGGAGTTGAATGCTCCGAGCTTCTATCC TTCTCTTGTATCACTTTGGGTAAATGATTCCTTTGAGAGGAAAGATATGG AAAGAGAGTTGTTGGCAAAGCTCTTTGTCGGGCTTTACAATGGTGGATAT AATTTATTGAGCAAGCCTCAGCTCATTGAGGGGCTTTCATCCGTTCTTGC TTCATTGGAGGATGCTCTAAGTGATTCTCCAAGAGCGGCAGAGTATCTTG GACGTCTTCTTGCAAGGTTTGTGGTGGAGAAGATACTGGTTTTGCAAGAC GTAGGTAAATTGATTGAAGAAGGCGGAGAGGAGCCTGGACACCTTGTGCA GGAAGGCATCGCAGCTGATGTCCTTGGCGCAGTCTTGGAGTGGATCAGAA CAGAAAAGGGGGATTCCTTCTTGAAGGAGGCCAAGACAAGCTCCAATCTC AAGTTGGAGGATTTCAGACCGCAGCATCTTAAGAGGTCAAAGTTGGATGC CTTCATGTTGACTTAA corresponds to the cDNA of eIF4G.", "SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 4: MGHQGQTMMYPSVAHPIPPQLGNVNLNMASQYPQQQQNKLVAPRKSSNIK ITDPNTNKEVVLGRPSPNVAVQPQQVSGVATQPMVYYTNPQQTSYNQSGT YYSGTAGVVPTGSQGRFGYPATQAGQSIPFMNPSMSNTVPASHKDNIAGP APSGQSQLIGKPQGGLHMEKPVPSVKISMPAGRSDASKFGVADHAVQHRQ KDNEVISGAMVSNKPVSEKESKAPSIPEKHSKESKAPSAVEKHPTAVTQP LPIQAAKPETDAATANSPSFLTGADEKKESLPMTDSLKDNKKNATRNDTK NLPQQPQSASPAEELKGQTSVKLGDDVVGHMETKSFDSEKVDLTSKVSGL TSATSESSISPILGKSEADSTSVDAADVPAMVISSAKLSSASTGEPQAVE SLGVAAVKSKEIEITHQISPESSDGKIMSDSTENESHDFTVDLAEQASLA TSKPGNSDATSFVTDPQELPKECTTSVPEDHSLMNTSHNKDTQTLSASVD ASDVSEVNSGTSSESTSQSTNDKDIRSSIQETGLAVSGITPGMLPVNHSV ASEGQVKHADGAKDESSTEQSSAVPTGSVRPLSREKPTAELARTKSTAGR KKKRKEMLSKADAAGSSDLYNAYKGPQEQSESVATSDGADSSSTVDGTHV LPEESEREVMCEDDGKKKVEPDDWEDAADMSTPKLQSSDSGNQASAVQLP DSDMTEANGRKKYSRDFLLTFAHQYSSLPVGIRMDTVTSTLFKDLAGKSY VIDREPHPSSARGSDRPTSRGDRRGPAMDDDKWLKSGVPYSPNRDAHMDL TNGPAINYRGGPGGAHGVLRNPRGALLVGPQSNAPQVPRSGSDADRWQQK GLIPSPVTPMQVMHKAEKKYVVGKVSDEEQAKQRQLKAILNKLTPQNFDK LFEQVKEVNIDNVSTLTGVISQIFDKALMEPTFCEMYANFCSHLAGALPD FSEDNEKITFKRLLLNKCQEEFERGEREEAEADKTEEEGEIKQTKEEREE KRVKARRRMLGNIRLIGELYKKRMLTERIMHECIKKLLGNYQNPDEENIE ALCKLMSTIGEMIDHPKAKEHMDAYFDRMRNLSTSQLISSRVRFLLRDSI DLRKNKWQQRRKVDGPKKIDEVHRDAAQERHAQSSRSRGPVVSSLPRRGA PSMDYGSRGSAAPLVSPGPQQRGRGFGNQDIRYEQERHQFDRTVPLPQRS VKDEAITLGPQGGLARGMSLRGQPPVSNSELPSVVDQRRIVSGPNGYNSV PSTTREDTSSRlPDRFSGRIAPAAQSASSSHRPASQEGRSGNKSYSEEEL REKSIATIREYYSAKDEKEVALCIEELNAPSFYPSLVSLWVNDSFERKDM ERELLAKLFVGLYNGGYNLLSKPQLIEGLSSVLASLEDALSDSPRAAEYL GRLLARFVVEKILVLQDVGKLIEEGGEEPGHLVQEGIAADVLGAVLEWIR TEKGDSFLKEAKTSSNLKLEDFRPQHLKRSKLDAFMLT corresponds to the amino acid sequence encoded by SEQ ID NO: 3.SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 5: CACCCGCAAATGGAGGCAAATGGACTGT is a forward primer used to amplify a fragment of eIF(iso)4E-2.SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 6: TCCACCTCTGCTTGGTTTCTGACT is a reverse primer used to amplify a fragment of eIF(iso)4E-2.SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 7: CACCTCAGCAGCACCATTGGTATCTCCA is a forward primer used to amplify a fragment of eIF4G.", "SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 8 GCTCGGAGCATTCAACTCCTCAA is a reverse primer used to amplify a fragment of eIF4G.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Disclosed herein is a method of producing a plant germplasm having resistance to RNA viruses, the method comprises introducing into a parental plant germplasm a chimeric DNA molecule comprising (i) a plant expressible promoter, (ii) a region which encodes dsRNA for eIF(iso)4E-2 or eIF4G which is capable of inhibiting RNA viral replication (iii) plant translation termination signal, b) transforming said parental plant germplasm, c) generating a plant germplasm from the parental plant germplasm comprising the chimeric DNA molecule; and d) selecting plant germplasm obtained from step (c) and identifying germplasm having immunity to viral RNA replication.", "In one embodiment of the invention, also disclosed is a transgenic plant produced by the method disclosed herein.", "In another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a transgenic plant produced by the method disclosed where the plant is resistant to RNA plant viruses selected from the group consisting of Potyviruses, Luteoviruses, and Furoviruses.", "In yet another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a transgenic plant produced by the method wherein the plant is resistant to Wheat streak mosaic virus.", "In yet another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a transgenic plant produced by the method herein where the plant is resistant to Triticum mosaic virus.", "In yet another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a transgenic plant produced by the method herein where the plant is resistant to Soil bourne mosaic virus.", "In another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a transgenic plant produced by the method herein where the plant is resistant to Barley yellow dwarf virus.", "In another embodiment of invention, the expression of transgenes and resistance phenotype remains stable in multiple generations of the progeny in the transgenic plant produced by the method herein.", "In another embodiment of the invention, the seed of a transgenic plant produced by the method herein.", "In various embodiments of the invention, the method for transforming plant germplasm can be accomplish through a process selected from the group consisting of a biolistic particle delivery system, microprojectile bombardment, viral infection, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and electroporation.", "In another embodiment of the invention, the method for producing a plant germplasm having resistance to RNA viruses is due to inhibited expression of an eIF(iso)4E-2 gene encoding a protein comprising SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 2.In yet another embodiment of the invention, the method for producing a plant germplasm having resistance to RNA viruses is due to inhibited expression of an eIF4G gene encoding a protein comprising SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 4.In another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a transgenic plant having resistance to RNA viruses where said transgenic plant comprises a chimeric DNA molecule which encodes a double stranded RNA molecule for eIF(iso)4E-2 or eIF4G.", "Disclosed herein is a nucleic acid construct comprising a nucleotide sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 1 or an antisense sequence corresponding to SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 1, wherein the construct is operably linked to a promoter that drives expression in a plant cell.", "Also disclosed is a vector comprising of the nucleic acid SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 1.In an embodiment of the invention is a transgenic plant having stably incorporated in its genome the nucleotide sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO:1.Disclosed herein is a nucleic acid construct comprising of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 3 or an antisense sequence corresponding to SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 3, wherein the construct is operably linked to a promoter that drives expression in a plant cell.", "Also disclosed is a vector comprising the nucleic acid SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 3.In an embodiment of the invention is a transgenic plant having stably incorporated in its genome the nucleotide sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO:3.Disclosed herein is a non-transgenic plant comprising an eIF(iso)4E-2 allele in its genome, whereby the eIF(iso)4E-2 allele is an allele which encodes a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 1, characterized in that said eIF(iso)4E-2 allele comprises one or more mutations in its nucleotide sequence and whereby as a result of said one or more mutations the plant comprising said mutant allele in its genome has significant resistance to RNA viruses compared to a plant comprising a wild type eIF(iso)4E-2 allele in its genome.", "In an embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a non-transgenic plant produced by the method disclosed where the plant is resistant to RNA plant viruses selected from the group consisting of Potyviruses, Luteoviruses, and Furoviruses.", "In yet another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a non-transgenic plant produced by the method wherein the plant is resistant to Wheat streak mosaic virus.", "In yet another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a non-transgenic plant produced by the method herein where the plant is resistant to Triticum mosaic virus.", "In yet another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a non-transgenic plant produced by the method herein where the plant is resistant to Soil bourne mosaic virus.", "In another embodiment of the invention, disclosed is a non-transgenic plant produced by the method herein where the plant is resistant to Barley yellow dwarf virus.", "In another embodiment of the invention, the seed of a non-transgenic plant produced by the method herein.", "Disclosed is a non-transgenic plant comprising of an eIF4G allele in its genome, whereby the eIF4G allele is an allele which encodes a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 4, characterized in that said eIF4G allele comprises one or more mutations in its nucleotide sequence and whereby as a result of said one or more mutations the plant comprising said mutant allele in its genome has significant resistance to RNA viruses compared to a plant comprising a wild type eIF4G allele in its genome.", "Definitions To assist in the understanding of the invention, the following terms, as used herein, are defined below.", "As used in the specification and claims, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.", "For example, the term “a cell” includes a plurality of cells, including mixtures thereof.", "The term “gene” refers to a DNA sequence involved in producing a polypeptide or precursor thereof.", "The polypeptide can be encoded by a full-length coding sequence or by any portion of the coding sequence, such as exon sequences.", "In one embodiment of the invention, the gene target is eIF(iso)4E-2 and eIF4G.", "As used herein, the term “isolated” includes a material removed from its original environment, e.g., the natural environment if it is naturally occurring.", "For example, a naturally occurring polypeptide present in a living organism is not isolated, but the same polynucleotide or polypeptide, separated from some or all of the coexisting materials in the natural system, is isolated.", "Such polypeptide can be expressed by a vector and/or such polynucleotides or polypeptides could be part of a composition, and still be isolated in that such vector or composition is not part of its natural environment.", "As used herein, an isolated material or composition can also be a “purified” composition, i.e., it does not require absolute purity; rather, it is intended as a relative definition.", "The term “oligonucleotide” refers to a molecule comprising a plurality of deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides.", "Oligonucleotide may be generated in any manner, including chemical synthesis, DNA replication, reverse transcription, polymerase chain reaction, or a combination thereof.", "The present invention embodies utilizing the oligonucleotide in the form of dsRNA as means of interfering with a critical developmental or reproductive process that leads to control.", "Inasmuch as mononucleotides are synthesized to construct oligonucleotides in a manner such that the 5′ phosphate of one mononucleotide pentose ring is attached to the 3′ oxygen of its neighbor in one direction via a phosphodiester linkage, an end of an oligonucleotide is referred to as the “5′ end” if its 5′ phosphate is not linked to the 3′ oxygen of a mononucleotide pentose ring and as the “3′ end” if its 3′ oxygen is not linked to a 5′ phosphate of a subsequent mononucleotide pentose ring.", "As used herein, a nucleic acid sequence, even if internal to a larger oligonucleotide, also may be said to have 5′ and 3′ ends.", "When two different, non-overlapping oligonucleotides anneal to different regions of the same linear complementary nucleic acid sequence, and the 3′ end of one oligonucleotide points towards the 5′ end of the other, the former may be called the “upstream” oligonucleotide and the latter the “downstream” oligonucleotide.", "The term “primer” refers to an oligonucleotide, which is capable of acting as a point of initiation of synthesis when placed under conditions in which primer extension is initiated.", "An oligonucleotide “primer” may occur naturally, as in a purified restriction digest or may be produced synthetically.", "A primer is selected to be “substantially complementary” to a strand of specific sequence of the template.", "A primer must be sufficiently complementary to hybridize with a template strand for primer elongation to occur.", "A primer sequence need not reflect the exact sequence of the template.", "For example, a non-complementary nucleotide fragment may be attached to the 5′ end of the primer, with the remainder of the primer sequence being substantially complementary to the strand.", "Non-complementary bases or longer sequences can be interspersed into the primer, provided that the primer sequence is sufficiently complementary with the sequence of the template to hybridize and thereby form a template primer complex for synthesis of the extension product of the primer.", "The term “double stranded RNA” or “dsRNA” refers to two substantially complementary strands of ribonucleic acid.", "“Identity,” as used herein, is the relationship between two or more polynucleotide sequences, as determined by comparing the sequences.", "Identity also means the degree of sequence relatedness between polynucleotide sequences, as determined by the match between strings of such sequences.", "Identity can be readily calculated (see, e.g, Computation Molecular Biology, Lesk, A. M., eds., Oxford University Press, New York (1998), and Biocomputing: Informatics and Genome Projects, Smith, D. W., ed., Academic Press, New York (1993), both of which are incorporated by reference herein).", "While there exist a number of methods to measure identity between two polynucleotide sequences, the term is well known to skilled artisans (see, e.g., Sequence Analysis in Molecular Biology, von Heinje, G., Academic Press (1987); and Sequence Analysis Primer, Gribskov., M. and Devereux, J., eds., M Stockton Press, New York (1991)).", "Methods commonly employed to determine identity between sequences include, for example, those disclosed in Carillo, H., and Lipman, D., SIAM J.", "Applied Math.", "(1988) 48:1073.“Substantially identical” as used herein, means there is a very high degree of homology (preferably 100% sequence identity) between the inhibitory dsRNA and the corresponding part of the target gene.", "However, dsRNA having greater than 90% or 95% sequence identity may be used in the present invention, and thus sequence variations that might be expected due to genetic mutation, strain polymorphism, or evolutionary divergence can be tolerated.", "Although 100% identity is preferred, the dsRNA may contain single or multiple base pair random mismatches between the RNA and the target gene, provided that the mismatches occur at a distance of at least three nucleotides from the fusion site.", "As used herein, “target gene” refers to a section of a DNA strand of a double-stranded DNA that is complementary to a section of a DNA strand, including all transcribed regions, that serves as a matrix for transcription.", "The target gene is therefore usually the sense strand.", "The protein EIF(iso)4E-2 is also identified as eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-2, eIF-4E-2, eIF4E-2, eIF-(iso)4F, and eIF-(iso)4F p28 subunit.", "The protein EIF4G is also identified as eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G.", "The term “complementary RNA strand” refers to the strand of the dsRNA, which is complementary to an mRNA transcript that is formed during expression of the target gene, or its processing products.", "“dsRNA” refers to a ribonucleic acid molecule having a duplex structure comprising two complementary and anti-parallel nucleic acid strands.", "Not all nucleotides of a dsRNA must exhibit Watson-Crick base pairs.", "The maximum number of base pairs is the number of nucleotides in the shortest strand of the dsRNA.", "As used herein, the term “recombinant DNA construct” refer to any agent such as a plasmid, cosmid, virus, BAC (bacterial artificial chromosome), autonomously replicating sequence, phage, or linear or circular single-stranded or double-stranded DNA or RNA nucleotide sequence, derived from any source, capable of genomic integration or autonomous replication, comprising a DNA molecule in which one or more DNA sequences have been linked in a functionally operative manner using well-known recombinant DNA techniques.", "A nucleic acid sequence can be inserted into a vector by a variety of procedures.", "In general, the sequence is ligated to the desired position in a vector following digestion of the insert and the vector with appropriate restriction endonucleases.", "Alternatively, blunt ends in both the insert and the vector may be ligated.", "A variety of cloning techniques are known in the art, e.g., as described in Sambrook, J. et al., Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview, N.Y, (1989) and Ausubel, F. M. et al., Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, John Wiley & Sons, New York, N.Y. (1989).", "Such procedures and others are deemed to be within the scope of those skilled in the art.", "The vector can be in the form of a plasmid, a viral particle, or a phage.", "Preferably, as disclosed herein the vector is a bacterial vector.", "Other vectors include chromosomal, non-chromosomal and synthetic DNA sequences, pET-30a and derivatives of pET-30; bacterial plasmids, phage DNA, baculovirus, yeast plasmids, vectors derived from combinations of plasmids and phage DNA, viral DNA such as vaccinia, adenovirus, fowl pox virus, and pseudorabies.", "A variety of cloning and expression vectors for use with prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts are described by, e.g., Sambrook, T. et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Press, Plainview, N.Y, (1989).", "“Small interfering RNA” or “siRNA” refers to a short double-strand of ribonucleic acid, approximately 18 to 30 nucleotides in length.", "The term “RNA interference” or “RNAi” refers to a cellular mechanism for the destruction of targeted ribonucleic acid molecules.", "Under endogenous conditions, RNAi mechanism operates when dsRNA is cleaved to siRNA via an enzyme, DICER.", "The siRNA is processed to a single strand of anti-sense ribonucleic acid and coupled with a protein complex named RISC.", "The antisense RNA then targets a complementary gene construct, such as messenger RNA that is cleaved by ribonuclease.", "While the examples infra discloses constructing dsRNA constructs via enzymatic techniques with the enzyme RNA polymerase, it is contemplated that siRNA can be constructed via RNA oligonucleotide synthesis such as those disclosed in Scaringe, S., Methods Enzymol., 2000, Vol.", "317:3 and incorporated herein by reference.", "As used herein, “knock-down” is defined as the act of binding an oligonucleotide with a complementary nucleotide sequence of a gene as such that the expression of the gene or mRNA transcript decreases.", "In an embodiment, knock-down of a eIF(iso)4E-2 and eIF4G gene in a transgenic plant confers resistance against viral RNA for said transgenic plant.", "dsRNA containing a nucleotide sequence complementary to a portion of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor gene, preferably eIF(iso)4E-2 and eIF4G.", "As disclosed herein, 100% sequence identity between the RNA and the target gene is not required to practice the present invention.", "Thus, the invention has the advantage of being able to tolerate sequence variations that might be expected due to genetic mutation, strain polymorphism, or evolutionary divergence.", "RNA sequences with insertions, deletions, and single point mutations relative to the target sequence may also be effective for plant resistance to RNA viruses.", "Thus, sequence identity may be optimized by sequence comparison and alignment algorithms known in the art.", "Thus, the determination of percent identity between any two sequences can be accomplished using a mathematical algorithm.", "Non-limiting examples of such mathematical algorithms are the algorithm of Myers and Miller (1988.CABIOS 4: 11-17), the local homology algorithm of Smith et al.", "(1981.Adv.", "Appl.", "Math.", "2: 482); the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (1970.J.", "Mol.", "Biol.", "48: 443-453); the search-for-similarity-method of Pearson and Lipman (1988.Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "85: 2444-2448; the algorithm of Karlin and Altschul (1990.Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 87: 2264), modified as in Karlin and Altschul (1993.Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad.", "Sci.", "USA 90: 5873-5877).", "Computer implementations of these mathematical algorithms can be utilized for comparison of sequences to determine sequence identity.", "Such implementations include, but are not limited to: CLUSTAL in the PC/Gene program (available from Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif.); the ALIGN program (Version 2.0) and GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package, Version 8 (available from Genetics Computer Group (GCG), 575 Science Drive, Madison, Wis., USA), MacVector and Assembler Version 12.7 (Macvector.", "1939 High House Road, Cary, N.C. USA 27519.Alignments using these programs can be performed using the default parameters.", "Greater than 90% sequence identity, or even 100% sequence identity, between the inhibitory RNA and the portion of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor target gene is preferred.", "Alternatively, the duplex region of the RNA may be defined functionally as a nucleotide sequence that is capable of hybridizing with a portion of the target gene transcript under stringent conditions (e.g., 400 mM NaCl, 40 mM PIPES pH 6.4, 1 mM EDTA, 60° C. hybridization for 12-16 hours; followed by washing).", "The length of the substantially identical double-stranded nucleotide sequences may be at least about 18, 19, 21, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 491, 500, or 510 bases.", "In a preferred embodiment, the length of the constructed double-stranded nucleotide sequence is approximately from about 18 to about 510 nucleotides in length.", "The dsRNA construct disclosed herein may optionally comprise a single stranded overhang at either or both ends.", "The double-stranded structure may be formed by a single self-complementary RNA strand (i.e.", "forming a hairpin loop) or two complementary RNA strands.", "RNA duplex formation may be initiated either inside or outside the cell.", "When the dsRNA of the invention forms a hairpin loop, it may optionally comprise an intron, as set forth in U.S. 2003/0180945A1 or a nucleotide spacer, which is a stretch of sequence between the complementary RNA strands to stabilize the hairpin transgene in cells.", "Methods for making various dsRNA molecules are set forth, for example, in WO 99/53050 and in U.S. Pat.", "No.", "6,506,559.The RNA may be introduced in an amount that allows delivery of at least one copy per cell.", "Expression of higher doses of double-stranded construct may yield more effective RNA viral plant resistance.", "While the examples provided wherein describe dsRNA constructs targeting eukaryotic initiation factor genes eIF(iso)4E-2 and eIF4G, (GenBank Accession Nos.", "Q03389 and EF190330), it is contemplated that when read in conjunction with the teaching disclosed herein, the construction of other dsRNA constructs targeting other eukaryotic initiation factor complex members which in turn reduce or eliminate viral reproduction and replication are disclosed herein.", "Additionally it is contemplated that the disclosure herein would teach the transfer of a nucleic acid fragment into the genome of a host organism, resulting in genetically stable inheritance, particularly in a plant.", "Host organisms containing the transformed nucleic acid fragments are referred to as “transgenic” organisms.", "Examples of methods of plant transformation include Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (De Blaere et al.", "1987.Meth.", "Enzymol.", "143: 277) and biolistic particle delivery or “gene gun” transformation technology (Klein et al.", "1987.Nature (London) 327: 70-73; U.S. Pat.", "No.", "4,945,050, incorporated herein by reference).", "Thus, isolated polynucleotides of the present invention can be incorporated into recombinant constructs, typically DNA constructs, capable of introduction into and replication in a host cell.", "Such a construct can be a vector that includes a replication system and sequences that are capable of transcription and translation of a polypeptide-encoding sequence in a given host cell.", "A number of vectors suitable for stable transformation of plant cells or for the establishment of transgenic plants have been described in, e.g., Pouwels et al.", "1985.Supp.", "1987.Cloning Vectors: A Laboratory Manual; Weissbach and Weissbach.", "1989.Methods for Plant Molecular Biology, Academic Press, New York; and Flevin et al.", "1990.Plant Molecular Biology Manual, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston.", "Typically, plant expression vectors include, for example, one or more cloned plant genes under the transcriptional control of 5′ and 3′ regulatory sequences and a dominant selectable marker.", "Such plant expression vectors also can contain a promoter regulatory region (e.g., a regulatory region controlling inducible or constitutive, environmentally- or developmentally-regulated, or cell- or tissue-specific expression), a transcription initiation start site, a ribosome binding site, an RNA processing signal, a transcription termination site, and/or a polyadenylation signal.", "It is to be understood that as used herein the term “transgenic” includes any cell, cell line, callus, tissue, plant part, or plant the genotype of which has been altered by the presence of a heterologous nucleic acid including those transgenics initially so altered as well as those created by sexual crosses or asexual propagation from the initial transgenic.", "The term “transgenic” as used herein does not encompass the alteration of the genome (chromosomal or extra-chromosomal) by conventional plant breeding methods or by naturally occurring events such as random cross-fertilization, non-recombinant viral infection, non-recombinant bacterial transformation, non-recombinant transposition, or spontaneous mutation.", "The teachings disclosed herein also teach generating a non-transgenic wheat plant having the genes for eIF(iso)4E-2 or eIF4G silenced through the use of chemical mutagens such as ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), radiation based mutagenesis such as fast neutron, or site directed mutagenesis, and targeted editing such as zinc finger nucleases, TALEN, or CRISPR technologies.", "An example would be to expose wheat seeds to 0.6% EMS.", "M0 seeds would be grown to maturity and allowed to self pollinate.", "Plants would be screened at the M2 generation for mutations in the eIF(iso)4E-2.DNA from lines would be pooled and TILLING would be used to identify mutant lines.", "Lines would be screened for resistance to WSMV and TriMV.", "Resistant lines would be used as germplasm for crop improvement.", "A second approach would be to use targeted mutations to alter the binding site of an initiation factor that binds to a binding protein to prevent interactions with viral proteins, thus preventing virus replication.", "In an embodiment of the invention, targeted cleavage events can be used, for example, to induce targeted mutagenesis, induce targeted deletions of cellular DNA sequences, and facilitate targeted recombination and integration at a predetermined chromosomal ppTAC or ppeTAC locus.", "Techniques of nucleotide editing can be found for example, Urnov et al.", "(2010) Nature 435(7042):646-51; United States Patent Publications 20030232410; 20050208489; 20050026157; 20050064474; 20060188987; 20090263900; 20090117617; 20100047805; 20110207221; 20110301073; 2011089775; 20110239315; 20110145940; and International Publication WO 2007/014275, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.", "Cleavage can occur through the use of specific nucleases such as engineered zinc finger nucleases (ZFN), transcription-activator like effector nucleases (TALENs), or using the CRISPR/Cas system with an engineered crRNA/tracr RNA (‘single guide RNA’) to guide specific cleavage.", "U.S. Patent Publication No.", "20080182332 describes the use of non-canonical zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) for targeted modification of plant genomes; U.S. Patent Publication No.", "20090205083 describes ZFN-mediated targeted modification of a plant EPSPS locus; U.S. Patent Publication No.", "20100199389 describes targeted modification of a plant Zp15 locus and U.S. Patent Publication No.", "20110167521 describes targeted modification of plant genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis.", "In addition, Moehle et al.", "(2007) Proc.", "Natl.", "Acad, Sci.", "USA 104(9):3055-3060 describes using designed ZFNs for targeted gene addition at a specified locus.", "U.S. Patent Publication 20110041195 describes methods of making homozygous diploid organisms.", "As used herein, the term “plant” includes reference to whole plants, plant organs (e.g., leaves, stems, roots, etc.", "), seeds, plant cells, and progeny of same.", "Parts of transgenic plants are to be understood within the scope of the invention to comprise, for example, plant cells, protoplasts, tissues, callus, embryos as well as flowers, stems, fruits, leaves, roots originating in transgenic plants or their progeny previously transformed with a DNA molecule of the invention and therefore consisting at least in part of transgenic cells, are also an object of the present invention.", "Example 1: Cloning of eIF(iso)4E-2 (SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 2) A search term of “eIF4F” was used to identify a partial cDNA sequence from the TIGR wheat EST database (http:\\jcvi.org\\wheat\\ wheat gene index term TC383303).", "That sequence was used in a BLASTX search to find the full length Triticum aestivum L. EIF(iso)4E-2 amino acid sequence in GenBank (Accession number Q03389).", "The nucleotide sequence of Q03389 was used to design the primers used to clone a portion of eIF(iso)4E-2.Forward CACCCGCAAATGGAGGCAAATGGACTGT (SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 5) and Reverse TCCACCTCTGCTTGGTTTCTGACT (SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 6) primers were used to amplify a 298 fragment of eIF(iso)4E-2 from cDNA from the cultivar Bobwhite corresponding to nucleotides 318-615.CACC was added to the 5′ end of the forward primer for directional cloning of the PCR fragment into the entry vector pENTER-D/TOPO (Life Technologies) which carries two recombination sites, attL1 and attL2.The CP fragment was independently cloned into pANDA mini vector (Miki and Shimamoto, 2003; FIG.", "1A, FIG.", "1B) by means of homologous recombination via LR clonase (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.).", "Example 2: Generation of Silenced eIF(iso)4E-2 Transgenic Wheat Conferring Resistance to Viruses The construct was bombarded in five independent biolistic experiments using approximately 900 independent wheat embryos.", "Embryogenic calli was transferred into glufosinate selection and regeneration cycles, where morphological differentiation occurred normally.", "One hundred and nineteen plants were generated under glufosinate selection, and transferred to soil.", "Plants were tested for glufosinate resistance and 15 herbicide resistant plants were identified.", "PCR analyses of these plants identified three with the hairpin construct.", "Lines were self fertilized and tested in the T3 generation.", "The majority of the lines derived from single seed descent that contained the gene of interest (GOI) and were expressing were resistant to Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and Triticum Mosaic Virus (TriMV) both individually and during co-infection (Table 1).", "Seed from the T2 generation were bulked for testing with Soilbourne mosaic virus (SbWMV).", "Soil infected with SbWMV was collected and used to grow plants.", "Most plants that had the GOI and were expressing the GOI were found to be resistant to the virus (Table 2).", "Bulked T2 seed was also used for testing resistance to Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).", "A viruliferous aphid colony containing three strains of BYDV, -SGV, -MAV and PAV were used.", "Ten viruliferous aphids were placed individually on each plant and allowed time to infect.", "Aphids were then destroyed.", "Plants were allowed to recover.", "Most plants that contained the GOI and were expressing were found to be resistant (Table 3).", "TABLE 1 Transgenic wheat plant expressing silenced eIF(iso)4E-2 co-infected with WSMV and TriMV.", "Transgenic plants were T3 generation derived by single seed selection.", "Transgenic Bobwhite controls were lines expressing only the bar gene for biolophos resistance.", "Total GOI + and Resistant Resistant T3 eIF4(iso)4E-2 Plants Expressing to WSMV to TriMV 1550A 50 47 45 45 1822A 53 45 40 40 1814A 54 52 43 43 Transgenic Bobwhite 24 0 0 0 w/o GOI TABLE 2 Transgenic wheat plant expressing silenced eIF(iso)4E-2 infected with SbWMV.", "Transgenic plants were T3 generation bulk derived T2 progeny.", "Transgenic Bobwhite controls were lines expressing only the bar gene for biolophos resistance.", "Total GOI + and Resistant T3 eIF4(iso)4E-2 Plants Expressing to SbWMV 1550A 75 32 26 1822A 70 28 24 1814A 73 30 24 Transgenic Bobwhite 17 0 0 w/o GOI TABLE 3 Transgenic wheat plant expressing silenced eIF(iso)4E-2 infected with BYDV.", "Transgenic plants were T3 generation bulk derived T2 progeny.", "Transgenic Bobwhite controls were lines expressing only the bar gene for biolophos resistance.", "Total GOI + and Resistant T3 eIF4(iso)4E-2 Plants Expressing to BYDV 1550A 16 3 3 1822A 10 7 6 1814A 9 6 6 Transgenic Bobwhite 2 0 0 w/o GOI Example 3: Cloning of eIF4G (SEQ: ID.", "NO.", "4) A search of “Triticum aestivum eIF4G” was used to identify the wheat eIF4G cDNA (EF190330) sequence from GenBank and used to design primers used to clone a portion of wheat eIF4G.", "The primers used were Forward CACCTCAGCAGCACCATTGGTATCTCCA (SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 7) and Reverse GCTCGGAGCATTCAACTCCTCAA (SEQ.", "ID.", "NO: 8).", "The primers amplified a fragment of a 517 bp from regions 3479-3993 of the eIF4G sequence (EF190330).", "The fragment was amplified from cDNA from the cultivar Bobwhite.", "CACC was added to the 5′ end of the forward primer for directional cloning of the PCR fragment into the entry vector pENTER-D/TOPO (Life Technologies) which carries two recombination sites, attL1 and attL2.The CP fragment was independently cloned into pANDA mini vector (Miki and Shimamoto, 2003; FIG.", "1A, 1B) by means of homologous recombination via LR clonase (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.).", "Example 4: Generation of Silenced eIF4G Transgenic Wheat Conferring Resistance to Viruses A fragment of 517 bp from the host eukaryotic translation initiation factor G (GenBank Accession #EF190330.1) was cloned in pANDA mini and co-bombarded with pAHC20 in five independent biolistic experiments using approximately 900 wheat embryos.", "Embryogenic calli was transferred onto glufosinate selection.", "Seventy-two plants were generated under glufosinate selection and transferred to soil.", "PCR analyses confirmed the presence of the eIF4G hairpin construct in three lines of the bar-positive plants.", "Lines were self fertilized through the T3 generation.", "At the T3 generation, plants were inoculated with either WSMV or Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) at the 2-3 leaf stage.", "Fourteen days later, plants were inoculated again to insure infection.", "Twenty-one days after the second inoculation, plants were scored for viral symptoms and compared to the nontransformed Bobwhite susceptible control.", "Leaf samples were also taken and used for ELISA to determine the presence of viral antigen.", "The majority of the lines that contained the gene of interest (GOI) were resistant to WSMV and TriMV both individually and during co-infection (Table 4).", "Seed from the T2 generation were bulked for testing with Soilbourne mosaic virus (SbWMV).", "Soil infected with SbWMV was collected and used to grow plants.", "Most plants that had the GOI and were expressing the GOI were found to be resistant to the virus (Table 5).", "Bulked T2 seed was also used for testing resistance to Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).", "A viruliferous aphid colony containing three strains of BYDV, -SGV, -MAV and PAV were used.", "Ten viruliferous aphids were placed individually on each plant and allowed time to infect.", "Aphids were then destroyed.", "Plants were allowed to recover.", "Most plants that contained the GOI and were expressing were found to be resistant (Table 6).", "These results indicate the eIF4G hairpin construct provides resistance to the two potyviruses, the luteovirus and the furovirus.", "TABLE 4 Transgenic wheat plant expressing silenced eIF4G co-infected with WSMV and TriMV.", "Transgenic plants were T3 generation derived by single seed selection.", "Transgenic Bobwhite controls were lines expressing only the bar gene for biolophos resistance.", "Total GOI + and Resistant Resistant T3 eIF4G Plants Expressing to WSMV to TriMV 1673A 50 47 47 47 1742A 51 48 48 48 1755A 50 48 48 48 1830A 46 52 42 42 Transgenic Bobwhite 24 0 0 0 w/o GOI TABLE 5 Transgenic wheat plant expressing silenced eIF4G infected with SbWMV.", "Transgenic plants were T3 generation bulk derived T2 progeny.", "Transgenic Bobwhite controls were lines expressing only the bar gene for biolophos resistance.", "Total GOI + and Resistant T3 eIF4G Plants Expressing to SbWMV 1673A 10 6 6 1742A 29 19 15 1755A 20 12 9 1830A 12 7 7 Transgenic Bobwhite 11 0 0 w/o GOI TABLE 6 Transgenic wheat plant expressing silenced eIF4G infected with BYDV.", "Transgenic plants were T3 generation bulk derived T2 progeny.", "Transgenic Bobwhite controls were lines expressing only the bar gene for biolophos resistance.", "Total GOI + and Resistant T3 eIF4G Plants Expressing to BYDV 1673A 10 4 3 1742A 5 1 1 1755A 7 2 2 1830A 5 3 3 Transgenic Bobwhite 7 0 0 w/o GOI While the invention has been described with reference to details of the illustrated embodiment, these details are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.", "All cited references and published patent applications cited in this application are incorporated herein by reference.", "The embodiment of the invention in which exclusive property or privilege is claimed is defined as follows:" ] ]
Patent_15875168
[ [ "IMAGE ENCODING/DECODING METHOD AND DEVICE", "Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for image encoding/decoding that support a plurality of layers.", "The method for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list, and the information of the first layer includes at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture." ], [ "1.A method for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers, the method being performed by a decoding apparatus and comprising: decoding a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configuring a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the first reference picture list and the second reference picture list to generate a prediction block; generating a residual block of the current decoding target block; and reconstructing the current decoding target block based on the prediction block and the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list, and the generating of the residual block comprises entropy-decoding a bitstream to generate a quantized transformed coefficient.", "2.The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises upsampling the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "3.The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises mapping motion information of the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "4.The method of claim 3, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer further comprises: dividing the picture of the second layer into N×N unit blocks; calculating a sample position of the first layer corresponding to one of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer including the current decoding target block; and determining motion information of the current decoding target block by mapping motion information of the sample position of the first layer to the N×N unit block of the second layer including the current decoding target block.", "5.The method of claim 4, wherein the sample position of the first layer corresponds to a reference sample position in the N×N unit blocks of the second layer, and the N×N unit blocks are 16×16 unit blocks.", "6.The method of claim 3, further comprising receiving information on the motion information mapping of the picture of the first layer in any one or any combination of any two or more of a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), and a slice segment header.", "7.The method of claim 3, further comprising using the mapped motion information of the first layer as a temporal motion vector candidate for the current decoding target block of the second layer.", "8.The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the prediction samples of the current decoding target block comprises using a first layer sample at a same position as the current decoding target block as a prediction sample of the prediction samples of the current decoding target block in response to a reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicating the mapped picture of the first layer in the first reference picture list or the second reference picture list.", "9.An apparatus for image decoding that supports a plurality of layers, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: decode a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; map the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configure a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configure a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; generate prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the first reference picture list and the second reference picture list to generate a prediction block; generate a residual block of the current decoding target block; and reconstruct the current decoding target block based on the prediction block and the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list, and the generating of the residual block comprises entropy-decoding a bitstream to generate a quantized transformed coefficient.", "10.A method for image encoding that supports a plurality of layers, the method being performed by an encoding apparatus and comprising: decoding a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to; mapping the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configuring a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the mapped picture of the first layer to generate a prediction block; generating a residual block of the current encoding target block based on the prediction block; and encoding the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list, and the encoding of the residual block comprises transforming the residual block to generate a transformed coefficient.", "11.The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises upsampling the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "12.The method of claim 10, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer comprises mapping motion information of the picture of the first layer to the picture size of the second layer.", "13.The method of claim 12, wherein the mapping of the picture of the first layer further comprises: dividing the picture of the second layer into N×N unit blocks; calculating a sample position of the first layer corresponding to one of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer including the current encoding target block; and determining motion information of the current encoding target block by mapping motion information of the sample position of the first layer to the N×N unit block of the second layer including the current decoding target block.", "14.The method of claim 13, wherein the sample position of the first layer corresponds to a reference sample position in the N×N unit blocks of the second layer, and the N×N unit blocks are 16×16 unit blocks.", "15.The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting information on the motion information mapping of the picture of the first layer in any one or any combination of any two or more of a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), and a slice segment header.", "16.The method of claim 12, further comprising using the mapped motion information of the first layer as a temporal motion vector candidate for the current encoding target block of the second layer.", "17.The method of claim 10, wherein the generating of the prediction samples of the current encoding target block comprises using a first layer sample at a same position as the current encoding target block as a prediction sample of the prediction samples of the current encoding target block in response to a reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicating the mapped picture of the first layer in the first reference picture list or the second reference picture list.", "18.An apparatus for image encoding that supports a plurality of layers, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: decode a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to; map the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configure a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configure a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; and generate prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the mapped picture of the first layer to generate a prediction block; generate a residual block of the current encoding target block based on the prediction block; and encode the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list, and the encoding of the residual block comprises transforming the residual block to generate a transformed coefficient.", "19.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a bitstream generated by a method for image encoding that supports a plurality of layers, the method being performed by an encoding apparatus and comprising: decoding a picture of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to; mapping the picture of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer; configuring a first reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a first predetermined position in the first reference picture list; configuring a second reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped picture of the first layer to a second predetermined position in the second reference picture list; and generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the mapped picture of the first layer to generate a prediction block; generating a residual block of the current encoding target block based on the prediction block; and encoding the residual block, wherein the first predetermined position is different from the second predetermined position, which is an end position in the second reference picture list, and the encoding of the residual block comprises transforming the residual block to generate a transformed coefficient." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for encoding/decoding a higher layer by using information of a lower layer in scalable video coding.", "Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for mapping a lower layer image in scalable video coding.", "Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for configuring a reference picture list of a higher layer image by using a lower layer image and performing a prediction in scalable video coding.", "In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image decoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image decoding includes a decoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image encoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to, mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image encoding includes an encoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In the related art, during mapping motion information of a lower layer, even when a temporal motion vector of a higher layer is not predicted, there is a problem that an unnecessary motion information mapping process is performed.", "Further, when the motion information of the lower layer is not mapped, since a decoded picture of the lower layer can be indicated as a collocated picture for the temporal motion vector in the upper layer, a case in which the temporal motion vector of the upper layer cannot be predicted occurs, thereby degrading encoding efficiency.", "According to the present invention, the motion information of the lower layer to which the upper layer refers is mapped in an image size of the upper layer and thereafter, the upper layer is predicted and reconstructed by using an image signal of the lower layer which is mapped, thereby improving encoding/decoding efficiency.", "Further, by modifying an upper level syntax, an unnecessary mapping process of the motion information of the lower layer can be skipped and complexity can be reduced.", "In addition, a wrong collocated picture is prevented from being used to prevent the encoding efficiency from being degraded." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of application Ser.", "No.", "14/782,213 filed on Oct. 2, 2015, which is a U.S. national stage application of International Application No.", "PCT/KR2014/002899 filed on Apr.", "3, 2014, which claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a) and 365(b) of Korean Patent Application Nos.", "10-2013-0037106 filed on Apr.", "4, 2013, 10-2013-0039356 filed on Apr.", "10, 2013, 10-2013-0081199 filed on Jul.", "10, 2013, 10-2013-0082577 filed on Jul.", "15, 2013, and 10-2014-0039805 filed on Apr.", "3, 2014, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office.", "The entire disclosures of application Ser.", "No.", "14/782,213, International Application No.", "PCT/KR2014/002899, and Korean Patent Application Nos.", "10-2013-0037106, 10-2013-0039356, 10-2013-0081199, 10-2013-0082577, and 10-2014-0039805 are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.", "BACKGROUND 1.Field The present invention relates to image encoding and decoding, and more particularly, to a method for predicting, and encoding and decoding an image of a higher layer by using information of a lower layer in image encoding and decoding in a multi-layer structure.", "2.Description of Related Art In recent years, while a multimedia environment has been built up, various terminals and networks have been used and the resulting use requirement has been diversified.", "For example, as a performance and a computing capability of a terminal have been diversified, a supported performance has also been diversified for each apparatus.", "Further, in the case of a network in which information is transmitted, a pattern, an information amount, and a transmission speed of the transmitted information, as well as an external structure such as wired and wireless networks have been diversified for each function.", "A user has selected a terminal and a network to be used according to a desired function and further, spectrums of a terminal and a network which an enterprise provides to the user have been diversified.", "In this regard, in recent years, as a broadcast having a high definition (HD) resolution has been extended and serviced worldwide as well as domestically, a lot of users have been familiar with a high definition image.", "As a result, a lot of image service associated organizations have made a lot of efforts to develop a next-generation image apparatus.", "Further, with an increase in interest in ultra high definition (UHD) having four times higher resolution than an HDTV as well as the HDTV, a requirement for technology that compresses and processes a higher resolution and higher definition image has been further increased.", "In order to compress and process the image, inter prediction technology of predicting a pixel value included in a current image from a temporally prior and/or post image, intra prediction technology of predicting another pixel value included in the current image by using pixel information in the current image, and entropy encoding technology of allocating a short sign to a symbol in which an appearance frequency is high and a long sign to a symbol in which the appearance frequency is low, and the like may be used.", "As described above, when respective terminals and networks having different supported functions, and the diversified user requirements are considered, a quality, a size, a frame, and the like of a supported image need to be consequently diversified.", "As such, due to heterogeneous communication networks, and terminals having various functions and various types of terminals, scalability that variously supports the quality, resolution, size, frame rate, and the like of the image becomes a primary function of a video format.", "Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a scalability function so as to achieve video encoding and decoding in terms of time, space, image quality, and the like in order to provide a service required by the user under various environments based on a high-efficiency video encoding method.", "SUMMARY An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for encoding/decoding a higher layer by using information of a lower layer in scalable video coding.", "Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for mapping a lower layer image in scalable video coding.", "Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for configuring a reference picture list of a higher layer image by using a lower layer image and performing a prediction in scalable video coding.", "In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image decoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current decoding target block refers to; mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image decoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image decoding includes a decoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current decoding target block by predicting the current decoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The method for image encoding includes decoding information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to, mapping the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configuring a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer and generating prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for image encoding supporting a plurality of layers.", "The apparatus for image encoding includes an encoding module which decodes information of a first layer which a picture of a second layer including a current encoding target block refers to and a prediction module which maps the information of the first layer to a picture size of the second layer, configures a reference picture list for the picture of the second layer by adding the mapped information of the first layer, and generates prediction samples of the current encoding target block by predicting the current encoding target block of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "The information of the first layer may include at least one of a sample value and motion information of the first layer picture.", "In the related art, during mapping motion information of a lower layer, even when a temporal motion vector of a higher layer is not predicted, there is a problem that an unnecessary motion information mapping process is performed.", "Further, when the motion information of the lower layer is not mapped, since a decoded picture of the lower layer can be indicated as a collocated picture for the temporal motion vector in the upper layer, a case in which the temporal motion vector of the upper layer cannot be predicted occurs, thereby degrading encoding efficiency.", "According to the present invention, the motion information of the lower layer to which the upper layer refers is mapped in an image size of the upper layer and thereafter, the upper layer is predicted and reconstructed by using an image signal of the lower layer which is mapped, thereby improving encoding/decoding efficiency.", "Further, by modifying an upper level syntax, an unnecessary mapping process of the motion information of the lower layer can be skipped and complexity can be reduced.", "In addition, a wrong collocated picture is prevented from being used to prevent the encoding efficiency from being degraded.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for image encoding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for image decoding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "3 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a scalable video coding structure using a plurality of layers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for performing an inter-layer prediction (inter-layer prediction) in scalable video coding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIGS.", "5 and 6 are diagrams illustrated for describing an inter-layer motion information mapping method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.", "In describing the embodiments of the present specification, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known art related to the present invention may obscure the gist of the present invention, the corresponding description thereof may be omitted.", "It will be understood that when an element is simply referred to as being ‘connected to’ or ‘coupled to’ another element without being ‘directly connected to’ or ‘directly coupled to’ another element in the present description, it may be ‘directly connected to’ or ‘directly coupled to’ another element or be connected to or coupled to another element, having the other element intervening therebetween.", "Moreover, a content of describing “including” a specific component in the specification does not exclude a component other than the corresponding component and means that an additional component may be included in the embodiments of the present invention or the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention.", "Terms such first, second, and the like may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms.", "The above terms are used only to discriminate one component from the other component.", "For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may be referred to as a first component.", "Further, components described in the embodiments of the present invention are independently illustrated in order to show different characteristic functions and each component is not constituted by separated hardware or one software constituting unit.", "That is, each component includes respective components which are arranged for easy description and at least two components of the respective components may constitute one component or one component is divided into a plurality of components which may perform their functions.", "Even an integrated embodiment and separated embodiments of each component is also included in the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention.", "Further, some components are not requisite components that perform essential functions but selective components for just improving performance in the present invention.", "The present invention may be implemented with the requisite component for implementing the spirit of the present invention other than the component used to just improve the performance and a structure including only the requisite component other than the selective component used to just improve the performance is also included in the scope of the present invention.", "FIG.", "1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an apparatus for image encoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "A scalable video encoding apparatus that supports a multi-layer structure may be implemented by extending a general image encoding apparatus having a single-layer structure.", "The block diagram of FIG.", "1 illustrates an embodiment of an image encoding apparatus which may be a basis of the scalable video encoding apparatus which may be applied to the multi-layer structure.", "Referring to FIG.", "1, an image encoding apparatus 100 includes an inter prediction module 110, an intra prediction module 120, a switch 115, a subtractor 125, a transform module 130, a quantization module 140, an entropy encoding module 150, a dequantization module 160, an inverse transform module 170, an adder 175, a filter module 180, and a reference picture buffer 190.The image encoding apparatus 100 may encode an input image in an intra mode or an inter mode and output a bitstream.", "In the intra mode, the switch 115 may be switched to intra and in the inter mode, the switch 115 may be switched to inter.", "The intra prediction means an intra-screen prediction and the inter prediction means an inter-screen prediction.", "The image encoding apparatus 100 may generate a prediction block for an input block of the input image and thereafter, encode a residual between the input block and the prediction block.", "In this case, the input image may mean an original picture.", "In the intra mode, the intra prediction module 120 may generate the prediction block by performing a spatial prediction by using a pixel value of an already encoded/decoded block adjacent to a current block.", "The intra prediction module 120 may perform the spatial prediction by using a reference sample and generate prediction samples for the current block.", "In the inter mode, the inter prediction module 110 may acquire a motion vector by finding an area of a reference image stored in the reference picture buffer 190 which most matches the input block during a motion prediction process.", "The inter prediction module 110 corrects a motion by using the motion vector and the reference image stored in the picture buffer 190 to generate the prediction block for the current block.", "In case of the multi-layer structure, the inter prediction applied in the inter mode may include an inter-layer prediction.", "The inter prediction module 110 configures an inter-layer reference picture by sampling a picture of the reference layer and encapsulates the inter-layer reference picture in the reference picture list to perform the inter-layer prediction.", "An inter-layer reference relationship may be signaled through information that specifies inter-layer dependence.", "Meanwhile, when a current layer picture and the reference layer picture have the same size, sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean generation of a reference sample by sample copying or interpolation from the reference layer picture.", "When the current layer picture and the reference layer picture have different resolutions, the sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean up sampling.", "For example, as a case in which layers have different resolutions, the inter-layer reference picture may be configured by up-sampling the reconstructed picture of the reference layer between layers that support scalability regarding the resolution.", "A layer picture used for configuring the inter-layer reference picture may be determined by considering encoding cost, and the like.", "The encoding apparatus may transmit, to the decoding apparatus, information that specifies the layer to which the picture to be used as the inter-layer reference picture belongs.", "Further, a picture used to predict the current within a layer which is referred to in the inter-layer prediction, that is, the reference layer may be a picture of the same access unit (AU) as the current picture (a prediction target picture within the current layer).", "The subtractor 125 may a residual block by a residual between the input block and the generated prediction block.", "The transform module 130 transforms the residual block to output a transform coefficient.", "Herein, the transform coefficient may mean a coefficient value generated by converting the residual block and/or a residual signal.", "Hereinafter, in this specification, the transform coefficient is quantized and a quantized transform coefficient level may also be called the transform coefficient.", "When a transform skip mode is applied, the transform module 130 may skip transforming the residual block.", "The quantization module 140 quantizes an input transform coefficient according to a quantization parameter to output a quantized coefficient.", "The quantized coefficient may be called the quantized transform coefficient level.", "In this case, the quantization module 140 may quantize the input transform coefficient by using a quantization matrix.", "The entropy encoding module 150 performs entropy encoding based on values calculated by the quantization module 140 or an encoded parameter value calculated during encoding to output the bitstream.", "The entropy encoding module 150 may entropy-encode information (for example, a syntax element, and the like) for video encoding in addition to pixel information of a video.", "The coding parameter is a parameter required for encoding and decoding, and may include information encoded in the encoding apparatus to be transferred to the decoding apparatus like the syntax element and information to be inferred during the encoding or decoding process.", "The coding parameter may include values or statistics of for example, an intra/inter prediction mode, a movement/motion vector, a reference video index, an encoding block pattern, presence of a residual signal, a transform coefficient, a quantized transform coefficient, a quantization parameter, a block size, block segment information, and the like.", "The residual signal may mean a difference between an original signal and a prediction signal, and may also mean a signal having a transformed form of the difference between the original signal and the prediction signal or a signal having a transformed and quantized form of the difference between the original signal and the prediction signal.", "The residual signal may be referred to as a residual block in a block unit.", "In the case where the entropy encoding is applied, a few of bits are allocated to a symbol having high occurrence probability and a lot of bits are allocated to a symbol having low occurrence probability to express the symbols, and as a result, a size of a bitstream for encoding target symbols may be reduced.", "Accordingly, compression performance of video encoding may be enhanced through the entropy encoding.", "The entropy encoding module 150 may use encoding methods such as exponential-Golomb coding, context-adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC), and context-adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) for the entropy encoding.", "For example, the entropy encoding module 150 may perform entropy encoding by using a variable length coding/code (VLC) table.", "Further, the entropy encoding module 150 derives a binarization method of a target symbol and a probability model of a target symbol/bin, and then may also perform the entropy encoding by using the derived binarization method or probability model.", "Since the image encoding apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of FIG.", "1 performs inter prediction encoding, that is, inter-screen prediction encoding, a currently encoded image needs to be decoded and stored to be used as the reference image.", "Accordingly, the quantized coefficient may be inversely quantized in the dequantization module 160 and inversely transformed in the inverse transform module 170.The inversely quantized and inversely transformed coefficient is added to the prediction block by the adder 175 and a reconstructed block is generated.", "The reconstructed block passes though the filter module 180, and the filter module 180 may apply at least one of a deblocking filter, a sample adaptive offset (SAO), and an adaptive loop filter (ALF) to the reconstructed block or a reconstructed picture.", "The filter module 180 may be called an adaptive in-loop filter.", "The deblocking filter may remove block distortion which occurs on a boundary between blocks.", "The SAO may add an appropriate offset value to a pixel value in order to compensate for coding error.", "The ALF may perform filtering based on a value acquired by comparing the reconstructed image and the original image.", "The reconstructed block which passes through the filter module 180 may be stored in the reference picture buffer 190.FIG.", "2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image decoding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "A scalable video decoding apparatus that supports the multi-layer structure may be implemented by extending a general image decoding apparatus having the single-layer structure.", "The block diagram of FIG.", "2 illustrates an embodiment of an image decoding apparatus which may be a basis of the scalable video decoding apparatus which may be applied to the multi-layer structure.", "Referring to FIG.", "2, an image decoding apparatus 200 includes an entropy decoding module 210, a dequantization module 220, an inverse transform module 230, an intra prediction module 240, an inter prediction module 250, an adder 255, a filter module 260, and a reference picture buffer 270.The image decoding apparatus 200 may receive a bitstream output by an encoder, decode the received bitstream in the intra mode or the inter mode, and output the reconstructed image, that is, the reconstructed image.", "In the intra mode, the switch may be switched to ‘intra’, and in the inter mode, the switch may be switched to ‘inter’.", "The image decoding apparatus 200 may acquire a reconstructed residual block from the received bitstream and generate a block reconstructed by adding the reconstructed residual block and the prediction block after generating the prediction block, that is, the reconstruction block.", "The entropy decoding module 210 entropy-decodes the input bitstream according to probability distribution to generate information such as a quantized coefficient and a syntax element.", "The quantized coefficient is inversely quantized by the dequantization module 220 and inversely transformed by the inverse transform module 230.The quantized coefficient is inversely quantized/inversely transformed, and as a result, the reconstructed residual block may be generated.", "In this case, the dequantization module 220 may apply a quantization matrix to the quantized coefficient.", "In the intra mode, the intra prediction module 240 may performs a spatial prediction and generate prediction samples for the current block by using a sample value of an already decoded block adjacent to the current block.", "In the inter mode, the inter prediction module 250 compensates for a motion by using a motion vector and a reference picture stored in the reference picture buffer 270 to generate the prediction block for the current block.", "In case of the multi-layer structure, the inter prediction applied in the inter mode may include the inter-layer prediction.", "The inter prediction module 250 configures an inter-layer reference picture by sampling a picture of the reference layer and encapsulates the inter-layer reference picture in the reference picture list to perform the inter-layer prediction.", "An inter-layer reference relationship may be signaled through information that specifies inter-layer dependence.", "Meanwhile, when a current layer picture and the reference layer picture have the same size, sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean generation of a reference sample by sample copying or interpolation from the reference layer picture.", "When the current layer picture and the reference layer picture have different resolutions, the sampling applied to the reference layer picture may mean up sampling.", "For example, as a case in which layers have different resolutions, the inter-layer prediction is applied between the layers that supports scalability regarding the resolution, the inter-layer reference picture may be configured by up-sampling the reconstructed picture of the reference layer.", "In this case, information that specifies the layer to which the picture to be used as the inter-layer reference picture belongs may be transmitted from the encoding apparatus to the decoding apparatus.", "Further, a picture used to predict the current within a layer which is referred to in the inter-layer prediction, that is, the reference layer may be a picture of the same access unit (AU) as the current picture (a prediction target picture within the current layer).", "The reconstructed residual block and the prediction block are added by the adder 255, and as a result, the reconstructed block may be generated.", "In other words, a residual sample and a prediction sample are added to each other, and as a result, a reconstructed sample or a reconstructed picture is generated.", "The reconstructed picture is filtered by the filter module 260.The filter module 260 may apply at least one of a deblocking filter, an SAO, and an ALF to the reconstructed block or the reconstructed picture.", "The filter module 260 outputs a modified or filtered reconstructed picture.", "The reconstructed image is stored in the reference picture buffer 270 to be used in the inter prediction.", "Further, the video decoding apparatus 200 may further include a parsing unit (not illustrated) parsing information regarding the encoded video included in the bitstream.", "The parsing unit may include the entropy decoding module 210, and may also be included in the entropy decoding module 210.The parsing unit may also be implemented as one constituent element of the decoding unit.", "Although it has been described that one encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus processes encoding/decoding of multi-layers in FIGS.", "1 and 2, it is for easy description and the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus may be configured for each layer.", "In this case, the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus of a higher layer may perform encoding/decoding of the corresponding higher layer by using information of the higher layer and information of the higher layer.", "For example, the prediction unit (inter prediction unit) of the higher layer may perform the intra-prediction or inter-prediction for the current block by using pixel information or picture information of the higher layer, and perform the inter-prediction (inter-layer prediction) of the current block by receiving the reconstructed picture information from the lower layer and using the same.", "Herein, only the inter-layer prediction has been described as an example, but the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus may perform encoding/decoding for a current layer by using information of a different layer regardless of the encoding apparatus/decoding apparatus being configured for each layer or one apparatus processing the multi-layers.", "In the present invention, the layer may include a view.", "In this case, the prediction of the higher layer is not just performed by using the information of the lower layer, but the inter-layer prediction may be performed by using information of a different layer among layers that are specified to be dependent by information that specifies inter-layer dependence.", "FIG.", "3 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating a scalable video coding structure using a plurality of layers according to an embodiment of the present invention.", "In FIG.", "3, a group of picture (GOP) represents a picture group, that is, a group of pictures.", "A transmission medium is required to transmit image data and performance thereof is different for each transmission medium according to various network environments.", "The scalable video coding method may be provided to be applied to various transmission media or network environments.", "The video coding method (hereinafter, referred to as ‘scalable coding’ or ‘scalable video coding’) supporting the scalability is a coding method that increases encoding and decoding performances by removing inter-layer redundancy by using inter-layer texture information, motion information, a residual signal, and the like.", "The scalable video coding method may provide various scalabilities in spatial, temporal, quality, and view terms according to surrounding conditions such as transmission bit rate, transmission error rate, a system resource, and the like.", "Scalable video coding may be performed by using a multiple-layer structure so as to provide a bitstream which is applicable to various network situations.", "For example, a scalable video coding structure may include a basic layer that compresses and processes the image data by using the general image decoding method and may include an improvement layer that compresses and processes the image data by using both decoding information of the basic layer and the general decoding method.", "A base layer may be referred to as a base layer or a lower layer.", "An enhancement layer may be designated as an enhancement layer or a higher layer.", "In this case, the lower layer may represent a layer that supports lower scalability than a specific layer and the higher layer may represent a layer that supports higher scalability than a specific layer.", "Further, a layer referred to for encoding/decoding of a different layer may be called a reference layer and a layer encoded/decoded by using the different layer may be a current layer.", "The reference layer may be a lower layer than the current layer and the current layer may be a higher layer than the reference layer.", "Herein, a layer means a set of images and bitstreams that are distinguished based on a space (for example, an image size), a time (for example, a decoding order, an image output order, and frame rate), image quality, complexity, and the like.", "Referring to FIG.", "3, for example, the basic layer may be defined as standard definition (SD), a frame rate of 15 Hz, and a bit rate of 1 Mbps, and a first enhanced layer may be defined as high definition (HD), a frame rate of 30 Hz, and a bit rate of 3.9 Mbps, and a second enhanced layer may be defined as ultra high definition (4K-UHE), a frame rate of 60 Hz, and a bit rate of 27.2 Mbps.", "The format, frame rate, bit rate, and the like as one embodiment may be decided differently as necessary.", "Further, the number of used layers is not limited to the embodiment and may be decided differently according to a situation.", "For example, if a transmission bandwidth is 4 Mbps, data may be transmitted at 15 Hz or less by decreasing the frame rate of the HD of the first enhancement layer.", "The scalable video coding method may provide spatial, temporal, quality, and view scalabilities by the method described in the embodiment of FIG.", "3.In this specification, the scalable video coding has the same as the scalable video encoding in terms of encoding and the scalable video decoding in terms of decoding.", "Generally, in the prediction between the screens, at least one of a previous picture or a next picture of the current picture is referred to as a reference picture, and prediction for the current block may be performed based on the reference picture.", "A video used for the prediction of the current block is referred to as a reference picture or a reference frame.", "A region in the reference picture used for predicting the current block may be represented by using a reference picture index refldx indicating the reference picture, the motion picture, and the like.", "In the prediction between the screens, the reference block corresponding to the reference picture and the current block in the reference picture is selected to generate the prediction block for the current block.", "In the inter-screen prediction, the prediction block may be created so that a residual signal with the current block is minimized and the size of the motion vector is also minimized.", "In order to use the information of the reference picture in the inter-prediction, information of neighboring blocks positioned around the current block may be used.", "For example, the inter-prediction may adopt a skip mode, a merge mode, an advanced motion vector prediction, or the like according to a method using the information of the neighboring blocks.", "The skip mode, the merge mode, and the AMVP mode may generate the prediction block for the current block based on the information of the neighboring block.", "The skip mode may use the information of the neighboring block for the current block as it is.", "Accordingly, in the case where the skip mode is applied, the encoder may transmit information that indicates which neighboring block to use motion information of as the motion information of the current block to the decoder and besides, does not transmit syntax information such as a residual, and the like to the decoder.", "The merge mode may generate the prediction block for the current block by using the motion information of the neighboring block.", "When the merge mode is applied, the encoder may transmit to the decoder information that indicates whether to apply the merge mode to the current block, which neighboring block to use motion information of, and residual information on the current block, and the like.", "The decoder generates the prediction block for the current block by using the motion information and adds the generated prediction block and the residual transmitted from the encoder to reconstruct the current block.", "The AMVP may predict the motion vector of the current block by using the motion information of the neighboring blocks.", "When the AMVP is applied, the encoder may transmit to the decoder information that indicates which neighboring block to use motion information of, a difference between a motion vector of the current block and a predicted motion vector, a reference picture index that indicates the reference picture, and the like.", "The decoder predicts the motion vector of the current block by using the motion information (motion vector) of the neighboring block, and may calculate the motion vector of the current block by using the motion vector difference received from the encoder.", "The decoder may generate the prediction block for the current block based on the calculated motion vector and the reference picture index information received from the encoder.", "In case of the inter prediction, the decoder may verify a skip flag, a merge flag, and the like that are received from the encoder and calculate motion information required for the inter-prediction of the current block (for example, information regarding a motion vector, a reference picture index, and the like) according to the verified information.", "A processing unit in which the prediction is performed may be different from a processing unit in which a prediction method and a detailed content are determined.", "For example, the inter-prediction or the intra-prediction may be determined by the coding unit (CU), and a prediction mode for the intra-prediction and a prediction mode for the inter-prediction may be determined by the prediction unit (PU).", "Alternatively, the prediction mode is determined by the prediction unit, and as a result, the prediction may be performed by the transform unit (TU).", "Meanwhile, since an inter-layer strong correlation is present in the scalable video coding structure that supports the plurality of layers, when the prediction is performed by using the correlation, a duplicative element of data may be removed and encoding performance of the image may be improved.", "Accordingly, when a picture (image) of the current layer (higher layer) which is encoded/decoded is predicted, the inter-prediction or the intra-prediction using information of the current layer and the inter-layer prediction using information of a different layer may be performed.", "Since the plurality of layers may be different from each other in terms of at least one of a resolution, a frame rate, a color format, and a view (that is, an inter-layer scalability difference), signal distortion may occur in the inter-layer prediction for the current layer and the residual signal may be increased.", "Accordingly, the present invention provides a method that may perform the inter-prediction for the current layer by mapping the motion information of the reference layer (lower layer) which the current layer (higher layer) refers to in an image size of the current layer and thereafter, adding the mapped motion information to the reference picture list of the current layer.", "Further, the present invention relates to encoding and decoding of an image including a plurality of layers or views, and the plurality of layers or views may be expressed as first, second, third, and n-th layers or first, second, third, and n-th views.", "Hereinafter, in the embodiment of the present invention, an image in which the first layer and the second layer are present is described as an example, but the embodiment may be applied even to an image in which more layers or views than the first layer and the second layer in the same method as above.", "Further, the first layer may be expressed as the lower layer, the base layer, or the reference layer and the second layer may be expressed as the higher layer, the enhancement layer, or the current layer.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method for performing an inter-layer prediction (inter-layer prediction) in scalable video coding in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "The method of FIG.", "4 may be performed by the image encoding apparatus of FIG.", "1 or the image decoding apparatus of FIG.", "2.Referring to FIG.", "4, the encoding/decoding apparatus decodes information of a first layer which an image (picture) of a second layer refers to (S400).", "As described above, the second layer means a layer that performs encoding/decoding at present and may be a higher layer that provides higher scalability than the first layer.", "The first layer may be a layer referred to for encoding/decoding the second layer, and may be designated as the reference layer or the lower layer.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may decode and use the first layer by the reference signal for predicting an encoding/decoding target block in the image of the second layer.", "Information (decoding target information of the first layer) of the first layer to be decoded may include a sample value and motion information of a first layer image (picture).", "Herein, the motion information may include regarding a motion vector value, a reference picture index, a prediction direction indicator, a reference picture POC (picture order count), a prediction mode, a reference picture list, a merge flag, a merge index, a picture type (a short-term reference picture or a long-term reference picture) of the reference picture, and the like.", "Decoded motion information of the first layer may be compressed and stored by a unit block having a size of N×N.", "For example, the decoded motion information of the first layer may be compressed and stored every 16×16 blocks.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus maps the decoded information of the first layer to an image size of the second layer (S410).", "Herein, mapping may represent sampling a sample of an image in order to adjust an image size or a resolution when images are different from each other in size or resolution, and may include sampling of a sample value of the image and motion information of the image.", "In other words, the encoding/decoding apparatus may sample the decoded first layer image and refer to a sample information and motion information of the sampled first layer image, in order to map the decoded first layer image to a size of the second layer image.", "Since sizes of images of layers may be different in the scalable video coding structure, when sizes of the images between the layers (between the first layer and the second layer) are different, the encoding/decoding apparatus may resample samples values of the decoded first layer image in order to map the size of the decoded first layer image to the image size of the second layer.", "For example, when the size of the decoded first layer image is 960×540 and the size of the image of the second layer is 1920×1080, the encoding/decoding apparatus may perform upsampling of mapping the size of the decoded first layer image to the size of 1920×1080 which is the image size of the second layer.", "The upsampling may be performed in order to adjust image sizes of layers having different image sizes, and interpolation is applied to an image of a layer (the reference layer or the lower layer) having a small image size, and as a result, interpolated samples are calculated to adjust the image size.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may map the decoded motion information of the first layer to the image size of the second layer to use the mapped motion information of the first layer.", "Inter-layer motion information mapping of mapping the motion information of the decoded first layer image to the image size of the second layer may divide the second layer image into unit blocks having N×N and use the motion information of the first layer corresponding to each of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer as motion information of a corresponding block of the second layer.", "Hereinafter, an inter-layer motion information mapping method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described through an embodiment of FIGS.", "5 and 6.FIGS.", "5 and 6 are diagrams illustrated for describing an inter-layer motion information mapping method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.", "FIG.", "5 illustrates an image of a second layer divided into unit blocks having a size of N×N.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "5, when the image size of the second layer is 1920×1080 and N=16, the encoding/decoding apparatus may divide the image of the second layer into total 8160 (16×16) unit blocks and use motion information of a first layer block corresponding to each unit block of the second layer as motion information of the corresponding block of the second layer.", "In this case, the motion information may be stored for each unit block.", "Alternatively, the motion information is stored in the form of a look-up table for each picture to be used by referring to each unit block.", "FIG.", "6 illustrates N×N blocks of the second layer and as one example, illustrates a 16×16 block 600 in case of N=16.Respective quadrangles in the 16×16 block 600 mean one sample and it is assumed that uppermost and leftmost sample position in the 16×16 block 600 is (xP, yP).", "As described above, when the inter-layer motion information is mapped, the motion information of the first layer block corresponding to each of the N×N unit blocks of the second layer is mapped to the motion information of the second layer to be used.", "In this case, the motion information of the first layer block corresponding to each of the N×N blocks of the second layer may be motion information of a first layer sample position corresponding to a reference sample position of the N×N blocks of the second layer.", "For example, as illustrated in FIG.", "6, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+8, yP+8) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+8, yP+8) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position the position (xP, yP) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP, yP) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+15, yP) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+15, yP) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP, yP+15) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP, yP+15) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+15, yP+15) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+15, yP+15) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "Alternatively, the encoding/decoding apparatus determines as the reference sample position a position (xP+1, yP+1) in the 16×16 block 600 of the second layer and uses the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position (xP+1, yP+1) to perform the inter-layer motion information mapping.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may perform the inter-layer motion information mapping by using a difference reference sample position as well as the aforementioned reference sample position and the motion information of the first layer sample position corresponding thereto.", "The sample position of the first layer corresponding to a reference sample position of the second layer may be calculated as illustrated in Equation 1 below by considering the size of an inter-layer image.", "xRef=(xP*picWRL+ScaledW/2)/ScaledW yRef=(yP*picHRL+ScaledH/2)/ScaledH [Equation 1] Where xRef and yRef represent the sample position of the first layer, xP and Yp represent the reference sample position of the second layer, ScaledW and ScaledH represent horizontal and vertical sizes of the first layer picture, and picWRL and picHRL represent horizontal and vertical sizes of the first layer picture.", "For example, when the motion information of the first layer is compressed and stored by the unit of 16×16, the sample position of the first layer calculated by Equation 1 may be adjusted to use 16×16-unit motion information through Equation 2 below.", "xRL=(xRef»4)«4 yRL=(yRef»4)«4 [Equation 2] As another example, when the motion information of the first layer is compressed and stored by the unit of 8×8, the sample position of the first layer calculated by Equation 1 may be adjusted to use 8×8-unit motion information through Equation 3 below.", "xRL=(xRef»3)«3 yRL=(yRef»3)«3 [Equation 3] When the prediction mode of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer is the intra prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use (0, 0) as a motion vector value of the corresponding block of the second layer and allocate a value of −1 to the reference picture index and the reference picture POC of the corresponding block of the second layer.", "Alternatively, when the prediction mode of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer is the intra prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use (0, 0) as the motion vector value of the corresponding block of the second layer and allocate a specific value (for example, allocate 0 to the reference picture index and a POC of a picture indicated by the reference picture index to the reference picture POC) to the reference picture index and the reference picture POC of the corresponding block of the second layer.", "When the prediction mode of the first layer sample position corresponding to the reference sample position of the second layer is the inter prediction mode, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use, as the motion information of the corresponding block of the second layer, the motion vector value of the first layer sample position, the reference picture index, and the reference picture POC.", "In case of using the motion vector of the first layer, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use the motion vector of the first layer by reflecting the size of the inter-layer image as illustrated in Equation 4 below.", "mvLX[xP][yP][0]=(mvLXRL[xRL][yRL][0]*ScaledW+offset)/PicWRL mvLX[xP][yP][1]=(mvLXRL[xRL][yRL][1]*ScaledH+offset)/PicHRL [Equation 4] The encoding/decoding apparatus may use, as information of the corresponding block of the second layer, picture type information (picture type information regarding whether the reference picture being a short-term reference picture or a long-term reference picture) of the reference picture which the corresponding block of the first layer corresponding to the block of the second layer refers to.", "The aforementioned inter-layer motion information mapping may be determined in a higher level and the encoding apparatus may transmit information related with the inter-layer motion information mapping in the higher level.", "The decoding apparatus may acquire the inter-layer motion information mapping related information from the higher level.", "The higher level may be a video parameter set (VPS), a sequence parameter set (SPS), a picture parameter set (PPS), a slice segment header, and the like.", "Hereinafter, a method for signaling the motion information mapping related information in the higher level according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.", "According to the embodiment of the present invention, information related to motion information mapping of a corresponding layer in the VPS may be signaled as represented in Table 1.TABLE 1 vps_extension( ) { Descriptor for ( = 1; <= vps_max_layer_id; i++) inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag [i] u(1) } Referring to Table 1, when inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, motion information mapping of an i-th layer may not be performed.", "When inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the i-th layer may be performed.", "According to another embodiment of the present invention, information related to motion information mapping of a corresponding layer in extension of the SPS may be signaled as represented in Table 2.TABLE 2 sps_extension( ) { Descriptor sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 2, when sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, motion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.", "When sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the first layer may be performed.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, whether to transmit information (for example, sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag) that indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer may be determined according to information (for example, sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag) that indicates whether to use a temporal motion vector prediction transmitted in the SPS as represented in Table 3.TABLE 3 sps_extension( ){ Descriptor if ( sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag) sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 3, when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, which indicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction, sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.", "When sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of the first layer may not be used in the second layer.", "That is, a reconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as a temporal motion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, whether to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer may be determined by the value of sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag without transmitting sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag as represented in Table 3.For example, it is regarded that sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1 when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer.", "It is regarded that sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0 when sps_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 0 to perform the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer in extension of the PPS may be signaled as represented in Table 4.TABLE 4 pps_extension( ) { Descriptor pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 4, when pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.", "When pps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the first layer may be performed.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer in extension of the slice segment header may be signaled as represented in Table 5.TABLE 5 if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) Descriptor slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 5, when slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information mapping of the first layer may not be performed.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information mapping of the first layer may be performed.", "According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the information related to the motion information mapping of the corresponding layer in the extension of the slice segment header may be signaled as represented in Table 6.TABLE 6 if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) Descriptor if ( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag) slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 6, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, which indicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.", "slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is transmitted only in a layer (that is, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer and in case of the enhancement layer, when there is no layer used for a motion prediction, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may not be transmitted.", "When the corresponding flag is not present, a value of the corresponding flag Value may be inferred as 0.When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of the first layer may not be used in the second layer.", "That is, the reconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as the temporal motion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is transmitted in the layer (that is, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be present above slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag in the slice segment header of the layer (that is, the enhancement layer) other than the base layer as represented in Table 7.TABLE 7 slice_segment_header( ){ Descriptor if ( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 7, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, which indicates whether to use the temporal motion vector prediction, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag may be transmitted, which indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping of the first layer.", "When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, the motion information of the first layer may not be used in the second layer.", "That is, the reconstructed image of the first layer may not be used as the temporal motion vector predictor (TMVP) of the second layer.", "When slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the motion information of the first layer may be used in the second layer.", "That is, after the motion information of the first layer is mapped to the size of the second layer, the reconstructed image of the first layer may be used as a collocated picture (ColPic) for the TMVP of the second layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, information on the collocated picture (ColPic) of the first layer for the TMVP of the second layer may be signaled through additional syntax information as represented in Table 8.For example, information of a referred layer may be known through collocated_ref_layer_idx and motion information of the reference layer collocated picture may be mapped to the image size of the second layer.", "Further, in case of a B slice, a reference picture list direction where the picture of the reference layer is positioned which may be used as the collocated picture may be determined through collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag.", "TABLE 8 slice_segment_header( ){ if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) { slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag ) { collocated_ref_layer_idx ue(v) if ( slice_type == B) collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag } else { if( slice_type == B ) collocated_from_I0_flag u(1) if( ( collocated_from_I0_flag && num_ref_idx_I0_ active_minus1 > 0 ) || ( !collocated_from_I0_flag_ && num_ref_idx_I1_ active_minus1 > 0 ) ) collocated_ref_idx ue(v) } } } Referring to Table 8, collocated_ref_layer_idx is an indicator that indicates information of the reference layer used for the motion prediction when the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 2 or more.", "When the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 1, collocated_ref_layer_idx may be skipped.", "In this case, a restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is transmitted in the B slice.", "When a value of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is 1, a picture that is present in LIST0 is set as the collocated picture (ColPic).", "When the value of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag is 0, a picture that is present in LIST1 is set as the collocated picture (ColPic).", "Thereafter, during acquiring a motion vector of a collocated block (ColPb) in the collocated picture (ColPic), the value of collocated_ref_layer_from_I0_flag may be used as the same meaning instead of collocated_from_I0_flag.", "In this case, the restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "Alternatively, during acquiring the motion vector of the collocated block (ColPb) in the collocated picture (ColPic), when the collocated block has motion information in directions of LIST0 and LIST1, motion information in the same direction as a direction indicated by a current encoding/decoding target picture may be brought.", "When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a list direction and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known by using collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using the motion information of the reference layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the information on the collocated picture (ColPic) of the first layer for the TMVP of the second layer and the information on the reference picture list direction may be signaled through additional syntax information as represented in Table 9.For example, when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1, the reference picture list direction of the collocated picture may be determined from the value of collocated_from_I0_flag, and a referred layer may be known from the value of collocated_ref_layer_idx.", "TABLE 9 slice_segment_header( ){ if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ){ if ( slice_type == B) collocated_from_I0_flag slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag ) { collocated_ref_layer_idx ue(v) } else { if( ( collocated_from_I0_flag && num_ref_idx_I0_active_ minus1 > 0 ) || ( !collocated_from_I0_flag && num_ref_idx_I1_active_ minus1 > 0 ) ) collocated_ref_idx ue(v) } } } Referring to Table 9, collocated_from_I0_flag indicates the reference picture list direction to which the collocated picture belongs when slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag is 1 and in case of the B slice.", "When collocated_from_I0_flag is not present, collocated_from_I0_flag may be inferred as 1.In this case, the restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "collocated_ref_layer_idx is an indicator that indicates information of the reference layer used for the motion prediction when the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 2 or more.", "When the number of reference layers used for the motion prediction is 1, collocated_ref_layer_idx may be skipped.", "In this case, the restriction that all slices in the picture need to have the same value may be imposed.", "The list direction for the collocated picture may be determined from collocated_from_I0_flag transmitted in the higher layer.", "When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a list direction and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known by using collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using the motion information of the reference layer.", "When slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, information of a referred layer may be known through collocated_ref_layer_idx and the motion information of the reference layer collocated picture may be mapped to the image size of the second layer, as represented in Table 10.In this case, according to a slice type, in case of a P slice, the picture of the reference layer which is present in LIST0 is set as the collocated picture and in case of the B slice, one direction of LIST0 and LIST1 is regulated and the picture of the corresponding reference layer is set as the collocated picture to be similarly used by the encoding/decoding apparatus.", "When the base layer or slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 0, a list direction and a collocated picture in the second layer may be known by using collocated_from_I0_flag and collocated_ref_idx without using the motion information of the reference layer.", "TABLE 10 slice_segment_header( ){ if( slice_temporal_mvp_enabled_flag ) { slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag u(1) if(slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag ){ collocated_ref_layer_idx ue(v) } else{ if ( slice_type == B) collocated_from_I0_flag u(1) if( ( collocated_from_I0_flag && num_ref_idx_I0_active_minus1 > 0 ) || ( !collocated_from_I0_flag && num_ref_idx_I1_active_minus1 > 0 ) ) collocated_ref_idx ue(v) } } } According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, when the picture is divided into N independent slices, slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flags in respective slice segment headers need to have the same value and one motion information mapping process per picture may be performed according to the value of slice_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag in a first independence slice segment header.", "In the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, ‘sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag’ transmitted in the higher level is used as information that indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping, but the information is extended to be used as information that indicates whether to perform an inter-layer syntax prediction.", "For example, when sps_inter_layer_mfm_enable_flag is 1, the inter-layer syntax (motion information) prediction may be performed as well as the motion information mapping.", "In the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, a separate syntax that indicates whether to perform the motion information mapping is used, but the motion information mapping may be performed according to a syntax information value regarding execution of the inter-layer prediction without transmitting the separate syntax.", "In the present invention, it may be judged whether to perform the motion information mapping by using the syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction signaled in the higher layer.", "The syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction may be signaled in the higher level.", "The higher level may be the video parameter set (VPS), the sequence parameter set (SPS), the picture parameter set (PPS), the slice segment header, and the like.", "According to an embodiment of the present invention a syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction may be transmitted in the VPS as represented in Table 11.TABLE 11 vps_extension( ){ Descriptor for ( i = 1; i <= vps_max_layer_id; i++) no_inter_layer_pred_flag [i] u(1) } Referring to Table 11, in the case where the syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer prediction is transmitted in the VPS, when no_inter_layer_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping may not be performed and when no_inter_layer_pred_flag is 0, the motion information mapping may be performed.", "In the present invention, it may be judged whether to perform the motion information mapping by using the syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction signaled in the higher layer.", "The syntax information that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may be signaled in the higher level.", "The higher level may be the video parameter set (VPS), the sequence parameter set (SPS), the picture parameter set (PPS), the slice segment header, and the like.", "According to an embodiment of the present invention a syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may be transmitted in the PPS as represented in Table 12.TABLE 12 if ( pps extension_flag ) Descriptor no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 12, in the case where the syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction is transmitted in the PPS, when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 0, the motion information mapping may be performed and when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping may not be performed.", "According to another embodiment of the present invention a syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction may be transmitted in the syntax segment heard as represented in Table 13.TABLE 13 if ( slice_segment_header_extension_present_flag) Descriptor no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 13, in the case where the syntax that indicates whether to perform the inter-layer syntax prediction is transmitted in the slice segment header, when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 0, the motion information mapping may be performed and when no_inter_layer_syntax_pred_flag is 1, the motion information mapping may not be performed.", "Referring back to FIG.", "4, the encoding/decoding apparatus adds the information of the first layer to the reference picture list of the second layer to encode/decode the image of the second layer (S420).", "That is, the encoding/decoding apparatus may add decoded sample values and motion information of the first layer mapped to the second layer image size to the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer through steps S400 to S410 described above, and configure the reference picture list of the second layer image by using the added information of the first layer.", "In addition, the encoding/decoding apparatus may perform the inter prediction of generating the prediction signal for the image of the second layer based on the reference picture list.", "When the reference picture list of the second layer is configured, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a last position of the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a specific position of the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "In this case, the specific position may be known in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like) or the specific position may be designated by a determined regulation without transmitting additional information.", "Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to reference picture lists L0 and L1 for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "In this case, positions added to the reference picture lists L0 and L1 may be the same as each other or different from each other.", "For example, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a first position in the reference picture list L0 and the decoded image of the first layer may be added to a last position in the reference picture list L1.Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to any one of the reference picture list directions L0 and L1 for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer.", "For example, when the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer is encoded/decoded to the B slice, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to only the reference picture list L0 or the reference picture list L1.In this case, when the decoded image of the first layer is added to a specific-direction reference picture list, there may be known a position in the specific-direction reference picture list to which the decoded image of the first layer is to be added in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like) or a specific position may be designated according to a determined regulation without transmitting additional information.", "Alternatively, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to different positions of the reference picture list depending on a depth by using hierarchical depth information of a prediction structure.", "In this case, information on the positions may be known in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like).", "For example, the position in the reference picture list to which the decoded image of the first layer is added may vary based on a value of a temporal level (temporal_Id) depending on the hierarchical depth.", "As one example, in the case where the temporal level temporal_Id is equal to or more than 2, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to the last position and in the case where the temporal level temporal_Id is less than 2, the decoded image of the first layer may be added to the first position of the reference picture list.", "In this case, a reference temporal level value may be known in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like).", "The decoded image of the first layer may include the decoded motion information of the first layer mapped to the image size of the second layer as well as the decoded sample values of the first layer.", "The encoding/decoding apparatus may add the decoded image of the first layer to the reference picture list for the current encoding/decoding target image of the second layer by the aforementioned method and thereafter, predict the current encoding target image of the second layer by a general inter-prediction method.", "When the prediction is performed by using the decoded image of the first layer as a reference signal of the current encoding target image of the second layer (when the inter-layer prediction is performed), the encoding apparatus may use as a prediction signal a first layer sample value at the same position as a prediction block in the current encoding target image without a motion predicting process.", "In this case, the encoding apparatus may not transmit motion information (for example, a motion vector difference value, a motion prediction candidate flag, and the like) of a corresponding block.", "The decoding apparatus may use as the prediction signal the first layer sample value at the same position as the prediction block in the current decoding target image without decoding the motion information (for example, the motion vector difference value, the motion prediction candidate flag, and the like) for the prediction block in the current decoding target image of the second layer when the an image indicated by the reference picture index of the second layer is the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list.", "When an image indicated by the reference picture index of the current decoding target block of the second layer is the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list (when the inter-layer prediction is performed), the decoding apparatus may predict the current decoding target block of the second layer by judging whether to decode the motion information (for example, the motion vector difference value, the motion prediction candidate flag, and the like) for the current decoding target block of the second layer based on information transmitted in the higher level (for example, the VPS, the SPS, the PPS, the slice segment header, and the like).", "Table 14 represents one example of a syntax in which information (sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag) that indicates whether an inter-layer motion vector has a value of (0, 0) is transmitted in the SPS.", "TABLE 14 sps_extension( ){ Descriptor sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag u(1) } Referring to Table 14, when sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag transmitted in the SPS has a value of 1 and the reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicates the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list, the decoding apparatus may use, as the prediction signal for the current decoding target block, the decoded sample value of the first layer image which has the same position as the current target block without decoding the motion vector difference value and the motion prediction candidate flag.", "When sps_inter_layer_mv_zero_flag transmitted in the SPS has a value of 0 and the reference picture index of the current decoding target block indicates the decoded image of the first layer in the reference picture list, the decoding apparatus may decode the motion vector difference value and the motion prediction candidate flag and thereafter, acquire a motion vector value, and use, as the prediction signal for the current decoding target block, the decoded sample value of the first layer image which is at a position of the acquired motion vector value.", "Meanwhile, the encoding apparatus may use the decoded image of the first layer as a collocated picture for predicting the temporal motion vector of the second layer in order to use the mapped motion information of the first layer as a temporal motion vector candidate for the current encoding target block of the second layer.", "In this case, the encoding apparatus may designate the decoded image of the first layer as the collocated image through information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture in the slice segment header.", "When the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture in the slice segment header transmitted in the encoder indicates the decoded image of the first layer, the decoding apparatus may use the mapped motion information of the first layer as the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer.", "When the mapped motion information of the first layer is used as the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer, the encoding/decoding apparatus may use at least one of the mapped motion information of the first layer, that is, at least one of the reference picture POC, the reference picture list, and the picture type (the short-term picture and the long-term reference picture) of the reference picture and scale and use a motion vector of the second layer according to a temporal distance by using one or more pieces of mapped motion information of the first layer.", "When the prediction is performed by adding only the decoded reference sample values of the first layer image to the reference picture list without permitting the motion information mapping of the first layer, the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture may be restricted in a standard document so as not to indicate the decoded image of the first layer as the collocated picture.", "As another example of using the mapped motion information of the first layer as the motion information of the second layer, the mapped motion information of the first layer may be used not as the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer but as an additional candidate mode.", "In this case, the information (collocated_ref_idx) that indicates the collocated picture may be restricted in the standard document so as not to indicate the decoded image of the first layer as the collocated picture, so that the temporal motion vector candidate of the second layer is calculated from the reference picture of the second layer.", "Further, in order to use the motion information of the first layer mapped to the additional candidate mode, the encoding apparatus may additionally transmit an index (for example, base_ref_idx) that may indicate a position of the mapped image of the first layer in the reference picture list in the slice segment header, and the like in the slice segment header, and the like.", "A position of the additional candidate mode in the reference picture list may be applied similarly to the encoding apparatus and the decoding apparatus.", "The method according to the present invention is prepared as a program for being executed in a computer to be stored in a computer-readable medium, and examples of the computer readable recording medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storing device and the computer readable recording medium may also be implemented in a form of a carrier wave (for example, transmission through the Internet).", "Further, the computer-readable recording media are distributed on computer systems connected through the network, and thus the computer-readable recording media may be stored and executed as the computer-readable code by a distribution scheme.", "Further, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the method may be easily inferred by a programmer in a technical field to which the present invention belongs.", "In the aforementioned embodiments, methods have been described based on flowcharts as a series of steps or blocks, but the methods are not limited to the order of the steps of the present invention and any step may occur in a step or an order different from or simultaneously as the aforementioned step or order.", "Further, it can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that steps shown in the flowcharts are not exclusive and other steps may be included or one or more steps do not influence the scope of the present invention and may be deleted.", "While some exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art may change, modify, and substitute the present invention in various ways without departing from the essential characteristic of the present invention.", "Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to limit the technical spirit but describe with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.", "The scope of the present invention may be interpreted by the appended claims and the technical spirit in the equivalent range are intended to be embraced by the invention." ] ]
Patent_15875173
[ [ "CONTACT LENS MOUNTING SPECULUM FOR VITREORETINAL SURGERY", "A contact lens is placed on a patient's eye during ophthalmic surgery, such as vitreoretinal surgery.", "The contact lens rests on a cornea of an eye of a patient during the surgery and is supported by a contact lens mounting speculum having multiple degrees of freedom to accommodate small movements of the eye while enabling alignment to an optical axis of the surgical microscope.", "The contact lens mounting speculum may be used with different patients, speculum blades, contact lenses (direct and indirect), and lens mounting positions." ], [ "1-20.", "(canceled) 21.A method for performing ophthalmic surgery, comprising: positioning a first optical axis of a surgical microscope along a second optical axis of an eye of a patient; fitting a contact lens mounting speculum to the patient, wherein the contact lens mounting speculum comprises: a main body; two speculum blades extending from the main body; a temple support pad coupled to the main body; and a mounting ring coupled to the main body; retracting eyelids of the patient with the two speculum blades; translating the mounting ring with respect to the main body in a first direction parallel to the first optical axis of the surgical microscope; positioning a contact lens into contact with the eye; and viewing an interior portion of the eye using the contact lens, wherein the contact lens is mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum.", "22.The method of claim 21, wherein the contact lens is mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to prevent tilting of the contact lens away from the first optical axis.", "23.The method of claim 21, wherein the contact lens is mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to enable movement of the contact lens with respect to the surgical microscope in the first direction parallel to the first optical axis.", "24.The method of claim 21, wherein the contact lens is mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to enable movement of the contact lens with respect to the surgical microscope in a second direction perpendicular to the first optical axis.", "25.The method of claim 21, wherein fitting the contact lens mounting speculum to the patient further comprises: adjusting the temple support pad to fit the patient, wherein the temple support pad is coupled to the main body with a first spherical joint.", "26.The method of claim 21, further comprising: installing the contact lens to the mounting ring.", "27.The method of claim 21, wherein the contact lens mounting speculum further comprises wire speculum blades.", "28.The method of claim 21, wherein the contact lens is an indirect contact lens.", "29.The method of claim 21, further comprising: compressing a first spherical joint between the main body and the temple support pad with a force sufficient to maintain a fixed position.", "30.The method of claim 21, wherein the contact lens mounting speculum further comprises: an articulated linkage, coupled to the mounting ring, for reducing friction when the mounting ring translates in the first direction.", "31.The method of claim 30, wherein the contact lens mounting speculum further comprises: a second rotation joint coupled to the articulated linkage at an opposing end from the mounting ring; an extension arm coupled to the second rotation joint; and a first rotation joint coupled to the extension arm opposite the second rotation joint.", "32.The method of claim 31, wherein the contact lens mounting speculum further comprises: a second spherical joint coupled to the first rotation joint between the first rotation joint and the main body.", "33.The method of claim 32, further comprising: compressing the second spherical joint with a force sufficient to maintain a fixed position.", "34.The method of claim 31, wherein the first rotation joint and the second rotation joint are parallel to the first direction.", "35.The method of claim 34, wherein the first rotation joint and the second rotation joint enable the mounting ring to translate in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.", "36.The method of claim 21, wherein the mounting ring includes a threaded adapter to receive the contact lens." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND <EOH>" ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY <EOH>The disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure provide for illuminating and viewing the extreme periphery of the fundus during vitreoretinal surgery without implementing extraneous operations, without using additional skilled surgical personnel, and without having the positional instability of a free-standing indirect wide-angle contact lens.", "In one aspect, a disclosed method for performing ophthalmic surgery includes positioning a first optical axis of a surgical microscope along a second optical axis of an eye of a patient.", "The method may include fitting a contact lens mounting speculum to the patient.", "In the method, the contact lens mounting speculum may keep eyelids of the patient open.", "The method may include viewing an interior portion of the eye using a contact lens in contact with the eye.", "In the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to prevent tilting of the contact lens away from the first optical axis.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to enable movement of the contact lens with respect to the surgical microscope in a direction corresponding to the first optical axis.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to enable movement of the contact lens with respect to the surgical microscope in a direction perpendicular to the first optical axis.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, fitting the contact lens mounting speculum to the patient may further include adjusting a temple mounting pad to fit the patient.", "In the method, the temple mounting pad may be coupled to a main body of the contact lens mounting speculum with a spherical joint.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the method may include installing the contact lens to a mounting ring included with the contact lens mounting speculum.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens mounting speculum may include wire specula.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be an indirect contact lens.", "In another aspect, a contact lens mounting speculum, includes a main body, two speculum blades extending from the main body for retracting eyelids of a patient, a temple support pad coupled to the main body, and a mounting ring coupled to the main body to position a contact lens for viewing an eye of a patient during ophthalmic surgery using a surgical microscope.", "IN the contact lens mounting speculum, the mounting ring may translate with respect to the main body in a first direction parallel to an optical axis of the surgical microscope.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include a first spherical joint between the main body and the temple support pad.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include an articulated linkage, coupled to the mounting ring, for reducing friction when the mounting ring translates in the first direction.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include a second rotation joint coupled to the articulated linkage at an opposing end from the mounting ring, an extension arm coupled to the second rotation joint, and a first rotation joint coupled to the extension arm opposite the second rotation joint.", "In the contact lens mounting speculum, the first rotation joint and the second rotation joint may be parallel to the first direction.", "In the contact lens mounting speculum, the first rotation joint and the second rotation joint may enable the mounting ring to translate in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include a second spherical joint coupled to the first rotation joint between the first rotation joint and the main body.", "In the contact lens mounting speculum, at least one of the first spherical joint and the second spherical joint may be compressed with a force sufficient to maintain a fixed position.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the contact lens mounting speculum, the specula may include wire specula.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the contact lens mounting speculum, the mounting ring may include a threaded adapter to receive the contact lens.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the contact lens mounting speculum, the contact lens may be an indirect contact lens." ], [ "BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure relates to ophthalmic surgery, and more specifically, to a contact lens mounting speculum for vitreoretinal surgery.", "Description of the Related Art In ophthalmology, eye surgery, or ophthalmic surgery, saves and improves the vision of tens of thousands of patients every year.", "However, given the sensitivity of vision to even small changes in the eye and the minute and delicate nature of many eye structures, ophthalmic surgery is difficult to perform and the reduction of even minor or uncommon surgical errors or modest improvements in accuracy of surgical techniques can make an enormous difference in the patient's vision after the surgery.", "Ophthalmic surgery is performed on the eye and accessory visual structures.", "More specifically, vitreoretinal surgery encompasses various delicate procedures involving internal portions of the eye, such as the vitreous humor and the retina.", "Different vitreoretinal surgical procedures are used, sometimes with lasers, to improve visual sensory performance in the treatment of many eye diseases, including epimacular membranes, diabetic traction retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, macular hole, detached retina, and complications of cataract surgery, among others.", "During vitreoretinal surgery, an ophthalmologist typically uses a surgical microscope to view the fundus through the cornea, while surgical instruments that penetrate the sclera may be introduced to perform any of a variety of different procedures.", "The surgical microscope provides imaging and optionally illumination of the fundus during vitreoretinal surgery.", "The patient typically lies supine under the surgical microscope during vitreoretinal surgery and a speculum is used to keep the eye exposed by holding open the eyelids.", "Depending on a type of optical system used, the ophthalmologist has a given field of view of the fundus, which may vary from a narrow field of view to a wide field of view that can extend to peripheral regions of the fundus.", "For many types of vitreoretinal surgery using the surgical microscope, the surgeon may desire to have a very wide field of view of the fundus that extends beyond the equator and even out to the ora serrata.", "The optical system to provide the view of the fundus to the surgeon during vitreoretinal surgery may include a special ocular lens, of which three types are typically used: a direct (plano, flat, or magnifying) contact lens, an indirect non-contact lens, or an indirect contact lens.", "A contact lens is in physical contact with the cornea and therefore has a concave surface to match the convex surface of the cornea.", "Typically a small amount of viscoelastic gel or saline fluid resides between the cornea and the contact lens to prevent unwanted extraneous interfacial reflections and to protect the cornea from dehydration.", "A non-contact lens does not touch the eye and is spaced a certain working distance away from the eye.", "A direct lens creates a non-inverted virtual image of the fundus behind the eye lens and generally in front of the fundus.", "The surgeon uses the surgical microscope to focus directly on this non-inverted virtual image, which is also referred to as an intermediate image plane or a focus plane.", "The direct lens enables the surgeon to directly view the fundus.", "An indirect lens creates an inverted real image in the intermediate image plane in front of the eye lens (between the eye lens and the surgical microscope) and the surgeon uses the surgical microscope to focus on this intermediate image plane.", "The indirect lens enables the surgeon to indirectly view the fundus via the intermediate image plane.", "Since the indirect lens image is inverted to the viewer looking through the surgical microscope, typically an inverter lens is added to the surgical microscope to re-invert the fundus image to match the physical orientation of the eye during vitreoretinal surgery.", "A direct contact lens can be placed onto the eye and is generally thin enough axially to normally remain in place on the cornea during vitreoretinal surgery.", "In certain optical systems, direct contact lenses have self-stabilizing features on the lens, such as base extensions that assist in keeping the direct contact lens from moving during surgery.", "However, a direct contact lens may not provide a very wide field of view into the fundus and of the retina and the field of view may be limited to about 30 degrees.", "An indirect non-contact lens is not in contact with the eye and may be fixed to the surgical microscope.", "Therefore, the indirect non-contact lens may avoid issues of positional instability and additional resources involved (such as having a skilled surgical assistant to hold or reposition the lens) during vitreoretinal surgery.", "At least for these reasons, the indirect non-contact lens may be the ophthalmic surgical lens often chosen by many ophthalmologists.", "However, an indirect non-contact lens may be limited in the field of view of the fundus provided to the surgeon during vitreoretinal surgery.", "For example, the field of view using an indirect non-contact lens may be limited to less than about 140 degrees (full angle) and may be about 10 degrees less than wide angle contact lenses.", "Non-contact lenses do not eliminate corneal asphericity and may result in the surgeon rotating the eye farther than with a wide angle contact lens in order to view the peripheral retina.", "In order to see beyond the region of fundus viewable at one time with the indirect non-contact lenses, the surgeon may employ various techniques during vitreoretinal surgery.", "For example, the surgeon may indent a peripheral region of sclera to push the fundus in the affected region into the field of view.", "The surgeon may rotate the eye off the optical axis to direct the field of view onto the desired peripheral region.", "In some instances, a combination of techniques is used.", "Frequently rotating the eye or depressing the sclera to view peripheral regions of the fundus are extraneous operations during vitreoretinal surgery that are performed for the purpose of obtaining a sufficient view.", "Scleral depression may result in additional trauma for the eye and may increase time of surgery, which may be undesirable for at least these reasons.", "An indirect (wide-angle) contact lens may provide a much greater field of view of the fundus than other types of ophthalmic surgical lenses.", "Contact lenses may provide a field of view up to about 170 degrees (full angle), essentially out to the very edge of the retina at the ora serrata in a single image.", "However, contact lenses, which rest on the cornea during vitreoretinal surgery, are generally top-heavy due to their optical construction and typically move in angular and positional orientation after initial placement on the eye.", "Contact lenses may also be relatively sensitive to small movements by the patient during surgery, which is undesirable.", "Therefore, the surgeon oftentimes engages the help of an assistant, either to continually hold the contact lens in place or to frequently reposition the contact lens many times during the course of vitreoretinal surgery.", "Despite the large field of view afforded, the lack of positional stability and the additional involvement of a skilled surgical assistant to position the lens may be undesirable.", "At least for these reasons, the free-standing contact lens may be a less popular choice among vitreoretinal surgeons than a non-contact system.", "SUMMARY The disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure provide for illuminating and viewing the extreme periphery of the fundus during vitreoretinal surgery without implementing extraneous operations, without using additional skilled surgical personnel, and without having the positional instability of a free-standing indirect wide-angle contact lens.", "In one aspect, a disclosed method for performing ophthalmic surgery includes positioning a first optical axis of a surgical microscope along a second optical axis of an eye of a patient.", "The method may include fitting a contact lens mounting speculum to the patient.", "In the method, the contact lens mounting speculum may keep eyelids of the patient open.", "The method may include viewing an interior portion of the eye using a contact lens in contact with the eye.", "In the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to prevent tilting of the contact lens away from the first optical axis.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to enable movement of the contact lens with respect to the surgical microscope in a direction corresponding to the first optical axis.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum to enable movement of the contact lens with respect to the surgical microscope in a direction perpendicular to the first optical axis.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, fitting the contact lens mounting speculum to the patient may further include adjusting a temple mounting pad to fit the patient.", "In the method, the temple mounting pad may be coupled to a main body of the contact lens mounting speculum with a spherical joint.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the method may include installing the contact lens to a mounting ring included with the contact lens mounting speculum.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens mounting speculum may include wire specula.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the method, the contact lens may be an indirect contact lens.", "In another aspect, a contact lens mounting speculum, includes a main body, two speculum blades extending from the main body for retracting eyelids of a patient, a temple support pad coupled to the main body, and a mounting ring coupled to the main body to position a contact lens for viewing an eye of a patient during ophthalmic surgery using a surgical microscope.", "IN the contact lens mounting speculum, the mounting ring may translate with respect to the main body in a first direction parallel to an optical axis of the surgical microscope.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include a first spherical joint between the main body and the temple support pad.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include an articulated linkage, coupled to the mounting ring, for reducing friction when the mounting ring translates in the first direction.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include a second rotation joint coupled to the articulated linkage at an opposing end from the mounting ring, an extension arm coupled to the second rotation joint, and a first rotation joint coupled to the extension arm opposite the second rotation joint.", "In the contact lens mounting speculum, the first rotation joint and the second rotation joint may be parallel to the first direction.", "In the contact lens mounting speculum, the first rotation joint and the second rotation joint may enable the mounting ring to translate in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments, the contact lens mounting speculum may include a second spherical joint coupled to the first rotation joint between the first rotation joint and the main body.", "In the contact lens mounting speculum, at least one of the first spherical joint and the second spherical joint may be compressed with a force sufficient to maintain a fixed position.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the contact lens mounting speculum, the specula may include wire specula.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the contact lens mounting speculum, the mounting ring may include a threaded adapter to receive the contact lens.", "In any of the disclosed embodiments of the contact lens mounting speculum, the contact lens may be an indirect contact lens.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present invention and its features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG.", "1 is a perspective view of selected elements of an embodiment of a contact lens mounting speculum; FIG.", "2 is a top view of selected elements of an embodiment of a contact lens mounting speculum fitted to a patient; FIG.", "3 is a depiction of an embodiment of a vitreoretinal surgery using a surgical microscope and a contact lens mounting speculum; and FIG.", "4 is a flow chart of selected elements of a method for performing vitreoretinal surgery.", "DESCRIPTION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENT(S) In the following description, details are set forth by way of example to facilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter.", "It should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possible embodiments.", "As used herein, a hyphenated form of a reference numeral refers to a specific instance of an element and the un-hyphenated form of the reference numeral refers to the collective element.", "Thus, for example, device ‘12-1’ refers to an instance of a device class, which may be referred to collectively as devices ‘12’ and any one of which may be referred to generically as a device ‘12’.", "As noted above, free-standing indirect contact lenses, though they provide a much greater field of view of the fundus than other types of ophthalmic surgical lenses, are not frequently used by surgeons during vitreoretinal surgery.", "Because indirect contact lenses are top heavy in construction, such lenses may exhibit positional instability when resting on the cornea of a patient during surgery.", "Indirect contact lenses may easily lose angular and positional orientation after initial placement on the eye, resulting in repeated or continuous manual effort for repositioning during surgery.", "Furthermore, the instability of a typical indirect contact lens may be unpredictable during surgery, which is also undesirable.", "The present disclosure relates to a contact lens mounting speculum for mechanically supporting a contact lens during ophthalmic surgery.", "The contact lens may be a direct contact lens or an indirect contact lens.", "The contact lens mounting speculum disclosed herein forces the contact lens to remain upright, and hence remain aligned with the surgeon's view through an optical axis of the surgical microscope into the eye of the patient during surgery.", "The contact lens mounting speculum disclosed herein may further enable the contact lens to move without substantial mechanical resistance in the horizontal and vertical directions (within certain limits) to conform to the position of the eye during surgery.", "In this manner, the contact lens mounting speculum disclosed herein may preserve alignment to the microscope axis for viewing through the contact lens, while retaining a certain amount of flexibility in translational movement, such as from small movements of the patient during surgery.", "Accordingly, the contact lens mounting speculum disclosed herein may enable the ophthalmic surgeon to enjoy the wide angle viewing capabilities afforded by indirect contact lenses, without the positional instability problems of a free-standing indirect contact lens without mechanical support, such as using additional skilled surgical personnel, and without implementing extraneous operations during surgery, such as rotating the eye or indenting the sclera to view desired portions of the fundus.", "As will be described in further detail, the contact lens mounting speculum disclosed herein allows a surgeon to intraoperatively view the ocular fundus and periphery through a contact lens without assistance, by providing an adaptive articulating lens mount system that supports the contact lens and passively accommodates horizontal movement to maintain lens contact and orthogonality despite ocular rotation or movement.", "The adjustable and adaptive contact lens mounting speculum disclosed herein may be comprised of two spherical friction joints, two cylindrical free-rotating parallel joints, and an articulated linkage with substantially parallel members on cylindrical free-rotating parallel joints at each end.", "The contact lens mounting speculum described below may provide in-situ fit adjustment in a single step by the surgeon to accommodate different patient characteristics, lens heights, speculum blade types and other mounting variations.", "The contact lens mounting speculum described below may also provide frictionless, tilt-free passive lateral movement intra-surgically, to maintain contact of the contact lens to the patient eye as the eye is moved and rotated by the surgeon.", "Additionally, the contact lens mounting speculum described below is compact to preserve surgical access and can be used with the left or right eye.", "The contact lens mounting speculum described below may receive various commercially available surgical contact lenses (including direct and indirect contact lenses), wire speculum blades, adjustable speculum blades, or other mounting adapters, and may be relatively inexpensive to manufacture as a surgical consumable.", "Referring now to the drawings, FIGS.", "1 and 2 illustrate different views of selected elements of an embodiment of a contact lens mounting speculum 100 for supporting a contact lens 120.The drawings illustrate an embodiment of contact lens mounting speculum 100 that may not be drawn to a given scale, such that particular elements included with contact lens mounting speculum 100 may be sized differently in some embodiments.", "Although the patient is omitted for clarity in FIG.", "1, contact lens mounting speculum 100 enables a contact lens 120 to rest on an eye of a patient (see also FIGS.", "2 and 3).", "As will be described in further detail, FIG.", "1 shows a perspective view of contact lens mounting speculum 100 with a contact lens 120 mounted thereto.", "It is noted that in other embodiments, different types of contact lenses, such as direct contact lenses, may be used with contact lens mounting speculum 100.Contact lens mounting speculum 100 may be made using any of a variety of materials, including metals, ceramics, and polymers.", "Contact lens mounting speculum 100, as shown, is comprised of a temple support pad 110, a first spherical joint 112, a main body 118, a pair of wire speculum blades 130, a second spherical joint 122, a first rotation joint 124, an extension arm 126, a second rotation joint 128, an articulated linkage 114, and a mounting ring 116 for retaining contact lens 120.In various embodiments, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may be implemented with fewer or more components than illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of FIG.", "1, which is shown for descriptive purposes.", "In FIG.", "1, contact lens mounting speculum 100 includes temple support pad 110 coupled to main body 118 via first spherical joint 112.Temple support pad 110 may aid in supporting contact lens mounting speculum 100 to remain upright and in position.", "In particular, temple support pad 110 may stabilize contact lens mounting speculum 100 by counterbracing the weight of contact lens 120 while in contact with the patient's eye.", "Because temple support pad 110 is adjustable using first spherical joint 112, temple support pad 110 may prevent various undesired motion of contact lens mounting speculum 100, as a third supporting base point, in addition to each of wire speculum blades 130.In this manner, temple support pad 110 may provide stability and may enable contact lens mounting speculum 100 to be used with various different implementations of contact lens 120, as well as other types of contact lenses.", "First spherical joint 112 may act as a universal joint to enable flexible positioning of temple support pad 110 with respect to the patient.", "It is noted that an amount of compressive force applied to generate friction in first spherical joint 112 may be designed for a particular stabilization force that temple support pad 110 provides.", "In other words, first spherical joint 112 may be compressed with a force sufficient to maintain a fixed position.", "In some embodiments, the compressive force at first spherical joint 112 is mechanically adjustable, such as with a threaded compressive element (not shown).", "In some embodiments, the compressive supporting force at first spherical joint 112 is augmented by a preload force, such as may be provided by a spring or other flexible biasing element (not shown).", "Also in FIG.", "1 coupled to main body 118 are wire speculum blades 130, shown comprising first wire speculum blade 130-1 and second wire speculum blade 130-2.Wire speculum blades 130 are used to hold open the eyelids of the patient during vitreoretinal surgery.", "Wire speculum blades 130 may also provide mechanical support and stability to contact lens mounting speculum 100 by contributing to the stabilization of main body 118, particularly when applied to the eyelids of the patient.", "As a result, contact lens mounting speculum 100 provides both functionality to hold the eyelids of the patient open during surgery, as well as functionality to support different types of interchangeable lenses, including a flat/plano lens used for macular surgery and a wide angle lens for peripheral retinal viewing that includes multiple lenses.", "Such lenses are represented by a contact lens 120 in FIG.", "1, which may represent a direct contact lens or an indirect contact lens.", "Although contact lens mounting speculum 100 is shown with wire speculum blades 130, different kinds of speculum blades may be fitted to contact lens mounting speculum 100 in place of, or in addition to wire speculum blades 130.It is noted that main body 118 may rest on the patient when contact lens mounting speculum 100 is used during vitreoretinal surgery.", "Additionally attached to main body 118 is second spherical joint 122, which may be similar to first spherical joint 112 described above.", "Second spherical joint 122 may provide a means to orient the axes of movement of contact lens 120 by virtue of attachment via extension arm 126 and articulated linkage 114.It is noted that an amount of compressive force applied to generate friction in second spherical joint 122 may be designed for a particular stabilization force or degree of stabilization of contact lens 120.In other words, second spherical joint 120 may be compressed with a force sufficient to maintain a fixed position.", "In some embodiments, the compressive force at second spherical joint 122 is mechanically adjustable, such as with a threaded compressive element (not shown).", "In some embodiments, the compressive supporting force at second spherical joint 122 is augmented by a preload force, such as may be provided by a spring or other flexible biasing element (not shown).", "Also in FIG.", "1, first rotation joint 124 is situated between second spherical joint 122 and extension arm 126 to enable extension arm 126 to rotate laterally about first rotation joint 124.At an opposing end of extension arm 126, second rotation joint 128 enables articulated linkage 114 to rotate laterally about extension arm 126.First rotation joint 124 and second rotation joint 128 may be cylindrical free-rotating parallel joints.", "In this manner, first rotation joint 124 and second rotation joint 128 may enable lateral positioning of contact lens 120, as desired.", "In some embodiments, at least one of first rotation joint 124 and second rotation joint 128 may be detained, or restricted, to a certain degree of rotation, such as to a limited angular range.", "It is noted that an amount of friction in first rotation joint 124 and second rotation joint 128 may be selected as desired.", "In some embodiments, first rotation joint 124 and second rotation joint 128 may be substantially frictionless.", "As shown, articulated linkage 114 may be a 4-bar linkage that allows contact lens 120 to frictionlessly, or substantially frictionlessly, adapt within a range of vertical distances of the patient's eye relative to speculum blades 130, to accommodate the patient's anatomical characteristics, different lens mounting heights, and various shapes and mounting positions.", "Other types of linkages may be used for articulated linkage 114 in other embodiments.", "The contact between contact lens 120 and the patient's the eye may be provided by the weight of contact lens 120 and mounting ring 116, which rest on the eye, while a negligible amount of downward force on the eye may result from other elements of contact lens mounting speculum 100.As shown in FIG.", "1, mounting ring 116 may be fixed to an opposing end of articulated linkage 114 from second rotation joint 128.Mounting ring 116 may be enabled to receive a particular model of contact lens 120, such as by using a compliant snap-fit or using internal threads that mate with corresponding threads of contact lens 120.In some embodiments, mounting ring 116 may be replaceable for different types of contact lens 120.In particular embodiments, mounting ring 116 may receive more than one type of contact lens 120.In other embodiments, mounting ring 116 may be a different type of mechanical coupling mechanism, such as a threaded rod or hole, a clip, an insert, etc., for coupling contact lens 120 in a fixed manner to articulated linkage 114.Accordingly, when attached to a patient, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may enable an objective of a surgical microscope to view an indirect image generated by contact lens 120, and to focus on a focal plane where the indirect image is generated.", "Thus, contact lens 120 is mechanically coupled to the patient using contact lens mounting speculum 100 but is still afforded a certain degree of horizontal and vertical motion with very low friction, and may accommodate different patient characteristics, different speculum blades, different lens characteristics, and different mounting positions.", "Contact lens mounting speculum 100 may be used to safely place contact lens 120 on the eye during vitreoretinal surgery and to hold contact lens 120 in alignment with an optical axis of the surgical microscope (see also FIG.", "3), which may be aligned with an optical axis of the eye.", "Although obscured from view in FIG.", "1, contact lens 120 may include a concave portion that mates with the convex shape of the cornea, where an optical coupling agent may be used.", "The optical coupling agent may be applied as a film interfacial layer to prevent unwanted reflections and to enable viewing into the eye along its optical axis irrespective of a tilt angle of the eye axis relative to an optical axis of the surgical microscope (see also FIG.", "3).", "The film interfacial layer created by the optical coupling agent may eliminate air bubbles at the lens-cornea interface and prevent the cornea from losing moisture.", "The film interfacial layer may thus function as an optical base out prism to promote enhanced viewing of peripheral regions of the fundus.", "The indirect image generated by contact lens 120 at the focal plane may correspond to a field of view that is relatively wide and may extend out beyond the eye equator to the ora serrata where the retina ends.", "Thus, the field of view afforded by contact lens mounting speculum 100 may include a large portion of the fundus that is filled with vitreous humor, including all or most of the retina.", "In this manner, the surgeon is afforded a safe and stable view to perform any of a variety of surgical techniques on the eye.", "Furthermore, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may enable relatively quick removal and replacement of contact lens 120 on the eye, even during surgery, as desired.", "Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to surgical microscope attachment 100 without departing from the scope of the disclosure.", "The components and elements of contact lens mounting speculum 100, as described herein, may be integrated or separated according to particular applications.", "Contact lens mounting speculum 100 may be implemented using more, fewer, or different components in some embodiments.", "FIG.", "2 shows a top view 200 of contact lens mounting speculum 100 when resting on an eye of a patient 201.Top view 200 corresponds to a perspective of a surgeon performing vitreoretinal surgery looking down into the eye through contact lens 120 secured by contact lens mounting speculum 100, as described above.", "Visible in top view 200 are contact lens 120, mounting ring 116, articulated linkage 114, second rotation joint 128, extension arm 126, first rotation joint 124, wire speculum blades 130, and temple support pad 110.Referring now to FIG.", "3, a depiction of an embodiment of a vitreoretinal surgery 300 using a surgical microscope 302 and contact lens mounting speculum 100 for supporting contact lens 120 is shown.", "In FIG.", "3, the use of contact lens mounting speculum 100 as shown in FIG.", "2 with a patent and a surgeon is depicted.", "Although FIG.", "3 is shown with surgical microscope 302 above the patient, it is noted that different orientations of the patient with respect to surgical microscope 302 may be practiced in different embodiments.", "The patient has an eye exposed using contact lens mounting speculum 100 that is in contact with contact lens 120, while the surgeon is viewing the fundus of the patient's eye using surgical microscope 102.As a result of articulated linkage 114, explained above with respect of FIG.", "1, which provides low friction movement, very little vertical or horizontal pressure is extorted on the eye of the patient in vitreoretinal surgery 300.Because contact lens 120 still rests freely on the cornea, contact lens 120 may be self-retaining due to the weight of contact lens 120 transmitted to the convex portion of the cornea, which resists lateral sliding of contact lens 120 relative to the cornea.", "Contact lens mounting speculum 100 may ensure that contact lens 120 remains parallel to the patient's frontal plane even when the eye is rotated, by allowing for translation and height adjustment.", "Because the cornea and contact lens 120 mate as a ball and socket socket joint, contact lens 120 does not rotate with the eye, while being adjustable to different lateral positions using the articulated mechanism described herein.", "Therefore, when the patient's eye moves slightly relative to surgical microscope 302, contact lens 120 stays with the patient's eye and may move relative to surgical microscope 202.However, as explained previously, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may keep contact lens 120 upright and aids in maintaining alignment of optical axis 331 of contact lens 120 with an optical axis 306 of surgical microscope 302, thereby enabling useful imaging for the surgeon to be maintained during surgery without external intervention, such as by a skilled surgical technician.", "Even when the optical axis 131 deviates slightly from the optical axis of the surgical microscope during vitreoretinal surgery, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may still enable useful imaging of the fundus by keeping optical axis 331 aligned with optical axis 306 of surgical microscope 302.In other words, even when optical axis 331 of the eye tilts away from optical axis 306 during vitreoretinal surgery, for example due to eye movement by the patient, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may enable the surgeon to continue viewing the fundus using contact lens 120.Furthermore, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may enable the surgeon to continue viewing the fundus without significant risk of injury to the patient that might otherwise result from an optical arrangement that is fixed and does not afford any motion of an ocular lens.", "When contact lens 120 is initially placed on the eye, optical axis 331 of the eye will generally be aligned with optical axis 306 of surgical microscope 202.However, when the patient's eye makes a small movement during surgery, optical axis 331 may become slightly non-aligned with optical axis 306.Even when optical axis 306 is no longer perfectly aligned with optical axis 331, contact lens mounting speculum 100 may keep contact lens 120 upright and viewable via optical axis 306 to enable useful viewing of the fundus during surgery without interruption.", "In this manner using contact lens mounting speculum 100, as disclosed herein, extraneous operations to view peripheral regions of the fundus may be avoided, and additional personnel or manual actions to maintain the positional stability of contact lens 120 may be eliminated.", "The objective used with surgical microscope 302 may have a focal length of about 175 mm to 225 mm that focuses on the focal plane of contact lens 120.It is noted that surgical microscope 302 may provide illumination for the fundus that is projected through contact lens 120.Thus the surgeon may be provided with a sufficient field of view via surgical microscope 202 and may safely proceed with any of a variety of vitreoretinal surgical procedures (not shown).", "Referring now to FIG.", "4, a flow chart of selected elements of an embodiment of a method 400 for performing vitreoretinal surgery, as described herein, is depicted in flowchart form.", "Method 400 describes steps and procedures for using contact lens mounting speculum 100 with contact lens 120 (see FIGS.", "1 and 2) to view the fundus of an eye and to enable further surgical procedures based on the view of the fundus.", "It is noted that certain operations described in method 400 may be optional or may be rearranged in different embodiments.", "Method 400 may be performed by a surgeon or by other medical personnel.", "In some embodiments, at least certain portions of method 400 may be automated, for example using servo-mechanical control associated with certain aspects of the surgical microscope, such as raising or lowering the surgical microscope.", "Method 400 may begin, at step 402, by positioning a first optical axis of a surgical microscope along a second optical axis of an eye of a patient.", "At step 404, the contact lens may be installed to a mounting ring included with a contact lens mounting speculum.", "At step 406, the contact lens mounting speculum may be fitted to the patient, such that the contact lens mounting speculum keeps eyelids of the patient open.", "At step 408, a temple mounting pad may be adjusted to fit the patient, such that the temple mounting pad is coupled to a main body of the contact lens mounting speculum with a spherical joint.", "At step 410, an interior portion of the eye may be viewed using a contact lens in contact with the eye, while the contact lens is mechanically coupled to the contact lens mounting speculum.", "As disclosed herein, a contact lens is placed on a patient's eye during ophthalmic surgery, such as vitreoretinal surgery.", "The contact lens rests on a cornea of an eye of a patient during the surgery and is supported by a contact lens mounting speculum having multiple degrees of freedom to accommodate small movements of the eye while enabling alignment to an optical axis of the surgical microscope.", "The contact lens mounting speculum may be used with different patients, speculum blades, contact lenses (direct and indirect), and lens mounting positions.", "The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure.", "Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description." ] ]
Patent_15875178
[ [ "LUBRICATION SYSTEM FOR GAS TURBINE ENGINES", "A lubrication system for a gas turbine engine according to an example of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a pump that moves a lubricant, a lubricant tank that stores the lubricant, a first engine component and a second engine component each requiring lubrication from the lubricant, a conduit between the lubricant tank and the first engine component and between the lubricant tank and the second engine component, a scheduling valve positioned in the conduit between the lubricant tank, and the first engine component and the second engine component, and a controller including a memory and a processor that controls the scheduling valve, wherein the memory includes an engine performance model, wherein the engine performance model includes stored relationship values between more than one condition experienced by the gas turbine engine during operation and a position of the scheduling valve, and wherein the scheduling valve varies a flow of the lubricant to the first engine component, the second engine component and the lubrication tank based on comparing the more than one condition with the engine performance model." ], [ "1.A lubrication system for a gas turbine engine, comprising: a pump that moves a lubricant; a lubricant tank that stores the lubricant; a first engine component and a second engine component each requiring lubrication from the lubricant; a conduit between the lubricant tank and the first engine component and between the lubricant tank and the second engine component; a scheduling valve positioned in the conduit between the lubricant tank, and the first engine component and the second engine component; and a controller including a memory and a processor that controls the scheduling valve, wherein the memory includes an engine performance model, wherein the engine performance model includes stored relationship values between more than one condition experienced by the gas turbine engine during operation and a position of the scheduling valve, and wherein the scheduling valve varies a flow of the lubricant to the first engine component, the second engine component and the lubrication tank based on comparing the more than one condition with the engine performance model.", "2.The lubrication system of claim 1, wherein the first engine component is a fan drive gear system that allows a fan to rotate at a different angular speed from a spool.", "3.The lubrication system of claim 2, wherein the scheduling valve at least partially diverts the flow of the lubricant to one of the first engine component, the second engine component and the lubrication tank.", "4.The lubrication system of claim 2, further comprising a plurality of sensors that each provide data about a state of the gas turbine engine that indicates one of the conditions.", "5.The lubrication system of claim 4, wherein the more than one condition includes two or more of: a calculated engine torque, an engine startup condition of the gas turbine engine, an altitude of the gas turbine engine, a vibration level of the gas turbine engine, a cruise condition of the gas turbine engine, a weight on wheels condition of an aircraft on which the gas turbine engine is mounted, and a burner pressure condition of a combustor.", "6.The lubrication system of claim 5, wherein the more than one condition includes the burner pressure condition.", "7.The lubrication system of claim 5, wherein the more than one condition includes the calculated engine torque, and the calculated engine torque includes a calculated torque for the fan.", "8.The lubrication system of claim 5, wherein the more than one condition includes the engine startup condition.", "9.The lubrication system of claim 5, wherein the more than one condition includes the altitude.", "10.The lubrication system of claim 5, wherein the more than one condition includes the vibration level, and the plurality of sensors includes an accelerometer located in the fan drive gear system and that is used to gather data indicating the vibration level.", "11.The lubrication system of claim 10, further comprising a de-aerator, a filter and a cooler each between the lubricant tank and the first engine component, and each between the lubricant tank and the second engine component.", "12.The lubrication system of claim 5, wherein the more than one condition includes the cruise condition, and the cruise condition includes a cruise condition for the fan.", "13.The lubrication system of claim 5, wherein the more than one condition includes the weight on wheels condition.", "14.A gas turbine engine, comprising: a fan section including a fan; a compressor section including a low pressure compressor and a high pressure compressor; a combustion section including a combustor downstream of the compressor section; a turbine section including a low pressure turbine and a high pressure turbine downstream of the combustor section; a lubrication system including a pump that moves a lubricant; a lubricant tank that stores the lubricant; a first engine component and a second engine component each requiring lubrication from the lubricant; a conduit between the lubricant tank and the first engine component and between the lubricant tank and the second engine component; a scheduling valve positioned in the conduit between the lubricant tank, and the first engine component and the second engine component; and a controller including a memory and a processor that controls the scheduling valve, wherein the memory includes an engine performance model, wherein the engine performance model includes stored relationship values between more than one condition experienced by the gas turbine engine during operation and a position of the scheduling valve, and wherein the scheduling valve varies a flow of the lubricant to the first engine component, the second engine component and the lubrication tank based on comparing the more than one condition with the engine performance model.", "15.The gas turbine engine of claim 14, wherein the first engine component is a fan drive gear system that allows the fan to rotate at a different angular speed from a spool.", "16.The gas turbine engine of claim 15, wherein the spool is a low speed spool including a shaft that interconnects the fan, the low pressure compressor and the low pressure turbine, and wherein the shaft is connected to the fan through a geared architecture that drives the fan at a lower speed that the low speed spool.", "17.The gas turbine engine of claim 16, wherein the fan section drives air along a bypass flow path in a bypass duct, and the compressor section drives air along a core flow path for communication into the combustion section, and further comprising a bypass ratio of greater than 10.18.The gas turbine engine of claim 17, wherein the geared architecture is an epicyclic gear train with a gear reduction ratio of greater than 2.3.19.The gas turbine engine of claim 16, further comprising a plurality of sensors that each provide data about a state of the gas turbine engine that indicates one of the conditions.", "20.The gas turbine engine of claim 19, wherein the fan section drives air along a bypass flow path in a bypass duct, and the compressor section drives air along a core flow path for communication into the combustion section, and further comprising a bypass ratio of greater than 10.21.The gas turbine engine of claim 20, wherein the pump is driven by a rotating component of the gas turbine engine.", "22.The gas turbine engine of claim 21, wherein the low pressure turbine has a pressure ratio that is greater than 5, and the pressure ratio of the low pressure turbine is a pressure measured prior to an inlet of the low pressure turbine as related to a pressure at an outlet of the turbine prior to an exhaust nozzle.", "23.The gas turbine engine of claim 22, wherein the more than one condition includes a calculated engine torque.", "24.The gas turbine engine of claim 23, wherein the calculated engine torque includes a calculated torque for the fan.", "25.The gas turbine engine of claim 19, wherein the more than one condition includes an altitude of the gas turbine engine.", "26.The gas turbine engine of claim 25, wherein the more than one condition includes a cruise condition for the fan.", "27.The gas turbine engine of claim 19, wherein the more than one condition includes a burner pressure condition within the combustor.", "28.The gas turbine engine of claim 19, wherein the more than one condition includes an engine startup condition of the gas turbine engine.", "29.The gas turbine engine of claim 19, wherein the more than one condition includes a vibration level of the fan drive gear system.", "30.The gas turbine engine of claim 29, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a vibration sensor located in the fan drive gear system and that is used to gather data indicating the vibration level, and the geared architecture is a planetary gear train with a gear reduction ratio of greater than 2.3." ], [ "<SOH> BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION <EOH>This disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engines and, more particularly, relates to a lubrication system for gas turbine engine components.", "Many modern aircraft, as well as other vehicles and industrial processes, employ gas turbine engines for generating energy and propulsion.", "Such engines include a fan, compressor, combustor and turbine provided in serial fashion, forming an engine core and arranged along a central longitudinal axis.", "Air enters the gas turbine engine through the fan and is pressurized in the compressor.", "This pressurized air is mixed with fuel in the combustor.", "The fuel-air mixture is then ignited, generating hot combustion gases that flow downstream to the turbine.", "The turbine is driven by the exhaust gases and mechanically powers the compressor and fan via one or more central rotating shafts.", "Energy from the combustion gases not used by the turbine is discharged through an exhaust nozzle, producing thrust to power the aircraft.", "Turbofan gas turbine engines contain an engine core and fan surrounded by a fan case, forming part of a nacelle.", "The nacelle is a housing that contains the engine.", "The fan is positioned forward of the engine core and within the fan case.", "The engine core is surrounded by an engine core cowl and the area between the nacelle and the engine core cowl is functionally defined as a fan duct.", "The fan duct is substantially annular in shape to accommodate the airflow from the fan and around the engine core cowl.", "The airflow through the fan duct, known as bypass air, travels the length of the fan duct and exits at the aft end of the fan duct at an exhaust nozzle.", "In addition to thrust generated by combustion gasses, the fan of gas turbine engines also produces thrust by accelerating and discharging ambient air through the exhaust nozzle.", "Various parts of the gas turbine engine generate heat while operating, including the compressor, combustor, turbine, central rotating shaft and fan.", "To maintain proper operational temperatures, excess heat is often removed from the engine via oil coolant loops, including air/oil or fuel/oil heat exchangers, and dumped into the bypass airflow for removal from the system.", "Gas turbine engines require a supply of lubricant, such as oil, to mechanical components such as, but not limited to, bearings, seals, and the like.", "The oil can be used as a lubricant, a coolant or both.", "Typical oil systems supply the oil to a manifold, which then directs the oil to various engine components.", "The lubricant may be filtered to remove unwanted debris, and may also be de-aerated to remove any air absorbed by the oil while lubricating and cooling the components.", "An oil cooler may remove heat gained from the lubricated components.", "In prior art oil systems, the quantity of oil pumped to the components is typically based on speed or load conditions.", "However, either approach may result in an oversupply of oil in low load conditions, such as during cruise or taxiing, for example.", "This reduces the efficiency of the engine in that the excess oil is pumped through the engine.", "Additionally, the lubricant then needs to be cooled before being used again, increasing the demands on the coolers and further reducing efficiency.", "In light of the foregoing, it can be seen that an oil system is needed that can provide oil in the quantity required according to a range of conditions being experienced by the engine.", "Accordingly, there is a need for an improved lubrication schedule for a gas turbine engine." ], [ "<SOH> SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION <EOH>To meet the needs described above and others, the present disclosure provides a lubrication system for a gas turbine engine, that may include a pump for moving a lubricant, a lubricant tank for storing the lubricant, an engine component requiring lubrication from the lubricant, a conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, and a scheduling valve positioned in the conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, the flow scheduling valve varying a flow of the lubricant to the engine component based on a condition.", "The engine component may be a fan drive gear system, and the scheduling valve may be controlled by a controller.", "Additionally, the controller may include a memory and a processor, and the memory may include an engine performance model.", "The condition may be a calculated engine torque, an engine startup, cruising, an altitude of the gas turbine engine, a vibration level of the gas turbine engine, or a weight on wheels.", "The present disclosure also provides a gas turbine engine, that may include a compressor, a combustor downstream of the compressor, a lubrication system including a pump for moving a lubricant, a lubricant tank for storing the lubricant, an engine component requiring lubrication from the lubricant, a conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, a scheduling valve positioned in the conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, the flow scheduling valve varying a flow of the lubricant to the engine component based on a condition, and a turbine downstream of the combustor.", "The engine component may be a fan drive gear system, and the scheduling valve may be controlled by a controller.", "Further, the controller may include a memory and a processor, and the memory may include an engine performance model.", "The condition may be a calculated engine torque, an altitude of the gas turbine engine or a vibration level of the gas turbine engine.", "The present disclosure further provides a method of lubricating an engine component of a gas turbine engine that may include pumping a lubricant from a lubricant tank through a conduit to the engine component using a pump, determining a condition experienced by the gas turbine engine, and regulating a flow of the lubricant to the engine component with a scheduling valve, the regulation of the flow of lubricant based upon the condition experienced by the gas turbine engine.", "The engine component may be a fan drive gear system, and the scheduling valve may be controlled by a controller, wherein the controller may include a memory and a processor, and the memory may include an engine performance model.", "These, and other aspects and features of the present disclosure, will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings." ], [ "CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present disclosure is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.", "No.", "14/697,223, filed Apr.", "27, 2015.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engines and, more particularly, relates to a lubrication system for gas turbine engine components.", "Many modern aircraft, as well as other vehicles and industrial processes, employ gas turbine engines for generating energy and propulsion.", "Such engines include a fan, compressor, combustor and turbine provided in serial fashion, forming an engine core and arranged along a central longitudinal axis.", "Air enters the gas turbine engine through the fan and is pressurized in the compressor.", "This pressurized air is mixed with fuel in the combustor.", "The fuel-air mixture is then ignited, generating hot combustion gases that flow downstream to the turbine.", "The turbine is driven by the exhaust gases and mechanically powers the compressor and fan via one or more central rotating shafts.", "Energy from the combustion gases not used by the turbine is discharged through an exhaust nozzle, producing thrust to power the aircraft.", "Turbofan gas turbine engines contain an engine core and fan surrounded by a fan case, forming part of a nacelle.", "The nacelle is a housing that contains the engine.", "The fan is positioned forward of the engine core and within the fan case.", "The engine core is surrounded by an engine core cowl and the area between the nacelle and the engine core cowl is functionally defined as a fan duct.", "The fan duct is substantially annular in shape to accommodate the airflow from the fan and around the engine core cowl.", "The airflow through the fan duct, known as bypass air, travels the length of the fan duct and exits at the aft end of the fan duct at an exhaust nozzle.", "In addition to thrust generated by combustion gasses, the fan of gas turbine engines also produces thrust by accelerating and discharging ambient air through the exhaust nozzle.", "Various parts of the gas turbine engine generate heat while operating, including the compressor, combustor, turbine, central rotating shaft and fan.", "To maintain proper operational temperatures, excess heat is often removed from the engine via oil coolant loops, including air/oil or fuel/oil heat exchangers, and dumped into the bypass airflow for removal from the system.", "Gas turbine engines require a supply of lubricant, such as oil, to mechanical components such as, but not limited to, bearings, seals, and the like.", "The oil can be used as a lubricant, a coolant or both.", "Typical oil systems supply the oil to a manifold, which then directs the oil to various engine components.", "The lubricant may be filtered to remove unwanted debris, and may also be de-aerated to remove any air absorbed by the oil while lubricating and cooling the components.", "An oil cooler may remove heat gained from the lubricated components.", "In prior art oil systems, the quantity of oil pumped to the components is typically based on speed or load conditions.", "However, either approach may result in an oversupply of oil in low load conditions, such as during cruise or taxiing, for example.", "This reduces the efficiency of the engine in that the excess oil is pumped through the engine.", "Additionally, the lubricant then needs to be cooled before being used again, increasing the demands on the coolers and further reducing efficiency.", "In light of the foregoing, it can be seen that an oil system is needed that can provide oil in the quantity required according to a range of conditions being experienced by the engine.", "Accordingly, there is a need for an improved lubrication schedule for a gas turbine engine.", "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To meet the needs described above and others, the present disclosure provides a lubrication system for a gas turbine engine, that may include a pump for moving a lubricant, a lubricant tank for storing the lubricant, an engine component requiring lubrication from the lubricant, a conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, and a scheduling valve positioned in the conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, the flow scheduling valve varying a flow of the lubricant to the engine component based on a condition.", "The engine component may be a fan drive gear system, and the scheduling valve may be controlled by a controller.", "Additionally, the controller may include a memory and a processor, and the memory may include an engine performance model.", "The condition may be a calculated engine torque, an engine startup, cruising, an altitude of the gas turbine engine, a vibration level of the gas turbine engine, or a weight on wheels.", "The present disclosure also provides a gas turbine engine, that may include a compressor, a combustor downstream of the compressor, a lubrication system including a pump for moving a lubricant, a lubricant tank for storing the lubricant, an engine component requiring lubrication from the lubricant, a conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, a scheduling valve positioned in the conduit between the lubricant tank and the engine component, the flow scheduling valve varying a flow of the lubricant to the engine component based on a condition, and a turbine downstream of the combustor.", "The engine component may be a fan drive gear system, and the scheduling valve may be controlled by a controller.", "Further, the controller may include a memory and a processor, and the memory may include an engine performance model.", "The condition may be a calculated engine torque, an altitude of the gas turbine engine or a vibration level of the gas turbine engine.", "The present disclosure further provides a method of lubricating an engine component of a gas turbine engine that may include pumping a lubricant from a lubricant tank through a conduit to the engine component using a pump, determining a condition experienced by the gas turbine engine, and regulating a flow of the lubricant to the engine component with a scheduling valve, the regulation of the flow of lubricant based upon the condition experienced by the gas turbine engine.", "The engine component may be a fan drive gear system, and the scheduling valve may be controlled by a controller, wherein the controller may include a memory and a processor, and the memory may include an engine performance model.", "These, and other aspects and features of the present disclosure, will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.", "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For further understanding of the disclosed concepts and embodiments, reference may be made to the following detailed description, read in connection with the drawings, wherein like elements are numbered alike, and in which: FIG.", "1 is a sectional view of a gas turbine engine constructed in accordance with an embodiment.", "FIG.", "2 is a schematic representation of a lubrication injection system constructed in accordance with an embodiment.", "FIG.", "3 is a schematic representation of a controller and associated engine conditions the controller may monitor according to an embodiment.", "FIG.", "4 is a flowchart depicting a sample sequence of actions and events which may be practiced in accordance with an embodiment.", "It is to be noted that the appended drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting with respect to the scope of the disclosure or claims.", "Rather, the concepts of the present disclosure may apply within other equally effective embodiments.", "Moreover, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of certain embodiments.", "DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings, and with specific reference to FIG.", "1, a gas turbine engine 20 is generally referred to by reference numeral 20.The gas turbine engine 20 is disclosed herein as a two-spool turbofan that generally incorporates a fan section 22, a compressor section 24, a combustor section 26 and a turbine section 28.Alternative engines might include an augmentor section (not shown) among other systems or features.", "The fan section 22 drives air along a bypass flow path B in a bypass duct defined within a nacelle 15, while the compressor section 24 drives air along a core flow path C for compression and communication into the combustor section 26 then expansion through the turbine section 28.Although depicted as a two-spool turbofan gas turbine engine in the disclosed non-limiting embodiment, it should be understood that the concepts described herein are not limited to use with two-spool turbofans as the teachings may be applied to other types of turbine engines including three-spool architectures.", "The exemplary engine 20 generally includes a low speed spool 30 and a high speed spool 32 mounted for rotation about an engine central longitudinal axis A relative to an engine static structure 36 via several bearing systems 38.It should be understood that various bearing systems 38 at various locations may alternatively or additionally be provided, and the location of bearing systems 38 may be varied as appropriate to the application.", "The low speed spool 30 generally includes an inner shaft 40 that interconnects a fan 42, a low pressure compressor 44 and a low pressure turbine 46.The inner shaft 40 is connected to the fan 42 through a speed change mechanism, which in exemplary gas turbine engine 20 is illustrated as a geared architecture 48 to drive the fan 42 at a lower speed than the low speed spool 30.The high speed spool 32 includes an outer shaft 50 that interconnects a high pressure compressor 52 and high pressure turbine 54.A combustor 56 is arranged in exemplary gas turbine 20 between the high pressure compressor 52 and the high pressure turbine 54.A mid-turbine frame 57 of the engine static structure 36 is arranged generally between the high pressure turbine 54 and the low pressure turbine 46.The mid-turbine frame 57 further supports bearing systems 38 in the turbine section 28.The inner shaft 40 and the outer shaft 50 are concentric and rotate via bearing systems 38 about the engine central longitudinal axis A which is collinear with their longitudinal axes.", "The core airflow is compressed by the low pressure compressor 44 then the high pressure compressor 52, mixed and burned with fuel in the combustor 56, then expanded over the high pressure turbine 54 and low pressure turbine 46.The mid-turbine frame 57 includes airfoils 59 which are in the core airflow path C. The turbines 46, 54 rotationally drive the respective low speed spool 30 and high speed spool 32 in response to the expansion.", "It will be appreciated that each of the positions of the fan section 22, compressor section 24, combustor section 26, turbine section 28, and geared architecture 48 may be varied.", "For example, geared architecture 48 may be located aft of combustor section 26 or even aft of turbine section 28, and fan section 22 may be positioned forward or aft of the location of geared architecture 48.The gas turbine engine 20 in one example is a high-bypass geared aircraft engine.", "In a further example, the gas turbine engine 20 bypass ratio is greater than about six (6), with an example embodiment being greater than about ten (10), the geared architecture 48 is an epicyclic gear train, such as a planetary gear system or other gear system, with a gear reduction ratio of greater than about 2.3 and the low pressure turbine 46 has a pressure ratio that is greater than about five.", "In one disclosed embodiment, the gas turbine engine 20 bypass ratio is greater than about ten (10:1), the fan diameter is significantly larger than that of the low pressure compressor 44, and the low pressure turbine 46 has a pressure ratio that is greater than about five 5:1.Low pressure turbine 46 pressure ratio is pressure measured prior to inlet of low pressure turbine 46 as related to the pressure at the outlet of the low pressure turbine 46 prior to an exhaust nozzle.", "The geared architecture 48 may be an epicycle gear train, such as a planetary gear system or other gear system, with a gear reduction ratio of greater than about 2.3:1.It should be understood, however, that the above parameters are only exemplary of one embodiment of a geared architecture engine and that the present invention is applicable to other gas turbine engines including direct drive turbofans.", "A significant amount of thrust is provided by the bypass flow B due to the high bypass ratio.", "The fan section 22 of the gas turbine engine 20 is designed for a particular flight condition—typically cruise at about 0.8 Mach and about 35,000 feet.", "The flight condition of 0.8 Mach and 35,000 ft, with the engine at its best fuel consumption—also known as “bucket cruise Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption (‘TSFC’)”—is the industry standard parameter of lbm of fuel being burned divided by lbf of thrust the engine produces at that minimum point.", "“Low fan pressure ratio” is the pressure ratio across the fan blade alone, without a Fan Exit Guide Vane (“FEGV”) system.", "The low fan pressure ratio as disclosed herein according to one non-limiting embodiment is less than about “Low corrected fan tip speed” is the actual fan tip speed in ft/sec divided by an industry standard temperature correction of [(Tram ° R) I (518.7° R)]0.5.The “Low corrected fan tip speed” as disclosed herein according to one non-limiting embodiment is less than about 1150 ft/second.", "A lubrication system 70 may be used to supply a lubricant 74 to an engine component 78 as shown in FIG.", "2.The lubricant 74 may serve to lubricate, cool or supply another substance to various parts of the gas turbine engine 20.In one embodiment, the engine component 78 may be a fan drive gear system 80, which may be defined as an apparatus that allows the fan 42 to rotate at a different angular speed from the low speed spool 30.In operation, components of the gas turbine engine 20 may require lubrication or cooling.", "The lubrication system 70 may include a lubricant tank 82, or sump, for storing the lubricant 74 when not being used.", "The lubrication system 70 may also include a pump 86 for drawing a supply of lubricant 74 from the lubricant tank 82 through a conduit 90.The conduit 90 may travel between the lubricant tank 82 and a scheduling valve 94, and between other gas turbine engine 20 components.", "The pump 86 may be driven by a rotating component of the gas turbine engine 20, or by other means.", "The pump 86 may further supply a constant or varying flow of lubricant 74 to the scheduling valve 94.Upon reaching the scheduling valve 94, the lubricant 74 may be wholly or partially diverted to one of multiple areas by the scheduling valve 94.In one scenario, the lubricant 74 may be sent to an engine component 78 for use.", "In another scenario, the lubricant 74 may be sent to a second engine component 98 for use.", "In a third scenario, the lubricant 74 may be sent back to the lubricant tank 82.In a fourth scenario, the lubricant 74 may be sent to any two or three of the engine component 78, second engine component 98 and lubricant tank 82.Further, although not shown, the lubricant 74 may also be sent to additional parts of the gas turbine engine 20.Following lubricant 74 use in gas turbine engine 20 components, the lubricant may travel back to the lubricant tank 82.During its use, the lubricant 74 may acquire adverse properties while being pumped and used throughout the lubrication system 70, including becoming aerated, accumulating debris and absorbing heat.", "To address these properties, the lubrication system 70 may include, respectively, a de-aerator 102, a filter 106 and a cooler 110.These three elements 102, 106, 110 may be located at various points within the lubrication system 70.Further, although shown with one of each of the elements, the lubrication system 70 may include more than one of any of them.", "While in operation, gas turbine engine 20 components need a degree of lubricant 74 flow for proper functionality.", "This flow amount may vary according to different demands and situations.", "However, pumping and receiving more than a certain required degree of lubricant 74 can needlessly affect overall gas turbine engine 20 efficiency, as more lubricant 74 than necessary is pumped, cooled, de-aerated and filtered.", "In order to provide gas turbine engine 20 components with adequate lubrication, the scheduling valve 94 may regulate a flow of lubricant 74 to an engine component 78, second engine component 98 or lubricant tank 82, as described above.", "The scheduling valve 94 may regulate such flows in response to a condition experienced by the gas turbine engine 20.Additionally, the scheduling valve 94 may regulate such lubricant flows in response to more than one condition experienced by the gas turbine engine 20.A condition may be indicated by a sensor, calculation, operator input or stored information, and may serve to provide data about the current, past or future state of the gas turbine engine 20.The gas turbine engine 20 may include a controller 114, which may further incorporate a processor 118 and a memory 122.The memory 122 may include an engine performance model 126.Additionally, the controller 114 may also be a Full Authority Digital Engine Control, or FADEC.", "The engine performance model 126 may include a series of stored algorithms able to input a condition and, after analysis by the stored algorithms, signal the controller 114 to output a command to a component of the gas turbine engine 20, such as the scheduling valve 94.In this manner, one or more conditions can be detected and responded to by commanding a response from a component or system of the gas turbine engine 20.The controller 114 may also receive feedback from the scheduling valve 94 indicating the position of the scheduling valve 94.Such feedback may be used by the controller 114 to verify the position of the scheduling valve 94, or to calculate a future scheduling valve 94 movement.", "The engine performance model 126 can respond to a range of conditions, as shown in FIG.", "3.In a first example, an RPM sensor 130, a fuel flow sensor 134 and an altitude sensor 138 can be used to gather data and provide a calculated torque condition for the fan 42, low speed spool 30, engine component 78 or fan drive gear system 80.Such a calculated torque condition can be provided to the engine performance model 126, which can then signal the controller 114 to output a command to the scheduling valve 94.The engine performance model 126 may include stored relationship values between a calculated torque condition and a scheduling valve 94 position to provide a desired flow rate of lubricant 74 to one or more components of the gas turbine engine 20.In this manner, a calculated torque condition can determine a scheduling valve 124 position, and thus a lubricant 74 flow rate, to an engine component 78.By the same process, the RPM sensor 130, fuel flow sensor 134 and altitude sensor 138 can be used to gather data and provide a cruise condition for the fan 42, low speed spool 30, engine component 78 or fan drive gear system 80.Cruise condition may be defined as operation below a maximum level, and sustained within a relatively narrow range of operation.", "Such a cruise condition can be provided to the engine performance model 126, which can then signal the controller 114 to output a command to the scheduling valve 94.The engine performance model 126 may include stored relationship values between a cruise condition and a scheduling valve 94 position to provide a desired flow rate of lubricant 74 to one or more components of the gas turbine engine 20.In this manner, a cruise condition can determine a scheduling valve 124 position, and thus a lubricant 74 flow rate, to an engine component 78.Similarly, a burner pressure sensor 142 can be used to gather burner data for the engine performance model 126, which can then signal the controller 114 to output a command to the scheduling valve 94.The burner pressure sensor 142 may sense a pressure of a flow, region or process within the combustor 26.The engine performance model 126 may include stored relationship values between a burner pressure condition and a scheduling valve 94 position to provide a desired flow rate of lubricant 74 to one or more components of the gas turbine engine 20.Additionally, a startup sensor 146 can be used to gather data indicating a startup condition for the engine performance model 126, which can then signal the controller 114 to output a command to the scheduling valve 94.Startup may be defined as a process during which the gas turbine engine 20 transitions from a non-operating state to an operating state.", "The engine performance model 126 may include stored relationship values between a startup condition and a scheduling valve 94 position to provide a desired flow rate of lubricant 74 to one or more components of the gas turbine engine 20.Further, an altitude sensor 150 can be used to gather data indicating an altitude of the gas turbine engine 20 for the engine performance model 126, which can then signal the controller 114 to output a command to the scheduling valve 94.The engine performance model 126 may include stored relationship values between an altitude condition and a scheduling valve 94 position to provide a desired flow rate of lubricant 74 to one or more components of the gas turbine engine 20.A weight on wheels sensor 154 can be used to gather data indicating a degree of weight on wheels for the engine performance model 126, which can then signal the controller 114 to output a command to the scheduling valve 94.Weight on wheels may occur when the weight of an aircraft, on which the gas turbine engine 20 is mounted, is supported by the aircraft's wheels.", "The engine performance model 126 may include stored relationship values between a weight on wheels condition and a scheduling valve 94 position to provide a desired flow rate of lubricant 74 to one or more components of the gas turbine engine 20.Further, a vibration sensor 158 can be used to gather data indicating a vibration level for the engine performance model 126, which can then signal the controller 114 to output a command to the scheduling valve 94.The vibration sensor 158 may be an accelerometer, and may be located at various positions within or on the gas turbine engine 20, including, but not limited to the nacelle 15, compressor 24, turbine 28, combustor 26, engine component 78, fan drive gear system 80, fan 42 or low or high speed spool 30, 32.The engine performance model 126 may include stored relationship values between a vibration condition and a scheduling valve 94 position to provide a desired flow rate of lubricant 74 to one or more components of the gas turbine engine 20.The present disclosure allows for the successful lubrication and cooling of various gas turbine engine 20 components.", "Further, the disclosed lubrication system 70 may increase overall gas turbine engine 20 efficiency, as a regulated flow of lubricant 74 to the engine component 78 reduces mechanical losses, and eases the burden on de-aerators 102, filters 106 and coolers 110.In turn, this reduction may lead to decreased build, acquisition and maintenance costs, reduced system weight and improved system packaging.", "The present disclosure not only sets forth a lubrication system 70, but a method of lubricating an engine component of a gas turbine engine as well.", "For example, such a method in operation can be understood by referencing the flowchart in FIG.", "4.The method may comprise pumping a lubricant from a lubricant tank through a conduit to the engine component using a pump, as shown in box 400, and determining a condition experienced by the gas turbine engine, as shown in box 404.Further, the method may include regulating a flow of the lubricant to the engine component with a scheduling valve, the regulation of the flow of lubricant based upon the condition experienced by the gas turbine engine, as shown in box 408.While the present disclosure has shown and described details of exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by claims supported by the written description and drawings.", "Further, where these exemplary embodiments (and other related derivations) are described with reference to a certain number of elements it will be understood that other exemplary embodiments may be practiced utilizing either less than or more than the certain number of elements.", "In operation, the present disclosure sets forth a lubrication system for a gas turbine engine which can find industrial applicability in a variety of settings.", "For example, the disclosure may be advantageously employed by gas turbine engines in aviation, naval and industrial settings.", "More specifically, the lubrication system for a gas turbine engine can be used to successfully lubricate and cool gas turbine engine components, while refraining from over-lubricating the components in response to various conditions experienced by the gas turbine engine.", "The present disclosure allows for the successful lubrication and cooling of various gas turbine engine components.", "Further, the disclosed lubrication system may increase overall gas turbine engine efficiency, as a regulated flow of lubricant to the engine component reduces mechanical losses, and eases the burden on de-aerators, filters and coolers.", "In turn, this reduction may lead to decreased build, acquisition and maintenance costs, reduced system weight and improved system packaging.", "The lubrication system of the present disclosure contributes to the continued and efficient operation of a gas turbine engine.", "The disclosed system may be original equipment on new gas turbine engines, or added as a retrofit to existing gas turbine engines." ] ]
Patent_15875179