[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Method For Fabricating Semiconductor Package

Technical Field and Background:
Technical Field The present invention relates to a method for fabricating semiconductor packages. Description of Related Art Semiconductor industries continue to improve the integration density of various electronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.) by continually reducing minimum feature size, which allows more components to be integrated into a given area. These smaller electronic components require smaller packages that utilize less area than packages of the past, in some applications. Wafer level package (WLP) technique is an advanced packaging technology, by which a die is manufactured and tested on a wafer, and then the wafer is singulated by dicing for assembly in a surface-mount line. Because the WLP technique utilizes the whole wafer as one object, not utilizing a single chip or die, therefore, before performing a scribing process, packaging and testing has been accomplished; furthermore, WLP is such an advanced technique so that the process of wire bonding, die mounting and under-filling can be omitted. By utilizing WLP techniques, the cost and manufacturing time can be reduced, and the resulting structure of WLP can be equal to the die; therefore, this technique can meet the demands of miniaturization of electronic devices. Though the advantages of WLP technique mentioned above, some issues still exist influencing the acceptance of WLP technique. For instance, one type of WLP technique that has been recently developed is Integrated Fan-Out Wafer-Level Packaging (InFO-WLP), in which the coefficient of thermal expansion CTE difference (mismatching) between the materials of a structure of WLP and the mother board becomes another critical factor to the mechanical instability of the structure. Another type of WLP technique is chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS), in which the wafer may be too thin to handle in the packaging process, and a temporary bonding process is needed, which brings additional problems such as residue adhesives or extra cost and manufacturing time.

Invention Disclosure:
A method for fabricating a semiconductor package, the method includes forming at least one conductive via having a first end and a second end opposite the first end in a wafer, in which the wafer has a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, and the first end of the conductive via is exposed of the first surface of the wafer; grinding the second surface of the wafer to form an inner portion and a ring portion surrounding the inner portion of the wafer, wherein the inner portion has a thinner thickness than that of the ring portion; and etching the inner portion to expose the second end of the conductive via.

[Assistant]
1. A method for fabricating a semiconductor package, comprising:
forming at least one conductive via in a wafer, wherein the wafer comprises a silicon substrate, a top silicon layer, and a buried dielectric layer disposed between the silicon substrate and the top silicon layer, wherein the top silicon layer is in contact with the buried dielectric layer, and the at least one conductive via extends through the top silicon layer and the buried dielectric layer;
grinding a surface of the silicon substrate of the wafer opposite the buried dielectric layer to form an inner portion and a ring portion surrounding the inner portion of the wafer, wherein the inner portion has a thinner thickness than a thickness of the ring portion; and
etching the inner portion to expose an end of the at least one conductive via.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one conductive via further extends to a portion of the silicon substrate before the grinding.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the etching the inner portion comprises:
etching a remaining portion of the silicon substrate, wherein the buried dielectric layer is an etch stop layer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the buried dielectric layer is made of silicon dioxide.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one conductive via comprises a conductive column and an insulation layer surrounding the conductive column, wherein the method further comprises:
etching the insulation layer of the at least one conductive via after the etching the inner portion.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the insulation layer of the at least one conductive via has a thinner thickness than a thickness of the buried dielectric layer of the wafer.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the insulation layer and the buried dielectric layer are both made of silicon dioxide.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the etching the inner portion of the wafer and the etching the insulation layer of the at least one conductive via are performed by wet etching.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the etching the inner portion of the wafer is performed with a first etch solution, and the etching the insulation layer of the at least one conductive via is performed with a second etch solution, and the first etch solution is different from the second etch solution.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
forming a patterned metal layer on a surface of the top silicon layer opposite the buried dielectric layer, wherein the patterned metal layer is electrically connected to the at least one conductive via.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
forming a solder bump on a surface of the top silicon layer opposite the buried dielectric layer, wherein the solder bump is electrically connected to the at least one conductive via.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the ground surface of the silicon substrate is etched in the etching the inner portion, and the method further comprises:
forming at least one solder ball on an etched surface of the inner portion, wherein the solder ball is electrically connected to the at least one conductive via.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
bonding at least one package component with the surface of the top silicon layer, wherein the package component is electrically connected to the at least one conductive via through the solder bump.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
removing the ring portion from the wafer; and
chipping the wafer into a plurality of micro-devices, wherein each of the micro-devices comprises the package component and the solder ball.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
bonding at least one of the micro-devices and a substrate through the solder ball.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one conductive via is disposed in the inner portion of the wafer.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one conductive via is made by laser drilling, etching, deposition, or combinations thereof.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the thickness of the inner portion is in a range from 30 micrometers to 200 micrometers, and the thickness of the ring portion is in a range from 300 micrometers to 800 micrometers.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the wafer is a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Efficient Optical Signal Amplification Systems And Methods

Technical Field and Background:
Long-haul optical communication systems, e.g., optical communication systems spanning a distance of greater than about 600 kilometers, suffer from signal attenuation resulting from a variety of factors, including scattering, absorption, and bending. To compensate for attenuation, long-haul systems may include a series of optical amplifiers or “repeaters” spaced along the transmission path between a transmitter and a receiver. The amplifiers amplify the optical signal in a manner allowing reliable detection at the receiver. Usually, multiple repeaters are positioned along a single fiber optic transmission link, with numbers reaching more than a hundred per link in submarine systems. Power efficiency of repeaters, particularly those used in submarine applications, is quite important. For terrestrial systems, increasing efficiency is crucial for reducing amplifier size and cost, including material and operating costs. For submarine systems increasing efficiency is important to minimize the cost of labor of installing multiple repeaters in remote, difficult to reach, locations and in supplying energy to the repeaters in such locations. Erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) have proven particularly useful in long-haul systems. EDFAs include C-band EDFAs and L-band EDFAs which are used to amplify different optical bands, denoted as C-band and L-band. C-band usually includes wavelengths from 1530 nanometers (nm) to 1565 nm and L-band usually includes wavelengths from 1565 nm to 1625 nm. Both C-band and L-band features the lowest attenuation of commonly used optical transmission bands, the exact wavelength of the lowest attenuation depends on fiber design and can be in either C or L band. EDFAs may amplify only C-band signals (referred to as a “C-band EDFA”), only L-band signals (referred to as an “L-band EDFA”) or both C-band and L-band signals (referred to as a “C+L EDFA”). Generally, each EDFA includes nearly independent C-band and L-band amplification portions—i.e., the amplifier is a combination of two EDFAs: one C-band EDFA and one L-band EDFA, with economies taken in the form of shared components within the C+L EDFA. In a C+L EDFA, the input optical signal is usually split between C-band and L-band using a device such as a C+L demultiplexer or splitter. The C-band and L-band signals are independently amplified and recombined using a C+L multiplexer or combiner. Physically, the splitter and the combiner may be similar devices and the name simply denotes the functionality assigned to the device. Usually, an EDFA is used to produce gain having a particular spectral shape over the signal wavelength band—i.e., over the amplification band or range of the device. The spectral shape is usually “flat” inasmuch as the amplification across the wavelength band of the device is either similar or varies linearly with the signal wavelength. The exact amplification shape may be achieved through the use of a Gain Flattening Filter (GFF). Several types of GFF exist. One type of GFF uses Short Period Fiber Bragg Grating (SP-FBG) that is able to provide very accurate shaping of the optical signal over the amplification band. Such accuracy is advantageous in long links that characterize submarine communication systems where the number of repeaters is large and errors in the EDFA gain shapes are undesirable. One feature of SP-FBG filters is that the filtering function is performed by redirecting unneeded light, including both signal and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise in the backward direction—i.e., in a direction opposite the direction of propagation of the optical signal. Usually, the back propagated light is undesirable for the upstream EDFAs and is blocked using an isolator positioned before the SP-FBG filter. There is therefore a need for systems and methods of reducing the power demand presented by amplifiers along difficult to access optical transmission lines such as submarine transmission lines. There is also a need for systems and methods of beneficially recovering the energy present in the optical signals reflected by filters such as SP-FBG filters, particularly along difficult to access optical transmission lines such as submarine transmission lines.

Invention Disclosure:
An optical communication amplification system may include a number of amplification stages for an optical signal that includes a first optical wavelength band signal portion and a second optical wavelength band signal portion. Each amplification stage may separate the first optical wavelength band signal portion from the second optical wavelength band signal portion. The separated first optical wavelength band signal portion is amplified using one or more first optical wavelength band amplifiers and the separated second optical wavelength band signal portion are amplified using one or more second optical wavelength band amplifiers. The amplified first optical wavelength band signal portion is filtered and a reflected portion of the first optical wavelength band signal portion may be used to provide energy to the one or more second optical wavelength band amplifiers to increase the power or gain of the separated second optical wavelength band signal portion.

[Assistant]
1. An optical communication amplification system, comprising:
an optical splitter to separate an optical signal into at least a first optical wavelength band signal portion and the second optical wavelength band signal portion;
a first optical amplifier operably coupled to the optical splitter, the first optical amplifier to increase the energy of the second optical wavelength band signal portion;
an optical combiner that combines the first optical wavelength band signal portion and the amplified second optical wavelength band signal portion; and
an optical filter operably coupled to the optical combiner, wherein a portion of the energy of the first optical wavelength band signal portion reflected from the optical filter is received by the first optical amplifier where the received energy increases the energy of the second optical wavelength band signal portion.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a second optical amplifier that receives the optical signal and increases the energy of at least the first optical wavelength band signal portion of the received optical signal.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising:
a first optical isolator operably coupled to an input of the second optical amplifier that increases the energy of at least the first optical wavelength band signal portion of the received optical signal.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the second optical amplifier that increases the energy of at least the first optical wavelength band signal portion of the received optical signal comprises a C-band/L-band erbium doped fiber amplifier (C/L-EDFA).

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a second optical amplifier disposed subsequent to the optical splitter to receive the first optical wavelength band signal portion and increase an energy level of the first optical wavelength band signal portion.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
an optical circulator having a first port operably coupled to the optical combiner, a second port operably coupled to the optical filter, and a third port operably coupled to the first optical amplifier such that at least a portion of the energy of the reflected first optical wavelength band signal portion reflected from the optical filter is provided to the first optical amplifier.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein energy of the second optical wavelength band signal portion reflected from the optical filter is provided to the optical splitter.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
an optical isolator operably coupled to the first optical amplifier that increases the energy of the second optical wavelength band signal portion.

9. The system of claim 1:
wherein the first optical wavelength band signal portion comprises a C-band;
wherein the second optical wavelength band signal portion comprises an L-band; and
wherein the optical amplifier that increases the energy of the second optical wavelength band signal portion comprises a C-band/L-band erbium doped fiber amplifier (C/L-EDFA).

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the optical splitter comprises a three-port C-band/L-band optical de-multiplexer that transmits the C-band wavelength signal portion and reflects the L-band wavelength signal portion.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the optical combiner comprises a four-port C-band/L-band optical multiplexer that reflects the C-band wavelength signal portion and transmits the L-band wavelength signal portion.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the optical filter comprises a gain flattening filter (GFF).

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the GFF comprises a Short Period Fiber Bragg Grating GFF.

14. An optical communication amplification method, comprising:
splitting an optical signal into a first optical wavelength band signal portion and a second optical wavelength band signal portion;
amplifying, via a first optical amplifier, the second optical wavelength band signal portion of the optical signal;
combining the first optical wavelength band signal portion and the amplified second optical wavelength band signal portion to provide an amplified optical signal;
filtering, via at least one optical filter, the amplified optical signal;
receiving, by the optical amplifier, at least a portion of the first optical wavelength band signal portion reflected by the at least one optical filter; and
increasing the energy of the first optical amplifier using energy in the reflected portion of the first optical wavelength band signal portion.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
amplifying, via a second-optical amplifier, at least the first optical wavelength band signal portion of the optical signal prior to splitting the optical signal into the first optical wavelength band signal portion and the second optical wavelength band signal portion.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
amplifying, via a second optical amplifier, at least the first optical wavelength band signal portion of the optical signal subsequent to splitting the optical signal into the first optical wavelength band signal portion and the second optical wavelength band signal portion.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein splitting an optical signal into a first optical wavelength band signal portion and a second optical wavelength band signal portion comprises:
splitting the optical signal into a C-band signal portion and an L-band portion signal using a three-port, C-band/L-band, wavelength division demultiplexer.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein amplifying, via a first optical amplifier, the second optical wavelength band signal portion of the optical signal comprises:
amplifying the L-band signal portion of the optical signal using an L-band erbium doped fiber amplifier (L-EDFA).

19. The method of claim 18 wherein combining the first optical wavelength band signal and the amplified second optical wavelength band signal to provide an amplified combined optical signal comprises:
combining the C-band signal portion and the amplified L-band signal portion to provide an amplified optical signal using a four-port, C-band/L-band, wavelength division multiplexer.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein filtering, via at least one optical filter, the amplified optical signal comprises:
filtering, via at least one Gain Flattening Filter (GFF), the amplified optical signal.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein filtering, via at least one Gain Flattening Filter (GFF), the amplified optical signal comprises:
filtering, via at least one Short Period Fiber Bragg Grating, the amplified optical signal.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein reflecting at least a portion of the first optical wavelength band signal portion of the amplified optical signal from the at least one optical filter comprises:
reflecting at least a portion of the C-band signal portion of the amplified optical signal from the at least one GFF.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein increasing the energy of the first optical amplifier using energy in the reflected portion of the first optical wavelength band signal portion reflected by the at least one optical filter comprises:
increasing the energy of the L-EDFA using energy in the reflected portion of the C-band signal portion reflected by the at least one GFF.

24. An optical communication amplification method, comprising:
amplifying, by an input optical amplifier, an optical signal that includes at least a first optical wavelength band signal portion and a second optical wavelength band signal portion;
passing the amplified optical signal through at least one optical filter;
receiving, at the first optical amplifier, at least a portion of energy in the first optical wavelength band signal portion reflected by the at least one optical filter; and
increasing the energy of the first optical amplifier used to increase the energy level of the second optical wavelength signal portion using the reflected energy in the first optical wavelength signal portion.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein amplifying an optical signal that includes at least a first optical wavelength band signal portion and a second optical wavelength band signal portion comprises:
amplifying, via an erbium doped fiber amplifier, the optical signal that includes at least a C-band signal portion and an L-band signal portion.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein increasing the energy of the first optical amplifier used to increase the energy level of the second optical wavelength band signal portion using the reflected energy in the first optical wavelength band signal portion comprises:
increasing the energy of an erbium doped fiber amplifier used to increase the energy level of the L-band signal portion using the reflected energy in the C-band signal portion.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Integrated Circuit, Electronic Device And Method For Transmitting Data In Electronic Device

Technical Field and Background:
1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to guard traces of a printed circuit board (PCB) in an electronic device arranged by a chip on the PCB. 2. Description of the Related Art In electronic devices, printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, conductive traces (e.g. signal traces or ground traces) etched from metal sheets laminated onto a non-conductive core substrate. In recent years, an increased amount of input/output (I/O) connections for multi-functional or memory chips is required for a semiconductor chip package design. The impact of this will be pressure on printed circuit board (PCB) fabricators to minimize the width and the space of the conductive traces, or increase the number of layers on the PCB. The conductive traces used to transmit the signals corresponding to the same function need to be arranged and configured in the same manner on the PCB. For example, the conductive traces used to transmit the address/data bus of a memory need to be arranged and configured in parallel, and the spaces between the conductive traces are also small. However, the adjacent conductive traces on the PCB can result in a crosstalk problem, especially in high signal speed applications. Thus, the crosstalk problem can detrimentally affect the quality of a signal traveling on a conductive trace, thereby affecting the signal reception of the electronic component supported by the PCB. Therefore, it is desirable to optimize the arrangement of the conductive traces for avoiding the crosstalk problem on a PCB of an electronic device.

Invention Disclosure:
An integrated circuit is provided. The integrated circuit includes a control circuitry, a plurality of pins, and a plurality of driving units coupled to the pins. The control circuitry provides a plurality of control signals according to data to be transmitted. The pins are coupled to a device via a plurality of conductive traces of a printed circuit board (PCB). The control signals control each of the driving units to selectively provide the data or one specific shielding pattern via the corresponding pin and the corresponding conductive trace of PCB to the device.

[Assistant]
1. An integrated circuit, comprising:
a control circuitry, providing a plurality of control signals according to data to be transmitted from the integrated circuit to a device;
a plurality of pins, wherein the pins are coupled to the device via a plurality of conductive traces of a printed circuit board (PCB); and
a plurality of driving units coupled to the pins, wherein the control signals control each of the driving units to selectively provide the data or a shielding pattern to the device via the corresponding pin and the corresponding conductive trace of PCB,
wherein in a normal mode, the control signals control the driving units to output the data via the corresponding pins according to a first transmission rate, and each of the conductive traces of the PCB is a signal trace, and
wherein in a high-speed mode, the control signals control a portion of the driving units to output the data via the pins corresponding to the portion of the driving units according to a second transmission rate that is higher than the first transmission rate, and the control signals control an other portion of the driving units to output the shielding pattern via the pins corresponding to the other portion of the driving units.

2. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the high-speed mode, each of the conductive traces of the PCB coupled to the pins corresponding to the portion of the driving units is a signal trace, and each of the conductive traces of the PCB coupled to the pins corresponding to the other portion of the driving units is a guard trace.

3. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the guard traces are separated by the signal traces.

4. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the guard traces is surrounded by the signal traces.

5. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second transmission rate is twice the first transmission rate.

6. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shielding pattern is formed by a ground signal, a power signal or a random signal.

7. The integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of pins corresponding to the other portion of the driving units is less than the number of pins corresponding to the portion of the driving units.

8. An electronic device, comprising:
a printed circuit board (PCB), comprising a plurality of conductive traces;
a first chip mounted on the PCB; and
a second chip mounted on the PCB;
wherein the first chip comprises:
a plurality of pins coupled to the second chip via the conductive traces of the PCB;
a control circuitry, providing a plurality of control signals according to data to be transmitted from the first chip to the second chip; and
a plurality of driving units coupled to the pins, wherein the control signals control each of the driving units to selectively provide the data or a shielding pattern to the second chip via the corresponding pin and the corresponding conductive trace of PCB,
wherein in a normal mode, the control signals control the driving units to provide the data to the second chip via the corresponding pins according to a first transmission rate, and each of the conductive traces of the PCB is a signal trace, and
wherein in a high-speed mode, the control signals control a portion of the driving units to provide the data to the second chip via the pins corresponding to the portion of the driving units according to a second transmission rate that is higher than the first transmission rate, and the control signals control an other portion of the driving units to provide the shielding pattern via the pins corresponding to the other portion of the driving units.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein in the high-speed mode, each of the conductive traces corresponding to the portion of the driving units is a signal trace and each of the conductive traces corresponding to the other portion of the driving units is a guard trace, and the guard traces are separated by the signal traces on the PCB.

10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of the guard traces is surrounded by the signal traces.

11. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second transmission rate is twice the first transmission rate.

12. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the shielding pattern is formed by a ground signal, a power signal or a random signal.

13. The electronic device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the number of guard traces is less than the number of signal traces in the high-speed mode.

14. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein each of the driving units comprises:
a PMOS transistor coupled between a power supply and the corresponding pin; and
an NMOS transistor coupled between the corresponding pin and a ground.

15. The electronic device as claimed in claim 9, wherein in the high-speed mode, the control signals control the portion of the driving units to provide the data to the second chip via the signal traces according to the second transmission rate, and the control signals control the other portion of the driving units to provide the shielding pattern to the second chip via the guard traces.

16. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein no shielding line is fixedly routed and inserted into the conductive traces on the PCB.

17. A method for transmitting data from a first chip to a second chip via a plurality of conductive traces of a printed circuit board (PCB) in an electronic device, wherein the first chip and the second chip are mounted on the PCB, comprising:
providing a plurality of control signals according to the data to be transmitted to the second chip, by the first chip;
controlling a plurality of driving units to selectively provide the data or at least one specific shielding pattern to the second chip via the corresponding conductive trace of the PCB, by the first chip;
in a normal mode, in response to the control signals, controlling each of the driving units of the first chip to output the data via the conductive traces of the PCB according to a first transmission rate; and
in a high-speed mode:
dividing the driving units of the first chip into a plurality of first driving units and a plurality of second driving units according to the control signals;
controlling the first driving units to output the data via a plurality of signal traces among the conductive traces of the PCB according to a second transmission rate, wherein the second transmission rate is higher than the first transmission rate; and
controlling the second driving units to output the at least one shielding pattern via a plurality of guard traces among the conductive traces of the PCB, wherein each of the guard traces is surrounded by the signal traces on the PCB.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the guard traces are separated by the signal traces on the PCB.

19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the at least one shielding pattern is formed by a ground signal, a power signal or a random signal.

20. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the number of guard traces is less than the number of signal traces in the high-speed mode.

21. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein no shielding line is fixedly routed and inserted into the conductive traces on the PCB.

22. An integrated circuit (IC), comprising:
control circuitry configured to provide a plurality of control signals based on data to be transmitted from the IC to a second IC; and
a plurality of driving units configured to provide, based on the control signals, the data to the second IC via a plurality of conductive traces of a substrate,
wherein in a first mode, the plurality of driving units are configured to provide the data to the second IC via the plurality of conductive traces of the substrate, and
wherein in a second mode, (i) a first subset of the plurality of driving units is configured to provide the data to the second IC via a corresponding first subset of the plurality of conductive traces of the substrate, and (ii) a second subset of the plurality of driving units is configured to provide at least one shielding voltage to a corresponding second subset of the plurality of conductive traces of the substrate.

23. The IC of claim 22, wherein in the first mode, the plurality of driving units provide the data at a first transmission rate, and each of the plurality of conductive traces is a signal trace.

24. The IC of claim 23, wherein in the second mode, the first subset of the driving units provide the data at a second transmission rate that is higher than the first transmission rate.

25. The IC of claim 22, wherein in the second mode, each of the first subset of the conductive traces corresponding to the first subset of the driving units is a signal trace, and each of the second subset of the conductive traces corresponding to the second subset of the driving units is a guard trace.

26. An electronic device, comprising:
a first chip; and
a second chip,
wherein the first chip comprises:
control circuitry configured to provide a plurality of control signals based on data to be transmitted from the first chip to the second chip; and
a plurality of driving units configured to provide, based on the control signals, the data to the second chip via a plurality of conductive traces of a substrate,
wherein in a first mode, the plurality of driving units are configured to provide the data to the second chip via the plurality of conductive traces of the substrate, and
wherein in a second mode, (i) a first subset of the plurality of driving units is configured to provide the data to the second chip via a corresponding first subset of the plurality of conductive traces of the substrate, and (ii) a second subset of the plurality of driving units is configured to provide at least one shielding voltage via a corresponding second subset of the plurality of conductive traces of the substrate.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Disc Brake

Technical Field and Background:
Braking systems of heavy trucks generally use air under pressure as the operating medium. Typically, large air actuators have a mechanical output which applies brake pads to the brake rotor via a lever mechanism. The lever mechanism includes an operating shaft pivotable about two bearing surfaces on a common axis to urge one or more pistons against a brake pad via a cam surface. The shaft has a lever arm acted upon by the air actuator, and may include another generally shorter arm to actuate a wear adjuster mechanism. For larger brake pads, twin pistons are provided to optimize pressure distribution on the brake pad backplate. A known braking mechanism of this type is shown in document WO2004/074705 (Knorr-Bremse). For lighter duty applications (e.g., lighter trucks or trailers of tractor—trailer units) with smaller brake pads a single piston is sufficient, but nevertheless two bearings are provided. This arrangement adds to the cost and weight of the brake, complexity of machining the bearing surfaces, and also results in problems in packaging the components within the smaller brake envelope, because space at the inboard (with respect to the vehicle on which the brake is fitted) side of the brake rotor is limited. An example of a brake of this type is EP0730107 (Perrot Bremsen). The present applicant in EP1852627 B1 proposed a solution to this problem. However, the actuation mechanism disclosed therein retains a relatively complex wear adjuster mechanism, cover plate, carrier and pad construction. Brake pads represent heavy and relatively costly parts of a disc brake. The present invention seeks to overcome or at least mitigate the problems associated with the prior art.

Invention Disclosure:
A disc brake and a brake pad assembly. The brake pad assembly may have a brake pad and a retainer clip. The brake pad may have a volume of friction material that may include a friction face, a support face, first and second circumferential end faces. The retainer clip may be arranged to engage a bearing surface of the brake pad.

[Assistant]
1. A brake pad assembly for a disc brake, the brake pad assembly comprising:
a retainer clip; and
a brake pad that includes:
a volume of friction material, the friction material defining a bearing surface;
a friction face of the friction material that contacts a brake rotor in use;
a support face disposed opposite the friction face, a distance between the friction face and the support face defining a first depth; and
first and second circumferential end faces arranged to extend from the friction face towards the support face;
wherein the bearing surface is spaced from the support face at a second depth that is less than the first depth and is generally coplanar therewith, and the retainer clip engages the bearing surface and is engageable in a complementary formation associated with a complementary support of the disc brake so as to hold the brake pad against the complementary support.

2. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the retainer clip comprises prongs extending in a radially inward direction for engaging the bearing surface and the complementary formation associated with the complementary support of the disc brake.

3. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the friction material forming the bearing surface is strengthened.

4. The brake pad assembly of claim 3 wherein the friction material proximate the bearing surface is also strengthened.

5. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the entire brake pad is formed from friction material.

6. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the bearing surface extends more than half a height of at least one of the first and second circumferential end faces.

7. The brake pad assembly of claim 6 wherein the bearing surface extends substantially a whole height of at least one of the first and second circumferential end faces.

8. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the second depth is less than or equal to 30% of the first depth.

9. The brake pad assembly of claim 8 wherein the second depth is less than or equal to 25% of the first depth.

10. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the support face is non-planar.

11. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the retainer clip comprises a first prong to engage the bearing surface.

12. The brake pad assembly of claim 11 wherein the retainer clip further comprises a second prong to be engageable with the complementary support.

13. The brake pad assembly according to claim 12, wherein the first and second prongs have a substantially parallel spaced relationship when fitted to the brake pad and the complementary support.

14. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the retainer clip further comprises a leaf spring portion to bias the brake pad in a radially inward direction within a caliper in use.

15. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the retainer clip is formed with a second clip positioned so as to engage a second bearing surface remote from the bearing surface.

16. The brake pad assembly of claim 1 wherein the bearing surface is a tongue extending from one of the first and second circumferential end faces.

17. A disc brake comprising:
a caliper having a bridge portion that extends over a brake rotor and a complementary support, wherein the complementary support is either disposed on the bridge portion or is a spreader plate arranged to transmit force from an actuating mechanism of the disc brake;
a brake pad assembly that has a retainer clip and a brake pad, the brake pad including:
a volume of friction material, the friction material defining a bearing surface;
a friction face of the friction material that contacts the brake rotor in use;
a support face disposed opposite the friction face, a distance between the friction face and the support face defining a first depth; and
first and second circumferential end faces arranged to extend from the friction face towards the support face;
wherein the bearing surface is spaced from the support face at a second depth that is less than the first depth and being generally coplanar therewith, and the retainer clip engages the bearing surface and is engageable in a complementary formation associated with the complementary support of the disc brake so as to hold the brake pad against the complementary support.

18. The disc brake of claim 17 wherein the retainer clip is arranged to hold the brake pad against the complementary support such that, during a braking operation, there is substantially no relative movement between the complementary support and the brake pad.

19. The disc brake of claim 17 wherein the retainer clip comprises prongs extending in a radially inward direction that engage the bearing surface and the complementary formation associated with the complementary support of the disc brake.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Method For Manufacturing A Substrate For Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectography

Technical Field and Background:
Surface-enhanced Raman spectography (SERS) is one of the most promising detection techniques for identifying and characterising molecules. This technique consists in depositing the molecules of interest on a substrate that has a rough metal surface. The metal surface whereon the molecules of interest are fixed is then illuminated by a monochromatic light. The molecules then emit a Raman signal characteristic of these molecules, which makes them able to be detected and identified. However the Raman signal emitted by the molecules has an intensity that is much less than the intensity of the monochromatic light with which the molecules were illuminated. In order to overcome this problem, it has been observed that the roughness of the metal surface of the substrate that carries the molecules of interest makes it possible to enhance the Raman signal emitted by the molecules of interest thanks to the excitation of localised plasmons of the metal (enhancement via electromagnetic effect) and by transfer of charges between the metal and the molecule adsorbed (chemical effect). This enhancement makes it possible as such to specifically detect adsorbed samples with extremely low concentrations and/or over very short periods of time. This enhancement can be accomplished thanks to “hot spots”. These hot spots are zones of the substrate where the electromagnetic field is localised and intense. For this, hot spots generally have dimensions that are less than the wavelength of the monochromatic light. Prior art as such knows methods that make it possible to carry out hot spots on the surface of a substrate. These hot spots can be formed by cavities or by point effects. As such, the document Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 063106 2010, Nanoletters, 9, 4505, 2009 describes hot spots formed by points. The document Nano Lett. 11, 2538, 2011; J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 27, 2640 (2009) describes hot spots formed by cavities. However, the methods for forming hot spots of prior art use structuring technologies that can reach very high spatial resolutions and they are therefore complex and very expensive. Furthermore, they do not generally make it possible to produce substrates that have a high density of hot spots, in such a way that the increase in the light intensity emitted by the molecules of interest is limited.

Invention Disclosure:
A method for manufacturing a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectography, includes creating a supporting structure including microstructured pattern including a top and sidewalls; depositing a multilayer on the supporting structure with the multilayer including two metal layers and an intermediate layer arranged between the two metal layers, with the intermediate layer being carried out in a material that can be selectively etched with respect to the metal layers; etching a portion of the multilayer deposited on the top of the microstructured pattern in such a way as to expose ends each layer of the multilayer; selective etching of the ends of the intermediate layers in such a way as to form cavities between the ends of two successive metal layers.

[Assistant]
1. A method for manufacturing a substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectography, the method comprising:
creating a non-metal supporting structure on an upper surface of a support, with the supporting structure comprising at least one microstructured pattern, the microstructured pattern comprising a top and sidewalls, with the sidewalls extending according to a direction secant to a direction of the upper surface;
depositing a multilayer on the supporting structure, with the multilayer comprising at least two metal layers of the same thickness and an intermediate layer arranged between the two metal layers, with each intermediate layer being carried out in a material that can be selectively etched with respect to the at least two metal layers;
etching via chemical mechanical planarisation a portion of the multilayer deposited on the top of the microstructured pattern in such a way as to expose ends of each layer of the multilayer;
selective etching the ends of the intermediate layers in such a way as to form cavities between the ends of two successive metal layers.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate layer is a dielectric layer.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein each microstructured pattern has a height between 50 nm and 100 μm.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multilayer has a thickness less than the height of the microstructured pattern.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the metal and intermediate layers of the multilayer are deposited according to a compliant depositing technique.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sidewalls of the microstructured pattern extend according to a direction that forms an angle that is strictly less than 90° with a direction normal to the upper surface of the support.

7. A substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectography comprising:
a support comprising an upper surface;
a non-metal supporting structure arranged on the upper surface of the support, with the supporting structure comprising at least one microstructured pattern, the microstructured pattern comprising a top and sidewalls, with the sidewalls extending according to a direction secant to a direction of the upper surface;
a multilayer arranged on the sidewalls of the microstructured pattern, with the multilayer comprising at least two metal layers of the same thickness and an intermediate layer arranged between the two metal layers, with the intermediate layer being made from a material that can be selectively etched with respect to the metal layers, with the intermediate layer having an end that is set back with respect to the end of the metal layers that surround it in such a way that the ends of two successive metal layers form metal pins separated by a cavity.

8. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein the intermediate layer is a dielectric layer.

9. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein the sidewall of the microstructured pattern comprises faces separated by edges.

10. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein the supporting structure comprises several microstructured patterns forming a periodic array.

11. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein the multilayer comprises several intermediate layers, with the intermediate layers having thicknesses that differ from one another.

12. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein each microstructured pattern has a height between 50 nm and 100 μm.

13. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein each metal layer has a thickness between 1 angstrom and 50 nm.

14. The substrate according to claim 13, wherein each metal layer has a thickness between 10 nm and 50 nm.

15. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein each intermediate layer of the multilayer has a thickness between 1 angstrom and 20 nm.

16. The substrate according to claim 15, wherein each intermediate layer of the multilayer has a thickness between 10 nm and 20 nm.

17. The substrate according to claim 7, wherein each cavity has a depth between 1 angstrom and 200 nm.

18. The substrate according to claim 17, wherein each cavity has a depth between 10 nm and 200 nm.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Zoom Lens System, Imaging Device And Camera

Technical Field and Background:
1. Field The present disclosure relates to zoom lens systems, imaging devices, and cameras. 2. Description of the Related Art Size reduction and performance improvement are strongly required of cameras having image sensors performing photoelectric conversion, such as digital still cameras, digital video cameras, and the like (simply referred to as digital cameras, hereinafter). Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-333038 discloses a zoom lens system having a six-unit configuration of positive, negative, positive, positive, negative, and positive, and performing zooming by changing the interval between the respective lens units. Japanese Patent No. 4891439, Japanese Patent No. 4891440, and Japanese Patent No. 4891441 discloses a zoom lens system having a two-unit configuration of positive and negative, in which, in zooming, the first lens unit moves with reciprocated locus being convex to the image side.

Invention Disclosure:
A zoom lens system includes a first lens unit, a second lens unit, a third lens unit, a fourth lens unit, a fifth lens unit, and a sixth lens unit. In zooming, at least the first lens unit, the second lens unit, and the third lens unit move along an optical axis so that an interval between the first lens unit and the second lens unit at a telephoto limit becomes larger than that at a wide-angle limit, and an interval between the second lens unit and the third lens unit at the telephoto limit becomes narrower than that at the wide-angle limit. An aperture diaphragm is disposed between the second lens unit and the third lens unit. A condition of 18.5<fG1/fW<30.0 (fG1: a focal length of the first lens unit, fW: a focal length of the entire system at the wide-angle limit) is satisfied.

[Assistant]
1. A zoom lens system, in order from an object side to an image side, comprising:
a first lens unit having positive optical power;
a second lens unit having negative optical power;
a third lens unit having positive optical power;
a fourth lens unit having positive optical power;
a fifth lens unit having negative optical power, and
a sixth lens unit having positive optical power, wherein
in zooming from a wide-angle limit to a telephoto limit at a time of image taking, the respective lens units move along an optical axis so that an interval between the first lens unit and the second lens unit at the telephoto limit becomes larger than that at the wide-angle limit, an interval between the second lens unit and the third lens unit at the telephoto limit becomes narrower than that at the wide-angle limit, and an interval between the third lens unit and the fourth lens unit at the telephoto lens limit becomes larger than that at the wide-angle limit,
an aperture diaphragm is disposed between the second lens unit and the third lens unit, and
the following condition (1) is satisfied:
18.5 <f G1 /f w <30.0 (1)
where
f G1 is a focal length of the first lens unit, and
f W is a focal length of the zoom lens system at the wide-angle limit.

2. The zoom lens system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fourth lens unit is a focusing lens unit that moves along the optical axis in focusing from an infinity in-focus condition to a close-object in-focus condition.

3. The zoom lens system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the following condition (2) is satisfied:
1.1< m 6T /m 6W <2.0 (2)
where
m 6T is a lateral magnification of the sixth lens unit at the telephoto limit, and
m 6w is a lateral magnification of the sixth lens unit at the wide-angle limit.

4. An imaging device capable of outputting an optical image of an object as an electric image signal, comprising:
a zoom lens system that forms an optical image of the object; and
an image sensor that converts the optical image formed by the zoom lens system into the electric image signal, wherein
the zoom lens system is a zoom lens system as claimed in claim 1.

5. A camera for converting an optical image of an object into an electric image signal and then performing at least one of displaying and storing of the converted image signal, comprising:
an imaging device including a zoom lens system that forms the optical image of the object, and an image sensor that converts the optical image formed by the zoom lens system into the electric image signal, wherein
the zoom lens system is a zoom lens system as claimed in claim 1.

6. A zoom lens system, in order from an object side to an image side, comprising:
a first lens unit having positive optical power;
a second lens unit having negative optical power;
a third lens unit having positive optical power;
a fourth lens unit having negative optical power;
a fifth lens unit having negative optical power, and
a sixth lens unit having positive optical power, wherein
in zooming from a wide-angle limit to a telephoto limit at a time of image taking, the respective lens units move along an optical axis so that an interval between the first lens unit and the second lens unit at the telephoto limit becomes larger than that at the wide-angle limit, an interval between the second lens unit and the third lens unit at the telephoto limit becomes narrower than that at the wide-angle limit, and an interval between the third lens unit and the fourth lens unit at the telephoto lens limit becomes larger than that at the wide-angle limit,
an aperture diaphragm is disposed between the second lens unit and the third lens unit, and
the following condition (1) is satisfied:
18.5 <f G1 /f W <30.0 (1)
where
f G1 is a focal length of the first lens unit, and
f W is a focal length of the zoom lens system at the wide-angle limit.

7. The zoom lens system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fourth lens unit is a focusing lens unit that moves along the optical axis in focusing from an infinity in-focus condition to a close-object in-focus condition.

8. The zoom lens system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the following condition (2) is satisfied:
1.1 <m 6T /m 6W <2.0 (2)
where
m 6T is a lateral magnification of the sixth lens unit at the telephoto limit, and
m 6W is a lateral magnification of the sixth lens unit at the wide-angle limit.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Anchor Fastener

Technical Field and Background:
Current industry practices for installing a fixture (e.g., a lighting fixture, electrical fixture, etc.) to a mounting surface, such as a wall, ceiling, or other suitable surface, include attaching a portion of the fixture (e.g., a center portion) to an electrical junction box (“J-box”) that is coupled with or contained within the mounting surface. For installation of some fixtures, for example, large and/or heavy fixtures, one or more additional fasteners are installed separately from the J-box to more securely attach the fixture to the mounting surface. For residential and other fixtures which are intended to be installed onto a surface made of drywall, plaster board, or other suitable material, the fixtures are configured to be attached with suitable fasteners and drywall anchors for additional support. For example, linear type lighting fixtures have an elongated shape that extends away from the J-box and are often configured to be attached to the mounting surface using screws and drywall anchors. Drywall anchors are typically installed into the mounting surface before mounting the fixture. Installation of the drywall anchors typically involves i) measuring and marking locations of the drywall anchors on the mounting surface, ii) drilling pilot holes in the mounting surface for the drywall anchors, iii) installing the drywall anchors into the pilot holes, iv) installing the fixture to the j-box and orienting the fixture relative to the drywall anchors, and v) installing anchor screws through anchor holes in the fixture and into the drywall anchors. It is often difficult and/or time-consuming to pre-measure and locate the drywall anchor on the mounting surface so that the fixture is aligned properly in the installation of the fixture. For example, each of steps i) through v) may require a user to ascend and descend a ladder to reach the J-box, retrieve fasteners and/or tools, etc. This can result in the anchor holes of the fixture being misaligned with the drywall anchors. Some drywall anchors penetrate beyond a back or distal face of the mounting surface due to their length. In this case, the drywall anchor may not be fully installed if a stud or other support structure within the wall is present (e.g., it cannot penetrate into a stud or support structure) and the drywall anchor may tear a hole into the mounting surface when it hits the stud and deflects.

Invention Disclosure:
An anchor fastener includes a head, a generally cylindrical shaft extending from the head, and a base at a distal end of the shaft. The shaft includes a helical thread on an outer surface and a self-drilling tip at its distal end adjacent the base. The base is frangibly connected to the distal end of the shaft by at least one web of frangible material separable from at least one of the base and the shaft under application of a force to the shaft.

[Assistant]
1. An anchor fastener comprising:
a head, a generally cylindrical shaft extending from the head, and a base at a distal end of the shaft;
the shaft including a helical thread on an outer surface and a self-drilling tip at its distal end adjacent the base;
the base being frangibly connected to the distal end of the shaft by at least one web of frangible material separable from at least one of the base and the shaft under application of a force to the shaft;
wherein the base includes a distal surface and an engagement portion configured to engage an object to be anchored to a mounting surface and configured to hold the anchor fastener to the object before installation of the shaft through the object and into the mounting surface;
wherein the distal surface of the base extends away from a center axis of the shaft beyond an anchor hole of the object and is configured to abut a proximal surface of the object around the anchor hole.

2. The anchor fastener of claim 1, wherein the force is an installation force that causes i) a separation of the at least one web, and ii) installation of the shaft into the mounting surface.

3. The anchor fastener of claim 2, wherein the installation force is a rotational force that causes the self-drilling tip to engage and drill into the mounting surface.

4. The anchor fastener of claim 2, wherein the anchor fastener has a center channel that i) extends through and is generally coaxial with the shaft and the head and ii) is configured to receive a threaded fastener.

5. The anchor fastener of claim 4, wherein the center channel of the shaft has a threaded portion that provides a threaded engagement fit with the threaded fastener.

6. The anchor fastener of claim 5, wherein the center channel of the shaft has a non-threaded portion between the threaded portion and the head.

7. The anchor fastener of claim 4, wherein the center channel of the shaft provides a friction fit engagement with the threaded fastener.

8. The anchor fastener of claim 4, wherein:
the threaded fastener receives the installation force and advances through the center channel of the shaft during installation of the anchor fastener; and
the threaded fastener has a head that stops the advance of the threaded fastener through the center channel upon an engagement with the head of the anchor fastener.

9. The anchor fastener of claim 8, wherein the engagement of the head of the threaded fastener and the head of the anchor fastener causes a transfer of the installation force from the threaded fastener to the anchor fastener.

10. The anchor fastener of claim 8, wherein the head of the anchor fastener has a receptacle at an end of the center channel for receiving a driving device during removal of the anchor fastener.

11. The anchor fastener of claim 10, wherein the head of the threaded fastener has a receptacle for receiving the driving device during installation of the anchor fastener.

12. The anchor fastener of claim 4 in combination with the threaded fastener.

13. A drywall anchor comprising:
a head, a generally cylindrical shaft extending from the head, and a base at a distal end of the shaft;
the shaft including a self-drilling tip at its distal end configured to drill into a drywall location and a helical thread on an outer surface of the shaft configured to engage the drywall and hold the shaft in place in the drywall after drilling;
the base including a distal surface and an engagement portion configured to engage an object to be anchored to the drywall location and configured to hold the anchor to the object before installation of the shaft through the object and into the drywall location, the base being connected to the distal end of the shaft by at least one web of frangible material configured to separate from at least one of the base and the shaft when a force is applied to the shaft for drilling into the drywall location;
the head being generally coaxial with the shaft and having a lateral dimension greater than a maximum lateral dimension of the shaft for limiting penetration of the anchor into the drywall during drilling;
wherein the distal surface of the base extends away from a center axis of the shaft beyond an anchor hole of the object and is configured to abut a proximal surface of the object around the anchor hole.

14. The drywall anchor of claim 13, wherein:
the drywall anchor has a center channel that extends through and is generally coaxial with the shaft and the head and
the center channel is configured to receive a threaded fastener.

15. The drywall anchor of claim 14, wherein the center channel has a threaded portion on an interior surface of the center channel that provides a threaded engagement fit with the threaded fastener.

16. The drywall anchor of claim 15, wherein the force applied to the shaft for drilling into the drywall location is transferred from a head of the threaded fastener to the head of the drywall anchor.

17. The drywall anchor of claim 13, wherein the force applied to the shaft for drilling into the drywall location is at least one of a rotational force or a linear force.

18. The drywall anchor of claim 13, wherein:
the distal surface of the base has a flat, annular ring;
the engagement portion has an annular ridge that extends through the anchor hole and engages a distal surface of the object around the anchor hole.

19. The drywall anchor of claim 18, wherein the annular ridge includes one or more slots that provide a snap-fit engagement of the base to the object.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Interactive Venue Assistant

Technical Field and Background:
1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to providing an augmented reality experience and location-based services for a user at an event, such as a sports game, theater event, or concert. 2. Related Art An individual attending a real-time event in person may desire information related to the real-time event, such as the services available at the location or venue of the real-time event and any friends that are present at the location of the real-time event. Further, the individual may desire that information in such a way as to augment his or her viewing of the environment at the event. Conventionally, the desired information may be provided in a venue map or guide with details regarding food offerings, merchandise stores, restrooms, and ATM locations. This information, however, is not presented to the user in a useful form, and is not catered to the user's personal choices. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to deliver more personalized information to the user to assist the user at an event and venue.

Invention Disclosure:
Methods and systems for assisting a user at an event and venue are described. A user is guided or navigated to different points of interest at a venue. The points of interest include seat locations or surrounding services and facilities, such as restaurants, shops, and restrooms. Advertisements and promotions associated with surrounding services may be displayed to the user. The user may be notified of the presence of friends and family at the same venue, and be provided with real-time information about the event.

[Assistant]
1. A system comprising:
one or more memory devices or storage components adapted to store instructions; and
one or more processors in communication with the one or more memory devices or storage components and adapted to execute the instructions to perform or to control performance of one or more operations, the one or more operations comprising:
determine a location of a user device;
determine the location is within a venue associated with an event and a user;
in response to the determination that the user device is within the venue, provide, to the user via the user device, information regarding at least one point of interest, the information based on the location of the user device and a seat location for the user; and
provide, to the user via the user device, directions to the at least one point of interest.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more operations further comprise provide, to the user via the user device, directions to the seat location.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the at least one point of interest is further based on a current location of the user, time to start of the event, estimated time to the at least one point of interest, congestion along a route or at the at least one point of interest, or a combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more operations further comprise determine a current time.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more operations further comprise recommend a user action based on the current time, the event, and the venue.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the user action comprises shopping, dining, visiting a restroom, or a combination thereof.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more operations further comprise provide, to the user via the user device, a seat location at the venue of a friend of the user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more operations further comprise receive a request, from the user via the user device, for information regarding a specific point of interest.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more operations further comprise, based on the request, anticipate a further request from the user.

10. A method for assisting a user at an event, comprising:
determining a location of a user device;
determining that the user device has arrived at a seat location associated with an event, a venue, and a user;
in response to the determination that the user device arrived at the seat location, providing, to the user via the user device, information regarding at least one point of interest, the information based on the location of the user device and the seat location; and
providing, to the user via the user device, directions to the at least one point of interest.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the directions to the at least one point of interest are based on a current location of the user, the seat location, time to start of the event, estimated time to the at least one point of interest, congestion along a route or the at least one point of interest, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining a walking distance to the at least one point of interest.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising providing, to the user via the user device, the walking distance and time left to walk to the at least one point of interest.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising providing, to the user via the user device, real-time event information.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining a current time.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising recommending a user action based on the current time, the event, and the venue.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, are adapted to cause a system to perform operations, the operations comprising:
determining a location of a user device;
determining a current time;
providing, to a user via the user device, directions to a seat location associated with an event, a venue, and the user, based on the current time;
determining that the user device arrived at the seat location;
in response to the determination that the user device arrived at the seat location, providing, to the user via the user device, information regarding at least one point of interest; and
providing, to the user via the user device, directions to the at least one point of interest.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the at least one point of interest comprises a restaurant, a retail store, or a restroom.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise providing real-time event information.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise recommending products, services, or both, that are associated with coupons, discounts, or other promotions.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Bolted Telescopic Rod-Type Defense Spray Apparatus

Technical Field and Background:
1. Technical Field The present invention relates to a bolted telescopic rod-type defense spray apparatus, and more particularly to a defense spray apparatus in which at least two sections may be pushed to each other to spray contents of an irritant gas can and may be positioned relative to each other to be locked into a function application having a rod-type member. 2. Related Art A conventional umbrella or staff is easy to carry and can be used for defense; however, in a sudden strike of an armed villain, during a fierce fight, it is still possible that the villain causes death or injuries with a strike by using a bladed weapon. In addition, a conventional device such as a gas pistol and a self-defense spray device can be used to spurt high-pressure self-defense spray at a villain at a long distance greater than 3 meters to 4 meters before the villain approaches; however, for a function or a dosage of the device, an irritant gas or liquid can only be spurted at the face of the villain for a very few seconds to take away the vision of the villain, and if the villain closes the eyes and covers the mouth and nose and keeps slashing wildly with a weapon, the gas pistol and the self-defense spray are basically useless to stop the villain. Moreover, for the purpose of portability, a self-defense spray can is generally small and has a small volume, and a dosage of an irritant gas in the self-defense spray can support only a limited quantity of times of spurting. When the self-defense spray can is emptied after several times of spurting, if a danger still exists, an article such as an umbrella needs to be used for defense to resist an attack.

Invention Disclosure:
A bolted telescopic rod-type defense spray apparatus includes a first tube body, a cap, a compression elastic piece, a second tube body, an anti-extraction element, a spring pin component, and a push joint component. In the bolted telescopic rod-type defense spray apparatus, two sectioned tube pieces and a spring pin component and a push joint component that are between the two tube pieces are applied to lock and unlock a relative position relationship between the two tube pieces, so that the defense spray apparatus has composite functions of a rod-piece additional function of a locking configuration of relative positions of the two tube pieces and a press-lever spray irritant gas can of an unlocking configuration of the relative positions of the two tube pieces.

[Assistant]
1. A bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus, used to spray contents of an irritant gas can disposed inside the apparatus after locked telescopic rods are unlocked, a protruding output tube being provided at a top portion of the irritant gas can, a press-ring portion being provided at a periphery of the output and being subject to an external force to spray the contents from the output tube, and the defense spray apparatus comprising:
a first tube body, having a head-end portion and a tail-end portion away from the head-end portion, a receiving chamber having a diameter being provided in an intra-tube space of the head-end portion, an opening being provided on an end surface of the receiving chamber and being used to provide a position where the irritant gas can is held in the receiving chamber, a neck-portion structure being provided in the intra-tube space, and a first pinhole connected to the intra-tube space being formed on a surface of the tube body between the neck-portion structure and the tail-end portion;
a cap, tightly covering the opening of the receiving chamber, a recessed seat being provided at a center of a surface, of the cap facing the receiving chamber, of the cap, a through hole being provided at a center of the recessed seat, the press-ring portion of the irritant gas can corresponding to the recessed seat, and the output tube being aligned with the through hole;
a compression elastic piece, disposed and kept between the recessed seat and a can body top portion of the irritant gas can;
a second tube body, having a head end and a tail end opposite the head end, a top rod structure being provided on an end surface of the head end, a sheath structure being disposed at the tail end, a hole being provided on an end surface of the sheath structure, a second pinhole corresponding to the first pinhole being provided at a body portion of the second tube body, the second tube body being partially placed in the intra-tube space of the first tube body, and when the second pinhole is aligned with the first pinhole, the body portion of the second tube body to the tail end being exposed from the tail-end portion of the first tube body;
an anti-extraction element, having a stopping surface, the stopping surface having an inner diameter, the inner diameter being over a surface of the second tube body, and the stopping surface being in a direction opposite the head-end portion of the first tube body, and facing and being stopped at the neck-portion structure;
a spring pin component, placed inside the second tube body, and comprising a shell body, the shell body having a recessed seat and a slot connected to the recessed seat, an insertion pin placed inside the recessed seat, a compression elastic body placed between a bottom surface of the recessed seat and a bottom surface of the insertion pin, the insertion pin being axially aligned with the second pinhole, and a groove being provided at a body portion of the insertion pin; and
a push joint component, placed inside the second tube body, and having a fingering element, a hook rod, a pulling rod switch, and a pulling rod switch locking structure, the fingering element having a pivotal hole and a tail hole and a fingering rod that are separately located on two sides of the pivotal hole, the fingering rod being inserted in the groove of the body portion of the insertion pin, the fingering element being pivotally disposed in the slot of the recessed seat by using the pivotal hole, so that the fingering element uses the pivotal hole as an axial center, and inside the recessed seat, the fingering rod drives the insertion pin to swing toward and from the second tube body, the pulling rod switch sequentially having a switch button, a shaft-neck portion, a shaft-tail portion, and a compression spring, the switch button passing through the hole on the end surface of the sheath structure via the shaft-neck portion and being exposed from the sheath structure, a joint being provided on an end surface of the shaft-tail portion, the compression spring being sleeved over the shaft-neck portion, two ends of the compression spring being kept between the shaft-tail portion and an inner side of the end surface of the sheath structure, a hook portion being formed at an end of the hook rod, the hook portion being hooked at the tail hole of the fingering element, a flange portion being formed at the other end, and being locked in the joint, the pulling rod switch locking structure being disposed between the end surface of the sheath structure and the pulling rod switch, so that after the pulling rod switch is extracted toward an outer side of the end surface of the sheath structure, the pulling rod switch is kept at an extracted position, wherein
the switch button is extracted in a direction of the outer side of the end surface of the tail end of the second tube body to enable an external thread and a threaded hole to be engaged with each other and then rotated to enable the insertion pin to be completely extracted from the first pinhole and the second pinhole, so that after a locking state between the first tube body and the second tube body is released, the sheath structure of the second tube body is held and pushed toward the first tube body, and the top rod structure pushes the irritant gas can to press the press-ring portion to spray the contents.

2. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an anti-rotation structure is separately and correspondingly disposed on tube body surfaces of an area, inserted in the intra-tube space of the first tube body, of the second tube body, so as to limit relative axial rotation between the first tube body and the second tube body.

3. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pulling rod switch locking structure comprises the external thread disposed between the shaft-neck portion and the shaft-tail portion and the threaded hole that is formed corresponding to an inner thread, disposed at the hole of the end surface of the sheath structure, of the external thread, and a compression spring is sleeved over the shaft-neck portion disposed between the external thread and the switch button.

4. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pulling rod switch locking structure comprises a fastening ring block disposed between the switch button and the outer side of the end surface of the sheath structure, the fastening ring block is inserted and held in the shaft-neck portion.

5. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sub-step tube having a diameter is provided at the tail-end portion of the first tube body, and the first pinhole being provided on a tube body of the sub-step tube.

6. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the neck-portion structure of the first tube body is an inward turning surface of a small inner diameter space whose diameter is less than the diameter of the intra-tube space.

7. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an end plug inserted in the through hole is further comprised on a surface, opposite the receiving chamber, of the cap.

8. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the top rod structure is the end surface of the head end.

9. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a hole is provided on the end surface of the head end of the second tube body, the top rod structure is disposed inside the second tube body and sequentially comprises a convex element having a top rod, a compression spring, and a fixing element, the fixing element is fixedly screwed on an inner wall of the second tube body, so that the convex-type element is pushed upward by the compression spring, the top rod protrudes from the hole, and a shortened travel length after the compression spring is pressed is less than a length by which the top rod protrudes from the hole, and in a locking state between the first tube body and the second tube body, the top rod of the convex element pushes a can body bottom portion.

10. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an included angle is formed between a central line from the pivotal hole of the fingering element to the tail hole and a central line from the pivotal hole to the fingering rod.

11. The bolted telescopic rod defense spray apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an umbrella component, wherein a rod body that comprises the first tube body and the exposed second tube body form a central rod of the umbrella component, the cap forms an umbrella cap of the umbrella component, the sheath structure forms an umbrella handle of the umbrella component, the umbrella component further comprises a notch, a rib, a cloth, multiple tips, a runner, and a runner locking structure for locking or unlocking the runner, the notch is disposed at the head-end portion of the first tube body, the runner is disposed at a periphery of the central rod on a side, facing the sheath structure, of the notch and is axially slideable on a surface of the central rod, the runner locking structure comprises a spiral sheath-lock element sleeved over the runner and is freely rotatable, and an external thread that is disposed on a surface of the first tube body and corresponds to the spiral sheath-lock element, the rib is connected between the notch and the runner, the cloth and the tips are disposed on the rib, the cloth is opened when the runner moves to the surface of the first tube body and is locked at the external thread by using an inner thread disposed on an inner surface of the spiral sheath-lock element, and the cloth is folded when the runner moves to a side, facing the sheath structure, of the external thread.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Hermetic Transform Beam-Forming Devices And Methods Using Meta-Materials

Technical Field and Background:
Beamforming techniques are used in conventional antenna systems and other communications devices. For certain applications, it is desirable to achieve a narrower beam (e.g., to allow devices to be smaller). Thus, there is a need in the art for improved receivers, transmitters, and other communications devices that can provide one or more narrow beams, for example to allow frequency re-use in a multi-user environment, and to improve gain against ambient noise by rejecting noise and interfering signals outside a given beam, among other advantages. The beam-width of an antenna or antenna array is normally limited by the diffraction pattern, which normally constrain arrays capable of generating or receiving narrow beams of radio-frequency (or acoustic) energy to be large as compared to the radiation wavelength. The techniques of Hermetic Transform beam-forming disclosed herein allow the diffraction pattern limits to be overcome.

Invention Disclosure:
According to one or more exemplary embodiments, a receiver comprises one or more first metamaterial circuit elements configured to receive a signal; one or more second metamaterial circuit elements configured to perform a hermetic transform on the signal to output a hermetic transform output; and one or more third metamaterial circuit elements configured to perform a summation on the hermetic transform output. Additionally, according to one or more exemplary embodiments, a transmitter comprises a metamaterial waveguide configured to guide a signal and allow the signal to exit the metamaterial waveguide; one or more first metamaterial circuit elements coupled to the metamaterial waveguide and configured to perform a hermetic transform on the signal; and one or more second metamaterial elements configured to transmit the signal.

[Assistant]
1. A receiver comprising:
a plurality of first metamaterial circuit elements configured as an array to receive a signal, where the plurality of first metamaterial comprise a plurality of circuit elements arranged with spacings much less than one half of the signal wavelength so as to provide an antenna array that is highly oversampled relative to the spatial Nyquist criterion;
a plurality of second metamaterial circuit elements configured to perform amplitude scaling and phase-shifting of output signals from the antenna array in accordance with amplitudes and phases for performing a Hermetic Transform; and
a plurality of third metamaterial circuit elements configured to perform a summation on amplitude-scaled and phase-shifted outputs derived from a Hermetic Transform Matrix so as to produce the effect of a Hermetic Transform application to the signal and to provide a beam-formed signal channel for each row of the Hermetic Transform Matrix.

2. The receiver according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of second metamaterial circuit elements comprise a plurality of phase shifters for performing phase shifts and a corresponding plurality of amplitude scalers for performing amplitude scaling, both phase-shifting and amplitude scaling occurring in series to accomplish the combined effect of which corresponds to the hermetic transform and configured to switch in and out specific circuit elements to allow different Hermetic Transforms to be applied to antenna signal channel data.

3. The receiver according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of third metamaterial circuit elements comprises at least one of a metamaterial lens or reflector.

4. The receiver according to claim 1, wherein the signal is an RF signal.

5. The receiver according to claim 1, wherein the signal is an acoustic signal.


[System] You are an expert US patent attorney. Draft a set of independent and dependent claims based on the provided invention description. Use correct USPTO formatting.

[User]
Title: Liquid Crystal Display (Lcd) Apparatus, Lcd Panel And Driving Method Using The Same

Technical Field and Background:
Field of Invention The present invention relates to a technical field of a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus, LCD panel, LCD array substrate and driving method using the same, and more particularly to a thin film transistor (TFT) LCD apparatus, TFT-LCD panel, TFT-LCD array substrate and driving method using the same. Description of Prior Art Conventionally, a manufacturing cost reduction is a critical issue of the LCD's manufacturing procedure. A data line sharing (DLS) mechanism is commonly used wherein the number of gate lines is doubled and the number of data lines is halved to diminish the amount of source driver for thus lowering the costs. Regarding a driving method of conventional LCD panel, since the switch frequency of the data line polarity using a column inversion is lower, the power consumption of the driving manner is reduced and widely used. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a TFT-LCD with a data line sharing (DLS) mechanism and column inversion in the prior art. G_ 1 to G_ 8 represent the serial numbers of the gate lines and D_ 1 to G_ 5 represent the serial numbers of the data lines. Each region enclosed by a dashed line is defined as a sub-pixel wherein the positive and negative signs in the sub-pixels represent the polarities of the driving voltage. The sub-pixel polarity of one data line in a column is opposite the sub-pixel polarity in the left or right data line related the one data line, which is defined as a column inversion manner. FIG. 1 is a conventional red-green-blue (RGB) structure. When the RGB structure is operated with the DLS mechanism, the electrical potential of common electrode E_cm will drift in some color mixing frames, e.g. cyan color frame formed by green and blue colors, thereby causing poor display quality, e.g. crosstalk, since the capacitor coupling is formed by liquid crystal capacitance and storage capacitance between sub-pixel electrode E_pixel and common electrode E_cm. FIG. 2 a is a schematic signal waveform of the data lines in FIG. 1 when the display panel is in a color-mixing status. In a cyan color frame formed by green and blue colors, the level of common electrode E_cm is 7V (voltage) wherein the positive polarity voltage of the gray level L 255 is 14V and the negative polarity voltage is 0V. In FIGS. 1 and 2 , data line D_ 2 is composed of green sub-pixels G and blue sub-pixels B in a direct current signal waveform with a negative polarity voltage 0V. The data line D_ 3 has positive polarity wherein when the odd data lines are switched on, the voltage written into the red sub-pixel is common voltage 7V and the even data lines are switched on, the voltage written into the green sub-pixel is 14V. In the data line D_ 4 , when the odd data lines are switched on, the voltage written into the blue sub-pixel is 0V and the even data lines are switched on, the voltage written into the red sub-pixel is common voltage 7V. However, the waveform of data lines D_ 3 and D_ 4 from low level to high level or vice versa are similar, as shown in dashed line regions. In this case, when the data signal is written to the sub-pixel electrode E_pixel, the liquid crystal capacitor C_lc and storage capacitor C_st related to the common electrode E_cm generates a coupling capacitance therebetween so that electrical potential of the common electrode E_cm is drifted. In FIG. 2 a , when the signal levels in data lines D_ 3 and D_ 4 are changed from low to high, the common voltage in the whole column sub-pixels pulls high. On the contrary, when the signal levels in data lines D_ 3 and D_ 4 are changed from high to low, the common voltage in the whole column sub-pixels pulls low. Thus, the changed common voltage is unstable, which may downgrade the display quality due to crosstalk effect. As shown in FIG. 2 b , when a white display region 200 is added to a color-mixing background region, the brightness of the background regions 201 in the lateral sides of the white display region 200 is different from the brightness in the region 202 . FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a conventional display panel with white, red, green and blue (WRGB) sub-pixels. When the WRGB display panel shown a pure color, FIG. 3 has the same problem as FIG. 2 b , thereby causing crosstalk. As shown FIG.

Invention Disclosure:
An array substrate is described. The array substrate with a polarity inversion of drive voltage signal in a plurality of data lines comprises a plurality of gate line sets being sequentially arranged, wherein each gate line set comprises two gate lines having an odd gate line and an even gate line respectively; a plurality of data line sets being sequentially arranged and vertically interlaced with the gate line sets, wherein each data line set comprises two data lines having an odd data line and an even data line respectively; wherein a plurality of sub-pixels are sequentially disposed between two adjacent gate line sets, connection positions of a portion of sub-pixels to the odd gate line and the even gate line in one gate line set respectively are changed in a predetermined amount of data line spaced apart.

[Assistant]
1. An array substrate with a polarity inversion of drive voltage signal in a plurality of data lines, the array substrate comprising:
a plurality of gate line sets being sequentially arranged, wherein each gate line set comprises two gate lines which are composed of an odd gate line and an even gate line respectively;
a plurality of data line sets being sequentially arranged and vertically interlaced with the gate line sets, wherein each data line set comprises two data lines which are composed of an odd data line and an even data line respectively;
wherein a plurality of sub-pixels are sequentially disposed between two adjacent gate line sets, connection positions of a portion of sub-pixels to the odd gate line and the even gate line in one gate line set respectively are changed in a predetermined amount of data line spaced apart so that the portion of sub-pixels in each same row are connected to the odd gate line and the even gate line respectively in the one gate line set, and wherein each sub-pixel is connected to one gate line and one data line respectively by way of a switch unit, and a polarity of the drive voltage signal of the sub-pixels with same color type in two adjacent data lines is inverted each other.

2. An array substrate with a polarity inversion of drive voltage signal in a plurality of data lines, the array substrate comprising:
a plurality of gate line sets being sequentially arranged, wherein each gate line set comprises two gate lines which are composed of an odd gate line and an even gate line respectively;
a plurality of data line sets being sequentially arranged and vertically interlaced with the gate line sets, wherein each data line set comprises two data lines which are composed of an odd data line and an even data line respectively;
wherein a plurality of sub-pixels are sequentially disposed between two adjacent gate line sets, connection positions of a portion of sub-pixels to the odd gate line and the even gate line in one gate line set respectively are changed in a predetermined amount of data line spaced apart so that the portion of sub-pixels in each same row are connected to the odd gate line and the even gate line respectively in the one gate line set, and a polarity of the drive voltage signal of the sub-pixels with same color type in two adjacent data lines is inverted each other.

3. The array substrate of claim 2, wherein each sub-pixel is connected to one gate line and one data line respectively by way of a switch unit.

4. The array substrate of claim 3, wherein the switch unit is a thin film transistor comprising a gate electrode connected to one gate line, a source electrode connected to one data line, and a drain electrode connected to one sub-pixel.

5. The array substrate of claim 2, wherein a polarity of the drive voltage signal of the sub-pixels with same color type in two adjacent data lines is inverted each other.

6. The array substrate of claim 2, wherein the sub-pixels comprises a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel and a blue sub-pixel, which are sequentially arranged.

7. A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel using an array substrate, the array substrate comprising:
a plurality of gate line sets being sequentially arranged, wherein each gate line set comprises two gate lines which are composed of an odd gate line and an even gate line respectively;
a plurality of data line sets being sequentially arranged and vertically interlaced with the gate line sets, wherein each data line set comprises two data lines which are composed of an odd data line and an even data line respectively;
wherein a plurality of sub-pixels are sequentially disposed between two adjacent gate line sets, connection positions of a portion of sub-pixels to the odd gate line and the even gate line in one gate line set respectively are changed in a predetermined amount of data line spaced apart so that the portion of sub-pixels in each same row are connected to the odd gate line and the even gate line respectively in the one gate line set, and a polarity of the drive voltage signal of the sub-pixels with same color type in two adjacent data lines is inverted each other.

8. The LCD panel of claim 7, wherein each sub-pixel is connected to one gate line and one data line respectively by way of a switch unit.

9. The LCD panel of claim 8, wherein the switch unit is a thin film transistor comprising a gate electrode connected to one gate line, a source electrode connected to one data line, and a drain electrode connected to one sub-pixel.

10. The LCD panel of claim 7, wherein a polarity of the drive voltage signal of the sub-pixels with same color type in two adjacent data lines is inverted each other.

11. The LCD panel of claim 7, wherein the sub-pixels comprises a red sub-pixel, a green sub-pixel and a blue sub-pixel, which are sequentially arranged.