Author: claimsbot

1. A stream material dispensing motorized toy vehicle comprising:
a body (14),
motor-driven wheels (13) mounted on the body (14),
a self-contained pressurized aerosol cartridge (32) mounted within the body (14),
(a) containing a propellant and containing a foam stream material that solidifies after exiting said cartridge,
(b) including an outlet (36) for the stream material to exit the cartridge, and
(c) including a release member (33) operable to release the stream material,

a muzzle (62),
a nozzle (34) interconnecting the muzzle (62) and the outlet (36) such that stream of material exiting the pressurized aerosol cartridge through the outlet (36) passes through the nozzle (34) and the muzzle (62),
a remote transmitter generating signals for controlling selectively the motor-driven wheels (13) and dispensing of the stream material from the pressurized cartridge,
a receiver mounted on the toy which receives said signals,
a motor-driven release mechanism (44) mounted in the body (14) for controlling the release of the stream material from the pressurized cartridge, the release mechanism and the receiver being in electrical communication whereby the release mechanism operates in accordance with said signals, said release mechanism pivotable against the cartridge (32) to release stream material from the cartridge through the outlet (36), nozzle (34), and muzzle (62),
a motor (40) mounted within the body (14) to pivot the release mechanism (44) against the cartridge (32) to release stream material from the cartridge through the outlet (36), nozzle (34), and muzzle (62), and
an action figure riding in the toy vehicle.
2. A stream material dispensing motorized toy vehicle comprising:
a body (14),
motor-driven wheels (13) mounted on the body (14),
a self-contained pressurized aerosol cartridge (32) of generally conventional construction and mounted within the body (14),
(a) containing a propellant and containing a foam stream material that solidifies after exiting said cartridge,
(b) including a valve assembly (72) with a hollow neck (73) for the stream material to exit the cartridge, and
(c) including a release member (33) operable to release the stream material,

a nozzle (63) contacting said neck (73) and including an opening (62A) such that stream of material exiting the pressurized aerosol cartridge through said neck (73) passes through said opening (62A),
a remote transmitter generating signals for controlling selectively the motor-driven wheels (13) and dispensing of the stream material from the pressurized cartridge,
a receiver mounted on the toy which receives said signals,
a motor-driven release mechanism (44) mounted in the body (14) for controlling the release of the stream material from the pressurized cartridge, the release mechanism and the receiver being in electrical communication whereby the release mechanism operates in accordance with said signals, said release mechanism pivotable against the cartridge (32) to release stream material from the cartridge through said neck (73) and nozzle (63),
a motor (40) mounted within the body (14) to pivot the release mechanism (44) against the nozzle (63) to press said nozzle (63) against said neck (73) and release stream material from said cartridge through said neck (73) and nozzle (63).
3. A stream material dispensing motorized toy vehicle comprising:
a body (14),
motor-driven wheels (13) mounted on the body (14),
a self-contained pressurized aerosol cartridge (32) mounted within the body (14),
(a) containing a propellant and containing a foam stream material that solidifies after exiting said cartridge,
(b) including a hollow neck (73A) for the stream material to exit the cartridge, and depressible to release the stream material,

a nozzle (63),
a muzzle (62) interconnecting the nozzle (63) and the neck (73A) such that stream of material exiting the pressurized aerosol cartridge through the neck (73A) passes through the muzzle (62) and nozzle (63),
a remote transmitter generating signals for controlling selectively the motor-driven wheels (13) and dispensing of the stream material from the pressurized cartridge,
a receiver mounted on the toy vehicle which receives said signals,
a motor-driven release mechanism (44) mounted in the body (14) for controlling the release of the stream material from the pressurized cartridge, the release mechanism and the receiver being in electrical communication whereby the release mechanism operates in accordance with said signals, said release mechanism pivotable to compress together the muzzle (62) and neck (73A) to depress the neck (73A) to release stream material from the cartridge through the neck (73A),muzzle (62), and nozzle (63),
a motor (40) mounted within the body (14) to pivot the release mechanism (44) to compress together the muzzle (62) and neck (73A) to release stream material from the cartridge through the neck (73A), muzzle (62), and nozzle (73).
4. The toy vehicle of claim 3
(a) including a cartridge support (46A) having a foot (91);
(b) wherein the cartridge
(i) includes a bottom (90),
(ii) seats in support (46A) intermediate muzzle (62) and foot (91) with bottom (90) adjacent foot (91) and neck (73A) adjacent muzzle (62); and,

(c) the distance of muzzle (62) from foot (91) is adjustable.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A switching power converter comprising:
a transformer including a primary winding coupled to an input voltage and a secondary winding coupled to an output of the switching power converter;
a switch coupled to the primary winding of the transformer, current in the primary winding being generated responsive to the switch being turned on and not being generated responsive to the switch being turned off; and
a controller coupled to the switch and configured to generate a control signal to turn on or turn off the switch, the switch being turned on responsive to the control signal being in a first state and the switch being turned off responsive to the control signal being in a second state, the controller being further configured to:
determine a desired turn-on time of the switch in each switching cycle according to a regulation mode employed by the switching power converter;
select one of a plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch that are predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, the selection being made based on a value of a selection signal; and
generate in each switching cycle of the switching power converter the control signal in the first state to turn on the switch at an actual turn-on time corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch.
2. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the controller selects one of a plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch based on a value of a selection signal determined at the desired turn-on time.
3. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:
select in a first switching cycle a first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch that are predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, responsive to a first value of the selection signal; and
select in a second switching cycle a second one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch that are predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time and also subsequent to said first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums, responsive to a second value of the selection signal.
4. The switching power converter of claim 3, wherein:
said first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is the n’th predicted local minimum predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, n being an natural number; and
said second one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is the (n+1)’th predicted local minimum predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time.
5. The switching power converter of claim 3, wherein:
said first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is an n’th predicted local minimum predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, n being a natural number; and
said second one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is one of the predicted local minimums predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time and also subsequent to an (n+1)’th predicted local minimum.
6. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the value of the selection signal is generated based on a pseudorandom bit sequence.
7. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the value of the selection signal corresponds to a predetermined bit sequence.
8. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein said one of the predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is a first local minimum voltage predicted to occur immediately subsequent to the desired turn-on time determined according to the regulation mode.
9. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the switch is a bipolar junction transistor and the voltage across the switch corresponds to the voltage between a collector and an emitter of the bipolar junction transistor.
10. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the switch is a metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and the voltage across the switch corresponds to the voltage between a drain and a source of the MOSFET.
11. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the controller determines the desired turn-on time of the switch in each switching cycle according to the regulation mode employed by the switching power converter, independently of a transformer reset period or a resonant period of the voltage across the switch.
12. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the controller generates the control signal in the first state to turn on the switch at the desired turn-on time if the selection of said one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is not made until a predetermined condition is met.
13. The switching power converter of claim 1, wherein the controller generates the control signal in the first state to turn on the switch at the desired turn-on time if a duration between two adjacent local minimums of the voltage across the switch exceed a predetermined threshold.
14. A method of controlling a switching power converter, the switching power converter including a transformer with a primary winding coupled to an input voltage and a secondary winding coupled to an output of the switching power converter, and a switch coupled to the primary winding of the transformer, current in the primary winding being generated while the switch is turned on and not being generated while the switch is turned off, the method comprising:
determining a desired turn-on time of the switch in each switching cycle according to a regulation mode employed by the switching power converter;
calculating predicted timings at which a plurality of local minimums of a voltage across the switch are predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, the predicted timings of the local minimums being calculated prior to actual occurrences of the local minimums;
selecting in each switching cycle one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch based on a value of a selection signal;
generating in each switching cycle the control signal in the first state to turn on the switch at an actual turn-on time corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch; and
generating in each switching cycle the control signal in a second state to turn off the switch according to the regulation mode.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said one of a plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is selected based on the value of a selection signal determined at the desired turn-on time.
16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
selecting in a first switching cycle a first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch that are predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, responsive to a first value of the selection signal; and
selecting in a second switching cycle a second one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch that are predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time and also subsequent to said first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums, responsive to a second value the selection signal.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein:
said first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is the n’th predicted local minimum predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, n being an natural number; and
said second one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is the (n+1)’th predicted local minimum predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein:
said first one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is an n’th predicted local minimum predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time, n being a natural number; and
said second one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is one of the predicted local minimums predicted to occur subsequent to the desired turn-on time and also subsequent to an (n+1)’th predicted local minimum.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the value of the selection signal is generated based on a pseudorandom bit sequence.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein the value of the selection signal corresponds to a predetermined bit sequence.
21. The method of claim 14, wherein said one of the predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is a first local minimum voltage predicted to occur immediately subsequent to the desired turn-on time determined according to the regulation mode.
22. The method of claim 14, wherein the switch is a bipolar junction transistor and the voltage across the switch corresponds to the voltage between a collector and an emitter of the bipolar junction transistor.
23. The method of claim 14, wherein the switch is a metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and the voltage across the switch corresponds to the voltage between a drain and a source of the MOSFET.
24. The method of claim 14, wherein the desired turn-on time of the switch is determined in each switching cycle according to the regulation mode employed by the switching power converter, independently of a transformer reset period or a resonant period of the voltage across the switch.
25. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
generating the control signal in the first state to turn on the switch at the desired turn-on time if the selection of said one of the plurality of predicted local minimums of the voltage across the switch is not made until a predetermined condition is met.
26. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
generating the control signal in the first state to turn on the switch at the desired turn-on time if a duration between two adjacent local minimums of the voltage across the switch exceed a predetermined threshold.

1. A method comprising:
patterning a mesa of an imprint lithography template with patterned features and a first maze pattern distinct from the patterned features, said first maze pattern comprising an array of depressed or protruding spaced apart features positioned at the boundary of the mesa to surround said patterned features, and said array comprising multiple rows of said spaced apart features, wherein spaced apart features of at least one row are aligned or staggered with respect to spaced apart features of an adjacent row, and wherein at least one of said multiple rows surrounds at least one other of said multiple rows and is positioned closer to the mesa boundary;
dispensing polymerizable material on a substrate; and,
contacting the mesa of the imprint lithography template with the polymerizable material on the substrate,
wherein the first maze pattern reduces and slows propagation of the polymerizable material beyond the mesa boundary during said contacting.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the array of features comprises geometric shapes, fanciful shapes, or combinations thereof.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the array of features further comprises periodic arrays of squares having a width of approximately 2 microns, a length of approximately 2 microns, and a height of approximately 80-120 nm.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the features are spaced apart by a distance of between approximately 0.6 to 0.8 microns.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first maze pattern forms a moat positioned outside of the first maze pattern at the boundary of the mesa.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising patterning a second maze pattern on the mesa, wherein the second maze pattern is positioned in the moat.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of operating a digital assistant to provide emergency call functionality, comprising:
at a device having memory and one or more processors:
while one or more functionalities of the digital assistant other than emergency call functionality are accessible via speech input on the device, receiving a speech input from a user;
determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call;
determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device; and
in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device has an active data connection.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service, but does have access to a baseband telephone service.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the device does not have an operating SIM card.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the device does not have a SIM card that is compatible with any telephony service available at the device’s current location.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, ascertaining the geographic location of the device.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the emergency dispatcher telephone number is one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call;
in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality; and
in response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, providing the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user’s request for making an emergency call.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number;
wherein determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device comprises determining or obtaining a determination of a second emergency number; and
wherein, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, providing a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number; and
while providing the notification, providing an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
providing a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant, wherein the limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and wherein the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality.
12. A device, comprising:
one or more processors;
memory; and
one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions to:
while one or more functionalities of a digital assistant other than emergency call functionality are accessible via speech input on the device, receive a speech input from a user;
determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call;
determine or obtain a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device; and
in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.
13. The device of claim 12, wherein the device has an active data connection.
14. The device of claim 12, wherein the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service, but does have access to a baseband telephone service.
15. The device of claim 12, the one or more programs further comprising instructions to, prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, ascertain the geographic location of the device.
16. The device of claim 12, wherein the emergency dispatcher telephone number is one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.
17. The device of claim 12, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call; and
wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to:
in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality; and
in response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, provide the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user’s request for making an emergency call.
18. The device of claim 12, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number;
wherein determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device comprises determining or obtaining a determination of a second emergency number; and
wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number.
19. The device of claim 12, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to:
prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, provide a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number; and
while providing the notification, provide an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.
20. The device of claim 12, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to provide a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant, wherein the limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and wherein the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality.
21. The device of claim 12, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to:
determine whether the device is currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a cellular service available at the current geographic location of the device; and
in response to determining that the device is not currently authorized to make non-emergency telephone calls using a cellular service available at the current geographic location of the device, invoke the limited natural language processing module to process the speech input.
22. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device, cause the device to:
while one or more functionalities of a digital assistant other than emergency call functionality are accessible via speech input on the device, receive a speech input from a user;
determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call;
determine or obtain a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device; and
in response to determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number.
23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions to determine or obtain a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call include instructions to obtain, from a remote server, via an active data connection, a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call.
24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the one or more programs include instructions to call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using a baseband telephone service when the device does not have an active connection to a subscribed telephone service.
25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, the one or more programs further comprising instructions to, prior to determining or obtaining a determination of the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, ascertain the geographic location of the device.
26. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the emergency dispatcher telephone number is one of a plurality of emergency dispatcher telephone numbers stored on the device.
27. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for making an emergency call; and
wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to:
in response to a determination that the speech input unambiguously expresses a user request for an emergency call, without further user input, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality; and
in response to a determination that the speech input does not unambiguously express a user request for an emergency call, prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality, provide the user with a notification and an affordance for confirming the user’s request for making an emergency call.
28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein determining or obtaining a determination of whether the speech input expresses a user request for making an emergency call comprises determining or obtaining a determination that the speech input is a user request for calling a first emergency number;
wherein determining or obtaining a determination of a local emergency dispatcher telephone number based on a geographic location of the device comprises determining or obtaining a determination of a second emergency number; and
wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to, when the first emergency number is distinct from the second emergency number, call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number using the emergency call functionality comprises calling the second emergency number.
29. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to:
prior to calling the local emergency dispatcher telephone number, provide a notification to the user that the device will promptly call the local emergency dispatcher telephone number; and
while providing the notification, provide an affordance for the user to cancel the request for making an emergency call.
30. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions to provide a limited natural language processing module within the digital assistant, wherein the limited natural language processing module differs from a primary natural language processing module used by the digital assistant during normal operation, and wherein the limited natural language processing module is tailored to recognize speech inputs for invoking the emergency call functionality.