Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. A system for rendering a sound scene representing multiple sound sources and a listener at different positions in the scene which might include multiple rooms with sound sources in different rooms and obstacles between a sound source and the listener in the same room, with each room characterized by a reverberation time, said system comprising:
a plurality of source channel blocks, each source channel block implementing environmental reverberation processing for an associated source and each source channel block including:
an input for receiving a source signal and providing direct and early reflection feeds, and mono late reverberation feed;
a direct encoding path, coupled to receive said direct feed and to receive direct path control parameters specified for the associated source, said direct encoding path including an adjustable direct delay line element, a direct low-pass filter element, a direct attenuation element, and a direct pan element, with all direct path elements responsive to said direct path control parameters;
an early reflection encoding path, coupled to receive said direct feed and early refection control parameters specified for the associated source, said early reflection encoding path including an adjustable early delay line element, an early low-pass filter element, an early attenuation element, and a early pan element, with all early reflection elements responsive to said early reflection control parameters;
a late reverberation encoding path, coupled to receive said late reverberation feed and to receive late reverberation control parameters specified for the associated source, said direct encoding path including an adjustable reverberation delay line element, a reverberation low-pass filter element, and a reverberation attenuation element, with all late reverberation path elements responsive to saidlate reverberation control parameters;
a reverberation bus having a early sub-bus coupled to an output of the pan early element of each source channel block and an late reverberation line coupled to an output of each reverberation attenuation element; and
a reverberation block, coupled to said reverberation bus, having an early reflection unit coupled to said early sub-bus, for processing the outputs from the early reflection paths of said plurality of source channel blocks, and said reverberation block having a late reverberation unit coupled to the late reverberation line of said reverberation bus, for processing the outputs of the late reverberation paths of said plurality of source channel blocks.
2. A method for rendering a sound scene representing multiple sound sources and a listener at different positions in the scene which might include multiple rooms with sound sources in different rooms and obstacles between a sound source and the listener in the same room, with each room characterized by a reverberation time, said method comprising the steps of:
for each of a plurality of sound sources:
providing identical direct, early, and late feeds;
receiving a set of direct signal parameters specifying the delay, spectral content, and attenuation, and source direction of the direct signal;
processing the direct feed to delay the direct feed, modify the spectral content of the direct feed, attenuate the direct feed, and pan the direct feed as specified by said direct signal parameters thereby forming a processed direct feed;
receiving a set of early feed signal parameters specifying the delay, spectral content, and attenuation, and source direction of the early feed signal;
processing the early feed to delay the early feed, modify the spectral content of the early feed, and attenuate early feed, and pan the early feed as specified by said early signal parameters thereby forming a processed early feed;
receiving a set of late reverberation signal parameters specifying the delay, spectral content, and attenuation, of the late reverberation signal;
processing the late feed to delay the late feed, modify the spectral content of the late feed, and attenuate the late feed as specified by said early signal parameters thereby forming a processed late feed;
combining the processed early feeds from each sound source as to form a combined early feed;
performing early reflection processing on said combined early feed to form a multi-source early reflection signal;
combining the processed late feed from each sound source to form a combined late feed;
performing late reverberation processing on said combined late feed to form a multi-source late reverberation signal;
combining the processed direct feeds from each sound source to form a combined direct feed; and
combining the combined direct feed, multi-source early reflection signal, and multi-source late reverberation signal to form an environmentally processed multi-source output signal.

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 gaming system for conducting a wagering game, the gaming system comprising:
one or more processors; and
one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming system to:
receive an indication of a wager to play the wagering game, the wagering game including a plurality of available wager levels, each of the wager levels corresponding to a respective wager amount and a respective multiplier pool, each of the multiplier pools including a plurality of award multipliers;
determine, from the available wager levels, a wager level of the received wager;
randomly determine, from the respective multiplier pool corresponding to the determined wager level of the received wager, an award multiplier;
randomly determine an outcome of the wagering game; and
apply the award multiplier to the outcome of the wagering game.
2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein each of the multiplier pools includes a distinct plurality of award multipliers.
3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein each of the award multipliers in at least one of the multiplier pools has a respective probability of being randomly determined as the award multiplier.
4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the applying the award multiplier includes multiplying an award value associated with a winning symbol combination aligned on an active payline in the wagering game outcome by the randomly determined award multiplier.
5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein each of the wager levels is associated with a respective plurality of available multiplier pools, and wherein the one or more memory devices store additional instructions that cause the gaming system to determine, from the respective plurality of available multiplier pools, the respective multiplier pool corresponding to the wager level associated with the received wager.
6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the randomly determining the award multiplier is independent of the randomly determining the outcome of the wagering game.
7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the randomly determining the award multiplier is prior to the randomly determining the outcome of the wagering game.
8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memory devices store additional instructions that cause the gaming system to display the award multiplier if the outcome of the wagering game includes at least one winning symbol combination.
9. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of available wager levels includes at least one low wager level and at least one high wager level, a value of a minimum award multiplier in the multiplier pool corresponding to the at least one high wager level being greater than a credit value of the wager amount associated with the at least one high wager level.
10. The gaming system of claim 9, wherein a value of a minimum award multiplier in the multiplier pool corresponding to the at least one low wager level equals a credit value of the wager amount associated with the at least one low wager level.
11. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of available wager levels includes at least one low wager level and at least one high wager level, wherein the plurality of award multipliers included in the multiplier pool associated with the at least one low wager level provide a first payback percentage in the wagering game, and the plurality of award multipliers included in the multiplier pool associated with the at least one high wager level provide a second payback percentage in the wagering game which is higher than the first payback percentage.
12. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the award multipliers assigned to the multiplier pools are cooperatively configured such that the wagering game has a predetermined payback percentage.
13. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the randomly determined award multiplier is a minimum multiplier applied to the outcome of the wagering game.
14. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receive an indication of a wager to play a wagering game, the wagering game including a plurality of available wager levels, each of the wager levels corresponding to a respective wager amount and a respective multiplier pool, each of the multiplier pools including a plurality of award multipliers;
determine, from the available wager levels, a wager level of the received wager;
randomly determine, from the respective multiplier pool corresponding to the wager level associated with the received wager, an award multiplier;
randomly determine an outcome of the wagering game; and
apply the award multiplier to the outcome of the wagering game.
15. A method of conducting a wagering game with a gaming system having one or more input devices, one or more display devices, and one or more processors, the method comprising:
receiving, via at least one of the one or more input devices, an indication of a wager to play the wagering game, the wagering game including a plurality of available wager levels, each of the wager levels corresponding to a respective wager amount and a respective multiplier pool, each of the multiplier pools including a plurality of award multipliers;
determining, from the available wager levels, a wager level of the received wager;
randomly determining, via at least one of the one or more processors from the respective multiplier pool corresponding to the wager level associated with the received wager, an award multiplier;
randomly determining, via at least one of the one or more processors, an outcome of the wagering game;
applying the award multiplier to the outcome of the wagering game; and
displaying, via at least one of the one or more display devices, the randomly determined wagering game outcome.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the multiplier pools includes a distinct plurality of award multipliers.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the award multipliers in at least one of the multiplier pools has a distinct probability of being randomly determined as the award multiplier.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the applying the award multiplier includes multiplying an award value associated with a winning symbol combination aligned on an active payline in the wagering game outcome by the randomly determined award multiplier.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein the randomly determining the award multiplier is independent of the randomly determining the outcome of the wagering game.
20. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of available wager levels includes at least one low wager level and at least one high wager level, a value of a minimum award multiplier included in the multiplier pool of the at least one low wager level equals a value of the wager amount associated with the at least one low wager level, and a value of a minimum award multiplier included in the multiplier pool of the at least one high wager level being greater than a value of the wager amount associated with the at least one high wager level.

1. A method for forming a head suspension assembly, comprising:
forming a trench extending into a substrate;
forming a first layer comprising a sacrificial layer in the trench;
forming a second layer comprising a resin across the trench;
forming a third layer comprising a photoresist layer on the second layer and patterning the photoresist layer on top of the second layer;
transferring an image of the patterned photoresist layer through the second layer;
removing the patterned photoresist layer;
removing the sacrificial layer to form a cavity extending a distance into the substrate; and
positioning a slider on the second layer after the removing the sacrificial layer.
2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the second layer includes silicon.
3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the transferring the image of the patterned photoresist layer through the second layer is done using reactive ion etching.
4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises silicon and the sacrificial layer is formed by etching the trench in the substrate and filling the trench with a metal.
5. The method as in claim 4, wherein removing the sacrificial layer comprises etching the metal from the trench after the removing the patterned photoresist layer.
6. The method as in claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises silicon and the resin comprises polysilsesquioxone.
7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the cavity extends a width that is no greater than that of the substrate and the cavity extends a depth that is less than a depth of the substrate.
8. The method as in claim 1, further comprising forming a fourth layer comprising an adhesion layer between the substrate and the second layer.
9. The method as in claim 1, wherein, prior to the patterning the photoresist layer, the film is at least one of cured, cross-linked, and oxidized.
10. A method for forming a head suspension assembly, comprising:
forming a sacrificial layer in or on a portion of a substrate;
forming a polysilsesquioxone layer on the substrate and on at least part of the sacrificial layer;
forming a photoresist layer on the polysilsesquioxone layer;
patterning the photoresist layer;
etching the polysilsesquioxone layer using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask;
removing the patterned photoresist layer to expose remaining polysilsesquioxone layer;
removing the sacrificial layer to form a cavity extending a distance into the substrate; and
positioning a slider on the remaining polysilsesquioxone layer.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising curing the polysilsesquioxone layer.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the curing is carried out prior to the positioning a slider on the remaining polysilsesquioxone layer.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein the curing is controlled so that cross-linking of the polysilsesquioxone layer occurs.
14. The method of claim 10, further comprising cross-linking the polysilsesquioxone layer.
15. The method of claim 10, further comprising oxidizing the polysilsesquioxone layer.
16. The method of claim 10, further comprising positioning the slider to be on a part of the remaining polysilsesquioxone layer that is positioned over the cavity.
17. A method for forming a head suspension assembly, comprising:
forming a sacrificial layer extending a distance into a substrate;
forming a resin layer on the substrate and on at least part of the sacrificial layer;
forming a photoresist layer on the resin layer;
patterning the photoresist layer;
etching the resin layer using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask;
removing the patterned photoresist layer to expose remaining resin layer;
removing the sacrificial layer to form a cavity between at least part of the remaining resin layer and the substrate; and
positioning a slider on the remaining resin layer.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising heating the resin layer prior to the forming a photoresist layer on the resin layer.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein resin layer comprises polysilaesquioxone.
20. The method of claim 18, further comprising cross-linking at least part of the resin layer prior to the forming the photoresist layer on the resin layer.

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. An occupant protection apparatus for protecting a front seat passenger of a vehicle, wherein the protection apparatus includes an airbag module configured to be mounted in an instrument panel of a vehicle in front of the front seat passenger, wherein the module comprises an airbag and a gas generator, and the airbag includes a central panel and left and right inflatable lobes separated by a central gap;
wherein each of the inflatable lobes is bounded by an outer panel forming an outer surface of the lobe and an inner panel forming an inner surface of the lobe;
wherein a lower edge portion of each of the outer panels is connected to a lower edge portion of one of the inner panels;
wherein the inner panels face each other and are connected together along upper edge portions to define the central gap, wherein the central gap is positioned between lower portions of the left and right inflatable lobes; and
wherein the central panel is connected to upper edge portions of the outer panels and is configured to extend to a leading-most end of the airbag when deployed.
2. The protection apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lateral tether extending across one of the left and right inflatable lobes between the inner and outer panels.
3. The protection apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a substantially vertical tether positioned in the airbag between the gap and the gas generator.
4. The protection apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the inner panels is oblong-shaped.
5. The protection apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the inner panels is D-shaped.
6. An occupant protection apparatus comprising:
an airbag including a pair of outer panels and a pair of inner panels;
wherein each of the outer and inner panels includes an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion;
wherein the upper edge portion of each of the outer panels is connected to a central panel spanning between the outer panels;
wherein the lower edge portion of each of the outer panels is connected to the lower edge portion of one of the inner panels;
wherein the upper edge portion of each of the inner panels is connected to the upper edge portion of the other inner panel and to the central panel to thereby form a downward facing central gap between the inner panel, and wherein the central panel is configured to extend to a leading-most end of the airbag when deployed.
7. The protection apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a lateral tether extending between the inner and outer panels.
8. The protection apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a vertical tether extending between the upper edge portions of the inner panels and the central panel.
9. The protection apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:
a first lateral tether positioned in a cross-car direction between one of the outer panels and the inner panel to which the one of the outer panels is connected.
10. The protection apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the inner panels is oblong-shaped.
11. The protection apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the inner panels is D-shaped.