Author: claimsbot

1. An information processing system, comprising:
a providing module configured to provide a content created by a first user to a second user; and
a management module configured to manage a virtual currency in association with each of the first and second users, wherein
the management module makes change such that entirety or a part of the virtual currency associated with the second user is associated with the first user in response to an instruction from the second user, as appreciation of the content created by the first user.
2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the providing module includes at least one of a function to present the content to the second user and a function to have the second user make use of the content.
3. The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a first holding module configured to hold the content created by the first user in a manner sharable with other users.
4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein
the first holding module holds contents created by a plurality of the first users, and
the information processing system further comprises a selection module configured to select a first user to which the virtual currency associated with the second user is to be transferred, in response to an instruction from the second user.
5. The information processing system according to claim 4, wherein
the first holding module holds comments from the first user together with the content from the first user, and
the providing module provides the content and the comments from the first user together.
6. The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a game processing module configured to perform game processing, wherein
the management module adds, when a prescribed condition is satisfied in the game processing through play by any user, the virtual currency associated with that user.
7. The information processing system according to claim 1, further comprising:
an acceptance module configured to accept a response to any content from the second user; and
a second holding module configured to hold the response from the second user in association with a content of interest.
8. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the management module gives, with such change that the virtual currency associated with the second user is associated with the first user, a reward corresponding to the virtual currency subjected to change, in association with the second user.
9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein
the reward includes an item which can be used for communication among users.
10. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
in response to an instruction from a user, the management module decreases the virtual currency associated with that user and gives that user an item which can be used for creation of a content.
11. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the management module adds to each of the virtual currency associated with the first user and the virtual currency associated with the second user in response to provision of the content created by the first user to the second user.
12. An information processing method performed by one computer or a plurality of computers, comprising:
providing a content created by a first user to a second user; and
managing a virtual currency in association with each of the first and second users,
the managing step including making change such that entirety or a part of the virtual currency associated with the second user is associated with the first user in response to an instruction from the second user, as appreciation of the content created by the first user.
13. An information processing device, comprising:
a module configured to access a content created by a first user; and
a module configured to transmit to a management module configured to manage a virtual currency in association with each of first and second users, a command for making change such that entirety or a part of the virtual currency associated with the second user is associated with the first user, in response to an input from the second user as appreciation of the content created by the first user.
14. A non-transitory storage medium encoded with a computer readable information processing program executed by one or more processors, the information processing program causing the one or more processors to:
access a content created by a first user; and
transmit to a management module configured to manage a virtual currency in association with each of first and second users, a command for making change such that entirety or a part of the virtual currency associated with the second user is associated with the first user, in response to an input from the second user as appreciation of the content created by the first user.
15. An information processing system, comprising:
a sharing module configured to allow a content created by a user to be shared with other users;
a game processing module configured to perform game processing; and
a giving module configured to give an acquisition to the user in accordance with execution of the game processing,
the sharing module transferring the acquisition given by the giving module to another user in response to an instruction from the user.
16. The information processing system according to claim 15, wherein
the acquisition includes at least one of a virtual currency and an item relating to the game processing.
17. The information processing system according to claim 15, further comprising a posting acceptance module configured to accept a posting of a content created by the user while the game processing is performed, wherein
the sharing module allows a posting accepted by the posting acceptance module to be shared.
18. The information processing system according to claim 17, wherein
the posting acceptance module accepts a posting of comments from a creator of a content.
19. The information processing system according to claim 18, wherein
the sharing module allows the content and the comments together to be shared with other users.
20. The information processing system according to claim 15, wherein
the sharing module gives a reward to a first user in response to transfer of the acquisition of the first user to a second user.
21. An information processing method performed by one computer or a plurality of computers, comprising:
allowing a content created by a user to be shared with other users;
performing game processing; and
giving an acquisition to the user in accordance with execution of the game processing,
the step of allowing a content to be shared including the step of transferring the acquisition given in the giving step to another user in response to an instruction from the user.
22. An information processing device, comprising:
a game processing module configured to perform game processing, which can be connected to a sharing module configured to allow a content created by a user to be shared with other users; and
a module configured to transmit a command to transfer an acquisition given to the user in accordance with execution of the game processing to another user in response to an instruction from the user.
23. A non-transitory storage medium encoded with a computer readable information processing program executed by one or more processors, the information processing program causing the one or more processors to:
perform game processing, which can be connected to a sharing module configured to allow a content created by a user to be shared with other users; and
transmit a command to transfer an acquisition given to the user in accordance with execution of the game processing to another user in response to an instruction from the user.

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 manufacturing a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) composed of a mechanical device and a substrate comprising:
a) depositing sacrificial silicon oxide between the mechanical device and the substrate;
b) providing a silicon nitride layer at one or more location selected from the group consisting of
i) between the substrate and the sacrificial silicon oxide;
ii) between the sacrificial silicon oxide and the device; and
iii) on the device;

c) introducing VHF under conditions to simultaneously
i) remove at least a portion of the sacrificial silicon oxide; and
ii) convert at least a portion of the silicon nitride to ammonium hexafluorosilicate to provide a temporary support, shim, wedge, or tether which limits device movement;

d) subliming the ammonium hexafluorosilicate under pressure and temperature conditions which avoid liquid formation.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of amorphous silicon, polysilicon, silicon-germanium, aluminum, tungsten, titanium, titanium nitride, alloys of aluminum, tungsten, and titanium, combinations thereof, and metal-silicon oxide stacks.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the VHF comprises hydrofluoric acid and alcohol or water.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the temporary ammonium hexafluorosilicate support, shim, wedge, or tether is not removed by sublimation until after one or more intermediate steps are conducted, the intermediate steps selected from dicing, packaging, and metallization, thereby preventing movement during the one or more intermediate steps.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the device, substrate, silicon oxide, and silicon nitride are provided as layers during fabrication of the MEMS or NEMS, and silicon nitride layers are provided on each side of the device layer.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the device, substrate, silicon oxide, and silicon nitride are provided as layers during fabrication of the MEMS or NEMS, and first silicon nitride layer is provided on a side of the substrate layer facing the device layer and a second silicon nitride layer is provided on a side of the device layer facing the substrate layer, and a silicon oxide layer is provided between the first silicon nitride layer and the second silicon nitride layer.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the device, substrate, silicon oxide, and silicon nitride are provided as layers during fabrication of the MEMS or NEMS, and the device layer is comprised of areas which are designed to move in relation to each other or in relation to the substrate, wherein a silicon nitride layer is provided in the form of a tether to limit movement of the areas in relation to each other during fabrication, and wherein the silicon nitride tether is removed by sublimation when movement of the areas in relation to each other is permitted.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein a portion of the sacrificial oxide is not removed and serves as an anchor.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the silicon nitride is made with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), or with low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), the silicon nitride made with PECVD reacting faster than the silicon nitride made with the LPCVD.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein upon converting at least a portion of the silicon nitride to ammonium hexafluorosilicate, the ammonium hexafluorosilicate so formed has a greater volume than the portion of the silicon nitride.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the amount and location of the ammonium hexafluorosilicate formed by reaction of the VHF with the silicon nitride is controlled by selection of location, thickness, and quality of the silicon nitride.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of amorphous silicon, polysilicon, silicon-germanium, aluminum, tungsten, titanium, titanium nitride, alloys of aluminum, tungsten, and titanium, combinations thereof, and metal-silicon oxide stacks; wherein the VHF comprises hydrofluoric acid and alcohol or water; wherein a portion of the sacrificial oxide is not removed and serves as an anchor; and wherein upon converting at least a portion of the silicon nitride to ammonium hexafluorosilicate, the ammonium hexafluorosilicate so formed has a greater volume than the portion of the silicon nitride.
13. A MEMS or NEMS made by the method of claim 12.
14. A MEMS or NEMS made by the method of claim 1.

1. A processor to facilitate decoding of arbitrary length blocks of low-density, parity-check codes, the processor comprising:
a plurality of interconnected nodes; and
a memory interconnected with the plurality of interconnected nodes, the memory adapted to store intermediate log likelihood ratio (LLR) values based on channel LLR values representing the low-density, parity-check codes to enable outputting LLR values having improved accuracy relative to the channel LLR values.
2. The processor of claim 1 wherein the memory further comprises a random access memory (RAM) device.
3. The processor of claim 1 wherein the memory is adapted to store the intermediate LLR values in a circular buffer wherein a pointer can track a current position in the circular buffer.
4. The processor claim 3 wherein the plurality of interconnected nodes further comprise:
a plurality of variable nodes, at least one of the plurality of variable nodes operable to process the oldest intermediate LLR from the circular buffer; and
a parity-check node operable to supply a parity-check output LLR to the circular buffer.
5. The processor of claim 2 wherein the RAM device further comprises multi-port RAM.
6. The processor of claim 2 wherein the processor is further adapted to implement memory partitioning within the RAM device.
7. The processor of claim 5 further comprising a storage device to generate a predetermined plurality of addresses for reading and writing the intermediate LLR values.
8. The processor of claim 7 wherein the storage device comprises a read only memory (ROM) device.
9. The processor of claim 6 further comprising a storage device to generate a predetermined plurality of addresses for reading and writing the intermediate LLR values to the memory device.
10. The processor of claim 9 wherein the storage device comprises a read only memory (ROM) device.
11. A decoder for information bits represented by arbitrary length blocks of low-density, parity-check codes, the decoder comprising a plurality of interconnected processors, at least one of the plurality of interconnected processors further comprising:
a plurality of interconnected nodes; and
a memory interconnected with the plurality of interconnected nodes, the memory adapted to store intermediate log likelihood ratio (LLR) values based on channel LLR values representing the low-density, parity-check codes to enable outputting LLR values having improved accuracy relative to the channel LLR values;
wherein final LLR values from one of the processors can be used to decision the information bits.
12. The decoder of claim 11 wherein the memory further comprises a random access memory (RAM) device.
13. The decoder of claim 12 wherein the RAM device is adapted to store the intermediate LLR values in a circular buffer wherein a pointer can track a current position in the circular buffer.
14. The decoder of claim 13 wherein the plurality of interconnected nodes further comprise:
a plurality of variable nodes, at least one of the plurality of variable nodes operable to process the oldest intermediate LLR from the circular buffer; and
a parity-check node operable to supply a parity-check output LLR to the circular buffer.
15. The decoder of claim 14 wherein the RAM device further comprises multi-port RAM.
16. The decoder of claim 14 wherein the processor is further adapted to implement memory partitioning within the RAM device.
17. The decoder of claim 15 further comprising a storage device to generate a predetermined plurality of addresses for reading and writing the intermediate LLR values.
18. The decoder of claim 17 wherein the storage device comprises a read only memory (ROM) device.
19. The decoder of claim 16 further comprising a storage device to generate a predetermined plurality of addresses for reading and writing the intermediate LLR values to the memory device.
20. The decoder of claim 19 wherein the storage device comprises a read only memory (ROM) device.
21. A method of processing information represented by arbitrary length blocks of low-density, parity-check codes, the method comprising:
passing a plurality of channel LLR values representing the information through a decoder comprising a plurality of processors;
alternately passing each of a plurality of intermediate LLR values through a variable node and a parity-check node, at least in part by storing the intermediate LLR values in and retrieving the intermediate LLR values from a memory device in each of the plurality of processors; and
decisioning the information based on output LLR values from at least one of the plurality of processors.
22. The method of claim 21 wherein at least one of the storing of the intermediate LLR values in and the retrieving the intermediate LLR values from the memory device further comprises accessing a circular buffer within the memory device.
23. The method of claim 21 wherein at least one of the storing of the intermediate LLR values and the retrieving of the intermediate LLR values further comprises applying an address generated by a storage device.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the storage device is pre-programmed, changeable, read-only memory (ROM).
25. The method of claim 22 wherein the accessing of the circular buffer further comprises applying an address generated by a storage device.
26. The method of claim 25 wherein the storage device is pre-programmed, changeable, read-only memory (ROM).
27. Apparatus for processing information represented by arbitrary length blocks of low-density, parity-check codes, the apparatus comprising:
means for passing a plurality of channel LLR values representing the information through a decoder comprising a plurality of processors;
means for alternately passing each of a plurality of intermediate LLR values through a variable node and a parity-check node, at least in part by storing the intermediate LLR values in and retrieving the intermediate LLR values from a memory device in each of the plurality of processors; and
means for decisioning the information based on output LLR values from at least one of the plurality of processors.
28. The apparatus of claim 27 further comprising means for generating a plurality of addresses for at least one of the storing of the intermediate LLR values and the retrieving of the intermediate LLR values.
29. The apparatus of claim 28 further comprising means for altering the plurality of addresses generated for the at least one of the storing of the intermediate LLR values and the retrieving of the intermediate LLR values.

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 monitor for sensing the difference in temperature between an inside and an outside of an enclosure containing electrical power equipment, comprising:
a case adapted for mounting at said enclosure;
a first sensor for producing a first signal, said first sensor being mounted at said case to project therefrom in an insertional direction and being adapted for insertion through an opening in said enclosure;
a second sensor for producing a second signal, said second sensor being adapted to project from said case in a direction different from said insertional direction and to sense temperature at a location remote from said first sensor; and
alarm system mounted at said case and coupled to said first and said second sensor for producing a warning signal in response to the first and the second signals from said first and said second sensor signifying a temperature difference exceeding a predetermined threshold.
2. A monitor according to claim 1 wherein said first sensor and said second sensor project from the case in opposite directions.
3. A monitor according to claim 2 wherein said case has a front and a back, the first and the second sensor projecting from the back and the front, respectively, of said case.
4. A monitor according to claim 1 wherein said first sensor is adapted for insertion into the inside of said enclosure, the second sensor being located outside said enclosure.
5. A monitor according to claim 1 wherein said enclosure has a wall, the monitor comprising:
a magnet attached to said case for holding said case to the wall of the enclosure.
6. A monitor according to claim 1 wherein said first and said second sensor each comprise a thermistor.
7. A monitor according to claim 6 comprising:
a pair of thermal insulating grommets mounted in a pair of holes in said case, the first and the second sensor projecting through separate corresponding ones of said grommets.
8. A monitor according to claim 1 wherein said alarm system includes:
at least two warning devices, one being operated upon a temperature difference sensed by the first and the second sensors exceeding a first threshold, the other one being operated upon a temperature difference exceeding a second threshold.
9. A monitor according to claim 8 wherein the at least two warning devices include:
a first light and a second light, said alarm system flashing said first light upon the first threshold but not the second threshold being exceeded, said alarm system flashing said second light upon the second threshold being exceeded.
10. A monitor according to claim 9 wherein said alarm system includes:
a third light flashed by the alarm system when neither the first nor the second threshold are exceeded.
11. A monitor according to claim 10 wherein said alarm system flashes said first light slower than said first light and faster than said third light.
12. A monitor according to claim 11 comprising:
a battery coupled to said alarm system, the first, second and third light each emitting a different color light.
13. A monitor according to claim 8 wherein said alarm system includes:
a data port adapted to connect to a building management system.
14. A monitor according to claim 8 wherein said alarm system includes:
a data port adapted to connect to a building alarm system.
15. A method for sensing the difference in temperature between an inside and an outside of an enclosure containing electrical power equipment and employing a case having a pair of sensors for producing temperature signals, the method comprising the steps of:
mounting the case at said enclosure with one of the sensors inside the enclosure and the other outside, the sensors separately projecting from the case in an insertional direction and a direction different therefrom, the insertional direction being oriented to traverse the enclosure; and
producing a warning signal in response to the signals from said first and said second sensor signifying a temperature difference exceeding a predetermined threshold.
16. A method according to claim 15 comprising the step of:
drilling a hole that communicates between the inside and outside of the enclosure; and
mounting the case at the enclosure to allow one of the sensors to project though the hole.
17. A method according to claim 16 wherein the step of drilling a hole is performed on the face of the enclosure.
18. A method according to claim 16 wherein the step of mounting the case is performed by mounting the case outside the enclosure and inserting one of the sensors through the hole to sense temperature inside the enclosure, the other sensor remaining outside the enclosure.
19. A method according to claim 18 wherein the step of mounting the case is performed by magnetically attaching the case to the enclosure.
20. A method according to claim 15 employing two warning devices, comprising the steps of:
operating one of the warning devices upon a temperature difference sensed by the sensors exceeding a first threshold; and
operating the other one of the warning devices upon a temperature difference exceeding a second threshold.
21. A method according to claim 20 wherein the two warning devices are warning lights, comprising the steps of:
flashing one of the warning lights upon the first threshold but not the second threshold being exceeded; and
flashing the other one of the warning lights upon the second threshold being exceeded.
22. A method according to claim 21 employing a third light and comprising the step of:
flashing the third light when neither the first nor the second threshold are exceeded.
23. A method according to claim 22 wherein the warning lights are flashed at different rates, the third light being flashed more slowly than the warning lights.
24. A method according to claim 20 comprising the step of:
sending data derived from the sensors to a building management system.
25. A monitor according to claim 20 comprising the step of:
sending data derived from the sensors to a building andor home alarm system.
26. A monitor for sensing the difference in temperature between an inside and an outside of an enclosure containing electrical power equipment, comprising:
a case having a front and a back, and adapted for mounting at said enclosure;
a magnet attached to said case for holding said case to the enclosure;
a first thermistor sensor for producing a first signal, said first thermistor sensor being mounted at said case and adapted for insertion through an opening in said enclosure into the inside of said enclosure;
a second thermistor sensor located outside said enclosure for producing a second signal, said second thermistor sensor being adapted to sense temperature at a location remote from said first sensor,
a pair of thermal insulating grommets mounted in a pair of holes in said case, the first and the second thermistor sensor projecting through separate corresponding ones of said grommets, said first sensor and said second thermistor sensor projecting in opposite directions from the back and the front, respectively, of said case; and
a battery powered alarm system mounted at said case and coupled to said first and said second thermistor sensor for producing a warning signal in response to the first and the second signals from said first and said second sensor signifying a temperature difference exceeding a first and a second threshold, said alarm system including:
a first light and a second light, said alarm system flashing said first light upon the first threshold but not the second threshold being exceeded, said alarm system flashing said second light upon the second threshold being exceeded;
a third light flashed by the alarm system when neither the first nor the second threshold are exceeded the first second and third light each emitting a different color light, said alarm system flashing said first light slower than said first light and faster than said third light; and
a data port adapted to communicate information about the state of the alarm system.
27. A monitor according to claim 1 wherein said first sensor is adapted for insertion into the inside of said enclosure and is cantilevered on said case.