Author: claimsbot

1. A method, comprising:
providing, via a network interface device, a first electronic document to a computing device over a network;
responsive to a request by a user to translate the first electronic document from a first language to a second language:
obtaining a second electronic document in the second language, the second electronic document being a translation of the first electronic document in the first language;
obtaining a content item to be provided to the computing device for display with the second electronic document, the content item being different from the first electronic document and in a language different from the second language, including:
selecting the content item from a content item database based on
a language parameter indicating a language proficiency of the user submitting the translation request, the language proficiency being assessed based on past translation requests submitted by the user, and
a geographic parameter indicating the content item is relevant to a geographic area local to the computing device; and
providing the second electronic document and the content item to the computing device for presentation to a user over the network.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electronic document is an email and the second electronic document is a webpage.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electronic document is displayed on the computing device with a user interface having a first user input element, wherein the first user input element, when selected by a user, generates the request to translate the first electronic document from the first language to the second language.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user interface comprises a second user input element, wherein the second user input element, when selected by a user, hides the user interface from being displayed with future electronic documents provided to the computing device.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the language proficiency is assessed based on a frequency of a language into which the user has requested documents to be translated, as specified in the past translation requests submitted by the user.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the language proficiency is assessed based on a frequency of a language from which the user has requested documents to be translated, as specified in the past translation requests submitted by the user.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the language proficiency is assessed based on language complexities of documents for which the user has requested translation, as specified in the past translation requests submitted by the user.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating a complexity score for the content item representing complexity of language used in the content item and, if the complexity score indicates that the language is less complex than a predetermined threshold, selecting the content item in the first language for providing to the computing device.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting the content item from a first content item advertising a product using language having a first complexity and a second content item advertising the same product using language having a second complexity less than the first complexity.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein each of the first and second content items has a complexity previously selected by a provider of the content item.
11. A system for providing a content item to a user in a specific language, comprising:
a data processing system having at least one of a language translation module and a user profile module, the data processing system configured to:
providing, via a network interface device, a first electronic document to a computing device over a network;
responsive to a request by a user to translate the first electronic document from a first language to a second language:
obtain a second electronic document in the second language, the second electronic document being a translation of the first electronic document in the first language;
obtain a content item to be provided to the computing device for display with the second electronic document, the content item being different from the first electronic document and in a language different from the second language, including:
selecting the content item from a content item database based on
\u2003a language parameter indicating a language proficiency of the user submitting the translation request, the language proficiency being assessed based on past translation requests submitted by the user, and
\u2003a geographic parameter indicating the content item is relevant to a geographic area local to the computing device, the content item being in the second language, and the second electronic document being in a language different from the second language; and

provide the second electronic document and the content item to the computing device for presentation to a user over the network.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first electronic document is displayed on the computing device with a user interface having a first user input element, wherein the first user input element, when selected by a user, generates the request to translate the first electronic document from the first language to the second language.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the user interface comprises a second user input element, wherein the second user input element, when selected by a user, hides the user interface from being displayed with future electronic documents provided to the computing device.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the language proficiency is assessed based on a frequency of a language into which the user has requested documents to be translated, as specified in the past translation requests submitted by the user.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein the language proficiency is assessed based on a frequency of a language from which the user has requested documents to be translated, as specified in the past translation requests submitted by the user.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein the language proficiency is assessed based on language complexities of documents for which the user has requested translation, as specified in the past translation requests submitted by the user.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the data processing system is further configured to calculate a complexity score for the content item representing complexity of language used in the content item and, if the complexity score indicates that the language is less complex than a predetermined threshold, select the content item in the first language for providing to the computing device.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the data processing system is further configured to select the content item from a first content item advertising a product using language having a first complexity and a second content item advertising the same product using language having a second complexity less than the first complexity.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein each of the first and second content items has a complexity previously selected by a provider of the content item.
20. A non-transitory computer readable storage device having instructions encoded thereon that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
providing, via a network interface device, a first electronic document to a computing device over a network;
responsive to a request by a user to translate the first electronic document from a first language to a second language:
obtaining a second electronic document in the second language, the second electronic document being a translation of the first electronic document in the first language;
obtaining a content item to be provided to the computing device for display with the second electronic document, the content item being different from the first electronic document and in a language different from the second language, including:
selecting the content item from a content item database based on
a language parameter indicating a language proficiency of the user submitting the translation request, the language proficiency being assessed based on past translation requests submitted by the user, and
a geographic parameter indicating the content item is relevant to a geographic area local to the computing device; and
providing the second electronic document and the content item to the computing device for presentation to a user over the network.

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 touch input device, comprising:
a carrying board having a reference plane, the carrying board defining an x-coordinate direction and a y-coordinate direction both parallel to the reference plane and perpendicular to each other, the carrying board comprising:
a plurality of cantilever portions; and
a plurality of connecting portions respectively connecting the cantilever portions, so that each of the cantilever portions independently sags a distance in a z-coordinate direction relative to the reference plane when pressed by an object, wherein the z-coordinate direction is perpendicular to the x-coordinate direction and the y-coordinate direction;

a plurality of first electrode pads respectively disposed on the cantilever portions, configured to sense a capacitance variation due to the object approaching or touching the carrying board in order to determine an x-coordinate value and a y-coordinate value of the object relative to the reference plane; and
a plurality of conductive lines extending on the connecting portions and respectively connected to the first electrode pads.
2. The touch input device according to claim 1, further comprising a base, wherein the carrying board further comprises an outer frame, the cantilever portions are fixed on the outer frame through the connecting portions, and the outer frame is fixed on the base.
3. The touch input device according to claim 2, wherein the base has a grating structure having a plurality of openings correspondingly located below the cantilever portions respectively.
4. The touch input device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of second electrode pads correspondingly disposed below the cantilever portions respectively and separated by a distance away from the cantilever portions, wherein when any one of the cantilever portions is pressed by the object and sags towards the corresponding second electrode pad along the z-coordinate direction, the second electrode pad generates a variation in an electrical signal in respond to the sagging of the corresponding first electrode.
5. The touch input device according to claim 4, further comprising a base, wherein the carrying board is fixed on the base, the second electrode pads are disposed on the base to correspond to the first electrode pads, and a separation space or a filling of insulated elastic material exists between the first electrode pads and the corresponding second electrode pads.
6. The touch input device according to claim 5, further comprising an insulating layer disposed on a base and located between each of the second electrode pads and the base, wherein a material of the base comprises a metal.
7. The touch input device according to claim 4, further comprising:
a first interpretation unit electrically connected to the conductive lines, the first interpretation unit determining a location of the object relative to the reference plane due to the object approaching or touching the carrying board, and generating a first signal comprising the x-coordinate value and the y-coordinate value;
a second interpretation unit electrically connected to the second electrode pads, the second interpretation unit determining a degree in which the object presses the cantilever portions, and generating a second signal comprising the z-coordinate value; and
a processing unit determining a three-dimensional touch location of the object according to the first signal and the second signal.
8. The touch input device according to claim 1, further comprising an insulating material filling a space between every two neighboring cantilever portions.
9. The touch input device according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode pads comprise a plurality of transmitting electrode pads and a plurality of sensing electrode pads alternately arranged on the carrying board and separated from each other, the conductive lines comprising at least one driving signal line connected to the transmitting electrode pads, and at least one signal readout line connected to the sensing electrode pads.
10. The touch input device according to claim 9, wherein the conductive lines comprise a plurality of driving signal lines each independently connected to the transmitting electrode pads, or a single driving single line commonly connected to a plurality of the transmitting electrode pads, and the conductive lines comprise a plurality of signal readout lines each independently connected to the sensing electrode pads, or a single signal readout line commonly connected to a plurality of the sensing electrode pads.
11. The touch input device according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode pads comprise a plurality of independent single electrode pads, and each of the single electrode pads is respectively connected to one of the conductive lines, or a plurality of single electrode pads are commonly connected to one of the conductive lines.
12. A touch input device, comprising:
a planar location sensing board sensing a first electrical variation of different locations in the directions parallel to the planar location sensing board due to an object approaching or touching the planar location sensing board;
a depth sensing layer disposed below the planar location sensing board and separated by a distance from the planar location sensing board, the depth sensing layer sensing a second electrical variation corresponding to a degree in which the object presses the planar location sensing board;
a first interpretation unit electrically connected to the planar location sensing board, the first interpretation unit determining a location in the directions parallel to the planar location sensing board which the object approaches or touches the planar location sensing board according to the first electrical variation, and generating a corresponding first signal;
a second interpretation unit electrically connected to the depth sensing layer, the second interpretation unit determining the degree the object presses the planar location sensing board according to the second electrical variation, and generating a corresponding second signal; and
a processing unit determining a three-dimensional touch location of the object according to the first signal and the second signal.
13. The touch input device according to claim 12, wherein the first electrical variation is a capacitance variation, and the second electrical variation is an electric field variation or a capacitance variation.
14. The touch input device according to claim 13, wherein the planar location sensing board comprises a plurality of cantilever portions and a plurality of first electrode pads disposed on the cantilever portions, and the depth sensing layer comprising a plurality of second electrode pads corresponding to the first electrode pads; wherein the first electrode pads sense the first electrical variation due to the object approaching or touching the planar location sensing board, and the second electrode pads sense the second electrical variation due to the object pressing the cantilever portion on the planar location sensing board and between the pressed cantilever portion and the corresponding first electrode pad.
15. A manufacturing method of a touch input device, comprising:
providing a substrate;
forming a plurality of first electrode pads and a plurality of conductive lines on the substrate; and
performing a substrate patterning process in order to pattern a plurality of cantilever portions and a plurality of connecting portions from the substrate, wherein the connecting portions connect the cantilever portions.
16. The manufacturing method of the touch input device according to claim 15, wherein the step of forming the first electrode pads and the conductive lines on the substrate is performed before the step of the substrate patterning process, and after performing the substrate patterning process, the first electrode pads are located on the cantilever portions, and the conductive lines are located on the connecting portions.
17. The manufacturing method of the touch input device according to claim 15, wherein the step of fon ring the first electrode pads and the conductive lines on the substrate is performed after the step of the substrate patterning process, and the first electrode pads are formed on the cantilever portions, and the conductive lines are formed on the connecting portions.
18. The manufacturing method of the touch input device according to claim 15, further comprising:providing a base; and
fixing the substrate on the base.
19. The manufacturing method of the touch input device according to claim 18, wherein the substrate patterning process further patterns an outer frame from the substrate, and the step of fixing the substrate on the base comprises bonding the outer frame on the base.
20. The manufacturing method of the touch input device according to claim 18, further comprising:
before fixing the substrate on the base, forming a plurality of second electrode pads on the base respectively corresponding to the first electrode pads.
21. The manufacturing method of the touch input device according to claim 20, further comprising:
before forming the second electrode pads on the base, forming an insulating layer on the base, wherein the second electrode pads are formed on the insulating layer, and a material of the base is a metal.
22. The manufacturing method of the touch input device according to claim 18, wherein the base has a grating structure having a plurality of openings, and the step of fixing the substrate on the base comprises respectively aligning the cantilever portions with the openings.
23. A touch detecting method, comprising:
sensing a first electrical variation of different locations in the directions parallel to a reference plane due to an object approaching or touching the reference plane;
sensing a second electrical variation due to the object pressing the reference plane;
according to the first electrical variation, determining a location in the directions parallel to the reference plane due to the object approaching or touching the reference plane;
according to the second electrical variation, determining a degree of the object pressing the reference plane; and
according to the location of the object in the directions parallel to the reference plane due to the object approaching or touching the reference plane, and the degree of the object pressing the reference plane, determining a three-dimensional touch location of the object.
24. The touch detecting method according to claim 23, wherein the first electrical variation is a capacitance variation, and the second electrical variation is an electric field variation or a capacitance variation.
25. The touch detecting method according to claim 23, further comprising using a carrying board to form the reference plane, the carrying board comprising a plurality of cantilever portions and a plurality of connecting portions connecting the cantilever portions, at least one electrode pad being respectively disposed on the cantilever portions, wherein when the object presses the reference plane, the pressed cantilever portion correspondingly deforms so that a variation is generated on the location of the first electrode pad on the pressed cantilever portion.
26. The touch detecting method according to claim 25, wherein the step of sensing the second electrical variation due to the object pressing the reference plane comprises:
correspondingly disposing at least one second electrode pad below the first electrode pads respectively; and
sensing an electrical variation of the at least one second electrode pad, wherein when the first electrode pad disposed on the cantilever portion approaches the corresponding second electrode pad due to the object pressing the reference plane, an electrical property of the second electrode pad changes.

1. An apparatus for preventing cracking of a liquid system, comprising:
at least one heat exchanger;
at least one inlet port extending through a first opening for conveying a fluid to a plurality of channels and passages;
at least one outlet port extending through a second opening for discharging the fluid from the plurality of channels and passages; and
one or more compressible objects coupled to the inlet and outlet ports in an unpressured condition such that the compressible objects reduce a volume of the inlet port and the outlet port and further wherein pressure exerted on the compressible object increases a volume of the inlet port and the outlet port;
wherein, the heat exchanger is configured so that the fluid in the inlet port and the outlet port freezes later than the fluid elsewhere in the heat exchanger, and for freezing to advance towards the one or more compressible objects.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compressible objects accommodate a predetermined level of fluid expansion.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the predetermined level of fluid expansion is between 5 to 25 percent.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compressible objects being capable of contracting and expanding between a minimum volume and a maximum volume.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compressible objects being secured within the inlet port and the outlet port.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compressible objects are confined within the inlet port and the outlet port.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compressible objects are made of one of the following: sponge, foam, air-filled bubbles, or balloons.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the sponge or foam is hydrophobic.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compressible object is encapsulated in a gas or liquid impermeable package.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the package is formed of metallic barrier material or metallized plastic sheet material.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the package has a hydrophilic surface or coating.
12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the package is formed of plastic material.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the plastic material is selected from the group teflon, mylar, PET, PEN, and PVC.
14. An apparatus for preventing cracking of a liquid system, comprising:
an enclosure; and
one or more compressible objects immersed in the enclosure;
wherein, the enclosure is configured to cause a fluid to begin to freeze at one or more locations in the enclosure, and for freezing to advance towards the one or more compressible objects.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the objects accommodate a predetermined level of fluid expansion.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the predetermined level of fluid expansion is between 5 to 25 percent.
17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the objects having a size and volume proportion to an amount of fluid in the enclosure.
18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the objects are a hydrophobic foam.
19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the object are a hydrophobic sponge.
20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the objects are made of one of the following: sponge, foam, air-filled bubbles, or balloons.
21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the objects are encapsulated in a gas or liquid impermeable package.
22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the package is formed of metallic barrier material or metallized plastic sheet material.
23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the package is formed of plastic material.
24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the plastic material is selected from the group teflon, mylar, PET, PEN, and PVC.
25. A method of preventing cracking of a liquid system, the system including one or more pumps and one or more heat exchangers, the method comprising the steps of:
providing an enclosure;
configuring the enclosure to cause a fluid to begin to freeze at one or more locations in the enclosure, and for freezing to advance towards other locations in the enclosure; and
immersing one or more compressible objects in the enclosure at the other locations.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the objects accommodate a predetermined level of fluid expansion.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the predetermined level of fluid expansion is between 5 to 25 percent.
28. The method of claim 25, wherein the objects having a size and volume proportion to an amount of fluid in the enclosure.
29. The method of claim 25, wherein the objects are a hydrophobic foam.
30. The method of claim 25, wherein the objects are a hydrophobic sponge.
31. The method of claim 25, wherein the objects are made of one of the following: sponge, foam, air-filled bubbles, or balloons.
32. The method of claim 25, wherein the objects are encapsulated in a gas or liquid impermeable package.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the package is formed of metallic barrier material or metallized plastic sheet material.
34. The method of claim 32, wherein the package is formed of plastic material.
35. The method of claim 34, wherein the plastic material is selected from the group teflon, mylar, PET, PEN, and PVC.
36. An apparatus for preventing cracking of a liquid system, the system including one or more pumps and one or more heat exchangers, comprising an enclosure, wherein the enclosure being capable of contracting and expanding between a minimum volume condition and a maximum volume condition with fluid expansion during freezing, and further wherein the enclosure is configured to cause a fluid to begin to freeze at one or more locations in the enclosure, and for freezing to advance towards other locations in the enclosure.
37. An apparatus for preventing cracking of a liquid system, comprising:
at least one heat exchanger including a plurality of microchannels;
at least one inlet port extending through a first opening for conveying a fluid to the plurality of microchannels;
at least one outlet port extending through a second opening for discharging the fluid from the plurality of microchannels; and
one or more compressible objects each coupled to at least one of the inlet port and outlet port in an unpressured condition such that the compressible objects reduce a volume of the inlet port and the outlet port and further wherein pressure exerted on the compressible object increases a volume of the inlet port and the outlet port;
wherein, the heat exchanger is configured so that fluid within the plurality of microchannels freezes before fluid within the outlet port and the inlet port.

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 infrared circular dichroism measuring apparatus comprising:
an IR light source radiating IR light beams;
an interferometer for allowing the IR light beams to interfere to generate an interference light beam;
a polarized light beam generator for making the interference light beam into a linearly polarized light beam;
a circularly polarized light beam generator for converting the linearly polarized light beam into clockwise and counter clockwise circularly polarized light beams at a predetermined modulation frequency and irradiating the circularly polarized light beams on a sample;
a detector for detecting the circularly polarized light beams that have passed through the sample and generating a detection signal;
a DC signal extractor for extracting from the detected signal an interferogram by the IR absorption of the sample;
an AC signal extractor for extracting from the detected signal an interferogram by each of the clockwise and counterclockwise circularly polarized light beams;
a calculator for conducting a Fourier transformation and calculating the circular dichroism and IR absorption, based on each of the interferograms extracted by the extractors; and
a selective transmitter for narrowing down the wavelength region to be measured, based on a wavelength region in an IR absorption band corresponding to a vibration mode of a structure to be measured in the sample molecule.
2. The infrared circular dichroism measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circularly polarized light beam generator is a photoelastic modulator.
3. The infrared circular dichroism measuring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the photoelastic modulator sets its central wavelength based on a measurement wavelength region selected by the selective transmitter.
4. The infrared circular dichroism measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the AC signal extractor comprises a lock in amplifier.
5. The infrared circular dichroism measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a wavelength region in which the detector has a high sensitivity is defined based on a wavelength region to be measured selected by the selective transmitter.
6. The infrared circular dichroism measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selective transmitter is an optical filter for selectively irradiating on the sample a light beam of a wavelength region in an IR absorption band corresponding to a vibration mode of a specific structure in the sample molecule among IR light beams from the IR light source, andor an electric filter for selectively transmitting a signal component of a specific region defined based on a vibration mode of a structure to be measured among interference signals by light beams at each wavelength, that are the components of a signal modulated by the interferometer.
7. The infrared circular dichroism measuring apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the relation between the structure to be measured and the wavelength region selected by the selective transmitter is expressed by at least one of the following {circle around (1)} to {circle around (7)}:
{circle around (1)} for the structure NH, the wavelength region to be selected for measurement is 3,700\u20133,100 cm\u22121;
{circle around (2)} for the structure CH stretching vibration, the wavelength region to be selected for measurement is 3,000\u20132,800 cm\u22121;
{circle around (3)} for the structure C=O, the wavelength region to be selected for measurement is 1,700 cm\u22121; {circle around (4)} for the structure amide I (protein), the wavelength region to be selected for measurement is 1,640 cm\u22121;
{circle around (5)} for the structure amide II (protein), the wavelength region to be selected for measurement is 1,550 cm\u22121;
{circle around (6)} for the structure CH bending vibration, the wavelength region to be selected for measurement is 1,500\u20131,300 cm\u22121; and
{circle around (7)} for the structure C-O-C (sugar), the wavelength region to be selected for measurement is 1,100\u2013900 cm\u22121.
8. An infrared circular dichroism measuring method comprising the steps of:
generating an interference light beam by allowing IR light beams radiated from anIR light source to interfere by use of an interferometer;
after making the interference light beam into a linearly polarized light beam, converting the linearly polarized light beam into a clockwise and a counterclockwise circularly polarized light beams at a predetermined modulation frequency and irradiating the converted light beams on a sample;
detecting the circularly polarized light beams which have passed through the sample and generating a detection signal;
extracting from the detected signal an interfero gram by each of the clockwise and the counterclockwise circularly polarized light beams;
conducting a Fourier transformation and calculating a circular dichroism, based on the interferograms; and
narrowing down the wavelength region to be measured, based on an IR absorption wavelength region corresponding to a vibration mode of the structure to be measured of a sample molecule.
9. The infrared circular dichroism measuring method according to claim 8, wherein the circularly polarized light beam is generated by a photoelastic modulator.
10. The infrared circular dichroism measuring method according to claim 9, wherein the central wavelength of the photoelastic modulator is set based on the selected wavelength region to be measured.
11. The infrared circular dichroism measuring method according to claim 8, wherein a lock in amplifier is used for the extracting.
12. The infrared circular dichroism measuring method according to claim 8, wherein a detector is used for detecting the circularly polarized light beams which have passed through the sample and generating a detection signal and wherein a wavelength region in which the detector has a high sensitivity is defined based on the selected wavelength region to be measured.
13. The infrared circular dichroism measuring method according to claim 8, wherein the wavelength region to be measured is narrowed down by selectively irradiating a light beam in an IR absorption wavelength region corresponding to the vibration mode of a specific structure in a sample molecule among the IR light beams from the IR light source, on a sample, using an optical filter, andor by selectively transmitting a signal component of a specific region defined based on a vibration mode of the structure to be measured among interference signals by light beams at each wavelength, that are components of a signal modulated by the interferometer, using an electric filter.