Author: claimsbot

What is claimed is:

1. A flame resistant insulation product comprising fibrous mineral material that has been rotary fiberized, the composition of the mineral material having a softening point of at least about 699 C.
2. An insulation product according to claim 1 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a delta T of at least about 42 C.
3. An insulation product according to claim 1 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a log 3 temperature of not greater than about 1121 C.
4. An insulation product according to claim 1 wherein the fibrous mineral material has a thermal conductivity of not greater than about 0.043 WmK.
5. An insulation product according to claim 1 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a total alkali content of less than about 15% by weight.
6. An insulation product according to claim 1 wherein the mineral material is glass, and wherein the composition of the glass has a softening point of at least about 703 C.
7. An insulated duct for conducting a fluid comprising a tubular wall defining a hollow interior for conducting a fluid, and a layer of insulation product wrapped about the wall, the insulation product comprising fibrous mineral material that has been rotary fiberized, the composition of the mineral material having a softening point of at least about 699 C., the mineral material reducing the number of samples of the insulated duct failing a flame penetration test of a UL 181 Standard compared to the same insulated duct with a mineral material having a softening point of less than 699 C.
8. An insulated duct according to claim 7 wherein the mineral material reduces the number of samples of the insulated duct failing the flame penetration test by at least about 15%.
9. An insulated duct according to claim 7 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a delta T of at least about 42 C.
10. An insulated duct according to claim 7 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a log 3 temperature of not greater than about 1121 C.
11. An insulated duct according to claim 7 wherein the fibrous mineral material has a thermal conductivity of not greater than about 0.043 WmK.
12. An insulated duct according to claim 7 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a total alkali content of less than about 15% by weight.
13. An insulated duct according to claim 7 wherein the mineral material is glass, and wherein the composition of the glass has a softening point of at least about 703 C.
14. A method of improving the flame penetration resistance of an insulated duct, the insulated duct comprising a tubular wall defining a hollow interior for conducting a fluid, and a layer of insulation product wrapped about the wall, the insulation product comprising fibrous mineral material that has been rotary fiberized, the method comprising providing the mineral material with a softening point of at least about 699 C., the mineral material reducing the number of samples of the insulated duct failing the flame penetration test of a UL 181 Standard compared to the same insulated duct with a mineral material having a softening point of less than 699 C.
15. A method according to claim 14 wherein the mineral material reduces the number of samples of the insulated duct failing the flame penetration test by at least about 15%.
16. A method according to claim 14 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a delta T of at least about 42 C.
17. A method according to claim 14 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a log 3 temperature of not greater than about 1121 C.
18. A method according to claim 14 wherein the fibrous mineral material has a thermal conductivity of not greater than about 0.043 WmK.
19. A method according to claim 14 wherein the composition of the mineral material has a total alkali content of less than about 15.0% by weight.
20. A method according to claim 14 wherein the mineral material is glass, and wherein the composition of the glass has a softening point of at least about 703 C.

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

What is claimed

1. A high voltage MOS device comprising;
a substrate;
a first region of a first conductivity type formed in the substrate; and
at least one second region of a second conductivity type formed in the first region wherein at least one second region of the second conductivity type has doping which varies laterally.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one second region has a higher doping concentration near a source region and a lower concentration near a drain region and the doping varies laterally between the source region and the drain region.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the first region is an epitaxial region.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the first region is a well region formed by ion implantation.
5. The device of claim 4, wherein the well region comprises a first area of high concentration of dopants and a second area of low concentration of dopants.
6. The device of claim 5, wherein the second area of low concentration underlies a gate region adjacent to a channel region.
7. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one second region of a second conductivity type is a plurality of laterally varying regions distributed throughout layers of the first region and separated by conductivity channels.
8. A method for manufacturing a high voltage MOS device comprising:
providing a substrate;
providing a first region of a first conductivity type in the substrate;
providing a mask with openings that decrease in width laterally across the mask;
implanting impurities of a second conductivity type through the openings in the mask; and
forming a second region of a second conductivity type, the second region having a laterally varying doping profile.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming a second region further comprising forming a higher doping concentration near a source region and a lower doping concentration near the drain region and wherein the doping concentration varies laterally from the source region to the drain region.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of providing a first region further comprises forming an epitaxial region.
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of providing a first region further comprising forming a well region.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of providing a well region further comprises forming a first area of high concentration of dopants and a second area of low concentration of dopants.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of forming a first region of high concentration further comprises forming a second area of low concentration underlying a gate region adjacent to a channel region.
14. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming a second region further comprises forming a plurality of laterally varying regions.
15. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of forming a second region further comprises forming a plurality of laterally varying regions distributed throughout layers of the first region and separated by conductivity channels.
16. A high voltage DMOS device comprising:
a substrate;
a first region of a first conductivity type formed in the substrate;
a second region of a second conductivity type formed in the first region, the second region having a doping concentration that varies laterally;
a drain region formed within the first region;
a third region of the second conductivity type, the third region being a lightly doped, high voltage region; and
a source region formed within the third region.
17. The device of claim 16, wherein the second region has a higher doping concentration near a source region and a lower doping concentration near the drain region and the doping concentration varying laterally from the area near the source region to the area near the drain region.
18. The device of claim 16, wherein the first region is an epitaxial region.
19. The device of claim 16, wherein the first region is a well region.
20. The device of claim 19, wherein the well region comprises a first area of high concentration of dopants and a second area of low concentration of dopants.
21. The device of claim 22, wherein the second area of low concentration of dopants underlies a gate region adjacent to a channel region.
22. The device of claim 16, wherein the second region comprises a plurality of laterally varying regions.
23. The device of claim 16, wherein the second region is a plurality of laterally varying regions distributed throughout layers of the first region and separated by conductivity channels.
24. A high voltage MOS device comprising;
a substrate;
a first region formed in the substrate by implanting dopants of a first conductivity type; and
a second region formed in the first region by implanting dopants of a second conductivity type whose concentration varies laterally.
25. The device of claim 24, wherein the second region has a higher doping concentration near a source region and a lower doping concentration near a drain region and the doping varying laterally between the source region and the drain region.
26. The device of claim 24, wherein the first region comprises a first area of high concentration of dopants and a second area of low concentration of dopants.
27. The device of claim 28, wherein the second area of low concentration of dopants underlies a gate region adjacent to a channel region.
28. The device of claim 24, wherein the second region is a plurality of laterally varying regions distributed throughout vertical layers of the first region and separated by conductivity channels.

1. A method for producing a solid-state imaging device including a plurality of unit pixel sections, the plurality of unit pixel sections including a first unit pixel section; the method comprising the steps of:
forming a first conductivity type well region of the first unit pixel section on a second conductivity type semiconductor layer provided on a first conductivity type semiconductor layer, the first conductivity type well region including a light receiving region for generating charges corresponding to an amount of light incident thereon and a charge transfer region capable of transferring the charges; and
generating a charge accumulation region, for accumulating the charges generated in the light receiving region, in the charge transfer region;
wherein the step of forming the first conductivity type well region includes the step of implanting impurities such that the light receiving region and the charge transfer region in the first conductivity type well region have a substantially uniform impurity concentration.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the charge accumulation region includes the step of implanting impurities such that the charge accumulation region has a higher impurity concentration than the impurity concentration of the first conductivity type well region.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein:
the plurality of unit pixel sections further include a second unit pixel section provided adjacent to the first unit pixel section; and
the step of forming the first conductivity type well region includes the step of defining the first conductivity type well region by forming a well separation region in a border area between the first unit pixel section and the second unit pixel section.
4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the step of defining the first conductivity type well region includes the step of implanting second conductivity type impurities into the well separation region.
5. A method according to claim 3, wherein the step of defining the first conductivity type well region includes the step of forming a field insulating layer in the well separation region by thermal oxidation.
6. A method according to claim 3, wherein the step of defining the first conductivity type well region includes the step of implanting second conductivity type impurities into the well separation region using a mask pattern 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 information processing apparatus comprising:
a data collector which collects a plurality of pieces of data;
a discontinuation determiner which, for each data or entire processing of collecting the plurality of pieces of data, compares an invested cost that is already invested for data collection with an allowable investment cost that is an upper limit of a cost allowed to be invested for the data collection and determines to discontinue the data collection according to a result of the comparison; and
a content determiner which uses data collected by the data collector up to a point the discontinuation is determined and determines information related to a content to be distributed when the discontinuation determiner determines to discontinue the data collection.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information related to the content is at least one of a content, a way the content is distributed, and a way the content is displayed.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the allowable investment cost is set for each of the plurality of pieces of data, and the discontinuation determiner compares, for each data, the invested cost that is already invested for the data collection with the allowable investment cost set for the data.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an allowable investment cost determiner which determines the allowable investment cost by using the invested cost that is already invested for the data collection.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an allowable investment cost determiner which determines the allowable investment cost by using a past acquisition cost that is a cost required for data acquisition in past content distribution.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the allowable investment cost determiner determines the allowable investment cost for each type of the data.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an allowable investment cost determiner which determines the allowable investment cost by using acquired data that is a piece of data already acquired, past acquired data that is data acquired by the data collector to execute past content distribution, and a past acquisition cost that is a cost required to acquire the past acquired data.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the allowable investment cost determiner collects the past acquisition cost in past content distribution including data that has the same type and value as the acquired data, and determines the allowable investment cost by using the past acquisition cost collected.
9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
an effect acquisitor which acquires effect information related to an effect of past content distribution; and
an allowable investment cost determiner which determines the allowable investment cost by using a past acquisition cost that is a cost required for the data collector to acquire data to execute the past content distribution and effect information related to an effect of the past content distribution.
10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the allowable investment cost determiner identifies past content distribution to be used to determine the allowable investment cost on the basis of a pair of the past acquisition cost and a value of the effect information, and determines the allowable investment cost by using a past acquisition cost in the past content distribution identified.
11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
an effect acquisitor which acquires effect information related to an effect of past content distribution; and
an allowable investment cost determiner which determines the allowable investment cost by using the acquired data that is already acquired, past acquired data that is acquired by the data collector to execute past content distribution, a past acquisition cost that is a cost required to acquire the past acquired data, and the corresponding effect information.
12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the allowable investment cost determiner determines the allowable investment cost by identifying the past acquired data including data that has the same type and value as the acquired data, collecting the past acquisition cost in past content distribution used to determine the allowable investment cost by using the past acquisition cost in the past content distribution identified and the corresponding effect information, and using the past acquisition cost collected.
13. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
an effect acquisitor which acquires effect information related to an effect of past content distribution;
a cost effectiveness predictor which uses acquired data that is a piece of data already acquired, past acquired data acquired by the data collector to execute past content distribution, a past acquisition cost required to acquire the past acquired data, and the corresponding effect information and, for each predicted data that is to be possibly acquired, determines a predicted cost and an expected value of cost effectiveness when the predicted data is acquired, the predicted cost being an predicted value of a cost required to acquire the predicted data when data identical to the acquired data is acquired; and
an allowable investment cost determiner which determines the allowable investment cost by using the predicted cost and the expected value of the cost effectiveness.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the cost effectiveness predictor determines, for each predicted data, the expected value of the cost effectiveness by using effect information acquired in past content distribution for which the predicted data is acquired in addition to the acquired data, the predicted cost, and a predicted incidence which is a probability that the predicted data is to be acquired when data identical to the acquired data is acquired.
15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the allowable investment cost determiner compares the expected values of the cost effectiveness and determines a cost according to a comparison result as the allowable investment cost.
16. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an allowable investment cost determiner which calculates an independent coefficient on the basis of whether or not each data is acquired in past content distribution and whether or not the content distribution is effectively performed, calculates a correlation ratio on the basis of a past acquisition cost for each data in the past content distribution and whether or not the distribution is effectively performed when the independent coefficient exceeds a first threshold, and determines the allowable investment cost when the correlation ratio exceeds a second threshold.
17. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an allowable investment cost determiner which determines whether or not to acquire specific unacquired data by further investing a specified additional investment cost while using an invested cost that is already invested to acquire the specific unacquired data and a past acquisition cost for the specific unacquired data and, when determining to acquire the specific unacquired data by further investing the additional investment cost, determines whether or not a distribution effect of a content increases when the specific unacquired data is further acquired by using first effect information pertaining to an effect of past content distribution for which data including a pair of the acquired data that is already acquired and the specific unacquired data are acquired as well as using second effect information pertaining to an effect of past content distribution for which data including the acquired data is acquired, and then increases the allowable investment cost by the amount of the specified additional investment cost when determining that the distribution effect of a content increases.
18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data corresponds to any of an attribute of a person to whom a content is distributed, an event related to a time point when the data is acquired, and weather at a time point when the data is acquired.
19. An information processing method comprising the steps in which:
a data collector collects a plurality of pieces of data;
a discontinuation determiner compares, for each data or entire processing of collecting the plurality of pieces of data, an invested cost that is already invested for data collection with an allowable investment cost that is an upper limit of a cost allowed to be invested for the data collection and determines to discontinue the data collection according to a result of the comparison; and
a content determiner uses data collected by the data collector up to a point the discontinuation is determined and determines information related to a content to be distributed when the discontinuation determiner determines to discontinue the data collection.
20. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program which causes a computer to function as:
a data collector which collects a plurality of pieces of data;
a discontinuation determiner which, for each data or entire processing of collecting the plurality of pieces of data, compares an invested cost that is already invested for data collection with an allowable investment cost that is an upper limit of a cost allowed to be invested for the data collection and determines to discontinue the data collection according to a result of the comparison; and
a content determiner which uses data collected by the data collector up to a point the discontinuation is determined and determines information related to a content to be distributed when the discontinuation determiner determines to discontinue the data collection.