All The Claims

1. A method of relating an advertisement to an application presented to a user of a computer having a processor, the method comprising:
executing on the processor instructions configured to:
generate a challenge and a solution based on information in the advertisement;
present to the user within the application the challenge and an input component configured to accept input from the user; and
upon receiving from the user within the input component a challenge response:
compare the challenge response to the solution, and
upon equating the challenge response and the solution, present a reward within the application.
2. The method of claim 1, the challenge and the solution relating to a visual aspect of the advertisement.
3. The method of claim 2:
the advertisement comprising at least one image, and
generating the challenge and solution comprising:
programmatically analyzing the image to identify a visual aspect of the at least one image;
generating the challenge as a query relating to the visual aspect of the at least one image; and
generating the solution as a description of the visual aspect of the at least one image responsive to the query.
4. The method of claim 1, the challenge and the solution relating to a factual aspect of the advertisement.
5. The method of claim 4, generating the challenge and solution comprising:
programmatically analyzing the advertisement to identify a factual aspect of the advertisement;
generating the challenge as a query soliciting the factual aspect of the advertisement; and
generating the solution as the factual aspect of the advertisement.
6. The method of claim 4, the advertisement accessible to the user and not presented to the user concurrently with the application.
7. The method of claim 1:
the application executed upon a request of the user;
presenting the challenge and the input component comprising: presenting to the user the challenge and an input component configured to accept input from the user as a precondition of executing the application for the user; and
presenting the reward comprising: executing the application for the user.
8. The method of claim 1:
the instructions configured to, before presenting the challenge and the solution, suspend the application; and
the reward comprising: resuming the application.
9. The method of claim 1:
the instructions configured to, before generating the challenge and the solution, receive from the user a request for a resource; and
presenting the reward comprising: sending the resource to the user.
10. The method of claim 1:
the application executed to enable participation by the user in an online service;
presenting the challenge and the input component comprising: presenting to the user the challenge and an input component configured to accept input from the user as a precondition of permitting the participation by the user in the online service; and
presenting the reward comprising: permitting the participation by the user in the online service.
11. The method of claim 1, the instructions configured to present the advertisement to the user concurrently with the application.
12. The method of claim 11:
the computer having access to an advertisement store comprising at least two advertisements;
generating the challenge and the solution comprising:
selecting an advertisement from the advertisement store, and
generating the challenge and the solution based on the selected advertisement; and

presenting the advertisement comprising: presenting the selected advertisement concurrently with the application.
13. The method of claim 11, presenting the advertisement comprising: integrating the advertisement with the application.
14. The method of claim 1:
the application defining a challenge retry limit, and
the instructions configured to:
before presenting the challenge and the input component to the user, initializing a retry counter configured to track retries of the challenge by the user; and
upon failing to equate to equate the challenge response and the solution:
incrementing the retry counter;
comparing the retry counter to the challenge retry limit; and
upon determining the retry counter as not exceeding the challenge retry limit, again presenting the challenge and the input component to the user.
15. The method of claim 14, the instructions configured to, upon determining the retry counter as exceeding the challenge retry limit:
generate a second challenge and a second solution based on information in the advertisement, and
present to the user within the application the second challenge and an input component configured to accept input from the user.
16. The method of claim 1:
the computer configured to record user responses to challenges comprising a successful user response, an unsuccessful user response, and an incomplete user response; and
the instructions comprising:
upon equating the challenge response and the solution, recording a successful user response; and
upon failing to equate the challenge response and the solution, recording an unsuccessful user response.
17. A system for relating an advertisement to an application presented to a user of a computer having a processor, the system comprising:
a challenge generating component configured to generate a challenge and a solution based on information in the advertisement;
a challenge presenting component configured to present to the user within the application the challenge and an input component configured to accept input from the user; and
a challenge response evaluating component configured to:
receive from the user within the input component a challenge response,
compare the challenge response to the solution, and
upon equating the challenge response and the solution, present a reward within the application.
18. The system of claim 17, the computer comprising a server accessed over a network by a client computer operated by the user.
19. The system of claim 18:
the application comprising a web application;
the client computer comprising a web browser executing the web application requested by the user; and
the server comprising a webserver configured to:
receive the request from the user over the network to execute the web application, and
send to the client computer over the network the challenge and the input component to be presented to the user on the client computer within the web application.
20. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a processor of a computer, perform a method of relating an advertisement to an application presented to a user of the computer, the method comprising:
generating a challenge and a solution based on information in the advertisement;
presenting to the user within the application the challenge and an input component configured to accept input from the user; and
upon receiving from the user within the input component a challenge response:
comparing the challenge response to the solution, and
upon equating the challenge response and the solution, presenting a reward within the application.

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 highband encoding apparatus for encoding a highband signal based on lowband encoding information in a wideband encoding system, comprising:
a domain converting means for converting a domain of an input highband signal into a frequency domain;
a linear prediction order determining means for determining a linear prediction order based on the lowband encoding information;
a linear prediction analyzing means for analyzing a highband signal whose domain is converted into the frequency domain based on the determined linear prediction order to thereby generate a linear prediction coefficient;
a linear prediction coefficient quantizing means for quantizing the linear prediction coefficient based on the lowband encoding information; and
a residual signal quantizing means for obtaining a residual signal by dequantizing the quantized linear prediction coefficient and quantizing the residual signal.
2. The highband encoding apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the linear prediction coefficient quantizing means includes:
a first line spectrum pair (LSP) converting unit for converting the highband linear prediction coefficient into a highband line spectrum pair;
a lowband linear prediction analyzing unit for analyzing the lowband encoding information and generating a lowband linear prediction coefficient;
a second LSP converting unit for converting the lowband linear prediction coefficient into a lowband line spectrum pair; and
a vector quantizing unit for performing vector quantization on a difference between the highband line spectrum pair and the lowband line spectrum pair.
3. The highband encoding apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the linear prediction coefficient quantizing means uses a lowband synthesized signal as the lowband encoding information.
4. The highband encoding apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the linear prediction coefficient determining means uses pitch information of lowband signal as the lowband encoding information.
5. The highband encoding apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the residual signal quantizing means divides a band of a residual signal into a plurality of bands and quantizes energy of each band and a coefficient of a normalized residual signal.
6. A highband decoding apparatus for decoding a highband signal based on lowband encoding information in a wideband decoding system, comprising:
a residual signal decoding means for decoding a residual signal from a received bit stream;
a linear prediction order determining means for determining a linear prediction order based on the lowband encoding information;
a linear prediction coefficient dequantizing means for dequantizing a linear prediction coefficient from the received linear prediction coefficient information by using the determined linear prediction order and the lowband encoding information;
a linear prediction synthesizing means for performing linear prediction synthesis on the decoded residual signal by using the dequantized linear prediction coefficient; and
a domain converting means for converting a highband signal performed linear prediction synthesis into a highband signal of a time domain.
7. The highband decoding apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the linear prediction coefficient dequantizing means includes:
a vector dequantizing unit for restoring a first line spectrum pair by performing vector dequantization on linear prediction coefficient information inputted from outside;
a lowband linear prediction analyzing unit for analyzing the lowband encoding information and generating a lowband linear prediction coefficient;
an LSP converting unit for converting the lowband linear prediction coefficient into a second line spectrum pair; and
an LPC converting unit for summating the first line spectrum pair and the second line spectrum pair to thereby produce a summated line spectrum pair and converting the summated line spectrum pair into a linear prediction coefficient.
8. The highband decoding apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the linear prediction coefficient dequantizing means uses a lowband synthesized signal as the lowband encoding information.
9. The highband decoding apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the residual signal decoding means decodes a residual signal based on energy of each frequency band and a coefficient of a normalized residual signal.
10. The highband decoding apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the linear prediction coefficient determining means uses pitch information of a lowband signal as the lowband encoding information.
11. A highband encoding method for encoding a highband signal based on lowband encoding information in a wideband encoding system, comprising the steps of:
a) converting a domain of an input highband signal into a frequency domain;
b) determining a linear prediction order based on the lowband encoding information;
c) analyzing the highband signal whose domain is converted into the frequency domain based on the determined linear prediction order and generating a highband linear prediction coefficient;
d) quantizing the linear prediction coefficient based on the lowband encoding information; and
e) obtaining a residual signal by dequantizing the quantized linear prediction coefficient, and quantizing the obtained residual signal.
12. The highband encoding method as recited in claim 11, wherein the step d) includes the steps of:
d1) converting the highband linear prediction coefficient into a highband line spectrum pair;
d2) analyzing the lowband encoding information and generating a lowband linear prediction coefficient;
d3) converting the lowband linear prediction coefficient into a lowband line spectrum pair; and
d4) performing vector quantization on a difference between the highband line spectrum pair and the lowband line spectrum pair.
13. The highband encoding method as recited in claim 11, wherein a lowband synthesized signal is used as the lowband encoding information in the step d).
14. The highband encoding method as recited in claim 11, wherein pitch information of a lowband signal is used as the lowband encoding information in the step b).
15. The highband encoding method as recited in claim 11, wherein a band of a residual signal is divided into a plurality of bands, and energy of each band and a coefficient of a normalized residual signal are quantized in the step e).
16. A highband decoding method for decoding a highband signal based on lowband encoding information in a wideband decoding system, comprising the steps of:
a) decoding a residual signal from a received bit stream;
b) determining a linear prediction order based on the lowband encoding information;
c) dequantizing a linear prediction coefficient from the received linear prediction coefficient information based on the determined linear prediction order and the lowband encoding information;
d) performing linear prediction synthesis on the decoded residual signal based on the dequantized linear prediction coefficient; and
e) converting a highband signal performed linear prediction synthesis into a highband signal of a time domain.
17. The highband decoding method as recited in claim 16, wherein the step c) includes the steps of:
c1) restoring a first line spectrum pair by performing vector dequantization on linear prediction coefficient information inputted from outside;
c2) analyzing the lowband encoding information and generating a lowband linear prediction coefficient;
c3) converting a lowband linear prediction coefficient into a second line spectrum pair; and
c4) converting a summation of the first line spectrum pair and the second line spectrum pair into a linear prediction coefficient.
18. The highband decoding method as recited in claim 16, wherein a lowband synthesized signal is used as the lowband encoding information in the step c).
19. The highband decoding method as recited in claim 16, wherein a residual signal is made based on energy of each frequency band and a coefficient of a normalized residual signal in the step a).
20. The highband decoding method as recited in claim 16, wherein pitch information of a lowband signal is used as the lowband encoding information in the step b).

1. A method for producing a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
a first step of forming a fin-shaped silicon layer on a silicon substrate, forming a first insulating film around the fin-shaped silicon layer, and forming a pillar-shaped silicon layer in an upper portion of the fin-shaped silicon layer, the pillar-shaped silicon layer having a width equal to a width of the fin-shaped silicon layer;
subsequent to the first step, a second step of forming a gate insulating film around the pillar-shaped silicon layer, forming a metal film and a polysilicon film around the gate insulating film, forming a third resist for forming a gate line, and performing anisotropic etching to form the gate line, the polysilicon film having a thickness smaller than the width of the pillar-shaped silicon layer; and
subsequent to the second step, a third step of depositing a fourth resist, exposing the polysilicon film on a sidewall of an upper portion of the pillar-shaped silicon layer, removing the exposed polysilicon film by etching, removing the fourth resist, removing the metal film by etching, and forming a gate electrode connecting to the gate line.
2. The method for producing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first step comprises:
forming a first resist for forming the fin-shaped silicon layer on the silicon substrate, etching the silicon substrate, forming the fin-shaped silicon layer, removing the first resist, depositing the first insulating film around the fin-shaped silicon layer, etching back the first insulating film, exposing an upper portion of the fin-shaped silicon layer, forming a second resist that orthogonally intersects the fin-shaped silicon layer, etching the fin-shaped silicon layer, and removing the second resist so that a portion where the fin-shaped silicon layer orthogonally intersects the second resist forms the pillar-shaped silicon layer.
3. The method for producing a semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth step of forming a first diffusion layer in an upper portion of the pillar-shaped silicon layer and forming a second diffusion layer in a lower portion of the pillar-shaped silicon layer and an upper portion of the fin-shaped silicon layer.
4. The method for producing a semiconductor device according to claim 3, further comprising a fifth step of forming silicides on the first diffusion layer, on the second diffusion layer, and in the gate line.
5. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a fin-shaped silicon layer formed on a silicon substrate;
a first insulating film formed around the fin-shaped silicon layer;
a pillar-shaped silicon layer formed on the fin-shaped silicon layer, the pillar-shaped silicon layer having a width equal to a width of the fin-shaped silicon layer;
a gate insulating film formed around the pillar-shaped silicon layer;
a gate electrode having a laminated structure that includes a metal film and a polysilicon film formed around the gate insulating film, the polysilicon film having a thickness smaller than the width of the pillar-shaped silicon layer;
a gate line that is connected to the gate electrode and extends in a direction orthogonally intersecting the fin-shaped silicon layer;
a second diffusion layer formed in an upper portion of the fin-shaped silicon layer and in a lower portion of the pillar-shaped silicon layer;
a first diffusion layer formed in an upper portion of the pillar-shaped silicon layer;
a silicide formed in an upper portion of the second diffusion layer; and
a silicide formed in an upper portion of the first diffusion layer.
6. The semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the gate line has a laminated structure that includes the metal film and a silicide.

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 providing power integrity at a watt-hour meter, the method comprising the steps of:
suppressing transient voltages at the input to the watt-hour meter;
monitoring the resistance of an earth ground conductor in circuit communication with the watt-hour meter;
monitoring the current of the earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter;
monitoring the voltage of the earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter; and
displaying the results of the suppressing and monitoring steps on a status display.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring steps are performed substantially continuously.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of suppressing transient voltages further comprises:
receiving an AC transient voltage at an input to the watt-hour meter that exceeds a predetermined voltage limit; and
redirecting the received voltage to a neutral line of the watt-hour meter.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of redirecting the received voltage to the neutral line of the watt-hour meter further comprises:
providing a voltage limiting device connected in parallel across a hot line and a neutral line of the watt-hour meter;
providing a thermal limiting device connected in series with the voltage limiting device;
providing a fuse connected in series with the voltage limiting device; and
providing a radio frequency filter connected in parallel across the thermal limiting device and the voltage limiting device.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the voltage limiting device is a metal oxide varistor.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the thermal limiting device is a thermistor.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the radio frequency filter is a capacitor.
8. The method of claim 3, wherein the predetermined voltage limit is 271 volts peak.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring the earth ground resistance of the earth ground cable of the watt-hour meter further comprises:
providing a fixed voltage pulse;
coupling the fixed voltage pulse to a drive transformer;
establishing a current flow through the earth ground cable responsive to the output of the drive transformer;
providing a sense transformer;
transforming the current flowing through the earth ground cable into a corresponding voltage;
filtering the resistance signal of unwanted frequencies;
comparing the corresponding voltage to at least one predetermined voltage limit; and
communicating the comparing step results to the status display.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of providing a fixed voltage pulse further comprises:
providing a 12 volt DC supply; and
providing a timer circuit in circuit communication with the supply to establish the fixed voltage pulse.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of comparing the corresponding voltage to a predetermined voltage limit further comprises:
filtering the corresponding voltage to eliminate noise.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of comparing the corresponding voltage to a predetermined voltage limit further comprises:
providing a first voltage comparator, the first voltage comparator changing state when the corresponding voltage exceeds a 25 ohm ground resistance condition;
providing a second voltage comparator, the second voltage comparator changing state when the corresponding voltage is less than a 300 ohm ground resistance condition;
communicating the first voltage comparator state and the second voltage comparator state to the display.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring the earth ground current of the earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter further comprises:
providing a sense transformer;
transforming the current flowing through the earth ground cable into a corresponding voltage;
filtering the signal of unwanted frequencies;
comparing the corresponding voltage to a predetermined voltage limit; and
communicating the results of the comparing step to the display when the corresponding voltage exceeds the predetermined voltage limit.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of monitoring the earth ground voltage of the earth ground cable of the watt-hour meter further comprises:
providing a metal ground probe, the probe positioned in the ground in close proximity to the watt-hour meter;
measuring the voltage between the metal ground probe and a neutral line of the watt-hour meter; and
communicating the results of the measuring step to the display when the voltage between the metal ground probe and the neutral line exceeds a predetermined voltage limit.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the predetermined voltage limit is 5 volts AC.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of measuring the voltage between the metal ground probe and the neutral line of the watt-hour meter further comprises:
providing an optically isolated circuit in circuit communication with the metal ground probe and a neutral line of the watt-hour meter.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the optically isolated circuit comprises a light emitting diode in circuit communication with a light sensitive transistor.
18. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying the results of the suppressing and monitoring steps on a status display, further comprises:
providing a visual indicator on the status display.
19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
providing an audible indicator responsive to the results of the suppressing and monitoring steps.
20. A watt-hour meter protection device comprising:
a transient voltage suppression circuit to provide protection from transient conditions at the input to the watt-hour meter;
an earth ground resistance monitor to monitor the resistance of an earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter;
an earth ground current monitor to monitor the presence of current on the earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter;
an earth ground voltage monitor to monitor the presence of voltage on the earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter;
a status display, the status display in circuit communication with the transient voltage suppression circuit, the resistance monitor, the voltage monitor and the current monitor.
21. The device of claim 20, wherein the transient voltage suppression circuit further comprises:
a voltage limiting device;
a thermal limiting device connected in series with the voltage limiting device;
a fuse connected in series with the voltage limiting device; and
a radio frequency filter connected in parallel across the thermal limiting device and the voltage limiting device.
22. The device of claim 21, wherein the voltage limiting device is a metal oxide varistor.
23. The device of claim 21, wherein the thermal limiting device is a positive temperature coefficient thermistor.
24. The device of claim 21, wherein the radio frequency filter is a capacitor.
25. The device of claim 20, wherein the earth ground resistance monitor further comprises:
a sensor circuit further comprising a drive transformer and a sense transformer;
a fixed voltage pulse circuit to induce a fixed voltage pulse onto the driver transformer;
the earth ground cable in circuit communication with the drive transformer and the sense transformer, the earth ground cable responsive to a voltage output from the drive transformer to produce a related current in the earth ground cable and a corresponding voltage output signal in the sense transformer; a filter network for removing unwanted frequencies,
a first voltage comparator in circuit communication with the output of the filter network, the first voltage comparator changing state when the output voltage exceeds a first predetermined value corresponding to a first predetermined ground resistance condition, the output of the first voltage comparator supplied to the status display; and
a second voltage comparator in circuit communication with the output of the sense transformer, the second voltage comparator changing state when the output voltage exceeds a second predetermined value corresponding to a second predetermined ground resistance condition, the output of the second voltage comparator supplied to the status display.
26. The device of claim 25, wherein the fixed voltage pulse circuit further comprises:
a direct current voltage supply;
a timer circuit in circuit communication with the voltage supply, the timer circuit to establish the fixed voltage pulse.
27. The device of claim 26, wherein the fixed voltage pulse circuit further comprises:
a filter circuit to eliminate noise in the voltage output of the drive transformer.
28. The device of claim 26, wherein the first predetermined ground resistance condition is 25 ohms.
29. The device of claim 26, wherein the second predetermined ground resistance conditions is 300 ohms.
30. The device of claim 20, wherein the earth ground current monitor further comprises:
a current sense transformer;
a frequency filter network; and
a third voltage comparator in circuit communication with the output of the filter network, the output of the third voltage comparator changing state when the output voltage exceeds a the third predetermined value corresponding to a predetermined current condition, the output state of the third voltage comparator supplied to the status display.
31. The device of claim 30, wherein the predetermined current condition is 1 amp of 60 Hz AC current.
32. The device of claim 20, wherein the earth ground voltage monitor further comprises:
a metal earth ground probe, the probe positioned in the ground in close proximity to the watt-hour meter, the metal earth ground probe in circuit communication with a neutral line of the watt-hour meter; and
a measurement circuit to measure the voltage between the metal earth ground probe and the neutral line of the watt-hour meter, the measurement results communicated to the status display when the voltage between the metal ground probe and the neutral line exceeds a predetermined voltage limit.
33. The device of claim 32, wherein the measurement circuit further comprises an optically isolated circuit.
34. The device of claim 33, wherein the optically isolated circuit further comprises a light emitting diode in circuit communication with a light sensitive transistor.
35. The device of claim 32, wherein the predetermined voltage limit is 5 volts AC.
36. The device of claim 20, wherein the status display further comprises visual indicators.
37. The device of claim 20, wherein the status display further comprises audible indicators.
38. A watt-hour meter protection device comprising:
a transient voltage suppression circuit to provide protection from transient conditions at the input to the watt-hour meter;
an earth ground resistance monitor to monitor the resistance of an earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter;
an earth ground current monitor to monitor the presence of current on the earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter;
an earth ground voltage monitor to monitor the presence of voltage on the earth ground conductor of the watt-hour meter;
a metal ground probe, the probe positioned in the ground in close proximity to the watt-hour meter, the metal ground probe in circuit communication with a neutral line of the watt-hour meter;
a status monitor display, the status monitor display in circuit communication with the transient voltage suppression circuit, the resistance monitor, the voltage monitor and the current monitor.