All The Claims

1. A flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition comprising:
(A) about 60 wt % to about 90 wt % of a polycarbonate resin comprising a first polycarbonate having a weight average molecular weight from about 30,000 gmol to about 50,000 gmol and a second polycarbonate having a weight average molecular weight from about 5,000 gmol to about 20,000 gmol;
(B) about 10 wt % to about 40 wt % of an aromatic vinyl resin having a fogging index (FI) of about 0.8 or less as calculated by Equation 1;
(C) about 1 part by weight to about 20 parts by weight of an impact modifier based on about 100 parts by weight of (A)+(B); and
(D) about 5 parts by weight to about 30 parts by weight of a flame retardant based on about 100 parts by weight of (A)+(B):
Fogging index (FI)=W1W0\xd7100\u2003\u2003Equation 1
wherein W1 is a weight of unreacted monomers and oligomers deposited on a lid after placing about 10 g of an aromatic vinyl resin in a soda-lime petri dish having a diameter of about 55 mm, closing and sealing the lid, and reacting the aromatic vinyl resin at 250\xb0 C. for 20 minutes therein; and W0 is an initial weight of the aromatic vinyl resin.
2. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the polycarbonate resin (A) includes the first polycarbonate in an amount of about 10 wt % to about 90 wt % and the second polycarbonate in an amount of about 10 wt % to about 90 wt %.
3. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the (B) aromatic vinyl resin is a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer.
4. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the (B) aromatic vinyl resin has a weight average molecular weight from about 30,000 gmol to about 200,000 gmol.
5. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the (C) impact modifier is a rubber-modified vinyl graft copolymer.
6. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 5, wherein the (C) rubber-modified vinyl graft copolymer has a structure in which an unsaturated monomer is grafted to a rubber core to form a shell, and the unsaturated monomer comprising an aromatic vinyl monomer and at least one monomer copolymerizable with the aromatic vinyl monomer.
7. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the (D) flame retardant is a phosphorus flame retardant.
8. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the (D) flame retardant is a mixture of solid and liquid flame retardants.
9. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, further comprising (E) polyarylene ether.
10. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 9, comprising the (E) polyarylene ether in an amount of about 1 part by weight to about 15 parts by weight, based on about 100 parts by weight of (A)+(B).
11. The flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition has a flame retardancy level of V-0 or higher as measured on an about 1.2 mm thick specimen in accordance with the UL-94 vertical test method, an Izod impact strength from about 10 kgf\xb7cmcm to about 60 kgf\xb7cmcm as measured on an about \u215b\u2033 thick specimen in accordance with ASTM D256, and a melt flow index (MI) from about 10 g10 min to about 50 g10 min as measured at about 220\xb0 C. under a load of about 10 kg in accordance with ASTM D1238.
12. A molded article produced from the flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition according to claim 1.

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 device for analyzing an information signal having a sequence of blocks of information units, wherein a plurality of consecutive blocks of the sequence of blocks represents an information entity, using a sequence of fingerprints for the sequence of blocks so that the sequence of blocks is represented by the sequence of fingerprints, comprising:
a unit for providing identification results for consecutive fingerprints, wherein an identification result represents an association of a block of information units with a predetermined information entity, and wherein there is a reliability measure for each identification result, wherein the unit for providing is designed to generate a first identification result for a first fingerprint, and to generate a second identification result differing from the first identification result for a following block;
a unit for forming at least two hypotheses from the identification results for the consecutive fingerprints, wherein a first hypothesis is an assumption for the association of the sequence of blocks with a first information entity, and wherein a second hypothesis is an assumption for the association of the sequence of blocks with a second information entity, wherein the unit for forming is designed to start the first hypothesis or continue the already existing first hypothesis in response to the first identification result and to start the second hypothesis or to continue the already existing second hypothesis in response to the second identification result;
a unit for examining the at least two hypotheses by combining the reliability measures of the hypotheses to obtain an examination result; and
a unit for making a statement on the information signal based on the examination result.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for examining is designed to examine the hypotheses with respect to probability information applying to the hypotheses.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for making a statement is designed to determine that the sequence of blocks represents an information entity having a hypothesis that is most likely, or that an information entity ends with the fingerprint that contributes to the most likely hypothesis as the last one in time, or that an information entity is present in the information signal or not.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for providing is designed to generate two different identification results for a fingerprint.
5. The device of claim 4, wherein the unit for providing is designed to generate a reliability measure for each one of the two different identification results.
6. The device of claim 4, wherein the unit for forming is designed to associate a first one of the two identification results with the first hypothesis and to associate a second one of the two identification results with the second hypothesis.
7. The device of claim 3, wherein the unit for examining is designed to determine the hypothesis that has a higher combined reliability measure.
8. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for forming is designed to end the first or second hypotheses when a predetermined number of blocks will neither obtain an identification result indicating the first information entity nor an identification result indicating the second information entity.
9. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for forming is designed to end the first or second hypotheses when a detected event occurs in the information signal.
10. The device of claim 9, wherein there is an event detector, which is designed to detect an energy level in a block of information units that is below a threshold level as the event.
11. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for providing is designed to output only the most reliable identification result without or with reliability measure for each fingerprint, to output a predetermined number of most reliable fingerprints, each with or without reliability measure, for a fingerprint, or to output only the identification results having a reliability measure above a threshold with or without reliability measures for a fingerprint.
12. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for examining is designed to add explicit or implicit reliability measures belonging to a hypothesis to obtain a combined reliability measure.
13. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for providing is designed
to perform a search in a database, in which fingerprints of reference information entities are stored, with a fingerprint, and
to provide a number of identification results and a distance measure for each identification result as indication of a reliability measure for each identification result.
14. The device of claim 13, wherein the unit for providing is designed to start a new hypothesis for each identification result for which there is no hypothesis yet, when a distance measure for the identification result has a relationship to a threshold indicating a smaller distance than a threshold distance.
15. The device of claim 1, wherein the unit for examining is designed to end, in response to a determination, all hypotheses for the consecutive fingerprints that have been formed for the fingerprints that are covered by the most likely hypothesis.
16. The device of claim 1, wherein the information signal includes an audio signal, wherein the information unit are audio samples in the time or frequency domain, and wherein an information entity includes a piece of music, a spoken sequence or a noise portion.
17. The device of claim 1, wherein a fingerprint for a block is determined by a timefrequency conversion andor by calculation of a spectral flatness measure for a result of the timefrequency conversion.
18. The device of claim 1, wherein a fingerprint for a block is generated so that the fingerprint has an amount of data that is smaller than an amount of data of the block.
19. The device of claim 1,
wherein the unit for providing identification results is designed to provide, in addition to an identification result, also a new time index for the identification result, and
wherein the unit for forming hypotheses is designed to continue a hypothesis if there is a continuity between a most current time index in the hypothesis and the new time index, or to start a hypothesis if there is no continuity.
20. A method for analyzing an information signal having a sequence of blocks of information units, wherein a plurality of consecutive blocks of the sequence of blocks represents an information entity, using a sequence of fingerprints for the sequence of blocks so that the sequence of blocks is represented by the sequence of fingerprints, comprising:
providing identification results for consecutive fingerprints, wherein an identification result represents an association of a block of information units with a predetermined information entity, and wherein there is a reliability measure for each identification result, wherein, in the step of providing, a first identification result is generated for a first fingerprint and a second identification result differing from the first identification result is generated for a following block;
forming at least two hypotheses from the identification results for the consecutive fingerprints, wherein a first hypothesis is an assumption for the association of the sequence of blocks with a first information entity, and wherein the second hypothesis is an assumption for an association of the sequence of blocks with a second information entity, wherein the step of forming comprises:
starting the first hypothesis or continuing the already existing first hypothesis in response to the first identification result, and starting the second hypothesis or continuing the already existing second hypothesis in response to the second identification result;

examining the at least two hypotheses by combining the reliability measures of the hypotheses to obtain an examination result; and
making a statement on the information signal based on the examination result.
21. A computer program having a program code for performing a method, when the program runs on a computer, for analyzing an information signal having a sequence of blocks of information units, wherein a plurality of consecutive blocks of the sequence of blocks represents an information entity, using a sequence of fingerprints for the sequence of blocks so that the sequence of blocks is represented by the sequence of fingerprints, comprising providing identification results for consecutive fingerprints, wherein an identification result represents an association of a block of information units with a predetermined information entity, and wherein there is a reliability measure for each identification result, wherein, in the step of providing, a first identification result is generated for a first fingerprint and a second identification result differing from the first identification result is generated for a following block; forming at least two hypotheses from the identification results for the consecutive fingerprints, wherein a first hypothesis is an assumption for the association of the sequence of blocks with a first information entity, and wherein the second hypothesis is an assumption for an association of the sequence of blocks with a second information entity, wherein the step of forming comprises starting the first hypothesis or continuing the already existing first hypothesis in response to the first identification result, and starting the second hypothesis or continuing the already existing second hypothesis in response to the second identification result; examining the at least two hypotheses by combining the reliability measures of the hypotheses to obtain an examination result; and making a statement on the information signal based on the examination result.

1-13. (canceled)
14. An apparatus, comprising:
an image sensor disposed in spaced relation to a drip chamber; and
at least one processor in communication with the image sensor to receive image data from the image sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
capture an image of the drip chamber using the image sensor,
match a template within the captured image, and
estimate flow through the drip chamber in accordance with the matched template.
15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to identify an edge of a drop within the image in accordance with the matched template.
16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control a control system in accordance with the estimated flow.
17. The apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a valve configured to control flow through the drip chamber.
18. The apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising a control system configured to actuate the valve in accordance with the estimated flow through the drip chamber using the matched template matched within the captured image.
19. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to move the template to a second position different from a first position when the template is matched to the captured image.
20. An apparatus, comprising:
an image sensor disposed in spaced relation to a drip chamber; and
at least one processor in communication with the image sensor to receive image data from the image sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
capture a first image of the drip chamber using the image sensor,
detect a first edge of a drop using a template,
capture a second image of the drip chamber using the image sensor,
detect a second edge of the drop using the template,
estimate flow through the drip chamber in accordance with the detected first and second edges of the drop as found within the first and second images, respectively, and
control a growth of the drop as indicated by the first and second detected edges of the drop.
21. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a valve configured to couple to a fluid tube in fluid communication with the drip chamber, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control actuation of the valve, and the at least one processor is configured to control a growth rate of the drop to thereby regulate fluid flow through the drip chamber.
22. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
average pixels within a first result of the template to determine a first average;
move the template to a second position;
average pixels within a second result of the template when in the second position to determine a second average; and
determine the template is located at the first edge of the drop if a difference between the second average and the first average is greater than a predetermined threshold value.
23. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to correlate the growth of the drop with the estimated flow through the drip chamber.
24. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
capture a plurality of images including the first and second images of the drip chamber using the image sensor;
estimate a growth rate of the drop within the drip chamber using the plurality of images;
receive a set point corresponding to a fluid flow rate through a fluid tube coupled to the drip chamber;
adjust a control system in accordance with the estimated growth rate of the drop to achieve the set point corresponding to the fluid flow rate through the fluid tube; and
output a control signal from the control system to an actuator of a valve coupled to the fluid tube to control actuation of the valve in accordance with the adjusted control system.
25. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor determines an existence of a free flow condition using a plurality of images.
26. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a background pattern positioned within a field of view of the image sensor, wherein the drip chamber is between the image sensor and the background pattern.
27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the at least one processor estimates at least one parameter using a plurality of images by analyzing a distortion of the background pattern caused by the liquid within the field of view as viewed by the image sensor.
28. The apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the background pattern is an array of lines having at least one angle relative to an opening of the drip chamber when viewed from the image sensor within the field of view using the plurality of images.
29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the at least processor determines a free flow condition exists when the liquid causes the array of lines to change angles by distortion caused by the liquid when in the free flow condition as viewed within the field of view from the image sensor.
30. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
select a region of interest of the image sensor;
determine if a pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest;
activate a light of a backlight if the pixel of the image sensor is within the region of interest; and
expose the pixel of the image sensor.
31. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a light adapted to provide light for the image sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
subtract the first image from a background image to thereby generate a difference image;
convert each pixel of the difference image to a true value if an absolute value of a respective pixel is beyond a predetermined threshold or to a false value if the absolute value of the respective pixel is less than the predetermined threshold;
sum each row of the converted difference image to generate a plurality of summation values, wherein each summation value of the plurality of summation values corresponds to a respective row of the converted difference image; and
examine the plurality of summation values.
32. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine a pattern match score to detect the first edge of the drop using the template.
33. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein edge detection is performed on the first image.
34. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein line detection is performed on the first image.
35. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is configured to move the template to match the template to the first and second edges of the drop.
36. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor compares at least one of the first and second images to a background image.
37. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the first image is subtracted from a background image to thereby generate a difference image.
38. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a background pattern positioned behind the drip chamber relative to a field of view of the image sensor.
39. The apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising a transceiver configured to communicate with a monitoring client.
40. The apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the apparatus is configured to be remotely controlled by a monitoring client.
41. The apparatus according to claim 40, wherein the monitoring client is a tablet.
42. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the at least one processor compares the first image to a reference image to estimate the first edge of the drop.
43. The apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the reference image is a dynamic reference image.
44. The system according to claim 20, further comprising a background pattern positioned within a field of view of the image sensor, wherein the drip chamber is between the image sensor and the background pattern.
45. An apparatus, comprising:
an image sensor disposed in spaced relation to a drip chamber;
at least one processor in communication with the image sensor to receive image data from the image sensor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
capture a first image of the drip chamber using the image sensor;
detect a first edge of a drop using a template;
capture a second image of the drip chamber using the image sensor;
detect a second edge of the drop using the template; and
control a growth of the drop as indicated by the first and second detected edges of the drop.
46. The apparatus according to claim 45, where the at least one processor is configured to control a drop growth rate as indicated by the first and second detected edges of the drop to thereby control the growth of the drop.
47. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
estimate a growth of the drop within the drip chamber in accordance with the first and second edges of the drop as found within the first and second images, respectively, and
estimate flow through the drip chamber in accordance with the estimated growth of the drop within the drip chamber.
48. The apparatus according to claim 45, further comprising a valve configured to couple to a fluid tube in fluid communication with the drip chamber, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control actuation of the valve, and the at least one processor is configured to control a drop growth rate of the drop to thereby regulate the fluid flow through the drip chamber.
49. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
average pixels within a first result of the template to determine a first average,
move the template to a second position,
average pixels within a second result of the template when in the second position to determine a second average, and
determine the template is located at least one of the first edge and the second edge of the drop if a difference between the second average and the first average is greater than a predetermined threshold value.
50. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the at least one processor is configured to correlate the growth of the drop with an estimated flow of fluid through the drip chamber.
51. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
capture a plurality of images including the first and second images of the drip chamber using the image sensor;
estimate a growth rate of the drop within the drip chamber using the plurality of images;
receive a set point corresponding to a fluid flow rate through a fluid tube coupled to the drip chamber;
adjust a control system in accordance with the estimated drop growth rate of the drop to achieve the set point corresponding to the fluid flow rate through the fluid tube; and
output a control signal from the control system to an actuator of a valve coupled to the fluid tube to control actuation of the valve in accordance with the adjusted control system such that the growth of the drop is controlled to achieve the set point of the control system.

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 is;

1. A nitride semiconductor of p-type BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1), having a point defect concentration of 11019 cm3 or more, thereby making it possible to obtain a high carrier concentration.
2. A nitride semiconductor luminescence device comprising nitride semiconductor layers made of p-type BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1), wherein at least one of said p-type nitride semiconductor layers has a point defect concentration of 11019 cm3 or more, thereby making it possible to obtain a high carrier concentration.
3. A method for producing a p-type nitride semiconductor of BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1), wherein said p-type nitride semiconductor having a point defect concentration of 11019 cm3 or more is grown.
4. A method for producing a nitride semiconductor luminescence device comprising p-type nitride semiconductor layers made of BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1),
wherein at least one of said p-type nitride semiconductor layers is grown to be a p-type nitride semiconductor having a point defect concentration of 11019 cm3 or more.
5. A method for producing a p-type nitride semiconductor of BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1),
wherein the supplying ratio VIII of a V group raw material to a III group raw material is set to 1000-5000 to grow said p-type nitride semiconductor.
6. A method for producing a nitride semiconductor luminescence device comprising p-type nitride semiconductor layers made of BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1),
wherein at least one of said p-type nitride semiconductor layers is grown in the manner that the supplying ratio VIII of a V group raw material to a III group raw material is set to 1000-5000.
7. A method for producing a p-type nitride semiconductor of BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1),
wherein said p-type nitride semiconductor is grown at a growing rate of 4 mhour or more.
8. A method for producing a nitride semiconductor luminescence device comprising p-type nitride semiconductor layers made of BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1),
wherein at least one of said p-type nitride semiconductors is grown at a growing rate of 4 mhour or more.
9. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 5, wherein upon the growth of said p-type nitride semiconductor the supplying ratio VIII of a V group raw material to a III group raw material is set to 1000-5000 and the growing rate thereof is 4 mhour or more.
10. The methodfor producing a nitride semiconductor luminescence device according to claim 6, wherein upon the growth of at least one of the p-type nitride semiconductor layers the supplying ratio VIII of a V group raw material to a III group raw material is set to 1000-5000 and the growing rate thereof is set to 4 mhour or more.
11. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 5, wherein upon the growth of said p-type nitride semiconductor the supplying ratio VIII of a V group raw material to a III group raw material is set to 1000-5000 and the growing rate thereof is set to 4 mhour or more, thereby growing said p-type nitride semiconductor having a point defect concentration of 11019 cm3 or more.
12. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor luminescence device according to claim 6, wherein upon the growth of at least one of said p-type nitride semiconductor layers the supplying ratio VIII of a V group raw material to a III group raw material is set to 1000-5000 and the growing rate thereof is set to 4 mhour or more, thereby growing the layer to be a p-type nitride semiconductor having a point defect concentration of 11019 cm3 or more.
13. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 3, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
14. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 4, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
15. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 5, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
16. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 6, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
17. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 7, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
18. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 8, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
19. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 9, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
20. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 10, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
21. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 11, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
22. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor according to claim 12, wherein after the growth of said p-type semiconductor the grown semiconductor is subjected to an activating treatment by heating or radiating an electron beam.
23. The nitride semiconductor luminescence device according to claim 2, wherein an active layer constituting said nitride semiconductor luminescence device, or said active layer and a semiconductor layer adjacent thereto are composed of a semiconductor layer of BpAlqGarInsN (0p1, 0q1, 0r1, 0s1, pqrs1) having a point defect concentration of 11019 cm3 or more.
24. The method for producing a nitride semiconductor luminescence device according to claim 6,
wherein a contact layer of said nitride semiconductor luminescence device, is grown by said p-type nitride semiconductor layer,
the supplying ratio VIII of a V group raw material to a III group raw material is set to more than 5000 upon the growth of an active layer constituting the nitride semiconductor luminescence device, or said active layer and a semiconductor layer adjacent thereto, and the relative ratio of the supplying ratio VIII upon the growth of said contact layer to the supplying ratio VIII upon the growth of said active layer, or said active layer and a semiconductor layer adjacent thereto is set to 0.5:1.