Abstract: A flash memory device and method of making the same are disclosed. The flash memory device is located on a substrate and includes a floating gate electrode, a tunnel dielectric layer located between the substrate and the floating gate electrode, a smaller length control gate electrode and a control gate dielectric layer located between the floating gate electrode and the smaller length control gate electrode. The length of a major axis of the smaller length control gate electrode is less than a length of a major axis of the floating gate electrode.

Abstract: ForcePhone is a novel system for enabling phones to recognize the force applied to their touchscreen and/or body. ForcePhone uses built-in sensors to measure the applied force via a physical property called structure-borne sound propagation. The phone plays an inaudible sound through the phone's speaker. When the phone is free to vibrate, the sound from the speaker easily travels through its body to the phone's microphone. When a force is applied to the phone, vibration is restricted and the sound traveling through the pathway is degraded. ForcePhone estimate the amount of applied force by monitoring the change in sound degradation.

Abstract: Studies have shown that using smartphones while walking increases the probability of pedestrians colliding with obstacles. Techniques are presented for providing real-time warnings to distracted users of smartphones. The techniques are implemented by an application which makes use of sensors commonly found in most smartphone. By estimating distances to nearby objects using acoustic signals, a generalized solution is achieved without requiring any prior knowledge of the user's environment. The process can be enhanced by using images acquired from the phone's rear camera.

Abstract: An active indoor location sensing technique is presented for smartphones and other types of mobile devices without requiring any additional sensors or pre-installed infrastructure. The main idea is to actively generate acoustic signatures by transmitting a sound signal with a phone's speakers and sensing its reflections with the phone's microphones. This active sensing achieves finer-grained control of the collected signatures than the widely-used passive sensing.

Abstract: ForcePhone is a novel system for enabling phones to recognize the force applied to their touchscreen and/or body. ForcePhone uses built-in sensors to measure the applied force via a physical property called structure-borne sound propagation. The phone plays an inaudible sound through the phone's speaker. When the phone is free to vibrate, the sound from the speaker easily travels through its body to the phone's microphone. When a force is applied to the phone, vibration is restricted and the sound traveling through the pathway is degraded. ForcePhone estimate the amount of applied force by monitoring the change in sound degradation.

Abstract: An active indoor location sensing technique is presented for smartphones and other types of mobile devices without requiring any additional sensors or pre-installed infrastructure. The main idea is to actively generate acoustic signatures by transmitting a sound signal with a phone's speakers and sensing its reflections with the phone's microphones. This active sensing achieves finer-grained control of the collected signatures than the widely-used passive sensing.

Abstract: Studies have shown that using smartphones while walking increases the probability of pedestrians colliding with obstacles. Techniques are presented for providing real-time warnings to distracted users of smartphones. The techniques are implemented by an application which makes use of sensors commonly found in most smartphone. By estimating distances to nearby objects using acoustic signals, a generalized solution is achieved without requiring any prior knowledge of the user's environment. The process can be enhanced by using images acquired from the phone's rear camera.

Abstract: A method for reading battery status of a portable computer that is powered by a battery and has an operation system which reads the status of the battery by a keyboard controller in accordance with a preset time reference. The operation system reads the current system time first which is then compared with the time value when the operation system previously reads the battery status. A time difference between the current system time and the previous time of reading is obtained which is compared with the time reference. If the time difference is greater than or equal to the time reference, the operation system actually reads the battery status and stores the status in a system memory. If the time difference is smaller than the time reference, the operation system simply retrieves the battery status stored in the system memory and feeds the status to the operation system.

Abstract: A method for reading battery status of a portable computer is disclosed. The portable computer is powered by a battery and has an operation system which reads the status of the battery by means of a keyboard controller in accordance with a preset time reference. The operation system reads the current system time first. The current system time is then compared with the time value when the operation system previously reads the battery status and a time difference between the current system time and the previous time of reading is obtained. The time difference is compared with the time reference. If the time difference is greater than or equal to the time reference, the operation system actually reads the battery status by means of the keyboard controller and stores the battery status in a system memory incorporated to a central processing unit of the portable computer. The battery status so read is fed back to the operation system.

Abstract: A method for reading battery status by the operation system of a portable computer is disclosed. The portable computer is powered by a battery and has an operation system which reads the status of the battery by means of a keyboard controller in accordance with a preset time reference. The operation system reads the current system time first. The current system time is then compared with the time value when the operation system previously reads the battery status and a time difference between the current system time and the previous time of reading is obtained. The time difference is compared with the time reference. If the time difference is greater than or equal to the time reference, the operation system actually reads the battery status by means of the keyboard controller and stores the battery status in a memory of the keyboard controller. The battery status so read is fed back to the operation system.

Abstract: A method for reading battery status by the operation system of a portable computer is disclosed. The portable computer is powered by a battery and has an operation system which reads the status of the battery by means of a keyboard controller in accordance with a preset time reference. The operation system reads the current system time first. The current system time is then compared with the time value when the operation system previously reads the battery status and a time difference between the current system time and the previous time of reading is obtained. The time difference is compared with the time reference. If the time difference is greater than or equal to the time reference, the operation system actually reads the battery status by means of the keyboard controller and stores the battery status in a memory of the keyboard controller. The battery status so read is fed back to the operation system.

Abstract: A tripod device includes a coupling device disposed on a socket of the tripod for supporting a camera, and one or more batteries received in the coupling device for selectively energizing the camera when the the batteries of the camera have been consumed or are damaged. The coupling device includes a housing having fastener for securing to the camera, and a casing having a channel for receiving the fastener, and a lateral groove for receiving a knob which may rotate the fastener. The batteries may be coupled to the other electric energy sources of such as the vehicles.