US07648677B2
Methods for operating a sensor device are provided, which may include (a) providing at a site (e.g., implanting in a patient) a device which comprises at least first and second reservoirs, a first sensor and corresponding first reference sensor located within the first reservoir, a second sensor and corresponding second reference sensor located within the second reservoir, a first reservoir cap closing an opening in the first reservoir and a second reservoir cap closing an opening in the second reservoir, and a power source, control circuitry, and electrodes for selectively disintegrating each reservoir cap; (b) disintegrating the first reservoir cap and operating the first sensor and reference sensor; and (c) using the first reference sensor to determine whether the first sensor is operating properly. If not operating properly, then the control circuitry initiates disintegration of the second reservoir cap and operation of the second sensor and reference sensor.
US07648671B2
The method of the present invention includes an exposing step in which a laser beam for recording modulated by an information signal corresponding to an information signal of an information concave and convex pattern formed on the optical disc is applied to an inorganic resist layer 101 formed on a substrate 100 to form an exposed pattern corresponding to the information concave and convex pattern on the optical disc, and a development step in which a concave and convex pattern corresponding to the information concave and convex pattern by the inorganic resist layer is formed. By applying a laser beam for estimation to a predetermined area on the inorganic resist layer in the exposing step to estimate recorded signal characteristics of the exposed pattern by the inorganic resist layer using reflected light of the laser beam for estimation, and controlling power of the laser beam for recording based on the estimated result, the aimed information recording on the optical disc can reliably be obtained.
US07648661B2
A system and method for making and using a reconfigurable composite part mandrel operable in the manufacture of composite parts. The system may comprise an assembly fixture, a generic mandrel, a reconfigurable simulated skin, a reconfigurable frame portion, and state-changing material operable to harden into a desired configuration for forming a particular composite part. The method of forming and using the reconfigurable composite part mandrel may comprise: inserting the simulated skin within the assembly fixture, inserting or assembling the frame portion within the assembly fixture; inserting the generic mandrel into the assembly fixture; filling a cavity between the generic mandrel and the assembly fixture with the state-changing mixture to encapsulate the frame portion; hardening the state-changing mixture; and removing the assembly fixture and the simulated skin.
US07648654B2
The present invention relates to a non-aqueous conductive nanoink composition including 20 to 85 parts by weight of metal nanoparticles which is chosen from silver, copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, and gold; 0.5 to 10 parts by weight of a polymer having an anhydride group; 15 to 80 parts by weight of a non-aqueous organic solvent.The non-aqueous conductive nanoink composition of the present invention prevents cracks during the drying process, increases the adhesion between wiring and substrate, and allows forming conductive wirings and films without cracks and delamination on the substrate such as polymer including polyimide and glass or silicon wafer.
US07648643B1
A process and composition of matter for the recovery of metal from a metal-laden ore, soil or rock is provided. A liquid, non-toxic, low pH acidic composition is used as a chelating agent that extracts the metal into a pregnant liquid solution. The pregnant solution is treated by known conventional means, such as filtration, centrifuging, or electrolysis to remove the extracted metals. The low pH, acidic composition (LpHAC) does not have any known toxicity to man or the environment and performs as an ideal fluidized reaction metal extractant. As a metal extracting agent, it effectively and efficiently extracts gold and other metals from ore laden soil or rock with no environmental and negative health impact.
US07648636B2
The present invention relates to mixed-modal anion-exchange materials composed of a support on which a ligand is immobilized. The ligand combines at least one basic domain based on cyclic monobasic derivatives with two or more rings as anion-exchange domain and at least one non-ionic binding domain. The basic domain is ionized under the conditions of use and may contain secondary, tertiary, or quaternary nitrogen forming a weakly (WAX) or strongly (SAX) basic anionic exchange domains. The non-ionic binding domain allows adjustment of the overall hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the material and represents a second binding site for the solute to be separated. Binding to this second binding site is based on reversed phase (RP), hydrophobic interaction (HIC) or hydrophilic interaction (HILIC). Linker sites, which can be represented by a chemical bond or by hydrophobic moieties like alkyl(ene) chains or hydrophilic moieties like amide structures connect the support to the binding domains and the binding domains to each other.
US07648627B2
An apparatus for the treatment of a medical liquid has a liquid treatment machine and a cassette that is insertable in the machine. The cassette has a rigid base body with fitted chambers and passages and a foil that covers the chambers and passages. Actuators and sensors are arranged in the liquid treatment machine for the operation of the apparatus with the inserted cassette such that cassettes are insertable in different integration shapes.
US07648626B2
A process for reducing the rate of increase in pressure drop across a furnace convection section, the furnace convection section having a temperature profile. The process includes the steps of establishing a ratio of total dilution H2O to feedstock for the system, injecting a first portion of the total dilution H2O in the form of water into the convection section of the furnace, injecting a second portion of the dilution H2O in the form of steam into the convection section of the furnace, wherein a ratio of dilution H2O in the form of water to dilution H2O in the form of steam is established and varying the temperature profile across the convection section of the furnace by adjusting periodically the ratio of dilution H2O in the form of water to dilution H2O in the form of steam. A similar technique is conducted during decoking to remove asphaltene coke starting from the lower convection section upward. This upward decoking is accomplished by initially using more H2O in the form of water, then as the decoke proceeds reducing H2O in the form of water while increasing H2O in the form of steam.
US07648617B2
In a biosensor for measuring a specific substance in a liquid sample, one or a combination of sugar alcohol, metallic salt, organic acid or organic acid salt which has at least one carboxyl group in a molecule, and organic acid or organic acid salt which has at least one carboxyl group and one amino group in a molecule, is included in a reagent layer provided on electrodes, thereby providing a highly-accurate biosensor which is excellent in stability and has high response (sensitivity, linearity) of the sensor to the substrate concentration.
US07648604B2
The invention refers to the field of labelling machines that use tubular labels, and in particular it refers to ultrasound welding apparata for making a tubular label made of a heat-shrinking film, precut from a coil.The apparatus provides for the label welding for the whole length of the surmount (5), the apparatus being able to translate on at least two Cartesian axes; moreover, it guarantees one or more welding beads due to the presence, on the sonotrode, of a plurality of ribs (6): the formation of one or more beads will have to be attributed to the more or less correct position of the precut label and the errors caused during its transfer. The presence of many beads is an improving condition of the resistance to tensile stress of the welded label.
US07648599B2
A method of treating Nitinol to train the structure thereof to remain in the martensite state, including the steps of subjecting the Nitinol to a strain and while subjected to the strain, thermally cycling the Nitinol between a cold bath of about 0° C. to 10° C. and a hot bath of about 100° C. to 180° C. for a minimum of about five cycles.
US07648588B2
The application contemplates a steel body having a hardened case portion and a core portion. The case portion has a hardness of at least Rc 50 and is substantially free of continuous phase grain boundary carbides. The steel body is formed of Pyrowear 675 which is a stainless steel material.
US07648580B2
A processing tank 10 is divided into a washing section 15 and a drying section 30, a clearance is formed in the joint between the sections, and the clearance is communicated with by sink 29. In drying a substrate, the substrate is moved from the washing section to the drying section, a porous plate 28 is inserted into the lower region where the clearance is formed, and a drying gas is jetted against the substrate with the internal pressure of the drying section 30 kept higher than that of the sink 29 and the internal pressure of the washing section 15 kept lower than that of the drying section 30. In this case, it is preferable that the porous plate 28 is a punched plate in which plural small holes having predetermined diameters have been made. The above configuration provides a substrate processing method and a substrate processing device in which the drying gas can uniformly and stably be supplied to an assembly of plural substrates.
US07648560B2
The present invention is a method for producing Ti or a Ti alloy through reduction of TiCl4 by Ca, which can produce the high-purity metallic Ti or high-purity Ti alloy. A molten salt containing CaCl2 and having Ca dissolved therein is held in a reactor vessel, and a metallic chloride containing TiCl4 is reacted with Ca in the molten salt to generate Ti particles or Ti alloy particles in a molten CaCl2 solution, which allows enhancement of a feed rate of TiCl4 which is of a raw material of Ti, and also allows a continuous operation. Therefore, the high-purity metallic Ti or the high-purity Ti alloy can economically be produced with high efficiency. Further, the method by the present invention eliminates the need of replenishment of expensive metallic Ca and of the operation for separately handling Ca which is highly reactive and difficult to handle.
US07648545B2
An axial flow filter element including alternating flat and folded media layers forming axial channels, one end of a first group of channels being sealed and the remaining channels being sealed at the other end so fluid flowing through the element passes from channels of the first group through the filter media to channels of the second group to exit the filter; channels of the second group adjoining each side of channels of the first group spaced from the edge of the filter element so fluid flows through the entire lateral area of the first channels; an annular sealing collar adjacent an axial end face of the filter element connected to the exterior of the element to seal the element in a housing; part of the collar projecting axially beyond the end face of the element, and a frame connected to the projecting part for radially supporting the collar.
US07648543B2
An inertial gas-liquid separator and method is provided, including variable orifice jet nozzle structure having a variable orifice area dependent upon axial movement of a plunger relative to a housing sleeve, and in another embodiment having first and second flow branches, with the first flow branch being continuously open, and the second flow branch having a variable flow controller controlling flow therethrough.
US07648541B2
A method of removing sulfur from a fuel supply stream for a fuel cell (1), which method comprises: (a) hydrogenating the fuel supply stream (1) by contacting it with a hydrogenation catalyst in the presence of hydrogen to convert sulfur-containing compounds in the fuel supply stream (1) into hydrogen sulfide; (b) removing the hydrogen sulfide to produce a desulfurised fuel stream; and (c) pre-reforming the desulfurised fuel stream to produce a fuel cell feed stream, wherein a portion of the fuel cell feed stream is processed to increase its hydrogen content to produce a hydrogen-enriched fuel stream which is used in step (a) as a source of hydrogen to hydrogenate the fuel supply stream (1).
US07648538B2
Unit cells are held in a plate frame to form a cell module. A plurality of the cell modules is laminated in a thickness direction of the frame to form a laminated structure of unit cells. The cell unit is pressurized with heat sinks from both sides in the direction of the lamination, and is integrally held to form a battery.
US07648537B2
An inorganic solid electrolytic rechargeable battery capable of offering excellent battery characteristics is disclosed. The battery has positive and negative electrodes and an inorganic electrolyte interposed therebetween. The positive and negative electrodes are each made up of an active material layer and a current collector layer. The positive electrode collector layer or the negative electrode collector layer is a conductive metal oxide layer. The negative electrode active material layer is made of lithium metals or lithium alloys. This negative active layer may alternatively be made of a material which causes an operation voltage potential of the negative electrode to become more noble than 1.0 V with respect to the potential of a metallic lithium. A complexity-reduced fabrication method of the rechargeable battery is also disclosed.
US07648530B2
A shoulder joint prosthesis has an at least two-pieced humeral head prosthesis, comprising a calotte, or a joint head (3) and a fixing body (5, 7). The latter comprises a fixing piece (15), for detachable connection of the calotte and a mounting section (21), for the at least cement-free anchoring of the fixing device in the bone. The fixing body is preferably of two-piece embodiment, comprising a discoid positioning body (5) with a medial hole and an anchoring body (7), provided for fixing the positioning body (5) to the bone through the medial hole (19).
US07648528B2
A valve prosthesis includes a flexible plug and an annular bearing reinforcement which is embodied such that it is radially rigid and surgically implantable in the area of a heart valve. The valve prosthesis is provided with an interchangeable prosthetic valve, is independent of the bearing reinforcement, endoluminally placeable and includes a tubular support which is radially deformable between a folded setting position and an unfolded position for implanting into a bearing structure and the flexible plug connected to a tubular support. The bearing reinforcement forms an annular support devoid of any plug capable of univocally limiting a blood flow circulation.
US07648526B2
The stent of the present invention is a tubular member comprising annular members 1 arranged in a longitudinal direction thereof for keeping a body lumen open, and one or more connecting elements 2 for connecting longitudinally adjoining two annular members 1, 1 with one another. Each annular member 1 comprises first annular member elements 11 and second annular member elements 12 which are alternately jointed together in the circumferential direction of the annular member 1. The annular members 1 are expandable in the radial direction thereof. The stent is flexible and excellent in trackability to lumens, thus making it possible to allow the stent to pass through the three-dimensionally meandering lumens. The stent is substantially free from shortening and makes it possible to provide the stent with a lateral hole.
US07648522B2
A bone fixation assembly and method of fixing bones including a fixation element having a head portion, a unitary coupling element and at least one locking element. The unitary coupling element includes a first bore adapted to slidably receive the head portion of the fixation element. A first locking element is adapted to secure the head portion in the first bore.
US07648512B2
Methods and instrumentation for surgical procedures relating to preparation of vertebral bodies and a disc space for insertion of spinal implants is disclosed. One instrument is a shim having a blade and a shaft having a first end connected with the blade. The blade is inserted into a distracted disc space to maintain distraction during subsequent procedures. Another instrument is a driver for driving the blade of the shim into the distracted disc space. Various methods contemplate the use of these instruments to maintain disc space distraction during disc space preparation for receiving an implant.
US07648511B2
Instrumentation for implanting an intervertebral disc replacement device includes a drill guide comprising a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end and a guide member disposed at the distal end of the shaft and operable to engage an insertion plate that maintains first and second members of an intervertebral disc replacement device in registration with one another for insertion into an intervertebral disc space of a spinal column, wherein the guide member includes at least one guide bore operable to align with an area of a vertebral bone of the intervertebral disc space to which one of the first and second members of the intervertebral disc replacement device is to be attached.
US07648510B2
The invention relates to an adjustment apparatus for the selection of suitable implant sizes in knee operations having a lower work unit supportable at the tibia and an upper work unit supportable at the femur, which are vertically adjustable relative to one another and with which the spacing between the tibia and the femur can be set by spreading apart the knee, wherein the upper work unit includes a carrier vertically adjustable to the lower work unit and at least two different functional units which are releasably conducted to the carrier and of which the one is designed as an extension unit serving for the spreading apart of the knee with the femur in extension and the other is designed as a flexion unit serving for the spreading apart of the knee and for the selection of a suitable implant size with the femur in flexion, wherein the flexion unit includes a base unit couplable to the carrier and a central guide piece which can be suspended at the femur and which can alternatively be brought into a condition freely movable in height or fixed relative to the base section and wherein, when the guide piece is fixed, the knee can be spread by changing the spacing between the lower work unit and the carrier and, when the guide piece is freely movable, the base section is adjustable in height relative to the guide piece which can be suspended at the femur.
US07648508B2
Bone plating implants, instruments, systems and methods for fracture fixation are provided. The systems includes the instruments and implants comprising a trial component, handle, aiming block, bone plate, tissue spreader, drill guide, K-wire guide, monoaxial screw-locking inserts, polyaxial screw-locking inserts, cable plugs, K-wires, monoaxial screws and polyaxial screws. The methods include the use of the instruments and implants for either open or minimally invasive fracture fixation surgery.
US07648505B2
A guide and a blade for contouring vertebral bodies. The guide is sized to be mounted between two vertebral members and includes a pair of edges for receiving the blade. The pair of edges are spaced a distance apart for the first edge to align with a first vertebral member, and the second edge to align with a second vertebral member. The blade includes a pair of arms with at least one cutting edge. The arms are sized to fit within the pair of edges respectively. Using the blade and guide comprises inserting the guide adjacent to two vertebral members, and inserting the arms through the pair of edges to contour the ends of the members. In an embodiment with cutting edges at the distal ends of each of the arms, the two vertebral members can be contoured simultaneously.
US07648500B2
A sphincter treatment apparatus includes an energy delivery device introduction member including a proximal end with a first radius of curvature and a distal end with a second radius of curvature. The introduction member is configured to be introduced into the sphincter in a non-deployed state and to be expanded to a deployed state to at least partially expand the sphincter or an adjoining structure. An energy delivery device is coupled to the introduction member. A retainer member is coupled to the energy delivery device introduction member and configured to controllably position the introduction member in an orifice of the sphincter.
US07648498B2
An irradiation device for irradiating a living organism with electromagnetic radiation in order to influence biological structures inside the organism has a frequency generator that has a frequency synthesizer for the production of electromagnetic radiation having a defined frequency pattern, and a transmission antenna that is fashioned such that during operation the electromagnetic radiation is emitted essentially into a particular radiation volume. In addition, the irradiation device has an interface for acquiring structure-specific data for identifying a biological target structure that is to be influenced, a frequency pattern storage unit in which defined resonant frequency patterns allocated to various biological structures are stored, a frequency pattern selection unit for selecting a resonant frequency pattern from the frequency pattern storage unit on the basis of the acquired structure-specific data, and a control unit for controlling the RF generator in such a way that a subject to be irradiated, situated in the radiation space, is exposed to electromagnetic radiation having the selected resonant frequency pattern at a particular intensity and for a particular duration of irradiation.
US07648496B2
Implantable delivery devices (1) for accurately controlling release of an agent therefrom and for preventing release of the agent during storage, prior to use. The devices include a reservoir (3) for storing the agent, a driving means for driving the agent from the reservoir (3) and a valving and control mechanism (10) which is positively actuatable between a closed configuration and an open configuration.
US07648492B2
A medical article securement device holds a medical article in position upon the body of a patient and can be used to inhibit lateral and longitudinal motion of the medical article. The securement device includes a retainer with a base and at least one post, and at least one cap. The cap is attached to the base of the retainer by a flexible connection, and can be placed into either a covered or uncovered configuration with respect to the post. The cap includes a recess which can receive a protrusion at the end of the post of the retainer. By placing the post through an appropriate opening in the medical article to be retained and then securing the medical article to the retainer by placing the cap into the covered position over the post, longitudinal and lateral motion of the medical article is inhibited.
US07648486B2
A cannula cover for use with an injector or injection device, wherein the injector or injection device includes a dosing section and a cannula support, and wherein the cover is attached to the cannula support and can be retracted against a bias in order to expose a cannula, said cannula cover including, in one embodiment, a substantially closed front facing side having an openable cannula passage opening.
US07648485B2
A plaster device serves for fixating a length of a medical tube in relation to a skin surface of an individual having said tube inserted into a body part via an opening. The plaster device is of the kind including an adhesive part having an upper side, an adherent lower side for attaching the plaster device to the skin, and a through-opening for receiving the tube, a support part at least partly attached to the upper side of the adhesive part and arranged for supporting a bent length of said inserted tube, and fastenings means for securing the tube on the support part. The support part is an integral unit having a branched-off portion defining at least one recess for accommodating at least a part of a fastening means, preferably elastic means. A frictional force between the tube and the fastening means guarantees that the tube is prevented from moving or displacing to cause patient discomfort. The convex shape of the upper supporting surface provides a smooth anti-kinking support and guidance for the bended tube.
US07648474B2
A method of detecting the detachment of the venous needle from a patient during an extracorporeal blood treatment in a dialysis machine having an extracorporeal blood circuit provided with an arterial branch and a venous branch. The arterial pressure (Pa) is measured in the arterial branch and the venous pressure (Pv) is measured in the venous branch, and the determination is made of whether or not decreases of the arterial pressures (Pa) and venous pressures (Pv) are occurring during the dialysis treatment in normal conditions.
US07648471B2
In accordance with one embodiment, a vibratory transducer has an armature suspended in a magnetic field. The armature has a plurality of electrical conductive paths to provide electrical current flow in said armature to react with said magnetic field and cause movement in the armature controlled by variation in the electrical current flow. A contact surface is secured to the armature, with a surface area for frictionally coupling to a corresponding surface area of a patient for example. Movement of the vibratory transducer induces movement in the patient, and the transducer can produce movement in the contact surface in at least two dimensions simultaneously. In one embodiment the contact surface is flat, while in alternative embodiments the contact surface is incorporated in a toroidal structure so as to surround part of the patient. Medical application can include treatment of bone fractures, oedema, and in elastography, amongst other applications.
US07648458B2
An insertion shape detecting probe includes shape detecting elements for generating or detecting magnetic field or magnetic; signal lines connected to the shape detecting elements; supporting members that support the shape detecting elements; inner sheaths into which the signal lines and the supporting members are inserted; and an outer sheath into which the inner sheaths, the shape detecting elements, and at least one portion of the supporting members are inserted. The inner sheaths are each formed from a multiple-lumen tube that has a first lumen formed at a substantially central portion of each inner sheath and second lumens formed around an exterior periphery portion of the first lumen, and the supporting members are elongated wire rods one portion of which is arranged along exterior peripheries of the shape detecting elements in an axial direction and other portion runs through the second lumens.
US07648445B1
An elliptical exercise apparatus includes a body having a base frame and two supporting frames uprighted at two opposite sides of the base frame; a pair of lead swing arms each having an upper end pivotally coupled with the corresponding supporting frame wherein a sliding treadle assembly having a lower end provided with a treadle portion is axially slidably attached to the lead swing arm; a pair of subsidiary swing arms each having one end pivotally coupled with the base frame wherein a subsidiary sliding sleeve pivotally coupled with the sliding treadle assembly via a pivot is axially slidably attached to the subsidiary swing arm; and a rotational shaft transversely and pivotally coupled with the base frame, wherein at each of two ends of the rotational shaft, a vertical rotational link has one end coupled with the rotational shaft and an opposite end pivotally coupled with the sliding sleeve.
US07648437B2
The electrically variable transmission family of the present invention provides low-content, low-cost electrically variable transmission mechanisms including first, second and third differential gear sets, a battery, two electric machines serving interchangeably as motors or generators and four selectable torque-transfer devices. The selectable torque transmitting devices are engaged to yield an EVT with a continuously variable range of speeds (including reverse) and four mechanically fixed forward speed ratios. The torque transmitting devices and the first and second motor/generators are operable to provide five operating modes in the electrically variable transmission, including battery reverse mode, EVT reverse mode, reverse and forward launch modes, continuously variable transmission range mode, and fixed ratio mode.
US07648431B1
A target receptacle, for use in practicing baseball, softball, and the like, having a main part and a base plate. The base plate is secured to a ground surface. The main part is rotatably mounted to the base, has an intake opening, and exit port, and a fully enclosed conduit connecting the intake opening and exit port. When a ball is thrown into the intake opening, it travels through the conduit and exits through the exit port.
US07648430B2
A sports vision training device is formed from a piece of material having a thickness sufficient to interfere with an individual's ability to look down at a sporting object. The piece of material has an adhesive coating or layer for positioning the material on an individual's cheek, preferably beneath an individual's eye, so that the piece of material interferes with the individual's ability to look down at the sporting object. The sports vision training device has a thickness sufficient to direct the individual's vision toward the field of play and up and toward at least one player on the field of play, and in some cases permitting intermittent and/or momentary glances at the sports object being controlled by the individual.
US07648429B2
In a golf ball composed of a core, a cover of at least one layer that encloses the core, and a plurality of dimples on an outermost layer of the cover, at least one constituent element contains from 0.5 to 30 parts by weight of one or more rare-earth oxide composed of a single rare-earth element, or a rare-earth mixed oxide composed of a plurality of rare-earth elements mixed in a desired ratio, per 100 parts by weight of a base material. Unlike ordinary golf balls, the golf ball of the invention has a visibility which differs under display or indoor light as opposed to outdoors, and is also very fashionable.
US07648428B2
The invention provides a golf ball composed of a core and a cover of one or more layer that encloses the core, which cover has an outermost layer on which a plurality of dimples are formed. The outermost layer is made of one or more thermoplastic or thermoset resin as a base material, and includes therein one or more light-collecting fluorescent dye. Also, 80% of the dimples formed in the outermost layer have a dimple edge angle of 5 to 30°. The surface of the ball exhibits fluorescence even in bad weather or low light conditions, giving the ball excellent visibility and also making the ball highly fashionable.
US07648427B2
Golf ball 2 has spherical core 4, and cover 6 provided so as to cover this core 4. The core 4 has spherical center 8, and mid layer 10 provided so as to cover this center 8. The center 8 is constituted with a styrene block-containing thermoplastic elastomer. The mid layer 10 is obtained by crosslinking a rubber composition. The cover 6 is constituted with a resin composition. The center 8 has a diameter of 18 mm or greater and 35 mm or less. The center 8 has a hardness H1 of equal to or less than 25. The center 8 has an amount of compressive deformation of 5.0 mm or greater and 10.0 mm or less, as measured with the initial load of 1 kgf and the final load of 10 kgf. The difference (H2−H1) between the surface hardness H2 of the core 4 and the hardness H1 of the center 8 is 25 or greater and 60 or less. The difference (H3−H1) between the hardness H3 of the cover 6 and the hardness H1 of the center 8 is 40 or greater and 65 or less.
US07648425B2
A high inertia golf putter head is generally wedge-shaped, with the leading face being less wide than the trailing face. Cavities and weights are provided to optimize the moment of inertia.
US07648422B2
A golf training device is provided that includes a cord (flexible member) and a connecting device attached to one end of the cord to connect to a golf club, to a golfer's hand and/or to a golfer's finger. A housing may house the cord when the cord is in a retracted state, and the housing may allow the cord to extend therefrom based on movement of the golf club. The housing may include a mechanism to store information related to a specific amount of the cord extended from the housing, and an identifying device (or signaling device) to identify when the golf club is in a desired position based on the stored information.
US07648414B2
Systems and methods for recognizing preferred wagerers are provided. These systems and methods monitor wagerers using a wagering system, determine whether a wagerer is to be recognized, and, if so, provide an incentive to the wagerer.
US07648407B1
A toy building element has sidewalls that include grooves and tongues by which the toy building element can be interconnected with a like building element. Each groove is formed between a pair of outwardly extending flexible ridges. In some embodiments, the tongue does not extend outward beyond the virtual plane of the sidewall that includes the tongue. In other embodiments in which the tongue extends outward beyond the tongue-sidewall virtual plane, the distance by which the tongue extends beyond the tongue-sidewall virtual plane is less than (a) the distance by which each ridge of the pair of ridges extends beyond the ridge-sidewall virtual plane, (b) the distance by each ridge of the pair of ridges extends outward to the ridge-sidewall virtual plane and/or (c) the distance by which each side of the tongue extends outward to the tongue-sidewall virtual plane.
US07648405B2
A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device whereby an encapsulating layer is formed by coating an encapsulating substrate with an encapsulating layer-forming composition and thermally processing the encapsulating substrate. A plasma treatment is performed on the encapsulating substrate having the encapsulating layer. A sealant is applied to at least one of the plasma treated encapsulating substrate and a substrate on which an organic electroluminescent unit including a first electrode, an organic layer, and a second electrode, which are sequentially stacked, is deposited. The sealing substrate and the substrate on which the organic electroluminescent unit is deposited are combined. Contaminants generated around the encapsulating layer and generated in the thermal process can be effectively removed by the cleaning process using plasma. Therefore, the interfacial adhesion between the sealant and the substrate is greatly improved, thereby preventing permeation of external air, moisture, etc., into the device.
US07648404B1
A foot strap and recreational sports board that allows the user to easily tension a foot strap over the top of his or her foot. The foot strap, attached to the board, includes a strap, a cable, and a cable adjuster. The strap has separate first and second sides connected by the cable cinched and uncinched together as the cable is tightened and loosened by the cable adjuster with which it is engaged. A single cable adjuster and cable can be employed to simultaneously adjust two straps, both attached to the sports board. A pull may be included to facilitate exercise of the cable adjuster.
US07648401B2
The invention relates to a connecting piece for connecting to an electrode line and to an electric implant, whereby the connecting piece has an electrically conducting plug module, multiple ring-shaped electrically conducting contacts with insulation sections having the same outside diameter arranged in the longitudinal direction therebetween, multiple electric connecting lines, and a supporting element which supports the insulation sections and secures them in the radial direction. A through-bore situated within the supporting element receives the plug module and/or a feeder line of an electrode body. The supporting element has grooves spaced along the longitudinal direction, and recesses extending from the proximal end to the distal end and running parallel to the longitudinal axis wherein the electric connecting lines are fit.
US07648396B2
A shielding device for an electrical connector for joining a contact with an electrical line or cable includes a cylindrical shield member formed of brass arranged within the connector. The shield member contains an opening in a central region which defines cylindrical sleeves at each end of the member and a transitional portion joining the cylindrical sleeves. One of the sleeves receives the contact and the other of the sleeves receives an end of the electrical line. The shield member transitional portion defines a fold line about which the cylindrical sleeves are bent toward each other at a desired obtuse angle. Portions of the cylindrical sleeves overlap when the sleeves are bent toward each other to at least partially close the opening and shield the connection between the contact and the electrical line.
US07648392B2
A connector apparatus for connecting an air supply unit and a mattress or cushion.
US07648387B2
A jumper including a control module and a plurality of conduits connected to the control module is provided. A connector is connected to each of the conduits. The control module controls the flow of a communications medium through the conduits and the control module. The control module may be configured for activation by a user specific identification input.
US07648385B2
An electrical connector includes a display device (3) having an illuminant portion (31) and legs (32) extending from the illuminant portion. An insulating housing (1) has a front wall (111), a rear wall (112), four side walls (113) and a receiving cavity (13) recessed from one side wall (113A) and running though the front wall (111) so as to form a retaining portion (141) and at least one first blocking portion (142) at a front section thereof. A plurality of terminals (2) are mounted in the insulating housing thereof. The retaining portion (141) is located at an outer side of the receiving cavity (13) and over the illuminant portion (31) to prevent the illuminant portion from outward moving, and the first blocking portion (142) is located in front of the illuminant portion (31) and abuts against the illuminant portion to prevent the illuminant portion from forward moving.
US07648369B2
An interposer having one or more hollow electrical contact buttons disposed in a carrier. The interposer is formed by disposing sacrificial posts in vias of the carrier. The electrical contact buttons are formed on the sacrificial posts by a metallizing process in desired pattern using a mask. The sacrificial posts are made of a material that thermally decomposes upon application of heat without altering the carrier or the electrical contact buttons.
US07648364B2
The invention concerns a make-up or coloring method comprising steps which consist in imaging at least one part of the human body to be treated, analysing local characteristics of said part, and applying treatment products of said part based on said local characteristics.
US07648357B2
An extruder has a casing with at least one bore. One screw each is arranged in the bore in a rotatably drivable manner and is provided with a screw tip adjoining a nozzle plate. A shearing tool is arranged at the screw tip directly in front of the nozzle plate and is provided with at least one arm, with a shearing gap being formed between said arm and the nozzle plate.
US07648354B2
A transfer apparatus includes a table on which a molding material is placed, a mold holding body that fixes and holds a mold disposed such as to be opposed to a surface of the table, a gimbal member which holds the mold holding body and which forms a convex spherical surface portion, a gimbal member formed with a concave spherical surface portion which is opposed and in contact with the convex spherical surface portion, a movable body that holds the gimbal member and which can advance and retreat in the vertical direction with respect to the table surface, and an attitude adjusting/holding unit that adjusts and holds attitude of the gimbal member.
US07648343B2
A method allows for controlling the amount of electric current from an electrical circuit used by an electric motor in an electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit. A piston is reciprocated with a portable electric motor while air is channeled through an inlet into a compression cylinder, allowing the piston to draw on compressed amounts of air during each reciprocation. A valve mechanism is mounted to the inlet and is adjustable to a plurality of positions, each position allowing for one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to be permitted to be drawn into the compression cylinder and compressed. The valve mechanism is manually adjusted to control the amount of air drawn into the compression cylinder and compressed by the piston to control the amount of electric current used by the electric motor.
US07648337B2
A multistage pump according to the present invention has a plurality of intermediate casings (2) formed by press-forming a steel plate. The intermediate casing has a cylindrical side portion (21), a stage flat portion (23) with which an axial end face of an adjacent intermediate casing is held in contact, a stage side portion (24) extending axially from the stage flat portion, and a bottom portion (25) extending radially inward from the stage side portion. A relief plate (30) having an outer circumferential end face which is held in contact with an inner surface of a cylindrical side portion of the adjacent intermediate casing is attached to the bottom portion of the intermediate casing. The relief plate, the stage side portion, the stage flat portion, and the inner surface of the cylindrical side portion of the adjacent intermediate casing form a space in which an O-ring (40) is fitted.
US07648334B2
The present invention provides an airfoil a second stage nozzle guide vane having an external surface with first and second sides. The external surface extends spanwise between a hub and a tip and streamwise between a leading edge and a trailing edge of the airfoil. The external surface includes a contour substantially defined by Table 1 as listed in the specification.
US07648332B2
A technique is provided to facilitate pumping of fluids in a well environment. A submersible pumping system having a submersible pump incorporates features that manage thrust loads resulting from rotating impellers. The thrust reducing features cooperate with the action of the impellers in one or more pump stages to reduce forces otherwise acting on certain pump related components.
US07648331B2
The nozzles are in the form of blowing-in openings in the housing wall which bounds the flow channel. The blowing-in openings are fed directly by means of air which is extracted from the flow channel downstream from the diffusor. This air is at a higher pressure than the flow in the flow channel upstream of the diffusor. This results in a passive, dynamic stabilization system for a compressor stage in the high pressure-ratio range, which does not require any additional control or actuating elements.
US07648328B2
Device for receiving and for transporting an article, which device has receiving means which are slid under the article by a sliding means, the receiving means being formed by a belt which revolves around deflections means, the deflection means being formed by tensioning struts (26) which are tensioned relative to one another and are arranged on the sliding means (20).
US07648327B2
The present invention is a wafer engine for transporting wafers. The wafer engine includes a linear drive for moving the wafer along an x axis, a rotational drive for rotating the wafer about a theta axis, a linear drive for moving the wafer along a z axis, and a linear drive for moving the wafer along a radial axis. The linear drive for moving the wafer along a z axis is offset from the rotational drive. When the rotational drive rotates about the theta axis, both the z axis and radial axis drives are also rotated about the theta axis. Preferably, the linear drive for moving the wafer along a radial axis is a dual or rapid swap slide body mechanism having an upper and lower end effector. The slide body mechanism preferably also has means to align the wafer and perform various inspection and marking procedures.
US07648321B2
An automated storage system for storing large quantities of samples in trays includes a storage compartment, a tray shuttle compartment abutting the storage compartment on one side and a plurality of independent modules on the other side. The modules perform processing of samples that are retrieved from the storage compartment by a tray shuttle, including extraction of selected samples from retrieved source trays and transfer of the selected samples into a separate, destination tray that can be further processed or removed from the system for use. The independent operation of the modules permits handling and processing to be performed simultaneously by different modules while the tray shuttle accesses additional samples within the storage compartment. In one embodiment, a vertical carousel is used to vertically align a desired tray with the tray shuttle, while the tray shuttle operates within a horizontal plane.
US07648319B1
A clip nut is provided including a clip body and nut. The clip body includes an upper arm connected to a lower arm by a connecting end wall. The clip body has a nut housing upon its upper arm for affixing a nut having a tubular body and a radially projecting base. The nut housing includes an end wall, an intermediate wall and a top wall. A ridge projects upwardly from the upper arm between the intermediate wall and end wall. Furthermore, the top wall includes an opening for allowing the nut's base to slide upon the ridge to enter a cavity during assembly. Thereafter, the nut is tilted forwardly and the nut's base is slid into a nut receiving chamber to complete the assembly of the clip nut.
US07648318B2
An arrangement of securing frame assemblies is provided within a shipping enclosure and engaging packages being handled. The frame assemblies are secured to side walls of the container and act in pairs to extend from respective sides and join together to form bracing barriers extending across the width of the container.
US07648317B2
A motorcycle transport stand has cycle support arms that move between a load position in which they are spaced apart a greater distance to receive the rear wheel of a motorcycle and a secured position in which they are spaced apart a lesser distance to prevent excessive lateral movement of the motorcycle rear wheel.
US07648285B2
An optical waveguide connecter includes a socket part having a first waveguide contact placed in a channel of the socket part, and a plug part with a second waveguide contact placed in a channel of the plug part. The plug part channel is sealed with a piston displaceable counter to the force of a spring. The socket part has a pivotable cap for sealing an interface surface of the first waveguide contact. The plug part has a path for receiving the piston, with a section of the path being inclined to the axis of the second waveguide contact. During a plugging process, the cap displaced the spring-loaded piston, frees the first waveguide contact of socket part, frees the second waveguide contact in the plug part channel and is guided through the path.
US07648283B2
A vehicle wheel bearing apparatus has an outer member formed with double row outer raceway surfaces on its inner circumferential surface. Inner members are each formed with inner raceway surfaces on their outer circumferential surface. The inner raceway surfaces face opposite to the double row outer raceway surfaces. Double row balls are freely rollably contained between the outer raceway surfaces and inner raceway surfaces. A counter portion is formed near the bottom of each inner raceway surface. The counter portion has an outer diameter larger than, by a run-over height, a diameter of the bottom of each inner raceway surface. The counter portion is formed by a cylindrical portion that axially extends from each inner raceway surface. A tapered portion converges toward the end face of each inner member. Transitions between the counter portion and the inner raceway surface as well as between the cylindrical portion and the tapered portion are rounded and smoothly continuous.
US07648274B2
A radiological imaging orientation indicator includes a linear indication member having a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape and means for positioning the indication member adjacent a patient's body. When the indication member is located adjacent the patient's body and a sectional scanning image is produced, a cross-section of the indication member will appear in the scanning image, indicating an orientation of the patient's body with respect to the scanning image. The linear indication member is in the form of either of an extruded letter, number and symbol which may be hollow with one or more liquids trapped inside to indicate vertical orientation. The means for positioning the indication member include pants, vests, caps, visors, eyeglass frames, sandals, gloves and collars that can only be attached to a patient's body in one way, thereby preventing confusion in determining the orientation of a scanning image. The invention includes orientation indicators for standard X-rays.
US07648272B2
An X-ray diagnostic apparatus includes a floor rotating arm whose one end is mounted on a floor surface to be rotatable around a substantially vertical first rotation axis, a stand mounted on the other end of the floor rotating arm to be rotatable around a substantially vertical second rotation axis, an arm holder which is mounted on the stand so as to be rotatable around a substantially horizontal third rotation axis, a substantially C-shaped, C-arm which is mounted on the arm holder so as to be slidable/rotatable around a substantially horizontal fourth rotation axis, with an isocenter at which the fourth rotation axis intersects the third rotation axis being located on the first rotation axis when the C-arm is folded above the floor rotating arm, an X-ray generating unit mounted on one end of the C-arm, and an X-ray detecting unit mounted on the other end of the C-arm.
US07648269B2
A temperature measuring device is configured of a substrate formed of a silicon wafer, a thermocouple formed by using the film forming method, the photolithographic method, and the etching method, and a clamp pad (an electrode pad) which is arranged in an edge portion of the substrate, and which is connected to the thermocouple. In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the temperature measuring device is fixed on a wafer mounting portion with a clamper pin (a fastening device) being in contact with the clamp pad. An output of the thermocouple is taken out to the outside through the clamper pin.
US07648260B2
In one embodiment, an LED is constructed with its entire contact structure is stamped and inserted into the molded lamp as a single structure. A portion of the contact structure is imbedded in the molded lamp such that the bottom surface of the contacts do not extend below the base of the molded lamp. The base of the molded lamp is made wide enough to give support to the entire structure. Using this concept, any excess contract structure is cutoff and there is no need for bending of the contract structure to form the contact portions. In some embodiments, the cross-sectional area of the lamp base is extended to increase stability of the lamp when the lamp base is mounted on a flat surface.
US07648233B2
An eyewear assembly includes an outer first frame, at least one outer first lens, an inner second frame, and at least one inner second lens. The assembly includes a mechanism for holding the first frame and first lens in front of a user's face. The second frame has a mechanism for attachment to the first frame, to hold the second frame between the user's eyes and the first lens. The at least one second lens is carried by the second frame. The second frame includes a first frame portion that mounts the second lens and a second frame portion overmolded onto the first frame portion defining portions of the outside surface area of the second frame. The first frame portion is of a relatively hard material and the second frame portion is of a relatively soft material. Strap anchors include louvers for directing air at side vents of the first frame. The first frame includes a central elevated vent to distribute air over top vent openings of the first frame. Grip warts are provided on the first frame for gripping and manipulation by the user.
US07648232B2
An ink stick for use in a phase change ink imaging device is provided. The ink stick comprises an ink stick body configured to fit within an ink loader of the imaging device. At least one coded sensor feature is formed in the exterior surface of the ink stick body. The at least one coded sensor feature comprises a plurality of code element patterns. Each code element pattern of the plurality of code element patterns is configured to actuate at least one sensor in the feed channel to generate the same coded pattern of signals.
US07648230B2
An ink cartridge consists of an ink bag storing ink and a case holding the ink bag. A valve unit is placed on an ink supply path from the ink bag to a recording head. During the printing, the amount of ink discharged from the recording head is measured at predetermined time intervals, and the valve unit is controlled to supply the recording head with the ink by an amount corresponding to the discharged amount. So the pressure inside the recording head is kept approximately constant, improving stability of ink-discharging from nozzles of the recording head. A head internal pressure detecting mechanism detects pressure inside a sub-tank as a value representative of the head internal pressure.
US07648227B2
A fluid ejection device includes a first fire line, a second fire line, data lines, latch circuitry, first drop generators, and second drop generators. The first fire line is adapted to conduct a first energy signal including first energy pulses and the second fire line is adapted to conduct a second energy signal including second energy pulses. The data lines are adapted to conduct data signals that represent an image and the latch circuitry is configured to latch the data signals to provide latched data signals based on at least one clock signal. The first drop generators are configured to respond to the first energy signal to eject fluid based on the latched data signals and the second drop generators are configured to respond to the second energy signal to eject fluid based on the latched data signals.
US07648226B2
A printhead assembly is provided which has a plurality of printhead modules and at least one fluid connector. Each module has printing fluid ejection nozzles supplied with printing fluid from at least one longitudinally extending channel defined in a printing fluid distribution member of the respective module. The distribution members have complementary female and male end portions configured to interconnect the channels of adjacent modules. The fluid connector is connected to the distribution member female or male end portion of at least one of the modules and communicates printing fluid from a fluid supply to the nozzles of all of the modules via the interconnected channels.
US07648210B2
In one aspect of the invention, a pick comprises a front portion with an impact tip brazed to a carbide bolster. The carbide bolster comprises a cavity which is formed in the bolster's base end and which is adapted to interlock with a rear portion of the pick. The rear portion is adapted to be retained within a bore of a holder that is attached to a driving mechanism. The rear portion comprises a locking mechanism adapted to lock its first end within the cavity. The locking mechanism comprises a radially extending catch that is formed in the first end of the rear portion.
US07648207B2
A rotating structure for armrests includes a rotary plate disposed onto a support mounted to a holder extending upwardly on each of two sides of a chair. The support includes a receiving chamber formed on the top surface thereof and having a plurality of toothed recesses arranged around the external rim thereof. The rotary plate includes a pivotal member extending therefrom corresponding to the support and having a cutout fixed on one side thereof for receiving a slidable retaining tab which is biased by a spring. The retaining tab includes a number of toothed protrusions attached thereon and engaging with the toothed recesses. The bottom of a holding panel for placing a user's elbow may be assembled with the rotary plate, thereby obtaining a quick and secure positioning purpose and preventing making noise while in operation.
US07648197B1
Convertible furniture includes a frame having a seat and a back in the sofa mode. A back cushion is positioned normally to a seat cushion and is attached by a flexible tether. The back cushion can be inverted to extend the seat width for use in a bed mode.
US07648196B2
A collapsible bench and canopy has a seat frame made up of a plurality of crossing pairs of seat tubes pivotally connected to each other supporting a fabric seat. A fabric back rest is supported by back tubes attached to the seat frame and a canopy is supported by the back tubes to provide shelter to occupants of the collapsible bench. The bench and canopy can be collapsed in one piece by pivoting down the canopy and ten moving the crossing pairs of seat tubes so that each pair is substantially aligned.
US07648192B2
A door latch system for an automotive vehicle includes a latch having a housing mounted to a door inner panel and a release lever operated by a release rod connected to a handle. An impact-responsive release lever immobilizer mounted within the door is responsive to deformation of the door in the event of an impact such that the release lever will be blocked and prevented from moving to its unlatched position.
US07648188B2
A vehicle door includes a glass run which corresponds to an outer peripheral configuration of a door glass. The glass run includes a body portion which is provided with a bottom wall portion and an interior side wall portion and an exterior side wall portion which extend from both edges of the bottom wall portion, respectively, and a pair or seal lips which establish seals between the door glass and themselves. Furthermore, with respect to a direction towards an inside or outside of a door frame, a foot portion of the exterior seal lip is positioned further on the outer peripheral side than an inner-peripheral edge portion of a molding member.
US07648187B2
A mobile vehicle has an interior occupant compartment, commonly called a cab when the vehicle is a truck, that has a floor (60) covered by respective floor coverings (12, 14) that have top surfaces opposite the floor. The coverings connect to each other along a joint (16) cooperatively defined by respective over- and under-lapping margins (42, 44) of the respective coverings. One of the margins (44) has two open receptacles (50, 52), and the other (42) has formations (46, 48) each fitted respectively in a respective open receptacle so as to locate the respective top surfaces of the coverings substantially flush with each other and in substantial mutual abutment along the joint. An expanse 42A, 44A that forms at least a portion of the respective top surface is disposed beyond and integrally formed with the respective margin. A foam pad (62, 64) underlies each expanse.
US07648183B2
A latching apparatus for lifting and lowering loads. The apparatus comprises a prong and a receiving receptacle configured to receive the prong. The receiving receptacle comprises a body having a central passage, a plurality of jaws arranged about the central passage, and a spring for biasing the jaws to extend into the central passage. The latching apparatus may further comprise an activation disc for disengaging the jaws from the prong. The jaws have a pin extending therefrom; and wherein the activation disc contains a plurality of cam surfaces that engage the pin of the jaws. A method of latching onto a container is also disclosed.
US07648181B1
A latching and locking mechanism for fence gates or doors. The mechanism comprises a locking pin for selectively securing the gate in the closed position. When the locking pin is removed from a portion of the mechanism, the gate can easily be opened or closed. When the locking pin is inserted through a portion of the mechanism, the gate is held in a closed position. The locking pin can be locked in the closed position with a lock.
US07648163B2
The air bag gas generator comprises a housing having a gas discharge port, an ignition unit chamber in which ignition units are accommodated, and a combustion chamber in which a gas generating agent is accommodated, a cylindrical coolant/filter disposed between the combustion chamber and the gas discharge port, so that combustion gas passes through the coolant/filter prior to discharge through the gas discharge port, and the air bag gas generator meeting the following requirements (a), (b), and (c):(a) that the gas generating agent has an amount of heat generation of 10 to 30 kcal/mol;(b) that the mass (g) of the coolant/filter in relation to 1 mol of gas generated during combustion of the gas generating agent be 20 to 65 g/mol; and(c) that the coolant/filter has a thickness of not less than 4.0 mm.
US07648160B2
A vehicle includes an air bag device for an occupant seated in a rearmost seat. The air bag device includes an air bag, which is accommodated at the rear end portion of the roof of the vehicle in a folded state, and an inflator, which supplies gas to the air bag. The air bag is unfolded downward to be inflated between the rearmost seat and a rear window glass. The air bag device has several functions to effectively protect an occupant seated in the rearmost seat, such as a function to apply a predetermined tension to the inflated air bag, a function to properly restrict the thickness of the air bag, and a function to properly control the unfolding direction of the air bag.
US07648140B2
A casino-style blackjack card game that offers players the option of placing wagers against the occurrence of their hand value exceeding 21 (commonly known as busting) on the next card drawn when they have a hard card count of 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20.
US07648138B2
A sheet handling apparatus is proposed to be able to stably shift a position of a sheet. A sheet handling apparatus comprises: conveyance device for conveying a sheet; shift device, rotating in a direction inclined relative to a direction of conveyance of the sheet, for coming into contact with the sheet to shift a position of the sheet in a widthwise direction of conveyance; and shift presence and absence switching device for switching between a shift execution state, in which shift of the sheet is executed by the shift device, and a shift non-execution state, in which the shift is not executed by the shift device; wherein at least a part of that contact portion of the shift device, which comes into contact with a surface of the sheet, is positioned at a side of a shift direction relative to the conveyance device, which has a conveyance force during shift, and a frictional force of the shift device on the sheet at the time of execution of shift is set to be larger than that of the conveyance device on the sheet.
US07648137B2
A medium ejection device includes an ejection member, a stacking member and a rib. The ejection member ejects a medium toward a medium ejection direction. The stacking member stacks the medium ejected from the ejection member. The rib is disposed in a substantially up and down direction, and is contacted by a tailing end of the medium ejected from the ejection member. The rib includes a convex portion protruding toward the stacking member in an upper portion thereof.
US07648130B2
The clamp-unit is arranged in class-1 double-lever configuration. The levers carry a pair of jaws at one end, and magnets at the other end. The magnets are arranged in repulsive pairs, whereby the magnets urge the jaws together.
US07648129B2
A fluid filled vibration damping device including: a main rubber elastic body connecting first and second mounting members; a partition member and a fastening member axially superposed together and secured fitting into the second mounting member. The partition member has a recess on a side of the fastening member, where an annular mounting fitting having a flange portion is inserted with a seal rubber projection disposed on one axial end thereof and projecting axially outward from the flange portion pressed fluid-tightly in an axial direction against the partition member around an entire circumference. An other axial end of the mounting fitting is fastened fluid-tightly onto a mating projection portion formed on the fastening member via a seal rubber layer. A diametrical gap is formed between an inside face of the recess of the partition member and the flange portion of the mounting fitting as well as the seal rubber projection.
US07648125B1
The present invention is a winch clutch assembly, where the deceleration mechanism of the winch contains an additional second internal gear ring, and its outer annular wall is provided with multiple equally distanced fitting indents. The clutch assembly, external to the deceleration mechanism, has clutch levers shifted in longitudinal motion, where the clutch levers are used either to immobilize in the fitting indents of the second internal gear ring of the deceleration mechanism or to release from their immobilized state, enabling the power to transmit or pause to the steel rope sheave of the winch, to accomplish the clutch function.
US07648123B2
The collapsible pump jack includes a pole formed from a plurality of pipe segments having swaged ends that telescope into one another. An M-shaped base supports the pole in an upright position. A ratcheting chain hoist has a hook for attaching the hoist atop the pole. The chain has another hook for attachment to the vehicle being lifted out of a rut in the snow or other terrain. The base is foldable from an M-shape pole mounting position to a rectangular tube storage position to surround the pole segments for storage and transport. The collapsible pump jack provides a lightweight, compact, portable accessory for lifting an end of a snowmobile, ATV, or other off-road vehicle to extricate the vehicle when it is stuck in snow or rugged terrain.
US07648121B2
A two part jack system includes a power unit having a generally rectangular frame with a forward end, a rearward end, a pair of longitudinal side flanges that extend upward therefrom, and a rear cover that extends from the side flanges at the rearward end of the frame. A lifting mechanism mounted on the frame includes a pair of parallel lift arms having forward ends thereon each having a leveling pad pivotally attached to the outer side thereof. A two-position lift bridge includes a rectangular plate having a forward end, a rearward end, an upper surface, a bottom surface and a pair of sides. The bridge is for being positioned laterally and horizontally on the leveling pads at the forward ends of the lift arms, whereby the power unit is operable for use as a load lifting jack. The bridge is alternatively for being positioned on the rear cover of the power unit, whereby the power unit is operable for use with a jack stand. The cover at the rearward end of the power unit further includes apertures therein for receiving the bottom of the bridge.
US07648119B2
A magnetic drive for a valve, in particular for a pneumatic or hydraulic valve, includes a movable armature (14) and a permanent magnet (20). The permanent magnet (20) is formed from a magnetic paste or a magnetic foil. In preferred embodiments, the permanent magnet (20) is integrated into the movable armature (14) and cooperates with a fixed solenoid.
US07648110B2
Disclosed is a banner stand adapted to attach to and detach from a glassy surface. The banner stand includes a vacuum suction plate made of a soft material, a suction latching protrusion protruding from the vacuum suction plate; a lower support having a slanted lateral wall portion formed along a peripheral edge of an upper end of a base ring portion, the slanted lateral wall portion having operation ribs extending thereon at an interval; a suction plate operation member having rib guide protrusions guided on the operation ribs, a suction latching protrusion support, and a ball joint coupler; and a pole support having a pair of ball joints positioned on a bottom surface of a body so as to be coupled to the ball joint coupler of the suction plate operation member.
US07648109B2
A sucker includes a fixing seat, a sucker body, a control handle and a control valve. The sucker body has a first side provided with a recess and a second side provided with a connecting hole connected to the recess. The control valve includes a valve stem movably mounted on the fixing seat and movable to stop the recess. Thus, the valve stem can be pulled outwardly to detach from the recess of the sucker body so as to connect the connecting hole and the recess of the sucker body and to connect the connecting hole of the sucker body to the ambient air so as to break the vacuum state of the sucker body so that the sucker body can be removed from a surface easily and quickly.
US07648106B2
A control system for placing controlled members in required positions including two control columns assigned to the controlled members to be moved, each control column having two degrees of freedom. Two actuators controlled by two control circuits apply to their associated control column either a resisting torque or a displacement torque. Each control column is provided with a mechanical spring system spring-loading the associated control column into its neutral position and adapted to provide, in the event of manipulation of the corresponding control column, a resisting torque in support of the resisting torque supplied by the associated actuator.
US07648104B1
A store ejection system that can be “blind-loaded” without the need to have physical access to the ejector rack. This invention provides the ability to carry certain unique weapon shapes that can not be carried on current ejector racks due to the lack of access to the rack once the weapon is raised into position.
US07648102B2
An automated balloonsonde launcher and a method for an automated balloonsonde launch are disclosed. The automated balloonsonde launcher, for example, may comprise a collapsible protective cover forming an inner region for receiving a balloon, a gas inlet for receiving a gas, a gas outlet for mating with a balloon, a valve operable between the gas inlet and the gas outlet for inflating a balloon within the inner region of the protective cover. The launcher further comprises a controller that controls the valve to inflate a balloon within the protective cover, opens an opening in the protective cover and releases a balloon through the opening of the protective cover.
US07648100B2
A system for modifying a shock wave formed in a fluid by a body to modify effects of the shock wave on information transferred to or from the body. The system includes an element for heating fluid along a path to form a volume of heated fluid expanding outwardly from the path, the path extending from the body and through the shock wave; mechanism for transferring the information to or from the body; and device for timing the transferring of the information relative to the heating of the fluid along the path to modify certain effects of the shock wave on the information.
US07648097B2
The invention relates to a dispenser of rolls placed side by side, each held in rotation about a horizontal spindle (1), comprising a casing (10) surrounding the rolls, a cover (14) that complements the casing, at least one opening (2) in the lower part of the dispenser, and a sliding access panel (3) intended to partially close off the said opening so as to allow access to one of the rolls known as the roll in use, and at the same time, prevent access to the other roll known as the spare roll contained in the dispenser. According to the invention, the dispenser further comprises a mechanism intended to immobilize the access panel (3) under the spare roll and release it automatically and only when the roll in use is empty.
US07648079B2
Provided is a grooved rail for rail vehicles having flanged wheels, the grooved rail including a rail head provided with a running rail, a flange groove, and a counterrail, in addition to a rail web, a rail base, and lateral rail chambers extending between the rail head and the rail base. The running rail includes an asymmetrically-arranged vehicle-guiding flange, extending towards the flange groove, the asymmetrically-arranged flange formed in such a way that the width part of the rail base, on the side of the running rail, is larger than the width part on the side of the counterrail by a factor of at least 1.2. When the depth of the flange groove is >20 mm, the flange has a flange inclination of >78° with respect to an essentially horizontal axis of the rail web.
US07648070B2
Methods and devices are provided for locating, identifying and provisioning devices in a network. According to some implementations of the invention, a combination of EPC code information and existing networking standards form the basis of identifying and provisioning methods. For example, first location information included in a DHCPDISCOVER request can be used to determine appropriate configurations for networked devices. In some such implementations, the first location information is read from an RFID tag near the networked device and is inserted in the DHCPDISCOVER request. The first location information may include any type of absolute or relative coordinate, positioning, cartographic or similar information and/or information from which such information may be derived. Second location information, which may be a logical name, is provided to the device. If the device is an RFID reader, the second location information may be included with reads from RFID tags that are transmitted from the RFID reader.
US07648053B2
A linear sliding gate valve (10) for a metallurgical vessel comprises a slide plate (20) with a first orifice (30) and a fixed plate (22) with a second orifice (32). A slideable tray (26) supports the slide plate (20) and is arranged to slide the slide plate (20) relative to the fixed plate (22) so as to control an outflow of the metallurgical vessel by the relative position of the first and second orifices (30; 32). The slide plate (20) is rotatable relative to said slideable tray (26). The sliding gate valve further comprises a ratchet mechanism (40; 140) for providing defined angular positions of the slide plate (20). The ratchet mechanism (40; 140) is mounted on the slideable tray (26) such that the slideable tray (26) forms the fixed frame of the ratchet mechanism (40; 140).
US07648051B1
The dispensing closure is provided having a stopping mechanism that limits the rotation of the closure and generally prevents removal of the closure from the container. The dispensing closure includes a cap body, fitment, and container finish. The cap body has a double shell design, which includes at least one drop lug reverse tapered from the inner shell. When the cap body is rotated about the container finish, the reverse tapered drop lug engages at least one lug stop located on the container finish so as to limit the rotation, thereby preventing removal of the cap body from the container finish. The reverse taper of the drop lug maximizes the abutment surface and stability of the drop lug when engaging the corresponding lug stop.
US07648050B1
An apparatus for mixing and dispensing a fluoride treatment includes a housing having a storage container for separately storing a plurality of different flavored fluoride treatments and an input device for inputting a desired flavored fluoride treatment from one of the respective stored fluoride treatments in the storage container. In response to the input, the apparatus includes means for formulating said desired flavored fluoride treatment from said stored fluoride treatments. The apparatus further includes means for entering a volume of the desired flavored fluoride to be dispensed and means for dispensing the formulated desired fluoride treatment in a volume amount entered in said volume entering means to a user for later use thereof.
US07648046B2
In a dispensing system for dispensing wet wipes, a wet wipe has an aqueous solution and microencapsulated delivery vehicles including a temperature agent, and is disposed in a wet wipe container. A cartridge is held in assembly with the wet wipe container and has an activating device that facilitates rupturing of the microencapsulated delivery vehicles as the wet wipe is removed from the dispensing system to allow contact between the temperature change agent and the aqueous solution of the wet wipe to thereby dispense a warm or cooled wet wipe. In another embodiment, the wet wipe has an aqueous solution and a lotion having the microencapsulated heat delivery vehicles disposed in the cartridge free from contact with the wet wipe. The cartridge also has an applicator that is operable to apply the lotion to the wet wipe as the wet wipe is removed from the wet wipe container.
US07648045B2
A gravity-feed dispenser for a stack of sheets such as inter-folded napkins includes a generally rectangular housing provided with a front wall, a back wall, two sidewalls and a lower portion as well as a funnel portion coupled to the lower portion of the housing provided with a generally convergent profile such that a front wall of the funnel portion extends downwardly and inwardly with respect to the front wall of the housing, a rear wall of the funnel portion extends downwardly and inwardly with respect to the rear wall of the housing and two sidewalls of the funnel portion extend downwardly substantially in alignment with the sidewalls of the housing. A dispensing aperture defined by the funnel portion of the dispenser has an elongate portion extending substantially from one sidewall of the funnel portion to the other sidewall of the funnel portion thus defining an elongate axis of the aperture. The elongate axis of the aperture is generally parallel to the front wall of the housing as well as generally parallel to its rear border. The aperture is configured so that the elongate portion thereof extends upwardly from its rear border to the front wall of the funnel portion of the dispenser such that folded absorbent sheets are presented at the front of the dispenser.
US07648038B2
A package includes a container having a neck finish with at least one left-hand external thread segment, a fitment having at least one left-hand internal thread segment for threaded receipt over the container neck finish and at least one right-hand external thread segment, a closure having at least one right-hand internal thread segment for removable receipt over the fitment, and a handle attached to the container by the fitment. The container neck finish preferably has a transfer ring, and the handle preferably has a collar received over the transfer ring and held in place by the fitment. The transfer ring and the collar preferably have opposed flats to prevent rotation of the handle with respect to the transfer ring. The collar and the fitment preferably have opposed cam lugs that permit threading of the fitment onto the container neck finish over the collar but prevent unthreading of the fitment from the neck finish so that the fitment and handle are permanently attached to the container neck finish.
US07648037B2
A lid structure for opening and closing an opening in an upper portion of a reagent container includes an outer lid member attached to the reagent container and having a first opening corresponding to the opening of the reagent container, an inner lid member arranged inward of the outer lid member, attached to the outer lid member in a vertically movable manner, and having a second opening opposing the first opening, and a rotator having a through hole, arranged inward of the inner lid member, engaging with the outer lid member and the inner lid member via an engaging unit in a rotatable manner around a horizontal axis. The engaging unit rotates the rotator to open the opening when the inner lid member performs a downward opening operation, and rotates the rotator to close the opening when the inner lid member performs an upward closing operation.
US07648034B2
The present invention provides porous media or membranes having a surface coating that includes a cross-linked terpolymer which has a superior combination of properties, including heat stable biomolecule resistant adsorptive properties, resistance to strong alkaline solutions, and low levels of extractable matter. In some preferred embodiments, the porous media is a porous membrane.
US07648030B2
A sterile package for a medical device includes a container, an insert, and a retaining clip. The insert is releasably engaged with the medical device to constrain the position of the medical device relative to the insert. The retaining clip includes a base engaging the medical device and support arms extending from the base and encircling the insert to secure the insert in engagement with the medical device. The insert engages the container to constrain the position of the medical device relative to the container.
US07648013B2
An automatic transmission supplies oil pressure to a hydraulic servo of a second clutch through an oil pressure supply passage extending through a first drum and a second drum, the oil pressure supply passage including a plurality of first oil holes formed in the first drum at equal, circumferential intervals, a plurality of second oil holes formed in the second drum at equal, circumferential intervals, and an annular oil passage formed between the first and second drums and connecting the first oil holes and the second oil holes. The number of first oil holes is different from the number of second oil holes.
US07648007B2
A disc brake pad (1) comprising a base plate (2), on which elongated elements for supporting friction elements (3) are fixed. The friction elements (3) are mounted, alone or in groups, on the ends of elastic support elements (4), the support elements (4) being cantilevered on the base plate (2) to provide projecting and freely movable ends which support the friction elements (3). The support elements (4) are placed on the base plate (2) with their main longitudinal axis oriented substantially perpendicular with respect to a ray passing through the centre of the brake disc. The disc brake pad centre coincides with rotary axis of the wheel or other rotating element to be braked. The circular portion or band of the element on which each friction element acts is as narrow as possible, thereby minimizing the peripheral speed difference between inner circumference and outer circumference of the annular bands engaged by the friction elements.
US07648004B1
The present invention generally relates to control mechanisms and more specifically to a control mechanism which is adaptable to a steering wheel of a vehicle. Most control mechanisms of auto-piloting systems which must be installed on existing vehicles usually require more specific parts and more expensive installations. The control mechanism according to embodiments of the present invention includes components readily installable into the cabin of an existing vehicle and involves elements sandwiching the steering wheel of the vehicle which are operatively mounted to a motoring assembly actuatable by the user of the vehicle.
US07647988B2
The present invention relates to a method for drilling a hole and installing a geothermal transfer apparatus. A sonic drilling apparatus is positioned at a desired location. The sonic drilling apparatus includes a rotating and vibrating apparatus for rotating and vibrating a hollow drill string into the ground, the hollow drill string having an inner space. The hole is drilled to a desired depth by rotating and vibrating the hollow drill string into the ground while discharging fluid into the inner space of the hollow drill string. A geothermal transfer apparatus is lowered into the inner space of the hollow drill string following the drilling of the hole to the desired depth. The drill string is then removed from the ground.
US07647979B2
An apparatus for and a method of generating electrical power downhole using a quantum thermoelectric generator and operating a downhole device using the generated power.
US07647956B1
A portable rolling carpentry workshop includes a table saw mounted on a sliding means to allow the blade of the saw to be shifted to the left or to the right of the longitudinal centerline of the workshop so that more supporting surface is available on either side of the blade to allow cutting large workpieces on a relatively narrow tabletop surface. The workshop of the invention is sized to allow easy maneuvering through the narrow hallways of apartment buildings but affords the functionality of larger worktables due to this unique ability to slide the table saw. Also provided is an extendable miter saw table located above the main tabletop surface and allowing passing of the longer workpieces underneath thereof when ripping with table saw. Therefore the use of both the table saw and the miter saw can be accomplished at the same time without the need to rearrange the configuration of the power tools on the workshop.
US07647954B2
A connector apparatus for controlling fluid dispensing/transmission that includes a control component for communication between couplers thereof. A first coupler has a transmitter, and is releasably connected with a mating reader coupler that has a transmitter and fluid control device to exchange information with the transmitter of the first coupler. The transmitters communicate and are operated by wireless means such as by RF devices. Upon confirming that the first coupler is properly coupled to the mating coupler and that the first coupler has a proper identification, the fluid control device controls fluid flow, using the transmitters of the first coupler and the mating reader coupler, under predetermined parameters, e.g., pressure, temperature, duration, and flow rate, as indicated in the first coupler.
US07647953B2
A system for reclaiming residual unspent automotive fluid having a fluid receiver which seats open containers of the automotive fluid in an inverted orientation to allow influences of gravity to self-drain the open containers. The fluid receiver accumulates the residual unspent automotive fluid into classifying compartments. Each compartment can be individually pumped or drained of the accumulated and stored residual automotive fluid.
US07647952B2
The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatic delivering of paste food products, particularly ice cream and/or yoghurt, comprising a housing (4), within which a plurality of containers (3) of said paste food products are provided, each one of said containers providing means (11, 21, 22, 23) for distributing said paste food products, and refrigeration means (9) for said plurality of containers, and apparatus programming means, said apparatus being characterized in that said housing provides a rotating base (6), having at least one seat (7) supporting a tray (8) for receiving said paste food products from said plurality of containers (3), said rotating base (6) moving in such a way to place said tray (8) under one of said containers (3) according to the sequence programmed by said programming means, said distribution means (11, 21, 22, 23) delivering said paste food products within said tray (8) when it is in correspondence of the specific paste food product container (3).
US07647951B2
A vapor recovery system recovers fuel vapor and includes a vapor recovery line for transporting a stream of fuel vapor from a vehicle tank. A flow meter is arranged in the vapor recovery line for indicating the flow rate of the stream of fuel vapor, and a heated element is arranged in the vapor recovery line. One or more controllers are configured to: detect a cooling exerted on the heated element by the stream of fuel vapor, determine a correction for the detected cooling by weighting said cooling with the flow rate, and decrease or stop the stream of fuel vapor, if the detected cooling is smaller than a predetermined level.
US07647950B2
A beverage bottling plant with a beverage bottle filling machine for filling beverage bottles, as well as the filling elements for the beverage bottle filling machine.
US07647948B2
A spoolable composite tube capable of being spooled onto a reel for storage and for use in oil field applications. The spoolable tube exhibits unique anistropic characteristics that provide improved burst and collapse pressures, increased tensile strength, compression strength, and load carrying capacity, while still remaining sufficiently bendable to be spooled onto a reel in an open bore configuration. The spoolable composite tube can include an inner liner, an interface layer, fiber composite layers, a pressure barrier layer, and an outer protective layer. The fiber composite layers can have a unique triaxial braid structure.
US07647938B2
A fill valve assembly for controlling liquid flow into a reservoir includes a mounting adapter defining a liquid inlet passage for connection to a riser for supplying water to the valve and which renders the fill valve readily mountable and demountable for installation and maintenance. A valve body has liquid inlet and outlet openings and a pressure-responsive member is disposed within the valve body and defines a control chamber with which the liquid inlet passage communicates opposite a second side of the pressure responsive member also in communication with the liquid inlet for selectively opening and closing the inlet opening to liquid flow in response to liquid pressure in the control chamber. A biasing means acts on the pressure-responsive member together with pressure in the control chamber, against the inlet pressure acting on the opposite side of the pressure-responsive member, to hold a valve surface fixed to the pressure-responsive member against a valve seating face ion the adaptor so as to close the inlet opening to liquid flow. The valve body, pressure-responsive member and biasing means are arranged to be demountable from the adaptor as a unit in a manner so as to provide ready access to the mating valve surface and valve seating face e.g. for cleaning.
US07647936B1
A runner assembly for use with a central shaft of an umbrella frame includes a tubular retaining block which is movable relative to a tubular runner in a transverse direction relative to an axis of the central shaft, and a tubular thrust member movable along the axis. An inner sleeve surface of the thrust member is configured such that, when the thrust member is pressed from a releasing position to an actuating position, the retaining block is moved from a first position to a second position to permit a retaining member disposed thereon to engage an engaging surface of the central shaft so as to keep the umbrella frame in an open state.
US07647932B2
A smoking article, such as a cigarette, includes a lighting end and a mouth end. The lighting end is a longitudinally extending segment comprising smokable material that is intended to be lit and burned, and the resulting smoke generated by the burning of that smokable material is intended to be drawn into the mouth of the smoker through the mouth end of smoking article. A mouth end piece is located at the mouth end of the smoking article, and the mouth end piece allows the smoking article to be placed in the mouth of the smoker to be drawn upon. The smoking article further incorporates an aerosol-generation system that is located between the lighting end segment and the mouth end piece. The aerosol-generation system includes (i) a heat generation segment located adjacent to the lighting end segment, and (ii) an aerosol-generation region located between the heat generation segment and the mouth end piece. The aerosol-generation region incorporates an aerosol-forming material (e.g., glycerin and flavors). The lighting end segment is in a heat exchange relationship with the heat generation segment such that burning smokable material within the lighting end segment can ignite a combustible fuel element of the heat generation segment. The heat generation segment is in a heat exchange relationship with the aerosol-generation region such that heat generated by the burning fuel element acts to volatilize aerosol-forming material for aerosol formation.
US07647930B2
Occlusion devices and methods for occluding fallopian tubes which take effect promptly after deployment. The occlusion device comprises an occluding element and a fixation element. In one embodiment, the occluding element is deployed within the fallopian tube and in another embodiment, the occluding element is external to the fallopian tube.
US07647929B2
A medical device tube having opposing support ears for improved coupling of an inner cannula to an outer cannula. The medical device tube comprises an outer cannula having opposing support ears on an outer cannula connector flange attached to a proximal end of the outer cannula. The opposing support ears maintain locking ears of the inner cannula in substantially one position. The opposing support ears substantially prevent the locking ears in contact with the outer cannula connector flange from slipping therefrom by, e.g., rotation, axial displacement, torsional shear, etc.
US07647925B2
A method of humidifying a gas that includes supplying a gas to a surface of a humidification material that readily absorbs moisture and readily releases moisture when exposed to a dry environment and generating turbulence in the gas as it passes over the surface of the humidification material.
US07647922B2
An adaptor for a device mount that is used to mount a device such as a video camera, rangefinder or a game caller is provided. In one embodiment, the adapter includes a threaded attaching portion and an engaging cylinder. The threaded screw portion is adapted to engage internal threads in a bore of a structure. The engaging cylinder is coupled to the threaded attaching portion. The surface of the engaging cylinder is adapted to engage a scope mount ring.
US07647920B2
A fuel vapor treatment system is mounted on a hybrid vehicle having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor. Even when an internal combustion engine is stopped, a discharge of fuel vapor from a first canister to atmosphere can be detected. When the discharge of the fuel vapor from the first canister is detected, the internal combustion engine is started to perform a purge process. When it is detected that the purge process in the first canister is finished, the internal combustion engine is stopped to terminate the purge process.
US07647892B2
A method of washing an object using a pressurized water source includes combining a cleaning fluid and the pressurized water and diffusing pressurized air into the combined cleaning fluid and pressurized water. The combined cleaning fluid and pressurized water diffused with the pressurized air is applied to the object. The cleaning fluid may also be carbonated and combined with the pressurized water prior to diffusing pressurized air into this combined mixture. The object being washed may, for example, be an animal such as a dog.
US07647886B2
Systems for depositing material onto workpieces in reaction chambers and methods for removing byproducts from reaction chambers are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the system includes a gas phase reaction chamber, a first exhaust line coupled to the reaction chamber, first and second traps each in fluid communication with the first exhaust line, and a vacuum pump coupled to the first exhaust line to remove gases from the reaction chamber. The first and second traps are operable independently to individually and/or jointly collect byproducts from the reaction chamber. It is emphasized that this Abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
US07647882B2
A strip coating device for coating of strips, particularly metal strips, has at least one application head for applying coating substances to the strip. The application head has at least one application roller that applies the coating substance to the strip, and having at least one supporting roller disposed on the side of the strip opposite the application head. The application head works on the strip either in a first functional position where the strip is supported by the supporting roller, or, in a second functional position outside of the supporting region of the supporting roller.
US07647879B2
A support assembly for a boat cover includes a first support member having a first end disposed adjacent to the boat cover and a second end having an opening, a second support member having a first end telescopically received within the opening, and a biasing element disposed between the first end of the second support member and the first end of the first support member. The biasing element biases the first support member away from the second support member and into engagement with the boat cover.
US07647872B2
An extension table apparatus with automatic height adjustment and folding capability. This apparatus is primarily designed for use with portable or stationary frame-mounted woodworking equipment such as planers, joiners, drum sanders and power saws. With one end of the table attached to a height-adjustable surface such as a planer bed, the apparatus uses a leveling assembly extending beneath the table to support and maintain the other end of the table. Simple lever principles and strategically located pivot points keep the table coplanar with the planer bed as it is raised or lowered. The leveling assembly transfers most of the weight of the workpiece and table to the floor, instead of the machine. The apparatus attaches only to the machine permitting mobility of the apparatus and machine. The design of mounting brackets, length of parts and pivoting action allows folding of the apparatus to facilitate storage.
US07647867B2
An apparatus for printing onto closed vial units. The vial units are formed in a series and the vial units have a drug therein. The apparatus comprises a conveyor belt for moving the vial units, with the conveyor belt having spaced cleats. A first side of the vial units is placed on the conveyor belt. The apparatus further comprises a printhead for printing an ink pattern onto the vial units, with the printhead configured to print to the first side, and a back-up roller configured opposite the printhead, with the back-up roller being a cylindrical member that contains an indented profile placed about the cylindrical member reciprocal to the vial units. The apparatus further includes a dryer positioned to receive the vial units from the printhead and provide for drying of the ink pattern from the printhead.
US07647861B2
Apparatus to seal a shaft to a diaphragm in a diaphragm actuator are disclosed. An example apparatus for use in a diaphragm actuator has a central aperture and an integral sealing protrusion disposed about a circumference of the central aperture. The sealing protrusion is configured to sealingly engage a shaft of the diaphragm actuator.
US07647849B2
A starter 1 with an intermediate gear is disclosed having a housing 12 formed with first and second bearing portions 17, 18 between which an intermediate shaft 5 is supported. The second bearing portion 18 has a mounting aperture 22 to which a retainer 13 is inserted. The retainer 13 includes a screw having a distal end, formed with a male threaded portion 13a, and an engagement portion 13c formed between a head portion 13b and the male threaded portion 13a. The intermediate shaft has one end formed with a cutout surface 5a. With the intermediate shaft 5 having both ends supported by the first and second bearing portions 17, 18, the engagement portion 13c of the retainer 13 is inserted to the mounting aperture 22 into abutting engagement with the cutout surface 5a to retain the intermediate shaft 5 in a fixed place.
US07647848B2
A base unit for integrating an imaging device, such as an atomic force microscope, and a manipulation device, such as a nano-manipulator. The integration of the two devices permits one device to perform both imaging and manipulation simultaneously. The simultaneous execution of these two tasks increases the rate at which experiments can be conducted, thereby improving the throughput of the device. Also, the simultaneous execution of these two tasks allows imaging during manipulation, which may be desirable or beneficial in some circumstances.
US07647840B2
The present invention relates to a plastic ultrasonic measurement section (1) used for the flow measurement of fluids. It is equipped with two ultrasonic transmitting and receiving transducers (2, 3) spaced in the fluid flow direction and is characterized in that the sound is guidable in Z-shaped manner between the transmitting and receiving transducers (2, 3) by means of at least two reflectors (4). A description is given of a corresponding measurement method and a method for the one-piece production of a measurement section (1) by injection moulding.
US07647827B2
A method, system and program storage device are provided for machine diagnostics, detection and profiling using pressure waves, the method including profiling known sources, acquiring pressure wave data, analyzing the acquired pressure wave data, and detecting if the analyzed pressure wave data matches a profiled known source; the system including a processor, a pressure wave transducer in signal communication with the processor, a pressure wave analysis unit in signal communication with the processor, and a source or threat detection unit in signal communication with the processor; and the program storage device including program steps for profiling known sources, acquiring pressure wave data, analyzing the acquired pressure wave data, and detecting if the analyzed pressure wave data matches a profiled known source.
US07647825B2
In the thermal type flowmeter for measuring the flow rate by a measuring element with an exothermic resistor and a temperature measuring resistor being shaped in the side of the surface of a substrate, a facing wall facing the surface of the measuring element is arranged, cantilever plate parts protruding from the facing wall toward the measuring element side are arranged, a gap is provided between the tip of the cantilever plate parts and the measuring element, and the cantilever plate parts are extended from the upper stream to the down stream of the measuring element.
US07647824B2
A method of estimating a formation pressure in a wellbore is provided that in one aspect includes measuring a hydrostatic pressure at a selected location in the wellbore, and estimating supercharge pressure as a function of time using a forward model that utilizes the hydrostatic pressure and at least one property of mud in the wellbore that is a function of time. In another aspect, the method may estimate an initial formation pressure at a selected location in a wellbore by obtaining a hydrostatic pressure and at least three formation pressure measurements at three separate times at the selected location, and estimating the initial formation pressure using the hydrostatic pressure, the three pressure measurements and an internal mudcake parameter.
US07647812B2
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for low cost high resolution chemical detection. The apparatus includes two outer sealing bodies with flow channels etched into the bodies. Two gas chromatography (GC) columns are between the outer bodies, with a valve that switches flow regimes from series flow through the two GC columns to sample flowing directly to each GC column. The flow regimes are achieved with a single pump or dual pumps, and with one to three flow restrictions. The apparatus includes a preconcentration tube for concentrating chemicals of interest from the sample, and a sample switching valve and sampling pump to switch the sample flow from concentrating sample to delivering concentrated sample. The apparatus includes an engineered leak to equalize flow between a sample channel and a detector circuit. The sample channels may have impermeable inserts allowing the apparatus to measure chemicals in the parts-per-billion range.
US07647808B2
An apparatus for calibration of a fluid-operated power torque tool having a housing and a drive has a non-turnable torque measuring unit for measuring a torque generated by the tool, a non-turnable abutment unit, a first connecting element configured for connecting the drive of the tool with the torque measuring unit, for measuring a torque generated by the tool when a fluid pressure is applied to the tool, an adjustable braking unit configured for providing an adjustable braking force, a second connecting element configured for connecting the housing of the tool with the adjustable braking unit to apply the adjustable braking force to the housing so as to increase a turning resistance to turning of the housing of the tool, so that when the tool is operated the housing of the tool starts turning at a force determined by the braking unit while the drive of the tool apply an opposite and equal force to the measuring unit, so that when the braking force is increased a fluid pressure required for the tool increases and the tool can be calibrated, by determining the generated torque that corresponds to the applied fluid pressure, without inertia.
US07647797B1
A programmable electronic lock with a closing tongue is actuated with an actuating mechanism formed by a mobile knob acting as a button joined to the closing tongue. Actuation of the mobile knob generates a movement of the closing tongue and closure of the lock. Recovery of the mobile knob to its initial position generates an opening of the lock. Furthermore, an electronics board is activated with a transponder key and controls operation of the lock by deactivating and subsequently activating a blocking mechanism formed by a motor that actuates a punch via a gear mechanism. When the punch is in a blocking position it is located against the actuating mechanism. When the punch is in an unblocking position, it is separated from the actuating mechanism and allows the movement of the closing tongue by unblocking the actuating mechanism.
US07647792B2
A method for fabricating a porous silica preform includes the steps of supplying fuel gas for generating an oxyhydrogen flame to a glass synthesizing burner; supplying Gas A containing silicon and Gas B containing fluorine to the burner; synthesizing glass particles; and depositing the glass particles around a starting rod, in which when glass particles are deposited directly on the starting rod, a supply of Gas A and a supply of Gas B supplied to the burner are adjusted so that a ratio of the number of fluorine atoms to the number of silicon atoms in the gas supplied to the burner satisfies the following Formula (1): {(number of F atoms)/(number of Si atoms)}≦0.1 (1).
US07647788B2
A temperature management apparatus for managing the temperature of cells 11, which includes an air intake duct 1, a fan unit 3, a first temperature detector (temperature sensors 25, a temperature detecting part 23) for detecting temperature Tb of the cells 11, a second temperature detector (a temperature sensor 26, a temperature detecting part 23) for detecting ambient temperature Ta, and a control device 20. The fan unit 3 has a fan 4 and a motor 5. The control device 20 has a storage part 22 and a deciding part 21. The storage part 22 stores a cooling-necessitating temperature Tc and a heating-necessitating temperature Th. The deciding part 21 directs the fan unit 3 to drive the fan 4 in a case where the temperature Tb of the cells becomes equal to or higher than both the temperature Ta of the air and the cooling-necessitating temperature Tc, or in a case where the temperature Tb of the cells becomes equal to or lower than both the temperature Ta of the air and the heating-necessitating temperature Th.
US07647784B2
An air conditioner includes a main refrigerant circuit and a liquid level detection circuit. The main refrigerant circuit includes a compressor that compresses gas refrigerant, a heat source side heat exchanger, a receiver that stores liquid refrigerant, and user side heat exchangers. The liquid level detection circuit is arranged so as to be capable of drawing out a portion of the refrigerant in the receiver from a first predetermined position of the receiver, reducing the pressure of the refrigerant and heating it, measuring the temperature of the refrigerant, and then returning the refrigerant to the intake side of the compressor, in order to detect whether the liquid level in the receiver is at the first predetermined position.
US07647782B2
Apparatus (10) for converting liquid (60) in a container (50) to a semi-frozen slurry (61) or frozen ice particles, where a refrigerant (41) is contained within a refrigerant cavity (40) defined by two walls (20, 30), the flexing/deformation of at least one of the walls (20, 30) agitating the liquid (60) to assist the conversion thereof into the semi-frozen slurry (61) or ice particles.
US07647778B2
It is known that power is normally extracted within a gas turbine engine from a shaft in order to drive auxiliary devices such as electrical power generators. With high extraction rates from such shafts there is mismatching in rotational speeds between the shafts which must be adjusted through leakage taken from valves 8, 9. By measuring parameters and in particular pressure at a number of positions or parts within an engine arrangement 1 and comparing those parameters either through ratios or directly with reference values a controller can be configured in order to choose the correct sequence and scheduling of the valves 8, 9 opening to balance shaft speed. In such circumstances more efficient operation of the engine arrangement can be achieved over a wider range of engine speeds including idling.
US07647777B2
A fluid delivery skid with a pre-fill system for supplying fluid has one or more stages including a first valve and a second valve, each having an open and closed position. The stages have active and inactive states to provide a desired flow rate of fluid to an apparatus for distribution of the fluid. In an active state, fluid is received in the stage and pressurized with the first valve open and the second valve closed. Further, in an active state, fluid is released with the first valve closed and the second open. In an inactive state, at least the second valve is closed. A control unit is connected to a pump unit and controls operation of the pump to regulate the stages to supply pressure at a level determined to achieve the desired flow rate.
US07647771B2
A thermally driven piston assembly's housing has (i) a first material slidingly fitted therein, and (ii) at least one plug of a second material slidingly fitted therein and abutting the first material. The first material is one (e.g., a liquid crystal elastomer) that undergoes a stiffness change and/or a dimensional change when subjected to a temperature change in the temperature range of interest. When subjected to the temperature change while in the housing, the first material is restricted to changing dimensionally along a single dimension. The second material retains its shape and size throughout the temperature range of interest. As a result, the plug moves in the housing in correspondence with the dimensional change of the first material or the plug's movement is damped by the stiffness change of the first material.
US07647770B2
In a hydraulic four-wheel drive vehicle, a rear transaxle incorporates a hydraulic motor for driving rear wheels, a front transaxle incorporates a hydraulic motor for driving front wheels, and hydraulic pressure fluid pipes interposed between the front and rear transaxles are extended along at least one of left and right side plates of a frame of the vehicle.
US07647766B2
Various systems and methods are disclosed for carrying out combustion in a fuel-cut operation in some or all of the engine cylinders of a vehicle. Further, various subsystems are considered, such as fuel vapor purging, air-fuel ratio control, engine torque control, catalyst design, and exhaust system design.
US07647765B2
In one example, a system for an engine having an intake system and an exhaust system is described. The system comprises: an airflow sensor coupled to the intake system; an air pump having at least an inlet side and an outlet side, said inlet side having a first coupling to the intake system downstream of said airflow sensor, said outlet side having a second coupling to the exhaust system; and a controller coupled to the engine, said controller, during operation, identifying whether degradation has occurred to at least one of said first and second couplings, and providing an indication of said identified degradation. Various other examples are also disclosed.
US07647764B2
A device and method for determining a temperature variable, in particular a temperature variable that characterizes the condition of an exhaust-gas treatment system of a combustion engine, are described. The temperature is specified on the basis of variables that characterize the mass flow in the exhaust-gas treatment system, and/or of a second temperature variable that characterizes the temperature upstream from the exhaust-gas treatment system.
US07647761B2
The turbojet has a bearing which supports, in rotation and in thrust, a low-pressure compressor shaft of axis Z-Z of the engine. The bearing is lubricated with oil by means of two nozzles. A feed tube is fastened to the nose cone of the engine. This tube connects the low-pressure compressor shaft to the engine nose cone. A skin lines the wall of the engine nose cone, leaving a passage for the circulation of oil. A plurality of radial oil return tubes are placed between the most eccentric part of the skin relative to the Z-Z axis and the bearing, for returning the oil to the bearing. The return of the oil into the bearing is located at a distance R from the Z-Z axis larger than the radius r of the feed tube.
US07647760B2
A drawing frame-slubbing machine combination for manufacturing a roving yarn from a fiber assembly is disclosed. The drawing frame-slubbing machine combination includes a drawing frame for doubling and stretching a fiber assembly into a drafter sliver and a slubbing machine with a twist application component configured to apply a true twist to the drafter sliver by one or more air flows.
US07647759B2
In a wire-processing device, the wire executes turns through being pulled out of a drum. The leading wire-end is held by a gripper of a loop-former. A wire that has been cut to length is held at its leading and trailing ends by an untwisting unit, the wire having before the untwisting operation a doubled-backed loop. A transfer unit takes the leading and trailing ends from the loop-former and passes the wire to the untwisting unit. After the untwisting operation, the transfer unit feeds the wire-ends to the processing units that process the wire-ends. A bundling unit takes the processed wires from the transfer unit, the bundling unit forming a wire bundle with the wires. With the untwisted wires, the wire bundle has neither doubled-back loops nor knots.
US07647755B2
A pull-type crop harvesting machine has a header carried on a frame mounted on ground wheels with a hitch arm extending from the frame over the header to a hitch coupling of a tractor. The hitch arm is mounted for pivotal movement about a generally upright axis such that in a first position the tractor tows the frame in echelon to one side and in a second position the tractor tows the frame in echelon. The movement is actuated by a hydraulic cylinder and stopped at one end of the movement by the piston with a rod coupling being adjustably mounted on the rod to adjust the end position. At the other end of the movement, the position is defined by a stop member mounted on the piston rod and adjustable relative thereto. Each end of the cylinder includes a cushion effect by using separate orifices for the fluid ports which slow fluid flow as the piston approaches the ends of the cylinder.
US07647752B2
A system and accompanying method produces cartons for randomly sized and shaped objects or groups thereof by automatically measuring minimum bounding dimensions and transferring these dimensions to an automatic carton-making system. The system for determining the dimensions of an object to be packaged preferably includes a conveyor for moving the object, a vertically oriented light curtain to determine the height of the object, a horizontally oriented light curtain to determine the width of the object, and a tachometer synchronized to the conveyor enabling at least one of the light curtains to determine the length of the object. A computerized interface between the measurement apparatus and carton-making system may include an algorithm for virtually rotating the object to produce a carton just large enough to fit the object. The carton may be a corrugated carton or non-corrugated carton, and the carton-making system may be supplied with a continuous feed of “fanfolded” raw material or it may be sheet-fed. The system for determining the dimensions of an object to be packaged is capable of determining the dimensions of a group of objects to be packaged.
US07647750B2
A wrapping member attaching device for attaching a wrapping member to a container includes a container preheating device, a wrapping member arranging device, and a wrapping member heating device. Due to the foregoing, the wrapping member is attached to the container without being tilted, wrinkles and unevenness of color. The container preheating device may include a container rotating device.
US07647749B2
A net derucking rectifier system is described. The system has a stuffer, a product horn having an upstream end and a downstream end, the upstream end mounted to the stuffer, a netting tube having an upstream end and a downstream end, the netting tube removably mounted coaxially over the product horn and having a tubular netting shirred thereon, a bracket mounted coaxially to the netting tube and having a plurality of fingers pointing radially inward to grip the netting, the bracket movable between a first position near the upstream end and a second position near the downstream end, the fingers biased to grip the netting when the bracket is moved from the first position to the second position and not to grip the netting when the bracket is moved from the second position to the first position, and a clipper located adjacent the distal end of the netting tube. In another embodiment, a method of derucking a predetermined length of netting rucked on a tube, comprises gripping the netting in a first position on the tube, moving the gripped netting from the first position to a second position a predetermined distance axially along the tube, releasing the netting at the second position, and regripping the netting at the first position.
US07647740B2
A joint profile (1) intended to be arranged between panels (2 and 3 respectively). The joint profile (1) comprises a first edge portion (10) and a second edge portion (11). The first edge portion (10) comprises a main body portion (101), a bridge portion (102) being at one end connected to the main body portion (101) said bridge portion (102) further being provided with a distal edge (103) and a connector means (104) arranged close to the distal edge (103). The second edge portion (11) is provided with a second main body portion (111) comprising a connector receiving means (114). The main body portion (101) is provided with an edge portion (105) having a geometry adapted for joining with a selected edge (2I, 2II, 3I and 3II respectively) of the panels (2 and 3 respectively). The second main body portion (111) is provided with an edge member (115) having a geometry adapted for joining with a selected edge (2I, 2II, 3I and 3II respectively) of the panels (2 and 3 respectively).
US07647739B2
A suspended ceiling construction includes fill-in panels, diffusers and/or light fixtures which are retained in their openings by spring clips that have been pre-attached to the ceiling grid frame members. The clips bear against edges of the panels to keep them in place normally, but they can be deflected out of the way by pushing up on the panels when necessary. As the tips of the clips contact the frame members during deflection, they provide increasing resistance to further deflection.
US07647738B2
A multi-layered panel comprises a first layer made of concrete, a second layer made of foam and an edge perimeter region. The first layer is a thin concrete layer of near uniform thickness that is cast onto the second layer. The exterior surface of the concrete layer simulates an exterior surface of a building. The front of the foam layer has dimensions designed to accommodate the application of the concrete layer. The back of the foam layer has features that assist in mounting the panel on an exterior surface of a building. The edge perimeter region includes a system for interconnecting adjacent multi-layered panels.
US07647737B2
An improved building panel with increased stiffness and resistance to buckling is disclosed. The panel cross section is characterized by a novel center portion comprised of radially arranged longitudinal stiffening ribs which transition into side portions configured to allow joining of the panels. The configuration of the panel's center section results in an increased moment of inertia as well as higher resistance to positive and negative bending moments and local buckling when compared to existing designs. Additionally, the panel configuration allows curving longitudinally without corrugations. These improvements in the strength of the panel and the elimination of corrugations reduce design constraints on buildings constructed of such panels and allow larger buildings to be constructed.
US07647733B2
A reinforcing structure for a building and a reinforcing member used for the structure, where the structure has excellent anti-vibration characteristics and quake resistance. The reinforcing structure and member for a building are capable of reducing the deformation of structural members of the building caused by vibration and removing the deformation so that the original form is restored. A reinforcing member (1) is provided and fixed at a corner portion where structural members (11, 12) of a building intersect. The reinforcing member (1) is formed such that a first spring member (third leaf 33) and a second spring member (layered leaf (5)) are combined, and a damper (4) and a synthetic resin foam body (2a) are arranged in a space between the first and second spring members. A synthetic resin foam body (2b) is filled in a space surrounded by the structural members (11, 12) and the reinforcing member (1).
US07647703B2
A bulb planter includes a pair of blade halves cooperating to form a tubular tool head and a molded plastic handle body forming a pair of handles. The blade halves are preferably metal and riveted to the handle body. The handle body forms a living hinge for selectively pivoting the blade halves upon movement of the handles. The blade halves pivot toward and away from each other between a soil plug cutting position and a soil plug releasing position upon movement of the handles. A resilient member biases the blade halves toward the soil plug cutting position. The resilient member is preferably an elastomer ring encircling the blade halves. The handles extend in opposed directions substantially perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis and are manually movable against the bias of the resilient member to move the blade halves to the soil plug release position.
US07647700B1
A device for the removal of a H-tap splice on an electrical wire is presented. The device includes a c-shaped frame and a blade suitable for cutting the H-tap. A drive bolt forces the H-tap into the H-tap cutting blade. The drive bolt has a tightening end and an H-tap engagement end having a flat surface for contacting the H-tap. The drive bolt is configured into one end of the frame. The blade is joined to the opposite end and positioned with a cutting edge substantially parallel to the wire. The combination is operable to force the H-tap engagement end towards the blade as the tightening end is tightened where the H-tap is cut without cutting the wire and the wire can be removed from the H-tap.
US07647692B2
A method of manufacturing a dry-type, resin-encapsulated transformer coil that includes forming a plurality of conductive layers and positioning a plurality of pre-formed plastic cooling ducts so as to be disposed between the conductive layers.
US07647691B2
A method for manufacturing antenna elements for use with wireless communication devices comprises a number of cutting techniques that allow the size of the antenna elements to be adjusted. Rollers cut the tabs that form the antenna elements. In a first embodiment, a plurality of rollers are used, each one effecting a different cut whose position may be phased so as to shorten or lengthen the antenna element. In a second embodiment, the rollers are independently positionable to shorten or lengthen the antenna element.
US07647689B2
A method of manufacturing a stator of a rotating electric machine includes a conductor end shaping process for shaping multiple lead wires aligned side by side in a single layer into a specific form in a plane in which the lead wires are initially aligned before a flat-patterned winding assembly configured by aligning multiple line conductors side by side and shaping the line conductors in spiral form is fitted into multiple slots formed in a flat stator core plate. The shaping process includes the steps of shaping the lead wires into bent form by using a stairstep conductor shaping jig under conditions where the lead wires are separated from one another along a direction generally perpendicular to the plane in which the lead wires are initially aligned, and causing the lead wires to return to positions in the initial alignment plane thereof by removing the stairstep conductor shaping jig.
US07647683B1
A system of aligning and connecting a threaded male fastener to a correspondingly threaded female fastener has a nut having a plurality of upturned sides and a central axis aligned with that of one of the male or female fastener. The system includes a guide sleeve having a cylindrical internal surface and an end sized to fit within the upturned sides of the nut, and a guide member having a cylindrical external surface and a central axis aligned with that of the other of the male or female fastener. The guide member cylindrical external surface is slidingly and rotatably movable with respect to the guide sleeve cylindrical internal surface. The guide sleeve end fits within the upturned sides of the nut and the guide member is adapted to be slid into the guide sleeve, such that the threaded male and female fasteners are coaxially aligned and contacted. The guide member is rotated with respect to the guide sleeve so that threads of the male fastener engage threads of the female fastener.
US07647678B2
An vehicle seat belt includes a buckle system. The buckle system includes a seat belt buckle with a buckle face, a release button, and an opening for receiving a seat belt tongue. The buckle includes a seal positioned on the buckle face to seal the buckle face and prevent contaminants from entering the interior cavity of the buckle. Should contaminants penetrate the seal, drain holes located on the bottom side of the seat belt buckle may allow the contaminants to pass through the interior cavity of the buckle rather than harm the internal components of the seat belt buckle. Additionally, the seal, made of a flexible material, may aid in the prevention of noises that occur when the buckle comes in contact with other vehicle components.
US07647674B2
A hinge assembly (200) includes a shaft (13), a cam (14), a follower (15), a first spring (12), a control member (17), a second spring (16) and a fixing seat (18). The shaft defines an outer screw thread (1320). An inner circumferential wall of the cam defines an inner screw thread (144) is meshed with the outer screw thread of the shaft. The first spring provides an elastic force causing a cam surface of the cam and a latching cam surface of the follower to resist each other. The second spring is positioned between the control member and the follower. The fixing seat has a bottom portion (181) including at least one block and at least one slot adjacent to the at least one block. The at least one block of the control member is received in the at least one receiving groove.
US07647668B2
A method and a drywall tool for making flat and even joints for the construction industry are disclosed. This innovative hand tool for making flat even joints includes a central section that is a cut out notch allowing for an extruded amount of drywall compound that produces a sufficient width and height to be placed over the drywall tape within the drywall recessed or butt joints. Once this cures, a simple fill in step using a standard towel allows these process steps to be accomplished by an unskilled worker, while producing flat and even joints, requiring less time, and dust.
US07647665B2
An apparatus for cleaning a control rod drive mechanism in a nuclear reactor is disclosed. The apparatus may include an inlet opening for inserting the control rod drive mechanism, an outlet opening, a first support ring engaged with a drive mechanism, a second support ring, and a plurality of brushes positioned between the first and second support rings.
US07647663B2
A combination laundry device and a method thereof are disclosed. The present invention relates to a combination laundry device that can interchange information between two laundry mechanisms, and that can automatically set operation conditions for a washing and a drying and/or a refreshing cycle based on information from each information tag attached on the laundry without a user's inputting additional conditions.
US07647655B2
A support frame assembly for attachment to a support mast of a transport apparatus may include a support frame with a pair of downwardly directed mounting posts. Support arms may be pivotally attached to an end of each mounting post. The support arms may each comprise a back support and an open position and a closed position. When the support arms are in the closed positioned the back supports may be substantially horizontally oriented defining a support area between the support arms, the back supports and the support frame. When the support arms are in the open position the back supports may be substantially vertically oriented and the support area is open opposite the support frame.
US07650647B1
Method and device for setting basic means of access for operation of electronically operated devices (12), with the aid of a possibly transferable personal authentication system (16), essentially based on three components used in the course of the method in accordance with the invention; namely additional device hardware functions permitting means of access, namely in particular for custom configuration and shutdown of the devices; a hardware-oriented interface to a reader device (18) for the authentication system (16) such as a SmartCard reader permitting access to the functions by a SmartCard (16); and the authentication system (16) itself, capable of directly accessing the configuration and/or shutdown/startup/restart functions of the device hardware by way of the defined interface.Legitimization for configuration/shutdown and startup/restart of the devices is provided by matching of keys stored on the SmartCard (16) and in a ROM (14) in the device (12).
US07650642B2
Peer-to peer licensing tracking and control is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method may include individually disabling a controller module when a code to activate the controller module is different from a number embedded in the controller module, and automatically disabling the controller module when the number is associated with another controller module communicatively coupled to the controller module. The method may further include a master controller module periodically querying one or more of controller modules communicatively coupled to the master controller module. The querying may identify the number and the feature associated with each of the controller modules to store in a validation module of the master controller module as a database. When the number of the controller module matches with one or more numbers of the controller modules listed in the database, the controller may be deactivated.
US07650620B2
The present specification discloses a multimedia distribution system and method. The system and method has a producer workstation, a delivery server, a high-bandwidth one-way satellite transmission system, a terrestrial two-way communication system (including use of the Internet), a plurality of satellite affiliate workstations, and a plurality of terrestrial client workstations. The delivery server receives digital information (envelopes and associates media files) from the producer workstations for delivery of the information to the affiliate and client workstations addressed in the envelope. The affiliate and client workstations provide the delivery server with confirmation of delivery of each received envelope and its associated files. In the absence of receipt of confirmation of delivery, the delivery server re-sends the unconfirmed envelope and associated files to the non-confirming affiliate or client workstation by a two-way terrestrial connection or by a manual system, such as a dub-and-ship service. The delivery server has the ability to push content to affiliates, push-pull content to affiliate and clients, to conventionally pull content from the delivery server, and push the content to affiliates and clients by manual delivery services. The disclosed system and method utilize a unique envelope and addressing protocol and a unique broadcast file transfer protocol for distribution to affiliate workstations by one-way satellite broadcast. The disclosed system and method also make significant use of the TCP/IP, IGMP, and Ethernet protocols and information distribution techniques.
US07650616B2
Methods and apparatus for identifying audio/video content using temporal characteristics of a signal are disclosed. The disclosed apparatus and methods detect a plurality of signal features of a media signal derived from audio/video content and calculate time intervals between a plurality of those signal features to generate signatures. The signatures are then used to identify the audio/video content.
US07650609B2
A system and method for accessing a document management system in a multi-environment processing system includes receiving a client call command from a web service proxy. The web service proxy, disposed on a client and running in conjunction with a client application. A web service end point, disposed in a web service framework receives the client call command. In conjunction with a class module, the client call command is translated from the second processing environment that the application is executing within and the first processing environment providing the document management system. Through the web service end point and the class module, the client call command is converted for accessing the document management system.
US07650604B2
An access management apparatus, method and program storage device for permitting or prohibiting access to each of a plurality of nodes stored hierarchically, including means and steps for storing rule functions with a plurality of requesters to access a node, each of the rule functions for determining whether access should be permitted or rejected depending on the position of the node in the hierarchical structure or depending on the requester, receiving an access request from a requester, selecting the rule function, and executing the rule function which has been selected by the selector, and controlling permission of, or prohibition of, the access request on the basis of a result of executing the rule function.
US07650603B2
Mechanisms are provided for the sharing of graphics adapter resources among multiple partitions in a virtual machine environment. A first mechanism allows for the sharing of graphics adapter resources so that one partition, a video service partition, containing a graphics proxy process, can use this graphics proxy process to offer graphics adapter resources to another partition, a video client partition. The graphics proxy process controls access time by any given partition to the graphics adapter resources. In one aspect, it uses a time bank to control access time, and the time bank controls how long a virtual graphics adapter offered to the video client partition can access the graphics adapter resources. A second mechanism synchronizes virtual memory in the video client partition to virtual memory in the video service partition. A third mechanism allows for multiple video client partition overlays using a pixel-shader-based virtual overlay mechanism.
US07650598B2
A method of allocating registers for a PAC processor. The PAC processor has a first cluster and a second cluster. Each cluster includes a first functional unit, a second functional unit, a first local register file connected to the first functional unit, a second local register file connected to the second register file, and a global register file having a ping-pong structure formed by a first register bank and a second register bank. After building a Component/Register Type Associated Data Dependency Graph (CRTA-DDG), a functional unit assignment, register file assignment, ping-pong register bank assignment, and cluster assignment of the invention are performed to take full advantage of the properties of a PAC processor.
US07650587B2
A method for designing a mask for fabricating an integrated circuit is provided wherein a mask layout that requires coloring, such as for alternating phase shift, double-exposure and double-exposure-etch masks, is organized into uncolored hierarchical design units. Prior to modification by OPC, each hierarchical design unit is locally colored. OPC is then performed on the locally colored hierarchical design unit. The local coloring information for the hierarchically arranged OPC-modified design unit may be discarded. After OPC modification, the uncolored OPC-modified design units may be placed within the mask layout, and the flattened data may be colored. Thus, turnaround time for mask design is significantly improved since the numerically intensive OPC is performed on the hierarchical data, avoiding the need to perform OPC on flattened data, whereas the less intensive global coloring is performed on flattened data.
US07650580B2
A system that determines the performance of an integrated circuit (IC). During operation, the system receives probability distributions for parameters for the IC. Next, the system generates samples of the IC, wherein generating a given sample involves using the probability distribution to assign values to the parameters for components within the IC. The system then calculates output performance metrics for the samples based on the assigned values of the parameters, and uses the calculated output performance metrics to generate a distribution of output performance metrics for the samples.
US07650577B2
A method for constructing a still-image slideshow is provided. The method comprises receiving a command signal for constructing a slideshow associated with video data included in digital data received by the digital data receiver; acquiring at least one still image from the video data, in response to receiving the command signal; and constructing the slideshow based on the still image.
US07650572B2
A method for navigating a graphical user interface (GUI) having at least one page, comprising providing a first booklet, wherein user interaction with the first booklet can cause the GUI to navigate to a new page; providing a request based on user interaction with the first booklet; mapping the request to a control tree factory; generating a control tree from the factory based on the request wherein the control tree includes a booklet control corresponding to the first booklet; advancing the control tree through at least one lifecycle stage based on the request; and generating a response wherein the response can be used to render the new page.
US07650562B2
To reduce required display space, a text segment is reduced in size by successively eliminating portions of the text segment in an animated fashion. The reduction is thus visually represented in a way that maintains recognizability of the text segment, even if the final representation of the text does not carry a full meaning and/or is not independently comprehensible, because of the impression left in the mind of the user by the animated reduction of the text segment. The reduction may include reducing a size of text of the text segment and/or a spacing between characters of the text segment.
US07650519B1
A system and methods for connecting a graphic user interface to a powered network is disclosed. The network-powered graphic user interface system converts encoded computer user interface signals transmitted over a powered network cable to multiple signal sets, each set associated with a peripheral device interface. Methods for managing the admission of the peripheral devices are also described. Connection criteria include the power budget for the connection, device characteristics, device power requirements and the characteristics of other devices sharing the powered network connection.
US07650508B2
A secure time stamping device uses multiple virtual clocks, each of which may be individually accessed and calibrated. A digital key is associated with each of the clocks. All of the virtual clocks use a common timer (130), with the actual clock output being generated by applying calibration information (124) for that clock to the timer (130) output. A user wishing to have a message time stamped presents that message along with information as to which virtual clock to be used at a device input (92). The appropriate calibration information (124) is then selected and the timer (130) output is compensated accordingly. The incoming message plus the resultant time are concatenated and automatically signed using the key (126) applicable to that particular virtual clock.
US07650507B2
A method of generating a digital signature includes generating a first random number from a finite field of numbers, and generating field elements defining a first point on an elliptic curve defined over the finite field of numbers by performing elliptic curve arithmetic on the first random number and an initial public point on the elliptic curve. The method continues by generating a product from a field element, a private key, and a second random number received from a challenger seeking verification of a digital signature, and generating a signature component by summing the product and the first random number. The signature component is reduced using one or more modular reduction operations, using a modulus equal to an order of the elliptic curve, and then the reduced signature component and the field elements are sent to the challenger as a digital signature for verification by the challenger.
US07650503B2
A memory card has: a flash memory chip for storing digital certificates and a seed of random numbers; a controller chip which can execute a managing process for managing the digital certificates and a random number generating process for generating the pseudo random numbers by using the seed of random numbers; and an IC card chip which can execute an authenticating process for authenticating personal identification information (PIN) inputted from a host apparatus and an encrypting process for encrypting the seed of random numbers. Thus, a processing time of security processes is reduced while assuring safety of the security processes.
US07650498B2
To control access to target data whilst relieving the data provider of policing obligations, the data provider provides the target data in encrypted form to a requesting party as part of a data set with which first and second trusted authorities are associated in a non-subvertible manner. Recovery of the target data in clear by the party requires the first trusted authority to verify that a specific individual is a professional accredited with it, the second trusted authority to verify that a particular organisation is accredited with it, the particular organisation to verify that the specific individual is engaged by it, and at least one of the particular organisation and the first trusted authority to verify that the party is the specific individual. Various ways of encrypting the target data are provided, the preferred ways being based on Identifier-Based Encryption schemas.
US07650496B2
The disclosure relates to the management of PKI digital certificates, including certificate discovery, installation, verification and replacement for endpoints over an insecure network. A database of certificates may be maintained through discovery, replacement and other activities. Certificate discovery identifies certificates and associated information including network locations, methods of access, applications of use and non-use, and may produce logs and reports. Automated requests to certificate authorities for new certificates, renewals or certificate signing requests may precede the installation of issued certificates to servers using installation scripts directed to a particular application or product, which may provide notification or require approval or intervention. An administrator may be notified of expiring certificates, using a database or scanning or server agents. Interaction with certificate authorities may be by an abstractor providing a common interface for issuing signing requests to disparate certificate authorities. Digital certificate management may also be applied to network-connecting client devices.
US07650494B2
A first party has a first and a second cryptographic key. A second party has a third and a fourth cryptographic key, the fourth cryptographic key being derived from the first and third cryptographic keys thereby providing an association between the parties. To enable a third party to verify the existence of an association between the first and second parties, the second party generates a number that in association with the second cryptographic key, the third cryptographic key and the fourth cryptographic key define a first cryptographic parameter, a second cryptographic parameter and a third cryptographic parameter respectively. By using these parameters and the second and third cryptographic keys, the third party can verify if the first and second parties are associated.
US07650492B2
The present automatic update mechanism provides a method for determining whether computer-readable components loaded within a memory device are at a level of protection specified for protected content that a media application is attempting to process. If a current level of protection provides lower protection that the level specified, a file is updated to achieve at least the level of protection specified by the protected content. Updating the file to achieve the level of protection is performed in a manner that minimizes rebooting of a computing device.
US07650472B2
Provided is a method for reducing memory power consumption. A period of time allocated to a process is split into time slices each have a predetermined time interval, and a timer interrupt is generated for every time slice. It is checked whether context switch between processes occurs when the timer interrupt is generated. Memory banks having a memory allocated to a switched process are activated when the context switch occurs. All banks of a memory are converted into a low power state when the context switch does not occur. Accordingly, memory power consumption can be reduced through a software technique.
US07650468B2
A data processor that allows a CPU to access an external memory in an interval between data accesses from a DSP having a variable data length. In a case where a 24-bit mode is set, when a determination section determines that the DSP is accessing the external memory, a control section commands to place an access from the CPU to the external memory in a wait state. In a case where a 16-bit mode is set, the control section commands an address-data switching section, allowing the CPU to access the external memory by utilizing a third bus cycle, which is free.
US07650467B2
In managing multiprocessor operations, a first processor repetitively reads a cache line wherein the cache line is cached from a line of a shared memory of resources shared by both the first processor and a second processor. Coherency is maintained between the shared memory line and the cache line in accordance with a cache coherency protocol. In one aspect, the repetitive cache line reading occupies the first processor and inhibits the first processor from accessing the shared resources. In another aspect, upon completion of operations by the second processor involving the shared resources, the second processor writes data to the shared memory line to signal to the first processor that the shared resources may be accessed by the first processor. In response, the first processor changes the state of the cache line in accordance with the cache coherency protocol and reads the data written by the second processor. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US07650464B2
Data locality optimization through object relocation may be implemented in a virtual machine including a just-in-time compiler. The just-in-time compiler generates load instruction maps for each compiled method. A profile collector is coupled to the just-in-time compiler to receive hardware profiling support. The profile collector takes samples of data cache misses. A garbage collector is coupled to the profile collector. The garbage collector deduces types of objects from the cache miss samples and adjusts garbage collection object copying heuristics to relocate objects for better cache locality based on those types.
US07650460B2
Improved memory management is provided according to a Hierarchical Immutable Content Addressable Memory Processor (HICAMP) architecture. In HICAMP, physical memory is organized as two or more physical memory blocks, each physical memory block having a fixed storage capacity. An indication of which of the physical memory blocks is active at any point in time is provided. A memory controller provides a non-duplicating write capability, where data to be written to the physical memory is compared to contents of all active physical memory blocks at the time of writing, to ensure that no two active memory blocks have the same data after completion of the non-duplicating write.
US07650454B2
An arbiter module receives two or more closely occurring asynchronous requests and provides an output with a low metastability failure probability. The arbiter module includes a request resolving module that receives multiple asynchronous requests for providing a final output. The request resolving module includes one or more arbiter stages cascaded with each other and operatively coupled with logic units.
US07650449B2
A UART interface communication circuit includes a plurality of communication devices, and each includes a UART interface, a selecting apparatus, a CPU, and a multiplexer (MUX). The communication devices connect with each other via the UART interfaces thereof. The selecting apparatus is connected to the CPU for defining one of the communication devices as a master communication device and the rest as slave communication devices. The MUX is connected between the UART interface and the CPU. When the master communication device transmits data carrying an ID to the slave communication devices, a slave communication device corresponding to the ID receives and processes the data, and transmits return data to the master communication device, and then the MUX receives the return data from the slave communication device and passes it to the CPU of the master communication device for processing.
US07650444B2
A communications device comprising an embedded application-specific device driver for an application-specific display and an embedded remote access application that execute on a processor. The embedded application-specific device driver is configured to communicate data with a communication (COM) port via a serial port and to provide a video signal to the application-specific display. The embedded remote access application is configured to remotely access the application-specific display and to communicate display data via a network.
US07650443B1
Methods and apparatus for allocating access to a buffer of a host device to buffer data transferred between a controller of the host device and one or more remote devices are disclosed. The host device is configured to couple to each of the one or more remote devices through one or more corresponding dedicated lanes. Buffer access is allocated by determining, for each of one or more remote devices coupled to the host device, a number of dedicated lanes between the host device and each of the one or more remote devices and allocating access to the buffer of the host device for each of the one or more remote devices responsive to the determined number of dedicated lanes.
US07650442B2
A personal video recorder (PVR) (10) comprises a receiving stage (12) which receives media content and an internal storage device (24) such as a hard-disk. The PVR has an interface (26) for connecting to an external storage device (30). The PVR is operable to receive an instruction to record content directly to the external storage device (30). The PVR determines if the external storage device (30) can store the media content at a required transfer rate. If the external storage device (30) is unable to store the media content at the required rate, it uses the internal storage device (24) to record the received media content and to transfer the stored media content from the internal storage device (24) to the external storage device (30). The achievable transfer rate can be determined once transfer has commenced.
US07650437B2
A system and method manages configuration data within a hardware component of a device to support hardware component changes during development or manufacture of the device. A Standardized Virtual Part (SVP) file is formed as a binary file and includes a SVP header that comprises metadata of one of at least schema version, revision numbers, part numbers, creator and description. The SVP file also includes hardware configuration data and a SVP trailer that includes error checking data for data authentication. The SVP file is loaded onto the device during development or manufacture for configuring the hardware component.
US07650436B2
Techniques are disclosed to provide I/O handling in generic USB drivers. More particularly, a generic USB device driver architecture is described which enables development through a user-mode USB library that accesses a generic kernel-mode driver. The architecture may be utilized to provide efficient development for I/O handling. In a described implementation, a method includes defining a data structure utilized to access a plugged-in device. A pipe policy of the data structure is defined and utilizing to access the plugged-in device through a plurality of routines provided by a generic user-mode library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)). The generic user-mode library is communicatively coupled to a kernel-mode generic device driver. In another described implementation, a separate generic device driver is loaded for each plugged-in device or for each functionality supported by the device.
US07650430B2
Data associated with transmitted information over a communication network are transmitted. The data are divided into data groups. An information item representative of the importance of the data of the data group is associated with each data group. A transmission cycle for the data groups is determined. Each data group is inserted into the determined transmission cycle a number of times depending on the importance of the data of the data group.
US07650419B2
In a public internet access terminal, the combination comprising an access station, and computer apparatus at the station and including a user keyboard and data display means, and a user credit card reader at the station, and the computer apparatus including circuit means operatively connected to the card reader to be responsive to reading of user credit card data to enable user access to the internet via the computer apparatus at the access station.
US07650416B2
Content delivery for client-server protocols with user affinities using connection end-point proxies
In a network supporting transactions between clients and servers over a network path having operating characteristics to overcome, data is transported to overcome the operating characteristics using user affinities and dynamic user location information to selectively preload data, or representations, signatures, segments, etc. of data, in order to overcome the one or more operating characteristic. Examples of operating characteristics to overcome include bandwidth limitations, errors and latency. The dynamic location information can be stored in data structures accessible by agents of a data server and the data structures are populated based on user activities with respect to proxies associated with user locations, or the dynamic location information can be obtained implicitly as proxies maintain connections after termination by clients and the use of those maintained connections for preloading of data for the users associated with those clients. The data being preloaded can be protocol-specific data or protocol-independent data.
US07650411B2
A method for enabling communication of information in a secure communication system may include generating a notification when at least two configurators attempt to separately register with an 802.11 client station within a single configurator timing window. The method may further include detecting whether the at least two configurators attempt to register within the 802.11 client station within the single configurator timing window time duration. The notification may be generated in response to the detecting. The 802.11 client station may receive configuration information from at least a first of the at least two configurators, prior to the generation of the notification. The configuration information may include one or both of a service set identifier (SSID) and/or a passphrase. The notification may include an indication of detected multiple configurators.
US07650409B2
Methods and devices are directed to authorizing a network device to a resource over a network. An access server determines based, in part, on an attribute of the network device associated with the attribute certificate, whether the network device may be authorized access to the resource over the network. The attribute may be associated with a capability granted to the network device, a condition to be satisfied for the attribute to be valid, and the like. The attribute may belong to a group of network devices, or one or more users accessing the network through the network device. In one embodiment, the attribute certificate may be provided based on an automated security scan of the network device. In another embodiment, the access server may make the attribute available to a network resource associated with the access server.
US07650390B2
A system and a method of playing rich internet applications on remote computing devices by using a certifying player to invoke server-side web services through a single, secure, certifying intermediary server. The application player resides in the remote computing device and is configured to be executed by the remote computing device. The intermediary server is configured to communicate with the remote computing device via a network connection and to receive message requests from the application player and to send message responses to the application player. The intermediary server provides access of the RIA to the remote computing device by accessing an application server, where the RIA resides, via a single, secure and access-controlled network connection. The application player requests functionality of the RIA from the intermediary server via message requests and interprets the message responses received from the intermediary server. The message requests and responses may be Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) messages.
US07650389B2
A system and method is provided for managing logical documents using a wireless mobile device. The wireless mobile device, which may be a wireless handset, connects to the management system through a wireless communication network such as a public telecommunications provider network. The network has other devices, such as computers, servers, data appliances, or other wireless devices. Selected logical documents from the network devices are associated with the wireless mobile device, and the selected logical documents are targeted to be stored, copied, distributed, or backed up to the wireless mobile device. In a similar manner, logical documents originating on the wireless mobile device may be targeted to be stored, copied, distributed, or backed up on selected network devices. A logical document may be, for example, an XML document, a file, a set of files, a disk drive, or the files on a device.
US07650386B2
A computing device having partitions, and a method of communicating between partitions, are disclosed wherein each partition comprises at least one address area readable but not writable from the other of the at least two partitions. In one embodiment one partition sends to the other partition a request for information, which information is in the other partition in an address area not accessible to the one partition, the other partition copies the information to an address area accessible to the one partition, and the one partition reads the information from the accessible address area. In another embodiment the at least one accessible address area of each partition includes a data area and a consumer pointer indicating the position to which that partition has read the data area in another partition.
US07650385B2
Disclosed is a technique for assigning priorities. A request to manipulate data is received. A type of the request is determined. A priority is assigned to the request based on the type of the request.
US07650380B2
A messaging system includes a plurality of browsers connected through a common server. The server includes a message engine for receiving from a first user browser a request to enter chat mode with a second user browser; then receiving asynchronously from the second user browser a request to download any content from the common server or any other intranet or Internet server; and responding to the request from the second user browser with content modified to instantiate a chat session between the first and second user browsers.
US07650375B2
Disclosed is a quantitative evaluation system and method for multiagent grouping, which enables agents to be grouped in such a manner as to ensure efficient agent cooperation. The system comprises: a plurality of agents in a network-connected multiagent system, each of which agents has quantitative information on a predicate that is a type of information to be produced or consumed, and produces or consumes one or more types of information; an adjusting means for receiving the quantitative information from each of the agents, performing quantitative evaluation thereof, and then grouping the plurality of agents into one or more communities; and a message broker means for transferring the information gathered from the plurality of agents to the adjusting means.
US07650374B1
Multiple-precision hybrid multiplication is a technique that takes advantage of row-wise multiplication and column-wise multiplication. To generate a product for multiple-precision operands, partial products of the multiple-precision operands are accumulated in accordance with a hybrid of column-wise multiplication and row-wise multiplication. The partial products accumulated are of partial rows. The partiality of the row-wise partial products is defined by a parameter.
US07650373B2
A source driver for use in a display device having a shift register unit for sequentially activating output signals. The shift register unit includes a plurality of shift registers connected in series, wherein Nth shift register among the plurality of shift registers selects one of an output of a (N−1)th shift register and an output of a (N−A)th shift register according to a channel selection signal to thereby receive the selected signal, where A is a natural number which is greater than or equal to 2.
US07650370B2
A system and method for improving the effectiveness of a data processing application when using a virtual machine, where the program includes many methods, i.e. program sections, that are stored in the memory of the computer used, and where garbage collecting is used by said program. Thread stacks are first analyzed with respect to the methods required thereby. Each of the methods required is caused to be regenerated, where occurrent references to a method are replaced with references to the regenerated methods. All non-regenerated methods are then erased, and the corresponding memory space released.
US07650363B2
A document management system for managing a document together with property information thereof in a folder can respond to various user's needs by providing some latitude with the property information. When the document management system detects some actions related to a document registering operation with a designated folder by a user, the document management system starts a template attaching process for attaching a template (property information) associated with the designated folder to a newly registered document. Even if a plurality of templates are provided to the folder, the document management system can attach all the templates to the document. In detail, the document management system reads templates in a template information table based on template IDs obtained from a folder-template correspondence table and then provides the read templates to the document to be processed. When the document is in another folder and is copied to a destination folder, the document management system associates templates attached to the source document with the destination folder and then attaches the document to the templates.
US07650358B2
Methods and systems are provided for executing a statement to make changes to data in a relational database while preventing the statement from failing due to the transaction log file becoming filled up. An AUTO COMMIT n option is provided for statements such as SQL statements in order to execute n data elements at a time. Each group of n data elements is committed after having been successfully executed in order to avoid filling up the transaction log file and causing the statement to fail.
US07650351B2
The present invention is related to databases and the exchange of scientific information. Specifically the invention disclosed a unified scientific database that allows researchers to easily share their data with other researches. The present invention also allows for the ease of data collection, annotation, storage, management, retrieval and analysis of scientific data through and into the database. In addition, it allows for archival storage and retrieval of data collected directly from laboratory instruments to ensure data consistency for patent and other purposes. It also allows for ease of sharing data between laboratories in remote locations. The present invention also supports the automated creation of experimental protocols.
US07650346B2
A system that facilitates checking the consistency of a user-defined data type in relation to a database environment. The invention can employ a user-defined type (UDT) storage format whereby values can be self-describing, including the runtime type of the value. The invention can take the type definition that is persisted in the metadata catalogs as a streaming input and generate a type-specific state machine thereafter. At every point in the checking process, the type-specific state machine can be aware of the next data type that is to be encountered in the check. Whenever an embedded UDT is encountered, the current type-specific state machine can be suspended and saved. The embedded UDT can be checked before proceeding. In this way, the complex check can be effected using memory space proportional to the number of levels in the UDT as opposed to the number of bytes in the object.
US07650338B2
A method and system is provided to process data transactions in a data store including a plurality of databases. The system may comprise a computer interface module to receive a data transaction request from at least one requesting computer and a data store interface module to interface the system to the plurality of databases. The system also includes a data access layer defining an abstraction layer to identify at least one database of the plurality of databases. The data transaction request may be an object orientated request and the plurality of databases may be horizontally distributed wherein the data access layer defines an object orientated abstraction layer between the computer interface module and the plurality of databases. In one embodiment a data dependent routing module is provided that generates a query to a database that is identified based on content of the data in the data transaction request.
US07650336B1
A locking mechanism for an electronic file creates a key file for each electronic file stored on a file system. The key file is created when the electronic file is loaded or first created on the system. As a user requests to edit the electronic file, the file system is requested to rename the key file with a lock. If the file system returns an error in response to the request to rename, the user is informed that the electronic file is locked or inaccessible. If the system successfully renames the key file, the user is allowed access to the electronic file.
US07650328B2
A data storage device includes a secure data storage portion including a log memory. The log memory is formed of a plurality of banks, and stores history information in the plurality of banks in a ring-like fashion. The plurality of banks are designated by addresses (0−(N−1)), respectively. Each of the items of the history information respectively stored in the banks includes a management number region, a license ID (LID) region, a Ks2x region, an ST1 region, an ST2 region, a KPcmy region and a LBA region.
US07650327B2
In a management of taxonomic information, a name that specifies an organism is identified. Based on the name and a database of organism names or classifications, another name that specifies the organism and that represents a link between pieces of biological identification information in the database, or a classification for the organism, is determined. Based on the other name or the classification, information associated with the organism is identified.
US07650324B2
Methods and systems are disclosed for providing within edited shell documents contextual information associated with a referenced object. The methods and systems may receive a request from an author to insert a reference to a fragment object into a shell document reflecting content to be displayed and generate response data including a reference to the fragment object and a first property reflecting contextual information associated with the fragment object. The shell document may be modified by inserting the response data into the shell document. The methods and system may also render the modified shell document including the response data such that the response data conveys a user-ascertainable characteristic of the fragment object based on the first property.
US07650321B2
Missing data is addressed in a medical decision support system. The classifier applied to the patient record with missing data is obtained as a function of the available data. For example, one of a plurality of different classifiers is selected based on the features available in the patient record to be classified. The different classifiers are developed using different feature sets. The classifier developed using a feature set closest to or a sub-set of the features available in the patient record is selected for classifying the patient record. As another example, features in a training set corresponding to features available in the patient record are used to build a classifier. The classifier is applied to the patient record by inputting the available features of the patient record.
US07650319B2
The need for a more readily usable interface for programmable devices is widely recognized. The present invention relates to programmable sequencing devices, or, more particularly, the remote controls for consumer electronic devices. The present invention provides an enhanced interface for facilitating human input of a desired control sequence in a programmable device by employing specialized visual feedback. The present invention also relates to a new interface and method of interfacing with a programmable device, which is usable as an interface for a programmable video cassette recorder.
US07650316B2
System and method for generating information regarding the functionality of a system. Input specifying at least a portion of functionality of a system may be received, e.g., from a user via a graphical user interface (GUI), and may specify one or more components of the system at a component level. The input may specify one or more components of the system, e.g., software component(s), hardware device(s), function(s) of the system, etc. Information, e.g., help information and/or documentation, describing one or more aspects of the functionality of the system may be automatically generated based on the input. The descriptions of the aspects may include information regarding the synergistic/combinatorial interactions of the components at a system level, e.g., via calculation or derivation from data retrieved from various sources regarding the components of the system. The information may be automatically stored and/or automatically displayed in the GUI substantially in real-time.
US07650313B1
The present invention provides a microbilling system that integrates with existing billing systems and existing devices. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the devices store digital certificates with short-lived expiration dates and specifying transaction limits, preferably using a trust management system. A provisioning agent periodically (e.g., once a day) issues the certificates over a secure channel to the devices. When conducting a purchase transaction, the devices exchange certificates via a communication channel (that need not be secure) and the purchasing device issues a digitally signed electronic check which is periodically deposited over an advantageously secure channel with a clearing service. The present invention enables microbilling transactions by embedding liability in the certificates.
US07650301B2
To ensure merchant acquisition compliance, the invention enables creation of merchant selection criteria that are used to query a database of acquired merchants. A set of acquired merchants is randomly compiled based on the selection criteria and is entered into a workflow to determine compliance with a set of rules that are represented by a checklist. A checklist corresponding to the set of acquired merchants is retrieved. The set and the checklist are combined to create a case, which is assigned to a representative. The representative ensures that a merchant acquisition form for each merchant in the set complies with a checklist item. When a merchant acquisition form is found to be non-compliant, then it is either corrected by the representative (if the error is minor), or sent to an acquisition manager (when more substantive errors are found). The acquisition form is then corrected and the case is closed.
US07650299B2
A method of marketing component products to producers engaged in the production of composite products utilizing such component products, and the sale of such composite products to end users, generally consisting of distributing software to such producers, functional to design the composite products and including advertisements soliciting the sale of component products; receiving electronically over the internet from the producers, orders for the purchase of selected ones of the component products; transmitting electronically over the internet to selected ones of a set of vendors, orders for the purchase of component products corresponding to the selected ones of the component products ordered by the producers with instructions to ship the ordered component products to the producers; receiving invoices from the vendors of component products shipped to the producers responsive to purchase orders received by the vendors, and remitting payment thereof to the vendors; and invoicing the producers upon confirmation of the shipment of the component products by the vendors to the producers.
US07650289B2
A billing system for determining package transportation charges. The billing system includes a reader to read a package identifier associated with said package and the reader generates a package identifier signal and transmits the same to a microprocessor. The billing system also includes a package sizer having a plurality of non-contact optical sensors located along each of an x, y and z axis, where each optical sensor is in a known position. The sensors are oriented relative to the conveyor so that packages passing over the sensors are detected by the sensors and produce a signal correlated to said package size. Also provided is a microprocessor to receive and correlate said package size and identifier signals, and to determine an appropriate shipping charge based upon the same. A weigh scale may also be incorporated into the system. A method of determining a transportation charge is also comprehended, which includes a self-diagnostic initialization procedure.
US07650283B2
A dialogue supporting apparatus that easily selects a desired sample sentence from among candidate-sample sentences corresponding to inputted speech. The dialogue supporting apparatus includes a speech recognition unit performing continuous speech recognition of the inputted speech, a database unit having a sample sentence database holding the correspondence of sample sentences of a source language and a target language, a sample sentence selection unit selecting one or more sample sentences from within the sample sentence database, according to a speech recognition result or operation of a GUI unit, a sample sentence comparison unit (i) comparing the one or more sample sentences selected by the sample sentence selection unit and the speech recognition result, (ii) calculating word scores from an appearance location of the words, and (iii) deriving a display parameter for each word of each sample sentence, based on the word scores, and the GUI unit performing the display of a sample sentence based on the display parameter.
US07650278B2
A digital signal encoding method and apparatus using a plurality of lookup tables. The method includes: preparing a plurality of lookup tables storing numbers of allocated bits for encoding frequency bands of an input signal according to a characteristic of the input signal in a predetermined number of addresses; dividing an input signal in the time domain into signals in predetermined frequency bands; calculating address values of the frequency bands; selecting one of the plurality of lookup tables according to the characteristic of the input signal; extracting numbers of allocated bits of addresses having the calculated address values from the selected lookup table with respect to the frequency bands and allocating the numbers of bits to the frequency bands; and generating a bitstream by quantizing the input signal according to the numbers of allocated bits. Bit amount control suitable for a characteristic of an input signal can be performed by extracting numbers of allocated bits of frequency bands from an optimal lookup table selected according to the characteristic of the input signal. Also, an additional computational time can be reduced by using each occupancy rate per frequency band equal to each address of the lookup table as the characteristic of the input signal.
US07650273B2
An embodiment of the present invention is a technique to simulate performance of a multi-core system. A micro-architecture effect is estimated from each core in the multi-core system. A model of a memory hierarchy associated with each core is simulated. The simulated model of the memory hierarchy is superpositioned on the estimated micro-architecture effect to produce a performance figure for the multi-core system.
US07650272B2
A method, apparatus, and computer program product are presented for automatically evaluating Bayesian network models. Operations performed comprise receiving a Bayesian Network (BN) model including evidence nodes and conclusion nodes that are linked with the evidence nodes by causal dependency links, and where the evidence nodes have evidence states and the conclusion nodes have conclusion states. The states of conclusion nodes are set to desired conclusion states and corresponding probabilities of occurrence of evidence states are determined by propagating these states down the causal dependency links. Thus, samples of most likely states of the evidence nodes are generated. Then, states of the evidence nodes are set corresponding to the samples of the evidence states. These states are propagated back up the causal dependency links to obtain probabilities of the resulting states of the conclusion nodes. Finally, a representation is outputted for the probabilities of the states of the conclusion nodes.
US07650268B2
A method and a computer software program for predicting and modeling ion flux colliding with an ion-propelled vehicle traversing a magnetic field predicts a colliding ion path based upon an ion exhaust velocity, an ion charge-to-mass ratio, and a localized magnetic field vector. An ion-propelled vehicle path is predicted based upon a selected trajectory and a vehicle velocity vector. An ion plume is transformed based upon the predicted colliding ion path. The ion-propelled vehicle is projected into the transformed ion plume. The flux is calculated at a silhouette of the projected vehicle.
US07650267B1
A simulation system includes a receiver component that receives multiple replications of a simulation scenario. The simulation scenario includes a plurality of interacting components representing devices and elements of the real-world system or abstract process to be simulated. Each of the interacting components has one or more numerical parameters associated therewith, to represent an operational parameter of the system device. During the execution of the replications, each replication operates with a randomness factor that modifies a respective numerical parameter, in accordance with the sorts of variations that can be expected in the actual system. An assignment component is included that assigns a subset of the replications to multiple processors such that a processor within the multiple processors executes at least one replication.
US07650265B2
Various geometric constructs are configured for use in modeling a system, for example a fissile system, using an analysis method, such as Monte Carlo, to model such systems based upon the interstitial regions formed by these geometric constructs. The various geometric constructs are configured to provide for modeling of, for example, complex arrays and lattices and allows for embedding of these constructs and virtual filling of arrays of these modeled units.
US07650259B2
A method, system, and computer program product for tuning a set of chipset parameters to achieve optimal chipset performance under varying workload characteristics. A set of workload characteristics of a current workload type is determined. An instruction stream is generated using weighted parameters derived from the set of workload characteristics of the current workload type. A set of chipset parameters is generated and integrated within the instruction stream. The instruction stream is loaded to one or more processors and executed to collect and analyze performance data relating to the chipset's performance. The analysis includes comparing the set of performance data of a plurality of different instruction streams having the same set of workload characteristics. Each executed instruction stream is executed with at least one different combination of chipset parameters. A determination is made regarding which combination of chipset parameters provides the best performance data for the current workload.
US07650258B2
A computer implemented method and system for assessing the risk of an anthropogenic event are disclosed. An anthropogenic event is defined and recursively decomposed into causal conditions with ascertainable probabilities. The causal conditions and probabilities are transformed into a comprehensive probability of the event. The risk related to the occurrence of the event, such as a monetary loss, is computed based on its derived probability.
US07650253B2
An accelerometer has an acceleration transducer producing uncorrected analog acceleration signals representing vertical, lateral, and longitudinal components of acceleration. An error correction system is connected to the acceleration transducer for receiving the uncorrected analog acceleration signals. The error correction system includes a system controller for generating a plurality of correction coefficients, an analog to digital converter which converts the uncorrected analog acceleration signals to uncorrected digital acceleration signals, a filter for filtering the uncorrected digital acceleration signals, an error compensation circuit receiving the correction coefficients to compensate the uncorrected digital acceleration signals, and a digital to analog converter which converts the corrected digital acceleration signals to corrected analog acceleration signals. The error compensation circuit corrects for bias offset, cross-axis alignment errors, scaling errors, and thermal offset. The system controller arranges a plurality of calibration measurements into a matrix and inverts the matrix to calculate the correction coefficients.
US07650252B2
A system and a method sense the inclination of a machine element, such as a platform, and eliminate tangential and radial acceleration errors. The platform defines orthogonal X and Y axes, and is rotatable about a Z axis. An inclinometer, mounted on the platform at a location spaced from the axis of rotation by a distance r, provides inclinometer outputs indicating acceleration in the X and Y directions, Ix and Iy, respectively. A rate gyro on the platform senses the rotational speed w of the platform. The rate gyro output w is differentiated and multiplied by r to determined tangential acceleration at the inclinometer. A circuit resolves the tangential acceleration into X axis and Y axis components, which are used to correct the inclinometer outputs Ix and Iy for errors that would otherwise result from tangential acceleration.
US07650244B2
The present invention generally relates to a method and a device for monitoring an analyte concentration in the living body of a human or animal. In particular to a method and device for determining analyte values y(tn) correlating with the concentration to be determined are determined for consecutive points in time tn. The analyte values y(tn) is used to predict a prediction value for an analyte y(tn0+Δt) over a prediction period Δt.
US07650238B2
A processor of an apparatus in one example makes a determination of an environmental characteristic based on an average of a plurality of concomitant values that correspond to the environmental characteristic.
US07650237B2
There are provided a navigation apparatus and a navigation method capable of performing a character display reflecting the operation result of a user. The navigation apparatus includes a facility search section that searches for a facility fulfilling a set search condition; a display flag changing section that sets a character string, which is displayed at a position corresponding to the facility searched by the facility search section, as a character string indicating the facility; a map drawing section that draws a map image including the location of the facility searched by the facility search section and the character string set by the display flag changing section; and a display processing section and a display device, which display the map image drawn by the map drawing section.
US07650234B2
A navigation device utilizes stored user profiles to navigate a user who may be driving in a vehicle, on foot, or in other mode of transportation. Each user profile corresponds to one of the user's personae. For example the user business profile corresponding to the user's business persona may be different from the user personal profile corresponding to the user's personal persona. The navigation device provides the user with a navigated route, together with information concerning the favorite facilities and events surrounding the navigated route, which satisfy the preferences in a selected user profile. Blockages may also be established using the device to avoid selected areas, or to block transmission of selected information.
US07650227B2
A system and method for determining the flow of traffic in a monitored route segment using global positioning system, or assisted global positioning system, enabled cellular phones as traffic probes takes advantage of the existing cellular infrastructure to deploy traffic probes to determine the flow of traffic based on the speed and direction of probes. Filtering of probe data can be used to remove probes having outlying results such as excessive speed, or probes that do not fit the general trend already observed on a traffic route segment.
US07650224B2
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions in a combustion engine. The method includes a shift detection module determining an out of gear (OOG) indicator for a manual transmission. The method further includes an engine speed module determining an engine speed target based on at least one operating condition of the engine. The method continues with a load determination module determining an engine load target in response to the OOG indicator and an engine acceleration module determining a desired net torque based on the engine speed target and the engine load target. Finally, the method concludes with an emissions module determining a minimum fuel target based on the desired net torque and an actuation module generating a fueling signal to engage an engine fueling.
US07650223B2
An integrative control method and device for controlling gas engines is proposed which load responsivity of the engine is improved while maintaining air fuel ratio control and stable control is performed when fuel gas of different calorific value is used. The control method comprises a speed control process for controlling engine rotation speed by controlling the fuel gas flow control valve based on deviation of actual engine rotation speed from a target command value of rotation speed, and an air fuel ratio control process for controlling air fuel ratio of fuel-air mixture by controlling throttle valve opening based on deviation of the actual mixture flow rate from the command value of mixture flow rate, whereby correction of theoretical air fuel ratio in accordance with exhaust temperature is performed in the air fuel ratio control process, the correction being done to correct the theoretical air fuel ratio used to calculate the command value of fuel-air mixture flow rate in accordance with exhaust temperature based on deviation of actual exhaust temperature from target exhaust temperature prescribed for various engine rotation speeds and load factors.
US07650218B2
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for preventing turbocharger overspeed in a combustion engine. The method includes determining a turbocharger error term as a difference between a nominal turbocharger maximum speed and a current turbocharger speed. The method further includes determining a turbocharger speed derivative with respect to time. The method includes calculating a turbocharger control response based on the turbocharger error term and the turbocharger speed derivative with respect to time. The turbocharger control response may be a modified turbocharger maximum speed calculated by determining a reference speed multiplier based on the turbocharger error term and the turbocharger speed derivative with respect to time, and multiplying the reference speed multiplier by the nominal turbocharger maximum speed. The method thereby smoothly anticipates turbocharger transient events, and prevents an overspeed condition of the turbocharger.
US07650212B2
System and method for adjusting at least one pedal for a driver in a vehicle in which a determining system determines one or more morphological characteristics of the driver, a motor is coupled to the pedal(s) and is at least automatically controllable without manual intervention to move the pedal(s) relative to a floor of the vehicle and thus adjust the position of the pedal(s) relative to the driver, and a control circuit is coupled to the determining system and the motor for automatically controlling the motor based on the determined morphological characteristic(s) of the driver. The pedal may be an accelerator pedal and/or a brake pedal of the vehicle.
US07650209B2
A method for monitors the functions and increases the operational reliability of a complex safety-relevant control system. Examples of such control systems include motor vehicle control systems such as a brake system (ABS, TCS, ESP, EHB, EMB), a steering aid (“steering-by-wire”), etc. The method also detects and evaluates system errors. The method detects a system error and evaluates as a group error, brings about a complete system degradation or a partial system degradation corresponding to the group error, e.g. limitation of the system functions and the system availability, localizes the system error and the error source by tests, logical combining of the test results, plausibility considerations, etc. and gradually cancels the restrictions of the system functions and enhances the system availability in dependence on the result of the individual steps for bounding or localizing the system error and the error source.
US07650208B2
A diver unit computes the direction and distance to a specified target. When the target is obstructed, the diver unit receives navigation assistance data from another diver unit. The navigation assistance data includes direction information that is referenced to a common reference line extending between the two diver units.
US07650200B2
The present invention includes a method of creating a Site-Dependent (S-D) evaluation library including receiving a plurality of S-D wafers by one or more S-D transfer subsystems in a processing system, establishing wafer state data for each S-D wafer, establishing a library-creation processing sequence for creating a library of S-D evaluation data, determining a first number of S-D process wafers to be processed, establishing first operational states for a plurality of S-D processing elements in one or more processing subsystems, determining a first number of available processing elements, establishing a first S-D transfer sequence, transferring the first number of S-D process wafers to the first number of available processing elements therein and applying a first corrective action.
US07650194B2
An intra-cochlear implant is provided for aiding in the hearing of a patient. The implant includes a body portion implantable within an interior of a cochlea of a patient. The body portion has a proximal end, a distal end and a primary axis. A plurality of signal carrying electrodes extends along the body portion. The electrodes have proximal ends and distal ends, with the proximal ends being capable of receiving a signal from a signal generator, and the distal ends being capable of delivering the received signal to an anatomical receptor within a cochlea. At least several of the plurality of electrodes have a nanoelectrode-sized portion. The implant also may include a fluid delivery system of tubules, reservoirs, and pumps for the delivery of chemicals and cells to activate regeneration of neural elements lost during the hearing loss process.
US07650184B2
An implantable lead includes a tubular polymer body having a plurality of wire conductors embedded or carried within the inner tube body. A ring contact, e.g., a platinum ring contact, is electrically and mechanically connected to at least one of the plurality of wires at at least one end of the tubular body. In one embodiment, ring contacts are attached at both ends of the tubular body. In another embodiment, a lumen passes longitudinally through the length of the lead body.
US07650171B2
A plurality of operation portions are arranged at a surface on a sub-display side of a cellular phone with a camera so that various kinds of setting, selection and control can be performed without opening the cellular phone in its folded state, and the cellular phone can achieve improved operability and convenience. Cellular phone includes a first display portion at a surface of a first body opposed to a second body in the folded state, and includes a second display portion, an image taking portion and a plurality of operation portions arranged at a rear surface of the first body remote from the first display portion.
US07650170B2
A communications system may include at least one mobile wireless communications device, and a wireless communications network for sending text messages thereto. More particularly, the at least one mobile wireless communications device may include a wireless transceiver and a controller for cooperating therewith for receiving text messages from the wireless communications network. It may further include a headset output connected to the controller. The controller may be for switching between a normal message mode and an audio message mode based upon a connection between the headset output and a headset. Moreover, when in the audio message mode, the controller may output at least one audio message including speech generated from at least one of the received text messages via the headset output.
US07650169B2
Disclosed is a method of processing a schedule alarm message in a portable terminal comprising analyzing a message when the message is received in the portable terminal in order to check whether the message includes schedule information, extracting the schedule information from the message and storing the schedule information if the message includes the schedule information, and registering the schedule alarm message in a receive message list. The method of processing a schedule alarm message in a portable terminal further comprises displaying a display window including items used for displaying the stored schedule information and an alarm time when the user confirms the schedule alarm message, allowing the user to correct the schedule information and to set the alarm time by using the items displayed in the display window, and registering the corrected schedule alarm message to a schedule alarm message list in response to a schedule alarm message registration request.
US07650165B2
A high speed data transfer system includes a WAU (201) which is utilized to provide high speed access to satellite transferred data. The system is configured such that a plurality of data utilization (205) may access the high speed data via wireless links to the WAU (201). Advantageously, high speed data services may be provided to users without the users requiring individual satellite antennas.
US07650148B2
A method of processing a call to an unregistered user in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)-General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) using a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is provided. The method of connecting a call to a mobile node present in a GPRS area includes registering location information of the mobile node to be invited in a Home Subscriber Server (HSS); when the mobile node uses a Mobile Internet Protocol (MIP), allocating an Internet Protocol (IP) address to the mobile node and authenticating the mobile node through MIP registration and setting a SIP session; and when the mobile node uses a simple IP, allocating an IP address to the mobile node and authenticating the mobile node through a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) procedure and setting a SIP session.
US07650147B2
An integrated device provides functionality of both a PDA and cellular telephone. Features include a power button offering control of both the computing and telephony functions of the device; a lid that turns the device on and off and controls additional telephony functions; a jog rocker that activates the device and is used to select from a variety of menu options; application buttons that offer direct access to applications stored on the device, and which can be configured to operate in conjunction with secondary keys to offer added functionality; a keyboard that enables data input into the device; an automatic word completion function that verifies and corrects a user's typing in real time; and a simplified keyboard navigation system that allows the navigation of menus using keyboard shortcuts.
US07650141B2
Apparatus, and an associated method, for providing routing information to a mobile node operable in a radio communication system. The routing information is used by the mobile node to address data messages that are to be communicated to a relay host, or other, device. The routing information that is provided to the mobile node includes a plurality of separate routing sequences. Different ones of the routing sequences are used by the mobile node, depending upon at what location that the mobile node is positioned when the data message is sent. A registration server is used by which to create the routing information, responsive to indications of a home network associated with the mobile node and a current location of the mobile node.
US07650139B2
A method for ensuring the security of subscriber cards, includes the following steps: setting a security key in the subscriber card, and setting a verification equipment and storing the security key in the verification equipment; the subscriber card authenticating the verification equipment according to the security key before responding to relevant access request; if the authentication succeeds, the relevant access is permitted; otherwise, the relevant access is refused. With the present invention, the security of the subscriber card is guaranteed without using a PIN code, which is very convenient for the subscriber.
US07650138B1
Methods for adding data blocks to a data subscription plan period. The methods include determining whether a threshold number of data blocks have been reached during the data subscription plan period; and incrementally adding data blocks to the data subscription plan when the threshold number of data blocks has been reached. The cost per data block of the added data blocks is less than the high-cost per data block rate normally associated with exceeding the threshold number of data blocks during the data subscription plan period.
US07650134B2
In a SPDT switch, a resistor for leak path is connected between a terminal for antenna and a reference potential. The resistor for leak path allows charge capacitances accumulated in electrostatic capacitor elements provided as DC cut capacitors connected to transmission signal terminals and reception signal terminals to be discharged and allows rapid lowering of a potential at the terminal for antenna. In the SPDT switch, a switching characteristic is improved and a delay in the rising edge of a low-power slot which comes after a high-power slot is reduced.
US07650125B2
Certain embodiments of the present invention provides a system and method for SAP FM demodulation. The system includes a bandpass filter for isolating the SAP signal, a Hilbert filter to produce a copy of the SAP signal phase shifted by 90 degrees, an FM demodulator for demodulating the SAP signal using the phase shifted SAP signal and a delayed SAP signal, and a lowpass filter to eliminate noise from the FM demodulated SAP signal. The system may also include an automatic gain control for normalizing amplitude of FM demodulator input signals. The digital FM demodulator uses a simplified approximation using non-unity delay for simplified demodulation of frequency modulated signals.
US07650117B2
Two separate radio frequency networks may be operated within interference distance from one another in a way which mitigates the possibility of interference. Using received signal strength indicator data, the nature of the interference may be determined without actually demodulating the interfering signal. The timing of the interfering signal and its characteristic features may be determined. Using that information, together with the probability that any given slot will actually be occupied by an interfering transmission, a statistics package may be developed which gives an indication of the probability of a transmission from the interferer at any given time. That package may be transmitted to other nodes in the same network. When a first node wishes to transmit information to a second node, the first node may analyze the statistics package received from the second node. The first node may thereby make a determination about when to actually initiate the transmission to the second node.
US07650106B2
An image forming apparatus capable of preventing sheets from being crumpled due to compressive deformation of a resilient layer thereof when the sheets pass through a fixing unit, and a method for manufacturing the same. The pressure roller may include a reinforcing member that reinforces a side of the resilient layer to prevent an axial compressive deformation of the resilient layer, a reinforcing member received between the shaft and the resilient layer to increase hardness of the resilient layer, or a reinforcing member interposed between the shaft and the resilient layer to reduce the compressive deformation of the resilient layer.
US07650101B2
An image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, and a developing unit includes a developer carrying member to carry developer, first and second rotary members arranged in parallel to each other and configured to rotate to agitate and convey the developer, and an enclosure having an inside space to contain the developer, the inside space being divided by a partition with communication openings formed therein at opposite ends thereof into a first chamber configured to maintain the developer above a first level and to hold the first rotary member therein which supplies the developer to the developer carrying member while agitating and conveying the developer, and a second chamber configured to communicate with the first chamber through the communication openings, to maintain the developer at a second level lower than the first level, and to hold the second rotary member therein which circulates the developer with the first chamber through the communication openings.
US07650099B2
To enable not only releasing pressurization by a pressurization mechanism for pressurizing a belt thereby preventing a deformation therein but also easily and securely releasing the pressurization mechanism held in the pressure release state, thereby facilitating the installation operation of an apparatus. A pressurization mechanism for pressurizing a belt is in a released state prior to the use of the main body of the apparatus. Prior to the initial use of the main body, the pressurization of the pressurizing mechanism for the belt is exerted in linkage with a user operation of placing a recording material in a feed tray.
US07650093B2
An image forming device includes an image forming unit that forms an image including at least one of a user-requested image and a test image onto a recording medium, a controller that controls the image forming unit to form a test image including a mixed color on the recording medium, a transporting path that transports the recording medium on which the test image is formed by the image forming unit, an image detecting unit disposed at the transporting path that detects the test image formed on the recording medium, and a calibration unit that performs a color calibration process based upon the test image detected by the image detecting unit.
US07650080B2
A spread spectrum waveform generator has a photonic oscillator and an optical heterodyne synthesizer. The photonic oscillator is a multi-tone optical comb generator for generating a series of RF comb lines on an optical carrier. The optical heterodyne synthesizer includes first and second phase-locked lasers, where the first laser feeds the multi-tone optical comb generator and the second laser is a single tone laser whose output light provides a frequency translation reference. At least one photodetector is provided for heterodyning the frequency translation reference with the optical output of the photonic oscillator to generate a spread spectrum waveform. A receiver pre-processor may be provided to operate on the spread spectrum waveform.
US07650076B2
A method for token-controlled data transmission includes receiving a token including transmission data specifying one of a plurality of data channels and a time window. A burst blocker is configured, based at least in part on the transmission data, for the selective communication of the specified data channel on an optical transmission medium having the plurality of data channels. The selective configuration of the burst blocker includes splitting the specified data channel from the plurality of data channels, configuring the burst blocker in a first configuration during a time other than the time window to rejoin the specified data channel with the plurality of data channels for transmission of the plurality of data channels toward a destination node, and configuring the burst blocker in a second configuration during the time window to block the specified data channel to prevent the transmission of the specified data channel.
US07650069B1
Systems and methods for facilitating photo completion are provided. According to one embodiment, a system is provided including a hand held device, an application running on the hand held device, and a printing system. The hand held device includes the capability to both capture and transmit digital photos. The application provides the hand held device with hyper-simplified photo capture and delivery. In one embodiment, the application defaults a number of parameters that can be configured on the hand held device, such as the target, the photo review mechanism, the presentation method. These defaults can be set (reset) directly in the application or overridden in the system post transmission processing. In one embodiment, the printing system may control the schedule of publication. For example, the printing system may print received digital photos immediately, the next morning, on a periodic basis, or after receiving eMail confirmation.
US07650062B2
Pictures are captured, and thereby moving-picture data is generated which represents a sequence of moving-picture fields. At least one picture is captured, and thereby still-picture data is generated which represents at least one still-picture frame corresponding in picture capture timing to one of the moving-picture fields represented by the moving-picture data. Components which correspond to said one of the moving-picture fields are removed from the still-picture data to generate supplementary still-picture information. Link information is generated which represents the picture capture timing correspondence between the still-picture frame and said one of the moving-picture fields. The moving-picture data, the supplementary still-picture information, and the link information are recorded on a recording medium.
US07650061B2
Pictures are successively captured, and thereby moving-picture data representing a stream of moving pictures is generated. At least one picture is captured, and thereby still-picture data representing at least one still picture is generated. The still picture corresponds in picture capture timing to first one of the moving pictures. Link information is generated which represents the correspondence in picture capture timing between the still picture and the first one of the moving pictures. Offset information is generated. The offset information designates a second one of the moving pictures which precedes the first one of the moving pictures by a prescribed time interval. Correspondence information is generated which includes a pair of the link information and the offset information. The moving-picture data, the still-picture data, and the correspondence information are recorded on a recording medium.
US07650060B2
A recording medium capable of executing menu calls based on the particular characteristics of different versions of the same movie work when these different versions are recorded on a single recording medium. An AV clip and a dynamic scenario are recorded on a BD-ROM 100 (recording medium). The dynamic scenario is a command string showing a playback control procedure relating to video data, and has attribute information attached thereto. Attribute information is information showing a control procedure for when a user requests a menu call during AV clip playback, and includes a resume_intension_flag. The resume_intension_flag shows whether playback resumption of video data after the menu call ends is intended.
US07650054B2
The present invention relates to the field of rotary joints, or similar devices, more specifically to optical rotary joints. Embodiments of the invention are directed to a multipathway optical rotary joint, comprising a stationary plane, a moving plane rotatable about a reference axis of rotation and a Dove prism, rotatably placed between the stationary plane and the moving plane. The assembly is configured so that when the moving plane rotates at a speed ω, the prism rotates at a speed ω/2. The optical pathways are arranged so as to pass through the prism. The Dove prism includes a central optical channel passing an optical wave without undergoing deviation, the axis of the channel being substantially coaxial with the reference axis of rotation. An optical pathway is furthermore arranged in the joint so as to pass through the joint, following an axis substantially coinciding with the reference axis of rotation.
US07650049B2
A modulator including a waveguide propagating an electromagnetic wave of given wavelength (λ) with absorption. Means such as an electrical junction enable the residence time of the electromagnetic wave in the guide to be modified. A corresponding modulation method is also provided.
US07650047B2
The present invention can extract a change not only from an orthorectified image but also from a plurality of images captured at different camera positions, under different lighting conditions, at different angles, and at different scaling factors. Foot-print information is extracted from each of images to be compared, and a change is detected by comparing the foot-print information.
US07650045B2
An image processing apparatus comprises an extractor for extracting a brightness component from image data; a scale converter for obtaining a distribution of the brightness component on relatively large scale; a brightness component improver for improving the distribution of the brightness component of the image data by using the brightness component and an output of the converter; and an image reproducer for reproducing the image data by using an output of the improver as a distribution of a brightness component of a new image, wherein the apparatus further comprises a face detector for detecting a face area from the image data, and the improver adjusts a degree of improvement by using a distribution of a brightness component of the face area being an output of the detector. Thus, it is possible to automatically adjust the degree of improvement of the luminance distribution according to the image data to be processed.
US07650036B2
Systems and methods are provided for receiving and encoding 3D video. The receiving method comprises: accepting a bitstream with a current video frame encoded with two interlaced fields, in a MPEG2, MPEG4, or H.264 standard; decoding a current frame top field; decoding a current frame bottom field; and, presenting the decoded top and bottom fields as a 3D frame image. In some aspects, the method presents the decoded top and bottom fields as a stereo-view image. In other aspects, the method accepts 2D selection commands in response to a trigger such as receiving a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message, an analysis of display capabilities, manual selection, or receiver system configuration. Then, only one of the current frame interlaced fields is decoded, and a 2D frame image is presented.
US07650032B2
In the case where a deblocking filter applied to a luminance component is referred to and applied to a chrominance component, by converting a pixel position of the chrominance component so as to have a pixel position of a luminance component which belongs to a same field as the chrominance component (F7a) and referring to the luminance component, the present invention makes it possible to generate a more natural image by filtering the luminance component and the chrominance component with the same strength when the image is displayed in an interlaced-scan form.
US07650018B2
A captured image of an object is input twice using a white background and a black background, after which the opacity D and the color image X of the object are obtained to yield an object image. It is possible to easily create a high-quality real image.
US07650005B2
The object of the claimed hearing aid device is to improve the speech intelligibility of a speech signal transmitted by the hearing aid device. To this end provision is made to define a maximum gain of the input signal and to determine a target gain at least at a first and second frequency of an input signal. A resulting gain is set in the hearing aid device, which does not exceed the maximum gain. A reduction of the resulting gain compared with the target gain at the first frequency is compensated for according to the invention by an automatic increase in the set resulting gain compared with the target gain at the second frequency, with compensation preferably being achieved by improving the speech intelligibility of a speech signal transmitted with the aid of the hearing aid device.
US07650000B2
The input signal X of one channel is divided by a multi-stage delay processing device Z−1 and each of the outputs is superimposed by a specified coefficient by a coefficient processing device W0, W1, . . . , Wk. The results are added by an adder, thereby providing a correlation eliminating filter for extracting a signal component from the input signal X of one channel having a high correlation with the input signal Y of the other channel. There is provided a coefficient updating processing device 5 for successively changing the feature of the correlation eliminating filter according to an error signal e obtained from the output signal RES and the input signal Y from the other channel, and the input signal X of one channel. A surround signal is obtained from a difference between the output RES from the correlation eliminating filter and the input signal Y of the other channel. Thus, upon reproduction of a two channels stereo signal, it is possible to generate a surround signal not giving uncomfortable feeling to a listener.
US07649999B2
A system and method for generating a secret key to facilitate secure communications between users. A first and second and a function between the two monoids are selected, the function being a monoid homomorphism. A group and a group action of the group on the first monoid is selected. Each user is assigned a submonoid of the first monoid so that these submonoids satisfy a special symmetry property determined by the function, a structure of the first and second monoids, and the action of the group. A multiplication of an element in the second monoid and an element in the first monoid is obtained by combining the group action and the monoid homomorphism. First and second users choose private keys which are sequences of elements in their respective submonoids. A first result is obtained by multiplying an identity element by the first element of the sequence in a respective submonoid. Starting with the first result, each element of the user's private key may be iteratively multiplied by the previous result to produce a public key. Public keys are exchanged between first and second users. Each user's private key may be iteratively multiplied by the other user's public key to produce a secret key. Secure communication may then occur between the first and second user using the secret key.
US07649998B2
There is disclosed a method, apparatus, computer program and computer program product for facilitating secure data communications. The secure data communications is carried out using a secret key for encrypting data flowing between first and second entities over a communications link. First it is determined that the communications link has been idle. Once it is determined that there is now data to flow over the previously idle communications link, the generation of a new secret key is initiated. This new secret key is then used for encrypting data sent between the first and the second entities over the communications link.
US07649983B2
An apparatus and method are provided for addressing and broadcasting a message to recipients having both telephone network-based receiving devices and data network-based receiving devices. The apparatus includes a message router that translates the broadcast message into individual messages that are addressed to each message recipient in a format, e.g., voice, text, email, fax, pager, compatible with each message recipient's receiving device. The individual messages are transmitted by a data network server over a data network. Individual messages designated for recipients having receiving devices addressable by the data network are delivered directly over the data network to the receiving devices. Individual messages designated for recipients having receiving devices addressable by the telephone network are delivered over the data network first to a telephone network server. The telephone network server then delivers the individual messages to the telephone network-based receiving devices over the telephone network via a local telephone switch corresponding to the telephone network server.
US07649980B2
A transmission target of a vacuum container is operable to have a ground potential and an electro-optical system is floated at a positive potential in the vacuum container. An electron beam, which is converged by means of the electro-optical system, is decelerated immediately before the electron beam is incident to the transmission target. The electron beam has energy that is several times of the final set value until the electron beam passes through the electro-optical system, and a divergence action exerted by a spatial electric charge effect is reduced. Color aberration of the electro-optical system is proportional to energy of the electron beam. Thus, if the electron beam is decelerated after the electron beam has passed through the electro-optical system, aberration is reduced in proportion to the degree of deceleration, making it possible to concurrently reduce a focus size.
US07649979B2
The effects of electromagnetic interference (EMI) on X-ray image data is corrected by characterizing the EMI and processing the image data to subtract the EMI effects from the image data. The X-ray image data, along with offset data, are collected in a conventional manner, affected by EMI if present, and EMI-characterizing data is immediately collected thereafter by disabling rows of a digital detector (FET off). The EMI-characterizing data, then, is not affected by the presence of image data, and can be used to characterize the amplitude and frequency of the EMI. The EMI-characterizing data is assured of being in phase with the collected image and offset data due to its collection in the same image acquisition sequence immediately following the collection of image and offset data. Artifacts due to the presence of EMI are thus eliminated from reconstructed images based upon the corrected data.
US07649977B2
A neutron-gamma ray tomography system comprises a source, a detector array, and an image processor. The source illuminates an object with a dual neutron-gamma ray beam. The detector array characterizes neutron and gamma ray attenuation in the object. The image processor generates tomography as a function of the neutron and gamma ray attenuation.
US07649976B2
A method and system of determining the physical dimensions and configuration of a structure or system as a precursor to the design of modifications of the structure or system by analyzing hidden objects within the structure or system is provided. The method includes accessing the structure or system prior to the modification for preparation of the modification; scanning the structure or system with an x-ray backscatter unit; collecting data from the x-ray backscatter unit and combining and reconstructing the data into a 2-D, 2-D panoramic or 3-D data set; producing surfaces and structures of the hidden objects from the data set; and tying the surfaces and structures of the hidden objects into a pre-existing coordinate system of the structure or system creating a 3-D model.
US07649971B2
A shift register includes a first node controller disposed at one side of the non-display region, the first node controller controlling a signal state of a first node, at least one pull-up switching device disposed at the one side of the display region, the pull-up switching device outputting an output pulse according to the signal state of the corresponding first node and supplying it to a corresponding gate line, a second node controller disposed at the other side of the display region, the second node controller controlling a signal state of a second node, and a first pull-down switching device disposed at the other side of the display region, the first pull-down switching device outputting a discharging voltage according to the signal state of the second node and supplying it to the other side of the corresponding gate line.
US07649970B2
The tie rod repair apparatus includes a tie rod secured at its upper end to the shroud flange at the top of the shroud. The lower end of the tie rod passes through an opening in the shroud support plate without imposing a load on the plate. The lower end of the tie rod is anchored to the lower end of the core shroud support cylinder such that the compressive load path exerted by the tie rod to restrain the cracked shroud passes directly through the shroud support cylinder and the assembly of shroud cylinders bypassing the shroud support plate.
US07649967B2
A method and device (100) for estimating a signal to interference ratio (SIR) of a signal transmitted from a first unit and to a remotely located second unit in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) wireless communication system. The transmitted TPC (Transmit Power Control) is checked and upon this result the SIR is determined. The checking of the TPC includes the estimation of the previous and the present power using a weighted contribution of the pilots and the data.
US07649961B2
A digital amplifier and method are provided to convert digital base-band signals to a pair of digital switching waveforms switching at a carrier frequency to create a modulated RF signal. The digital amplifier contains variable frequency suppressed carrier PWM generators that produce in-phase and quadrature-phase differential signals, a mixer that combines the differential signals, a decoder that decodes the combined signals, and a power stage that receives signals from the decoder and provides an amplified signal at the carrier frequency using switches. The mixer combines the differential signals such that only one of the differential signals is output in a period. The carrier generators have integral noise shaping and use a random period signal to re-distribute quantization noise to a band outside an RF band of interest and reduce EMI of the RF signal.
US07649958B2
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for amplitude modulation of an RF transmit signal using pulse width modulation to control an amount of energy within each period. The apparatus includes a signal processing circuit with an input port for receiving of information indicative of a carrier frequency and modulation data. The signal processing circuit has a first output port and a second output port for providing of output signals having a phase relationship therebetween. A power amplifier is provided for receiving the output signals and for generating a pulse width modulated signal in dependence thereon.
US07649955B2
Embodiments of a MIMO receiver and method for beamforming using CORDIC operations are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed. In some embodiments, complex singular value decomposition (SVD) operations are performed on a channel matrix using CORDIC operations to generate vector elements of a beamforming matrix. An inner product of a first of the vector elements and each of a plurality of stored codewords is computed using CORDIC operations. A recursive dimensional reduction on the beamforming matrix is performed based on the quantized first vector element is performed using CORDIC operations. In some embodiments, the MIMO receiver includes reprogrammable CORDIC circuitry.
US07649950B2
An OFDM transmitter that performs a peak reduction process in a stepwise manner on a signal sequence to be transmitted. The transmitter includes a dividing IFFT unit that divides a signal sequence into a plurality of signal sequences and IFFTs each of the signal sequences to obtain time signal sequences. Then, a first peak reduction processing unit cyclically shifts a first one of the time signal sequences by a first amount of cyclic shift obtained based on a first threshold to obtain a first cyclically shifted time signal sequence, and adds the first cyclically shifted time signal sequence and a second one of the time signal sequences. Meanwhile, a second peak reduction processing unit cyclically shifts a third one of the time signal sequences by a second amount of cyclic shift obtained based on a second threshold to obtain a second cyclically shifted time signal sequence.
US07649940B2
The invention relates to an image coding apparatus which can improve the picture quality of an image. A quantization scale arithmetic operation section 43 calculates a coefficient of a quantization index based on a variance of values of a motion vector residual outputted from a motion vector residual variable buffer section 72 and an activity outputted from an activity buffer section 73. The quantization scale arithmetic operation section 43 calculates a quantization scale based on the coefficient of the quantization index calculated thereby and the quantization index outputted from the quantization index arithmetic operation section 42. The present invention can be applied to an image coding apparatus of the MPEG system.
US07649932B2
In one embodiment of the present invention, a segmented equalizer includes a plurality of feedforward equalizer segments, each feedforward equalizer segment responsive to delayed samples of an input signal {vn}, wherein n is the index of samples, and including a filter block for filtering the delayed samples by using coefficients which are updated based on a step size generated for each equalizer segment.
US07649929B2
An apparatus for reducing modem command and status latency within a direct access arrangement (DAA) circuit is disclosed. The DAA circuit includes a serial audio interface for providing communications between the DAA circuit and the host computer system. The serial audio interface can operate under multiple serial communication interface standards, such as the AC '97 standard and the HD Audio standard. The DAA circuit also includes means for configuring the serial audio interface to transmit and receive modem samples at an audio sample rate higher than a modem sample rate of the modem samples and at a predetermined bit size that is wider than a bit size of the modem samples. The additional bits other than the modem samples are utilized to indicate command and status information associated with the DAA circuit or a telephone line such that modem command and status latency on the serial audio interface within the DAA circuit can be reduced.
US07649928B2
A Discrete Multitone Modulation (DMT) system and method with the capability to adapt the system bit rate on-line in a seamless manner. The DMT system provides a robust and fast protocol for completing this seamless rate adaptation. The DMT system also provides a framing and encoding method with reduced overhead compared to conventional DMT systems. The DMT system and method provide seamless rate adaptation with the provision of different power levels. This framing and encoding method enables a system with seamless rate adaptation capability. The system and method of the invention can be implemented in hardware, or alternatively in a combination of hardware and software.
US07649924B2
A regenerative amplifier includes a gain-medium that is optically pumped by CW radiation. The amplifier has primary resonator for amplifying pulses. The primary resonator has an optical switch for opening and closing the primary resonator. The amplifier has a secondary resonator that includes the gain-medium but not the optical switch. When the primary resonator is closed by the optical switch, and pulses are not being amplified, CW radiation is generated in the secondary resonator and prevents the gain-medium from being saturated. When the optical switch is operated to cause the primary resonator to amplify pulses, generation of CW radiation in the secondary resonator ceases.
US07649923B2
A method for manufacturing a nitride semiconductor laser element, equipped with a laminate that has a first conductivity type nitride semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second conductivity type nitride semiconductor layer on a substrate, and constitutes a resonator, comprises the steps of: forming a first auxiliary groove having an exposed region extending in the resonator direction of the laser element and in which at least the second conductivity type nitride semiconductor layer and the active layer are removed from the second conductivity type nitride semiconductor layer side on both sides in the resonator direction of an element region where the laser element is formed on the surface of the laminate, thereby exposing the first conductivity type nitride semiconductor layer, and two protrusion regions that are narrower than the exposed region and protrude in the resonator direction from the exposed region; forming a second auxiliary groove whose angle of inclination of the side faces with respect to the normal direction versus the substrate surface is greater than that of the first auxiliary groove within the exposed region; and dividing the substrate and the laminate with using the second auxiliary groove.
US07649917B2
The invention relates to a method and system for providing a set of continuous tuning regions from a discontinuously tuned laser, by providing a wavelength reference having at least first and second resonance peaks, sweeping the laser across a pre-determined wavelength range of the wavelength reference, and defining, within the laser sweep, one or more regions of continuous tuning operation of the laser, each of the regions corresponding to a response of the laser between adjacent resonance peaks of the wavelength reference. The advantage of the invention is that it provides a way for stitching together continuous regions of a multi-section tunable laser in an efficient and accurate manner.
US07649899B2
A system and method for dynamic egress routing through a default gateway in a network is disclosed. One aspect of the present invention includes providing a default gateway that manages routes to Internet egress points for a client. The default gateway includes a list of Internet egress points that correspond to the default gateway. A metric is applied to the list to determine the optimal path to an Internet egress point. The default gateway uses the optimal path to manage Internet access routing for the client. Another embodiment includes a system for managing routing to Internet egress points on a network having a default gateway configured to route data packets between the Internet egress points and a client. The default gateway determines the optimal path to the Internet egress points.
US07649896B2
The present invention provides a system using label switching techniques to support QoS for mobile ad-hoc networks and its label distributing and switching method. The system includes plural clusters, each having plural mobile nodes. At least one mobile node in a cluster is selected as a routing agent. One routing agent in a cluster is selected as a core routing agent. Each core routing agent is capable of obtaining an unique seed for generating an label L=f(S, i, j)=S×3i×2j to a new LSP, where S is an unique seed that is an unique prime number, except 2 and 3, obtained by the core routing agent, i represents one of different kinds of LSP, and j represents one of different numbers for the same kind of LSP. Through the interconnecting of core routing agents, the virtual backbones can be constructed for bandwidth sharing.
US07649891B2
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for scheduling transmission-link capacity between packet-switched telecommunications flows, in such a way that it is possible to guarantee that packets representing delay-critical traffic will be scheduled to the transmission link (S0) before packets representing non-delay-critical traffic and, in addition, that it is possible to limit the joint transmission speed of specific service-quality classes of an individual customer flow. The invention is based on the service-quality classes being separated into two different categories: a service-quality-class based scheduling branch (C) and a customer-flow based scheduling branch (F). When selecting the next packet to be forwarded, one of the two said branches (C or F) is selected and in the service-quality-class based scheduling branch a service-quality class (CoS) is selected and, within the selected service-quality class, a customer flow (CF) is selected and in the customer-flow based scheduling branch a customer flow (CF) is selected and, within the selected customer flow, a service-quality class (CoS) is selected.
US07649887B2
A bridging device, and a method and computer readable medium for controlling the bridging device, wherein the bridging device stores router identifying information and network prefix information contained in a router advertisement (RA) that is regularly sent from a router. When the stored router identifying information and network prefix information become invalid, the bridging device generates an RA packet containing new valid router identifying information and network prefix information, whose lifetime is set infinite, and sends the RA packet to a communication terminal. This arrangement can reduce the frequency of the transmission of the RA packet from the router to the communication terminal, thereby decreasing the RA-packet processing load of the communication terminal.
US07649885B1
According to an embodiment of the invention, a network device such as a router or switch provides efficient data packet handling capability. The network device includes one or more input ports for receiving data packets to be routed, as well as one or more output ports for transmitting data packets. The network device includes an integrated port controller integrated circuit for routing packets. The integrated circuit includes an interface circuit, a received packets circuit, a buffer manager circuit for receiving data packets from the received packets circuit and transmitting data packets in one or more buffers and reading data packets from the one or more buffers. The integrated circuit also includes a rate shaper counter for storing credit for a traffic class, so that the integrated circuit can support input and/or output rate shaping. The integrated circuit may be associated with an IRAM, a CAM, a parameter memory configured to hold routing and/or switching parameters, which may be implemented as a PRAM, and an aging RAM, which stores aging information. The aging information may be used by a CPU coupled to the integrated circuit via a system interface circuit to remove entries from the CAM and/or the PRAM when an age count exceeds an age limit threshold for the entries.
US07649878B2
A circuit control apparatus for establishing a connection to a communication partner via a public circuit network or via a computer network is disclosed. The circuit control apparatus includes: a specifying information storing part 171 for storing specifying information for specifying a called party to which the circuit control apparatus originates a call to establish a connection via the public circuit network; a circuit control part 11 for immediately originating a call via the public circuit network for establishing a connection to a called party specified by the specifying information, and for trying to originate a call via the computer network for establishing a connection to a called party that is not included in the specifying information storing part; and a changing part 16 for changing specifying information in the specifying information storing part.
US07649876B2
According to one embodiment, a first computing device receives a first information packet from a second computing device. The second computing device receives the first information packet from a global computer network through a first router device. The first computing device outputs a second information packet to the global computer network through a second router device, such that the second information packet bypasses the first router device.
US07649870B2
A multi-hop wireless communication system operates on multiple channels. Each wireless station in the system has at least two transmitting and receiving modules operating on different fixed channels. During transmission and reception of the packets, the transmitting and receiving modules are used selectively on each hop, using a channel supported by the wireless stations at both ends of the hop. When two or more channels are available, the channel used is selected so as to balance channel usage in the system as a whole, or on the multi-hop path as a whole. Alternatively, each wireless station may have a fixed transmitting channel. Communication delays are reduced because channel switching overhead is eliminated.
US07649865B2
A method and system for providing a broadcast or multicast service to a terminal device in a data network, wherein a connection state of the terminal device is switched to a dedicated channel state in which a dedicated physical channel is allocated to the terminal device, in response to a broadcast service notification. Thereby, point-to-point connections can be used for data transmission of said broadcast or multicast service, without requiring any additional responses from the concerned terminal devices.
US07649859B2
A CDMA apparatus including a propagation path variation estimator for estimating propagation path variations between respective prior transmit power control sections and a current transmit power control section to obtain propagation path variation estimation values, wherein each of the propagation path variation estimation values is obtained by estimating a propagation path variation between a different corresponding prior transmit power control section and the current transmit power control section; propagation path variation correction part for generating a plurality of corrected products, each corrected product obtained by multiplying at least one of vector, amplitude and/or power of a received signal of the different corresponding prior transmit power control section by said propagation path variation estimation value obtained by estimating the propagation path variation between the different corresponding prior transmit power control section and the current transmit power control section; and averaging part for averaging the plurality of corrected products.
US07649855B1
A physical coding sublayer (PCS) device includes a first data scrambler, a second data scrambler, and a selector. The first data scrambler scrambles first data and implements a first scrambling cycle. The second data scrambler scrambles second data and implements a second scrambling cycle. The second data is different than the first data. The second scrambling cycle is shorter than the first scrambling cycle. The selector selects the first data scrambler to scramble the first data during normal operations. The selector selects the second data scrambler to scramble the second data during testing. The first data scrambler does not scramble the second data. The second data scrambler does not scramble the first data.
US07649853B1
A method is provided for identifying an event of network activity associated with a network where the network includes a plurality of interfaces and the method includes providing a first data structure comprising a node, partitioning the plurality of interfaces into a plurality of groups, associating the plurality of groups with the node, providing a vector corresponding to a group of the plurality of groups for representing a summary of the network activity, and identifying an event of network activity according to the vector. Experimental results are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the invention.
US07649851B2
The invention relates to a network management method wherein: a service management equipment holds the mapping of services and virtual networks as management information; a managed server sends an advice to a VLAN management equipment when its status changes; and the VLAN management equipment receives the advice and refers to the information contained in the advice to thereby identify the managed server and the connection port of a network switch, and configures a virtual network belonging to the identified port of the network switch. The method alleviates the task of reconfiguration associated with the adding or deleting of servers.
US07649849B2
Systems and methods of measuring transport utilization are provided. A method may include receiving data regarding a number of stuff bits used to pad an unused portion of at least one frame. The at least one frame may have a fixed data payload. The method may also include determining a first transport utilization measurement based on the number of stuff bits and based on the size of the fixed data payload.
US07649848B1
Quality of Service (QoS) is provided to a secure data tunnel such an IPsec tunnel using information about the tunnel and the underlying data session to formulate a set of bandwidth requirements. A policy server operates to receive the information to create the set of bandwidth requirements which are enforced by a termination device. The termination device sets the bandwidths. QoS can be provided on a static or continuous basis. QoS can be provided on a dynamic basis. QoS can be provided at different levels depending on the type of data session. Multiple QoS can be provided for multiple data sessions existing simultaneously using multiple SSIDs.
US07649845B2
A network may include an interconnection system which allows packets to transit from various sources to various destinations under control of routers. The routers may determine a transit time of packet transit from various sources to a given destination. This information may be used to detect a hot spot within the network. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US07649844B2
Methods and apparatus are provided for improving fiber channel packet delivery. Techniques are provided for the in-order delivery of packets by blocking incoming packets associated with a port channel change at a fiber channel switch and sending flush messages onto links associated with a port channel change. Upon receiving acknowledgments for the flush messages, incoming packets are unblocked.
US07649838B2
A system and method of determining a quality ranking of user traffic directed from at least one traffic producer Web site to a traffic consumer Web site. A reference for the traffic consumer is established on a Web site of the traffic producer. The reference includes a link from the traffic producer to a traffic quality intermediary and a unique identifier to identify the traffic consumer. The traffic quality intermediary receives user traffic data associated with the user traffic directed from the traffic producer and determines a quality ranking of the user traffic based upon the user traffic data.
US07649835B2
In one embodiment, a node comprises an interface to communicatively couple the node to a first channel. The first channel communicatively couples the node to a first neighbor node and a first neighbor's neighbor node in a first direction. When the node is operating in an unsynchronized mode: the node relays, along the first channel, for a relay period, data received from the first neighbor node that was sourced from that first neighbor node and, after relaying the data received from the first neighbor node that was sourced from that first neighbor node and for a block period, the node blocks data received from the first neighbor while the node relays, along the first channel, data received from the first neighbor's neighbor node.
US07649829B2
Method and System for Utilization of an Outer Decoder in a Broadcast Services Communication System is described. Information to be transmitted is provided to a systematic portion of a plurality of transmit buffers and encoded by an outer decoder communicatively coupled to the transmit buffer. The resulting redundant bits are provided to a parity portion of each transmit buffer. The content of the transmit buffers, is multiplexed and encoded by an inner decoder to improve protection by adding redundancy. The receiving station recovers the transmitted information by an inverse process. Because a decoding complexity depends on the size of a systematic portion of the transmit buffer, reasoned compromise between a systematic portion size and number of transmit buffers yields decreased decoding complexity.
US07649824B2
An optical storage medium can be provided by which illegal usage of the optical storage medium involving an infringement on the copyright can be prevented effectively without impairment of the functions for reproducing physical format information and optical storage medium manufacturing information. The optical storage medium includes a main information region in which encrypted data information is recorded as a pit row that is capable of being read out by means of light and a control data region. In the control data region, key information for decoding the encryption of the data information, the physical format information and the optical storage medium manufacturing information are recorded by wobbling a groove.
US07649822B2
A recording/reproducing apparatus is provided which can write continuously a file of large-capacity at high-speed.A record area of HDD is provided with a disk cache area for temporarily storing data to be written. The disk cache area is defined as a area that is not used by a host apparatus (3) in an LBA space, and the disk cache area is disposed in an area with a high transfer rate such as an outer circumferential area of a disk (10). A file transferred from the host apparatus (3) is written in the disk cache area, and the file is transferred from the disk cache area to a usual user area during an idle period to release the disk cache area and prepare for next transfer data write.
US07649811B2
The invention concerns a timepiece including a dial (12) fitted with an aperture (16) behind which is mounted a moon phase disc (18) driven in rotation by a moon phase train (24). According to the invention said disc (18) is mounted so as to move in rotation about a fixed sun pinion (36). Moreover, two planetary wheels (44a, 44b), secured in rotation to representations of the moon (19a, 19b), are mounted so as to move in rotation on the disc (18), at least indirectly meshed with the sun pinion (36), so as to form a planetary train with the sun pinion (36).
US07649810B2
A tamper resistant hourmeter is provided for an engine powered lawn mower. The hourmeter has a first pin connected to a positive voltage from a battery through a key actuated switch, a second pin to ground, a third pin to a magneto ignition, and a fourth pin to a fuel shutoff solenoid. The tamper resistant hourmeter connects the positive voltage from the battery to the fuel shutoff solenoid. The fuel shutoff solenoid opens a fuel line to the engine only if the key actuated switch is in either of the run or start positions.
US07649809B2
A method for achieving omnidirectional transmission using of a towed linear antenna of length L greater than the wavelength λ of the signal transmitted. The antenna has a plurality of P projectors. The spacing between projectors is substantially less than λ/2. The method includes applying, to each projector, a transmit signal coming from a common transmit signal. The common signal is assigned a delay based upon a calculation that includes a non-linear term as a function of the position of the projector in the antenna, thereby allowing the angular aperture of the transmission pattern to be modulated. the method permits sonar detection systems comprising transmit and receive antennas having substantially identical diameters, which thereby can be reeled onto the same winch without it being necessary to separate them.
US07649802B2
Disclosed is a method for controlling a time point for data output in a synchronous memory device, which varies a time point of an internal read command of the synchronous memory device, which is generated in response to an external read command according to the CAS latency of the synchronous memory device. In other words, the time point to generate the internal read command when CAS latency corresponds to 2N+2 (N=0, 1, 2, . . . ) is delayed by 1tCK as compared with the time point to generate the internal read command when CAS latency corresponds to 2N+1, and the 1tCK is a period of an external clock applied to the synchronous memory device.
US07649798B2
Herein described is a method of implementing one or more native NMOS antifuses in an integrated circuit. Also described is a method for programming one or more native NMOS antifuses used within a memory device. The method further comprises verifying one or more states of the one or more native NMOS antifuses after the programming has been performed. In a representative embodiment, the one or more native NMOS antifuses are implemented by blocking the implantation of a dopant into a substrate of an integrated circuit. In a representative embodiment, an integrated circuit incorporates the use of one or more native NMOS antifuses. In a representative embodiment, the integrated circuit comprises a memory device, such as a one time programmable memory.
US07649797B2
A refresh control circuit in a semiconductor memory device includes a refresh controller, a voltage generator and a word line enable circuit. The refresh period controller generates a control signal in response to a self-refresh signal, the control signal indicating a nominal initiation of a refresh period. The voltage generator generates an output voltage in response to the control signal. The output voltage is boosted from a low voltage to a high voltage during the refresh period. The word line enable circuit generates a word line enable signal in response to the control signal, wherein the word line enable signal is activated following a delay after the nominal initiation of the refresh period, and the delay allows the voltage generator to fully boost the output voltage.
US07649790B2
A semiconductor memory device is provided that is capable of detecting a short circuit defect to be detected in a memory array without causing an error due to off-current of a sense amplifier circuit. Sense amplifier circuits amplify a potential between a pair of bit lines, which occurs based on potential of memory cells selected by driving word lines and bit lines. Selection transistors are provided between the bit lines and the sense amplifier circuits. A word-SE interval control circuit included in an X timing generating circuit turns off the selection transistors and disconnects the bit lines from the sense amplifier circuits based on a signal representing a test state for expanded time when a test to expand an interval between word line driving and activation of the sense amplifier circuits and detect defect sites of the bit lines is performed.
US07649783B2
Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to receive an external read command at a control circuit coupled to a memory array. Individual wordline activation may be delayed according to a delay period determined by a read level voltage magnitude associated with a plurality of memory cells included in the array.
US07649780B2
A semiconductor memory device comprises memory cells, a bitline connected to the memory cells, a read circuit including a precharge circuit, and a first transistor connected between the bitline and the read circuit, wherein a first voltage is applied to a gate of the first transistor when the precharge circuit precharges the bitline, and a second voltage which is different from the first voltage is applied to the gate of the first transistor when the read circuit senses a change in a voltage of the bitline.
US07649776B2
According to an embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory system includes: a nonvolatile semiconductor memory; and a memory controller having: a memory interface unit that inputs commands to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory and inputs or outputs data between the nonvolatile semiconductor memory; a memory that stores writing information indicating a memory cell transistor that is written the latest in each of the NAND cell units; and a processor that sets a read voltage based on the writing information to readout data from the memory cell transistors connected to a first word line; wherein a row controller is configured to set a plurality of levels of the read voltage to be applied to the first word line, with respect to one threshold for discriminating data stored in a memory cell transistors.
US07649764B2
A memory includes at least one write bit line and a plurality of memory cells. The at least one write bit line is configured to carry a write bit signal. The plurality of memory cells are arranged in a column and are configured to be selectively coupled to the at least one write bit line. The plurality of memory cells are configured to be selectively read or written in a first phase of a cycle and selectively read or written in a second phase of the cycle using the at least one write bit line.
US07649763B2
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a nonvolatile ferroelectric memory, including a ferroelectric capacitor composed of a ferroelectric film sandwiched by capacitor electrodes made of a conductive material, a cell capacitor block stacked a plurality of the capacitor electrodes and the ferroelectric film of the ferroelectric capacitor perpendicular to a main surface of a silicon substrate in layer, a cell transistor having a drain electrode and a source electrode, the drain electrode and the source electrode are electrically connected to the ferroelectric capacitor in parallel, a memory cell composed of the ferroelectric capacitor and the cell transistor, a cell block having the plurality of memory cells electrically connected in series, the drain electrode and the source electrode being as a terminals, a word line, a bit line connected to one end of the cell block, the bit line being arranged along orthogonal direction to the word line and a plate line connected to the other end of the cell block, the plate line arranged along the word line.
US07649760B2
A semiconductor memory device having dummy sense amplifiers and a method of utilizing the same are provided. Embodiments of the semiconductor memory device may include at least one dummy cell block including dummy cells and memory cells. Normal bit lines connecting the memory cells in the dummy cell block in a first direction and dummy bit lines connecting the dummy cells in the first direction. A dummy sense amplifier is also included for connecting any two of the normal bit lines and the dummy bit lines. Some of the embodiments may improve the sensing margin and refresh margin in sensing memory cells in the dummy cell, as well as increasing the redundancy efficiency and utilization of the dummy cells.
US07649748B2
A multilayer printed wiring board includes a mounting portion supporting a semiconductor device and a layered capacitor portion including first and second layered electrodes and a ceramic high-dielectric layer therebetween. The first layered electrode is connected to a ground line and the second layered electrode is connected to a power supply line. The ratio of number of via holes, each constituting a conducting path part electrically connecting a ground pad to the ground line of a wiring pattern and passing through the second layered electrode in non-contact, to number of ground pads is 0.05 to 0.7. The ratio of number of second rod-shaped conductors, each constituting a conducting path part electrically connecting a power supply pad to the power supply line of the wiring pattern and passing through the first layered electrode in non-contact, to number of power supply pad is 0.05 to 0.7.
US07649747B2
An IC device has a compact design. Capacitors, resistances and inductances are directly integrated in the IC device without packaging in advance. Thus, the IC device obtained has a slim size and an electric apparatus using the IC device has a big space for use.
US07649737B2
The invention provides a technique enabling an image of high quality to be displayed while decreasing an effect of an outside light proceeding toward a back surface of PDP through a through hole for mounting an electric circuit on a chassis. A flat panel display of the invention includes a display panel, a metallic chassis having a through hole and joints for connecting the back surface of the display panel and the chassis to each other. The joints are on the back surface of the display panel distant from each other in a predetermined direction, and one of the joints is arranged at a position corresponding to the through hole of the chassis.
US07649735B2
A video signal output control method in an information processing apparatus which being to be locked to an external unit by a lock mechanism, the video signal output control method includes detecting the state of the lock mechanism, and stopping the output of the video signal to the external unit, when the lock mechanism is in the unlocked state.
US07649726B2
A protection circuit for protecting a device from destructive electrical conditions, such as ESD, over-voltage, and over-current, while keeping the output impedance of the device's I/O lines to a minimum, and self-regulating power dissipation. The device may comprise a first protection circuit and a second protection circuit coupled to each of one or more I/O lines for providing a primary and a secondary level of protection, respectively, for the I/O lines. The first protection circuit of the device may combine the use of Schottky diodes for voltage clamping, with a current limiting device for self-regulating the power dissipation. The current limiting device may be operable to function as a small, low impedance resistor in a normal operating range and as a controlled power dissipater outside the normal operating range. The device may be a data acquisition device comprised in a data acquisition system.
US07649724B2
In a protective circuit for a converter having a plurality of phases, for each phase current of the phases, a signal proportional to the respective phase current is applied to a transformer circuit that, below and in the area of a limiting frequency, functions as a low-pass filter with the limiting frequency, and above the limiting frequency, functions as a divider. The outputs of the transformer circuit are applied to a maximum generator for forming the absolute value maximum. This maximum is fed to a comparator in which the maximum is compared to a reference value.
US07649718B1
The present invention is a dampening device for a flex circuit of a disk drive. The dampening device engages the flex circuit to alter is vibrational effect generated by the moment of the flex circuit that adversely affects post seek oscillations performance of the drive. The dampening device lowers the first resonant frequency of the flex circuit and reduces the magnitude of the post seek off track oscillations.
US07649717B2
Embodiments suppress a fluttering phenomenon of a wiring structure portion for signal transmission between a head and an FPC. In one embodiment, an actuator has a support portion which accommodates a wiring structure portion. The wiring structure portion is provided at a rear end portion thereof with a wide tab, the tab having pads for connection with the FPC. The support portion has a convex wall portion formed so as to overlap a front end portion of the tab. An air current occurs at an end portion of a magnetic disk in the vertical direction. When the head accesses a track present on the inner periphery side of the magnetic disk, the tab approaches the disk end portion. Since the convex wall portion protects the tab against the air current, it is possible to suppress fluttering of the wiring structure portion and improve the head positioning accuracy.
US07649715B2
A magnetic head assembly is provided. The magnetic head assembly includes a slider in which a head element is mounted. A flexure supports the slider. The flexure includes a pair of outriggers, a connection portion, and a tongue portion. A flexible wiring substrate is fixedly bonded to the surface of the flexure. An electrode pad of the slider and an electrode pad of the flexible wiring substrate are bonded to each other by solder. A plurality of solder bonded portions are arranged on the connection portion. A deformable portion is formed in the pair of outriggers and located on an extended line on which the solder bonded portions are arranged, so that the free end side of the flexure is deformable.
US07649710B2
In one embodiment, a tape read/write head supported by a lever is biased in a first position, using magnetic attraction between a magnet supported by the lever, and a return path structure of magnetically permeable material. In the illustrated embodiment, the magnet centers itself, in the absence of a coil generated magnetic field, in the middle of a gap of the magnetic return path structure. In one aspect, the mass of the read/write head and one side of the lever may be balanced by the mass of the magnet and the other side of the lever. The lever and hence the tape read/write head carried by the lever, may be pivoted by conducting current through a coil to generate a magnetic field which is conducted by the return path structure to interact with the magnetic field of the magnet. As a consequence, the lever pivots on a pivot axis as a function of the magnitude and direction of the current through the coil. The face of the magnet may be divided into portions of opposite magnetic polarity to facilitate a relatively pure torque to be developed substantially without a net force. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
US07649707B2
A recording head comprises a first tape-head contact area including a first write element and a first read element, which itself may include an MR sensor element. The first read element is laterally offset as to the first write element, and no portion of the first read element lies in a region laterally overlapped by the first write element. A second tape-head contact area includes a second write element and a second read element, which also may include an MR sensor element. The second read element is laterally offset as to the second write element, and no portion of the second read element lies in a region laterally overlapped by the second write element. The first read and write elements of the first tape-head contact area are aligned with the second write and read elements of the second tape-head contact area so that an end portion of the second write element lies in a region that laterally overlaps only an end portion of the first write element. Data track widths less than one micron are achievable with this head design.
US07649703B2
A lens driving apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a substantially cylindrical yoke 3; a base 5 to which the yoke 3 is attached; a carrier 7 having a lens; a coil 10; and a magnet 13, wherein the carrier 7 is moved in a direction of an optical axis of a lens by electromagnetic force generated by passing current through the coil 10, the base 5 is substantially square-shaped as viewed from a plane, the yoke 3 is placed at an inner position of the base 5, the yoke 3 has an outer peripheral wall 3a and an annular inner peripheral wall 3b to be spaced to each other, each magnet is placed between the outer peripheral wall and the inner peripheral wall and at a position corresponding to a base corner portion of the base 5, and a space between the outer peripheral wall 3a and the inner peripheral wall 3b positioned at a base side portion 3e is made narrower than a space between the outer peripheral wall 3a and the inner peripheral wall 3b positioned at the base corner portion.
US07649700B1
An apparatus for providing enhanced peripheral vision to a wearer of a helmet in accordance with the present invention includes at least one lens member adapted to be received at a predetermined location in the helmet. The lens member is operable to direct light from a side portion of the helmet to a location adjacent the eyes of a wearer of the helmet.
US07649696B2
A security camera has an adjustable turret that holds a lens assembly which can be aimed in various directions. The camera also has a compact housing which, in combination with the adjustable directionality of the turret, enables universal mounting to various structures and positions in an aircraft cabin. The camera operates in light and dark conditions, as the lens assembly is configured to focus visible and infrared light wavelengths onto a fixed focal plane. In an embodiment, the camera includes an infrared illumination source to illuminate a field of view during dark conditions. The lens assembly includes a rigid barrel with a pinhole aperture through which light enters a series of lens elements. An optical sensor is mounted to an opposite end of the barrel at the fixed focal plane to generate an electronic image signal, and the sensor is rotatably adjustable to yield a correct image orientation depending on the turret position.
US07649691B2
Systems and methods according to one or more embodiments are disclosed to provide a dynamic variable shape optical element for wavefront correction. In an embodiment, a variable shape optical element assembly includes an optical element having a front surface and a back surface with specified curvature characteristics. The variable shape optical element assembly also includes back knife edges having a designated shape disposed on the back surface of the optical element and front knife edges having a designated shape disposed on the front surface of the optical element. The variable shape optical element assembly further includes a mechanical arrangement adapted to apply a dynamic mechanical force to create the specified curvature characteristics.
US07649688B2
There is described a method for providing auto-stereo three-dimensional views from a plurality of points of view, the method comprising: providing an image on a substrate made of a medium of sufficient transparency to allow light therethrough, the image being made up of a plurality of cells; placing a barrier screen in front of the image to provide a parallax effect, the barrier screen consisting of an optical arrangement providing staggered apertures through which light can pass, each of the apertures defining a window onto one of the plurality of cells and configured such that a view of a neighboring cell is obstructed from all of the points of view; and illuminating the image using a light source.
US07649686B2
A box-type microscope apparatus includes a stage, a microscope, and a housing, which has a fixed housing and a moving housing provided to be openable, closable, and movable with respect to the fixed housing. The box-type microscope apparatus further includes a specimen vessel positioning device for fixing the specimen vessel placed on the stage at a constant position. of the stage and a positioning release device for actuating the specimen vessel positioning means when the moving housing is moved toward a position of a closed state to release a positioning of the specimen vessel performed by the specimen vessel positioning device with respect to the stage when the moving housing is opened.
US07649684B2
An optical apparatus minimizes autofluorescence and stray light as well as leakage of excitation light and efficiently utilizes illuminating light from a fluorescence illumination optical system to allow observation of a bright fluorescence image. An observation apparatus has an objective, an observation optical system unit including a variable magnification optical system, and an imaging optical system unit including an imaging lens and an eyepiece. A fluorescence illumination apparatus, which is provided separately, is removably attached to the observation apparatus. The fluorescence illumination apparatus has a light source, a collector lens unit, and a reflecting member placed between the objective and the observation optical system unit at a position displaced from the optical axis of the objective to make light from the light source incident on the objective. An excitation filter is provided between the light source and the reflecting member. An optical member for selectively transmitting fluorescent light emitted from a sample is placed between the objective and the observation optical system unit.
US07649683B2
Process for observing at least one sample region with a light raster microscope by a relative movement between the illumination light and sample via a first scanner along at least one scanning axis essentially perpendicular to the illumination axis wherein several illuminated sample points lie on a line and are detected simultaneously with a spatially resolving detector. At an angle to the plane of the relative movement, a second scanner is moved and an image acquisition takes place by coupling the movement of the first and second scanners and a three-dimensional sampling movement being done by the illumination of the sample. The second scanner is coupled to the movement of the first scanner such that straight and/or curved lines and/or plane and/or curved surfaces are scanned which are extended along at least one scanning direction of the first scanner as well as along the scanning direction of the second scanner.
US07649666B2
An electro-optic display (102), or a sub-assembly of such a display, comprising a layer of electro-optic material (108) on a backplane (100) is assembled using at least one release sheet (112, 116) or masking film having a resistivity not greater than about 1013 Ω square. The use of such a release sheet or masking film helps to avoid damage to transistors in the backplane during the assembly process.
US07649664B1
A two-element f-θ lens used for a micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS) laser scanning unit includes a first lens and a second lens, the first lens is a bi-convex lens and the second lens is a bi-convex lens. At least one optical surface is an Aspherical surface in both main scanning direction and sub scanning direction, and satisfies special optical conditions. The two-element f-θ lens corrects the nonlinear relationship between scanned angle and the time into the linear relationship between the image spot distances and the time. Meanwhile, the two-element f-θ lens focuses the scan light to the target in the main scanning and sun scanning directions, such that the purpose of the scanning linearity effect and the high resolution scanning can be achieved.
US07649662B2
The object of the present invention is to provide an optical scanning apparatus which is not limited in the disposition of a scanning device, can reduce the adherence of dust to each member of the scanning device, and is enhanced in the reliability of the scanning device, and an image displaying apparatus having the same. The optical scanning apparatus includes a housing for containing and holding therein a scanning device provided with a movable mirror, an elastic supporting portion for supporting the movable mirror swingably about a swinging center, and a supporting base for supporting the elastic supporting portion, an optical member OE constituting a first optical system for directing a beam to the scanning device in the housing, and an optical member OX constituting a second optical system for emerging the beam passed through the scanning device. At least a part of the optical member OE and at least a part of the optical member OX constitute a part of the housing, and are provided so that a space in which the scanning device is contained in the housing configures a sealed space.
US07649658B2
A method of reconstructing an original image from a printed and scanned image includes determining a plurality of transformation parameters including a rotation a of the scanning grid relative to the printing grid and a plurality of translation parameters which give a position of a node on the printing grid in a coordinate system of the scanning grid, generating a system of non-linear equations which represent the printed and scanned image as a function of: (i) the original image, (ii) a print/scan resolution ratio, and (iii) the transformation parameters, computing coefficients for the system using the resolution ratio, the transformation parameters and the given print model, generating a linear approximation of the system of non-linear equations, solving the linear approximation for an approximation of the original image, and creating a reconstructed original image from the approximation of the original image.
US07649655B2
An ID tag describing control data on a stopped position for each station 10, movement required for a transfer, and the like is installed in front of the station 10. An overhead vehicle 8 reads the control data and uses it for stoppage and transfer. The overhead vehicle 8 need not store the stoppage or transfer control data for each station 10. Further, the control data can be changed without updating the storage in the overhead vehicle 8.
US07649641B2
A printing medium has means for storing electronic data. The means includes an input-output unit, a first memory, a second memory, a comparison unit, and an access controller. The second memory stores data for confirming the validity of the information printed on the printing medium. The first memory stores data for controlling access to the second memory. In particular, write access to the second memory is denied unless the accessing party also submits comparison data that compare correctly with the data stored in the first memory. This protocol prevents the facile creation of counterfeit copies.
US07649638B2
An electrophotographic printing or copying machine includes a functional module which can be readily removed and replaced by service personnel. The module includes a monitor in the form of an electronically-readable memory, which includes information about how the particular module is to be operated. A distribution board electronically accesses the memories within the monitors and reads therefrom information, such as how much voltage to supply to different components within each module. The distribution board can also update the number of prints made with each module, and maintain this count within the monitors.
US07649635B2
A method according to one embodiment of the invention includes determining a map of a second part of a substrate belonging to a group of substrates. The method includes measuring a first part of at least one substrate belonging to the group to create an average profile map or average height map and computing a map of the second part of the substrate belonging to the group, based on the average profile map or the average height map. The computed map is stored for use during a later determination of a height or tilt of a substrate from the group.
US07649627B2
In a wavelength calibration method, an observed spectrum of a light that has a wavelength band is obtained, wherein the light has at least an attenuated wavelength component that corresponds to at least a predetermined absorption wavelength that is included in the wavelength band. A corrected spectrum is then obtained from the observed spectrum, wherein the corrected spectrum has reduced dependencies upon the full width at half maximum of an emission band of the light and upon an intensity ripple period of the light.
US07649623B2
Apparatus for optical measurement and/or examination of a welding assembly includes a measuring space in which a welding assembly is located. Further disposed in the measuring space is a stationary reference object which is made of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion α≦2.0*10−6/K at 20° C. A plurality of cameras in the measuring space take images of the welding assembly and the reference object, with the image information transmitted to an evaluation device for evaluation.
US07649620B2
A method and a system for synchronising angles of at least two displaceable working means (2, 2′) at a predetermined point of action (4) is disclosed. The working means are, in particular, a robot-controlled tool or a robot-controlled radiation emitter and/or radiation receiver. In order to synchronise angles in a precise manner, the directions of the action (1, 1′) of the working means (2, 2′) are, in particular represented in a continuous manner, detected and united at a predetermined point of action (4). The angle (a) between the directions of the action (1, 1′) of the working means (2, 2′) is determined by, in particular, an optical angle measurement and is adjusted to a predetermined value.
US07649616B2
A laser radar system and a method for use in a laser radar system are disclosed. More particularly, the laser radar system includes a fiber laser capable of generating a laser signal; a first optical path through which the generated laser signal may be transmitted; a second optical path through which a reflection of the transmitted laser signal may be received; and a detector capable of detecting the received reflection. The method includes generating a laser signal from a fiber laser; transmitting the laser signal; receiving a reflection of the transmitted laser signal; and detecting the reflection.
US07649615B2
Advanced techniques for programmable photolithography provide enhanced resolution and can image features smaller than the single shutter intensity profile, i.e., sub-pixel resolution. Patterns are built up by multiple exposures with relative movement of the mask and resist so as to place each shape from the library where it is needed on the resist. Electro-Optic phase shifting material may be applied to the shutter so as to adjust the single shutter intensity profile, or to adjust the interaction of adjacent shutters. An apodizing mask may be used to engineer the wavefronts of the light striking the resist to achieve better resolution.
US07649614B2
A system in which deformation of a substrate is monitored during processing of the substrate is described. In one embodiment, the distortion in the substrate is measured after each exposure and processing operation by comparing the position of a plurality of reference marks to values in a database. The substrate may be characterized by measuring positions on the substrate for a number of measurement fields and a number of measurement positions per field, calculating an estimated variance based at least on the number of measurement fields, the number of measurement positions per field, and a number of model parameters, and comparing the calculated estimated variance to a threshold amount to determine a status of the substrate.
US07649609B2
A method for repairing a short defect according to the present invention includes forming a first conductive pattern on a substrate, forming a photo-resist pattern on the first conductive pattern using a rear exposure for the first conductive pattern being shorted by a residue pattern, and removing the residue pattern exposed through the photo-resist pattern.
US07649608B2
A display device includes a display panel, a driving chip, and a non-conductive adhesive film. The display panel includes a pad member having a plurality of conductive pads. The driving chip includes a body and a plurality of bumps. The body has a driving circuit. The bumps are protruded from the body to make contact with the pads, respectively. The non-conductive adhesive film fixes the driving chip to the pad member. Therefore, a manufacturing cost is decreased, and a yield is increased.
US07649605B2
An array substrate includes a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines, a plurality of thin-film transistors, a plurality of pixel electrodes, a plurality of common voltage lines and a plurality of common electrodes. The gate lines extend in a first direction. The data lines extend in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The thin-film transistor is electrically connected to the gate line and the data line. The pixel electrode is formed in each of pixels defined by the gate lines and the data lines. The common electrode is electrically connected to the common voltage line. The horizontal alignment of the liquid crystal molecules is not changed by externally applied vertical touch pressure so that display quality is improved.
US07649602B2
A thin film transistor (TFT) substrate including a base, a plurality of scan lines and data lines and a pixel unit is provided. The scan lines are disposed on the base. The data lines are disposed above the scan lines and are perpendicular to the scan lines to define a plurality of pixel areas. The pixel unit is disposed on the base and inside one of the pixel areas. The pixel unit comprises a TFT and a pixel electrode. The TFT comprises a source and a drain. The pixel electrode is electrically connected to the drain. The pixel electrode comprises a first main electrode, a second main electrode and a plurality of branch electrodes. The first main electrode is perpendicular to the second main electrode. The branch electrodes are connected to the first main electrode and/or the second main electrode. The first main electrode substantially divides the pixel area evenly.
US07649594B2
A photo-luminescent liquid crystal display (PL LCD) includes: a light control unit which includes a liquid crystal (LC) layer modulating the UV light and electrodes driving the LC layer; and a light emitting layer which emits light by the UV light transmitted through the light control unit. The light emitting layer includes inorganic phosphors and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) having a quantum confinement effect. The PL LCD includes adding QDs having a high quantum efficiency into luminescent substances having lower light utilization efficiency than other colors, for example, red phosphor having very low quantum efficiency to improve the light utilization efficiency, thereby improving the color balance.
US07649586B2
A panel for a display device includes a shorting bar to dissipate an electrostatic charge and the first and second testing bars. Signal lines are divided into the first signal line group electrically connected to the first testing bar and the second signal line group electrically connected to the second testing bar. Floating transistors are formed between the shorting bar and the signal lines of the second signal line group.
US07649582B2
An array substrate for a liquid crystal display device includes: a substrate; a gate electrode and a gate line on the substrate; a gate insulating layer on the gate electrode and the gate line; an active layer on the gate insulating layer; an ohmic contact layer on the active layer; source and drain electrodes and a data line on the ohmic contact layer, the source and drain electrodes and the data line having a multiple metal layer; a passivation layer on the source and drain electrodes and the data line; and a pixel electrode on the passivation layer.
US07649580B2
A method of repairing a defect in a liquid crystal display panel is provided. The method comprises: providing an array substrate, a plurality of pixel regions over the array substrate, and at least one of the pixel regions comprising a transistor, a pixel electrode, a storage capacitor having an upper electrode and a bottom electrode, a defect positioned in the storage capacitor; performing a cutting process to divide the pixel electrode into a first portion and a second portion not connecting to each other, wherein said first portion of said pixel electrode is corresponding to the storage capacitor having said defect; and electrically connecting the second portion of the pixel electrode to one of the scan lines.
US07649571B2
An interactive video compositing device includes a chroma-key mixer, video switcher and control circuitry. The chroma-key mixer generates a composite image by combining a real-time image, such as one captured by a video recorder, with a prerecorded video image, such as a movie. The composite image includes the modified real-time image superimposed, or overlaid, onto the prerecorded image. The video switcher automatically selects either the composite image or the prerecorded image to be output to a display. The control circuitry controls the video switcher and other outputted signals based on data file information that corresponds to content of the prerecorded image or media. For example, the data files may contain information relating to the presence (or absence) of a particular character in a movie scene, thus allowing for the output and display, at appropriate times, of the real-time composite image instead of the prerecorded image.
US07649562B2
A digital camera according to the invention comprises a power switch, lenses, an optical finder, a shutter button, an auxiliary light emitting section, a recording media slot, an image monitor, and touch pads. The touch pads form part of the touch input section for selecting and inputting the items and selections displayed on the image monitor, part the touch input section for operating the display contents of an image displayed on the image monitor, and part of the touch input section for controlling the shooting magnification used in shooting an image. Such input operations are performed by way of a contact position signal of the touch pads as well as a movement in the touch state.
US07649549B2
Stabilization for devices such as hand-held camcorders segments a low-resolution frame into a region of reliable estimation, finds a global motion vector for the region at high resolution, and uses the global motion vector to compensate for jitter.
US07649547B2
A surveillance video camera to be operative in combination with a surveillance system for watching an object, includes: an optical section having passed therethrough light to be provided as an image indicative of the object; a converting section constituted by a plurality of pixel units to be exposed to the light provided through the optical section; a plurality of sensitivity enhancing units; a surveillance mode selecting section for selectively setting at least two surveillance modes; and an executing section for allowing the sensitivity enhancing units to start, in sequence corresponding to the selected surveillance mode, to enhance the sensitivity of the converting section, and to stop enhancing the sensitivity of the converting section, the sequences corresponding to the respective surveillance modes being different from each other.
US07649540B2
A two-dimensional coordinate transformations software program and method thereof is described. In one aspect, the present invention solves problems of accurately and efficiently placing data from Records of Surveys, subdivision plats, deeds, highway right of way plats, and other map data onto the State Plane Coordinate Systems or other projection systems. The users of the software include engineers, especially those involved in right-of-way engineering, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Land Information Systems (LIS) specialists. In one aspect, a utility program is intended to supplement the coordinate geometry and GIS/LIS software currently used by surveyors and GIS/LIS specialists. In one embodiment, there is an efficient and speedy method to surveying, offering a preferred point and click approach using a unique graphical user interface of the two-dimensional coordinate transformation program.
US07649537B2
Systems and methods are provided for processing data. The systems and methods include multiple processors that each couple to receive commands and data, where the commands and/or data correspond to frames of video that include multiple pixels. An interlink module is coupled to receive processed data corresponding to the frames from each of the processors. The interlink module divides a first frame into multiple frame portions by dividing pixels of the first frame using at least one balance point. The interlink module dynamically determines a position for the balance point that minimizes differences between the workload of the processors during processing of commands and/or data of one or more subsequent frames.
US07649536B1
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for utilizing natural motions of a user to display intuitively correlated reactions. In use, an application-independent command is received from an input device utilizing at least one natural motion of a user with an associated degree. In response to the application-independent command, a reaction is displayed on a display in a manner that is intuitively correlated with the at least one natural motion. Further, a degree of the reaction is a function of the degree of the at least one natural motion.
US07649534B2
Various software mapping aspects are provided. They include, but are not limited to, providing linear map to non-linear map conversion or transformation (and vice versa) in a symmetric fashion, so that data in one map upon conversion is symmetric in another map with respect to the former map. One way this is accomplished is by the use of dual-triangles that are mapped into the former and latter map, by having, in one exemplary aspect, the same vertices in both maps. Additional features, such as selection regions for regions to be converted or not converted are used. Furthermore, dual-triangle subdivision or aggregation techniques can be used to provide a desired mapping scenario. Finally, APIs are presented that allow developers and users of such mapping technology to implement the various aspects disclosed herein.
US07649533B2
Subsets of volume data are sequentially stored for volume rendering from two dimensional textures. For example, pairs of adjacent two-dimensional images are loaded into RAM or cache. Strips of texture data are interpolated for polygons extending between the two-dimensional images. The strips or polygons are more orthogonal to a viewing direction than the two-dimensional images. After interpolating texture data from the two-dimensional images for a plurality of non-coplanar polygons, the texture data is rendered. The rendered information represents one portion of the three dimensional representation. Other portions are rendered by repeating the process for other pairs or subset groups of adjacent two-dimensional images. A lower cost apparatus, such as a programmed computer or a GPU with a limited amount of memory, is able to render images for three dimensional representations of very large three-dimensional arrays. The images may be rendered without copying volume data for different main axes.
US07649532B2
A system includes a computer generated hologram (CGH) design plane and a processor capable of representing a three dimensional object. The processor is configured to represent a surface of the three dimensional object by a facet, impose a grid defining a set of nodes upon the facet, and associate object points with each node of the grid. The processor is further configured to orient the facet to include a common global origin in the CGH design plane and displace the object points away from their associated node in a random or pseudo random direction parallel to the CGH design plane.
US07649531B2
An image generation device includes a memory in which a burst length, which is the smallest unit of read/write processing, is large; and an image generation device in which processing efficiency at the time of a memory access does not decrease, even in the case of accessing a rendering buffer for rendering a polygon. Image data is stored in a rendering buffer in block units made up of plural pixels, and image data of pixels corresponding to the polygon is stored in a serial region of the rendering buffer. A valid pixel flag indicating that a valid pixel is present within the block is stored in the rendering information buffer. The rendering buffer is accessed as little as possible based on placement of the valid pixel flags within the block.
US07649530B2
A mode-selecting apparatus for selecting one of a first mode in which images are displayed on a display unit in accordance with a vertical synchronization control signal and a horizontal synchronization control signal, and a second mode in which images are displayed on the display unit in accordance with a data-enable signal, includes a first unit which counts a number of input horizontal synchronization control signals in each of frame periods, a second unit which counts a number of input data-enable signals in each of frame periods, and a third unit which selects one of the first and second modes in accordance with both the number of input horizontal synchronization control signals and the number of input data-enable signals.
US07649528B2
The first and second chips are provided side by side. The first chip includes: a current supply section for outputting a drive current, the current supply section including a current mirror; a current distribution MISFET; a current input MISFET for transmitting an electric current to the current supply section, the current input MISFET being connected to the current distribution MISFET; and a second current distribution MISFET. The current distribution MISFET and the second current distribution MISFET constitute a current mirror. The second chip includes a second current input MISFET which is connected to the second current distribution MISFET. The ratio between the W/L ratio of the current distribution MISFET and the W/L ratio of the current input MISFET connected thereto is the same in the first and second chips.
US07649520B2
A display device capable of switching over between vertical and horizontal display on a screen without using a frame memory is provided. A display device has a source signal line driver circuit (102), a first gate signal line driver circuit (103), and a second gate signal line driver circuit (104). The scanning direction of the first gate signal line driver circuit (103) is perpendicular to the scanning direction of the source signal line driver circuit (102), and the scanning direction of the second gate signal line driver circuit (104) is perpendicular to the scanning direction of the first gate signal line driver circuit (103). During normal display, vertical scanning of the screen is performed by the first gate signal line driver circuit (103). Images are displayed in a direction that is in accordance with the scanning direction of the first gate signal line driver circuit (103). On the other hand, vertical scanning of the screen is performed by the second gate signal line driver circuit (104) when switching over between vertical and horizontal display. Images are displayed in a direction that is in accordance with the scanning direction of the second gate signal line driver circuit (104).
US07649519B2
Source drivers and display devices that include such source drivers are provided that may be used to control the amount of output current from an output buffer. These source drivers may comprise a buffer that is configured to receive an input signal and a control circuit that is coupled to the buffer that is configured to control an output current level of the buffer. The control circuit may comprise a bias voltage generator that is configured to generate a plurality of bias voltages, and the output current level of the buffer may be controlled based on the plurality of bias voltages. Methods of controlling the amount of current output from an output buffer of the source driver and methods of driving a display device are also provided.
US07649509B2
A plasma display device and driving method. A plurality of subfields from one frame are divided into a first subfield group and a second subfield group. A first subfield and a second subfield having adjacent weights in the first subfield group each include a reset period for resetting the discharge cells, a first address period for selecting discharge cells in the first line group, a first sustain period for performing a sustain discharge, a second address period for selecting discharge cells in the second line group and a second sustain period for performing a sustain discharge.
US07649507B2
A plasma display panel, a white linearity control device and a control method thereof. The white linearity control method includes calculating a load ratio of an image signal, determining an automatic power control level corresponding to the load ratio, and calculating first correction data corresponding to the automatic power control level. In addition, the method includes discriminating vertical and horizontal positions of the image signal, and obtaining a white linearity value for a corresponding region from two white linearity values defining a period in which the discriminated positions are included through interpolation, and producing second correction data by multiplying the first correction data by the obtained white linearity value.
US07649504B2
In one embodiment, a backfire antenna comprises a cup-shaped member defining an outer aperture and an interior cavity, a splash-plate disposed within a plane, and a dipole assembly comprising first and second arms. The first and second arms are both oriented non-parallel to the splash-plate towards the plane.
US07649495B2
Methods and apparatus for constructing phased array antenna beamforming networks are provided, that allow to scan multiple beams and select appropriate sets of delay lines simultaneously. The beamforming networks disclosed herein generate less losses than conventional ones and in some cases, do not require active switching, making them completely passive. Three main methods are comprised in the invention: (1) laser wavelength hierarchies, (2) arrangements of Wavelengths Division Multiplexing (WDM) components, (3) re-use of laser wavelengths. Multiple laser wavelengths are arranged in groups and subgroups (wavelength hierarchies) in the wavelength domain. By switching between these wavelength groupings, the arrangements of WDM components disclosed herein enable the beamforming network to direct the beam signals to the proper time delay lines, and to differentiate multiple beams. The method of laser wavelength re-use permits to significantly reduce the number of wavelengths utilized, and thus to limit them to the standard wavelengths specified by the ITU.
US07649492B2
A variable delay apparatus comprises a calibrating unit receiving a signal from a variable delay unit and from a plurality of fixed delay sources, the calibrating unit comparing the signal from the variable delay unit with a plurality of signals from the fixed delay sources to control operation of the variable delay unit over a delay range independently of environmentally-induced drift.
US07649490B2
Provided are a method, apparatus, and medium for measuring a distance using a radio frequency (RF) signal. The method of measuring a distance includes setting the transmitter power of an RF signal of a signal generating module to a minimum so as to measure the longest distance when no obstacle exists, measuring a distance between the signal generating module and a fixed module using the RF signal whose transmitter power is set to the minimum, if the measured distance between the signal generating module and the fixed module is available, determining that no obstacle exists therebetween, and if the measured distance is not available, determining that an obstacle exists therebetween, and determining the distance according to the result of the determination of existence of an obstacle.
US07649488B1
A low-power column parallel cyclic analog-to-digital converter and an imaging device using the same. The analog-to-digital converter comprises one stage and is optimized to reduce power, noise and capacitor settling time. The one stage analog-to-digital converter comprises a multiplying circuit for performing a multiplication operation during conversion phases and a sub-analog-to-digital converter connected to receive analog output signals from the multiplying circuit. The sub-analog-to-digital converter converts, during the conversion phases, the analog output signals into portions of an N-bit digital code. The multiplying circuit switches configurations between conversion phases and uses the portions of the digital code during the conversion phases to generate new analog output signals for subsequent conversion by the sub-analog-to-digital converter.
US07649483B1
A circuit includes T sets of digital to analog converters (DACs), each including N current sources and M delay elements. An output signal includes a sum of outputs of the N current sources. An input of a first one of the M delay elements and a control input of a first one of the N current sources receive a respective one of a plurality of decoded signals. T sets of first converters each have a feedback node, an output, and an input that communicates with the output signal of a respective one of the T sets of DACs. T second converters have inputs that communicate with respective ones of the feedback nodes of each of the T sets of first converters. A summer generates a difference signal that is based on the outputs of the T sets of first converters and outputs of the T second converters.
US07649474B1
A wireless communication and drill string telemetry system. The communication system is used for communicating information along a drill string between a boring tool and a boring machine. An insulator assembly provides an electrically insulated gap between the drill string communication path and a soil engaging electrode for the electrical return path. A transmitter assembly includes a data transmitter for encoding and transmitting a data signal. A signal coupler couples the data signal to the drill string and provides a controlled electrical connection between the drill string communication path and the soil engaging electrode. The signal coupler comprises a transformer and a current regulating circuit to adjust a voltage across the transformer's primary winding. A receiver assembly is disposed proximate the drilling machine and includes a toroidal pickup coil and a signal processing assembly. The pickup coil has an annulus and is positioned such that the drill string communication path passes through the annulus. The pickup coil produces a signal voltage in response to a signal current on the drill string that the signal processing assembly processes to extract the data signal.
US07649469B2
Systems and methods for indicating applied manipulation pressure are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for indicating applied manipulation pressure includes affixing a pressure sensitive material to a coupling component. The pressure sensitive material is capable of displaying visual indications that correspond to different levels of applied manipulation force. A manipulation force is applied to the component. Subsequently, the pressure sensitive material displays the visual indications. In a specific implementation, the method also includes stopping the application of manipulation force when one of the visual indications is displayed.
US07649464B2
An asset monitoring and security system includes at least one asset and at least one user identification device assigned a unique identifier and operable to transmit an identification signal embodying the identifier over a wireless communications link. A data store maintains lists of the assets, users authorized to use the assets, and privileges associated with the assets for each of the authorized users. A control unit is adapted to receive identification signals from the assets and user identification devices and monitor positions of the assets and user identification devices within a defined area based on the identification signals. The control unit communicates with the data store and is further operable to initiate an alarm event when privileges associated with a given authorized user for a given asset are exceeded. Each of the assets includes a lock-out mechanism that impedes use of the asset when the lock-out mechanism is activated.
US07649459B2
Methods and apparatuses for attaching electronics equipment to a cargo container are disclosed. A device in accordance with the present invention comprises a first portion, comprising a wireguide, a second portion, coupled to the first portion at an edge of the first portion, at an approximate right angle to the first portion, the wireguide continuing to at least a part of the second portion, and a third portion, coupled to the second portion, the third portion being approximately perpendicular to the first portion and approximately parallel to the second portion, wherein the second portion and the third portion are designed to accommodate a door flange of a cargo container to attach the mounting device to the cargo container.
US07649455B2
A system for monitoring the contents of a closed container is provided. The system includes a sensing system for monitoring the contents of the container; a signal receiving element for receiving sensor data from the sensing system; a control element for analyzing received sensor data; a first transceiver element for receiving signals containing sensor data from within the container and for transmitting those signals outside of the container; and a satellite transceiver element for receiving signals from the first transceiver element and for forwarding the received signals via satellite uplink to a remote location.
US07649454B2
An apparatus for providing a task reminder includes a monitoring module configured to monitor a location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user at predetermined time intervals for tracking historical travel information of the user and a data store for storing the historical travel information and for storing user specified task information that includes a task and a task location. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a reminder module configured to calculate a novelty rating of a region that includes the task location and a current position of the user based on the user's historical travel information. The novelty rating is related to a historical presence of the user in the region. The apparatus also includes a message module configured to generate a reminder of the task based on the novelty rating of the region and a distance between the task location and the current position of the user.
US07649450B2
A method, apparatus, remote accessory and authentication server are provided for facilitating operations such as an authenticated test of life safety equipment having components including a control panel and sensors. The life safety equipment requires testing according to a fire code. An access procedure is conducted to identify equipment and testing requirements and to establish a communication session between the equipment and an authentication server during an authenticated test. Another access procedure is conducted to provide access for a remote device for facilitating the authenticated test and to establish a communication session between the remote device and an alarm system or authentication server, or the like. Information associated with an impending activation of one of the sensors is received from the remote device and information associated with the sensor, when activated, is reported if detected by the alarm system, to the authentication server and the reported activation information is forwarded to the remote device. Authentication information associated with the activated sensor whether or not detected is received from the remote device and an authenticated report is forwarded to the remote device when all of the alarm condition sensors are tested according to test procedures.
US07649443B2
An antitheft apparatus includes a control section. When a status change from a closed state to an open state of a luggage door caused by regular means is detected in an arming state being ready to output an alarm, the control section shifts a status from the arming state to a disarmed state being not ready to output an alarm; when a status change from the open state to the closed state of the luggage door is detected in the disarmed state, the control section shifts the status from the disarmed state to the arming state after a predetermined length of preparatory period; and when an arming command to shift the status from the disarmed state to the arming state is given within the length of preparatory period, the control section shifts the status from the disarmed state to the arming state.
US07649440B2
An apparatus and method for unifying multiple radio frequency identifications (RFIDs) are provided. The apparatus includes: a data arithmetic operator collecting RFIDs, storing the collected RFIDs, and repeatedly performing the collection and storage when a time out event occurs; a hash arithmetic operator concatenating the RFIDs, hashing the concatenated RFIDs, and outputting a hashed single value; a random number generator generating a random number used as an encryption factor to public-key-encrypt the single value; an RFID tag processor controlling locking/unlocking of the RFID tags; a public key arithmetic operator public-key-encrypting the single value using a predetermined public key and the random number as encryption factors and outputting a cipher text; and a radio frequency communicator converting the cipher text into a radio signal and sending the radio signal to a radio section. Information transmitted to a radio section is a cipher text obtained by public-key-encrypting the single value. Therefore, the number of the RFID tags belonging to a user is not exposed to an eavesdropper, thereby protecting user's privacy.
US07649438B2
A positive temperature coefficient thermistor device includes a laminate of a lower insulating plate, a positive temperature coefficient thermistor element, and terminal assemblies. The laminate is disposed in a hollow portion in a metal body. The device also includes a pressure spring made of a metal plate that is bent such that the cross-sectional shape thereof in a plane substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction thereof is substantially constant. The pressure spring is disposed between the top surface of the hollow portion and the terminal assembly adjacent to the top surface of the hollow portion such that the pressure spring and the laminate are resiliently supported inside the hollow portion. With this structure, the pressure spring can be easily inserted without damaging electrodes of the positive temperature coefficient thermistor element, and an insulator can be easily arranged without damaging the insulator.
US07649435B2
A multilayer chip varistor comprises a multilayer body in which a plurality of varistor portions are arranged along a predetermined direction, and a plurality of terminal electrodes. Each varistor portion has a varistor layer to exhibit nonlinear voltage-current characteristics, and a plurality of internal electrodes disposed so as to interpose the varistor layer between them. Each terminal electrode is disposed on a first outer surface parallel to the predetermined direction out of outer surfaces of the multilayer body and is electrically connected to a corresponding internal electrode out of the plurality of internal electrodes. Each of the plurality of internal electrodes includes a first electrode portion overlapping with another first electrode portion between adjacent internal electrodes out of the plurality of internal electrodes, and a second electrode portion led from the first electrode portion so as to be exposed in the first outer surface. The plurality of terminal electrodes are electrically connected via the respective second electrode portions to the corresponding internal electrodes.
US07649434B2
A multiple phase buck converter or boost converter, or buck-boost converter has an inductor in each phase. The inductors are inversely coupled. In a first embodiment, the converter includes a toroidal magnetic core with inductors extending under and over opposite sides of the toroidal magnetic core. The coupled inductors are thereby inversely coupled and have a relatively low ohmic resistance. In a second embodiment, the converter comprises a ladder-shaped magnetic core (i.e. having parallel sides, and connecting rungs). In this case, the inductors extend under the sides, and over the rungs. Each inductor is disposed over a separate rung. The ladder-shaped magnetic core is preferably disposed flat on a circuit board. Inverse coupling and low ohmic resistance are also provided in the second embodiment having the ladder structure.
US07649432B2
Provided are three-dimensional microstructures and their methods of formation. The microstructures are formed by a sequential build process and include microstructural elements which are mechanically locked to one another. The microstructures find use, for example, in coaxial transmission lines for electromagnetic energy.
US07649424B2
An L-C resonant circuit with an adjustable resonance frequency, having a capacitor and a first inductor electrically coupled together and a second inductor magnetically coupled to the first inductor. Additionally, there is a control circuit to sense a signal representing a first current flowing through the first inductor and to force through the second inductor a second current that is a replica of the first current for setting the adjustable resonance frequency of the L-C resonant circuit.
US07649406B2
A short-circuit charge-sharing technique which allows charge-sharing between two or more circuits with a simple shorting transistor controlled to achieve the desired operating voltage levels. The shorting transistor which can be either a P-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (PMOS) or an N-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (NMOS) device and can be controlled utilizing the same clock that enables the drive of the signals between which charge-sharing occurs. In operation, the desired operating voltage levels can be regulated by increasing and decreasing the pulse width of the control circuit output to the gate of the shorting transistor.
US07649402B1
A body-bias voltage source having an output monitor, charge pump, and shunt. A shunt circuit having on/off control is coupled to the output monitor and to the output of the charge pump. Upon sensing that the output voltage of the charge pump is above a desired value, the output monitor may disable the charge pump circuit and may enable the shunt circuit to reduce the voltage at the output of the charge pump. When the voltage output of the charge pump is below the desired value, the output monitor may disable the shunt circuit and may enable the charge pump circuit. A shunt circuit having proportional control may be substituted for the shunt circuit with on/off control.
US07649400B2
The signal switch has flat resistance across the input/output voltage range when in the ON state while still isolating input/output nodes from overshoots and undershoots when in the off state. The signal switch includes: a p channel switch coupled between a first input/output node and a second input/output node; an n channel switch coupled in parallel with the p channel switch; an overshoot protection block having a first output coupled to a backgate of the p channel switch, a first input coupled to the first input/output node, a second input coupled to the second input/output node, a third input coupled to a gate of the p channel switch, and a second output coupled to a p-rail voltage node; and an undershoot protection block having a first output coupled to a backgate of the n channel switch, a first input coupled to the first input/output node, a second input coupled to the second input/output node, a third input coupled to a gate of the n channel switch, and a second output coupled to an n-rail voltage node.
US07649399B2
A signal generating and switching apparatus and a method thereof are provided. According to a simple layout technique, the signal switching apparatus is formed in each layer of a plurality of metal layers in an integrated circuit. When there is a need to correct any one of the plurality of conductive layers in the integrated circuit, the changing of the signal switching apparatus in that conductive layer can be achieved by changing mask patterns of the conductive layer. As a result, the transmission path of signals in the conductive layer is changed, and the purpose to change output logic signals is achieved. Therefore, there is no need to change additional conductive layers, thereby significantly reducing the correcting cost of the integrated circuit.
US07649379B2
An integrated circuit apparatus includes a switching circuit that provides respective signal paths to permit a mission signal, a test signal, and a boundary scan test signal to share an output terminal. The signal path associated with the mission signal imposes a smaller switching delay than do the signal paths associated with the test and boundary scan test signals.
US07649377B2
A wafer level test structure in which, a heating plate is formed on the wafer for heating a structure to be tested positioned above or adjacent to the heating plate. The heating plate produces heat by electrically connecting to a current. Thus, the heat provided by the heating plate and the electric input/output into/from the structure to be tested are controlled separately and not influenced each other.
US07649371B2
A method and apparatus for a thermal stratification test providing cyclical and steady-state stratified environments. In order to test an electronic device, for example one having one or more levels of ball-grid-array interconnections, e.g., connecting a chip to a flip-chip substrate and connecting the flip-chip substrate to a printed circuit board of a device, an apparatus and method are provided to heat one side of the device while cooling the second side. In some embodiments, the process is then reversed to cool the first side and heat the second. Some embodiments repeat the cycle of heat-cool-heat-cool several times, and then perform functional tests of the electronic circuitry. In some embodiments, the functional tests are performed in one or more thermal-stratification configurations after cycling at more extreme thermal stratification setups. In some embodiments, a test that emphasizes solder creep is employed.
US07649354B2
A multi-shot three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data view-ordering strategy for uniform or variable density k-space sampling schemes is presented. The ky-kz plane is partitioned into multiple wedge-shaped “blades” (or radial fan beams). The angular size of individual blades may be adjusted according to the desired number of views for each blade. Each blade includes views near the origin that contain low-frequency information about the imaged object such that views having the most desirable characteristics may be used to fill the central portions of k-space.
US07649353B2
In an MR imaging method and apparatus which MR images with improved signal intensity, improved signal-noise ratio, improved contrast and improved image homogeneity can be acquired, the polarization state of the magnetic field of the RF pulses radiated into the measurement subject and of the resonance signals emitted by the measurement subject are distorted by the interaction with electrically-active materials of the measurement subject. In the transmission branch of the RF system the RF pulses emitted by a transmission coil are pre-distorted with regard to their polarization state. The sensitivity of the reception branch is optimized such that it is capable of detecting resonance signals independent of their polarization state.
US07649351B2
The present invention describes a method enabling one to shield a device that measures weak biomagnetic signals from strong magnetic interference fields. The measurement sensors are provided with a feedback compensation loop, the difference signal of which is obtained from the measurement sensors themselves. As the actuator of the feedback function, one or more coils are responsible for eliminating, the external interference fields in the region of the sensors. Difference signals can be generated as a linear combination from the signals of two or more sensors. In the control logic, the SSS method can be used to numerically separate the biomagnetic signal being measured from the signals produced by the sources—compensation coils and interference sources—disposed outside the measurement region. The interference suppression can be enhanced by placing the assembly of sensors and the actuators within a magnetically shielding room.
US07649346B2
A switching regulator including an inductor and a switching transistor and having a normal operational mode and a light-load operational mode is disclosed. The switching regulator includes an operational mode switching part configured to switch the normal operational mode and the light-load operational mode, and a light-load detection part configured to detect the light-load state of a load. The light-load detection part is configured to detect the light-load state of the load by a change in the voltage at the connection of the switching transistor and the inductor when the switching transistor is OFF. The operational mode switching part is configured to switch the normal operational mode to the light-load operational mode in response to the detection of the light-load state of the load by the light-load detection part.
US07649336B2
A rechargeable DC power supply includes a housing including an interior, an exterior, and an integral heat sink including a heat absorbing surface formed in said interior and a heat dissipating surface formed in said exterior. The rechargeable DC power supply includes a rechargeable battery having battery terminals positioned in said interior, power supply terminals positioned at said exterior of said housing, and a first printed circuit board (PCB) assembly including a bidirectional DC-DC converter module connected between said battery terminals and said power supply terminals. The first PCB assembly is in coplanar contact with said heat absorbing surface.
US07649329B2
A method and a circuit for controlling a motor and a brushless motor using the same are provided. The brushless motor includes three phase coils, wherein the first terminals of all the phase coils are coupled to a common node. The method includes following steps: among the above-mentioned three phase coils, when there is no current flowing through the first phase coil of the above-mentioned three phase coils and a current flows from the second terminal of the second coil to the second terminal of the third phase coil, detecting the voltage at the second terminal of the first phase coil to be a first specific voltage; detecting the voltage drop of a DC sensing resistor to be a second specific voltage; and utilizing the first specific voltage, the second specific voltage and the DC voltage supplied to the motor to estimate zero crossing points for controlling the motor.
US07649325B2
A circuit includes a capacitive element for coupling across a load element to be energized by a DC signal, a first sense element to monitor an instantaneous sum of currents through the load element and the capacitive element, a switching element to control current through the first sense element, a second sense element coupled to the switching element to sense current through the switching element, an energy storage element coupled to the switching element, a unidirectional current flow element allowing current flow to the load element, and a converter circuit to control the switching element, wherein the converter circuit regulates to the current level monitored across the first sense element, and wherein a converter regulation loop includes a dominant pole to average the current sensed through the first sense element.
US07649319B2
An ultra-high pressure mercury lamp in which the tungsten comprising the electrodes is prevented from spraying during starting and operation, and blackening on the inside wall of the arc tube is prevented is achieved in that at least one of the electrodes has an axial part which is made essentially of tungsten and a starting part which is made essentially of tungsten, at least one of the axial part and of the starting part containing an electron emission material with a smaller work function than tungsten such that the value of S/A in mm2/% by weight is in the range 1≦S/A≦1×104, S in mm2 designating the surface area of the part of the electrode projecting into the arc tube containing the electron emission material and A in % by weight indicating the concentration of the electron emission material in this part.
US07649315B2
A plasma display panel (PDP) according to one embodiment includes: a first substrate and a second substrate that are disposed substantially in parallel with each other with a predetermined distance therebetween; a plurality of address electrodes disposed on the first substrate; a first dielectric layer disposed on an entire surface of the first substrate while covering the address electrodes; a plurality of barrier ribs having a predetermined height from the first dielectric layer and disposed in a space between the first substrate and the second substrate to partition the space into discharge spaces of a predetermined size; a phosphor layer disposed in the discharge spaces; a plurality of display electrodes disposed on one side of the second substrate facing the first substrate in a direction crossing the address electrodes; a second dielectric layer disposed on an entire surface of the second substrate to cover the display electrodes; and a protective layer disposed to cover the second dielectric layer. The protective layer includes MgO having a crystalline grain size ranging from 100 to 500 nm and has a membrane density of less than or equal to 3.3 g/cm3.
US07649312B2
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) display device with improved hole injection efficiency is presented, along with a method of making the display device. A thin film transistor (TFT) is formed on an insulating substrate. A pixel electrode is electrically connected to the TFT, and a hydrophilic wall is formed between the pixel electrode and an adjacent pixel electrode. A hole injecting layer and a first organic light emitting layer covering the pixel electrode and the hydrophilic wall and formed. Then, a second organic light emitting layer and a third organic light emitting layer are formed to partly cover the first organic light emitting layer.
US07649303B2
In an acoustic wave resonator, an IDT electrode is provided on a piezoelectric substrate. The IDT electrode is apodization-weighted such that a plurality of maximum values of cross widths are provided in acoustic wave propagation directions. Alternatively, in apodization weighting, weighting is applied such that at least one of a pair of envelopes located at outer side portions of the IDT electrode in directions substantially perpendicular to acoustic wave propagation directions includes a plurality of angled envelope portions angled from a central portion of the IDT electrode toward an outer side portion of the IDT electrode in a direction substantially perpendicular to the acoustic wave propagation directions.
US07649302B2
This electrostatic actuator includes an electret film and a conductor layer formed on the electret film, and the conductor layer is so formed as to have a sectional shape reduced in width upward from the side closer to the electret film.
US07649291B2
The present invention relates to a limit structure for motor spindle, which includes a base equipped with a shaft tube and a stator set. A limit member and a bearing are disposed inside a shaft tube such that a spindle can be inserted and rotated in the bearing. The inner wall of a through hole of the limit member has plural limit protrusions extended toward a center of the through hole for snapping a necking of a nose of a spindle to limit its axial displacement. The limit protrusion forms a non-vertical included angle with the inner wall of the through hole in a tilted manner. Therefore, when the limit protrusions are subjected to compression of the nose of the spindle, its deformation is so small that irrecoverable condition and fracture of the limit protrusion and rotor drop can be prevented.
US07649289B2
The present invention is to provide a water-repellent motor assembly for rotisserie and casing thereof, which comprises an inner shroud, a motor provided in the inner shroud and an outer shroud mounted around the inner shroud. A plurality of parallel bent, elongated projecting plates are projected out of an outer surface of the outer shroud. A plurality of second openings are formed on the outer shroud, correspond to the projecting plate, and are partially concealed by the projecting plates for preventing fluid from entering the outer shroud. The inner shroud comprises one or more recesses on its outer surface. A plurality of raised members are formed on an outer surface of the inner shroud and correspond to the second openings. The raised members are protruded toward the second openings and each of the raised members comprises a first opening formed on its projecting portion.
US07649273B2
A hybrid drive unit (10) for a motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine (12) and at least one electric machine (14) optionally operable as a motor or as a generator, has a charge air compressor (22) for compression of combustion air supplied to the internal combustion engine (12) and a charge air cooler (32) for cooling the combustion air. The hybrid drive unit (10) has a low-temperature cooling circuit (38) carrying a liquid coolant and is designed separately from a high-temperature cooling circuit of the internal combustion engine (12) and has a heat exchanger (42) for cooling the coolant, whereby the low-temperature cooling circuit (38) includes the charge air cooler (32) and the electric machine (12) and/or electronic components (34, 36) allocated to the electric machine (14).
US07649270B2
A collective substrate (1) is produced by firing a ceramic green sheet and forming through-holes (11) in the resulting substrate. The through-holes (11) each have an interior surface including taper surfaces (11b, 11c) which are tapered as having an opening size progressively decreasing from a main surface (21) and an external connection surface (22) toward a minimum size hole portion (11a). The taper surfaces (11b, 11c) respectively form obtuse angles θ1, θ2 with the main surface (21) and the external connection surface (22). A semiconductor element mount (BL) includes an insulative member (2) cut out of the collective substrate (1). An imaging device (PE2) includes an imaging element (PE1) mounted in a region surrounded by a frame (4) which is bonded to the main surface (21) of the insulative member (2) and closed by a cover (FL). A light emitting diode component (LE2) includes a light emitting element (LE1) mounted on the main surface (21) of the insulative member (2) with the minimum size hole portion (11a) of the through-hole being filled with an electrically conductive material (33a), the light emitting element being sealed with a fluorescent material and/or a protective resin (FR). A light emitting diode (LE3) includes the light emitting diode component (LE2) mounted in a package (7).
US07649241B2
A semiconductor device having a variable capacitance capacitor and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. An example semiconductor device includes a capacitor having a bottom electrode, a dielectric layer and an upper electrode, formed on a semiconductor substrate. The example semiconductor also includes a first insulating layer formed on the semiconductor substrate to cover the capacitor, a plurality of first contact plugs formed in a plurality of first via holes of the first insulating layer, each of which is electrically connected to either the bottom electrode or the upper electrode, a first metal wiring formed on the first insulating layer and connected to the bottom electrode through the first contact plug, a second contact plug formed on the first insulating layer and connected to the upper electrode through the first contact plug, and a second insulating layer formed on the first insulating layer to cover the first metal wiring and the second contact plug. In addition, the example semiconductor device includes an anti-fuse formed in a certain thickness in a second via hole of the second insulating layer and electrically connected to the second contact plug, a third contact plug filling the second via hole on the anti-fuse, and a second metal wiring formed on the second insulating layer and electrically connected to the third contact plug.
US07649235B2
The electronic component package includes a mounting board, an electronic component and a molding resin. An external electrode is disposed on a surface of the mounting board. The electronic component connected to the mounting board via the external electrode includes a component-substrate, a device, a component-cover and a protector made of resin. The component-substrate comprising a piezoelectric body includes a first surface on which the device is disposed and a second surface opposing the first surface. The component-cover covers the first surface of the substrate and the device. The protector provided on the second surface contains filler. The molding resin covers the electronic component on the mounting board.
US07649233B2
A MOS transistor having a highly stressed channel region and a method for forming the same are provided. The method includes forming a first semiconductor plate over a semiconductor substrate, forming a second semiconductor plate on the first semiconductor plate wherein the first semiconductor plate has a substantially greater lattice constant than the second semiconductor plate, and forming a gate stack over the first and the second semiconductor plates. The first and the second semiconductor plates include extensions extending substantially beyond side edges of the gate stack. The method further includes forming a silicon-containing layer on the semiconductor substrate, preferably spaced apart from the first and the second semiconductor plates, forming a spacer, a LDD region and a source/drain region, and forming a silicide region and a contact etch stop layer. A high stress is developed in the channel region. Current crowding effects are reduced due to the raised silicide region.
US07649230B2
Performance of a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) device having n-channel MOS transistors and p-channel MOS transistors is enhanced by providing a single capping layer overlying the MOS transistors with the single capping layer inducing stress in the transistor channel regions to enhance carrier mobility. The n-channel transistor is preferably fabricated in silicon having a (100) crystalline channel surface orientation, and the p-channel transistor is preferably fabricated in silicon having a (110) channel surface crystalline orientation. A tensile stress in the single capping layer induces tensile stress in the channel of the (100) n-channel transistor thereby enhancing the mobility of electrons while tensile stress in the single capping layer induces compressive stress in the channel of the (110) p-channel transistor thereby enhancing the mobility of holes. Alternatively, the n-channel transistor is fabricated in silicon having a (110) crystalline channel surface orientation, and the p-channel transistor is fabricated in silicon having a (100) channel surface crystalline orientation. A compressive stress in the single capping layer induces tensile stress in the channel of the (110) n-channel transistor thereby enhancing the mobility of electrons while compressive stress in the single capping layer induces compressive stress in the channel of the (100) p-channel transistor thereby enhancing the mobility of holes.
US07649228B2
A method for forming Z-RAM cells and the resulting semiconductor structure are provided. The semiconductor structure includes a semiconductor substrate; a dielectric layer on the semiconductor substrate; an opening in the dielectric layer, wherein the semiconductor substrate is exposed through the opening; a semiconductor strip on the dielectric layer and adjacent the opening; a gate dielectric over a surface of the semiconductor strip; a gate electrode over the gate dielectric; and a source/drain region in the semiconductor strip and adjacent the gate electrode.
US07649225B2
An asymmetric heterodoped metal oxide (AH2MOS) semiconductor device includes a substrate and an insulated gate on the top of the substrate disposed between a source region and a drain region. On one side of the gate, heterodoped tub and source regions are formed. The tub region has dopants of a second polarity. A source region is disposed inside each tub region and has dopants of a first polarity opposite to the second polarity. On the other side of the gate, heterodoped buffer and drift regions are formed. The buffer regions comprise dopants of the second polarity. The drift regions are disposed inside the buffer regions and are doped with dopants of the first polarity. A drain n+ tap region is disposed in the drift region.
US07649220B2
A photodetector and method for making the same is disclosed. The photodetector includes a substrate having first, second, and third photodiodes and first and second pigment filter layers. The first, second, and third photodiodes generate first, second, and third photodiode output signals, respectively, each photodiode output signal being indicative of a light intensity incident on that photodiode and a dark current that is independent of the light intensity. The first and second pigment filter layers overlie the first and second photodiodes while a layer having both the first and second pigment filter layers overlie the third photodiode. An output circuit combines the first and third photodiode output signals to provide a first corrected output signal and combines the second and third photodiode output signals to provide a second corrected output signal.
US07649216B1
The present invention relates to radiation hardening by design (RHBD), which employs layout and circuit techniques to mitigate the damaging effects of ionizing radiation. Reverse body biasing (RBB) of N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistors may be used to counteract the effects of trapped positive charges in isolation oxides due to ionizing radiation. In a traditional MOS integrated circuit, input/output (I/O) circuitry may be powered using an I/O power supply voltage, and core circuitry may be powered using a core power supply voltage, which is between the I/O power supply voltage and ground. However, in one embodiment of the present invention, the core circuitry is powered using a voltage difference between the core power supply voltage and the I/O power supply voltage. The bodies of NMOS transistors in the core circuitry are coupled to ground; therefore, a voltage difference between the core power supply voltage and ground provides RBB.
US07649203B2
A method of fabricating a pixel structure of a thin film transistor liquid crystal display is provided. A transparent conductive layer and a first metallic layer are sequentially formed over a substrate. The first metallic layer and the transparent conductive layer are patterned to form a gate pattern and a pixel electrode pattern. A gate insulating layer and a semiconductor layer are sequentially formed over the substrate. A patterning process is performed to remove the first metallic layer in the pixel electrode pattern while remaining the gate insulating layer and the semiconductor layer over the gate pattern. A second metallic layer is formed over the substrate. The second metallic layer is patterned to form a source/drain pattern over the semiconductor layer. A passivation layer is formed over the substrate and then the passivation layer is patterned to expose the transparent conductive layer in the pixel electrode pattern.
US07649200B1
A structure and method is utilized to detect cracks, fissures, fractures, or other dislocations in an IC die. A conductive line in a metal layer is provided about the periphery of the IC die. A break in the conductive line indicates that the IC die is cracked. A JTAG interface can be utilized to provide an indication of whether the die is cracked.
US07649198B2
The invention provides a method for fabricating a nano-array comprising the following steps. A template with a plurality of nano-holes is provided. A polymer is embossed by the template to integrally form a plurality of nano-protrusions thereon, and demolding to reveal the nano-protrusions. The nano-protrusion has a concave or convex top surface.
US07649186B2
In an EUV focusing mirror in which there are several thin concave nested high precision mirrors in the form of an ellipsoid of revolution, a paraboloid of revolution, a Wolter type or the like, the sides which do not constitute the reflection surfaces are made in the shape of a knife edge at the radiation incident ends of the respective mirrors in order not to be shielded by the thickness of the radiation incidence sides of the respective mirrors. Likewise, the radiation exit ends of the respective mirrors are made in the form of a knife edge. This yields an advantageous far-field distribution use of the mirrors for an EUV radiation source device and the degree of reduction of the light intensity can be made smaller than in the conventional case.
US07649184B2
A processing method uses a processing system which includes an atmosphere replacing chamber having first and second gate valves, and a container that has an inside maintained in a reduced pressure or vacuum atmosphere and provides a predetermined process to an object, wherein the atmosphere replacing chamber is connected to the container through the first gate valve and a space different from the container through the second gate valve. The processing method includes the steps of exhausting the atmosphere replacing chamber while introducing first gas below predetermined humidity to the atmosphere replacing chamber, and vacuum-pumping the atmosphere replacing chamber after said exhausting step, by reducing an amount of the first gas to be introduced into the atmosphere replacing chamber.
US07649160B2
A new way of mixing instrumental and digital means is described for the general field of wave front sensing. The present invention describes the use, the definition and the utility of digital operators, called digital wave front operators (DWFO) or digital lenses (DL), specifically designed for the digital processing of wave fronts defined in amplitude and phase. DWFO are of particular interest for correcting undesired wave front deformations induced by instrumental defects or experimental errors. DWFO may be defined using a mathematical model, e.g. a polynomial function, which involves coefficients. The present invention describes automated and semi-automated procedures for calibrating or adjusting the values of these coefficients. These procedures are based on the fitting of mathematical models on reference data extracted from specific regions of a wave front called reference areas, which are characterized by the fact that specimen contributions are a priori known in reference areas. For example, reference areas can be defined in regions where flat surfaces of a specimen produce a constant phase function. The present invention describes also how DWFO can be defined by extracting reference data along one-dimensional (1D) profiles. DWFO can also be defined in order to obtain a flattened representation of non-flat area of a specimen. Several DWFO or DL can be combined, possibly in addition with procedures for calculating numerically the propagation of wave fronts. A DWFO may also be defined experimentally, e.g. by calibration procedures using reference specimens. A method for generating a DWFO by filtering in the Fourier plane is also described. All wave front sensing techniques may benefit from the present invention. The case of a wave front sensor based on digital holography, e.g. a digital holographic microscope (DHM), is described in more details. The use of DWFO improves the performance, in particular speed and precision, and the ease of use of instruments for wave front sensing. The use of DWFO results in instrumental simplifications, costs reductions, and enlarged the field of applications. The present invention defines a new technique for imaging and metrology with a large field of applications in material and life sciences, for research and industrial applications.
US07649157B2
A chuck table for use in a laser beam processing machine, having a workpiece holding area for holding a workpiece, wherein the workpiece holding area is similar in shape to the workpiece and smaller in size than the workpiece, and a buffer groove is formed in such a manner that it surrounds the workpiece holding area.
US07649150B2
There are provided a sensor which is small, suitable for reflow soldering by automatic cleaning and automatic mounting, can be manufactured in batch, and has a switch function, and a manufacturing method of the sensor, and a portable telephone having the sensor built therein.There are provided a sensor having a switch function, the sensor being composed of a first substrate composed of a semiconductor by which a conducting part of the switch is formed, a second substrate composed of the semiconductor by which a conducting part of the switch is formed or an insulator by which the conducting part of the switch is formed, and a moving member having conductivity, wherein any of the first substrate and the second substrate has a cavity-shaped portion and the moving member having conductivity is confined by the first substrate and the second substrate, and a manufacturing method of the sensor, and an electronic device having the sensor built therein.
US07649140B2
A photovoltaic module comprising: (i) three or more substrates (1, 2, 3) arranged in a closed-spaced parallel relationship to one another, the substrates comprising: a center substrate (2) having first and second faces; a first outer substrate (1) having an inner and outer face, wherein the inner face and the first face of the center substrate are juxtaposed; and a second outer substrate (3) having an inner and outer face, wherein the inner face and the second face of the center substrate are juxtaposed, (ii) front photovoltaic devices (A, B, C) are formed between the first outer substrate (1) and the first face of the center substrate (2), (iii) connecting and/or dividing method (11) are placed between at least one pair of the front devices, and (iv) rear photovoltaic devices (D, E) are formed between the second outer substrate (3) and the second face of the center substrate (2), characterized by: (v) the front and rear photovoltaic devices are offset in such a way that connecting and dividing methods (11) of the front devices (A, B, C) oppose the active photovoltaic regions of the rear devices (D, E).
US07649133B2
The striking member for use with a percussion instrument is a vibration-inducing and flexing variation of a conventional unitary or one-piece drum stick, drum mallet or the like. The striking member includes a stick having opposed first and second ends, and a hollow shell having an opening formed through a lower end thereof. The first end of the stick is adapted for grasping by the user, and the second end is inserted through the opening, into an open interior region of the hollow shell. The hollow shell is secured to the stick, and flexes when striking a surface, such as a drum, for example. An elastic material may further be received within the hollow shell, and may at least partially fill the open interior region thereof in order to provide further elastic properties for the head of the striking member.
US07649128B2
The invention relates to the soybean variety designated D4521369. Provided by the invention are the seeds, plants and derivatives of the soybean variety D4521369. Also provided by the invention are tissue cultures of the soybean variety D4521369 and the plants regenerated therefrom. Still further provided by the invention are methods for producing soybean plants by crossing the soybean variety D4521369 with itself or another soybean variety and plants produced by such methods.
US07649123B2
A process for the oligomerization of propylene is disclosed wherein a tungstated zirconia catalyst prepared as a distillation structure is used in a reaction distillation zone under conditions of temperature and pressure to concurrently react the propylene to produce oligomers thereof and separate the oligomer products from unreacted propylene by fractional distillation in a distillation column reactor. Compared to the prior art tubular or plug flow reactors, lower temperatures and pressures are used to produce higher conversions and selectivities to preferred isomeric forms useful for preparing neo acids.
US07649122B2
A process for alkylation of an alkylatable aromatic compound to produce a monoalkylated aromatic compound, comprising the steps of (a) contacting at least one the alkylatable aromatic compound and at least one the alkylating agent with at least one molecular sieve catalyst under suitable alkylation or transalkylation conditions in at least one reaction zone, to produce at least one effluent which comprises the monoalkylated aromatic compound, wherein the suitable alkylation or transalkylation conditions comprise a water content being in a range from about 1 wppm to about 10 wt. % based on the combined weight of the alkylatable aromatic compound and the alkylating agent; and (b) maintaining the water content in the reaction zone; wherein the cycle length of the molecular sieve catalyst operated inside the range of the water content is greater than the cycle length of the molecular sieve catalyst operated outside the range of the water content.
US07649120B2
This invention relates to a method of extracting solanesol by microwave-assisted from potato stems and/or leaves. In particular, the invention provides a technique whereby the solanesol can be extracted effectively, in a relatively short period of time with respect to conventional extraction methods and allows for an enhanced extraction yield. The invention has bright perspectives in promoting local economic development and increasing farmers' income.
US07649116B1
A process is disclosed for the production of olefins including ethylene, propylene and butenes from methyl mercaptan. The process comprises a reaction whereby methyl mercaptan produces the olefin and hydrogen sulfide by pyrolysis. The reaction is carried out at an elevated temperature in the range of 300° C. to 600° C. to achieve the pyrolysis.
US07649113B2
The present invention is directed to novel compounds which are derivatives of minocycline or doxycycline, pharmaceutical compositions containing same and use thereof in lowering excess IgE levels in a mammal suffering from a disease where IgE is pathogenic.
US07649112B2
An integrated facility is disclosed for simultaneous production of butanal and methacrylic acid products where the facility utilizes a mixed methacrolein and isobutanal stream to make methacrylic acid. The facility is also designed to utilize downstream n-butanal products such as n-butanol and/or 2-ethyl-hexanol to make butyl-methacrylates and 2-ethyl-hexyl-methacrylate. A method is also disclosed which integrates the production of butanal derived products and methacrylic acid derived products.
US07649109B2
A polyester production process employing an esterification system that uses a distillation column to recover alcohol produced from an esterification zone and then recirculates the recovered alcohol back to the esterification zone without substantially cooling the recovered alcohol.
US07649107B2
The present invention relates to the field of organic synthesis and more particularly to a new process for the preparation of an acetal derivative of an alkyl 3-oxo-2-(2-oxoethyl)-1-cyclopentaneacetate. The invention also relates to a method to use said acetal derivative to prepare intermediates useful for the preparation of perfuming ingredients.
US07649104B2
There is provided a process for stereoselectively producing E-form of 3-acyloxyacrylonitrile compound (3) or Z-form which comprises reacting 3-oxopropionitrile compound (1) with an acid chloride (2), characterized in that the reaction is conducted with removal of hydrogen chloride, or by using an organic base or an inorganic base, to thereby regulate the stereostructure of the product; a process for producing the compound (1) characterized by reacting acetonitrile compound (5) with an aromatic ester compound (6) by use of an alkali metal alkoxide in a hydrocarbon solvent while removing alcohol formed as a by-product by azeotropic distillation in a separating tank; and a process for isomerizing E-form of 3-acyloxyacrylonitrile compound to Z-form thereof by use of an organic base.
US07649101B2
A process for the selective oxidation of olefins to epoxides comprising the step of contacting the olefin (propylene) with an oxidant (hydrogen peroxide) in the presence of a Lewis acid oxidation catalyst (MTO), organic base (pyridine or its N-oxide), in a solvent system comprising an organic water-miscible solvent (methanol); and adding a pressurizing gas (nitrogen) to increase the pressure, whereby olefin is further dissolved in organic solvent system to increase the selectivity and yield of the desired epoxide (propylene oxide).
US07649094B2
The present invention provides a method of kinetic optical resolution of carboxylic acid derivatives using specific optically active catalysts. A racemic or diastereomeric mixture of carboxylic acid derivatives of the formula (A) is reacted with a nucleophile in the presence of an optically active catalyst to form an optically active nucleophile derivative of the formula (B). The catalyst is an optically active compound represented by the formula (C) or (D) [wherein R1 is a substituted or unsubstituted, saturated or unsaturated, straight-chain, branched or alicyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon group which can have a heteroatom, R2 is ethyl or vinyl, and R5 is hydrogen or methoxy respectively].
US07649093B2
The present invention relates to cycloalkylidene compounds with a variety of therapeutic uses, more particularly novel naphthalene compounds that are particularly useful for selective estrogen receptor modulation.
US07649092B2
Urea derivatives which comprise piperidine or piperazine rings and further substitution are effective in ameliorating conditions characterized by unwanted calcium ion channel activity.
US07649074B2
A high-functionality, highly branched or hyperbranched polycarbonate that has a weight average molecular weight of between 3,300 and 150,000, a degree of crosslinking of less than 15%, and a degree of branching ranging from 10% to 99.9%; the polycarbonate being made by a process comprising preparing one or more condensation products (K), and intermolecularly reacting the one or more condensation products (K) to form the polycarbonate.
US07649069B2
Free radical living polymerization attached nanocluster (metal oxide, e.g., gamma-Fe2O3 or FeO nanocluster or quantum dot (e.g., CdSe) nanocluster, are used for polymerization of polymer or copolymer to provide nanocomposite polymers or copolymer arms around nanoclusters.
